STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 93 



The Peach in its ornamenlal varieties, ^\■ccping, Fastigate, and 

 Double Blossumed, is much less grown than it deserves. The orna- 

 mental foliage sorts I have not seen; .hiii I tiiink we should pay more 

 attention ti> these fair if not productive relatixcs of our fruit trees. 



There is a double (lowering riuni lately introduced from China, that 

 would probably also be desirable, as well as the double blossoming 

 Cherries. 



The wild Blai k Ciierry is a handsome tree in foliage, blossom, and 

 fruit, and only needs to be( ome rare in order to be valued. 



The same is true of our native Hawthorns, of whit h we have two 

 or three beautiful species. 



We have at least one species of the Service-tree, though I have 

 seen it but once and cannot specially recommend it. 



r)ur Wild Crab, so ])lentiful throughout the State, is one of the finest 

 ornamental trees; but too j)lentiful to be appreciated. • 



The Sweet Gum is native and a most desirable tree in the shape 

 and color of its foliage. 



The Flowering Dogwood is a common tree, and like the Red-bud 

 much admired from the early appearance of its so called flowers. 



The Tupelo is admired by those who know it better than I, and is 

 native in the southern end of this district. 



The Persimmon is sometimes a rather handsome. tree, but is spe- 

 cially desirable on account of its fruit, some varieties of which ripen by 

 the last of August. Frost is not needed, as is popularly supposed, to 

 ripen either this or papaw's fruit. The persimmon tree may be top- 

 grafted with choice varieties (by the ordinary process of cleft grafting, 

 with grafting wax wrapped about the junction) and thus much im- 

 proved. As the tree is dioecious, or rather occasionally tending to be so, 

 its barrenness may thus be corrected. 



The Catalpa, native in the southern end of the district, is at once 

 beautiful in foliage and blossom, and very easily grown from seed. It 

 is tender in the northern part of the State, but grows to nearly a hun- 

 dred feet in height in Pulas'ki County. 



The Paulownia I have not cultivated, but have seen near Alton, and 

 I believe it is worthy of cultivation in many parts of our district, though 

 it is somewhat impatient of our colder winters. 



W' e have no less than five species of Ash : White, Red, Green, Black, 

 and Blue. Of these I have seen most of the White Ash, of Avhich 

 we formerly had very straight and tall forest growth in Madison County. 

 The Green Ash is said to be more handsome, and all are valuable. 



The Sassafras is to my notion one of our most ornamental trees. 

 Grown singly it makes a tree of handsome shape, and its foliage, glossy 

 in summer and red in autunm, with its yellowish green twigs and dark 

 berries, makes it at once uniijue and ornamental. 



There are three species of the Kim native in our district, including 

 that magnificent tree, the White Kim, which Henry Ward Beecher pro- 

 nounced the true, absolute tree, and that curious species, the Winged 



