THE OAK. 



Stabat in his ingens annoso robore quercus ; 



Una nenius. OviD. 



In aged majesty a mighty Oak 



Towers o'er the subject trees, itself a grove. 



The Oak, admirable alike for its beauty and utility, 

 has ever been distinguished as the glory of the 

 forest ; over all the trees of which it may be con- 

 sidered to reign with undisputed sway, both in 

 importance and longevity. The earliest mention 

 that is made of this tree is in Holy Writ : That 

 ancient of days the " Oak of Mamre," under which 

 Abraham sat in the heat of the day, and which, we 

 are told, "remained an object of veneration even in 

 the time of Constantine." We are informed also 

 that Saul was buried beneath the Oak in the 

 valley of Jabesh — a more desirable mausoleum than 

 the kings of Egypt afterwards raised for themselves 

 in their pyramids. 



The Oak was held sacred by the Greeks, the 

 Romans, the Gauls, and the Britons. Among the 



A 



