ORNAMENTAL TREES. 29 



their dealings. Until very recently the American nurseries 

 contained few or none of the trees of the Alleghany region 

 just spoken of, and therefore these are too seldom seen in 

 cultivation. 



Of the more common New-England species not previously 

 mentioned, we have the hickories, sturdy clean trees, with, in 

 many cases, a desirable fruit and valuable timber ; the elms, 

 of which the white elm ( Ulmus Americana)^ in a moist rich 

 soil, arrives at a majestic maturity unsurpassed by any of our 

 trees ; the birches, some of which (the most beautiful) are 

 not so long lived as could be desired ; the cherries ; the sas- 

 safras ; the tupelo (Ni/ssa multifiora), a tree not half appre- 

 ciated with its glossy summer foliage and brilliant autumn 

 tints ; the hornbeams ; and, of the lower-growing species, the 

 witch-hazel (^Hamamelis Virginiana')^ with its flowers in 

 November conspicuous as being developed after the leaves 

 have fallen ; the elders ; hawthorns, of several varieties, with 

 fine large blossoms and brilliant fruit ; the sumachs ; the vi- 

 burnums, many of which are of remarkable beauty ; and the 

 dogAvoods, seldom cultivated to any extent, yet containing 

 among them the Cornus florida, one of the most desirable of 

 small trees, which gives beautiful and conspicuous flowers, 

 Ijright-red fruit, and brilliant autumn foliage. In the heath 

 family (^Ericaceaf) are the kalmia, cletha, rhododendron, 

 azalea, and a host of shrubby species, which are often re-im- 

 ported from European nurseries, where they are known as 

 the " American plants." All these are perfectly hardy, and 

 no trial is necessary to assure us of the fact. Besides these, 

 we may add from the Alleghanies — that great storehouse 

 from which, as has been already pointed out, we can draw 

 so varied and so valuable additions — the cucumber-tree 

 (^Magnolia acuminata) and a number of lower-growing mem- 

 bers of the same genus ; the box-elder {ISfegmido aeeroides) ; 

 the locusts; the howej-locw^t (^G-leditscliia triacantlios) \ and 

 the fringe-tree (^Chiananthus Virginica), with which we 

 are already familiar; the yellow-wood (^Cladrastis tinctoria), 

 often called virgilia ; the red-bud ( Cercis Canade7isis) ; the 

 sorrel-tree ( Oxydendrum arboreum') ; the Buckeyes ; the Ken- 

 tucky coffee-tree (^Gymnocladus Canadensis) ; the persimmon 

 (^Diaspyros Virginiaiia)^ whose edible fruit will ripen per- 

 fectly well in the New-England climate ; the black walnut 



