CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TREE: Height, 70'-80', even 150'; diameter 3'-4'; branches, low; bark, dark gray to black, deep fissures, broad, rounded, firm ridges, inner bark, yellow, yielding dye; leaves, large, lustrous, leathery, of varied forms; acorns, small; kernel, yellow, bitter. APPEARANCE OF WOOD: Color, reddish brown, sap-wood lighter; ring-porous; rings, marked by several rows of very large open ducts; grain, crooked; rays, thin. PHYSICAL QUALITIES: Heavy (17th in this list); 45 lbs. per cu. ft.; sp. gr., 0.7045; very strong (17th in this list); elastic (25th in this list); hard (18th in this list); shrinkage, 4 per cent. or more; warps and checks in drying; durable; rather hard to work; splits readily, nails badly. COMMON USES: Furniture, interior trim, cooperage, construction. REMARKS: Foliage handsome in fall; persists thru winter. [Illustration: Radial Section, life size.] [Illustration: Cross-section, magnified 37-1/2 diameters.] [Illustration: Tangential Section, life size.] 43 BASKET OAK. COW OAK. Cow refers to the fact that its acorns are eaten by cattle. _Quercus michauxii_ Nuttall. _Quercus_, the classical Latin name; _michauxii_, named for the botanist Michaux. [Illustration: Habitat.] HABITAT: (See map); best in Arkansas and Louisiana, especially in river bottoms. [Illustration: Leaf.] CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TREE: Height, 80'-100'; diameter 3', even 7'; trunk, often clean and straight for 40' or 50'; bark, conspicuous, light gray, rough with loose ashy gray, scaly ridges; leaves, obovate, regularly scalloped; acorns, edible for cattle. APPEARANCE OF WOOD: Color, light brown, sap-wood light buff; ring-porous; rings, marked by few rather large, open ducts; grain, likely to be crooked; rays, broad, conspicuous. PHYSICAL QUALITIES: Very heavy (5th in this list); 46 lbs. per cu. ft.; sp. gr., 0.8039; very strong (12th in this list); elastic (33d in this list); hard (10th in this list); shrinkage, 4 per cent. or more; warps unless carefully seasoned; durable; hard and tough to work; splits easily, bad to nail. COMMON USES: Construction, agricultural implements, wheel stock, baskets. REMARKS: The best white oak of the south. Not distinguished from white oak in the market. [Illustration: Radial Section, life size.] [Illustration: Cross-section, magnified 37-1/2 diameters.] [Illustration: Tangential Section, life size.] 44 BUR OAK. MOSSY-CUP OAK. OVER-CUP OAK. _Quercus macrocarpa_ Michaux. _Quercus_, the classical Latin name; _macrocarpa_, refers to the large acorn. [Illustration: Habitat.] HABITAT: (See map); best in southern Indiana, Illinois and Kansas. [Illustration: Leaf.] CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TREE: Height, 70'-130', even 170'; diameter, 5'-7'; branches, high; corky wings on young branches; bark, gray brown, deeply furrowed; deep opposite sinuses on large leaves; acorns, half enclosed in mossy-fringed cup.