_A small or medium-sized tree in New England, although it reaches the height of 120 feet in the forests of the West. It is excurrent in growth. In its youth the branches are rigid and horizontal, and have a tendency to droop stiffly towards the ground. The branches and twigs are persistent, some of the twigs often becoming small, stiff, pin-like spurs, which are a distinctive characteristic of the tree. The buds are small and the twigs slender. Alternate leaf-scars. The acorn is half an inch long, in a shallow, saucer-shaped cup with thin scales._ [Illustration: TRUNK OF A RED OAK Page 95 ] The outline of the pin oak is not in the least like that of any other oak after its leaves have fallen; for while most oaks are distinguished by their far-reaching lateral branches which divide a short distance at the trunk, the pin oak carries its main stem to the top of the tree, and the lateral branches grow from the trunk, forming a pyramidal head. In the forests where it grows in swamps and wet places, it loses this shape, but even then the branches are characteristically rigid and grow near together. The pyramidal shape of this tree, its small, delicate buds and branches, and the pin-like twigs, from which it takes its name of pin oak, make it easily recognized as we see it growing in our parks and gardens. The wood is hard and strong, where the tree is found growing commonly, and is used in the construction of houses and for shingles and clapboards. The specific name is from the Latin _paluster_, an adjective meaning swampy or boggy, and has reference to the moisture-seeking characteristics of the tree. The pin oak is found growing on the banks of the Connecticut River in Massachusetts, but it occurs more commonly in the South and West. The scrub or bear oak (_Quercus pumila_) is a dwarfed, straggling bush, three to ten feet high, and found on sandy, barren, and rocky hills from Maine to Carolina. Its specific name, _pumila_ (dwarf), was given to it on account of its size and crooked manner of growth. [Illustration: PIN OAK _Quercus palustris_ Page 96 ] CHAPTER VIII THE ELMS AND THE HACKBERRY [Illustration: The Slippery Elm and the American Elm.] Chapter VIII THE ELMS AND THE HACKBERRY Family Ulmaceæ The members of this family are found in Europe, Asia, and North America. Two genera, the elm (_Ulmus_) and the hackberry (_Celtis_), are found in the Northeastern States.