Derivations. The word Ornus is derived from the Greek oros. a mountain, having reference to some of the trees of this genus as growing on hills and mountains. The species were classified under the head of Fraxinus of the old authors. Generic Characters. Flowers hermaphrodite, or of distinct sexes. Calyx 4-parted or 4-toothed. Corolla 4-parted; segments long, ligulate. Stamens with long filaments. Stigma emarginate. Samara 1celled, 1-seeded, winged.-Don, Miller's Dict.

HIS genus embraces trees natives of Europe, Asia, and of North America; with impari-pinnate leaves, and terminal or axillary panicles of flowers, distinguished from those of the common ash, by having corollas. They may all be propagated from seeds, by grafting or budding, or by cuttings and layers.

Several, if not all the species of both the genera Fraxinus and Ornus, extravasate sap, which, when it becomes concrete, is mild and mucilaginous. This sap is produced more abundantly by the Ornus europæa, and some of its varieties, than by any other species; and, when collected, it forms the manna of commerce. This substance is chiefly collected in Calabria and Sicily, where, according to the "Materia Medica" of Geoffroy, the manna runs of itself from the trunks of some trees, while it does not flow from others unless wounds are made in the bark. Those trees which yield the manna spontaneously grow in the most favourable situations; and the sap runs from them of its own accord only during the greatest heats of summer. It begins to ooze out about mid-day, in the form of a clear liquid, which soon thickens, and continues to run until the cool of the evening, when it begins to harden into granules, that are scraped off the following morning. When the night has been damp or rainy, the manna does not harden, but runs to the ground, and is lost. This kind is called manna in tears (manna lagrima, of the Sicilians); and it is as pure and white as the finest sugar. About the end of July, when the liquid ceases to flow of itself, incisions are made through the bark and soft wood; and into these incisions slender pieces of straw or twig are inserted, on which the manna runs, and, in hardening, entirely coats them over. This is the common manna of the shops, which is thus collected in the form of tubes; and is called by the Sicilians, manna in cannoli, or manna cannoli. Another sort, which is inferior to the two preceding, is procured by making an oblong incision in the trees, in July or August, and taking off a piece of the bark about three inches in length, and two inches in breadth. This kind, which is called manna grassa, is the coarsest of all; but, as it is obtained with the least trouble, and in great abundance, it is also the cheapest. Sometimes, instead of cutting out a piece of bark, and leaving the wound open, two horizontal gashes are made, one a little above the other; in the upper of which is inserted the stalk of a maple leaf, the point of the leaf being fixed in the lower gash, so as to form a sort of a cup to receive the manna

This

and to protect it from dust and other impurities. The greater part of the manna of commerce is procured in the latter manner; and it is imported in chests, in long pieces, or granulated fragments, of a whitish or pale-yellow colour, and in some degree transparent. The inferior kind, which is of a dark-brown colour, comes in adhesive masses, and is moist and unctuous to the touch. Manna from the ash has a peculiar odour, and a sweetish taste, accompanied with a slight degree of bitterness. It is considered as aperient, and was formerly much used in medicine; but it is now chiefly employed to disguise other drugs in administering them to children, and is used as a purgative in the veterinary art. kind of manna, however, must not be confounded with that mentioned in the Holy Writ, which is supposed to be identical with the manna produced by the Alhagi maurorum, a low shrub two or three feet high, native of the deserts of Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, and other eastern countries. The Arabians have a tradition that, this manna fell from the clouds upon this plant to feed the Israelites in the desert. This, however, is contrary to what is recorded in the Scriptures, namely, that the miraculous manna appeared only on the rocks, and on the sand, and hence the surprise of the Israelites, who would not have been astonished if they had seen small portions of it on the shrubs; but who, finding it in such immense quantities on the ground, where they had never seen it before, could hardly believe it to be the same thing, and exclaimed in Hebrew, " Man"? that is to say, "What is it?" whence, possibly the name. The manna produced by the alhagi is a natural exudation from the leaves and branches, which takes place only in very hot weather. At first, it resembles drops of honey; but granulates on exposure to the atmosphere, into particles of different sizes, but seldom larger than a coriander seed. Another species of manna is obtained in Arabia from the tamarisk-tree, (Tamarix gallica,) by the puncture of the Coccus manniparus. A similar substance is also obtained from the larch, (Larix europæa,) in the south of France, where it is known by the name of manne de Briançon. This substance is a kind of sap of a sweetish, but insipid taste, which, towards the end of May, and during the months of June and July, exudes, according to some, only during the night, from the bark of the young shoots; but which, according to others, transpires from the buds and leaves, on which it coagulates in the form of little white glutinous grains, that are easily scraped off. In the morning, young larch-trees, before they are struck with the rays of the sun, will be found covered with it; but the grains, if not gathered, will soon disappear. It resembles the manna of the flowering ash, (Ornus europæa rotundifolia,) but is less purgative. The rhododendron, the walnut, the beech, and the Norway maple, also yield an analogous substance, as probably, do various other trees; for the sap of most ligneous plants is more or less sweet and mucilaginous; and, consequently, when collected in any quantity, is susceptible of becoming concrete by evaporation. The manna of Lebanon is the gum mastic obtained from the Pistacia lentiscus; and the manna of Poland is composed of the seeds of the Glyceria fluitans.

Engravings. Loudon, Arboretum Britannicum, ii., fig. 1070; and the figures below.

Specific Characters Leaves with 2-5 pairs of oblong or ovate-acuminated, shining, serrated leaflets, each 3-5 in. long, and 2 in. broad, and having the larger veins rather villous, glaucous, and paler beneath, the odd one rather cordate. Flowers with petals, disposed in terminal panicles. Branches brownishgray. Buds brown. Samara narrow, obtuse, mucronate.-Don, Miller's Dict.

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Description.

HE Ornus americana is a beautiful tree, growing to a height of thirty or forty feet, and flowering in April and May. The difference between this sort and the manna ash of Europe is so very slight, that doubts are entertained by some, of there being but one species. It is a native of North America, and was introduced into Britain in 1820, where it is cultivated for ornament, and is highly prized. There are plants of it in the Horticultural Society's garden, at London, and in

the arboretum at Kew, where, in the last-named place, it is grafted on the Fraxinus excelsior; and the point where the scion was inserted in the stock, is said to have enlarged nearly as much as the stock itself, a proof that the American flowering ash is a more robust-growing tree than the Ornus europæa, which was also engrafted in a similar manner, but did not increase in the same ratio with the stock. When no other mode can be obtained of rendering a tree gardenesque, Mr. Loudon suggests, that, in order to give the trunk an architectural base, a slowgrowing species may be grafted on one that is more vigorous; and that the application of the art of grafting might be worth adopting for certain ornamental trees to be planted in exposed situations; for an architectural base to a tree is strongly expressive of its stability.

Derivations. The word Catalpa is supposed to be corrupted from an Indian name of a tree belonging to this genus; and Bignonia was so called by Tournefort, in compliment to the Abbé Bignon, librarian to Louis XIV.

Generic Characters Calyx 2-parted. Corolla campanulate, with a ventricose tube, and an unequal 4lobed limb. Stamens 5, 2 of which are fertile, and 3 of them sterile. Stigma bilamellate. Capsule silique-formed, long, cylindrical, 2-valved. Dissepiment opposite the valves. Seeds membranous.y margined, and pappose at the base and apex.-Don, Miller's Dict.

HE genus Catalpa was constituted by Jussieu from the Bignonia catalpa of Tournefort, and comprises but one species, native of North America. Nearly allied to the same natural family is the order Scrophulariacea, which embraces that magnificent tree, the Paulownia imperialis, so called by Sieber, in honour of the Hereditary Princess of the Netherlands, who was daughter to the Emperor of Russia. The leaves of the Paulownia are cordate, deeply serrated, and slightly ciliated, having the general appearance of those of a gigantic sun-flower. The flowers, which put forth in April or May, are blue, resembling those of the Gloxinia caulescens, and have an agreeable odour, somewhat like that of the mock orange, (Philadelphus coronarius,) but less powerful. This tree is a native of Japan, and was introduced into Britain in 1840, and into France two or three years before that date. It has proved quite hardy in the Jardin des Plantes, at Paris, where it withstood the winter of 1838-9 without any covering, and in 1842, had acquired the height of twenty feet, producing leaves two feet in diameter. The plants at Trianon have been much more rapid in their growth, having made shoots from twelve to fourteen feet in length in a single year. This species was introduced into the United States, in 1843, by Messrs. Parsons, of Flushing, near New York, where it remained in the open air, without any covering, during the last eight years. It has since been propagated in several nurseries in the union, and bids fair to be a great addition to our shrubberies and ornamental plantations, particularly in situations where immediate effect is the object. It is easily propagated by cuttings of the roots, put into thumb-pots, and will grow in any commor garden soil; but it thrives best in one that is dry, and somewhat loamy.

Derivations. The word Catalpa is supposed to be a corruption of Catawba, the name of an Indian tribe that formerly occupied a great part of Georgia and the Carolinas.. The French of Louisiana call this tree Bois Shavanon, from its being found in abundance on the banks of the Shavanon, now called Cumberland River. The German name signifies Trumpet-tree, from the form of its flowers.

Engravings. Michaux, North American Sylva, pl. 64; Loudon, Arboretum Britannicum, vii., pl. 215 et 216; and the figures below.

Specific Characters. Leaves cordate, flat, 3 in a whorl, large, and deciduous. Branches strong. Panicles large, branchy, terminal. Corollas white, speckled with purple and yellow.-Don, Miller's Dict.

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Description.

HE Catalpa syringaefolia, in its natural habitat, frequently exceeds fifty feet in height, with a trunk from eighteen to twenty-four inches in diameter. It is easily recognized by its bark, which is of a silver-gray colour, and but slightly furrowed; and by its wide-spreading head, disproportioned in size to the diameter of its trunk. It also differs from most other trees in the fewness of its branches, and the fine, pale-green of its very large leaves, which are late in coming out in spring, and are among the first to shrink at the approach of autumn. They are heart-shaped, petiolated, often six or seven inches in width, glabrous above, and downy beneath, particularly on the principal ribs. The flowers, which put forth in July or August, occur in large bunches, at the extremity of the

branches, and are white, marked with purple and yellow spots.. In favourable seasons, they are succeeded by capsules or seed-pods, which somewhat resemble those of the common cabbage, but on a larger scale; being frequently two feet long, and curved upwards, resembling horns. They are cylindrical and pendent, of a brownish colour, when ripe, and contain thin, flat seeds, developed in a long, narrow, membranous wing, terminated by a hairy tuft. Each seed with its wing, is about an inch long, and one eighth of an inch broad.

Geography and History. The Catalpa syringefolia is indigenous to the south