THE OAK. 



63 



lose much when in decay. As the trunk rises 

 you" see the brimstone colour taking possession in 

 patches. Of this there are two principal kinds : 

 a smooth sort, which spreads like a scarf over the 

 bark ; and a rougher sort, which hangs in little 

 rich knots or fringes. I call it a brimstone hue, 

 by w^ay of general distinction ; but it sometimes 

 inclines to an olive, and sometimes to a light- 

 green. We find also another species of moss of a 

 dark -brown colour, inclining nearly to black ; an- 

 other of an ashy colour, and another of a dingy 

 yellow. We may observe also touches of red, and 

 sometimes, but rarely, a bright yellow, which is 

 like a gleam of sunshine ; and in many trees you 

 will see one species growing upon another, the 

 knotted brimstone-coloured fringe clinging to a 

 lighter species, or the black softening into red. 

 Strictly speaking, many of these excrescences, 

 which I have mentioned under the general name 

 of mosses, should have been distinguished by 

 other names. All those, particularly which cling 

 close to the bark of trees, and have a leprous 

 appearance, are classed, I believe, by botanists, 

 under the name of lichens ; others are called 

 liver-worts. But all these excrescences, under 

 whatever name distinguished, add a great rich- 

 ness to trees ; and when they are blended harmo- 

 niously, as is generally the case, the rough and 

 furrowed trunk of an old Oak, adorned with these 

 pleasing appendages, is an object which will long 

 detain the picturesque eye." 



But with what a different eye would the tim- 

 ber-merchant look on these hollow trunks, and 

 blasted antlers, and mottled lichens ! He would 

 see in them so much solid timber spoiled, so 



