68 SYLVA BRITANNICA. 



THE WYCH ELM AT BAGOT'S MILL 



is more distinguished by its beauty than its size. 

 It is in such situations as the present, abounding 

 in rural objects, each connected with another in har- 

 mony and fitness, that an insulated tree inspires re- 

 flections peculiarly pleasing. It seems the common 

 property of all who raise their humble tenements 

 within sight of its branches, and is one of the de- 

 lightful ornaments of nature that the poorest cottager 

 may enjoy and be proud of, as he sees the stranger 

 stop to gaze at it. Perhaps there is no country in the 

 world where an admiration of fine trees is so genuinely 

 felt, or so generally diffused, through all ranks, as in 

 England. " I am fond of listening," says a Trans- 

 atlantic writer, long esteemed, and now domesticated 

 among us, " to the conversation of English gentle- 

 men on rural concerns ; and of noticing with what 

 taste and discrimination, and with what strong un- 

 affected interest, they will discuss topics which, in 

 other countries, are abandoned to mere woodmen or 

 rustic cultivators. I have heard a noble earl descant 

 on park and forest scenery with the science and 

 feeling of a painter : he dwelt on the shape and 

 beauty of particular trees on his estate, with as much 

 pride and technical precision as though he had been 



