24 CONVERSATIONS ON THE 



high ; but the acorns it bears are very good 

 and sweet ; almost as good as the chestnut ; 

 and there are some other kinds that have sweet 

 acorns." 



" Oh, Uncle Philip, I have heard of those 

 chincapins : there was a boy at our school 

 from North Carolina, and he used to tell us a 

 great deal about them ; he said they were as 

 good as a hazel-nut." 



" But it was the real chincapin that he told 

 you of, which is a sort of chestnut ; this that 

 I have just mentioned is the chincapin oak. 

 By-and-by, when we come to talk of the chest- 

 nuts, you will hear more of the chincapin. 

 But to return to the acorns ; I have heard that 

 all acorns lose much of their bitterness when 

 they are boiled, but I never tried the experi- 

 ment : you can if you like, the first time you 

 go into the woods." 



" I will go and get some to-morrow ; sister 

 wants some of the cups for her doll's tea- 

 table." 



" Yes, they make very pretty little tea-cups ; 

 in old times, when people believed in fairies, 

 the cups of the acorns were supposed to be 

 used by them at their feasts and suppers. But 



