CHAPTER XXIX. 
THE AILANTUS, OR TREE OF HEAVEN. 
Its Height, Size, and Nativity.—Its Adaptability to Arid Places, with 
Recommendation.—Manner of Growth, Description and Uses of its 
Wood.—Description of its Leaf and Flower.—When First Intro- 
duced into the United States and by Whom.—Successful Propaga- 
tion Instanced.—How Propagated. 
Tus tree, which grows to the height of sixty or seven- 
ty feet, with a diameter of two feet, is a native of China, 
and has quite recently been transplanted to the arid 
steppes of Siberia with great success, as it has a strong 
tendency to hold the sand together and keep it from 
shifting. In the first period of its existence it is of very 
rapid growth, and does not slacken until about the twelfth 
year, and then it gradually becomes slower and slower 
of growth. The wood is hard, very fine grained, and fit 
for cabinet-work. It has been strongly recommended 
for planting on the arid plains of western Kansas. 
This gigantic tree is justly called by the ancients the 
“Tree of Heaven.” The leaves are from one and a half 
to six feet in length, having leaflets with coarse, granular 
teeth near the base. Its flowers are of a whitish green 
and of a very disagreeable odor. 
The ailantus was first introduced into the United 
States by Mr. William Hamilton in 1784, and a sucker, 
planted from the original tree in 1809, is at present 
standing in the Bartram Botanic Garden. 
In 1820 Mr. William Prince, of Flushing, Long Island, 
imported the ailantus from Europe, and from this stock 
most of the trees around New York have been supplied. 
This tree may be propagated from seeds, suckers, or 
cuttings. 
