. The Gardeners' chronicle : a weekly illustrated journal of horticulture and allied subjects. ionally, anold Oakwould have attained its girth, and then toallowa proportionate time for decay. Of course this growthwould vary much from the influence of soil and aspect ;still something may be done in this way. Our Lord-Lieutenant, a lover of trees and an observer longbefore I took up the subject, has given me his expe-rience with regard to trees at Gorhambury. He sum-marises his conclusions as being, that an Oak increasesin girth half-an-inch per annum, and a Cedar 2 inchesin the same time. But i
. The Gardeners' chronicle : a weekly illustrated journal of horticulture and allied subjects. ionally, anold Oakwould have attained its girth, and then toallowa proportionate time for decay. Of course this growthwould vary much from the influence of soil and aspect ;still something may be done in this way. Our Lord-Lieutenant, a lover of trees and an observer longbefore I took up the subject, has given me his expe-rience with regard to trees at Gorhambury. He sum-marises his conclusions as being, that an Oak increasesin girth half-an-inch per annum, and a Cedar 2 inchesin the same time. But in the memoranda which hekindly furnished there is a difference between the Oaksof which he gave me the measurements. I do notknow what experience the poet Dryden had of most likely gives us the general opinion of hisown day in laying down poetically that an Oaksduration is 900 years :— Tliree centuries he grows, and three he stays,Supreme in state, and in three more decays. siring together a few remarks on other trees gene-rally. I have spoken of Elms as foreigners, but I. FlO. 115. —THE LION OAK AT HATFIELD. Quercus sessiliflora, has its fruit sessile and its leavesstalked. This latter is the Oak which furnishedtimber to some of our oldest buildings—notably toSt. Albans Abbey and to Westminster Hall. Theold wood is so far unlike our modern notion of Oaklimber, particularly in the absence or indistioctive-ness of the silver grain, that it was long considered tohave been Chestnut Now, the distinction whichI have just laid down seems to be recognised and toentitle this old timber to be called Oak. I maymention iiere that at the hospital of S. Cross, nearWinchester, I myself saw Oak of a very singular,dark grain. The brother who showed me round,told me that it was considered a speciality, and thata visitor had offered much money to be allowed toreplace it. He added that the peculiar grain wascommonly attributed to the way in which the woodwas cut. The extreme
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