TREES IN NATURE 65 



that the indigenous oak holds a higher place 

 in the general estimation than the imported 

 chestnut ? This cannot be, because, until the' 

 middle of the last century, the chestnut was 

 believed to be indigenous like the oak. And 

 In many lands the oak has the higher reputa- 

 tion. We have seen that it was the chosen 

 tree for the oracle of Zeus ; yet Greece is the 

 old home of the chestnut, whence it passed to 

 Italy and thence northwards. Probably the 

 reputation of the oak is largely due to the 

 quality of its wood. Hamerton admits that 

 the boughs of the chestnut break off more 

 easily than those of the oak. He thought, 

 however, that the former was useful for 

 timber, and shared the common but mistaken 

 belief that the roof of Westminster Hall is 

 of chestnut-wood. Alas! it has been de- 

 finitely Identified as Durmast oak — a variety 

 of Quercus robur. Hamerton, again, says 

 that the expression of the chestnut ''is that 

 of sturdy growth ; his trunk and limbs are 

 built not like those of Apollo, but like the 

 trunk and limbs of Hercules ". This is true ; 

 but It is truer still of the sinewy, tortuous- 

 limbed oak, the sturdy appearance of whicht^-ttji^ j. 



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