104 ^ THE SYCAMORE. 



Oaks which now stock our forests, or convey our 

 sailors to eyery region of the world, are lineal 

 descendants of the first trees which ever grew in 

 our island. 



The Oak, on account of the age and size which 

 it attains, the share which it had in the religious 

 worship of our forefathers, its picturesque beauty, 

 and its intimate connexion with naval architec- 

 ture, is confessedly the most interesting of all the 

 trees which grow in Britain. But the Sycamore 

 is sadly deficient in these respects. It has neither 

 extraordinary magnitude nor longevity to recom- 

 mend it. It w^as not contemporary in this country 

 with the worshippers of trees ; and I know not 

 that it ever laid claim to be mentioned in connec- 

 tion with any national boast. It has even been 

 denied the possession of any picturesque beauty. 

 Evelyn says of it, The Sycamore is much more 

 in reputation for its shade than it deserves ; for 

 the honey-dew leaves, which fall early, like those 

 of the Ash, turn to mucilage and noxious insects, 

 and putrefy with the first moisture of the season ; 

 and are therefore, by my consent, to be banished 

 from all curious gardens and avenues." If the 

 trees, however, be very tall and handsome, they 

 are the more tolerable for distant walks, espe- 

 cially where other better trees prosper not so 

 well, or where a sudden shade is expected. Some 

 commend them to thicken copses, especially in 

 parks, as least apt to the spoil of deer, and that 

 it is good fire-wood." 



With me, however, I confess, it is somewhat of 

 a favourite. Its buds are of a very elegant shape, 

 particularly when beginning to burst. When it 

 grows in sheltered hedges the young shoots which 



