The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1883-04-11
The Oak Tree.
BY HELEN HARcoURT.

BY, HELEN HARCOURT.
Pre.emlnent among the most val
liable OF our forest trees, all over the
world, stands the oak. The great
strength and durability Of its timber,
its tenacity, combined with its light
ness, above all its peculiar adapta.
bility to shipbuilding, have fairly won
for it the proud title of Monarch Of
the Woods" Glance backward as
far as we may, we still find the oak
held in the same high esteem by all
nations, with the ancient Gauls and
Britons, and no less too, the Greeks
and Romans, it was sacred tree.
The latter, indeed. dedicated it to
their chief deity, Jupiter; and the
husbandmen of that nation never
commenced their harvest without
first placing on their heads wreath
of oak leaves. The Druids too, that
majestic priesthood Of the past, held
their solemn ceremonies beneath this
time~honored tree, and one of their
most impressive rights consisted IN
cutting the mistletoe from it's trank.
The oak family, in all its branches,
is great lover of the temperate
chimes, manifesting a remarkable dis
taste to either extreme of heat or
cold. In the Torrid Zone it is never
met with, save at such an elevation
as practically transports it to its fa>
vorite temperature, while in the far
northern latitudes it becomes but
sickly, stunted shadow OF its true
self.
America proudly claims fifty
species of this noble tree; Europe a
much smaller number, while England
can boast of only three indigenous
varieties.
Just as we find human members of
the same family widely. differing in
form and feature, so do we find
corresponding diversity amongst the
great family OF oaks. Some are
Axlsllln 1ne ys..:ss-'..s
s@,s0ut. some are mere stunted
dwarts. hardly more than shrubs, and
yet withal there is a strong family
resemblance which cannot readily be
mistaken.
The wood of the oak forms re
markable exception to the we'll
known rule, that "timber, to be val>
liable, must be hard and closely
grained" On the contrary, a single
glance at vertical section Of an oak
tree, reveals the fact that its texture
is full of minute pores, forming
sponge-like net work.
While many species of timber are
harder, many more difficult to tear
and split, yet none combines these
qualities in SO great degree as the
oak, hence its special pre-eminence
in ship>build1ng, whel e these qualities
are so necessary. @
But not alone in its gift of timber,
has the oak tree ever proved itself
the friend of man. In the olden
time when the supply of food was
less ample and less varied than at
present, man and beast found valued
article of sustenance in its fruit, the !
little polished nut which nestles down
so fondiy in tie calyx of the flower
which gave it birth.
We have all read now, during the |
Peninsular War, the French troops |
deemed themselves fortunate in find>
ing an abundant supply OF acorns in
the forests of Salamanca, and, per
haps, gazing at the little nuts that lie
on the ground all about us we have
wondered that it had never occurred
to us so to employ them. But herein,
we, in common with many others
before us, contound the common
species OF oak, with those few which
alone produce edible fruit. These
are Q,Gerous ile1, Q,terous bdllata,
(evergreens) and the escuIts oak-a
of them natives of Southern Europe
and Barbary.
The nuts of these noble trees are
pleasant in taste, and full of nutri.
ment, so much so in fact that the
classic writers tell us that the prints
tive inhabitants of Greece living al
most wholly upon them, were won>
drously fat. Even at the present
day one needs but to step into the
home of Spanish or German peas 4