20 



whole troop of horsemen could ride upright 

 through these natural portals, in order of 

 battle. 



Linnaeus mentions fourteen species of 

 the oak-tree; Miller extended them to 

 twenty; and Aiton describes forty-five va- 

 rieties of this tree. The most common of the 

 English oak produces the acorns close to the 

 branches, without any stalk ; but the most 

 esteemed for ship building is found growing 

 in the Wealds of Sussex and Kent ; and this 

 tree often produces its acorns with foot stalks 

 as long as the cherry stalk. Young says, 

 " Oak is the staple commodity of Sussex, 

 which, from the remotest antiquity, has been 

 celebrated for the growth of oak ; it is esti- 

 mated that not less than from 170 or 180,000 

 acres are occupied by this timber, the qua- 

 lity of which is acknowledged by navy con- 

 tractors preferring, and in all their agree- 

 ments stipulating for, Sussex oak. This 

 author adds, that the soil is so naturally 

 adapted to the growth of oak, that if a field 

 were sown with furze only, and the cattle 

 kept out, the ground would, in a few years, 

 be covered with young oaks, without trouble 

 or expense of planting. 



Although the late long war has, in some 



