202 THE TREE BOOK 



custom in many a German village to have the 

 Easter sermon preached beneath a linden. The 

 avenue of TJnter den Linden in Berlin is famous 

 far and wide for its beauty and luxuriance. 

 Siegfried, the wondrous hero of the Nibelungen, 

 was buried under a linden. The old Eomans 

 honored the linden. The Greeks planted it for 

 its blossoms and its honey dew. Linnaeus, the 

 Swedish "father of botany," received his name 

 from the linden tree, when he rose from the 

 peasantry to the dignity of a surname. The 

 Russians thought the goddess of love inhabited 

 the linden. 



To-day, however, the Russians regard the 

 tree with a practical mind. Linden saplings 

 are cut down when the sap is rising. The inner 

 bark, or "bast," is separated from the trunk 

 and branches and stretched out to dry. EVom 

 this the "bast" shoes of the Russian peasants 

 are made. It also furnishes the "bass" mats 

 which the gardener spreads over his cold frames 

 to ward off the frost. Countless numbers of 

 these mats are exported from Russia every 

 year. 



Our American Indians well kiiew the quality 

 of the tough, stringy inner bark of the basswood. 

 They made thread, cord, rope, and fishing nets 

 from it. They also found it useful for various 



