THE HISTORIC TREES OF MASSACHUSETTS 



the largest to be found in their immediate 

 vicinity, each has been decorat d in years 

 gone by with a legend in token of its dis- 

 tinction. The pine board cling ig to the 

 trunk of the Paxton Elm is no r old and 

 weather-beaten and should of necessity be 

 replaced with another, stating that the king 

 is dead. The tree still stands, almost entire, 

 with its columnar trunk 14 feet in circum- 

 ference, and its branches towering into the 

 sky 60 or 70 feet. The Rutland Elm clings 

 tenaciously to life, but its most beautiful 

 branches are gone and its visage is battered 

 and warlike. The circumference at breast 

 height is 12 feet and 4 inches. These trees 

 have been patient in adversity, braving the 

 cold winds of many winters in a place where 

 proper treatment is expensive and difficult 

 to obtain. They have served as an example 

 of fortitude to many persons who have gone 

 in quest of health to the high elevations on 

 which they stand. 



The town of Lunenburg lies within this 

 upland district of the center of the state, 

 and takes pride in two remarkable trees of 



