172 



EDWARD W. BERRY 



There are about a score of existing species, about equally 

 divided between North America, Europe and Asia. Apparently 

 all of these have very fragrant flowers, rich in nectar, and thus 

 the source of large amounts of honey — the light colored basswood 

 honey of the trade. This utihty, especially in the earlier days 

 of the race, has made the linden a favorite tree and we find it 

 n entioned by Theophrastus, Pliny, Virgil, Aristophanes and 

 other early writers. Aside from the compact handsome form 



Fig. 3. Sketch map showing the existing and fossil distribution of Tilia. 



of the tree and the beauty of its foliage I suspect that the asso- 

 ciation with bee keeping and the distillation of the oil from the 

 flowers for use in perfumery has something to do with the wide- 

 spread custom of planting both the American and the European 

 species as shade trees, even though most of humanity is no 

 longer fortunate enough to keep bees. 



The various species of linden in this country go by the names 

 of linden or basswood, less frequently they are called bee trees 

 or linns, although the last name is common in certain southern 



