PLANTATIONS ON THE ESTATE OF WENTWORTH, YORKSHIRE. 157 



of years, and I think a report upon the woodlands will be better 

 understood from the following tabulated list, giving the names of 

 the various woods and plantations, their extent, crop, age as far 

 as known, soil and situation. 



By this table it is seen that there are about 5640 acres under 

 a crop of wood, among which oak predominates, the ages of the 

 trees ranging from a few years to at least three centuries. 



1. The Home Park. 



Beginning with the Home Park, which extends to about 2000 

 acres, we estimate the area under wood, including some planta- 

 tions that lie contiguous to the Park, at 1000 acres, of various 

 ages. The altitude, at the highest point, is about 300 feet above 

 sea-level ; the surface of the ground is of an undulating character, 

 so that the district is moderately sheltered. The soil is mostly 

 inclined to clay, with a cold clay subsoil, resting ujjon freestone. 

 Some of the trees in the Park have attained to large dimensions, 

 chiefly oak, and it is currently reported here that some of the 

 older and larger specimens are the remnants of the ancient natural 

 forest, which I have no doubt once stretched across from Sher- 

 wood Forest in Nottinghamshire to this part of the country. 



I regret to say that many of the largest of the old trees are 

 dead, and more dying every year, some of them containing from 

 400 to 500 cubic feet of timber. In fact, we felled some last 



