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THE OAK. 



OAK GALLS. 



At certain times of year the appearance of the tree is trequentlv 

 altered bv the work of the various insects that make a home in it." 

 Some of these, of the order Cvnipidae, form the brown woodv 

 "marble gall" the rosy polished "oak apple," the "crimson spangles," 

 and the " artichoke " gall. These gall-liies puncture the young shoots 

 and leaves, and especially the male catkins, in order that they may 

 deposit their eggs, and round the wound the sap accumulates, and 

 forms the gall. In spring-time the semi-transparent galls called 

 " crimson spangles," often coyer the pendulous catkins, giving to them 

 much the appearance of a bunch of red currants, and are sometimes 

 so plentiful that from a distance the whole tree appears to be tinged 

 with pink. 



LEAF G.ALLS. 



'The larvx of nearly 70 insects live in the Oak; a list and short account of these is given in " Woodlands, 

 Heaths and Hedges." — W. S. Coleman. 



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