8 LONDON TREES 



Beech, Elm, and Sycamore, which have no rivals in or 

 around London. This is entirely due to the elevated situ- 

 ation of the ground, clear atmosphere, and excellent soil. 



Aged and historic trees, or such as are grown in 

 confined positions or near prominent buildings, have 

 received a considerable amount of attention from the 

 press and public, as evidence of which we need only 

 refer to Bacon's Catalpa at Gray's Inn, the Mulberry 

 planted by Charles Dickens, the Wallace Plane, Dr. 

 Johnson's Elm, Shakespeare's Oak on Primrose Hill, 

 Keats's tree at Hampstead, or the fine row of Catalpas 

 by the Houses of Parliament and the healthy specimens 

 of the same kind at St. Paul's. 



In the following account of trees that succeed in 

 the London district care has been taken to include 

 only such as have from long experience and on 

 account of their age and size been found most suitable 

 for general planting. Several trees that succeed well 

 in American towns have of late been tried by special 

 request in London, and amongst such some have so far 

 given promise of being able to withstand the effects 

 of the chemically impure atmosphere of the great 

 Metropolis. These are principally of small growth, 

 such as species of Pyrus and Prunus. 



It has been found somewhat difficult to define the 

 exact bounds of London and which trees may rightly 

 be included in the metropolitan area, but generally 

 in the following pages the limits of the County of 

 London have been adhered to, and for this reason 

 trees growing outside the boundary, such as at Kew, 

 Chiswick, Hampton Court, Bushy Park, or Richmond, 

 where the air is comparatively pure, have not been 

 included. The limit is, with few exceptions, an 

 eight miles radius from Charing Cross. 



