HISTORIC TREES 147 



practically the sole survivor of a number of vener- 

 able trees associated with events of national im- 

 portance wrought in the infant days of the Re- 

 public. And now in these last days arise experts 

 who even question the absolute authenticity of that 

 monument's claim to fame! 



Be that as it may, most Americans are content 

 to believe that on July 3, 1775, General George 

 Washington assumed supreme command of the 

 armies of the rebelling colonies under the shadow 

 of the failing but still grand old elm which occu- 

 pies a prominent place in the city by the Charles. 

 Let us honour it while it is still with us. There 

 are indications that its days are numbered. Al- 

 ready the expert care of Professor Sargent of the 

 Arnold Arboretum has prolonged its life many 

 years. There is excellent reason to believe that 

 Washington's Tree deserves further reverence as 

 a pulpit from which George Whitefield at one time 

 preached when excluded from New England towns 

 and colleges in 1744. 



On August 21, 1856, a light gale blew down a 

 stately 2000-year-old oak near Hartford, Conn. 

 The next day a whole city mourned around its 

 prostrate trunk and, under official direction, con- 

 verted every scrap of its wood into sentimental 

 mementos. This was the tree which for one hun- 



