Anna B. Comstock

The Oak

Teacher's Story

HE symbol of rugged strength since man first gazed upon its noble proportions, the oak more than other trees has been entangled in human myth, legend and imagination. It was regarded as the special tree of Zeus by the Greeks. Virgil sang of it thus:

while in primitive England the strange worship of the Druids centered around it.

Although the oak is a tree of grandeur when its broad branches are covered with leafage, yet it is only in winter when it stands stripped like an athlete that we realize wherein its supremacy lies. Then only can we appreciate the massive trunk and the strong limbs bent and gnarled with combating the blasts of centuries. But there are oaks and oaks, and each species fights time and tempest in his own peculiar armor and in his own way. Many of the oaks achieve the height of eighty to one hundred feet. The great branches come off the sturdy trunk at wide angles, branches that may be crooked or gnarled but are ever long and strong; the smaller branches also come off at wide angles, and in turn bear angular individual spray—all of which, when covered with leaves, make the broad, rounded head which characterizes this tree. The oaks are divided into two classes which the children soon learn to distinguish, as follows:

White oak leaves and acorn.

A. The white oak group, the leaves of which have rounded lobes and are rough and light-colored below; the wood is light-colored, the acorns have sweet kernels and mature in one year, so that there are no acorns on the branches in winter. To this class belong the white, chestnut, bur, and post oaks.

White oak in winter. Drawing by W. C. Baker.

AA. The black oak group, the leaves of which are nearly as smooth below as above, and have angular lobes ending in sharp points. The bark is dark in color, the acorns have bitter kernels and require two years for maturing, so that they may be seen on the branches in winter. To this group belong the red, scarlet, Spanish, pin, scrub, black-jack, laurel and willow oaks.

There is a great variation in the shape of the leaves on the same tree, and while the black, the red and the scarlet oaks are well-marked species, it is possible to find leaves on these three different trees which are similar in shape. Oaks also hybridize, and thus their leaves are a puzzle to the botanist; but in general, the species can be determined by any of the tree books, and the pupils should learn to distinguish them.

Swamp white oak in winter.

The acorns and their scaly saucers are varied in shape, and are a delight to children as well as to pigs. The great acorns of the red oak are made into cups and saucers by the girls, and those of the scarlet oak into tops by the boys. The white oaks turn a rich wine-color in the autumn, while the bur and the chestnut are yellow. The red oak is a dark, wine-red; the black oak russet, and the scarlet a deep and brilliant red. When the oak leaves first come from the buds in the spring, they are soft and downy and drooping, those of the red and scarlet being reddish, and those of the white, pale green with red tints. Thoreau says of them, "They hang loosely, flaccidly, down at the mercy of the wind, like a new-born butterfly or dragonfly."

The pollen-bearing flowers are like beads on a string, several strings hanging down from the same point on the twig, making a fringe, and they are attractive to the eye that sees. The pistillate flowers are inconspicuous, at the axils of the leaves, and have irregular or curved stigmas; they are on the same branch as the pollen-bearing flowers.

Leaves and acorn of the swamp white oak.

The oak is long-lived; it does not produce acorns until about twenty years of age and requires a century to mature. Although from two to three hundred years is the average age of most oaks, yet a scarlet oak of my acquaintance is about four hundred years old, and there are oaks still living in England which were there when William, the Conqueror came. The famous Wadsworth Oak at Geneseo, N.Y. had a circumference of twenty seven feet. This was a swamp white oak. One reason for their attaining great age is long, strong, tap-roots which plant them deep, also the great number of roots near the surface which act as braces, and their large and luxurious heads.

Oak wood is usually heavy, very strong, tough and coarse. The heart is brown, the sap-wood whitish. It is used for many purposes—ships, furniture, wagons, cars, cooperage, farm implements, piles, wharves, railway ties, etc. The white and live oaks give the best wood. Oak bark is used extensively for tanning.

Leaves and acorn of chestnut oak.

Method—Any oak tree may be used for this lesson; but whatever species is used, the lesson should lead to the knowledge of all the species of oaks in the neighborhood. The tree should be sketched, essays concerning the connection of the oak with human history should be written, while the leaves and acorns may be brought into the schoolroom for study. Use Lesson CLXXXIX for a study of leaves of all the oaks of the neighborhood.

Blossoms of chestnut oak.

Cup and saucer made from the acorns of red oak.

2. What is the name of your oak tree? What is the color of its foliage in autumn? Find three leaves from your tree which differ most widely in form, and sketch them or make leaf prints of them for your note-book. Does the leaf have the lobes rounded, or angular and tipped with sharp points? Is the leaf smooth on the lower side or rough? Is there much difference in color between the upper and the lower side?

3. Describe the acorns which grow on your oak. Has the acorn a stem, or is it set directly on the twig? How much of the acorn does the cup cover? Are the scales on the cup fine or coarse? Is the cup rounded inwards at its rim? What is the length of the acorn including the cup? The diameter? Are there acorns on your oak in winter? If so, why? Is the kernel of the acorn sweet or bitter? Plant an acorn and watch it sprout.

4. Read all the stories you can find about oak trees, and write them in your note-book.

5. How great an age does the oak attain? Describe how the country round about looked when the oak tree you are studying was planted.

6. How many kinds of oaks do you know? What is the difference in leaves between the white and the black oak groups? What is the difference in the length of time required for the acorns to mature in these two groups? The difference in taste of the acorns? The difference in the general color of the bark? Why is the chestnut oak an exception to this latter rule?

The red oak in winter. Photo by Ralph Curtis.

7. How do the oak leaves look when they first come out of the bud in spring? What is the color of the tree covered with new leaves? When does your oak blossom? Find the pollen-bearing blossoms which are hung in long, fuzzy, beady strings. Find the pistillate flower which is to form the acorn. Where is it situated in relation to the pollen-bearing flower?

The leaves and acorn of red oak.

8. Make a sketch of your oak tree in the fall, and another in the winter. Write the autobiography of some old oak tree in your neighborhood.

Leaves and acorn of black oak.

Leaves and acorn of bur oak.

9. For what is the oak wood used? How is the bark used?

Supplementary reading—Trees in Prose and Poetry, pp. 111-129.

Leaves and acorn of scarlet oak.