Lesson CXCII

The Oaks

Leading thought—The oak tree is the symbol of strength and loyalty. Let us study it and see what qualities in it have thus distinguished it.

Method—Any oak tree may be used for this lesson; but whatever species is used, the lesson should lead to the knowledge of all the species of oaks in the neighborhood. The tree should be sketched, essays concerning the connection of the oak with human history should be written, while the leaves and acorns may be brought into the schoolroom for study. Use Lesson CLXXXIX for a study of leaves of all the oaks of the neighborhood.

Observations—1. Describe the oak tree which you are studying. Where is it growing? What shape is its head? How high in proportion to the head is the trunk? What is the color and character of its bark? Describe its roots as far as you can see. Are the branches straight or crooked? Delicate or strong? Is the spray graceful or angular?

2. What is the name of your oak tree? What is the color of its foliage in autumn? Find three leaves from your tree which differ most widely in form, and sketch them or make leaf prints of them for your note-book. Does the leaf have the lobes rounded, or angular and tipped with sharp points? Is the leaf smooth on the lower side or rough? Is there much difference in color between the upper and the lower side?

3. Describe the acorns which grow on your oak. Has the acorn a stem, or is it set directly on the twig? How much of the acorn does the cup cover? Are the scales on the cup fine or coarse? Is the cup rounded inwards at its rim? What is the length of the acorn including the cup? The diameter? Are there acorns on your oak in winter? If so, why? Is the kernel of the acorn sweet or bitter? Plant an acorn and watch it sprout.

4. Read all the stories you can find about oak trees, and write them in your note-book.

5. How great an age does the oak attain? Describe how the country round about looked when the oak tree you are studying was planted.

6. How many kinds of oaks do you know? What is the difference in leaves between the white and the black oak groups? What is the difference in the length of time required for the acorns to mature in these two groups? The difference in taste of the acorns? The difference in the general color of the bark? Why is the chestnut oak an exception to this latter rule?

7. How do the oak leaves look when they first come out of the bud in spring? What is the color of the tree covered with new leaves? When does your oak blossom? Find the pollen-bearing blossoms which are hung in long, fuzzy, beady strings. Find the pistillate flower which is to form the acorn. Where is it situated in relation to the pollen-bearing flower?

8. Make a sketch of your oak tree in the fall, and another in the winter. Write the autobiography of some old oak tree in your neighborhood.

9. For what is the oak wood used? How is the bark used?

Supplementary reading—Trees in Prose and Poetry, pp. 111–129.