152 FAMILIAR TREES 
bears but a single “button.” In its native country 
it rejoices in damp river-valleys, often growing 
actually on the banks, and affording, in conse- 
quence, a more quickly-grown timber than the 
Oriental, though inferior to it in quality. Speci- 
mens are recorded with a girth of over forty- 
seven feet, and it sometimes grows to a great 
height without branching. 
So much confusion has arisen from the simi- 
larity of the Occidental to the Maple-leaved Plane 
(P. orientalis acerifolia), that it is impossible to 
sift the evidence as to their relative hardiness; but 
neither kind seems to compare for longevity with 
the true Oriental form. Philip Miller, indeed, who 
was gardener to the Apothecaries’ Company at 
Chelsea from 1722 to’1771, states that he knew 
from his own observation that the Maple-leaved 
Plane was only a seedling variety of the Oriental; 
in which case the former has, perhaps, been too 
short a time in existence to be fairly tested. 
All kinds are now raised from either seed, 
cuttings, or layers, the last method being, on the 
whole, the most satisfactory. Considering its pre- 
eminent excellence as a shade-giving tree, capable 
of withstanding the most vitiated atmosphere, the 
cultivation of Planes may, it is to be hoped, 
be greatly increased in the future, especially in 
our towns. In the pure air of the country, how- 
ever, where smoke has not to be taken into con- 
sideration, the facts that it is late in coming into 
leaf, and is somewhat opaque in colouring, may 
cause some of our native trees to be preferred to it. 
