THE WILLOW. 



251 



Stow Hill, and the Doctor, in spite of his ad- 

 miration of brick walls, used frequently to rest 

 under its shade, and give himself up to the sweet 

 influences of nature. The circumference of this 

 tree in 1781, was above fifteen feet ; the trunk 

 rose to the height of twelve feet, and then 

 divided into fifteen large ascending branches, 

 which spread at the top like an Oak. The cir- 

 cumference of the branches was upwards of two 

 hundred, and it covered an area of nearly four 

 thousand feet. Its height was forty-nine feet. 

 In 1810 it stood in unimpaired vigour, having 

 increased to twenty-one feet in circumference, 

 the trunk ascending to a height of twenty feet, 

 before it branched; but in the November of that 

 year many of the branches were swept away by a 

 violent storm, and nearly half of what remained 

 fell to the ground in August 1815, leaving little 

 more than its stupendous trunk and a few side 

 boughs. Finally, in April 1829, it was blown 

 down, and its remains converted into snuff*- 

 boxes, and similar mementoes of the great man 

 after whom it was named. 



The timber of the Bedford Willow is said by 

 Loudon to be more valuable than that of any 

 other species ; the bark contains more of the tan- 

 ning principle than the Oak. It is in this species 

 also that salicine is most abundant. 



The Crack Willow, Salix fragilis, derives its 

 name from the brittleness of the branches, which 

 start from the trunk under the slightest blow. Its 

 leaves closely resemble those of the Bedford Wil- 

 low, but, according to Selby, " the ramification is 

 more oblique, and the branches in consequence 

 cross each other more. It is also less beautiful and 



