1790

ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM.

PART III.

stoutness of its limbs. We know tree, except, perhaps, the cedar of Leba-non, so remarkable in this respect. The limbs of most trees spring from thetrunk : in the oak they may be rather said to divide from it; for they gene-rally carry with them a great share of the substance of the stem. You oftenscarcely know which is stem and which is branch; and, towards the top, thestem is entirely lost in the branches. This gives particular propriety to theepithet ‘ fortes,’ in characterising the branches of the oak ; and hence itssinewy elbows are of such peculiar use in ship-building. Whoever, therefore,does not mark the ‘ fortes ramos’ of the oak, might as well, in painting a Her-cules, omit his muscles. But I speak only of the hardy veterans of the forest.In the effeminate nurslings of the grove we have not this appearance. Therethe tree is all stem drawn up into height. When we characterise a tree, weconsider it in its natural state, insulated, and without any lateral pressure. Ina forest, trees naturally grow in that manner. The seniors depress all thejuniors that attempt to rise near them; but in a planted grove all grow uptogether, and none can exert any power over another. The next character-istic of the oak is the twisting of its branches. Examine the ash, the elm, thebeech, or almost any other tree, and you may observe in what direct andstraight lines the branches in each shoot from the stem; whereas the limbsof an oak are continually twisting here and there in various contortions, and,like the course of a river, sport and play in every possible direction; sometimesin long reaches, and sometimes in shorter elbow's. There is not a characteristicmore peculiar to the oak than this.

“ Another peculiarity of the oak is its expansive spread. This, indeed, is ajust characteristic of the oak; for its boughs, however twisted, continuallytake a horizontal direction, and overshadow a large space of ground. Indeed,where it is fond of its situation, and has room to spread, it extends itselfbeyond any other tree ; and, like a monarch, takes possession of the soil.The last characteristic of the oak is its longevity, which extends beyond thatof any other tree : perhaps the yew may be an exception. I mention thecircumstance of its longevity, as it is that which renders it so singularly pic-turesque. It is through age that the oak acquires its greatest beauty; whichoften continues increasing even into decay, if any proportion exist betweenthe stem and the branches. When the branches rot away, and the forlorntrunk is left alone, the tree is in its decrepitude — in the last stage of life,and all beauty is gone.” Gilpin concludes this characteristic description withthe following words : — “I have dwelt the longer on the oak, as it is confess-edly both the most picturesque tree in itself, and the most accommodating incomposition. It refuses no subject either in natural or in artificial landscape.It is suited to the grandest, and may with propriety be introduced into themost pastoral. It adds new dignity to the ruined tower and Gothic arch : bystretching its wild moss-grown branches athwart their ivied walls, it givesthem a kind of majesty coeval with itself; at the same time, its propriety isstill preserved, if it throw its arms over the purling brook, or the mantlingpool, where it beholds

* Its reverend image in th’ expanse below.*

Milton introduces it happily even in the lowest scene : —

* Hard by, a cottage chimney smokesFrom between two aged oaks.’ ”

Some valuable remarks on the picturesque beauty of the oak, and on its deli-neation,will be found in the Magazine of Natural History, communicated by Mr.Strutt, unquestionably the best delineator of trees in this or any other country.“ European trees,” he observes, “ may by the painter be divided into fourclasses; the round-topped, as the oak, chestnut, elm, willow, ash, beech, &c.;the spiry-topped, as the different species of the fir tribe; the shaggy-topped,comprehending those of the pine; and the slender-formed, as the Lombardypoplar and the cypress. In the first of these classes, foremost in dignity andgrandeur, the oak stands preeminent, and, like the lion among beasts, is the