TREES OF AMERICA. 15 



stem, and forming a sort of star ; the flowers 

 are yellowish white, and grow in long clus- 

 ters or bunches : the nuts grow in prickly 

 cases or husks ; they are not good to eat, 

 and the wood of the tree is white, soft, and 

 perfectly useless. 



"Now here.is another buck-eye, much larger 

 than the other ; this is also a native of Amer- 

 ica, and grows in the mountainous parts of 

 the Southern States, where it is known by the 

 name of big buck-eye. The tree is large and 

 handsome, shooting up to the height of sixty 

 or seventy feet ; the leaves are larger and 

 longer than those of the Ohio buck-eye ; they 

 grow in the same way, five on a stem, but 

 with this difference that they are always found 

 hanging down. The flowers are light yellow, 

 and grow in large upright bunches ; they are 

 very abundant, and when the tree is covered 

 with them, it has a beautiful appearance with 

 its leaves hanging down in star-like clusters, 

 and its rich yellow flowers. The principal 

 difference between the large buck-eye and the 

 Asiatic horse-chestnut, is in the husk or case 

 which surrounds the nut, In the Asiatic 

 kind, and also in the Ohio buck-eye, this husk 

 is covered with prickles, but in the big buck- 



