diges’s collection (th e most complete in Eu ro p e , unless we except th a t of M.
Vilmorin,) are propagated by grafting on th e common oak, close to the
ground ; and largely earthing up th e grafts afterwards, so as to leave only the
points o f th e scions exposed to th e air. This earthing up n o t only preserves
a uniform degree o f moisture round th e graft ; b u t th e ea rth employed being
taken from th e adjoining surface, and consequently having been hea ted by the
sun, produces an immediate increase o f temp eratu re ro u n d th e graft, which
gives an impulse to th e rising sap, and so accelerates vegetation. W e had the
advantage, in August, 1840, o f examining all th e American oaks in th e Bois
de Boulogne, in company with M. Michaux, who sowed th e acorns in 1822;
and we th e re observed, as we had previously done in th e Hackney Arboretum,
th a t much th e most rapid, vigorous, and e re c t growing species was Q. pa-
lustris J n ex t Q. coccínea, which resembles Q. palùstris, but with leaves on a
larger scale ; then Q. ru b ra ; and, n ex t to th a t species, Q. nigra and Q. tine-
toria. Q. álba is n o t in th e Bois de Boulogne, th e acorns, as M. Michaux
informed us, rarely retaining th e ir vitality during th e time requisite 20 years
ago to bring them to Eu ro p e .
§ iii. A'lbæ. White American Oaks.
Sect. Char. Leaves lobed, and sinuated, n o t mucronated ; broadest at the
upper extremity ; dying o ff more o r less shaded with a violet colour. Bark
white, o r whitish brown, cracking and scaling off in thin laminae. Fructification
annual. Cups imbricate o r echinate. N u t oblong, generally large.
¥ 8. Q. a ' l b a L in . T h e American white Oak.
I d e n ti fic a tio n . L in . S p . P l . , H H . ; P u r s h , v o l. 2. p . 633. ; M ic h x . Q u e r ., N o . 4 . t . 5.
S y iio n ym e s . Q. á lb a v ir g in i à n a P a r k . T h e a t. B o t . ; Q. a . p in n a t i f id a W a l t . C a ro l, p . 2 3 0 . N o . 10. :
Q. p a l ú s t n s M a r s h , p . 120. N o . 3. ; C h ê n e b la n c d e l ’A m é r iq u e , F r . \ w e is s e E ic h e , G e r .
E n g r a v m g s . C a t . C a r o l. , 1. t . 21. f . 2. ; M ic h x . N . A m e r . S v i ., v o l . l . t . L : t h e p l a t e o f th i s tr e e iu
A r b . B n t . , 1 s t e d i t , , v o l. v i i. ; a n d o u r f i g . 1569.
Spec. Char., 4 c . Leaves oblong, pinnatifidly serrated ; pubescent underneath :
lobes linear-Ianceolate, obtuse, entire, attenuated a t th e base. F ru it pedunculated.
Calyx somewhat cup-shaped, warty, and flattened a t th e base.
Acorn oval. (W ilid .) A large deciduous tre e . North America. Height
60 ft. o r upwards. In tro d u c ed in 1724. Flowers greenish white ; April.
Varieties. Th e elder Michaux gives th e two following forms o f this specie.s,
th e leaves o f both o f which are shown in fig . 1567. copied from Michaiix’s
Histoire des Chênes Amériques : — ''
¥ Q. a, 1 pinnatifida Michx. (H is t, des
Chênes Amer., t. 5. f. 1. ; and o u r /g -.
1567. a .) Q. alba B a n . Cat. Stirp.
Virg. ; Q. virginiàna Catesb. Carol, i.
p. 2 1. t. 2 1 . ; Q. a. palùstris Marsh.
p. 120. No. 3. — T h e usual form o f
th e species, and common
from Canada to
Florida . Fig. 1568.
is a sprig and acorn
o f Q. álba pinnati- <
fida, taken from Michaux’s
North American
Sylva, vol. i. 1. 1. j
and th e acorn with out
its calyx is shown in
..pinnatifida. / g . 1566. a t rt. 15CS. Q. a. i-innatífula.
Q. a. 2 repánda Michx._ (H is t, des Chênes, t. 5. f. 2.; and o u r /g .
1567. b. — F o u n d wild in th e forests o f Carolina, and sometimes occurring
in seed-beds o f Q. álba in Eu ro p e . Fig. 1569. is from a sprig
apparently o f this variety, grown in th e H o rticu ltu ral Society’s
Garden, u n d er th e name o f Q. alba. In Messrs. Loddiges’s arboretum
is an oak named Q. squamósa, from a specimen o f which fig .
1570. was taken. This tree, wliich is 20 ft. high, has exactly the
( ■
1570. q . a. rep in d a .
appearance, bark, and habit o f growth o f Q. âlba, and as it only
differs from it in th e shape o f th e leaves, it is doubtless only a van-
ation o f this variety.
The American white oak, according to Michaux, bears most resemblance to
Q. pedunculàta. T h e leaves, he says, are regularly and obliquely divided into
oblong rounded lobes, d e s titu te o f points o r bristles ; and th e indentations are
the deepest in th e most humid soils. Soon after th e ir unfolding, th e leaves
are reddish above, and white and downy beneath ; when fully grown, th ey are
smooth, and of a light green on th e upper surface, and glaucous underneat^h.
In the autumn they change to a bright violet colour. ^ Michaux adds th a t this
is the only American oak th a t retains some o f its withered leaves till spring.
The acorns are large, oval, and very sw e e t; and th ey are contained in rough,
shallow, greyish cups. Th ey are borne singly, or in pairs, on long peduncles,
attached, as in all th e species with annual fructification, to th e shoots oi the
season. T h e bark o f this species is white (whence th e name) and scaly ;
and on young trees it appears divided in to squares, b u t on old trees into
[)Iates laterally attached. T h e wood is reddish, somewhat resembling th a t ot
the British oak, b ut lighter, and less compact. The ra te o f growth o f this
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