User:Scott Pringle Trotter/sandbox

of Growth rates in British yews have previously been estimated from trees growing in southern latitudes recent research has shown considerable variation in trees from England and Wales and their Scottish counterparts.As might be expected they are considerably slower some 400 miles further north.This difference in lattitude cannot however account on its own for the growth rates found in the fortingal yew.Over an eight year study period two seperate specimines for dendrochronology have been recovered from the fortingal yew both obtained from naturally occuring events. During the severe winter of 2010/11 a small branch of the Fortingal yew was broken off due to snow load on the tree.this branch was removed for dendrochronological analysis and shows remarkably slow growth.With an averaged radius of just 0.595 inch or 15.12mm the branch contained 106 annual growth rings .This gives an extrapolated figure of 175 annual growth rings per radial inch.For example a branch or tree growing at this rate would have reached the lowest estimates of 2000 years whilst just approx 20 inches or 508mm in diameter,and the upper estimates of 5000 years at 50 inches or 1270mm in diameter.In the summer of 2007 a second fragment of wood was recovered from what appeared to be woodpecker activity deep inside the bole of the northern most portion of the existing tree,a tiny fragment of one quarter of an inch in radial width returned a reading of 25 annual growth rings or 100 per radial inch.A branch or tree growing at this rate would have reached the lowest estimate of 2000 years at 40 inches or 1016mm in diameter,and an upper estimate of 5000 years at 100 inches or 2540mm. Continuing back in time an upper limit for the possibility of vegetation growing in this area is reached at the end of the younger dryas approximatly 9500BC.Where receding glaciers in glen lyon and the the loch tay basin would allow vegatation to once more flourish.If we are to take the word of Welsh naturalist and antiquary Thomas pennant who visited the area in 1769   and gave a measurement of 56 and one half feet.Or the word of the  Hon Daines Barrington who takes two measurements at fifty two feet in 1769.Neither of these visitors alludes to which unit of measure they are using as Scottish and English systems are not fully integrated at this period and may account for some of the discrepencies between the two accounts.