DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 131 



green sward with their drooping foHage. Like the lime 

 tree, however, care must be taken, in the modern style, to in- 

 troduce it but sparingly, and then only as a single tree, or 

 upon the margin of large groups, masses, or plantations ; as 

 the abundant use of a tree with so little variety in its out- 

 line, would inevitably produce sameness and monotony. 

 When handsome avenues or straight lines are wanted, the 

 Horse-chestnut is again admirably suited, from its uniformity 

 and regularity, the very qualities that render it unfit for 

 grouping. It is therefore, much, and justly valued for these 

 purposes in our towns and cities, where its deep shade and 

 beauty of blossom are peculiarly desirable. The Horse- 

 chestnut is very interesting in its mode of growth. The 

 large buds are thickly covered in winter with a resinous gum, 

 to protect them from the cold and moisture ; in the spring, 

 these burst open, and the whole growth of the young shoots, 

 leaves, flowers and all, is completed in about three or four 

 weeks. When the leaves first unfold, they are clothed with 

 a copious cotton-like down, which falls ofi" when they have 

 attained their full size and development. 



The growth of the Horse-chestnut is slow, for a soft-wooded 

 tree, when the trees are young : after five or six years, how- 

 ever, it advances with more rapidity, and in twenty years 

 forms a beautiful and massy tree. It prefers a strong, rich, 

 loamy soil, and is easily raised from the large nuts, which 

 are poduced in great abundance. 



There are several species of Horse-chesnut, but the common 

 one [A^sculus Hippocastanum,) is incomparably the finest. 

 The American sorts are the following : (JEsculus Ohioensis,) 

 or Ohio Buckeye, as it is called in the western states ; a small 

 sized tree, with palmated leaves, consisting of Jive leaflets, 

 and pretty bright yellow flowers, with red stamens. The fruit 



