THE "HOLY THORN" AT WOODHAM FERRERS, ESSEX.
49
Natural History Society" for 1880 (vol. xxvi., pp. 117-125). Mr. Charles Cable
wrote from Stock, Essex, that
" in our late rector's time there was a 'Holy Thorn' in the rectory garden at Stock.
It used to bloom on Old Christmas Eve, and the blossom was of pure white,
similar to the white bush. No leaves appeared—only the blossom, and it kept on
for about three weeks. There was also another 'Holy Thorn' at Billericay."
Another correspondent says that there is a "Holy Thorn" at Coggeshall,
Essex.
Some differences of opinion prevail among botanists as to whether the
"Holy Thorns" found in so many places is only an accidental variety of the
Common Hawthorn, or a distinct race. Our own naturalist, Ray, was of the
former opinion, but Witherington gave it a distinct name, and described it as
Crataegus oxyacantha praecox. He says ("Arrangement of British Plants," 1818,
vol. iii., p. 604) "it blossoms twice a year ; the winter blossoms, which are about
the size of a sixpence, appear about Christmas, and sooner if the winter be severe.
These produce no fruit. The berries contain only one seed ... I was informed
that the berries, when sown, produce plants in no wise differing from the Common
Hawthorn." Mr. T. J. Saltmarsh, of Chelmsford, to whom Mr. Plumtree sent a
shoot of the Woodham bush, certifies that it is the plant known to him as the
"praecox" variety of [he Common Thorn, which is recognised in the trade. Mr.
E. Chisholm Batten, in the paper alluded to above, in the Somersetshire Society's
"Proceedings," says that the Glastonbury Thorn has during the last fifty years
been propagated freely, and sold by the Glastonbury nurserymen. Mr. Lawrence
Bulleid, of Glastonbury, in the course of a recent letter, says:
" I am not aware of any old tree now existing here ; but there are several com-
paratively young ones, all of which, I believe, retain the peculiarities of the
original stock. As a rule, the thorns are in full bud and ready to burst into
bloom for some time before and after Christmas. I have seen several full blooms
this winter, and for years as long as I can remember.
" Mr. James Austin, the owner of Glastonbury Abbey, tells me that he once
saw a 'Holy Thorn' in the abbey grounds white with blossom on Christmas Day,
when snow was on the ground. There is the same local tradition here as to the
bursting into bloom on Old Christmas Eve as of other 'Holy Thorns,' but I have
never heard of a Glastonbury person testing the truth of the saying. The flowers
are often sent away at Christmas time, and the local gardeners have for years for-
warded small trees to many parts of the country. Some of these may be the sub-
jects of the letters of your correspondents. The trees blossom freely again in
May or June."
From the above evidence it may safely be concluded that the bush at Wood-
ham Ferrers is a specimen of this curious race of the Common Hawthorn, but
whether the "Holy Thorns" have all been propagated from one stock, or whether
the aberration arises spontaneously in the species, is at present a moot point, and
one worthy of investigation. Our old correspondent, Mr. J. French, of Felstead,
has sent some remarks upon the Woodham example from which we extract the
following. After referring to the manifest influence, within certain limits, of the
weather upon plant life, Mr. French says that :—
" Those cases in which the inherent forces of growth of the plant over-
come the uncongenial influences of the weather are more common than is
generally supposed. For some years I made notes of the abnormal flower-
ing of open-air plants; and, had I continued, I believe that I should by
this ti e have recorded half our common species as aberrant upon
certain occasions. The causes I do not know. With some it appears to be
hereditary. The Chickweed (Stellaria media) and the Daisy are perhaps
E