CHAP. CV. CORYLA‘CER. QUE’RCUS. 177] 
ground 37 ft., in circumference. The height of the trunk is 
about 17ft before it throws out branches. The inside is 
quite decayed; and, being open on one side, cattle are ge- Aga 
nerally found sheltering in it. The head is still in a vigorous $@7~* 
and flourishing state. The Gospel Oak (fig. 1617.) stands “ 
near Stoneleigh Abbey; and it derives its name from the 
custom which formerly prevailed, when the minister and 
other officers of the parish went round its boundaries in ™ 
Rogation Week, of stopping at remarkable spots and trees, to 1617 
recite passages of the Gospel. 
Westmoreland. The Earl of Thanet’s Hollow Oak, in Whinfield Park, 
measured, in 1765, 31 ft. 9in. in circumference. (Bath Soc. Papers, vol. i. 
. 66. 
Wiltshire. In Savernake Forest there are many 
sey large and noble oaks. The 
King Oak (fig. 1619.) has a ; 
trunk which is 24 ft. in cir- 
cumference, and is_ hollow: 
.. this tree is very picturesque. 
The Creeping Oak, in the same 
forest (fig.1618.), is also a very 
remarkable tree. 
1618 Yorkshire. The Cowthorpe 
Oak (fig. 1620.) is a very remarkable tree. The following are the dimensions 
of this tree, as given in Hunter’s Evelyn :—Close to the ground, it measured 
78 ft. in circumference; and at 3 ft. from the ground, 48 ft. The following 
account was sent to us by a correspondent 1620 
in Yorkshire, in October, 1829 :—“ Cow- 
thorpe is a small village on the right bank 
of the river Nidd, in the wapentake of 
Clare, in the West Riding of the county 
of York, and about a mile and a half on 
the right of the great road from London 
to Edinburgh, where it crosses the river 
by Walshford Bridge. This stupendous 
oak stands in a paddock near the village 
church, and is the property of the Hon. ¢ 
E. Petre of Stapleton Park, near Ferry- 
bridge. On a stranger’s first observing 
the tree, he is struck with the majestic 
appearance of its ruined and riven-look- 
ing dead branches, which in all directions appear above the luxuriant foliage of 
the lateral and lower arms of the tree. In 1722, one of the side branches was 
blown down in a violent gale of wind; and, on being accurately measured, 
was found to contain upwards of five tons of wood. The largest of the living 
branches at present extends about 48 ft. from the trunk; and its circum- 
ference, at about one yard from the giant bole, is 8 ft. 6in. Three of the 
living branches are propped by substantial poles, resting upon stone pedestals. 
The diameter in the hollow part, at the bottom, is 9ft. 10in.: the greatest 
height of the dead branches is about 56 ft. It is evidently of very great anti- 
quity, as all tradition represents it as a very old tree.” 
The Wellbred Oak, on Kingston Hill, near Pontefract, is supposed to be 
800 years old. Its height is 70 ft., and its trunk 33 ft. in circumference : it 
is Q. pedunculata. The trunk is quite hollow, and open on one side; and 
the asses and other cattle grazing on the common often shelter in it. 
Scotland, — Dumfriesshire. An oak at Lochwood, in Annandale, is men- 
tioned by Dr. Walker, in his Essays, &c., as measuring, in 1773, 60ft. in height ; 
with a trunk 14 ft. in circumference, at 6 ft. from the ground ; anda fine, spread- 
ing, circular head, about 60ft. in diameter. Through thekindness of Hope John- 
