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delighted and improved the world; and with what accuracy this observer of nature distinguished the different 
species of the production of the Forest, an accuracy not excelled by that of Spencer himself, may be seen in his 
description of the woodland haunts he so much loved. 
“Nor less attractive is the woodland scene, And ash far-stretching his umbrageous arm; 
Diversified with trees of every growth, Of deeper green the elm; and deeper still, 
Alike, yet various. Here the gray smooth trunks Lord of the woods, the long-surviving oak. 
Of ash, or lime, or beech, distinctly shine, Some glossy-leaved, and shining in the sun, 
Within the twilight of their distant shades : The maple, and the beech, of oily nuts 
__ There lost behind a rising ground, the wood Prolific, and the lime at dewy eve 
Seems sunk, and shorten’d to its topmost boughs. Diffusing odours: nor unnoted pass 
No tree in all the grove but has its charms, The sycamore, capricious in attire, 
Though each its hue peculiar ; paler some, Now green, now tawny, and ere autumn yet 
And of a wannish gray; the willow such, Have changed the woods, in scarlet honours bright.” 
And poplar, that with silver lines his leaf, 
PLATE XXXVI—THE TALL OAK AT FREDVILLE. 
Tuts Oak completes the trio which has been already described as standing on the lawn of John Plumtre, 
Esq. of Fredville, in Kent; plates of the other two have also been given in the early numbers of this work. It 
is known by the appropriate name of Sraruny, and is a beautiful specimen of a straight-stemmed Oak, which is 
rarely found to attain to so great a height, without branching out into exuberance of boughs. Seldom can three 
Oaks so differmg from each other in individual character, and so interesting altogether, be found in such near 
proximity. Protected from violence, they are still likely to stand for many centuries; and it may be hoped 
that they will as long continue to delight the descendants of the family by whom they are at present so highly 
valued, and so carefully preserved. 
PLATE XXXVII—THE HORSE CHESNUT AT BURLEIGH. 
Tue Horse Chesnut, we are informed by Evelyn, was first brought from Constantinople to Vienna; thence 
into Italy, and so to France: but more immediately to us from the Levant. It is probable that its introduction 
into England took place about the year 1500; and so well has it liked its naturalization, that it at present forms 
one of the chief ornaments of our groves and parks; and from the value of its timber, the usefulness of its fruit 
in feeding deer, and the majestic beauty of its appearance, few trees will be found more deserving of the 
attention of the planter. To the painter the magnificence of its stature, and the beauty of its broad palmated 
leaves, and long pendant spikes of flowers scarcely atone for the exceeding regularity of its form, terminating as 
it invariably does when left to the hand of nature, in an exact parabola. But in the extraordinary specimen of this 
tree, which is to be seen in the Court-yard of Burleigh House, the ancient and highly interesting seat of the 
Marquess of Exeter, all its beauties will be found exhibited in their utmost perfection, without the drawback of 
a single disadvantage. From being enclosed in a space comparatively confined, the formality of its summit is 
exchanged for increased length of stem; the tree having shot up unusually high, most likely in the endeavour 
to lift its head above the surrounding walls, which at once shelter it from the injury, and impede that free play of 
the elements in which the “native burghers of the forest” naturally delight. Its branches feathering down to 
the velvet turf on which it stands, exhibit a delightful alternation of milk-white flowers and russet fruits ; whilst 
the stately trunk displays an elegance and majesty, which combined with the venerable turrets that rise around, 
filling the mind with recollections of the Cecils and the Burleighs of former ages, render it an object not to be 
looked upon without exciting feelings in which tranquillity and admiration are most pleasingly united. 
The height of this fine tree is sixty feet, its circumference at four fect from the ground is ten feet; it contains 
three hundred feet of solid timber, and its branches extend over an area of sixty-one feet in diameter. 
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