the Angelica tree: A genus of the pentagynia order, belonging to the pentandria clas of plants; and in the natural method ranking under the 46th order, Hederaceae. The essential characters are: The involucrum is an umbella; the calyx is quinque-dentated, and above the fruit; the corolla consists of five petals; and the berry has five seeds.

Species. There are five species of Aralia, all natives of the Indies. The principal are, 1. The nudicaulis, having a naked stalk. This grows three or four feet high; the leaves have two large trifoliate lobes, which are sawed on their edges. The flower-stalks arise between these, immediately from the root, and are terminated by round umbels of small four-leaved flowers of a whitish colour. The roots of this species were brought over from North America, and sold here for sarsaparilla, and it is still used as such by the inhabitants of Canada; though it is very different from the true root. 2. The spinosa, with a prickly stem, is a very ornamental shrub, and a native of Virginia. The height to which this tree will grow, if the soil and situation wholly agree with it, is about twelve feet; and the stem, which is of a dark brown colour, is defended by sharp spines, which fall off; even the leaves, which are branching, and composed of many wings, and are of a pleasant green colour, have these defenders, which are both crooked and strong, and stand as guards to them till the leaves fall off in the autumn. The flowers are produced in large umbels from the ends of the branches: They are of a greenish yellow colour; and their general characters indicate their structure. They make their appearance the end of July or beginning of August; but are not succeeded by ripe seeds in our gardens.

Propagation and culture of the spinosa. This tree will what gardeners call spawn; i.e., after digging among the roots, young plants will arise, the broken roots sending forth fresh stems; nay, if the roots are planted in a warm border, and shaded in hot weather, they will grow; but if they are planted in pots, and assisted by a moderate warmth of dung, or tanner's bark, they will be pretty sure of success; so that the propagation of this tree is very easy. But the general method of propagating it, and by which the best plants may be had, is from seeds, which must be procured from America, for they do not ripen in Britain; and, after having obtained them, they must be managed in the following manner: The time that we generally receive them is in the spring; so that against their coming we must be furnished with a sufficient number of large pots. These, when the seeds are come, must be filled with fine mould, which, if taken from a rich border, will do very well. The seeds must be sown in these pots as soon as possible after their arrival, hardly half an inch deep, and then the pots should be plunged in a warm place their whole depth in the soil. Care must be taken to break the mould in the pots, and water them as often as it has a tendency to crust over; and if they are shaded in hot weather, the plants will frequently come up the first summer. But as this does not often happen, if the young plants do not appear by midsummer, the pots should be taken and plunged in a shady place; nay, if they should, there will be still more occasion for this being done; for they will flourish after that better in the shade; and the design of plunging them in a warm place at first was only with a view of setting the powers of vegetation at work, that, having natural heat, artificial shade also may be given them, and water likewise, the three grand necessities for the purpose. The pots, whether the plants are come up in them or not, should be removed into shelter in October, either into a greenhouse, some room, or under an hotbed-frame; and in the spring, when all danger of frost is over, they should be plunged into the natural ground their own depth in a shady place. Those that were already come up will have shot strong by the autumn following; and if none of them have appeared, they will come up this spring; and whether they are young seedlings, or small plants of a former summer's growth, they must be constantly kept clean of weeds, and duly watered in the time of drought; and this care must be observed until the autumn. In October they must be again removed into shelter, either into a greenhouse, &c. as before, or fixed in a warm place, and hooped, that they may be covered with mats in frothy weather. In the latter end of March following, they should be planted in the nursery way, to gain strength before they are finally planted out. The ground for this purpose, besides the natural shelter, should have a reed-hedge, or something of the like nature, the more effectually to prevent the piercing winds from destroying the young plants. In this snug place the plants may be set in rows: in each of which rows furze-bushes should be stuck the whole length; and all these together will ensure their safety. But here one caution is to be observed; not to stick the furze too thick, but that the plants may enjoy the free air in mild weather, and not to take them away too early in the spring, lest, being kept warm the whole winter, and being deprived of their protection, a cutting frost should happen, as it sometimes does even in April, and destroy them. Weeding and watering in dry weather must be their summer's care. They may be stuck again with furze-bushes in the winter; though it will not be necessary. necessary to do it in so close a manner; and with this care, still diminishing in proportion the number of furze-bushes, they may continue for three or four years, when they may be planted out into the warmest parts of the plantation. With this management these plants will be insured to bear our winters in well-sheltered places.

The spines which grow on the branches and the leaves admonish us, for our own safety, not to plant this tree too near the sides of frequented walks; and the consideration of the nature of the tree, which is rather tender at the best, directs us (if we have a mind to retain the sort) to plant it in a warm and well-sheltered situation; where the piercing frosts, come from what point they will, will lose their edge; for without this, they will be too tender to stand the test of a severe winter; though it has often happened, that after the main stem of the plant has been destroyed, it has shot out again from the root, and the plant by that means been both increased and preserved.