David Douglas named this tree the Garry oak, in honor of Nicholas Garry of the Hudson Bay Company, who furnished valuable assistance to botanists and other explorers of early times in the northwestern parts of America. This tree is best developed in the neighborhood of Puget Sound, the present state of Washington, and at the period of explorations in that region by Douglas, who was a Scotchman, the country was a sort of “no man’s land.” It was claimed by both England and the United States, and Russia had cast covetous eyes on it as a southern extension of her Alaska holdings. England at that time put a good deal of dependence in the Hudson Bay Company to get possession of and to hold as much country as possible, and Garry’s help given to explorers was part of a well-laid plan to possess as much of the northwestern country as possible. Douglas doubtless had that in mind when he named the oak in honor of Garry. It was a witness and perpetual reminder that the Hudson Bay Company’s strong arms had been stretched in that direction. The people in California and Oregon often speak of the tree simply as white oak, but it is sometimes called Oregon white oak, and more often Oregon oak without a qualifying word. When it is spoken of as western white oak, which frequently is the case, it is compared with the well-known eastern white oak. It bears more resemblance to the eastern post oak (_Quercus minor_) and for that reason it has been named Pacific post oak. The leaves and twigs, particularly when they are young, resemble post oak. The northern limit of the tree’s range crosses southern British Columbia. It is found in the lower valley of Frazer river and on Vancouver island. It is the only oak tree of British Columbia. Its range extends southward to the Santa Cruz mountains in California, but near the southern limit of its range it is found chiefly in valleys near the coast. It is best developed in western Washington and Oregon. It occurs of good size on dry gravelly slopes of low hills; and it ascends the Cascade mountains to considerable elevations, but becomes stunted and shrubby. It is abundant in northwestern California.