1736

ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM.

PART III.

both species abound in the forest; and that he could collect a bushel of oakleaves, that would vary in breadth from that of a finger to that of a hand; andfrom being perfectly sessile, to having a footstalk 2 in. long. He findshundreds of very distinct varieties; and Mr. Childe’s wood-cutter informedhim that, in regard to the qualities and appearance of the wood, thereare three very distinct sorts, which are called the black, the red, and thewhite oak. The black oak produces the hardest, ^nd the white oak thesoftest, timber. Specimens of these three kinds of timber have been sentto us; and though they are taken from trees of not more than a foot indiameter, the difference of the colour of the heart wood is obvious, thoughcertainly not so much as we expected to see it.

I 2. Q. sessiliflo'ra Sal. The sessile-flowered Oak .

Identification. Sal. Prod., 392.; Smith FI. Br., No. 2. a ; Eng. Bot., t. 1845.

Synonymes. Q. Robur Willd., No. 64., Ait., No. 23., Lam. Diet ., 1. p. 717., Dm. Ham., 7.p. 176 .; Q- R. var. sessile Mart. FI., Rust., 1.11.; Q. s6ssilis Ehrh. Arb., 87.; Q. platyph^llos, ma3et feem., Dalech. Hist., 2.3.; Q. latifolia mas, &c., Bauh. Pin., Raii Syn., 440.; Q. regilis Bur-net Chene male, Secondat , t. iv. f. 1, 2. p. 18. ; Chestnut Oak, Bay Oak; Chene roure or rouvre,Durelin, Fr. ; Stein Eiche, gemeine Eicne, spat Eiche, Winter Eiche, diirr Eiche, roth Eiche ,Berg Eiche, Ger. ; Quercia vera, Ital. ; Roble, Span.

Derivation. The name of Chestnut Oak is given to this species, because its wood is said to resemblethat of the sweet chestnut. Bay Oak, from some fancied resemblance of the leaves to those of thelaurel bay. The French names imply the male oak, the red oak, and the hard oak. The Ger-man names, the stone oak, the common oak,'the late oak, in allusion to its lateness in leafing;the winter oak, from its frequently keeping on its leaves during winter j dry oak, probably from theleaves remaining on the tree after they have become dry and withered; red oak, from the colour ofits wood; and hill oak, from its being more abundant on hilly ground than the Q. pedunculata,

Engravings. Eng. Bot., t. 1845.; Mart. FI. Rust., 1.11.; N. Du Ham., 7. t. 52. j Willd. Abbild. ,1.130.; our Jig. 1572.; and the plate of this tree in our last Volume.

Spec. Char,,8?c. Leaves on longish footstalks, deciduous, oblong, smooth;sinuses opposite, rather acute; lobes obtuse. Fruit sessile. Nut oblong.{Smith.) Leaves, when young, pubescent beneath. {Willd.) A tree, readilydistinguished from the preceding species, even

at a distance, by the less tufted appearance,and generally paler green, of its foliage duringsummer; and, in winter, by its less tortuousspray and branches, by its lighter-colouredbark,by its large buds, and by its frequently retainingits leaves, after they have withered, till the fol-lowing spring. There are trees of this speciesat Kenwood (which takes its name from theoaks there, being originally Kern Wood, theacorn, or oak, wood); one in the grounds ofthe Protestant Dissenters’ School at Mill Hill,formerly the residence of Peter Collinson;

some, according to Martyn, at Norwood, in Ife S

Surrey; and numerous others at Woburn Ab- gmk, Jf ^

bey, and at Allesley; besides those in Wyre (ffij? f

Forest , and in many other places which will * „

be hereafter mentioned. There are also sped- 15

mens at Messrs. Loddiges’s, and in the Horticultural Society’s Garden; and,in 1834, there were thousands of young plants in the Milford Nursery. Ac-cording to Secondat , who wrote in 1785, the kingdom of Naples then boast-ed of a great many oaks of this species, where it was known under the nameof Quercia vera.

Varieties.

i Q. s. 2 pubescens-, <2. s. var j3 Smith Eng. FI., vol. iv. p. 150.; Q-P 1 'bescens Willd. Sp. PL, iv. p. 450., Abbild., t. 141., and our Jig- 1573.,Q.M.lanuginosum Lam. Diet., i. p. 717.; the Durmast , Mart. FLt. 12.— Leaves downy beneath. Fruit sessile, but sometimes subses-sile. The flowers appear in May, and the fruit ripens in October.Found occasionally in most of the oak woods of Europe ; and, ac-

fTir.luur tn MTilMpnnw Bavino- f1 1 „ cm., rrnniai'al «nnpnrance. attaimtlp

me same neigni, ana living to tne same age, as w. sc»oiu>.—-•