Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1892-08-19
HOW oax GROWS.
To Produce Good Grove iseqnirts ffoni
rlO fo 200 feurs.

To Produce u Good Grove sseqaires ffonI
f40 90 zoo Years.
The extreme limit Of the age of the
oak is not exactly known, but sound
and living specimens are at least
, 1000 years old. The tree thrives
best in deep. tenacious loan with
rocks in it. Stagnant water is one
of its aversions. 1t grows better on
a comparatively poor, sandy soil than
on rich ground imperfectly drained.
The trunk. at first inclined to be ir-
regular in shape. straightens at ma
turity into a grand cylindrical shaft.
The oak does not produce good seed
until it is more than sixty years old.
The acorn is the fruit of the oak; the
seed germ is very small object at
the pointed end of the acorn, with
the future root uppermost. The acorn
drops, and its contents doubtless un-
dergo important molecular and chem
ical changes while it lies under its
winter covering of leaves and snow.
In the mild warmth of spring the
acorn swells, the little root elongates,
emerges from the end of the shell,
and, no matter what the position of
the acorn. turns downward The
root penetrates the soil two or three
inches before the stalk begins to show
itself and grow upward The meat"
of the acorn nou1ishes both root and
stalk, and two years may pass before
its store of food is entirely exhausted.
At the end of year the young oak
has root twelve to eighteen inches
long, with numerous shorter rootlets,
the stalk being from six to eight
inches high. In this stage it differs
from the sapling, and again the sap
ling differs from the tree, To watch
these transformations under the lens
is fascinating occupation.
If an oak could be suspended in
the air with all its roots and rootlets
perfect and unobscured, the sight
would be considered wonderful. The
activity of the roots represent q great
deal of power. They bore into the
soil and fatten themselves to pen
citrate a crack in a rock. Invari-
ably the tips turn away from the
light. The growing point of tiny
outer root is back of the tip small
distance. The tip is driven on by
the force behind it and searches the
soil for the easiest points Of entrance.
When the tips are destroyed by OBJ
structions, cold, heat or other causes,
a new growth starts in varying div
rections. The first roots thicken and
become girders to support the tree,
no longer feeding it directly, but
serving as conduits for the moisture
and nourishment gathered by the
outer rootlets which are constantly
boring their way into fresh territory.
These absorb water charged with
soluble earth salts-sulphates, nj
trates, phosphates of lime, magnesia
and potash, etc. - which passes
through the larger roots, stem and
branches to the leaves, the laboratory
of new growth An oak tree may
have 700, 900 leaves, and from June
to October evaporates 226 times it's
own weight Of water. Taking account
of the new wood grown, I'VE obtain
some idea of the enormous gain of
matter and energy from the outside
universe which goes ON each sum-
mer."
Oak timber is not the heaviest,
toughest nor most beautiful, but it |
more good qualities than
any other kind. Its fruit is valuable
food and its bark useful in certain
industries. An oak pile submerged
for $50 years in London bridge came
up in sound condition, and there are
specimens from the Tower of London
which date from the time of William
Rufus. Toproduce good oak grove
requires from 140 to 200 years. It
seems long time to an American,
but forestry is perpetual branch of
economics when once established.
Ohio State journal.