DENDROLOGY. 



305 



The height of the white lime tree rarely exceeds 40 feet, and 

 its diameter 12 or 18 inches. Its young branches are covered 

 with a smooth, silver-gray bark, by which it is recognized in the 

 winter. The leaves are very large, denticulated, obliquely 

 heart-shaped and pointed, of a dark green on the upper surface 

 and white beneath, with small, reddish tufts on the angles of the 

 principal nerves. This whitish tint is most striking on solitary 

 trees exposed to the sun. The flowers come out in June, and, 

 as w r ell as the floral leaf, are larger than those of any other lime 

 tree. The petals are larger and whiter, and are impregnated 

 with an agreeable odor. The seeds are round, or rather oval, 

 and downy. 



The wood of this tree is white and tender, and is seldom 

 appropriated to any use in the arts. 



American Lime or Bass Wood. Tilia Americana* 



Among the lime trees of 

 North America east of the 

 Mississippi, this species is 

 the most multiplied. It 

 exists in Canada, but is more 

 common in the northern 

 parts of the United States, 

 where it is usually called 

 Bass Wood; it becomes 

 less frequent towards the 

 south, and in Virginia, the 

 Carolinas and Georgia, it is 

 found only on the Alleghany 

 Mountains. It is profusely 

 multiplied in Genessee which 

 borders on Lake Erie and 

 Lake Ontario. It generally 



grows on a loose, deep, fertile soil. 



The lime tree, in situations favorable to its growth, sometimes 



attains the elevation of more than 80 feet with a proportional 

 39 



PLATE XCVI. 

 Fig. 1. A leaf. Pig. 2. Tho fruit. 



