15S ENGLISH BOTANY. 



grain or flower (terms nscil by carpenters and others to signify tlic medullary rays 

 of botanists) possessed by the wood of the durmast in compai-ison with that of 

 the other kind. On this account the wood of the durmast has frequently been con- 

 founded, with that of the sweet chestnut, and for this reason it is less valuable for the 

 purposes of the cabinet-maker than the wood of Q. pedunadata, in which the silver 

 grain is much more conspicuous. The timber of the durmast has been stated, on insuf- 

 ficient grounds, to be less durable than that of the common oak. The wood of these 

 trees, when stained green by the growth of a peculiar fungus, Tczlza oiruginosa, is 

 highly prized by cabinet-makers and workers in Tunbridge ware. 



The genus Quercus yields several other valuable forest trees besides those of our 

 own islands. Quercus suler, a native of Southern Eui'ope and Northern A-frica, fur- 

 ni.shcs cork. In Liudley's " Treasury of Botany " it is stated that "the false sandal- 

 wood of Crete is the produce of (}. ahelicea." There are many Japanese oaks, the 

 timber of which is splendid. Q. ilnctoria, a North American species, yields quercitron 

 bark, employed for dyeing yellow. We have mentioned the acorn-cups produced by 

 Q. ^gilops, and imported into this country as a dye. Quercus Ilex is an evergreen 

 species much cultivated in Great Britain, but liable to suffer from our severe frosts. 

 The galls of Q. infectoria are considered the best in commerce, and the same tree also 

 furnishes the galls known as Mecca galls, which are supposed to be the Dead Sea 

 apples or apples of Sodom, the fruit that never comes to ripeness, so pleasant to the 

 eye, so bitter to the taste. In the midland counties of England there is always much 

 speculation as to whether the leaves of the oak or of the ash -will appear first, as the 

 following proverb is implicitly I'elied on : — 



" If the oak's before the ash. 

 Then you'll only get a splash ; 

 If the ash precedes the oak. 

 Then you may expect a soak." 



Considering the different habits of the two trees, there may be reason in the rhyme. 

 The oak sends its roots deep into the soil, and its leafing is advanced or retarded by a 

 warm or cold spring. The roots of the ash are nearer the surface, and so a wet spring 

 hastens its growth, while a dry one would retard it. Rain, moreover, does not affect 

 the oak so much as it does the ash. A curious phenomenon is sometimes presented 

 by the oak, which is mentioned by Mr. White in his "Natural History of Selbourne." 

 We hear, in country districts, of "raining trees," especially of "raining oaks," and 

 Mr. White accounts for the fact in this way : " In heavy fogs, in elevated situations 

 especially, trees are perfect alembics, and no one who has not attended to such matters 

 can imagine how much water one tree will distil in a night's time by condensing the 

 vapour, which trickles down the twigs and boughs, so as to make the ground below 

 quite in a float. In Newton Lane, in October 1775, on a misty day, a j)articular oak 

 in leaf dropped so fast that the cartway stood in puddles, and the ruts ran with Avater, 

 though the ground in general was dusty." 



GENUS IL—C A S T A N E A. Toumef. 



Male flowers in long rather slender interrupted stiff catkins, with 

 catkin scales and bracteoles at the base of eacli of the glomerules of 

 which the catkin is composed : scales combined into a cuplike floral 

 perianth (V) with 5 or G segments: stamens 8 to 12, inserted on a 



