INTRODUCTION INTO GREAT BRITAIN. I 3 



hill and dale abound ; its fine pyramidal shape, and 

 the beautiful tender tint of its green, with the female 

 catkins spreading over the tree, contrasting so well with 

 its foliage, combine to make a picture that in the early 

 summer months the eye rests on with delight. When 

 planted singly, which it seldom is, it forms a tree of 

 a very different shape and character to the bare pole 

 with a tuft of branches at its top, as seen where 

 planted thickly ; its branches descend with a fine 

 sweep to the ground, rest upon it, and turn up again. 

 The limb of such a tree has a peculiar picturesqueness 

 about it. 



" Average Height. — Of forty-eight trees in the tabular 

 abstract (see p. 222), 84 feet is the mean height — 143 

 feet being the highest, and 35 the lowest. 



" G-irth. — The average girth of fifty-three trees, of 

 which there are returns, is 10 feet i o inches ; the 

 greatest girth being that of a tree at Kirkliston in 

 Linlithgowshire, which is 2 2 feet 5 inches. The height 

 of this tree is not given. 



" Longevity. — The average age of thirty-three trees 

 in the abstract is 115 years ; the greatest age being 

 that of a tree at Old Kilpatrick, which is given at 

 from 150 to 200 years. One of the finest trees is 

 probably that at Inveraray, taking its age into con- 

 sideration, which is only 100 years, while its height is 

 130 feet and its girth 10 feet. 



" Soil. — Of forty-two trees in the tabular abstract, 

 9 are growing on sandy loam, 3 on loamy gravel, 4 

 on black mould and moss, 23 on loamy and allu- 



