THE LIME-TREE. 261 



thrown opon, and the pyramidal outline destroyed : the 

 summit too becomes somewhat more tufted. Under these 

 circumstances the Lime is a stately and even picturesque 

 tree, especially when standing alone or in groups of three 

 or four on a sloping lawn. It is very patient of clipping, 

 and, consequently, in the suburbs of large towns it more 

 frequently disfigures than adorns, sometimes appearing as 

 a mere leafy hedge, unmeaningly elevated on equidistant 

 columns. 



The leaf is bright green, pointed, and heart-shaped at 

 the base, smooth above, and either uniformly downy 

 beneath, or bearing small tufts of down in the angles of 



the veins. The flowers are scarcely less profuse than the 

 leaves, and rendered very conspicuous by large yellowish- 

 green bracteas, from the centre of which spring three or 

 more stalked flowers. These consist of a five-parted calyx 

 and five petals, which are nearly of the same colour as the 

 bracteas. The stamens are numerous, and the whole flower 

 is deliciously fragrant, especially towards evening, 



" At deny eve 

 Diffusing odours." 



