RANK by rank they go, forward and back, wheeling and turning and lining up again, their precision defined by their black bearskins. No matter how the sun beats down, their lines do not falter. We wonder how they fare under that tall, traditional headgear, but the guardsman’s bearskin, officially a ‘cap’, is mercifully not as weighty and ungainly as it appears. The covering, black skin from a Canadian bear culled to control numbers, is stretched over a lightweight frame woven from Somerset willow—3,500 acres of the Levels are devoted to the moisture-loving trees. The cap weighs only 1½lb.
There are willows and willows. Botanical observation over the centuries added steadily to the family members. Pliny described eight varieties as ‘among the most aquatic of trees’, the white willow salix alba furnishing long props to support Roman vines and bark strips for binding shoots. In his Synopsis Methodica of 1660, the scholar John Ray noted 10 species growing near Cambridge and the 1724 edition of his work supplied Carl Linnaeus with material for his 1737 classification of 19 willows. The number rose to 31 in his 1753 revision, although he made a mistake on the way. Encountering a new variety with dramatically drooping branches in a garden in The Netherlands in 1736, he took a lead from Psalm 137 that relates how the exiled Israelites sat down and wept by the waters of Babylon, hanging their harps on the willows there. Linneaus, therefore, classified the ‘weeping willow’ as Salix babylonica, unaware that the drooping trees along the Euphrates were actually poplars.
Bu hikaye Country Life UK dergisinin February 12, 2020 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Country Life UK dergisinin February 12, 2020 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
