XX VIL 
THE OAK. 
Oax.—The oak belongs to the genus Quercus, of Monecia 
Polyandria, in the Linnean system, and to Corylacew or Cupuli- 
fere in the natural order of plants. It is a well-known and 
valuable tree, and a native of all quarters of the world. It is 
adopted as an emblem of strength and durability, and from the 
most remote antiquity it has been invested with a superiority 
among trees. Transmitted through many ages, with a char- 
acter so striking and pre-eminent, we justly recognise it as 
“the monarch of the wood.” The genus is one of the most 
extensive and varied that is to be found in the vegetable 
kingdom. It comprehends about 150 species, inhabiting 
chiefly the temperate parts of the northern hemisphere. 
About a hundred species have been introduced into Britain. 
These branch into an endless number of varieties. The 
species are, generally, trees of great magnitude; but some 
are of a middle size, others do not attain to these dimensions, 
while some are mere shrubs, not exceeding the height of two 
feet. Some species are evergreen, some sub-evergreen, but the 
greater number are deciduous trees. The fruit in all the 
species is the well-known acorn, remarkable for its uniformity 
in size and shape. For the most part the oak attains to the 
age of at least twenty years before it yields fruit, which is 
usually the case with trees of long duration; but Loudon 
states that he has seen in a pot a plant of Quercus lanata, a. 
native of Nepaul, bearing acorns at the age of three or four 
years. 
As a useful timber tree the oak is equalled only by the pine 
or fir tribe; and in furnishing bark for tanning it has no 
