THE OAK 3 



Few of our trees have a wider geographical range 

 than the Oak. "Whilst the great Order of broad- 

 leaved trees to which it belongs, the Cupulif'erce 

 those, that is, that have their nut-like fruits en- 

 closed in a more or less leafy husk, " involucre," 

 or " cupule " (the " cup " of the acorn) is dis- 

 tributed throughout the temperate regions of both 

 hemispheres, the Oaks, of which there are nearly 

 three hundred species, are almost confined to the 

 northern. Many forms are well known to us in 

 our plantations, or by their products, such as the 

 Turkey Oak (Quercus Cer'ris L.), the Evergreen 

 Oak (Q. I'lex L.), the cork of Q. Su'ber L., the 

 galls of Q. infector'ia Oliv. and other Levantine 

 species, the cups of Q. jE'gilops L. imported as 

 valonia, the quercitron bark of the American 

 Q. tinctor'ia Bartr., and that of many other species 

 used in tanning. But as a native of Great Britain 

 there is but one distinct species, though two, if not 

 three, well-marked varieties are generally recognised. 



The English Oak (Q. Rohur) ranges from 

 the Urals and the Caucasus, from Mount Taurus 

 and Mount Atlas, almost to the Arctic Circle, 

 growing at an altitude of 1,350 feet in the High- 

 lands of Scotland ; its limit nearly coinciding with 

 that of successful wheat cultivation. Vast forests 

 of Oak covered the greater part of Central Europe 

 in the early ages of history. It was the favourite 

 timber of the Greeks and Romans ; with it the 

 Northmen built their long ships, and the Anglo- 

 Saxons such churches as that at Greenstead, in 

 Essex; and with it was smelted the Sussex iron 



