no 
LARGE BUCKEYE. 
I have seen no situation that appeared more favourable to the Big Buck- 
eye than the declivities of the lofty mountains of North Carolina, and par- 
ticularly of the Greatfather Mountain, the Iron Mountain, and the Black 
Mountain, where the soil is generally loose, deep and fertile. The coolness 
and humidity which reign in these elevated regions, appear likewise to be 
necessary to its utmost expansion ; it here towers to the height of 60 or 70 
feet, with a diameter of 3 or 4 feet, and is considered as a certain proof of 
the richness of the land. 
The leaves of this tree are united to the number of five at the end of a 
common petiole of considerable length. They are lanceolate, pointed at 
the summit, serrate and slightly furrowed. The flowers, of a light, agree- 
able yellow, are upright and disposed in bunches at the end of the shoots 
of the same season. The numerous bunches of flowers, contrasted with 
the fine foliage, lend a highly ornamental appearance to the tree. The fruit 
is contained in a fleshy, oval capsule, which is often gibbous, and whose 
surface, unlike that of the Horse Chesnut of Asia, and of the American 
Horse Chesnut, is smooth. Each capsule contains two seeds, or chesnuts, 
of unequal size, flat upon one side, and convex on the other. They are 
larger and lighter colored than those of the common Horse Chesnut, and, 
like them, are not eatable. 
In 1808, I passed a great part of the summer with Messrs. John and 
William Bartram, at their charming residence at Kingsessing, on the banks 
of the Schuylkill, five miles from Philadelphia, where they have collected 
a great variety of trees from different parts of the United States and Eu- 
rope ; I remarked that the Large Buckeye was one of the earliest among 
them to cast its leaves ; they begin to fall about the 15th of August, while 
the other Horse Chesnuts are still clothed with their finest verdure. Its 
foliation and flowering are also tardy, which is an essential defect in a tree 
whose only merit is its beauty. The wood, from its softness and want of 
durability, can subserve no useful purpose. Even in beauty, this spe- 
cies is inferior to the common Horse Chesnut, and can never supplant that 
magnificent tree. 
PLATE XCI. 
A branch with leaves and flowers of the natural size. Fig. 1, Fruit begin- 
ning to open. Fig. 2, a chesnut of the natural size. 
\_Soil , propagation , &c. — Like all the Æsculaceæ, to thrive, if requires a 
deep, rich soil. It is commonly propagated by buds, because the colour 
of the flowei; is found to vary much in plants raised from seed.] 
