INTRODUCTORY. 5 
dantly ; on a few exposed parts it is comparatively 
dwarf and stunted, but it generally is exceedingly 
luxuriant, and so dense that many a band of men like 
the highlanders of Roderick Dhu might hide in its cover 
without suspicion. Some stalks of this fern I have 
gathered which measured eleven feet from the ground 
to the topmost frond. 
The peculiar arrangement of the ligneous fibres of 
the bracken is worth noticing. These fibres are so dis- 
posed, that on making a section of the root an exact 
representation is obtained of an oak tree, and their 
colour being blackish brown, they stand out with great 
distinctness amidst the pale cellular tissue. Often as a 
boy have I delighted to pull the larger stalks that I 
might have a better representation of “ King Charles in 
the Oak,” as children love to call it, and as by varying 
the angle at which the stalk was cut, I could at pleasure 
make the tree dwarf or tall, it was always a source of 
amusement. 
The old woods and the various parks I have men- 
tioned which cluster around, are now the only vestiges 
of the ancient forest, and glorious remnants they are. 
The venerable oaks possess a beauty that is heightened 
instead of being defaced by decay, and carry back our 
thoughts to the scenes they have witnessed in the 
bygone history of our country. Undoubtedly many of 
these trees are of great antiquity, some of them, the 
giant patriarchs of the forest, are a thousand years old 
at the least. A discovery of a singular link between 
the past and the present was made in 1786, in cutting up 
some trees for the royal dockyards. In one, at a depth of 
twelve inches from tbe outside, the letter I was found, 
surmounted by a crown, with blunt radiated points, such 
