302 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



station from London towards Dover ; others again believing it, and 

 with great probability, to have been the place where Aulus Plautius, 

 the prKtor, after his fourth action with the Britons, encamped with 

 his forces, whilst he waited the arrival of the Emperor Claudius, as 

 mentioned by Dion. Its gigantic dimensions, strength, and. near- 

 ness to the Thames are strong inducements to think that it could 

 hardly have been made for any other purpose. 



The trees used by Mr Pitt for the ornamentation of the fortifica- 

 tions are principally the Scots and Cluster pines, and the Cedar of 

 Lebanon ; indeed, in judging from the numbers of these dotted, 

 about, usuallj' in formal shaped clumps of from seven to a dozen trees 

 in each, they would appear to have been his favourite conifers. 



Surface and Geology. — The soil may be divided into three 

 distinct classes — chalk, gravel, and clay ; the first two forming the 

 main ingredients of the hilly grounds, while the valleys and flat land 

 are almost wholly composed of the latter. The chalk range runs 

 through, the estate from west to east. In some instances the chalk 

 crops through the surface, while in others, notably to the north of 

 Holwood House, it is overlaid with a small quantity of clay or 

 loam, varying in depth from a few inches to several feet. South 

 from this the greensand occurs, this being immediately followed, 

 particularly in the lower grounds, by a stiflf, retentive Weald clay, 

 alternating with a rich but dampish loam. On the chalk, thinly 

 covered with soil, few trees grow satisfactorily, and this may also 

 be said of the gravel or sand ; but where the clay, gravel, and chalk 

 mix in due proportions, an extremely fertile loam is produced, in 

 which the majority of forest trees grow with great rapidity, and 

 attain to large dimensions. 



Old and Remarkable Trees. — As might be expected from the 

 historic associations connected with the estate, and the remains of 

 the ancient Kentish forests still in existence, the old and remarkable 

 trees are very numerous, and many of them are of large dimensions, 

 particularly of the oak, beech, and elm. 



No. 1. Oak. — This tree is more abundant than any other ; indeed, 

 throughout the whole county it predominates, thus showing that at 

 one time Kent must have been covered with vast primeval forests of 

 oak. On the sloping ground to the north-west of Holwood House, 

 and onwards into the vale of Keston, are many fine specimens, the 

 giant proportions and venerable appearance of which at once indi- 

 cate that they are the remnants of one of the ancient forests for 

 which Southern England was at one time so remarkable. 



