This tree is common throughout the Northern, Middle, and "Western States. It rises to a height of from one to three hundred feet, with a diameter of from two to eight feet. It is not valuable either as a timber tree or as an ornamental tree, on account of its being liable to warp and crack, and the rapidity with which it decays on exposure to the weather. As an ornamental tree it is often attacked by a peculiar bhght which greatly disfigures it; i. e., the bark peels off in spots, leaving the tree with the appearance of a man with the small-pox, or a tree that has been partially burned with powder and the discolored bark has started to peel off. The seeds occur in balls, are covered with plumy tufts, and are about an inch in diameter. They may be sown when ripe, or kept until spring, soaked in water and then sown, or by cuttings of the last year's wood.