1754

ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM.

PART III.

circumference; and the diameter of its head is 85 ft. The species is Q. sessi-liflora.

Berkshire. Chaucer is said to have planted three trees, that formerly grew inDonnington Park, near Newbury. The largest, or King’s Oak, had an erecttrunk, 50 ft. in height before any bough or knot appeared, a very unusual cir-cumstance in the oak; and, when felled, cut 5 ft. square at the but end, allclear timber. The second, or Queen’s Oak, gave a beam 40 ft. long, of excellenttimber, perfectly straight in growth and grain, without spot or blemish, 4 ft. indiameter at the stub, and nearly 3 ft. at the top ; “ besides a fork of almost10 ft. clear timber above the shaft, which was crowned with a shady tuft ofboughs, amongst which were some branches on each side curved like rams’horns, as if they had been industriously bent by hand. This oak was of akind so excellent, cutting a grain clear as any clap-board, as appeared in thewainscot that was made thereof, that it is a thousand pities some seminary ofthe acorns had not been propagated to preserve the species.” ( Evelyn’s Sylva,book iii.) Chaucer’s oak, according to Evelyn, was somewhat inferior to itscompanion; “ yet was it a very goodly tree.” It has been confidently as-serted, that the planter of these oaks, or, at least, one of them, was Chaucer;but Professor Burnet thinks “ their size renders it more probable that theyowned a much earlier date; and that, as then fine trees, they were the favouriteresort of the pilgrim bard.” This opinion is corroborated by the legend toldby the country people, that Chaucer wrote several of his poems under theoak that bears his name; and the fact, that Chaucer actually spent several ofthe latter years of his life at Donnington.

In Windsor Forest,, there are several celebrated oaks: one of these, theKing Oak, is said to have been a favourite tree of William the Conqueror,who made this a royal forest, and enacted laws for its preservation. This oak,which stands near the enclosure of Cranbourn, is 26 ft. in circumference at3 ft. from the ground. It is supposed to be the largest and oldest oak in Wind-sor Forest, being above 1000 years old. It is quite hollow : the space withinis from 7 ft. to 8 ft. in diameter, and the entrance is about 4^ ft. high, and 2 ft.wide. “ We lunched in it,” says Professor Burnet, “ September 2. 1829 :it would accommodate at least 20 persons with standing room ; and 10 or 12might sit down comfortably to dinner. I think, at Willis’s and in Guildhall,I have danced a quadrille in a smaller space.” ( Amcen. Qucr., fol. x.; and Eido-dendron, pi. 29.1 Queen Anne’s Oak, says Professor Burnet, “ is a tree ofuncommon height and beauty, under which tradition says that Queen Anne,who often hunted in Windsor Forest, generally came to mount her horse.”The tree is marked by a brass plate; and there is an engraving of it in Bur-gess’s Eidodendron, pi. 25. “ Pope’s Oak, in Binfield Wood, Windsor Forest,has the words ‘ Here Pope sang ’ inscribed upon it. Queen Charlotte’sOak is a very beautiful pollard, of prodigious size, which stands in WindsorForest, in an elevated situation, commanding a fine view of the country roundMaidenhead. It was a favourite tree of Queen Charlotte’s; and George IV.had a brass plate with her name fixed on it.” ( Amcen . Quer., fol. x.; and Eid.,pi. 26.) Herne’s Oak, in Windsor Park, has been immortalised by Shakspeare;and the remains of its trunk were lately 24 ft. in circumference. Flerne was akeeper in the forest some time before the reign of Elizabeth, who hanged him-self on this oak, from the dread of being disgraced for some offence which hehad committed; and his ghost was believed to haunt the spot. The followingaccount of this tree is given in that very entertaining work, Jesse's Gleanings :

“ The next interesting tree, however, at Windsor, for there can be little doubtof its identity, is the celebrated Herne’s Oak. There is, indeed, a story pre-valent in the neighbourhood respecting its destruction. It was stated to havebeen felled by command of his late majesty, George III., about fifty yearsago (1784), under peculiar circumstances. The whole story, the details ofwhich it is unnecessary to enter upon, appeared so improbable, that I havetaken some pains to ascertain the inaccuracy of it, and have now every reasonto believe that it is perfectly unfounded. Herne’s Oak is probably still stand-