DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 
145 
The leaves of the lime are large and handsome, heart- 
shaped in form, and pleasing in color. The flowers, which 
open in June, hang in loose, pale yellow cymes or clusters, 
are quite ornamental and very fragrant. 
" Sometimes 
A scent of violets and blossoming limes 
Loitered around us ; then of honey cells, 
Made delicate from all white flower bells. 
Keats. 
It was a favorite tree in the ancient style of gardening, 
as it bore the shears well, and was readily dipt into all 
manner of curious and fantastic shapes. When planted 
singly on a lawn, and allowed to develope itself fully on 
every side, the linden is one of the most beautiful of trees. 
Its head then forms a fine pyramid of verdure, while its 
lower branches sweep the ground and curve upwards in the 
most pleasing form. For this reason, though the linden is 
not a picturesque tree, it is very happily adapted for the 
graceful landscape, as its whole contour is full, flowing, and 
agreeable. The pleasant odor of its flowers is an addi- 
tional recommendation, as well as its’ free growth and 
handsome leaves. Were it not that of late it is so liable to 
insects, we could hardly say too much in its praise as a fine 
ornament for streets and public parks. There, its regular 
form corresponds well with the formality of the architecture ; 
its shade affords cool and pleasant walks, and the delightful 
odor of its blossoms is doubly grateful in the confined air 
of the city. Our basswood has rather less of uniformity in 
its outline than the European lindens, but the general form 
is the same. 
The American lime, or basswood ( Tilia Americana ), is 
the most robust tree of the genus, and produces much 
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