CUPrLlFER^.. 253 



The Romans used it lor buoys for fisliing-nets and aucliors ; also for life- 

 preservers. Caniillus wore oue when he swam the Tiber during the siege of 

 Rome by the Gauls. It is used now for the same purpose ; also for cushions 

 and mattresses, and soles of shoes ; and it is worked into a sort of felt floor- 

 cloth, lu Spain the wealthy line their liouses with it. The ancient Kgvptians 

 used it for making coffins. The wood is durable, but is not largely used in the 

 arts. The fruit is sweet. 



15. Q. infectoria, ( )liv. ((iall Oak.) Stem 4 to 6 feet high, much branched, 

 forming a straggling slirub. Leaves ovate, oblong, and smooth on both sides, 

 pale beneath, deeply toothed. Fruit .sessile ; nut elongated, cylindrical ; cup 

 tes.sellated ; fruit appearing next year after tlie ai)i)earance of the flowers. 



The insect cijnips quercus galli punctures the leaves, and deposits its egga 

 in the wounds ; these wounds become tumors, from au eighth of an inch to 

 au iuch in diameter, subglobular in form, and armed with blunt, spine-like 

 processes. When these tumors are dry and hardened, they constitute the nut- 

 galls of commerce. 



Several varieties appear in market, the principal of wliich are blue and 

 white. Tlie blue gall is gathered before the young insect has gnawed through, 

 and the white afterwards. The blue gall is by far the most valuable. 



Geography. — The gall oak is found in all the eastern Mediterranean 

 countries, especially in Asia JMinor and northwestern Syria. The best galls 

 come from Aleppo. 



Eti/mv/ogy. — Infectoria, the specific name of this plant, is from the Latin 

 word infector, a dyer, alluding to the circumstance that its products are used 

 in dyeing. 



Use. — The nut-gall figures largely in the manufacture of black ink. A 

 solution of copperas, mixed with a decoction of nut-galls, produces a jet-black 

 dye. The nut-gall is also an important article employed in the tanning oi 

 hides. 



16. Q. aegilops, L. (^gilops. Valonia Oak.) Trunk 20 to .50 feet in 

 height, and 1 to 2 feet in diameter. Bark grayish, sprinkled with brown 

 .spots. Branches spreading, forming a hemispherical head. Leaves on short 

 ])etioles, blade 3 inches in length, coriaceous, ovate, oblong, pale-green above 

 and downy underneath ; coarsely toothed, teeth pointed. P'lowers greenish- 

 white, appearing in May. Fruit large, nearly inclosed in hemisplierical cups, 

 which are covered with long, s])rea(ling, lanceolate scales. 



Var. pendula. Branches long, slender, and drooping. 

 \'ar. latifolia. Leaves broader. 



deographij. — It is native in the countries of the Levant, and abounds 

 throughout Greece and the Grecian Archipelago ; it is found sparingly in 

 Italy, but does not grow in middle or western Europe. 



Elymolnqif and flLttori/. — yEgi lops, the specific name, is from the Greek 

 at^, alySs, a goat, and 6\f/, the eye, goat'.s-eye, due to the circumstance that au 

 infusion of the shells of the half-grown fruit is used as a remedy for the 

 disease of the eye known as goat's-rijf, thus named ltecau.se goats are attiicted 

 with it. This tree was known to Dio.scorides and to the ancient (ireeks. 



Use. — The fruit of this oak formerly constituted the food for a large 

 number of peojde. The shells or cups are highly charged with tannin, espe- 

 cially when lialf grown; but on account of the ex])ense of procuring tliem in 

 au unripe state, they are allowed to ripeu. The shells of the ripe fruit are 



