TREES IN SQUARES 149 



The Laburnums near the main entrance gates are 

 very fine, while some specimens of the Weeping Ash, 

 healthy foliaged Ailanthus, several mop-headed Acacias, 

 and Prunus Pissardi, as also goodly Thorns and Almonds, 

 are all thriving splendidly in the by no means pure 

 atmosphere of this part of the East End. A fair-sized 

 Mulberry in good health and bearing fruit freely may 

 be seen in one corner of these gardens. It is about 

 20 feet high, with a branch spread of 24 feet and a 

 knotty stem about 15 inches in diameter at a yard up. 



Meath Gardens. Poplars of various kinds are the 

 main feature of these gardens, while the Ailanthus is 

 well represented and Hollies thrive luxuriantly. The 

 Sumach is a good town shrub or small-growing tree 

 that is here to be seen to perfection. 



Trees in Squares 



AS far as tree growth is concerned there is much 

 of a sameness in the London squares, the Plane 

 predominating to the exclusion of almost every other 

 species. That this tree is well suited for resisting 

 smoke and dust and also highly ornamental cannot 

 be denied, but as several others are equally suitable 

 for town planting the almost monotonous repetition 

 of the Plane is by no means a necessity. The Ailanthus 

 succeeds quite as well, better indeed in the most 

 confined and smoky districts, while the Acacia, Ash, 

 both Common and Weeping, and various kinds of 

 Pyrus and Thorn are all not only highly ornamental, 

 but well suited for planting in every part of London. 

 Owing to its tall, usually branchless stem, the Plane 

 imparts a bare, unfurnished appearance to many of 



