59 
A free growing handsome specimen of the redwood, with the 
branches sweeping the ground. 
Thuja gigantea; 62 feet high, and 6 feet 6 inches in girth. <A 
fast-growing tree, with a graceful spiral habit. 
Wellingtonia gigantea, 1857 ; 67 feet high, and 11 feet 3 inches 
in girth. A very handsome specimen. A number of others were 
seen not far behind this fine tree, one of which, planted in 1862, 
had attained a height of 62 feet, with a girth of 12 feet. 
The visit to Dropmore had proved a most enjoyable one, and a 
whole day could have been profitably spent, had time permitted, 
amid its arboreal treasures. Before leaving, the cordial thanks of 
the company were tendered to Mr Herrin, who had approved him- 
self a most courteous and intelligent guide to the party over this 
most interesting estate. He had brought with him the record of the 
notable trees on the estate, and from its pages he dispensed 
information to all who sought his aid. 
BurnuHAM BEECHES. 
A short drive from Dropmore eastward, along a pretty country 
road, brought us to Burnham Beeches, the scene of our next visit. 
It comprises an extent of about 374 acres, and since 1879, 
when it was purchased by the Corporation of the City of London 
for a sum of £6000, it has formed one of the open spaces, or public 
parks, connected with the Metropolis, and although 25 miles distant, 
it is now a favourite resort of the citizens. The space is partly an 
open common, and partly a richly sylvan landscape, in which the 
famous old picturesque beeches are the main feature, and give name 
to the place. These grand old trees are familiar to most of us from 
the numerous paintings and illustrations by eminent artists, in 
which they figure so prominently, 
The poet Gray, the author of the ‘‘ Elegy,” who went to school 
at Eton, and was buried in Stoke Pogis Churchyard in 1771, was 
among the first to call attention to the beauties of the landscape, 
and the weird picturesqueness of the ancient beeches. He says, 
“ Both vale and hill are covered with most venerable beeches, and 
other very reverend vegetables that, like most other ancient people, 
are always droning out their old stories to the wind, 
‘** And, as they bow their hoary tops, relate, 
In murmuring sounds, the dark decrees of fate; 
While visions, as poetic eyes avow, 
Cling to each leaf, and swarm on every bough.” 
