RED OAK[4]
(Quercus Rubra)

When a lumberman speaks of red oak he may mean any one of a good many kinds of trees, but when a botanist or forester uses that name he means one particular species and no other. For that reason there is much uncertainty as to what species is in the lumberman’s mind when he speaks of red oak. It means more to him than a single species, depending to a considerable extent upon the part of the country where he is doing business. If he is in the Gulf states, and has in mind a tree which grows there, he does not refer to the tree known to botanists as red oak. He may mean the Texan or southern red oak (Quercus texana), or the willow oak (Quercus phellos), or the yellow oak (Quercus velutina), or any one of several others which grow in that region; but the typical red oak does not grow farther south than the mountains of northern Georgia; and any one who is cutting oak south or southwest of there, is cutting other than the true red oak. That does not imply that he is handling something inferior, for very fine oak grows there; but in an effort to separate the commercial black oaks into respective species, it is necessary to define them by metes and bounds of ranges as well as to describe them by characteristics of leaves, acorns, and wood. The time will probably never come in this country when the sawmill man will pile each species of oak separately in his yard, and sell separately; but the tendency is in that direction. The twenty-five or more black oaks in this country all have some characteristics in common; but they are by no means all valuable alike, or all useful for the same purposes. For that reason, the demands of trade require, and will require more and more as higher utilization is reached, that certain kinds of red oak or black oak be sold separately.

What lumbermen call red oaks, speaking in the plural, botanists prefer to call black oaks. The difference is only a difference in name for the same group of trees. The general dark color of the bark suggests the name to botanists, while the red tint of the wood appeals more to the lumberman, and he prefers the general name red oaks for the group. They mature their acorns the second year, while the trees belonging to the white oak group ripen theirs the first year. There are other differences, some of which are apparent to the casual observer, and others are seen only by the trained eye—often aided by the microscope—of the dendrologist. Several of the black oaks have leaves with sharp pointed lobes, ending in bristles. This helps to separate them from the white oaks, but not from one another, for the true red oak, the scarlet oak, the yellow oak, the pin oak, and others, have the sharp-pointed lobes on their leaves; while the willow oaks have no lobes or bristles on theirs, yet are as truly in the black oak group as any of the others. The identification of tree species, particularly when they are as much alike as some of the oaks are, is too difficult for the layman if he undertakes to carry it along the whole line; but it is comparatively easy if confined to the leading woods only. An understanding of the geographical range of a certain tree often helps to separate it from others. The knowledge that a tree does not grow in a particular part of the country, is proof at once that a tree in that region resembling it must be something else. If that principal is borne in mind it will greatly lessen mistakes in identifying trees. In accounts of the black oaks in the following pages, a careful delimiting of ranges will be attempted in the case of each.

The range of red oak extends from Nova Scotia and southern New Brunswick through Quebec and along the northern shore of Lake Huron, west to Nebraska. It covers the Ohio valley and reaches as far south as middle Tennessee. It runs south through the Atlantic states to Virginia, while among the Appalachian mountains the range is prolonged southward into northern Georgia. That is the tree’s extreme southern limit. It reaches its largest size in the region north of the Ohio river, and among the mountain valleys of West Virginia, and southward to Tennessee and North Carolina. It is a northern species. Toward its southern limit it meets the northern part of the Texan red oak’s range (Quercus texana). There is some overlapping, and in many localities the two species grow side by side.

The red oak is known by that name in all parts of its range, but in some regions it is called black oak, and in others Spanish oak. The latter name properly belongs to another oak (Quercus digitata) which touches it along the southern border of its range.

The average size of red oak in the best part of its range is a little under that of white oak, but some specimens are 150 feet high and six feet in diameter. Heights of seventy and eighty feet are usual, and diameters of three and four are frequent. The forest grown tree disposes of its lower limbs early in life, and develops a long, smooth trunk, with a narrow crown. The bark on young stems and on the upper parts of limbs of old trees is smooth and light gray. All leaves do not have the same number of lobes, and they are sharp pointed, and fall early in autumn.

The acorns are bitter, and are regarded as poor mast. Hogs will leave them alone if they can find white oak acorns, and squirrels will do likewise. The best red oak timber grows from acorns, though stumps will send up sprouts. The sprout growth may become trees of fairly large size, but they are apt to decay at the butt. The acorn-grown tree is as free from defects as the average forest tree. Cracks sometimes develop in the trunk, extending up and down many feet. Unless the logs are carefully sawed, a considerable loss occurs where these cracks cross the boards. Trunks are occasionally bored by worms, as all other oaks may be.

Red oak grows rapidly. It will produce small sawlogs in the lifetime of a man. It is a favorite tree for crossties, and railroads have made large plantings for that purpose. The ties do not last well in their natural state, but they are easy to treat with preservatives by which several years are added to their period of service. It has been a favorite tree with European planters for the past two hundred years; but the most of the plantings beyond the sea have been for ornament in parks and private grounds.

The principal interest in red oak in this country is due to its value for lumber. That interest is of comparatively recent date. Some red oak has always been used for rails, clapboards, slack cooperage, and rough lumber; but while white oak was cheap and plentiful, sawmill men usually let red oak alone. It had a poor reputation, which is now known to have been undeserved.

Red oak is lighter than white oak, and it is generally regarded as possessing less strength and stiffness. The wide rings of annual growth, and the distinct layers of springwood and summerwood, give the basis for good figure. To this may be added broad and regular medullary rays which are nicely brought out by quarter-sawing. The tone of the wood is red, to which fact the name red oak is due. It has large, open pores. A magnifying glass is not required to see them in the end of a stick. It is said that smoke may be blown through a piece of red oak a foot in length. These open pores disqualify the wood for use in tight cooperage. Liquids will leak through the pores. Statistics of sawmill output in this country do not separate the white and black oaks, and the quantity of lumber sawed from any one species is not known. Manufacturers are disposed to separate them. Some furniture makers use red oak exclusively for certain purposes, and the same rule is followed by makers of other commodities.