92 THE OAK TREE IN ESSEX.
grounds for believing that oaks may live upwards of 1,000 years, and
that the age of many of our venerable trees may vary from 500 to a
1,000 years, or even more. The "Oak's Pedigree" is scarcely an
exaggeration :
" In my great grandsire's trunk did Druids dwell;
My grandsire with the Roman eagle fell ;
Myself a sapling when my father bore
The hero Edward to the Gallic shore."
The following extract from Arthur Young's book3 affords an
Essex illustration of the slow growth of the oak tree.
" Allen Taylor, Esq., of Wimbish, 1792.—Young's oak at five
feet from the ground ; it is eight feet five inches and three-quarters
in girt ; and a larch only twelve years old, at the same height from
the ground, two feet four inches.
" 1805. Young's oak, eight feet ten inches. The larch, five feet
one inch.
" The oak in thirteen years has increased four inches and a half.
The larch two feet nine inches. What a difference !
" I hope that Mr. Taylor and those who follow him will publish
the future progress of these two trees." (Vol. ii., p. 151.)
Loudon, in his list of notable oaks of Great Britain, includes
trees in which the boles are 30 feet and upwards in circumference.
The five trees with the largest boles in Great Britain are stated as
follows :—
" Salsey Oak," Northampton, 46 feet.
" Grimstone Oak," Surrey, 48 feet.
" Hempstead Oak," Essex, 53 feet.
" Merton Oak," Norfolk, 63 feet.
" Cowthorpe Oak," Yorkshire, 78 feet.
Amongst trees having the widest stretch of boughs, the
following are mentioned :—
" Worksop Oak," 180 feet.
" Oakley Oak," no feet.
The above figures will give rough data for the comparison of our
Essex trees with oaks in other counties. It is to be remembered
that the accurate measurement of an oak is often found to be
impossible owing to the ruggedness of its trunk.
In a county which a few centuries ago was half forest, and in
which the soil and climate are admirably suited to the growth of the
oak tree, we might expect some fine specimens, and indeed, the
inquiry I have made would show that Essex is by no means
deficient in this respect.
3 "General View of the Agriculture of the County of Essex, etc." Two volumes. - 1807.