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the old trees, and that pleasure was intensified by the keen appreciation of nature 

 and nature's beauty acquired by a few years association with the Woolhope Club. 

 There are not many of tlie old denizens of the forest left, and they are of different 

 ages, or at least in different stages of growth, or rather decay. A few near the public 

 road are flourishing in abundant branches and foliage, though almost all hollow in 

 the bole. Others are most venerable and picturesque ruins. Unable myself to 

 " draw " anything except an inference, or a jug of beer, I enlisted the services of 

 my wife to make me some sketches of these trees, but on our arrival at the wood 

 the drawing materials were like the Dutchman's anchor — at home ; and so a very im- 

 perfect and rough sketch had to be made on improvised and insufficient material. 

 This must be my apology for the style of those I now show. The sketch marked A 

 on some note paper is that of one of the most aged-looking of the oaks. Its girth at 

 5 feet from the ground is 23ft. 4in. Others measured 17ft. 2in., 20ft. 3in., 20ft. 7in., 

 21ft., 21ft. 3in., and 24ft. lin. ; but the monarch of all is the Alfred oak as it is 

 called, of which sketch B on wrapping paper is an attempt to show the trunk and 

 lower branches. It is a grand old fellow, but very difficult to measure by our club 

 rule of 5 feet from the ground, for at a little over 3 feet it sends out an immense 

 arm, which at its juncture with the main stem is itself 18 feet in girth. Beneath 

 the arm at 3 feet from the ground the tree measured 23ft. Sin. ; round the elbow 

 of the arm at 5 feet its girth is 28ft. 4in., and above the arm 21ft. Local 

 tradition makes this oak the one under which William the Conqueror halted, 

 and it is called the Alfred oak ; but whether that good king planted it or not I did 

 not learn. I could not climb up high enough to see if it is hollow ; but it seems 

 full of vigour, and one of its most recent shoots is itself a very respectable tree. 

 Of course we only attempted to delineate the trunk and lower branches. 



Hearing of our mishap about the drawing materials, an artist friend has lent 

 me some water-colour sketches made some years ago of these very trees, which 

 give a better idea of what they are like. The spread of these old oaks is not very 

 great, as they are all pollards, and are crowded round by a younger growth of oak 

 and beech, but as far I could make out the Alfred spread its branches over 25 

 yards in diameter. In this wood are some fine specimens of young beeches, and 

 some very large birches. 



The country about Hayes is very beautiful, and the timber particularly fine. 

 In the hedge-rows are very fine elms ; one I measured near the oak wood at Coney 

 Hall Farm was 19ft. 2in. girth at 5ft. from the ground. It is a pollard, and I may 

 mention that all the oaks I have named are also pollards. Mr. Reed, the rector 

 of Hayes, is of opinion that these old trees have become pollards from natural 

 causes, and not by the hand of man. He thinks that successive storms have 

 denuded them of their heavy laterals, and then in the lapse of ages the new shoots 

 have become what we now see, splendid spreading branches. At any rate a very 

 long time must have elapsed since they were pollarded, for these new branches 

 bear the marks of e,\treme old age. To hazard a conjecture as to the age of these 

 trees would be the veriest guess, although I see no reason to doubt the local 

 tradition about Alfred's oak. 



