EUROPEAN SYCAMORE-TREE. 91 



States by Governor Christopher Gore, prior to 1810. The trees are said to be 

 growing on tiie estate which he formerly occupied in Waltham, Massachusetts, 

 and have attained a considerable size. 



In the Bartram botanic garden, at Kingsessing, near Philadelphia, there is a 

 tree one foot in diameter and thirty feet in height. On the estate of Mr. Henry 

 Codman, in Roxbury, Massachusetts, there is also another tree of this species 

 nearly of the same dimensions. 



Soil and Situation. The European sycamore will grow in any soil not satu- 

 rated with moisture : but it seems to prefer one that is dry and free, rather than 

 stiff or moist. It will grow in exposed situations, and especially on the sea- 

 coast, and maintain its erect position against the sea-breeze better than most 

 other trees. It is in use for this purpose in Scotland, and also for planting round 

 farm-houses and cottages on bleak hills. In such situations, it is said, an 

 instance can hardly be found of the head of the tree leaning more to one side 

 than to the other. Even when the wind blows strongly in one direction for nine 

 months in the year, this tree maintains its perpendicular position and symmetrical 

 form. 



Propagation and Culture. This species is generally propagated by seeds ; 

 and the variegated-leaved and other varieties by layers, or by budding and 

 grafting. It will also propagate freely by cuttings of the roots. The seeds may 

 either be sown immediately after they are gathered, or they may be kept in sand 

 until the following spring. If they are kept dry and unmixed with earth or 

 sand till spring, they seldom come up the same year, and sometimes lose their 

 germinating properties altogether. This tree reaches its usual height in sixty 

 years : the wood, however, continues to improve till it is eighty or one hundred 

 years old, and it frequently remains undecayed for another century. 



Accidents and Diseases. The leaves of this species are often covered with a 

 sweet, clammy matter, or honey- dew, eagerly sought after, and imbibed by vari- 

 ous insects. By some, this substance is supposed to be exuded by the leaves 

 themselves, and it is thought by others, that it is generally produced by insects, 

 or voided by the aphides which infest the tree. It is also subject, when planted 

 in too humid a soil, to dropsy, or an oozing out of the sap from the trunk, in 

 consequence of a redundancy or an irregular assimilation of the juices. In such 

 cases, the roots soon grow spongy and rotten, and the tree becomes a prey to 

 parasites, and finally dies. The leaves, also, towards the end of summer, 

 become spotted and unsightly, by the growth and spreading of two kinds of 

 fungus, Xyloma acerinum, and Erineum acerinum. Few lepidopterous larvae 

 feed upon the leaves, but among those which occasionally do so, are those of the 

 Pygaera bucephala, or buff-tip moth. The flowers are sweetly, but not power- 

 fully scented, and are the resort of various hymenopterous insects,, particularly 

 the Bombus hortorum, and terrestris. The young shoots of this tree are eaten 

 by hares, horses, cattle, goats, and other ruminating animals. 



Properties and Uses. When young, the wood of the Acer pseudo-platanus is 

 white ; but when advanced in age, it becomes a little yellow, and often brown, 

 especially towards the heart. It is compact and firm, without being very hard ; 

 of a fine grain, sometimes veined, susceptible of a high polish, and easily worked, 

 either on the bench, or in the turning-lathe. It does not warp, and is not sub- 

 ject to the attack of worms. When dry, ii weighs forty-eight pounds to a cubic 

 foot, and in seasoning, loses about one twelfth part of its bulk, and one fourth part 

 of its weight. According to M. Hartig, an eminent German deudrologist, the wood 

 of this tree is the most valuable of all woods for fuel, both for the quantity of 

 heat which it imparts, and the time that it continues burning. It surpasses the 

 European beech, in these respects, in the proportion of 1757 to 1540. Converted 

 into charcoal, it is superior to the beech in the proportion of 1647 to 1600. He 



