and Historic Preservation Society, however, this is incorrect, and 

 nothing now is left of the fine old oak but the record of its fame. 



The Fox Oaks 



In 1661, John Bowne, a noted man of his time, built his house in 

 Flushing, N. Y. He was "so zealous a Quaker that he was exiled 

 to Holland by Governor Stuyvesant, for his adherence to the sect, and 

 did not return home for two years." 



Opposite his home stood two immense oaks, under whose shade 

 George Fox, Founder of the Society of Friends, preached to the 

 Indians in 1672. Under the same trees, Friends were accustomed to 

 hold their meetings, when the crowds became too large to be accom- 

 modated in Mr. Bowne's house. One of the Fox Oaks, as the old 

 trees were named in honor of the distinguished preachers, lived till 

 1841, the other surviving a few years longer. They were estimated 

 to be about five hundred years of age. 



The Salem Oak 



Another tree long associated with the Society of Friends is the 

 fine old oak at Salem, N. J. When the land on which it stands came 

 into the possession of the Society, in 1680, the tree was comparatively 

 young and slender though perhaps not even then in its first youth. 

 It is believed to be between three and four hundred years of age, 

 possibly much older ; one of its largest branches fell in a severe storm 

 in the autumn of 1920, and showed two hundred and seventy-five 

 rings of annual growth. The old oak shades one hundred and seven- 

 teen feet of ground in the Friends Cemetery, and looks the part of a 

 noble monarch of the primeval forest. One can fancy it rich in 

 memories of long-past but stirring times, for it has watched over the 

 development of the town of Salem from its birth, as from time to 

 time the little community has borne its part in the storm and stress 

 of history. 



The old oak bids fair to be one of the longest-lived of American 

 trees, for when signs of decay become evident, the aid of tree surgeons 

 has been promptly enlisted to strengthen and preserve it intact. 



The Wadsworth Oak 



Th Wadsworth Oak, or Big Tree, on the Genesee River, at 

 Genesee, N. Y., was long a tree of note. It was a swamp white oak, 

 its leaves turning a dull yellow in autumn, instead of the rich red 

 tint of those of the white oak. Measuring twenty-seven feet in cir- 

 cumference, it was venerated on account of its size, and the Seneca 

 Indians named the surrounding country Big Tree, in its honor. Near 

 it, in 1797, a treaty was made between Robert Morris and the Senecas, 

 by which they conveyed to him the greater part of their territory. 



14 



