CHAP. CV, 



CORYLA^CEi*;. t^UE'RCUS. 



J839 



id specimen ; the diameter of this circle is 9a tt." in wiiismre, at i^ongieai, -zm years oia, 

 I ft. high, the diameter of the head 75 rt., and girt of the trunk 19 ft. 6 in. ; at VVardour Castle, 

 ars old, it is M ft. high, the diameter of the head io ft., and girt of the trunk 2y tt. ; at Long- 

 astle it is 60 ft. high, thediameter of the head 80 ft., and girt of the trunk 15 ft. ; in Savernake 



13 ft. 8 in. in circumference, and has attained a good height ; the branches spread in the form of a dome 

 and nearly touch the ground, in all parts of the circle sheltered by the luxuriant foliage of this 

 splendid specimen ; the diameter of this circle is 95 ft." In Wiltshire, at Longleat, 250 years old, 



if ic ^1 ft ' *' '' i -_ -i^ ..I- - I- 1 -rr i'fc 1 .,;_* ^f *-K., *..ii.,l^ m *'f f: Itt . it War^lnni- Pa.;f I*> 



200 years i 



ford Castle „ -, . _ 



Forest there are many large and noble oaks, besides those inL'ntioiied in p. 1771. and p. 1/92. 



T/w British Oak North of London. In Bedfordshire, at Woburn Abbey, Q. pedunculJlta is 75 ft. 

 high, and the circumference of the trunk is 18 ft. 6 in. ; Q. sessiliflbra is 90 ft. high, the diameter of 

 the head is 63 ft., and the girt of the trunk 21 ft. 6 in. Near Bedford, on an estate also belonging to 

 the Duke of Bedford, stands a remarkably finegrowing tree, called the Oakley Oak, which girts 15 II. 

 9 in. at 2 ft. from the ground ; the height is 73 It, and the diameter of the head, from the extremities 

 of the branches, is llfift. In Howe's Park, Q. pedunculktais 85 ft. high, and the girt of the trunk 

 15 ft. ; and Q. sessilifldra is 90 ft. high, and the circumference of the trunk 29 ft. At Flitwick House 

 there is an old oak 60ft. high, which girts 18ft. ; it has a straight trunk about SbSt. high before it 

 forms any branches; there is also a young oak, planted in 1818, which, in 1836, was 30ft. high, and 

 2 ft. 5i in. in circumference. At Ampthill Park there are two fine old oaks : the first {Q. peduncul^ta) 

 is 59 ft. high, and the trunk girts 25 ft.; the second («. sessiliflbra) is 60ft. high, girting 24ft., 

 and with a head 100 ft. in diameter. In Breconshire, the largest oak is one (now in a state of decay) 

 which girts 25 ft. at 5 ft. from the ground : it grows wiih some other fine trees near the old mansion 

 of Pantycored, near Brecon, and belongs to Dillwyn Llewelyn, Esq. In Buckinghamshire, at Claydon 

 House, the seat of Sir Harry Vernev, are two very fine oaks : the circumference of the trunk of the 

 largest is 27 ft., and the diameter of 'the head 120 It. : the circumference of the trunk of the other tree, 

 at the smallest part, is 21 ft. At Harleyford is an oak 16 ft. in girt, and dividing into two enormous 

 limbs, each from 9 ft to 12 ft. in circumference. Waller's oaks, near Beaconsfield, are about 100 ft. 

 high, and 8 ft. in circumference: they were planted by Waller in 1730. In Cacrmarthenshire, at 

 (ioklen (irove, are many fine oaks, supposed to be about 300 years old, above 80 rt. high, and with 

 trunks from 15 ft to 18 ft. in circumference. In Cambridgeshire, at Wimpole, is an oak 75 ft high, 

 with a trunk 13ft. in girt, which is clear to the height of 50 ft. In Cheshire, at Comberniere Abbey, 

 there is a pollard oak 80 ft high, the circumference of the trunk 24 ft, and diameter of the head 

 75 ft. ; there are also some oaks in a growing state, about 70 ft high, with heads from 75 ft. to 80 ft in 

 diameter, and trunks girting about 12 ft. (For other oaks at Coinbermere see p. 175)).) At Buckland 

 Hill, according to Mitchell, there is an oak with a trunk 24 ft. in circumference at 5 ft. from the 

 ground, and which, at 8 ft., branches out into four large limbs, about 60 ft. high, and spreading over 

 a diameter of 120 ft. In Uerbvshire, the approach to Kedleston House, the seat of Lord Scarsdale. 

 is through one of the finest oak groves in the kingdom. We have received the following account of 

 these trees from the Honourable and Reverend Frederick Curzon :— " The largest oak, called, par 

 excellence, the ' King Tree,' measures in girt, at 6 ft. from the ground, 24 ft ; it has a noble trunk 

 of 60 ft without a single branch, and appears in a healthy and growing state. The late Lord Scars, 

 dale refused 300 guineas for it about 20 years ago, when he solil a tree standing near it for 204 

 guineas. There are about a dozen more trees in the same grove, with trunks girting from 19 ft ti. 

 20 ft. each." In Durham, at Kavensworth Castle, there is an oak which is supposed to be the largest 

 in the county : it is7oft. high, with a trunk 18 ft 4 in. in circumference at 1 ft from the ground, 

 and 17 ft. at 9 ft. ; the head is 80 ft. in diameter. In Essex, the Lawn Oak, at Writtle Park, 

 according to Burnet, is 25 ft. in girt at 5 ft from the ground ; and the great Northfield Oak, in 

 the same park, girts 31 ft. 6 in. at the same height. At Hempstead, near Saffron Walden, is an old 

 oak, the trunk of which, we are informed by J. Pease, Esq. M.P., girts from 50 ft to aj {t. In 

 Flintshire, at Gredlington, the seat of Lord Kenyon, there are two oaks, one of which is 90 ft. high, 

 and girts 13 ft. 9 in. ; and the other is 83 ft high, and girts 15 ft. In Glamorganshiie are several 

 fine trees ; and among others the Sketty Oak. We have received the following account of this tree 

 from that excellent British botanist and ardent lover of trees, L. W. Dillwyn, Esq., M.P. :— " This 

 tree grows at Lower Sketty, about 2 miles from my house. When I first came into this neigh- 

 bourhood, in 1802, it was a magnificent tree; but, a few years afterwards, it was much damaged by 

 lightning ; and one of the main branches, within these 3 or 4 years, has been torn oil' by a storm. 

 The trunk is quite hollow, with a circumference of 37 ft. 9 in. at the base ; and it measures 24 ft. 2 in. 

 at 4 a 6 in. from the ground, before any of the enlargement occasioned by the branches begins." 

 We have received the following account of the I.anelay Oak, also, from Mr. Dillwyn : — " It grows 

 about a mile and a half from Lantrissant ; and my friend the Rev. J. M. Traherne has sent me its 

 dimensions as follows : — ' 38 ft. 6 in. round the base, and 27 ft. 2 in. at 3 ft. from the ground.' This 

 tree is in a much more shattered state than the one at Lov/er Sketty : one side of the hollow trunk 



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