246 NOTES—ORIGINAL AND SELECTED.
1862, but a year or two later they ceased to build there, and the two trees in which
they chiefly used to build have since been topped, and are now little more than
half their former height ; the birds evidently left because they detected unsound-
ness in them."—T. Hay Wilson, "Crawcrook," Endlebury Lane, Chingford.
The Hornbeams in Epping Forest.—The following interesting letter from
a correspondent signing as "Expert, Manchester," appeared in The Times of Sep-
tember 8th : "Although the hornbeam is not a tree much cultivated in this country
it covers no less than two-thirds of the ground occupied in the 6,000 acres of the
Forest of Epping. Why it should have been so, raises an important question as
to its economical value. During all these centuries that pollarding has been going
on, it stands an object-lesson to foresters of the present that our forefathers have
appreciated it, and found it to be useful—more useful, indeed, than the oak and the
beech, which are its most important fellows, and, consequently, if there was any
conservancy at all, it must have been directed to that particular species of tree,
What adds to one's wonderment is that it has been looked upon by many as an
exotic tree, brought over either from France or Germany early in the sixteenth century.
It matters little for our purpose the time of its introduction, although in passing
we might say that it looks like a native tree not suited for all conditions of climate
and soils, and might be mistaken by inattentive observers in days gone by as
allied to the beech. In fact, Gerarde, in his 'Herbal,' mixes it up with not only
the beech but the maple and the elm, from the rugose surface of its leaf. That it has
been a good and useful tree for domestic purposes goes without saying, as the tens
of thousands of pollards to be seen throughout the forest testify, particularly in
the Lower Forest, in Epping Thicks, in Theydon Forest, in St. Thomas and Honey-
Lane quarters, in a great portion of Sewardstone Manor towards the sloping
ground to the river Lea, and on the other side of the New Road, in the wide area
of Loughton Manor. So pronounced has the work of pollarding gone on of
these hornbeams, that scarcely a single 'spear' tree has been left to show the true
character of growth.
" Now, why has this been so ? Because the parties pollarding have found out
that it is the most inflammable of woods, and that it has no equal in the forest for
fuel or for duration in the hearth in presence of fire—as Boutcher says : 'It burns
like a candle.' But its utility does not rest here ; it is so hard and close in the
grain as to resemble horn itself—hence, doubtless, its Anglicised name—and it is
white withal in the wood as holly itself. It is more adapted for the saw than the
axe because of its cross-grained nature, and hence a special wood for the turning-
lathe, used in ancient times both in this and foreign countries for the yoke of
oxen, for the cogs of mill wheels, and nowadays, where get-at-able, for handles of
tools, for skittles, and for props where strength and durability tell.
" The pollarding has ceased since Epping Forest has become the patrimony of
the people, and thinning has to be adopted in its stead. The thinnings, so far as
they have gone, have effected a ready sale, and no wonder, because the whole of
those pollards can be used up for some one or other of the purposes above-named—
even the branches can be readily disposed of for pea-rods. Although the forest is
considered outside of a profitable return view, it is no breach of faith on the part
of the conservators to turn these thinnings into profit. More than that, it is
highly desirable that the hornbeam as a tree should be encouraged ; every
youngster in a proper place should be allowed room to raise its head upwards,
and where the thicket becomes dense, as dense it is, unseemly individuals ought
to be cut out to make room for the coming seedlings. No one outside of forestry