the sap is circulating freely. Winter fallen oak- 

 timber has a reputation for beinf^ the best, but we 

 believe there is no evidence to support it. 



The oak now used in our buildint^s for wains- 

 coting and interior work is generally the fine, 

 straight-grained knotless kind imported from 

 abroad. It is more reliable for its dryness, and 

 hence less wasteful under the plane. When well- 

 seasoned English oak can be procured, we prefer 

 it, with the diversity of its grain, even though a 

 joint here and there should be disposed to open 

 a little. Many a good tree is ruined by allowing 

 ivy to grow on it — a faft which is well expressed 

 in the lines by Southey : — 



" Its head tower'd on high, and its branches spread round 

 For its roots had struck deep, and its heart was sound ; 

 The bees o'er its honey-dewed foHage play'd, 

 And the beasts of the forest fed under its shade. 



There crept up an ivy and chuig round the trunk, 

 It struck in its mouths and the juices it drunk ; 

 The branches grew sickly, deprived of their food. 

 And the oak was no longer the pride of tlie wood. 



The foresters saw and they gather'd around, 

 The roots still were fast, and the heart still was sound ; 

 They lopt off the boughs that so beautiful spread. 

 But the ivy they spared on its vitals that fed. 



No longer the bees o'er its honey-dews played. 

 Nor the beasts of the forest fed under its shade ; 

 Lopt and mangled the trunk in its ruin is seen, 

 A monument now what its beauty has been." 



