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Image / "Old Val." Quercus chrysolepis, canyon live oak, or Valparaiso Oak on the …

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Title
"Old Val." Quercus chrysolepis, canyon live oak, or Valparaiso Oak on the Skyline extension south of Saratoga Gap road and near Black Road. 14.5 ft. circumference at 6 ft., 75 ft. tall, crown spread 110 ft. and 85 ft., 1939. "Saved" by the Highway Division with cultivation, 3-in. covering of manure and 1.5 inches of forest litter and top soil and 200 gal. water each week. E. S. Whitaker. [Other side of photo reads:] "When I 'found' it in 1936 the forces constructing this section had borrowed all the top soil and had built a stone wall around the trunk. The tree was practically dead. I had the ground surface broken open with picks, but not spaded, then imported a 3-in. covering of manure, covered that with 1.5 in. forest litter and top soil, watered the whole once each week, 200 gallons and sat back and prayed. That was in 1936. This summer Old Val, the natives call it a Valparaiso oak, showed a return to life, and our work was evidently timely. In removing dead wood, we took a 22-ft. long dead top out. The tree now is about 75 ft. high, spreads 110 ft. and 85 ft., is 14.5 ft. in circumference at 5 ft., but swells below and above that to much larger measurements. A strong tree, evidently quite old. I got an estimated 350-odd years with an increment borer, but hit two rotten spots. The view over Santa Clara Valley is worth the trip, but the tree betters anything of its species I've seen including those in Hoopa Valley."
Creator
Whitaker, E. S
Photographer
Date Created and/or Issued
1936
Contributing Institution
UC Berkeley, Bioscience & Natural Resources Library
Collection
Fritz-Metcalf Photograph Collection
Rights Information
Researchers may make free and open use of the UC Berkeley Library’s digitized public domain materials. However, some materials in our online collections may be protected by U.S. copyright law (Title 17, U.S.C.). Use or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use (Title 17, U.S.C. § 107) requires permission from the copyright owners. The use or reproduction of some materials may also be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, privacy and publicity rights, or trademark law. Responsibility for determining rights status and permissibility of any use or reproduction rests exclusively with the researcher. To learn more or make inquiries, please see our permissions policies (https://www.lib.berkeley.edu/about/permissions-policies).
Description
Location: average distance
Identification: exact ground location unclear, appears unknowable
No people present in picture
Type
image
Identifier
fritz_metcalf-3148
Subject
Quercus chrysolepis - Notable
Trees - Injuries - Mechanical
Roads - Construction
Quercus chrysolepis
Roads - Environmental aspects
Santa Clara County
Place
Santa Clara County

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