DESCRIPTION OF TREES SUITABLE EOR PLANTING. 69 



iveness during the late fall ; the odor however makes it unpleasant when 

 planted near dwellings. The chief attraction the ginkgo has during the 

 winter is its conical crown and stout bright brown horizontal twigs, with 

 their short spur-like branchlets. It is readily transplanted but does not 

 stand pruning well and the leader should not be cut beyond the season's 

 growth on account of the risk of destroying the shape of the crown. It is 

 easily propagated from seed which as well as young plants can be secured 

 from nurserymen. 



There are few trees better suited for formal avenues than the ginkgo, 

 and while its use as a general street tree is restricted, it can be effectively 

 placed in central parking strips and on wide walks. 



Sycamore (Platanus), a common native tree, is one of our largest 

 (becoming 70 to 80 feet in height), and most rapidly growing trees, form- 

 ing in youth a broadly pyramidal crown, which becomes massive and 

 dome-shaped in old specimens. The trunk is stout, tapering and excur- 

 rent until well past middle age, and is covered like the branches with pale 

 olive-brown and nearly white bark which peels in thin, irregular layers, 

 producing an attractive mottled appearance. The twigging is rather 

 abundant and slender, and the large leaves, dark gray green above and 

 whitened beneath, form a moderately dense canopy. 



The sycamore roots extremely easy and large specimens are readily 

 transplanted; and there is no other species forming an excurrent stem 

 which can be heavily topped when of large size and have the crown so 

 perfectly replaced as this. It prefers loose moist soils. The wood decays 

 rapidly on exposure and it is difficult to prevent large specimens from 

 forming hollows. In many portions of the United States its value as a 

 shade tree has been much lessened by a fungus which attacks the twigs. 

 So far, however, trees have not been thus injured in this State. It is 

 readily propagated both from seed and cuttings and deserves to rank as 

 one of our most valuable rapidly growing shade trees. The heavy, dusty 

 down which the leaves of young trees shed in the spring is considered to 

 render it undesirable for planting near schools, churches, etc. Trees 

 should be spaced 50 feet. 



Oriental Plane (Platanus orientalis), a tree originally from Asia 

 Minor, is similar to the native sycamore, but grows less rapidly, has 

 leaves more deeply lobed and its petioles are conspicuously reddened. It 

 is, however, a tree of rapid growth and forms a straight, tapering trunk 

 and large pyramidal crown which gradually becomes rounded with age. 

 It stands pruning well and is easily transplanted. On account of its 

 freedom from the fungus which affects the foliage of the native species, 

 it is regarded in the northeastern States as a more desirable tree. It has 



