60 LONDON TREES 



and other East End streets, as also in the heart of the 

 City and at Chelsea and Lambeth, both the Common 

 Hawthorn and Paul's Crimson variety, as also the 

 Cockspur and Tansy-leaved, succeed well and gladden 

 the visitor with their wealth of flowers and bright- 

 green foliage. In most of the squares there are good 

 examples of the Thorn. As an ornamental tree of 

 medium growth the Thorn, Hawthorn, or Whitethorn, 

 for it is known by all these names, is widely appreciated, 

 and there are few grounds of any pretensions where 

 specimens are not to be found. The flowers are 

 produced in May, and this circumstance accounts 

 for its popular name of * May ' or * May blossom.' 

 Though of slow growth, the tree lives to a great age, 

 and when favourably situated comparatively large 

 stems are produced. By the banks of the Regent's 

 Canal are many large specimens, though the palm of 

 victory as to height and bulk of stem rests with a 

 gigantic specimen that is growing near the Blackheath 

 entrance to Greenwich Park, in what is known as 

 the Ranger's Grounds. It is 50 feet high, and the stem 

 girths fully 7 feet at a yard from ground level. Several 

 varieties thrive well in London, one of the most 

 popular being Paul's Crimson. The Glastonbury 

 Thorn also is well represented. 



The Cockspur Thorn (C. Crus-galli) is one of the 

 best Thorns for town planting, and large specimens 

 may be seen in many of the public parks and gardens. 

 There is a noble specimen in the grounds of the 

 Toxophilite Society, Regent's Park, also in the central 

 parks, at Chelsea, and in some of the crowded quarters 

 of the East End, where it flowers and fruits freely. 



In the typical tree the leaves are bluntly ovate, 

 of a bright green, and the general contour low and 



