P.KITISH KnkKST TREES 253 



height of over ninety feet, and a girth of about twenty five 

 feet, and in respect to both height and girth somewhat 

 surpasses the maple, although both take rank along with the 

 oak and the beech as regards dimensions generally attain- 

 able. In early youth their development is straight and 

 regular, and grown in unbroken canopy there is little 

 tendency to ramification and branch-development ; but at 

 later periods of growth they throw out branches at a low 

 angle, and make considerable demands for growing-space. 

 In form of stem the maple approaches nearer to the beech 

 than does the sycamore, which is apt to deviate very much 

 from the cylindrical, full-wooded form of bole, and to develop 

 an elliptical, or often fluted or flanged stem, and a buttressed 

 trunk, especially on binding and stony soil. In fact, 

 though the growth in general is straight, the boles of both 

 species are rather apt to taper. Their crowns are moderately 

 foliaged and of moderate expansion, but when grown in 

 the open they extend far outwards, and are formed by a 

 comparatively few, strong, irregularly developed branches 

 with somewhat scanty foliage. 



The root-system is heart-shaped, consisting of several 

 strong branches from the tap-root, which penetrate deep 

 into the soil, but do not usually ramify much or extend far 

 horizontally. Strongly-developed surface-roots, like those 

 of the oak and beech, are seldom to be found either in the 

 case of the maple or the sycamore, both of whose roots 

 are distinctly classifiable as deep-reaching, and indeed 

 eminently so as regards the latter. 



Requirements as to Soil and Situation. Like the beech, 

 maple and sycamore in general make only moderate demands 

 regarding climate ; but the sycamore requires more warmth, 

 and particularly more summer heat than the maple, which is 

 thus able to extend further northwards than the otherwise 

 hardier sycamore. Both, however, ran bear a considerable 



