DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 219 



to tlie attacks of sea-worms, etc., than almost any other ; it 

 is, therefore, highly esteemed in naval architecture for 

 certain purposes. But its great value is in cabinet work. 

 Its color, when exposed to the air, is a fine, rich, dark 

 brown, beautifully veined in certain parts ; and as it takes 

 a brilliant polish, it is coming into general use in the 

 United States for furniture, as well as for the interioj 

 finishing of houses. 



The Black walnut has strong claims upon the Landscape 

 Gardener, as it is one of the grandest and most massive 

 trees which he can employ. When full grown it is scarcely 

 inferior in the boldness of its ramification or the amplitude 

 of its head to the oak or chestnut ; and what it lacks in 

 spirited outline when compared with those trees, is fully 

 compensated, in our estimation, by its superb and heavy 

 masses of foliage, which catch and throw oflf the broad 

 lights and shadows in the finest manner. When the Black 

 walnut stands alone on a deep fertile soil it becomes a truly 

 majestic tree ; and its lower branches often sweep the 

 ground in a graceful curve, which gives additional beauty 

 to its whole expression. It is admirably adapted to exten- 

 sive lawns, parks, or plantations, where there is no want 

 of room for the attainment of its full size and fair propor- 

 tions. Its rapid growth and umbrageous foliage also 

 recommend it for wide public streets and avenues. 



The European walnut (/. regia), or, as it is generally 

 termed here, the Madeira nut, is one of the most common 

 cultivated trees of Europe, where it was introduced origi- 

 nally from Persia. It differs from our Black walnut (which, 

 however, it much resembles) in the smooth, grey bark of 

 the stem, the leaves composed of three or four pair of 

 leaflets, and in the very thin-shelleJ fruit, which, though 



