CHAPTEK XVII. 



III. Compound Alternate Leaves. 



1. Without teeth. Leaflets bordering main leaf stem. 



THE AILANTUS AND LOCUSTS. 



Ailantus. The ailantus,* familiar to us all 



Ailanthus gianduiosus. through its greenish flower elus- 



Ailanthus glandulosa. . . . . , 



ters, which have such an onensive 

 odor in the balmy days of June, comes from China, 

 and is called there " The Tree of Heaven " ! For- 

 tunately, not all the trees are disagreeable, as some 

 do not bear the ill-smelling, sterile (staminate) flowers. 

 The ailantus was first brought into the United 

 States by Mr. "William Hamilton in 1784, and a 

 sucker from the original tree, planted in 1809, de- 

 veloped to large proportions, now stands in the Bar- 

 tram Botanic Garden. In 1820 Mr. William Prince, 

 of Flushing, L. I., imported the ailantus from 

 Europe, and from this stock most of the trees 



'Commonly, but improperly, spelled ailanthus." Webster. 

 But I do not interfere with the spelling of the established botan- 

 ical names. 



209 



