Page:Narrative of a Visit to the Australian Colonies.djvu/156

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HAMPSHIRE HILLS.
[1st mo.

the junction of the Emu River with the Loudwater; the latter of which takes its name from three falls over basaltic rock, at short intervals, the highest of which is 17 feet.—Within half a mile we measured standing trees as follows, at 4 feet from the ground. Several of them had one large excrescence at the base, and one or more far up the trunk.

No. 1—45 feet in circumference, supposed height 180 feet, the top was broken, as is the case with most large-trunked trees; the trunk was a little injured by decay, but not hollow. This tree had an excresence at the base, 12 feet across, and 6 feet high, protruding about 3 feet.

No. 2—37½ feet in circumference, tubercled.

No. 3—35 feet in circumference; distant from No. 2 about 80 yards.[1]

No. 4—38 feet in circumference; distant from No. 3 about fifty yards.[1]

No. 5—28 feet in circumference.

No. 6—30 feet in circumference.

No. 7—32 feet in circumference.

No. 8—55 feet in circumference; supposed to be upwards of 200 feet high; very little injured by decay; it carried up its breadth much better than the large tree on the Lopham Road, and did not spread so much at the base.

No. 9—40½ feet in circumference; sound and tall.

No. 10—48 feet in circumference; tubercled, tall, with some cavities at the base, and much of the top gone. A prostrate tree near to No. 1, was 35 feet in circumference at the base, 22 feet, at 66 feet up, 19 feet, at 110 feet up; there were two large branches at 120 feet; the general head branched off at 150 feet; the elevation of the tree, traceable by the branches on the ground, was 213 feet. We ascended this tree on an inclined plane, formed by one of its limbs, and walked four a breast, with ease, upon its trunk! In its fall, it had overturned another, 168 feet high, which had brought up with its roots, a ball of earth, 20 feet across. It was so much imbedded in the earth that I could not get a string round it

  1. 1.0 1.1 These were fine sound trees, upwards of 200 feet high; they had large, single excrescences at the base.