660 



ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. 



PART 1IJ. 



more hardy than the European species. In Britain, it is propagated by im- 

 ported seeds, and is considered more tender than C. .Siliquastrum ; but it would 

 probably be rendered more hardy by being grafted on that species. 



Statistics. Tn the environs of London, it is seldom found higher than 10ft. or 12ft. ; and then it 

 has more the character of a bush than of a tree ; but on the Continent there are some good speci- 

 mens. In France, at Paris, in the Jardin des Plantes, 55 years planted, it is 36ft. high, the diameter 

 of the trunk, 10 in., and of the head 20 ft. ; in the Rue Grenelle, in Paris, in the garden of the house 

 No. 122., as we are informed by Mr. Blaikie, there is a tree 40 ft. high, with a trunk 1| ft. in diameter. 

 In Saxony, at Worlitz, 25 years planted, it is 10ft. high. In Austria, at Vienna, in the University 

 Botanic Garden, 9 years planted, it is 16ft. high. In Italy, at Monza, 2-1 years planted, it is 13 ft. high. 



Commercial Statistics. Plants, in the London nurseries, are Is. 6d. each, and 

 seeds 1 s. 6d. per ounce ; at Boll wy Her, plants are 1 franc each ; and at New 

 York, the plants of the species are from 25 to 37 cents each, and of " Fore- 

 man's new variety," 37 cents each. 



App. I. Half-hardy Species of the Tribe Cassiece. 



36-5 



is a genus of beautiful flowering trees and shrubs, most of the species of which are 

 natives of tropical countries, and which, in England, are generally kept in stoves; but there is one 

 species, C. Lebbekowtes Dec., a native of China, which, if once introduced, would probably be a valu- 

 able addition to a conservative wall. 



C^dia varia L'Herit. (Don's Mill., 2. p. 435.) is a shrub, a native of Arabia Felix, with impari.pin- 

 nate leaves ; and flowers, at first white, but, as they fade, becoming rose-coloured. It was introduced 

 in 1777, and might be tried against a wall. 



Zuccdgnia Cav. is a Chilian genus, of which the species are probably half-hardy. Z. punctuta Cav. 

 Icon., 5. p. 2. t.403., has abruptly pinnate leaves, and saffron-coloured flowers. It grows to the height 

 of 4 ft. or 5 ft. 



Ceratonia Siliqua L. (Bot. Rep. ,t. 567., and our figs. 365,366.) is a very interesting tree, a native of 

 the south of Europe, particularly Spain ; it is also found in Mau- 

 ritania and the Levant. The leaves are abruptly pinnate; the 

 leaflets oval, obtuse, flat, coriaceous, and of a shining dark 

 green. The flowers are polygamous or dioecious, and without 

 petals. The tree grows to the height of from 30 ft. to 50 ft. In 

 the south of Europe, when the fruit is per- 

 fectly ripe, the pulp contained in the pods is 

 eaten by men, the seeds by horses, and the oOO 

 husks by swine; hence, probably, the po- 

 pular English name of sow's bread. When 

 unripe, the fruit is considered very unwhole- 

 some, and even dangerous, to the cattle that 

 feed on it The Egyptians make a kind of 

 honey of the pulp, which serves the Arabs 

 instead of sugar ; they also make a preserve 

 like that made with tamarinds of the pods, 

 which is a gentle laxative. This fruit was 

 anciently supposed to be what St. John fed 

 on in the wilderness ; hence its name of St. 

 John's bread; the seeds being said to be 

 meant by the word translated " locusts;" 

 and the pulp by the term " wild honey." 

 The husks are thought to have been the dry 

 ' and wretched food that the Prodigal Son was 

 driven to long for, in the last stage of his misery and starvation. The plant has been in British 

 green-houses since 1570 ; and the male plant, has flowered every autumn, for many years past, in 

 the Mile End Nursery. This tree will very nearly stand the open air in the vicinity of Paris ; and, 

 if planted against a wall in the neighbourhood of London, it would probably stand with very little 

 protection. Its fine large coriaceous dark green foliage ought to be a strong inducement for every 

 one who has an opportunity to give it a trial. As a fruit tree, it may merit introduction into Austra- 

 lia, for which purpose the seeds can be readily procured from Spain. It is remarked in the Nouvcau 

 Du Hamel, 1. p. 255., that, when the ripe fruit has been eaten by oxen or mules, the seeds which 

 have passed through them without digestion vegetate much sooner than when they are sown in the 

 natural manner. The tree is of slow growth, and the wood is extremely hard and durable. Its roots 

 attach themselves so firmly to the soil, that, in Spain, even in the most 

 exposed situations, in the gullies of mountains for example, the tree has 

 never been known to be blown down by the wind, so as to be torn up by 

 the roots, though large branches have been broken off' it by storms. 



Castanospdrmum australe Cunningham (Hook. Pot. Misc., 1. p. 241. t. 51. 

 and t 52.) is a New Holland tree, growing to the height of 40ft. or 60ft., 

 the legumes of which are produced from two years' old wood ; and they 

 contain seeds as large as Spanish chestnuts, which are eaten roasted by 

 the natives about Botany Bay. As one of the few New Holland trees 

 which produce edible fruit, it is highly interesting, and well deserves a 

 place against the conservative wall, adjoining Ceratonia. 



Cdssia L. is a genus consisting chiefly of tropical shrubs or herbs, with 

 abruptly pinnate leaves, and yellow flowers, most of which require to be 

 kept in the stove; but C. Barclav^na Suit. (Fl. Austr., t. 32., and our 

 fig. 367.) and C. austr&lis Hook. (Bot. Mae., t. 267ft, and our Ji$. 368.) 

 are natives of New Holland, growing to the height of 3 ft. or 4 ft., and 

 producing their fine showy yellow blossoms from June to August. The 

 enna of the druggists is produced from the leaves of two species of this genus, C. lanceolata and C- 



3(7 



