182 



VERMONT AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



SYCAMORE 

 Leaf and fruiting head, X y 3 . 



This gives the tree a whitewashed 

 appearance when seen from a 

 short distance. 



The globular heads of fruit or 

 "buttons" swing by their slender 

 stalks until late in winter. The 

 wood is hard and durable for 

 many purposes. On account of 

 its beauty and delicacy of color it 

 is used for furniture, and inside 

 casings. 



It is a water loving tree, pre- 

 ferring the low, rich banks of 

 streams, but will grow in drier 

 soils. It is frequently planted as 

 a shade tree. It is interesting 

 and sometimes picturesque, but 

 rarely ornamental as it grows in 

 Vermont. 



ROSE FAMILY 



THE MOUNTAIN ASHES 



The mountain ashes are conspicuous among our trees for their broad, 

 flat-topped clusters of creamy-white flowers followed by the persistent 

 scarlet fruits. The common name is suggested by the general resemblance 

 of the compound leaf to that of the ashes. In reality these trees are very 

 closely related to the cultivated apples and pears, a fact which will become 

 evident if one examines the structure of either the flower or the apple- 

 like fruit. 



Two species of mountain ash are natives of the elevated parts of the 

 eastern United States and both of these occur in Vermont. They are closely 

 related and so similar that it requires careful scrutiny to distinguish them. 



Leaflets with long tapering points, leaf-buds smooth, fruit H> to \i inch in diam- 

 eter American Mountain Ash 



Leaflets broader more bluntly and shorter pointed, leaf-buds sparingly hairy, fruit 



larger (y 3 inch in diameter)., Elderleaf Mountain Ash 



Introduced species. — The native mountain ashes are not infrequently 

 transplanted. The one most commonly used for ornamental purposes 

 in Vermont, however, is the European mountain ash {P. A ucuparia). Plants 

 of it are found abundantly spontaneous in groves at Burlington, evidently 

 from seeds carried thither by birds. It is easily distinguished from either 

 of the native species by the fact that its younger leaves are distinctly pub- 



