141 



showed that neither supposition was correct. Moreover, the 

 owner of the farm upon which the tree was growing, Mrs. Lucy 

 A. Burbank, gave the information that the tree in question had 

 been planted by her husband somewhat over 30 years pre- 

 viously, together with the other trees seen in the row (Fig. i). 

 The exact source of the young trees could not be given but, when 

 planted, all were supposed to be normal sugar maples. It had 

 early shown its peculiar form and most people who had seen it 

 insisted it had been kept trimmed, but such was not the case. 

 A comparison with the adjacent trees of the same age would 

 indicate that its growth had been relatively slow. At the time 

 the photographs were taken, its height was about 32 ft. and 

 the diameter of the trunk at breast height was 9 inches. For 

 comparison it may be stated that the height of the first tree to 

 the right of the one in question is about 43 ft. and has a trunk 

 diameter of 15 inches. 



The limbs are slender and branch profusely to form a close 

 thicket of slender branchlets which end at a nearly uniform 

 distance from the trunk. By the shortness of the petioles of the 

 outer leaves and the progressive elongation of the petioles of 

 those toward the base of the season's growth, the foliage is 

 formed in a dense, even thatch which, in connection with the 

 regularity of the skeleton, produces an appearance similar to 

 that of a symmetrical arbor vitae. So far as can be seen, the 

 habit of growth alone is peculiar, for the individual leaves and 

 winter twigs are like those of normal sugar maples. 



Scions have been sent to the New York Botanical Garden and 

 to the Arnold Arboretum. Successful grafts onto normal stock 

 have been obtained at the latter institution as well as in the Bo- 

 tanic Garden of the Connecticut Agricultural College. Without 

 doubt the tree will hold its peculiarity of growth when propagated 

 vegetatively as have other form varieties of maples such as the 

 fastigiate sugar maple (var. momtmentale) which has the aspect 

 of a Lombardy poplar. 



A short note describing this habit variant of the sugar maple 

 was presented at the Washington meeting of the Botanical Society 

 of America, 191 1, and an abstract of this note was given in 



