We now leave the river, and turn inland; and in a short time we have entered the Forest of Dean proper; that is, the lands that belong to the Crown. Their area may be roughly set down as fifteen miles by ten; but in the time of the Conqueror, and for many years after, it was much larger; extending from Ross on the north, to Gloucester on the east, and thence thirty miles to Chepstow on the south-west. That is, it filled the triangle formed by the Severn and the Wye between these towns. It is doubtless due to this circumstance of its being so completely cut off from the rest of the country by these rivers that it has preserved more remarkably than any other Forest, the characteristics and customs of ancient British life, to which we shall presently refer; for their isolation has kept the Dean Foresters to this hour a race apart.
Sir James Campbell, who was for between thirty and forty years the chief "Verderer," or principal government officer of the Forest, lives near Lydney. He received us with great kindness, and gave us statistics of the rate of grown of the oak, both with and without transplantation. Part of them are published in an official report on the Forest (A 12808. 6/1884. Wt. 3276. Eyre & Spottiswoode, London) and part are in manuscript with which Senator Hoar has been presented. Briefly, the chief points are these:
In 1784 or thereabouts acorns were planted in "Acorn Patch Enclosure" in the Forest; and in 1800 trees marked A and B were taken from this place and planted opposite the "Speech House." Two, marked D and F, were drawn out of Acorn Patch in 1807 and planted near the Speech House fence. Another, marked N, was planted in 1807, five and one-half feet high, in the Speech House grounds, next the road; and L, M, N, X, have remained untransplanted in the Acorn Patch.
The dimensions were (circumference, six feet from the ground),
in inches—
A B D F L M N X
In 1814, Oct. 5, 14-3/4 14 11 9-1/2 15-5/8 18-1/2 13 24-1/2
1824, Oct. 20, 29-1/2 28-3/4 25-3/8 22-1/8 22-1/2 23-3/4 30-1/8 32-1/8
1844, Oct. 5, 58-1/2 58 45 46 35 34-1/2 57 44-1/2
1864, Oct. 1, 73-1/2 71 59-1/2 67-3/4 46-1/2 44 73-1/4 56
Another experiment tried by Sir James Campbell himself gave the following results:
Experiment begun in 1861 to test the value, if any, of merely lifting and replanting oak trees in the same holes without change of soil, situation, or giving increased space; as compared with the experiment already detailed, which was begun in 1800.
In 1861, twelve oak trees of about 25 years' growth, which had been self-sown (dropping from old trees afterwards cut down) in a thick plantation, were selected, all within gunshot of each other, and circumferences measured at five feet from the ground. Of these, six were taken up and immediately replanted in the same holes. The other six were not interfered with at all.
Aggregate admeasurement of six Aggregate admeasurement of six
dug up and replanted. Marked not interfered with. Marked in
in white paint 1, 2, 3, &c. red paint 1, 2, 3, &c.
1861, 24-1/2 inches 27 inches (i. e., 2-1/2 inches more
than the transplanted ones,
at starting.)
1866, 37-3/4 " 46-1/2 " (i. e., 10-7/8 inches more
than the transplanted ones
at starting.)
1886, 118-1/4 " 118-5/8 " (i. e., the transplanted
ones had now regained
10-1/2 inches.)
1888, 125-1/2 " 123-1/2 " (The transplanted trees in '88
had outgrown the others by
2 ins.)
1890, 133-7/8 " 128 " (The transplanted trees in '90
had outgrown the others by
5-7/8 ins.)
1892, 141 " 131-1/4 " (The transplanted trees in '92
had outgrown the others by
9-3/4 ins.)
Thus proving that merely transplanting is beneficial to oaks; the benefit, however, being greater when the soil is changed and more air given.*
[Footnote] * The Earl of Ducie, who has had very large experience as an arboriculturist, does not hold the view that oaks are benefited by transplanting, if the acorns are sown in good soil. In the case of trees that show little or no satisfactory progress after four years, but are only just able to keep alive, he cuts them down to the root. In the next season 80 per cent. of them send up shoots from two to three feet high, and at once start off on their life's mission. [End of Footnote]