57 



=Stout Hall, in Gower, Glamorgan. This had a girth of about 

 15ft., and an estimated height of 50ft. It was in excellent health 

 in August of 1916. 



The Turkey oak, another native of Southern Europe, grows 

 to a large size and is very ornamental. There are several moder- 

 ately large specimens in the public gardens here. What is known 

 as the Lucombe oak is supposed to be a hybrid between the Cork 

 oak and the Turkey oak. It was raised about 1765 in a nursery 

 at Exeter. A distinctive seedling of the Lucombe oak is known 

 as the Fulham oak. Of American oaks quite a large number have 

 been introduced. The most ornamental of these are the Scarlet 

 oak and the Red oak. The latter is said to be the best grower 

 among the i\merican species in this country ; its leaves turn in 

 autumn to a reddish or yellowish brown. It differs from the 

 Scarlet oak in that it has larger leaves, usually not so deeply lobed, 

 dull beneath and not so bright above. In the Scarlet oak the 

 leaves are of a brilliant red and they produce one of the richest of 

 autumnal effects. 



Beech. 



Among British trees the Beech excels in grace, vigour and 

 "hardihood. Its remains have been identified in the post-tertiary 

 beds at Southampton. This disproves Julius Caesar's assurance 

 that the " fagus " did not grow in Britain. Although not a 

 native of Scotland, Sir Herbert Maxwell claims that "it is in 

 Scotland that the mightiest beech in the United Kingdom, perhaps 

 in the world, is to be seen." He is careful to say not the loftiest 

 (although it measures 100ft.), but as containing the largest amount 

 of timber. This is the famous tree at Newbattle Abbey, near 

 Dalkeith. Mr. Elwes took its dimensions in 1906 and found it to 

 girth 20ft. 3^in. at 5ft. The beech is not long-lived compared with 

 the oak — probably not exceeding 200 years. Mr. Elwes, however, 

 estimates the age of the Newbattle beech at 300 years. This is 

 due to the fact that it has prolonged its existence by allowing 

 branches to droop to the ground, where they have taken root and 

 sprung up afresh and formed a perfect grove still maintaining con- 

 nection with the parent tree. A similar instance of self-layering 

 in a beech tree occurred at Kew. In the New Forest two large 

 beeches are mentioned by Wise, viz., the Studley beech with a 

 girth of 2 1 ft., and the Holmy Ridge beech with a girth of 20ft. 

 Mr. Elwes furnishes the following interesting summary of other 

 notable beech trees in the forest. He says: " In Hants there are 

 many fine beeches in the New Forest, of which the wood called 

 Mark Ash contains some of the most picturesque, and is to mv 

 eyes one of the most beautiful woods from a naturalist's point of 

 view in England, or even in Europe, though it is, like so many 

 of the fine old woods in the New Forest deteriorating from causes 

 which are described elsewhere. One of the finest trees here is over 

 100ft. high and 24ft. in girth, dividing at about 10ft. into six 

 immense erect limbs, and entirely surrounded, as are manv of the 

 trees in this wood, by a dense thicket of hollv. There is another 



