FOREST TREES 225 
quantity,” for they cheerfully assumed as identical in 
origin populus, the Latin name of a poplar, which is 
feminine, and populus, the Latin name for people, which 
is masculine! 
The Hazel, perhaps, hardly rises to the dignity of a 
tree, but we may seek a brief aid to its recognition. 
The stamen flowers form a long drooping catkin, whilst 
the seed-vessel is wrapped in the well-known involucre 
which surrounds the nut-shell. The leaves are oval, 
but have very distinct points at the end of the mid-rib. 
The margin is finely-toothed, and the general feature is 
rather coarse. 
The Hornbeam also bears catkins and nuts, but the 
latter are not exactly edible. The leaf is longer in 
proportion to its breadth than that of the Hazel, and is 
not so finely toothed. In general appearance it is more 
like that of the beech, but the rough trunk distinguishes 
it. The leaves, moreover, cling to the parent tree for 
several weeks after winter has set in, and only quit their 
hold very reluctantly. 
The Oak has two types commonly found in England. 
In one the acorns have long stalks and the leaves have 
hardly any, whilst in the other the acorns are very closely 
clustered, and the leaves have stalks of quite respectable 
leneth. The general shape of the tree is almost semi- 
spherical, whereas the elm, if well developed, is usually 
about two-thirds of an ellipse. The elm branches, more- 
over, are usually fairly regular, dividing into two equal 
parts, when they separate, whereas the main branches 
of a full-grown oak zigzag from side to side, like a flash 
of forked lightning. The leaves stay on till late, and 
their shape is, of course, unmistakable, for no other plant 
has foliage scalloped in quite the same way. The ragged — 
Q 
