THE WESTERN PLANE. 227 



In England the same misfortune has fallen upon both 

 the American and Oriental Plane. The late spring frosts 

 are mentioned as the probable cause of the phenomenon, 

 though there is but little resemblance between our climate 

 and that of England. This tendency of the two species 

 has prevented the general planting of them for shade and 

 ornament. English writers give their preference to the 

 American Plane, which they assert equals the other in 

 size, and surpasses it in beauty of foliage. In England 

 the American Plane has frequently attained a very great 

 magnitude. Selby mentions one which, at forty years 

 from the time it was planted, measured a hundred feet in 

 height. The specific differences between the two Plane- 

 trees consist chiefly in the size and shape of their leaves, 

 those of the Oriental Plane being smaller, and more 

 deeply lobed or divided into segments. Both species have 

 the same habit of annually shedding their bark, leaving 

 the trunk with a smooth and whitish surface. 



