Virgil  says  of  it,  —

"  Qaantara  rertioe  ad  auras
^theriai,  tantum  radice  in  Tartara  tendit."  ^

It  does  not  often  tower  upwards  to  so  magnificent  a  height
as  many  other  trees,  but,  wlien  standing  alone,  it  throws  out
its  mighty  arms  with  an  air  of  force  and  grandeur  which  have
made  it  everywhere  to  bo  considered  the  fittest  emblem  of
strength  and  power  of  resistance.  And  deservedly:  no  tree
m  New  England  is  to  bo  compared  to  the  oak  in  this  respect,
save  the  tupelo,  and  that  in  very  rare  instances.  Nothing
gave  so  vivid  an  impression  of  the  irresistible  force  of  the
wind,  in  the  great  hurricane  of  1815,  as  its  laying  prostrate
even  the  oak.  For,  commonly,  the  oak  braves  the  storm  to
the  last,  without  yielding,  better  than  any  other  tree.  The
limbs  go  out  at  a  great  angle,  and  stretch  horizontally  to  a
vast  distance.  This,  with  the  great  size  of  the  limbs,  is  its
striking  character,  and  what  gives  it  its  peculiar  appearance.
They  do  not  always  go  straight  out,  but  crook  and  bend,  to
right  an4  left,  upwards  and  downwards,  abruptly,  or  with  a
gentle  sweep.  The  smaller  branches  preserve,  in  a  consider-
able degree,  the  character  of  the  limbs,  and  the  spray  varies
with  the  species.  So  do  the  leaves,  although,  in  the  several
species  of  the  same  group,  there  is  a  striking  similarity ;  and  I
have  gathered  from  the  same  stock,  leaves  which  would  seem

1  "  Whose  roots  descend
As  low  towards  Plato's  realms,  as  high  in  air
Its  massive  branches  rise."


n.    1.  THE  OAK.  139

to  belong  to  several  different  species.  Indeed,  the  nearly
allied  species  are  not  to  be  distinguished  by  their  leaves  alone,
viewed  at  any  one  season.
