]6 SYLVAN WIKTEU. 



see two Oaks with an equal number of limbs, the 

 same kind of head, and twisted in the same form : 

 and it is from these larger parts that the most 

 beautiful varieties result.' * 



Conspicuous, of course, amongst the leafless 

 denizens of the forest is the Oak, and its rugged- 

 ness and grandeur impress, alike, all who look 

 upon it with interest. It appears to and does hold 

 the ground as no other tree does. Its power is 

 amazing — its enormous tap-root penetrating the 

 ground and holding it in place so firmly as to 

 enable it to defy the tempest. From its great 

 bole — fashioned with such peculiar strength and so 

 admirably adapted to meet the force of hurricanes 

 — spread, in their enormous amplitude, the limbs ; 

 from these the twisted branches, and from the 

 branches the contorted spray. Of the especial 

 stoutness of the ' King of the Forest ' Grilpin has 

 something characteristic to say. , In speaking of 

 this he remarks : ' A second characteristic of 

 the Oak, of which Virgil takes notice, is the 

 stoutness of its limbs ; its fortes ramos. We 

 know no tree, except perhaps the Cedar of 

 * ' Forest Scenery,' page 4. 



