192 TREES AND TREE-PLANTING. 
doubly pinnate, and composed of smooth, acuminate, 
denticulated leaflets. They change color and fall on 
the arrival of cold weather, which in the Southern States 
usually sets in about December. Its odorous flowers, 
which appear in April or May, resemble those of the 
lilac-tree, and form beautiful axillary clusters at the 
extremity of the shoot. Its fruit is round or oblong in 
shape, of a yellowish color when ripe, and is supposed to 
be somewhat poisonous, and has been used, mixed with 
grease, to destroy rats and other vermin. An oil is ex- 
tracted from the pulpy part of its berries, of a bitter 
taste, which is considered a narcotic stimulant. The 
wood of this tree is of a reddish color, sufficiently strong 
and durable for use in architectural structures, is some- 
times used as 4 substitute for ash, and is said to make 
good fuel. 
To obtain the seed for sowing, the berries should be 
mixed with a light, sandy earth, and laid in a flat heap 
of not more than two inches in depth, and allowed to re- 
main in that state for a year, when the seed may be sep- 
arated from the soil by sifting. 
