THE OAK FAMILY. 



219 



posed the tree stood under ■which Abraham entertained the 

 three angels,* but what that tree was cannot be ascer- 

 tained. It is believed that if any person cuts or maims it, 

 he would lose his first-born son. This oak is of moderate 

 height, having a trunk 23 feet in girth, and 90 feet 

 spread of branches, and although it has the appearance of 

 being a very old tree, yet it could scarcely have been in ex- 

 istence in the time of Abraham. In the winter of 1856-7, 

 it suffered the loss of a large limb, which was broken off by 

 a heavy fall of snow. 



Oaks abound from the equator, north, through Central 

 America, Mexico, and northward into Canada. Several 

 Mexican and other southern species have been introduced, 

 but do not prove hardy. The North American species are 

 large handsome trees, some being more than 100 feet in 

 height. Most of them are hardy, and have been well known 

 in this country for more than one hundred years, many being 

 very ornamental. 



About a dozen species have been introduced from Northern 

 India, but they are not sufficiently hardy to live in the open 

 air in this country. Several species have also lately been 

 introduced from Japan and China, but their qualities have 

 not yet been ascertained, 



A kind of silkworm feeds upon the leaves of Quercus 

 mongolica and Q. dentata, natives of Northern China, where 

 extensive tracts of hill country are covered with them, and 

 which are species scarcely differing from the common oak. 



Beech {Fagus sylvatica). A well known European tree, 

 also found in Western Asia. Its hard wood is used for chair 

 making, and for many other domestic purposes, and an 

 oil is expressed from the nuts. Purple beech is only a 

 variety. 



Chestnut (Castaneavesca). The Sweet or Spanish Chestnut 

 is a native of temperate Western Asia, and the east throughout 

 the range of the Himalayas. It has been known from the 



* Genesis, chap, xviii. vers. 4 and 5. 



