5^ 



both sexes, and from which the " ke3's " are 

 developed, appear soon after the leaves, in the 

 axils of the leaf stalks. The bark is of a smooth 

 ash grey, and in old trees is disposed to crack 

 and leave large seams. Its young red leaf stalks, 

 and its early bright green foliage, are particularly 

 attraftive, but the glutinous substance that forms 

 on its leaves, and collects all the impurities of 

 the air, soon gives the tree a dust}' appearance. 

 In the early autumn, too, the leaves become 

 blotched by a parasitic fungus. 



Acer signifies "vigorous," or "sharp," and 

 the word is said to have been applied to this 

 genus on account of the wood having been much 

 sought after for manufatturing into heads of pikes 

 and lances. Now-a-days, the sycamore is not 

 considered to be of much value for its timber. 



The order of Sapindacea, or soap-worts, is 

 composed of a great variety of species, but one 

 general charatleristic is that the embryo is either 

 much curved or spirally twisted. 



A native of Central Europe and Western Asia, 

 the sycamore is believed to have been introduced 

 into this country about 1550. The circumstance 

 of its ripening its seed in England has led some 

 authors to think it might be indigenous in some 

 parts, but it is argued with equal force, by other 

 writers, that the fa6t of its propagating itself 

 readily by seed is evidence against its nativity. 



