CANADIAN GYMNOCLADUS. 219 
bowed pods, from five to ten inches in length, and about two inches in breadth, 
is of a reTldish-brown colour, of a pulpy consistency within, and contains several 
large, gray seeds, of extreme hardness, that come to maturity in September or 
October. 
Geography and History. The Gymnocladus canadensis is sparingly found in 
Upper Canada, and along the borders of Lake Erie and. Ontario, in the state of 
New York ; but in Kentucky and Tennessee, it abounds on tracts which border 
the Ohio and Illinois rivers, and is associated with the Juglans nigra, Ulmus 
rubra, Liriodendron tulipifera, Fraxinus americana quadrangulata, Gleditschia 
triacanthos, and more especially with the Celtis occidentalis. 
This tree was introduced into Britain in 1748, and was cultivated by Archi- 
bald, Duke of Argyll, at Whitton, where the original tree is said still to exist. 
Soon after its introduction into England, it found its way into most of the collec- 
tions of France, southern Germany, and of Italy. 
The largest tree of this species in Britain, is at Croome, in Worcestershire, 
which attained a height of sixty feet in forty years after planting, with a trunk 
eighteen inches in diameter, and an ambitus of thirty feet. 
In France, at Paris, in the Jardin des Plantes, there is a gymnocladus which 
attained the height of fifty-five feet in sixty years after planting, with a trunk 
twenty inches in diameter, and an ambitus of forty feet. At Colombier, near 
Mentz, there is another tree sixty-five feet in height. 
In Prussia, at Sans Souci, in Berlin, there is a tree of this species which 
attained the height of thirty feet in thirty years after planting. 
In Austria, at Vienna, there is also a tree which attained the height of thirty 
feet in thirteen years after planting. 
In the Bartram botanic garden, at Kingsessing, near Philadelphia, there is a 
Gymnocladus eighty feet in height, with a trunk five feet in circumference. 
In Washington square, Philadelphia, there is a tree of this species about thirty 
years of age, fifty feet in height, with a trunk five feet and four inches in cir- 
cumference, at a yard above the ground, and a head about fifty feet in diameter. 
There are also fine specimens of this tree in the garden of Mr. D. Landreth, of 
Philadelphia, and on the estate of Mr. A. J. Downing, of Ne wburgh, on the Hudson. 
Soil, Situation, Propagation, fyc. The Gymnocladus canadensis, in its natural 
habitat, invariably grows in the very richest of soils, and thrives best in shel- 
tered situations. The tree is generally propagated by seeds, which should be 
sown in March or April, and treated in the same manner as recommended in 
the common locust. It may also be propagated from cuttings of the roots, care 
being taken in planting, to keep the ends in the position in which they naturally 
grow. 
Properties and Uses. The wood of the Gymnocladus canadensis is of a rosy 
hue, and is very hard, compact, tough, and strong, which render it very suitable 
for cabinet-making, and for building. Like the common locust, it has the valua- 
ble property of rapidly converting the alburnum into heart- wood, so that a trunk 
six inches in diameter, has only about half of an inch of sap-wood, and may be 
employed almost entirely for useful purposes. The live bark is extremely bitter ; 
so that a morsel no larger than a grain of maize, chewed for some time, causes a 
violent irritation in the throat. The pods, preserved like those of the tamarind, are 
said to be wholesome, and slightly aperient. The seeds were employed by the early 
settlers of Kentucky and Tennessee, as a substitute for coffee, but their use was 
discontinued, as soon as the Arabian coffee could be obtained. In Europe, the 
only use to which this tree is applied is for the purposes of ornament and shade. 
Being very hardy, and remarkable for the beauty of its foliage during summer, 
it is highly appreciated both in Europe and its native country. 
