342 THE AILANTHUS SILKWORM AND THE AILANTHUS TREE. 



ville, who introduced it into Europe in 1751, thinking it was really the 

 tree which produces that precious varnish which is so much employed 

 in Japan and China. A few years ago the true tree was introduced, so 

 that the ailanthus has since that period borne the name of the False Var- 

 nish tree. 



"We all know that the ailanthus is one of the easiest shrubs to grow, 

 and there is no soil, however bad, in which it will not thrive. Calcareous, 

 ferrugineous, sandy, clay, arid, and strong soils all suit it equally. In 

 towns, or by the seaside, it does admirably. Like the Sumac, to which 

 it is allied, it throws out suckers from its roots. It is by these means that 

 it is multiplied, but since it has seeded in France, they propagate it in 

 this manner at present. The seeds which are numerous ripen in autumn ; 

 they may be gathered from the month of November till January. They 

 must be carefully dried for fear of fermentation. The seeds may be sown 

 from the months of February till May, broadcast or in rows, and ought 

 to be covered with from 1 to 2 centimetres of earth, and they will appear 

 from three weeks to a month after they are sown. With the exception 

 of a few cereal grains, there are hardly any other shrubs where the seed 

 genninates so quickly, and it is not uncommon to see some of the shoots 

 from these seeds 30 and 50 inches high the first year. Quantities of 

 ailanthus trees have been planted on the Appenines, because they resist 

 the bite of animals, and no ground game will touch them on account of 

 the smell they exude when a leaf is gathered, or a branch broken off. 

 Those trees destined for the reception of the worms ought to be planted 

 about a yard from each other ; the chief stem cut down every year, so 

 that the young shoots spring up and afford young tender leaves for the 

 worms ; and, by planting them not too great a distance one from another, 

 the shoots join each other, and thus enable the worms to go from one 

 plant to another. As I mentioned before, this tree may be multiplied by 

 its roots, which can be cut off and planted as we do potatoes. Where 

 the plants are yearly cut down they naturally will not flower or seed. Ex- 

 perience has taught me, that if trees are planted from 12 to 15 feet high, 

 they may be cut down immediately to within 2 or 3 feet of the soil, so that 

 they will immediately throw out fresh shoots. This tree is so hardy and so 

 easy to propagate, that in a plantation of 1 5,000 to 20,000 plants made in 

 France, not one died. In England it is equally hardy. I planted three 

 dozen standard plants on a sipping bank exposed to the sun ; the heads 

 were cut off, and the leaves began to sprout about the middle of May. 

 My worms were hatched (according to the method already laid down), and 

 put on the trees the 17th of June. They were then left without further 

 care, except for a few days to watch the ants, which seemed inclined to 

 carry off a few, till July the 21st, when they began their cocoons. Having 

 had no previous experience, too many Avorms were placed on the trees : 

 consequently, they ate up all the leaves, and descended the trees in search 

 of more ; so many perished in this way. The rest made their cocoons in 

 the ailanthus, and some in cabbage plants planted near these shrubs. 



