6 



CASSELL'S POPULAR GARDENING. 



iEseulus {the Horse- Chestnuts). — This genus 

 contains several highly ornamental trees, not the 

 least desirahle "being JE. Hippocastanum, the com- 

 mon Horse- Chestnut. For a long time the native 

 country of this species was unknown, but it has 

 very recently been found in a wild state in the 

 mountains of Greece. According to Loudon it was 

 introduced to this country in 1629. The same 

 authority also states it to he a native of Asia and 

 North America, but, as above explained, this is not 

 the case. It is constantly naturalised in many 

 countries, and is cultivated in many more. Gerard, 

 in his famous Herbal, speaks of it only as a foreign 

 tree, and in Johnson's edition of that work — by far 

 the most popular of the old herbals — published in 

 1633, he says: ''Horse-Chestnut groweth in Italy, 

 and in sundry places in the east countries ; it is 

 now growing with Mr. Tradescant, at South Lam- 

 beth." Parkinson says : " Our Christian world first 

 had the knowledge of it from Constantinople." He 

 places it as a fruit-tree in his orchard, with the 

 Walnut and Mulberry ; and how little it was then 

 known may be learned by his describing the fruit 

 as sweet-flavoured, roasted and eaten as the common 

 Chestnut. When in bloom no British forest-tree 

 can vie with this in beauty, and its handsome 

 foliage and thick growth render it one of the most 

 effective of shade-trees. There is a host of varie- 

 ties, which are readily propagated by budding or 

 grafting on the common stock, the most important 

 of which are mentioned below. First of all comes 

 the double-flowered form, valuable on account of 

 its blossoms lasting much longer than the single 

 type. Pendula has weeping branches, but does not 

 otherwise differ, and dissecta has the leaflets cu- 

 riously slashed. The latter, however, is more 

 curious than handsome, as are also the various 

 variegated forms. JE. rubicunda, the Scarlet Horse- 

 Chestnut, is a beautiful tree from the United States ; 

 except in the colour of its flowers it does not differ 

 materially from JE. Hippocastanum, of which, in- 

 deed, some botanists have averred it to be a garden 

 variety. JE. carnea comes near the last, but has 

 paler red flowers ; both this and JE. rubicunda are 

 smaller-growing rounder -headed trees than the com- 

 mon Horse- Chestnut. JE. flava, also from the 

 United States, has yellow flowers, and makes a 

 striking contrast with the white and red-flowered 

 species, being quite as hardy as either. JE. indica is 

 yet rare in cultivation ; it is a native of North India, 

 and has large thyrsoid panicles of showy flowers, 

 the lower petals of which are white, tinged with red, 

 and the upper yellow and red, bordered with white. 



The Ailantus — Allantus glandulosa — is a very 

 fast-growing (when young), and stately tree, with 



large, pinnate, deciduous leaves, one to two feet 

 long. The whitish-green flowers exhale a disagree- 

 able odour, but the tree, when laden with its red- 

 winged fruits, is a splendid sight, and amply makes 

 up for the small size and unpleasant scent of the 

 flowers. If cut back yearly it makes enormous 

 growths — as much as twelve or fifteen feet in the 

 season — with huge leaves two or three times the 

 size of those of old trees which have not been pruned 

 in any way. Young plants cut down almost to the 

 ground every year make most beautiful objects in 

 the sub-tropical garden. When fully grown the 

 tree is about fifty or sixty feet in height. The 

 following sentence gives the history and date 

 of the introduction in the introducer's (Peter 

 Collinson) own words: — "A stately tree raised 

 from seed from Nankin in China, in 1751, sent 

 over by Father d'Incarville, my correspondent in 

 China." 



Alnus {Alders). — About fourteen species of Alnus 

 are known. All are deciduous trees or shrubs, hailing 

 from the temperate and cold regions of the northern 

 hemisphere, one or two extending to the Andes of 

 South America. A. cordifolia, a South European 

 species, i3 a fast-growing tree, with large heart- 

 shaped glossy leaves. It is ornamental whether in 

 flower or leaf, and although it probably succeeds 

 best in a moist situation, it grows freely in a dry 

 soil. A. Jivma has sharply serrated, many -nerved, 

 lanceolate leaves ; it is a native of Japan, and one 

 of the most distinct of all the Alders. A. glutinosa, 

 the native Alder of Britain, occurs throughout 

 Europe, North Africa, and North Asia ; in a wild 

 state it invariably affects moist spots, and is gene- 

 rally found fringing the banks of rivers and 

 streams. For such places it is very useful. Some 

 of the varieties are very interesting and pretty ; 

 the golden-leaved form, aurea, has the foliage the 

 same shape as that of the type, but of a very de- 

 cided golden tint ; incisa — or, as it is sometimes called, 

 A. oxyacanthifolia, on account of the resemblance 

 between its small leaves and those of the common 

 Hawthorn— makes a neat, round-headed, small tree 

 or bush ; laciniata has elegantly drooping branches 

 and Fern-like leaves ; quercifolia is a distinct form, 

 with sinuated leaves, not unlike those of the common 

 Oak in outline. All the forms of A. glutinosa 

 do best in places where their roots can revel in 

 an abundant supply of moisture. A. incana, the 

 Hoary Alder, is a widely distributed species occur- 

 ring in the northern regions of both hemispheres ; 

 it has distinctly glaucous greyish leaves, and affects 

 drier situations than A. glutinosa ; like that species, 

 too, it possesses forms with elegantly-cut leaves. 

 A. viridis, the Green or Mountain Alder, has a 



