1758 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART III. 
The Staple Hill Oak, in the same 
county, on the property of the ATEN \ s 
Duke of Somerset, is of great age, Ne NX BA} 
and has a trunk 37 ft. 6 in. in cir- 
cumference. ‘“ At Weare Gifford, VP) 
there is a curious old oak, the cir- a 
cumference of which, at 1 ft. from 
the ground, is 27 ft. 9 in. ; and the 
head of which covers a space the 
diameter of which is 93ft. The 
height is now between 30 ft. and = 
40 ft.; but, as the top has been broken off by storms, this affords no criterion 
as to its original height. The trunk is hollow at the bottom; and the tree 
appears some centuries older than any other near it.” (Z.) 
Dorsetshire. Not far from Blandford, Gilpin observes, there “ stood very 
lately a tree known by the name of Damory’s Oak. About five or six centuries 
ago, it was probably in a state of maturity.” It measured 68 ft. in circum- 
ference at the ground, and 17 ft. above it was 16 ft. in girt. As this im- 
mense trunk decayed, it became hollow, forming a cavity 15 ft. wide, and 17 ft. 
high, capable of holding 20 men. During the civil wars, and till after the 
Restoration, this cave was inhabited by an old man, who sold ale init. A 
violent storm, in 1703, greatly injured this venerable oak, and destroyed many 
of its noblest limbs ; however, 40 years after, it was still so stately a ruin, that 
some of its branches were 75 ft. high, and extended 72 ft. from the bole. “ In 
1755, when it was fit for nothing but fire-wood, it was sold for 14/.”’ (See 
Hutchins’s Account of Dorsetshire, vol. i., with a print of the tree.) In this 
county was White Hart Forest, so called from Henry III. having here hunted 
a beautiful white hart, and spared its life. The forest was afterwards called 
Blackmoor; and Losel’s Wood, mentioned by Gilbert White in his History of 
Selborne, which, he says, was on the Blackmoor estate, probably formed part 
of it. Most of the oaks in this grove (Losel’s Wood) were of peculiar growth, , 
and, for some purposes, of great value. They were tall and taper, like firs ; but 
standing close together, they had very small heads, only alittle brush, without 
any large limbs. Many of these trees were 60 ft. long, without any bough, and 
only 1 ft. in diameter at the smallest end. In the centre of this grove grew 
the Raven Oak, “ which, though shapely and tall on the whole, bulged out into 
a large excrescence about the middle of the stem. On this oak a pair of 
ravens had fixed their residence for such a series of years, that it was distin- 
guished by the title of the Raven Tree. Many were the attempts of the 
neighbouring youths to get at this eyry: the difficulty only whetted their 
inclinations ; and each was ambitious of surmounting the arduous task ; but,. 
when they arrived at the swelling, it jutted out so in their way, and was so- 
far beyond their grasp, that the most daring lads were awed, and acknow- 
ledged the undertaking to be too hazardous. _ So the ravens built on nest 
after nest in perfect security, till the fatal day arrived when the tree was to be 
felled. It was in the month of February, when the ravens usually sit; and 
the dam was upon her nest. The saw was applied to the but; wedges 
were inserted in the opening; the woods echoed to the heavy blows of the 
beetle and the mallet, and the tree nodded to its fall: yet still the dam sate 
on. At last, when the tree gave way, the bird was flung from her nest ; and, 
though her maternal affection merited a better fate, she was whipped by the 
boughs which brought her dead to the ground.” (Brown’s edit. of White’s 
Selborne, p. 6.) 
The Great Oak at Stockbridge stands on part of the estate of Robert 
Gordon, Esq., of Leweston, within a few yards of the turnpike-road. This 
oak, though it has stood there several centuries, is in perfect health, with a 
well-formed head. The trunk is 22 ft. in circumference, height 52 ft., and 
diameter of the head 95 ft. One of the branches has been broken about 10 ft. 
from the bole, apparently many years ago; and the extremity, about 25 ft. or 
vA 
1592 
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Soa I Nine EE 
