REVIEWS, 



■^ 



observing eye, nml boroino nwnro of the boaiitifiil ()l)jcrts in liis favorite lino of »tn«ly wbicli 

 exist even within a few miles of his own neighborhood. We give a tipccinien of the book : 



"VIIKJILIA. Lamarch. Nat, Ofil. i'iiiac<r. — Corolla butt<.rfly-8ha|it'J. Fruit a flat, muiiy- 

 secdcd legume. 



" V. LUTEA. Michaux. — Loaves pinnate; K-afltts altcrnat^^'. Yellow Wood. Native of the Wi st- 

 ern States. Flowei"s in July. 

 " A middle-sized round he.ided tree, which wlien in flower is particularly ornamentid. There 



are iu clusters larger than the locust, though less odoriferous; pendulous, and of a whitish-yellow 



color. It is lute in putting forth in spring, and one of the first to shed its leaves, which turn to 



a deep orange-yellow iu the fall. 



"It thrives best in a rich, light loam, in a cool situation, not exp<'sed to the heat and drouth 



of summer. 



"It is propagated by seeds sown as soon as they arc ripe, in boxes protected from mice an<l 



severe frosts. They will ajipear in spiing. It also succeeds very well budded on the So[ihora in 



July. 



"The finest Bartram specimen is fifty feet in height, and four feet in circumference at the 



base." p. 239. 



So far as it goes, this is all true. We should like him to have added, ''It is called Yellow 

 Wood from the color of the wood, and not of the flower, which latter few would see jxis- 

 sessed of much tinge of this color. It is extremely rare in all nurseries, and bears a higher 

 price than it ought to, or than it will when a little moderate enterprise shall induce a prop- 

 agator to send for the seeds to the very small district of Tennessee where only it is found 

 in a native state. The seeds of the fine si)ecimens in several parts of Philadelphia county 

 have never been known to perfect themselves. We have succeeded in propagating it from 

 layers, and these will probably make the finest trees. Allied to the Camellia, and the only 

 native tree of America that has 'such a rich family connection to talk about,' added to its 

 very great beauty and long continuance of flowering, no less than its fragrance, we should 

 enforce a dictum already promulgated by others, that it is absolutely indispensable to an 

 ornamental jdantation. A very hard winter sometimes kills it to the ground; but it may 

 be depended on, as far north as Philadelidiia, to reproduce itself abundantly by stools, and 

 layers may be made from these. The rootlets are small, and will not bear long exposure 

 before rei)lanting. Like the best people, it is melancholy to think that the best trees are 

 the most rare and difficult to procure." Something like this might eidiven a " hand-book," 

 and give some desired information. And Ave should know something ad<litionally practi- 

 cal if it were added, " Orders sent to & , the present season, will be filled. Price 



for plants three to five feet high, at Parsons' nurseries, — cents; at Philadelphia, $1." 



Mr. Meehan gives from his own observation some very practical and simple rules to be 

 observed by those who would go to work in earnest. W' e add a specimen or two, as dicta 

 in which we fully concur : 



"21. In planting, the immediate object is to get a speedy formation of new roots and fibres. 

 The best time to plant, then, will be when the earth is a few degrees warmer than the atmos- 

 phere, and when the elaborated sap is descending and active, and the tree ifsclf less likely to 

 suffer from excessive evaporation. The time is the autumn, at the fall of the leat." 



This he qualifies in regard to some species. 



" 39. The effect to be produced by trees should be particulai-ly well studied. The object 

 never be lust siglit of Pleasure, in its broadest sense, is generally a main object. This is 



