IX. THE OSAGE ORANGE. 283 



parts of this country and Europe, and has ripened fruit in sev- 

 eral places in the south of France. It seems to be perfectly- 

 hardy in the latitude of Boston, as, at Nonantum Hill, in New- 

 ton, it has been found by Mr. Kenrick to have endured without 

 injury the rigors of the last ten winters. 



The wood seems likely to be of great value. It is of a rich 

 saffron yellow, whence it is sometimes called Yellow Wood, and 

 resembles the Madura tinctbria, a tree of the West Indies, in 

 yielding a yellow dye. It is of a fine close grain, and very 

 elastic, and is preferred by the Indians, to make their bows 

 with, and thence called Bow Wood. It is hard and durable, and 

 is said to receive a beautiful polish. It must therefore be valu- 

 able to cabinet-makers. It is said to rival even the live oak in 

 durability as ship timber. From the bark, as from that of the 

 Paper Mulberry, a fibrous substance resembling fine white flax, 

 may be formed. The use of its leaves as a substitute for those 

 of the White Mulberry for feeding silk-worms, seems to be of 

 doubtful success. 



It is easily propagated by layers, and by cuttings of the root. 

 Loudon says that, in the vicinity of London, a plant cut down 

 after having been two or three years established, throws up 

 shoots six or eight feet high, and nearly half an inch in diame- 

 ter, in a single season. 



