6 THE OAK. 



meridian. England possesses multitudes of endogenous plants, though 

 no endogenous trees. Lilies, grasses, rushes, are all structurally of the 

 same nature as the palm-trees, and now and then they give us a pretty 

 prototype of the palm ; but the beau ideal of the endogen, as said 

 before, belongs to the equinoctial regions. It is a proud and inspiring 

 thought for us nevertheless, that art and the skill of the gardener allow 

 us the sight of them. By virtue of our hothouses and conservatories, 

 we who live in this age are introduced to the vegetation of every part 

 of the world, without the trouble or risk of departing either long or far 

 from home. England, which stands midway between extreme cold and 

 extreme heat, with a surface that embodies in miniature every element 

 and ingredient, except the volcano, that gives variety and sublimity to 

 the face of the earth ; England, through its art and science, is the 

 EXHIBITION of the whole world. We need but ask for Saloon A, or 

 Saloon B, and all that the heart can desire is displayed to view. 

 Kew ; Chatsworth ; if we cross the Tweed, Edinburgh ; and Dublin, if 

 we make our way to the green isle, show collections of palms, among 

 other things, that amply inform us as to their wonderful nature. In 

 these glorious places we see the tropical regions as in a concave mirror 

 or in a stereoscope, with the added charm that all around us is alive. * 



Foremost among British trees, alike in grandeur, utility, length of 

 life, and amplitude of association, stands the Oak, that famous 

 production which even in the days of Homer was a time-honoured 

 proverb for strength and endurance. " Thou," says one of his heroes 

 to a man who quailed, " art not made of the oak of ancient story."* 

 In England this noble tree is found under many different forms, the 

 contour, the endurance of the foliage, the figure of the leaf and acorn, 

 varying considerably more than the unobservant of minute particulars 

 would ever suppose. All the varieties are resolvable, however, into 

 two principal ones, and these two are so nearly connected by inter- 

 mediates, that it is probable the oak of old England is after all very 

 like a human face presented under innumerable profiles and com- 

 plexions, but always and everywhere the same good old-fashioned 

 combination of features that was possessed in the beginning. The two 

 principal forms are the wavy-leaved oak and the flat-leaved, called res- 

 pectively by men of science, Quercm pedunculata and Quercus sessiliflora. 

 The former is distinguished by its remarkably tortuous branches, and 

 the irregular disposition of the foliage, every leaf lying in a different 

 plane, and the whole presenting an aspect of great massiveness. Leaf- 

 stalk there is scarcely any ; the acorns, on the other hand, are borne 

 * Odyssey xix. 163. 



