The Oaks 



prevailing belief as to the age of these oaks is expressed in 

 Dryden's lines: 



"Three centuries he grows, and three he stays 

 Supreme in state; and in three more decays." 



There are trees still hale in England to-day which were old 

 enough to cut for their lumber when William the Conqueror 

 landed in 1066. Scientists estimate the limit of longevity among 

 oaks at about 2,000 years. 



The British oak grows indifferently in the United States 

 except in California. Here it finds conditions most favourable and 

 grows with great rapidity and vigour. Acorns planted in 1878 were 

 grown into large trees in 1890 — to the amazement of everybody. 



The Holm Oak (Quercus Ilex), which skirts the Mediter- 

 ranean coast of Europe, and seems to thrive best, even in England, 

 when exposed to sea breezes, is the Ilex, famous in classical 

 literature. Its evergreen leaves resemble those of the holly, 

 whose generic name is Ilex. This is one of the most ornamental 

 of the oaks, compact and regular in form, and beautiful in its 

 glossy foliage the year round. Its acorns form one of the im- 

 portant edible sorts in Europe. The value of its mast alone would 

 justify the planting of the Holm oak. It is also one of the truffle 

 oaks, and its bark and the galls of one of its varieties are of the 

 highest value in dyeing and tanning. 



Turkey Oak (Quercus cerris), of Europe, is planted in our 

 Southern States. It has somewhat the form and symmetry of 

 the beech in its lusty youth. Its foliage is dark, with greyish 

 linings; the acorn i^ inches long, with a large mossy cup that half- 

 way swallows it. This is the "wainscot oak" of English builders. 



Japanese and Chinese oaks feel at home in the Eastern 

 States of America, and are now coming in, to the enrichment of 

 our horticulture and the delight of landscape gardeners. The 

 crispness and vigour of the foliage make these trees strikingly 

 handsome. Quercus variabilis has leathery, dark green chestnut- 

 like leaves, with white woolly linings. Quercus dentaia, with 

 toothed margins, in one variety ciit into narrow fingers almost 

 to the midrib, is notable for the size of its leathery, lustrous 

 leaves. They are often a foot in length. Another Japanese 

 favourite is Quercus glandulijera, a half-evergreen shrub, whose 

 chestnut-like leaves are set with glandular teeth. This is half 

 hardy when planted in New England. 



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