2, THE OAK 
historical edifices affords ample proof that the indefin- 
able charm exercised on us by what has proved so last- 
ing, is a real one and deep-seated in the Saxon nature. 
In fact, everything about the oak is suggestive of 
durability and sturdy hardiness, and, like so many 
objects of human worship in the earlier days of man’s 
emergence from a savage state, the oak instinctively 
attracts us. The attraction is no doubt complex, 
taking its origin in the value of its acorns and timber 
to our early forefathers, not unaffected by the artistic 
beauty of the foliage and habit of the tree, and the 
forest life of our ancestors, to say nothing of the more 
modern sentiment aroused when ships of war were built 
almost entirely of heart of oak; for the Aryan race 
seems to have used and valued both the fruit and the 
wood from very early times, and both Celt and Saxon 
preserved the traditional regard for them. Memories of 
our Anglo-Saxon ancestors are still found in the English 
and German names for the tree and its fruit, as seen by 
comparing the Anglo-Saxon de or we, the name of the 
oak, with the English word, and with the German Miche 
on the one hand, and with acorn (vichel) on the other. 
In early days, moreover, there were vast oak forests in 
our island and on the Continent, and, although these 
have been almost cleared away so far as England is con- 
cerned, there are still ancient oaks in this country, some 
of which must date from Saxon times or thereabouts, 
and the oak is still one of the commonest trees in France, 
parts of Germany, and some other districts in Europe. 
