To arrive at its highest perfection, ample space on every side must be allowed the oak. A free exposure to the sun and air, and a deep mellow soil, are highly necessary to its fullest amplitude. For this reason, the oaks of our forests, being thickly crowded, are seldom of extraordinary size; and there are more truly majestic oaks in the parks of England than are to be found in the whole cultivated portion of the United States. Here and there, however, throughout our country may be seen a solitary oak of great age and immense size, which attests the fitness of the soil and climate, and displays the grandeur of our native species. The Wadsworth Oak near Geneseo, N. Y., of extraordinary dimensions, the product of one of our most fertile valleys, has attracted the admiration of hundreds of travellers on the route to Niagara. Its trunk measures thirty-six feet in circumference. The celebrated Charter Oak at Hartford, which has figured so conspicuously in the history of New England, is still existing in a green old age, one of the most interesting monuments of the past to be found in the country.*
