Of TREES, SHRUBS, PLANTS, FLOWERS, and FRUITS. 
^Esculus, Horse-Chesnot Tree. 
Clafs and Order. 
Heptandria Monogynia, 
Seven Males, One Female ; 
Or Hermaphrodite Flowers, having /even Stamina or 
Males, and one Pijlillum, or Female , all within the 
fame Cover. 
THE Horse-Chesnuts are hardy, deciduous 
trees, growing twenty to thirty, or forty feet high, or 
more; of a beautiful ornamental growth, garnifhed 
with moil: ample digitated foliage and numerous large 
and fpecious fpike of flowers; are peculiarly adapted 
to plant for ornament and lhade, in pleafure-grounds, 
parks, &c. not of material value for timber planta¬ 
tions : they grow with large, regular, branchy heads, 
of a conical form, clofely garniihed with coniiderable 
large leaves, digitated in the palmated order, into fix 
or feven large, oblong-oval lobes, united at the bale, 
and joined to the fummit of one common petiole or 
foot-fta!k, fpreading out above like the expanded fin¬ 
gers of a hand, and with large pyramidal fpikes of 
white, and fcarlet flowers, of five oval petals, con¬ 
taining the ftamina and ftylus in the centre, fucceeded 
by large, roundifh, prickly capfules, furnifhedwithfub- 
globular nuts: ripe in autumn, but not eatable, except 
for deer and fwine, and by which the trees are propa¬ 
gated by fowing them in autumn or fpring. 
Generic Characters are—The flower Hermaphrodite, 
er containing both male and female organs, (Stamina 
and Stylus)—the calyx or cup fwoln, one-leaved, cut 
into five parts; corolla or flower, five oval petals, 
with folded borders, narrow at the bafe, and inferted 
into the calyx; Piftillum, a roundilh germen in the 
centre of the corolla, fupporting a Angle ftyle crowned 
by a pointed ftigma ; Stamina, feven the length of the 
petals, decimated and terminated by afcer.ding an- 
thera; and the calyx becomes a large, roundifh, echi- 
nated, or prickly capfule, of three internal cells, fur- 
nilhed with one or two large fub-globular nuts. 
The Species of .ESC ULUS are, 
i. Esc ulus Hippo-Ca/anum, (Hippo-Caftanum) or 
Horie-Chefnut, (common.) 
A large tree, of conical growth, forty to fifty, or fixty 
feet high ; the leaves ( large, palmated, dark green ) of 
feven oblong lobes, and with flowers having feven 
ftamina.—Native of the northern parts of Afia. 
Varieties. Silver-ftriped-leaved common Horfe- 
Chcfnut. 
Gold-ftriped-leaved common Horfe- 
Chefnut. 
M 
z. .Esc ulus Pavia, (Pavia) or Scarlet Horfe- 
Chefnut. 
A fmall tree, growing eighteen or twenty feet high ; 
the leaves {large, palmated, light green) fix or leven 
lobed, and flowers having eight llamina.—Native of 
Carolina and the Brafils. 
Varieties. Common Scarlet-flowered Pavia. 
Yellow-flowered Pa\ia. 
Both thefe fpecies of JEfcnlus, and their rcfpedlive 
varieties, are very defirable trees to plant for orna¬ 
ment; are of fwift and beautiful regular growth, par¬ 
ticularly the common Horfe-Chefnut, which foon runs 
up to a confiderable height, making remarkable ftrong 
fhoots, advancing a yard in length, or more, in a fe\y 
weeks; are all of the deciduous tribe, expanding their 
luxuriant foliage from May till Oftober, and produce 
their numerous pyramidal, large, erefl flower-fpikes, 
in May and June, difplaying a beautiful appearance; 
fucceeded by the large prickly pericarpiums, pregnant 
with nuts, which, ripening in autumn, drop out of 
the capfules, and may then be gathered for fowing or 
planting the fame feafon, or in the fpring following. 
Thefe trees have peculiar merit to plant for orna¬ 
ment and dhade, and to introduce in large pleafura- 
ble plantations. 
The common Horfe-Chefnut particularly, is a moll 
defirable tree to plant in groves, avenues, lhady walks, 
and in rows in any out-boundaries; and to plant in af- 
femblage in running plantations, towards the boundaries 
of parks, fpacious lawns, and other extenfive premi- 
fes; as alfo to difpofe in ranges, clumps, groups, and 
fingly, on extenfive lawns, parks, and other capaci- 
oully open fpaces of grafs ground; and in all of which 
methods of difpofition it may both be planted diftinft, 
occafionally, and in afiemblage, with other tree kinds, 
and fhould generally be planted at fome confiderable 
diftance from one another and other trees, that each 
tree may have fuflicient fcope to branch out freely all 
round in its natural order, without the extended 
branches of the feparate trees in advanced growth in¬ 
terfering, whereby they will branch moll regularly, 
and form beautiful pyramidal heads, which in fum- 
mer, being clofely adorned with the luxuriant digitated 
foliage, and beautiful large fpikes of white flowers at 
the ends of the branches, will effect a confpicuoufly 
noble appearance, and, where in afiemblage, make a 
very diftinguilhable variety in the plantation; the trees 
may alfo be admitted in the foreft-tree plantations, 
only, howeve-, in moderate fupply, as the wood or 
timber is not valuable for any ftrong occafions, but 
may ferve for various light purpofes. 
This fort flowers in May and beginning of June, 
appearing very ornamental; the flowers white, tinged 
B 2 * with 
