XXIII 
THE OAK TREE COMES TO TOWN 
I SN’T IT ODD that the oak tree, king of the forest, has 
moved to the city and there established itself along 
the pavements and among the skyscrapers as the most 
successful member of the vegetable kingdom dwelling in 
these surroundings! Isnff it odd also that the squirrel, 
which feeds so largely on acorns, has been able to follow 
the oak to the city and adapt itself above all wild animals 
to life so close to man! 
Life in the cities has proved hard for most of the trees. 
The smoke and grime of it fills the pores of their leaves 
and stops their breathing. The ground about them is 
packed hard by many footsteps, and the soil from which 
they draw their nourishment is filled with city gases that 
poison them. They suffer accidents from time to time 
that leave wounds in their trunks which weaken them. 
The tall buildings give to the storms strange twists which 
make them unlike the storms to be borne in the open or 
in the woods. Few forest trees can long endure life in 
the great cities. 
But for a generation now the experts have been plant¬ 
ing oaks along city streets. This oak, they find, has a 
glossy leaf to which the soot does, not stick. It has a tap 
root that reaches and feeds deeply, so that conditions in 
the surface soil affect it little. It has a trunk of such 
strength and hardihood that accident affects it little. It 
does not have decayed spots that weaken such trees as 
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