144 INSECT MANUFACTURES. 



enabling the poet, the philosopher, and the divine, 

 to embody their thoughts for the amusement, 

 instruction, direction, and reformation of man- 

 kind."* 



The oak which furnishes this gall is common 

 throughout Asia Minor, from the Bosphorus to 

 Syria, and from the shores of the Archipelago to 

 Persia. It is more frequently seen under the 

 form of a shrub than a tree, rarely attaining six 

 feet in height. Its leaves are smooth, toothed at 

 the edges, of a clear green on both sides, and 

 having a very short leaf-stalk ; they fall every 

 year, at the end of autumn. The acorn is two or 

 three times longer than its cup, the latter is sessile, 

 slightly downy, and furnished with small scales. 

 The gall is hard, woody, and heavy, growing out 

 of the buds of young branches, and acquiring a 

 diameter of from four lines to an inch. It is gene- 

 rally round, and covered with knots, some of which 

 are pointed.. 



This gall-nut is much more valuable if gathered 

 before it is ripe, that is to say, before the insect 

 * Kirby and Spence. 



