Iff
8 4 6 ARBORETUM E T FRU T IC E TUM BR ITA N N ICUM .
Female flowers numerous, enclosed in a scaly bud.
length su rrounded by a la cerated involucrum.
G e n u s I .
N u t oval, smooth, at
J » .
Q U E 'l lC U S L . T h e O a k . L in . Syst. Monoe'cia Polyándria.
I d e n ii fic a tio n . L in . G e n . , 4 9 5 . ; J u s s . . 4 1 0 .; F l . B r „ 102.5. ; T o u r n . , t . 3 4 9 .; L am . , L 779.
S u n o n v m e s . / ' l o x T o u r n . ; S ú b e r T o u r n . ; D e rw , C e lti c ; A a a c k , o r A c , S a x o n ; A I, A lo n , o r A ilu n ,
H e b r e w ; D n i s , G r e e k ; C h ê n e , F r . ; E ic l i e , G e r . ; E i k , D u tc h ; Q u e r c i a , J ta l. ; E n c i n a , S p a n .
D e r i v a t i o n . F r o m lin e , a n d cmcx, a t r e e , C e /í/c , a c c o r d in g to L e p e l l e t i e r : b u t, a c c o rd in g to
o th e r s , f rom t h e G r e e k w o rd c h o ir o s , a p ig ; b e c a u s e p ig s f e e d o n t h e a c o r n s . T h e C e l ti c n am e
fo r t h i s t r e e (D e rw ) is s a id to b e th e r o o t o f t h e w o rd D r u i d ( t h a t is , p r i e s t o f th e o a k ) , a n d o! th e
G r e e k n am e D r u s . T h e H e b r ew n a m e f o r th e o a k (A I , o r A lo n ) is s a id t o b e th e o r ig in o f th e olci
E n g l i s h w o rd i la n ( o r i g in a l l y s ig n i fy in g a n o a k g r o v e , o r p la c e o f w o r s h ip o f th e d r u id s , a n d a f t e r w
a rd « b y im p l i c a t io n , a to w n o r p a r i s h ) , a n d a ls o o f th e I r i s h w o rd s c la n a n d d u n . I n t h e B o o k o t
I s a i a h , x l iv . 14., id o l s a r e s a id to b e m a d e o f A l lu n , o r A lo n ; t h a t i s , o f o a k . { L o w th 's T r a n s . )
Gen. Char., f r . Flowers unisexual. — iWafcs disposed in long, slender, pendulous
catkins, in groups. Ea ch flower consists o f 8 or more stamens,
and th e se are a tten d ed by 6— 8 bracteas, th a t a re cohe rent a t the
base, and resemble a 6—8-parted cafrn. — Female flowei-s erec t on axillary
peduncles, a few upon a peduncle. Ea ch flower consists o f a pistil,
whose ovary, and th e basal p a rt o f whose style, are invested with an
adnate calyx to o th ed a t th e tip. Style sh o rt. Stigma 3-lobed. Fru it an
a c o rn ; its lower p a rt having an imbricate cup. (G . D o n .)
Leaves simple, alternate, stipulate, deciduous or evergreen ; entire, serrated,
or lobed. Flowers greenish white. — Tre es, chiefly large and deciduous ;
natives o f Eu ro p e , Asia, and America.
T h e oaks, in point o f usefulness to man, are only to be equalled by the
pine and fir tribe. T h e la tte r may be considered th e domestic, and the
former th e defensive, trees o f civilised society. T h e oak is never found in
perfection, ex c ep t in a good soil, and in a temperate climate. Like almost
all o th e r plants, it will thrive in a deep sandy loam o r in vegetable soil, but
to attain its full size, and to bring its timber to perfection, it requires a soil
more o r less alluvial o r loamy ; and th e E u ro p e an oaks a re always most
lu x u rian t, and produce th e best timber, on a soil somewhat calcareous. No
oak, in th e temperate climates, is found o f a lai’ge size a t a great elevation
above th e level o f th e sea, or where th e climate is very severe in spring. In
th e Himalayas, and in Mexico, oaks are found o f large size on mountains ; but
heavy, tough, and durable ; and, in most, th e en tire plant, and more especially
th e bark, leaves, and fruit, abound in astringent ma tte r and in tannin.
Tlie wood o f th e larger-growing E u ro p e an kinds, and more especially of
th e group Ròbur, is considered superior to all o th e r E u ro p e an o r American
woods for ship-building. T h e wood o f Q. alba, and th a t o f Q. virens, are
most esteemed for tlie same object in America. Th e wood of th e group Cérris is
also employed in ship-building in Turkey and Greece. The oak is generally
propagated by seed, and time will be gained by sowing acorns where the
plants"are intended finally lo remain. Varieties are propagated by inarching
or whip-grafting, th e la tte r being performed close to th e surface o f th e ground
on th e collar o f th e plant ; and th e graft afterwards ea rthed up. All the
American deciduous oaks may be grafted on Q. Cérris, and all th e evergreen
oaks, both E u ro p e an and American, on Q. T le x . The mode o f raising oaks
from th e acorn is th e same in all th e species. T h e acorns need n o t be
g athered from th e tre e , b u t may be collected from th e ground immediately
after they have d ro p p ed ; and, as in th e case o f o th e r tre e seeds, they may
be either sown then, or k ep t till th e following spring. I f they are to be kept,
LXX. c o r y l a ' c e æ : q u e ' r c u s . 8 4 7
they should be made perfectly dry in th e sun ; o r in an airy shade mixed with
dry sand, in th e proportion o f th re e bushels o f sand to one bushel o f acorus,
o r with dry moss ; and then excluded from th e air and vermin, by being p u t
into barrels o r boxes, o r laid up in a cellar, o r buried in heaps, and covered
with a sufficient thickness o f ea rth to exclude th e weather. I f th e acorns
are to be tran sp o rted from one cou n try to another, th e same mixing with
dry sand o r dry moss, and exclusion from th e air, a re a d o p te d ; b u t th e
more ce rtain mode o f retaining th e vital principle in acorns is, to mix t l i ^
with moist ea rth , o r with moist live moss {¿phagnum) : in e ith er o f th e
la tte r mediums, th ey will germinate during a long voyage ; b u t no evil will
resu lt from this, provided they are sown immediately on th e ir arrival. When
acorns are to be sown in a nursery, th e soil ought to be thoroughly prepared
and rendered fine ; and, after th e earth is drawn off' th e beds, or th e drills
opened, th e acorns may either be scattered over th e beds, or along th e drills,
so th a t th e n u ts may be about 2 in. ap a rt; and, to regulate this distance
with greater certainty, th e sand may be separated from th e acorns with a
sieve. In either case, th e acorns, before covering, must be patted down with
th e back o f a spade in th e beds, and with th e back o f a wooden-headed
rake in th e drills. T h e covering, which ought to be o f well-broken soil,
should vary in depth, according to th e size o f th e acorn ; 1| in. being enough
for those o f th e largest size, such as th o se o f th e groups .Robur, ATbae, &c. ;
and in. for those o f th e smallest size, such as th o se o f th e groups I'le x ,
PheUos &c. No mode o f depositing acorns in th e soil can be worse than
th a t o f dropping them in holes made by a dibber. T h e acorn drops into
th e hole, and becomes wedged by its sides before it gets to th e bottom ; and,
if th e u p p er extremity o f th e acoru should be downwards instead o f upwards,
it can hardly be expected to grow. F o r this reason, th e dibber should only
be used in pulverised soils ; and th e point o f th e in strum en t should be ol a
diameter greater th an th e length o f th e largest acorn which has to be dropped
into th e hole. As acorns are greedily devoured by vermin, and especially by
land ra ts and mice, they ought to be sown in an open p a rt o f th e n u rs e ry not
n ea r hedges, ditches, or houses ; and where, whether in nurseries or m fields
intended to become oak woods, m uch danger is apprehended from vermin, they
ought n o t to be sown till late in March, so as to lessen th e period between th e
depositing o f th e acorn and its becoming a plant.
As all oaks, when young, are remarkable for throwing down long and vigorous
tap ro o ts, and producing few lateral ones, they ought to be sown where
they are finally to remain, especially if th e subsoil be good, and oth e r circumstances
n o t unfavourable ; but, as this cannot always be th e case, it is
customary among nurserymen to tran sp lan t th e oak a t one o r two years
■n-owth, removing great part o f the ta p r o o t; some o f them, however, shorten
th e ta p ro o t w ith o u t removing th e plant, by inserting th e spade obliquely
in th e soil, so as to cu t through th e ro o ts, a t from 6 in. to 8 in. beneath
th e su rfa c e ; an operation most conveniently performed when th e oaks are
sown in drills ; because in th a t case th e spade can first be inserted all along
one side o f th e drill, and then all along th e o th e r. Th e F ren ch nurserymen,
when acorns walnuts, and oth e r tre e seeds which send down very long taproots
are to be reared with a view to being transplanted, sometimes germinate
th em ’ in moist earth, o r in sawdust, placed in a temperature o f 50 or 60 ;
and after th e radicle has been protruded two or th re e times th e length ol th e
acorn o r nut, pinch off its extreme point before th e seed is committed to th e
soil. This tre atm en t, which is applicable, as we have seen m th e case o th e
horsechestnut (see p. 125.). to most large-seeded trees, has the_effect oi immediately
causing th e ta p ro o t to throw o u t numm'Ous lateral fibres ; wlncfi
is hio-hly favourable for transplantation, though it is n o t so for tlie rapid
growth of th e tre e for th e first year o r two afterwards. T o co u n teract its
effect in this respect, when th e tre e is planted where it is finally to remain, and
has grown th e re two or th re e years, it ought to be cu t down to th e ground ;
after which it will throw np vigorous shoots, and send down pcrpeiidiculai
■1. r i '