AN ACORN 



DAYS IN MY GARDEN 



carpet of green velvet turf, and the number of its 

 birthdays be a speculation ! 



Its great corrugated bole is a sight of which we 

 never tire, with its rare combination of beauty, utility 

 and strength ; and if we are in the mood to meditate 

 and are wise enough to allow our mood to prevail, our 

 oak will provide a mine of subjects, of unanswerable 

 imaginings and speculations. As the soft June breeze 

 gently lifts and sways the great branches we watch 

 the responsive shadows dance and as it were ' set to 

 partners' on the lawn, and as we gaze up into the 

 mighty network of rounded limbs and rustling leaves, 

 there comes a feeling of the smallness and limitation 

 of our knowledge. 



For once, long since, was not the plan 

 and habit of life of this complex mighty 

 tree hidden within the embryo of a little 

 polished acorn, that perchance narrowly 

 escaped forming part of some wary old 

 cock pheasant's breakfast half-a-dozen 

 centuries ago ? 



And yet how great the measure of our knowledge 

 compared with that of the nuthatch, who day after 



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