BUTTON Wool) AND LIQDIDAMBER. 173 



the year of his election to the presidency of the new 

 nation ; and to this day, 



Still green and tall and stately, 

 On the river's winding shores, 



surrounded by city sights and sounds, stand the old 

 buttonwood trees.* 



Kentucky is the favorite home of the buttonwood, 

 and in its rich soil the tree thrives far better than it 

 does in the less fertile regions of the North. Beside 

 the grave of Daniel Boone, in the cemetery at Frank- 

 fort, stand several handsome trees which, although 

 they are not very tall, possess ample and graceful 

 proportions. 



I found in the village of Plymouth, N. H., two 

 grand old specimens, which I have sketched ; these 

 must be quite one hundred years old. Among the 

 leaves which had fallen from the trees in October 

 last were several handsome russet-colored specimens 

 which measured ten inches in width. The leaves are 

 boldly if not beautifully modeled, and have a tine 

 leathery texture; the few teeth which they possess 

 are so large that the leaf really appears to have an 

 undisturbed, entire edge. I remember, as a child, 



* It is said that under these trees, which form a green archway 

 over the river road. Whittier conceived the plan of his poem, 

 Skipper Ireson's Ride. 



