The Ailanthus : The Madrono, : The Manzanita, etc. 289 



to send out tracing roots that sprout at a considerable distance from 

 the tree. 



1175. The male flowers have a nauseating odor, that render this 

 tree undesirable for cultivation near dwellings. It grows very well 

 in the shade of other trees, and the spreading character of its roots 

 render it useful in consolidating railroad embankments, and for re- 

 boisement of mountains. It is grown from the seed, but is most 

 easily propagated by planting sections of its roots, one end being 

 exposed to the air. 



THE ARBUTUS, OR MADRONA, of the Pacific Coast (Arbutus Men- 



ziesii). 



1176. This occurs upon Vancouver and the neighboring islands, 

 but always near the coast. It is a handsome evergreen, yielding a 

 closely-grained and heavy wood, much like the box, and grows to 

 from eighteen inches to two feet in diameter, and to the height of 

 fifty feet. It extends southward to Mexico and Texas, and, under 

 favorable conditions, grows to eighty and a hundred feet in height, 

 and to a diameter of from one to three feet. 



THE MANZANITA. 



1177. This is the Arctostaphylos glauca, of Lindley, and the Xero- 

 lotrys glama of Nuttall. It belongs to the heather family (Ericacece), 

 and is a large evergreen spreading shrub, with a red exfoliating 

 bark and pinkish white flowers in a terminal racime. It abounds 

 in California and Oregon has great powers of endurance in 

 drouth, and it is worthy of cultivation for variety in parks and 

 pleasure grounds. The wood is very dense, reddish, and hard, but 

 too small for much use. There are over a dozen species of the 

 Arctostaphylos, mostly humble shrubs. The A. glabra grows to from 

 8 to 24 feet, and the A. pungens to from 3 to 20 feet in height. 



THE PAWPAW (Asimina triloba). 



1178. Some seven or eight species of the Asimina are found in 

 North America, mostly in the Southern and Southwestern States 

 and in Mexico, and, excepting the one above named, unimportant 

 shrubs. The pawpaw grows to some fifteen or twenty feet in height, 

 generally in thickets, and it is chiefly important for its fruit, which 

 in form and flavor somewhat resembles a bannana. 



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