THE HISTORIC TREES OF MASSACHUSETTS 



217 



THESE magnificent old elms in 

 Lincoln stand directly in front 

 of the oldest house in the town and 

 about seventy-five yards from the 

 State road leading from Concord 

 to Boston, approximately two miles 

 east from Concord. They are about 

 ' is feet in circumference, and are 

 beginning to decline. The branches 

 have a highly muscular appearance 

 but have suffered somewhat from 

 insect pests. 



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'T'HE Boxford Elm, standing in 

 front of the old house erected 

 by Asa Perley in 1760, both house 

 and tree have since remained as 

 cherished landmarks of Boxford, 

 as well as of Essex County. The 

 elm gradually developed into a great 

 tree one of the greatest in Massa- 

 chusetts. It has at the present 

 time a circumference at breast 

 height of 14 feet 4 J A inches, a 

 height of 70 feet and a spread of 

 100 feet. At about ten or twelve 

 feet from the ground the trunk 

 divides into five large branches 

 which in turn subdivide to form a 

 broad crown, overtopping the old 

 Colonial residence, and lending its 

 charm to the whole country-side. 



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VmiKN selecting a young tree for 

 planting as a permanent, living 

 monument, capable of occupying a 

 given spot for from one hundred to 

 five hundred years, one would hard- 

 ly choose a fruit tree. And yet 

 John Endicott, the earliest pioneer 

 of the Massachusetts settlement 

 under the patent, has left behind 

 him a pear tree which he planted 

 about the year 1632, and which still 

 "bears more fruit than the whole 

 town can eat" as the peoplt say 

 in Danvers. Measurements have no 

 value and convey no meaning, as 

 lpplicd to this tree. Soil has gradu- 

 ally collected about the trunk until 

 the two main branches, appear to 

 rise from the ground as separate 

 trees. They evidently join under a 

 heavy covering of sod. Surround- 

 ing them is a fence which acts as an 

 effective protection. When the au- 

 thor photographed the tree it was 

 covered with green fruit. 



THE PAIR OF ELMS AT LINCOLN 



THE BOXFORD ELM 



THE ENDICOTT PEAR TREE 



