6 THE BIRDS OF SHERWOOD FOREST. 



as in old prints was represented on the head of King 

 John. In another, about the same distance within the 

 tree, the letters I. JR., James Rex, were revealed, while in 

 a third, three feet three inches from the centre, and 

 about nine inches from the outside, were the letters 

 W. M., and a crown, the initials most probably of 

 William and Mary. I believe these relics are now 

 preserved in the arsenal at Woolwich. 



Some of the trees possess a reputation distinct from 

 their compeers, and are worthy of separate mention. 

 Perhaps the most interesting is the " Parliament Oak," 

 which was once included within the boundaries of Clip- 

 stone Park ; it stands by the side of the road leading 

 from Ollerton to Mansfield, and its massive trunk, now 

 rent and shattered by time, is carefully guarded and 

 supported by timbers placed around it through the 

 praiseworthy care of the late Duke of Portland. The 

 trunk is so much decayed that it is cleft into two dis- 

 tinct portions, the top of each being terminated by a 

 goodly' arm in full vigour, and in most years bearing 

 acorns in abundance. I used to wonder at the vitality 

 of this old tree, cleft as it is to the ground through the 

 centre, the whole upper part gone, and the heart of 

 what remains decayed away, until a mere shell is left, 

 but on examination I saw the secret of its verdant 

 appearance. The bark which once clothed the shattered 

 trunk, has gradually decayed and fallen off, leaving only 

 a strip extending from the base of the arm to the 

 ground. Up this channel the sap has flowed until the 

 once flattened strip has swelled so much that it looks as 

 though the rounded stem of a tree about the size of a 

 man's thigh had been placed upright against the bare 

 trunk to the base of the arm. It would thus be pos- 



