TREE LYONIA. 357 
Propagation, fyc. The Lyonia arborea, like all the plants of the order Erica- 
ceae, requires a very fine loamy or sandy soil, which must be kept equally moist, 
or one that is mixed, more or less, with leaf-mould, or with well-rotted peat. 
When propagated from seeds, they must be thinly covered in pots, as they are 
small, and would rot, if buried deep. When the young trees are about an inch 
high, they should be carefully planted out in other pots, where they will acquire 
strength, in time; and, when large enough, may be planted in open ground. 
Properties and Uses. The wood of the Lyonia arborea is very soft, of a pale 
rose-colour, and is totally rejected in the arts and for fuel. The leaves have a 
very pleasant acid taste, and are frequently made use of by hunters, in the moun- 
tains, to allay their thirst. They are sometimes employed, in the form of a 
decoction, as a refreshing beverage for fevers, in the parts of the country where 
this tree abounds. The branches and bark produce a black dye, with the addi- 
tion of the salts of iron. In Tennessee, the inhabitants prefer this plant to 
sumach, in imparting colour to wool. 
