THE OAK. 



11 



is set up, which causes the sap that flows towards the wounded part to 

 ooze out, and in due time to form a globular lump, the eggs lying snug 

 in the interior. Soon after Midsummer the eggs are hatched, and upon 

 tearing open one of the so-called apples, the white grubs may be dis- 

 cerned. Eventually they become winged creatures ; they force their 

 way to the exterior, and fly away. So wonderful are the " homes 

 made without hands!" A great and fascinating volume might be 

 written upon such abodes of creatures. The splendid ingenuities which 

 man has brought to bear on his dwellings have all been anticipated by 

 races of beings to whom art and science are unknown. It is grand, in 

 truth, to contemplate arches and columns, porticos and noble windows, 

 to say nothing of the countless contrivances intended to promote 

 domestic convenience and comfort ; but nowhere is the splendid instinct 

 of self-protection, which in man, enriched by intellect, flowers forth in 

 its highest form in architecture, more beautifully and exquisitely displayed 

 than in the methods adopted by insects to secure the same important 

 end. It has, moreover, the special wonder about it, of being exercised 

 on such indifferent, and as it would seem at first sight, such insufficient 

 materials. Marble and granite, metal and timber, are their own assu- 

 rance of solidity and durableness ; the insect works on substances than 

 which there are none in nature more soft and tender. 



Galls, in their various kinds, are of precisely similar origin. So, in 

 a word, are galls of every description, and upon whatever species of tree 

 they may occur. When young, they often resemble cherries, and one 

 sort, from this circumstance, has been supposed to be the famous 

 " apple of Sodom," fair to behold, but turning on the lips to dust and 

 ashes. Later and more scientific investigation has shown this to be 

 an error, but it is one perfectly natural to have been fallen into, since 

 the appearance is tempting, and Palestine and the adjacent countries 

 produce not only oaks, but gall-insects and galls. It is from Smyrna 

 that a large portion of the galls used in the manufacture of ink are 

 imported. Our English ones would answer the same purpose, but not 

 so well, nor are they produced in England in sufficient quantity to 

 make it worth while to collect them. It would be matter of regret 

 if they were so produced, because the tree must needs suffer from the 

 less of so much sap as is needed to form them ; and in England, though 

 we have plenty of oaks, we require them for other purposes. One kind 

 of oak-gall is produced in clusters that resemble a thin bunch of red 

 currants ; another is like a little brown artichoke, being formed from a 

 leaf-bud which has had its legitimate growth spoiled by the operation 



