156 



near its original habitat to make, if it be not too late, a thorough 

 investigation of the matter. 



The earliest mention I find made of this sumac in any book of 

 botany is that by Darlington,* who gives an excellent description 

 of its characters, as far as known ; and this is the most respect- 

 able mention I find of it in any flora. The locality where it was 

 found is within the limits of Chester County, where Darlington 

 lived ; but it does not appear that he ever sought it out in its 

 wild state. Its discoverer was Mr. Kilvington, concerning whom 

 I obtain the information through Mr. Meehan : " Concerning 

 Robert Kilvington ; our Mr. Joseph Meehan recalls him per- 

 fectly and says that he lived on Woodland Avenue, West Phila- 

 delphia. He and his generation, however, have passed away. 

 Kilvington was a botanist of considerable local note, and his 

 attainments were highly appreciated by those who knew him. 

 He was a private gardener for a time near Philadelphia, later 

 going into business for himself as a florist." f 



According to the late Thomas Meehan J Mr. Kilvington must 

 have cultivated and propagated his fine discovery, though into 

 southern Europe, where it was greatly prized, it was introduced 

 by the botanist Elias Durand, of Philadelphia ; § and ten years 

 after it was first described, but namelessly, by Darlington, 

 Carricre named and described it as Rhus glabra laciiiiata. Only 

 a few of the leaflets in even Carricre's figure are properly lacini- 

 ate, most of them being pinnately divided, so that the foliage as 

 a whole is, as Darlington said, bipinnate ; and in the considerable 

 mumber of herbarium specimens now before me, from various 

 gardens, all the leaves have pinnate leaflets, none being merely 

 laciniate. 



It is of touching personal interest to know that this beautiful 

 mutation has been planted at the grave of Dr. Darlington, who 

 gave the earliest account of it; for I {\W([, in the herbarium that 

 belonged to the late M. S. Bebb, and whicli is now the property 



* Flora Cestrica, y\ Ed., 457. 1853. 

 fS. Mendelsolin Median in lilt., Aug. 22, I905. 

 J Gardener's Monthly 18: 355. 

 .?Carri6re, Rev. Hort. 1863: 7. 



