4 



SYLVA BRITANNTCA. 



ley in Wicklow, three times within the space of 

 twenty-four years ; the produce of each sale never 

 exceeding one hundred pounds, and one amounting 

 only to fifty pounds ; when, had the same wood been 

 preserved for an equal number of years, it would 

 have produced, at the very lowest valuation, six 

 thousand pounds instead of fifty. It is when stand- 

 ing singly that the natural character of trees is seen : 

 that of the Oak is rather to extend its arms, than 

 elevate its head ; and in this situation its timber is 

 more valuable than when it is in groups ; being more 

 compact and firm, better bent, and every way more 

 adapted for ship-building, the most precious of all 

 its purposes ; though even in this respect the in- 

 genuity of modern art supplies the operations of 

 nature, and the discovery of warping timber by 

 steam for the knees and other bent timbers of vessels 

 renders its growth a matter of less importance than it 

 would otherwise be : the tall Oaks are certainly 

 more profitable for beams and planking ; and in 

 sheltered groups they will reach an elevation of 

 eighty or a hundred feet before they begin to decay. 

 Mr. Rooke mentions one in Welbeck Park, known 

 by the name of " the Duke's Walking- Stick," since 

 blown down, which was one hundred and eleven feet 

 six inches in height, being higher than the roof of 

 Westminster Abbey. It is not, however, from these 

 Goliahs of the forest that the painter would draw his 

 beau ideal of sylvan forms, any more than from similar 



