THE HISTORIC TREES OF MASSACHUSETTS 



the American army on foot or on horseback 

 it is certain that he did it with dignity, 

 under the elm which bears his name; and 

 our hearts beat faster as we contemplate 

 the wonderful picture. 



More than a hundred and forty years 

 have come and gone since that important 

 and imposing event took place, and the 

 Washington Elm still stands! It is with 

 profound sorrow that we find ourselves con- 

 fronted with the knowledge that it is now 

 but a shadow of its former self. It has 

 become the victim, like many another tree 

 of its kind, of the leopard moth and the 

 elm-leaf beetle. Every effort has been made 

 to save it, but it is not expected to last 

 for more than another decade. 



The Harvard Book describes this tree as 

 belonging to the forest which originally 

 covered the locality in which it stands, 

 and gives its dimensions as nearly 100 feet 

 in height, over 18 feet in trunk circum- 

 ference and 90 feet in the spread of its 

 branches. The measurements for height and 

 spread have, been greatly reduced as a result 



