THE GUSHING ELM 



on the same side of the street and was several 

 feet in height when transplanted to its 

 present site. 



At the age of nearly two hundred years 

 it stands a marvel of strength and symmetry, 

 a monument to the illustrious dead who 

 went from Hingham to fight for their coun- 

 try, and the pride of their descendants who 

 now hold it dear. 



Some idea of its striking appearance may 

 be had from the photograph. George B. 

 Emerson gives an excellent word picture on 

 the Gushing Elm in his work, '"The Trees 

 and Shrubs of Massachusetts." He says: 

 "On the 25 of July, 1839, I measured it in 

 company of Mr. Wm. Oakes, a botanist of 

 Ipswich. It was 13 feet in circumference 

 at 4^ feet from the ground. At from 10 

 to 12 feet eight large branches are thrown 

 out, which sweep upwards in a broad curve, 

 making a noble round head sixty or seventy 

 feet high. The immense roots which, be- 

 ginning at three or four feet above the surface 

 stand out like abutments in all directions, 

 chiefly east and west, give an idea of per- 



