120 



THE LIME-TREE. 



toys and other light wooden wares. It blunts 

 the tool but little^ and therefore is sought for 

 by leather-sellers and shoemakers for their 

 cutting-boards. It is also called the carvefs 

 tree, as it stands better for small ornamental 

 sculpture than any other. The fine carving, 

 with which many of our ancient chambers and 

 palaces are adorned, is formed generally out 

 of the wood of this tree. The moulds, from 

 which the iron fronts of ornamented stoves are 

 cast, are usually cut in this wood. 



The bark is an article of merchandise. 

 By a particular process, it is formed into 

 matting, in which hemp and flax, coming 

 from the Baltic, are packed : this matting, 

 called bass, or bast, is afterwards obtained by 

 upholsterers and gardeners for their respec- 

 tive uses. 



" The largest lime-tree I ever saw was in 



