CHAP. CV. 



CORYLA'CE^E. QUE'KCUS. 



1837 



1691 



garlic ; A. pelianthinus Fr., syn. A. denticulatus Bolt., t. 4. f. 1., 



distinguished by the purple spiculae scattered over and fringing 



the gills, like those on the lip of O'rchis fusca; A. androsa- 



ceus L., Bolt. Fung., t. 32., Sow., t. 94., and our fig. 1690.; 



A. pterigenus Fries, a variety of the fern agaricus, with a 



lemon-coloured stem ; Clavaria^'uncea Fr., syn. C. fistulosa 



Bull., t. 463. H., an interesting species, lately discovered in 



Northamptonshire; Sphae v ria bifrons Schmidt, Sow., t. 373. 



f. 4. ; S. punctiformis Pers. ; Phacfdium coronatum Grcr. 1690 



Crypt., t. 52., and our fig. 1692.; P. dentatum Schmidt; Phoma pi'istula 



Fries ; Hysterium folifcolum 7 maculare Berk., syn. H. maculare Grcr., 



t. 129. f. 2., not H. maculare Fr. ; 



Sclerotium ^uercinum Pers., Grev. 



Crypt., t. 77., and our fig. 1691.; Fu- 



sidium candidum Lk. ; Diderraa glo- 



bosum Pers. ; D. deplanatum Fries ; 



and L r redo Quercus Brondeau, which 



appears to be very rare in this country. 



It has hitherto been found only in the 



neighbourhood of Bungay, by Mr. D. 



Stock, in a single locality. 



Statistics. The British Oak in the Environs of London. At Whitton Place, Twickenham, it is 

 75ft. high, with a trunk 15ft. in circumference. At Ham House, Essex, it is 70ft. high ; the dia- 

 meter of the head is 77ft. ; and the trunk is 14ft. 6 in. in circumference. On Laleham Common, 

 about half-way between that village and Ashford Brook, near two large elms called the Brothers, 

 stands a sound, vigorous, and noble oak. The girt, at 1 ft. from the ground, is 22 ft. 10 in. ; and at 

 3 ft. , 16 ft. (See Burnet's Amcen. Over., fol. 14.) 



The British Oak South of London. In Cornwall, at Penllergar, there are two oaks ; the largest of 

 which measures about 60ft. in height : it has a trunk 18 ft. high before it throws out branches, and 

 girts 13 ft. 6 in. at 4ft. from the ground. It contains about 514 cubic feet of timber. The other is 

 12ft 9 in. in circumference at the same height from the ground, and contains about 366 ft. of timber. 

 In Devonshire, at Bicton, it is 102 ft. high, the diameter of the head 97ft, and the trunk girts 

 nearly 20ft ; at Lucombe, 33 years planted, it is 51 ft. high ; at Endsleigh Cottage, 15 years planted, 

 it is 35ft. high; at Stevenstone Park it is 80ft. high, the diameter of the head 71 ft., and the cir- 

 cumference of the trunk 16ft. 6 in. ; at Grilston, near South Molton, it is 64ft. high, with a pyra- 

 midal head 58 ft. in diameter, the trunk is 9 ft. 1 in. in circumference, and the tree is in a growing 

 state. The Ashton Oak (fig. 1693.) stands about four miles from Chudleigh. The beautiful drawing 

 from which our engraving was made, was taken for us by J. Gendall, Esq., artist, Exeter, who 

 observes that "the Ashton Oak has more the appearance of an ash than an oak, from the extra- 

 ordinary cleanness of its trunk and limbs. It stands at the foot of a bold slope, which seems to have 

 been a copse wood for many years. About 30ft. from the lower roots of the tree, on one side, there 

 is a considerable brook, and the limbs on this side have a tendency downwards, whilst on the other 

 side, towards the slope, they all turn up. Beyond the brook is the village of Ashton, backed by 

 Haldon Hill." (J. Gendall. Cathedral-yard, Exeter, April 3. 1837.) The height of the tree to the 

 fork, where there is a decayed branch, is 75 ft. ; and the trunk, at 4 ft. from the ground, measures 

 17 ft. 6 in. in circumference. We received the first account of this tree through the kindness of 

 John Collier, Esq , M.P., who forwarded to us the following extract from a letter which he had 

 received respecting it : " In the year 1805, while on a visit at Chudleigh, I was induced to walk to 

 Ashton, about 4 miles, to see the celebrated oak, from which I had heard that a plank 60 ft in length 

 could be cut. We measured the tree at 4 ft from the ground, and found its girt to be 16 ft, and at 

 the surface of the ground 20 ft From its loftiness and its being devoid of lateral branches, I believe 

 that the information I had received was correct, and that a plank of 60ft. in length might have been 



procured from it The Ashton estate was part of the property of Sir John Chudleigh, of 



Haldon House, who was of the same family as the celebrated Duchess of Kingston, she, I believe, 

 being his niece. On the death of Sir John his property was divided among his four sisters, and the 

 Ashton estate was afterwards sold to Lord Exmouth, who had property on the other side of the 

 river ; but some disputes as to the title threw the affarr into Chancery." (James White. Dec. 5. 1836.) 

 In March last (1837) our attention was directed, by His Grace the Duke of Bedford, to a 

 paragraph respecting this tree in the Western Times, from which it appears that this oak, " which 

 is considered the finest in the county, has been sold for 60 guineas, and will be felled as soon 

 as the barking season commences. About 30 years since it was sold for 100A, but a chancery 

 suit saved it from the feller till the present period. 70A were offered for it several years back." 

 The oaks known as Wistman's Wood, of which fig. 1694. is a portrait copied" from Carrington's 

 Dartmoor, have been long celebrated, as already noticed (p. 1757. and p. 1786.) In Dorsetshire, 

 at Melbury Park, 300 years old, it is 60ft. high, the diameter of the head 68ft., and the girt of 

 the trunk 33ft.; at Compton House, 200 years old, it is 80ft high, and the girt of the trunk 

 21ft. In Hampshire, at Strath fieldsaye, it is 90ft. high, the diameter of the head 89ft, and 

 girt of the trunk 19 ft ; at Hursley Park are many fine specimens, one of which contains nearly 

 14 loads of timber ; at Hackwood Park, three oaks were felled in 1836, which measured 101 ft., 115 ft, 

 and 116ft. in length, and 8 ft. 4 in., 9ft. 4 in., and 10ft 4 in., in girt ; at Sharfield, near Basingstoke, 

 on another estate of Lord Bolton's, there is a fine growing oak, 12 ft. in girt at 3 ft from the 

 ground, 80 ft. high, and with branches projecting 30 ft. from the trunk ; in the New Forest there are 

 12 oaks, called the Twelve Apostles, which are fine sound trees, though somewhat stag-horned in the 

 branches, the largest has a trunk measuring 22 ft. 6 in. in circumference. In Kent, at Cobham Hall, are 

 many fine specimens, with trunks 24ft. in circumference. The Bounds Park. Oak, near Tunbridge 

 Wells, is figured in the folio edition of Strutt's Sylva Britannica : " At 2 ft above the ground, it is 

 '-'J ft. in circumference; its trunk is straight and uniform ; it throws out a great number of limbs, and 



