74 LONDON TREES 



little idea of its luxuriance of growth and beauty of 

 outline when given room for development, as may 

 be seen in some instances in the central parks or 

 in the Bank of England. The Lime has been so 

 freely planted over the Metropolis that specimens 

 are to be met with of fair size in most of the parks 

 and gardens, those in surburban districts taking the 

 lead in both size and healthy appearance, the street- 

 planted being usually much distorted in the way of 

 heavy annual pruning, so that the true character of the 

 tree is quite lost sight of. A century and more ago 

 many avenues of the Lime were planted in and around 

 London, while pleached hedges or screens of the 

 tree were a common sight. As a town tree it is to 

 be recommended, the hardy constitution rendering it 

 proof against smoke and dust, while the fibrous roots 

 cause it to be readily transplanted even when of 

 large size. Then it can bear an inordinate amount 

 of pruning, in fact in this respect it has no equal 

 amongst commonly cultivated trees. The Lime is 

 rarely planted for its economic value, but usually as 

 an ornamental tree in parks, open spaces, and streets, 

 the latter position, however, being now mainly filled 

 by trees that have been found more suitable for 

 withstanding the impurities of a town atmosphere. 



Apart from its value as a town tree the timber 

 of the Lime has been turned to good account by the 

 cabinet-maker, turner, carver, and toy-maker. The 

 beautiful carvings executed by Grinling Gibbons 

 for many churches and palaces in England were of 

 Lime wood. It is yellowish- white in colour, soft, 

 close-grained, and cuts clean and easily under the 

 graver's tools, and for this reason, as also its un- 

 shaded colour, has been largely used for ornamental 



