3C -v

Augustus Fleming. \l-Er

UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH

Darlington Aiemorial Library

UNITED STATES :

Sold by "Wells and Lilly, Court Street, Boston; H.Howe, New-Haven; J. Eastbub\,

New York; T. Dobson and Son, Philadelphia; Coale and Maxwell, Baltimore;

Hoff, Charleston, S. C.
LONDON : Baldwin, CRADOCKand Joy, Paternoster Row ; Dulau and Co.,Soho Square;

Treottel and Wtjhtz, Soho Square.
PARIS: The Author, Place Saint-Michel, No. 8; Treuttel and Wprtz, rue de

Bourhon, No. 17 ; Galicnani, rue Vivienne.

THE

NORTH AMERICAN
SYLVA,

O R

A DESCRIPTION OF THE FOREST TREES

OF THE

UNITED STATES , CANADA AND NOVA SCOTIA,

Considered particularly with respect to their use in the Arts,
and their introduction into Commerce ;

TO WHICH IS ADDED
A DESCRIPTION OF THE MOST USEFUL OF THE EUROPEAN FOREST TREES.
ILLUSTRATED BY l56 COLOURED ENGRAVINGS.
Translated from the French of

F. ANDREW MICHAUX,

Member of the American Philosophical Society of Philadelphia ; Correspondent of
the Institute of France; Member of the Agricultural Societies of Charleston, S. C,
Philadelphia and Massachusetts; Honorary Member of the Historical, Literary and
Philosophical Societies of New York.

. . arbore sulcamus maria , terrasque admovemus ,
arbore cxcedificamut tecla.

Plikii seCdhdi : Nat. Hist., lih. nii

VOL. II.

PARIS,

PRINTED BY C. D'HAUTEL.

1819.

Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2010 with funding from

University of Pittsburgh Library System

http://www.archive.org/details/northamericansyl02inmich

THE

NORTH AMERICAN

SYLFJ.

MAGNOLIAS.

J. he trees and shrubs which compose this genus are ,
without exception , natives of Asia and America , where
they are found nearly in the same latitude , being in-
cluded between the 28th and 42nd parallels.

All the Magnolias are adorned with beautiful foliage,
and most of them with magnificent flowers. The species
which are indigenous to North America, and particu-
larly those which grow in the southern part, of the
United States , are in these respects the most remark-
able; hence, for more than half a century, they have
been highly esteemed in Europe as ornamental vege-
tables. In the climates of London and Paris, several of
the Asiatic and one of the American species require to

be sheltered in the winter, to secure them from the

danger of perishing by cold.

Of thirteen species of Magnolias which have hitherto

been distinctly ascertained, five belong to China and

Japan. Of these the Magnolia Yulan is the largest. It
II. 1

2 MAGNOLIAS.

attains the height of 5o or 40 feet , and its flowers ,
which are nearly 6 inches in diameter, diffuse a deli-
cious odour. It has been cultivated during several cen-
turies , and serves particularly for the embellishment of
the Emperor of China's gardens. In Chinese poetry it
figures as the symbol of candour and of beauty.

Of the eight remaining species, which are natives of
Ihe New World , one belongs to the West Indies , and
seven to the United States : others will perhaps be dis-
covered in the Floridas and in the country west of the
Mississippi. Two species from America have lately been
exhibited as new ones , one of which , called Magnolia
pyramidata , bears a close analogy in its foliage to the
Magnolia auriculata , and the other , to the Magnolia
cordata; but as no botanist has seen their flowers and
fruit, which furnish the only constant specific charac-
ters, our opinion on this point must remain sus-
pended. It should be remembered that nursery-men
are interested in multiplying the species of such exotic
vegetables as are esteemed for their beauty.

MM

2 J- JlfJouti /</

"raibrul sculp

Large Magnolia orBigLaiire]

Magnolia Ora/i<////ora .

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BIG LAUREL.

Polyandria poliginya. Link. Magnoliae. Juss.

Magnolia grandiflora. M. foliis perennantibus y ova-
libus, rigide crasseque coriaceis; pisiillis lanatis, petalis
dilatato-ovalibus , abmpte in unguem angustatis.

Of all the trees of North America, east of the Missis-
sippi , the Big Laurel is the most remarkable for the
majesty of its form, the magnificence of its foliage ,
and the beauty of its flowers. It is first seen in the
lower part of North Carolina, near the river Nuse , in
the latitude of 35°, 3i'; proceeding from this point,
it is found in the maritime parts of the Southern States
and of the Floridas , and as far up the Mississippi as
Natchez, 3oo* miles above New Orleans; which em-
braces an extent of 2,000 miles.

At Charleston, S. C. , and in its vicinity, this tree
is commonly called Large Magnolia ; but it is more
generally known in the country by the name of Big
Laurel : the French of Louisiana call it Laurier Tulipier.

The Big Laurel claims a place among the largest trees
of the United States. It sometimes, though rarely,
reaches 90 feet in height , and 2 or 3 feet in diameter ;
but its ordinary stature is from 60 to 70 feet. Its trunk
is commonly straight , and its summit nearly in the
shape of a regular pyramid. lis leaves are entire , oval ,

4 ^BIG LAUREL.

sometimes accumulate and sometimes obtuse at the
summit, 6 or 8 inches long, and borne by short pe-
tioles. They are ever-green, thick, coriaceous, and very
brilliant on the upper surface. On trees which, for their
beauty, have been left standing here and there in clear-
ing the land , the foliage , upon being exposed to the
sun , assumes a rusty, ferruginous colour beneath. A
similar fact is observed with respect to trees growing on
the skirts of the forests ; the foliage on the side which
is open to the sun is rusty , and on that which is veiled
by the neighbouring trees it is of an untarnished
green.

The flowers of the Big Laurel are white , of an agree-
able odour , and 7 or 8 inches broad. They are larger
than those of any other tree with which we are ac-
quainted, and on detached trees they are commonly
very numerous. Blooming in the midst of rich foliage ,
they produce so fine an effect , that those who have
seen the tree on its native soil agree in considering it as
one of the most beautiful productions of the vegetable
kingdom.

The fruit is a fleshy, oval cone, about 4 inches in
length : it is composed of a great number of cells ,
which, at the age of maturity, open longitudinally,
shewing two or three seeds of a vivid red. The seeds
soon after quit the cells , and for some days remain sus-
pended without , each by a white filament attached to
the bottom of its cell. The red , pulpy substance , which

BIG LAUREL. 5

surrounds the stone, decays and leaves it naked. The
stone contains a white , milky kernel. In Carolina , this
tree blooms in May, and its seeds are ripe about the
beginning of October.

The trunk of the Big Laurel is covered with a smooth;
greyish bark , resembling that of the Beech. The wood
is soft , and remarkable for its whiteness , which it pre-
serves even after it is seasoned. I have been informed
that it is easily wrought and not liable to warp , but
that it is not durable when exposed to the weather : for
this reason Big Laurel boards are used only in joinery
in the interior of buildings. In trees from i5 to 18
inches in diameter, I discerned no mark of distinction
between the sap and the heart of this wood, except a
deep brown point , six or eight lines in diameter , in
the centre of the trunk. The trees from which I drew
this observation had been felled about three weeks,
and I remarked that some of the chips , after a slight
fermentation , had changed to a rose colour. I have
taken notice of an analogous fact in the Poplar or Tulip
Tree, which will be particularly mentioned in the des-
cription of that tree.

The Big Laurel grows only in cool and shady places ,
where the soil , composed of brown mould , is loose ,
deep and fertile. These tracts lie contiguous to the great
swamps , which are found on the borders of the rivers
and in the midst of the pine-barrens, or form themselves
a part of these swamps j but they are never seen in the

6 BIG LAUREL.

long and narrow marshes , called branch-swamps , which
traverse the barrens in every direction, and in which the
miry soil is shallow, with a bed of white , quartzous sand
beneath. In the situations mentioned above , it is gene-
rally accompanied by the Swamp Chesnut Oak, Spanish
Oak, Beech, Wahoo and Devil Wood. I have uniformly
remarked that wherever the Big Laurel grows it is ac-
companied by the Umbrella Tree , but that the Umbrella
Tree , which endures an intense degree of cold , is not
always accompanied by the Big Laurel.

The seeds of the Big Laurel become rancid less speed-
ily than those of the other species of Magnolia ; they
may be kept several months before they are sown. This
species also furnishes the greatest number of young
stocks , which are as thriving as plants carefully raised
in the nursery, and so numerous in the districts where
the tree abounds, that several hundreds of them may
be plucked up in an hour.

Insulated trees bear a proportionally greater number
of blossoms and of cones than those which are enclosed
in the forests : a single tree sometimes yields 3oo or 4oo>
cones , each of which contains 4o or 5o seeds.

The Big Laurel is deservedly esteemed in Europe by
the curious in foreign vegetables. It is valued , not only
for the magnificence of its foliage and of its flowers ,
but also for its insensibility to cold. It is hardier than
the Orange Tree , and in America it grows five degrees
farther north : the Orange Tree does not multiply

BIG LAUREL. 7

in the American forests above the 280 of latitude. In
Europe, the most northern point at which the Big
Laurel passes the winter securely in the open air is
about Nantes, in the latitude of 470, i3'; but it begins
to yield ripe fruit near Grenoble, in the latitude of 45°,
1 1'; In the garden of the late Mr. W. Hamilton, near
Philadelphia , I saw a Big Laurel which bore uninjured
the rigorous climate of this part of Pennsylvania , which
is much more severe than that of Paris and of London.
From these facts it may be inferred that , with time and
perseverance , this tree may be habituated to a degree
of cold far exceeding the temperature of its native skies,
and that it will one day become the finest ornament of
our parks and gardens.

PLATE LI.

A leaf of the natural size. Fig. 1 , A flower of half the
natural size. Fig. 2 , A cone of the natural size.

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SMALL MAGNOLIA,

OR

white Say.

Magnolia glauca. M. foliis cequaliter ovalibus , vel ovali-
oblongis ; subtiis glaucis.

This tree , though inferior in size to the preceding
species and less regularly formed , is interesting on
account of its beautiful foliage and flowers. The Small
Magnolia has lately been found near Cape Anne in
Massachusets , in the latitude of 45% 5o'. It is common
in Lower Jersey, and becomes more so in proceeding
towards the South. In the maritime parts of the
Southern States , in the Floridas and in Lower Loui-
siana , it is one of the most abundant among the trees
which grow in wet grounds. It is not found far in the
interior of the country, and in New York, Pennsylvania
and Maryland , it disappears 3o or 4o miles north of the
capitals of these States. In the Carolinas and in Georgia,
it grows only within the limits which I have assigned to
the pine-barreiis. I do not remember to have met with
it in the back part of these States , nor in the country
west of the mountains. In Philadelphia and New York,
and in their vicinity , this tree is called Magnolia, which
denomination has entirely superseded those of Swamp

Pl.6%.

P- J.Jlrdoute Jel

Small Magnolia or White Bay.
Magnolias glauca .

Gairiet scuif

SMALL MAGNOLIA. 9

Sassafras and Beaver Wood , which were in use among
the Swedish settlers who hrst fixed themselves in the
country. In the Southern States it is generally called
White Bay or Sweet Bay;

In the lower parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania ,
and farther south , the Small Magnolia is seen only in
the most miry swamps , which , during the greater part
of the year, are so wet as to be impassable. Here it is
accompanied by the White Cedar, and by the different
species of Andromeda and of Whortleberry. In the
Carolinas and in Georgia, it is rarely found in the
large swamps which border the rivers ; but it grows
abundantly, I may almost say exclusively, in the long
and narrow marshes which traverse the pine-barrens ,
and of which the black and miry soil reposes upon abed
of sterile sand : with the Loblolly Bay and Red Bay , it
constitutes the mass of these woods. In the last men-
tioned States the Small Magnolia sometimes rises to the
height of 4o feet , with a diameter of 12 or t4 inches ;
but it does not ordinarily exceed 20 or 3o feet. It is still
smaller about New York and Philadelphia, where it
yields fruit at the height of 5 or 6 feet.

The leaves are 5 or 6 inches long, petiolated , alter-
nate , oblong - oval and entire. They are of a dark ,
shining green above , and glaucous underneath , thus
presenting an agreeable contrast in the colour of the
two surfaces. The leaves fall in the autumn, and re-
appear early in the spring.

II. 2

IO SMALL MAGNOLIA

The flowers, which are single and situated at the
extremity of the branches , are 2 or 3 inches broad ,
white, and composed of several concave, oval petals.
Near Charleston , S. C. , the tree blossoms in May, and a
month later in the neighbourhood of Philadelphia and
New York , where the women and children penetrate
into the swamps and gather its sweet-scented flowers
to sell them iu the markets.

The fruit is small, green and conical, composed of a
great number of cellules , and varying in length from
an inch to an inch and a half. When ripe , the seeds ,
which are of a scarlet colour , burst their cells , and
remain some days suspended without, by white , lax,
slender filaments.

The seeds of the Small Magnolia very speedily become
rancid. To preserve for a length of time their faculty of
germinating , they must be placed as soon as they are
gathered, and before the pulp which envelopes the
stone is withered , in rotten wood or in sand slightly
moistened , where they are kept cool till they are com-
mitted to the ground : this is the only mode of obtaining
the tree from the seed. Although the Small Magnolia is
so abundant in Lower Louisiana, in the Carolinas and
in Georgia , young plants are very rarely met with.

The bark of this tree is smooth and greyish, and its
trunk is always crooked and divided into a great number
of divaricating branches. Its wood, which is of a white
colour and very light , is employed for no use. The name

S MA LL MA&NOl I A. 1 1

of Beaver Wood , formerly given to the Small Mag-
nolia , proves that the Beaver once inhabited those parts
of the Middle States to which this tree is indigenous ,
and that on account of its softness it was felled by these
animals in preference to other trees , for the construc-
tion of their dams and houses. The bark of the roots
has an aromatic odour and a bitter taste. Some of the
inhabitants drink an infusion of it in brandy, in rheu-
matic aifections , as a slight sudorific. In Lower Jersey,
the country people steep the cones in rum or in whiskey,
and this liquor, which is very bitter, is regarded by
them as a preservative against autumnal fevers.

The Small Magnolia possesses the advantage of suc-
cessfully resisting the rigorous winters of France , Ger-
many and England. In 1811 , a great number of trees of
this species yielded ripe seeds in the environs of Paris.
Of all indigenous and exotic trees capable of enduring an
equal degree of cold, there is none which rivals it in the
beauty of its foliage and of its flowers. It is deservedly
in great request among the amateurs of gardening , to
whom its multiplication , for the embellishment of their
country residences, cannot be too warmly recom-
mended.

PLATE LIT.

A branch with leaves and a flower of the natural size.
Fig. 1 , A cone with seeds of the natural size.

CUCUMBER TREE.

Magnolia, acuminata. M. foliis ovalibus, acuminatis ,
subtiis pubescentibus ; jlorlbus jlavo-ccerulescenlibus

In all parts of the United States where this tree is
found , it is known only by the name of Cucumber
Tree. It is a beautiful vegetable , equal in height and in
diameter to the Big Laurel. Among the trees of this
genus hitherto discovered in North America , these two
species alone exhibit very large dimensions. The most
northern point at which I have myself observed the
Cucumber Tree, is on the Niagara river , near the cele-
brated cataract of that name, in the latitude of 43° ; and
I believe it does not exist far beyond this limit. It
abounds along the whole mountainous tract of the
Alleghanies , to their termination in Georgia , over a
distance of 900 miles. It is also common on the Cum-,
berland Mountains , which divide the State of Tennes-
see. The situations peculiarly adapted to its growth are
the declivities of mountains, narrow vallies, and the
banks of torrents , where the atmosphere is constantly
moist , and where the soil is deep and fertile. At the
distance of 40 or 5o miles from these mountains , either
eastward or westward , the Cucumber Tree is met with
only accidentally upon the steep banks of rivers , where

P1.5Z.

Bessa de/

CTLcnmb er Tre e .

Maqnotia acuminata

CUCUMBER TREE. l*

the atmosphere is constantly refreshed by the evapo-
ration from their surface.

We may conclude then that this tree is a stranger to
all the regions north of the river Hudson, and to all the
atlantic parts of the United States , to the distance of
ioo , i5o and 200 miles from the sea; the nature of the
soil and the extreme heat of the climate in summer
being utterly uncongenial to its growth. It is also rare in
the parts of Kentucky and West Tennessee which are
most remote from the mountains , where the face of
the country is less uneven.

The leaves of the Cucumber Tree are 6 or 7 inches
long , and 3 or 4 inches broad , upon old trees ; upon:
saplings growing in moist places they are sometimes
twice as large. Their form is oval, entire, tfnd very
acuminate : they fall in the autumn and are renewed in
the spring.

The flowers , which are 5 or 6 inches in diameter , are
bluish, and sometimes white with a tinct of yellow.
They have a feeble odour , but as they are large and
numerous , they have a fine effect in the midst of the
superb foliage.

The cones or fruit are about 3 inches long, 8 or 10
lines in diameter , of nearly a cylindrical shape , and
often a little larger at the upper end than at the base.
They are convex on one side and concave on the other f
and when green they nearly resemble a young cucumber,
whence the tree has derived its name. The cells are

l4 CUCUMBER TREE.

arranged as in the other species of this genus , and each
of them contains one rose-coloured seed , which, before
it escapes , remains suspended like those of the Great
and Small Magnolias. Most of the inhabitants of the
country bordering on the Alleghanies gather the con«s
about midsummer , when they are half ripe j and steep
them in whiskey : a glass or two of this liquor, which
is extremely bitter, they habitually take in the morning ,
as a preservative against autumnal fevers. Its efficacy I
do not deny, but it has not been made sufficiently evi-
dent to induce any physician to attempt its verification.

The Cucumber Tree sometimes exceeds 80 feet in
height , and 5 or 4 feet in diameter at the same number
of feet from the ground. The trunk is perfectly straight ,
of an uniform size, and often destitute of branches for
two thirds of its length. The summit is ample and regu-
larly shaped, and the tree is one of the finest in the
American forests. On old stocks the bark is greyish and
deeply furrowed. The heart or perfect wood is soft , and
of a yellowish brown colour , bearing, in this respect,
some analogy to the Poplar or Tulip Tree. Like the poplar
wood , it is fine grained and susceptible of a brilliant
polish ; but it is less strong and less durable when exposed
to the weather. Being a rare tree , it is only accidentally
employed in the arts. Sawn into boards, it serves in
joinery for the interior of wooden houses , and , for its
size and lightness , it is selected for large canoes. As its
wood possesses no properties which fit it for any deter-

CUCUMBER TREE. l5

minate use , the Cucumber Tree is esteemed only be-
cause its foliage and flowers render it ornamental, and
because, like the other trees of this genus, it blooms at
an early age. Like the Small Magnolia , it passes unin-
jured the rigorous winters of England, Germany and
the North of France , and flourishes and blooms in the
open fields. The seeds , it is true , seldom ripen ; but
when the trees become a little older , if proper atten-
tion is bestowed upon selecting for them a shaded
southern exposure , we may hope to see their fruit
arrive at maturity.

PLATE Lift.

A leaf of the natural size. Fig. i , A flower of half the
natural size. Fig. 2 , A cone with seeds of the natural size.

HEART-LEAVED CUCUMBER TREE.

Magnolia cordata, M. foliis cordatis, subtus subtomen-
tosis ; floribus Jlavis.

This species of Magnolia , which , in its general ap-
pearance and in the form of its fruit , very nearly re-
sembles the preceding, has been confounded with it by
the inhabitants of the regions in which it grows ; hence
it has received no distinguishing name , and , to supply
the defect , I have given it that of Heart-leaved Cu-
cumber Tree.

The banks of the river Savannah in Upper Georgia ,
and those of the streams which traverse the back parts
of South Carolina, are the places where my father and
myself particularly observed this tree. The nearest point
to the sea at which I have found it , is the plantation of
Good-rest, 12 miles from Augusta, where, in my last
journey in the United States , I noticed it along the sides
of Horn Creek. The Heart-leaved Cucumber Tree is 40
or 5o feet in height , and 12 or i5 inches in diameter. Its
trunk is straight , and covered with a rough and deeply
furrowed bark , very much resembling that of the Sweet
Gum and of the young White Oak. Its leaves , which are
borne upon long petioles , are from 4 to 6 inches in
length , from 3 to 5 inches wide, smooth and entire.
The flowers, which appear in April, are yellow, with the

Flfy-

Heart leaved cucumber Tree.
Magnolia. corJala .

HEART-LEAVED CUCUMBER TREE. 17

interior of the petal longitudinally marked with several
reddish lines. These flowers , though somewhat smaller
than those of the Cucumber Tree, are nearly 4 inches in
diameter. The cones are about 5 inches long and 10 or 1 2
lines in thickness , of a cylindrical form , and of a similar
construction to those of the other Magnolias. The seeds
also are similar in colour and arrangement.

The wood of the Heart-leaved Cucumber Tree re-
sembles, in every respect, that of the Cucumber Tree.
From its softness and its readiness to decay, it is not
employed for any determinate use. Besides, the tree is
rare even in Upper Georgia, being found , as has already
been observed , only on the elevated banks of the rivers,
and never making its appearance in forests composed
of Oaks , Walnuts , etc. The beauty of its yellow flowers,
which form an agreeable contrast with its luxuriant
foliage , and the advantage of resisting an intense degree
of cold , are its only recommendations to amateurs : but
in these respects it deserves , as well as any other species

of the genus , to figure in parks and gardens.

-

PLATE LIV.

A leaf of the natural size. Fig. 1 , A flower of half the
natural size. Fig. 1 , A cone with seeds of the natural size.

n.

UMBRELLA TREE.

Magnolia tripetala. M. foliis ampUoribus, obloiigis y
subcuneato-obovalibus , calice rejlexo.

Obs. Petala solito novem.

The Umbrella Tree is first seen in the northern part
of the State of New York ; bat it is more multiplied
farther south , and is common on some of the islands
in the river Susquehannah , and still more so in the
Southern and Western States. It is found in the mari-
time parts of the Carolinas and of Georgia, and 3oo miles
from the sea , on that part of the Alleghanies which
traverses these States. The forests which cover the banks
of the river Nolachaehuky , in East Tennessee , may be
particularly mentioned as abounding in the Umbrella
Tree. Though this tree grows naturally over a great
extent of country , it is not met with at every step in
the woods like the Witch Hazel , the Dog Wood , and
certain species of Oak : it appears only in situations per-
fectly adapted to its growth, which are always shady,
and where the soil is deep , strong and fertile. Thus, in
the lower parts of South Carolina and of Georgia , it is
found only near the great swamps which lie along the
rivers , or which are enclosed in the pine-barrens. Here ,
it is almost invariably accompanied by the Big Laurel ,
Swamp Chesnut Oak and Sweet Leaves , and never by

fl.M.

Umbrella Tree .
Magnolia tripetala.

ilrul sculp.

UMBRELLA TREE. If}

the Small Magnolia , Red Bay and Loblolly Bay, which
grow in the small swamps that intersect the barrens , and*
of which the soil is shallow, black, and often miry.

The Umbrella Tree , like the following species of this
genus, is remarkable for the largeness of its leaves andf
of its flowers. The dimensions of the tree are such as to
forma connecting link between the larger shrubs and
trees of the third order ; for though it sometimes rises to
the height of 3o or 35 feet, with a diameter of 5 or 6
inches, it rarely attains this size. Its leaves, which are
thin , oval , entire and acuminate at both extremities ;
are 1 8 or 20 inches long , and 7 or 8 inches broad ; they
are often disposed in rays at the extremity of vigorous
shoots, and thus display a surface of 3o inches in dia*
meter : whence is derived the name of Umbrella Tree.
I have almost uniformly remarked that the trunk grows
in an inclined direction ; the young and feeble stock
being laden, before it is as large as the little finger,
with ample foliage , is bent by the winds , even when
growing in sheltered situations..

The flowers, are 7 or 8 inches in diameter ■;. white h
composed of several oblong, concave petals, and situated
at the extremity of the branches ; they are beautiful ,
though less regularly shaped and of a less agreeable
odour than those of the other species of Magnolia.

The conical fruit is 4 or 5 inches long, and about 2
inches in diameter ; it ripens in the beginning of Octo-
ber, and is of a. beautiful rose colour, with seeds of a

20 UMBRELLA TREE.

pale red. Well grown and perfectly formed cones contain
5o or 60 seeds , which , as they speedily become rancid ,
should be sown immediately after they are gathered.
A great number of young plants may in this way be
easily obtained. By keeping the seeds in moss constantly
moist , they may be preserved for several months.

The wood of the Umbrella Tree is soft, porous, and
unfit for use. The bark upon the trunk is grey, smooth
and polished : if cut while green, it exhales a disagree-
able odour.

This Magnolia, which resists an extreme degree of
cold , has long been cultivated in pleasure grounds in
France and England. It is remarkable among all the in-
digenous trees of Europe, for the size and form of its,
leaves and flowers. For many years it has yielded prolific
seeds in this quarter of the world , so that it is no longer
necessary to go in quest of it to its native climate.

PLATE LV.

A leaf of a fourth part of the natural size. Fig. 1 , A petal
of the natural size. Fig. 2 , A cone with seeds of the natural
size.

?/. 66.

J}<wa tie/

Long- leaved cucumber Tree
JMaijiwita aiiruu/ala

ihiSnW •■•:

LONG -LEAVED CUCUMBER TREE.

Magnolia auriculata. M. foliis subrhomboideo-obovali-
bus, inferne angustatis , basi pro/undo sinu quasi auricu-
lutis , membranaceis utrinque-viridibus.

This species of Magnolia, equally remarkable with
the preceding for the beauty of its foliage and for the
size of its flowers, which are also of an agreeable odour,
is found only in a small tract far retired in the country,
and has but lately become known to Botanists. As the
result of my own researches , it appears to be particu-
larly confined to that tract of the Alleghany Mountains
which traverses the Southern States , at the distance of
nearly 3oo miles from the sea. It should be remarked
that in this part the chain is much broader than farther
north , in Virginia. The Long-leaved Cucumber Tree is
however sometimes found on the steep banks of the
rivers which rise in these lofty mountains , and which
on one side roll their waters to the sea, and on the
other flow to meet the Ohio , after traversing the States
of Kentucky and Tennessee. The point nearest the sea
at which I have met with it is Two Sisters Ferry , about
55 miles from Savannah in Georgia : but it seems to be
found here only by accident , for from this spot to the
mountains, a distance of i5o miles, it is no more seen.
I have no where found it as abundant as on the steepest

22 LONG-LEAVED CUCUMBER TREE.

part of the lofty mountains of North. Carolina, particu-
larly those which are called by the inhabitants Great
Father Mountains , Black and Iron Mountains. It is de-
signated by the names of Long-leaved Cucumber Tree ,
and of Indian Physic. The soil of these mountains ,
which is brown , deep, and of an excellent quality, is
peculiarly favourable to its growth , and it multiplies
spontaneously with such facility, that I could have col-
lected a thousand young plants in a single day. The
Black Oak, the Scarlet Oak, the Red Oak , the Chesnut,
the Red Ash, the Buck's Eye , the Cucumber Tree and
the Sorrel Tree compose the remainder of the forests
which shade these solitary retreats , where , in the finest
days of summer , the atmosphere is charged with moist-
ure by evaporation from the numberless torrents which
tumble from the summits.

The Long-leaved Cucumber Tree is much inferior in
size to most of the Trees with which it grows , attaining
only the height of 4o or 45 feet , and the diameter of
12 or 1 5 inches. Its trunk is straight and well shaped ,
and often undivided for half its length ; its limbs, widely
spread and sparingly ramified, give to the tree, when
stript of its leaves , so peculiar an air , that it is readily
distinguished.

The leaves are of a light green colour, of a fine
texture, 8 or 9 inches long, and from 4 to 6 inches
broad ; on young and vigorous trees they are often
one third or even one half larger. They are smooth on

XONG-LEAVED CUCUMBER TREE. !i3

both surfaces, acuminate at the summit, widest near
the top and narrowest towards the bottom. The base
is divided into rounded lobes , whence is derived the
specific name of Auriculata.

The flowers are 3 or 4 inches in diameter, of a fine
white colour, of an agreeable odour, and situated at the
extremity of the young shoots, which .are of a purplish
red dotted with white.

The cones are oval, 5 or 4 inches long, and, like
those of the Umbrella Tree , of a beautiful rose colour
when ripe. They differ from those of the other species
by a little inferiority of size , and by a small appendage
which terminates the cells. Each cell contains one or
two red seeds.

The wood is soft, spongy, very light , and unfit for
use. The bark is grey , and always smooth even on the
oldest trees. When the epidermis is removed, the cellular
integument , by contact with the air , instantly changes
from white to yellow. The bark has an agreeable aro-
matic odour, and an infusion of it in some spirituous
liquor is employed as an excellent sudorific in rheumatic
affections.

The Long-leaved Cucumber Tree flourishes in the
open fields in the neighbourhood of Paris and of London.
It is becoming common in Europe in the gardens of
amateurs of foreign vegetables , who justly prefer it to
the Umbrella Tree on account of its flowers, which ,
though smaller, have the advantage of an agreeable

24 LONG-LEAVED CUCUMBER TREE.

perfume. This tree hardily sustains the rigour of the
winters of Philadelphia : several stocks sent by my father
from the Mountains of North Carolina to Messrs. W.
Hamilton and Bartram , who reside near that city , suc-
ceed perfectly in the open garden , and have for several
years bloomed and yielded seed. The useful and agree-
able productions which seem to have been confined by
the hand of nature to a single district, are thus propa-
gated from one extremity of the globe to the other, and
serve, by the innocent pleasure attending their culti-
vation , to solace the afflictions of humanity.

PLATE LVI.

A leaf of a fourth part of the natural she. Fig. i , A
flower of two thirds of the natural size. Fig. 2 , A cone with
seeds of the natural size.

Fl.57.

imite ,&/

Large leaved Umbrella Tree
MaanoHa macro plu/lta .

*v\*vvvvvvvvvv\wvvvvvvt/vvvvv\w\\wvvvvvwvvvvvvvvvvv^^

LARGE-LEAVED UMBRELLA TREE.

Magnolia macrophylla. M. rami's medullosis, fragilibus;
foliis omnium amplissimis , oblonge subcuneato-obovali-
bus, basi sinuatd, subauriculatis , subtus glaucis; junio-
ribus argenteis , dcnsissime holoscriceis.

Of the twelve species of Magnolia hitherto dieovered
on the Old and New Continents, the Large-leaved
Umbrella Tree is the most remarkable for the size of its
leaves and of its flowers. It is also the least multiplied of
the American species , and is rarely met with in the
forests. On account of the resemblance of its leaves to
those of the Umbrella Tree, the two species have hither-
to been confounded by the inhabitants of the districts in
which they grow : I have, therefore, given it the specific
name of Large-leaved Umbrella Tree , which is suffici-
ently characteristic. My father in his Flora Boreali-Ame-
ricana , as well as many succeeding botanists , designates
it by the name of Magnolia macrophylla, Large-leaved
Umbrella Tree , while in the catalogues of gardeners ,
and sometimes in those of botanists , it is denominated
Magnolia Michauccii. I have thought proper to drop this
specific name, however honourable to my father , and
to retain the one which he himself had established.

In the month of June, 1789, in the first journey made
by my father from Charleston to the Mountains of
11. 4

26 1AEGE-IEAVED UMBRELLA TREE.

North Carolina, I accompanied him , and discovered
this tree, which he immediately judged to he a new
species of Magnolia. The spot on which we found this
magnificent vegetable is in North Carolina, 10 miles
south of Lincolnton , and 25o miles from Charleston.
Our extensive researches in quest of it in the upper part
of the Southern States, and those subsequently made
by several English botanists east of the Alleghanies,
which were alike unsuccessful , sufficiently prove that
it is extremely rare between the mountains and the sea.
West of the range , in Tennessee , it is more common ,
but even here only a few trees are found together , at
intervals of 4o or 5o miles ; as I had an opportunity of
observing during my journey in the Western States in
iSo3.

The Large-leaved Umbrella Tree , like the Umbrella
Tree , on which it is a constant attendant , delights in
cool situations sheltered from the wind , where the soil
is deep and fertile. In its general appearance , and in the
terminal arrangement of its leaves , it most nearly re-
sembles the species just mentioned; in the conforma-
tion of the inferior surface of the leaf, it is more like
the Long-leaved Cucumber Tree. It forms also a mean
between these two species by its siz^e, which does not
exceed 35 feet in height , and 4 or 5 inches in diameter.
The body of the tree is covered wiih a smooth and very
white bark, by which in the winter, when stript of its
leaves, it is readily distinguished from the Umbrella

LABGE-LEAVED UMBRELLA TREE. 3J

Tree. At this season it differs also from the Umbrella
Tree in its buds, which are compressed instead of being
rounded at the end, and which are covered with a soft
and silvery down.

Of all this genus , the Large-leaved Umbrella Tree is
the species which bears the largest leaves : some of them
are 35 inches long and 9 or 10 inches broad. They are
borne on petioles , short in comparison with the size of
the leaves , and are of an oblong-oval shape , pointed at
the extremity, and cordiform at the base : their colour is
light green above , and glaucous beneath : they fall in the
autumn and reappear early in the spring. The flowers
are white and larger than those of any other species ot
Magnolia, for when fully blown they are sometimes 8
or 9 inches in diameter: they are composed of six petals,
longer and broader than those of the Umbrella Tree.
Within the flower , near the bottom of the petals, is a
purple spot 7 or 8 lines in diameter. The flowers diffuse
a fragrant odour , and their beauty is heightened by the
luxuriant foliage which surrounds them.

The cones are about 4 inches long, nearly cylindrical ',
and of a vivid rose colour when arrived at maturity. In
the arrangement of the cells and of the seeds , they re-
semble those of the Umbrella Tree and of the Long-
leaved Cucumber Tree : it should be remarked , how-
ever, that they are destitute of the appendages visible
on the fruit of the last mentioned species , especially
when it is dry.

28 LARGE-LEAVED UMRRELLA TREE.

The seeds of the Large-leaved Umbrella Tree require ,
in order to preserve their power of germination , the
game attention with those of the preceding species.

The wood of this tree is softer and more porous than
that of the Umbrella Tree , and is of no value in the
arts : like many other plants , its only use is to adorn
the garden , and to add another charm to the rural
retreat. For this purpose only it is eagerly sought for in
France and in England by the lovers of exotic trees, and
with the more reason as it passes the winter uninjured
in the climates of Paris and of London. A tree of this
species which I brought from America seven years ago,
bloomed in 181 1 in the gardens of the Empress Josephine
at Malmaison.

The Large-leaved Umbrella Tree might be grafted by
approach or by inoculation on stocks of the Umbrella
Tree , which is far more common : an experiment of
this sort , made by my father in his garden near Char-
leston , S. G. , was crowned with complete success.

PLATE LVII.

A leaf of a fifth part of the natural size. Fig. i , A
petal of half the natural size.

PI. 58.

P J. RsJsuU- dd.

Loblolly Ray.
Gordo/n'a kwyeuitfuw .

Oa&rM jvufr.

LOBLOLLY BAY.

Polyandria Monogynia. Likw. Malvaeae. Joss.

Gordonia lasyanthus. G. foliis glaberrimis , subseiratis,
nitidis, coriaceis; Jloribus longe pedunculatis ; copsuld
conoided, acuminata.

The Loblolly Bay is comprehended within the same
limits with the Long-leaved Pine , being confined to the
maritime parts of the Southern States, to the two
Floridas, and to Lower Louisiana. It is very abundant
in the branch swamjjs , and exists in greater proportion
than the Red Bay , Swamp Bay and Black Gum , with
which it is usually associated. In the pine barrens, tracts of
5o or ioo acres are met with at intervals , which , being
lower than the adjacent ground, are kept constantly
moist by the waters collected in them after the great
rains. These spots are entirely covered with the Loblolly
Bay, and are called Bay Swamps. Although the layer of
vegetable mould is only 3 or 4 inches thick, and reposes
upon a bed of barren sand, the vegetation of these trees
is surprisingly luxuriant.

The Loblolly Bay grows to the height of 5 o or 6o feet ,
with a diameter of 18 or 20 inches. For 25 to 3o feet its
trunk is perfectly straight. The small divergency of its
branches near the trunk gives it a regularly pyramidical
form; but as they ascend they spread more loosely >
like those of other trees of the forest.

3o LOBLOLLY BAY.

The leaves are ever-green , from. 3 to 6 inches long >
alternate, oval-acuminate, slightly toothed, and smooth
and shining on the upper surface. The flowers are
more than an inch broad , white and sweet-scented ;
they begin to appear about the middle of July and
bloom in succession daring 2 or 3 months. This tree
possesses the agreeable singularity of bearing flowers
when it is only 3 or 4 feet high.

The fruit is an oval capsule , divided into five com-
partments , each of which contains small , black ^
winged seeds. These seeds appear to germinate success-
fully only in places covered with Sphagnum , a species
of moss which copiously imbibes water , and in which
are found thousands of the young plants , which are
plucked up with ease.

The bark of the Loblolly Bay is very smooth while
the tree is less than 6 inches in diameter ; on old trees
it is thick and deeply furrowed. In trunks which exceed
1 5 inches in diameter four fifths of the wood is heart.
The wood is of a rosy hue , and of a fine , silky texture :
it appears to be very proper for the inside of furniture ,
though the Cypress is generally preferred. It is extremely
light ; when seasoned it is very brittle , and it rapidly
decays unless it is kept perfectly dry : hence it is entirely
neglected in use, and is not employed even for fuel.

The value of the Loblolly bark in tanning compen-
sates in some measure for the uselessness of its wood :
it is employed for this purpose throughout the maritime

LOBLOLLY BAY. 3l

parts of Ihe Southern States and of the Floridas. For
although this branch of industry is by no means as ex-
tensively practised in this part of the country as in the
Northern States , and though these regions afford many
species of Oak, yet the species whose bark is proper for
tanning are not sufficiently multiplied to supply the
consumption. As much of the bark of the Spanish Oak
as can be obtained, of which the price is one half
greater , is mixed with that of the Loblolly Bay. This
tree has the advantage of maintaining very long the
circulation of its sap, so that the bark may be taken off
during three or four months.

I can add little to this description of the Loblolly Bay :
the luxuriance of its vegetation, the beauty of its flowers,
and the richness of its ever-green foliage place it among
the Magnolias, and, with the other species , it contri-
butes to the ornament of the forests in the southern
part of the United States. It is less sensible to cold
than the Big Laurel , and with some attention it may
be brought through the winter in the climates of Paris
and London. This opinion is corroborated by the fact
that I have seen several of these trees growing in the
Botanical Garden , founded by Dr. D. Hosack, near New
York, where no other precaution was used than slightly
covering them in the winter.

PLATE LVIII.
A branch, with leaves and a flower of the natural size.
Fig. i , A seed vessel. Fig. i , A seed.

FRANRLINIA.

Gordonia PUBESCENS. G. foliis lanceolatis , subserratis f
subpubescentibus ; jloribus subsessilibus , capsuld sphcericd.

This species of Gordonia appears to be restricted by
nature within very narrow bounds, having hitherto been
found only on the banks of the Altamaha in the State of
Georgia. It was discovered there in 1770 by John Bartram,
who gave it the name of Franklinia in honour of one of
the most illustrious founders of American independence :
a philosopher equally distinguished by his scientific ac-
quirements and by his patriotic virtues.

The Franklinia is much smaller than the preceding
species, and rarely exceeds 3o feet in height and 6 or 8
inches in diameter. The bark of the trunk presents a
smooth and angular surface, like that of the Hornbeam.
The leaves are alternate , oblong , narrowed at the base
and toothed : they are annually shed in the fall.

The Franklinia blooms in Carolina about the begin-
ning of July, and a month later near Philadelphia. The
flowers are more than an inch in diameter, white and
of an agreeable odour. Like those of the Loblolly Bay,
they open in succession during two or three months ,
and begin to appear when the tree is only 5 or 4 feet
high.

The fruit is in the form of round, ligneous capsules,

P.J.A-Joute' <M.

Trankhnia .
(/o/W#/iia pubescent

Oaiitf/ s.-a/r

FRANKLINIA. 33

which , when ripe , open at the summit in four seams ,
to release the small , angular seeds.

Although the Franklinia is only found two or three
degrees farther south than the Loblolly Bay, it appears
to be far less sensible to cold ; for I have seen several
trees of this species in the garden of J. and W. Bartram,
about 4 miles from Philadelphia, whose growth was
luxuriant, and which, during 25 years, had remained
uninjured by the severe winters which congeal this part
of Pennsylvania.

The Franklinia has long been cultivated in France and
England ; but though the cold is less intense , it grows
less kindly at Paris than at Philadelphia. This tree seems
to be less highly esteemed than it deserves : it might
easily be naturalised , and its magnificent flowers , espe-
cially when rendered double , would richly contribute
to the decoration of our pleasure grounds.

PLATE LIX.

A branch with leaves and a flower of the natural size.
Fig. i , The capsule which contains the seeds. Fig. 2 , A
seed.

11.

PAPAW.

Polyandriapolyginia. LiNtr. Anonae. Juss.

Anona triloba. A. foliis glabriusculis , oblonge cuneato-
obovalibus ; petalis eocterioribus orbicularis ; fructibus
maximls , crassius carnosis.

Although the Papaw most frequently presents itself
in the form of a shrub , it sometimes exhibits such di-
mensions that it may be ranked among trees of the
third order ; as it is sufficiently interesting in other res-
pects to merit attention , I have , therefore , thought
proper to describe it.

By the French of Upper Louisiana and of the two
Canadas , the Anona triloba is called Assiminicr , and by
the Americans , Papaw. I have not observed it north of
the Schuykill river , and it appears to be unknown , or
extremely rare , in the low and maritime parts of the
Southern States. It is not uncommon in the bottoms
which stretch along the rivers of the Middle States; but
it is most abundant in the rich vallies intersected by
the western waters, where, at intervals, it forms thickets
exclusively occupying several acres. In Kentucky and in
the western part of Tennessee , it is sometimes seen also
in forests where the soil is luxuriantly fertile; of which
its presence is an infallible proof. In these forests it at-

//. O'o.

Bcwa del .

Annona triloba.

PAPAW. 35~

fains the height of 3o feet and the diameter of 6 or 8
inches , though it generally stops short of half this ele-
vation.

The leaves are borne on short petioles , and are alter-
nate , 5 or 6 inches in length , and of an elongated form ,
widening from the base to the summit. They are of a
fine texture , and the superior surface is smooth and
brilliant. The flowers , which are attached by short
peduncles , are pendent and of a purple hue.

When the fruit is ripe , which takes place towards
the beginning of August , it is about 3 inches long and
an inch and a half thick, of a yellowish colour, and of
an oval form, irregular and swelling into inequalites. Its
pulp is soft and of an insipid taste, and it contains se-
veral large, triangular stones. It is never brought into
the markets , and is sought in the woods only by child-
ren. At Pittsburgh some persons have succeeded in
making from it a spirituous liquor ; but , notwithstand-
ing this experiment , very feeble hopes can be enter-
tained of cultivating the tree with profit for this purpose.

The trunk of the Papaw is covered with a silver-grey
bark , which is smooth and even polished. The wood
is spongy, extremely soft, destitute of strength, and
applicable to no use in the mechanical arts. I have no-
ticed that the cellular integument of the bark, and par-
ticularly that of the roots , exhales in summer a nau-
seous odour , so strong as to occasion sickness if it i&
long respired in confined air.

36 PAPAW.

This tree has bloomed in Europe for many years ; but
it rarely fructifies, and is principally esteemed for the
beauty of its flowers and of its foliage.

PLATE LX.

A branch with leaves and flowers of the natural size.
Fig. i , Fruit of the natural size and colour. Fig. 2 , A
stone separated from the pulp.

-De<rsa de/-

Poplar or Tulip Tree .
L yrwdendrim x til lip if or a

POPLAR, or TULIP TREE.

Lyriodenbrum tulipiferA. L. foliis trilobis; lobo medio
truncate; calice iriphyllo.

This tree, which surpasses most others of North
America in height and in the beauty of its foliage and
of its flowers, is also one of the most interesting from the
numerous and useful applications of its wood. Wher-
ever it abounds , and throughout the greater part of the
United States , it is called Poplar. In Connecticut , New
York, and New Jersey, it is known by the name of
White Wood and of Canoe Wood, and more rarely,
by that of Tulip Tree. This last denomination , which ,
since the introduction of the tree, has been adopted in
Europe, is certainly the most proper, because the
flower nearly resembles the tulip , and because the tree
bears in none of its characters any analogy to the Pop-
lars , which are in every respect inferior to it. But the
name of Poplar has become so generally sanctioned by
use in the United States , that I have not felt at liberty
to change it , and have only annexed the other as a syno-
nyme , with a feeble hope of its ultimately prevailing.

The southern extremity of Lake Champlain, in latitude
45°, may be 'considered as the northern limit , and the
Connecticut river, in the longitude of 72% as the east-
ern limit of the Tulip Tree. It is only beyond the Hud-

58 POPLAR, OR TULIP TREE.

son , which flows two degrees farther west , and below
the 43° of latitude, that it is frequently met with and
fully developed. Its expansion is not here repressed , as
in Vermont and in the upper part of Connecticut , by
the excessive cold, and by a mountainous surface unfa-
vourable to its growth. It is multiplied in the Middle
States, in the upper parts of the Carolinas and of
Georgia , and still more abundantly in the western
country , particularly in Kentucky. Its comparative
rareness in the maritime parts of the Carolinas and of
Georgia , in the Floridas and in Lower Louisiana , is
owing less to the heat of the summer than to the nature
of the soil , which in some parts is too dry , as in the
pine-barrens , and in others too wet, as in the swamps
which border the rivers. Even in the Middle and West-
ern States, the Tulip Tree is less abundant than the
Oaks, the Walnuts, the Ashes and the Beeches, because
it delights only in deep , loamy , and extremely fertile
soils , such as are found in the rich bottoms that lie
along the rivers, and on the borders of the great swamps
that are enclosed in the forests.

In the Atlantic States, especially at a considerable
distance from the sea, Tulip Trees are often seen 70 r
80, and 100 feet in height, with a diameter from 18
inches to 3 feet. But the Western States appear to be
the natural soil of this magnificent tree , and here it
displays its most powerful vegetation. It is commonly
found mingled with other trees , such as the Hickories ,

POPLAR, OR TULIP TREE. 09

the Black Walnut and Butternut , the Coffee Tree and
the Wild Cherry Tree : hut it sometimes constitutes
alone pretty large tracts of the forest , as my father ob-
served in Kentucky , on the road from Beard Stone to
Louisville. In no other part of the United States did he
find Tulip Trees so lofty , and of so great a diameter.
He observed many of them in passing which appeared
to be 1 5 or 16 feet in circumference; and, three
miles and a half from Louisville , he measured one ,
which at 5 feet from the ground was 22 feet and 6 inches
in circumference, and whose elevation he judged to be
from 120 to i4o feet : the correctness of this estimate I
have since had an opportunity of proving. Of all the
trees of North America with deciduous leaves, the Tulip
Tree , next to the Button wood, attains the amplest di-
mensions ; while the perfect straightness and uniform
diameter of its trunk for upwards of 40 feet , the more
regular disposition of its branches , and the greater rich-
ness of its foliage , give it a decided superiority over the
Buttonwood , and entitle it to be considered as one of
the most magnificent vegetables of the temperate zones.
In the developement of its leaves, the Poplar differs
from most other trees. Leaf-buds , in general, are
composed of scales closely applied one upon another,
which, in the spring, are distended by the growth of
the minute bundle of leaves which they enclose , till
they finally fall. On some trees , these buds are without
scales , as for instance on the Butternut. On the Tulip

4o POPLAR, OR TULIP TREE.

Tree , the terminal bud of each shoot swells consider-
ably before it gives birth to the leaf : it forms an oval
sack which contains the young leaf, and which produces
it to the light only when it appears to have acquired
sufficient force to endure the influences of the atmos-
phere. Within this sack is found another , which , after
the first leaf is put forth, swells, bursts, and gives
birth to a second. On young and vigorous trees , five or
six leaves issue successively in this manner from one
sack. Till the leaf has acquired half its growth , it retains
the two lobes which composed its sack , and which are
now called stipulce.

In the spring, when the weather is warm and humid,
the growth of the leaves is very rapid : they are 6 or 8
inches broad , borne on long petioles , alternate , some-
what fleshy, smooth, and of a pleasing green colour.
They are divided into three lobes , of which the middle
one is horizontally notched at its summit , and the two
lower ones are rounded at the base. This conformation
is peculiar to the Tulip Tree, and renders it easily distin-
guishable in the summer. The flowers , which are large ,
brilliant , and on detached trees very numerous , are
variegated with different colours , among which yellow
predominates : they have an agreeable odour, and , sur-
rounded by luxuriant foliage , they produce a fine effect.
In the spring they are galhered by women and children
in the neighbourhood of New York , and sold in the
market of that city.

POPLAR, OR TULIP TREE. ^i

The fruit is composed of a great number of thin, nar-
row scales, attached to a common axis, and forming a
cone 2 or 3 inches in length. Each cone consists of
60 or 70 seeds , of which never more than a third, and
some seasons not more than seven or eight in the
whole number, are productive. It is also observed that
during ten years after it begins to yield fruit, almost all
the seeds of the Tulip Tree are unproductive, and that ,
on l#rge trees , the seeds from the highest branches are
the best.

The bark, till the trunk exceeds 7 or 8 inches in diam
eter, is smooth and even : it afterwards begins to crack,
and the depth of the furrow and the thickness of the
bark are proportioned to the size and to the age of the
tree.

The heart or perfect wood, of the Tulip Tree is yellow,
approaching to a lemomcolour, and its sap or alburnum
is white. Though this tree is classed as a light wood ,
it is much heavier than the Poplars ; its grain is equally
fine and more compact , and the wood is easily wrought
and polishes well. It is found strong and stiff enough
for uses that require great solidity. The heart , when
separated from the sap and perfectly seasoned, long
resists the influence of the air, and is said to be rarely
attacked by worms. Its greatest defect , when employed
in wide boards and exposed to the weather, is that
it is liable to shrink and warp by the alternations of
dryness and moisture : but this delect is in a great mea-

11. < 6

42 POPLAR, Gil TULI$ TREE.

sure compensated by its other properties. The nature of
the soil has so striking an influence upon the colour and
upon the quality of the Tulip wood, that the mechanics
who employ it have made the remark, and have distin-
guished it by the names of White Poplar and Yellow
Poplar. The external appearances which mark these va-
rieties are so equivocal , that it can be ascertained to
which a tree belongs only by cutting it. It is known in
general that the White Poplar grows in dry, gravelly,
and elevated places ; it is recognised too by its branchy
summit, and by the small proportion which the light
yellow heart bears to the sap. The grain also is coarser
and harder, and the wood decays more speedily;
hence it is always neglected when the other variety
can be obtained. The Yellow Poplar possesses every
quality requisite to fit it for so great a variety of uses ,
that I shall content myself with mentioning the most
common. At New York and Philadelphia, and in the
adjacent country, the Poplar is often employed, in the
construction of houses, for rafters and for the joists of
the upper stories , for which purposes it is esteemed on
account of its lightness and strength. In tire other Mid-
dle States, in the upper parts of the Carolinas , and
above all in the Western States , it is more generally
used in building, and is considered as the best substi-
tute for the Pine, the Red Cedar and the Cypress*
Wherever it abounds it serves for the interior work of
houses, and sometimes for the exterior covering , as I

POPLAR, OR TULIP TREE. 4^

observed in several small towns situated between Laurel
Hill and the Monongahela river. It is not easy in this
region to procure pine boards, which otherwise would
be preferred , as they do not , like those of Poplar , warp
when exposed to the weather. The pannels of doors and
of wainscots, and the mouldings of chimney-pieces are
made of Poplar. In the States of Ohio and Kentucky ,
on the banks of the Miami river, and in the upper part
of North Carolina, Poplar shingles about i5 inches long
are preferred for covering roofs , because they are the
most durable, and because they are not liable to split
by the effect either of intense frost or of ardent sun-
shine.

In all the large towns of the United States, Tulip Tree
or Poplar boards, which are often 2 or 3 feet wide, are
exclusively used for the pannels of coaches and chaises*
When perfectly dry , they receive paint well , and admit
of a brilliant polish; The vicinity of Boston does not pro*
duce this tree , and the coach-makers procure it from
New York and Philadelphia : it is also sent for the same
use to Charleston, S. C, where the Tulip Trees are few
in number and inferior in size. The seat of Windsor
chairs , which are fabricated at New York , Philadelphia
and Baltimore , and in many other towns , is always of
Poplar: a larger quantity of the wood than would be
supposed is consumed in this way, and also in the
manufacture of trunks which are covered with, skins „

44 POPLAR, OR TULIP TREE.

and of bed-steads which are stained in imitation of
mahogany. I have remarked that the circular board and
the wings of fanning-mills are of this wood ; as it is
easily wrought in the lathe , and is very light , it is much
used for wooden bowls : it is also preferred for the head
of hair brooms or sweeping brushes. The farmers choose
it for the eating and drinking troughs of cattle : these
troughs are formed of a single piece, and exposed to the
weather they last as long as those made of Chesnut and
of Butternut. In Kentucky I have seen the Tulip Tree em-
ployed for the rails of rural fence ; but I must confess my
inattention in not learning their duration. It is found
useful also in the construction of wooden bridges , as it
unites lightness with strength and durability. I have been
assured that the heart of the Poplar might be profitably
employed for the fellies of large mill-wheels. The Indians
who inhabited the Middle States , and those who still
remain in the western country, preferred this tree
for their canoes, which , consisting of a single trunk,
are very light and strong, and sometimes carry twenty
persons. In fine , the Poplar affords excellent charcoal ,
which is employed by smiths in districts that furnish
no fossile coal. In the lumber-yards of New York , Phila-
delphia and Baltimore , a great quantity of this wood is
found in forms convenient for the uses which I have
enumerated. It is very cheap , being sold at half the price
of Black Walnut , Wild Cherry and Curled Maple.

POPLAR, OR TULIP TREE. 4^

In all the country watered by the river Monongahela ,
between the 390 and 4o° of latitude , the Tulip Tree is so
abundant , that large raits , composed wholly of these
logs , are made to float down its stream. At Brownsville
they are sawn into boards, which are used in the environs ,
and even at Pittsburgh , in the construction of houses,
and which are sold at 10 dollars for t,ooo feet. I ob-
served that the mean diameter of the logs was from 12
to 1 5 inches; that of the largest was from 20 to 24
inches , and that of the smallest 9 or 10 inches : their
two extremities were of a dark blue colour. I have also
remarked that when a Poplar is felled , the chips of the
heart which are left upon the ground , particularly those
which are half buried in the leaves , suffer at the end of
three or four weeks a remarkable change ; the lower
part becomes of a deep blue , and they exhale a fetid ,
ammoniacal odour.

The live part or cellular integument of the bark which
covers the trunk of the Tulip Tree , the bark of the
branches , and still more that of the roots , has an
agreeable smell and a very bitter taste. In Virginia, some
inhabitants of the country steep the bark of these roots,
with an equal portion of Dogwood bark, in brandy
daring eight days : two glasses of this tincture , taken
every day , sometimes cure intermittent fevers. Poplar
bark, reduced to powder and given in substance to
horses , appears to be a pretty certain remedy for
worms.

4$ POPLAR, OR TULIP TREE.

The American Museum for December, 1792, con-
tains circumstantial details concerning the valuable pro-
perties ascribed to this bark by Dr. Young of Philadel-
phia. I shall recall what he has written on this subject ■
though these properties have since been denied by other
physicians in the United States, and though the use of
this bark is not general in the country, and is unknown
in the capitals , where the faculty are most enlightened.
In Dr. Young's opinion , the most proper time to gather
the Poplar bark for medical use is the month of Janu-
ary. He asserts that it is more bitter than the Peruvian
bark, though less astringent , and that it possesses some
properties in common with the acrid aromatics; whence
he concludes that it is a powerful tonic and antiseptic :
the aromatic principle appears to reside in a resinous part
of its substance , which stimulates the intestinal canal,
and which operates as a gentle cathartic. In many in-
stances the stomach cannot support it, unless each dose
is accompanied by a few drops of laudanum. In inter-
mittent fevers , when taken after the biliary ducts have
been evacuated by an emetic , it is often found equal to
the Peruvian bark. In remitting fevers it is used with as
great success as in intermitting fevers , and in one ins-
tance it was found to operate more successfully than
the Peruvian bark. In inflammatory disorders , where
the phlogistic diathesis is not very strongly marked , and
where a weakness of arterial action has taken place,
it gives tone and vigour to the stomach. United with

POPLAR, OR TULIP TREE. 4y

laudanum , it has frequently dissipated the alarming
symptoms of pulmonary consumption when attended
with nightly sweats and diarrhea. A person afflicted with
catarrh complicated with dyspepsia, which had resisted
the best chosen remedies, was perfectly cured by this
bark. Dr. Young also assures us that there is not in the
whole materia medica a more certain and efficacious
remedy in hysterical affections than the bark of Poplar
roots combined with a small quantity of laudanum ;
that taken after the first passages have been evac-
uated , it is a specific in cholera infantium; in fine, that
it is an excellent remedy for worms. It is given in
aqueous extract, either in the form of infusion or
of decoction , but it is most efficacious when taken in
substance : the dose for an adult is from one scruple to
two drachms.

In Paris , a spirituous liquor is made from the fresh
bark of Poplar roots , with the addition of a sufficient
quantity of sugar to render it agreeable to the taste.

The Tulip Tree was introduced into Europe 60 years
ago , and many stocks of this species , more than 5o feet
high, exist in France, Germany and England, which
are annually covered with myriads of flowers, and
which yield productive seeds. It has been so widely
spread within i5 years, that there are few country seats
where it it is not found; and , by the fine form of its
trunk , by the richness and singularity of its foliage ,
and by the beauty of its flowers , it is eminently fitted to

48 POPLAR, OR TULIP TREE.

adorn them. It is to be desired , on account of the
excellent qualities and diversitied uses of its wood ,
that it should be multiplied also in our forests.

PLATE LXI.

A branch , with leaves and a flower of the natural size.
Fig. i , A cone of the natural size. Fig. 2 , A seed of the
natural size.

J>. J. ReJoute </*/■

Oal'vie/ i

Sweet Gweq
/ ujwxlambar sli/raci/hia

*.ViiVv*VvwvvvvVv*'v*vv\%\ iwf

SWEET GUM.

Monaecia Polyandria. Lihw. Amentacae. Jnss.

Liquidambar styraciflua. L. folus palmaiis , lobis acu-
minatis , dentatis ; axillis nervorum villosis.

No tree has hitherto been found in North America
so extensively diffused as the Sweet Gum. On the sea-
shore it is first seen , towards the north-east , between
Portsmouth and Boston , in the latitude of 43° 3o', and
it is found as far as Old Mexico, towards the south-west :
from the coast of Virginia it extends westward to the
Illinois river, thus spreading over more than two thirds
of the ancient territory of the United States , together
with the two Floridas , Upper and Lower Louisiana ,
and a great part of New Spain.

In the United States this tree is universally called
Sweet Gum, and by the French of Louisiana, Copalm. In
the Middle , Western and Southern States , the Sweet
Gum is sufficiently multiplied to be numbered among
the most common trees : it is met with wherever the
soil is fertile , cool and exposed to temporary inunda-
tions, and is usually seen in company with the Maple, the
Tupelo , the Swamp White Oak , the Shagbark Hickory
and the Butternut. In the South , it grows also in the
great Swamps which border the rivers , and here ,
owing doubtless to the mildness of the winter and to

■»

u.

5o SWEET GUM.

the intense heat of the summer , it displays its amplest
dimensions. The largest Sweet Gum that I have observed
was in a swamp , 4 or 5 miles from Augusta in Georgia :
at 5 feet from the ground it was i5 feet 7 inches in cir-
cumference; it ramified at the height of 1 5 or 18 feet ,
and its summit was spacious in proportion to the thick-
ness of its trunk. The soil in which it grew was rich and
constantly moist , and abounded particularly in the
Chesnut White Oak, Willow Oak, Wahoo, Black Gum ,
Red Maple , Red Ash , and Black Ash.

From the form of a single tree it is not to be concluded
that the Sweet Gum generally branches at so small an
elevation. When confined amidst other trees , its trunk,
like that of the Oak, the Elm and the Poplar, is per-
fectly straight and of an uniform size to the height of
3o or 4° feet , at which it begins to divide itself into
branches : in these situations it is usually from 1 to 2
feet in diameter. As the Sweet Gum is profusely multi-
plied, it is often found on soils unpropitious to its
growth. On dry and gravelly land its height does not
exceed i5, 20 andSofeet, and its secondary branches
are covered with a dry and flaky bark , of which the
plates are attached by the edge, instead of the face as on
other trees.

The Sweet Gum is garnished with fine foliage , which
changes to a dull red with the first autumnal frosts ,
and falls soon after. The shoots upon which the young
leaves appear in the spring are smooth and of a yellow-

SWEET GU M. 5i

ish green colour. The leaves vary in size from 5 to 6
inches , according to the vigour of the tree and to the
situation of the leaf, being larger and less deeply pair
mated on the lower branches : they are alternate , petio-
tated , and divided into five principal lobes : in this last
particular they bear some resemblance to the leaves of
the Sugar Maple and of the Norway Maple, from which
they differ in having the lobes deeper and more regul-
arly shaped, and in being finely denticulated at the
edge. It should be remarked also that , at the birth of
the leaves , the back part of the principal rib is sur-
rounded by a small tuft of red down. In warm weather
a viscous substance exudes from the leaves of such of
these trees as grow upon dry grounds ; when bruised ,
they exhale a sensible , aromatic odour.

The barren and fertile flowers are borne by different
branches of the same tree. The fertile flowers are not
conspicuous, and the barren ones are in oval aments an
inch and a half in length. The fruit is globular and brist-
ling with points : when arrived at maturity , it is about
an inch and a half in diameter, and is suspended by a
flexible pedicle , i or 2 inches long : the globes , which
are green at first and afterwards yellow , are composed
of a great number of closely connected capsules. At the
beginning of autumn these capsules open and give liberty
to the seeds , which are small , blackish , oblong , com-
pressed and surmounted by awing. Each capsule con-
tains one or two seeds united with a great number of

52 SWEET GUM.

minute bodies incapable of germination, resembling
oaken saw dust.

The trunk of the full grown tree is covered with a
deeply furrowed bark , not unlike that of several species
of Oak. Sweet Gums are found of the same size and
on the same soil , some of which have a large propor-
tion of sap and only 5 or 6 inches of heart , while others
consist principally of perfect wood , with only a thin
layer of sap. The heart is reddish , and when sawn into
boards it is observed to be transversely marked at con-
siderable distances with blackish belts. This wood is very
compact and fine grained , and is susceptible of a bright
polish. Though inferior in strength to the Oak , it suf-
fices for many purposes which require great toughness
and solidity. At Philadelphia , when perfectly seasoned
and stript of the sap , it is used in building in the inte-
rior of houses, and especially for the joists of the upper
stories : when employed with these precautions , it lasts
longer than any species of Red Oak. As it furnishes
boards of i or 3 feet in width, it is sometimes sawn very
thin , and employed by cabinet makers to line the in-
side of certain articles of mahogany furniture : its light-
ness , the fineness of its grain , and its reddish complex-
ion , render it peculiarly proper for this purpose.

In the country , furniture was formerly made of
the Sweet Gum , which , when preserved with care ,
was not destitute of beauty , though inferior to the
Black Walnut and the Wild Cherry wood , which are

SWE3ET GUM. 53

harder and less easily defaced. At Philadelphia the Sweet
Gum is preferred for small, oval or round picture
frames, which are died black; it serves also, though
less frequently than the Wild Cherry Tree and the
Curled Maple , for bedsteads and for the balusters of
staircases. At New York it is commonly taken for coffins.
In a word , the Sweet Gum , however inferior in quality
to the Black Walnut , may be usefully employed in all
wqrk that is sheltered from the air , without which pre-
caution it speedily decays. It is little esteemed for fuel ,
and , mixed with other species of no greater value , it
forms the lowest quality of wood in the market.

In summer, upon cutting the live bark and at the
same time slightly wounding the sap of the Sweet Gum,
a resinous substance of an agreeable odour distils in
small quantities : in repeated experiments made in Ca-
rolina, I was never able to collect from a tree of a foot
in diameter more than half an ounce in a fortnight.

All that has been said of the properties and uses of
the wood of the Sweet Gum, proves its inferiority to
that of many other trees. Probably when the attention
of the American proprietors becomes engaged in the
composition of artificial forests , they will give the pre-
ference to other more useful species , reserving of the
Sweet Gum only a small number of the most vigorous
stocks.

In Europe , this tree has for many years grown in the
open field ; but , though it exceeds the height at which

54 SWEET GUM.

it fructifies in the United States , it has not yet yielded
seed , and for this reason it is not extensively multiplied.
It deserves to be more generally diffused in parks and
gardens, on account of the agreeable tint and singular
form of its leaves.

PLATE LVIL

A branch, with a leaf of the natural size. Fig. i ,,
Fruit of the natural size. Fig. i , A seed of the natural size,
Fig. 3 , Barren dust which accompanies the seed.

M.6B.

JI. J. Medoufe' ptiur-

Gahritt %re.

Button Wood .
Platanw occidentals

BUTTON WOOD, or SYCAMORE.

Monaecia Monandria. Lisn. Amentacae. Juss.

Platanus occidentals. P. foliis lobalo-angulosis , ramu-
Hs albentibus.

Among trees with deciduous leaves , none in the tem-
perate zones , either on the Old or the New Continent ,
equals the dimensions of the planes. The species which
grows in the Western World is not less remarkable for
its amplitude and for its magnificent appearance than
the Plane of Asia , whose majestic form and extraor-
dinary size were so much celebrated by the ancients.

In the Atlantic States this tree is commonly known
by the name of Buttonwood, and sometimes, in Virgi-
nia, by that of Water Beech. On the banks of the Ohio,
and in the States of Kentucky and Tennessee , it is most
frequently called Sycamore , and by some persons Plane
Tree. The French of Canada and of Upper Louisiana
give it the name of Cotton Tree. The first of these deno-
minations appears to be the most widely diffused, and
not to be entirely unknown in those districts where the
others are habitually employed ; for this reason I have
adopted it , though a less appropriate appellation than
that of Plane Tree.

According to my own observations, the Buttonwood
does not venture, towards the north-east, beyond Port-

56 BUTTONWOOD, OB SYCAMORE.

land , in the latitude of 4-0° 3o'; but farther west, in the
73° of longitude, it is found two degrees farther north ,
at the extremity of Lake Champlain and at Montreal.
I have not observed it myself , in this direction , beyond
Onion river in Vermont , and I have never seen it in
the District of Maine, nor in Nova Scotia. The trees of
this species which exist at Halifax have been planted for
ornament , and , though they are 40 feet in height , they
do not display the same vigour as in a more southern
latitude , where the winter is less rigorous. Proceeding
from Boston and the shores of Lake Champlain towards
the west and the south-west , the Buttonwood is con-
tinually met with over a vast tract , comprising the At-
lantic and Western States , and extending beyond the
Mississippi.

The nature of the Buttonwood confines it to moist
and cool grounds, where the soil is loose, deep and
fertile : the luxuriance of its vegetation depends upon
the union of these circumstances. It is never found
upon dry lands of an irregular surface among the
White and Red Oaks and the Walnuts : it is also more
rare in all the mountainous tract of the Alleghanies than
in the flat country. It is remarked in that part of Vir-
ginia which lies upon the road from Baltimore to Peters-
burgh, that, though the Buttonwood is multiplied in
the swamps, its growth is stinted , and that it does not
in general exceed 8 or 10 inches in diameter. Farther
south, in the lower parts of the Carolinas and of Georgia,

BUTTONWOOD, OR SYCAMORE. 5j

it is not abundant even on the sides of the rivers , and
is not seen in the branch-swamps already mentioned ,■
which intersect the pine-barrens , and which are princi-
pally covered with the Small Magnolia , the Red Bay,
the Loblolly Bay, the Red Maple, etc. The cause of the
Buttonwood's not being found in these small marshes
is, perhaps, that the layer of vegetable mould , which is
black and always miry, is not sufficiently thick and sub-
stantial to support its growth , and that the heat , in
this part of the Southern States, is long continued and
excessive. The Buttonwood is in no part of North Ame-
rica more abundant and more vigorous than along the
great rivers of Pennsylvania and of Virginia; though, in
the more fertile vallies of the West , its vegetation is
perhaps still more luxuriant , especially on the banks of
the Ohio and of the rivers which empty into it, viz.
the Great Muskingum, the Great Kenhaway, the Great
Scioto, the Kentucky, the Wabash, etc. The bottoms
which are watered by these rivers are covered with dark
forests , composed of trees of an extraordinary size.
The soil is very deep, loose, of a brown colour, and
unctuous to the touch : it appears to have been formed
by the slime deposited in the course of ages , at the an-
nual overflowing of the rivers. The leaves, which every
autumn form a thick layer upon the surface , and the
old trees that fall by the weight of years and crumble
into vegetable mould, give to this soil, already so fer-
tile , a degree of fecundity which is without example in
ii. 3

58 BUTTONWOOD, OR SYCAMORE.

Europe , and which is manifested by prodigies of vege-
tation.

The margin of the great rivers of the West is occu-
pied by the Willow, after which comes the White
Maple, and next the Buttonwood : but this arrangement
is not uniformly observed , and the Maple alone, or , as
it more frequently happens , mingled with the Button-
wood , sometimes grows upon the brink. Among the
trees which compose these forests , these three species
are least liable to injury from the continued presence of
water , and by their position they are exposed to have
their bases every year inundated by the swelling of the
rivers. In these situations, the Buttonwood is constantly
found to be the loftiest and largest tree of the United
States. Often , with a trunk of several feet in diameter ,
it begins to ramify at the height of 60 or 70 feet, near
the summit of the other trees ; and often the base
divides itself into several trunks equally vigorous and
superior in diameter to all the surrounding trees.

On a little island in the Ohio, i5 miles above the
mouth of the Muskingum, my father measured a Button-
wood which , at 5 feet from the ground , was 4o feet
and 4 inches in circumference , and consequently more
than i3 feet in diameter. Twenty years before, General
Washington had measured the same tree , and found it
to be of nearly the same size.

In 1802 , in a journey through the Western States , I
found on the right bank of the Ohio , 36 miles from

BUTTONWOOD, OxR SYCAMORE. &)

Marietta, a Buttonwood whose base was swollen in an
extraordinary manner : my travelling companion and
myself measured it , and at 4 feet from the ground we
found it to be 47 feet in circumference. This tree , which
still exhibited the appearance of vigorous vegetation ,
ramified at 20 feet from the ground. A Buttonwood of
equal size is mentioned as existing in Genesee. The as-
tonishing dimensions of these trees recall the famous
Plane Tree of Lycia, spoken of by Pliny , whose trunk ,
hollowed by. time, afforded a retreat for the night to
the Roman Consul Licinius Mutianus , with eighteen
persons of his retinue. The interior of this grotto was
75 feet in circumference , and the summit of the tree
resembled a small forest.

The most striking resemblance, in the majesty ol their
form and in the enormous size of their trunk, thus ap-
pears to exist between the only two species of Plane
that have hitherto been discovered. The American
species is generally thought , in Europe , to possess a
richer foliage, and to afford a deeper shade than the
Asiatic Plane : its leaves are of a beautiful green, alter-
nate , from 5 to 10 inches broad, less deeply lobed , and
formed with more open angles than those of the Plane
of the Eastern Continent. In the spring , the lower sur-
face of these leaves is covered with a thick down , which
disappears towards summer. In certain districts where
this tree is very abundant, its vicinity is a source of alarm
lo the inhabitants : they believe that the fine down from

6r> BUTTONWOOD, OB SYCAMORE:

its leaves, floating in the air, produces an irritation of
the lungs and a disposition to consumption. This appre-
hension I consider as a popular error; for the slightest
zephyr suffices to waft to a distance , and to disperse in
the airy waste this light and impalpable substance.

The sexes are separate on the Buttonwood , but the
male and female flowers are attached to the same ped-
uncle, instead of being placed on different branches.
The flowers are in the form of small balls : the fertile
ones grow to the diameter of an inch, and are supported
by peduncles 2 or 3 inches long. These balls fall in the
course of the winter and autumn, and, parting asunder,
the seeds which compose them are scattered in the
wind, by means of the plumy tuft by which they are
surmounted.

The trunk and branches of the Buttonwood are cover-
ed with a smooth , pale green bark , of which the epider-
mis detaches itself every year in portions : a sufficiently
obvious character is thus afforded, by which to distin-
guish the tree when bared of its leaves. The roots when
taken from the earth are of a beautiful red colour ; but
they loose this tint upon being split and exposed to the
light in a dry place. The con centrical layers and the me-
dullary rays are also observed to be much more distinct
in the roots than in the body of the tree. In clearing
new lands it is sometimes difficult to eradicate the But-
tonwood : the stumps , during a long time, give birth to
fresh shoots, but, when once dead, they speedily decay.

BUTTONWOOD, OR SYCAMORE. 6 1

The Buttonwood , in seasoning , becomes of a dull
red : its grain is fine and close , and it is susceptible of a
brighter polish than the wood of the Beech, to which
it bears some resemblance. Its concentrical circles are
divided into numerous sections , by fine medullary
rays extending from the centre to the circumference.
When the trunk is sawn in a direction parallel to
these rays, they appear larger than when it is cut
parallel to the concentrical circles. It should seem then
that the division should be made in an intermediate
direction, so that the spots may be of a proper size
and at equal distances , which gives an elegant surface
to the wood.

Cabinet-makers, at Philadelphia, rarely make use of
the Buttonwood : they attribute to it the defect of easily
warping, which does not belong to the Wild Cherry and
to the Black Walnut. As these species of wood are also
harder and of a more durable polish , the Buttonwood
is little used except for bedsteads , which retain the
colour of the wood and are coated with varnish.

The Buttonwood speedily decays when exposed to the
atmosphere , hence it is proper only for work that is
sheltered from the weather ; when thoroughly seasoned,
it may be usefully employed in the interior of houses
for joists, and for sheathing the frame. It never enters
into the construction of vessels. The French of Illinois
and of Post Vincennes, on the river Wabash , some-
times fashion it into canoes, one of which , made a few

62 BUTTON WOOD, OR SYCAMORE.

years since on this river , of a single Buttonwood , was
65 feet long, and carried 9,000 pounds.

It is difficult to mark the difference between the two
species of Plane in the colour and organisation of their
wood. If the excellencies which were ascribed by the
ancients to the wood of the Plane are not recognised in
that of the Buttonwood , it is perhaps owing to the great
variety of timber proper for building, which is furnished
by the soil of the United States, and to the superiority,
in cabinet-making , of mahogany, which is obtained
with facility from the West Indies.

The Asiatic and American Planes have been many
years cultivated in Europe : the rapid growth and ma-
jestic appearance of these trees render them proper for
adorning extensive parks and gardens, and for forming
the avenues leading to large towns. In the United States,
where the atmosphere is more humid than in Europe r
they would perfectly fulfil this destination in all situa-
tions where the soil is not too dry. Their rich and shady
foliage is free from the inconvenience of being devoured
by caterpillars, which in North America, still more than
in Europe , infest the Elm and the Cherry Tree.

PLATE LXIII.

A leaf of a third of the natural size. Fig. 1 , Flowers*
Fig. 2 ? Fruit at maturity. Fig. 3 , A seed*

:

6aJ,rs/ ./V

Calalpa
/j/a/io/ua calalpa

^^^vvvv»vvv^v^v\^\v^vv\lvv>v^vvvl(vv^av\'^v^'vv^<•.v^vv^vv^vvv^\\vvv<»v^vv^'vvvv\^^.v^^\^r^^vv\^v^^^vv\\^^v^vv^vv^vv^

CATALPA.

Didynamia Angiospermia. Linw. Bignonis. Joss.

IBignonia catalpa. B. foHis simplicibus , ternis , cordatis 4
paniculd laocissimd; Jloribus diandiis , intiis maculis pur-
pureas et luteis aspersis; capsuld gracili, longd } tereti.

In the Atlantic States , the Catalpa begins to be found
in the forests on the banks of the river Savannah, near
Augusta in Georgia , and west of the Alleghanies , on
those of the Cumberland , between the 55th and 36th
degrees of latitude. Farther south it is more common ,
and abounds near the borders of all the rivers which
empty into the Mississippi, or which water the province
of West Florida. I have been assured that it is particul-
arly abundant on the Escambia or Conechu, which dis-
charges itself at Pensacola. It is remarkable that the
Catalpa should not exist in the lower part of the Caro-
linas and of Georgia , and in East Florida , which lie so
near the country of its natural growth, and where stocks
that have been planted for ornament about the houses
shoot with extraordinary vigour.

In these southern regions it frequently exceeds 5o
feet in height , with a diameter from 18 to 24 inches. It
is easily recognized by its bark , which is of a silver-grey
and but slightly furrowed , by its ample leaves , and by

64 CATALPA.

its wide spreading summit, disproportioned in size to
the diameter of its trunk. It differs from other trees
also by the fewness of its branches.

The leaves are heart-shaped, petiolated, often 6 or
7 inches in width, glabrous above and downy beneath ,
particularly on the principal ribs ; they are late in ven-
turing out in the spring , and are among the first to
shrink at the approach of autumn. The flowers , which
are collected in large bunches at the extremity of the
branches , are white , with violet, and yellow spots , and
are beautiful and showy. The capsules are cylindrical
and pendent , of a brown colour when ripe, 3 or 4
lines in diameter and 12 or 1 5 inches in length.

The seeds are thin , flat , and enveloped in a long ,
narrow , membraneous wing terminated by a hairy
tuft. Each seed, with its wing, is about an inch long,
and a line and a half broad.

That the Catalpa is a tree of rapid growth is proved
by the distance of the annual concentrical circles. Its
wood is of a greyish white colour, of a fine texture,
very light, and very brilliant when polished. It resembles
the Butternut wood , with this exception , that the But-
ternut wood is of a reddish hue , and is less durable
when exposed to the weather. Posts of the Catalpa per-
fectly seasoned have been recently proved to be very
lasting , by experiments made in the United States.
Such is the information which I have been able to col-
lect concerning the wood of this tree : I have never

CAT A LP A. 65

visited the thinly inhabited regions in which it
abounds.

In the spring , if a bit of the cellular integument of
the Catalpa bark is removed, a venomous and offensive
odour is exhaled. In a thesis supported at the Medical
College of Philadelphia, this bark is maintained to be
tonick, stimulant, and more powerfully antiseptic than
the Peruvian bark : but this thesis appears to be unde-
serving of the same confidence with the treatise, already
mentioned, concerning the Dogwood, in which the au-
thor affords proofs of sound and various information.
I have been assured that the honey collected from the
flowers of this tree is poisonous, and that its effects,
though less alarming , are analogous to those of the
honey of the Yellow Jasmine, Geselminum nitidum.

In the Carolinas and in Georgia the Catalpa is called
Catawbaw Tree, after the name of an Indian tribe
that formerly inhabited a large part of these States, and
from whose territory the tree was probably first pro-
cured : the name of Catalpa, adopted in the Middle
Section of the United States and in Europe , is perhaps
a corruption of this original. The French of Upper
Louisiana call it Bois Shavanon , from the Shavanon or
Shawanee nation which once existed in West Tennessee,
on the borders of the river of this name, called by the
English the Cumberland. The Catalpa has long been
cultivated with success in Europe, though in the climate
of Paris its young shoots sometimes suffer by the late
II. q

66 CATALPA.

frosts. Its rapid growth, the remarkable size of its leaves,
and the beauty of its numerous bunches of flowers
entitle the Gatalpa to a distinguished place among orna-
mental trees ; but it has ceased to be rare , and is less
highly esteemed than while it was less common.

PLATE LXIV.

A leaf and a bunch of flowers of the natural size. Fig. i,
A vod. Fig. 2 , A seed.

77. 66.

Btwa tifl ' ■

Crab Apple.

Malu<r coronaria

«tvv»wt *v\ \

> vw-vv^wvwuVMnrt

CRAB APPLE.

Icosandria pentagynia. Linn. Bosac;e. Juss.

Malus coronaria. M. foliis lato-ovalibus , basi rotunda-
tis, sub-angulatis , serratis , nitide glabris ; pedunculis
corymbosis ; fructupano , odorato.

A species of Wild Apple Tree is found in North
America , whose nature has not yet been modified by
cultivation. The Wild Apple Tree of Europe, in a long
series of years , has yielded a great number of species
and varieties of fruit , which, in France alone, amount
to nearly three hundred. Except the District of Maine ,
the State of Vermont, and the upper part of New
Hampshire , the Crab Apple is found, on both sides of
the mountains , throughout the United States : but it
appears to be most multiplied in the Middle States, and
especially in the back parts of Pennsylvania and of Vir-
ginia. It abounds, above all, in the Glades, which is the
name given to a tract i5 or 18 miles wide, on the sum-
mit of the Alleghanies, along the road from Philadelphia
to Pittsburgh.

The ordinary height of the Crab Apple Tree is i5 of
i 8 feet , with a diameter of 5 or 6 inches ; but it is some-
times found 25 or 3o feet high, and \i or i5 inches in
diameter. The two stocks which I found by measure-

C8 CRAB APPLE.

merit to be of this size, stood in a field which had long
been under cultivation , and this circumstance may have
contributed to their extraordinary growth. They were
insulated trees that in appearance exactly resembled the
common Apple Tree. I have universally remarked that
the Crab Apple grows most favourably in cool and moist
places , and on fertile soils.

The leaves of this tree are oval, smooth on the upper
surface , and , when fully developed , very distinctly
toothed : some of them are imperfectly three-lobed.
While young they have a bitter and slightly aromatick
taste, which leads me to believe that , with the addition
of sugar, they would make an agreeable tea. Like the
common Apple Tree , this species blooms very early in
the spring. Its flowers are white mingled with rose
colour, and are collected in corymbs ; they produce a
beautiful effect, and diffuse a delicious odour, by which,
in the Glades where the tree is abundant , the air is per-
fumed to a great distance. The apples , which are sus-
pended by short peduncles, are small, green , intensely
acid, and very odoriferous. Some farmers make cider
of them , which is said to be excellent : they make very
fine sweet-meats also , by the addition of a large quan-
tity of sugar.

No attempts have been made in the United States to
improve the fruit of the Crab Apple Tree , nor any ex-
periments of uniting it, by grafting, with the species
imported from Europe. These species succeed so per-

crab apple: 69

fectly, and furnish such excellent new varieties, that
much time would be spent upon the Crab Apple, with-
out bringing it to as high a state of improvement. Per-
haps it might be cultivated with advantage for cider ;
but , aside from its utility in this way , it must be re-
garded only as a tree highly agreeable for the beauty of
its flowers and for the sweetness of its perfume.

PLATE LXV.

A branch with leaves and fruit of the natural size. Fig. 1 ,
A bunch of flowers.

%%* vVVViWUVVV WWW V

JUNE BERRY.

Icosandria pentagynia. Linn. Rosaca. Juss.

Mespilus abbobea. M. folds sub-ovalibus , seiratis ; aduU
lis glabris; racemo sirnplici, elongato; Jlorifero lanuloso ;
petalis oblongis ; jructibus atropurpureis , edulibus.

Mespilus canadensis. A. Mich. Flor. Bor. Am.

With the exception of the maritime parts of the
Carolinas and of Georgia , this tree is spread over the
whole extent of the United States and of Canada ; but
it is most multiplied upon the Alleghany mountains ,
and upon the elevated banks of the rivers which flow
from them. In the Northern Section of the Union it is
called Wild Pear Tree , and in the Middle States , June
Berry ; which latter name I have adopted because it is
universally employed in the regions where the tree is
most abundant, because it indicates that in maturing its
fruit it is among the earliest trees, and because the Mes-
pilus arborea is remote from all resemblance to the Wild
Pear Tree.

In the vicinity of New York and Philadelphia, the
June Berry appears to grow of preference in moist and
shady situations , and along the margin of brooks and
rivulets. In the Western Country, it is found in the
midst of the forest among the Oaks , the Walnuts , the

June Berry.

JUNE BERRY. 71

Maples, etc. Here also it readies its greatest height,
which does not exceed 35 or 4o feet , with a diameter
of 10 or 12 inches.

The leaves of the June Berry are 2 or 3 inches long,
and alternately arranged. When beginning to open ,
they are covered with a thick , silvery down , which
disappears with their growth, and leaves them per-
fectly smooth on both sides. They are of a lengthened
oval shape, of a delicate texture , and finely denticul-
ated. The flowers, which are white and pretty large,
are disposed in long panicles at the summit of the
branches ; they blow in the beginning of April , and are
succeeded by small fruit of a purplish colour and of an
agreeable, sweet taste. This fruit, of which the largest
tree rarely yields more than half a pound , is ripe in the
beginning of June , before that of any other tree or
shrub. It is sometimes brought to the market of Phila-
delphia , where it is bought only by children : I have
also seen small quantities of it exposed in the market of
Pittsburgh.

The trunk of the June Berry is covered with a bark
resembling that of the Cherry Tree. Its wood is of a
pure white, and exhibits no difference between the
heart and the sap ; it is longitudinally traversed by small,
bright , red vessels , which intersect each other and run
together. This peculiarity , which deserves the attention
of vegetable physiologists , is also observable in the Red
Birch.

72 JUNE BERRY.

The fruit of this tree is , in my opinion , too small
and too scanty to reward the pains of meliorating the
taste and of increasing the volume by long continued
cultivation ; but its early and beautiful flowers entitle it
to notice as an ornamental vegetable.

PLATE LXVI.

A branch, with leaves and fruit of the natural size.
Fig. 1, Flowers of the natural size.

Pl.jrj

(mind .

Dwarf Rose Bay .

Jihododendrum maaunum .

av^^\\'v\^\^^vv^'V\^^^^vv^'VVvvv^'VV^'VVVVV>\^'M.^^v^'Vv^/vv^v\^vv\vv^vvvv\^\^'»'v\\'vv>fvvvv\vvv\v^v\v\iVV\/\\\'VV^vv^^'v*

DWARF ROSE BAY.

Decandria monogynia. Linn. Rosacea;. Jtrss.

Rhododendrum maximum. R. arborescens; foliis subcu-
neato-oblongis , abrupte-acummatis , crassis , coriaceis ,
glabris; calicibus laciniis , ovalibus , obiusis ; corolla sub-
campanulatd.

The Dwarf Rose Ray generally presents itself in the
form of a shrub, of less than 10 feet in height; but as it
sometimes rises to the height of 20 or a5 feet , with a
diameter of 4 or 5 inches, its diffusion throughout a
large part of the United States , and the remarkable
beauty of its flowers have induced me to describe it.

The west end of Long Island , and the river Hudson
below the Highlands, maybe considered as the limit, far
beyond which the Dwarf Red Ray ceases to be found in
the forests. It is abundant, on the contrary, in the
Middle States , and in the upper parts, particularly in
the mountainous tracts, of the Southern Section. It is
almost exclusively seen on the borders of creeks and
rivers, and is observed to be more multiplied in ap-
proaching the Alleghanies , till , in the midst of these
ranges , especially in Virginia , it becomes so abundant
on the sides of the torrents, as to form impenetrable
thickets, in which the bear finds a secure retreat from
the pursuit of the dogs and of the hunters.

n. 10

74 DWARF ROSE BAY.

Deeply shaded situations, in the -vicinity of cool and
crystal waters flowing among rocks , where the atmos-
phere is laden with vapour , are the most congenial to
the Dwarf Rose Bay and to the Mountain Laurel. Shade
and humidity seem to be indispensible to the Dwarf
Rose Bay, for it flourishes among the White Cedars in
the gloomy swamps of Lower Jersey, where the surface
of the miry soil is carpeted with moss constantly sur-
charged with moisture.

When the leaves of the Dwarf Rose Bay are begin-
ning to unfold themselves they are rose-coloured, and
are covered with red down ; when fully expanded they
are smooth, 5 or 6 inches long, of an elongated oval
form , and of a thick , coriaceous texture. They are
ever-green , and are partially renewed once in 3 or 4
years.

The flowers are commonly rose coloured, with yellow
dots on the inside, and sometimes they are perfectly
white. They are always collected at the extremity of the
branches in beautiful groups, which derive additional
lustre from the foliage which surrounds them.

The seeds are extremely minute , and are contained
in capsules that open in the fall, for their escape.

The wood of the Dwarf Rose Bay is hard , compact
and fine grained ; but it is inferior in these respects to
that of the Mountain Laurel. I do not know that it is
appropriated to any use.

This shrub has long existed in Europe ; but as it re-

DWARF ROSE RAY. >]5

quires a cooler and more shady exposure, and more
assiduous culture than the Rhododendrum ponticum ;
which is a native of the Alps and of the Pyrennees , it is
less extensively multiplied. The Dwarf Piose Bay with
white flowers is only a variety of the species I have been
describing.

PLATE LXVIL

A branch, with leaves and flowers of the natural size.
Fig. i , A seed vessel. Fig. 2 , Seeds.

%V»<V\AVV»IVV\/VV%AWVVVVYV\X\\VX<VV»<VVVVV\AWVVVV^VVV\^V\/VV\W^

MOUNTAIN LAUREL.

Decandria monogynia. Linn. Rosacea:. Juss.

Kalmia latifolia. K. arborcscens ; foliis pctiolatis ovali-
bus, corlaceis , glahris ; corymbis terminalibus , viscidb-
puberulis.

The Mountain Laurel is a large shrub , which , if its
height alone is considered , appears, like the preceding
species, to be excluded from the class of vegetables
which I have assumed the province of describing more
particularly than has been done by preceding authors ;
but the uses which are beginning to be made of its
wood entitle it to our notice. It bears indifferently
the names of Mountain Laurel, Laurel , Ivy, and Calico
Tree.

The west end of Long Island, and the vicinity of
Poughkeepsie , which lies on the river Hudson , between
the /p0 and 4-5° of latitude, may be considered as nearly
the northern limit of the Mountain Laurel. I have never
seen it on the shores of Lake Champlain , nor on the
banks of the river Mohawk , where , in situations
otherwise congenial, its growth is probably forbidden
by the severity of the winter. It abounds in New Jersey,
and covers Weehock Hill , nearly opposite to the city of

PI 68.

y

'( w

Jte^scL del

Mountain Laurel

Kabnia latifolia .

i&riel \-u/e

MOUNTAIN LAUREL. 77

New York. It grows also near the Schuylkill , in the
immediate neighbourhood of Philadelphia. Proceeding
thence towards the south-west , it is found along the
steep banks of all the rivers which rise in the Alle-
ghany mountains ; but it is observed to become less
common in following these streams from their source ,
towards the Ohio and Mississippi on one side , and
towards the Ocean on the other. It is rare in Kentucky
and in West Tennessee , and in the Southern States it
disappears entirely when the rivers enter the low coun-
try , where the pine-barrens commence.

Although the Mountain Laurel abounds along the
rivers of the Middle and Southern States, it is propor-
tionally less common than upon the Alleghany Moun-
tains, from Pennsylvania to the termination of the chain
in Georgia. I have no where seen it more profusely
multiplied, nor of a greater height and more luxuriant
vegetation , than in North Carolina, on the loftiest part
of the Alleghanies. It occupies tracts of more than ioo
acres , and forms upon the summit , and for a third
of the distance down the sides, thickets 18 or 20 feet
in height, which are rendered nearly impenetrable by
the crooked and unyielding trunks , crossed and locked
with each other. As the shrubs which compose these
copses are of an uniform height, and richly laden
with ever-green foliage , they present , at a distance ,
the appearance of verdant meadows, surrounded by tall
trees.

78 MOUNTAIN LAUREL.

The leaves of the Mountain Laurel are of a coriaceous
texture, oval-acuminate, entire, and about 3 inches
long. The flowers , which are destitute of odour , are
disposed in corymbs at the extremity of the branches :
in general they are of a beautiful rose colour , and
sometimes of a pure white. They are always numer-
ous , and their brilliant effect is heightened by the
richness of the surrounding foliage ; hence this shrub
is in great request for the embellishment of gardens.
The minute seeds are contained in small , globular-
capsules.

On the declivities of the Alleghanies , in North Caro-
lina , where I have observed the largest Mountain Lau-
rels, the trunk is generally 5 inches in diameter. The
wood , particularly that of the roots , is compact , fine
grained , and marked with red lines. When dry it is
very hard, and it turns and polishes well. At Philadel-
phia it is selected for the handles of light tools , for
small screws , boxes , etc. : it is said also to make good
clarinettes. Probably the Laurel will hereafter be more
extensively employed, as of all American shrubs its wood
most nearly resembles the Box wood , and is most
proper to supply its place. I have been assured that its
leaves are narcotick , and that they are poisonous to
cattle.

The Mountain Laurel was long since introduced into
Europe , where it is multiplied for the beauty of its
flowers and of its foliage ; but many years are necessary

MOUNTAIN LAUREL. hq

to obtain it, from the seed, in a condition to bloom. A
soft , loose and cool soil , and a northern exposure , ap-
pear to be most congenial to its growth.

PLATE LXVIII.

A branch, with leaves and flowers of the natural size.
Fig. i , A seed vessel. Fig. 2, Seeds.

VV*VVVVV\»VVVVVVVVVV\VVVVVV*V\VVV*VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVYVVVVVVVV\VW

BIRCHES.

The northern extremity of the Old and New Continents
is the native climate of the Birch, if we may judge from
the number of species which is found there, and which
diminishes in descending towards the South. To the
inhabitants of regions destitute of most of the larger
vegetables , which flourish in more temperate climates ,
the trees of this genus are highly interesting , and are
applied by them, with wonderful ingenuity, to the
necessities of life : they employ the wood in the con-
struction of houses and of vessels , and in the works of
the wheel-wright and of the cabinet-maker; of the bark,
which is nearly incorruptible , they make canoes, boxes,
and a more secure covering for their habitations; with
the leaves they die their nets ; and from the sap they
procure a mild and sugary beverage.

From the researches of botanists it results , that as
many species of Birch are found in the northern part
ol the United States as in Europe ; and from my own
observations on the comparative properties of their
wood, the advantage appears to lie wholly on the side
of the American species. Thus the Canoe Birch equals
the White Birch, which grows in Sweden and in Russia ;
n. ir

8a BIRCHES.

and the Cherry Birch and Yellow Birch far exceed it , in
the strength and beauty of their wood, as is proved by
the uses to which they are applied in CJanada and in the
Northern and Middle Sections of the United States.

Of the seven species of Birch which have been disco-
vered in North America , five may be ranked among tall
trees; the two remaining species, of which, for that
reason, no mention will be made, are classed with the
shrubs.

I have observed , in the form and disposition of the
aments of the different species of American Birch, a
distinction , in my opinion sufficiently marked to au-
thorize the division of them into two sections : the first
section consists of the species which have long, flexible,
and pendulous aments , and comprises the Canoe Birch
and the White Birch , to which is added the Common
European Birch ; the second section is composed of the
species whose aments are short and straight, namely,
the Red Birch , the Black Birch , and the Yellow Birch.

I have been led to this division by the external appear
ance, rather than by a minute physiological examination
of the sexual parts of the different species , leaving the
accomplished botanist to decide upon its adoption.

METHODICAL DISPOSITION

OF THE BIRCHES.

Moncecia polyandria. LlNN. Amentactx, Juss.

FIRST SECTION.

Fertile aments, pedunculated and pendulous.

u Canoe Birch. ....;.... Betida papyracea.

2. Common European Birch. . Betula alba.

2. White Birch Betula populifolia,

SECOND SECTION.

FertUe aments , sessile and erect.

4. Red Birch Betula rubra.

5. Yellow Birch Betula lutea.

6. Black Birch. Betula I enta,

irld Sculp

Canoe Bircli .
Befada vain/i\r<va

%W WVWVVWW'VWVIWIVVVWVM'VWU'VW) VWVWVWVM

V\* w\VV\W\V\\VWVWW\ WV*V> W VWWVV\V»\lU

CANOE BIRCH.

Betula papyracea. B. foliis ovalibus , acuminatis , sub-
cequaliter serratis ; petiolo glabro ; venis subtiis hirsntis.

Betula papjrifera. A. Mien. Flor. Bor. Am.

By the French Canadians this tree is called Bouleau
Blanc, White Birch , and Bouleau a Canot, Canoe Birch:
it is known to the Americans also by these denomi-
nations , and sometimes by that of Paper Birch. The
name of Canoe Birch appears to be the most proper ,
as it indicates an important use which is made of its
bark.

The Canoe Birch is most multiplied in the forests in
the country lying north of the 43° of latitude , and be-
tween the 75° of west longitude and the Atlantic Ocean;
comprising Lower Canada, New Brunswick, the District
of Maine, and the States of New Hampshire and Ver-
mont. It ceases below the 45° of latitude, and is not
found in the southern part of Connecticut , nor below
Albany, in the State of New York.

The surface of these regions is, in general, very irregu-
lar , and is diversified in every direction with hills and
lakes. It is occupied by thick and gloomy forests, of
which the soil is fertile and principally covered with
large stones, overgrown with moss. This part of North

86 CANOE BIRCH.

America, though situated 10 degrees farther south,
very nearly resembles Sweden and the eastern part of
Prussia, not only in the face of the soil, but in the
severity of the climate.

The Canoe Birch attains its largest, size, which is
about 70 feet in height and 3 feet in diameter, on the
declivity of hills and in the bottom of fertile vallies.
Its branches are slender, flexible, and covered with a
shining, brown bark, dotted with white. The leaves are
borne by petioles 4 or 5 lines long, and are of a middling
size , oval , unequally denticulated , smooth , and of a
dark green colour. The aments are pendulous, and
about an inch in length : the seeds are ripe towards the
middle of July.

The heart or perfect wood of this tree , when first
laid open, is of a reddish hue , and the sap is perfectly
white. It has a fine , glossy grain , with a considerable
share of strength : that it is but little employed is attri-
butable partly to its speedy decay when exposed to the
succession of dryness and moisture , and partly to the
existence, in the countries which produce it, of several
species of wood , such as the Maples, the Beech , and
even the Yellow Birch , which are far preferable for the
uses of the joiner and the wheel- wri'ght. It is fully equal,
however , to the White Birch which grows in Sweden
and Norway , and which , for many purposes , is advan-
tageously substituted for the Oak : but these countries
are destitute of trees analogous to those which have

CANOE BIRCH. 87

just been mentioned as enriching the native soil of
the Canoe Birch. In the District of Maine, tables are
frequently made of it , and stained in imilation of
mahogany.

A section of the trunk of this tree , 1 or i f e«t in
length , immediately below the first ramification , ex-
hibits very elegant undulations of the fibre , representing
bunches of feathers or sheaves of corn : these pieces are
divided into thin plates for inlaying mahogany , and in
Boston and the towns situated farther north , they are
generally employed by cabinet-makers to embellish their
work.

The Canoe Birch affords excellent fuel , and is ex-
ported in great quantities from the District of Maine to
Boston.

On trees not exceeding 8 inches in diameter the bark
is of a brilliant white, like that of the White Birch of
Sweden, and, like that too, it is almost indestructible.
Trees long since prostrated by time are often met within
the forests , whose trunk appears sound , while the bark
contains only a friable substance , like vegetable mould.
This bark, like that of the European species, is devoted
to many uses : in Canada and in the District of Maine
the country people place large pieces of it immediately
below the shingles of the roof, to form a more impe-
netrable covering for their houses ; baskets , boxes and
portfolios are made of it , which are sometimes embroi-
dered with silk of different colours ; divided into very

S3 CANOE BIRCH.

thin sheets, it forms a substitute for paper ; and, placed
between the soals of the shoes and in the crown of the
hat , it is a defence against humidity. But the most
important purpose to which it is applied , and one in
which it is replaced by the bark of no other tree , is the
construction of canoes. To procure proper pieces , the
largest and smoothest trunks are selected : in the spring
two circular incisions are made several feet apart , and
two longitudinal ones on opposite sides of the tree ;
after which , by introducing a wooden wedge , the bark
is easily detached. These plates are usually 10 or 12 feet
long , and 1 feet 9 inches broad. To form the Canoe they
are stitched together with fibrous roots of the White
Spruce, about the size of a quill, which are deprived
of the bark , split, and suppled in water. The seams are
coated with resin of the Balm of Gilead. Great use is
made of these canoes by the savages and by the French
Canadians in their long journies into the interior of the
country : they are very light, and are easily transported
on the shoulders from one lake or river to another,
which is called the portage. A canoe calculated for four
persons with their baggage weighs from 40 to 5o pounds ;
some of them are made to carry fifteen passengers.
Such are the ordinary uses of the bark and of the wood
of this tree.

The Canoe Birch flourishes in the vicinity of Paris,
where it is known in the nurseries by the name of
Brfuki nigra , Black Birch. If it is found to grow with

CANOE BIRCH. 89

success upon poor lands , it will prove a valuable ac-
quisition to the European forests , as it surpasses our
native Birch in stature and in the quality of its wood.

PLATE LXIX.

A branch , with leaves and fertile aments of the natural
size. Fig. i , A seed. Fig. 2 , The scale which covers the seed.

"• 12

COMMON EUROPEAN BIRCH.

Betula alba. B. foliis delloidlbus, acutis, duplicato-ser-
ratis , glabris ; strobllorum squamis lobis lateralibus rotun-
daiis; petiolis glabris , pedunculis longioribus.

Of all the leafy trees of the Old Continent , the Birch
is found in the highest latitude : it grows as far north as
the 70th degree , though its vegetation is so much re-
pressed by the excessive cold of the winter , that it is
reduced to the size of a shrub. A few degrees farther
south, it attains its fullest developement , and it is the
most common, the tallest, and the most robust of
the leafy trees which compose the forests between the
65th and 55th degrees of latitude ; in which interval are
comprised Lapland, Norway, Sweden, and a great part
of Russia. Proceeding still farther south, the Birch is
observed to become less common in the forests in pro-
portion as the Maples, the Beeches, the Elms and the
Oaks become more abundant. In France , between the
48th and 45th degrees, it appears to suffer from the
influence of too dry and too warm an atmosphere ; for
it is inferior, in size and in the quality of its wood, to the
same species in the north of Europe. The 45th parallel
may be assumed as the limit below which the Birch is

3mra dti

C omincm Europe an White Birch

COMMON EUROPEAN BIRCH. 91

only accidentally found in the forests , if we except lofty
mountains , whose elevation tempers the atmosphere
with perennial coolness.

In Germany, Sweden and Russia , the Birch is 70 or
80 feet high, and about 2 feet in diameter; but in
France it rarely exceeds two thirds of this height. The
trunk and limbs of the large trees are covered with a
thick bark , whose epidermis is white and perfectly simi-
lar to that of the White Birch and the Canoe Birch. The
small branches , likewise , resemble those of the species
just mentioned, being slender, flexible , and of a brown
colour spotted with white.

The Birch blooms early in the spring ; the fertile and
barren flowers are borne by different branches of the
same tree. The barren flowers are disposed in pendulous
aments about an inch long ; the fertile flowers are green-
ish, small, and not conspicuous. The seeds also are
very small, and are collected round a common stem, in
the form of aments : each of them is covered with a
scale, and furnished with two membraneous wings.
The leaves are alternate, nearly triangular, aeuminate,
and irregularly toothed ; they vary in size according to
the age of the tree and to the nature of the soil on
which it grows ; in very dry lands they are not more
than an inch in length.

In the north of Europe the Birch affords a singular
variety of resources to the inhabitants, who serve them-
selves, with admirable ingenuity, of its wood, its bark,,

92 COMMON EUROPEAN BIRCH.

and its leaves. But the expedients to which they are
obliged to have recourse, for defence against tne ex-
treme intensity of the cold , prove how litte these re-
gions have been favoured by the Creator. In Sweden,
Norway and Finland, this wood is most commonly
employed by the wheel-wright, and serves for the
manufacture of almost all the implements of husbandry.
It is used by turners for bowls , plates , spoons , chairs ,
etc. The trunk , like that of the Canoe Birch , affords
pieces immediately below the first ramification, which,
when polished , present beautiful wavings of the grain,
and which form elegant articles of furniture.

The bark is also subservient to a great variety of eco-
nomical uses : boxes, baskets and sandals are made of
it ; it is placed between the soals of shoes , or in the
crown of the hat , as a defence against humidity ; and
sometimes it is wrapped round the lower part of posts
to preserve them from decay. It endures many years
uninjured, even when exposed to the vicissitudes of the
atmosphere. To prepare the skin of the rein-deer, the
Laplanders cut this bark into small pieces , which they
macerate , and afterwards boil in water , with the addi-
tion of a little salt. The skins are plunged repeatedly into
this decoction warmed , and are allowed to remain in it
several days : when taken out they are vigorously curried
to render them pliable and soft : thus prepared , they
are hardly permeable by water. In Russia, by slowly
burning the bark of large birches in kilns or furnaces ,

COMMON EUROPEAN BIRCH. 90

an empyreumatic oil is obtained, with which a leather
is prepared highly esteemed for durability.

The leaves of the birch, both green and dry, are
given to cattle. When young, they are used by the in-
habitants as a substitute for tea : they are also employed
to dye wool of a yellowish colour.

The sap of the Birch is very abundant in the spring ,
and, by evaporation, it affords a syrop, rich and sugary,
but incapable of crystallization. By the addition of fer-
menting matter, this sap is converted into beer, into a
species of wine, or into vinegar. Such are the principal
uses of the European Birch , all the valuable properties
of which are completely united in the Canoe Birch of
North America.

England and the south of Germany being favoured
with a milder climate and, consequently, with a greater
variety of trees than the more northern countries , are
not dependent upon the Birch for so great a variety of
uses ; but even here it is a valuable possession , as it is
proved, by the experience of upwards of two centuries,
to grow more rapidly than any other tree in barren soils.
Hence , in Europe , all dry , meager , gravelly lands ,
analogous to those which, in the centre and in the
north of the United States , produce the Black Jack
Oak, the Bear Oak, and the Scrub Oak, are found
to be more profitably devoted to plantations of Birch
than to any other species of culture. In this manner
also they are gradually prepared for the growth of

94 COMMON EUROPEAN BIRCH.

more valuable trees , such as the Oaks , the Ches-
nuts , etc.

Plantations of Birch are formed by sowing the seed,
or by setting out young plants collected in the wood, or,
which is far preferable, procured from a nursery. When
the first method is employed, the ground should be
turned with an iron-toothed harrow, in humid weather
in the month of November. Fifteen pounds of seed,
including the scales, should be sown upon an acre , and
afterwards covered by drawing over it a harrow made
of brush-wood.

Nothing contributes more to the success of the seeds
than previously burning the noxious herbs and bushes
growing upon the ground. It is observed in the north of
Europe and of the United States , that the Birch reap-
pears , as if by inchantment, in forests that have been
destroyed by fire. The Birch seed is sometimes mixed
with rye , which , springing with the young plants ,
protects them during the first summer from the sun ,
and which , by the profit of the crop , indemnifies the
husbandman for a part of the expence of forming his
plantation. If the ground is burthened with the young
plants, a part of them may be taken up the third year
to fill the vacant spaces in woods composed of Oaks , of
Pines , etc. They may be sold also to persons who prefer
forming their coppices by transplantation , which is the
mode generally employed in Europe. In the month of
November holes are formed 5 feet distant, in a straight

COMMON EUROPEAN BIRCH. g5

line, to which the young plants are committed, in humid
weather which promises rain. In the course of the sum-
mer a day is chosen for bestowing a light tillage upon
the land , to clear it of the noxious herbs , as is prac-
tised for Maize or Indian Corn. This is all the labour
required to ensure the success of the plantation.

These coppices may be cut every five years if they are
destined for making brooms , or every 8 or 9 years for
hoops , which are substituted for those of Oak and of
Chesnut ; at 12 years of age they afford an excellent fuel
for baking, brick-making, and for all manufactures
which require a brisk and clear fire.

I have entered into these details concerning the pro-
pagation of the Birch , because, among the trees of the
Old Continent, it is one of the most profitable for cul-
tivation upon poor lands. Proprietors in the United
States, who read the works which have been published
in Germany, France and England , on the management
of forests, will be able to appreciate, in this respect,
the importance of the Birch.

The European Birch is so nearly related in its bark, its
foliage , the quality of its wood, and in other properties,
to the White Birch and to the Canoe Birch , that it
appears to occupy a middle place between these two
species. Its principal resemblance to the White Birch is
seen in its leaves , and in its favourable growth upon the
most sterile soils, upon those even which are at the same
time meager and humid. The most remarkable diffe-

g6 COMMON EUROPEAN BIRCH.

rence consists In the larger size of the European species,'
and in the superior quality of its -wood. The inferiority
of the White Birch is not attributable to the climate ,
lor it exhibits the same dimensions in the district of
Maine , and in Pennsylvania and Maryland. The White
Birch of Europe and the Canoe Birch resemble each
other in their wood , their bark , and their ample pro-
portions , which are perhaps superior in the American
species. They differ in the form ol their leaves , and
they grow on very different soils : the Canoe Birch is
exclusively attached to rich lands constantly cool , and
capable of yielding an abundant harvest of corn or
of clover, and it propagates itself naturally only in
that part of North America which corresponds in cli-
mate to the 54th and 55th degrees of latitude in Europe.
Between the White Birch of Europe and the Red Birch,
I have observed no resemblance , except in the supple-
ness of their twigs ; which is more remarkable in the
Red Birch.

The length of this description will not be deemed
superfluous by persons who justly appreciate the impor-
tance of precise ideas on subjects like the present.

PLATE LXX,

A branch, with leaves and aments of the natural size,
lug. 1 , A seed. Fig. 2 P A scale which covers the seed*

WJiite Birch .

Bchila vopulifo/ui

*VVVV\V\>\A^VV\V\^\\^\^,1'\'VVVV\'VV\'VVX(V\'\/V\'*'VV»'V\'HV\'\/VV\\'V\'VV\'VV\1

WHITE BIRCH.

Betula populifolia. B. foliis huge acuminatis,
incequaliter sarcitis , glabenirnis.

This species, like the Canoe Birch, grows in Canada
and in the northern extremity of the United States : it
is found also in the lower parts of New York, New
Jersey and Pennsylvania. In Virginia it is more rare,
and I venture to assert that it does not exist in the re-
maining Southern States. In the environs of New York
and of Philadelphia it is called White Birch, and this
name is habitually used in the District of Maine, where
that of Old Field Birch is also frequently employed,
to distinguish the White Birch from the Canoe Birch.

The White Birch is most frequently found in places
scantily furnished with woods , where the soil is dry
and meager : in these situations it commonly rises to
the height of 20 or 25 feet. Single trees , which grow
accidentally in moist places , expand to an ampler size ,
and are sometimes 3o or 35 feet high , and 8 or 9 inches
in diameter.

The White Birch appears to be less multiplied than
the other trees of this genus : it is rarely found in groups,
and single trees are met with only at considerable inter-
vals. It is more common in the District of Maine ; but ,
even here, it is seen only by the side of the high-
11. 1 3

go WHITE BIRCH.

ways , and in sandy soils that have been exhausted by
cultivation.

On trees that are fully grown the branches are nume-
rous, slender, and generally drooping. The leaves are
smooth on both surfaces , heart-shaped at the base ,
very acuminate , and doubly and irregularly toothed.
The petioles are slightly twisted , and the leaves are thus
rendered more tremulous than those of trees on which
this disposition is not observed. I have also remarked
that the buds , a few days after their developement ,
are slightly coated with a yellowish , odoriferous sub-
stance. The trunk of this species is clad in a bark of as
pure a white as that of the Canoe Birch and of the
European Birch : but its epidermis , when separated
from the cellular integument, is incapable of being
divided , like that of the two preceding species , into
thin sheets ; which constitutes an essential difference.

The wood of the White Birch is very soft, brilliant
when polished , and perfectly white. From its speedy
decay , and from the inferior size of the tree, it is em-
ployed for no use , not even for fuel. The twigs are too
brittle for common brooms.

This tree can boast of no utility which should entitle
it to be introduced into the forests of Europe , or to
be preserved in those of America.

PLATE LXXL

A branch ? with leaves and ame/i/s of the natural size.
Fig. i , A seed. Fig. 2 , A scale.

Red Bircli .

Br fa /a 7 '///■>/ a

'VV*/VV*VVVV\'*XV\\V\/VV\'V\XV\>\^'VVA'V\VV\*<V^ V\VVVVVVViVVVXV\V\V\V*A\\'VVV\\\i\VVVV\'VV*VV

RED BIRCH.

Betula rubra. B. folds rhombeo - ovatis , acuminatis ,
duplicato-senalis ; peliolo hreii.

Betula nigra, Wild. Betula lanulvsa, A. Mich. Flor. Bor. Am.

The banks of a small river near Kouacknack , in New
Jersey, about 10 miles from New York, maybe assumed
as the most northern point at which this species of Birch
is found. I have never seen it in the Eastern States ; but
it is abundant in those of the Middle and Southern
Divisions, particularly in Maryland, Virginia, and the
upper part of the Carolinas and of Georgia.

In Pennsylvania and New Jersey the name of Red
Birch is given to the Betida rubra, to distinguish it from
the White Birch; but farther south, where the White
Birch does not exist, or is comparatively rare, this
species is simply called Birch.

The Red Birch is not , like the other species of this
genus , seen growing in the midst of the forest , but is
found only on the banks of rivers, accompanied by the
Buttonwood, the White Maple and the Willow. It
expands with the greatest luxuriance on the sides of
limpid streams which have a gravelly bed , and whose
banks are not marshy like those of the rivers in the
maritime parts of the Carolinas and of Georgia. On
the Delaware, Zo miles from Philadelphia, along the

IOO RED BIRCH.

road that leads to New York by New Hope and Som-
merset , I have seen several Red Birches which were
70 feet in height , and 2 or 3 feet in diameter. They
rarely exceed these dimensions in Virginia and North
Carolina , where , from the milder temperature of the
climate, they are more abundant.

On the trunk and on the largest limbs of a lofty Red
Birch, the bark is thick, deeply furrowed, and of a
greenish colour. On trees not exceeding 8 or 10 inches
in diameter , the epidermis is reddish or cinnamon-
coloured ; whence probably is derived the appropriate
denomination of Red Birch. The epidermis of this spe-
cies , like that of the Canoe Birch , divides itself trans-
versally into thin , transparent sheets , which appear to
be composed of a mixed substance , instead of present-
ing a pure , homogeneous texture ; hence they have not
an uniform transparency , nor a perfectly even surface :
compared with the bark of the Canoe Birch , they are
like coarse paper compared with fine. When this tree is
fully expanded, its summit is ample, but the uncom-
mon thickness of its branches prevents it from appear-
ing tufted. The twigs, which form the extremity of the
tree, are long, flexible and pendulous, and the limbs
are of a brown complexion spotted with white : their
bark is slightly uneven , while , on the other branches ,
it is smooth and gtossy.

The petioles of the Red Birch are short and downy ;
the leaves are about 5 inches long and 2 inches broad.

RED BIRCH. IOI

of a light green on the upper surface , and whitish be-
neath : they are doubly denticulated at the edge , very
acuminate at the summit, and terminated at the base
in an acute angle , more regular than is seen in the leaf
of any other tree. The fertile aments are 5 or 6 inches
long , straight , and nearly cylindrical. The seeds are ripe
in the beginning of June.

The wood of the Pied Birch is sufficiently compact
and nearly white : very little difference in colour is
observed between the sap and the heart. This wood
offers the same singularity with that of the June Berry ,
being longitudinally marked by red vessels , which inter-
sect each other in different directions. In some parts of
Virginia and North Carolina , the negroes make bowls
and trays of Red Birch , when they cannot procure
Poplar. When saplings of Hickory or White Oak are
not to be found , hoops , particularly those of rice casks,
are made of the young stocks and of branches not ex-
ceeding an inch in diameter. In Philadelphia its twigs
are exclusively chosen for the brooms with which the
streets and court-yards are swept, which are similar to
those employed for the same purpose in Paris. The
twigs of the other species of Birch being less supple
and more brittle , are not proper for this use.

Though the Red Birch is constantly found on the
borders of rivers , it is not naturally confined to them :
a flourishing stock, more than 3o feet in height, exists
in the garden of the Stale-house at Philadelphia. Among

102 RED BIRCH.

all the Birches , the vegetation of this species only is
invigorated by intense heat : this consideration suffices
to recommend its propagation in Italy, and in the south-
ern parts of France and of the United States ; for it has
been judiciously observed by authors who have written
on this genus of trees, that if the good properties of the
Birch are not brilliant, they are at least numerous and
useful.

PLATE LXXIL

A branch , with leaves and a barren anient of the natural
size. Fig. i , A seed. Fig. 2 , A scale.

/Y.7a

Bowa dd<

Ye]low Birch

<*vwv> v>iwmw> -jvvv\i n

YELLOW BIRCH.

Betula lutea. B. foliis ovalis, aculis, serratis ; petiolis
pubescentibus.

This species, like the Canoe Birch, belongs only to
the northern regions of the New World. It abounds es*
pecially in the forests of Nova Scotia, of New Brunswick,
and of the District of Maine, where it is designated by
no other name than Yellow Birch. On the western bank
of the Hudson it is rare ; and in New Jersey and Penn-
sylvania only a few individuals of the species are met
with , in moist and shady situations. It is confounded by
the inhabitants of these States with the Black Birch ,
which is very abundant, and to which it bears a striking
resemblance.

In the District of Maine the Yellow Birch is always
found on cool and rich soils, among the Ashes, the
Hemlock Spruce , and the Black Spruce. In these situa-
tions it exhibits its amplest dimensions, which are
60 or 70 feet in height, and more than 2 feet in dia-
meter. The specific name of excclsa , which has been
given to it , is injudicious , as it leads to an erroneous
opinion that it surpasses every other species in height.
It is a beautiful tree, and its trunk is of nearly an uni-
form diameter , straight, and destitute of branches for
5o or 40 feet. It is particularly remarkable for the colour

1C>4 YELLOW BIRCH.

and arrangement of its epidermis , which is of a bril-
liant golden yellow , and which frequently divides itself
into very fine strips, rolled backwards at the ends, and
attached in the middle.

The young shoots , and the leaves at their unfolding
are downy ; towards the middle of summer , when
fully expanded , the leaves are perfectly smooth , except
the petiole , which remains covered with a fine , short
hair : they are about 3 inches and a half long, and 2
inches and a half broad, oval acuminate, and bordered
with sharp and irregular teeth. The leaves, the bark,
and the young shoots have an agreeable taste and smell,
similar to those of the Black Birch , though less sen-
sible , which they lose in drying.

In its fructification , this species nearly resembles the
Black Birch. The fertile aments are borne on short
peduncles, and are 12 or i5 lines long, 5 or 6 lines in
diameter, straight, of an oval shape, and nearly cylin-
drical. The scales which compose them are trifid ,
pointed , and about 3 lines in length : viewed through
the lens , they are seen to be downy. Beneath these
scales are the small winged seeds , which are ripe about
the first of October.

The wood of the Yellow Birch is inferior in quality
and in appearance to that of the Black Birch , and never
assumes as deep a shade ; but it is strong , and, when
well polished , makes handsome furniture. In Nova
Scotia , and in the District of Maine , it is found by expe-

YELLOW KIRCH. Io5

rience to be every way proper for that part of the frame
of vessels which remains always in the water. In the
District of Maine it is preferred for the yokes of cattle
and for the frames of sledges ; and in Nova Scotia the
young saplings are almost exclusively employed for the
hoops of casks.

The Yellow Birch is an excellent combustible , and it
is annually transported in great quantities from the
District of Maine to Boston. Its bark is highly esteemed
in tanning ; but in Maine it is employed in a very small
proportion , and only for what is called by the curriers
fair leather.

Oddy, in his Treatise on European Commerce, affirms
that great quantities of Yellow Birch boards are im-
ported into Scotland and Ireland , and that they are
highly esteemed in joinery. The Birch mentioned by
Oddy is doubtless the species which I am describing.

Such are the observations concerning this tree which
I collected in my travels through the United States :
they lead me to believe that the soil and climate of
Germany would be more favourable to its multiplication
than those of France, where the preference should be
given to the Black Birch , which requires less humidity,

PLATE LXXIII.

A branch, with leaves and fertile aments of the natural
size. Fig. i , A seed. Fig. 2 , The scale which covers the seed.
11. 24

»\vv-»i\v\v \

BLACK BIRCH.

Betula LENTA. B. foliis cordalis-ovatis , argute seiratis ,
acuminatis , glabrls.

Betula carpinifolia. A. Mich. Flor. Bor. Am.

The agreeable foliage of this species , and the valuable
properties of its wood, render it the most interesting
of the American Birches. Wherever it grows in the
United States , it is known by the name of Black Birch :
its secondary denominations are Mountain Mahogany
in Virginia, and Sweet Birch and Cherry Birch in Con-
necticut , Massachusets , and farther north. In Canada
it is universally called Cherry Birch.

I have observed the Cherry Birch in Nova Scotia, in
the District of Maine , and in the State of Vermont ,
though more rarely than the Yellow Birch. It abounds
in the Middle States , particularly in New York , Penn-
sylvania and Maryland ; farther south it is confined lo
the summit of the Alleghanies , on which it is found to
their termination in Georgia, and to the steep and shady
banks of the rivers which issue from these mountains.
According to my own researches , it is a stranger to the
lower part of Virginia, and to the southern and mari-
time parts of the Carolinas and of Georgia ; nor do I
remember to have seen it in Kentucky , nor in the
western part of Tennessee.

PI -74-

Bessa Jsi

Black Birch .

Belula lento ■

BLACK BIRCH. I07

In New Jersey , and upon the banks of the North
river , where I have most attentively observed the Black
Birch, I have uniformly remarked that it grew of pre-
ference in deep, loose and cool soils, and that in these
situations it attained its greatest expansion , which some-
times exceeds 7a feet in height , and 2 or 3 feet in
diameter.

In the neighbourhood of New York, the Black Birch
is one of the earliest trees to renew its foliage. At the
close of winter the leaves , during a fortnight after their
birth , are covered with a thick , silvery down , which
disappears soon after. They are about 2 inches long,
serrate, cordiform at the base, acuminate at the sum-
mit , of a pleasing tint and line texture, and not unlike
the leaves of the Cherry Tree. The young shoots are
brown, smooth, and dotted with white, as are also
the leaves. When bruised the leaves diffuse a very sweet
odour, and, as they retain this property when dried
and carefully preserved i% they afford an agreeable infu-
sion , with the addition of sugar and milk.

The barren flowers of the Black Birch are disposed
in flexible aments about 4 inches long. The fertile
aments , winch are commonly situated at the extremity
of the young branches , are 10 or 12 lines long, and S
or 6 lines in diameter , straight , cylindrical , and nearly
sessile at the season of the maturity of the seed , which
is about the first of November.

The bark, upon the trunk of trees less than 8 inches

Io8 BLACK BIRCH.

in diameter , is smooth , greyish , and perfectly similar
in its colour and organisation to that of the Cherry Tree.
On old trees, the epidermis detaches itself transversely,
at intervals, in hard, ligneous plates, 6 or 8 inches
broad.

The wood of the Black Birch , when freshly cut , is of
a rosy hue , which deepens by exposure to the light. Its
grain is fine and close, whence it is susceptible of a
brilliant polish ; it possesses also a considerable share of
strength. The union of these properties renders it su-
perior to the other species of American Birch ; and in
Massachusets , Connecticut and New York , it is next
in esteem to the Wild Cherry Tree , among cabinet-
makers in the country. Tables and bedsteads of this
wood , when carefully preserved , acquire with time the
appearance of Mahogany, hence it is employed in
Boston for the frames of arm-chairs and of sofas : the
coach-makers also use it for the frames of their panels.
Shoerlasts are made of Black Birch, but they are less
esteemed than those of Beech. Such are the principal
uses of this wood, from which it may easily be gathered
to what subsidiary purposes it is applicable.

The vegetation of the Black Birch is beautiful and ,
in a congenial soil , its growth is rapid. A proof of this
last assertion is found in the Annals of the Arts , where
a stock of this species is reported to have attained the
height of 45 feet and 8 inches in 19 years.

These considerations should induce the Americans to

BLACK BIRCH. 109

bestow great care on the preservation of the Black
Birch , and the inhabitants of the Old World to intro-
duce it into their forests. The attempt upon a great
scale would be more successful in the north of France,
in England and in Germany, on account of the greater
humidity of the climate , than in more southern
countries.

I shall terminate this description of one of my favour-
ite trees, by recommending it to the lovers of foreign
vegetables, as eminently adapted, by the beauty of its
foliage and by the agreeable odour of its flowers , to
figure in their parks and gardens.

PLATE LXXIV.

A branch , with leaves and fertile aments of the natural
size. Fig. i , A seed. Fig. 2 , A scale which covers the seed.

\ w> vw w><wwv\ wvvv\ \ww»

ALDERS.

COMMON ALDER.

Alnus serrulata. A. stipulis ovalibus, obtusis ; foliis
duplicato-serratis , ovalibus , acutis.

This species of Alder is found in the Northern,
Middle , and Western Stales , and is every where desig-
nated by the name of Common Alder. It frequently
grows along the sides of brooks , and abounds still more
in places covered Avith stagnant water. Its ordinary size
is 8 or 10 feet in height , and about 2 inches in diameter,
though often it is less. Its leaves are of a beautiful green,
about 2 inches long , oval , distinctly sulcated on the
surface , and doubly denticulated at the edge.

This shrub blooms in January : the sexes are separate
upon the same stock. The barren flowers are disposed ,
like those of the Birch, around a common axis, in
flexible pendulous aments about 2 inches long. The fer-
tile flowers are in the form of small, oval bodies , gar-
nished with a dull , red fringe : they are converted into
small, scaly cones , which open, when arrived at ma-
turity, to release the minute , flat seeds.

The wood of the Common Alder, when first laid
open , is white , and it becomes reddish by contact with

Pi 73:

1 , Common Alder
Abuo? #urru2ata'.

2 . Black Alder
Alnuj alazicd

COMMON ALDER. Ill

the air : its resemblance in this respect to the analogous
European species , Ahms glutinosa , leads me to believe
that they are alike also in the properties of their bark.

The Common Alder is too small to be applicable to
any use in the arts : from its inferiority of size , it will
probably one day give place to the European Alder.

PLATE LXXV.

Common Alder, with a leaf of the natural size. Fig. 1 ,
A fertile and a barren ament. Fig. 2 , A cone at maturity.
Fig. 3 , Seeds.

BLACK ALDER.

Alnus glauca. A. follis subrolundb-ellipticis , dupllcatb-
serratis , subtus glaucis.

Alnus incana. Willd.

This species of Alder , which is unknown in the
Southern , and rare in the Middle States , is not uncom-
mon in Massachusets , New Hampshire and Vermont ;
but even here it is less multiplied than the Common
Alder, which abounds throughout the United States.
The Black Alder is a third taller than the preceding
species , being sometimes 18 or 20 feet in height, and
about 5 inches in diameter. Its leaves are similar in
shape , but are easily distinguishable by their different
tint and superior size : they are of a pale bluish green ,
and a third larger than those of the Common Alder.
Both species grow in cool , moist places, and upon the
margin of rivulets.

The bark of the trunk and of the secondary branches
is smooth , glossy, and of a deep brown colour sprin-
kled with white. It is employed by hatters, if I have
been correctly informed , for dying black. The dimi-
nutive size of this tree excludes it entirely from use ; but
to recommend it to the notice of Amateurs it is only
necessary to observe that it is one of the most beau-
tiful species of the genus.

BLACK ALDER. H3

The dwarfish stature of all the species of Alder that
have hitherto been discovered in North America , ex-
cludes them from that class of vegetables to the des-
cription of which I have restricted my labours ; but I
could not forbear mentioning the two most remarkable
species , of which one merits attention on account of
its abundant diffusion , and the other on account of a
striking peculiarity in the colour of its leaves.

PLATE LXXYI.

Black Alder } with a leaf of the natural size.

n. -

i5

COMMON EUROPEAN ALDER.

Alnus glutinosa. A. foliis subrofundo-cuneatis , oblusis,
subretusis , glutinosis ; axillis venarum subtiis villosis.

The Common European Alder bears so great a re-
semblance to the Common American Alder , in its
flowers , its seeds , its leaves , its wood and its bark , as
to render a separate figure unnecessary : the only diffe-
rence observable between them is that the European
species is larger and has smaller leaves.

The Common European Alder is a fine tree of more
than 5o feet in height : its trunk is generally straight, and
tapers gradually from the base to the summit, and it is
garnished with numerous branches, tending rather to
close round the stock, than to diffuse themselves widely :
hence the Alder, like the Lombardy Poplar, grows in
great numbers in a small space, without impediment
from the proximity of the stocks.

The wood of this tree is line-grained, compact, sus-
ceptible of a fine polish, and not destitute of strength.
When perfectly dry, it is light and easily wrought ; hence
it is in request with manufacturers of wooden ware. In
France immense quantities of wooden shoes are made
of it, which are seasoned by fire before they are sold.
The Alder takes abetter black than any other wood,

COMMON EUROPEAN ALDER. 1)5

and when polished and varnished it affords a good imi-
tation of Ebony. With sulphat of iron the bark forms a
black die for colouring wool, and, as it is procured at
a very low price , it is extensively substituted for gall
nuts by hatters and diers. The wood of the Alder, when
deeply buried in earth that is constantly humid, is found
to endure a great length of time ; it is therefore used for
the pipes of conduits. In Flanders and Holland it serves
for the piles upon which buildings are erected in marshy
places.

In France , England and Germany, the Alder is con-
sidered as a valuable tree, on account of its rapid growth
in wet grounds. It is frequently observed on the sides
of streams flowing through meadows, and, as its roots
penetrate to a great distance , it contributes more effect-
ually than most olher trees to support the banks at the
season of the overflowing of the waters.

The European Alder shoots with such vigour, that
copses formed of it may be cut every seven years , and
at the end of i8 yea»rs they furnish trees exceeding 55
feet in height , whose wood is far superior to that of
the Lombardy Poplar. It is obtained from the seed , or
from cuttings of a proper length, buried in very moist
ground , except a few inches that appear above the
surface. The young plants should be cut the second
year, to invigorate their roots. The seeds of the Alder
are very small, and are in danger of perishing if they
are not very lightly covered with earth.

Il6 COMMON EUROPEAN ALDER.

This tree , to which so much importance is attached
in Europe will probably at a future period be con-
sidered as a valuable acquisition in America , especially
in the States east of the river Hudson.

?l?£

Be*>va del.

Locust .
Robuua pseiido acacia

LOCUST.

Robinia pseu do- acacia. R. stipulis spinosis ; foliis impari
pinnatis; racemis ceniuis seu pendulis ; calicis dentibus
muticis.

Obs. Flores albi.

One of the first trees introduced into Europe from
the forests of North America east of the Mississippi ,
was the Locust. For the acquisition of this tree , still
more interesting for the excellent properties of its wood
than for the beauty of its foliage and of its flowers , we
are indebted to J. Robin , a French botanist , who re-
ceived it from Canada , and cultivated it on a large scale ,
in the reign of Henry IV, about the year 1601. Since
that period it has been so extensively propagated , that
it has become universally known in France, England and
Germany. To commemorate the introduction of so val-
uable a tree, and to express the acknowledgments due
to the person who had conferred this benefit upon the
Old Continent , Linnaeus gave the genus to which it be-
longs the name of Robinia.

In the Atlantic States, the Locust begins to grow na-
turally in Pennsylvania , between Lancaster and Harris-
burgh , in the latitude of 4o° 20'. West of the mountains,
it is found 2 or 3 degrees farther north; which is ex-
plained by an observation already repeated, that, in pro-
11. 16

Il8 LOCUST.

ceeding towards the West , the climate becomes milder
and the soil more fertile. But the Locust is most multi-
plied in the South- West , and abounds in all the vallies
between the chains of the Alleghany Mountains, particu-
larly in Limestone Valley, It is also common in all the
Western States, and in the territory comprised between
the Ohio, the Illinois, the Lakes, and the Mississippi.
It is not found in the States east of the river Delaware ,
nor does it grow spontaneously in the maritime parts of
the Middle and Southern States , to the distance of from
5o to ioo miles from the sea, all the stocks that are seen
in these parts having been planted at different periods.

The dimensions of the Locust vary with the soil and
climate : thus in Pennsylvania, between Harrisburg and
Carlisle, where it begins to appear, it is much smaller
than in Virginia, and particularly in Kentucky and West
Tennessee , which are situated 3 or 4 degrees farther
south, and where the soil is more fertile. In these States
it sometimes exceeds 4 feet in diameter, and 70 or 80
feet in height ; which is twice the size it attains east of
the mountains.

The foliage of the Locust is light and agreeable to
the eye. Each leaf is composed of opposite leaflets, 8,
10, 12, and sometimes more, in number, surmounted
by an odd one. The leaflets are nearly sessile, oval, thin,
of a fine texture, and of so smooth a surface that the
dust is blown off from them as it alights. These leaves
are rarely injured by insects.

LOCUST. lit)

The flowers are disposed in numerous pendulous
bunches : they are perfectly white, and diffuse the most
delicious odour. Their fine effect, heightened by the
fresh tint of the light green foliage, renders the Locust
one of the most admired, in Europe , among ornamen-
tal trees. In passing through Harrisburgh on the /^\h
of June, 1808 , I saw the Locust in full bloom : it was
in flower at the same season of the year 1812, at Paris,
in the latitude of 48° 5o'. To the flower succeeds a nar-
row, flat pod, about 3 inches long, containing 5 or 6
small seeds , which are commonly brown , and some-
times black.

On the trunk and large limbs of the old Locust, the
bark is very thick and deeply furrowed. The young tree,
till it attains the diameter of 2 or 3 inches, is armed
with formidable thorns , which disappear in its maturer
age. The wood, which is commonly of a greenish yel-
low colour, marked with brown veins , is hard, com-
pact, and susceptible of a bright polish ; it has a good
deal of strength with but little elasticity. Its principal
value in the United States, where the greater part of
the houses and oi the fences of cultivated grounds are
of wood , is its power of resisting decay longer than
almost any other species of wood.

Though the Locust is multiplied east of the moun-
tains, in the upper part of Virginia and of the two Ca-
rolinas, it forms a much smaller proportion of the
iorests than the Oaks and Walnuts, and it is nowhere

120 LOCUST.

found occupying exclusively tracts even of a few acres.
For this reason it is the only tree , besides the Black
Walnut, that is left standing in the clearing of new
lands : hence these two species, which are not suffi-
ciently multiplied to supply the demand for their wood,
are frequently seen growing in the midst of cultivated
fields.

The greatest consumption of Locust wood is for
posts, which are employed of preference for the enclos-
ing of court -yards, gardens and farms, in the districts
where the tree abounds , and in the circumjacent coun-
try. They are transported for the same use to Lancaster;
Baltimore, Washington, Alexandria and the vicinity.
When the trees are felled in the winter, while the cir-
culation of the sap is suspended, and the posts are al-
lowed to become perfectly dry before they are set, they
are estimated to last 4° years. Experience has shown
that their duration varies according to certain differences
in the trees from which they are formed : thus about
Lancaster and at Harrisburgh, a small town on the
Susquehannah , where a considerable trade is carried
on in wood that is brought down the river, those
trees are reputed the best whose heart is red ; the next
in esteem are those with a greenish yellow heart ; and
the least valuable are those with a white heart. From
this variety in the colour of the wood , which probably
arises from a difference of soil , are derived the names
of Red , Green , and White Locust. In the Western

locust: i2i

States there is a variety which is sometimes called Black
Locust.

Great quantities of Locust posts are sold at Harris-
burgh : they are 7 or 8 feet long, and the price is 18
cents each in the rough state , or nb cents when hewn
and mortised. They are made from stocks less than a
foot in diameter, split into two pieces. I have remarked
that when the trunk of the Locust exceeds i5 inches
in diameter it is frequently decayed at the heart;
but I presume this defect is not found in trees that
grow farther south. Posts of Locust and of Red Cedar
of the same dimensions are sold in the lumber-yards of
Baltimore ; those of Locust at 40 cents , and those of
Red Cedar at 3o. This difference is probably attributable
to the great strength of the Locust. In the Western
States also , where this tree is larger and more abundant
than in the country east of the mountains , it is the
most esteemed and the most generally employed for
posts.

In naval architecture the ship-wrights use as much
Locust wood as they can procure. It is as durable as the
Live Oak and the Red Cedar, with the advantage of
being stronger than the one , and lighter than the other.
It enters, with the Live Oak, the White Oak, and the
Red Cedar, into the upper and lower parts of the frame,
though in a very small proportion ; for in the interior
of Pennsylvania , Maryland and Virginia , where , as I
have observed. , it grows naturally and whence it is pro-

122 LOCUST.

cured, nine tenths of the Locusts do not exceed a foot
in diameter, and from 36 to 40 feet in height : it thus
becomes difficult to procure timber of the requisite size.
Another very important use of the Locust in ship-build-
ing is for the trunnels or the pins destined to attach the
side-planks to the frame. Instead of decaying , they ac-
quire with time an extreme hardness, and they are used,
to the exclusion of all others , in the ports of the Middle
States. The mean price at Philadelphia, whither they
are brought from the river Susquehannah , is 10 dollars
a thousand. From fifty to a hundred thousand of these
pins are annually exported to England.

In the construction of houses , even of such as are
wholly of wood, the Locust is not extensively employed
in the countries where it is most multiplied : the use to
which it is more particularly applied is to support the
sleepers or the beams on which the frame reposes. These
sleepers are of Oak, and if they were placed imme-
diately on the ground , they would decay more rapidly
than the Locust. This invaluable property of durability,
■which is possessed by the Locust in a degree far supe-
rior to that of any other tree except the Red Mulberry,
sufficiently indicates the purposes to which it may be
advantageously applied : but in the United States its use
is limited to the objects which I have enumerated , and
it is through mistake that it has been said to be employed
for staves and hoops, and for composing hedges.

From the hardness of the Locust wood when season-

LOCUST. 123

ed, from the fineness of its grain and its lustre when
polished , it has been , for ten years , extensively substi-
tuted by turners for the Box in many species of light
work, such as salt-cellars, sugar-bowls, candlesticks,
spoons and forks for sallad , boxes, and many other
trifling objects which are carefully wrought into pleas-
ing shapes , and sold at low prices.

The rapid growth of the Locust was early remarked
by the inhabitants of the United States ; for this is an
inestimable quality in a tree whose wood unites so many
excellencies. This consideration has induced many per^
sons to plant it in those parts of the country where it
does not naturally grow , particularly in the lower part
of the States lying east of the river Delaware. Thus be-
tween New York and Boston , a distance of nearly 3oo
miles , it is seen at intervals growing before the farm-
houses, and sometimes by the side of the fences:
but perhaps not one proprietor in a hundred has
adopted this useful measure. On Long Island , near the
west end of which lies the city of New York, the
forests were in a great measure destroyed in the war
of Independance, and many persons have successfully
adopted the cultivation of the Locust on an extensive
scale : but these plantations are still very much circum-
scribed, and, except the larger trees which are cut into
trunnels, and which serve to supply in part the demand
of the ship-wrights of New York, the whole growth is
consumed by the cultivators. Regular plantations of

124 LOCUST.

Locust of 20 or 3o acres have not been formed in any
part of the United States , though several agricultural
societies have offered premiums for their encourage-
ment.

Within 1 8 or 20 years an obstacle has unhappily ap-
peared, which will contribute greatly to prevent the
multiplication of the Locust in all the anciently settled
parts of the United States : this is a winged insect which
attacks the tree while standing , penetrates through the
bark into the centre of the trunk , and , for the space
of a foot , mines it in every direction , so that it is
easily broken by the wind. This inconvenience is already
so serious as to induce many people to forego all at-
tempts to form plantations of Locust. In Virginia , I
have not learned that trees of the natural growth ha\e
been visited by this destroyer, but those that have
been reared about the plantations have already felt its
ravages. This evil , which it appears difficult to remedy ,'
will be more sensibly felt when the destruction of
the forests now on foot , an inevitable consequence
of the increase of population and of the neglect of all
measures of preservation , shall force the inhabitants
to have recourse to plantations, which they will wish
to form in a certain proportion of the Locust. Hence
it may result that , disappearing successively from
the American forests by constant consumption, and
not being reproduced on account of this insect , the
Locusts will become extremely rare in their native

LOCUST. 125

country , and abundant in Europe , where no similar
catastrophy forbids their propagation.

Though I have asserted that I have seen Locusts in
America 70 or 80 feet high , it must be observed that
this luxuriant growth is confined to the most fertile
districts of Kentucky and West Tennessee, where the
newly cleared lands yield for several years in succession,
without manure, from 3o to 60 bushels of maize or
Indian corn an acre. In general , this tree does not
exceed 4° or 4^ feet in height on lands of a middling
quality, that produce the Oaks and the Hickories , com-
pared with which the Locust is a tree only of secondary
size , affording timber of inconsiderable dimensions.
For this reason it should not be substituted for the
Oak , the Beech , the 'Chesnut and the Elm , in soils
where these species already flourish.

In Europe , the greatest share of attention has been
bestowed upon the Locust, and the most extended ob-
servations on its culture have been published in coun-
tries lying north of the 480 of latitude : but notwith-
standing the success which is said to have been obtained
in cultivating it, I cannot think that this is its proper cli-
mate. I have observed , as well as many other persons ,
that its vegetation is accelerated by the warmth of a
more southern sun*: the effect is visible even at Or-
leans , where , though the difference of latitude is only
one degree, the Locusts are larger than in the vicinity
of Paris. Italy and the southern departments of France
11. 17

1^6 LOCUST.

are the countries of Europe where the greatest advan-
tages may be expected from the rapid growth of the
Locust. Individuals, who are more in haste than govern-
ments to realise their gains, may obtain from it, at the
end of 20 or 25 years , a mass of wood twice as great as
from any other species of tree ; and it might be formed
in this country, as in America, into /runnels for the pur-
poses of ship-building , and sold at a high price in the
sea-ports. Raised upon uncultivated and open grounds ,
the quality of the wood would be superior to that of trees
growing in the primitive forests of the New World ,
where it is injured by the humidity of the atmosphere.

It appears from the authors who at different periods
have written on the Locust, that about 100 years since
it was in great request in Europe on account of the
beauty of its foliage and of its fragrant flowers. It was
afterwards found to have defects , and declined so far
in public favour , that during half a century it fell into
entire neglect. Within 10 or i5 years, several agricul-
turists have given it fresh celebrity , by representing it
as an useful rather than an ornamental tree ; though its
merit in this last respect is undeniable.

In France, and still more in Germany, much has
been published in favour of the Locust, and very little
has been written against it ; but ihe greater part of
those who are engaged in forming plantations oppose
its propagation. It appears to have been too much
vaunted on the one hand , and too much decried on

LOCUST. 127

the other, and not to have been justly appreciated in
those respects in which it has an incontestable superior-
ity over most other trees of the temperate zones.

If I may be allowed to give my opinion , I should say
that its principal advantages consist in the rapidity of its
growth, and in the excellent qualities by which its wood
is fitted for the most important uses. To these must
be added another property by which it is distinguished
from other trees of a rapid growth , and which has
not been placed in a sufficiently striking light by the
authors who have treated of the Locust : it is that of
beginning from the third year to convert its sap into
perfect wood ; which is not done by the Oak, the Ches-
nut , the Beech and the Elm , till after the tenth or
the fifteenth year. Hence , if all these species were
planted at the same time upon good land , in 25 or 3o
years the Locusts , already one third larger in general
than the others , and often twice as large , would be
found almost wholly composed of heart , and would be
of sufficient dimensions for the various uses to which
their wood is adapted ; while the others , besides being
too small at this age to be employed with advantage,
would have only half the diameter of the trunk con-
verted into perfect wood. This is a most important
consideration , for it is well known that every species
of wood must be deprived of the sap before it is used ,
as this part is subject to become worm-eaten if it is
sheltered , and to decay if it is exposed to the air.

128 LOCUST.

But these prominent excellencies are balanced by
defects which seem difficult to remedy. When standing
alone , the branches of the Locust are easily broken by
the wind : if left to itself, its trunk, after attaining a
certain height , rarely preserves its shape ; and the limbs,
ill arranged, of unequal size and very divergent, give to
its summit an uncouth and disagreeable form. Its thin
and restless foliage yield also a scanty shade : hence this
tree is not proper for the avenues and allies of extensive
gardens , nor for bordering public roads : for these pur-
poses the Elm is infinitely superior; for, besides the
facility with which it is fashioned by the pruning-hook ,
its tufted foliage casts a denser shade, and its wood is of
great value to the wheel-wright.

It is observed also that in plantations of Locusts whose
verdure announces the most vigorous vegetation , there
are some trees which languish and turn yellow : the
cause of this malady it is difficult to assign.

For several years past the. proprietors of the depart-
ment of the Gironde and of the neighbouring country
have taken advantage of the rapid growth of the Locust
by cultivating it in copses, which are cut at the age of
four years. The young stocks are then large enough to
be split into props for vines , which are found to last
more than twenty years. Old trees are also lopped ,
and the suckers cut every third year for the same pur-
pose. This vigorous vegetation is doubtless attributable
to the warmth of the climate.

LOCUST. 129

The greatest inconvenience attending these copses is
the thorns with which the young plants are armed , and
by which the preparing of them for use is rendered
more difficult and expensive than that of any other
species. This disadvantage, however, is compensated
by a double product obtained in half the time.

I must not omit to mention a new variety of Locust ;
called Robinia pseudo - acacia spectabilis , which in its
early age is entirely destitute of thorns. This valuable
variety is distinguished by the superior size of its leaves
and by the greater rapidity of its growth. Though its
seeds produce stocks with thorns , it is still probable that
they will disappear from the future generations of the
tree i in the meanwhile this variety may be multiplied by
layers , or by forming small trenches in which the roots
will send up shoots that may be afterwards separated
from the parent tree.

I need not say how much this variety is preferable for
copses ; the twigs , with their leaves , may also be safely
given to cattle , who eat them with avidity. Tor the pro-
duction of this variety , which gives a new value to the
Locust , particularly in the south of France , we are in-
debted to Mr. Descemet, a gentleman distinguished by
his theoretical and practical knowledge of agriculture.

It has been asserted that the most profitable manner
of disposing of poor lands, too much exhausted to pro-
duce the Oak and other species of hard wood , is to
cover them with copses of Locust : but about Paris , and

i3o 1L0CUST.

farther north , the experiment has not uniformly suc-
ceeded. During three or four years , the Locusts surpass
the Birches planted at the same time , and give the
most flattering promise ; but by the seventh or eighth
year their voracious roots appear to exhaust the soil, the
branches about the middle of the young tree perish ,
and its short and languishing shoots announce its decay ;
while, on the other hand, the young Birches continue
healthful and vigorous , and some of them already
equal the Locusts in height. Perhaps the Locusts require
lopping the third or fourth year.

Such is the fruit of my enquiries concerning this tree
in America , and my observations on its culture in
Europe. Its propagation is attended with advantages
and disadvantages : on weighing them together, I am
of opinion that , as an ornamental and as a useful tree ,
it merits a place , particularly the variety without thorns,
both in gardens and plantations.

PLATE LXXVI.

A branch with a bunch of flowers. Fig. 1 , Apod. Fig. 2,
A seed.

PL 77.

J»ww ,/e/-

Rose flowering Locust

Gain's/ ..-<■

ROSE-FLOWERING LOCUST.

Robinia viscosa. R. foliis imparl pinnatis ,• ramis viscoso
glandulosis.

Obs. Flores roseo-albi.

This species of Locust is found only on that part of
the Alleghanies which traverses Georgia and the Caro-
linas, and in the territory of the Cherokee Indians , si-
tuated west of the mountains. My father discovered it
in the summer cf 1790, and his subsequent researches,
as well as my own , confirm the opinion that it does not
exist north of the 35th degree of latitude , nor in all the
lower part of the Southern States : hence it appears to
be confined to a very small tract.

The Rose-flowering Locust is not as large as the pre-
ceding species : its ordinary stature does not exceed 40
feet, with a diameter of 10 or 12 inches. Its branches,
like those of the Locust , are garnished with thorns ,
which , however , are smaller and less numerous. The
annual shoots are of a dull red colour , and are covered
with a viscid, adhesive humour : Mr. Vauquelin, of the
French Institute, has analysed this substance, and found
it to be a new vegetable matter.

The foliage of the Rose-flowering Locust is thick and
of a dusky green. The leaves are 5 or 6 inches long , and
are composed of opposite leaflets, 10, 12, or 14 in

l32 ROSE-FLOWERING LOCUST.

number, with a terminal odd one. The leaflets are about
an inch in length, oval, nearly sessile , smooth, and of
a line texture.

The flowers are in oval bunches 4 or 5 inches long.
They are numerous and of a beautiful rose colour , but
destitute of fragrance. This tree not unfrequently blooms
twice in the year, and it forms one of the most bril-
liant ornaments of the park and the garden. The seeds
are small and contained in hairy pods 3 or 3 inches long,
and 3 or 4 lines broad.

Well-informed and unprejudiced cultivators , em-
ployed in the raising of exotic trees and plants , assure
us that seeds of the Rose-flowering Locust , which they
have themselves collected and sown , have produced the
Locust. The difference between the two species is how-
ever so distinctly characterized, that this metamorphosis
is hardly credible.

The wood of the Rose-flowering Locust is of a green-
ish colour, like that of the common species, which it
resembles also in its other properties : but the inferior
size of the tree , notwithstanding its surprisingly rapid
growth, renders it less interesting to the arts.

This species easily supports the rigorous winters of
New York and Pennsylvania , where it succeeds per-
fectly well ; several stocks sent by my father to his
friends residing in these Capitals, bloom luxuriantly
every year : but it is liable to the ravages of the same
insect which destroys the Locust.

ROSE-FLOWERING LOCUST. l53

This beautiful tree was introduced into Europe in
1791 : my father, who had transported it from the
mountains to his garden near Charleston, S. G. , sent
me a stock , which arrived in July of that year. I pre-
sented it to Mr. Lemonnier , first physician of Lewis
XVI, who planted it in his garden at Petit Montreiiil,
near Versailles, where it is still standing. From this stock
are derived, by sprouts or by grafting, all the trees of
the species which at present adorn the pleasure grounds
throughout Europe.

PLATE LXXVII.

A branch with flowers of the natural size. Fig. 1 , A pod.
Fig. 1 , A seed.

II.

18

^^v\\^vv\\^vvv\*^v^'lVv^vv^^v^,vv.v^\.^AVvvv^^\VA^vv\vvv^^vvk^vv^^.^vv^.vv^^^/v^^vvAA^l^vvv^vv^A^^,vvvvvvt^^\»^

YELLOW WOOD.

VlRGlLlA LUTEA. T^. folils impari-pinnatis , foliolis ovato-
acuminatis; racemis pendulis ; gemmis inclusis.

Obs. Mores albi.

The Yellow Wood is confined to that part of West
Tennessee which lies between the 35th and the 37th de-
grees of Latitude , where it is commonly designated by
the name which I have adopted.

This tree grows of preference on gentle declivities, in
a loose , deep and fertile soil , and is usually accom-
panied by the Red Mulberry, Coffee Tree, Sweet Locust,
Black Walnut, and other species whose presence
evinces the richness of the land. It rarely exceeds 40 feet
in height and one foot in diameter, and in general it
does not attain even these dimensions. Its trunk is co-
vered with a greenish bark , which is smooth instead of
being furrowed like that of most other trees.

The leaves of the Yellow Wood are 6 or 8 inches long
on old trees , and of twice this size on young and thrifty
stocks. They are composed of two rows of leaflets,
smooth , entire , nearly round and about an inch and a
half in diameter. The leaflets are 3 , 4 or 5 on each side,
borne by short petioles , and surmounted by an odd one
which is supported by the common footstalk. As in the

PL.7S.

£■ J. JieJcuts </e/

Oairie/.

Yellow Wood.
J y tn/r/fa lufea .

YELLOW WOOD. *35

Buttoirwood, the lower part of the footstalk contains
the bud , which becomes visible in plucking the leaf.

The flowers form elegant, white, pendulous bunches,
a little larger than those of the Locust , but less odorif-
erous.

The seeds of the Yellow Wood also nearly resemble
those of the Locust , and are contained in pods that
differ only in being a little narrower. The seeds are ripe
in' the vicinity of Nashville about the i5th of August , at
which season, in the year 1812, I collected a quantity
and afterwards distributed them in France to nursery-
men and amateurs of foreign plants. From these seeds
have sprung the trees which we see growing with so
much vigour in Europe, and mocking the rigour of our
winters : several of them bloomed in the year i8i3.

From the form and foliage of this tree, my father was
of opinion that it belonged to the genus Sophora : the
affinity is proved by the fact that it is grafted with suc-
cess into that genus only. It was hastily ranged as a new
genus, by the name of Virgiha, before its flowers had
been examined ; though without the inspection of this
part of a vegetable no certain opinion can be formed
of its affinities.

To procure the seeds from which have sprung the
beautiful trees that are seen in the gardens of Paris,
I felled several stocks, and thus had an opportunity
of examining the quality of the wood. Its grain is fine
and soft; it is principally remarkable for the yellow

l36 YELLOW WOOD.

colour of the heart , which speedily imparts this hue to
cold water; but the colour is fugitive even where the
wood is boiled with alum. The inhabitants of the coun-
try were very desirous of finding some method of ren-
dering it permanent.

Aside from the fine vegetation of the Yellow Wood ,
the brilliant colour of its heart appears to me to be a
sufficient motive for multiplying it till we become able
to appreciate its importance in dying.

PLATE LXXVIII.

A leaf of half the natural size. A hunch of flowers of
the natural size. Fig. i , A pod. Fig. 2 , A seed.

PI. 70.

Sweel Locust
Gledtkria iriaoan/h(h

/VWVVV\\\VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV\A\/V^^

SWEET LOCUST.

Polygamia dioecia. Linn. Leguminosae. Jirss.

Gleditsia triacanthos. G. ramis spinosis; spinis crassis-,
foliis lineari-oblongis; legiiminibus longis , compressis ,
polyspermis.

The Sweet Locust belongs peculiarly to the country
west of the Alleghany Mountains, and it is scarcely
found in any part of the Atlantic States, except in Lime-
stone Valley and its branches, which lie between the
iirst and second ranges of the Alleghanies , beginning
near Harrisburgh in Pennsylvania , in the latitude of
4o° 42', and extending from north-east to south-west
into the State of Virginia. The soil in this valley is gene-
rally very substantial. In the fertile bottoms which are
watered by the rivers emptying into the Mississippi , in
the Illinois country, arid, still more, in the southern
part of Kentucky and Tennessee , the Sweet Locust is
abundant. It commonly grows with the Black Waluut,
Shell-bark Hickory, Red Elm, Blue Ash, Locust, Box
Elder and Coffee Tree, and forms a part of the forests
that cover the most fertile soils. In different parts of the
United States, this species is called indifferently Sweet
Locust and Honey Locust j the French of Illinois call it
Fewer.

i38 SWEET LOCUST.

In situations the most favourable to its growth , such
as I have observed on the banks of the Ohio , between
Gallipolis and Limestone , the Sweet Locust attains a
very ample size. I have measured several stocks which
were 3 or 4 feet in diameter , and which appeared to
equal in height the loftiest trees of these immemorial
forests. Some of them had the trunk undivided for 40
feet.

The Sweet Locust is easily known by its bark , which ,
at intervals of a few inches, detaches itself laterally
in plates 3 or 4 inches wide and 2 or 3 lines thick ,.
and by the form of its trunk , which appears to be
twisted, and which presents three or four crevices of
inconsiderable depth , opening irregularly from the
bottom towards the top. The large thorns which cover
the branches , and frequently the trunk of young trees ;
afford another very distinct character. These thorns
are sometimes several inches long, ligneous, of a red-
dish colour, and armed, at some distance from the
base , with two secondary thorns about half the size
of the first.

The leaves of the Sweet Locust are pinnated and com-
posed of small, oval, serrate, sessile leaflets. This fo-
liage is elegant and of an agreeable tint ; but it is thin ,
and scarcely obstructs the passage of the sun-beams. It
is shed annually at the approach of winter.

The flowers are small, not very conspicuous , and dis-
posed in bunches. The fruit is in the form of flat,

SWEET LOCUST. l3g

crooked, pendulous pods, from 12 to 18 inches long ,
and of a reddish brown colour. The pods contain brown
smooth, hard seeds, enveloped in a pulpy substance,
which , for a month after their maturity , is very
sweet , and which then becomes extremely sour. Beer
is sometimes made by fermenting this pulp while fresh;
but the practise is not general, as the Apple Tree and
Peach Tree , particularly the last, have become common
in the Western Country, and afford a much superior
beverage.

The perfect wood or heart of the Sweet Locust nearly
resembles that of the Locust , but its grain is coarser
and its pores more open : in these respects it is more
strikingly characterised even than the wood of the Red
Oak. When perfectly seasoned it is extremely hard. It is
little esteemed in Kentucky, where it is more employed,
and consequently can be better appreciated , than else-
where. It is used neither by the carpenter nor the wheel-
wright : it is sometimes taken by the farmers for rails
to fence their fields , but only when they are unable
to procure better wood. It is found by experience to
be far inferior to the Wild Cherry and Black Walnut
for cabinet-making. The only destination for which it
appears to be peculiarly adapted is the forming of
hedges , which would be rendered impenetrable by its
long thorns.

The Sweet Locust has been cultivated for many years
in Europe. It flourishes, blooms, and yields seed in the

i4o sweet locust;

climates of London and Paris ; but its vegetation is less

active than in the south of France.

PLATE LXXIX.

A branch with leaves and a thorn of the natural size.
Fig. i, A pod of the natural size. Fig. 2, A seed.

PUo.

Water Locust.
(rledw&a mvnosperma .

Oahnfl s.it/f

»VVVVVVVVVVVVIVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV*VVVWVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

WATER LOCUST.

Gleditsia monosperma; G. ramis subspinosis ; foliolis
ovato-oblongis; leguminibus ovations , mucronatis } mo-
nospermis.

This species is plainly distinct from the preceding,
especially in the form of its fruit , and belongs to a
more southern climate ; in the Atlantic States it is first
seen in the lower part of South Carolina. The point at
which it is found nearest to Charleston is about two
miles beyond Slanbridge, at the distance of 32 miles;
In South Carolina , as well as in Georgia and East Flo-
rida, where I have myself observed it, this tree, though
not very rare , is not common , and the traveller some-
times loses sight of it for whole days, in tracts that
seem peculiarly favourable to its growth. In the West-
ern Country it is found 3 or 4 degrees farther north ,
near Kaskaskias in the Illinois Country.

In the Southern and maritime part of the United
States this tree is designated by no other name than
that of Water Locust , and grows only in the large
swamps that border the rivers , where the soil is con-
stantly wet and, often, inundated at the season of the
rising of the waters. It is commonly associated with the
Cypress, Large Tupelo, Red-flowering Maple, Overcup
ii. 19

1^2 WATER LOCUST.

Oak, Planer Tree, and Nutmeg Hickory. It is probably
found, also, united with the same trees, in the impene-
trable forests which cover the swamps on the banks of
the Mississippi.

The Water Locust is 5o or 60 feet high , and from
1 to 2 feet in diameter. The bark upon the trunk of
young trees is smooth ; on old stocks it is cracked , but
less deeply than that of the Oaks and the Walnuts. The
branches , like those of the Sweet Locust , are armed
with thorns , which are less numerous , smaller and
more pointed ; they are often simple , or accompanied
near the base with a single secondary thorn.

The leaves nearly resemble those of the Sweet Locust,
from which they differ in being a little smaller in all
their proportions.

The flowers , which are not conspicuous , are of a
greenish colour and destitute of odour. The pods are
ripe at the beginning of November. They are reddish ,
about an inch in diameter, and united in bunches of
three or four pods, each of which contains a single
naked seed.

The wood of the Water Locust resembles that of the
Sweet Locust in its loose texture and yellow colour;
but as it grows in wet grounds , it is consequently infe-
rior in quality. In Carolina and Georgia it is wholly ne-
glected in use.

I believe there exists in the Western States another
species of Prickly Locust , whose pods are narrow and

WATER LOCUST. l43

only 4 inches in length ; but my information is not suf-
ficiently accurate to allow me to describe it.

PLATE LXXX;

A branch with leaves and a thorn of the natural size.
Fig. i , A pod of the natural size. Fig. 2, A seed.

SASSAFRAS.

Eneandria moilogynia. Linn. Laurinae. Juss.

LAURUs SASSAFRAS. L. foliis deciduis , integris trilobisque ;
jloribus dio'icis.

The Sassafras , on account of its medicinal virtues ,
was among the first trees of America which became
known to the Europeans.

Monardes in i54g , and after him Clusius , who have
written on the foreign vegetables employed in medicine,
treat at length of the uses of its wood in certain diseases.
Hernandes, in his history of the plants of New Mexico,
published in i638, mentions the Sassafras among the
trees of the province of Mechoacan ; but I doubt whe-
ther it is as common in that part of North America as
in the regions which lie east of the Mississippi.

In the United States , the neighbourhood of Ports-
mouth in New Hampshire , in the latitude of 43°, may
be assumed as one of the extreme points at which it is
found towards the north-east : in the Western Country
it is met with one degree farther north. But in these la-
titudes the Sassafras is only a tall shrub , rarely exceed-
ing i5 or 20 feet in height. A few degrees farther south ,
in the neighbourhood of New York and Philadelphia , it
grows to the height of 4o or 5o feet, and attains a still

Pi Si

Btssa del.

Sassafras.

La an is sassafras .

Gabriel sculp.

SASSAFRAS. l4$

loftier stature in some parts of Virginia, the Carolinas,'
and the Floridas , as well as in the Western States and
in Upper and Lower Louisiana. It is abundant through-
out these countries , except in the mountainous districts
of the Alleghanies, by which they are divided, where it
appears to be comparatively rare. In fine, from Boston
to the banks of the Mississippi , and from the shores of
the Ocean in Virginia to the remotest wilds of Upper
Louisiana beyond the Missouri , comprising an extent
in each direction of more than 1800 miles , the Sassafras
is sufficiently multiplied to be ranked among the most
common trees. It is seen growing on lands of every
description , from the dry and gravelly to the moist
and fertile, with the exception of such as are arid and
sandy to excess, like the pine -barrens of the Southern
States : neither is it found in the swamps that border
the rivers by which these States are watered.

In the low , maritime parts of Virginia , of the two
Carolinas and of Georgia, the Sassafras is observed
to grow of preference about plantations and in soils
which have been exhausted by cultivation and aban-
doned. The old trees give birth to hundreds of shoots;
which spring from the earth at little distances , but
which rarely rise higher than 6 or 8 feet. Though this
tree is common on poor lands , and blooms and ma-
tures its seed at the height of 1 5 or 20 feet , yet it is never
of very ample dimensions , except in fertile soils, such
as form the declivities which skirt the swamps , and

1$ SASSAFRAS.

such as sustain the luxuriant forests of Kentucky and
West Tennessee.

The leaves are 4 or 5 inches in length, alternate, and
petiolated. At their unfolding in the spring they are
downy and of a tender texture. They are of different
shapes upon the same tree , being sometimes oval and
entire , and sometimes divided into lobes , which are
generally three in number, and which are rounded at
the summit. The lotted leaves are the most numerous
and are situated on the upper part of the tree.

About New York and Philadelphia the Sassafras is in
full bloom in the beginning of May, and six weeks
earlier in South Carolina. The flowers unfold before
the leaves , and appear in small clusters at the end of
the last year's shoots. They are of a greenish yellow hue,
and are but slightly odoriferous. In this species of Laurel
the sexes are confined to different stocks. The fruit or
seed is of an oval form and of a deep blue colour, and
is contained in small bright red cups, supported by
peduncles from i to 2 inches in length. These seeds ,
when ripe , are eagerly devoured by the birds , and soon
disappear from the tree.

The bark which covers the trunk of an old Sassafras,
is of a greyish colour and is chapped into deep cracks.
On cutting into it , it exhibits a dark dull red , a good
deal resembling the colour of the Peruvian bark. The
bark of the young branches and suckers is smooth and
of a beautiful green colour. The wood of this tree is not

SASSAFRAS. ifo

strong, and branches of considerable size maybe broken
with a slight effort. In the young tree the wood is while ;
in those which exceed i5 or 18 inches in diameter it is
reddish and of a closer grain. It is not, however, in
these respects to be compared with the Oak and the
Hickory. Experience shews that this wood , stripped of
its bark , resists for a considerable period the progress
of decay ; and it is on this account employed for the
posts and rails of rural fence. It is also sometimes used
in the country for joists and rafters in houses built of
wood. I have been informed that it is secure from the
attacks of worms : this advantage is attributed to its
odour which it preserves as long as it is sheltered from
the sun and the rain. Bedsteads made of it are never
infested by insects. But for these purposes the Sassa-
fras wood is not in habitual use , and is only occasion-
ally employed in the country : it is never seen exposed
to sale in the lumber -yards of the large towns , and it
appears incapable of ever becoming an article of great
interest in the mechanical arts. For fuel, also, it is
held in little esteem, and it is only in the cities of the
Southern States, which are not , like those of the north ,
abundantly furnished with fuel , that it is brought into
the market as wood of the third quality. Its bark con-
tains a great deal of air, and snaps while burning like
that of the Chesnut.

The medicinal virtues of the Sassafras are so well
proved , that during more than 200 years , since its first

l48 SASSAFRAS.

introduction into materia medica, it has maintained
the reputation of an excellent sudorific, which may he
advantageously employed in cutaneous affections , in
chronic rheumatisms , and in siphilitic diseases of long
standing. In the last case it is always joined with lignum
vitae and salsaparella. The wood is slightly aromatic , but
the smell and taste which are peculiar to the vegetable
are more sensible in the young branches , and incom-
parably more so in the bark of the roots ; this part of
the tree therefore should always be preferred , for the
wood appears to me to contain but a small degree of
the qualities assigned to it, and even this it loses after
being long kept. From the bark of the roots, which is
thick and sanguineous , the greatest quantity of essential
oil is extracted : this oil, after long exposure to the
cold , is said to deposit very beautiful crystals.

The flowers of the Sassafras when fresh have likewise
a weak aromatic odour. A great number of people in
the United States , in the country and even in the cities,
consider them as stomachic and efficacious in purifying
the blood ; and, for this purpose , during a fortnight in
the spring, they drink an infusion of them with a little
sugar , in the manner of tea. They are carried to market
in the cities, and sold at 7 or 8 cents a pint. To gather
the flowers , the branches are lopped and often the
whole tree is cut down : great havock is in this way
made of the species.
. The dried leaves and the young branches of the Sas-»

SASSAFRAS. l49

safras contain a mucilaginous principle nearly resem-
bling that of the Ochro. Tn Louisiana the leaves are used
by the inhabitants to thicken their pottage.

In Virginia, and in the more Southern States, the
country people make a beer by boiling the young shoots
of the Sassafras in water, to which a certain quantity of
melasses is added, and the whole is left to ferment:
this beer is considered as a very salutary drink during
the summer.

Such is the result of my observations on the Sassafras,
a tree highly interesting from its uses in medecine. It is,
in my opinion, sufficiently valuable in this respect to
merit propagation in Europe : in the South of France
and in Italy it would undoubtedly thrive , since it suc-
ceeds in the climate of Paris and London.

PLATE LXXXI.

A. branch with leaves and fruit of their natural size.
Fig. i.; Male flowers. Fig. 2, Female flowers.

II. 20

v^'Vv»\^^vvv^v\^.vvvvv\^vv\v»\\vvvv^v^\vvv^^^^^^vvvlv.\'\l^vvv\\v^^^'\vl\^vv\v\•v^w.^v^vw»v^vl\w\v«^Jvwvvv>.\<;>

RED BAY.

Laurus caroliniensis. Z. foliis perennantibus , ovatb-
acurmnatis } subtiis subglaucis } baccis ccendeis.

This species of Laurel is first observed in the lower
part of Virginia , and it continues to be seen uninter-
ruptedly throughout the maritime districts of the Caro-
linas and of Georgia , in the two Floridas , and in Lower
Louisiana. It is confined, as well as several other trees
which I have described , precisely within the limits
which I have assigned to the pine-barrens.

This tree is known only by the name of Red Bay. It is
profusely multiplied , and with the Sweet Bay, Tupelo ,
Red-flowering Maple, Water Oak, etc., it fills the
branch- swamps which intersect the pine -barrens. It is
seen on the skirts of the great swamps which border
the rivers and around the ponds covered with the
Laurus ceslivalis , Pond-bush , that are met with in the
barrens. A cool and humid soil appears to be essential
to its growth, for it is never found in dry and sandy
lands. It is also remarked that the farther south it
grows, the more vigorous and beautiful is its vegeta-
tion : thus in the southern part of Georgia and in the
Floridas it is often 60 or 70 feet high, and from i5
to 20 inches in diameter : dimensions which it more
rarely attains in the Garolinas. Perhaps, also , as the Ga-

-CL. J. Met&nefe del

lied Lav.
/ aunts ctrro/uitc/urt.i. ?.

fain*/ sealf

RED BAY. l5r

rolinas have been longer inhabited and are more fully
peopled , the largest stocks have been felled for certain
uses to which they are found perfectly adapted.

"When the Red Bay arrives at a lofty stature , it rarely
exhibits a regular form : its trunk is generally crooked
and divided into several thick limbs at 8., 10 or 12 feet
from the ground. It differs in this respect from the Lob-
lolly.Bay, the Sweet Gum, the Tupelo, and the Oaks,
whose trunk is straight and of nearly an uniform size
for 20 or 3o feet.

Upon old trunks the bark is thick and deeply fur-
rowed ; that of the young branches , on the contrary ,
is smooth and of a beautiful green colour. The leaves
are about 6 inches long, alternate, oval -acuminate,
whitish or glaucous on the lower surface , and ever-
green. "When bruised , they diffuse a strong odour re-
sembling that of the Sweet Bay, Laurus iwhilis, and
may be employed, in cookery. The flowers arc disposed
in small , axillary bunches , springing between the leaf
and the twig , and are supported by slightly downy pe-
duncles. The fruit or seed is oval and very similar to that
of the Sassafras. The seeds germinate with ease, and
the old trees are surrounded by hundreds of young
plants.

The wood of the Red Bay is of a beautiful rose
colour; it is strong, has a fine, compact grain, and
is susceptible of a brilliant polish. Before Mahogany
became the reigning fashion in cabinet - making , this

1^2 RED BAY.

wood was commonly employed in the Southern Stales,
and afforded articles of furniture of the highest beauty.
That it is no longer used is attributable to the difficulty
of finding trees of sufficient diameter , and to the faci-
lity of obtaining Mahogany, which is imported in large
blocks from St. Domingo, at a moderate price.

It has lately been discerned that the Red Bay, like
the Red Cedar, may be usefully employed in ship-
building, as it unites the properties of strength and
durability. In the southern part of Georgia and in East
Florida , when stocks are met with of considerable di-
mensions, they are sent, in the form of square timber,
to New York and Philadelphia with the Live Oak and
the Red Cedar.

In fine, the Red Bay is a handsome tree, whose wood
is elegant and of a superior quality , but which rarely
attains such dimensions as to afford important resources
to the arts : such at least appears to be the result of ex-
perience as far as it has gone.

PLATE LXXXIL

A branch with leaves and seeds of the natural size.

PL 83.

CampJnre Tree.
LaztruJ aww/wra

CAMPHOR TREE.

Laurus camphora. L. foliis ovatis , utrinque acuminatls ,
trinerviis, nitidis ; petiolis laxis ; fmctibus atropurpureis.

Among the vegetables of the Old Continent which
possess a high degree of interest for the United States ,
the Camphor Tree holds an eminent place. It especially
deserves attention from the inhabitants of the Floridas ,
of the lower part of the Carolinas, and of Lower Loui-
siana. Its multiplication in these climates would be so
easy, that after a few years it might be abandoned to
nature.

The Camphor Tree in its general character is nearly
related to the Red Bay, so common throughout the
regions which I have just mentioned : they are of the
same height , are both ever-green , and are so similar in
appearance that at a little distance they are easily con-
founded.

The Camphor Tree grows in China, Japan and some
other parts of the East Indies. It often exceeds 4© or 5o
feet in height , with a proportional diameter. The leaves
are supported by long petioles, and are alternate, shin-
ing on both sides, 2 or 3 inches long, an inch broad ,
and acuminate at both extremities , with distinct longi-
tudinal ribs. The young branches are green.

The flowers, like those of the Red Bay, are diminu-

20*

1 54 CAMPHOR TREE.

live, whitish, and united in small axillary bunches. The
seeds resemble those of the Red Bay in size and form ,
but are of a dark purple colour. The leaves, the bark,
the wood and the roots are strongly impregnated with
the odour of Camphor : from the roots especially, this
substance , so useful in medicine, is extracted.

In China and Japan the unrefined Camphor is ob-
tained in the following manner : the roots are cut into
small pieces and boiled with water in large iron retorts,
of which the cover is made of earth and garnished with
cords of rice - straw. When the ebullition commences ,
the Camphor rises with the vapour and attaches itself to
these cords in the form of greyish dust , in which state
it is brought to Europe. The greater part of the Camphor
of commerce comes from the province of Sotsoanna
and from the Isles of Gotha.

Till within a few years the Dutch have exclusively pos-
sessed the secret of refining the Camphor, and of bring-
ing it into a state proper for medical use. But chemistry
has made such rapid progress in France since the revo-
lution , that this art among others has become known,
and it is now extensively practised in the laboratories of
Paris. We are informed , in general , that the distillation
is effected without water, in glass retorts , with the ad-
dition of one sixteenth part of quick lime.

The Camphor thus refined is a whitish , transparent
resin , highly volatile and inflammable , and of a very
penetrating odour. It is so light that it floats upon water,

CAMPHOR TREE. l55

and so inflammable that it may be entirely consumed
upon the surface of the fluid.

Camphor is regarded as one of the most powerful
remedies in the art of medicine : it is sedative , anti-
septic, and diaphoretic ; but it is considered as injurious
in inflammatory complaints : the ablest physicians unite
sulphat of potash or nitre with it as a corrective.

From its powerful antiseptic properties it is frequently
employed in the preservation of animal substances, and
always forms a part of the composition destined to se-
cure the skins of birds and quadrupeds from decay, in
collections of natural history.

Another tree which is also natural to the East Indies ,
and which, according to M. Corea de Serra, has a
great affinity to the Shorea robusta of Dr. Roxburg , fur-
nishes Camphor of an excellent quality. This substance
is obtained likewise from certain plants of the class of
Labice, such as Lavander and Mint, but not in sufficient
quantities to form an article of commerce.

PLATE LXXXIII.

A branch with leaves and fruit of the natural size. Fig. i ,
Flowers.

*vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv*vwvvvvvv\wvvvvv*vvv\/vvvvvv^

AMERICAN HOLLY.

Dicecia tetrandria. Limn. Rhamnoidae. Juss.

Ilex OPACA. /. folds ovalibus , ngide patuleque dentato-
spinosis ; fructibus ovdideis, rubris.

Among the Hollies of North America, I shall confine
myself to the description of a single species, which
sometimes grows to a great height , and whose wood is
employed in the arts. It is designated in all parts of the
United States where it grows by the name of American
Holly.

I am unable to mark the northern limit of this tree
with as much precision as that of many others ; but I be-
lieve it does not extend far beyond Long Island , though
it is already common in Lower Jersey. It is found in all
the more southern States, in the Floridas, in Lower
Louisiana and in West Tennessee , but it is observed to
become more rare in approaching the mountains. On
the eastern shore of Maryland, and in certain parts of
Virginia , for instance near Richmond , where it parti-
cularly abounds , it grows almost exclusively on open
grounds and in dry and gravelly soils ; while in South
Carolina, Georgia and Lower Louisiana it is seen only
in shady places , on the edges of swamps , where the

H?&dou& del

American Holly
Bex optica . .

AMERICAN HOLLY. 1$*}

soil is cool and fertile. Its vegetation in these situations
is so vigorous that it equals 40 feet in height and 12 or
1 5 inches in diameter.

The American Holly, in its pyramidical shape and in its
brilliant ever-green foliage, bears a striking resemblance
to the European species, Ileocaquifolium. Its leaves present
a slight difference, being less twisted, less acuminate,
and of a lighter green. Its flowers are white and not
conspicuous. They are succeeded by numerous red ber-
ries which remain long attached to the branches. Upon
the trunk of old trees the bark is smooth and of a whit-
ish grey colour ; on the young branches it is green and
shining.

The wood of the American Holly is very similar to
that of the European species ; they are both heavy and
compact , with a white alburnum and brown heart. Its
grain is fine and compact ; hence it is very brilliant
when polished. Its principal use is for inlaying maho-
gany furniture : the black lines with which cabinet-
makers sometimes adorn their work are of Holly died
in the coppers of the hatter. As it turns well, it is chosen
for light screws and for the small boxes in which apo-
thecaries put their opiates. When perfectly dry, this
wood is very hard and unyielding, hence it is excellently
adapted for the pullies which are used in ships ; but the
Lignum Yitae , which is easily and cheaply procured
from the West Indies , is preferred.
The best bird-lime employed in Europe is made of
11. 21

l58 AMERICAN HOLLY.

the Holly. The inner bark is pounded into a paste which
is put into pots and left to ferment in the cellar. When
the process has proceeded far enough, the paste is
washed, to separate the ligneous fibres , and preserved
in close vases with the addition of a little oil. This sub-
stance is green , soft , and very viscid. It is condensed by
cold and softened by heat.

The attempt has been successfully made of employ-
ing the Holly for hedges, which are very dense and
which have the recommendation of preserving their
foliage through the year : but it is found in Europe that
the Thorn and the Locust possess superior advantages ;
especially where it is necessary, as in the United States,
to enclose large tracts of arable land. The seeds of the
Holly, of the Thorn and of the Dogwood do not spring
before the second or third year ; but I have been told
that they may be caused to shoot the first year by the
following very simple method. After gathering the seeds,
which are ripe towards the close of autumn, they must
be cleared of the pulpy envelope by rubbing them in
water; they are afterwards slightly covered with earth
in a box, and deposited during the winter in the
cellar. Care must be taken to keep the earth moist by
watering it from time to time , for the purpose of swel-
ling the seeds. When the warm season commences ,
they are committed to the earth, in the spot where
they are to remain. The berries of the Holly are pur-
gative, and, taken to the number of i5 or 20, they

AMERICAN HOLLY. l5g

excite vomiting ; but there are so many remedies whose
operation is better understood and more certain , that
the best treatises on materia medlca attach little impor-
tance to this vegetable.

My enquiries concerning the American Holly have
not led me to an acquaintance with any property which
should entitle it to a preference in Europe over our
native species , Ilex aquifolium.

PLATE LXXXIV.

A branch with leaves and fruit of the natural size.

SOREL TREE.

Decandriamonogynia. Linn. Ericeae. Joss.

Andromeda arborea. A. foliis oblongo-ovalibus , acumi-
natis, denticulatis ; paniculis terminalibus ; corollis sub-
pubescentibus.

Obs. Arbor altitudinem 5o-6o pedum assequens.

This is the only species of Andromeda which rises to
a sufficient height to be ranked among forest trees. It
begins to appear on the Alleghanies in Virginia , and is
found to their termination in Georgia. It grows also in
the Southern States on the steep banks of the rivers
that flow from the mountains; but it becomes more
rare in following them from their source, whether east-
ward or westward , and ceases entirely in the maritime
parts of the Carolinas and of Georgia.

I have nowhere seen the Sorel Tree of ampler dimen-
sions than in the fertile vallies at the foot of the lofty
mountains of North Carolina , particularly in those
whose waters unite in the northern branch of the river
Catawbaw, about 3o miles from Morgantown and 3oo
miles from Charleston. In these vallies I have measured
Sorel Trees which were 5o feet high and 12 or 1 5 inches
in diameter. Tbis is an extraordinary size for a tree of
this genus, which is very numerous in the Atlantic

PL. St

«i

dd.

Sore] Tree

. //t</ro/t i<!(t\ i at horea

G-aJ>7iel sculp

sorel tree; *6i

States, and three fourths of whose species, to the
number of eight or ten , rarely exceed 6 feet in height
and an mch in diameter. The growth of the Sorel Tree
is observed to be stinted in dry and gravelly lands , so
that it presents itself in the form of a bush : as I have
particularly remarked about Knoxville , where it is most
abundant.

The leaves of the Sorel Tree are downy in the spring,
but they become smooth and glabrous in acquiring their
growth. They are alternate , oval-acuminate , finely den-
ticulated , and from 4 to 5 inches long.

The flowers are small , white , and formed into spikes
5 or 6 inches long. United in groups they have a fine
effect , and render this tree very proper for the embel-
lishment of gardens. The seeds are exceedingly minute,
and are contained in small capsules.

On the trunk of the Sorel Tree the bark is thick and
deeply furrowed.The wood is of a pale rose colour and
very soft. It burns with difficulty, and is wholly rejected
in the arts.

The acidity of its leaves has procured this tree the
appropriate name of Sorel Tree. In drying they become
black, and, when sumac is not to be obtained, they are
used to impart this colour to wool.

The Sorel Tree endures an intenser degree of cold
than that of its native climate. I have seen a stock 18
feet high flourishing at New York , where the winter
is more severe than in any part of France or England.

162 SOREL TREE.

This fact should induce amateurs to multiply it on ac-
count of its beautiful flowers, which it hegins to display
at the height of 5 or 6 feet.

PLATE LXXXV.

A branch with leaves and flowers of the natural size.
Fig. i j Capsules which contain the seed. Fig. 2 ; Seeds.

H. J. Redouts <t£"/,

(raim/ •scuA'.

•<f amefHcana.

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DEVIL WOOD.

Dioecia diandria. Linn. Jasminae. Jvss.

O LEA Americana. O. foliis late oblanceolatis j coriaceisy
lucidis, integejrimis ; drupa globosd.

This tree belongs exclusively to the Southern States ,
the Floridas and Lower Louisiana ; towards the North it
is not found beyond Norfolk in Virginia , and , like the
Live Oak and the Cabbage Tree, it is confined to the
sea-shore, being rarely found even at a small distance
within the country. It is so little multiplied , that it has
hitherto received no name from the inhabitants of the
country, except on the banks of the river Savannah ,
where it is called Devil Wood.

' This tree grows in soils and exposures extremely dif-
ferent : on the sea-shore it springs with the Live Oak in
the most barren and sullry spots , and in other places it
is seen with the Big Laurel , the Umbrella Tree , the
Sweet Leaves, etc., in cool, fertile and shaded situa-
tions.

This tree, or, to speak more accurately, this large
shrub, is sometimes 3o or 35 feet high, and 10 or 12
inches in diameter : but this size is extraordinary ; it
commonly fructifies at the height of 8, 10, or 12 feet.
The leaves are 4 or 5 inches long, opposite and lanceo-
late, entire at the edge, smooth and brilliant on the

j64 DEVIL WOOD.

upper surface, and of an agreeable light green. They
are evergreen, or at least are partially renewed only
once in 4 or 5 years. The fertile and barren flowers
are on separate trees : they are very small, strongly
scented , of a pale yellow, and axillary, or situated be-
tween the petiole of the leaves and the branches. The
season of flowering, in the neighbourhood of Charles-
ton, is about the end of April. The fruit is round, and
about twice as large as a common pea. When ripe , it is
of a purple colour , approaching to blue , and consists
of a hard stone thinly coated with pulp. As it remains
attached to the branches during a part of the winter ;
its colour forms , at this season , an agreeable contrast
with the foliage.

The bark which covers the trunk of the Devil Wood
is smooth and greyish. The wood has a fine and com-
pact grain , and when perfectly dry it is excessively hard
and very difficult to cut or split : hence is derived the
name of Devil Wood. It is, notwithstanding, neglected
in use. On laying bare the cellular integument of the
bark, its natural yellow hue changes instantaneously
to a deep red, and the wood, by contact with the
air, assumes a rosy complexion. Eexperiments should
be made to detect the nature of this active principle in
the bark, which causes it to change colour so suddenly
by exposure to the air.

From the temperature of the native skies of this tree
we may conclude that it is capable of resisting a greater

DEVIL WOOD. l55

degree of cold than the Common Olive : it becomes
then, on account of its beautiful foliage, its odoriferous
flowers and its showy fruit, a valuable acquisition to Italy
and the South of France.

PLATE LXXXVI.

A branch with leaves and fruit of the natural size. Fig. i,
Flowers.

II. 3 3

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OLIVE TREE.

OleA EUEOPJEA. O. folits lanceolatis, integcirimis ;
racemis paniculaiis.

Since the introduction of the vine , the Olive seems
principally wanting to complete the vegetable riches of
the United States ; and, probably, it might be cultivated
with success on some portion of their soil.

The genus of the Olives, of which one species only is
found in North America, is more diversified in the
eastern hemisphere : nine species are mentioned by bo-
tanical writers , which are natives of remote extremities
of the Old World. The Oka fragrans grows in China
and Japan : its flowers are impregnated with the sweet-
est odour, and are employed by the Chinese to perfume
their tea.

But none of these species forms an object of great
importance in the rural economy of the regions to
which they are indigenous, nor does their introduction
promise very beneficial fruits to the agriculture of other
countries. It is far otherwise with the European Olive.
This ornament of the vegetable kingdom, which is called
by Columella the first among trees, has constituted, from
the remotest antiquity, the pride of some of the most
celebrated regions of the globe; and, aside from the
commercial value of its products, it is invested, both by

Olive Tree
Olea Europaea .

OLIVE TREE. 167

sacred and profane history, with a thousand interesting
associations.

It is difficult, or rather impossible, to assign with
precision the native climate of the Olive : the most pro-
bable opinion is that it came originally from Asia Minor,
and that it was also indigenous to Egypt, or introduced
into that country at an early period of its settlement. It
was transplanted to Greece by the Egyptian colonies.
The Phenicians probably carried it to Carthage , and the
Carthaginians to Spain. Before its introduction into
Spain , the Phenicians carried on a lucrative trade with
the Spaniards in oil , which they exchanged for bars of
gold. Pliny informs us that this culture was unknown in
Spain and Italy in the reign of Tarquinius Priscus, but
that when once introduced it was rapidly diffused. The
Olive was planted in France by the Phocean colony
which founded Marseilles , 600 years before Christ.

The Athenians held the Olive in such esteem, that
they ascribed its production to their tutelary deity. This
beneficent miracle, which is retraced in the monuments
of Athens , is differently represented by ancient au-
thors ; it is thus agreeably related by Apollodorus Athe-
niensis : In the reign of Cecrops leave was first given
to the Gods to assume the patronage of cities , in which
they might appropriate to themselves peculiar honours.
Upon which Neptune came into Attica , and , standing
in the middle of the citadel , smote the earth with his
trident and caused the sea to flow at his feet. After him

22*

l68 OLIVE TREE.

appeared Minerva, who , calling Cecrops to be a witness
of what she was about to perform , caused an Olive
Tree to spring from the ground. A contention hence
arose between these divinities, io appease which Jupiter
appointed the twelve Gods to be judges of the dispute ,
by whom , on the testimony of Cecrops , it was decided
in favour of Minerva. The goddess, thus become tutelar
divinity of the city, called it after her own name ; and
Neptune , irritated by his defeat , inundated all Attica
to revenge the affront.

The Olive has flourished chiefly on the shores of the
Mediterranean Sea , between the 36th and the 44tn ae~
grees of latitude. It still abounds in Greece : in the north-
ern provinces it requires to be placed on hill-sides ex-
posed to the south , that it may be warmed by the re-
flected heat; but in Attica the climate, as well as the soil
and face of the country , is peculiarly favourable to its
growth. * Near the foot of the mountains the Olives form
vast curtains of a pale green , which is agreeably con-
trasted with the deeper verdure of the meadows be-
neath, and with the dusky grey of the rocks above. 2The
beautiful plain of Athens , as seen towards the north-
west from Mount Hymettus, appears entirely covered
with them. 3The Wild Olive grows upon the mountains
with the Pine and the Oak, and the cultivated varieties

i See Beaujour's Commerce of Greece.

2 See Olioier's Travels.

3 See Beaujour's Commerce of Greece.

OLIVE TREE. 169

are reared about the villages with the Fig Tree and the
Pomegranate Tree.

The produce of the soil is said to be one third greater
when planted with Olives, than under any other species
of culture ; and oil is the principal article of commerce
which affords the Athenians the enjoyments of life and
the means of paying their taxes.

But the industry of the Greeks languishes beneath a
despotism restricted to no forms and tempered by no
public opinion , whose extemporaneous oppression it is
impossible by the most ingenious calculations to elude.
In ancient Athens a premium was given for the multi-
plication of the Olive, and severe penalties were in-
flicted upon proprietors who destroyed it even on their
own estates. The Turks, on the contrary, subject it to
a return of one tenth , to which is added a tax of a para
for each tree , imposed by Sultan Selim III. To avoid
the exactions to which he is a prey, the unhappy Athe-
nian peasant frequently prefers cutting down his Olives,
or selling them at a price unequal to the value of their
annual produce.

The Wild Olive is common on the islands of the
Propontis, and upon the declivities sloping to the sea
upon the Asiatic side of the Hellespont.

Perhaps one of the finest countries of the -world are
the Persian provinces of Ghilan and Mazenderan, which
lie north of the Caspian Mountains, between the 37th
and the 38th degrees of latitude. The soil is fertile and

170 olive tree;

watered by innumerable streams that gush from the
bosom of these mountains ; the surface is even, and,
from the depression of the level and from the proximity
of the Caspian Sea, the climate is mild and equable. The
Olive is found here with the Mulberry, the Orange
Tree , and other productions of warm climates, which
do not flourish in the more southern parts of this dry
and sterile kingdom.

In Syria the Olive grows spontaneously ; but it is rare,
and its cultivation is neglected. The natural advantages
of a country formed to be the seat of the richest and
most powerful empire of Asia, are lost in the absence
of an industrious and enlightened population. The sloth-
ful and improvident habits of the Turks themselves ,
and the paralysing influence of their government , are
particularly unfavourable to a culture whose fruits are
tardy, and which, therefore, requires to be encouraged
by the security of property. The Island of Candia pro-
duces great quantities of oil, and Mitylene or Lesbos ex-
ports pickled olives. Several other Islands of the Archi-
pelago share in this commerce.

In Egypt a few stocks of the Olive are seen in almost
every village ; but it is not extensively multiplied, nor
regarded as one of the resources of agriculture. Oil is
made in several of theBarbary States, and Desfontaines
found the Wild Olive abundant on Mount Atlas.

But the greatest variety of Olives , the most judicious
culture, and the most perfect method of extracting the

OLIVE TREE. 171

oil and of preserving the fruit, are found in Italy, France
and Spain. Bcetica, or that part of Spain which lies be-
tween the Guadalquiver and the sea, is mentioned by
Columella as a country eminently adapted to the Olive ;
and with a more intelligent husbandry it might again
become , as it was in the age of Cicero , the admiration
of Europe.

France is divided by agricultural writers into zones ,
each of which is named after one of its important vege-
table productions, and bounded towards the north by
the line at which this production ceases to flourish. The
Abbe Rozier makes four of these zones succeeding each
other from south to north in the following order : that
of the Orange Tree , which ceases at Ouliolles , near
Toulon ; that of the Olive , which extends to Carcas-
sonne , and of which Nismes may be taken as the ex-
treme boundary ; that of the Vine , and that of the
Apple Tree. In travelling from Toulouse to the shore of
the Mediterranean, along the canal of Languedoc, I
first observed the Olive at a little distance from Carcas-
sonne : but it appeared to have ventured hither only
upon trial, and from the size of the trees I judged them
to be a recent settlement. About Beziers , Montpellier ,
Aix , etc. , the hills in every direction are covered with
Olives.

Thus we see that this inestimable production has been
widely diffused by the bountiful hand of nature.

The beauty of I he Olive is far from corresponding

I72 OLIVE TREE.

to its intrinsic value. It varies in size according to the
soil and climate in which it grows ; and in France the
temperature is not warm enough for its perfect de-
velopement. Pliny says that in Spain it was one of the
largest trees : IS on alia major in Bcetica arbor. On Mount
Atlas, Desfontaines saw Wild Olives from 45 to 60 feet
in height; and Beaujour compares the Olives of the
plains of Marathon to the finest Walnuts for stature
and expansion. Lofty Olives are still seen in the Island
of Corfu , shading the spot where they once enriched
the gardens of Alcinous.

In the Olive-yards of France these trees are generally
from 18 to 20 feet in height , and from 6 inches to 2 feet
in diameter. About Aix , Montpellier , etc. , they are kept
low partly by the disasters to which they are exposed
from the cold , and partly by the care of the cultivator ,
to facilitate the gathering of the fruit. They ramify at a
small height , and form a compact and rounded summit.
The open , coriaceous foliage is of a pale , impoverished
verdure, and the general appearance of the tree is not
unlike that of a common Willow which has been lop-
ped, and which has acquired a new summit of three or
four years' growth.

Indeed the Olive possesses neither the majesty of
forest-trees, nor the gracefulness of shrubbery. It clothes
the hills without adorning them, and, considered as an
accident of the landscape , it does not charge the pic-
ture sufficiently to contribute greatly to its beauty. The

OLIVE TREE. 1J0

rich culture for which the southern provinces of France
are celebrated is less conducive to rural beauty than
some of the humbler species of husbandry. The richest
country is not always the most lovely; a country of
mines , for example , is usually ungracious to the eye ,
and the Olive is called by an Italian writer, a mine upon
the surface of the earth.

This tree is remarkable for its longevity i the ancients
limited its existence to two hundred years , but modern
authors assert that, in climates suited to its constitution,
it survives its fifth century. Relations are made of the
bulk of some of these patriarchal trees , too surprising
to be repeated unless they were perfectly authenticated ;
but in France there are Olives which two men can
hardly compass in their arms.

The main limbs of the Olive are numerously divided :
the branches are opposite, and the pairs are alternately^
placed upon conjugate axes of the limb. The foliage is
ever-green , but a part of it turns yellow and falls in the
summer, and in three years it is completely renewed.
In the spring or early autumn , the seasons when vege-
tation is in its greatest activity , the young leaves come
out immediately above the cicatrice of the former pe-
tioles , and are distinguished by their suppleness and by
the freshness of their tint.

The colour of the leaves varies in the different varie-
ties of the Olive , but they are generally smooth and of
a light green above, whitish and somewhat downy with
II. a3*

174 OLIVE TREE.

a prominent rib beneath. On most of the cultivated va-
rieties they are from i5 lines to 2 inches long, and from
6 to 12 lines broad, lanceolate, entire, nearly sessile ,
opposite and alternate in the manner of the branches.

The Olive is slow in blooming as well as in every func-
tion of vegetable life. The buds begin to appear about
the middle of April, and the bloom is not full before
the end of May or the beginning of June. The flowers
are small , white , slightly odoriferous , and disposed in
axillary racemes or clusters. A peduncle about as long as
the leaf issues from its base , upon which the flowers
are supported by secondary pedicles like those of the
Common Currant. Sometimes the clusters are almost as
numerous as the leaves , and garnish the tree with wan-
ton luxuriance ; at others, they are thinly scattered over
the branches, or seen only at their extremity. It is es-
sential to remark that they are borne by the shoots of
the preceding year. Each flower is complete in itself,
consisting of a calyx, a monopetalous corolla divided
into four lobes, and of the organs of reproduction ,
namely, two stamina and one pistil.

A week after the expanding of the flower the co-
rolla fades and falls. If the calyx remains behind, a fa-
vourable presage is formed of the fruitfulness of the
season : but the hopes of the husbandman are liable to
be blasted at this period by the slightest intemperate-
ness of the elements, which causes the germ to fall
with the flower. Warm weather, accompanied by gentle

OLIVE TREE. I75

breezes that agitate the tree and facilitate the fecunda-
tion , is the most propitious to his vows.

The fruit of the Olive is called by botanists a drupe :
it is composed of pulpy matter enveloping a stone , or
ligneous shell containing a kernel. The olive is ovate,
pointed at the extremity , from 6 to 10 lines in diameter
in one direction , and from 10 to i5 lines in the other :
on the wild tree it hardly exceeds the size of the red
currant. The skin is smooth, and, when ripe , of a vio-
let colour; but in certain varieties it is yellowish or red.
The pulp is greenish, and the stone is oblong, pointed
and divided into two cells , one of which is usually
void. The oil ot the olive is furnished by the pulp, which
is a characteristic almost peculiar to this fruit ; in other
oleaginous vegetables it is extracted from the seed.
The young olive sets in June , increases in size and re-
mains green through the summer, begins to change
colour early in October, and is ripe at the end of
November or in the beginning of December. On the
Wild Olive live or six drupes are ripened upon each pe-
duncle ; but on the cultivated tree a great part of the
flowers are abortive , and the green fruit is cast at every
stage of its growth , so that rarely more than one or two
germs upon a cluster arrive at maturity.

It has been observed from early antiquity that the
produce of the Olive is alternate ; and in France it is
proverbially said to labour one year for itself and one
year for its owner. The cause of this phenomenon will

2$*

176 OLIVE TREE.

be mentioned hereafter. It is asserted that the Wild
Olives are sometimes barren ; but these must be trees
that have sprung from stones dropped upon arid rocks,
in whose crevices the roots barely find nourishment
enough to sustain the abject existence of the plant.

On the branches of the Olive , and on the trunk of
the young tree , the bark it smooth and of an ashy hue.
When the epidermis is removed, the cellular integument
appears of a light green. On old trees the bark upon the
trunk and upon the base of the principal limbs is brown,
rough and deeply furrowed. In the spring and autumn ,
when the sap is in motion , the bark is easily detached
from the body of the tree. .

The wood is heavy, compact , fine-grained and bril-
liant. The alburnum is white and soft , and the perfect
wood is hard, brittle and of a reddish linct , with the
pith nearly effaced as in the Box. It is employed by
cabinet-makers to inlay the finer species of wood which
are contrasted with it in colour, and to form light, orna-
mental articles, such as dressing-cases, tobacco-boxes, etc:
The wood of the roots, which is more agreeably marbled,
is preferred. The Olive was classed by the ancients
among the hard and durable species of wood, such as the
Ebony, the Cedar, the Box and the Lotus. On account
of its hardness its was used for the hinges of doors, and
before metal became common in statuary, it was selected
by the Greeks for the images of their Gods, 'Three sta-

1 Soe Barlhelemy.

OLIVE TREE. I77

tues of Minerva were preserved in the citadel of Athens
which exemplified the progress of this admirable art :
the first , made of Olive wood and of rude workman-
ship, was said to have fallen from heaven; the second,
of bronze, was consecrated after the victory of Marathon ;
the third , of gold and ivory, was one of the miracles of
the age of Pericles.

From its resinous and oleagenous nature, the olive
wood is eminently combustible , and burns as well be-
fore as after it is dried. The value of its fruit renders
this property unimportant ; but after the severe winter
of 1709, which proved fatal to the Olives throughout
Languedoc and Provence , the country was warmed for
a considerable time with this precious wood.

The Olive accommodates itself to almost every variety
of soil; but it shuns a redundancy of moisture, and
prefers loose, calcarious, fertile lands mingled with
stones, such as the territory of Attica and of the South
of France. The quality of its fruit is essentially affected
by that of the soil : it succeeds in good loams which
are capable of bearing corn , but on fat lands it yields
oil of an inferior flavour, and becomes laden with a
barren exuberance of leaves and branches. The temper-
ature of the climate is a consideration of more impor-
tance than the nature of the soil , as all the varieties of
the Olive dread the extremes both of heat and cold.
Neither do they delight in very low or in very ele-
vated situations, but rather in gentle declivites with

178 OLIVE TREE.

an exposure adapted to the climate, where the fresh
breezes, playing among the branches , may contribute
to the health of the tree and to the fineness of the
fruit.

Notwithstanding the delicacy of its complexion , the
Olive is extremely tenacious of life. When the trunk has
perished by frost or by fire, it sprouts anew, and we are
assured that if a bit of the bark , with a thin layer of
wood, is buried in the earth, it becomes a perfect plant.

In this respect the Olive is the polypus of vegetables.
It is multiplied by all the modes that are in use for the
propagation of trees : by sowing the seed, by layers,
by slips, by cuttings of the root, and by sprouts sepa-
rated from the trunk or from the roots of the parent
stock. The most obvious method , that of forming nur-
series from the seed , is generally censured in books ,
and rejected in practice : the difficulty of obtaining the
young plants , and the length of time which must elapse
before they begin to reward the labour of the husband-
man , have discouraged its adoption. But, if these ob-
jections could be obviated , this is doubtless the most
eligible practice. As the plants thus reared begin a new
life, they are more vigorous and of longer duration
than off- setts from an old tree; they form also a per-
pendicular root, which penetrates deeply and secures
them from the danger of suffering by drought.

In most of the experiments that have been made of
this method, the fruit has been sown entire ; and this

OLIVE TREE. 179

is even enjoined, as a necessary precaution. But, how-
ever it may seem to be indicated by nature , such is not
her own process. The stones which produce the Wild
Olives are deposited by animals that digest the pulp , or
by birds that carry away the fruit in their beaks, devour
the pulp and leave the stones to take their chance with
the elements. The principles of vegetable physiology,
also , support the conclusions derived from these obser-
vations. The pulp not only invites the depredations of
animals such as field-mice , pies , etc. ; but this oily en-
velope , by preserving the shell from moisture , prevents
its decaying in season for the germination of the kernel,
which , in the meantime , becomes rancid and loses its
fecundity.

Ripe fruit of the finest varieties is selected ; that of
the Gros Bibles is the best ; and the stones , after being
separated from the pulp , are cleansed in an alkaline so-
lution. A sheltered situation is chosen , where the earth
is thoroughly loosened to the depth of three feet, and
enriched with the warmest manures. In the month of
March the stones are sown, at a small distance apart,
in trenches 2 or 3 inches deep , and covered with earth.
The soil should be kept free from herbage , and occa-
sionally watered during the summer. The young plants
appear in October and continue to vegetate through
the winter ; by the following spring , the most thriving
among them will have attained the height of 3o inches.
The feebler stocks should now be eradicated. With

23*

l8o OLIVE TREE.

proper attention , and in a favourable soil , the remain-
der will be 4 or 5 feet high and 6 or 7 lines in diameter ,
in the course of the third spring, with a perpendicular
root of 3o inches. This is the season for transplanting
them. Great care should be bestowed upon the prepa-
ration of the ground , and the young plants should be
placed 3 feet apart. After two years they will be suffi-
ciently advanced to be grafted, and at the end of five
years they may be transplanted to the olive-yard.

To accelerate the germination , the stones may be
kept in fine mould during the summer and autumn,
and sown in the beginning of January. They soon begin
to vegetate, and before the following winter the young
stocks acquire strength enough to support its rigours,
while the tender plant that comes up in October is in
danger of suffering by the lightest hoar-frost. Perhaps
some advantage would be found in reducing the thick-
ness of the shell before it is committed to the ground ,
in order to expose the germ more speedily to the in-
fluence of those agents which are necessary to its ex-
pansion.

Every mode of grafting is successfully practised on
the Olive : the most common and the most proper for
young stocks is that of inoculation. The operation should
be performed in May, while the juices are in active cir-
culation. Different opinions prevail respecting the in-
sertion of the graft above or below the surface of the
ground : grafting below the surface is attended with this

OLIVE TREE. l8l

advantage, that, when the trunk is destroyed, a generous
progeny springs from its base.

A few stocks should be left to form new varieties.
Fruit trees and flowers lose , in reproduction , the pro-
perties which they had acquired by culture, and tend
anew to the state of nature. But in a great number of
plants reared from the seed , a few are found that equal
or excel the parent : florists consider themselves as for-
tunate, if, among a thousand Hyacinths or Tulips , .they
obtain three or four deserving of notice.

The young Olives begin to yield fruit the tenth or
twelfth year, and are fully productive about the twenty-
fifth or thirtieth : thus Hesiod's observation , that no
man gathers fruit from an Olive of his own planting,
must be admitted with the abatements of poetry.

A second method of forming a nursery , which has
been successfully adopted near Toulon , is by transplant-
ing the young Wild Olives.

The ancients relied principally upon propagation by
slips, and this easy and expeditious mode is still gene-
rally followed in Spain. A smooth , thriving sprout or
branch, one or two inches in diameter, is cut into
pieces twelve or fifteen inches long , which are care-
fully set, without wounding the bark, in ground pre-
pared as for the seed. They are placed at the distance
of three feet , and at such a depth that three inches
only appear above the surface. To encourage the forma-
tion of roots, the larger end, which is committed to
ii. 24

182 OLIVE TREE.

the earth , should be smeared with a composition of
mould and animal manure , and the end which is ex-
posed to the air should be protected by a covering of
clay. Cuttings of the roots , also , buried in an inclined
position in trenches four inches deep, will sprout in
the course of the year. A few months later the feebler
stocks are plucked up , and the more vigorous ones are
left at the distance of three feet. Another easy resource
is found in the shoots that spring up round the base of
an old Olive , or from roots laid bare and wounded for
this purpose.

It is necessary , in every case , to ascertain the point
at which the original stock was grafted. The offspring is
invariably identical in its nature with that part of the pa-
rent tree from which it was separated ; it requires graft-
ing, therefore, if it was detached from a point below the
insertion of the graft , or from a tree which had not
submitted to this process.

All these operations are performed at the close of
winter or the opening of spring. The length of time
which the young plants should remain in the nursery
varies with their size and strength , but it rarely exceeds
four or five years. During this period the ground should
be kept mellow and clean , and occasionally watered in
the summer, if the season is dry. But this indulgence
should not be prodigally bestowed. Vegetable as well as
animal and moral life is susceptible of habitude. For this
reason it is, also, an important precept in the lormation

OLIVE TREE. l83

of nurseries , to select a soil analogous to that in which
the trees are to reside. If the young plant is lavishly
supplied with nutritious juices , its pores become dis-
tended , its fibre gross, and its vegetation luxuriant. Su-
perfluous enjoyments easily become necessaries of life :
hence, when it is removed to a different scene, and con-
demned to struggle for existence in an ungrateful soil ,
it loses heart and perishes where it might have been
long-lived and fruitful, if its temperament had been
hardened by early privation. — Thus it fares, if I may be
pardoned the reflection, with the mind of an ingenuous
youth , which , under better influences , might have
been formed to virtue. If the lesson of disinterestedness
had been early inculcated , it might have been indelibly
learned ; he might have been lead to sacrifice fame to
humanity, as unhesitatingly as he sacrifices pleasure to
fame. But, instead of being taught to consult only the
unchanging principles of rectitude , and to be satisfied
with the pleasures of benevolence, he is sedulously in-
spired with the love of glory : his ambition is fomented
till this ungenerous passion assumes the ascendant in
his breast, and becomes the arbiter of its existence.

"When the nurselings have arrived at a proper age,,
the next step is to transplant them to the olive-yard.
The task of preparing the ground for their reception
should be begun immediately after the harvest. Holes or
trenches, at least three feet in width , are dug and left
mouldering till the close of winter , which is the season

l84 OLIVE TREE.

for transplanting the Olive. The stock and principal
branches are lopped and the wounds are covered with
clay. As much of the roots as possible should be pre-
served, with the earth adhering to them. When the
trees are carried to a distance, which may be done with
the precautions that are used for other fruit trees ,
they should be set during several hours in water before
they are replaced in the ground. Mellow, fertile mould
should be spread upon the bottom of the. holes and
thrown first upon the roots ; among which the earth
should be lightly forced , though it is not useful to ren-
der it compact nor to heap it about the trunk. A copious
watering follows , which is repeated in the course of
the season, as the weather and the health of the plant
may require.

The Olive arrived at an advanced age may be trans-
planted in the same manner as the young tree. In
general , whatever vegetable is to support this trial, the
most important precept is that the earth be widely
broken up and minutely subdivided, so that the roots
may be placed in their natural position, and that their
first efforts to extend themselves may not be embarras-
sed by compact masses, which they penetrate with diffi-
culty, and from which they derive a scanty subsistence.

The Olives should be planted at such a distance that
they may not interfere with each other , and that every
portion of the soil may contribute to their nourishment.
In meager lands from which no other produce is exact-

OLIVE TREE. l85

ed, eighteen or twenty feet are enough; but in vine-
yards or corn lands they may be thirty- five or forty feet
apart. Cato assigns twenty-five or thirty leet , which , as
mean term, is sufficiently exact. In warmer climates cer-
tain varieties attain such dimensions as to require a
a space of sixty or seventy feet.

Our olive -yard being thus formed , our next enquiry
is concerning the culture necessary to obtain the most
certain and the most abundant produce. Yirgil , after
describing the assiduous attention exacted by the Vine,
leaves the Olive almost to nature.

Contra , non ulla est Oleis cvltura : neque illct
Procurvam expectant falcem , rastrosque tenaccs,
Cum semel haserunt ar?is, aurasque tulerunt.
Ipsa satis tellus , cum dente recluditur unco ,

Sufficit humorem. ...*..

Vir. Geor. II.

Not so the Olives : when their roots have found
A commerce open with the friendly ground ,
And , firmly seated , can securely bear
The summit tempted by the sportive air ,
No more the hairow nor the knife they ask —
The plough completes, alone, the easy task.

Columella , on the contrary , advises the husbandman
to bear in mind a judicious proverb : Eum, qui aret oli-
ietum, rogare fructum ; qui stercoret , exorare; quicaedat%
cogere. It is true that the Olive does not become barren

l86 OLIVE TREE.

when totally abandoned ; but , like other vegetables , it
repays the neglect of the husbandman with a diminish-
ed produce , and his care with larger and more abun-
dant fruit.

In Provence it is customary to turn the soil in the
spring and in the fall. Besides the tillage of the plough ,
the ground should be carefully dressed wish the spade
about the foot of each tree. More labour is required by
some soils than by others : a compact, argillacious loam
must be more frequently turned than a light , calcarious
mould.

The olive -yard should be manured at least once in
three or four years ; but it would be more beneficial to
sustain its strength by moderate, annual supplies. Most
species of manure , while they increase the produce of
the Olive , impair the quality of its fruit : the finest oil
is made from wild trees growing in calcarious lands of
moderate fertility. Vegetable substances are preferable
to animal manures for fruit trees in general , and espe-
cially for the Olive and the Vine. When animal matter
is employed, it should be tempered with marl, sea-
weed , leaves , etc. , and applied only when the whole is
reduced to mould. To soils deficient in this ingredient ,
calcarious matter is of the utmost utility. Great benefit
is said to be found in Spain from sea-water poured upon
the roots of the Olive. But the finest manure is the
offals of the fruit that has been pressed , and the wash-
ings of the utensils and of the oil-vessels.

OLIVE TREE. 187

The manure is spread in the fall, in the winter, or
before the tillage in the spring. Its effects are most sen-
sible when it is applied at the beginning of winter , as ,
during this season , its virtues are imbibed by the soil
and communicated to every fibre of the roots ; through
the spring and summer , on the contrary, it sometimes
remains nearly inert beneath the surface. But in climates
where the Olive is liable to injury from cold , the most
serious accidents are to be feared from keeping its roots
too warm in the winter. Its vegetation being in this
manner quickened, so that the sap is set in motion by
every genial sun that softens the bosom of nature , it
is exposed to the most imminent danger from the re-
turning frost. The fatal effects of cold are frequently
less attributable to its intensity than to its suddenness :
a plant which has become relaxed by the tepid breath
of a deceitful zephyr is surprised and killed by the
frozen blast of the north wind. To maintain an even
temperature at the roots during the winter, earth
should be heaped about the base of the trees , and the
manure should be spread early enough in the fall to as-
sist them in ripening their fruit and preparing the bloom
of the succeeding year, or late enough in the spring to
avoid the accidents of frost. The Greeks do not make
use of manure, except when chance conducts a flock of
sheep to the foot of an Olive , which immediately be-
comes conspicuous by a richer vegetation.

|When substances proper for manure cannot be ob-

l88 OLIVE TREE.

tained in the requisite abundance , the deficiency may
be supplied by sowing grasses or cereal plants , and
ploughing in the green herb. The intelligent cultivator
is aware that he thus not only renders back what was
extracted from the earth , but , as vegetables imbibe
nourishment from the atmosphere , and as their roots
arrest nutritious particles which would have escaped by
filtration or evaporation , that he enriches the soil by
an accession of new matter.

'Vegetable chemistry has probably important secrets
to reveal in this part of practical agriculture. As a soil
may be exhausted by the continued growth of the
same plants while it is still capable of bearing those of
another genus , we should examine the nature of the
particles consumed by different vegetables , in order to
repair the waste by analogous supplies.

The most glaring imperfection in the agriculture of
those parts cf France which I have visited, is the defi-
q,er\cy of manure. The number of cattle on the soil of
the kingdom is unequal to its wants ; and the modes of
supplying the deficiency of animal manure are not ge-
nerally understood. Where the species of husbandry
admits of rotation , a field is sometimes exhausted by
the repetition of the same crop , and left to recruit
itself by a period of absolute repose ; and in Languedoc
the vineyards are often prematurely destroyed , that the

» See Elements of Agricultural Chemistry.

OLIVE TREE. 189

soil may recover heart by lying fallow, or by the substi-
tution of some other culture.

In some parts of France agriculture has made ap-
proaches to perfection ; but the zeal of improvement is
not widely diffused. Agricultural societies exist in almost
every department , whose labours are seconded by the
ardour of enlightened individuals ; but great meliora-
tions must spring from a general spirit of emulation,
which it is not easy to awaken. The French , notwith-
standing the rapidity of their conceptions, are a passive
people, tenacious of routine. The number of liberally
educated men who unite a taste for rural life with a
fortune sufficient for experimental farming is compara-
tively small. « The foot of the owner is the best manure
for his land ; » but the gentry of France rush into the
capital to escape from ennui, as, in the noble days of
chivalry, the defenceless inhabitants of the champaign
fled into the castles, at the approach of some plundering
Knight or lawless Baron. The inspired twilight of their
native groves is forsaken for the luxurious shades of the
royal gardens , and the simple independance of rural
life , for the gilded servitude of the court. Existence has
a charm only in Paris : those who cannot reside in the
metropolis hurry into the provincial capitals to attend
the levee of the prefect, and prefer bending in the
saloon of this humble representative of royalty to dis-
pensing instruction and happiness among their depen-
dants at home. What place should a man solicit , before

11. 25

190 OLIVE TREE.

his country invites his services , who can breathe an un-
tainted air upon his own estate? — Nor have the French,
in appreciating the dignity of agriculture , modelled
their taste upon that of the ancients as scrupulously as
in their literature : under the former monarchy rural
employments were considered degrading to a gentle-
man.

Though these reflections were doubtless more appli-
cable before the revolution , and even before the res-
toration of the throne, they are still, to a certain de-
gree, just. — But let me not lightly reproach an august
nation with faults to which a corrective has been applied,
radical in its effects, though necessarily slow in its ope-
ration. They will disappear as its institutions become
more popular , so that public consideration shall be ob-
tained by public services , and not by the favour of the
great. Experience has not been thrown away upon the
French people ; they are forming a national character ,
in whose splendour the glory by which tbey and Europe
have been dazzled will be swallowed up and lost. Their
liberty was planted amid storms that threatened the so-
cial world with dissolution ; it has resisted the hostile
influence of every element , and it will rise and spread
itself , ample and strong , till it overshadows this happy
country, and till its roots pierce the soil of distant lands.
England herself, if she does not rise up betimes and
assert the reforms that have become vitally necessary
to her constitution, may take lessons from her rival

OLIVE TREE. igi

widely different from the contrasts with which she has
been wont to feed her pride.

The remaining part of the cultivation of the Olive is
pruning. Bernard informs us that this practice was but
lately introduced into Provence , and that it is not uni-
versally adopted, nor reduced to correct principles and
uniform rules. In some places a limb is lopped away
every year to renew the wood : but this is an injudicious
mode, as the suckers to which it gives birth engross the
sap to the prejudice of the productive branches. Prun-
ing consists in cleansing a tree from dead wood and
other impurities, which maybe done at all seasons and
by the simplest hand ; and in retrenching its superfluous
growth, which is a delicate operation and requires judg-
ment and experience. Its object is to determine the
form of the tree, to open it to the light and air, and
to regulate its produce. This is done by diminishing the
number of branches, and by extirpating such as are too
feeble or too luxuriant. The pruning of the Olive is
subject to the general principles of the art, modified
by the peculiar nature of the tree. A part of its branches
should be curtailed every year, and the number of bear-
ing shoots determined so that it may not be exhausted
by its fruit. After twelve or fifteen years , one or two of
the principal limbs may be lopped, and-at intervals,
which must depend upon the condition of each tree ,
the whole summit may be retrenched. The most favour-
able season for pruning the Olive is in March.

192 OLIVE TREE.

Such is , summarily , the husbandry of Provence ,
which , though susceptible , perhaps , of improvement ,
is the most perfect in Europe.

1 More than thirty varieties of the Olive are known in
France , which are distinguished by their size, by their

1 The most exact and extensive catalogue of the Olives is found
in the New Duhamel. The following are some of the most esteemed
varieties :

1. The Olivier pleureur , Olea craniomorpha , 14th variety in the New
Duhamel, is one of the largest and finest trees. Its branches are redun-
dantly numerous, and pendent like those of the Weeping Willow.
Its fruit is good for the table, and yields a pure and abundant oil. It
should be placed in rallies rather than on elevated grounds, as it has
more to apprehend from drought than from cold : there are indivi-
duals of this variety in Languedoc that have three times survived the
general destruction of the Olives by frost.

a. The Olivier a fruit arrondi, Olea sphcerica, 26th variety, N. D. , is
also among tbe least sensible to cold. It requires moisture, a good soil,
and abundant manure. Its oil is of a superior quality.

3. The Olivier de Lucque , Olea minor Lucensis , 9th variety, N. D. , is
hardy and yields a fruit proper for preserving.

4 and 5. The Aglandaou, Olivier a petit fruit rond , Oleafructu minore
et rotundiore, 3rd variety, N. D., and the Olivier de Salon, Olea media
fructu subrotundo, 19th variety, N. D. , are good for oil , and prefer dry
and elevated grounds.

6. The Olivier amygdalin , Olea amygdalina , 25th variety, N. D. , is
much esteemed about Montpellier for its fine and abundant oil.

7. The Phholine, Olea oblonga, nth variety, N. D. , yields the most
celebrated pickled olives. This variety is not delicate in the choice of
soil and climate.

OLIVE TREE. IO,3

temperament as to soil and climate, and by the qua-
lities of their fruit. Some of these varieties , like those
of the Vine , owe their characteristic properties to the
scene in which they are reared.

The principal product of the Olive is oil, but the
pickled fruit is also a valuable article of commerce. The
simplest manner of preserving the green olives is by
covering them with a solution of common salt impreg-
nated with fennel, cumin, coriander -seed and rose-
wood : the most perfect method is that employed for the
picholines of Provence, which are so called from Piccio-
lini, by whom the process was invented. They are gather-
ed in the beginning of October, and the finest of them
are selected and thrown into a weak solution of soda or
potash rendered caustic with lime. In this solution they
remain eight or ten hours till the pulp ceases to adhere
to the stone : they are then steeped , during a week , in
pure, cold water, daily renewed , and are afterwards
transferred to an aromatic brine. Such of them as
are destined for the tables of the luxurious are taken
out after a certain time, deprived of the stone, in
place of which is substituted a caper or a bit of truffle ,
and closed up in bottles of the finest oil. In this manner
they are kept palatable for two or three years. The
sweet olive of the ancients, which was eaten without
preparation , is said to exist in the kingdom of Naples.

The proper season for gathering the olives for Ihe
press is the eve of their maturity, which varies in differ-

ig4 OLIVE TREE.

ent climates and in different varieties of the Olive, but
which is easily distinguished by the colour of the fruit.
Two powerful considerations should engage the culti-
vator not to delay the olive - harvest. We have already
observed that the produce of this tree is alternate. The
phenomenon, it is true, is more uniformly witnessed
in some varieties than in others; but it might be as-
sumed as a constant character, if it was not proved
by experience to depend upon accidental causes. It has
been attributed to the injury sustained by the trees in
beating off their fruit ; but it is not observed in some
places where this practice prevails , and is constant in
others where it is discarded. It has also been ascribed
to injudicious pruning ; but it is witnessed alike in olive-
yards pruned in the most opposite modes, and in those
that are unconscious of the knife. The little fruit that is
borne in the year of repose is , also , of an inferior qual-
ity. Some other explanation must therefore be sought
for, and a satisfactory one is indicated by Pliny in the
continuance of the fruit upon the branches after its
maturity : Hcerendo, enim, ultra suum tempus , absumunt
venientibus alimentum. This cause, which is generally
admitted by vegetable physiologists in France ; has been
developed by Olivier in a memoir presented to the
Economical Society of Paris. Evergreen trees, and
among, them the Olive , put forth the young shoots
that are to bloom the succeeding year, not in the
spring, like trees with deciduous leaves, but at the

OLIVE TREE. Tg5

close of summer ; and the buds are prepared during
the autumn and the beginning of winter. If, then, the
tree is overladen with fruit , this second growth is
prevented , and the hopes of the following season are
precluded ; or, if the fruit is left too long upon the
branches, it diverts the juices which should be employed
in the preparation of the flower-buds. At Aix, where
the olive -harvest takes place, early in November, it is
annual and uniform ; in Languedoc, Spain, Italy, etc.,
where it is delayed till December or January, it is alter-
nate. The quality of the oil, also, depends upon gather-
ing the fruit in the first stage of its maturity. It should
be carefully plucked by hand , and the whole harvest
completed, if possible, in a single day. To concoct the
mucilage and to allow a part of the water to evaporate ,
it is spread out , during two or three days , in beds three
inches deep.

The oil-mill retains nearly its primitive form : it con-
sists of a basin raised two feet from the ground , with
an upright beam in the middle, around which a massive
mill-stone is turned by water or by a beast of burthen.
The press is solidly constructed of wood or of cast iron,
and is moved by a compound lever. The fruit, after
being crushed to a paste, is put into sacks of coarse linen
or of feather-grass, and submitted to the press. The vir-
gin oil , which is first discharged , is the purest , and re-
tains most sensibly the taste of the fruit. It is received in
vessels half filled with water , from which it is taken off

196 OLIVE TREE.

and set apart in earthen jars : to separate the vegetable
fibres and other impurities , it is repeatedly decanted.
When the oil ceases to flow, the paste is taken out and
broken up. As the sacks are returned to the press , boil-
ing water is shed over them, and the pressure is renewed
with redoubled force , till every particle of the oil and
water is extracted. The mixture is left in a vat from
which the oil is taken off as it rises to the surface. This
oil , though less highly perfumed than the first, is nearly
as line and is usually mingled with it. The offals of the
fruit are sometimes submitted to a third process : in a
basin into which a rill of pure water is admitted, they
are ground anew, the skins and mucilaginous particles
floating on the surface are drawn off into reservoirs ,
and the shells are preserved lor fuel. The utmost clean-
liness is necessary in making the oil , which is finished
in a day : with the nicest economy in the process, it
amounts in weight to nearly one third of the fruit.
The mean produce of a tree may be assumed , in France
at ten pounds , and in Italy at fifteen : but single trees
have been known in the productive season to yield three
hundred pounds.

The kernel of the olive affords an oil the mixture of
which with that of the pulp is said to injure its flavour
and to hasten its rancidity. A machine has, in conse-
quence, been invented for braising the pulp without
crushing the stone : that the arguments for its adoption
have not prevailed over the established usage is no proof

OLIVE TREE. 197

of their unsoundness ; more convincing evidence is
found in the exquisite quality of the oil of Aix.

But there are abuses which experience has demon-
strated without being able to correct them : the fruit ,
after hanging too long upon the trees , is kept ferment-
ing in heaps, to increase the quantity of oil, while the
only effect is to vitiate its quality.

Before the revolution , an apology was found for
these abuses, in France, in the embarrassments to
which industry was subject from the oppressive exact-
ions of the feudal lords , and from the absurd interfer-
ence of the government. The tenants were compelled
to use the mills of the lord, which were never suffi-
ciently numerous ; and in Languedoc the period of
opening them was fixed by the police , as the time of
collecting the gall-nuts is appointed by the Turkish Agas
in Asia. The ancient practice is now gradually yielding
to a more perfect method ; yet how slowly is prejudice
subverted , even by interest !

Besides the finest oil which is used upon the table ,
immense quantites are employed in the making of soap
and for other mechanical purposes. A part of what is
consumed in this way at Marseilles is imported from
Greece and the Mediterranean Isles.

I have thus rapidly sketched an outline of the history
and cultivation of the far-famed Olive. — Among the gifts
11. 26

iq8 olive tree.

of Minerva which adorn our rising empire , policy and
arts and arms, may we hope to see her favourite tree
enrich our soil? Some light may be thrown upon this
enquiry by an examination of our climate, but it can be
resolved only by experience.

1 The eastern and western shores of the Atlantic Ocean
differ essentially in the phenomena of climate. In Europe
the distribution of heat through the seasons is more
uniform, and the medium of the year more elevated.
This equability is highly favourable to the perfection of
organized bodies ; hence the vegetables of America are
meliorated in the corresponding latitude in Europe ,
while many productions of Europe cannot exist under
the same parallel in America. We are obliged , also , to
migrate in the train of the seasons in quest of an agree-
able temperature, which the more favoured Europeans
enjoy without changing their native signs : we expe-
rience, in the same latitude, the summer of Rome , the
winter of Copenhagen , and the mean temperature of
the coast of Britany. Nor is this difference attributable
to the state of cultivation , nor to any accidental cause
with which we are acquainted : in the eternal forests
that shroud our north-western coast we find again
the delicious climate of Europe , while Tartary and
China repeat the phenomena of our own. For the en-
joyment of life and for the richness of agriculture , we

i See De Humboldt's Memoir on the Distribution of Heat.

OLIVE TREE. IQ9

should have been more advantageously situated on the
opposite side of the Continent.

1 The Olive requires a climate whose mean temper-
ature is equal to 57% 17', and that of the coldest month
to 4i°, 5'. In the United States , where the mean tem-
perature of the year is 57% 17', that of the coldest month
is only o°, 5', with some days far more intense. The capri-
ciousness of our climate is still more dangerous to delicate
vegetables than its inclemency ; the difference of temper-
ature in a single day is sometimes almost equal to that
of the whole year in the south of Italy. The Olives near
Charleston were rendered barren by the vernal frosts
which congealed the young shoots. In a more southern
latitude they would be secure in the winter , but they
would languish through a sultry summer, unrefreshed
by the healthful breezes which they respire on the
shores of the Mediterranean Sea ; they would r besides,
find a silicious instead of a calcarious soiL

But with all these disadvantages, tracts uniting the
conditions necessary for the growth of the Olive may
probably be found sufficiently extensive for our wants.
The possibility of its flourishing on our shores has
been demonstrated by at least one experiment. While
the Floridas were held by the English , an adventurer
of that nation led a colony of Greeks into the eastern
province, and founded the settlement of New Smyrna:

1 See De, Humboldt's Essay on the Geographical Distribution of

Plants.

200 OLIVE TREE.

the principal treasure which they brought from their
native clime was the Olive. Bartram , who visited this
settlement in 1775, describes it as a flourishing town.
Us prosperity, however, was of momentary duration :
driven to despair by hardship and oppression , and
precluded from escape by land , where they were
intercepted by the wandering savages, apart of these
unhappy exiles conceived the hardy enterprize of flying
to the Havanna in an open boat ; the rest removed to
St, Augustine when the Spaniards resumed possession
of the country. In 1783 a few decaying huts and several
large Olives were the only remaining traces of their
industry.

Louisiana , the Floridas , the islands of Georgia and
chosen exposures in the interior of the State , will be
the scene of this culture. Perhaps it will be extended to
some parts of the Western States ; it has been hastily
concluded that the Olive can exist only in the vicinity
of the sea ; it is found in the centre of Spain , and in
Mesopotamia at the distance of a hundred leagues from
the shore. The trial should be made in every place
where its failure is not certain , and for this purpose
young grafted trees should be obtained from Europe ,
arid the formation of nurseries from the seed imme-
, diateiy begun.

The Olive is perhaps the most valuable , but it is not
the only accession that might be made to our vegetable
reign, if a more enterprising spirit prevailed in our hus-

OLIVE TREE 201

bandry, and if establishments were formed for the re-
ception of exotic plants. This important subject claims
the attention of government : amid its labours for the
promotion of commerce and manufactures, why should
not its fostering care be extended to agriculture?

The people of the United States, instructed by expe-
rience , have consecrated an altar of oblivion to the
Genius of the waves and to the Genius of the soil. They
will not allow one system of industry to be promoted at
the expence of another. We have solved the transcend-
ant problem of reconciling the interest of the individual
with that of the public , by throwing down the barriers
to eveiy species of industry, and by leaving every man
to enjoy the fruits of his labour undiminished by the
exactions of a rapacious government. Let these prin-
ciples be the immovable basis of our political economy.
The height of prosperity at which we have arrived is
doubtless attributable to the successful enterprises of our
merchants , and our commerce should still be cherished
and defended like the sacred soil of the Republic. But is
not the moment, arrived when we may begin to measure
the greatness of our country by some other standard
than simply that of commercial prosperity? With means
so ample and unembarrassed , might we not give more
activity and extension to works of domestic improve-
ment? Education remains to be perfected — a national
character to be formed — our strength to be established
on durable foundations by the developement of our

26*

202 OLIVE TREE.

internal resources. Institutions should be devised ,
which , by assimilating the feelings of our citizens, may
corroborate that union which is the bulwark of our
national independance , without intrenching on those
subordinate sovereignties which are the guarantees of
our political liberty. A taste for pacific glory should be
inspired , and an impulse given to public spirit , in har-
mony with that magnanimous moderation which be-
comes the future arbiter of nations.

From these great objects no schemes of vulgar am-
bition should for a moment divert our ardour. Already,
the influence of our character far exceeds that of
our strength , and our claims to the rank of a primary
power are admitted by anticipation. The attention of
the world is daily becoming more intently fixed upon
our actions. Old Europe contemplates us with reverent
affection , as the hoary- headed warrior gazes on the
blooming hero whose youthful achievements eclipse
the glory of his sire. A great example is wanted by man-
kind ; from us they demand it ; and the cause of uni-
versal liberty is interested in our conduct.

I do not utter these sentiments in the language of
reproach. Much has already been done by my country,
which is admired by cotemporary sages, and which
will go down with honour to a more enlightened
and philosophical posterity ; all that is great and good
may be hoped from her matnrer wisdom : but I feel
interested in her glory; she has risen upon my af-

OLIVE TREE. 2o3

fections by absence , and upon my esteem by compari-
son ; her progress, however rapid, halts behind the
impatience of my wishes.

Our fathers have left us a noble inheritance , and
it is our duty to improve it. What surer basis can
we choose for national wealth, than a learned and
enterprising agriculture? How can we more effectually
strengthen the ties of interest that bind the extremities
of our country in indissoluble union, than by augment-
ing the number and the value of their useful produc-
tions ? How can the intelligence of a people be more fa-
vourably developed, than by an art which gives so wide
a scope to comparative sagacity , and which brings its
conclusions to the test of immediate experience? Who
are more likely to be devoted to their country, than
those who have attached the hopes of their children to
its soil? — There is, besides, in the profession of agri-
culture , something so congenial to republican man-
ners , that we should naturally expect to see the freest
country the best cultivated. Ptemote from the contest of
sordid passions, and surrounded by all that is necessary
to his happiness, the husbandman has no inducement
to calculate the interest upon political corruption, A
laborious life , spent in the open air , in the majestic
presence of Nature , lends a corresponding simplicity
and elevation to his character. In public stations a pa-
triot is often driven from his purpose by the jealous op-
positon of his rivals , or by the invincible prejudices of

2o4 OLIVE TREE.

his age ; he must, at least, sacrifice his freedom to the
duties of his office ; but in a life devoted to agricultural
improvement, the purest sources of rational enjoyment
are united : the first want of a generous spirit is that of
being useful to mankind, the second, is that of liberty.

PLATE LXXXVII.

A branch with leaves and fruit of the natural size. Fig. i,
Flowers of the natural size. Fig. 2 , A flower magnified.
Fig. 3 j A drupe with the stone exposed.

Note. The preceding article was written at the request of
Mr. Michaux, jor whom I seize with pleasure an oppoitu-
itity of expressing my esteem ; justice obliges me to avow that
it has not had the benefit of his revision.

I have consulted the most judicious ancient and modem
works , Columella , Pliny, the New Duhamel , the Memoirs
of the Academy of Marseilles , etc. , and have myself ob-
served the Olive in Provence,

AUGUSTUS L. HILLHOUSE,

Citizen of the United Stales.

PI. 38.

('<

Wild Cberrv.
'rcr. ru.r virguuana

(ral'rief sculp .

WILD CHERRY TREE.

Icosandria raonogynia. Linn. Rosacae. Joss.

CerASUS virginianA. C. foliis deciduis, ovati-oblongis ,
acuminatis, serratis, nitidis; racemis lerminalibus , elon-
galis; fruclibus globosis, nigns.

The Wild Cherry Tree is one of the largest produc-
tions of the American forests. Its wood is of an excellent
quality and elegant appearance, and is usefully employed
in the arts. In the Atlantic as well as in the Western
States, this tree is known only by the name which I
have adopted. It is more or less abundant as the soil and
climate are more or less favourable to its growth , to
which the extremes of heat and cold in the seasons, and
of dryness and humidity in the soil, are alike unpropi-
tious. Thus in the district of Maine , where the winter
is long and intense , it hardly exceeds 5o or l±o feet in
height, and from 8 to 12 inches in diameter; in the
southern and maritime parts of the Carolinas and of
Georgia, where the summer is intemperately hot and
where the soil is generally arid and sandy, it is rarely
seen, and on the banks of rivers where the ground is
too wet , its dimensions are stinted ; but in the upper
part of these States , where the climate is milder and the
soil more fertile , it is sufficiently common , though less
multiplied than in Virginia and Pennsylvania. It abounds,
11. 27*

2o6 WILD CHERRY TREE.

also, in the Illinois Country, in Gennessee and in Upper
Canada, and unites with the Overcup White Oak, the
Black Walnut, the Honey Locust, the Red Elm and the
Coffee Tree in the forests which cover these fertile re-
gions. But it is no where more profusely multiplied nor
more fully developed than beyond the mountains in
the States of Ohio , Kentucky and Tennessee. On the
banks of the Ohio I have measured stocks which were
from 12 to 16 feet in circumference, and from 80 to 100
feet in stature, with the trunk of an uniform size and
undivided to the height of 25 or 3o feet.

The leaves of the Wild Cherry Tree are 5 or 6 inches
long, oval-acuminate, denticulated, of a beautiful bril-
liant green , and furnished at the base with two reddish
glands. It is remarked in the neighbourhood of inha-
bited places that they are peculiarly liable to be attacked
by caterpillars.

The flowers are white and collected in spikes which
have a beautiful effect. The fruit is about the size of a
pea , disposed in the same manner as the flowers, and
nearly black at its maturity ; soon after which , notwith-
standing its bitterness, it is devoured by the birds. It is
sold in the markets of New York and Philadelphia, and
is employed to make a cordial, by infusion in rumor
brandy, with the addition of a certain quantity of sugar.

The bark of this tree is so peculiar as to render it dis-
tinguishable at first sight, when from its height the
form of its leaves cannot be discerned. The trunk is re-

WILD CHERRY TREE. 207

gularly shaped, but the bark is blackish and rough, and
detaches itself semi-circularly in thick , narrow plates ,
which are renewed after a considerable lapse of time.

The perfect wood is of a dull , light red tint , which
deepens with age. It is compact, fine-grained and bril-
liant, and not liable to warp when perfectly seasoned.
It is extensively employed in the small towns of the
Middle and Western States for every species of furni-
ture; and when chosen near the ramification of the
trunk it rivals Mahogany in beauty. The Wild Cherry
Tree is generally preferred to the Black Walnut , whose
dun complexion with time becomes nearly black. Among
the trees that grow east of the Mississippi, it is the most
eligible substitute for Mahogany. On the banks of the
Ohio, at Pittsburgh, Marietta and Louisville , it is em-
ployed in ship-building , and the French of Illinois are
said to use it for the felloes oi wheels.

In the lumber-yards of New York and Philadelphia ,
Wild Cherry wood is sold in planks of different thick-
nesses, which are employed for bed-steads and other
articles of furniture. These planks , 3 inches thick , are
sold at 4 cents a foot at Philadelphia , and at less than
half this price at Pittsburgh and in Tennessee. They are
sent from Kentucky to New Orleans , where they are
also employed in cabinet-making.

The Wild Cherry Tree deserves a place in the forests
of Europe, and it is especially adapted to the northern
departments of France and to the country along the

208 WILD CHERRY TREE.

Rhine, which bear the greatest analogy to its native
regions. To recommend its propagation to the foresters
of Europe is at the same time to invite those of America
to preserve it with care , and to favour its reproduction ;
they should leave on foot the old stocks of the natural
growth for the purpose of furnishing seed, and favour
the increase of the young trees by destroying those of
other species by which it might be impeded.

PLATE LXXXVIII.

A branch with leaves and fruit of the natural size.

PL.IL

Wld Orange.

( <>/'(isu.i' caroliniana

WILD ORANGE TREE.

Cerasus Carolinian A. C. foliis perennontibus , breviter ,
petiolatls, lanceolate - oblongis , mucronatis, lazvigatis ,
subcoriaceis, integris; racemis aacillaribus, brevibus; fructu
subgloboso , aculo , sub-eocsuco.

Obs. Arbor formosa, fastigiata; ramis strictis; fructibus
hieme persistentibus.

This beautiful species of Cherry Tree was observed
in the Bahama Isles by Catesby, and subsequently by
my father. On the Continent of North America it ap-
pears to be nearly confined to the islands on the coast of
the Carolinas, of Georgia and of the Floridas. Except the
margin of the sea, it is rarely found on the mainland ,
even at the distance of 8 or 10 miles from the shore,
where the temperature is 5 or 6 degrees colder in the
winter , and proportionally milder in the summer.

This tree is known only by the name of Wild Orange
Tree. Its leaves are oval-acuminate , evergreen , smooth
and shining on the upper surface, and about 3 inches-in
length. The flowers are numerous , white , and arranged
in little bunches an inch or an inch and a half long ,
which spring at the base of the leaf. The fruit is small,
oval , and nearly black : it consists of a soft stone sur-
rounded with a small quantity of green pulpy substance,
which is not eatable. This fruit persists through a great

%

210 WILD ORANGE TREE.

part of the following year, so that in the spring the
tree is laden at once with fruit and with flowers. The
Wild Orange Tree may be considered as one of the
most beautiful vegetable productions of this part of the
United States , and it is selected with the more reason
by the inhabitants to plant about their houses , as it
grows with rapidity and affords an impenetrable shade.

I have remarked that of all the trees which grow na-
turally in the Garolinas and in Georgia , the flowers of
the Wild Orange are preferred by bees.

It ramifies at a small height , and forms a spacious
and tufted summit , which is owing , perhaps , to its
growing upon open ground instead of being compressed
in the forest , and forced to shoot upwards in order to
enjoy the light. The bark of the trunk is of dun com-
plexion , and is commonly without cracks.

The perfect wood is rose-coloured and very fine-
grained; but, as this species is not extensively multi-
plied , I do not know that it is appropriated to any use :
there is the less occasion for it , as other wood, in no
respect inferior, is procured with facility.

I have remarked in the bark of the roots a strong
odour resembling that of the Wild Cherry stone : hence
I presume that it would afford a fragrant , spirituous
liquor.

The only merit of this tree is its brilliant vegetation ,
which renders it. when in bloom, one of the most
beautiful productions of the southern part of the United

WILD ORANGE TREE. 2ii

States. Too delicate to support the winter of Paris , it
would flourish in the open field only in the southern
departments of France and in Italy.

PLATE LXXXIX.

A branch with leaves and flowers of the natural size, and
fruit of the preceding year.

RED CHERRY TREE.

Cerasus borealis. C. foliis ovali-oblongis , acuminatis,
glabiis ; Jlorlbus subcorymbosis ; fmctibus rubris.

The Red Cherry is common only in the Northern
States and in Canada , New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
It is rarely met with in New Jersey and Pennsylvania,
and is wholly unknown in the Southern States. In the
District of Maine and in Vermont it is called Small
Cherry and Red Cherry; the last of which denomina-
tions I have preferred.

The size of the Red Cherry places it among trees of
the third order : it rarely exceeds , and often does not
equal , 25 or 3o feet in height and 6 or 8 inches in dia-
meter. Its leaves are 5 or 6 inches long , oval , denticul-
ated and very acuminate. The flowers are collected in
small, white bunches, and give birth to a red fruit of
inconsiderable size , which is ripe in the month of July.
This fruit is intensely acid, and is not abundant even on
the largest trees.

The trunk is covered with a smooth , brown bark ,
V.nich detaches itself laterally. The wood is fine-grained
and of a reddish hue ; but the inferior size of the tree
forbids its use in the mechanical arts.

This species of Cherry Tree offers the same remark-
able peculiarity with the Canoe Birch of reproducing

Red Cherry.

( <j/'a.iv/,i' 6orealw.

Galriel sculp

RED CHERRY TREE. 2i3

itself spontaneously in cleared grounds, and in such
parts of the forests as have been burnt, which is observ-
able in spots where lire has been kindled by travellers.

Of all the native species of North America the Red
Cherry Tree bears the greatest analogy to the cultivated
Cherry Tree of Europe , hence it is the most proper
for receiving grafts : it has been found difficult to graft
the European Cherry Tree upon the Wild Cherry Tree.

PLATE XC.

A branch with fruit of the natural size. Fig, 1 , A bunch
of flowers.

ii.

28

•vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv^*vvvvvvvvvvvvvvv^>vv^^vvw\\^.vvvvv^^•vvvvv\vv^vvvv^vv^^^v^v^^vv^vv^^vvvvv^^\'vv^\^^v^

LARGE BUCKEYE.

Hcptandria monogynia. Linn. Acerae. Jnss.

Pavia luteA. P. foliis quinatis t cequaliier serratis ;
corollis lutels , letrapetalis , viscosis , clausis.

The Yellow Pavia, or Large Buckeye, is first observed
on the Alleghany Mountains in Virginia, near the 3c)th
degree of latitude ; it becomes more frequent in follow-
ing the chain towards the south-west , and is most pro-
fusely multiplied in the mountainous districts of the
Carolinas and of Georgia. It abounds, also, upon the
rivers that rise beyond the mountains and flow through
the western part of Virginia and the States of Kentucky
and Tennessee to meet the Ohio. It is much less com-
mon along the streams which have their source east of
the Alleghanies, and which, after watering the Caro-
linas and Georgia , discharge themselves into the Ocean.
This species may be considered then as a stranger to the
Atlantic States , with the exception of a tract 3o or 4°
miles wide in the Southern States, as it were beneath
the shadow of the mountains. It is here called Big Buck-
eye , to distinguish it from the Pavia rubra, which does
not exceed 8 or 10 feet in height, and which is called
Small Buckeye.

I have seen no situation that appeared more favour-
able to the Big Buckeye than the declivities of the lofty

Jirs&n (fel

I) uck eye.

LARGE BUCKEYE. 2l5

mountains of North Carolina , and particularly of the
Greatfather Mountain, the Iron Mountain and the Black
Mountain , where the soil is generally loose , deep and
fertile. The coolness and humidity which reign in these
elevated regions , appear likewise to be necessary to its
utmost expansion ; it here towers to the height of 60 or
70 feet , with a diameter of 3 or 4 feet, and is consi-
dered as a certain proof of the richness of the land.

The leaves of this tree are united to the number of
five at the end of a common petiole of considerable
length. They are lanceolate, pointed at the summit,
serrate and slightly furrowed. The flowers , of a light ,
agreeable yellow , are upright and disposed in bunches
at the end of the shoots of the same season. The nu-
merous bunches of flowers, contrasted with the fine fo-
liage , lend a highly ornamental appearance to the tree.
The fruit is contained in a fleshy, oval capsule , which
is often gibbous , and whose surface , unlike that of the
Horse Chesnut of Asia and of the American Horse
Chesnut , is smooth. Each capsule contains two seeds ,
or chesnuts , of unequal size , flat upon one side and
convex on the other. They are larger and lighter-co-
loured than those of the common Horse Chesnut , and ,
like them , are not eatable.

In 1808 I passed a great part of the summer with
Messrs. John and William Bartram , at their charming
residence at Kingsess on the banks of the Schuylkill,
five miles from Philadelphia , where they have collected

2i6 LARGE BUCKEYE.

a great variety of trees from different parts of the United
States and of Europe ; I remarked that the Large Buck-
eye was one of the earliest among them to cast its
leaves; they begin to fall about the i5th of August,
while the other Horse Chesnuts are still clothed with
their finest verdure. Its foliation and flowering are also
tardy, which is an essential defect in a tree whose only
merit is its beauty. The wood, from its softness and
want of durability, can subserve no useful purpose. Even
in beauty, this species is inferior to the common Horse
Chesnut , and can never supplant that magnificent tree.

PLATE XCI.

A branch with leaves and flowers of the natural size.
Fig. i , Fruit beginning to open. Fig. i , A chesnut of the
natural size.

M.4*

Ohio Buck eye
f'7i>t<i ohzoen

(rafa-tff f\v///

OHIO BUCKEYE,

OR

AMERICAN HORSE CHESNUT.

PAVIA OHIOENSIS. P. foliis quinatis , incequaliter dentatis /
floribus sub-jlavis ; fructibus muricatis.

This species of Horse Chesnut. which is mentioned
by no author that has hitherto treated of the trees and
plants of North America , is unknown in the atlantic
parts of the United States. I have found it only beyond
the mountains , and particularly on the banks of the
Ohio for an interval of about 100 miles , between Pitts-
burgh and Marietta , where it is extremely common. It
is called Buckeye by the inhabitants , but as this name
has been given to the Pavia lutea, I have denominated
it Ohio Buckeye, because it is most abundant on the
banks of this river, and have prefixed the synonyme of
American Horse Chesnut, because it is proved to be a
proper Horse Chesnut by its fruit, which is prickly like
that of the Asiatic species, instead of being smooth like
that of the Pavice.

The ordinary stature of the American Horse Chesnut
is 10 or 12 feet , but it sometimes equals 3o or 35 feet in
height, and 12 or i5 inches in diameter. The leaves are
palmated, and consist of five leaflets parting from a
common centre , unequal in size , oval-acuminate , and

2l8 OHIO BUCKEYE.

irregularly toothed. The entire length of the leaf is 9 or
10 inches, and its breadth 6 or 8 inches.

The bloom of this tree is brilliant : its flowers appear
early in the spring, and are collected in numerous white
bunches. The fruit is of the same colour with that of
the Common Horse Chesnut and of the Large Buckeye,
and of about half the size : it is contained in fleshy,
prickly capsules, and is ripe in the beginning of autumn.

On the trunk of the largest trees the bark is blackish,
and the cellular integument is impregnated with a veno-
mous and disagreeable odour. The wood is white, soft ,
and wholly useless.

The value of the Ohio Buckeye or American Horse
Chesnut consists chiefly in the beauty of its flowers ,
which , with its rapid vegetation and hardy endurance
of cold , will bring it into request both in Europe and
America as an ornamental tree.

PLATE XCII.

A branch with leaves and flowers. Fig. 1 , Fruit

/X/aV

-f a

Wr-

•

rfft/'H/a- t/etf

Persimon.

DiospirotF I ' (rt/t/uana

GaSnel .rr,i//>.

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PERSIMON.

Polygamia dioecia. Link. Guaiacanae. Joss.

Diospyros virginiana. D. foliis longe petiolatis , oblongo-
ovalibus, acuminatis , subtiis pubescenlibus.

The banks ol the river Connecticut , below the 42nd
degree of latitude, may be considered as the northern
limit of this tree ; but it is rendered rare in these parts
by the severity of the winter, while in the State of New
Jersey, near the city of New York , it is common , and
still more so in Pennsylvania, Maryland and the South-
ern States : it abounds, also , in the western forests. It is
every where known to the Americans by the name of
Persimon ; the French call it Plaqueminier, and its fruit
plaquemines.

The Persimon varies surprisingly in size in different
soils and climates. In the vicinity of New York it is not
more than half as large as in the more southern States,
where, in favourable situations, it is sometimes 60 feet
in height and 18 or 20 inches in diameter.

The leaves are from 4 to 6 inches in length, oblong,
entire , of a fine green above and glaucous beneath^ : in
the fall they are often variegated with black spots. The
terminal shoots are observed to be usually accompa-
nied , at the base , by small , rounded leaves.

This tree belongs to the class of vegetables whose sexes

220 PERSIMON.

are confined to different stocks. Both the barren and fer-
tile flowers are greenish and not strikingly apparent. The
ripe fruit is about as large as the thumb , of a reddish
complexion , round , fleshy, and furnished with six or
eight semi-oval stones , slightly swollen at the sides , and
of a dark purple colour. It is not eatable till it has felt
the first frost, by which the skin is shrivelled, and the
pulp , which before was hard and extremely harsh to
the taste , is softened and rendered palatable. The fruit
is so abundant that in the Southern States a tree often
yields several bushels, and even in New Jersey I have
seen the branches of stocks not more than 7 or 8 feet
in height bent to the ground by their burthen. In the
South it adheres to the branches long after the shedding
of the leaf, and when it falls it is eagerly devoured by
wild and domestic animals. In Virginia, the Carolinas
and the Western States, it is sometimes gathered up ,
pounded with bran, and formed into cakes which are
dried in the oven, and kept to make beer, for which pur-
pose they are dissolved in warm water, with the addition
of hops and leven. It was long since found that brandy
might be made from this fruit , by distilling the water ,
previously fermented , in which they had been bruised.
This liquor is said to become good as it acquires age :
but it will be impossible to derive profit from the Per-
simon in these modes , and in the country where it
is most abundant a few farmers only employ its fruit
occasionally for their households. The Apple Tree and

PERSIMON. 221

the Peach Tree are far more advantageous , as their
growth is more rapid and their produce more consi-
derable.

The trunk of the lull -grown Persimon is covered
with a deeply furrowed , blackish bark. The fresh sap is
of a greenish colour , which it preserves after it is sea-
soned , and the heart is brown , hard , compact , strong
and elastic; I have been told, however, that it is liable
to split. At Baltimore it is used by turners for large
screws, and by tinmen for mallets. At Philadelphia shoe-
lasts are made of it equal to those of Beech , which are
usually preferred. In Carolina the negroes employ it for
the large wedges with which , aided by those of iron ,
they split the trunks of trees. I have been assured by
coach-makers in Charleston that they had employed it
for the shafts of chaises, and found it preferable to the
Ash and to every other species of wood except the Lance
Wood of the West Indies, and that the difficulty of pro-
curing stocks of the proper size alone prevented it being
more frequently applied to this use : in truth, though it
is common in the woods , it is usually of inconsiderable
dimensions.

Such are the particulars with which I have become ac-
quainted concerning the wood of the Persimon. Its pro-
perties appear not to be distinctly ascertained nor gene-
rally recognized ; they are such , however , as to deserve
the altention of persons whose object is a practical
knowledge of the trees of the United States.

II. 20

222 PERSIMON.

I have heard it asserted by farmers in Virginia, that the
grass is more vigorous beneath the Persimon than under
any other tree, and this fact is attributed to the speedy
decay of its leaves , which form an excellent manure.
In an ancient periodical work printed at Philadelphia, I
find that the English government, in the years 1762 and
1763, offered a premium of 20 pounds sterling for every
fifty pounds of gum collected from the Persimon in
their American Colonies. They were doubtless misin-
formed on this subject : a greenish gum , without taste
or smell, exudes from the tree, but, in several hundred
experiments, I have not been able, by wounding the
bark , to collect more than two scruples from a single
stock.

Breckel , in his history of North Carolina , says that
the inner bark has been used with success in intermitting
fevers. The fact remains to be verified ; I have not had
an opportunity of proving it by my own observations
nor by authentic report , but it is rendered in some
degree probable by the extreme bitterness of the bark.

The inhabitants of the Southern States have very pro-
perly preserved the Persimon in clearing the forests. Its
iruit might, without doubt, be doubled in size by atten-
tive cultivation. As the tree is dioecious , care must be
taken to procure stocks of both sexes. The roots run to
a great distance, and produce a numerous family of
sprouts.

The Persimon grows perfectly well and even yields

PEBSIMON. 223

fruit in the climate of Paris ; but farther south it would
succeed still better. Its propagation may be recom-
mended for the sake both of its fruit and of its wood.

Observation. — Dr. B. S. Barton , professor of Botany
and Materia Medica in the Univerity of Pennsylvania ,
believes the Persimon of the Southern States to be a
distinct species from that of New Jersey. He grounds
this opinion upon the fact that the leaves of the Virgi-
nian Persimon are one half larger and slightly downy
beneath , and the fruit one half smaller , with flat in-
stead of convex stones. I am disposed to admit the dis-
tinction , but am not prepared to adopt it with confi-
dence. I have always ascribed the difference to climate ,
which, as we have had occasion to remark, has so extra-
ordinary an influence on the developement of other
trees, that are common to different parts of the United
States. I leave the difficulty, however, to be resolved by
more accomplished botanists, simply observing that the
two varieties are similar in their general appearance and
in the properties of their wood and of their fruit.

PLATE XCIII.

A branch with leaves of the natural size. Fig. i , Fruit of
the natural size. Fig. 2 , A seed.

VW WAYV W IVVlV^VVmU WWVVVIU \ YWWVWWWVWVYA W«V1W\ VWWW A/W UWWWWWV«WWVVWVWWVWVWW

CAROLINIAN POPLAR.

Dioecia polyandiia. Linn. Amentacae. Juss.

Populus Angulata. P. arbor maxima; ramis acutangulis;
folils deltoideis , serratis ; junioribus amplissimis , cordatis;
gemmis viridibus , non resmosis.

The lower part of Virginia is the most northern
point at which I have found this species of Poplar , and
here it is less common than in the two Carolinas,in
Georgia and in Lower Louisiana. It grows of preference
on the marshy banks of the great rivers which traverse
these States, and is peculiarly abundant on the Missis-
sippi , from the ocean to the mouth ol the Missouri ,
and along the Missouri for ioo miles from the junction
of these streams , which , in following their windings ,
is a distance of i5oo miles. In the swamps the Caro-
linian Poplar is accompanied by the Cypress , Large
Tupelo, Red-flowering Maple, Water Hickory, Over-
cup Oak, Cotton Wood and Cotton Tree. Among the
numerous species of Poplar found in the United States
this is one of the most remarkable for its size, being
sometimes 80 feet high with a proportional diameter
and an expansive summit garnished with beautiful fo-
liage.

The leaves, from the moment of their unfolding,
are smooth and brilliant, but they differ widely in con-

PI .04

P.J.JfeJtnitf cM.

Carolinian Poplar

Popu/itSu In (j ((/a fa .

Gafo-iel *Ot&>

CAROLINIAN POPLAR. 22S

formation , at different ages of the plant ; on sprouts
and young stocks they are 7 or 8 inches long , as much
in breadth in the widest part, heart-shaped and rounded
at the base , with the principal ribs of a reddish colour ;
on trees exceeding 5 or 6 inches in diameter and 3o or
4o feet in height, they are only one fourth as large,
particularly on the higher branches , and their base
is nearly straight , and at right angles with the petiole.
These leaves are thin , smooth, of a fine green tint,
marked with yellowish nerves and edged with obtuse
teeth , which are finer towards the summit and coarser
near the base. The long petiole compressed in the upper
part renders them easy to be agitated by the wind.

On sprouls and young stocks the annual shoots are
very thick, distinctly striated and of a green complexion
spotted with white; on branches of the second , third,
and even of the seventh or eighth year , the traces
of the farrows are still observable : they are indicated
by prominent red lines in the bark terminating at the
insertion of the young shoots, which ultimately disap-
pear with the growth of the branches. This character
belongs also to the Cotton Tree ; but, besides the dif-
ference of their general appearance, the two species are
distinguished by their buds ; those of the Carolinian
Poplar are short , of a deep green , and destitute of the
resinous , aromatic substance which covers those of the
Cotton Wood, and of which the vestiges remain till
late in the season.

226 CAROLINIAN POPLAR.

The wood of the Carolinian Poplar is white , soft ,
and considered unfit for use in its native country.
This stately tree was introduced many years ago into
Europe , where it is justly esteemed as an ornamental
vegetable by the amateurs of foreign plants. In the cli-
mate of Paris its terminal branches are liable , in rigor-
ous seasons, to be destroyed by the frost.

In the North American Flora , my father has con-
founded the Carolinian Poplar and the Cotton Wood.
The two species agree in the angular form of their
trunk , but they differ in other respects , which I have
particularly mentioned.

PLATE XCIV.

A leaf of the natural size from the middle of a large tree.
Fig. i, A portion of an annual shoot. Fig. 2, A piece of
the bark from a branch of the third year.

/v>

( oil on W ood.
/<>///////tr Canadensis

Oafo-u/ seufr.

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COTTON WOOD.

Populus canadensis. P. folds magnis lath-cordatis, crena-
tis, glabris; basi glandulosis; ramis angulatis in adultis.

This species, like the Virginian Poplar, has long been
known in Europe. It was probably introduced into
France from Canada ; such at least is the origin indicated
by the name Canadian Poplar. I have found this tree
in the upper part of the State of New York on the
banks of the river Gennessee which empties into Lake
Ontario in the latitude of 43 degrees, in some parts of
Virginia , and on several islands of the Ohio. I have
every where seen it on the margin of rivers in a fat ,
unctuous soil, exposed to inundation at their overflow-
ing in the spring. It is never met with on the skirts of
swamps and in other wet grounds in the forests. On the
banks of the Gennessee , where the winter is as rigor-
ous as in the north of Germany, the Cotton Wood is 70
or 80 feet high and 3 or 4 feet in diameter.

The remarks communicated to me by Mr. De Fou-
cault, who has long cultivated this tree and studied
it with more minute attention than myself, agree per-
fectly with the result of my own observations in the
country of its natural growth. " The leaves," says Mr.
De Foucault, " are deltoid, or trowel -shaped, ap-
proaching to cordiform, always longer than they are

228 COTTON WOOD.

broad, glabrous and unequally toothed : the petioles
are compressed and of a yellowish green, with two
glands of the same colour as the base : the branches
are angular , and the angles form whitish lines , which
persist even in the adult age of the tree. Every soil does
not suit the Cotton Wood; in compact, argilacious
lands it grows less kindly than the Virginian Poplar.

" The Virginian Poplar is justly preferred as a useful
tree , not only because it is less difficult in the choice of
soil , but because it is superior in height : the eleva-
tion of the Cotton Wood is repressed by the frequent
ramification of its limbs near the trunk , and if the lower
limbs are lopped away the same form is assumed by
those above.

** The Cotton Wood is a more picturesque tree than
the Virginian Poplar , particularly when growing on the
sides of rivers. Its trunk is very plainly sulcated even in
its old age. It is less so indeed than the Carolinian Pop-
lar, but far more so than the Virginian Poplar , whose
trunk is rounder and its summit more spherical ; hence
the two species are easily distinguished. The Cotton
Wood , also , acquires a superior bulk."

The female aments are 6 or 8 inches long, flexible and
pendulous. The seeds are surrounded with a beautiful
plume which has the whiteness of cotton , and the
young buds are coated with a resinous, aromatic sub-
stance of an agreeable odour.

In the Atlantic States this Poplar is rare and has re-

COTTON WOOD. 292

ceived no specific name. It appears, on the contrary,
to be common on the banks of the Mississippi above
the river of the Arkansas, and on the Missouri and
its tributary streams. It is doubtless the Poplar desig-
nated by the name of Cotton Wood, and mentioned
so frequently by Gass, who accompanied Lewis and
Clark to the Western Ocean , and by Pike in his in-
teresting account of the northern part of New Spain.
Often , say these travellers , it is the only tree seen grow-
ing on the sides of the rivers. The Mandanas , who live
i,5oo miles from the mouth of the Missouri , feed their
horses during the winter with its young shoots. The ex-
cessive cold experienced in these regions sufficiently
proves that the Cotton Wood is not the same tree with
the Carolinian Poplar, whose annual shoots freeze every
year with a degree of cold much less intense. The Ame-
ricans of Upper Louisiana, it is true , confound the two
species because they are found growing in company on
the banks of the Mississippi ; but the Carolinian Poplar,
which is more abundant than the other in Lower Loui-
siana, where the temperature of the winter is too mild
for snow, disappears on the Missouri at the distance of
100 miles from its junction with the Mississippi.

PLATE XCV.

Leaves of the natural size taken from a large tree. Fig. 1 ,
Part of a branch of two years' growth.

11.

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AMERICAN BLACK POPLAR.

Populus hudsonica. P. ramulis junior/bus pilosis; foliis
dentatis, conspicue acuminatis.

I have found the American Black Poplar only on the
banks of the river Hudson , above Albany, but I pre-
sume that it grows also in the provinces of Canada ,
which I have never visited. The stocks which I have
observed were insulated, and consequently, spread into
a diffuse summit , hence I was unable to determine the
stature of this tree when confined in the forest, but
their size , which was 3o or l±o feet in height and 12 or
1 5 inches in diameter , sufficiently proves that it surpas-
ses the American Aspen and the Large Aspen.

The bark of the young branches is of a greyish white,
and the buds, which spring from the bosom of the leaves,
are of a dark brown. One of the distinctive characters
of this species is the hairiness of the young shoots and
of the petioles in the spring, which is perceptible,
also , on the back of the young leaves. The leaves are
smooth, of a beautiful green colour, denticulated,
rounded in the middle , and acutely tapering towards
the summit. When fully developed they are a little more
than 3 inches long, about 2 inches broad, and, unlike
the leaves of trees in general, they exhibit nearly the
same shape from the moment of their unfolding. The

D/.(/6:

American Black Poplar
Popuhw ///u/.i-o/i/ffi .

2 .Virginian Poplar

Gmhrid .

AMERICAN BLACK POPLAR. 23l

aments of this Poplar are 4 or 5 inches long and desti-
tute of the hairs which surround those of several other
species.

As this tree is rare in the United States , and as I have
observed it only on the banks of the Hudson , where it
is never used , I can afford no information concerning
the quality of its wood ; but , if we may judge from its
appearance , it is inferior to the Virginian and Lom-
bardy Poplars.

Several large trees oi this species are seen growing in
New York, near the park, which are called American
Black Poplars.

PLATE XGVI.

Fig. i , Leaves of the American Black Poplar.

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VIRGINIAN POPLAR.

Populus monilifera. P. foliis deltoideis , glabris, crena-
tis, petiolis aspice compressis, in adultis ramis teretibus.

Though this tree has been found neither by my father
and myself, nor byseveral learned English Botanists, who
like us have traversed the Atlantic and a great part of the
Western States in every direction , I have thought pro-
per to describe it because it may possibly be indigenous
to some part of the United States which we have not
visited , and because , on account of its rapid growth, it
deserves the attention of the Americans. It has been
cultivated in Europe for many years, and is universally
considered as a native of North America. It is called
Virginian Poplar and Swiss Poplar ; the last of which
denominations is owing only to its being abundantly
multiplied in Switzerland.

The Virginian or Swiss Poplar is 60 or 70 feet high
with a proportional diameter, Its trunk is cylindrical ,
and not sulcated like that of the aged Lombardy Poplar,
and the bark upon old stocks is blackish. The leaves
are nearly as long as they are broad, slightly heart-
shaped, compressed towards the summit, obtusely
deniiculated and borne by long petioles. On large trees
their mean length is from 2 inches and a half to 3
inches , but they vary in size , being twice as large on the

VIRGINIAN POPLAR. ^33

lower limbs , and on young stocks growing in moist
places. On trees equally vigorous and nourished by the
same soil , the leaves of this species are observed to be
only half as large as those of the Cotton Wood and
Carolinian Poplar.

In France we have only the male of this Poplar which
is propagated by slips. On the young Yirginian Poplar,
as on the Cotton Wood and Carolinian Poplars , the an-
nual shoots are angular, and this form subsists during
the second and third years on vigorous stocks in a
humid soil : on trees which are already 20 or 3o feet
high and which grow on dry and elevated lands , the
young branches are perfectly round , but in the other
species they always retain the angular shape during
several years.

As the Swiss Poplar has been and is still confounded
with the Cotton Wood , I shall succinctly state the cha-
racters which distinguish them, according to the obser-
vations of Mr. De Foucault, a Director of the Imperial
Administration of the Waters and Forests eminently
distinguished by his knowledge of botany applied to this
branch of economy. He remarks that the leaves of the Vir-
ginian Poplar are much smaller and less distinctly heart-
shaped ; the young shoots are smaller and less angular ,
and on high grounds those of the third year are even
cylindrical : the limbs also diverge less widely from the
trunk. M. De Foucault adds that the wood of the Swiss
Poplar is softer than that of the Cotton Wood, but that

254 VIRGINIAN POPLAR.

its growth is more rapid and that it prospers in a less
humid soil. This last consideration explains the profu-
sion with which it is multiplied throughout France,
where it is found to yield a more speedy and more
abundant product than the Lombardy Poplar,

PLATE XCVI.

Fig. 2 , Virginian or Swiss Poplar.

Pf o-

fiej-tfa del ■

Cotton Tree .
J opu/ui? org 'enfea.

Gavw/ scu/v.

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COTTON TREE.

Populus ARGENTEA. P. ramulis teretibus; foliis ampUs,
sinu parvo cordatis , oblusis, leviter dentatis , junioribus
tomentosis. s

This species is scattered over a great extent of coun-
try , comprising the Middle , Western , and Southern
States. But it is so rare as to escape the notice of the
greater part of their inhabitants, and it has received a
specific name only on the banks of the river Savannah
in Georgia , where it is called Cotton Wood. The same
denomination is applied also to the Carolinian Poplar
which grows in the same place.

A swamp in New Jersey near the North river, about
two miles above Weehock-ferry, and not far from the
city of New York, is the most northern point at which
I have observed this tree. I have met with it, too, in
Virginia, but less commonly than on the banks of
some of the rivers which traverse the maritime parts of
the more southern States. My father appears to have
found it still more abundant in the Western Country.
Among other places , he particularly mentions the en-
virons of Fort Massac, situated on the Ohio near its
junction with the Mississippi , and a swamp of more
than six miles in diameter, which are entirely covered
with it : this swamp is about thirty miles from the river
Wabash , on the road from Kaskasias to the Illinois.

235 COTTON TBEE.

This is a towering tree which sometimes equals 70 or
80 feet in height and 2 cr 3 feet in diameter. On trunks
of these dimensions the bark is very thick and deeply
furrowed. The young branches and the annual shoots
are round , instead of being angular like those of the
Carolinian Poplar and of the Cotton Wood. The leaves ,
while very young, are covered with a thick, white down,
which gradually disappears , leaving them perfectly
smooth above and slightly downy beneath. They are
borne by long petioles, are often 6 inches in length and
as much in breadth, of a thick texture , denticulated and
heart-shaped , with the lobes of the base lapped so as
to conceal the junction of the petiole. The aments are
drooping and about 3 inches long, or only half as long-
as those of the Carolinian Poplar.

The wood of the Cotton Tree is soft , light, unfit for
use , and inferior , in my opinion , to that of the White
Poplar and of the Virginian and Lombardy Poplars. The
heart is yellowish inclining to red , and the young
branches are filled with a pith of the same colour.

This tree flourishes in France , but it is to be regretted
that the quality of its wood does not correspond to the
interest inspired by its elevated stature and beautiful

foliage.

PLATE XCYII.

A leaf of half the natural size. Fig. 1 , A small branch
with leaves a few days after their unfolding.

PleS,

i.J>aLsam Poplar.
7^. >u/u.r BaLram&era.

i.TIoart Leaved Balsam Poplai
Populiw caiu&eans.

Cral'r/f/ &u&>.

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TACAMAHACA, or BALSAM POPLAR.

Populus BALSAMIFERA. P. foliis ovato-lanceolatis serratis,
subtus albidis, stipulis resinosis.

This species of Poplar belongs to the northern re-
gions of America to which I have not extended my
researches. My father, who traversed Lower Canada and
particularly the country lying between Quebec and Hud-
son's Bay, found the Balsam Poplar very abundant on
the shores of Lake St. John , and in all the districts wa-
tered by the river Sagney, between the 47th and 49th
degrees of latitude. Notwithstanding the severity of the
winter, it rises to the height of 80 feet with a diameter
of 3 feet. It is multiplied at Taddousack and Male-
bay near the river St. Lawrence , but , in approaching
Montreal, it becomes less common , and is rare on the
shores of Lake Ghamplain. Such are nearly its northern
and southern limits.

In the spring , when the buds begin to be developed ,
they are abundantly coated with a yellowish, glutinous
substance , of a very agreeable smell , and , though this
exsudation diminishes at the approach of summer, the
buds retain a strong balsamic odour. The leaves are
borne on long , round petioles , and are of a lanceolate
oval form , of a deep green colour above, and of a rusty
silvery white beneath.

11. 3 1

2 58 TACAMAHACA, OR BALSAM POPLAR.

The wood of this tree is white and soft, and is not
used by the Canadians.

PLATE XCVIII.

Fig. i , A branch of the natural size from a large tree.

HEART-LEAVED BALSAM POPLAR.

Populus CANDICANS. P. foliis cordatis; petiolis hirsutism
stipulis resinosis; ramis ieretibus.

In the States of Rhode Island, Massachusetts and
New Hampshire , this tree , which is a genuine Balsam
Poplar , is commonly seen growing before the houses ,
both in the towns and in the country , less as an or-
nament than as a shelter from the sun. I have never
found it in the forests of these States, where, if it ex-
ists , it must be extremely rare ; nor have I discovered
whence it was first introduced. This species differs very
evidently from the preceding ; its leaves are three times
as large , perfectly heart-shaped , and , often , they have
hairy petioles : but in both species the leaves are of the
same colour, and preserve, at all stages of their growth,
the same shape, which is invariable upon young sprouts
and upon old trees.

The buds of this species , like those of the Balsam
Poplar, are covered, in the spring, with a resinous bal-
samic substance of an agreeable odour.

The Heart-leaved Balsam Poplar attains the height of
4o or 5o feet, with a diameter of 18 or 20 inches. The
trunk is clad in a smooth , greenish bark , and the wood
is soft and unfit for use. The foliage is tufted and of
a dark green tint , but the irregular disposition of the

24° HEART-LEAVED BALSAM POPLAR.

branches gives an inelegant appearance to the tree. In
the spring the ripe seeds, garnished with down, are
borne by the wind into the houses, and alight upon
the furniture and upon the food ; for this reason some
persons have substituted for this species the Lombardy
Poplar, a picturesque tree in every respect superior to
it, whose limbs are compressed about the trunk so as not
to interfere with the walls nor to obstruct the windows.

PLATE XCVIII.

Fig. 2 , A branch of the natural size from a large tree.

PU

American Aspen .
Tovuius // riuu/oufc r .

i. American Large Aspen
Popuhis { yrandidenta .

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AMERICAN ASPEN.

Populus tremuloides. P. foliis subcordatis , abrupth
acuminatis, serrulatis; marginepubescentibus.

This species of Poplar is common in the Northern
and Middle Sections of the United States , and , from
my father's manuscript notes, it appears to be still more
abundant in Lower Canada. In the vicinity of New York
and Philadelphia , where I have particularly observed it,
I have remarked that it prefers open lands of a middling
quality. Its ordinary height is about 3o feet , and its dia-
meter 5 or 6 inches. The bark of the trunk is greenish
and smooth , except on the base of the oldest trees ,
where it becomes furrowed.

The American Aspen blooms about the 20th of April,
ten days or a fortnight before the birth of the leaves.
The aments , which spring from the extremity of the
branches , are composed of silky plumes , and are of an
oval form and about an inch in length. The leaves are
about 2 inches broad, narrowed at the summit, and
supported by long petioles ; they are of a dark green
colour , and , in the spring , their nerves are reddish :
on stocks of 7 or 8 feet in height , they are nearly round,
and are bordered with obtuse , irregular teeth ; on
young shoots, they are of twice this size, heart-shaped,
and acuminate at the summit. Of all the American Pop-

2^2 AMERICAN ASPEN.

lars , this species has the most tremulous leaves , the
gentlest air suffices to throw them into agitation.

The wood of the American Aspen is light , soft , des-
titute of strength and of no utility. These defects are
not even compensated by an ample size and rapid
growth , and the tree is so much neglected that it is
felled only to disencumber lands that are clearing for
cultivation. It is greatly inferior to several species of
the same genus, such, for example, as the Virginian
Poplar , which is three times as large , more rapid in its
growth , and of a more pleasing appearance.

Observation. — Since the publication of the french edi-
tion of this work, I have been infdmed that the wood
of the American Aspen has been successfully divided
into very thin lamince , for the fabrication of women's
hats. These hats were for a moment fashionable in se-
veral towns of the United States.

PLATE XGIX.
Fig. I. i , A. leaf of the natural size. 2 , An ament.

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AMERICAN LARGE ASPEN.

Populus grandidentata. P. petiolis siiperne compressis ;
foliis subrotundb-ovalibus , acuminatis; utrinque glabris ,
incequaliter sinuatb-granditentatis ; junioribus villosis.

The American Large Aspen belongs rather to the
Northern and Middle, than to the Southern States , in
the upper parts only of which it is found. In the North
of the United States , this Poplar , though not one of
the most rare , is not one of the most common trees ,
and it is so thinly scattered over the face of the country,
that sometimes not a single stock is met with by the
traveller for several days. For this reason, probably,
it has hitherto been confounded by the inhabitants with
the preceding species , which is more multiplied : as it
surpasses the Aspen in height , I have given it the name
of Large Aspen.

It grows as favourably on uplands as on the border of
swamps. It is about 4o feet high, 10 or 12 inches in
diameter, andits straight trunk is covered with a smooth,
greenish bark which is rarely cracked. Its branches are
few and scattered ; they ramify and become charged
with leaves only near the extremity, so that the interior
of the summit is void and of an ungraceful appearance.

At their unfolding in the spring , the leaves are cov-
ered with a thick , white down , which disappears

244 LARGE AMERICAN ASPEN.

with their growth, so that at the beginning of summer
they are perfectly smooth. The full-formed leaf is nearly
round, 2 or 3 inches in width, smooth on both sides,
and bordered with large teeth , from which is derived
the latin specific name of grandidentata , given to this
species by my father in his Flora Boreali-Americana.
The flowers compose aments about 2 inches long, which
appear in the infancy of the leaves, and which, at this
period, are thickly coated with down.

The wood is light , soft , and unequal to that of the
Virginian and Lombardy Poplars ; the tree , also , is in-
ferior to these species in size and in the rapidity of its
growth. It thus appears to promise no advantage to the
arts , and to be valuable only for its agreeable foliage.
While it is less than i5 feet in height , it has a pleasing
appearance , and is entitled to a place in ornamental
gardens.

PLATE XCIX.

Fig. II. 1 , A leaf of the natural size. 2 , A fertile ament
with young leaves.

Common White or Grev Poplai^

Ponitliuf van ea ecus .

Onintl scuip

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COMMON WHITE or GREY POPLAR.

Populus CANESCENS. P. foliis subrotundis , angiilato-den-
talis, subtomentoso-cinerescentibus ; ameniis cylindraceis .
laxis.

The Poplars of the Old Continent are less numerous
than those of America. The largest among them are the
Great White Poplar and the Common White Poplar,
which were for a long time confounded , and which
have been distinguished only within forty years by the
characters of their leaves.

In the Species Plantamm, Wildenow thus designates
the first of these trees : Populus alba; foliis cordato-sub-
rotundis, lobatis, dentatis, subtus tomentoso-nieeis ; amentis
ovatis. In this description , a shorter and more oval
ament forms the peculiar character of the fructification ;
but the principal difference is in the leaves ; those of the
Great White Poplar are larger, and have the lower sur-
face constantly whitened with thick down.

To this tree must be referred the allusions of the
poets to the Poplar of Hercules : Populus Alcidce gra-
tissima. It is less common in France and in England
than the White or Grey Poplar , and is inferior in size
and in the quality of its wood.

The Grey Poplar , Peuplier grisaille , is one of the
largest trees of the Old World : it rises to the height of

II. 32

246 COMMON WHITE OR GREY POPLAR.

90 or too feet, with a diameter of 5 or 6 feet. On aged
trees the bark is thick and deeply farrowed , and on
younger stocks it is smooth and greenish. The leaves
vary in size, shape and colour, according to the age of
the tree and the nature of the soil : in moist grounds
they are larger and more downy, and on the summit of
old trees they are smooth , round and toothed.

Like other Poplars , this species grows more rapidly
in moist grounds , but it is proved to accommodate it-
self the most easily to a variety of soils. I remember near
the house in which I was born, in the vicinity of Ver-
sailles , an avenue of these trees which were planted in
the reign of Louis XIV, and which, in 1792, when they
were felled, were from 90 to 100 feet in height, and
from 4 to 6 feet in diameter.

The wood is superior to that of the other species in
whiteness , in fineness and in strength ; it gives a firmer
hold to nails, and is not liable to warp and split. In
England and Belgium it is commonly used by turners
for bowls, trays, etc. In the south of France it is em-
ployed for the floors and wainscots of houses , and in
Paris for the cases in which goods are packed for expor-
tation.

The Grey Poplar , therefore , should be preferred in
our forests, though its growth is not the most rapid. It
may be multiplied by slips or by suckers , which are
transplanted the fourth or fifth year, or by branches
6 or 7 feet long and 3 inches in diameter , which do

COMMON WHITE OR GREY POPLAR. 2 ^

not require to be removed. The larger end of the branch
should be cut obliquely, so as to expose the bark for
the length of 5 or 6 inches , and set in a moist, cool soil,
in a hole 18 inches deep. When the branch is severed
from the tree it should be placed in water till it is set
in the ground. The most favourable season for forming
the plantation is the autumn or the beginning of spring.
When slips are sent to distance they should be enve-
loped in wet moss.

The superior size and majestic form of the Common
White Poplar, its rapid growth, and the varied and
useful applications of its wood, cause it to be highly
esteemed in Europe, and enable me to recommend it
with confidence to the inhabitants of North America.
East of the river Connecticut there is no tree with light
and tender wood that unites these advantages. Among
the Poplars of Europe and America, this species is the
best substitute for the Tulip Tree , which is rare in the
northern part of the United States , and whose repro-
duction will probably be attended with difficulties that
do not accompany the propagation of the Common
White Poplar.

PLATE C.

A branch with leaves of the natural size. Fig. 1 , A leaf
from a sprout at the foot of an old tree.

END OF THE SECOND VOLUME.