IVt^ 



AWHORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. 



PART III. 



1585 



-^-'Tc^seeefS' 



Q. sessilifliira at Siudlt'y Park. 

 Height 118 ft.; girt of trunk m^ ft. ; diameter of the head <16 ft. 



tliffbrent, though it is generally alleged that plants of Q. sessiliflora grow 

 faster, and they certainly have a more robust a[)pearance, than those of Q^ 

 pedunculatn, when of six or eight years' growth ; for which reason Mr. Bree 

 considers it the best species for copse wood. (See Gnrd. Mrrg., vol. xii. 

 p. 572.) Willdenow observes, also, that Q. pedunculata is the tenderer 

 of the two when young, which may result from its coming earlier into leaf. 

 The growth of both species, in about 10 years from the acorn, in good soil, in 

 the climate of London, may be stated as from 15 ft. to 18 ft., or even more, if 

 e.\tra [)reparation were given to the soil. Botii will attain the height of 50 ft. 

 in :i() ycju-s, which may "be consiilered the average height of the species in 

 onlinary soils in England ; but, in dee[) loamy soils, both attain the height of 

 100 ft. and upwards. The stem of the oak, Marshall observes, is naturally 

 short ; and, if left to itself, the tree, in an open situation, will generally feather 

 to the ground. It has not the upright growth of the ash, the elm, and the 

 pine tribe : nevertheless, by judicious training, or by planting in close masses, 

 the oak will acquire a great length of stem ; in this case, however, it rarely 

 swells to any considerable girt. There are many hundreds of oak trees, wc 

 are informed, in the government plantations in the Forest of Dean, which 



