CHAP. CV.

coiiyla'ck/k. fa'gus.

1977

1908

of 60 trees with trunks between 10 ft. and

16 ft. in circumference, carrying the abovegirts for more than 40 ft. At Tiny Parkthere are3 beech trees, with trunks 14 ft.,

15 ft. Gin., and 14 ft. 8 in. in circumferenceat the ground. The last, at 7 ft. from theground, measures 16 It. 3 in. round, andcontinues nearly of the same dimensionsfor 36 ft. Tlie dimensions of variousother fine trees might be added from thesame authority. In France, a beech isrecorded byArthurYoung (Travels, p. 7.)as standing at Chantilly, and the finest,he says, that he ever saw : its trunk wasas straight as an arrow, not less than 80ft.or 00 ft. high, 40 ft. to the first branch,and 12 ft. diam. at 5 ft from the ground.

Remarkable existing Trees. The largestbeeches now existing in England are, theStudley Beech (seefig. 1878.), the KnowleBeech (see p. 1068.), 85 ft. high, diameter 'ot the trunk 8 ft. 4in., and of the head352ft., and the Ashridge Beeches; ofwhich the Queen Beech {fig. 1909.) is •

110 ft. high, the trunk is 10 ft in circum- - ...

fercnoe at 2 ft. from the ground, and at the height of 74 ft. from the ground, to which height the trunkis without a single branch, it is 6 ft. 3in. in circumference. The King Beech, also in the park atAshridge, and which is represented by the central tree in the group (fig 19-20 ) ’is 114 ft high witha clear trunk of 75 ft., which, at 2 ft. from the ground, is 9’St in circumference, and at 75 ft 5 ft 6 inA spreading beech at Ashridge {fig. 1911.) is 70ft. high, ’

with a trunk 18 ft. 4 in. in circumference, and a head114 ft. ill diameter. The drawings from which our en-gravings of these trees are taken were made for us inOctober, 1886, by the permission and at the expense of theCountess of Bridgewater. The celebrated beech at 'Wo-burn Abbey, commonly known as Pontey’s Beech, which •was measured for us by the direction of the Duke ofBedford, in February, 1837, is 100 ft. high, with a cleartrunk of 50ft. : the circumference of the trunk, at 4ft.from the ground, is 12 ft 6 in.; and the cubic feet of tim-ber which it contains are, by measurement,317 ft.; and thatin the head, by computation, is estimated at 50 ft.; givinga total of 367 ft. of useful timber. This tree was measuredin 1829; since which period it has increased in circum-ference, at 4 ft. from the ground, 6 in. ; and in cubic feetof timber in the trunk, 5 ft. A silver fir, in the park atWoburn, 114 ft. high, and containing350 cubic feetof tim-ber, exclusiveof the head, had increased in circumference,in the same period, 12 ft. Gin. at 4 ft. from the ground;and, in the cubic feet of timber in the trunk, no less than11 ft.; thus showing the much greater rapidity of growthin the silver fir than in the beech. The highest beech inRaywood, at Castle Howard, was, in 1834, 110 ft. high,and it contained 940 cubic feet of timber; the circum-ference of the trunk, at 5 ft. from the ground, was 14 ft.

2 in., the length of clear bole was 70 ft., and the diameterof the head was 96 ft. A spreading beech at the sameplace was 80 ft. high, and contained 964 cubic feet oftimber; the diameter of the head was 105ft. ; the cir-cumference of the trunk, at 5 ft. from the ground, was

17 ft. 10 in., and the length of clear bole 40 ft. (See Gard.

Mag., vol. xi. p. 18.) At Bictou, in Devonshire, is a beech tree 104 ft. high, with a trunk 18 ft.in circumference ; diameter of the head 87 ft.- In Somersetshire, at Nettlecombe, is a beech 100 ft.high, with a trunk 24 ft. in circumference. In Wiltshire, in the grounds of A. B. Lambert, Esq.,at Boyton, is a celebrated tree, called the Corton Beech, which measures 13ft. in. in circum-ference, at 4 ft. from the ground ; the trunk contains nearly 8 tons of timber, and the whole treeupwards of 11 tons. Mr. Lambert's father, about the beginning of the present century, betted thistree, every circumstance considered, against any tree of the same species in England, and won apipe of wine by it. Mr. Lambert has three other beech trees of nearly equal dimensions, closeadjoining this remarkable one. The subsoil is chalk. In Worcestershire, on an estate belongingto Lord Lyttelton, are the Frankly Beeches, which are of great antiquity. Standing on a hill,they can be seen to a great distance; and they are mentioned in old leases as land-marks. Thelargest was blown down some years ago; but those still standing have been measured for us throughthe kindness of Lord Lyttelton, and their dimensions are as follows:—The upper beeches are nowreduced to four in number. The one blown down in 1833 was a noble tree, and considerably largerthan any of the others ; being about 20 ft. in circumference, with a proportionate height and head.The largest now standing is 14 ft. in circumference at 1ft. from the ground, and is 70 ft. high.The lower beeches comprise five large, and six or eight smaller, trees ; the largest measuring about14 ft. in circumference. One of these was blown down in 1836, and was found much decayed. Theyare very handsome trees ; and, from their mode of growth and commanding situation, they havea very striking effect. Tn Derbyshire, at Keddleston, the seat of Lord Scarsdale, is a beech treewhich was removed about 70 years ago, when the present mansion was built, and which was then alarge tree. It has now a trunk 12ft. in circumference, and a head 52ft. in diameter, touching theground on every side. In Scotland the most remarkable beeches are, one at Newbattle Abbey,88 ft. high, diameter of the trunk 9 ft. and of the head 100 ft.; one in Dumfriesshire, and two in

r ^ e Eccles Beech {fig. 1912.) stands near Baitford, in Dumfriesshire. The trunk is

18 It. in circumference, where it begins to tiirow out the branches, which extend over a space 95 ft.m diameter. An account and drawing of this tree has been sent to us by Mr. Grierson, secretary to

1909