54 
bark Phellodendron amurense , the type of the genus, is perhaps the 
most interesting species. The others, however, are larger and more 
shapely trees, and the species of northern Japan and Saghalien ( P . 
sachalinense) is well suited for street planting. The pungent oil which 
abounds in the leaves of these trees protects them from the attacks 
of leaf-eating insects. Another conspicuous exception to the rule that 
the leaves of Asiatic plants change color later in the autumn than 
those of eastern American plants is found in the Burning Bush with 
winged branches, Evonymus alatus, a native of Japan and Korea. 
The flowers and fruits of this plant are small and inconspicuous, but 
few plants surpass it in the beauty of its rose-colored autumn foliage 
which is unlike that of any other plant in the Arboretum. This plant, 
if it gets the opportunity, will spread into a shrub from ten to fifteen 
feet across with lower branches laying close to the ground, and will 
form a compact round-topped head. It is a plant, however, which un¬ 
less it can have plenty of room in which to grow is not worth a place 
in the garden. Acer ginnala is another Asiatic plant which takes on 
its autumn colors early. This small Maple, which is a native of east¬ 
ern Siberia, Manchuria, and Korea, is not surpassed in autumn bril¬ 
liancy by any American Scarlet Maple. One of the early introductions 
of the Arboretum it has been taken up by some American nurserymen 
and is now sometimes found in northern gardens. A blue and a brown 
dye are obtained from the leaves, which are shipped in quantity from 
Korea into China. As this little Maple is very hardy, and grows rapidly 
and produces large crops of seeds it might have been advantageously 
planted commercially in the northern states had not vegetable dyes been 
so generally superseded by synthetic dyes, a product of coal tar; and 
it is probable that these Maple leaves may not be much longer used in 
China, which is already receiving considerable quantities of blue dye 
manufactured in the United States. Another Korean and Manchurian 
Maple, Acer mandshuricum, also illustrates the fact that the leaves 
of some Asiatic trees turn color and fall early in the season. This is 
one of the group of Maples with leaves composed of three leaflets and 
one of the largest and handsomest trees of Manchuria and northern 
Korea. Like those of a few other plants, notably the Japanese Acer 
nikoense, the leaflets of this Maple retain in autumn the pale color of 
their lower surface which increases the beauty of the bright red upper 
surface. Seedlings of this Maple have grown rapidly in the Arboretum 
and have flowered and produced infertile seeds for the last two or 
three years. The plants are hardy; some of them, however, have died, 
and the fact that small individuals only a few years old have flowered 
indicates that there is something in the climate or soil of Massachu¬ 
setts which does not suit them. This is unfortunate for Acer mand¬ 
shuricum, from which much has been expected here, is a tree of great 
beauty and interest. Little attention has been given by park- and 
garden-makers to the selection and arrangement of plants to produce 
brilliant and harmonious autumn effects of autumn colors, with the 
result that there is less beauty at this season of the year in planted 
grounds than it is possible to obtain. Trees and shrubs grouped to 
produce the best autumn color effect would compose well at other 
seasons of the year. The success of such an arrangement of plants 
