534 



Bemarks on Oak Folia&e. 



and the leaves below it were gathered has long ago attracted my 

 attention, as presenting, on the whole, by far the handsomest 

 foliage of any oak in 

 its immediate neighbour- 

 hood. The leaves are of 

 a dark deep green ; and, 

 though rather small (and 

 small leaves combine bet- 

 ter than large ones *), 

 they are numerous, and 

 grow close to the spray, 

 clustered together in 

 dense masses, forming 

 those lovely tufts, or ro- 

 settes, which constitute 

 one of the characteristic 

 beauties of oak foliage. 

 When the wind blows 

 gently, it partially turns 

 up and displays their 

 glaucous under surfaces 

 in harmonious contrast 

 with the deeper tints of 

 those above, and presents 

 a study worthy of the pen- 

 cil of Gainsborough. The 

 leaves o^ Jig. 95. being of 

 a large size, are fewer in 

 number, and less thickly 

 set ; consequently they do 

 not mass so well. One 

 of the specific distinctions 

 of Quercus sessilifl5ra is, 

 that it bears its leaves on footstalks : these, in the present in- 

 stance, are, perhaps, longer than ordinary ; and this circumstance 

 gives to the foliage a loose and straggling appearance, and a want 

 of depth and solidity, which greatly detracts from its genei'al effect. 

 For the same reason it is that many of the fine American species 

 of oak, beautiful as they are, must yield the palm, in point of 

 foliage, to the monarch of our British forests. 



These remarks may appear trifling, and not worth the space 

 they occupy ; but, I repeat, the subject is not beneath the notice 

 of those who study ornamental planting, or who look at oaks with 

 a painter's eye. 

 , Allesley Rectory, Bee. 2. 1835. 



* Hence it is that the foliage of an old sycamore is so superior to that of 

 a young one ; and the rule holds good with most other deciduous trees. The 



