There are several varieties of this Robinia ; one, 
tlie arborea, grows much larger than the com- 
mon sort. In the Arboretum Britannicum, vol. 2, 
respecting them it is said. ^'They form singulcirly 
ornamental shrubs for gardens ; but, as standards 
or bushes, they can be only planted with safety 
in the most sheltered situations. A very good 
mode is, to trail them against an espalier rail ; 
and, on a lawn, this espalier may form some kind 
of regular or symmetrical figure ; for example, the 
ground plan of the espalier may be the letters S or 
X, or a cross, or a star ; which last is, perhaps, the 
best form of all, the different radii of the star 
diminishing to a point at the top. Such a star, in 
order to produce an immediate effect, would require 
to have three plants placed close together in the 
centre, from which the branches should be ti’ained 
outwards and upwards. Robinia hispida is often 
grafted about one foot above the surface of the 
ground ; and, when the plant is not trained to a 
wall, or to some kind of support, it is almost cer- 
tain, after it has grown two or three years, to be 
broken over at the graft. A preferable mode, there- 
fore, for dwarfs, is to graft them on the root, or 
under the surface of the soil. In purchasing plants 
this ought always to be borne in mind. In conse- 
quence of the liability of this shrub to be injured by 
the weather, it is comparatively neglected in British 
gardens ; but, wherever a magnificent display of 
fine flowers is an object, it better deserves a wall 
than many other species ; and it is worthy of being 
associated there with Piptanthus Nepalensis, Wis- 
taria Sinensis, and other splendid leguminaceaB.” 
