May another suggestion be put forward ? Particular trees mark
particular counties. Do beeches grow so well anywhere as in Buckinghamshire ? The great glory of Hertfordshire is the wild cherry. Is not the Wych elm known as " The Huntingdonshire oak " ? There is a species of plum— and a very good one—that seems to be shy of all counties that do not savour of Worcestershire. Kent might claim the apple, but shares it with Cambridge. Hampshire, that once grew oaks for ship's timber, is now being afforested with ash for aeroplanes. What northern county would claim the rowan ? There are gorgeous hollies in Bedfordshire, and Essex makes money out of osiers. Cobbett's birthplace might be commemorated by the acacia. Some of the best of trees are yet unnamed : birch, oak, lime, and sycamore and many more. Let each county label its boundary with an avenue of the tree that it will in future claim for its
speciality. * * * *