38 THE OAK. 



" stood singly in the Wood, and extended its massive 

 branches near forty feet each way. Its head was all knees 

 and crooks, aptly suited to naval purposes ; its bole or 

 shaft was short, not exceeding twenty feet in length ; but 

 it was full six feet in diameter at the top, and perfectly 

 sound. It was felled in an unusual manner for the pre- 

 servation of its crooks, which were cut off one by one whilst 

 the tree was standing, and lowered by tackles, to prevent 

 their breaking. The two largest arms were sawed off at 

 such distances from the bole as to make first-rate knees ; 

 scaffolds were then erected, and two pit-saws being braced 

 together, the body was first cut across, half through, at the 

 bottom, and then sawed down the middle, perpendicularly, 

 between the two stumps of arms that had been left, at the 

 end of one of which stood a perpendicular bough, bigger 

 than most timber-trees. To prevent this being injured, 

 a bed was made of some hundreds of fagots to catch it 

 when it fell. This half was so weighty that it crushed a 

 new timber-carriage all to pieces the instant it was lodged 

 upon it; and, none in the country being found strong- 

 enough, the King's carriage was sent purposely from 

 Portsmouth to convey it to the dockyard. This tree was 

 sold in the first place for 40 ', was bought of that pur- 

 chaser by a timber-merchant for 100, who is supposed to 

 have cleared 100. more ; which he might very well do, 

 for the contents amounted to thirty-two loads of hewed 

 timber, which, at half-a-crown a foot no unusual price for 

 naval crooks amounts to 2001. precisely, besides fagots, 

 &c. sufficient to defray the expenses. The breadth of the 

 tree across, near the ground, where it was cut, was twelve 

 feet, and it had about three hundred rings of annual 

 growth." 



