The Persimon. 



of planks and slabs at the end of twenty years after they 

 come from the saw-pits. I never saw, that I know of, a 

 broken or dead limb in a Live Oak tree. The twigs are 

 so tough, and the limbs have so many minor limbs coming 

 out of them, and they so firmly brace and support each 

 other, that the wind seems never to have the smallest effect 

 upon this tree ; to cause an extensive plantation of which 

 to be made in England would merit the title of Duke 

 ten thousand times more than ten thousand battles of 

 Waterloo. 



THS rERSXIMEOSr. 



In Latin, Diospiros ; in French, Plaqueminier, 



454. The botanical characters are : — It has hermaphrodite and female 

 flowers on the same plant, and male flowers on separate plants ; the herm- 

 aphrodite flowers have a lare^e obtuse permanent empalement of one leaf, 

 which is divided into four parts ; the flower has one petal which is shaped 

 like a pitcher, and cut at the brim into four segments, which spread open ; 

 it has eight short bristly stamina firmly joined to the empalement, termi- 

 nated by oblong summits which have no farina. In the centre is situated a 

 roundish germen, supporting a single quadrified style, crowned by an obtuse 

 bifid stigma ; the germen afterwards becomes a large globular berry, with 

 many cells, each including one oblong, compressed hard seed. The male 

 flowers have a one-leaved empalement, cut into small acute segments ; the 

 petal is thick and four-cornered, cut into four obtuse segments, which turn 

 backward ; they have eight short stamina, terminated by Ion J, acute, twin 

 summits, but have no germen. 



455. This tree, which is found in almost all parts of the 

 United States, does not rise to a great height; but it some- 

 times reaches that of sixty feet, with a diameter of eighteen 

 or twenty inches ; and I am mistaken, if I have not seen it 



