660 



VRBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. 



PART III. 



more hardy than the European species. In Britain, it is propagated by im- 

 ported seeds, and is considered more tender than C. Siliquastrum ; but it would 

 probably be rendered more hardy by being grafted on that species. 



Statistics. In the environs of London, it is seldom found higher than 10 ft. or 12 ft. ; and then it 

 lias more the character of a bush than of a tree; but on the Continent there are some good speci- 

 mens. In France, at Paris, in the Jardin lies Plantes, 55 years planted, it is 36 ft. high, the diameter 

 of the trunk, 10 in., and of the head '20 ft. ; in the Hue Grenelle, in Paris, in the garden of the house 

 No. 122. . as we are informed by Mr. Blaikie, there is a tree 40 ft. high, with a trunk 1± ft in diameter. 

 In Saxony, at Worlit*, 25 years planted, it ts 10 ft. high. In Austria, at Vienna, in the University 

 Botanic Garden, 9 years planted, it is 16ft high. In Italy, at Monza, 24 years planted, it is 13 ft. high. 



Commercial Statistics. Plants, in the London nurseries, are Is. 6d. each, and 

 seeds 1*. 6d. per ounce; at Bollwyller, plants are 1 franc each; and at New 

 York, the plants of the species are from 25 to 37^ cents each, and of " Fore- 

 man's new variety," 37 cents each. 



App. I. Half-hardy Species of the Tribe Cassiere, 



Cccsalpimn. Ait. is a genus of beautiful flowering trees and shrubs, most of the species of which are 

 natives of tropical countries, and which, in England, are generally kept in stoves; but there is one 

 species, C. hebbekbides Dec, a native of China, which, if once introduced, would probably be a valu- 

 able addition to a conservative wall. 



Cadia varia L'Herit. (Don's Mill., 2. p. 435.) is a shrub, a native of Arabia Felix, with impari-pin- 

 nate leaves ; and flowers, at first white, but, as they fade, becoming rose-coloured. It was introduced 

 in 1777. and might be tried against a wall. 



Zuccdgn'xa Cav. is a Chilian genus, of which the species are probably half-hardy. Z. punctata Cav. 

 Icon., 5. p. 2. t.403., has abruptly pinnate leaves, and saffron-coloured flowers. It grows to the height 

 of 4 ft. or 5 ft. 

 icratbnia Siliqua L. {Bot. Rep. ,t. 567., and our figs. 365,366.) is a very interesting tree, a native of 

 the south of Europe, particularly Spain ; it is also found in Mau- 

 ritania and the Levant. The leaves are abruptly pinnate; the 

 leaflets oval, obtuse, flat, coriaceous, and of a shining dark 

 green. The flowers are polygamous or dioecious, and without 

 petals. The tree grows to the height of from 30 ft. to 50 ft. In 

 the south of Europe, when the fruit is per- 

 fectly ripe, the pulp contained in the pods is 

 eaten by men, the seeds by horses, and the oOO 

 husks by swine; hence, probably, the po- 

 pular English name of sow's bread. When 

 unripe, the fruit is considered very unwhole- 

 some, and even dangerous, to the cattle that 

 feed on it. The Egyptians make a kind of 

 honey of the pulp, which serves the Arabs 

 instead of sugar ; they also make a preserve 

 like that made with tamarinds of the pods, 

 which is a gentle laxative. This fruit was 

 anciently supposed to be what St. John fed 

 on in the wilderness ; hence its name of St. 

 John's bread; the seeds being said to be 

 meant by the word translated " locusts;" 

 and the pulp by the term " wild honey." 

 The husks are thought to have been the dry 

 T and wretched food that the Prodigal Son was 

 driven to long for, in the last stage of his misery and starvation. The plant has been in British 

 green-houses since 1570; and the male plant, has flowered every autumn, for many years past, in 

 the Mile End Nursery. This tree will very nearly stand the open air in the vicinity of Paris ; and, 

 if planted against a wall in the neighbourhood of London, it would probably stand with very little 

 protection. Its fine large coriaceous dark green foliage ought to be a strong inducement for every 

 one who has an opportunity to give it a trial. As a fruit tree, it may merit introduction into Austra- 

 lia, for which purpose the seeds can be readily procured from Spain. It is remarked in the Nouveau 

 l)u Hamel, l.p.255., that, when the ripe fruit has been eaten by oxen or mules, the seeds which 

 have patted through them without digestion vegetate much sooner than when they are sown in the 

 natural manner. The tree is of slow growth, and the wood is extremely hard and durable. Its roots 

 attach themselves so firmly to the soil, that, in Spain, even in the most 

 i .1 situations, in the gullies of mountains for example, the tree has 

 net ex been known to be blown down by the wind, so as to be torn up by 

 the roots, though large branches have been broken off it by storms. 



Castanosju'i iinim mi ./,-(, ic Cunningham {Hook. Bot. Misc., 1. p. 241. t. 51. 

 and t. SSL) is a New Holland tree, growing to the height of 40 ft. or 60 ft., 

 the legumei of which are produced from two years' old wood ; and they 

 contain leeda as large as Spanish chestnuts, which are eaten roasted by 

 thenativf- about Botany Bey. As one of the few New Holland trees 

 which produce edible fruit, it is highly interesting, and well deserves a 

 place against the conservative wall, adjoining Teratoma. 



C&ma L !• a genus consisting chiefly of tropical shrubs or herbs, with 



abruptly pinnate leaves, and yellow flowers, most of which require to be 



kept in' the itovej bul ( Barclau\na Suit. {Fl Austr., t.32., and our 



d ( au tr&lii Hook. [Bot. Mag., t. 2676., and our fig. 368.) 



.i N'-.v Holland, growing to the height of 3 ft, or 4 ft., and 



r fine showy yellow blossoms from June to August. The 



odueed lr<>\n the leaves of two species of this genu 



C. lanceolata and C- 



