CHAP. CV.

CORYLA'CEiE.

QUE'RCUS.

1815

and interlaced in a variety of fantastic shapes. More than 300 trees weretorn up, or shattered so much as to render it necessary that their remainsshould be felled. This park, during the war, furnished some of the finestnaval timber that could be procured in the kingdom.” ( Mag. Nat. Hist.,vol. vi. p. 107.) We have also received from Henry Lee Warner, Esq., ofTibberton Court, Herefordshire, an account of a hurricane which occurred therein December, 1833, which destroyed a magnificent oak standing on his lawn.This noble tree had a trunk 31 ft. high to the fork, where it divided into 12large limbs, and If somewhat smaller branches; altogether forming an enormoushead. The circumference of the trunk was 19 ft. 8 in. at 4 ft. from the ground,and 15 ft. 4 in. at the height of 26 ft. The tree was stag-headed, and appearedto have been for some time in a state of decay. After the tree had fallen, theroots, on examination, were found in a decayed state. “ The trunk, or body,which, 20 years before, was perfectly upright, had been gradually losing itsperpendicularity, inclining more and more to the south-east, till it got withoutthe line of direction; and then with its immense head it fell by its own weight.It is a curious fact, that, although the greater part of the roots had perished,and the tree was stag-headed and the boughs without leaves, yet the body wasperfectly sound. The boards and quarters which the sawyers cut from it areof the firmest and most beautiful texture.— H. L. W.”

Dkeases. There are few or no diseases peculiar to the British oak. Thehoney dew, though very frequent on young oaks, is not peculiar to thattree. The punctures of certain insects, which produce galls and other ex-crescences, and which may be considered as diseases, will be hereaftermentioned.

Vermin and Insects of different Kinds which feed upon the Oak. The wildanimals which live upon acorns, we have already observed (p. 1789.), arenumerous; but those which are chiefly injurious to man are such as eat theacorns after they have been planted, or the young trees. The insects whichlive upon the oak are all more or less injurious to it; and these are verynumerous.

Vermin. The most general enemy to planted acorns, and also to young oaktrees, is the field mouse, an-account of the ravages of which in the Forest ofDean has already been given (p. 1806.). The water rat is also believed tofeed on the acorn, and the squirrel is known to depend principally on it forits winter provision. Neither of these two animals, however, are generallyin sufficient numbers near nursery gardens, or extensive grounds about to beplanted, to be productive of any serious injury; for the squirrel is neverfound at a distance from full-grown trees, nor the rat from the banks of riversor streams. The mode of entrapping mice in the Forest of Dean has alreadybeen given, and other modes of catching these, and other animals consideredas vermin relatively to trees, will be found in the Encyclopaedia of Arboriculture.

Itisects. The British oak, probably both on account of its large size, andthe peculiar nature of its juices, is attacked by a far greater number of insectenemies than any of the other trees of this country. Many of these insectsare, of course, confined to this tree, but many feed indiscriminately upon thebeech, birch, and hazel, as well as upon the oak: thus, as it would seem, saysMr. Westwood, to whom we are indebted for this article, clearly proving, notonly the very natural character of the order Amentaeese, but also the equallynatural distribution of the insects themselves into genera, consisting of spe-cies, all of which are either generally amentaceous in their food, or are con-fined to the oak or the birch alone. With respect to the number of specieswhich are found upon the oak, we have the authority of Mr. Stephens (whomust be considered as the most general practical collector of English insects)for stating that nearly half the phytophagous insects of England are eitherexclusively, or partially, inhabitants of the oak. Messrs. Kirby and Spencehave given a calculation, from which they adduce the opinion, that thephytophagous and carnivorous insects are nearly equal in point of number ofspecies; which would give about 2500 as half of the Phytophaga: but to this