“At the first glance, the trunk reminded me of the London Monument, an effect of the amaze which the greatness of its dimensions produced.  I measured its girth, however, at the height of a man from the ground, and it was thirty-three feet, above which the trunk rose without a branch to the height of at least eighty feet, crowned with vast branches.

“This was an oak, probably the greatest known, and it lifted its head far above the rest of the forest.  The trees around, myrmidons of inferior growth, were large, massy, and vigorous, but possessed none of the patriarchal antiquity with which that magnificent ’monarch of the woods’ was invested.  I think, therefore, that I was not wrong in imagining it the scion of a forest that had passed away, the ancestral predecessor of the present woods.

“Had I been convinced it was perfectly sound, I would have taken measures for cutting it down and sending home planks of it to Windsor Castle.  The fate that awaited it would have justified the profanation.  The doubt of its soundness, however, and the difficulty of finding tools large enough to do it justice, procrastinated the period of its doom.  I recommended the landlord of the tavern to direct his guests, from time to time, to inspect this Goliath of oaks.”—­Galt’s “Autobiography.”] * * * * * *

I replied, “Surely, you would not be such a Goth as to cut down such a splendid oak merely for fence-wood, when you have plenty of rail-timber which will answer that purpose equally well; and, besides, it may be the means of drawing customers to your tavern.”

“I do not know what you mean by a Goth; but I do know, if I could get a crosscut saw long enough to cut that tree, I would not let it stand there long; for you see it is mighty straight in the grain, and would split like a ribbon.”

Thus was this gigantic specimen of the primeval forest preserved for a time, because there was not a saw long enough to cut it through in Canada.  I dare say there are many old oaks in England that exceed this in diameter; but I do not believe one is to be found whose length of trunk can be at all compared to it.

On the flats about a mile from the mouth of the Maitland, are some very large button-wood trees.  There is one, in particular, growing near a fine spring of water, the circumference of which appeared very vast, though I did not measure it; but the tree was a complete shell, and had a sort of natural arched doorway, just high enough to admit a full-sized man.  I was once inside this tree with Dr. Dunlop and eleven other persons, at the same time.  The trunk of this tree forked at twelve or fourteen feet from the ground.  There are several others of this species near to the one I have described, of very large growth, which apparently are sound, but not equalling it in size.