Evening star., 1903-07-13
M EN- ORAL TREES
GREAT PLANTATIONS BEAR THE
NAMES OF BRITISH HEROES.
Woods Planted in Commemoration Of
National Events-Ancient Firs
-Howe's Grave


From Tit-Bts.
In different parts of our country We may
come across trees-in Sherwood. indeed.
across entire woods-planted to commem-
crate national events But our English
tree paintings have long been mainly the
work of individuals, and not of commu-
mites. A tree planted in Lord Rollos gar
den at Duncrub, 10 commemorate the
union of England and Scotland in 1907, a
fir eighty feet high and eighteen feet in
glrth. was blown down in the gale of
March. 1876. The greatest day of COM
memorative tree planting ever known in
England was probably the first anniver-
sary of the restoration-May - 1861. The
letters from different towns In the Mer-
GURUS Publicus and the Kings Intellgen-
Ger OF that year contain accounts of such
paintings. Many of these. however. We're
like the trees of liberty. planted only to
last as long as the festival In one letter
from HaleSworth. in Suffolk the "Own
Correspondent of the period writes: THE
number of trees that were planted in the
town was SO great that 1t perfectly re-
sembled an artificial forest The whole
town lay under absolute disguise that
the inhabitants knew not their own
houses. -Mercurus Publicus, June &, No.
y. The wholesale commemorative plant
ing in the Sherwood district marks vic
tories gained by our famous admirals.
Lord Newark planted twenty-five acres,
partly forest tree and partly fir. and called
Il Howe's Grove, in honor of Earl Howe's
great victory.
a plantation of fifteen acres adjoining
Thoresby Park is called after Earl ST. Vim
cent. and twelve acres on the north boun-
dary of Buddy Forest celebrate Lord Dun
can. In other parts of the Sherwood dis
trict great plantations bear the names of
Nelson ST. Vincent Howe and Spencer
the last in honor of the nobleman who
then presided at the admiralty, and to
whose Judiclous arrangement of the fleet
the English successes were in part attrib-
uted.
Pope's Willow.
Individual trees planted by famous men
are Still to be seen by the pilgrims who
visit their homes and haunts. In the last
century there was quite fashion for
planting willows. 1t is said that the first
weeping willow seen in England was sent
to the poet pope, as a present from Turkey.
by his friend, Lady Mary Wortlev Mon
tagu. and planted by him in his garden at
IWlckenham. 1t is the famous Salix Baby
lonica of the Psalter, upon which on the
banks of the Euphrates. the weeping
daughters of Jerusalem hung their harps
Garrick planted two willows on his lawn
beside his Shakespeare Temple; in the
midst of thunderstorm. which DESTROYED
one of them, the pious and devoted W dow
OF the great actor was seen running up
and down excitedly. crying out: oh nv
Garrick, oh. my Garrick,' The willow
known as DR.. Johnsons willow at Lich-
field, was blown down lone ago: it was said
In the Gardeners Magazine to have been
planted by him, but it is more probable
that his admiration and talk of It de-
veloped the legend of his planting it.
AT the time of its destruction IT was thir
teen feet in girth. Pieces of household fur
niture and snuff boxes made If it.
and slips from it We're planted by his ad-
nirers throughout the neighhoring county:
ar offset of the old tree was planted on the
eli
when Byron first went to Newstead Abbey
from Aberdeen. at the age of ten. he plant
ed a young oak in some part of the
grounds He had a notion. or thought he
had, that as II f1OurShed so should he
Six or seven years later. revisiting the
spot. he found his oak choked up with
weeds and almost dead.
Planted by Milton.
DR.. Johnson's case throws light upon
many legendary tree paintings at a greater
distance from In time. The mulberry
tree in the beautiful gardens of Chrlst's
College. Cambridge. owed its defensive
bands of lead and its props to the legs I'd
that it was planted by Milton. There Is an
oak in the gardens of the Convent IF St
Onophrio. at Rome. in which Tasso died.
which has long been said to have baen
planted by the poet: some of the monks
however, have begun to ascribe its planting
to the more sanity hands of st. Philip
Neri. Merry planted in Rossini's garden at
Passy two strips of laurel, one taken from
a tree growing at Tasso's tomb at St. Ono
phrio the other from Virgils tomb near
Naples: crown of laurel, formed from
these two trees, was placed upon the com
poserS coffin. Legend will. no doubt, in
course of time. attribute the planting of
the trees to Rossini. The noble yew hedge
in the parsonage garden at Rishopsbourne,
in Kent. is now said $50 the Dean of West
minister stated in his recent sermon on
Hooker, to have been planted by the great
est of English theologians. The planting of
orange tree in the Convent of ST.
Stbina in Rome, is now attributed to St.
Dominic. in the year 1900, and another
orange tree in the Convent of Fondi to the
famous Dominican. st. Thomas Aquinas, in
l26S.