Oldest tree in Versailles pulled down after 324 years

[Placebo]

The oldest tree in the grounds of the palace of Versailles -- Marie-Antoinette's oak -- was pulled down more than 320 years after it was planted.

Measuring 35 metres (115 feet) high and 5.5 metres (18 feet) in circumference, the tree died of dehydration in the heatwave of 2003 after being deprived of surrounding cover in the devastating storms of December 1999.

Planted in 1681, the oak was named after the ill-fated wife of King Louis XVI who reputedly liked to enjoy its shade. It is to replaced by another of the same species.

Two tractors took less than two minutes to topple the giant to the ground.

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[Up2Late]

1. Hey, Let them eat Cake!

I'm sure I'm not going to be the only one to say it.

[Placebo]

2. No...

but you might be the only one who responds to this thread. :D

[stopbush]

7. Not that Marie Antoinette actually said that...

[pnorman]

3. "deprived of surrounding cover"???

Can you imagine the sort of trees that would give THAT sturdy oak cover?

pnorman

[spunky]

4. Ground cover- to help prevent evaporation of moisture from the soil.

[pnorman]

5. Thanks. There's really no such thing as a "dumb question".

but mine came embarassingly close.

Pnorman

[spunky]

9. We've all been there. My face goes red just thinking about some of the

almost-stupid questions I've asked. lol.

[Up2Late]

11. I doubt that's what they meant

They Lost a LOT of big trees in Paris and the surrounding area. I went running in the big park in the North part of Paris,(I don't speck French so I won't even try) in the Spring of 2000, and there where still a LOT of trees that had yet to be removed.

[MASSAFRA]

6. I have visited Versailles

and did not know about this tree. My one thought at seeing the opulence of the place was, "Now I know why the populace rose up against the royalty."

[Lorien]

16. If you had gone down to the gardens

(large gardens, I know), you would have seen signs pointing the way to the tree. It was probably the biggest tourist draw on the grounds outside of the palace itself.

[maxsolomon]

8. That ain't much of a root ball.

i could have taken it down with ONE tractor, as i am a get 'r dun real 'merkin, you cheese eating surrender monkeys.

[Radio_free_america]

10. Lol but the tree would have fall on you

2 tractors were necessary for ingenering purpose.

:)

[Sal Minella]

12. Let him use one tractor.

Darwin Award nominations may be running slow this year.

[Gloria]

13. This sort of thing makes me muse about how much that tree has

seen.

RIP, tree.

[VegasWolf]

15. All that time and the bush admin was just too much for it. n/t

[R Hickey]

14. I lost my biggest oak this year, and didn't even need one tractor.

It was around a hundred years old. Northern Wisconsin. Might have been killed by oak-wilt.

[Lorien]

17. We lost 22,000 live oaks in Florida this year

due to the hurricanes. Instead of using the downed trees as biomass for energy plants, Jebby had them all chopped up and burned in monstrous mountains in huge fields. Gotta make sure nothing takes away those oil and coal profits, y'know. :eyes: