517 



On some of the more Remarkable Trees at Marchmont, 

 Berwickshire. By Mr Peter Loney. 



Marchmont Hotjse, Dunse, lies in lat. 55° 43' 30", long 2° 

 25' 20", at an elevation of 500 feet, and distant from the sea 20 

 miles. 



Measurements of a few of the Spanish Chestnuts growing on 

 a sloping bank facing S.E., the soil being a strong red clay very 

 tenacious of moisture, and the subsoil a hard blue, marly clay, 

 through which water cannot percolate, may, notwithstanding 

 these apparent drawbacks, be interesting to lovers of Arboricul- 

 ture : — 



CHESTNUTS. 



No. 









TRUNK. 



TOTAL. 



Circumference @ 1 foot ; at 5 feet above ground. 



Height. 



Height. 



). 1. 



, 19ft. 6in. 16ft. 6in. ,, 





10ft. 



66ft. 



, 2. 



, 16ft. 8in. 14ft. „ 





12,, 



70 „ 



3. 



, 15ft. 8in. 13ft. 8in. ,, 





24,, 



70 „ 



4. 



, 21ft. 15ft. „ 





31 „ 



70 „ 



5. 



, 16ft. lOin. 13ft. „ 





42 „ 



75 „ 



6. 



, 18ft. 3in. 14ft. 6in. ,, 





32 „ 



102,, 



There ar 



e about 26 trees in this group. 



A few years 



ago one 



of their companions was blown over, and as carefully as I could 

 I counted the annular rings, making out the number to be about 

 220. 



There are several fine specimens of the Silver Fir here, which 

 also seems to thrive well ; dimensions of one of them, and two 

 Beeches, I annex : — 



Silver Fir, cir. @ 1 foot 18 feet @ 5ft —13 feet. -Bole 62, height 104 ft, 



1 Beech, cir. @ 1 foot 1 6ft. 8in. @ 5ft.=llft. 9in. Bole 31, height 98 ft. 



1 ,, „ @ 1 ,, 15ft. lOin. @ 5ft.= l 1 feet.— Bole 20, height 100 ft. 



A Larch of peculiar growth is worth notice. From the ground 

 it leans over at an angle say of 60°. There are no branches on 

 the under side of the trunk, only from the sides and upper part, 

 indicating that it may have been a cutting, and grown in a pot 

 for some years during its youth. This theory gains some credi- 

 bility from the fact that there is a considerable twist on the bole 

 and bark, such as often happens to hard-wooded plants addicted 

 to have what is commonly called tap-roots, when they are con- 

 fined too long in pots. There are, at Marchmont, several fine 

 specimens of the Common Yew, of considerable size, and 

 evidently of greater age than any of those I have referred to. 



