410 



ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. 



PART III. 



a synonyme of this variety ; which, in the nurseries, is sometimes 

 called the eagle's claw, or hawk's foot, maple. 



Geography. A native of Europe, from the west coast of Norway to Swit- 

 zerland, and from France to the eastern boundary of European Russia. 

 Pallas says, it does not occur beyond the Ural Mountains, or in Siberia, but 

 that it is common through all the woods of Russia. We observed it in 1814, in 

 all the woods bordering the public road from Wilna to Mittaii, and from Mos- 

 cow to Galicia. Next to the birch and the trembling poplar, it seemed to us the 

 most abundant tree in the Russian woods. In the north, according to Pallas, 

 it forms a stunted bush ; but in the Ukraine it is a lofty tree. 



History. This species is recorded as having been first cultivated in Britain 

 in the Edinburgh Botanic Garden, by Mr. James Sutherland. It has since 

 been very generally propagated in Britain, and is now to be found in most 

 ornamental plantations made since the days of Miller. The largest trees in 

 the neighbourhood of London are at Purser's Cross and Syon, where they 

 have attained the height of nearly 60 ft. 



Proj)erties and Uses. The wood, in its young state, is white; but at a more 

 advanced age it becomes grey. In a dry state, it weighs 43 lb. 4 oz. per cubic 

 foot. It is easily worked, takes a fine polish, and absorbs and retains all kinds 

 of colours. By drying it only loses a 24th part of its weight. It is used for 

 all the various purposes of the wood of the common sycamore. From the 

 sap, sugar has been made in Norway, Sweden, and in Lithuania. The Ger- 

 man foresters have found that this sap is produced in less abundance than 

 that of the sugar maple, or of the common sycamore,- but that it contains 

 more saccharine matter than the sap of the latter species. Some chemists have 

 found that, after boring a hole at the base of the trunk, 35 quarts of sap have 

 been produced in 8 days ; and that 95 lb. of this sap have, by evaporation, 

 given 4 lb. of syrup ; and that from 80 lb. to 100 lb. of this syrup have given 

 from 41b. to 6 1b. of crystallised sugar. After a great quantity of this sap 

 has been drawn off, it begins to get thicker, muddy, and yellow in appearance, 

 bitter in taste, and not productive of syrup. 



Soil and Situation. To attain a considerable size, the tree ought to be' 

 planted in a free, deep, rich soil, not surcharged with moisture ; and the situa- 

 tion ought to be low rather than high. It thrives remarkably well on the sea 

 shore on the Baltic, and along the west coast of Norway, and the west coast 

 of Scotland. 



Propagation and Culture. After the tree has attained a considerable size 

 and age, it produces abundance of fertile seeds in England. It does so at 

 Purser's Cross, at Syon, and various other places. The varieties are propa- 

 gated by grafting or layering. The seeds, as soon as they are gathered, should 

 be either immediately sown, or mixed with sand or earth, and kept moderately 

 dry till spring. In either case they come up the first year. 



Accidents and Diseases. The leaves of this species, in common with those 

 of A. Pseudo-Platanus, and perhaps most of the other species of J^cer, are sub- 

 ject to what is commonly called the honey dew, which, from its clamminess in 

 the neighbourhood of the smoke of mineral coal, is apt to attract and retain 

 the particles of soot which are continually floating in the air. In consequence 

 of insects resorting to these leaves, they are frequently blackened with their 

 excrements. In some parts of France this honey dew is called manna. M. 

 Tschoudi says that the manna is produced by the extravasated sap; and 

 that the bees are so fond of it, that it would be worth while to plant the tree 

 in the neighbourhood of places where hives are kept. According to others, 

 the bitterness of the matter of the leaves prevents them from being attacked 

 by insects. 



Stalistics. In the neighbourhood of London, the largest tree of A. ;)latanoldes is at Kew, where, 

 in 70 years, it has attained the height of 76 ft. ; at Syon, it has attained the height of 64 ft., with a 

 trunk 2i ft. in diameter, and the diameter of the head 64 a. ; at Kenwood there is a tree, 35 years 

 planted, 47 ft. high. In Surrey, at Bagshot Park, a tree, 14 years planted, has attained the height of 

 25 ft., with a trunk 16 in. in diameter. In Sussex, at West Dean, a tree of the cut-leaved variety, 

 9 years planted, has attained the height of 26 ft. In Lancashire, at Latham House, a tree, 40 years 

 planted, is 45 ft. high. In Staffordshire, at Teddesley, a tree, 14 years planted, is 28 ft. high. In 



