Part 16 (1/2)

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE SYCAMORE, OR GREATER MAPLE.]

THE SYCAMORE, OR GREATER MAPLE.

[_Acer[U] pseudo-plata.n.u.s._ Nat. Ord.--_Aceraceae_; Linn.--_Polyg.

Monoec._]

[U] For the generic characters, see p. 139.

Turner, who wrote in 1551, considered the Sycamore as a stranger, or tree that had been introduced. On the Continent it is spread over the mountains of middle Europe; and is found in Switzerland, where it particularly abounds, growing at an elevation of from 2000 to 3000 feet above the level of the sea, where the soil is dry and of a good quality.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Leaves, Bunch of Flowers, and Samarae of _A.

pseudo-plata.n.u.s_.]

The Sycamore is ”certainly a n.o.ble tree,” vieing, in point of magnitude, with the oak, the ash, and other trees of the first rank. It presents a grand unbroken ma.s.s of foliage, contrasting well, in appropriate situations, with trees of a lighter and more airy character. It has round spreading branches, and a smooth ash-coloured bark, frequently broken into patches of different hues, by peeling off in large flakes, like the planes. The leaves have long foot-stalks, are four or five inches broad, palmate, with five acute, unequally serrated lobes; the middle one largest, pale or s.h.i.+ning beneath. The flowers are green, the size of a currant blossom, disposed into axillary, pendulous, compound cl.u.s.ters; stamens of the barren flower twice as long as the corolla.

Ovary downy, with broad-spreading wings. Selby observes that ”from the strength of its spray, and the nature of its growth, which is stiff and angular, the Sycamore is especially calculated to act as a shelter or break-wind in exposed situations, whether it be upon the coast where it braves the cutting eastern blasts, or upon bleak and elevated tracts, subject to long continued and powerful winds; for even in such localities, provided the soil be dry, and of tolerable quality, it attains a respectable size, and shows an upright form, unconquered by the blast. It is, probably, for these peculiar and enduring qualities that we see it so frequently in the north of England and in Scotland planted by itself, or sometimes in company with the ash, around farm houses and cottages, in high and exposed situations.” This custom is evidently alluded to by the Westmoreland poet, in his description of the landscape on the banks of the Wye:--

Once again Do I behold these steep and lofty cliffs, That on a wild secluded scene impress Thoughts of more deep seclusion; and connect The landscape with the quiet of the sky.

The day is come when I again repose Here, under the dark Sycamore, and view These plots of cottage-ground, these orchard tufts, Which at this season, with their unripe fruits, Are clad in one green hue, and lose themselves Among the woods and copses, nor disturb The wild green landscape. Once again I see These hedge-rows, hardly hedge-rows, little lines Of sportive wood run wild: these pastoral farms Green to the very door; and wreaths of smoke, Sent up, in silence, from among the trees!

With some uncertain notice, as might seem Of vagrant dwellers in the houseless woods, Or of some hermit's cave, where by his fire The hermit sits alone.

These beauteous forms, Through a long absence, have not been to me As is a landscape to a blind man's eye: But oft, in lonely rooms, and 'mid the din Of towns and cities, I have owed to them, In hours of weariness, sensations sweet, Felt in the blood, and felt along the heart; And pa.s.sing even into my purer mind, With tranquil restoration:--feelings, too, Of unremembered pleasure: such, perhaps, As have no slight or trivial influence On that best portion of a good man's life, His little, nameless, unremembered acts Of kindness and of love. Nor less, I trust, To them I may have owed another gift, Of aspect more sublime: that blessed mood, In which the burthen of the mystery-- In which the heavy and the weary weight Of all this unintelligible world Is lightened:--that serene and blessed mood, In which the affections gently lead us on, Until the breath of this corporeal frame, And even the motion of our human blood, Almost suspended, we are laid asleep In body, and become a living soul: While with an eye made quiet by the power Of harmony, and the deep power of joy, We see into the life of things.

If this Be but a vain belief, yet, O! how oft, In darkness, and amid the many shapes Of joyless daylight; when the fretful stir Unprofitable, and the fever of the world, Have hung upon the beatings of my heart, How oft, in spirit, have I turned to thee, O sylvan Wye! Thou wanderer thro' the woods, How often has my spirit turned to thee!

Wordsworth.

The Sycamore is not unfrequently planted in streets and before houses, on account of its spreading branches and thick shade, for which it bears a high reputation. Of this tree Sir T. D. Lauder says, ”the spring tints are rich, tender, glowing, and harmonious. In summer, its deep green hue accords well with its grand and ma.s.sy form; and the browns and dingy reds of its autumnal tints harmonize well with the other colours of the mixed grove, to which they give a depth of tone. It is a favourite Scotch tree, having been much planted about old aristocratic residences in Scotland.”

The Sycamore, in the language of flowers, signifies curiosity, because it was supposed to be the ”tree on which Zaccheus climbed to see Christ pa.s.s on his way to Jerusalem, when the people strewed leaves and branches of palm and other trees in his way, exclaiming, 'Hosanna to the Son of David!' The tree which is frequently called the Sycamore in the Bible, was not the species under description, _A. pseudo-plata.n.u.s_, but a species of fig, _Ficus sycomorus_, a native of Egypt, where it is a timber-tree exceeding the middle size, and bearing edible fruit.”

The common Sycamore is generally propagated by seed; and its varieties by layers, or by budding or grafting. It will also propagate freely by cuttings of the roots. It is a tree of rapid growth, frequently attaining a diameter of from four to five inches in twenty years. It arrives at its full growth in fifty or sixty years; but it requires to be eighty or one hundred years old before its wood arrives at perfection. It produces fertile seeds at the age of twenty years, but flowers several years sooner. The longevity of the tree is from one hundred and forty to two hundred years, though it has been known of a much greater age. There are many fine Sycamores in different parts of the kingdom; the largest of which, one at Bishopton in Renfrews.h.i.+re, is sixty feet in height and twenty feet in girth. This tree is known to have been planted before the Reformation, and is therefore more than three hundred years old, yet it has the appearance of being perfectly sound.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE COMMON WALNUT TREE.]

THE COMMON WALNUT TREE.

[_Juglans[V] regia._ Nat. Ord.--_Juglandaceae_; Linn.--_Monoec.

Polya._]

[V] _Generic characters. Flowers_ monoecious. _Stamens_ 18 to 24.