294  Oak  Wood  and  Bark.  {^j^SjSt"0' 
better  comprehended.  The  acorn  falls  upon  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  and  the  natural  processes  take  care  of  it  there.  Man 
buries  the  seed  of  the  oak,  and  the  probabilities  are  that  he  blunders 
in  doing  so.  An  examination  of  a  sprouting  nut  will  show  that  this 
growth  tends  downward,  as  if  in  an  effort  to  reach  the  soil,  whilst 
the  acorn  lies  on  its  side,  though  even  then  the  little  tubercule  which 
is  ultimately  to  become  the  tree,  keeps  its  apex  upward.  This 
makes  it  evident  that  this  part  of  the  process,  at  least,  should  be 
performed  in  the  air  and  light,  that  is  when  it  is  done  as  Nature 
intended.  It  is  usually  considered  that  during  the  fermentative 
part  of  the  process  of  germination — the  earliest  stage — light  should 
be  excluded.  This  cannot  apply,  however,  to  the  seed  of  the  oak, 
because  that  part  of  the  process  is  performed  before  the  shell  is  rup- 
tured. Now,  the  conditions  which  surround  the  starting  point  of 
vegetable  growth  are  good  subjects  to  study,  and  are  also  matters 
which  cannot  be  treated  with  indifference,  or  in  ignorance,  if  we 
propose  to  attain  good  results.  Just  what  bearing  the  air-grown 
and  the  earth-grown  processes  have,  relatively,  upon  the  fibre  and 
the  heart  of  oak,  it  would  be  of  much  interest  and  value  to  know. 
A  buried  acorn  somehow  strives  to  get  to  the  surface,  and  when 
there,  this  is  noticed — that  the  cotyledons  acquire  a  greenish  tinge 
of  color  which  they  do  not  have  when  buried.  Does  this  not  fur- 
nish some  significant  information  ?  Is  it  not  known  that  in  all  etio- 
late plants,  when  compared  with  the  same  species  which  have  been 
air-grown  as  it  were,  or  grown  in  the  sunbeams,  are  wanting  in 
carbon  and  astringency — the  very  essentials  in  which  the  now  perish- 
able wood  of  oak  is  so  markedly  deficient.  Is  not  our  blanched 
celery  of  the  table  an  illustration  of  this  also  ?  We  have  soft,  tender 
threads  and  much  succulency.  So  in  the  artificially  grown  oak  we 
have  a  loose  texture  and  a  weak  fibre.  Think  for  a  moment  of  the 
wood  of  oak  enduring  in  use  five  hundred  years !  Start  growth 
wisely  and  well,  the  timber,  and  parts  will  be  good ;  the  tree  may 
be  gnarled,  stunted,  deformed  in  comparison  with  lines  of  grace, 
symmetry  and  beauty  in  limb  and  branch,  but  the  durability  will 
nevertheless  be  there,  and  the  traditions  of  the  staunch  old  oak  still 
be  a  boast  of  our  time. 
