also in the homes of comparatively small squires, the love of trees is greater than in any other country I have visited. Traditions have grown up in many places which are not always supported by facts, but the truth of which one dared not question. I will mention one or two cases.
I was invited by the late Mr. Squarey, a land agent whose memory will long be cherished by his numerous clients and admirers in Wilts and the adjoining counties, to visit Wardour Castle, the residence of Lord Arundell of Wardour, the chief of a very ancient Catholic house, and in some ways typical rather of a French nobleman of the sixteenth century than of a modern British peer. He showed me the celebrated “Iron Tree” which grows close to the ruins of Wardour Castle, which was besieged, sacked and burned by the Parliamentary troops in 1643. He informed me, and he fully believed the truth of the family tradition, that this very remarkable tree had been brought from Maryland by Lord Baltimore about 1632, and had been cut down by the besiegers of the castle. He also said that the name of “Iron Tree" came with it from America, where the Hornbeam is known by that name. But whatever may have been the fate of the original “Iron Tree,” it is certain that the one now standing which is figured on Plate 248 of our book is not an American tree at all, but a tree known as Zelkova crenata, a native of Trans¬ caucasia and not introduced to Europe till 1760. This wonderful tree produces no seed, but suckers in abundance, of which Lord Arundell gave me two, one of which is now growing at Colesborne and the other at Tortworth Court.
Many of the traditions as to the age of trees, especially oaks and yew trees, are equally incorrect, and there is no doubt that many of these are not half as old as they look or are reputed to be. As in Japan, where anything so old that its history is unknown is commonly reputed to be a thousand years old, so it is with some trees in England, where I do not believe that any tree exists or ever has existed which is much more than half a thousand years old. It is true that some trees, of which the Sweet Chestnut and Yew are typical, and I believe also the Lime tree, will continue to push forth living growths from and around the stump or wreck of a tree which has long ago decayed, of which the Tortworth Chestnut is a good instance, But when once a tree becomes hollow it usually begins to decay fast, and several trees which looked sound and healthy when I first knew them only ten to fifteen years ago are now fast declining in vigour, whilst others, among them the great Elm in Magdalen Park, Oxford, which only a few years since was the largest tree in Great Britain, have been blown down or struck by lightning.
And it is a sad fact that the timber in many of our finest historic deer parks, unrivalled in Europe for size and beauty, is in many places declin¬ ing in vigour, and decaying, whilst no young trees are growing up under conditions which will enable them to rival the giants of the past. Where shall we find in the next century such oaks as those around Powys Castle, in Bagots Park or in Kyre Park, and many others; such wonderful Yews as those in the Close Walks at Midhurst; such Beech trees as in Ashridge or Knole Parks; such Ash as in Cobham Park; or best of all such Elms unequalled and unrivalled for beauty in any other country as are found
