[ 1^9 3 

 his leaves throughout the winter j flruck with the 

 phenomenon, he cherimed,^ and paid particular at- 

 tention to it, and propagated, by grafting, forae 

 thoufands from it, which I had the pleafure of feeing, 

 eight days ago, in high flourifhing beauty and ver- 

 dure, notwithstanding the feverity of the winter. 

 Its growth is flraight, and handfome as a fir, its 

 leaves ever -green, and the wood is thought, by the 

 ben: judges, in hardnefs and flrehgth to exceed all 

 other oak. He makes but one fhoot in the year, 

 viz. in May, and continues growing without inter- 

 ruption ; whereas other oaks fhoot twice, namely, 

 in May and Auguft j but the peculiar and eftimable 

 part of its character is, the amazing quicknefs of its 

 growth, which I imagine may be attributed (in fome 

 degree at leaft) to its making but one fhoot in the 

 year j for I believe all trees that moot twice, are, for 

 fome time, at a ftand before they make tbefecond. 

 I had the curiofity to take the dimenfions of the pa- 

 rent tree (feven years old), and fome of the grafts j 

 the firfl meafured 21 feet high, and full 20 inches 

 in the girt ; a graft of four years old 1 6 feet high, 

 and full 14 inches in the girt ; the firfl he grafted is 

 fix years old, and has out-fhot his parent 2 feet in 

 heighth. The parent tree feems to promife his acorns 

 foon, as he bloffoms, and forms his foot-flalk flrong, 

 and the cup upon the foot-flalk with the appearance 

 of the acorn, which, with a little more age, will 

 fwell to perfection. This oak is diflinguifhed, in 

 this county, by the title of The Lucombe Oak ; his 

 fhoots, in general, are from 4 to 5 feet every year, 

 fo that he will, in the fpace of thirty or forty years, 

 out-grow in altitude and girt the common oak at a 

 Vol. LXII. S ■ hundred. 



