CHAP. Cl.

tfLMA'CEJE. CE'LTJS.

1419

Synonymes. C. cordifulia L'llent. Hort. Par. j C. cordata Besfont., t. 2, p. 448., Bum. Cours. Bat.

Cult., 6. 389., Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836 j Hagberry or Hoop-ash, Amer .; Micocoulier a Feuilles en

Cceur, Fr.

Engravings . Michx. North Amer. Sylva, 3. t. 115. ; N. Du Ham., 2. t. 9.; and our Jig. 1254.

Spec. Char., Sc. Leaves with disks ovate-acuminate, 6 in. long, 3—4 in.broad ; heart-shaped, auricled and unequal at the base; serrated with un-equal teeth, rather leathery, rough on both surfaces. Flowers 1— 2upon the peduncle. Fruit black. ( Michx., Lam. Encycl., Willd., Pursh.)Indigenous to North America, in woods and near rivers in Virginia,Kentucky, and Tennessee; in which places it flowers in May. (Pursh.) Al-lied to C. occidentiilis. Young branches downy. Bark red brown. Leaves5 in. long, and more. Petioles slightly hairy, 3—6 lines long. Flowersmuch like those of C. australis, upon slender peduncles ; the peduncles ofthe fruit longer than the petioles. Fruit of the size of the bird cherry.( Lamarck, as quoted in Rccm. ct Schult. Syst. Veg., vi. p. 307.)

Description, Sc- This, according to Michaux, is a very distinct species; andit forms “ one of the finest trees which compose the dusky forests of the Ohio.”It sometimes grows to the height of more than 80 ft., but with a trunk of the verydisproportionate diameter of only 18 in. or 20 in.

“ The hackberry is distinguished by the form ofits trunk, which is straight, and undivided to agreat height; and by its bark, which is greyish, un-broken, and covered with asperities unequally dis-tributed over its surface. Its leaves are larger thanthose of any other species of nettle tree; beingGin. long, and 3in. or 4in. broad. They are oval-acuminate, denticulated, cordiform at the base, ofa thick substantial texture, and of a rough surface.

The flowers are small, white, and often united inpairs on a common peduncle. The fruit is round,about as large as a pea, and black at its maturity.”

(IV. Amer. Syl., iii. p. 48.) The hackberry is foundin the greatest abundance in the western states ofAmerica, and on the banks of rivers and in valleys,wherever the soil is fertile, in Kentucky andTennessee. The banks of the Delaware above Philadelphia may be con-sidered as its north-eastern boundary; and it has never been found inany of the more southern states. It was introduced into England in1812. It is principally considered, even in America, as an ornamental tree;and is well adapted for planting in situations where a screen or shadeis required, from the rapidity and luxuriance of its growth, and the largesize and thick texture of its leaves. The wood is of little value, from itsweakness, and its liability to decay when exposed to the weather. It is,however, “fine-grained and compact,^though not heavy; and, when freshlyexposed, it is quite white. Sawn in a direction parallel or oblique to itsconcentric circles, it exhibits the fine undulations that are observed in theelm and the locust.” (IV. Amer. Syl., iii. p. 48.) The sap-wood, Michauxadds, if laid open in spring, will change, in a few minutes, to green, from a purewhite. The only uses to which the wood is applied, in America, is forshingles, for the bottoms of chairs, and for baskets; for which it is admirablyadapted, from its lightness, facility to split, and elasticity. The plants of thiskind of 6’eltis, in the arboretum of Messrs. Loddiges (where it is named C.cordata), are quite small; and from their appearance we should judge it tobe only a variety of C. occidentalis, though, according to Michaux’s figure(of which Jig. 1254. is a reduced copy), the two sorts are very distinct.

Statistics. In Cheshire, at Eaton Hall, a tree, 13 years planted, is 15 ft. high. In Durham, atSouth End, 6 years planted, it is 11 ft. high. Near Dublin, at Terenure, 10 years planted, it is8 ft. high. In Austria, at Briick on theLe ytha, 12 years planted, it is 9 ft. high. In Lombardy,at Monza, 24 years planted, it is 35 ft. high j diameter of the trunk 7 in., and of the head 20 ft.