CHAP. CV. CORYLA‘CEE. QUE’RCUS. 1773 
neglected and ill pruned, the size has been for many years diminishing, though 
the marquess is now having every possible care taken to keep the tree alive. 
The circumference of this tree, at 2 ft. from the ground (for it is all root under 
that height), is 24 ft. 6in.; and the whole height is 56ft.: the space the 
branches overhang is above 92 ft. in diameter. This last tree is said to have 
been the place where the border clans met in olden times; and hence the 
name of Capon, from the Scotch word kep, to meet. It stands in a haugh 
(meadow) close by the side of Jedwater; and the King of the Woods on the 
top of a bank, about 300 or 400 yards south of it, and both near the old Castle 
of Ferniherst, and about a mile and a half above the burgh of Jedburgh.” 
Weare indebted for the above account to Mr. Grainger of Harestanes, through 
the kindness of the Marquess of Lothian, to whom he is agent. 
Stirlingshire. Wallace’s Oak, in Tor Wood, the dimensions of which are 
given by Dr. Walker, is said by some to have been the tree under the branches 
of which Wallace and 300 of his men concealed themselves, instead of the 
oak at Ellerslie; while others assert that Wallace concealed himself, after a 
lost battle, among its boughs. Even in 1771, when Dr. Walker saw it, this 
tree was in a state of great decay. It had separated in the middle, and one 
half had mouldered entirely away. ‘“ The other half,’ continues Dr. Walker, 
“remains, and is in one place about 20 ft. high.” The whole of this remnant, 
Dr. Walker adds, was red wood, from the heart to the very bark, and was 
“so hard, even in its putrid state, as to admit of a polish. In this ancient 
Tor Wood it stands, in a manner, alone.” Compared to it, even the oldest 
tree near it “is but of very modern date. The memory of its having saved 
Wallace has, probably, been the means of its preservation, when all the rest of 
the wood, at different times, has been destroyed.” Dr. Walker concludes by 
stating his opinion, from the remains that existed in 1771, that the Wallace 
Oak had once been about 22 ft. in circumference at 4ft. from the ground. 
*‘Tts trunk has never been tall; for at about 10ft. from the ground it has 
divided into several large arms. The tree stands in coarse land, in a deep 
wet clay soil.” (Essays, &c., p. 9.) 
Ireland. There are no yery old trees in this country, though there are 
some very large ones in a state of vigorous growth, as will be seen by our 
Statistics. On the subject of the old or celebrated trees of Ireland, we have 
received the following communication : — “ Generally speaking, no timber is 
suffered to attain any tolerable age now in Ireland; which is much to be re- 
gretted, as, judging from the remains found in great abundance in the bogs, 
which now occupy the place of the ancient forests, the oak and Scotch pine 
formerly grew to an enormous size here. I have been assured, by a person of 
credit, that he has repeatedly found them 8 ft. in diameter, and hopes soon 
to obtain a specimen of that size.” 
Celebrated Oaks in France. The Chapel Oak 
of Allonyille ( fig. 1622.) measures, just above the 
roots, 35 ft. in circumference; and at 5 ft. or 6 ft., 
26 ft. A little higher up, it extends to a greater ‘yp 
size; and at 8ft. it throws out enormous branches, ; 
which cover a great extent of ground with their shade. & 
The trunk is low, and quite hollow; but the branches 
produce abundance of leaves and acorns. Thelower = «c@ 
art of the trunk has been, many years since, trans- 1622 
ormed into a chapel, carefully paved and wainscoted, and closed with 
an iron gate. Above is a small chamber, containing a bed; and leading to it 
there is a staircase which turns round the body of the tree. At certain 
seasons of the year, divine service is performed in this chapel. The summit 
of the tree has been broken off many years; and over the cavity is a pointed 
roof, covered with slates, in the form of a steeple, which is surmounted by an 
iron cross. The cracks which occur in various parts of the tree are also 
covered with slates. Over the entrance to the chapel there is an inscription, 
Stating that it was formed by the Abbé du Détroit, curate of Allonville, in the 
