96 AUSTRALIAN BOTANY. 



for example — the Oak grows to a great size, and is highly 

 esteemed for its valuable timber and astringent bark, the 

 latter being used by tanners, and for medicinal purposes. 

 In Victoria, however, the scorching heat and hot winds 

 stunt the growth and cut off the leaders, where the trees 

 are in exposed situations. The Oak loves a loamy soil, 

 with a fair proportion of chalk. It sends its gigantic roots 

 deeper in search of nourishment than other trees; hence 

 in England a towering, umbrageous Oak may often be seen 

 side by side with a withered-looking Ash or Elm. Oaks 

 are either deciduous or evergreen ; and of varying heights, 

 thickness of stem, and hardness of timber. It may here 

 be remarked that the term ' Oak ' has been very inaptly — 

 in fact ridiculously — applied by the early Australian settlers; 

 notably in the case of the various species of Casiiarina, 

 which are commonly called 'sheoaks.' The Cork Oak 

 ( Quercus sufrer), a native of Southern Europe, produces the 

 well-known cork of commerce. The Valonia Oak {Quercus 

 sEgiloJis) is very extensively cultivated along the shores of 

 the Mediterranean. The acorn-cups of this tree produce 

 tannin in large quantities, and of a superior quality. Oak 

 galls, principally obtained from Quercus infectoria, a native 

 of the Levant, are used in the manufacture of ink. They 

 are excrescences caused by the punctures of an insect. 

 Such exudations, often of a large size, may frequently be seen 

 on the Victorian Black Wattle. In Japan the leaves of the 

 Silkworm Oak {Quercus serrata) support a coarse silkworm 

 {Bombyx Yamcuiai). Many of the North American Oaks are 

 highly prized, not only for their commercial value, but also 

 for the picturesque variety of tint given to the landscape in 

 autumn by their changing foliage. At Fernshaw, and in the 



