DECIDUOUS TREES. 



393 



growth, very suitable for gardens of limited extent." The G. s. 

 inermis is a small sort without thorns, said to be suitable for small 

 grounds. 



FIG. 123. 



THE SOPHORA. Sophora. 



THE JAPAN SOPHORA. Sophora japonica. Considering the 

 delicacy of its foliage, its purity and depth of color, and the hardi- 

 ness of the tree, it is curious that so few fine specimens of this tree 

 are yet to be seen in this country. Fig. 123 is the portrait of a 

 full-grown tree in the Syon Park, England. We have heard of no 

 large specimens in this country. The tree here shown * was fifty- 

 seven feet high, eighty-four feet wide across its branches, and four 

 and one-half feet diameter of trunk. This size is probably its 

 greatest, as nearly all the trees growing in that famous park attain 

 unusual dimensions. The foliage of the sophora closely resembles 

 that of the common locust, but is a little darker. The young wood 



From Loudon's Arboretum Britannicum, VoL V, p. 76. 



