88 TREES. 



risk of departing either long or far from home. Eng- 

 land, which stands midway between extreme cold and 

 extreme heat, with a surface that embodies in minia- 

 ture every element and ingredient, except the volcano, 

 that gives variety and sublimity to the face of the 

 earth ; — England, through its art and science, is the 

 ExmsiTioN of the whole world. We need but ask for 

 Saloon A, or Saloon B, and all that the heart can de- 

 sire is displayed to view. Kew ; Chatsworth ; if we 

 cross the Tweed, Edinburgh ; and Dublin, if we make 

 our way to the green isle, show collections of palms, 

 among other things, that amply inform us as to their 

 wonderful nature. In these glorious places we see 

 the tropical regions as in a concave mirror, or in a 

 stereoscope, with the added charm that all around us 

 is alive. 



Foremost among British trees, alike in grandeur, 

 utility, length of life, and amplitude of association, 

 stands the Oak, — that famous production which even 

 in the da^ of Homer was a time-honored proverb for 

 strength and endurance. " Thou," says one of his 

 heroes to a man who quailed, "art not made of the 

 oak of ancient story." * In England this noble tree 

 is found under many different forms, the contour, the 

 endurance of the foliage, the figure of the leaf and 

 acorn, varying considerably more than the unobserv- 

 ant of minute particulars would ever suppose. All the 



* Odyssey xix. 163. 



