156 History of Hingham. 



its decay which well befits a tree which unquestionably was ma- 

 ture in aboriginal days. Would that the axe had spared more 

 such! The White Pine has its leaves in lives. 



The Black Spruce (Picea nigra, Link.) This tree grows in a 

 swamp east of High Street, and probably nowhere else wild in 

 Hingham, although cultivated here as an ornamental tree. 



The Hemlock Spruce (Tsuga Canadensis, CarriSre) grows in 

 the woods in nearly every part of the town. It is a large, hand- 

 some species, with feathery, delicate foliage, and is much culti- 

 vated for ornamental purposes. 



LILIACEiE. 



The Greenbrier, Horsebrier (Smilax rotundifolia, L.). This 

 vine is very common. There is considerable beauty to it, the 

 bright-green leaves always fresh and shining, and the clusters of 

 small greenish flowers and blue-black berries in autumn quite 

 interesting;. The plant is however a disagreeable one to meet 

 with in summer rambles, the thick sharp thorns making it a 

 barrier almost impassable. 



The Carrion Flower (Smilax herbacea, L.). This is a hand- 

 some plant, and although a vine, it often stands alone in a leaning 

 position without support. The leaves arc rounded-oblong, thinner 

 than those of the Greenbrier, and the fruit is a very compact 

 bunch of black berries. The greenish masses of flowers are 

 carrion-scented. 



The Smilax Glauca (Walt.) strongly resembles the rotundifolia 

 but is much more rare, being found only lately, and in the South 

 Hingham woods. 



MEASUREMENTS OF SOxME NOTABLE TREES. 



The Gay Elm on South Street, opposite the depot at the west end, measured 

 in 1859 18 feet 6 inches, surpassing in circumference of trunk all other trees 

 in town. Torn asunder some years since by a gale, the portion of the trunk 

 remaining uninjured measured in 1889 a little over '20 feet. 



The beautiful Rocky Nook Elm on East Street measured in 1887 15 feet 

 •H inches, with a spread of foliage of 90 feet. The Gushing Elm, corner of 

 Main and South streets, measured in 1889 15 feet. The Seymour Elm, on 

 Main Street, had a girth, in 1SS9, of 16 feet 3 inches. The Elm on Prospect 

 Street, in front of Mr. Bernard Cooney's house, measured in 1889 14 feet 6 

 inches. 



Of the noble Red Oaks on East, opposite Kilby, Street, one measured in 

 1887 13 feet 10 inches, and another 13 feet 9£ inches. The Buttonwood 

 on the corner of Main and Leavitt streets had a girth, in 18S9, of 13 feet \\ 

 inches, with a spread of 100 feet. 



A large Savin on land of Mr. Samuel Burr, at Martin's Lane, measured in 

 1890 9 feet 8 inches. 



The great White Pine on Lazell Street measured 14 feet in 1887. 



All the above measurements of circumference of trunk were taken at 4^ feet 

 from the ground. 



