high; at Sceaux, 10 years planted, and 20 ft, high; in the Toulon Botanic Garden, 20 years planted, and 12 ft. high; at Nerrières, near Nantes, 20 years planted, and 15 ft. high. In Austria, in the University Botanic Garden at Vienna, 25 years planted, and 25 ft. high. Commercial Statistics. Plants, in London, cost from 1s. to 2s. 6d. each; at Bollwyller, 1 franc each; at New York, ?. App. I. Half-hardy ligneous Species of Sapindacea. DODON@`a, a genus of plants named in honour of Rambrot Dodoens, author of Historia Plantarum, who died in 1585, consists of nearly 30 species of green-house plants, which are chiefly natives of new Holland, though some of them are from the East and West Indies and South America. They are all shrubs, with exstipulate, simple, or pinnate leaves, and small greenish yellow flowers. They are not showy, but they are interesting to the botanist, as illustrating this order, and also on account of the ramified venation of their leaves. D. viscòsa L. is a native of the Caribbee Islands, where it is a shrub growing to the height of 6 ft. It has been in the country since 1690, and is occasionally to be met with in green-houses. It is highly probable that it would stand our winters against a wall, with sufficient protection. D. alternata Cunning. is a native of New Holland, and has been in cultivation since 1824. D. jamaicensis Dec., D. angustifolia Swz., D. viscosa Cav., is a native of the colder parts of Jamaica, where it grows to the height of 6 ft. ; and, being very sour and bitterish in all its parts, it is known there by the name of switch sorrel. It has been in our green-houses since 1810. D. salicifolia Dec., D. angustifolia Lam., is in cultivation in French gardens under the name of bois de reinette, and has been in our green-houses since 1820. The leaves are very narrow, and they are sweet-scented. It is supposed to be a native of New Holland. D. laurina Sieb., D. triquetra Bot. Rep. t. 231., D. cuneata Smith, and D. asplenifèlia Rudge, are all natives of New Holland, occasionally to be met with in green-houses. They are generally cultivated in loam and peat, or in any light soil; and, when they are tried against a conservative wall, care should be taken that they are not overpowered at the root, or at the top, by other plants. CHAP. XXV. OF THE HALF-HARDY LIGNEOUS PLANTS OF THE ORDER MELIA CEA. 1. Mèlia Azedarách L., the bead tree, or Indian lilac, (fig. 138.) is an old inhabitant of British green-houses, and well known to all those who have travelled in Italy. The word Melia is derived from mělia, the Greek name for the manna ash (from mēli, honey); from a fancied resemblance between the leaves and those of the ash: and Azedarach from an Arabic word signifying a poisonous plant; the berries of the melia being formerly supposed to be poisonous. Its foliage and its spikes of flowers are large, the plant being remarkably showy when fully developed; and it is by no means tender. It grows in its native country, Syria, to the height of 40 ft.; and there are trees of nearly that height in the neighbourhood of Naples. It is planted as an ornamental tree in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and the south of France. There are trees of it in the public walks at Montpelier, at Toulon, and in various cities in Italy. In the southern states of North America, more particularly in Carolina, it is planted near houses, and known there by the name of the pride of India; a name also given to the Lagerstroemia indica. In Greece, and along the shores of the Grecian Archipelago and the Mediterranean, the Mèlia Azedarách is always planted in the area of monasteries for the sake of the nuts, contained in its fruits, which are made into rosaries by the monks; and hence its name of the bead tree. The fruit, which is of the size of a cherry, but more cylindrical, and of a pale yellow colour when ripe, was said by the Arabian physician Avicenna to be poisonous; and the pulp was mixed with grease, for the purpose of killing rats and dogs. According to Royle, however, the fruit can only be considered poisonous when used in large doses. It is used in Java as a vermifuge. The nuts, which are of a brown colour, are bored, and, as already stated, strung as beads in Catholic countries. In Britain, the tree frequently flowers in green-houses, and sometimes ripens seeds: it has been tried in the open air, both as a standard and against a wall. It has stood through several winters, in the open air, at Biel, in East Lothian; and at Bungay, in Suffolk, a plant, which had been 9 years planted against a wall, was, in 1834, 94 ft. high, the trunk 9 in. in diameter, and had branches extending 18 ft. on each side of the trunk. One, raised from seed in 1828, which has stood ever since against a wall in our garden at Bayswater, protected by a glass case during winter, flowered in 1835. In the warmest parts of Devonshire and Cornwall, it might be treated as a standard tree. Plants are generally raised from seeds; and they may be procured in the London nurseries at 2s. each; at Bollwyller, for 1 franc and 50 cents; and at New York, for 25 cents a plant, and 1 dollar a quart of seeds. 2. M. sempervirens Swz., the evergreen Melia, or Bead Tree, known in the West Indies by the name of the Indian lilac, is said to be a tree growing to the height of about 25 ft. It has been in our green-houses since 1656; and is by some considered as only a variety of M. Azedarách. 3. M. australis Swt. is a native of New Holland, introduced in 1810, and said to grow, in its native country, to the height of 20 ft. 4. M. japonica G. Don is a green-house species, growing 30 ft. high, which has not yet been introduced; and M. Buckayun Royle is a species of which little seems to be known, All the species of Mèlia, being deciduous trees, without visible buds, are peculiarly eligible for growing against a conservative wall; because, by the application of heat artificially, and by preventing (which can be done by thatching the ground) the rain from falling on the soil under the trees at the end of summer, the wood may be ripened to such a degree as to enable it to stand our winters with very little or no protection. CHAP. XXVI. OF THE HARDY LIGNEOUS PLANTS OF THE ORDER VITA CEÆ. THALAMIFLOROUS. (H. B.) Calyx small. Petals 4 or 5, inserted on the outside of a disk surrounding the ovarium; in æstivation, turned inwards at the edge in a valvate manner. Stamens equal in number to the petals, inserted upon the disk that surrounds the ovarium; filaments distinct or slightly cohering at the base. Anthers versatile. Ovarium 2-celled. Fruit a pulpy berry. Seeds 4 or 5, fewer by abortion; embryo erect; albumen hard. Climbing shrubs, with tumid separable joints. Leaves with stipules. Properties, acidity and sugar. (Lindl. Introd. to N. S., and Key.) The species are trailing and climbing shrubs, and they include the grape vine, which may be considered as the type of the order. "The genus Vitis is found in the equinoctial parts of the Old and New Worlds, extending into both the temperate zones; as, southwards, to the Cape of Good Hope and New Holland; and, northwards, to Japan and North America, as well as from the plains of India to the defiles of Caucasus." (Royle, Illustr., p. 144.) The genera which contain hardy species are two, which are thus distinguished : VITIS. Calyx 5-toothed. Style wanting. Berry, 2-celled, 4-seeded. AMPELO PSIS. Calyx nearly entire. Petals 5. Stamens 5. Style 1, crowned. by a capitate stigma. Cr'ssus. Calyx nearly entire. Petals 4. Stamens 4. Ovary 4-celled. GENUS I. VITIS L. THE GRAPE VINE. Lin. Syst. Pentándria Monogýnia. Identification. Lin. Gen., 284; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 633.; Don's Mill., 1. p. 695. Synonymes. Giud, Celtic; Vid, Span.; Vigne, Fr.; Wein, Ger. Gen. Char. Flowers hermaphrodite, diœcious or triacious. Calyx commonly 5-toothed. Petals 5, cohering at the top, separating at the base, and deciduous. Stamens 5.-Climbing shrubs, deciduous, with leaves simple, lobed, or serrated, sometimes compound, and small greenish yellow flowers in thyrsoid racemes. (Dec. Prod., i. p. 633.) The species are deciduous climbers, one of which has long been celebrated in the Old World as the grape vine; and all the others are natives of North America. The varieties of the first species have been described at length by Du Hamel in France, Don Roxas de Clemati in Spain, and Sickler in Germany; and the species and varieties of North America by Rafinesque. 1. V. VINIFERA L. The wine-bearing Vine. Identification. Lin. Spec., 293.; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 683.; Don's Mill., 1. p. 695. Synonymes. Vigne, Fr.; gemeiner Weinstock, Ger. Engravings. Duh. Arb. Fr., 2. t. 16.; Jacq. Ic., 1. p. 53.; and our fig. 139. Geography and History. The grape vine is generally considered to be a native of Persia; and Dr. Sickler, in the first volume of his Geschichte der Obstcultur, has given an interesting account of its migration to Egypt, Greece, and Sicily. From Sicily, which is generally considered to be one of the oldest seats of civilisation in the western hemisphere, the vine is said to have found its way into Italy, Spain, and France. It is supposed to have been cultivated in the latter country in the time of Antoninus, and to have been introduced into Britain by the Romans, but during what reign is uncertain. There were vineyards, however, in England, according to the venerable Bede, in the year, A. D. 280. The vine has been for ages in a wild state, in the woods and hedges of Provence, Languedoc, and Guienne, in France, where it differs from the cultivated plant, in having smaller and more cottony leaves, and very small fruit, rather austere than sweet. These wild vines, which were called by the ancients labrusca, are still known, in the south of France, by the names of lambrusco, and lambresquiero. (N. Du Ham.) The history of the vine as a fruit shrub, and all that relates to its varieties and their propagation and culture, will be found given at length in our Encyclopædia of Gardening; and we shall here only notice those varieties which we think deserving of introduction, as ornamental and fragrant-flowered standard climbers, for training against a prop in the free ground, in a British arboretum; or to be trained against a wall, in the arboretums of colder countries. Plants, in the European nurseries, are procurable at 1s. or 1 franc each; and at New York, for 37 cents each. A V. v. 2 foliis incanis. The hoary-leaved Grape Vine. Miller's Grape, Ham., var. 75., not Clairette Du Ham., 140 and, as such, is known as V. laciniòsa L. It forms a very handsome climbing shrub, which has been in cultivation for its fruit since 1648. 144 A 2. V. LABRU'SCA L. The wild Vine, or Fox Grape. Identification. Lin. Spec., 293.; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 634.; Don's Mill, 1. p. 711. Synonymes. V. taurina Walt.; filziger Wein., Ger. Engravings. Plum. Icon., t. 259. fig. 1.; Jacq. Schon., t. 426.; and our fig. 141. Spec. Char., &c. Sexes diœcious or polygamous. Leaves heart-shaped, rather 3-lobed, acutely toothed beneath, and the peduncles tomentose and rather rusty. (Dec. Prod., i. p. 634.) A tendriled climber, growing to about the same height as the common vine, but with much larger leaves (which are scarcely lobed, and downy, especially when young), and berries which are large and black, with a rough acid flavour, but are, nevertheless, eatable in a wildstate, and much improved by cultivation. The whole plant has a disagreeable foxy smell, whence the name. “The fruit is, according to Professor Bigelow, large, purple, and pleasantly tasted; while Torrey remarks that it has a strong disagreeable flavour in a wild state, but that, when cultivated, it is as pleasant as any of the varieties of V. vinífera." (Hook. Flor. Bor. Amer., p. 115.) There are two varieties growing in the vineyards of North America; one with white berries, and the other with red ones. From both of the varieties, and from the species, an excellent wine is made; which, when kept for five or six years, resembles Moselle. In America, the varieties have been much improved by culture; and, according to Rafinesque (Med. Fl., i. p. 121.), greatly increased in number by culture, with a view to the production of wine. In Britain, the plant can only be considered as ornamental; and, from the largeness of its foliage and fruit, it forms a very distinct species of Vitis. A plant of the red-fruited variety, in the garden of the London Horticultural Society, placed against a wall with a west aspect, ripens fruit every year, which we have tasted, and found by no means disagreeable. We have also had some bottles of the wine sent us from America, which was not inferior to the weaker sorts of Rhenish wines. Possibly this plant might deserve cultivation on the Continent, with a view to the mixing of the fruit with that of the varieties of the grape vine, in making wine; since austere varieties of apple and pear, mixed with sugary varieties, are found to make the best kinds of cider and perry. Plants of this species, in the London nurseries, are 1s. 6d. each; at Bollwyller, 1 franc; and at New York, the species and its varieties are 37 cents each. Leaves 142 § 3. V. ÆSTIVA`LIS Michx. The Summer Vine, or Grape Vine. Identification. Michx. Fl. Bor. Amer., 2. p. 230.; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 634.; Don's Mill., 1. p. 711. Synonymes. V. Labrusca Walt. Fl. Car., 242.; V. vulpina Willd. Spec., p. 1181.; and E. of Pl., No. 2860. Engravings. Jac. Hort. Schoen., t. 425.; E. of Pl., 2860.; and our fig. 142. Spec. Char., &c. Sexes dioecious, or polygamous. broadly heart-shaped, with from 3 to 5 lobes; the under surface of the young ones invested with a cottony down; of the adult ones, smooth. Racemes fertile, oblong. Berries small. (Dec. Prod., i. p. 634.) A native of North America, and abounding there in woods and wastes, from Virginia to Carolina. The berries are small, of a dark blue colour, finely covered with bloom, not disagreeable to the taste, and made into a very tolerable wine by the inhabitants. It was introduced into England in 1656, but is not very common in collections. 4. V. SINUATA G. Don. The scallop-leaved Vine, or Summer Grape Vine. Identification. Don's Mill., 1. p. 711. Synonymes. V. æstivalis var. sinuàta Ph. Flor. Amer. Sept., 1. p. 169. ; Dec. Prod., 1. 634. "Probably the V. Zabruscöldes of Muhl. Cat., 27.” (G. Don.) Spec. Char., &c. Sexes dioecious or polygamous. Leaves sinuately palmate, coarsely toothed, with rhomboid recesses; young ones covered beneath with cobwebby rusty down; adult ones smooth. (Don's Mill., i. p. 711.) Found in woods from Virginia to Carolina, along with the two preceding species, of the last of which, notwithstanding Mr. G. Don's opinion, we think this only a variety. The berries are dark blue, agreeable to eat, and a very good wine is made from them. Introduced into England in 1656, but not much cultivated. LL 5. V. CORDIFO`LIA Michr. The heart-shape-leaved Vine, or Chicken Grape. Identification. Michx. Fl. Bor. Amer., 2. p. 231.; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 654.; Don's Mill. 1. p. 711 Synonymes. V. incisa Jacq. Schoen., t. 427.; V. vulpina Lin Spec., p. 293., Wait. Flor. Car., 243. Engravings. Jacq. Schoen., t. 247.; E. of Pl., 286.; and our fig. 143. Spec. Char., &c. Sexes diœcious or polygamous. Leaves heart-shaped, acuminate, toothed in the mode of incisions, smooth on both surfaces. Racemes loosely manyflowered. Berries small, greenish, ripened late. (Dec. Prod., i. p. 634, 635.) Found wild from Canada to Florida, on the edges of rivers and in woods, where it is called the winter grape, probably from the late ripening of the fruit; and chicken grape, 143 perhaps from the very small size of the berries. Dr. Torrey considers this to be the true V. vulpina of Linnæus, on account of its glabrous leaves. (Hook.) Introduced in 1806. Plants of it (but whether male or female, we are uncertain) are in the arboretum of Messrs. Loddiges, price 1s. 6d. each. 6. V. RIPARIA Michx. The river-side, or sweet-scented, Vine. Identification. Michx. Flor. Bor. Amer., 2. p. 821.; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 635.; Don's Mill., 1. p. 711 Synonymes. V. odoratissima Donn Hort. Cant., and Lodd. Cat.; Vigne de Battures, Amer. Engravings. Bot. Mag., t. 2429.; E. of P., 2862.; and our fig. 144. Spec. Char., &c. Leaves heart-shaped, shallowly 3-cleft, toothed in the mode of incisions and unequally. Footstalk, and the margin of the nerves, pubescent. (Dec. Prod., i. p. 635.) A native of North America, from Pennsylvania to Carolina, on the gravelly shores of islands and banks of rivers." Extending to the south end of Lake Winipeg, in lat. 520°." (Richardson, in Hook.) Dr. Hooker observes that some of his specimens of this plant have the leaves so slightly lobed, that he scarcely knows how they are to be distinguished from V. vulpina (our No. 3.). Female plants are very seldom found north of the Potowmac river, though the male extends very far beyond it. The flowers have an exquisitely sweet smell, somewhat resembling that of mignonette. The female plant is in the arboretum of Messrs. Loddiges, where its shoots extend to the length of 20 ft. 7. V. ROTUNDIFO`LIA Michx. The round-leaved Vine, or Bullet Grape. Identification. Michx. Flor. Bor. Amer., 2. p. 231.; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 635.; Don's Mill, 1. p. 711. Spec. Char., &c. Sexes diœcious or triacious. Leaves between heartshaped and kidney-shaped, toothed in rather an equal manner, shining on both surfaces. Racemes composed of several little heads of flowers. Berries of a deep blue colour. (Dec. Prod., i. p. 635.) Found in North America, from Virginia to Florida, on river sides, and on islands. The berries are as large as those of the common muscadine grape, by which name it is sometimes called: they are agreeable to eat. Introduced in 1806, but not often met with in collections. There is a plant in the garden of the London Horticultural Society. Identification. Dec. Prod., 1. p. 634.; Don's Mill., 1. p. 711. Spec. Char., &c. Sexes dioecious or triacious. Leaves heart-shaped, acuminate, toothed with acute and rather projecting teeth; rather glabrous above, |