1878.' 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
141 
The Shining Willow. 
There are in the Northern States east of the 
Mississippi something less than twenty species 
basket-work, are excellent tor supports to plants 
or for any other purpose where a light straight 
rod is required. Such rods are in frequent de- 
mand in every garden as supports to plants, 
shape shown in the engraving ; it has three 
cells, with a brownish black shining seed about 
the size of a boy's marble in each cell. These 
seeds are pleasant to the taste, having a flavor 
THE SHINING WILLOW. 
of willows. Some of these are humble shrubs, 
and none of them form very large trees. One 
of the most beautiful of all willows is a native 
species which is common along our water- 
courses, and is noticeable for the deep green of 
its foliage, every leaf of which looks as bright 
as if it had been recently varnished. It appro- 
priately hears the name of Salix lucida, the 
Shining Willow. The tree i3 from twelve to 
fifteen feet high, but in cultivation grows to a 
larger size. The small branches are of a pol- 
ished green, and when older they become 
bronzed. The leaves are from three and a half 
to five inches long, and of the shape shown in 
the engraving. There are at the base of each 
leaf several small stalked glands. It produces 
its catkins in May and June, and the flowers 
differ from those of the majority of our willows 
in having five or more stamens. This species 
is sometimes cultivated under the name of the 
Bay-leaved and Laurel-leaved Willow, name3 
which are also applied to the European Salix 
pmtandra, a species which is so near ours that 
some botanists consider them identical. As an 
ornamental tree, the Shining Willow is a valu- 
able one on account of the abundance and 
brightness of its foliage. Our object in calling 
attention to it is not only to commend it for its 
beauty but for its utility. When treated like 
an osier, by cutting it down near to the ground 
each year, it throws up shoots with great vigor, 
ithich. though not as good as some others for 
and a few trees of the Shining Willow will 
furnish an abundant supply of the best quality. 
The Spanish Buckeye. 
While passing through the grounds of Mr. 
P. J. Berckmans, Augusta, Ga., last fall, we 
were surprised and pleased to come aqross an 
old friend of our Texas travels, the Spanish 
Buckeye. This usually grows as a shrub, five 
to ten feet high, throwing up many steins, and 
forming a dense mass. In particularly favor- 
able places it becomes a small tree of twenty 
feet iu hight. It is quite common along the 
streams in Western Texas, and we have seen it 
growing in a starved condition not far from 
El Paso on the Rio Grande. It is remarkable 
in having the foliage of a Hickory and the 
flowers and fruit of a Buckeye. The name 
Spanish Buckeye is a misnomer, as it is a pecu- 
liarly American shrub. The flowers are pro- 
duced in March, but we collected it in bloom iu 
August, and it is said to frequently flower twice 
a year. The flowers, shown iu the engraving 
of the natural size, are rose-colored, and are 
staminate, pistillate, or perfect iu different in- 
dividuals or of different kinds upon the same 
specimen. The bloom in spring is sufficiently 
abundant to render the plant showy, and the 
aspect and foliage are pleasing at all times. 
The fruit is a leathery capsule, of the size and 
THE SPANISH BUCKEYE. 
not unlike that of walnuts. Some of the party 
with which the writer traveled in Texas, 
including the physician, in whom one would 
have looked for greater caution, ate freely of 
the nuts, and for some time after were distress- 
ing illustrations of the fact that these nuts pos- 
sess marked emetic properties. It belongs to 
the same family with the Horse-Chestnut and 
Buckeye, and bears the botanical name of Un- 
gnadia speciosa. Baron Uugnad was ambassa- 
sador from Austria to Constantinople; iu 1576 
he sent the seeds of the now common Horse- 
Chestnut to Vienna, and was thus the means of 
introducing this tree into Western Europe, and 
consequently to this country. It is fitting that 
his name should be honored by giving it to a 
related species of the far West. The Ungnadia 
flourishes at Augusta, Ga., but we do not know 
how far north it will endure the winter. It 
is cultivated in a few collections iu France, and 
the French gardeners advise that it be pro- 
tected during winter in the latitude of Paris. 
Some New or Little Known Peaches. 
Some varieties of peaches of great excellence 
have originated iu the Southern States, and Mr. 
P. J. Berckmans, the well-known pomologist 
of Augusta, Ga., has made a specialty of col- 
lecting and testing them. Mr. B. has lately 
given in his paper, " The Farmer and Garden- 
