228 THE FLORIST AND 
they occasionally get the " Shanghai Fever." A gentleman of my acquaint- 
ance sowed a large patch last spring, in his newly opened nursery, with 
what he termed the " Gold of Pleasure," Camelina sativa. Being informed 
that it was nothing else than the Wild Flax, (Der Leindotter of the Ger- 
mans,) his golden dreams of pleasurable emotions subsided. 
This introduced foreigner, an annual cruciferous plant, has become one 
of the most hateful weeds our farmers in this vicinity are pestered with 
among their grain crops. The seeds are oily, and survive the severest 
winters, and have taken a hold upon the soil to such an extent as to be a 
serious nuisance.* 
Names are often specious baits given to entrap the unwary; per example, 
" the Gold of Pleasure," " the Tree of Heaven." This latter, the Ailanthus 
glandulosa, more appropriately named Cacodendron, (evil or pernicious 
tree,) by an eminent botanist, was introduced some thirty years ago as an 
ornamental shade tree. 
The tree, in itself, is well enough to look upon, but has proved objection- 
able, for several reasons. The disagreeable odor emitted from the numerous 
sterile flowers, the tendency to multiply suckers from the roots, the winged 
or samaroid fruit, taking root wherever it finds a lodgment adapted to its 
development: in short, to associate its odor, (redolent with anything else 
but the air of heaven,) and its puff name and manner of introduction, 
makes one feel like passing the sentence upon it, " cut it down ; why cum- 
bereth it the ground?" As it may be new to most of your readers, permit 
me to give the substance of an article in the September number of Godey's 
Lady's Book for 1855, entitled " Ornamental Trees — The Modern Upas." 
It appears the tree was originally imported to supply the tannic acid, 
(which is abundant in the genus Rhus,) as a material used in tanning 
morocco leather, our native species, especially the Rhus glabra, or common 
sumach, was found to be equally good, if not superior to that of the China 
sumach. 
Thus the article became a dead stock on the hands of the importer; and 
had the stalks been dead in the nursery, instead of overrunning it like the 
"Canada Thistle," we would be ignorant of it in this section of the country, 
* For the benefit of some of your readers, it may be -well to append the means adopted by 
H. Jones Brooke, Esq., of Delaware county, Pa., for getting rid of the camelina, which, being 
contemporaneous with the crops, and mingled with them, seemed a hopeless task. The plan 
of this practical and intelligent observer was, to keep the ground ploughed or stirred, for a 
year or two, so often as to prevent the ripening of new seeds, and io promote the vegetation of 
all the old ones in the soil. This plan resulted in complete success, and should be followed 
by those pestered with this nuisance in their wheat fields. 
