BUCKTHORN. 351 
#ésculus glabra. Ohio Buckeye. Fetid Buckeye. 
Leaves made up of five to seven (generally five) leaflets. 
Inflorescence appearing with the leaves, five to six inches long, 
not large and showy like the Horse Chestnut. Staméns usually 
seven, curved, longer than the pale yellow-green corolla; petals 
four, upright. Buds large, not sticky. Tree generally not 
more than thirty feet high. 
Distribution.—Pennsylvania, south to northern Alabama and 
west to southern Iowa, central Kansas and Indian Territory. 
Propagation.—Described under genus. 
Propertics of wood.—Light, soft, close grained but not strong, 
often blemished by dark lines of decay; nearly white with thin, 
darker colored sapwood. Specific gravity 0.4542; weight of a 
cubic foot 28.31 pounds. 
Uses.—The Ohio Buckeye is much hardier than the Horse 
Chestnut, and stands fairly well in this section as far north as 
St. Paul, where there are some very good small specimens in 
the parks. It is of value to give variety to ornamental plant- 
ings. The wood is used in the manufacture of wooden ware, 
paper pulp and artificial limbs. For the latter purpose it is 
preferred to that of all other American trees. 
RHAMNACEAE. BUCKTHORN FAMILY. 
Genus RHAMNUS. 
We have no native species of importance in this genus. R. 
catharticus, a foreign species, is so valuable as an ornamental 
shrub that it is here described. 
Rhamnus catharticus. Buckthorn. English Buckthorn. 
Leaves ovate, minutely serrate, opposite or nearly so. Flow- 
ers usually dioecious, small, greenish. Fruit a three to four 
seeded black berry, hanging on the branches all winter. <A 
shrub or small tree with thorny branchlets. 
Distribution—Throughout northern Europe, where it is na- 
tive. 
Propagation.—By seeds, which should be gathered in autumn, 
kept stratified over winter, and planted in the spring or by 
