THE COMMON OAK, 



199 



there is an enormous waste of this branch 

 wood, due to our common way of grow- 

 ing the Oak, and it would be well to 

 encourage its more frequent use as fuel. 

 Its charcoal is also of good quality. 



The range of the common 



Range. 



Oak 



is a very wide one, ex- 



there are other forms which might be 

 called " ornamental" in the current use 

 of the term. But even from that point 

 of view none of these are half so good as 

 the ordinary tree as it comes from seed. 

 Happily we are not burdened with sy- 

 nonyms, the only confusion likely to 



tending east to west from the foot of the arise being from botanical authors class- 

 Urals to the Atlantic Ocean, and from ing the other native species as a mere 

 the Sierra Morena in 

 Spain through Sicily, 

 Greece, Asia Minor, 

 to the southern Cau- 

 casus. In its northern 

 range it spreads from 

 ScotlandthroughNor- 

 way to northern Rus- 

 sia. Within these li- 

 mits it is found chiefly 

 in the plains and val- 

 leys, but grows also 

 upon the slopes ofhills 

 and even among the 

 mountains to as high 

 as 3,000 feet, but this 

 rarely. When in full 



vigour it is susceptible to severe cold in 1 variety, whereas the experience of fo- 



STEM OF GREAT OAK NEAR DALLWITZ, KARLSBAD, AUSTRIA. 

 (Engraved for " Flora " from a photograph sent by the Rev. H. Ewbank. 



the spring, often losing its young shoots, 

 leaves and flowers, from late frosts. 



From our point of view 



Synonyms, and It IS OUt of the question 

 References. • i i i 



to consider here the va- 

 rieties of our noble Oak. If from some 

 high standpoint we look out over any 

 good Oak district, we may see much di- 

 versity as regards time of leaf, colour, 

 and even habit, and for hair-splitting 

 students it would not be difficult from 

 these minor differences to establish "va- 

 rieties." But that is wholly futile for our 

 purpose. There is a pyramidal Oak, and 



resters is that it is distinct in timber and 

 habitat, and we propose to treat it as 

 such. 



The pyramidal Oak, which is some- 

 times seen grafted in gardens, occurs in 

 some forests as a natural seedling, and is 

 said to reproduce itself freely. In France 

 there is also a late-leafing form which is 

 described as common in certain woods, 

 and might have some importance for 

 very cold countries, as it comes into leaf 

 some weeks later than the common kind . 



Those who think that the accepted 

 Latin names of our own day are the only 



N 4 



