ON THE OLD AND KKM AKKA15LE ASH TREES IN SCOTLAND. 133 



o iiiclies; ami at 12 feet from llic ,ur(niml, it was 22 feet 

 9 inches ; where it divided into three hu^e arms. At this point, 

 the leadint;- trunk had, a])oiit a century liefore, heon hroken over, 

 in conseciuence of which the tree had become hollowed. One 

 of these arms measured 10 feet 4 inches; another, 11 feet; and 

 the third, 12 feet in girth ; and yet they seem not to have been 

 original branches, but only pollards formed after the trunk was 

 broken over. As the stump had l)ecome quite liollow, and open 

 on one side, we learn from Dr AN^dker that the opening was formed 

 into a door, and the decayed heart scooped ont, so that a room 

 was formed in it, 9 feet 1 inch in diameter, with a conical roof 

 11 feet high ; and was floored, and surrounded with a hexagonal 

 bench, on which eighteen people could sit ; and above the door, 

 five small leaden windows were fitted. In this condition this 

 remarkalde trunk lived on, forming a great deal of young wood 

 in tlie shell or bark; and in 1812, i)r AValker states that "it 

 was thickly covered with fresh vigorous branches, and, by this 

 sort of renovation, may continue to live, nobody can say how 

 long." After very careful iiKpiiry, we have been so fortunate as 

 to ascertain that a renniaiit of this remarkable tree still exists. 

 There is remaining a shell, about 12 feet high and 3 feet 

 l)road, of one side of its trunk, covered with healthy bark and 

 yt)ung twigs. This relic is surrounded by an iron railing for its 

 ])rotection. The bark is still well covered with small jjranches ; 

 and al)out 18 inches from the ground, a pretty large branch has 

 sprung up, which may, in future centuries, be a rival to its sire. 

 Judging from the dimensions given by Dr Walker, this ash may 

 fairly be allowed to divide the honour of being the largest of 

 its day, in Scotland, with the Kilmalic tree. 



In the parish churclnard of Bonhill stood another venerable 

 ash tree, which, in September 1784, measured, at 3 feet from 

 the ground, 17 feet 9 inches ; but at 1 foot above the ground, it 

 was no less than 33 feet in girth. It was al)out 50 feet in 

 height, and had a wide spreading head. In 1768 it was 

 measured by Mr Beevor, and found to be 16 feet 9 inches at 5 

 feet above the ground. In 1812 it was quite fresh and vigorous. 

 This tree perished in a gale on 1st November 1845. Its cir- 

 cumference, at 3 feet from the root, was 26 feet 6 inches ; and 

 at its bifurcation, 22i feet. Its north branch was 13 feet, and 

 its south limb 12| feet in giith. The circle round the base was 

 63 feet; and its height considerablv over 100 feet; and the 

 spread of its branches 100 feet in diameter. A lithograph of 

 the tree hangs in the session-house of the parish church ; and 

 two chairs, made from the wood of the tree, stand in the vesti- 

 l)ule of the church, and bear the following inscription: — "This 

 chair, with another of the same wood and pattern, made by 

 James Xairn, cabinetmaker in lionhill, of part of the great ash 



