CHAPTER IV 



NOTES ON PARTICULAR TREES 



THERE are two varieties of oak in English woods, 

 the pedunculate and sessile. In the peduncu- 

 late variety the acorns are borne on stalks and 

 the leaves are either sessile or borne on very 

 short petioles. The leaves of the sessile variety 

 are borne on a petiole nearly half an inch long, 

 and the acorns are sessile. It is probable that 

 there are some sub-varieties, for it is not un- 

 common to see in woods of pedunculate oak 

 some trees which are conspicuous by the smooth- 

 ness and light colour of their bark and other 

 trees whose leaves are borne on long petioles. 



The pedunculate variety is by far the most 

 common, and it is generally believed that most 

 of the famous old oak trees were of the pedun- 

 culate variety. 



The varieties of oak do not, so far as is known, 

 possess any difference in the quality of the timber, 

 nor is there any difference in the price realised. 

 It is impossible to determine, once a tree is felled, 



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