DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 221 



quantities ; and as they are chiefly brought from Spain 

 and the Madeiras, they are here ahnost entirely known by 

 the name of the Madeira nut. The tree is but little 

 cultivated among us, though highly deserving more 

 extensive favor, both on account of its value and beauty. 

 It grows well in the climate of the middle states, and bears 

 freely ; a specimen eighteen or twenty years old, in the 

 garden of the author, has reached thirty-five feet in height, 

 and bears two or three bushels of fine fruit annually ; from 

 which we have already propagated several hundred 

 individuals. It is not perfectly hardy north of this. 



As an ornamental tree, Gilpin remarks, that the warm 

 russet hue of its young foliage makes a pleasing variety 

 among the vivid green of other trees, about the end of 

 May ; and the same variety is maintained in summer, by 

 the contrast of its yellowish hue, when mixed in any 

 quantity with trees of a darker tint. It stands best alone, 

 as the early loss of its foliage is then of less consequence, 

 and its ramification is generally beautiful. 



The Butternut (/. cathartica) belongs to this section, 

 and is chiefly esteemed for its fruit, which abounds in oil, 

 and is very rich and sweet. The foliage somewhat 

 resembles that of the Black walnut, though the leaflets are 

 smaller and narrower. The form of the nut, however, is 

 strikingly different, being oblong, oval, and narrowed to a 

 point at the extremity. Unlike the walnut, the husk is 

 covered with a sticky gum, and the surface of the nut is 

 much rougher than any other of the walnut genus. The 

 bark of the butternut is grey, and the tops of old trees 

 generally have a flattened appearance. It is frequently 

 an uncoutl ill-shaj)en, and ugly tree in form, though 



