THE WONDERS OF VEGETATION'. 163 



vail, near Saintes, is without doubt the patriarch of the 

 forest of the Saintonge and indeed of the whole of 

 France. It belongs to the species of Quercus longaeva, 

 and its admirable preservation promises to. bear the 

 burden of ages to come. It is crowned each year 



O t/ 



with green and abundant foliage, perhaps for the two 

 thousandth time. On a level with the ground, its di- 

 ameter is nearly 30 feet and its circumference over 80 

 feet. The spread of its branches is 380 feet in circum- 

 ference. 



The decayed part of the interior forms a hall nine 

 to twelve feet in diameter and nine feet high. A cir- 

 cular bench has been cut out of the live wood for the ac- 

 commodation of visitors, and around the table in the 

 centre a dozen people can dine comfortably. It is dec- 

 orated with a living tapestry of ferns and mosses, and 

 light is admitted by a window on the left and an- 

 other in the door. 



Of this tree also but little remains save the bark. 

 This is the fate of almost all ancient plants which lose 

 their pith, their heart and their wood, and continues 

 to subsist only by means of their outer skeletons. 

 Such is the case especially with willows. We were 

 lately exploring the banks of the Marne, under the 

 magnificent viaducts of Chaumont, when one of these 

 willows arrested our attention. There was nothing 

 left of it but a mere shell ; the tree was hollow from 

 top to bottom. It was still nourishing, and besides a 

 thousand parasites, animal and vegetable, lived in its 

 countless cracks and crevices. 



Even beeches are known to have reached an almost 



