l68 DESCRIPTION OF THE MUSEUM. 



juice is so caustic, that a single drop upon the 

 skin causes an inflammation that soon extends 

 over the whole body. Not far from these lig- 

 neous vegetables are seen recumbent on the 

 ground or supported by a trellis, the cucarbitacece 

 and passiflorcB, two families distinct in proper- 

 ties and appearance from those that surround 

 them. The amentacece and coniferce, among 

 which are our largest forest- trees, terminate the 

 series. In the last bed are several plants, such as 

 the side-saddle flower, sarracenia, the begonia 

 and the coriaria, whose place in the natural or- 

 der is not determined. 



We shall not particularize the species which 

 are not found elsewhere, as they are enume- 

 rated in the catalogue of M. Desfontaines, but 

 shall mention only a superb eastern liquidambar, 

 or sweet gum ; a beautiful assortment of gle- 

 ditschias, among which is that of the Caspian 

 Sea; a fine virgilia(i), for the knowledge of 

 which we are indebted to M. A. Michaux ; and a 

 mimosa julibrissin or silk-tree, remarkable for 

 the delicacy of its foliage, and the colour and ele- 

 gance of its tufted flowers. 



Opposite the third basin, amongst the legumi- 

 nosae, is a fine Corsican fir, pinus laricio, which 



(1) Virg'dia lutea (yellow wood, Mich.) the buds of this tree, like 

 those of the plane, are enclosed in the petiole, and do not appear till 



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