THE SYCAMORE. 



GENERAL REMARKS. 



AY by dav, throughout tlie spring and summer, one may 

 find tresh deHsj;ht in watcliins; the swellino; buds, the 

 unfolding leaf, the young flower, all the miracle of 

 growth in the Sycamore. Early in the spring, when oak, 

 beech and ash are still only in bud, its bright green foliage lends 

 colour to the woods, and in the undergrowth, the opening leaves of 

 its saplings shine red-tinted in the sunlight. Its regular branches and 

 erect stem endow the tree with stateliness ot character, and its broad 

 leaves . cast a heavy and gratetul shade. 



RAMIFICATION. 



The young Sycamore is conspicuous for the simple and well- 

 defined arrangement ot its branches, which spiring in opposite pairs 

 at regular distances along the smooth trunk, \\hile the new shoots 

 near the end of the stem are very short and grow out almost at 

 right angles to it. In old trees the lower boughs sometimes spread 

 horizontally, but the prevailing angle ot the branches is about 60 

 degrees. 



The buds form on the shoot at some distance apart, and every 

 bud is usually developed ; hence regularity of growth is maintained 

 for some years in the youno- tree. But in old trees the outer 

 branches become bent, while the twigs are stunted, dark in colour. 



