194 PLANT-LORE OF SHAKESPEARE 
England as the very emblems of unbroken strength and un¬ 
flinching constancy; there is all the national interest which has 
linked the glories of the British navy with the steady and en¬ 
during growth of her Oaks; there is the wonderful picturesque¬ 
ness of the great Oak plantations of the New Forest, the Forest 
of Dean, and other royal forests; and the equally, if not greater, 
picturesqueness of the English Oak as the chief ornament of 
our great English parks; there is the scientific interest which 
suggested the growth of the Oak for the plan of our light¬ 
houses, and many other interesting points. It is very tempting 
to stop on each and all of these, but the space is too limited, 
and they can all be found ably treated of and at full length in 
any of the books that have been written on the English forest 
trees. 
Oats. 
(1) Ceres, most bounteous lady, thy rich leas 
Of Wheat, Rye, Barley, Vetches, Oats, and Pease. 
Tempest, iv. i, 60. 
(2) When shepherds pipe on Oaten straws. 
Love s Labour 1 s Lost, v. 2, 913. 
(3) Truly a peck of provender ; I could munch your good dry Oats. 
Midsummer Night's Dream, iv. 1, 35. 
(4) Ay, sir, they be ready ; the Oats have eaten the horses. 
Taming of the Shrew, iii. 2, 207. 
(5) Poor fellow, never joyed since the price of Oats rose—it was the death 
of him.—1 st Henry LV, ii. 1, 13. 
(6) I cannot draw a cart, nor eat dried Oats, 
If it be man’s work, I’ll do it.— King Lear, v. 3, 38. 
Shakespeare’s Oats need no comment, except to note that 
the older English name for oats was Haver (see “ Promptorium 
Parvulorum,” p. 372; and “ Catholicon Anglicum,” p. 178, 
with notes). The word was in use in Shakespeare’s time, and 
still survives in the northern parts of England. 
