124 THE TREE BOOK 



in the spring, but the oak has hundreds of years 

 to live and can afford to wait longer for his 

 "green coronal" than his short lived neighbors. 



Eemarkably long, indeed, is the life-span of 

 the oak. There are oaks in England that are 

 known to be over a thousand years old. Tra- 

 dition says that some have reached twice that 

 age. The Bound Tabl-e of King Arthur was 

 made from a cross section of an old oak eight- 

 een feet m diameter. The very structure of the 

 oaks, with their breadth of top and wide range 

 of roots, frames them for long life. The 

 strength and toughness of their fibers fit them 

 to cope with storms. The bark of the oak is in 

 great demand for tanning and dyeing. Its 

 wood is unsurpassed for durability and 

 strength. Its broad medullary rays make it 

 one of the most valuable ornamental woods. 

 Much of the beautiful carving in the great Eu- 

 ropean cathedrals is on oak wood. Always oak 

 has been the ship-wright's favorite lumber, be- 

 cause it is so durable under water. Before the 

 art of bending wood artificially was understood, 

 the crooked trunks and boughs of the oak were 

 particularly valuable to those needing curved 

 timbers. 



Since earliest time people have worshiped the 

 oak. The Greeks believed it was the first tree 



