TREES ON OPEN SPACES 185 



tree under which the poet wrote the ' Ode to a 

 Nightingale.' Birch is everywhere healthy and well- 

 developed, and imparts quite a wild and rural appear- 

 ance to many knolls and hollows of these beautiful 

 grounds. Even the Alder is here quite at home, and 

 one of the trunks measures 3 feet 8 inches in circum- 

 ference, while the Holly revels in the light, gravelly 

 soil of several parts of the Heath. Sycamore has 

 been planted largely, and thrives surprisingly when 

 soil conditions are considered, and there are some 

 nice young trees of the Scarlet Oak, Ailanthus (by the 

 Heath margin), Acacias, fresh and green, and many 

 clumps of the Acer and different species of Poplar. 



A flat-headed Lebanon Cedar is a conspicuous 

 feature of the grounds of Jack Straw's Castle, and the 

 many old and gnarled specimens of the Elm, some of 

 considerable size, by Well Walk and Well Road, have 

 for long been known to visitors to the Heath. Most 

 of these have been pollarded and suffered in con- 

 sequence, several being hollow-stemmed and long past 

 their best. 



The ' Gibbet Tree ' stood not far distant, and was 

 an Elm of goodly proportions which was used for 

 the execution of murderers as early as 1673. 



Parliament Hill Fields. Though the higher ground 

 is somewhat bare and uninteresting, yet all along the 

 lower fringe, and particularly by the water-side, trees 

 thrive remarkably well. The Weeping Willow is 

 particularly noticeable and has attained in many 

 instances to large dimensions, especially by the pond- 

 side, where also the Kilmarnock Willow shows off to 

 perfection. Other trees that thrive well are the 

 False Acacia and the Pink-flowered Robinia viscosa, 

 though only a few specimens of the latter have been 



