OAKS 



The oaks, which belong to the genus Quercus, embrace about 300 species 

 which are distributed through the colder and temperate regions of the northern 

 hemisphere and in the mountains of the tropics. They include both evergreen 

 and deciduous trees and as a rule are of a stately habit with stout, wide- 

 spreading branches. The leaves are medium sized usually more or less lobed. 

 The fruit is a globular to oblong acorn set in a scaly cup. 



The oak stands as a symbol of strength and endurance, and in England, 

 particularly, is associated with the triumphs of Englishmen with "hearts of 

 oak." In the days of old, the oak was closely associated with the worship of 

 the gods and known as "Jove's own tree." The oak of Zeus at Dondona was 

 believed to be the actual seat of the god whose oracular answers were given 

 by the rustling of the winds through leaves and branches, by the murmur of 

 the spring that flowed out from among its roots, or by lots drawn from an urn 

 placed beneath it. 



In Old Testament times Isaiah rebuked the Israelites for their idols under 

 "every thick oak." It was "under the oak which was in Ophrah" that the 

 angel of the Lord came and sat, and spoke to Gideon, telling him that it was 

 he who was to save Israel from the hands of the Midianites. Jehovah ap- 

 peared to Abraham beneath the oak tree in Mamre. At Shechem Joshua 

 "took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the Sanctuary 

 of the Lord. 



In mediaeval times the oak was held as a sacred tree and it was thought 

 that a cross cut in its bark was a special protection against man and elfin 

 enemies. The predominance of oaks is noticeable in reading of Britain's 

 famous trees. This is due to their abundance and the special reverence with 

 which they were held by the Druids, who cut sacred mistletoe from them with 

 golden knives. 



A famous English oak is the King's Oak at Woodstock, where it stands 

 on the former hunting grounds of Henry II. It was under the Parliament 

 Oak at Clipstone Park that Edward I is alleged to have once convened a 

 national assembly. An arrow glancing from an oak trunk caused the death of 

 one English king Oak was used by the Northmen to build their long ships, 

 and went into many enduring structures built by the Anglo-Saxons. In the 

 "Faerie Queen" Spenser speaks of "the builder oak, sole king of forests all." 



(89) 



