24. 
PLATE XXXVIII—THE WYCH ELM AT BAGOT’S MILL. 
Tuts tree is more distinguished by its beauty than its size. The spot in which it stands abounding in rural 
objects, each one connected with another in harmony and fitness, forms one of the scenes which it is impossible 
for a lover of nature to behold without pausing to admire, and which irresistibly appeal to the pencil of the 
artist. It is in such situations as these that an insulated tree inspires reflections peculiarly pleasing. It seems 
the common property of all who raise their humble tenements within sight of its branches. It is one of the 
delightful ornaments of nature that the poorest cottager may enjoy and be proud of. He loves to see the stranger 
stop to gaze at it, and derives a pleasure from his admiration, which, though he can scarcely trace it to any 
definite source, is yet perhaps as great and surely more pure than that which is felt by the owner of large domains 
who sees the woods that were planted by his ancestors prostrated beneath the axe, to satisfy the demands of some 
scheme of luxury or ambition. 
PLATE XXXIX.—ELM AT CHECQUERS. 
Tuts venerable tree, in all probability the most ancient Elm in England, stands on the manor of Checquers, 
in Ellesborough in Buckinghamshire, so called from one of its ancient lords, John de Scaccariis, or of the Exche- 
quer, from whose family it passed to the Hawtreys, and from the Hawtreys to a younger branch of the Crokes, by 
whom it finally came into the possession of the family of its present owner, William Greenhill Russell, Hsq. 
“The old mansion called Checquers,” says Lysons in his History of Buckinghamshire, “situated in a very 
romantic spot, amidst hills covered with beech and other trees, was built by the Hawtreys, whose arms are in the 
hall windows. In this house there are some good family portraits, among which are Oliver Cromwell, from whom 
the Russells were lineally descended, Lady Claypole, and other persons connected with the family.” Close to this 
antique mansion stands, a fit companion to the scene, the venerable Elm, which, according to the traditional 
accounts in the family, handed down, as we are informed by its present possessor, through successive ages, was 
planted in the reign of Stephen—a most extraordinary instance of longevity in a tree, whose usual age has not 
been considered by any means to equal that of the Oak or Chesnut. It is now fast approaching to its last stage 
of decay ; yet its enormous trunk, though hollowed into an absolute shell, displays in a circumference of thirty-one 
feet, sufficient remains of grandeur to denote the magnificent object it must have exhibited in its prime. - 
PLATE XL.—MAPLE IN BOLDRE CHURCH-YARD. 
Tux small or common Maple is very inferior in size to the Sycamore, or greater Maple; but the timber is 
much more valuable, and is held in the highest estimation by turners and cabinet-makers, on account of the 
exquisite beauty of veining which it frequently presents. The wood of the Maple is also much prized for musical 
instruments, on account of its lightness; and the tree itself yields a sap which upon evaporation will leave sugar 
as perfect in quality as that of the cane, though inferior in point of quantity. The ancients held the Maple in the 
greatest esteem ; and tables inlaid with curious portions of it, or formed entirely of its wood when finely varie- 
gated, fetched prices which, even to the manufacturers of the buhl furniture of modern times, would appear 
unconscionable and incredible. Virgil erects his throne for “the good Evander” of Maple, inlaid with ivory ; 
and Pliny gives an elaborate account of its properties and value. The Maple, so common in hedges, seldom 
attains any considerable size as a forest tree. The Maple in Boldre Church-yard is ten feet in circumference at the 
ground, and at four feet, seven feet six inches; at twelve, the trunk divides into branches; and the entire height of 
the tree is about forty-five feet. This is considered the largest maple in England, and is mentioned as such by 
Gilpin in his remarks on “ Forest Scenery.” ; 
