CHAPTEE XVII. 



m. Compound Alternate Leaves. 



1. Withoiit teeth. Leaflets bordering main leaf stem. 



THE AILANTUS AND LOCUSTS. 



Ailantus. The ailantns,* familiar to us all 



AUanthus giqnduiosus. throiigli its greenish flower elus- 



AUanthus glandulosa. i • i i t ™ . 



ters, which have such an ofltensiye 

 odor in the balmy days of June, comes from China, 

 and is called there " The Tree of Heaven " ! For- 

 tunately, not all the trees are disagreeable, as some 

 do not bear the ill-smelling, sterile (staminate) flowers. 

 The ailantus was first brought into the United 

 States by Mr. William Hamilton in 1784, and a 

 sucker from the original tree, planted in 1809, de- 

 veloped to large proportions, now stands in the Bar- 

 tram Botanic Garden. In 1820 Mr. William Prince, 

 of Flushing, L. I., imported the ailantus from 

 Europe, and from this stock most of the trees 



* '■ Commonly, but improperly, spelled ailmithus." — Webster. 

 But I do not interfere with the spelling of the established botan- 

 ical names. 



209 



