THE OAK. 



87 



which became partially frozen^ so that^ when the 

 wind got up, there w^as such a terrific crashing and 

 mangling of its limbs that not less than a w^aggon- 

 load and a half were carried to the wood-pile^ and 

 it appears never to have recovered from the effects 

 of this unseasonable snow-storm ; though it was 

 observed at the time that other Oaks in the neigh- 

 bourhood suffered comparatively little damage. 

 Mr. Dale thinks, with reason, that having been 

 cooped up for more than a hundred years within 

 high walls, its timber did not acquire the hardness 

 and toughness which a free exposure to the air 

 would have given it. In 1817 the wall w^as taken 

 down and iron palisades erected in its stead ; but 

 the remedy was applied too late. On its exposure 

 several holes in the trunk were discovered, w^hich, 

 as well as others which followed the tearing off of 

 its arms, were covered with lead, but without be- 

 neficial result. The over-nursed giant, which 

 might under happier circumstances have now been 

 in the pride of its strength, assmnes yearly a 

 more faded face and form ; its leafy branches, 

 in place of their former graceful sweep towards 

 the ground, are contracting in circumference, so 

 that now the low^est of them is not less than 

 twenty feet from the earth. For the last thirty 

 years it has been a shy bearer, not bringing 

 acorns to perfection oftener than once in eight or 

 ten years. About ten years ago Mr. Dale gather- 

 ed a few, expecting they would be the last crop 

 of ripe fruit. The seasons in the interval between 

 that time and 1844 produced scarcely a handful 

 of acorns each, none of which vegetated. The un- 

 usual heat and dryness of that summer, which, it 

 is said, produced generally a larger crop of acorns 



