12 THE OAK. 



pose. All the varieties are resolvable, however, 

 intp two principal ones, and these two are so nearly 

 connected by intermediates, that it is probable the 

 oak of Old England is after all very like a human 

 face presented under innumerable profiles and 

 complexions, 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 respectively by men of science, Quercus 

 pedunculata and Quercus sessiliflora. The former is 

 distinguished by its 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 

 upon peduncles which often reach several inches 

 in length. Individually, the leaves, as expressed in 

 the name, have a strong tendency to be wavy in their 

 surface and outline. The flat-leaved oak differs in 

 its compact form, and strong disposition to round- 

 ness ; the branches are more horizontal, the leaves 

 lie in parallel planes, and individually are flat, and 

 with rather long stalks. In spring we may further 

 observe that the leaf-buds are larger than in the 

 peduncidata, and in autumn that the acorns are 

 shorter and broader, and that they are almost or 

 totally destitute of peduncles ; if present, the pe- 

 duncles are stout, not slim and delicate as in the 



