110 THE BUCKEYE. 



said to have made it his place of meeting with Annie 

 Boleyn, while she was living at Staines ; and Magna 

 Charta was signed within sight of it, on the island in 

 the Thames between Runnymede and Ankerwyke. 

 The girth of this tree, at 3 feet from the ground, is 

 27 feet 8 inches. 



In the eastern part of the United States, the Yew 

 is barely more than a small bush, seldom above a few 

 feet high ; while in the west it becomes a fine large 

 tree of some 40 to 60 feet in height, and about 2 or 3 

 feet in diameter. It is here one of the most conspi- 

 cuous trees of the forest. The Indians of Oregon 

 use the wood of this tree for making bows, it being 

 very tough, heavy, and elastic. 



Many of the trees of our American forests at some 

 seasons of the year are laden with the most beautiful 

 blossoms, which are often very conspicuous, and some- 

 times diffusing a rich fragrance around them. The 

 appearance of an apple or peach-orchard in the spring 

 is an object so familiar, that its beauty is not appre- 

 ciated by many. 



The Buckeye, a species of Horse Chestnut which 

 grows in Ohio, whose early blossoms are the resort 

 of the Humming-birds upon their arrival from the 

 South ; the Catalpa, a familiar ornament around our 

 farm-houses; the Kentucky Coffee, a native of the 

 Western States ; and the Pride of India, one of the 

 most lovely objects that adorns the gardens of the 

 South, are all showy and ornamental trees. 



The Locust also is a very valuable addition to the 

 list of our botanical friends ; and its long bunches of 



