ns to render it worthy of bciiiff recorded anionp the wonders of the vegetable 

 kinffdonj. The tree consists of a single trnnk attaining tlic height, perhaps, of 

 cigiily feet, and is now lifeless and hollow thronghont its entire length. At a 

 distance of two feet from the ground, it is thirty-three feet in circnniference, 

 and varies but little from this for some distance above. My feelings, as, in com- 

 pany with a few friends, I for the first time approached the old tree, bordered, I 

 must confess, not a little upon veneration ; there it stood, like a vast column 

 rising majestically in the air, surrounded by its brethren of the forest, which, 

 though of average size, compared with it, were pigmies. "What a train of ideas 

 enter the mind while contemplating such a tree. There it may have stood, per- 

 haps, for a thousand years; and could it Sjieak, what stories it might tell of past 

 nges. It may have been a large tree when Columbus first landed on our shores, 

 and a moderately-sized sapling when the Northmen, from the decks of tlieir rude 

 ships, first saw the sombre pine forests of New England. The old tree did speak, 

 though in a voice, perhaps, inaudible to all but the writer. It spoke of the 

 pleasure and profit to be derived from the study of nature's works, and of the 

 happiness of those to whom it is given to understand her mysteries. But the 

 old tree is dead, and soon the winds of heaven will lay its gigantic and veneral)le 

 form prostrate in the dust, Avhen mouldering back to its original elements, it will 

 in its turn furnish sustenance for others of its species. Thus in the economy of 

 nature, the past is linked to the present, the dead with the living, and thus the 

 great cycle of her operations is forever kept complete. Yours, &c. 



[The American Buttonwood, Platanus Occidentalis. — Loudon and other writers 

 some years ago stated that the American buttonwood or plane-tree was attacked 

 with the same disease in P^ngland as had affected it here. The following remarks 

 of Sir W. Hooker, seem to show that the P. occidentalis is rare in England, P. 

 acerifolia having probably been mistaken for it: "I think, however, we have 

 arrived at the conclusion that P. acerifolia, though nearest in botanical characters 

 to P. occidentalis, is nevertheless quite distinct, readily distinguished by those 

 who have paid attention to it, and not introduced from any part of the New 

 "World ; that its actual locality is not yet ascertained, and that we want a clearly 

 defined specific character derived from flowers and fruit as well as the foliage, and 

 taken from the living plant ; and further, we want to know if there are any old 

 trees of true P. occidentalis in the country. Our own rich herbarium of native 

 species of Platanas contains P. orientalis, L. (and the only one of the Old World), 

 P. occidentalis, L. (known by the short and broad lobes to the leaves, and the 

 fertile heads of flowers being solitary), P. raexicana, moricand (perhaps too near 

 P. occidentalis), and P. racemosus of Nuttall (P. Californica, Benth.).] 



LEGENDS OF TREES, NO. 1. 



Mr. Editor: Before me I have a volume of Sears' Pictorial Library, and 

 coming across an article headed " Legends respecting Trees," I thought I would 

 copy a few paragraphs from time to time, for occasional insertion in the Horticidta- 

 risf. As the " Legends" are highly interesting, I presumed it would be a valuable 

 acquisition to the pages of your valuable journal. 



Yours, truly, Wm. H. Alexander. 



"The White Poplar, according to ancient mythology, was consecrated to Her- 

 cules, because he destroyed Cacus in a cavern of Mount Aventine, which was 

 covered with these trees; and, in the moment of his triumph, bound his b 

 a branch of one as a token of his victory. "When he descended into 



