O Fifteenth letter and fourth 

 vowel of the English and 

 Latin alphabets. As in the 

 case of e, it is impossible to give any 

 definite rules for its various sounds 

 and combinations. Its two chief 

 values are long . as in dole, short o 

 as in '/".', which is really the au, aw 

 heard in call, bawl shortened. It 

 equals short u in another, and oo in 

 prove. It combines freely with 

 other vowels. Oa equals long o in 

 boat, moat, but not in abroad, 

 board ; oe equals e in words of 

 Greek origin, and is now generally 

 so spelt, as in economy, ecology ; in 

 other words it equals long o as in 

 hoe, roe. Oi, oy in boiler, boy really 

 equals aw and ; oo is long in 

 boon, and short in wood, and in 

 blood, flood equals short u. Ou 

 presents a great variety of sounds. 

 See Alphabet; Phonetics. 



Oak (Quercus). Large genus ol 

 trees of the natural order Amenta 

 ceae, including about 300 species, 

 natives of the N. temperate regions, 

 Indo-Malaya, the Pacific coasts, 

 etc. The typical species is, of 

 course, the British oak (Q. robur) 

 whose trunk may be 120 ft. high, 

 with a girth of 60-70 ft., covered 

 with thick rugged bark, which 

 cracks both vertically and horizon- 

 tally. The branches are massive 

 and tortuous, and in the open 

 spread widely with a downward 

 tendency, producing a dome- 

 shaped mass. The oblong oval 

 leaves are arranged spirally, and 

 their edges are cut into variable 

 lobes. The minute flowers are 

 <rreen and inconspicuous ; the fruit 

 is the nut known as the acorn. 



There are two well-marked 

 British forms of this species which 



are given specific rank by some 

 authorities. In one of these 

 (seaailiflora) the leaves have a 

 distinct but variable stalk, and the 

 acorns are seated almost directly 

 on the twig ; in the other (pedun- 

 culata) there is little or no leaf- 

 stalk, and the acorns have long, 

 slender stalks. Several exotic oaks 

 have been introduced to Britain, 

 and are frequently met with in 

 parks and gardens. The most 

 common of these is the holm oak 

 (Q. ilex) (q.v.) and the Turkey oak 

 (Q. cerris) both from S. Europe. 

 The latter was introduced about 

 1735, and is distinguished by its 

 pyramidal form, its narrower, more 

 acutely lobed leaves, and the long, 

 curled scales of the acorn cup 

 which give it a mossy appearance. 

 Another 8. European oak well 

 established in British parks is the 

 cork oak (Q. auber), and a well- 

 represented N. American species is 

 the dyer's oak (q.v.), whose large 

 leaves turn orange or dull red in 

 autumn. N. America has over a 

 score of oaks. Several besides 

 British oak yield bark suitable for 

 tanning. 



Although the fine-grained, hard 

 oak timber has lost much of its 

 former importance through the 

 introduction of steel girders and 



peciw ol oa* 



training in structural work, and 

 the competition of the more easily 

 worked coniferous woods, it is still 

 employed largely where endurance 

 and the bearing of heavy strains 

 are concerned ; also for cabinet 

 making, furniture, and panelling. 

 This is obtained from the larger 

 species, including of course, Brit- 

 ish oak, Turkey oak, the white 

 or Quebec oak, dyer's oak, and 

 holm oak. For this purpose oaks 

 have to be grown closely in woods 

 to produce great length and equal 

 thickness of trunk, and to dis- 

 courage the production of lateral 

 branches which were in request 

 in the era of wooden ships. Propa- 

 gation is effected by means of the 

 acorns. British oak thrives best in 

 rich loams. 



The British oak is a tree ol 

 great longevity, as shown by many 

 existing ruins of former giants, 

 such as the Qreendale oak at Wei 

 beck, variously estimated by ex- 

 perts as being from 700 to 1,600 

 years old ; and the Cowthorpe oak 

 near Wetherby, Yorks, considered 

 to have survived for 1,800 yean. 

 Some of these estimates may be 

 too liberal, but it is quite certain 

 that the tree naturally attains to a 

 great age. It does not produce 

 acorns until between 60 and 70 year* 

 old, and it does not pay to cut it 

 for timber until it is in its second 

 cutury See Acom; Forestry. 



Oak-apple Day. Name given 

 in England to May 29. The birth 

 day of Charles II in 1630, and 

 the day in 1660 on which he aet 

 foot in England at the Restoration 

 it was celebrated by royalists, who 

 decorated their houses with 

 branches and leaves of oak, ao 



IX 7 



