63 



XXII. 



TILIACE^. 



THE LIME. 



TILIA . 



Though not beheved to be a native tree, we 

 have sufficient evidence to show that the common 

 Hme, T. Eurupcea, has been an inhabitant of Great 

 Britain from a very distant period. The Romans 

 called the lime, tilia; in Dutch it is called linden. 

 The modern word " lime " belongs properly to the 

 sweet lime, a near relative to the lemon, and is 

 said to be a corruption of " line." 



The leaves, which are heart-shaped, smooth, 

 serrated, and sharply pointed at the ends, expand 

 in May, and the pale yellowish white flower 

 clusters late in June. The lime thrives well on 

 either heavy or light soil. It grows up with a 

 straight stem to from sixty to ninety feet, with a 

 smooth bark. The soft, pale green leaves, which 

 take a pendent position, give it a light appearance, 

 and it forms a nicely balanced tree ; but, as one 

 writer observes, "It is without those breaks and 



