FOREST TREE PLANTING. 139 



favor the belief that there is no tree so well adapted to take 

 the place of the pitch pine, and to cover the loose, sandy 

 areas of our coast, as the once noted ailanthus (ailanthus 

 glandulosa) . Being aware of the prejudices existing against 

 this tree, inherited chiefly from a former generation, let us 

 examine its merits and render a verdict in accordance with 

 the facts. The ailanthus is a deciduous tree and, we are told, 

 is abundant in the northern provinces of China, and is indig- 

 enous to that country. In 1750 it was introduced into 

 Europe as an ornamental tree, and about 1820 was planted 

 in the United States. From its rapid growth and tropical 

 appearance it soon became a favorite, and was planted ex- 

 tensively in the cities of New York, Philadelphia, Provi- 

 dence and Newport, and the demand for the young trees far 

 exceeded the supply. As soon as the trees were old enough 

 to produce flowers, it was discovered that they emitted a 

 very ofiensive odor, and the pollen which fell on the roofs of 

 nei2:hborin<T houses rendered the water fallino: on those roofs 

 unfit for drinking or culinary purposes. On discovering 

 these objectionable features in its character, those who had 

 cherished this rare exotic were suddenly seized with a feel- 

 ing of disgust, and war was declared against the ofiending 

 ailanthus, resulting in almost its complete extermination. A 

 few may be found scattered over Rhode Island, and in some 

 of the villages of New England, lineal descendants of a de- 

 spised and persecuted generation. The objection to the 

 ailanthus, which operated so swiftly to bring it into disre- 

 pute, disappears quite as swiftly when regarded in the light 

 of a forest tree. The wood possesses many valuable qualities. 

 Its specific gravity is said to be but little less than that of 

 the oak, and more than that of the black walnut. It is of a 

 pale cream color in appearance, admits of high polish, sea- 

 sons readily without checking, and is a strong, durable wood 

 when protected from the weather. Prof. Sargent, in his 

 Notes on Trees and Tree Planting (a paper read before the 

 Massachusetts Board of Agriculture in 1877), and to whom 

 I am indebted for much valuable information relatino; to the 

 ailanthus, says : — 



" There are thousands of acres of shifting sand and 

 barren soil, along our sea-coast southward, too poor and 



