388 TRANSACTIONS AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE [Sess. lix. 



Another remarkable tree of the lesser species is the 

 Eglinton Castle hornbeam {Carpinus Bdulus). Its girth at 

 1 foot from the ground is no less than 14 ft. 3 in., but, as 

 almost immediately above this it divides into three, there 

 may be a question whether these may not originally have 

 been separate trees, which subsequently grew together at 

 the base. However, I have not been able to find any 

 notice of other large hornbeams in Scotland with which to 

 compare it, and the only English one recorded that I know 

 of was as far back as 17G4, by Mr. E. Marsham, at 

 Writtle, Essex, girthing 12 feet at 5 feet up. 



The evergreen oak {Quercv^ Ilex) at Eullarton is said by 

 Mr. Landsborough to be the largest in the south-west of 

 Scotland. Its girth is 11 ft. 9 in. at the base, and, 

 accordin^T to Mr. Landsborough, was 10 ft. 11 in. at 5 feet 

 up, in 1879: but there is one at Castle-Kennedy, 

 Wigtownshire, that girths 15 feet at 1 foot, 14 feet at 

 3 feet, and 15 feet at 5 feet. 



The ordinary forest pines, the Scots fir {Pinus sijlvestris), 

 larch {Larix e^iropcca), and silver fir {Abies pectinata), are 

 but poorly represented by premier specimens, girthing re- 

 spectively 12 ft. 10 in. at 3 ft. up, on a very short stem, 

 12 ft. 1 in., and 14 ft. 9 in.; but of more recently introduced 

 species, the Araucaria inibricata at Cloncaird Castle, taking 

 together its girth, 5 ft. 6 in. at 5 ft., and height, ob feet, is 

 well to the front among Scottish examples ; and the TaxocUum 

 sempcrvircns, 6 ft. 5 in. in girth at 5 ft., about its narrowest, 

 and 40 feet high, appears to be exceeded only by the re- 

 markable trees at Murthly Castle, 8 ft. 10 in. in girth, and 

 45 feet high, and at Dupplin, 7 ft. 9 in. in girth, and 60 

 feet high. 



The yew [Taxus hacca.ta) at Loudoun Castle, although 

 exceeded in girth by several others in Scotland, is certainly 

 one of the finest of the species that we have. It has a 

 beautifully fluted stem, 6 feet high, and nowhere more than 

 a few inches under 14 feet in girth. In its branch spread 

 of 74 feet, it seems to be surpassed only by the short- 

 stemmed yew at Craigends, Eenfrew. Of Irish yews {Taxus 

 hiljcrnica) I have no records, but the one at Xetherplace, 

 Mauchline. 10 ft. 10 in. in i^irth at the CTOund, breaking at 

 once into many branches, must be an unusually large specimen. 



