which are close together and almost obtuse; green above, and downy beneath. The acorns are pedunculated, and half-enclosed in a smooth cup. The bark is cracked, but not corky. It is a native of Spain; and, according to Bosc, there is a plant at Trianon, raised from seed brought from Gibraltar by M. Richard in 1754.

Q. Bróssa Bosc Mém. sur les Chênes, p. 319.; Chêne Brosse at Nantes ; Chêne nain Bonami; bears so great an analogy to Q. pyrenaica (see p. 1842.), that, according to Bosc, it may possibly be only a variety of that species: the leaves are, however, smaller and less velvety; the divisions are larger, wider apart, and more obtuse; and the margins are less frequently denticulated. The leaves are cordiform, and slightly unequal at the base. The acorns (which Bosc had only seen when young) are borne five or six together on a long peduncle: the scales of their cups are broad and long. Bosc found this oak in great abundance between Périgueux and Bordeaux. De Candolle found it near Mons, Angers, and Nantes, where it was known by the name of Chêne Brosse. It grows in the most arid soil, where it is a low shrub, and appears to be the same that Bonami called the chêne nain. In good soil it grows much larger, and, Bosc observes, has probably been confounded with a variety of Q. sessilifidra, and Q. apennina, under the name of chène à trochets.

Q. viminalis Bosc Mém. sur les Chênes, p. 316. ; Chêne Saule, Chêne Osier, Chêne de Haie, Fr. (see p. 1737.); is found in the departments in the east of France. It is common on the Jura, and on the mountains of the Vosges. It seldom grows higher than 6 ft. or 8 ft., with a grey bark; leaves resembling those of Q. pedunculata, but much smaller, of a brighter green, and always very smooth. The fruit is sessile, and the nut is deeply buried in the cup. The wood is white, and so pliant, that it is extremely difficult to break it. Excellent hedges are made of this species in the countries where it is indigenous, because it produces its shoots constantly from the collar, and, consequently, forms a very thick mass of branches, which cross each other, and often form natural grafts. When these hedges are cut down, the larger pieces of the wood are used for fuel, and the smaller shoots made into baskets, which are of very great duration. The stools throw up strong, straight, flexible shoots, 5 ft. or 6 ft. in length, which are excellent for all the purposes of wickerwork. According to Bosc, this species does not change its nature by transplanting; as a tree at Versailles has exactly the same aspect which those have which grow between Langres and Dijon, where, he says, the species is well known to the inhabitants as being quite distinct. So desirable a kind ought certainly to be introduced into Britain; and plants may, doubtless, be obtained from Dijon, or from Messrs. Audibert, at Tarascon,

Q. áspera Bosc Mém. sur les Chênes, p. 328.; le Chêne âpre, Fr.; has the leaves petioled, coriaceous, of a medium size, elongated irregularly, but not deeply lobed; the lobes broad, pointed, and mucronated. The upper surface of the leaf is studded with small tubercles, beset with stiff bristlelike hairs, disposed in stars, which are very rough to the touch; the under surface is downy. This species does not attain any great height. Bosc states that this oak stands the open air in the neighbourhood of Paris; from which circumstance it may possibly not belong to Q. I'lex, which requires protection there during winter.

Chêne Lézermien Bosc Mém. sur les Chènes, p. 328., is nearly allied to the preceding kind; but the leaves are sessile, oval, and simply, though broadly, dentated: they are mucronated and rough above, and downy beneath. Bosc does not mention any Latin name to this oak, but states that he gave its French name in honour of the director of the nursery in which it grew. He adds, "I have received a specimen of this species under the name of chêne Turner; but, as I have stated before, I think that name belongs to the chêne de Gibraltar (Q. Pseudo-Sùber)." Like the preceding sort, the chéne Lézermien is said to be hardy in the neighbourhood of Paris.

Chêne Castillan Bosc Mêm. sur les Chênes, p. 328., has the leaves oval, pointed, slightly tomentose beneath, with unequal teeth, each terminated by a sharp turned up point. The acorns are borne three or four together on short peduncles. Bosc found this oak in great abundance in Spain, on the sandy mountains of Old Castile. He observes that it has been probably confounded with Q. aspera and the chène Lézermien, to which it is very nearly allied; and adds, “I have never seen specimens of it more than 10 ft, or 12 ft. high. Its wood appears to be very hard. Its acorns are eaten both raw and cooked, as are those of the two above-named kinds. Their taste is very inferior to that of the chestnut; but it is not disagreeable. The consumption of these acorns in Spain is considerable, if I may judge from the quantities of them that I saw in the market at Burgos, when I passed through that town. This oak grows in the poorest soils." From the above description, it appears to us not improbable that the chêne Castillan may be the Q. gramúntia L.

Q. lusitánica Lamb. Dict., 1. p. 719., Willd., No. 32., N. Du Ham., 7. p. 162., Smith in Rees's Cycl., No. 39.; Q. valentina Cav. Ic., 2. p. 25. t. 129., and our fig. 1817.; Robur 4., Clust. Hist., p. 18., and Robur 5. p. 19.; Gálla, sive Robur majus Ger.

Emac., 1348., and G. minor Ger. Emac., p. 1349.; the Portuguese Gall Oak; Chêne du Portugal, Fr.; has the leaves elliptical, with deep pointed serratures; downy beneath. Fruit racemose. Calyx hemispherical. Nut oblong. (Willd.) A shrub, or low tree, somewhat resembling Q. infectòria; a native of Portugal, said to have been introduced into England in 1824. Lamarck says that this species consists of several varieties, all very low shrubs, subject to bear galls; their branches copious and slender; their leaves small, intermediate in form between the evergreen and the ordinary oaks of Europe. Willdenow describes the leaves as 1 in. long, oblong, obtuse, and rigid; their serratures somewhat pointed; the upper surface polished and smooth; the under hoary with slender, starry, crowded hairs. Footstalks short. Fruit racemose, or, rather, on a sort of spike. Willdenow adds that the figure of Cavanilles scarcely answers to the plant in question; and, indeed, that author describes his species as a tree taller than Q. I'lex, with deciduous leaves, and large solitary acorns. (See fig. 1817., reduced from the figure of Cavanilles, and which shows a gall on one of the leaves.) Bosc says that this species is cultivated in the Pépinière du Roule, where it was a shrub from 5 ft. to 6 ft. in height, and retained its leaves till the end of winter. It flowered freely, but did not produce any fruit, and could only be propagated by inarching. Capt. Cook, as we have seen p. 1906. thinks this species the Q. Ballota of Valencia, and the same as the Q. Ballòta of which he saw plants some years ago at Messrs. Malcolm's.

1817

Q. prásina Pers. Syn., 2. p. 568., N. Du Ham., 7. p. 161. t. 44. f. 1., and our fig. 1818.; Q. glaúca Bosc Mém. sur les Chênes, p. 26.; has the leaves persistent, oval-oblong, dentated, and rather spiny; very smooth, and glaucous; acorns on peduncles. This oak does not attain a great height; but, according to the Nouveau Du Hamel, it partakes more of the character of a tree than of a shrub. From a specimen in the Jardin des Plantes, it appears that the full-grown tree would probably be about 15 ft. or 20 ft. high, with numerous, slender, spreading branches, perfectly smooth. The leaves

are of a glaucous green, quite glabrous on both sides; on rather long footstalks, of an oblong oval form, with the indentations generally terminating in a short bristly spine. The flowers are generally produced two or three together at the extremity of the branches, on a peduncle about 6 lines long. This oak is said to be a native of Portugal.

Q. calycina Poir. Dict. Encyc. Suppl., 2. p. 216., N. Du Ham. 7. p. 159., has oval-elliptic leaves, cottony and yellowish beneath. Nuts ovate-oblong, in a long pubescent calyx. This oak, according to M. Poiret, greatly resembles the ilex. It is of middling size, with nume rous unequal branches, covered, when young, with an ash-coloured down. The leaves are oval, and slightly pointed at the apex; about 1 in. long, entire, or slightly dentated with a few small teeth; smooth and shining above, except when quite young; cottony and rather yellowish beneath, with downy petioles. The acorns are oval, very long, and borne on short, thick, axillary peduncles. The nut is enveloped for three quarters of its length in a very deep pubescent calyx, often 8 or 9 lines long, covered with very closely set scales, and warty. This tree is a native of France, having been found near Orange, in the department of Vaucluse, by M. De Bressieux, who sent specimens of it to M. Poiret. Q. expansa Poir. Dict. Encyc. Suppl., 2. p. 217., N. Du Ham., 7. p. 158., has the leaves oval, and slightly dentated; white and cottony beneath; acorns oval on peduncles, with very large, pubescent, bell-shaped calyxes. This oak differs very slightly from Q. calycina, and is a native of the same habitat. It is about 12 ft. or 15 ft. high; dividing into numerous branches, which are downy when young. Its leaves closely resemble those of Q. calycina, except in being rather shorter, and that their downy pubescence beneath is white, instead of being yellowish. The acorns are shorter, and thick; and the calyx is nearly flat, and bell-shaped. Poiret mentions two forms of this species differing slightly in the calyx.

MAG

MAO

f.MAC 1818

Q. rotundifolia Lam. Dict., 1. p. 723., Willd. Sp. Pl., 4. p. 434., N. Du Ham., 7. p. 158., Rees's Cycl., No. 37.; the round-leaved Spanish Oak; Chêne à Feuilles rondes; has persistent leaves, which are obovate-oblong, with spinous teeth, heart-shaped at the base, smoothish above, and downy beneath. This oak is very imperfectly known, as neither Lamarck nor Willdenow had seen either its flowers or fruit. The acorns are said to be sweet and eatable. It is a native of Spain, whence it was brought to France; and there is a small plant in the Jardin des Plantes. In the Nouveau Du Hamel, it is said to be possibly a variety of Ilex; but Bosc supposes it to be either closely allied to, or identical with, Q. gramúntia. There are numerous plants of it, he says (writing in 1806), in the Paris gardens.

Q. humilis Lam. Dict., 1. p. 719., Willd. Sp. Pl., 4. p. 435., Ger. Emac., 1340., N. Du Ham., 7. p. 161., Rees's Cycl., No. 38.; Q. pèdem vix superans Bauh. Pin, 420.; Robur 7., sive Q. pùmila, Clus. Hist., 1. p. 19.; the dwarf Portuguese Oak; Chène pygmée, Fr.; has the leaves obovate, with spiny teeth at their apex, and rather heart-shaped at the base; downy beneath. Calyx of the fruit flattened. Nut oblong. This curious little shrub was found by Clusius, in barren sandy ground near Lisbon, very abundant. The whole plant is rarely more than 1 ft. high when wild; though Lamarck says that, by cultivation, it may be made to attain the height of 3 ft. or 4 ft. The leaves strongly resemble those of the ilex. They are about 1 in. or 14 in. long, on very short footstalks: smooth and shining above, downy and hoary beneath; the larger veins straight and parallel, and the smaller ones reticulated. The acorns are sessile; the nut is oblong, and more bitter than that of the common British oak, with a very shallow, and rather flattened, calyx. This is still common in sandy soil in Portugal. The Q. humilis of the London gardens, noticed in p. 1924., is a very different plant from that here described.

App. iii. African Oaks which have not yet been introduced.

Q. obtécta Poir. Dict. Encyc. Suppl., 2. p. 218., N. Du Ham., 7. p. 163., has the leaves nearly oval, slightly toothed, glabrous, shining. Acorns on peduncles, nearly solitary. Nut hidden in the cup. The branches of this species are ash-coloured, glabrous, and extremely flexible. The leaves are entire, or bordered with a few spiny teeth. The cup only opens a little at the extremity, and is closely imbricated; the upper scales being looser than the others, and somewhat recurved at the point.

App. iv. Oaks of Asia Minor and Persia not yet introduced.

Q. infectòria Oliv. Voy. dans l'Emp. Ottom., 1. p. 253. t. 14, 15., Oliv. Trav., Eng. ed. 2., p. 42. t. 14. and 15., N. Du Ham., 7. p. 162. t. 49. f. 1., Willd., No. 33., Rees's Cycl., No. 40. ; Q. cariensis Willd.; Chêne à Galles, Fr.; Färber Eiche, Ger.;

and our figs. 1819. and 1820.; the first from Olivier, and the second from Du Hamel. Leaves ovate-oblong, very smooth on both sides, deeply toothed, somewhat sinuated, deciduous. Fruit sessile; ripening the second year. Calyx tessellated. Nut elongated, nearly cylindrical. (Sm. and Willd.) This oak, according to Olivier, seldom attains the height of 6 ft.; and the stem is crooked, with the habit of a shrub, rather than that of a tree. The leaves are about 1 in. or 1 in. long, deciduous, bright green, smooth on both sides, but paler beneath; their serratures are deep and broad, not acutely pointed. Fruit solitary, nearly ses-ve

sile. Cup slightly downy; its scales not very distinct. Acorn two or three umes longer than the cup, smooth, nearly cylindrical. Olivier observes that this plant, besides producing the galls of commerce, bears a number of different kinds of this excrescence, which are neglected as useless. The tree, according to Bosc, has been long in the Jardin des Plantes at Paris, where it bears the winters quite well in the open air, losing its leaves in the autumn. He has no doubt that it may be propagated in abundance in the south of France; but considers it doubtful whether the insect could be introduced and multiplied there with equal facility. According to the catalogues, this

species was introduced into England in 1822; but we have never seen it, and we are not aware that there is a living plant of it in the neighbourhood of London.

1821

The gall fly of Q. infectòria belongs to the family Cynípida Westw. (Diplolepariæ Latreille.) Amongst the excrescences, or galls, produced by the punctures of the different species of this family of insects, the galls, or nut galls, of commerce (in French, galles and noix de galle; in German, gall-apfel; in Italian, galle and galluzze; in Latin, galla; in Arabian, afis; in Hindostanee, mayuphal; and in Persian, mayer)

are by far the most valuable, being much employed in the manufacture of ink, as well as occasionally for medicinal purposes. These galls, which, when full grown (fig. 1821.), are of the size of a boy's marble, of

a rounded form, and rather uneven surface, are attached to the slender stems of the branches of Q. infectòria, and are produced by the Diplólepis, or, more properly, Cynips Gállæ tinctòria Oliv. Enc. Méth., vi. p. 281.; Cynips scriptòrum Kirby and Spence Intr., i. p. 319. This insect (fig. 1822. d) is of a pale brown colour, and may often be found enclosed in the galls sold in the shops of the druggists, &c.; these galls having been collected before the insect had made its escape. Fig. 1822. a is a section of one of these galls. The natural history of this family of insects may be stated in a very few words, although the physiological nature of the changes which take place in the action of the juices of the plants attacked by them, whereby galls of a very great diversity of form are produced, has not been ascertained. female Cynípidæ are furnished with an instrument, or ovipositor, of a curved form, and, for the most part, concealed within the abdomen, the extremity only

1822

The

being slightly exposed. After impregnation, the eggs are deposited by means of this boring instrument, which is exsertile, within the leaves or twigs of various plants; shortly after which the galls are formed on the outside of the attacked part, the eggs being forced from the place where they were originally deposited, and occupying the centre of the newly formed gall, which is generally of a fleshy nature, and serves as food to the young grub (fig. 1822. b), when hatched; the pupa state (fig. 1822. c) succeeds, and is passed either within the gall, as in the insect now under consideration, or in the earth; the larva having previously to its change eaten its way out; soon after which, the insect assumes its imago state. Hence, it will be at once obvious, that a gall, from which the insect has escaped, must necessarily contain less astringent principle than one which has its interior less consumed by the insect, which still remains enclosed therein; and hence it is that there are two kinds of gall nuts known in commerce: those which still contain the insect, and which are known in the trade under the names of black or blue galls and green galls, and termed yerli by the natives of the countries where they are collected; and those from which the insect has escaped, and which are called white galls. The latter contain not more than two thirds of the astringent qualities of the former, and are of a pale brown or whitish colour, less compact, and not so heavy. (Oliv. Voy. dans l'Empire Ottoman; and Travels in Egypt, vol. ii. p. 61.) Mr. M'Culloch states that these galls "are principally exported from Aleppo, Tripoli, Smyrna, and Said: those brought from the first come chiefly from Mosul, on the western bank of the Tigris, about 10 days' journey from Aleppo. The real Mosul galls are unquestionably the best of any: but all that are gathered in the surrounding country are sold under this name. Those from Caramania are of very inferior quality. The gall nuts met with in India are carried thither from Persia by Arabian merchants." (Com. Dict., p. 595.) General Hardwicke, however, states that he discovered the tree upon which they are found in the neighbourhood of Adwuanie. (Asiat. Rep., vol. vi. p. 376.) "The price of galls, in the London markets, varies from 65s. to 85s. per cwt. The duty is 5s. per cwt." (M'Cull. Com. Dict., art. Gall.) The white and blue galls are generally sold mixed together in about equal proportions, and are then called galls in sorts; and occasionally fraud is attempted by dyeing the white galls with a blue dye, but their lighter weight will render it easy to detect them at once.

The chief use made of these galls is in the manufacture of common writing ink, which is made by adding an infusion of the gall nut to sulphate of iron dissolved in water. A very fine precipitate is thrown down, the speedy subsidence of which is prevented by the addition of a proper quantity of gum arabic. This is usually accounted for by the superior affinity of the gallic acid; which, combining with the iron, takes it from the sulphuric acid, and occasions it to fall down. Logwood is also a useful ingredient in ink, its colouring matter uniting with the oxide of iron, and rendering it not only of a very dark colour, but less liable to change from the action of acids, or the external air. The application of heat is also necessary; because by its action the galls are almost entirely soluble in water, which is not the case when they are simply macerated. Gallic acid may be obtained from the infusion, merely by sublimation. The solution also contains a large quantity of tannin, as it gives a very copious precipitate with solution of gelatine. The proportion of these ingredients in 815 grains of solid matter are, according to Sir Humphry Davy, as follows:130 of tannin, 31 gallic acid, 12 saline and earthy matter, and 12 supposed to be mucilage and extractive matter. Gall nuts are also very extensively used in dyeing; and, being the most powerful of vegetable astringents," they are frequently used with great effect in medicine, both externally and internally, in the form of powders, infusions, tinctures, or ointments; as in long protracted and obstinate diarrhoeas, intestinal hæmorrhages, and intermittents; and, when judiciously combined with tonics and aromatics, have been found useful. Much caution is, however, required in administering so powerful a medicine; and the dose should not exceed 10 grains or a scruple three times a day. An

infusion, made with 2 drachms of bruised galls to 12 ounces of boiling water, may be used as an injection; and, in conjunction with a small portion of spirits of wine, forms a good gargle for relaxation of the uvula." (Stephenson and Churchill's Medical Botany, vol. iv. pl.

152.) M. Robiquet (as quoted in the Athenæum for April 15. 1837) has been making various experiments on the tannin and gallic acid contained in gall nuts. One of the most remarkable results obtained by him is, a knowledge of the great difference of time which it takes to transform pure tannin into gallic acid, and to produce it from the entire nut. Eight months will not complete the former operation, while one month is sufficient for the latter; a proof that the gall nut contains principles, perhaps gum or rather mucilage, which facilitate fermentation. Another

important result is a confirmation of the opinion of M. Polonger, that gallic acid is to be derived from tannin.

The Dead Sea Apple.

duces another sort of gall (fig. 1823. from copy furnished us by Mr. Westwood; and fig. 1824. from the figure given by Oliver, t.15.), of a much larger size than the common gall nut, of a spongy substance, very light, of a brownish red colour, covered with a resinous coat, and furnished with a cirIcular row of tubercles, placed round the centre. Olivier does not, however, appear to have been aware of the identity of these galls with the far-famed apples of the Dead Sea, the nature of which has so greatly perplexed naturalists,and which are mentioned, both by Tacitus and Josephus, as being beauti

Olivier informs us that Quércus infectòria also pro

ful to the eye, but crumbling at the touch to dust and bitter ashes. By some writers, the existence of these vegetable productions has been entirely doubted. Pococke supposes them to be pomegranates left for two or three years upon the tree; Hasselquist pronounced these "Poma sodomitica," as they have been called, to be the fruit of the Solànum Melongèna (the egg plant, or mad apple); Seetzen considered them to be the fruit of a species of cotton tree; Châteaubriand the fruit of a shrub; and Captains Mangles and Irby have no doubt that they have discovered them in the oskar plant. Mr. Conder, how