BASSWOOD 305 



The United States Forest Service recommends planting 

 Basswood trees five feet apart each way in the forest. This 

 is rather close, as the tendency of the tree is to grow tall 

 even in the open, and it is not given to throwing out large 

 limbs until it has reached a considerable height ; six feet 

 apart would be close enough. Its rapid growth when young 

 would insure a good forest floor in a few years. There are 

 few diseases affecting it, and the value of the lumber for 

 we have nothing that can satisfactorily take its place 

 should warrant endeavors to overcome the difficulty of germ- 

 ination and cause the tree to be planted extensively. Its 

 flowers are highly charged with nectar, and honey gathered 

 from it has a delicious flavor. In some sections it is called 

 the " Bee Tree," partly because of its honey-laden flowers 

 and partly because colonies of wild bees occupy the hollow 

 spaces occasionally found in the upper part of the stem. 



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