AMENTIFERJE. 153 



linucs torpid, like other deciduous trees, during the remainder of the winter, and 

 vegetates in the spring at the usual season," 



A g-igantic oak stands on the estate of the Earl of Albermarle, at Winfarthing, near 

 Diss, in Norfolk, known as the " Winfarthing Oak." In 1820 this tree measured 

 seventy feet in circumference at the extremity of the roots ; in tlie middle, forty feet. 

 The trunk is quite hollow, and the inside presents a most curious appearance, resembling 

 old rugged masonry. It is fitted up with seats, a table, &c. An arm was blown off 

 in 1811, which contained two waggon-loads of wood. It is said to have been known 

 as the " Old Oak," in the time of WilHam the Conqueror, but of this we have no 

 certainty. Our own poet Cowpcr has immortalised an oak tree at Castle Ashby in 

 Northamptonshire, and a poetical fragment, called " Yardley Oak," is amongst his 

 collected works, which refers to this, one of his favourite trees — 



" Time made thee what thou wert — King of the woods, 

 And time hath made thee what thou art — a cave 

 For owls to roost in ! Once thy spreading boughs 

 O'erhung the champaign, and the numerous flock 

 That grazed it stood beneath that ample copse 

 Uncrowded, yet safe sheltered from the storm. 

 No flock frequents thee now ; thou hast outlived 

 Thy popularity, and art become 

 (Unless verse rescue thee awhile) a thing 

 Forgotten, as the foliage of thy youth ! " 



The Royal Oak of Boscobel, in which Charles II. took refuge after the Battle of 

 Worcester, was destroyed by a stupid passion for relics, and a huge bulk of timber, 

 consisting of many loads, was taken away in handfuls. 



In Scotland there are many remarkable oaks. The " Wallace Oak," in Ellerslie, 

 the native village of the hero Wallace, was still standing when Loudon wrote in 1844, 

 It is said that he and 300 of his followers hid themselves in its branches from the 

 English. 



Gei'many and France can both boast of their ancient and large oak trees, and 

 records of many of them are kept by distinguished foresters. The statistics collected 

 by Mr. Loudon as to the size, age, and value of oak-trees, both in the British islands 

 and on the Continent, are very interesting. The terms used popularly to designate 

 different kinds of oaks are given and explained. 



Bull oaks are very old hollow trees, so called from bulls taking shelter in them. 



Boundary oaks form divisions between counties and property of various kinds. 

 There are many " Gospel Oaks " in England, so called from the custom of open-air 

 preaching under their shade. 



The bark of this and the following species of oak-tree, is alike valuable, and is 

 used indiscriminately for tanning. The bark which contains the greatest quantity of 

 tannin is obtained from those parts of the branches or trunks which are from twenty 

 to thirty years' growth. Every part of the tree abounds in astringent matter, and 

 even the leaves and sawdust will tan leather, linen cloth, netting, or cordage, which 

 is to be much exposed to weather. The bark is prepared, for tanning by being 

 simply ground to a coarse powder between two cast-iron cylinders. Bark cu.t in the 

 spring contains a much larger proportion of tannin than that cut in the autumn, and 

 that cut in the autumn more than that cut in the winter. The quantity of tannin in 

 oak-bark is considered by all tanners to be in proportion to the freedom Avith 

 which the sap was flowing at the time of stripping, and to the facility with which 



VOL. VIII. X 



