PARK TREES 127 



1760, we have a valuable tree, whether for ornamental 

 effect or the quality of timber produced. The wood 

 is exceedingly hard and capable of a smooth polish, 

 and in Japan is largely employed for the finer and 

 more expensive furniture, as also in ship and house 

 decoration. 



Park Trees 



THE parks and open spaces of London, which 

 extend to fully 6000 acres, contain a large and 

 thoroughly representative collection of trees and shrubs, 

 many being rare and little-known species. Foreign 

 trees, as a rule, succeed better than native kinds, as, for 

 instance, the Plane, Catalpa, Ailanthus, Acacia, and 

 many others, though a few of the home species, such as 

 the Ash, Birch, and Elm, succeed. Richard Jefferies 

 said * Go round the entire circumference of Greater 

 London and find the list ceaselessly repeated. There 

 are Acacias, Sumachs, Cedars, Araucarias, Laurels, 

 Planes, beds of Rhododendrons, and so on. If again 

 search were made in these enclosures for English 

 trees, it would be found that none have been intro- 

 duced.' 



With a wide and intimate knowledge of London 

 and its trees we might add that the main reason 

 why native trees are not more cultivated is the fact 

 that in most instances they have been found to be 

 unsuitable for the chemically impure atmosphere and 

 pent-up soil of the Metropolis. The British Oak will 

 not succeed in the heart of London, while the Turkey 

 variety will, and even some of the North American 

 kinds will longer survive the London smoke than our 

 native tree. 



