THE OAK. 93 
on account of their great size and venerable appear- 
ance, as well as their luxuriant foliage; and many a 
weary traveller may repose beneath their refreshing 
shade upon the spot rendered memorable by the beau- 
tiful similes of the Prophets Isaiah and Zechariah. 
Isa. ii. 12, 18. Zech. xi. 2. 
Of all the varieties of the 
Oak, the black and the white 
are with us the most abundant 
and the most useful; the wood 
is extensively used in ship- 
building, as well as for many 
other purposes equally im- 
portant, while the bark is not 
only the principal substance allow 
used by the tanner in the preparation of leather, but 
is also of great use in dyeing. 
These Oaks often attain a great size, and live toa 
very advanced age. The “Charter-Oak,” so cele- 
brated in the history of our country, was an old and 
venerated tree in the Revolution. The “ Flushing- 
Oaks,” the remains of which are still standing, yielded 
an abundant shade, under which large congregations 
were accustomed to assemble near two hundred years 
ago to listen to the preaching of George Fox. : 
In England, where antiquity is more venerated 
than in America, such relics of bygone ages, sentinels 
that have watched over the destiny of many a 
monarch, are regarded with deep interest. The ages 
of some of these have been computed with considera- 
ble certainty, by reference to data which have been 
