THE OAK. 153 



attractive in an open cultivated plain. It forms a singu- 

 larly noble and majestic standard ; and though surpassed 

 by the elm in grace, beauty, and variety of form, an 

 Oak of full size and just proportions would attract more 

 admiration. 



The foliage of the Oak may be readily distinguished at 

 all seasons. It comes out in spring in neatly plaited 

 folds, displaying a variety of hues, combined with a gen- 

 eral cinereous tint. Hence it is very beautiful when only 

 half developed, having a silvery lustre, intershaded with 

 purple, crimson, and lilac. The leaves, when fully ex- 

 panded in all the typical oaks, are deeply scalloped in 

 a way which is peculiar to this genus of trees ; their 

 verdure is of more than ordinary purity ; they are of a 

 firm texture, and glossy upon their upper surface, like 

 evergreen leaves. In midsummer few forest trees surpass 

 the Oak in the beauty of their foliage, or in its persist- 

 ence after the arrival of frost. 



Oak woods possess characters almost as strongly marked 

 as those of a pine wood. They emit a fragrance which 

 is agreeable, though not sweet, and unlike that of other 

 trees. They seldom grow as densely as pines, poplars, and 

 other trees that scatter a multitude of small seeds, and, 

 being soft wooded, increase with greater rapidity. The 

 Oak is slow in its perpendicular growth, having an ob- 

 stinate inclination to spread. It has also a more abundant 

 undergrowth than many other woods, because it sends its 

 roots downward into the soil, instead of monopolizing the 

 surface, like the beech. One thing that is apparent on 

 entering an Oak wood is the absence of that uniformity 

 which we observe in other woods. The irregular and 

 contorted growth of individual trees, twisting in many 

 directions, and the want of precision in their forms, are 

 apparent at once. We do not see in a forest of Oaks 

 whole acres of tall slender trees sending upward a smooth 



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