160 LONDON TREES 



old gardener attributes the death to c something in 

 the soil, as a Holly beside it has also died.' 



Tower of London. With two exceptions, the trees 

 in the grounds of the Tower of London are of no 

 great antiquity, the avenue of Planes, which is perhaps 

 the main feature, having been planted at the instiga- 

 tion of Queen Victoria in 1841. The two old Elm 

 trees by the wall on the river- side are, however, much 

 older than any of the Planes, though, judging by 

 comparison, neither is probably older than two 

 hundred and twenty years. One of these trees is 

 partially hollow-stemmed, while the heavier branches 

 are diseased. Both stem and branches were attended 

 to in the matter of filling hollows and bracing together 

 such limbs as were considered likely to get broken 

 from the trunk in stormy weather. 



The Plane trees in the square opposite to the 

 King's House are a mixed lot, and have been planted 

 at various times, the Limes, too, being for the most 

 part of recent date. By far the largest is growing 

 in front of and near to the entrance door of that 

 historic building, another by the Royal Chapel being 

 of nearly like proportions. The Planes by the 

 river- side are thriving well and afford a pleasant 

 shade to that private roadway. Altogether, the Tower 

 trees are in a satisfactory condition, and a far-spreading 

 Vine and a Fig tree occupy prominent places on the wall 

 of the moat near the river-side. At the main entrance 

 gate there are quite a number of sixty to eighty- years- old 

 Plane trees. Probably the oldest of the Tower trees 

 is a Fig which is growing on the wall facing the Thames 

 and is, in all probability, a couple of centuries old, 

 as the height and thickness of stem 2 feet 7 inches 

 would lead one to believe. It is 38 feet in height and 



