January, 1900. Brunckex — Some Remarkable Trees. 
43 
Some Remarkable Trees in the Vicinity of Milwaukee. 
By ERNEST BRUNCKEN. 
This part of the country is not one, at present, where one can 
reasonably expect to find trees remarkable for their size. The 
heavy forest with which most of Milwaukee county was covered 
but fifty years ago is not favorable to the development of great 
diameter ni boles or wide spread of crown. On the other hand, 
few^ trees, comparatively speaking, have survived half a century 
of clearing and culling. Most of the trees in this vicinity, there- 
fore, are of second growth, so-called ; in other words, they are at 
best not much over half a century old. 
Notwithstanding these facts, there are some individual trees 
■ of considerable interest on account of size, age or form. Probably 
the largest tree in this neighborhood is a specimen of soft maple 
(Acer saccliariiiuiu, or A. dasycarpuin, according to the older 
nomenclature). It stands near the west bank of the Menomonee 
River, just east of the northeast corner of the Soldiers' Home 
grounds. This tree has a circumference of 21 feet 11 inches one 
foot from the ground. At this height it branches into three main 
divisions; the south division diverges at an angle of about 45, the 
north and east divisions at 55 degrees. The south division has a 
diameter of 36 inches at breast height. A trifle farther up it 
divides again, and at this point there is a strong swelling, bringing 
the diameter of the main stem to 47 inches. The north 
division has 49 inches diameter just below the point 
where it forks into four branches, six feet above the 
ground. The east division is 29 inches in diameter, breast-high, 
and badly rotten on the west side. There is the remnant of a 
former central division, 16 inches in diameter, and somewhat 
rotted away. The appearance of this giant suggests that its pres- 
ent large main divisions are stool shoots from the ruins of the main 
trunk, which was destroyed in youth. If this were true, it would 
be somewhat remarkable, as stool shoots rarely attain such great 
size and age. The estimated height of this tree is 70 feet. It is 
beginning to grow stag-headed, and is evidently past its prime. 
The largest soft maple tree on record so far is one growing 
near Northampton, Mass. It was mentioned in Emerson's ''Trees 
of Massachusetts" (page 489), in 1837, and then had a circum- 
