. Henry Nicholson Ellacombe hon. canon of Bristol, vicar of Bitton and rural dean, 1822-1916 a memoir . omewould guess it at 200 years, some at 300. He wouldthen tell you he planted it himself ! He would alsotell you how anxious a local timber merchant was tobuy it, the same man who, as an inducement to theCanon to part with it, offered to put by enough boardscut out of it to make his coffin ! His vigour and his interest in new things wereamazing for a man over ninety. I saw him in Septem-ber, 1915, about five months before he died, and havea vivid recollection of his going out after breakfast
. Henry Nicholson Ellacombe hon. canon of Bristol, vicar of Bitton and rural dean, 1822-1916 a memoir . omewould guess it at 200 years, some at 300. He wouldthen tell you he planted it himself ! He would alsotell you how anxious a local timber merchant was tobuy it, the same man who, as an inducement to theCanon to part with it, offered to put by enough boardscut out of it to make his coffin ! His vigour and his interest in new things wereamazing for a man over ninety. I saw him in Septem-ber, 1915, about five months before he died, and havea vivid recollection of his going out after breakfastand shouting Ashmore ! in a voice the possessionof which many a man of thirty would envy. And inthe evening of the same day he discussed how to getand pfent new trees and shrubs which could scarcely beexpected to give much return before he had reachedhis hundredth birthday. All which goes to show howblessed is the old man whose hobby is gardening ! A remarkable characteristic of the Bitton gardenis the way many reputedly tender and difficult thingsthrive there. The Canon never rested on his oars. A. THE BITTON GARDEN 143 strong element in his gardening was persistent experi-ment. By continually trying new and unlikely thingshe brought off some astonishing successes. He usedto repeat with considerable glee a remark made by hisfriend Lord Ducie at the dinner table one evening inmock depreciation of the Canons achievements : Afterall, you know, Ellacombes successes are due chiefly tohis impudence. In later years, when he had passed his ninetiethbirthday his failing physical powers did not allow himto spend so much time with his visitors in the gardenas formerly. One recalls him then most vividly inhis library, where, indeed, most of his waking hourswere spent. In this delightful old room (I believe someparts of the vicarage are 400 to 500 years old) with itsold-fashioned fireplace, its view through the windowsof Bitton church, about 100 yards away, its [atmosphereof homeliness, it
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