CHAPTEE XYII. 



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 clus- 



Ailanthus glandulosa. . . 



ters, which have such an offensive 

 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 tr 



*'• Commonly, but improperly, spelled aila/nthw" — Webster, 



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

 ical names. 



15 209 



