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Engravings. Michaux, North American Sylva, pl. 131; Selby, British Forest Trees, p. 11; Loudon, Arboretum Britannicum, v., pl. 22; and the figures below.

Specific Characters. Leaves obliquely cordate, or truncate at the base, somewhat coriaceous, glabrous, abruptly acuminate; petals obtuse or truncate, crenate at the apex.-Torrey and Gray, Flora.

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Description.

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HE Tilia americana,
like the European
linden, is regarded as
one of the finest of

forest trees, and when cultivated, proves highly ornamental. In our native woods, it often rises more than eighty feet in height, and frequently upwards of four feet in diameter; and there is little doubt but, if cultivated, and judiciously treated, it would reach a size little inferior, if not equal, to the European species. Its body is straight, uniform, and surmounted with an ample and tufted summit. In winter, it is readily recognized by the robust appearance of the trunk and branches, and by the dark-brown colour of the bark on the shoots. The leaves are from three to four inches wide,

obliquely heart-shaped at the base, abruptly and acutely pointed at the summit, finely and sharply toothed, glabrous above, of a deep-green, and paler beneath, with foot-stalks about two inches long. The flowers, which appear in June, are about half of an inch in diameter, borne by peduncles from four to six inches long, and are garnished with a long, narrow floral leaf. The cymes are compounded, having from twelve to eighteen flowers, pendulous, and subdivided

at the extremities. The sepals are triangular-lanceolate, pubescent outside, and woolly within. The petals are longer than the sepals, and are of a yellowishwhite. The staminodia are obovate-lanceolate, exactly like the petals, but smaller. The style is sometimes longer, and at others shorter than the petals, and hairy towards the base. The fruit, which ripens in September and October, is about the size of a pea, nearly round, and covered with a short, gray pubescence, usually perfecting but one seed.

Varieties. The other American limes we regard as nothing more than varieties of this species, and they may be described as follows:

This

1. T. A. LAXIFLORA, Loudon. Loose-cymed-flowered American Lime-tree. The petals of this variety have each a scale at the base, inside; the leaves are cordate, gradually acuminated, serrated, membranaceous, and smooth; the cymes are loose; the petals emarginate, and shorter than the styles; and the fruit is nearly round. The tree is usually forty or fifty feet in height, and produces yellowish-white, sweet-scented flowers, from May to July. This variety greatly resembles the Tilia americana, and is essentially the same, except in size. 2. T. A. PUBESCENS, Loudon. Pubescent-leaved American Lime-tree. variety is of much less vigorous growth than the preceding, and seldom exceeds forty feet in height. The colour of the bark is dark, and the branches are slender. The leaves are smaller, and differ widely in size, according to the exposure in which they grow. In dry and open places, they are only two inches in diameter; but in cool and shady situations, they are twice the size. They are truncate at the base, somewhat cordate, and oblique, denticulately serrated, and pubescent beneath; they are most pubescent soon after their first expansion, but as they increase in size, a part of the down falls off, and the hairs which remain form little starry tufts. The flowers, which resemble those of the Tilia americana, appear in May and June, and vary in size with the leaves; they are more numerous, and form larger branches; the petals have each a scale

at the base, inside, as in the other varieties; they are emarginate, and shorter than the style. The fruit is globose and downy.

3. T. A. PUBESCENS LEPTOPHYLLA, Loudon. Thin-leaved Pubescent American Lime-tree, in the United States; Tilleul de la Louisiane, in France. This variety is represented as having very thin leaves, with but few serratures. It is said to closely resemble the T. a. pubescens, and is doubtless a sub-variety of that race, as it is only found associated with it.

4. T. A. ALBA (T. alba, Mich.) White-leaved Lime-tree, White Lime, Warhew, in the United States; Tilleul blanc de l'Amerique, Tilleul de Virginie, in France. This tree usually grows to a height of forty or fifty feet, with a diameter of twelve to eighteen inches. On the banks of the Ohio, however, it often rises to an elevation of sixty or eighty feet, although, in France, according to the "Nouveau Du Hamel," it attained the height of twenty feet in seventy years. The young branches are covered with a smooth, silver-gray bark, with a rough surface, and may readily be distinguished in winter by their thickness and the large size of their buds. The leaves are larger than those of any other variety, either European or American, being often six or seven inches long, and from three to five inches broad. They are obliquely heart-shaped, and pointed like those of all

the other American varieties, are of a dark-green on the upper surface, and whitish beneath, with small reddish tufts of hairs at the intersections of the principal nerves. The flowers, which are also larger than those of any other lime-tree in America, appear in June, having petals of a white colour, and of an agreeable odour. The seeds are globose, downy, with five ribs. The wood is white and tender, but is not much used in the arts.

5. T. A. ALBA GLABRA (T. heterophylla, Nuttall.) Smooth-fruited White-leaved American Lime-tree, Large-leaved Lime-tree. The chief difference between this tree and the preceding variety, is, that its branches, when young, are of a purplish colour, and somewhat glaucous; its flowers are more yellow, and its fruit is always without ribs.

Geography and History. The Tilia americana is found in Canada and the northern parts of the United States. It becomes less abundant towards the south, except on the Alleghanies, where it is found quite at their termination in Georgia. It is profusely multiplied on the borders of Lake Erie, Ontario, and in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It was cultivated in England by Miller, in 1752, but has not been very extensively distributed. The 'T'ilia americana laxiflora is said to abound from Maryland to Georgia, near the sea coast. It was introduced into Britain in 1820, and is but sparingly cultivated in that country. The Tilia americana pubescens belongs to the southern parts of the United States, Florida, Kentucky, and Texas. It is said to be the only variety found in the maritime parts of Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Seeds of this tree were carried from this country to England by Mark Catesby, in 1726; but it does not appear to have been much cultivated. The Tilia americana alba is not met with east of the river Delaware, but it is found in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, and Georgia. It is said, also, to grow on the river Santee, in South Carolina, and on the Mississippi. It is remarkable, that, although this variety was known in France in 1755, it should not have been introduced into England till 1811.

Soil and Situation. Like the European species, the American lime-tree affects a rich, loose, and deep soil; and seems to prefer, in general, the borders of lakes and rivers, and moist bottom-lands, which are but little subject to inundation. They are all highly ornamental, and well deserve a place in collections, where the climate is adapted to other trees, which naturally grow with them. For instance, the Tilia americana will grow where the sugar maple, white ash, and hemlock spruce will best thrive; the Tilia americana pubescens with the Magnolia grandiflora; and the Tilia americana alba with the tulip-tree, and the sycamore (platanus.)

Propagation and Culture. All the varieties of this species may be propagated from seeds, by cuttings, and by grafting; but, from the facility with which they can be multiplied by layers, the former mode should rarely be adopted.

Insects. The insects which prey upon the Tilia americana are but few. Those which prove the most injurious are the Hybernia tiliaria, or lime-tree moth, of Harris, and the Saperda vestita, of Say. The Chrysomela scalaris of Le Conte, also inhabits this species, as well as the Papilio turnus, or swallowtailed butterfly, well known, from Newfoundland to Mexico. There is often an appearance in the foliage of this species, the cause of which is unknown, unless it is the work of some minute insects. The leaves become corroded or destroyed in many trees of the same forest, so that it is difficult to find a perfect leaf, except such as have just been unfolded. Whatever the cause may be, the effect is very

detrimental to the beauty of the tree.

The Tilia americana alba is devoured by the larvæ of the Papilio comma aureum, or American comma butterfly. In Smith and Abbot's "Insects of Georgia," it is stated that the larva suspended itself by the tail, May 29th,

changed on the 30th, and appeared on the wing June 7th. The butterfly lives through the winter in places of shelter, and comes forth very early in the spring. This insect is found as far north as Virginia.

Properties and Uses. The wood of the American lime-tree, when dry, weighs thirty-five pounds to a cubic foot. It is very white, when green, but becomes of a light-brown hue, when seasoned. It is soft, easily worked, and is often sawed into boards, which do not warp, like those formed of resinous trees. In the northern parts of the United States, and in the British provinces, where the tulip-tree does not abound, it is used for the panels of carriage bodies, and the seats of chairs. In Kentucky and the western states, the wood of the white lime is often substituted for that of the white pine. In various parts of the country, it is turned into domestic utensils of various kinds; and is also carved into images for the heads of vessels, and other ornamental work. The young trees are sometimes cut, and employed as rails for rural fences; but they are not durable when thus exposed. The wood is almost useless as fuel, when green, being too full of sap, and of but little value when dry. The cellular integument of the bark is separated from the epidermis; and, after being macerated in water, is formed into ropes, after the manner of making them in Europe, of the other species. The bark was also employed by the Lenni Lenape Indians for making lines and ropes, as well as for covering their habitations. The outer bark of the Tilia americana is rough and stringy, and the inner portion viscid and sweet. The twigs and buds are very glutinous when chewed, and afford considerable nutriment. In severe winters, when fodder is scarce, it is common for the farmers of the British American provinces, as well as those of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, to drive their cattle into the woods in the morning, and fell a bass-wood, or other tree on which they eagerly browse during the day.

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Derivations. This genus was named in honour of Alexander Gordon, a celebrated nurseryman, at Mile End, near Loncon, who lived in the time of Phillip Miller. The name Hypericum is supposed to be derived from the Greek huper for, and ereike, heath, and was applied by Linnæus, from a supposed resemblance that plants of this genus bear to the heath.

Generic Characters. Calyx of 5 rounded coriaceous sepals. Petals 5, somewhat adnate to the urceolus of the stamens. Style crowned by a peltate 5-lobed stigma. Capsules 5-celled, 5-valved; cells 2-4seeded. Seeds ending in a leafy wing, fixed to the central column, filiform.-Don, Miller's Dict.

HERE are but two hardy species of Gordonia, both sub-evergreen. Although they are natives of a low latitude, they are able to withstand a considerable northern climate. To the same natural family belong the genera Malachodendron, Stuartia, Camellia, and Thea. The most noted species among them are the Camellia japonica, universally planted in the Japanese gardens, and are common in the conservatories of Europe and America; and the Thea viridis and bohea, or the Chinese tea-plants. The two last-named species, independent of being especially cultivated in China, France, and Brazil, for their leaves, which constitute the tea of our commerce, are highly esteemed as hot house plants, for their large, shining, laurel-like leaves, and sweet-scented, axillary, white flowers.

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