1758 



AUHDiari'UM AND IKUTICETUM. 



I'AIIT III. 



The Staple Hill Oak, in the same 

 county, on the property of the 

 Duke of Somerset, is of j^reat a-ie, 

 and has a trunk 37 ft. 6 in. in cir- 

 cumference. " At Weare (lifford, 

 there is a curious old oak, the cir- 

 cumference of which, at 1 ft. from 

 the jjroinul, is 27 ft. 9 in. ; and tiie 

 head of which covers a space the 

 diameter of which is 93 ft. The 

 height is now between 30 ft. and 

 40 ft. ; but, as the toj) has been broken off" by storms, this affords no criterion 

 as to its original height. The trunk is hollow at the bottom ; and the tree 

 appears some centuries older than any other near it." (t'.) 



DorsetHlnre. Not far from Blandford, Gilpin observes, there " stood very 

 lately a tree known by the name of Damory's Oak. About five or six centuries 

 ago, it was probably in a state of maturity." It measured G8 ft. in circum- 

 ference at the ground, and 17 ft. above it was 16 ft. in girt. As this im- 

 mense trunk decayed, it became hollow, forming a cavity 15 ft. wide, and 17ft. 

 high, capable of holding 20 men. During the civil wars, and till after the 

 Restoration, this cave was inhabited by an old man, who sold ale in it. A 

 violent storm, in 1703, greatly injured this venerable oak, and destroyed many 

 of its noblest limbs ; however, 40 years after, it was still so stately a ruin, that 

 some of its branches were 73 ft. high, and extended 72 ft. from the bole. " In 

 175j, when it was fit for nothing but fire-wood, it was sold for 14/." (See 

 Hidcliins's Account of Domctshire, vol. i., with a print of the tree.) In this 

 county was White Hart Forest, so called from Henry III. having here hunted 

 a beaiitifid white hart, and spared its life. The forest was afterwards called 

 Blackmoor ; and Losel's Wood, mentioned by Gilbert White in his History of 

 Selborne, which, he says, was on the Blackmoor estate, probably formed part 

 of it. Most of the oaks in this grove (Losel's Wood) were of peculiar growth, 

 and, for some purposes, of great value. They were tall and taper, like firs ; but 

 standing close together, they had very small heads, only a little brush, without 

 any large limbs. Many of these trees were 60 ft. long, without any bough, and 

 only 1 ft. in diameter at the smallest end. In the centre of this grove grew 

 the Raven Oak, " which, though shapely and tall on the whole, bulged out into 

 a large excrescence about the middle of the stem. On this oak a pair of 

 ravens had fixed their residence for such a series of years, that it was distin- 

 guished by the title of the Raven 1 ree. Many were the attempts of the 

 neighbouring youths to get at this e\ ry : the difficulty only whetted their 

 inclinations ; and each was ambitious of surmounting the arduous task ; but, 

 when they arrived at the swelling, it jutted out so in their way, and was so 

 far beyonil their grasp, that the most daring lads were awed, and acknow- 

 ledged the undertaking to be too hazardous. So the ravens built on nest 

 after nest in perfect security, till the fatal day arrived when the tree was to be 

 felled. It was in the month of February, when the ravens usually sit ; and 

 the dam was upon her nest. The saw was applied to the but ; wedges 

 were inserted in the opening ; the woods echoed to the heavy blows of the 

 beetle and the mallet, and the tree nodded to its fall : yet still the dam sate 

 on. At last, \n hen the tree gave way, the bird was flung from her nest ; and, 

 though her maternal affection merited a better fate, she was whipped by the 

 boughs which brought her dead to the ground." (Brown's edit, of White's 

 Sclhoriic, p. 6.) 



The Great Oak at Stockbridge stands on part of the estate of Robert 

 Gordon, Esq., of Leweston, within a few yards of the turnpike-road. This 

 oak, though it has stood there several centuries, is in perfect health, with a 

 well-formed head. The trunk is 22 ft. in circumference, height 52 ft., and 

 diameter of the head 95 ft. One of the branches has been broken about 10 ft. 

 from the bole, apparently many years ago ; and the extremity, about 25 ft. or 



