The Sycamore 



fruits are grown in balls 

 an inch in diameter, 

 which through the 

 winter hang from the 

 branches by slender 

 stalks 4 or 5 inches 

 long. The stalk sways 

 in the wind and, if the 

 wind is strong, the ball 

 may strike a twig vio- 

 lently enough to loosen 

 the fruits. Each fruit 

 has a tuft of hairs at 

 the base which sustain 

 it in the air. Thus the 

 seeds of the trees are 

 borne long distances 

 and are widely spread. 



Sycamore wood. The wood of the sycamore con- 

 tains many large pith rays. It is hard to split and diffi- 

 cult to work, because the grain is interlocked by the 

 fibers curving about among the rays. Much of it is 

 used for tobacco boxes, because it is odorless and because 

 the thin pieces can be nailed together without splitting 

 them. It is not durable out of doors, but when quarter- 

 sawed (page 103), so as to show the pith rays, it is much 

 admired. For this reason it is sometimes used for furni- 

 ture and interior finish. 



Journal of Heredity 



FIG. 37. Base of a Pennsylvania sycamore. 

 This tree is more than 9 feet in diameter 

 at the ground. 



