92 ACER PSEUDO-PLATANUS. 



fcUod troos two lumdn-d years old. and upwards of one hundred feet in lieight, 

 the tnnlK-r of whidi was prrtfetly sound. 



In France and (Germany, tlic wood of the sycamore is much sought after by 

 wheelwriirhts. cahinct-niakers. turners, sculi)tors in wood, mainifaeturers of musi- 

 cal instruments, and especially of violins, and makers of toys, and other small 

 wares. The roots, which are often beautifully veined, and the stools or 

 stumi)s where the jilaut has long been treated as a bush, and cut periodically as 

 coppiee-wood, is eagerly sought after for curious cahinet-work, and for inlaying. 

 The wood is used i'or pestles, for tables, rollers, spoons, plates, and other house- 

 hold articles; it is also used for gun-stocks, and in every kind of structure, 

 whether under water or in the air. The leaves, gathered green, and dried, form 

 an excellent Ibrage lor sheep, during the winter. Tiic sap has been drawn from 

 the trees in (Jermany, and various experiments made upon it. At lirst, it is as 

 clear as water, and sweet ; but, after it has flowed from the tree for some time, 

 and bcsins to run slowly, it takes a whitish colour, and becomes sweeter, and of 

 a thicker consistence; thouirh it contains less sugar than that of the first flowing. 

 The proportion of sugar produced by the sap varies. Sometimes an ounce of 

 .sugar from a quart of liquor has been obtained ; but, generally not so much. 

 The variations depend upon the age of the tree, the vigour of its growth, the 

 nature of the soil, the temperature of the season, and a number of other circum- 

 stances, of which little is known. 



In Britain, the uses to which the sycamore is applied are much less varied 

 than in France and Germany. It is used by joiners, turners, cabinet-makers, 

 musical instrument makers ; for cheese and cider pres.ses, and sometimes for gun- 

 stocks. It is also extensively used, when of sufficient size, for machinery, in 

 printing and bleaching works, for beetling-beams, and in foundries for making 

 patterns, 6lc. In the western Highlands of Scotland, it is said that the sap of 

 this tree is made into wine. 



As an underwood, the sycamore shoots freely from the stool to an age of 

 eighty or one hundred years. As a timber-tree, it is most advantageously felled 

 at the age of eighty years, or from that age to one hundred. 



As an ornamental tree, it produces the best effect, either singly, in groups of 

 two or three, placed sufficiently near to form a whole, but not so as to touch 

 each other; or planted in rows in avenues. Its picturesque beauties are thus 

 described by Sir T. D. Lauder. "The spring tints of the sycamore are rich, 

 tender, glowing, and harmonious; in summer its deep-green hue accords well 

 with its grand and massive form, and the brown, and dingy reds of its autum- 

 nal tints harmonize well with the mixed grove, to which they give a fine depth 

 of tone," 



