THK OAK. 



421 



It thrivps well in the climate of Britain in the 

 open air, and in almost any situation. 



Mr Salisbury, of the Botanic Garden of Chel- 

 sea, gives, as the result of his experiments and 

 observations, many useful hints for its culture 

 and preparation. He found that plants of three 

 years old will, on an average, yield thirty-six 

 leaves, besides a very considerable increase of 

 offsets, which leaves being cut down in the au- 

 tumn, others spring up anew in the ensuing 

 summer. Six leaves have produced one ounce 

 of dry available fibres, having been previously 

 scutched and cleansed; at which rate an acre of 

 land cropped with these plants, growing at three 

 feet distance from each other, will yield rather 

 more than sixteen hundred weight per acre, a 

 great produce compared with that of either flax 

 or hemp. It has likewise the farther advantage 

 of being cleansed with very little labour or 

 trouble. The leaves are cut when full grown, 

 and macerated for a few days in stagnant water; 

 they are then passed under a roller machine pro- 

 perly weighted. By these means the fibres se- 

 parate, and if then washed in a I'unning stream 

 will instantly become white. 



Two or three years back some of this material, 

 which had been obtained from the Colonial 

 Office, was woven into cloth by the pauper chil- 

 dren of St George's workhouse, Little Chelsea. 

 It was soft to the touch, and of a good colour. 

 From other trials, however, which have been 

 made, it is supposed that this material does not 

 produce very durable cloth, and that it is not 

 well adapted to the purpose of weaving; but 

 every test has proved its superiority for the for- 

 mation of cordage. 



The leaves of this plant grow in Ireland to 

 five, six, and even eight feet high. It is propa- 

 gated by offsets, which should not be parted till 

 the parent root is four years old. May is the 

 most favourable season for this work of hus- 

 bandry. 



Experiments have likewise been made at 

 Portsmouth in the application of another pro- 

 duct of New Zealand to the manufacture of large 

 and small ropes. A favourable report has been 

 given of the result of these trials. The new ma- 

 terial is a strong pliable grass, very silky in its 

 nature, and of very rapid and luxuriant growth, 

 tl-.rce crops being obtained in one year. It may 

 be brought into this country at the estimated 

 ]irice of £8 per ton, which is now about one- 

 fifth of the price of hemp of the best quality. 



CHAP. XLII. 



TIMBER TREES — THE OAK, ELM, ASH, &C. 



The Oak (qiKrms). Natural family amen- 

 taccce; monoscia, poh/andria, of Linnxus. The 



oak, from the remotest antiquity, has obtained a 

 pre-eminence among trees, and has not unjustly 

 been styled the " monarch of the woods." Its 

 great size, noble aspect, long duration, and the 

 strength and durability of its wood, all contri- 

 bute to enhance its importance. It was held sa- 

 cred by the Greeks and Romans, and no less so 

 by the ancient Gauls and Britons. The Romans 

 dedicated this tree to Jupiter; and the Roman 

 husbandmen, before they began their harvest, 

 crowned their heads with wreathes of its leaves. 

 The solemn ceremonies of the Druids were lield 

 under its shade, their mysteries were connected 

 with it, and cutting the mistletoe from its trunk 

 formed one of their most sacred rites. To mo- 

 dern Britons, as furnishing the materials of their 

 navy, it is held in no less esteem and importance 

 as a national tree. 



Let India boast her plants, nor cm-y we 

 The weeping amber and the balmy tree, 

 Wliile by our oalis the precious loads are borne, 

 And realms commanded which those trees adorn.' 



Of the oak there are a great many species. 

 Three kinds are indigenous to Britain. A con- 

 siderable number of species, and many varieties, 

 are found in the temperate parts of Europe; and 

 at least fifty species have been discovered in 

 North and South America. Some of these are 

 deciduous, others evergreen; some only attain the 

 height of shrubs, while others rise to magnifi- 

 cent trees. The temperate regions of the globe 

 are most favourable for the growth of the oak. 

 It is not found generally in the torrid zone, un- 

 less at considerable elevations, where the atmos- 

 pheric heat is greatly reduced; and it grows 

 sparingly and stunted in latitudes far north. 



The common British Oak (quercus robur). In 

 this well known species the leaves are deciduous; 

 they are oblong, broader at the top than the bot- 

 tom, having acute notches with obtuse angles. 

 The trunk is knotty, or " gnarled ;" the branches 

 thick, tortuous, and numerous. It flowers in 

 spring, the time depending on the temperature 

 of the season, and the situation and soil. We 

 often observe an oak in full leaf, and at the same 

 time another standing near it without any such 

 appearance, owing to the coldness or poverty of 

 the stratum on which it stands, and which would 

 have been unperceived had not the tree shown 

 it. But notwithstanding this, observation and 

 experience teach us that these differences are 

 very inconsiderable, and that the oak, which is 

 most backward in putting forth its leaves, gen- 

 erally retains its verdure the longest in the au- 

 tumn. In general the flowers, which are of a 

 yellowish hue, begin to open about the 7th of 

 April; about the 18th the leaves appear, at which 

 time the flowers are in full bloom; and about 



• I'cpc. 



