was thinking of all the wonderful things 

 which he had been telling her. When a 

 child, playing beneath the pine tree near 

 by, she had often wondered why, with 

 an oak tree so near she had to go so 

 far to find acorns to use as cups and 

 saucers. It was all explained now, and 

 she waited patiently for the tree to re- 

 sume its story. 



"Have you ever heard of oak apples? 

 and of Dead Sea apples?" 



"No," said Mabel. "How funny! Are 

 they good to eat?" 



"No; they are a growth caused by an 

 insect, which pierces the bark and lays 

 her eggs therein. This causes an irri- 

 tation which produces a swelling. These 

 swellings are called galls; if you cut one 

 open, you will find numerous insects in 

 it. The Pin Oak, and the Swamp Span- 

 ish Oak are more liable to the attacks 

 of these insects than any other mem- 

 bers of our family. They attack the 

 roots also, and an instance is cited of a 

 gall five inches long which contained 

 eleven hundred insects. These galls are 

 used in the manufacture of ink. See 

 how useful we are! We grow slowly, 

 taking years to arrive at perfection ; but 

 what would man do without us! Our 

 timber furnishes him with ships, houses, 

 and furniture; the hard twisted timber 

 at the bend of our branches is called 

 'knee timber' and is used when great 

 strength is required. Our bark supplies 

 him with cork, and also tans his leather 

 for him; our sawdust furnishes him 

 with brown and yellow dyes; and our 

 galls supply him with ink. The inner 

 lining of our bark, at one time, under- 

 went a process which converted it into 

 a soft, thin material, which was used for 

 ladies' dresses." 



"Oh, that would be fine. I think I 

 would like a dress like that. But what 

 about the Dead Sea apples?" 



"As their name implies, they grow 

 near the Dead Sea. It was said of the 

 poor, shrubby oaks on which they 

 grow, that the roots drew their nourish- 

 ment from the ashes of the cities of 

 Sodom and Gomorrah. They are 

 tempting and beautiful to look at; but 

 bitter to the taste. They are galls. 



"My friend, the Pine, has spoken to 

 you about the beauty and the grandeur 

 of a pine forest. Have you ever noticed 

 the beauty of our foliage in the spring- 

 time? On many of us, the leaves come 

 out a lovely pink, and white; on others 

 red, deepening into scarlet; on others 

 the new leaf is a beautiful bronze green, 

 sometimes with a purplish tinge. Oh, 

 we are beautiful in our new leaves of 

 many tints! And when the light frost 

 of autumn has come and touched us 

 with his gentle hands, what a grand and 

 imposing sight are we! How many 

 wander beneath our spreading branches 

 and admire our rich colorings, as they 

 inhale the pleasant aroma of the woods, 

 and bask in the pleasant sunlight as it 

 sifts down through our branches upon 

 them! 



"While the maple and ash have sa- 

 maras, the- willow and elm cotton, to 

 carry their seeds along; and the nut 

 trees have coverings to protect them; 

 even the common burr," and he tossed 

 himself grandly, "has prongs to help 

 scatter its seeds; we — the sturdy, the 

 mighty oak — have no protection for 

 our seeds. Yet we increase, and live for 

 centuries. We — the patriarchs of the 

 forest — laugh at histor}\" 



Evelyn Singer. 



