THE OAK - 3 
Few of our trees have a wider geographical range 
than the Oak. Whilst the great Order of broad- 
leaved trees to which it belongs, the Cupulif‘ere. 
—those, that is, that have their nut-like fruits en- 
closed in a more or less leafy husk, “involucre,” 
or “cupule” (the “cup” of the acorn)—is dis- 
tributed throughout the temperate regions of both 
hemispheres, the Oaks, of which there are nearly 
three hundred species, are almost confined to the 
northern. Many forms are well known to us in 
our plantations, or by their products, such as the 
Turkey Oak (Quercus Cer'ris L.), the Evergreen 
Oak (Q. Ilex L.), the cork of @. Suber L, the 
galls of Q. infector'iu Oliv. and other JLevantine 
species, the cups of Q. 'gilops L. imported as 
valonia, the quercitron bark of the American 
Q. tinctor’ta Bartr., and that of many other species 
used in tanning. But as a native of Great Britain 
there is but one distinct species, though two, if not 
three, well-marked varieties are generally recognised. 
The English Oak (Q. Robur) ranges from 
the Urals and the Caucasus, from Mount Taurus 
and Mount Atlas, almost to the Arctic Circle, 
growing at an altitude of 1,350 feet in the High- 
lands of Scotland ; its limit nearly coinciding with 
that of successful wheat cultivation. Vast forests 
of Oak covered the greater part of Central Europe. 
in the early ages of history. It was the favourite 
timber of the Greeks and Romans; with it the 
Northmen built their long ships, and the Anglo- 
Saxons such churches as that at Greenstead, in 
Essex; and. with it was smelted the Sussex iron 
