

AMERICAN NETTLE-TREE. 



519 



rftLe leaves may be observed to possess no serratures at all; thev are verv 

 oblique, and slightly sinuated at the base, are shining and scabrous on the upper 

 surface, and pubescent beneath along their prominent reticulate nerves, thouTat 

 length nearly or quite smooth The drupes are globose, solitary on I or 

 peduncles, and are of a brownish-yellow colour. 



6. C. o crassifolia Thick-leaved American Nettle-tree ; Celtis crassifolia, of 

 Michaux, Loudon and others ; Micocoidier dfeuilles ipaisses, Micocoidier a feuilles 

 en coeur, of the French ; Dickblattriger Zurgel, of the Germans ; Hack Berry 

 Hag Berry, Hog Berry, Hoop Ash, of the Anglo-Americans. This tree, which 

 has hitherto been treated as a species, some- 

 times grows to a height of more than eighty 

 feet, but with a trunk of the very dispropor- 

 tionate diameter of only eighteen or twenty 

 inches. It is distinguished by the form of its 

 trunk, which is straight and undivided to a great 

 height ; and by its bark, which is of a grayish 

 colour, unbroken, and covered with asperities, 

 unequally distributed over its surface. Its 

 leaves are larger than those of any other tree 

 of the genus, being six inches long, and from Nfjji 

 three to four inches broad ; they are oval-acu- 

 minate, broad, heart-shaped, auricled and un- 

 equal at the base, serrated with unequal teeth. 

 of a thick and rather leathery texture, and 

 rough on both surfaces. The petioles are from 

 one fourth to one half of an inch in length, and 

 are slightly hairy. The flowers, which put 

 forth in May, are small, white, and are often united in pairs on a common peduncle. 

 The fruit, which is of a roundish form, and slightly pointed at the apex, is of a dark- 

 brown, or nearly black colour, when ripe, about the size of a bird-cherry, and is 

 borne on slender peduncles, that are longer than the petioles of the leaves. The 

 banks of the Delaware, above Philadelphia, may be considered as its nothernmost 

 limit, as an indigenous tree. East of the Alleghanies, it is restricted within nar- 

 row boundaries, being a stranger to the lower parts of Virginia, and of the more 

 southern states ; but west of these mountains it is profusely multiplied, in all the 

 valleys that stretch along the rivers throughout Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. 

 It was introduced into Britain in 1812, where it is only considered as an orna- 

 mental tree. It is well adapted for plantations, where a screen or shade is 

 required, from the rapidity and luxuriance of its growth, and the large size and 

 thick texture of its leaves. The wood is of but little value, from its weakness 

 and liability to decay, when exposed to the alternations of moisture and dryness. 

 It is compact and fine-grained, however, though not heavy; and when freshly 

 exposed it is quite white. Sawn in a direction parallel or oblique to its longitu- 

 dinal fibres, it exhibits the fine undulations that are observed in the locust and in 

 the elm. The sap-wood, if laid open in spring, will change in a few minutes, 

 from pure white, to green. In the parts of the country where this tree abounds, 

 its timber is sometimes employed, in building, for the covering which supports the 

 shingles of the roofs. As it is elastic, and can easily be divided, it is also some- 

 times used by farmers for the bottoms of chairs, and by the Indians for making 

 baskets. In Ohio it is employed for the rails to rural fences, as it is straight- 

 grained, free from knots, and is wrought with the greatest ease. 



Geography, fyc. The Celtis occidentalis is sparingly scattered throughout the 

 Uniteof States, from Massachusetts on the north, Carolina and Georgia on the 

 south, and Missouri and Illinois on the west. In its natural habitat, it preiers .- 



