42 HERNE'S OAK. 



not a very courteous one, was made upon me for the 

 opinion I had given respecting this tree. To this I 

 made a reply in the Times newspaper, stating 

 some facts corroborating my former statement. 

 The question was afterwards taken up in the Gen- 

 tleman's Magazine, in which some one under the 

 high-sounding title of " Plantagenet," first of all 

 advocated my cause, and then published another 

 letter in which he endeavoured to refute my argu- 

 ments in favour of the present tree. This he did 

 in consequence of having seen Collyer's Map of 

 the Home Park, Windsor, in which a hand may 

 be seen pointing to an oak in an avenue, and 

 under it is written, " Sir John Falstaffe's Oak." 

 As this avenue was marked as formed of a treble 

 row of trees, the writer in the Gentleman's Ma- 

 gazine argued that the present tree must have 

 stood in the centre row of trees, whereas that 

 marked on Collyer's plan was in the exterior or 

 outward row. 



To say nothing of the accuracy of this plan, 

 which is a very old one, it requires some degree 

 of ingenuity to shew that the tree now standing 

 in the avenue was not in the external row. By a 

 reference to the plan, I am convinced that most 

 people would think that there was no third row 

 of trees at this place, and consequently that the 

 present tree must be the one pointed out in the 

 plan. By referring also to the accompanying. 



