taken with the hand. The root, he says, is used as a substitute for soap in washing woollen clothes.

It has been recommended to engraft this species into the points of the shoots of the common horse-chesnut, of twenty or thirty years' growth, care being taken afterwards, once or twice every year, to rub off all the buds from the stock as soon as they appear, so that the entire force of the plant may be directed to the nourishment of the scions.

Engravings. Michaux, North American Sylva, pl. 91; Loudon, Arboretum Britannicum, v., pl. 55; and the figures below. Specific Characters. Petioles pubescent, flattish towards the tip. Leaflets 5-7, pubescent beneath, and above upon the nerves.-De Candolle, Prodromus.

Description.

HE Large Buckeye, in favourable situations, sometimes attains an elevation of seventy or eighty feet, with a trunk three or four feet in diameter; but in the southern states it often dwindles down to a small shrub, not more than four or five feet in height. The leaves are much paler than those of the Esculus pavia, are lanceolate, pointed at the summit, serrate, slightly furrowed, and pubescent. The flowers, which appear in April and May, are of a light, agreeable yellow, and are disposed in upright bunches at the ends of the shoots of the same season. The fruit is contained in a fleshy, oval capsule, about two inches in diameter, which is often gibbous, and the surface of which, unlike that of the common horse-chesnut, is smooth. Each capsule contains two

seeds or nuts, of an equal size, flat upon one side and convex on the other. They are larger, and lighter coloured than those of the common horse-chesnut, and, like them, unfit to eat.

Variety. E. F. AURANTIA. Orange-coloured-flowered Large Buckeye. This variety differs from the species in the deep-orange and yellow hue of its flowers, in its smooth, irregularly-toothed leaves, and more acute divisions of the calyx. It grows in the vicinity of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Geography and History. The natural habitat of the Esculus flava is near the large rivers in the western states, and along the Alleghanies, from the thirtyninth degree of latitude, in Virginia, to their termination in Georgia. It may be considered as a stranger, east of these mountains, with the exception of a tract thirty or forty miles wide, situated, as it were, beneath their shadow.

This species was introduced into Britain in 1764, and has since been cultivated in many gardens on the continent. The largest tree in England is at Syon, which, in 1835, was forty feet in height.

At Paris, in the Jardin des Plantes, there is a tree, which attained the height of forty-four feet in fifty-five years after planting.

In Hanover, at Schwöbber, there is also a tree forty feet in height.

In the Bartram botanic garden, at Kingsessing, near Philadelphia, there is a large buckeye, ninety feet in height, with a trunk six feet and a half in circumference.

Soil, Situation, &c. In its native country, the Esculus flava prefers the declivities of mountains, where the soil is loose, deep, and fertile. It is commonly propagated by budding, because the colour of the flowers is found to vary much in plants raised from seeds. It may also be grafted, like the Esculus pavia, on the common horse-chesnut. This species is not quite so free a flowerer as the last-named species, and it is one of the first trees of the genus to drop its leaves. The wood of this tree, from its softness, and want of strength and durability, can subserve to but few useful purposes.

Although the Esculus flava is much inferior to the common horse-chesnut, both in point of grandeur and floral beauty, and besides, has the disadvantage of losing its leaves late in summer or very early in autumn, it well deserves a place in every collection.

Derivations. The specific name, macrostachya, is derived from the Greek, macros, large, and stachus, a spike or raceme, in allusion to the long racemes of flowers. The French name, Pavier nain, signifies Dwarf Pavia, from the small size of the plant. The other French name signifies Long-spiked Pavia, and the German name has the same signification.

Engravings. Poiteau et Turpin, Traité des Arbres fruitiers de Du Hamel, pl. 88; Loudon, Arboretum Britannicum, i., figure 137; and the figures below.

Specific Characters. Stamens much longer than the corolla; racemes very long. Root stoloniferous. Flowers white.-De Candolle, Prodromus.

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Description.

HE Edible Buckeye, in its natural habitat, is a low evergreen shrub, seldom exceeding a height of three or four feet; but in a state of cultivation, with proper management, it partakes the character of a large shrub or small tree. The shoots are slender, spreading, and rooting at the joints where they happen to rest on the soil, with ascendant extremities. The leaflets are from five to seven, ovalobovate, acuminate, serrate, and velvety-canescent

beneath. They are supported on long slender petioles, which, from their graceful disposition, combined with the feathery lightness of the racemes of flowers, give the whole plant an air of elegance, unlike that of any of the dwarf races of this genus. The flowers, which put forth in its native country in April and May, appear in England, and in the middle and northern parts of the United States, a month or six weeks later than those of the common horse-chesnut. In large plants, however, situated in a moist soil, it continues in bloom for three months or longer, forming one of the greatest floral ornaments of the shrubbery, at a season too, when very few trees or shrubs are in flower.

Geography and History. The Esculus macrostachya is a native of the western parts of South Carolina and Georgia, usually growing on the banks of rivulets or streams. It was introduced into Britain in 1786, by Mr. John Fraser, and has since been cultivated in most of the gardens on the continent.

The largest recorded plant of this species in England, and perhaps on the globe, is in Berkshire, at White Knight's, near Reading, which had attained a height of fifteen feet in twenty-five years after planting. Several other plants,

in England, are mentioned by Mr. Loudon, varying from six to twelve feet in height.

Propagation, &c. This species may be propagated either by layers or from seeds. When plants are to be raised from the nuts, they should be sown immediately after gathering; for, if kept exposed to the air, they shrink, and soon lose their power of vitality. The fruit is small, and seldom ripens in Britain; but in its native country, it may be eaten, boiled or roasted, in the same manner as the chesnuts in the south of France and Spain.

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