144 IRambles witb Mature Students 



green shoots in spring. The acorn is small, and 

 has a somewhat prickly cup. 



There are three species of oak in Palestine ; the 

 one I possess is Quercus pseudococcifera, which grows 

 abundantly in Syria. Abraham's Oak near Hebron 

 belongs to this species ; it measures twenty-three 

 feet in girth, and the branches are spread over a 

 space ninety feet in diameter. During the severe 

 winter of 1894-5, the weight of snow broke off one 

 of its huge branches, which, when sawn up, furnished 

 sufficient wood to load seven camels. 



We owe the ink with which we write to another 

 Syrian oak (Quercus infectoria}. A small fly 

 punctures its twigs, causing irritation in the flow 

 of the sap, and gall-nuts are formed in consequence. 

 These nuts abound in tannic and gallic acid, and 

 in combination with sulphate of iron and gum they 

 form the constituents of our writing ink. 



I have in my museum some of the huge acorn 

 cups of the valonia oak, the third species, known 

 as Quercns cegilops ; this tree is of great value, as 

 its fruit is much used and largely imported for 

 dyeing purposes as well as ink-making. 



We read in Acts xx. 13, that St. Paul, parting 

 from his disciples at Troas, was to meet them again 

 at Assos (to 'which place they were going by ship) ; 

 he, 'minding himself to go afoot,' would, in making 

 this journey, pass through groves of valonia oaks, 

 which abound in that part of Asia Minor. 



I like to think of the great apostle taking that 

 quiet woodland walk, possibly the last opportunity 

 he ever enjoyed for undisturbed meditation and 

 thought, alone amidst the beauty of nature. 



