EDITOR'S TABLE. 



following, taken from that reliable and able book. The doctor has described the Staghorn 

 Sumac (Rhus typhinci) all in botanical correctness, when he breaks ont with the following 

 observation : " The fine purj)le clusters of fruit, on the fertile plant, render it quite an orna- 

 mental little tree ; and, when planted in the yards and public squares of our cities, it aifords 

 an almost literal exemplification of the much admired Rhus in urbe !" Of the Naked-Stem 

 Aralia, he says : " The root is sometimes used as a substitute for the sarsaparilla of the 

 shops. I believe both the original and the substitute to be rather innocent medicines — 

 provided the disease be not serioiis !" The author is evidently an admirer of Shakspeare ; 

 we wish, by the way, some one would collect all the observations of the poet on trees and 

 flowers. The doctor has made a good beginning, and were it not that he is a banker him- 

 self, the observations he has appended to Romeo's remark would have less force. He is 

 speaking of the common plantain and the " obs." is thus put : " A naturalized foreigner — 

 remarkable for accompanying civilized man ; growing along his footpaths, and flourishing 

 around his settlements. The leaves are a convenient and popular dressing for blisters and 

 other sores — a fact which seems to have been known in the time of Shakspeare, as we learn 

 from his Romeo and Juliet, Act. 1, Scene 2 : ' Romeo. Your plantain leaf is excellent for 

 that. Ben. For what, I pray thee ? Romeo. For your broken shin.' " " The plantain leaf," 

 now goes on the doctor, " continued in vogue, for that purpose, from the Elizabethan age 

 down to our own times, when a substitute was furnished by the officious empirics who under- 

 took to reform and regulate our national currency!" Who would expect a dissertation on 

 shin plasters in a severely scientific book ? And who is there that is not pleased with the 

 transition from the grave to the gay ? 



Trees as Arches.— In addition to our illustrations of landscape in connection with tree 

 planting, there is a very simple mode 

 of making a rapid natural arch in gar- 

 den or shrubbery walks, which will be 

 appropriate in almost any scene. The 

 trees must be adapted by the character 

 of their branching limbs, and once 

 established at proper points, the limbs 

 are pruned as represented. 



Treated in this way, they form um- 

 brageous bowers, and may serve the 

 double purpose of arches over walks and shady retreats 

 branches, they will grow freely into a 

 compact head. Limes, tilia, are suit- 

 able for such treatment as well as beech, 

 and even the willows; but elms, maples, 

 and most free-growing trees, will serve 

 the purpose, and become permanent 

 ornaments. Individual taste in the 

 selection and trimming of these arches, 

 may make a great variety ; some might 

 be ornamented with Wistarias, and 

 other blooming vines. 



for, having lost their leading 



Lippixcott's Pronouncing Gazetteer of the World. — A correspondent from Illinois, last 

 month, said : "Maps are far behind the age so far as they have a reference to the West, 

 where towns spring up even while the binder is putting the gilt trimmings upon his splindid \ 



