276 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



soon discovered that the trees showed a strong tendency to 

 throw up numerous suckers ; and, as soon as they grew old 

 enough to flower, that some of the flowers emitted a strong, 

 and, to most persons, offensive odor ; and that the clouds of 

 pollen shed from the flowers, and the flowers themselves, 

 dropping on neighboring roofs, so affected the water caught 

 on them as to render it unfit for use, while the flowers 

 falling to the ground made the country yard or the city 

 sidewalk unbearably disagreeable. 



This peculiarity of its flowers once discovered, the ailan- 

 thus rapidly sank in popular estimation. A general destruc- 

 tion of it was advocated, and soon put into execution, and 

 the few which escaped serve but to remind us of its former 

 popularity and rapid decline.^ Some recent writers have 

 claimed that this tree is dioecious ; that is, that its male and 

 female flowers are produced on different plants, and that, as 

 the male flowers alone emit the disagreeable odor, the pistil- 

 late flowers being free from this peculiarity, its principal 

 objection could be overcome by propagating and planting 

 only the individuals bearing female flowers. 



This could easily be done ; and the experiment is worth 

 trying, although the ailanthus is not dioecious, but polyga- 

 mous, and produces some perfect flowers, varying probably 

 in number in different individuals, among the pistillate ones. 

 Such perfect flowers have, of course, anthers ; but whether 

 they emit the same disagreeable odor as the staminate flow- 

 ers, or whether they are ever abundant enough to be percep- 

 tibly disagreeable, further observations alone can determine. 

 But, numerous as the merits of the ailanthus are as an orna- 

 mental tree, they are more than outweighed by its positive 

 defects ; and its cultivation cannot be recommended, either 

 as a city-street tree or in the neighborhood of dwellings, 

 more especially as later explorations in its native country 

 have given us other trees, not dissimilar in appearance, of 

 equally rapid growth and hardiness, in which no serious 

 defects have yet been detected. 



A doubtful subject, then, at best, for ornamental planting, 



1 I am particularly indebted to Mr. Francis Skinner, who, with praise- 

 worthy industry, has examined the files of agricultural and other special 

 journals for information in regard to the cultivation of this tree in the United 

 States, and who has rendered me other assistance in preparing this paper. 



