6 FAMILIAR TREES 



former arc two or three inches long, bearing- at 

 intervals stalkless clusters of inconspicuous flowers, 

 each consisting of a six- or seven-lobed calyx and 

 ten stamens. The female flowers, on the other 

 hand, are solitary, each being surrounded by the 

 numerous overlapping scales, or bracts, which after- 

 wards form the cup. The flower itself is but the 

 ovary enclosed by the adherent calyx, divided in- 

 ternally into three chambers, and surmounted by 

 a triple style. In each chamber there are two 

 ovules ; and it is a noteworthy fact that from these 

 six only one is matured into the single seed that 

 every acorn contains. A similar circumstance 

 occurring in the case of other trees suggests the 

 explanation that perennial plants, trees more 

 especially, require to produce fewer seeds in order 

 to ensure the permanence of the species than do 

 annuals, whose individual existence is so many 

 times shorter. 



What country boy has not a love of acorns 

 equal to that of the squirrel? Possibly he may 

 not eat them, preferring chestnuts or beech-masts ; 

 but there is a joy in knocking down the glossy 

 green fruit, destined perchance to be converted, 

 with the addition of some cotton-wool, into 

 reverend seigneurs, with flowing beards and locks 

 rivalling those of the Druid, Avho cut in bygone 

 ages the sacred mistletoe with golden knife 

 from the Oaks of Avalon. Before English com- 

 merce had extended the leather trade beyond the 

 needs of home consumers, and English naval 

 enterprise had caused a drain upon our Oak forests 



