352 OBSERVATIONS ON VEGETABLES. 



SIZE AND GROWTH. 



Mr. Marsham of Stratton, near Norwich, informs me by 

 letter thus — " I became a planter early ; so that an oak 

 which I planted in 1720 is become now, at one foot from 

 the earth, twelve feet six inches in circumference, and at 

 fourteen feet (the half of the timber length) is eight feet 

 two inches. So if the bark was to be measured as timber, 

 the tree gives 116 J feet, buyer's measure. Perhaps you 

 never heard of a larger oak while the planter was living. I 

 flatter myself that I increased the growth by washing the 

 stem, and digging a circle as far as I supposed the roots to 

 extend, and by spreading sawdust, etc., as related in the 

 Thil. Trans. I wish I had begun with beeches (my 

 favourite trees as well as yours) ; I might then have seen 

 very large trees of my own raising. But I did not begin 

 with beech till 1741, and then by seed ; so that my largest 

 is now at five feet from the ground, six feet three inches 

 in girth, and with its head spreads a circle of twenty yards 

 diameter. This tree was also dug round, washed, etc. — 

 Stratton, 2ith July, 1790." 



The circumference of trees planted by myself at one foot 

 from the ground (1790) : — 



. 4 ft. 5 in. 



4 6^ 

 . 5 



4 

 .53 



5 5 



The great oak in the Holt, which is deemed by Mr. 

 Marsham to be the biggest in this island, at seven feet from 

 the ground, measures in circumference thirty-four feet. It 

 has in old times lost several of its boughs, and is tending to 

 decay. Mr. Marsham computes that at fourteen feet length 

 this oak contains 1000 feet of timber. 



