THE ACORN TRADE-MARK 
crop in a single year, and the other takes two years for 
the same work. Those that ripen their acorns in one year 
are the white oaks. Those that take two years are the 
black oaks. 
White oaks have round-cornered leaves, while the black 
oaks have sharp points at the turns. The trunks and 
limbs of the former are light, and those of the latter dark. 
The acorns of the white oaks are sweet, and of the black 
oaks bitter. The limbs of the white oaks are free of 
acorns in the winter time, while those of the black oak 
have half-grown nuts on them. 
Most people have noticed the catkins, tassel-like flow¬ 
ers, on the oak trees in the spring. It might be supposed 
that these are the acorn flowers, that acorns grow from 
them. This is not true. One may find other tiny little 
flowers among the leaves if he looks closely at the right 
time. It is these that produce the acorns. To be sure, 
they must be helped by the catkins. These catkins, as 
a matter of fact, are pollen-producers. The spring breezes 
take the pollen up and bear it away. They scatter 
some of it over the tiny, partly hidden flowers. This fer¬ 
tilizes the flowers, and they start at once to produce acorns 
from which mighty oaks grow. 
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