TREE AND SHRUB GROWTH IN LONDON 193 



districts and in warm dry seasons is apt to 

 lose its leaves prematurely. Where the situa- 

 tion is not too confined, and where soot and 

 smoke do not abound in unusual quantity, 

 the Lime thrives in a fairly satisfactory way, 

 but in the worst parts the branch tips die 

 back and the tree usually shows signs of dis- 

 tress the fierce struggle with smoke and 

 fumes being too great for its somewhat tender 

 constitution. For avenue or screen purposes 

 in the comparatively pure atmosphere of the 

 London suburbs it has certainly few equals, 

 while its ornamental appearance and shade- 

 giving qualities place it high in the list of 

 garden trees. It stands pruning with impun- 

 ity, a point that, unfortunately, is often taken 

 advantage of to convert one of our noblest 

 forest trees into a dwarfed and contorted 

 specimen for the confined garden or path- 

 side. In some smoky parts of the metropolis, 

 as at Shoreditch, Bermondsey, Lambeth, and 

 Chelsea, the Lime may be seen in a fairly 

 healthy condition when the impure atmo- 

 sphere is taken into account. 



