(c) Method of branching.—Carefully observe the tree from a distance, and notice how the great boughs spring from the trunk, and in their turn give rise to smaller and smaller branches. Notice the shape of a tuft of the smallest twigs against the sky; then close your eyes and try to recall the picture. A still better way is to make a careful drawing of the tree, not attempting to put in details, but paying special attention to the trunk and main branches, and to the general massing of the twigs. What is the general “expression” of the tree? Would you call it, e.g., graceful, formal, sturdy, delicate, stiff, or sombre? The method of branching is best seen in the winter or spring, when the tree is leafless.
Examine a twig in winter or spring, and notice the position of the buds. Round the tip there may be three or more crowded buds. The one at the tip generally dies, and those just behind grow out into lateral branches. Can you see any trace of this having been the case with the big boughs? On a twig make out—from the marks on the outside—the growth of last year, two, three, and four years ago. Cut these lengths across with a sharp knife, and count the rings of wood.
(d) The leaves.—Watch a marked twig from spring to summer, and notice how short are the new shoots which come from the buds, and consequently how close together the new leaves are. Does this account for the crown of foliage on the tree being so dense? Make a drawing of an oak leaf. At what time of the year do (i) the leaf-buds open, (ii) the leaves fall from the tree? In winter, try to find an oak which has not shed its leaves; is it a young tree or an old one?
(e) The flowers.—In May notice (i) the hanging catkins, each of which is a bunch of male flowers containing stamens, but no pistil; (ii) the groups of small female flowers which arise in the axils of two or three of the upper foliage leaves; each contains a pistil, but no stamens. Notice the cup of scaly bracts, which surrounds the lower part of a female flower. Does the tree flower before or after the leaf buds have expanded?
(f) The fruit.—Trace the development of the acorn from the female flower, and the change of the covering of scales into the woody cup. If possible, compare for some years the yield of acorns by a selected old oak. Germinate an acorn.
(g) Associated animals.—Make as full a list as possible of the animals which you have seen obtaining food or shelter from the oak. What was each doing when you saw it? Look for galls—the so-called “oak apples”—and cut them open to see the insect inside. Also examine the other kinds of galls found on the leaves and catkins.
[Make similar observations, sketches, and notes of other forest-trees, in addition to the special observations mentioned below, and learn to recognise their “expressions,” methods of branching, bark, leaves, flowers, and fruit.]
2. The beech.—Notice the smooth, olive-grey bark, and the “fluted column” appearance of the base of the trunk of many beeches; the long, wavy boughs; the brown, sharp leaf-buds; the smooth, silky-fringed leaves; the scarcity, or absence, of vegetation beneath the tree; the hanging, globular catkins of male flowers; the pairs of female flowers, surrounded by prickly scales. Make notes of the dates of flowering and opening of the leaf-buds. Trees may be considered in flower when the stamens can be seen. Trace the development of the fruit or “mast.” Each pair of flowers gives rise to two three-sided nuts, enclosed in a woody cup or husk. It is covered with hard bristles, and splits into four parts when ripe.
Compare the sweet chestnut.
3. The birch.—Observe the graceful appearance of the tree; the slender trunk, with its bark streaked with brown, yellow, and silver; the purple-brown colour and wiriness of the young twigs; the shape and size of the dark green leaves, and the cylindrical, many-flowered catkins. The male catkins appear in the autumn, the smaller female catkins in the following spring. Examine the two kinds of flowers. Find an old birch-cone and break it open to see the winged fruits. What is the use of the wings?