A Monthly Magazine of Natural History. 



Part 38. JANUARY, 1883. Vol. 4. 



THE OAK 



(Quercus rohurj. 



By J. P. SouTTER, Bishop Auckland. 



OF all our native trees the oak 

 stands pre-eminently the mon- 

 arch of the forest, whether we regard 

 its majestic mien, enormous bulk, and 

 vast longevity whilst alive ; its endur- 

 ing qualities and economic value as 

 a timber tree ; or the patriotic and 

 religious associations which cluster 

 round it in the past history of our 

 country. A tree is the oldest living 

 monument of the Creator's handiwork, 

 ^ and as such it will always induce re- 

 ; spect in the reflective mind. Although 

 • the sacred character of the oak has 

 vanished like other myths of antiquity, 

 and its fanatical worshippers, the 

 Druids, have disappeared before the 

 advancing tide of civilization; whilst 

 the advent of iron and steel shipbuild- 

 ing has supplanted the wooden walls 

 of old England as the bulwarks of 

 British liberty ; yet sufficient sentiment 

 lingers in the minds of the present day 

 people to admire for its innate grandeur, 

 a stately, well-developed oak. It is one 

 of the very few trees which everybody 



prides himself upon being able to re- 

 cognise. It is also perhaps the most 

 widely and evenly distributed of all 

 our forest trees, and is always con- 

 spicuous at all times and seasons. In 

 early spring, when it puts forth its 

 tender, delicate, yellowish green leaves ; 

 in full summer glory, with its compact 

 crown of dense foliage; in autumn, 

 with the rich colouring of its dying 

 leaves ; and in winter, with the fantas- 

 tic contortions of its interlacing twigs 

 and branches, — ever interesting and 

 beautiful. The oak belongs to the 

 N.O. Cupulifem, so named from the 

 cupule or cup which encloses the acorn 

 or fruit, and which forms so important 

 a factor in the furniture of the fairies. 

 The flowers are monctcious, that is, the 

 staminate are borne on one part, and 

 the pistillate or fruit-bearing organs 

 on another portion of the same tree. 

 This separation of the sexes is carried 

 a step further in dioecious plants, as 

 the willows, where the pollen-producing 

 and fruit-bearing organs are confined 

 to different trees. Doubtless, the oak 

 is tending towards the same condition, 

 which will account for the phenomena 



