was, indeed, the common name for rue in Shakspeare's time; and Greene, in his Quip for an upstart Courtier, has this passage:-"Some of them smiled, and said rue was called herb-grace, which, though they scorned in their youth, they might wear in their age, and that it was never too late to say miserere.” The gardener in Richard II. says of the Queen,— "Here did she drop a tear; here in this place, I'll set a bank of rue, sour herb of grace: Perdita, in The Winter's Tale, says,— "Reverend sirs, For you there's rosemary and rue; these keep Grace and remembrance be to you both." They are both evergreens, retaining their appearance and taste during the whole year, and, therefore, are proper emblems of remembrance and grace. Rue seems to have been used formerly in nosegays; for the Clown, in All's Well that Ends Well, having said of the Countess," She was the sweet-marjoram of the salad, or rather the herb of grace," Lafeu replies, " They are not salad herbs, you knave, they are nose herbs;" upon which the Clown, in character, remarks, "I am no great Nebuchadnezzar, Sir, I have not much skill in grass;" thus punning upon the name of grace, as the gardener did upon the other name of rue. (Don's Mill.,i. p. 779.) "Among the ancients, rue was used in several superstitious practices: You are not yet at the parsley, nor even at the rue,' was a common saying with the Greeks to those persons who, having projected an enterprise, had not begun to put it in execution. In ancient times, gardens were edged with borders of parsley and rue; and those persons who had not passed these borders were not accounted to have entered a garden : thence the proverb originated." (Reid's Historical and Literary Botany, p. 153.) Physiological Phenomenon. "Linnæus having observed that the rue moved one of its stamens every day to the pistil, Sir James Smith examined the Rùta angustifòlia, and found many of the stamens in the position which he describes, holding their anthers over the stigma; while those which had not come to the stigma were lying back upon the petals, as well as those which had already performed their office, and had returned to their original situation. Trying with a quill to stimulate the stamens, he found them all quite void of irritability: they are strong, stout, conical bodies, and cannot, without breaking, be forced out of the position in which they happen to be. The same phenomenon has been observed in several other flowers; but it is nowhere more striking, or more easily examined, than in the species of rue." (Don's Mill., i. p. 779.) The Rue as a hardy Shrub. Though the rue is seldom seen in British gardens otherwise than as an herb of 1 ft. or 1 ft. in height, yet when planted in dry, deep, calcareous soil, and suffered to grow without being cut over, it forms a singularly handsome evergreen shrub, attaining the height of 6 ft., or even 8 ft., in as many years. The manner in which the leaves are cut, their glaucous hue, the profusion of fine dark yellow flowers, which are produced for several months in succession, and often throughout the whole winter, justify us in strongly recommending the rue for cultivation as an ornamental plant. It will not succeed, however, if mixed with other trees and shrubs of rampant growth, nor attain a large size, unless in a sheltered situation, and in a soil that is deep, free, and calcareous. It forms beautiful evergreen separation hedges for cottage gardens; and some fine hedges of this sort, and also large single plants, may be seen in the bottoms of old chalk-pits on the south bank of the Thames, about Gravesend, in Kent. The plant is propagated in the easiest manner, by seeds or cuttings, and requires no other pruning during its whole existence than cutting off the withered flower-stalks. It appears to be a shrub of very great durability. In point of ultimate magnitude, rate of growth, soil, situation, and culture, the rosemary, the lavender, the sage, the hyssop, the thyme, and the more hardy teucriums may be considered as suitable associates for the rue. App. i. Half-hardy Species of Ruta. The following species of Ruta are generally kept in the frame or green-house; but there is little doubt that they would live in very dry soil or in lime rubbish, at the base of a wall, with some protection during severe weather. R. pinnata L. (Bot. Reg., t. 307.), a native of the Canary Islands, where it grows to the height of 6 ft.; R. bracteosa Dec., a shrub 2 ft. high, a native of Sicily; R. angustifolia Pers. (fig. 156.), a native of the south of France, which was considered by Linnæus and others as a variety of the common rue; R. macrophylla Sol., from the north of Africa, where it grows 3 ft.YZ GENUS II. APLOPHYLLUM Andr. Juss. THE APLOPHYLLUM, or SIMPLE-LEAVED RUE. Lin. Syst. Decandria Monogynia. This genus, which forms a section of Ruta in De Candolle's Prodromus, was instituted by A. Jussieu in Mém. Mus., 12. p. 464., and is adopted by G. Don. It contains two or three species of small undershrubs, which are hardy, but which are more frequently treated as herbaceous than as ligneous plants. 1. A. linifolium G. Don., Ruta linifolia L., (Bot. Rep., 565., and our fig. 157.) has entire oblong-lanceolate leaves, and yellow flowers in corymbs. It is a native of Spain, near Valencia, and also of Greece. It was introduced in 1752, grows to about 1 ft. in height, and flowers from July to September. 2. A. suaveolens G. Don., Ruta suaveolens Dec., has spathulately lanceolate glaucous leaves, and yellow flowers in corymbs, smelling like those of Prímula officinalis. It is a native of Tauria, where it forms a shrub about 2 ft. high; and was introduced in 1800. It flowers from June to September. 3. A. fruticulosum G. Don, Ruta fruticulosa Lab., is a native of the country about Damascus. It grows about 1 ft. high, but has not yet been introduced into Britain. 157 CHAP. XXX. OF THE HARDY AND HALF-HARDY LIGNEOUS PLANTS OF THE ORDER XANTHOXYLA CEE. THE genera belonging to this order which contain hardy species are three, Xanthoxylum, Ptèlea, and Ailántus, which are thus distinguished in Don's Mill., i. p. 777. XANTHOXYLUM L., and H. et Kth. Flowers bisexual. Calyx 3-5-parted, with an equal number of petals and stamens. Carpels 1-5, 2-valved. Leaves simple, ternate, abruptly and impari-pinnate. PTELEA L. Flowers bisexual. Calyx 4-5-parted. Petals 4-5. Stamens 4-5. Fruit compressed, 2-3-celled; cells 1-seeded, turgid in the centre, each cell extended into an orbicular reticulated wing. Leaves of 3 leaflets, rarely of 5 leaflets. AILANTUS Desf. Flowers polygamous. Calyx 5-cleft. Petals 5. Stamens 10, unequal. Styles 3-5, arising from the notches of the ovaries. Carpels 3-5, membraneous, 1-celled, 1-seeded. Leaves abruptly or imparipinnate. GENUS I. XANTHOXYLUM L., and H. B. et Kth. THE XANTHOXYLUM, OT Identification. Lin. Gen., No. 150. and 1109.; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 725.; Don's Mill., 1. p. 801. 1. X. FRAXINEUM Willd. The Ash-leaved Xanthoxylum, or common Toothache Tree. Identification. Willd. Sp., 4 p. 757.; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 726.; Don's Mill., 1. p. 802. Synonymes. Zanthoxylum ramifiòrum Mich. Fl. B. A., 2 p. 235.; Z. Clava Hérculis var. Lin. Sp. 1455., Lam. Dict., 2. p. 38.; Z. americanum Mill. Dict., No. 2.; Z. caribæ um Gert. Fruct., but not of Lam.; Clavalier à Feuilles de Frêne, Fr.; Eschen-blättriges Zahnwehholz, Ger. Engravings. Du Ham. Arb., 1. t. 97.; Catesb. Carol., 1. t. 26.; E. of Pl., 13896.; our fig. 158.; and the plate of this species in Vol. II. Spec. Char., &c. Leaves pinnate, of 4 to 5 pairs of leaflets, and an odd one; the leaflets ovate, obscurely sawed, equal at the base; the petiole round and devoid of prickles; prickles in the situation of stipules. Flowers in axillary umbels, without petals: the sexes dioecious. (Dec. Prod., i. p. 726, 727.) A low deciduous tree, a native of North America, from Canada to Virginia and Kentucky, in woods near rivers; cultivated in England since 1740, and flowering in March and April. In its native country, this tree is seldom seen higher than from 12 ft. to 15 ft.; 158 but its stem is decidedly that of a tree rising to the height of from 3 ft. or 4 ft. without side shoots, and then branching out, and forming a regular head. The flowers are yellowish, with red anthers. The bark and capsules are of a hot acrid taste, and are used for relieving the pains of the toothache; whence the popular name. A tincture of the bark is also used for curing rheumatism. This tree is common in British collections, but is never seen of any great size. There is one at Syon, about 13 ft. high; in the Cambridge Botanic Garden, one about 10 ft.; and some at White Knights, from 10 ft. to 13 ft. high. In the Edinburgh Botanic Garden, 10 years planted, it is 6 ft. high. It is generally propagated by seeds or by cuttings of the roots. Plants, in the London nurseries, are 1s. 6d. each; at Bollwyller, 1 franc and 20 cents; at New York, 25 cents, and seeds 1 dollar a quart. Variety. X. f. 2. virginicum, the X. virginicum of Lodd. Cat., of which there is a plant in the garden of the London Horticultural Society, and several in the arboretum of Messrs. Loddiges, appears to us only a variety of X. fraxíneum. 2. X. TRICA'RPUM Michx. The three-fruited Xanthoxylum, or Toothache Tree. Identification. Michx. Fl. Bor. Amer., 2. p. 335.; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 726.; Don's Mill., 1. p. 803. Engraving. Lam. Ill., 1. t. 334. Spec. Char., &c. Leaves pinnate; the leaflets 3 to 5 pairs, and an odd one, all on short stalks, oblongoval, acuminate, finely sawed, oblique at the base. Petioles and branches prickly. Panicles terminal. Petals 5. (Dec. Prod., i. p. 726.) A deciduous shrub, a native of Carolina and Florida, introduced in 1806, and flowering in July. Height 6 ft. 13. X. MITE Willd. The smooth, or thornless, Xanthoxylum, or Toothache Tree. Identification. Willd. Enum., 1018.; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 727.; Don's Mill., 1. p. 802. Spec. Char., &c. Thornless. Leaves impari-pinnate, downy beneath. Flowers axillary. (Dec. Prod., i. p. 727.) Introduced from North America in 1812, and said to be a tree growing to the same height as X. fraxineum, with flowers of the same colour, and produced in the same months. may, possibly, be only a variety of the X. fraxineum, as Gleditschia inérmis is only a variety of G. triacanthos. App. i. Half-hardy Species. It The species of this genus are not very ornamental, otherwise, there are some others, which are natives of China and Japan, which might be tried against a conservative wall: see the enumeration of all the species that have been introduced into Britain, in our Hortus Britannicus. GENUS II. PTE LEA L. THE PTELEA, or SHRUBBY TREFOIL. Lin. Syst. Mona'cia Identification. Lin. Gen., No. 152.; Dec. Prod, 2. p. 82.; Don's Mill., 1. p. 806. † 1. P. TRIFOLIATA L. The three-leafleted-leaved Ptelea, or Shrubby Trefoil. Identification. Lin. Sp., 173.; Willd. Sp. Pl., 1. 670.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 82.; Don's Mill., 1. p. 806. Synonymes. Orme de Samarie à trois Feuilles, Fr.; dreyblättrige Lederblume, Ger. Engravings. Dill. Elth., t. 122.; Mill. Ic., t. 211.; N. Du Ham., t. 57.; Hayne Abbild., t. 74. ; Schmidt Arb., 2. t. 76. ; and the plate in our Second Volume. Spec. Char., &c. Leaf of three leaflets that are ovate acute, the middle one much tapered towards its base. Flowers in corymbs, usually tetrandrous. (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 82.) A shrub or low tree from North America, where it is found from New York to Carolina in shady moist hedges, and on the edges of woods among rocks. It was introduced in 1704, and produces its small greenish white flowers in corymbose clusters in June and July. These are succeeded by flattened winged capsules, somewhat resembling those of the elm; whence the French name of orme. Varieties. P. t. 2 pentaphylla Munchh. Hans., 3. p. 342., has 5 leaflets; but we have not seen a plant. Description, &c. When this plant is pruned up with a single stem, it forms a handsome low tree with a hemispherical head; but in British gardens it is more frequently found as a large shrub, with numerous stems proceeding from the same basal point. The species was originally sent to England by Banister, and plants of it were raised by Bishop Compton at Fulham; but they were lost, and the plant was reintroduced from Carolina by Catesby in 1724. Being hardy, and of easy culture in any common soil, the tree is not uncommon in collections; and it well deserves a place there, both on account of the beauty of the leaves, and of the fruits, and the handsome general form of the tree. It is easily propagated by cuttings (put in in the autumn, and covered with a hand-glass), or by seeds. Statistics. At Purser's Cross, there is a tree 25 ft. high, with a trunk 14 in. in diameter; at Gloucester Lodge, Brompton, is a somewhat deformed specimen, 16 ft. high, with a trunk 8 in. in diameter at the ground; in Sloane Square is one upwards of 12 ft. high; in the Fulham Nursery, one 12 years planted, and 14 ft. high; in the Hammersmith Nursery, one 5 years planted, 10 ft. high; in Middlesex, near Shepperton, by the road side, a very handsome tree, about 25 ft. high, with the head 30 ft. in diameter; in Surrey, at Claremont, 15 ft. high; in Wiltshire, at Longleat, one 50 years planted, and 18 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 14 in., and of the head 24 ft.; in Worcestershire, at Croome, 10 years planted, and 15 ft. high. In Scotland, in the Edinburgh Botanic Garden, 15 years planted, and 12 ft. high; in Bamffshire, at Gordon Castle, 45 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 15 in., and of the head 27 ft., in a loamy soil, and a sheltered situation. In Ireland, at Terenure, near Dublin, 15 years planted, and 8 ft. high. In France, at Paris, in the Jardin des Plantes, 60 years planted, and $7 ft. high, the diameter of the head 40 ft.; at Scéaux, 10 years planted, and 20 ft. high; in the Botanic Garden at Toulon, 10 years planted, and 10 ft. high; at Nerrières, near Nantes, 15 ft. high. In Saxony, at Wörlitz, 45 years planted, and 25 ft. high; and the variety P. t. pentapbflin, 34 years planted, and 15 ft. high. In Austria, at Vienna, in the University Botanic Garden, is n high. In Bavaria, at Munich, in the Botanic Garden, 24 years planted, and 18 ft. high. Commercial Statistics. Plants, in London, cost 1s. 6d. each, and seeds Is. a packet; at Bollwyller, plants 15 francs a hundred; at New York, 25 cents each, and seeds 1 dollar a quart. App. i. Other ligneous Species of Ptèlea, hardy and half-hardy. P. monophylla Lam, has simple ovate lanceolate leaves, and grows to the height of 4 ft. in Caro lina; but, though hardy, it has not yet been introduced. P. pentandra Moc. is a native of Mexico, where it forms a shrub from 6 ft. to 10 ft. in height; P. podocarpa Dec. is a Mexican shrub of the same size; and P. ovata Lour. is a simple-leaved spe. cies, a native of Cochin-China. These, if introduced, would probably prove hardy or half-hardy. GENUS III. 1 AILA'NTUS Desf. THE AILANTO. Iin. Syst. Polygamia Monc'cia. Identification. Desf. Act. Acad. Par., 1786., p. 263.; Dec. Prod., 2 p. 88.; Don's Mill., 1. p. 807. Synonymes. Rhús Ehrh., Ellis, and Moench; Verne du Japon, Fr.; Götterbaum, Ger. Derivation. Ailanto is the name of Ailántus glandulosa Desf. in the Moluccas. It was long considered as a species of Rhús, whence the French name; and the meaning of the aboriginal word being, it is said, Tree of Heaven, hence the German name, Götterbaum, Tree of the Gods. 1. A. GLANDULO`SA Desf. The glandulous-leaved Ailanto. Identification. Desf. Act. Acad. Par., 1786, p. 263.; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 89.; Don's Mill., 1. p. 807. Synonymes. A. procèra Sal. Prod., p. 271.; Rhús hypselodendron Manch; R. cacodendron Ehrh.; R. sinense Ellis; Aylanthe glanduleux, Fr.; drüsiger Götterbaum, Ger. Engravings. L'Hérit. Stirp., t. 84.; Wats. Dend. Brit., t. 108.: N. Du Ham., 1. t. 35.; our fig. 159; and the plate of the tree in our Second Volume. Spec. Char., &c. Leaves impari-pinnate; the leaflets coarsely toothed at the base; the teeth glandulous on the under side. (Dec. Prod., i. p. 89.) A deciduous tree of the first rank, introduced from China in 1751, and growing to the height of 60 ft. or upwards. In some years, the tree is said to bear only male flowers; and L'Héritier states that only twice in 10 years it bore both male and female flowers at the same time in France. In his time, it had produced fruit in the Jardin des Plantes at Paris, and in the Botanic Garden at Leyden; but in both cases it was immature. It has since, however, produced perfect fruit, from which plants have been raised. It has also ripened fruit at White Knights in England. The flowers, which appear in August, are in large, upright, rather compact panicles, of a whitish green colour, and exhale a disagreeable odour. The fruit resembles the keys of the ash, but is smaller. The leaves are from 3 ft. to 6 ft. in length; those produced by vigorous suckers, in favourable situations, attaining the latter dimensions. The tree grows with great rapidity for the first 10 or 12 years, producing shoots from 3 ft. to 6 ft. in length at first, and attaining the height of 15 ft. or 20 ft. in 5 or 6 years in favourable situations. Afterwards its growth is much slower. The wood is of a fine grain; it has a satiny aspect, and is hard, and well fitted for the purposes of cabinet-making. The tree has a noble appearance when clothed with leaves; and its gigantic boughs and shoots, and its straight, erect, thick |