Spitzbergen, thus proving that we are 

 a northern race as well. We are hardy 

 and can withstand the cold of winter 

 so well that we are often planted on 

 the windward side of orchards to pro- 

 tect young or tender trees. Notice my 

 trunk; strong, well-knit, and sturdy, 

 our branches divide and subdivide un- 

 til they form a spray small and thick." 



"Yes, and some of them almost 

 touch the ground," said Mabel, as 

 some lower branches caught her wind- 

 blown tresses. 



"In some instances they quite touch 

 the ground. There stands in Kent. 

 England, a curious member of our 

 family. The branches of this tree 

 touched the ground, where they took 

 root, and a circle of new trees grew 

 up around the parent; the outer 

 branches of these also touched the 

 ground and took root, thus forming a 

 second circle. So you see, one tree 

 became a small, but very unique, 

 grove. 



"We are a small family," continued 

 the Linden, musingly, "consisting of 

 only four branches, these are the 

 American Linden, the Downy Linden, 

 the White Basswood, and the European 

 Linden. The term Basswood is rap- 

 idly supplanting the proper name of 

 Linden." 



"You call yourself Linden. Father's 

 old poetry calls you the Lime as well." 



"I can easily explain all that. You 

 no doubt have heard of 'bast' which 

 is a tough, fibrous string used by gar- 

 deners in their work; it very much re- 

 sembles a bit of yellow ribbon. Now 

 this bast is the inner bark or liber of 

 the Linden Tree, which has been soaked 

 in water and separated into innumer- 

 able threads or lines. How it ever 

 became corrupted into Lime Tree, is 

 beyond my knowledge; the true lime 

 is a shrub, the fruit of which, you no 

 doubt know, very much resembles a 

 lemon in size and color. This bast 

 is also put to other uses, in our coun- 

 try it is often fashioned . into coarse 

 ropes and mats, in Sweden the fisher- 

 men make nets out of it; in Russia, 

 the liber is used in making the tops 

 of shoes, the outer bark being used 

 for the soles; when the tree is thus 



denuded, the trunk is converted into 

 charcoal." 



"You are a very useful famiU% then!" 

 "We are, indeed," came proudly 

 from the Tree. "You should know 

 that trees, as well as human beings, 

 like to be of use in the world. Our 

 wood is also put to other uses; being 

 light, tough and durable as well as 

 free from knots, renders it of great 

 value to the wood-carver. Grinling 

 Gibbons, that famous English wood- 

 carver, who fashioned such beautiful 

 flowers, fruit and game, that they wevi 

 used to decorate Chatsworth Hall and 

 Windsor Castle, used our wood for 

 his inimitable work. Our wood, too, 

 was used in his carvings for St. Paul's 

 Cathedral, and the great Holbein useil 

 the wood of the Linden Tree for his 

 blocks, as no other wood could be 

 relied upon for its utter freedom from 

 knots and its even texture, as is said: 



Smooth linden best obeys 



The carver's chisel; best his curious works 



displays, 

 In nicest touches." 



Please go on, Linden Tree, tell me 

 some legends, will you?" 



"There are no legends to tell, but 

 there is history, and we are loved by 

 the poets. Barry Cornwall, your fath- 

 er's poet, was not the only one who 

 wove verses about us. Tennyson who 

 saw and revelled in so many of the 

 hidden beauties of nature, speaks of us 

 more than once; he tells you that: 



A million emeralds break from the ruby- 

 budded lime, 



which refers to our young leaves 

 bursting from their winter quarters. 

 The ancient poets. Homer and Virgil, 

 also sang of us." 



"Do you grow to be very old, like 

 the Conifer?" 



"As you would count years we are 

 old, but not as the Conifer; there are 

 instances on record of some members 

 of our family attaining the age of 

 nearly a thousand years. In the 

 grounds of the Imperial Castle at 

 Muremberg is a Linden Tree which was 

 planted by Empress Cunigunde, and 

 is over nine hundred years old; then 

 there was also the famous Linden of 

 Neustadt, in Wurtemberg, which it was 



66 



