Fountains Abbey 215 



Strutt's time (a.d. 1823) five only existed in 1891, 

 and of these two were dead and uprooted. 



No. I is near the Abbey, at the foot of the hill. 

 From measurements made by myself in 1891, its 

 girth at 3 feet was 20 feet 10 inches ; at 5 feet was 

 22 feet 6 inches : this greater girth is partly caused 

 by the fissuring of the trunk. The tree has been 

 broken by storms, and is much decayed on one side, 

 and has a central dead trunk. From the fact of only 

 one tree being mentioned, I suppose this to be the 

 one referred to by Christison,^ which in 1880, on 

 the authority of the Rev. Mr. Brittleson, measured 

 18 feet 6 inches at 3 feet from the ground. If this 

 is so, it has increased i foot 4 inches in girth in 

 eleven years, which is highly improbable, except by 

 means of a widening fissure. 



It may be that this tree was one of six 

 mentioned by Evelyn, as it is near enough to 

 be included in the group, although not actually 

 growing on the hill. Of the remaining trees, four 

 still existing, two only are left standing. The 

 largest of these, which we may call 



No. 2, is not so fine as the preceding, but is 

 still a large tree. It girths at 2 feet from the 

 ground 18 feet 5 inches ; at 4 feet, 25 feet 6 inches. 

 It has two principal branches ; the larger much 

 divided, many small ones and much 'spray.' It, 

 like the foregoing, has a central dead trunk. 



^ Trans. Bot. Soc. Ediu., 1893. 



