6 THE BIRDS OF SHERWOOD FOREST. 
as in old prints was represented on the head of King 
John. In another, about the same distance within the 
tree, the letters I. R., James Rex, were revealed, while in 
a third, three feet three inches from the centre, and 
about nine inches from the outside, were the letters 
W. M., and a crown, the initials most probably of 
William and Mary. I believe these relics are now 
preserved in the arsenal at Woolwich. 
Some of the trees possess a reputation distinct from 
their compeers, and are worthy of separate mention. 
Perhaps the most interesting is the “ Parliament Oak,” 
which was once included within the boundaries of Clip- 
stone Park ; it stands by the side of the road leading 
from Ollerton to Mansfield, and its massive trunk, now 
rent and shattered by time, is carefully guarded and 
supported by timbers placed around it through the 
praiseworthy care of the late Duke of Portland. The 
trunk is so much decayed that it is cleft into two dis- 
tinct portions, the top of each being terminated by a 
goodly arm in full vigour, and in most years bearing 
acorns in abundance. I used to wonder at the vitality 
of this old tree, cleft as it is to the ground through the 
centre, the whole upper part gone, and the heart of 
what remains decayed away, until a mere shell is left, 
but on examination I saw the secret of its verdant 
appearance. The bark which once clothed the shattered 
trunk, has gradually decayed and fallen off, leaving only 
a strip extending from the base of the arm to the 
ground. Up this channel the sap has flowed until the 
once flattened strip has swelled so much that it looks as 
though the rounded stem of a tree about the size of a 
man’s thigh had been placed upright against the bare 
trunk to the base of the arm. It would thus be pos- 
