the Maple or Sycamore Tree; a genus of the monocotyledonous order, belonging to the polygamy class of plants; and ranking under the 23rd Natural Order, Tribilatae.—The generic characters, both natural and essential, are: The Hermaphrodite calyx is an acute, coloured, one-leaved perianthium, divided into five segments, flat and entire at the base, and persistent; The corolla is five-petalled, ovate, and expanding; The stamina consist of eight filaments short filaments; the anther simple, the duct cruciform; The pistillum has a compressed germen, immersed in the receptacle, which is convex, perforated, and large; the stylus is filiform; The stigmas are two, pointed, slender, and reflex; The pericarpium consists of two or three capsules uniting at the base, roundish, compressed, each terminated with a large membranous wing; The seeds are solitary and roundish. The Male calyx, corolla, and stamina, are the same as in the hermaphrodite; The pistillum has no germen nor stylus; the stigma is bifid.

[Nota, On the first opening of the flower, the stigma alone appears; a few days after, the stylus.—The hermaphrodite flowers on the same umbel are frequently of two sorts: the inferior ones feminine, the anthers of which do not burst, but the pistillum quickly grows into a fruit; the superior ones masculine, of which the anthers scatter their pollen, but the pistillum without increasing fall off.]

Species, with their uses and properties.] 1. The pseudo-platanus, or sycamore, is a very large and beautiful tree, with broad leaves, divided into five lobes serrated in their edges; of a dark-green colour on the upper side, but paler and somewhat hoary underneath; the flowers are very small, and of a greenish white colour. The corolla of this species is scarcely distinguishable from the calyx, and the stamina are long. The fruit is large, and beautifully variegated with green and purple. This species is a native of Germany, but thrives very well in Great Britain, where it is frequent in plantations. It is very proper for making plantations near the sea, or sheltering such as are already too near it; because the sycamore-tree resists the spray of the ocean much better than most other trees. But it has this inconvenience, that its leaves are devoured by insects, so as to become full of holes, and very unightly; which has caused the planting of it to be much neglected of late. It has, however, long been considered as a timber tree in this country, having been much used by the turners for wooden bowls, dials, trenchers, &c.; but, since the custom of using earthen ware has become so prevalent, its value for those purposes has greatly decreased. There are two varieties, one with broad leaves and large keys, the other with variegated leaves. By tapping it yields a liquor not unlike that of the birch-tree; from which the Highlanders of Scotland sometimes make an agreeable and wholesome wine.

2. The campestris, or common maple, is so well known to need any particular description, as it grows very frequently in hedge-rows in most parts of Britain. The timber of the common maple is far superior to the beech for all the uses of the turner. When it abounds with knots, as it frequently does, it is highly esteemed by joiners for inlayings. It is also frequently employed for making musical instruments, on account of its lightness; and for the whiteness of its wood was formerly esteemed for making tables, &c. But the principal value of the maple is for underwood; it being of a quick growth, and affording good fuel.

3. The negundo, or Virginian ash-leaved maple, is a very strong shooting tree; and in Virginia, where it is a native, is one of the largest trees of this kind. Its leaves are of a pale green, and well adapted to give a variety of tint; but Hanbury says, that this tree ought not to be planted in exposed situations, the branches being subject to be split off by the winds. Its uses are similar to those of the sycamore.

4. The platanoides, or Norway-maple, grows naturally in Norway, Sweden, and other northern countries of Europe. It rises to a good height, and is well furnished with branches with smooth leaves, of a shining green colour, and beautifully indented. These have an acid milky juice, which prevents them from being preyed upon by insects as the sycamore is; and as this species resists the spray of the sea equally with the fir, it is preferred in plantations situated near the sea. In autumn the leaves dye to a golden yellow colour, which causes a delightful effect at that season when the different tints of decaying vegetables are displayed. The flowers are also beautiful; they come out early in the spring, are of a fine yellow colour, and show themselves to advantage before the leaves come out. They are frequently succeeded by keys, which sometimes arrive at maturity in this country. There is a variety with striped leaves.

5. The rubrum, or Virginian scarlet flowering maple, is a native of that country, and never grows to a large size in Britain. It is, however, cultivated in gardens for the beauty of its flowers, which appear in the beginning of April, in roundish bunches, at the bottom of the footstalks of the leaves. The seeds are ripe in five or six weeks after; and ought to be immediately fown, being otherwise very apt to perish. The tree ought to be sheltered, especially whilst young, from the north-east winds; it delights in a moist light soil, where it will thrive much better, as well as produce many more flowers and much better seeds, than in a dry ground. A variety of this tree is known in England by the name of Sir Charles Wager's Flowering Maple, from its being first sent from America to Sir Charles Wager. The flowers of this kind come out in larger clusters than the other, and surround the small branches, so that the tree appears entirely covered with them, and makes a much more beautiful appearance than the former, which is now not so much esteemed.

6. The saccharinum, or sugar-maple, is a large growing tree; will arrive at the height of 40 feet; and has broad thin leaves, divided into five principal parts; which are again indented or cut at the edges into several acute segments. Their surface is smooth, of a light green colour, whitish underneath; and they grow on pretty long footstalks. The flowers come out in the spring, about the time of the Norway maple; and they are succeeded by long keys, which sometimes ripen in England. In America, the inhabitants tap this tree in the spring, boil the liquor, and the feces afford... ford a useful sugar. The sycamore, the ash-leaved, and the Norway maples, also abound with a saccharine juice, from which there is no doubt but a useful sugar might be prepared.

7. The Penylvanianum, or American mountain-maple, very much resembles the sugar-maple, only its leaves are more pointed.

8. The opalus, or Italian maple, is very common in most parts of Italy, particularly about Rome; but in Britain is very rarely to be met with, though hardy enough to bear the open air. It is one of the largest species of trees in Italy, and affords a great shade by its numerous and large leaves. On this account it is planted on the road-sides, and near habitations.

9. The monspelianum, or Montpelier maple, is common in the south of France, and in Italy; but is hardly met with in Britain. The leaves resemble those of the common maple; but are of a much thicker substance, a shining green colour, and not so large. They continue in verdure very late in the autumn, which renders the trees more valuable.

10. The creticum, or Cretan maple, grows naturally in the Levant; it somewhat resembles the last species; but its leaves are of a much thinner texture, and their footstalks covered with a soft hairy down; whereas those of the other are smooth and soft.

Propagation and culture.]—i. By seeds. The first four species are easily propagated in this way. The seeds, when ripe in autumn, may be gathered, and in a few days after sown, about an inch and a half deep, in beds of common mould. In spring the plants will appear, and make a shoot of about a foot and an half by the autumn following, if the ground of the seminary be tolerably good, and they are kept free from weeds. The spring after they come up they should be planted in the nursery in rows two feet and an half aunder, and their distance in the rows must be one foot and an half. Here they may remain till they are big enough to plant out finally, with no further trouble than taking off ungainly side-branches, and such as have a tendency to make the tree forked, except digging between the rows, which must always be done every winter.—For the other species, their seeds, as they do not ripen in this country, ought to be procured from the places where they naturally grow, and managed in the following manner: A cool shady part of the seminary should be appropriated for the purpose; the mould should be made fine; beds should be marked out four feet wide, and in length proportionate to the quantity; and in these the seeds should be regularly sown, sifting over them about half an inch of the finest mould. When the plants come up, they must be kept clean from weeds, and frequently watered; and this work must be duly attended to all summer. The next spring, the strongest may be drawn out, and planted in the nursery, in rows two feet aunder, and at the distance of a foot from each other in the rows; leaving the others in the seminary to gain strength. The spring following they also must receive the same culture; and in the nursery they may remain, with no other trouble than keeping the ground clean from weeds in the summer, digging between the rows in the winter, and taking off all strong and irregular side-shoots till they are planted out. Trees raised from seeds will grow faster, and arrive at greater height, than those raised from layers; but they will not produce such quantities of flowers; which makes the latter method more eligible for those who want these plants for a low shrubbery.—Seeds of the variegated kinds also, when sown, will produce variegated plants in return; which renders the propagation of these sorts very expeditious where plenty of seeds may be had. Where these are not to be obtained, the plants are propagated by budding, as afterwards directed.

2. By layer. All the species may be propagated by this method; though it is never practised for the common maple and the sycamore. The young shoots may be at any time laid down in the autumn, winter, or early in the spring. By the autumn following, they will have struck root, and become good plants; when the strongest may be set out in the places where they are to remain; whilst the weakest may be planted in the nursery, like the seedlings, for a year or two, to acquire strength.

3. By cuttings: which method, however, is chiefly practised for the ash-leaved and Norway maples, which more readily take root this way. The cuttings should be the bottom parts of the last year's shoots: They should be taken off early in October, and planted in rows in a moist shady place. The spring and summer following, they must be duly watered as often as dry weather makes it necessary, and be kept clean from weeds. By the autumn they will be fit to remove into the nursery; though if the cuttings are not planted too close, they may remain in their situation for a year or two longer, and then be set out finally, without the trouble of being previously planted in the nursery.

4. By budding, grafting, and inarching. These methods are only practised for the variegated sorts and the large broad-leaved kind. The latter is to be continued no otherwise than by budding it on stocks of the common sycamore; for from the seeds, though so large themselves, only the common sycamore is produced.

In order to propagate these varieties by budding, let some plants of the common sycamore, one year old, be taken out of the seminary, and set in the nursery in rows a yard aunder, and the plants about a foot and a half distance from each other in the rows: Let the ground be kept clean from weeds all summer, and turned in in the winter; and the summer following the stocks will be of a proper size to receive the buds, which should be taken from the most beautifully-stripped branches. The best time for this work is the middle or latter end of August. Having then budded your stocks with the eyes or buds facing the north, early in October take off the bale-matting, which before this time will have confined the bark and pinched the bud, but not so as to hurt it much. Then cut off the stock just above the bud, and dig the ground between the rows. The summer following, keep the ground clear from weeds; cut off all natural side-buds from the stock as they come out; and by autumn, if the land is good, the buds will have shot forth, and formed themselves into trees five or six feet high. They may be then removed into the places where they are destined to remain; or a few of them only may be drawn out, leaving the others to be trained up for larger standards. The striped Norway maple should be budded on stocks of its own kind; for on these they take best, and both kinds are not very liable to run away from their colours. Variegated plants in general must be planted in poor, poor, hungry, gravelly, or sandy soils, to feed the disease which occasions these beautiful stripes, and cause it to be more powerful. But these trees show their stripes in greater perfection in a good soil: The plant, though in sickness, has the appearance of health; the shoots are vigorous and strong; the leaves are large, less liable to be hurt by insects; and the stripes appear more perfect, natural, and beautiful, than those on stunted trees growing on a poor soil.