1868. 



NEW ENGLAiro FARMER. 



353 



THE BUTTOWWOOD TREE. 



(_Platanus Occidentalis ) 



Ills was once one 

 of the most beau- 

 tiful and magnifi- 

 cent trees of the 

 American forest. 

 It is indigenous in 

 all parts of the 

 country, and is 

 found generally on 

 the shores of lakes 

 and the banks of 

 rivers and creeks, 

 where it flourishes 

 with surprising 

 vigor and often attams a majestic size. On 

 the rich alluvions of the West, it is often of 

 an almost incredible size, and presents a lux- 

 uriance of vegetation truly surprising, and 

 beautiful to behold. 



It is sometimes known by the appellation of 

 plane and sycamore, and is often planted for 

 ornament as well as use. For fuel it is deemed 

 less valuable than oak or hickory, or even ma- 

 ple, but it is superior to . most of the lighter 

 woods. It is quite durable, firm of grain and 

 texture, and when used for cabinet work pre- 

 sents a close surface, capable of a beautiful 

 polish. 



This tree may be propagated with ease from 

 the seeds or balls, and when once it has taken 

 root, perpetuates* itself by throwing up, spon- 

 taneously, innumerable suckers from the roots 

 or stools of the trees. As many as six or eight 

 trees have been known to proceed from one 

 stump, and, on rich land, to attain a size suf- 

 ficient for fuel, and even for mechanical pur- 

 poses. 



In his "Forest Scenery,'''' Gilpin says "no 

 tree forms a more pleasing shade than the oc- 

 cidental plane. It is full leafed, and its leaf 

 is large, smooth, of afina texture, and seldom 

 injured by insects. Its lower branches, shoot- 

 ing horizontally, soon take a direction to the 

 ground ; and the spray seems more sedulous 

 than that of any tree we have, by twisting 

 about in various forms to fill up every little 

 vacuity with shade." 



In his "Trees and Shrubs of Massachu- 

 setts " Mr. Emerson says "there was standing 

 in 1839, on the island of Rhode Island, a but- 

 tonwood tree, which measured at one foot from 



the ground, twenty-four feet four inches," and 

 had then the appearance of perfect vigor. 



We once saw one on the banks of the Mus- 

 kingum river in Ohio, which vi&s fifteen feet iy, 

 diameter ! Or as large through as a common 

 sized room ! It was broken off about thirty 

 ftet from the ground, but had branches below 

 the break large enough for good-sized trees. 

 The trunk was hollow, having a shell perhaps 

 two feet thick all around it. On the south 

 side, next the river, an opening had been 

 made about the size of the doors of our houses, 

 say about six and one-half feet by two and 

 one-half. As we entered this door, a small 

 drove of hogs rushed out through a /ioZ/foio?'Ooi 

 on the opposite side. 



After speaking of the decay of the button- 

 wood in several parts of Europe, between the 

 years 1809 and ISl-l, Mr. Emerson says : — 

 "The buttonwoods, throughout New England 

 were affected in a similar manner in the springs 

 of 1842, '4:3 and '44. The shoots seemed to 

 have been nipped as by a frost. The large 

 trees were particularly affected, but by no 

 means exclusively. For some weeks in each 

 of these springs, many of the trees seemed to 

 have been killed. The extremities of the 

 branches, on almost all the buttonwoods are 

 dead, and many of the trees are now, in the 

 fall of 1845, completely so." 



The malady in this tree has been attributed 

 to various causes. Some say by frogt ; others 

 the action of some insect or worm. It seems to 

 us that it is caused by some general taint, some 

 infectious disease, that has traversed, like the 

 cholera, the world over wherever the button- 

 wood tree is found. The destruction has been 

 steadily going on since 1845, until the trees that 

 are left present a melancholy aspect. They 

 look prematurely old, their foliage is thin, dis- 

 colored and imperfect, their branches are 

 broken, dead or dying, with every appearance 

 of rapid dissolution. 



Shall we suffer these old friends and worthy 

 monarchs to die entirely out, or shall we make 

 an effort to revive the old trees, or supply new 

 ones ? For ourself, we are looking upon their 

 departure with some emotion ; with something 

 of the feeling that we part with a venerable 

 old friend who has always been blessing the 

 world with his good works. 



— There arc complaints of the appearance of the 

 wheat midge in Ohio, Michigan and Indiana. 



