CHAP. CV.

coryla'ceje. que'rcus.

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1617

1618

1619

1620

ground 37 ft., in circumference. The height of the trunk isabout 17 ft before it throws out branches. The inside isquite decayed; and, being open on one side, cattle are ge- inerally found sheltering in it. The head is still in a vigorousand flourishing state. The Gospel Oak (fig. 1617.) standsnear Stoneleigh Abbey; and it derives its name from thecustom which formerly prevailed, when the minister andother officers of the parish went round its boundaries inRogation Week, of stopping at remarkable spots and trees, torecite passages of the Gospel.

Westmoreland. The Earl of Thanet’s Hollow Oak, in Whinfield Park,measured, in 1765, 31ft. 9in. in circumference. (Bath Soc. Papers, v ol.i.p. 66.)

Wiltshire. In Savernake Forest there are manylarge and noble oaks. TheKing Oak (fig. 1619.) has atrunk which is 24 ft. in cir-cumference, and is hollow :this tree is very picturesque.

The Creeping Oak, in the sameforest (fig. 1618.), is also a very, remarkable tree.

Yorkshire. The CowthorpeOak (fig. 1620.) is a very remarkable tree. The following are the dimensionsof this tree, as given in Hunter’s Evelyn :— Close to the ground, it measured78 ft. in circumference; and at 3 ft. from the ground, 48 ft. The followingaccount was sent to us by a correspondentin Yorkshire, in October, 182!):—“ Cow-thorpe is a small village on the right bankof the river Kidd, in the wapentake ofClare, in the West Riding of the countyof York, and" about a mile and a half onthe right of the great road from Londonto Edinburgh, where it crosses the riverby Walshford Bridge. This stupendousoak stands in a paddock near the villagechurch, and is the property of the Hon. 0ME. Petre of Stapleton Park, near Ferry- &'■bridge. On a stranger’s first observingthe tree, he is struck with the majesticappearance of its ruined and riven-look-ing dead branches, which in all directions appear above the luxuriant foliage ofthe lateral and lower arms of the tree. In 1722, one of the side branches wasblown down in a violent gale of wind; and, on being accurately measured,was found to contain upwards of five tons of wood. The largest of the livingbranches at present extends about 48 ft. from the trunk; and its circum-ference, at about one yard from the giant bole, is 8 ft. 6 in. Three of theliving branches are propped by substantial poles, resting upon stone pedestals.The diameter in the hollow part, at the bottom, is 9 ft. 10 in.: the greatestheight of the dead branches is about 56 ft. It is evidently of very great anti-quity, as all tradition represents it as a very old tree.”

The Wellbred Oak, on Kingston Hill, near Pontefract, is supposed to be800 years old. Its height is 70 ft., and its trunk 33 ft. in circumference : itis Q. pedunculata. The trunk is quite hollow, and open on one side; andthe asses and other cattle grazing on the common often shelter in it.

Scotland. — Dumfriesshire. An oak at Lochwood, in Annandale, is men-tioned by Dr.Walker, in his Essays, See.., as measuring, in 1773, 60ft. in height;with a trunk 14 ft. in circumference, at 6 ft. from the ground ; and a fine, spread-ing, circular head, about 60 ft. in diameter. Through the kindness of Hope John-