=Oak= (_Quercus_), is most numerous in temperate climates, though some are tropical; fully fifty species occur in the United States, with many intermediate forms or hybrids. The Oak is a true giant among forest trees. Its trunk often attains a circumference of thirty feet. Its bark is smooth in the young trees and rough in the old oaks. The strong, widely extended boughs are pronged and knotty; the crown is large, with a sinuate outline. The blossoms are within long pendent catkins and appear in the month of May. The bark and the acorns, which are contained in pretty little cups, are medicinal. Along the stems and the boughs mosses and lichens grow exuberantly. In the galls of the leaves and branches different gall insects live. The horn beetles suck the sap of the oaks, and the acorns form the food of squirrels and other rodents. The EUROPEAN OAK, the most important Old World timber oak, is sparingly planted in the United States. The WHITE OAK, the most valuable American timber oak, occurs from Texas to Minnesota and eastward. With similar range, but less valuable for timber, are BUR OAK or MOSSY CUP OAK, the SCARLET OAK and the RED OAK. The COW OAK or BASKET OAK and the YELLOW or CHESTNUT OAK produce edible acorns. The bark of the QUERCITRON is used in tanning, as a yellow dye, and in medicine. The LIVE OAK, once famous for ship-building, is a sturdy species with entire evergreen leaves occurring in the Southern States, Cuba and the Pacific States.
=Osage Orange or Bow Wood= (_Maclura pomifera_), is a native of the southwestern United States. It attains a height of twenty to sixty feet, and is extensively planted for hedges, while the wood, of orange color and of great hardness, is valuable for fence posts, mallet heads, and to some extent in cabinet work.
=Pine= (_Pinus_), comprises a genus of about eighty species, nearly two-thirds of which occur in the northern part of the western hemisphere. The WHITE PINE, a tree seventy-five to one hundred feet high, is one of the most important timber trees of North America. Its range is from Newfoundland to Minnesota, south to Georgia. The wood is soft, straight grained, and is much used for building and cabinet work. The YELLOW PINE or LONG-LEAVED PINE sometimes attains a height of one hundred feet, and grows in sandy soil from Virginia to Florida and Texas. The wood is heavier and stronger than that of any other pine, and is used in all kinds of building. The tree is the chief source of turpentine, tar, resin, etc. The WESTERN YELLOW PINE or BULL PINE is sometimes one hundred and fifty to two hundred and fifty feet high and five to eight feet in diameter. It is found from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific coast and is one of the most important lumber trees of the West. The SUGAR PINE of Oregon and California attains a height of one hundred and fifty to three hundred feet and a diameter of more than ten feet. The timber is strong, straight grained, and is much used for a finishing lumber and cabinet work.