92 TREES IN NATURE, MYTH & ART 



often add picturesqueness to low-lying river 

 land. Needless to say, the osier is in great 

 demand for basket-making. The *'note" 

 of the willow is pliancy, and the very name, 

 connected, it is said, etymologically with *' will- 

 ing," emphasises the quality that makes it so 

 valuable to the basket-weaver. 



The alder was named as another denizen of 

 the stream-side, and Tennyson's apostrophe to 

 the rivulet inevitably comes to mind : — 



But here will sigh thine alder tree, 



And here thine aspen shiver ; 

 And here by thee will hum the bee, 



For ever and for ever. 



It is not, as a rule, a large tree ; its timber 

 has no great value ; nor has it much reputation 

 for beauty. It earns most of such repute as it 

 possesses because it is commonly to be found 

 in places otherwise picturesque. Thus Gilpin 

 associates it with the sweet vales of Dorking 

 and Mitcham and the groves of Esher. 

 Hamerton says that **few trees obtrude them- 

 selves so little on our notice. One cannot pass 

 a chestnut or a willow without being immedi- 

 ately aware of its species, but however familiar 

 we may be with alders, we can think of them 



