THE LIME. 89 



in aged individuals, the lower branches, which are 

 then often very massive, are prone to bend to the 

 earth, the extremities resting upon the grass, so as 

 to form a green canopy or natural tent, after the 

 manner of certain varieties of other trees that are 

 styled " weeping." A lime of this description stands 

 upon the lawn at Oulton Park, Cheshire, and is 

 justly esteemed one of the most striking and beau- 

 tiful trees in the whole county. When favoured by 

 soil and situation, the dimensions the lime can attain 

 are prodigious. At Moor Park, there are, or were 

 a few years ago, some individuals of remarkable 

 magnificence, the head of one being more than 120 

 feet in diameter, and the stature more than 100 

 feet. The trunk of this tree is in circumference 

 no less than eight yards ! As regards the possible 

 longevity of the lime, what this is may be judged 

 from the fact that at Trous, in the Grisons, there 

 existed, in 1798, a lime which was celebrated as far 

 back as A.D. 1424, and the age of which, in 1798, 

 could not have been less than five hundred and 

 eighty years. 



The particular features of the Lime are found in the 

 crowding of the heart of the tree with brushwood 

 when somewhat advanced in life ; in the buds, in the 

 shape of the leaves, in the flowers, the honey, and 

 the fruit. Lest in referring to the "fruit" there 

 should arise any misconception, and the sour-juiced 

 "lime " of the West Indies be thought of, let it be, 



