AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.. 



375 



Basswood or Linden Trees. 



The American basswood tree excels in 

 beauty almost all others, and it is well 

 known that it furnishes a large amount 

 of excellent nectar. 



Its rank, thrifty growth, large, glossy- 

 green leaves, delightfully perfumed 

 flowers, adaptability to almost any soil 

 and climate, and the ease with which it 

 can be cultivated, make it one of the 

 most desirable for lawn or lane. It is 

 easily propagated from the seeds or cut- 



by a wood engraving, and we give the 

 result below. 



The same thing is what the Canadians 

 call " linden," and we across the line, as 

 a general rule, term it hassivood. There 

 is no difference, but climatic influences 

 have their eifect upon it. Among the 

 hills of New York State, the leaves as- 

 sume mammoth proportions. I meas- 

 ured one that was 14 inches long. While 

 this leaf was among the largest, yet the 

 leaves were, on the average, about twice 

 the size of those in our own locality. 



In Illinois I noticed that the basswoods 

 seemed to be less thrifty than in Ohio. 

 The leaves seemed to be smaller, and 



AMERICAN BASSWOOD, OR LINDEN. 



ngs, and can be transplanted with cer- 

 tainty, and may be obtained with little 

 trouble. It blooms in early July, and 

 yields a white, aromatic honey, of 

 superior quality. 



In Olcayiings for Feb. 15, Mr. Ernest 

 R. Root gives an engraving of it (which 

 is here reproduced), and thus remarks 

 concerning it : 



Our artist, who was looking over some 

 beautiful plates in a standard work in 

 one of our public libraries, accidentally 

 ran across a representation of basswood. 

 It was so accurate that we instructed 

 him to copy it, as faithfully as he could, 



the bark of the trees of a little different 

 appearance. 



The engraving represents quite accu- 

 rately the typical forms, however. The 

 European variety has smaller leaves, 

 and differs from Tilia Americana in a 

 few other minor respects. 



It is rather to be regretted that this 

 tree is not more plentiful than it is. It 

 is one of the main stays, where it grows, 

 of the honey-producer, and one of the 

 most valuable woods in manufacture. It 

 will hardly do for outside exposure to 

 the weather ; but it is admirably adapted 

 for packing-boxes, and is used in im- 

 mense quantities in the manufacture of 

 furniture, forming the bottoms and 

 sides of drawers, the backs of bureaus, 



