THE OAK. 



25 



former they have scarcely any stems, whereas the 

 leaves of the latter are decidedly stalked, and the 

 lobes on each side are more nearly opposite. Both 

 species burst their leaf and flower-buds about the 

 same time, in April or May ; Quercus sessUiflora 

 being, however, generally somewhat later. At this 

 time their pale green tint, delicately shaded with 

 crimson, seems scarcely to accord with the bulky 

 and more robust character of the rest of the tree ; 

 but, as the season advances, they assume a full, 

 florid green, which they retain till very late in the 

 year. At the approach of ^^dnter they put on a 

 rich russet brown or red hue, and light up many a 

 landscape, which ^\'ithout them would be cold and 

 cheerless. Young trees do not cast their leaves 

 even when every semblance of life has departed 

 from them, but retain them, probably as a pro- 

 tection for the embryo buds of the succeeding 

 year, which are formed many months before they 

 begin to expand. Once, on a frosty morning in 

 January, I happened to be starting on a botanical 

 ramble, and, just as the sun rose, entered a Devon- 

 shire lane, the hedges of which were topped ^^ith 

 young Oaks laden with the last year's foliage. 

 Suddenly it seemed as if I had been set do^ra in 

 Aladdin's wonderful garden. The trees, as they 

 caught the first beams of the sun, appeared no 

 longer to bear leaves, but plates of crimson trans- 

 parent metal, or flakes of fire. The illusion lasted 

 only a few minutes ; for, as soon as the sun was 

 high enough to shine down upon the leaves, and 

 not under them, they became withered Oak-leaves 

 again, bringing back to the mind the year that 

 was past, -svith its cares and its blessings. This 

 was one of those trifling incidents in a man's life, 



