The Tulip- Tree : The Sycamore. 251 



993. In speaking of the uses of this 'vvood, Mr. Emerson re- 

 marks:^ "In New England, it is preferred to all other kinds of 

 wood, in all uses which require great flexibility, as about stairs, for 

 the wash-board, in circular rooms, and for the panels of carriages ; 

 also for the bottom of drawers, and for panels in common ward- 

 robes, and other small articles." 



994. The tulip-tree grows to magnificent size, preferring a moist, 

 rich soil, and in good situations it grows to 100 and even 150 feet 

 in height, and from six to nine and even ten feet in diameter. 



995. The nature of the soil has an effect on the color and quality 

 of the wood, and in West Virginia, where it grows to great per- 

 fection, mechanics class the wood as white, blue, or yellow, but 

 these can not be determined by external signs. The white variety 

 prefers a dry, elevated, and gravelly ground ; it has a branching 

 head, with a small amount of heart-wood, and has a coarser and 

 harder grain and a less durability than the other varieties. The 

 blue has nearly the same characters. The yellow is by far the 

 finest, and is extensively used for lumber and shingles. It affords 

 a good foundation for veneers, and is much used in cabinet work. 



996. The tulip-tree is readily propagated from seed, and should 

 he sown in a fine, soft mold, in a cool and shady place. If sown in 

 the same autumn of its growth, it will germinate the next spring ; 

 but if sown in spring, it may not sprout till the next year. 



997. This tree is lather difficult to transplant, and the end of the 

 root should be cut off with a sharp knife when it is taken from the 

 seed-bed and set in a new place. The developrrient of lateral fibers 

 may be encouraged in the- same manner as we elsewhere describe for 

 the oak. The tulip-tree occurred native in Canada, west of the Ni- 

 agara river, but much of it has been cut away. 



The Plane-Tkee, Buttonwood, oe Sycamore (Genus Platanus). 



998. This is the only genus of the natural order Pto«7iecB,and it 

 embraces five or six species, natives of the Northern Hemisphere, in 

 the Old World and the New. They are of rapid growth, and, for the 

 most part, thrive only along river banks and in deep,' rich, alluvial 

 soil. 



999. The Common Buttonwood of the Atlantic States (Platanus 

 occidentalis) has a wide range in the Atlantic States, and grows to a 



^ "Trees of Massachusetts," 2d ed., p. 606. 



