CHAP. XXII. 



407 



Mill., i. p. 648^ Flowers polygamous. A deciduous tree, a native of the 

 mountains of Cfanada, and of the Alleghany Mountains ; producing its very 

 small greenish flowers in April and May, and attaining in its native 

 country, according to Michaux, the height of 6 ft. or 8 ft. Introduced in 

 1750, by Archibald Duke of Argyle, and about as common in ornamental 

 plantations in England as A'cev tataricum. In British gardens, it forms a 

 low ti'ee, 8 ft, or 10 ft. high, very ornamental in autumn, from its small keys, 

 which are fixed upon slender pendulous spikes, and have their mem- 

 branous wings, beautifully tinged with red when ripe. Michaux states that 

 this species, grafted upon the sycamore, is, hke the A^cer striatum, augmented 

 to twice its natural dimensions ; a fact which we have never had an oppor- 

 tunity of seeing verified. 



Statistics. At S3'on, 25 ft, high. In Worcestershire, at Croome, 30 years 

 planted and 40 ft. high, the trunk 15 in. in diameter, and the diameter of the 

 head 20 ft. In Scotland, at Edinburgh, in the Caledonian Horticultural 

 Society's Garden, 9 years planted and 30 ft. high. Price, in London, Is. 6d. 

 a plant ; at Bollwyller, 1 franc 50 cents ; at New York, 25 cents, and seeds 

 1 dollar per quart. 



!£ 4. A. stria''tu5i L. The striped-barked Maple. 



Identification. Lam. Diet., 2. p. 381. ; Dec. Prod., 1. p. B93. ; Don's Mill., 1. p. 648. 



Synonymes. A. pen n.sy Ivan icum Lin. Sp., 1496. ; A. canadt'nse Marsh., and Duh. Arh., 1. t. 12. ; 



Snake-barked Maple, Moose Wood, striped Maple; E'rable jaspe, Fi-. ; gestreifter Ahorn, Ger. 

 Engravings. Mill. t. 7. ; Trat. Arch., No. 11. ; Mich. Fel. Arb., 2. t. 17. ; our Jig. 116. in p. 436, 437. ; 

 and the plate of this species in our Second Volume. 



Spec. Char. Leaves cordate, 3-lobed, acuminated, finely and acutely, 

 serrated. Racemes pendulous, simple. Petals oval. Fruit smooth, with 

 the wings rather diverging. {Boil's Mill., i, p. 643.) A tree readily distin- 

 guished by the striped bark of the 3'oung shoots, growing in its native coun- 

 try to the height of 10 ft. or 12 ft., but to that of 20 ft. or upwards in a 

 state of cultivation. It produces its flowers in May and June, and some- 

 times x'ipens seeds. 



Description, 8fc. The trunk and branches are covered with a smooth green 

 bark, longitudinally marked with black and white stripes, by which the tree is 

 readily distinguished at all seasons of the year. In America, it is one of the 

 first trees that announces the approach of spring. Its buds and leaves, when 

 beginning to unfold, are rose-coloured. The leaves are of a thick texture, and 

 finely serrated. The flowers are greenish, and are grouped on long peduncles- 

 The fruit is remarkable for a cavity on one side of the capsules. It is a native 

 of North America, in Nova Scotia, and from Canada to Carolina. It makes 

 its first appearance in about latitude 47°, and is particularly abundant in Nova 

 Scotia, the State of Maine, and New Llampshire. In approaching the 

 Hudson, it becomes more rare ; and, beyond this boundary, it is confined to the 

 mountainous tracts of the AUeghanies, in which it is found in cold shaded 

 exposures, along the whole range to its termination in Georgia. In many of 

 the forests of Maine and New Hampshire, A. striatum constitutes a great part 

 of the undergrowth, seldom exceeding 10 ft. in height; but, where it is not 

 shaded by other trees, it attains the height of 20 ft. or upwards. The wood 

 is white and fine-grained, and used by cabinet-makers as a substitute for holly. 

 Cattle, in Nova Scotia, are fed with the leaves, both in a green and dried 

 state; and in spring, when the buds begin to swell, both horses and cattle are 

 turned into the woods to browse on the young shoots, which they consume 

 with avidity. (Michaux.) From the great beauty of its bai'k, this tree de- 

 serves a place in every collection. It is propagated by seeds, which are re^ 

 ceived from America, or by grafting on A. Pseudo-Platanus. 



Statistics. The largest specimen which we know of within a short distance 

 of London,is at Mr. Needham's villa,near Maidenhead, where it has attained the 

 height of 16 ft. 6 in. in 20 years. Near Reading, at White Knights, a tree 25 years 

 planted is 21 ft. high; in Surrey, at Farnham Castle, 35 years planted, it 



