DECEMBER. 563 



round head, inclining to a conical shape. The branches in- 

 cline upward, like those of the ash ; but having alternate 

 branches ; its spray does not exhibit those defects which are 

 manifest in the ash. The branches are seldom horizontal, and 

 they do not widen their angle of junction as they increase in 

 size. The leaves are roundish, heart-shaped, of a clear but 

 not lively green, assuming a spotted, yellowish and rusty green 

 tint in the autumn, and not contributing any share to the 

 beauty of the woods in that season. But when divested of 

 its foliage, and viewed against the sky as a background, no 

 other tree exhibits a more beautiful and finely divided 

 spray. 



Very extensive use is made of the lime, in the middle States? 

 as a shade tree. At the north the European lime is more 

 common in our villages ; and on many accounts ahead y men- 

 tioned it may be considered preferable, being in many respects 

 superior to the American lime, and not at all inferior to it in 

 autumn, when both species are remarkably deficient in beauty. 

 One of the curiosities of the lime tree consists in the little 

 winged appendages to the seed, which is a round nut about 

 the size of a pea. This is attached to a long stem, from the 

 end of which, joined to it obliquely, descends a ribbon-like 

 bract, causing it, when it falls from the tree, to spin round and 

 round, and to travel a considerable distance upon the wind. 

 If the tree stands upon the border of a lake, and the seeds 

 fall upon the surface of the water, this little winged append- 

 age performs the part of a sail, and causes them to be wafted 

 by the wind to different points on the opposite shore. This 

 is evidently a provision of nature for the diffusion of the seed, 

 and the extension of the species. 



The lime is a tree of rapid growth, and thrives well in a 

 poor sandy soil, though it never attains the perfection of its 

 size, except in a deep .and fertile soil. It is also frequently 

 named arhong those trees which are said to bear with impunity 

 an exposure to the breezes from the ocean. But, with respect 

 to the deleterious influence of the sea-breezes, I am confident 

 there has been put forth a great deal of fallacious doctrine. 

 I have seen nearly all our common trees and shrubs growing 



