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SIJ0 i. 1. BtU IGtbrarg

Nortli (Carolina ^tat? Mmueraity

aK4B2

L89

THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE DATE
INDICATED BELOW AND IS SUB-
JECT TO AN OVERDUE FINE AS
POSTED AT THE CIRCULATION
DESK.

OCT 2 8 19b7
OCT 1 6 1994

A GUIDE to the TREES

UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME

A Guide to the Wild Flowers
By Alice Lounsberry and Mrs. Ellis Rowan

PLATE XXXV. RED MAPLE. Acer rub rw//. Frontispiece.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY.
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

A/GUIDE

TO THE

TREES

BY

ALICE LOUNSBERRY

Author of '■'■A Guide to the WiiJ Flowers "

WITH SIXTY-FOUR COLOURED AND ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-FOUR
BLACK-AND-WHITE PLATES AND FIFTY-FIVE DIAGRAMS

BY

MRS. ELLIS ROWAN

Illustrator of "^ Guide to the Wild Flowers "

"DGlitb an llntroOuction

BY

DR. N. L BRITTON

Enii'ritits Professor of Botany, Columbia University, Author of "An Illustrated
Flora," and Director-in-Chief of the New York Botanical Garden.

NEW YORK

FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY

PUBLISHERS

Copyright, 1900,
By Frederick A. Stokes Company

Contents.

PAGE.
V

Preface, ....♦••
List of Illustrations, ..... ix

List of Engravings of Entire Trees, . . . xv

Introduction by Dr. Britton, . . . xix

Illustrated Terms, ..... i

The Growth of the Trees, .... 19

Trees Preferring to Grow Near Water : in Swamps

AND BY Running Streams, . . . -37

Trees Preferring to Grow in Moist Soil: Lowlands

and Meadows, . • . • • .108

Trees Preferring to Grow in Rich Soil: Forests

AND Thickets, . . • • • ^5°

Trees Preferring to Grow in Sandy or Rocky

Soil: Hillsides and Barrens, . . • 233

Trees Preferring to Grow in Light or Dry Soil:

Upland Places, Meadows and Roadsides, . 263

Miscellaneous Index, . . • • -3°^

Index to English Names, . . . ■

Index to Latin Names, ....

Index to Technical Terms, . • qqoQO^"

3°3
308

Preface.

There is a solemnity, a repose about the great trees, and the
restless, ceaseless stirring of the small ones is full of mystery.
So self-evident are they, so close at hand that we almost find
ourselves in danger of becoming oblivious to their presence.
They never intrude upon the attention ; they rather pursue
indomitably their own way. As landmarks of history many
trees have been revered ; traditions and superstitions have
clustered about them while in mute eloquence they have
answered the people's expectations. In England, to-day, there
are oaks standing that knew the ground before its conquest by
the Romans. Nothing is grander than are trees. Nothing
gives of its best more freely to man. And to each one
there is an individuality which having once been observed
may be traced into the folk-lore of nations. But before the
trees can truly impress us, before we can appreciate them in
their fullest expression, we should know something of them
scientifically, — their manner of growth, their sources of life and
the often subtle differences which separate them into families
and genera and species. Later we may forget these things,
and regard them simply from the standpoint of their appear-
ance. To combine, therefore, a necessary amount of scientific
knowledge while not to lose sight of the character and recog-
nised place each tree holds in its great world has been an aim
in the writing of "A Guide to the Trees."

Nearly two hundred trees and some shrubs have been herein
included. Among them are all those prominent in North-
eastern America and a few distinctive and rare species from
the south and west. Several also that are not indigenous but
which have become identified with the tree-life of this country
have been presented. That their positions may, after a simple
means, be located in the book, they have primarily been classi-

vi PREFACE.

fied according to the soil in which they prefer to grow. This
is always a notable point, and it is mostly in cultivation that
we see them thriving under other conditions of soil than those
of their natural habitat. A river-loving tree is ever loath to
sacrifice its desire for moisture, and the ones from the dry hill-
tops are chary of venturing into the swamps. Trees that pre-
fer to grow near water are placed in the first section, then
follow those of moist soil, those of rich soil, those of sandy or
rocky soil and those of dry soil respectively. Within these five
sections the order in which they have been arranged has been
with a regard to the peculiarities of their leaves. The simplest
forms, those with entire edges, and which grow alternately on
the branches, are placed first, and through their variations such
leaves continue to follow until those with lobed edges are
reached. Simple, opposite leaves are next, and are arranged
in the same order, relating to the character of their margins.
Then following in the same way are compound, alternate leaves,
and finally compound, opposite leaves. Towards the end of
the sections will be found the coniferous trees.

The descriptions of the trees are headed by their common
name, or by several common names when they exist, and by
their scientific name. These latter are in accordance with
those sanctioned by Professor Sargent and Dr. Britton. So
that the eye can quickly find them are then set forth the
family, shape, height, range and time of bloom of the plants.
An analysis of their parts is given, in which the special features
of the bark, the leaves, the bloom and the fruit are mentioned.
Throughout the book no technical terms have been used that
are not explained in the chapter, " Illustrated Terms."

As the leading points of recognition in connection with the
trees have been thus concisely given, the privilege has been'
taken of admitting into the text any impressions or notes of
interest that the trees have themselves suggested.

In the chapter, " The Growth of the Trees," the story is
simply told of their development from the seed into a full-

PREFACE. vii

grown tree. To know something of their ways and struggle
for life cannot but add deeply to the interest they inspire.
Stress also has been laid on the blooming of the trees, for
although the advantages of a trained observation are being
more keenly realised, there are still many that are quite un-
conscious of the beauty and fineness of many of their flowers.
To see the hanging crimson bloom of the red maple is as
beautiful — although in a different way — as the unfolding of the
magnolias.

An advanced and exquisite feature of the book is its sixty-
four illustrations in colour. The originals were painted by
Mrs. Rowan with great spirit and accuracy. One hundred
pen-and-ink sketches form excellent studies and the many
small representations of trees are very attractive. No labour
has, in fact, been spared that the book may satisfactorily fill
the gap there seems to be for such an one.

It is with the greatest pleasure that mention is here made of
the encouragement that has been given to the writing of " A
Guide to the Trees." All that have known of its progress have
shown in it a kind interest. Especially is it desired to express
appreciation of the impetus given to the work by Mr. George
Vanderbilt, who has done much to further the valuable study
of forestry. From his herbarium fresh specimens were con-
tinually supplied to Mrs. Rowan and which for illustrating she
found of inestimable value. To Mr. Beadle, the botanist of
Biltmore, the most grateful thanks are due, for through his
collaboration many difificult tangles were pleasantly unravelled.
To devote his time to Mrs. Rowan and Miss Lounsberry, and
to give freely from his fund of accurate knowledge he was ever
ready during their stay at Biltmore. His assistants also were
most kind and helpful. Dr. Charles Mohr has contributed
information about the bald cypress, and in many ways Dr.
Britton's advice has been of importance.

Away to the trees then let us go.

For it matters not whether there's rain or snow

They wait for us.

List of Illustrations.

The mark *** which appears in the list designates the plates that are pro-
duced in colour. The number of the page given for each of these coloured
plates is that of the printed pags faced hy the coloured plate in each case.

PLATE.

I SEEDS AND EMBRYOS.

II. MAPLE PLANTLET.

III. SECTION OF WOOD. •

IV. PINE SEEDLING.

V. BUDS. • • • • - .

VI. OAK SEEDLING.

VII. GREAT-FLOWERED MAGNOLIA, Masnolia /(etida,
VIII. SMALL MAGNOLIA. Magnolia Virginiatia,

IX. SOUR GUM. Nyssa sylvatica, ^ .

X. WATER TUPELO. Nyssa biflora, .

XI. BLACK ALDER. Ilex verticillata, .

XII. WILD YELLOW PLUM. Prunus Americana,
XIII, BUTTON-WOOD. Platanus occidentalis, •/
XIV- RIVER BIRCH. Betula nigra, \/ .

XV. SMOOTH ALDER. Alnus rugosa, .

XV!. AMERICAN HORNBEAM. Carfinus Caroliniana,J

XVII. BLACK WILLOW, ^'j/?^ "'iT'". v

XVIII. WESTERN BLACK WILLOW. Salix aynygdaloides,

XIX. SHINING WILLOW. Salix lucida, .

XX. BEBB'S WILLOW. •^"'''^ Bebbiana,

XXI. SILKY WILLOW. Salix sericea,

XXII. WEEPING WILLOW. Salix Babylonica, J

XXIII. YELLOW WILLOW. Salix alba vitellina^y/

XXIV. BRITTLE WILLOW. Salix /rngilis.

• * *

* « •

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

y

J.

XXV. DOWNY POPLAR. Populus heterophylla, .

XXVI. BALM OF GILEAD. Populus candicam,

XXVII. COTTONWOODr Populus deltoides, »/ .
XXVIII. SWAMP WHITE OAK. Quercus plaianoides,

XXIX. WILLOW OAK. Quercus Phellos, .

XXX. LAUREL OAK. Quercus lauri/olia,

XXXI. COMMON FRINGE TREE. Chionanthus Virginica,

XXXII. SWEET VIBURNUM. Viburnuvi Lentago,

XXXIII. CRANBERRY TREE, t-'iburnum Opulus,

XXXIV. HOBBLE-BUSH. Vhburnum alni/olium,
XXXV. RED MAPLE. Acer rubrum,

XXXVI. SILVER MAPLE. Acer saccharinum,

XXXVII. POISON SUMAC. Rhus vernix,

XXXVIII. SWAMP HICKORY. Hicoria minima,

XXXIX. WATER HICKORY. Hicoria aquatica,

XL. ASH-LEAVED MAPLE. Acer Negundo.

XLI. BLACK ASH. Fraxinus nigra,

XLII. RED ASH. Fraxinus Pennsylvanica,

XLIII. GREEN ASH. Fraxinus lanceolaia,

XLIV. BALD CYPRUS. Taxodiutn distichutn, V

XLV. SOUTHERN WHITE CEDAR. Chamtpcyparis thyoide.

XLVI. ARBOR VITAE. Thuja occidenialis,

XLVII. AMERICAN LARCH. Larix laricina,

XLVIII. UMBRELLA-TREE. Magnolia tripetala, .

XLIX. NORTH AMERICAN PAPAW. Asiminn triloba, .

L JAMAICA CAPER TREE. Ca/paris /amaicensis,

LI. RED BUD. Cercis Canadensis.

Lll. FOUR-WINGED SNOWDROP TREE. Mohrodendron Carolinu

Llll. NARROW-LEAVED COTTONWOOD. Pof'ulus angusti/olia,

LIV. AMERICAN HOLLY. Ilex ofaca, ....

LV. THREE-FLOWERED THORN. CratcFgus triflora,

LVI. AMERICAN ELM. Ulmus Americana, '■' .

LVII. CORKY WHITE ELM, Ulmus racemosa, .

LVIII, SLIPPERY ELM. Ul»tus fulva, ....

* If n

* * *

84
Frontispiece.

98

102
106
109
no
no

112
114
116

*** 118
♦ * * 120

125

* * ♦

* * *
« * *

LlSr OF ILLUSTRATlOxVS.

XI

LIX. HACKBERRY. tV///j occidentalism .

LX. RED MULBERRY. -If^orus rubra, ^

LXI. WHITE MULBERRY. Morus alba, .

LXM. PAPER MULBERRY. B'oussonetia papyri/era,

LXIII. BURR OAK. Querent inacrocarpa, .

LXIV. PIN OAK. Quercus palustris, 1/ .

LXV. SWEET GUM, Liquidambar styraciflua, /

LXVI. CORAL SUMAC. R''"^ Metopium, .

LXVII. LOCUST. Robinia Xeo-Mexicana,

LXVIII. AMERICAN MOUNTAIN ASH. Sorbus Americana,

LXIX. BILTMORE ASH. Fraxinus Biltmoreana,

LXX. WESTERN BLADDER-NUT. Siaphylea Bolanderi,

LXXI. ELDER. Sumbucus Canadensis var. Mexicana,

LXXll. SWEET BUCKEYE. .-Esculus octandra, .

LXXXIII. OHIO BUCKEYE. --Esculus glabra,

LXXIV. CUCUMBER TREE. Magnolia acuminata, ~y .

LXXV. SMOOTH AZALEA. Azalea arbor escens, .

LXXVI AMERICAN LINDEN, l ilia Americana, .

LXXVII. WHITE BASSWOOD. '^'^''t heterophylla,

LXXVIII. WILD RED CHERRY Pmnus Pennsylvanica, .

LXXIX. AMERICAN CRAB-APPLE. Malus coronaria,

LXXX. NARROW-LEAVED CRAB-APPLE. Malus angusti/olia

LXXXI. CANADA PLUM. Prunus nigra, •.

LXXXII. WILD PLUM. Prunus subcordata, .

LXXXIII. HAWTHORN. Cratcpgus coccinea, .

LXXXIV. BLACK THORN. Crataegus tomentosa,

LXXXV. DOTTED-FRUITED THORN. Crat<tgus punctata.

LXXXVI. COCKSPUR THORN. Cratcegus Crus-Galli,

LXXXVII. SOUR-WOOD. Oxydendruin arboreiim, .

LXXXVIII. WITCH-HAZEL. Hamamelis Virginiana,

LXXXIX. AMERICAN CHESTNUT. Castanea dentata,

XC. CHINQUAPIN. Castanea pumila, .

XCI. AMERICAN BEECH. Fagus Americana, W

XCII. CANOE BIRCH. Betula papyri/tra.

Xll

LIST OF ILLUSl RATIONS.

XCIll. SWEET BIRCH. Betula lenta,
XCIV. YELLOW BIRCH. Betula iutea,

XCV. HAZEL-NUT. Corylus Americana, .

XCVI. HAZELNUT. Corylus rostrata,
XCVII. LARGE-TOOTHED ASPEN. Populus ^randiden

XCVIII. TULIP TREE. Liriodendron Ttiiipi/era, .\J

XCIX. WHITE OAK. Quercus alba, V .

C. RED OAK. Quercus rubra, . . . '

CI. FLOWERING DOGWOOD. Cornus florida, ^'

CM. ALTERNATE-LEAVED DOGWOOD. Cornus alterni/oli

cm. CATALPA. Catalj>a Cutalpa,

CIV. SUGAR MAPLE. ^<:^^ Saccharuvt, >/ .

CV. STRIPED MAPLE. ^'^^'' Pennsylvanicuni,

CVI. MOUNTAIN MAPLE. Acer spicatum,

evil. FALSE SYCAMORE. Acer Pseudo-Platunus,

CVIII. LOCUST TREE. Robinia Pseudacacia, \/,

CIX. CLAMMY LOCUST. Robinia viscosa,

ex. ROSE ACACIA. Robinia hispida, .

CXI. HONEY LOCUST. Gleditsia triancanthos, V

CXII. AMERICAN YELLOW-WOOD. Cladrastis lutea,

CXIII. KENTUCKY COFFEE-TREE. Gymnocladus dioica,

CXIV. BLACK WALNUT. Juglans nigra, 7

Q,Y.M. BUTTERNUT. Jnglans cinerea,

CXVI. MOCKER-NUT. Hicoria alba,

CXVII. SHAG-BARK HICKORY. Hicoria ovata, .

CXVMI. SMALL-FRUITED HICKORY, Hicoria nticrocarp,

CXIX. WHITE ASH. Fraxinus Ajnericana, ^ .

CXX. BLUE ASH. Fraxinus quadrangulata^ .

CXXI. WHITE PINE. Pinus Sirobus,

CXXII. HEMLOCK. Ts?(ga Canadensis, .

CXXm. BLACK SPRUCE. ^'(^^ Mariana, .

CXXIV. WHITE SPRUCE. ^'^^« Canadensis,

CXXV. BALSAM FIR Abies balsamea,

CXXVI. PERSIMMON. Diospyros Virginiana, ^.

178
180
182
184
185

* * * 186

* * * 188

X90

* * * 152

193

* * * 194

198
300

* * * 302

203

* * * S04

206

* * * 206

* * • 308

♦ ♦ *

♦ « *

if if Is

3IO

312

214

SIS

• ♦ ♦ S16

317
219
222
224

* * * 224

2^8

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

xui

CXXVIl. CALIFORNIA MAHOGANY. Rhus integri/olla,

CXXVIII. DWARF THORN. Craitpgus unijtora,

CXXIX. AMERICAN ASPEN. Populus tremuloides,

CXXX. LIVE OAK. Qitercus Virginiana, .

CXXXI. SPANISH OAK. Quercus digitata,

CXXXII. SCARLET OAK. Quercus coccinea, y^ .

CXXXIII. BLACK OAK. Quercus velutina, . ^,

CXXXIV. LABRADOR PINE. Pinus divaricata,

CXXXV. CANADIAN PINE. Pinus resinosa, .

CXXXVI. JERSEY PINE. Pi'ius Virginzana,

CXXXVII. LONG-LEAVED PINE. Pinus palustris, .

CXXXVIII. SHORT-LEAVED PINE. Pinus echinata, .

CXXXIX. PITCH PINE. Pi'iusrigida, .

CXL. RED SPRUCE. Pi<-ea rubens,

CXLl NORWAY SPRUCE. Picea. exceisa, .

CXLIl. SNOWBERRY. Symphoricarpos Symphoricarpos

CXLlll. SASSAFRAS. Sassafras Sassafras, ^ .

CXLIV. WILD BLACK CHERRY. Prunus serotina^

CXLV. APPLE, flatus Malus,

CXLVI. JUNE-BERRY. Amelanchier Canadensis,

CHOKE-CHERRY. Prunus Virginiana, . ^

CXLVII. PEACH. Arnygdahis Persica,

CXLVIII. SILVER-LEAF POPLAR. Populus alba,

CXLIX. LOMBARDY POPLAR. Populus ■dHzrtrtta, .\/

CL. AMERICAN WHITE BIRCH. Betula popuiifolia,

CLI. HOP-HORNBEAM. Ostrya Virgitiiana, .^

CLII. POST OAK. Quercus juun<»\ "'.

CLIll. BLACK-JACK. Quercus Marylandica, ^

CLIV. ROCK CHESTNUT OAK. Quercus Prinus, ^

CLV. CHESTNUT OAK. Quercus acuminata, .

CLVI. BLACK-HAW, Virburnum prunifolium, .

CLVII. STAGHORN SUMAC. Rhus hirta, .

CLVIII. SMOOTH UPLAND SUMAC. Rhus glabra,

CLIX. AILANTHUS. A ilanthus glandulosa, i^-

* * *

♦ ♦ *

* * ♦

* * *

* * *

'35
237
239
240
242
244
^44

247
250
252
252
254
257
2sg
261

* * * 362

364
aC6

* * * 366

* ♦ * 268
» * ♦

* * * 270

272
274

* * * 274

277
279
381

* * * 282

284

286

38S

» • ♦ 288

* * * 390

IV LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS,

CLX. PIG-NUT. Hicoria glabra, . .

CLXI. HORSE CHESTNUT, ^scuius Hippocastanum, ^

CLXII. HICKORY PINE. Pinus pungens, .

CLXIII. COMMON JUNIPER. Juniperus communis,

CLXIV. RED CEDAR. Juniperus Virginiana,

292
294
296

List of Engravings of Entire Trees.

GREAT-FLOWERED MAGNOLIA. Mngnolia fwtida,

SMALL MAGNOLIA. Magnolia Virghiiana,

WATER TUPELO, ^'yssa bijlorn, .

WILD YELLOW PLUM. Pru7tus A vuricana,

BUTTON-WOOD. Platantis occidentalism ^

WEEPING WILLOW. Salix Babylonica^ ."

DOWNY POPLAR. Popiilits heterophylln^

COMMOM FRINGE TREE. Chionatithiis \'irgiiiica,

RED MAPLE. Acer rubrum, v' .

SILVER MAPLE. Acer sacchiirinuin,^' .

POISON SUMAC. ^^''" I'ernijr, .

ASH-LEAVED MAPLE. Ac^-r JVegimdo, .

SOUTHERN WHITE CEDAR. Chauicecyparis thyoides

AMERICAN LARCH. I-'i'ix laricina,

FOUR-WINGED SNOWDROP TREE. Mohrodendron C

RED BUD. Cercis Canadensis,

AMERICAN HOLLY. Ilex oJ<aca, .

AMERICAN ELM. Ulmus Americana J ,

ENGLISH ELM. Ulmtis campestris,

RED MULBERRY. Moms rubra, .

WHITE MULBERRY. Morus alba,

BURR OAK. Querctis >nacrocar/>a,

PIN OAK. Qiiercus palustris,

BILTMORE ASH. Fraxinus Biltmoreana,

SWEET BUCKEYE. -Esciilus ociandra, .

CALIFORNIA BUCKEYE, -^senilis Cnli/ornica,

84
86
8S
92
103

1C5
114

"3
117
120
124
128
130
I. S3
134
142
M7
"49

xvi LIST OF ENGRAVINGS OF ENTIRE TREES.

AMERICAN LINDEN. Tilia Atnericcviia, .

DOTTED-FRUITED THORN. Crata-gus punctata,

COCKSPUR THORN, trata-gus Crus^rni/i\

TULIP TREE. Liriodendron Tii/i/i!/t;ra,

WHITE OAK. Quercus alba,

RED OAK. Quercus ruhya,

FLOWERING DOGWOOD. Cornus florida,

CATALPA. Catalpa Catalpa,

SUGAR MAPLE. A<:er Saccharutii,

STRIPED MAPLE. Acer PennsylTanicum,

MOUNTAIN MAPLE. Acer spicatuin,

FALSE SYCAMORE. Acer Fseudo-Flatanus,

LOCUST TREE. Robinia Pseudacncia,

HONEY LOCUST, Gleditsia triancanthos.

AMERICAN YELLOW-WOOD. Cladrastis lutea

KENTUCKY COFFEE-TREE. Gymnocladus dioica,

BLACK WALNUT, Juglans nigra,

WHITE ASH. yraximis Americana, ■' .

WHITE PINE. Pinus Strobus,

BALSAM FIR. Abies balsamea,

PERSIMMON. Diospyros Virginiana,

LIVE OAK. Quercus VirgiJiiana, .

SPANISH OAK, Quercus digitata,

CANADIAN PINE. Pinus resinosa,

LONG-LEAVED PINE. Pinus paiustris, .

PITCH PINE. Pinus rigida,

NORWAY SPRUCE. -^''^^^ exceha,

WILD BLACK CHERRY. Prunus scrotina,

JUNE-BERRY. Amelattchier Canadensis,

PEACH. Amygdalus Persica,

LOMBARDY POPLAR. Populus dilatata,

AMERICAN WHITE BIRCH. Betula populifoh

WEEPING BIRCH. Hetula pendula.

LIST OF ENGRAVINGS OF ENTIRE TREES.

POST OAK. Q'tercus MttKOr,
STAGHORN SUMAC. Rhus hirta,
AILANTHUS. A ilanthui glandulosa^
HORSE CHESTNUT. jEscttlus Hippocastanum,
RED CEDAR. Juniperus Virginiana

287
290

293
299

Introduction.

Trees are among the most familiar objects in Nature, and
among the most easily observed and studied ; yet how few
people know one from another or have an intelligent under-
standing of their life history ! Again, they are among the
most important, in their widely different fields of usefulness,
furnishing as they do, wood for building, tools, implements,
the manifold kinds of construction, and for fuel ; fruits, fibres,
resins, gums, drugs and a host of other useful products ; shade
and seclusion ; ornaments for our parks, lawns and highways,
while our forests, too long neglected, are coming to be recog-
nised, after years of education of the people, as having an all-
important relationship to the flow of streams by conserving the
rainfall and distributing it normally and gradually, thus natur-
ally regulating our water-supply. Anything that brings trees
more closely to our attention, and that makes us realise their
great importance is of distinct value as an educational agent.

The greater size of trees as compared with shrubs and herbs
tends to make them regarded by many as a group of objects
essentially different from other plants, so much so that we fre-
quently read statements concerning " Trees, shrubs and
plants." And yet a tree is not, except in size, so very different
in its essential structure from its humbler relatives of the
plant community ; it has roots, a stem, leaves, flowers, fruit
and seed, as they have ; the fact that all trees bear flowers of
one kind or another is perhaps not so generally appreciated as
its possession of the other parts mentioned, due, doubtless, to
the flowers of many of them being insignificant in size, unim-

XX INTRODUCTION.

'pressive in colour, and appearing so early in the season that
they are neither looked for nor noticed.

That trees have a very well-defined preference as to the
character of the soils in which they grow most readily and
healthily is a generalization that is unfamiliar to many, and
that their surroundings and kind of ©xposure affect their
growth to a large degree will also be a new idea to some.

All these lessons, and a great many more, will be found in
detail in the pages of this beautiful book, and they are taught
in l-anguage which will be readily intelligible to all, while the
concise descriptions of the different trees, and of their parts,
taken in connection with the profuse and excellent illustrations,
will make easy and attractive the identification of all kinds or-
dinarily met with in Eastern North America.

N. L. Britton.
New York Botanical Garden,
March 5, 1900.

Illustrated Terms.'

In the minds of those that have stepped for awhile out of the
routine of life and are walking abroad with nature, there seems
to lurk a resentment of all restraint. The freedom of the
atmosphere stirs in their nostrils. To have much to do with
botany and technical terms on such an occasion has especially
been supposed to blunt the keenness of one's pleasure. Whether
this be true or not is a matter for the individual to decide. It
must be granted, however, that there are certain terms that
we should all know, and which can in no way come between us
and a close friendship with nature ; they rather help us to ex-
press our thoughts of the vegetable world more clearly and to
have a better understanding of, and intimacy with, all that
grows.

The technical terms that are used throughout "A Guide to
the Trees " are simply defined in the present chapter. By refer-
ence to it, it is thought that even those most unskilled in the
study of plant life will be able to comprehend the analyses that
have been given of the trees and to become conversant with
the principal points to be noticed when identifying species.

Trees are the grandest members of the vegetable world.
They are distinguished from shrubs by their greater size and be-
cause they spring from the ground with a single, erect and
usually branching trunk.

Their organs of vegetation are the root, the trunk and
branches and the leaves.

Their organs of reproduction are the products of the flower:
the fruit and its seeds.

♦ When suitable for this chapter, the terms and illustrations have been repeated from
" A Guide to the Wilfl Flowers."

to. H. H^t-U UBRARY

North Carolina State College

2 ILLUSTRATED TERMS.

The Root is the simplest organ of the tree. Its function is
to absorb nourishment and moisture from the soil, and in it to
firmly anchor the tree.

Simple Primary Roots are those which grow singly from
the base of the seedling and form a main or tap root. They
then are either lost in their branches or they remain distinct
and send off side branches.

Multiple Primary Roots are so called because several, or
a cluster of roots, grow simultaneously from the base of the
seedling.

The Stems of trees are Arboreous — that is they differ from
those of other plants in forming a proper tree trunk.

The Exogenous Stem (outside-growing) is the one that
belongs to all northern trees and shrubs. In it the pith, or
cellular tissue of the centre is, in large trunks, usually insignif-
icant in quantity, and is surrounded by a zone of wood which
in its turn is encased in an outer bark. That the wood occurs
in a larger proportion than do its other parts, is often the only
difference in arrangement between the stem of a young tree
and that of an herb.

The Bark of a tree is divided into the inner and outer barks.

The Inner Bark is called the Liber or Fibrous Bark.

The Outer or Cellular Bark is divided into two layers: the
Green or Inner Layer and the Corky or Outer Layer.

Sap-Wood or Alburnum is the outermost layers of wood
through which the sap most freely flows.

Heart-Wood is the name given to the inner layers of wood.

The Endogenous Stem (inside-growing) has no distinct
arrangement of pith, wood and bark. Throughout its whole
interior the threads of wood are irregularly scattered.

Leaf-Buds are branches or leafy shoots not yet developed.
They may be either terminal or axillary.

Terminal Buds grow at the summit of the stem or
branches.

Axillary Buds grow in the axils of the leaves: they are

ILLUSTRATED TERMS. 3

also called Lateral Buds because they appear on the sides of
the stem or branches.

Naked Buds are those that are without coverings or scales.

Scaly Buds are protected by scales.

Latent Buds are those that commonly lie hidden and
dormant until some circumstance causes them to grow.

Adventitious Buds usually appear without any order and
-in unexpected places. In their development they often serve
to replace some part of the tree that has been injured.

Suckers are ascending branches which arise from subter-
raneous parts of the stem. Adventitious shoots are also some-
times called suckers.

Thorns are slender, sharp-pointed, modified branches which
are useful to protect a tree from the ravages of small animals.

Leaves are the digestive organs of a tree and assimilate the
sap that has been absorbed by the roots into material for sus-
taining and building up its tissues. They grow from leaf-buds
and may be regarded as appendages of the stem. The differ-
ent ways in which they are arranged upon the branches are: —

Alternate when they are borne singly at the nodes.
(Fig. I.)

Opposite when two grow at each node of the stem and have
its semi-circle between them. (Fig. 2.)

Whorled when they grow in a circle about the stem.
(Fig. 3.)

The PARTS OF A LEAF are its Blade, the broad or expanded
portion which is a fibrous network of veins supporting the
green pulp or soft cellular tissue ; the individual stalk upon
which the blade is raised, called the Petiole ; and the Stip-
ules, or a pair of usually flat bodies, often blade-like, at the
base of the petiole. (Fig. 4.) These latter are often inconspic-
uous or absent. All parts of the leaf are covered by a thin
and transparent epidermis.

The main branches of the leaf's framework are called the
Ribs or Veins : and the midrib or midvein is the middle one

ILLUSTRATED TERMS.

when it is longer and more prominent than the others. (Fig. 4.)
The numerous sub-divisions of the framework, Veinlets, and
the finest of these Veinulets.

In regard to their venation, leaves are divided into (i) those
that are Netted-Veined and (2) those that are Parallel-
Veined. This feature is invariably in accord with the shape

FIG. 3.

FIG. 5.

and character of the leaf and should therefore be most care-
fully observed.

I. Netted-Veined Leaves are those in which the veins
branch off from the midrib and again branch into veinlets that
run together and form a mesh or network. (Fig. it.)

Feather-Veined or Pinnately-Veined Leaves are
netted-veined leaves Avherein the veins, from the base to the

ILLUSTRATED TERMS.

apex of the leaf, all branch from the sides of the midrib.
(Fig. 12.)

Palmately-Veined Leaves have several veins of almost
equal size which branch from the same point at the base of the
blade and spread out at different angles towards the margin,
(Fig. 26.)

2. Parallel-Veined Leaves are those in which the main
veins run side by side without branching or running together,
unless it is by a few almost imperceptible cross-veinlets.
(Fig. 10.)

It is according therefore to the structure of their framework
that leaves assume their great variety of forms. The two
classes into which they are divided are: Simple Leaves and
Compound Leaves.

FIG. 6.

FIG. 7.

FIG. 8.

Simple Leaves are those wherein the blade is unbroken.

Compound Leaves are those that have the blade split into
separate parts: each part then forms a leaflet which may be
without, or have a little stalklet of its own.

When the leaflets in a compound leaf are at the side of the
blade, and arranged as in feather-veined or pinnately-veined
leaves they are said to be Pinnate. In this form they occur
as Abruptly Pinnate, when the stalk is terminated by a pair
of leaflets. (Fig. 5.) Odd-Pinnate, when an odd leaflet ter-
minates the stalk (Fig. 6.); and again in another form when the

6 ILLUSTRATED TERMS.

end leaflet is changed into a tendril, the purpose of which is
to help the plant in climbing, (Fig. 7.) as in many vines.

Palmately Compound Leaves have the leaflets arranged
as in a palmately-veined leaf. (Fig. 8.)

Leaves may be twice, thrice or more times compound.
(Fig. 9.) Their leaflets are subject to all the variations of
simple leaves.

The most common forms of leaves and leaflets are desig-
nated by the following terms: —

Linear: the narrowest form of a leaf, several times longer
than broad : grass-like. (Fig. 10.)

FIG. 9.

Lanceolate : long and narrow, slightly broader at or near
the base and tapering towards the apex. (Figs, i and 3.)

Oblanceolate : a reversed lanceolate.

Oblong : when two or three times longer than broad.
(Fig. 12.)

Elliptical : oblong and tapering at both ends. (Fig. 13.)

Oval : broadly-elliptical. (Fig. 14.)

Ovate : when the outline is similar to the long-section of
an egg; the broader end downward. (Fig. 15.)

Obovate : a reversed ovate.

ILLUSTRATED TERMS. 7

Spatulate : like a spatula, rounded at the apex and taper-
ing towards the base. (Fig. i6.)

Orbicular, nearly circular in outline.

Peltate or Shield-Shaped : orbicular, with the petiole
attached at or near the middle. (Fig. 17.)

Cordate or Heart-Shaped : ovate in outline, and having
sides that form a notch at the base. (Fig. 18.)

Obcordate : a reversed cordate.

FIG. 13.

FIG. 14.

FIG. 15.

FIG. 16.

Reniform or Kidney-Shaped : when the indentation is
deeper and the leaf more rounded than heart-shaped. (Fig. 19.)

Auriculate : when the sides of the leaf are prolonged at the
base into two ears or lobes. (Fig. 20.)

Sagittate or Arrow-Shaped : when pointed at the apex
and having the lobes at the base acute and pointed backward.
(Fig. 21.)

To describe the peculiarities of the margins of leaves such
terms are employed as : —

Entire : those leaves in which the margins form an un-
broken line, (Fig. 13.)

Undulate : when the margins are wavy. (Fig. 22.)

Crenate : when the margins have rounded teeth or appear
to be scalloped. (Fig. 12.)

8

ILLUSTRATED TERMS.

Serrate : when the margins have short, sharp teeth which
point forward. (Fig. ii.)

Incised : when the teeth of the margin are coarse and jagged
and extend quite far into the leaf. (Fig. 23.)

Lobed : when the incisions of the margin extend about half
way to the midrib and in which case the leaf is spoken of as
being three-lobed, five-lobed, or according to the number of
lobes that are formed. (Fig. 24.)

FIG. 17.

FIG. 18.

FIG. 19.

FIG. 20.

Cleft : when the incisions of the margin reach more than
half way to the midrib. (Fig. 25.)

Divided : when the incisions extend to the midrib.
(Fig. 26.)

The Sinuses of a leaf are the hollows, or curves that are
formed between the projecting teeth, or lobes.

According to the roughness or smoothness of their surfaces,
leaves, and in fact, any of the parts of a tree are said to be : —

Glabrous : when the surface is not provided with down, or
hairs.

Pubescent : when provided with fine hairs, or downy.

Tomentose : when covered with hairs that are matted and
woolly.

Glaucous : when the surface is covered with a powdery sub-
stance, waxy in nature, called a bloom.

ILLUSTRATED TERMS.

The Inflorescence is the manner in which the flowers are
arranged upon the stem. It may be either Determinate or
Indeterminate. When it is determinate the flowers have all
grown from terminal buds. An indeterminate inflorescence
expresses that they have grown from axillary or lateral buds.

A Pedicel is the individual stalk of a flower that is borne in
a cluster.

A Peduncle is the stalk of a solitary flower, or the common
stalk that bears a cluster.

Sessile is the term used when the leaves or flowers grow
closely to the stem or branch, and are without either pedicel
or peduncle.

FIG. 21.

FIG. 23.

FIG. 24.

When but one flower grows on the end of the stem or flower*
stalk, it is said to be Terminal, Solitary. (Fig. 43.)

It is Axillary when the flower, or flowers, grow from the
axils of the leaves; that is in the angle formed by the leaf, or
leaf-stalk, and the stem. (Fig. 27.)

A Raceme is a flower-cluster in which the flowers grow on
pedicels that are about equally long, and are arranged along the
sides of a common stalk. (Fig. 28.)

A Panicle is a compound raceme. (Fig. 29.)

A Thysus is a panicle when very compact, and oblong, or
pyramidal in shape. (Fig. 30.)

ILLUSTRATED TERMS.

A Spike is like a raceme, only the flowers are sessile,
(Fig. 31.)

A Catkin or Ament is a scaly sort of spike in which th-e
flowers are without petals. Staminate Catkin, (Fig. 32.) Pis-
tillate Catkin, (Fig. 33.)

A Head or Capitulum is a short, dense spike that is glob-
ular in form. (Fig. 34.)

FIG. 25.

FIG. 26.

FIG. 27.

FIG. 28.

A Corymb is like a raceme, but the lower pedicels are
elongated so that the flowers all reach about the same height.

(I^-iG. 35-)

An Umbel is like a corymb, only the pedicels branch from
the same central point, suggesting the ribs of an umbrella. It
may be simple or compound. (Fig. 36.)

A Cyme is a flat-topped flower-cluster, differing from an
umbel in that its innermost flowers are the first to open.
(Fig. 37.)

Bracts are the modified leaves of an inflorescence, or those
that are under a flower. Usually they are green and of differ-
ent size and shape than the rest of the foliage ; sometimes,
however, they are highly-coloured and petal-like.

Many trees bear both staminate and pistillate blossoms which
are often separate.

ILLUSTRATED TERMS.

A Staminate Flower is one that has stamens but no pistils.

A Pistillate Flower is one that has pistils but no stamens.

When both staminate and pistillate flowers are borne on the

same tree it is called Monoecious, in one household ; when

FIG. 29. FIG. 30. FIG. 31. FIG. 32.

they are borne on different trees they are spoken of as being
Dioecious, in two households.

Flowers that possess both of the essential organs of repro-
duction, the stamens and pistils, are Perfect Flowers. The
reverse are Imperfect Flowers.

FIG. 33. FIG. 34. FIG. 35.

Neutral Flowers have neither stamens nor pistils.
A Complete Flower is one that is provided with the essen-
tial organs of reproduction, the stamens and pistil ; and the

13

ILLUSTRATED TERMS.

protection organs, the calyx and corolla. (Fig. 38.) Incom
plete Flowers lack one of the four organs or more.

Regular Flowers are those that have the parts of each
set of organs alike in size and form. (Fig. 39.) Irregular
Flowers have the parts of one set of organs or more unlike in
size or shape. (Fig. 40.)

FIG. 36.

FIG. 37.

FIG. 38. FIG. 39.

The parts then of a complete flower are the calyx and corolla ;
the stamens and pistil.

The Calyx (Fig. 38) is the outer set of leaves at the base of
the flower which rests upon the receptacle or end of the flower-
stalk. The Sepals are the leaves of the calyx when it is
divided to the base, and in which case it is said to be Poly-
sepalous. When, however, the sepals are wholly or partly
grown together the calyx is Gamosepalous.

The Corolla is the inner and upper set of leaves. It is the
alluring part of the flower, and is supposed to attra<;t insects

ILLUSTRATED TERMS.

13

to its whereabouts that its pollen may be carried through their
agency. The Petals are the leaves of the corolla when it is
divided to its base. It is then said to be Polypetalous. The
corolla is Gamopetalous when the petals are wholly or partly
grown together.

The Calyx and Corolla are spoken of as parted when they
are divided nearly to the base. When they are divided about
to their middle, they are said to be cleft, or lobed. They are
toothed when the lobes are very small.

FIG. 40.

FIG. 41.

FIG. 42.

FIG. 43.

When the parts of the Calyx and Corolla are united, some
of the terms used to express their different forms are : —

Salver-Shaped : when the border is flat and spreads out at
right angles from the top of the tube. (Fig. 41.)

Wheel-Shaped : when the border spreads out at once from
a very short tube and suggests the diverging spokes of a wheel.
(Fig. 42.)

Campanulate, or Bell-Shaped: when the tube expands
towards the summit and has no border, or only a very short
one. (Fig. 43.)

Funnel-Form : when the tube is narrow below and grad-
ually spreads to a wide border. (Fig. 44.)

Tubular: when the tube is prolonged and does not widen
much towards the summit. (Fig. 45.)

Labiate : when there is an apparently two-lipped division
of the parts. In this form of corolla usually two petals grow

14

ILLUSTRATED TERMS.

together and make the upper lip ; the remaining three petals
join together and form the lower lip. These divisions appear
mostly as lobes, and it is not always noticed that the corolla
has five lobes instead of two. (Fig. 46.)

The preceding forms which have been cited are those that
belong to the gamopetalous division. The following terms are
peculiar to polypetalous corollas : —

FIG. 44.

FIG. 45. FIG. 46.

FIG. 47.

Rosaceous : when the petals are distinct and without claws,
as in the rose.

Papilionaceous, or Butterfly-Shaped. (Fig. 47.) Such
flowers are usually described in three parts: the Banner, or
Standard, which is the large upper petal ; the Wings, or the
two side petals, and the two anterior petals that, commonly
united in a shape something like the prow of a boat and en-
closing the reproducing organs, are called the Keel. (Fig. 48.)

The Stamens or Fertilizing Organs of a plant are com-
posed of two parts : the Filament, or stalk, which is useful to
uphold the Anther ; and the Anther, a tiny two-celled box,
which contains the Pollen. The Pollen is the yellow fertil-
izing dust which is the essential product of the stamens.
(Fig. 49.)

Exserted Stamens are those that protrude from the
corolla.

Included Stamens are those that are within the corolla.

ILLUSTRATED TERMS.

15

The Pistil or Seed-Bearing Organ is divided into three
parts : the Ovary, the Style and the Stigma. (Fig. 50.)

The Ovary is the lower, expanded part of the pistil which
contains the ovules, or undeveloped seeds. (Fig. 50.)

The Style is the slender stalk that usually surmounts the
ovary. (Fig. 50.)

The Stigma is the flat or variously formed body that termi-
nates the style. (Fig. 50.) Unlike the other organs of the
plant, it is not covered by a thin skin or epidermis. Its surface
is, therefore, moist and rough, so that it readily receives and
holds the pollen when it is deposited upon its surface.

~.rAMTner

FIG. 51. FIG. 52.

Each tiny pollen grain that alights upon the stigma sends
out from its under surface a minute tube which pierces down
through the style until it reaches an ovule below, which it
quickens into life. This is known as the process of Fertiliza-
tion. The ovules then develope into Seeds, and the ovary
enlarges into the Fruit or Seed Vessel.

Cross-Fertilization takes place when the pollen of one
flower is carried to the stigma of another by some extraneous
agency, such as the wind or animal life.

i6

ILLUSTRATED TERMS.

Self-Fertilization occurs when the stigma receives the
pollen from the stamens in the same flower-cup as itself. It is
not regarded as being as generally beneficial as when cross-
fertilization takes place ; and to prevent it, flowers are often
most ingeniously devised.

The arrangement of the fruit on the stem is naturally the
same as that of the flower, and to describe it the same terms
are used.

The fruit is in reality the ripened ovary which contains the
seeds.

Fleshy Fruits are those in which, as they grow, the ovary
becomes fleshy or pulpy. Berries are fleshy fruits.

FIG. 53. FIG. 54. FIG. 55.

A Pome is a fleshy fruit. In it the calyx-tube adheres to
the ovary and forms of the fruit the greater part. Both in
pears and apples, which serve for illustrations, the pods of the
core are the only parts of the original pistil.

Stone Fruits are those which are partly fleshy and partly
hard.

ILLUSTRATED TERMS. 17

A Drupe is a stone fruit ; such as a peach or cherry. In
ripening the outer part of the ovary becomes soft like a berry,
and the inner part hardens. This formation is the outcome of
a special construction of the pistil.

In Dry Fruits the seed vessel hardens, remains herbaceous,
or it is membranous in texture. The following are those that
are commonly found on trees : —

A Nut is a dry, usually one-seeded fruit. It is held by an
involucre of various forms ; such as a cup at the base of the
acorn and a burr around the chestnut.

A Samara or Key Fruit is one-seeded, and is furnished
with a membranous wing. (Figs. 51 and 52.)

A Capsule or Pod is a dry, many-seeded fruit, which bursts
open in one piece when ripe and scatters its seeds. (Fig. 53.)

A Legume is a simple pod which opens into two pieces.
The pea family bear legumes. (Fig. 54.)

A Strobile or Cone consists of a number of fiat bracts,
which grow closely and overlap each other forming a head or
spike and subtend pistils. (Fig. 55.)

Seeds are the ripened ovules which contain within them the
new plant, or the embryo.

They are composed, although found in many different forms,
of an outer and inner seed coat and the kernel or nucleus.

The outer coat is frequently hard and shell-like : the inner
one is membranous and delicate.

The Kernel or Nucleus is the part within the coats : the
embryo alone, or the embryo and the nourishing matter by
which it is surrounded. This latter is called Endosperm.

The Embryo is the germ, or the rudimentary plantlet
within the seed. (Plate I.)

The Hypocotyl is the stemlet of the embryo, and from the
base of which springs the young root. (Plate I.)

The Cotyledons or Seed Leaves are the first two leaves
of a plant, and are usually completely formed in the embryo.
(Plate I.) In accordance with the number of leaves that first

i8 ILLUSTRATED TERMS.

grow from the embryo plants are designated as being : Mono-
cotyledonous, when there is but one seed-leaf ; Dicotyle-
donous when there are two ; and Polycotyledonous when
there are many seed-leaves, as in the pine family. (Plate IV.)
The Plumule is the first little bud that appears at the sum-
mit of the hypocotyl and foretells the second growth of leaves.
(Plate I.)

The Growth of the Trees.

Between the little seed that drops into the ground and the
tall tree that springs from it, the difference is great ; and yet,
when we know well the seed and have examined its contents,
we find that the difference is more one of increased growth
than it is of any dissimilarity in character. Within the seed,
the tree, in miniature, already lives. As to all things, however,
we know there must be a beginning, and although, by simply
cutting open sideways the seed of a maple tree, we may with a
naked eye see the stem and first two leaves of the future tree
all snugly curled up in their seed coat ; with justice we ask
how they came to be there and after what manner do they pro-
ceed to grow.

It is then necessary for us to go still further back in the story
of the tree's growth and to turn our attention to the blossoms
of the preceding year. Here we shall find the organs of repro-
duction, the stamens and pistil ; and so small and hidden are
often these most essential parts that their doings can only be
successfully followed under a microscope. Carefully placed in
the ovary of the pistil is the ovule : the part that is eventually
to become the seed. Its nucleus appears to be a mass of pulpy,
tissue-like substance and it is enclosed in one or two coats.
It is here, within the nucleus that the embryo or seedling is
formed, while the coats develop into its seed coat. At the
apex of the ovule, it must be noticed, there is a little hole that
extends through the coats and which is called the orifice.

Shortly after the blossom has unfolded there appears in the
nucleus of the ovule, a small cavity. It is lined with a fine
membrane-like tissue, and soon forms a closed sac. At the
upper end of the sac and near the orifice is a tiny, round body.

20 THE GROWTH OF THE TREES.

something like the smallest bladder imaginable. The sac is the
embryo-sac and the small body or cell is the embryo in its
primary state.

Now although nature has provided that this little cell should
be present its future growth is dependent on whether or no the
stigma has received from a stamen the golden dust, or pollen.
In fact, it can never become other than what it originally is un-
less the process of fertilization has taken place. When this is
so, however, the tiny grain of powder that alights on the moist
surface of the stigma, sends forth from its under side a minute
tube. It pierces down through the stigma and style until it
reaches the orifice of the ovule, then it enters the embryo-sac
and finally touches and quickens the little cell into life. Within
this vitalized germ there are usually some tiny grains, a muci-
laginous liquid and a pulpy mass, or its nucleus. As we have
already seen they are all enclosed in a fine, membranous coat.
We have here then a typical cell, as it is generally called, and
one that is the ancestor of all the countless millions of similar
ones that combine to form the structure of a small plant or the
greatest tree. It is simply by the expansion and multiplication
of such cells that growth takes place.

After this first cell has enlarged to its limit, it forms a cross
partition which divides it into two cohering cells. Soon
another one forms a partition and divides into two more cells ;
and so they continue to increase and to form the hypocotyl of
the embryo. It is thus that, encased in its brown seed coat, the
miniature tree or embryo is formed and begins to grow. As it
does so it draws freely on the nourishing matter that in various
forms it finds close at hand.

Dame Nature never forgets, and so well equipped is the em-
bryo that when it touches the soil and begins to germinate, it
has but to continue the multiplication of its cells, or as more
generally expressed, to increase in cellular tissue ; to assume
the upright position of a tree and to bear its two first leaves
upward to the light and air. At the same time from the bottom

UNFOLDING
EMBRYO IN SEED COAT EMBRYO

WINOeOSEEO

PLUMULE, COTYLEDONS
HYPOCOTYL AND ROOTS

VNFOLDING PIANTLET 0'
HORSE CHESTNUT

PLATE I.

(21)

OERMINATINO PLANTLET
OP MAPLE

22 THE GROWTH OF THE TREES.

of its stem the root begins to grow and to take a firm hold on
the nourishing soil.

This rudimentary plantlet, as has been already said, can be
readily seen by cutting open the seeds of a maple tree, it being
one accessible to many, and the horse-chestnut seeds also show
it in another of its numerous forms. To see something of cell
formation, it is only necessary to magnify the young stem or
leaves of a plant, or better still the young root ends which,
being more transparent, are, for the purpose, admirable.

The growth of the tree, therefore, is in two directions. The
stem, or trunk, grows uprightly, elongates and sends forth
branches to uphold as large a surface of foliage as possible which
drinks in abundantly desired gases from the air and assimilates
also the nourishment the roots have absorbed from the soil.
The roots in another way seek to lengthen themselves in the
pliable soil and assiduously to avoid the light of day.

When the hypocotyl, or little stem of the embryo, has suffi-
ciently grown to bear above the two seed leaves, we notice that
it continues to elongate, and that between the cotyledons two
tiny buds, or the plumule, appear on this newly formed stem.
They foretell the second pair of leaves and we may regard
them as having been raised on the stem's second joint. In
shape they resemble more closely that of the regular foliage of
the tree than do the cotyledons which in outline are always
very simple. In some plantlets, even before germination, we
find between the cotyledons these little buds or forerunners of
the second pair of leaves. {Plate J.)

To elongate the stem, therefore, joint by joint, and to unfold
the leaves that it bears at the summit is the manner of upward
growth ; and it is by this untiring and unchanging repetition
of itself that the little plantlet becomes a tree.

The growth of the root is in a different way. At the begin-
ning, as we have seen, the root was a new growth from the base
of the hypocotyl ; and so throughout its entire course of ex-
istence, it is new growth that proceeds from the extremities.

PLATE 11. GERMINATING MAPLE.

(23)

24 THE GROWTH OF THE TREES.

This fresh, young growth pushes itself through the open soil
and freely imbibes nutrition until in its turn it becomes old
and stolid and only of use to produce new shoots. The old
roots remain firmly in the ground as they at first grew and do
not elongate themselves joint by joint as do the stems. This
arrangement is simply a very wise conformance to circum-
stances. With ease and freedom the branches and leaves can
move in the atmospheric air that enshrouds them ; but it
would sadly interfere with the tenacity of the roots' hold on
the soil to be continually changing their position.

As we shall, in this book, confine ourselves to the study of
trees and some shrubs, those that have exogenous stems, it
would perhaps be well for us to leave for awhile the little plant-
let in its upright position with its parts beginning to grow,
{^Plate II?) and to look further into the material of which it is
constructed. The soft tissue alone, while being sufficient for
mosses and the lower forms of plant-life, would be too yielding
to uphold the weight of foliage that is borne by a tree. At a
very early stage, therefore, in large embryos, sometimes even
while they are in their seed coat, we find traces of wood-fibre.
It occurs also in herbs only in a much smaller proportion than
in trees or shrubs. These wood cells, or wood fibre, which we
find in the wood that surrounds the central pith are very sim-
ilar in construction to those that form the soft tissue ; only
they soon lengthen and harden and thicken their walls. Their
tapering ends also usually overlap each other in a way that
gives to them additional strength. Again in the wood there
are ducts : cells which have grown large and long and join to-
gether so as to form channels, or tubes that run lengthwise
through the wood. They do not thicken their walls. Instead,
the so-called dotted ducts are variously marked, sometimes
with thin places, like dots and which become Jioles as they
grow older, while spiral or annual ducts are bound with spirally-
coiled fibres, or bands. From the ends of young shoots it is
often quite possible to uncoil this filmy thread and in doing so

Wood.

Inner bark. Outer bark.

I. Central pHh.

a . Med II II a ry shea th .

3. Wood.

4. Dotted ducts.

5. Cambiuin layer.

6. Sieve tubes.

7. Soft bast cells.

8. Hard bast cells.

9. Vessels.

10. Green inner layer.

11. Corky layer.

12. Epidermis.

(25)

D. H. HILL LIBRARY

North Carolina State College

26 THE GROWTH OF THE TREES.

it will be noticed how much it has strengthened the wall of the
cell. {Plate HI)

Running vertically throughout the wood there is also a set
of thin plates of cellular tissue. They are the medullary rays ;
and it is to them that is owing the beautiful silver grain in
many varieties of wood. The feature is one that is easily
noticed.

In the liber, the inner bark which covers the wood, the wood
cells grow longer and finer than they do in the wood proper.
They appear more like fibres and are extremely tough. Bast-
cells, or bast-fibres, are the names by which they are known.
{Plate III)

The outer bark is made up of soft cellular tissue. In its
green or inner layer the cells are soft and delicate and have
within them grains of green colouring matter similar to those
contained in the leaves. Early in the tree's growth its trunk
becomes covered with the outer, or corky layer, a substance
the same as our common cork. It is admirably adapted to pre-
vent the evaporation of the ascending fluids,and to it is due the
various colourings that we are familiar with in the twigs and
branches of different trees. This outer bark, it must be re-
membered, is finally covered with an epidermis which is also
a layer of cells. {Plate III)

Such is the order in which we should find arranged the stem
of a young exogenous tree in the first or second season of its
growth ; and it should now be of interest to us to see how it
increases year after year in diameter.

The age of a tree is approximately known by counting its con-
centric rings of wood ; as every year it generally forms only
one new layer of wood outside of the old one. The liber also
makes an annual growth, but inside of that of the year before,
and next to the surface of the new forming wood. These ad-
joining, parts of the stem are the only two that are annually
renewed. The process is most interesting. Between the wood
and the inner side of the liber there is a layer called the cam-

THE GROWTH OF THE TREES. 27

bium layer which unites the two. {Plate HI.) It is composed
of young and delicate cells. In the spring, a rich sap, some-
thing like mucilage in appearance, begins to flow freely and
to supply to them abundant nourishment. As they then begin
to increase in a manner that has been already mentioned, the
inner ones attach themselves to the wood, while the outer ones
are added to the liber ; and it is in this way that the two an-
nual layers which really renew the life of the trunk are formed.

With the bark it is different : the green layer seldom increases
much after the first year of its growth ; and although the
corky layer often makes from year to year new growth inside
of the old, after a time it all dies. It has to contend with the
roughness of the elements, and it is especially hurt by being
stretched beyond its endurance by the growing wood and liber
within. Finally it cracks apart and the rift is patched by the
formation of new corky layers. As the outer bark vanishes,
the enlarged sheath of bark is thus torn and patched each suc-
ceeding year. The outer and older layers of the much mended
garment of the tree are constantly falling off and decaying. In
old trees the cambium layer and the cells recently formed from
it only are alive. Furthermore it is only in the younger wood
that sap ascends. As the wood in each annual ring grows
older the walls of its cells harden and thicken, and it is no
longer regarded as a living part of the tree. It is the heart-
wood and, owing to its dryness and hardness, is chosen in
preference to the living sap-wood for timber. In different
species of trees a colouring matter peculiar to each is deposited
in the cells of the heart-wood and it is therefore of various
shades. Black in ebony may be cited as an example.

As we have now thought somewhat about the growth of the
tree in height and in diameter, we may begin to concern our-
selves about its branching ; for we shall have little to do with
simple-stemmed plants, or those which are known as monocoty-
ledonous, their embryos having but one seed leaf. Our path
leads us rather among dicotyledonous trees, which are so called

28 THE GROWTH OF THE TREES.

from the fact of their having two cotyledons in the embryo,
and among those that have more than two, which is a peculiar-
ity of the pine family. {Plate IV.)

We can hardly fail to notice when looking at a young plant-
let with what perfect symmetry its leaves are arranged on the
stem, and as it continues to grow much of this same order is
maintained even should it be become the largest tree. It is
not strange then that branches show much of this same sym-
metry of arrangement ; for they follow precisely in the wake of
the leaves. Early in the summer, in the axils of the leaves and
at their upper sides, we see that buds begin to appear. They
are axillary buds, and are the progenitors of branches. When
they begin to grow they pursue the same course of develop-
ment as did the first stem which sprang from the embryo with
the little buds between the cotyledons. In the same way they
grow, joint upon joint ; each one elongating and throwing out
leaves at its summit. Other buds are formed in the angles of
their leaves and they also become leaf-bearing branches ; and
so is this simple process repeated while the structure of the
tree is building. The only difference between the growth of a
branch and that of a germinating plantlet is that th*". branch is
embedded in the larger stem and draws from it its sustenance,
while the young stem had to forage for itself and strike out
roots into the ground. It sometimes happens that buds begin
to grow shortly after they first appear, and again they lie dor-
mant and hidden until the spring of the next year.

Little in the life of the tree is more interesting than the ten-
der care Nature bestows on these young offsprings. Her wis-
dom is very great ; for should the delicate buds be ruthlessly
exposed to sudden changes of temperature, or to intense cold,
they would assuredly perish, and the next season no branches
would be forthcoming. The button-wood and locusts illustrate
to us one unique way of guarding leaf-buds from all harm.
Apparently the base of the leaf-stalk is swollen ; but when
it is detached from the stem and examined, it is found to be

PLATE IV. GERMINATING PINE.
(29)

30 THE GROWTH OF THE TREES.

hollow on the inside in the shape of a tiny candle ex-
tinguisher; and this is so, simply because it is planned to fit
snugly over the leaf-bud that within it lies concealed. {Plate
F.) Other buds are large and scaly : they are the ones most
general in northern climates. Those of the horse-chestnut
tree are very handsome. {Plate V.) Their scales are large
and leaf-like, and so enwrapped about the tender parts within
as to effectually protect them from violent changes of temper-
ature. To further abet them in this object they are lined with
a soft wool, and on the outside are often covered with a sub-
stance similar to varnish. It is quite impregnable to damp-
ness. To open one of these strong buds seems almost like
prying into futurity; for there in miniature are to be found
several pairs of leaves, and even the buds of the blossoms.

Trees that are not subject to branching, or those of the
monocotyledonous division of endogens, rely for their growth
on terminal buds. Although branches are borne by the spruces,
still their terminal buds are also splendid examples of those
that, unless unfortunately destroyed, prolong the main stem
throughout the tree's whole course of existence. They ever
remain distinct from the branches that proceed from them, and
never lose their own identity.

There are trees, however, that bear both terminal and axil-
lary buds : the maples and horse-chestnuts are common exam-
ples. (Plate V.) In such cases the terminal buds perform the
same elongation of the branch as they do in single-stemmed
trees, and the axillary buds are also true to their purpose of
producing new branches. Usually the terminal buds of these
trees are the most vigourous, and next to them the upper axillary
buds have the greatest strength. Should, however, misfortune
overtake any of these stronger buds, the opportunity would be
quickly seized by some weaker one to appropriate its nourish-
ment and to grow. In fact, latent buds lie dormant and some-
times concealed under the bark for years, and patiently await
just some such chance to begin their work. Their mission is

Hidden buds of
button-ivood.

Ttrminal and axil-
lary buds 0/ maple.

Scaly bud 0/
horsechestnut.

PLATE V.

(31)

32 THE GROWTH OF THE TREES.

rather noble. It is to quietly see their stronger rivals flourish
until death overtakes them, and then to step calmly in and fill
for them their places.

The existence of a young bud, however, is a precarious one.
It has many difficulties with which to contend. Often the
want of nourishment or light stunts its development ; insects
devour it, or a belated frost nips it in its early youth. The race
is truly one of the survival of the fittest. And how great is the
wisdom of this plan, is readily seen, for should every leaf-bud
be allowed to grow, there would be as many branches the next
year as there were leaves the one preceding ; and this would
of course overburden the tree. Much of the perfect symmetry
with which leaves are arranged is therefore lost in the branches.
Within the tree, also, there is an instinct of self-preservation
which prompts it to produce buds on the wood wherever it has
been injured. They are the adventitious buds, and eventually
develop into the little lawless twigs which we so commonly
see on many trees ; the poplars and willows especially.

When a tree makes what is called a definite annual growth,
the young shoots of the season burst boldly forth from the
buds, in which, it must be remembered, their parts are already
formed, and within a few weeks, or perhaps days, attain their
whole growth for that year. They then bestir themselves to
form and ripen their buds for the next season's similar and
rapid growth. Other forms of trees make an indefinite annual
growth. Throughout the summer their stems grow without
ceasing, until touched perhaps by an early autumn frost. They
take no time to form and ripen a terminal bud, and their upper
axillary ones are produced so late in the season that they can-
not properly mature. The growth of the next year, therefore,
is mostly dependent on lower axillary buds which are better
equipped. No main stem could possibly be continued in this way,
and soon the trunk is broken up into branches, which in the
same way divide and sub-divide into innumerable other branches
and branchlets. The trunk of the American elm serves as a

THE GROWTH OF THE TREES. ^s

good example of this system ; and, in fact, all the rounded and
spreading tops of trees are the outcome of this mode of growth.

Following these general principles and with many variations
in details, trees grow from their seeds and throw out from leaf-
buds their branches. It is only by a close observation of them
that we can begin to appreciate the fineness of their organism.
They leave nothing to chance. Even in the seed we have seen
something of their careful advance preparation, and also how
when overtaken by it they are equally able to meet misfortune.
It is to this wonderful readiness that we owe the sudden and
luxurious burst of foliage in the spring. The buds that have
been nurtured throughout the winter then await only the soft,
warm touch of spring to open and lengthen their joints, that the
unfolding leaves may be sufficiently separated from each other.
Very little, if any, of the earliest vegetation comes directly from
the seed.

Trees are so often regarded simply as masses of foliage that
much of the beauty and fragrance of their blossoms is lost by
the unobservLng. In the earlv spring many of them are laden
with exquisite flowers, and all of the trees bloom. Their flowers
grow from buds ; and buds that appear at the same places as do
leaf-buds. They are always either terminal or axillary, and
never occur where a branch might riot have occurred. Scientists
tell us that the flower is nothing more than a suddenly arrested
branch which the plant, to fulfil certain purposes, has so
transformed.

When the flower-bud unfolds, its axis does not lengthen as
does that of the branch ; but it remains almost as short as
when in the bud. The leaves then, transformed into sepals
and petals, remain closely together, and either are spirally ar-
ranged after the manner of leaves, or they alternate in whorls.
The stamens of a flower are generally regarded as modified
leaves ; and a simple pistil is plainly a leaf with its margins so
folded together as to form an enclosure, or the cavity of the
ovary. The apex is extended into the style, while the edges of

34 THE GROWTH OF THE TREES.

the leaf that remain outward form the stigma. That the
flower is a charming device for the purpose of producing fruit
and seeds, we know well ; and even though it may not always
be beautiful there is usually attached to it some peculiar interest.

While the tree is making this visible growth above ground,
we must not forget that under the soil its roots are busy branch-
ing and extending themselves that they may hold firmly the
tree in its upright position, and drain from the soil more nour-
ishment to supply its increased growth. The simple root that
first grows downward from the end of the embryo remains, in
many instances, for a long time the main root, {Plate VI.) and
from it sends off side branches ; more often, however, it soon
divides up into branches that in their turn again branch. As
has been mentioned, it is the fresh young roots that absorb the
nourishment from the soil. To aid them in so doing their sur-
faces are sometimes closely covered with root hairs. These
are simply elongations of the surface, or cells that are pro-
jected, and their thin coverings allow them greedily to imbibe
moisture into their tube-like interiors. It is from these well-
supplied young roots that the sap is drawn up to feed the
leaves and growing parts of the tree.

This upward rise of the sap from the roots to the leaves is a
subject of much interest. It takes place principally through
the wood cells. And yet each one of these cells is a closed and
separate cavity; they in no way open into each other as is gen-
erally supposed. By what means, then, we may ask, does the
sap pass through them. It is possible for it to do so because,
although there are no holes in the young cells, there are thin
places in their thick walls ; and the passage through is further
facilitated by the thin place in one cell connecting with the thin
place in the wall of the adjoining cell. That the leaves are
able to draw the contents of these cells up to them from the
roots, while seemingly most wonderful is by a natural law.

We find that, whenever two fluids of different degrees of dens-
ity are separated from each other by a membranous partition,

PLATE VI. GERMINATING OAK, SHOWING MAIN ROOT.
(35)

S6 THE GROWTH OF THE TREES.

the heavier fluid will attract to itself the lighter one until
they both become of the same degree of density. In the cells
of the young roots there is living organic matter, mucilage and
protoplasm, and the fluid is naturally denser than the liquid
they attract from the soil. The flow is, therefore, necessarily
into them. The leaves, however, throw off into the air as
vapours a vast amount of the water they contain ; especially is
this demand made in dry weather. In fact, they exhale more
freely than any other part of the tree. The organic matter
which then remains in them is, as will be readily seen, more
dense than that of the stalks which have not given out their
moisture so freely. The leaves, therefore, call on the stalks for
an upward flow of the contents of their cells. In the same way
the stalks call on the stems, and so on is the demand made
until the watery fluid of the root-ends is reached and drawn up-
ward to the leaves, or buds or any growing part of the tree.

After the sap has been assimilated by these parts growth
begins, and in their own mysterious way they shape themselves.
Later the sap flows downward through the cambium layer, and
is again sent to parts where the tree needs it most.

The assimilation of the crude sap is done in the green part
of the tree, and only is it accomplished when the brightest day-
light or the rays of the sun are shining upon them. New tissue
is then building, while useless matter is ejected. The tran-
spiratory organs of the leaves, innumerable minute openings
called stomata, are on their under surfaces. They open and
close. Then, too, the carbonic acid gas and water that the
tree has absorbed from the earth and air are digested and
given out abundantly as oxygen gas. This is finally the grand
purpose of the vegetable world ; to convert inorganic matter
into that which is organic, or to produce the food that is nec-
essary for all animal life.

PLATE VII. GREAT- FLOWERED MAGNOLIA. Mai^moli^i fa'tida.

COPrniGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY.
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

Trees Preferring to Grow Near Water:
in Swamps and by Running Streams.

Obscurity can never hang over tJic sivamps nor can the trail of
a stream be Jiiddcn ; for guarding their borders are the trees,
heavily laden perhaps witJi the moisture they have imbibed
from the near boater. They ceaselessly stir in the breezes and
throw into the air their life-giving vapours and sweetness.
Under their shade the luild, vagrant flowers live and die.
They gild the stream's borders zvithgold and line the swamps
zvith crimson. When dimness touches them, the trees bestir
themselves to carry the flower s seeds aivay, or they toss them
in the water which floats them to another shore.

Do the trees know the floivcrs will come again ; a?td does
hope still zvhisper to them when their oivn leaves have fallen
and the mirthful water is frozen to stillness ?

QREAT-FLOWERED flAQNOLIA. BULL BAY. (Plate VII.)

JSIagnblia fatida.

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE,

TIME OF BLOOM

I\Iagnolici.

Roiot d- topped.

60-80 /f^/.

North Carolina south-
ward and '.uestward.

April, June.
A tigust, nortJiward.

Lower bark: brownish grey, with appressed scales about one inch in
length. Branches: lighter in colour, thin, smooth. Leaves: simple; alter-
nate; entire; with stout petioles; ovate, five to eight inches long and two to
three inches broad; evergreen ; thick ; bright green above and shiny. The winter
buds and petioles covered on the under side with a rusty looking tomentum.
Flowers : cream-white ; very fragrant ; seven, eight or twelve inches in di-
ameter; solitary and terminal at the ends of the branches. Sepals: petal-like.
Petals : six, nine or twelve ; oval ; concave. Base of the receptacle and lower
parts of the filaments bright purple. Fruit: large; ovate; rusty brown;
pubescent; of many pods. Seeds: flattened on one side; slightly triangular ;
when released from the pods they hang by threads.

When this tree, so severe and simple in the outline of its

38

TREES GROWING NEAR WATER.

Magnblia /ietida .

shining foliage, throws out its blos-
soms, it appears almost as though a
great flock of something white and
unearthly had alighted among its
branches. And as they lean upon
the warm, sunny air they exhale a per-
fume that is no less mystifying. At
least, some lasting impression must
cling to those that see it in bloom
for the first time. To others, how-
ever, that have from childhood walked
in the southern streets and gardens
shaded by these trees, it is simply said :
" the magnolias are in bloom." It quite
suffices. Undoubtedly the tree is the
most beautiful and ornamental one of America and it is to be
regretted that while evergreen in the south it is only precari-
ously hardy as far northward as Philadelphia. It then blooms
as late in the season as early August. As it leaves the coast
and travels inland, it seeks for its home the seclusion of the
forests instead of the banks of rivers and swamps. On the
bluffs of the Mississippi it is also found in a state of splendid
development.

Rose-beetles seek the flowers just as they are beginning to
open and are frequeatly held prisoners beneath the three inner
petals which vault over the stigmas. Here they find, in the
early days of spring, a warm and fragrant shelter, and the
honey that lies on the stigmas provides for them a continuous
feast. When the sepals and petals fall they fly away, laden
with pollen in search of another abode ; and so they regularly
accomplish the fertilization of the tree. Self-fertilization is
prevented from the fact that the stigmas mature before the
anthers.

The wood of the great-flowered magnolia is more valuable
than that of any other one of the genus. It is of a strong and

PLATE VIM. SMALL MAGNOLIA. J A? i,--;/ <'//</ l'/rir'//uiJi.i.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, By FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING NEAR WATER. 39

fibrous nature. Although it is mostly used for fuel it is quite
worthy of a place in cabinet work. As is true of all the
magnolias, the juice of the tree is intensely bitter and aromatic.
It has been used as a tonic.

It is interesting to reflect that the beautiful Council-tree at
Charleston, South Carolina, was a magnolia. According to
tradition it was under its shade that on the twenty-first of
April, 1780, General Lincoln held a council with his officers
and many citizens of Cliarleston as to the advisability of
retreating before the British. The decision was in the nega-
tive and three weeks later the city was surrendered. Until
1849 ^'^^ magnolia was held in especial veneration by the
inhabitants of Charleston. At that time its branches spread
themselves over a space of more than two hundred square
feet. It had then unfortunately passed into the possession of
one who, being devoid of all sentiment, ruthlessly chopped it
down for fire-wood.

SMALL MAGNOLIA. SWEET BAY. LAUREL HAQ-
NOLIA. SWAflP SASSAFRAS. {Plate VIII.)

Magnblia Virgi7tiaiia.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Magnolia. Slender. ^o-yo/eei. Eastern Mass. southward to May-August.

Florida, westiuard to Texas.

Bark: light brown or greyish, covered with thin appressed scales. Bnuich-
lets: bright green the first year, becoming reddish brown with age. Leaves:
simple; alternate; entire; obovate ; pointed, with distinct midrib; thick;
(lark green above and shiny, downy and whitish underneath. FloTvers : white;
fragrant; two to three inches in diameter; solitary and terminal at the ends of
the branches. Calyx : of three sepals on the receptacle. Corolla : broader
than high; of six to nine rounded petals. Stamens: numerous. Pistils:
numerous; arranged in the shape of a cone. Fruit : cone-like ; red, each pod
with one or two scarlet seeds.

It is only in the north that this exquisite tree is reduced to
the condition of a shrub of from about four to twenty feet
high. Its bloom, however, is quite as waxen and fragrant as
when borne on the more stately tree of the south. Another

40

TREES GROWING NEAR WATER.

Magnblia Virginiana.

difference which is owing to their lo-
cality is that in the north as soon
as the leaves are touched by the
early frost of November they fall to
the ground, while in the south they
remain on the tree to welcome the new
and unsophisticated ones of the next
year. Magnolia Virginiana is one of the
very lovely features of the deep New
Jersey swamps. Its wood is soft and of
no great value, although throughout the
southern states it is sometimes used for
the making of small wooden utensils
and broom handles.

SOUR GUM. BLACK GUM. TUPELO. PEPPERRIDGE.

{Plate IX.)
Nyssa sylvdtica.

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

TIME OF BLOOM

Dogwood.

Branches^ horizontal.

30-50 y><?/.

Southern Maine to
Mich igan ami south-
ward to Florida.

April-June.

Bark : grey ; rough ; much broken in small pieces. Leaves : simple ; alter-
nate ; entire ; with short petioles which are downy when young ; ellipti-
cal ; dark green above, lighter below ; thick ; the midrib slightly pubescent
when young. Floivers : greenish; clustered at the end of an axillary pedun-
cle. Staminate flowers : small; numerous. Pistillate flowers : from three to
fourteen and larger. Fruit: dark blue or nearly black; about one half an
inch long and enclosing an ovoid and slightly ridged stone ; acrid to the taste
until touched by the frost.

Although the sour gum tree is of frequent occurrence in the
north, it seems to be much better known and loved throughout
the south. It is there incidental in many amusing stories and
anecdotes. In the north the tree is frequently mistaken
for a beech as their spray and foliage are somewhat similar.
Quite as early as August its leaves begin to turn a brilliant
crimson which almost rivals that of the scarlet maple. The
negroes of the south regard the tree with very tender affection

Staminatefloiuer. Fruit.

PLATE IX. SOUR GUM. Nyssa sylvatica.
(40

42

TREES GROWING NEAR WATER.

and that the opossums climb it in search of its fruit is not
unknown to them.

De possum thought he kno' de world

And he climb de old gum tree ;
He neber saw what I can do

When my surest gun's with me.

In connection with the old plantation days of the south a
story is told of the gum tree. Its wood is very hard and does
not split readily, and it was therefore thought desirable on
Christmas day to use one of its largest trunks as the back log
of a great fire that was kindled on the hearth. As long as it
burned no work was required to be done on the plantation.
The negroes knew this custom and as soon as the sap had
ceased to flow downward in the autumn they would cut a tree
and sink it in the river bed. There it peacefully remained and
absorbed water ; and they forgot its existence until shortly
before Christmas. With much trepidation it was then taken
up and presented as the one chosen to be the back log. In its
saturated condition it naturally burned, when once ignited by
the immense heat of the fire, for a long time. It sometimes
smouldered for weeks ; and we may imagine with what innocent
wonder it was watched by those enjoyin-g the holiday.

In Virginia the light yellow wood of the gum tree is used in

ship building ; but as a rule it is
not adapted to purposes where long
lengths are needed. It is admirable
for the making of pulleys and the
hubs of wheels.

Nyssa bijlhra, or water tupelo,
{Plate X.) is a very similar tree to
the preceding species and was for-
merly regarded as a mere variety.
Its foliage and fruit are smaller and
the stone that the drupe encloses is
Nyssa bijibra. flattened and much more ridged than

A

Pistil! a te flower. Fr- it it.

PLATE X. WATER TUPELO. Nyssa biflora.
(43)

44 TREES GROWING NEAR WATER.

that of Nyssa sylvatica. Both are picturesque trees, especially
in the autumn when their brilliant foliage blazes from the river's
bank and they are hung with their dark blue fruit.

BLACK ALDER. VIRGINIA WINTERBERRY. {Plate XI.)

Ilex verticillata.

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

TIME OF BLOOM

Holly.

Bushy, spreading.

d-i^/eet.

Nova Scotia^ ivest^uard,
and to Florida.

May, June.
Fruit: Sept., Oct.

A tall shrub. Branchlets : greyish, glabrous or pubescent. Leaves: about
two inches long ; simple ; alternate ; with short petioles ; obovate or broadly
lanceolate; usually pointed at both ends ; coarsely serrate; dark green above
and glabrous ; paler below and pubescent; thick, not very shiny. Flowers:
white; six to eight parted; clustered thickly in the axils. Drupes: brilliant red
and appearing verticillate in manner of growth.

In what is called the dreary season of the year, long after
the time when its leaves have turned black and fallen, there is
something particularly enchanting about this coarse shrub.
Standing out ainid the misty greyness that prevails and against
perhaps the rich brown glow of some distant wood its lively
coloured berries give a touch of hopefulness to the landscape.
In fact the brightness of the twigs of various shrubs adds gleams
of colour to a winter scene that are not dreamt of by the un-
observing.

In early summer its blossoms shine clear and bright, but they
are modest, retiring little things and do not claim the same
attention as do the berries. They unfold with those of the
common elder, its relative the withe-rod or viburum nudum and
the lovely small magnolia. By them the swamps and low
grounds are made gay.

WILD YELLOW PLUM. WILD RED PLUM.

CANADA PLUM. {Plate XII.)

Primus Americana.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Plum. Slender, spreading. 8-35 /<r#^. Canada southward to April, May,

Florida and westward Fruit: Aug.,-Oci.
to Colorado.

Bark: bronze-green; smooth; thick. Branches: thorny. Leaves: simple;
alternate ; with smooth, reddish petioles ; oval or obovate, with pointed

PLATE XI. BLACK ALDER. I l,x v,rlicillata.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK *. STOKES COMPANY
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

Section of flower. Fruit, laid open.

PLATE XII. WILD YELLOW PLUM. Primus Americana.

(45)

46

TREES GROWING NEAR WATER.

apex and pointed or rounded base ; thin ; netted-veined; sharply and doubly or
singly serrate ; pubescent beneath in the angles of ribs and becoming smooth
at maturity. Flmvcrs : white ; growing in umbel-lilie clusters from separate
lateral buds and usually preceding the leaves. Fruit : a dull orange or crim-
son drupe; round and containing a flattened stone with sharply winged edges ;
glabrous; edible with a pleasant flavour. The skin acrid and tough.

As the specific name of this tree im-
plies it is a native of America. In its
wild state it grows along the borders of
streams and sometimes seeks the shelter
of a light strip of woodland. Occasion-
ally it is planted ; but it is much better to
use it as a stock upon which to graft some
one of the domestic species of plums. For
this purpose its hardiness and other good
qualities make it suitable and many excellent
results have thus been obtained. The chief
charm of the tree is the colour of its ripe fruit. There is an
almost transparent brightness about it which in effect is most
artistic. At the season of its ripening housewives were for-
merly very much on the alert when they sought the fruit and
made it into preserves.

Priinus A mericana.

CHOKE CHERRY. {Plate CXLVI)
Primus Virginiaiia.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Plum, Bushy^ spreading. ^-i^/eet. Ne7v England southward April., May.

to Georgia and -westzvard Fruit: July., Aug.
to Colorado.

Bark: dark grey. Leaves: simple; alternate; oval; pointed; finely and
sharply serrate ; thin. Flowers: white; growing compactly in a short, close
raceme. Calyx : tubular; bell-shaped ; five-lobed. Corolla : with five very small
petals, i'/ffwtv/j ; numerous. Pistil : ont. Fruit: A bright red cherry which
turns later to dark crimson. The stone and kernel are flavoured with and
contain prussic acid.

By the side of the streams and rivers and often along road-
sides and thickets from April until late in August the attention
of the passer by is caught by either the bloom or the fruit of the
choke-cherry. It is always a shrub, and has a sprightly, re-
freshing aspect. Little birds are seen alighting, for a moment,

r LH 1 C A i

Bu TTkjiN vvi^iju I uliiuiir'' Ot t l(itll/ilti,^

COPYBIGHT, 1900, Br FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANy
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING NEAR WATER. 47

on its branches and then darting in and out as though en-
couraging it not to lose a gleam of sunshine or the softest mur-
mur from the stream. The long, cylindrical bunches of fleecy
blossoms are very pretty, but they quite pale before the exqui-
site fruit which shows many shades of colour before settling
down to the dark crimson or, rarely, yellow of ripeness. It pro-
vides, in fact, a much better feast for the eye than it does for
the palate, and although the experience of tasting is not harmful,
it is one that is not apt to be soon repeated.

BUTTON-WOOD. PLANE=TREE. BUTTON-BALL TREE.

{Plate XIII)
Plat anus occt'dentdlls.

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

TIME OF BLOOM

Plane-tree.

Wi

ide sfireaiiingy

eo-igo/Vf/,

Southern .Maine south-

May.

broad.

or hightr.

ward and westward.

Outer bark : dark brown; thin; peeling off freel}' and showing the silver white
and polished inner barU ; often presenting a mottled appearance. Leaf-buds :
axillary and concealed throughout the summer and winter under the hollow
base of the leaf petioles and being thus protected until the next spring. Stipnles:
like sheaths. Leaves : simple ; alternate; with downy petioles; orbicular, with
taper-pointed apex and squared or cordate base. The edge coarsely toothed or
often three to five-lobed ; the sinuses between them rounded. The leaves and
petioles become smooth at maturity. Flowers : small, in round heads; monoe-
cious. Fruit: growing closely in solitary round balls which hang from the ends
of lony wiry |ieduncles. They become dry and remain on the branches until
well on into the winter, or until their seeds are scattered by the wind.

About this striking tree there is an almost matchless dignity,
and its bearing, so different from that of any other, has caused
it to be very generally known. On all sides we hear it said,
"that is a sycamore." Unfortunately this name is, although in
error, most commonly used. We should, however, accustom
ourselves to calling it by another of its English names. The
tree at times grows to a height unrivalled by any of the
Northeastern American forests, and it lives to be very old. An
unusual feature about it is the way in which the outer bark
peels off as the season advances and displays the polished
inner bark. As it then raises these white almost spotless
branches upward, it seems as though the tree in mute elo-

48

TREES GROWING NEAR WATER.

quence proclaims that it
has suffered all things. It
has braved the fierceness
of tempests and watched
the struggling of many
generations. But it is not
dismayed ; and when, espe-
cially in the moonlight, its
shimmering branches are
seen towering above other
things they testify that it
has triumphed. It is most
pathetic to see the tree
"^ when it has at last suc-
cumbed and is about to die.
Stripped of its foliage and
its swinging balls of fruit,
it appears a gaunt figure
upon the landscape.
The wood is reddish brown
and has a most beautiful grain. It is used for the interior
finish of houses although it is quite prone to crack. The
beautiful tree is also largely made into tobacco boxes.

Ficus Sycomorus, sycamore, the tree to which the name is prop-
erly applied, is a native of Egypt and Syria. It is of medium
size, very bushy and is closely allied to the fig tree. Its fruit
is much eaten, and at one time its wood was used for the coffins
of mummies.

Platdniis occidentalis.

RIVER BIRCH. RED BIRCH. {Plate XIV.)

FAMILY
Birch.

SHAPE
Slender., drooping.

Bitula nigra.

HEIGHT RANGE

2o-6o/eei. Mass. southward and
7uestward to Minn.

TIME OF BLOOM
April., May.

Bark: reddish brown; dotted and peeling, not as the white birches but
becoming loose and lianging in thin light brown sheets. Leaves : simple; alter-
nate ; often two together; with short and pnbescent petioles; ovate, fre-

Staminate
/lowering branch

Scale of cone.

PLATE XIV. RIVER BIRCH. Betula nigra.
(49)

50

TREES GROWING NEAR W ATER.

quently pointed at both ends ; unequally and rather doubly serrate with
entire base ; green above, whitish and pubescent underneath. Flowers: grow-
ing in long, downy catkins. Fruit : very small; broadly-winged ; pubescent at
the base.

Not until it reaches the lower part of New York is this birch
very commonly seen, and from there it travels southward as
though in search of a still warmer climate. None other of the
birches is found in the south, and therefore it seems strange
that this one should reach its best development south of Balti-
more. The tree is very graceful, and when seen along the
banks of rivers and lakes its drooping branches appear as
though they were longing to stretch down and drink of the cool
water. They sometimes hang nearly to the ground. In the
autumn its foliage turns a bright yellow. This is the birch
from the twigs of which are made brooms.

SPECKLED ALDER. HOARY ALDER.

Alnus incdna.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Birch. Bushy^ spreading. %-20/eet. Pennsylvania northward. Afril.

Bark : green ; shiny. Twigs : glabrous. Leaves : simple ; alternate ; with
short petioles ; broadly ovate, pointed at the apex and squared or rounded
at the base; irregularly and finely serrate or sometimes coarsely toothed;
the veins brownish and prominent on the under side ; pale dull green above,
whitish and very downy below ; with age becoming smoother. Flowers : reddish
brown ; growing in catkins from naked buds and appearing some time before
the leaves. Staminate catkins about three inches long ; pistillate ones thick
and shorter. Nut: orbicular.

How eager the alders are to greet the spring. It seems as
though they could hardly wait for the winter to be gone.
When there is not a flower astir and the air is still full of the
scent of dried leaves, they and the white maples begin to bloom.
A point of interest about their pretty catkins is that while they
are formed one summer they do not develop until the next
season. Throughout the winter they have remained naked on
the trees. In earliest spring therefore they are quite ready
with their seeds and toss them about in the spirit of unconcern

Flowering branch.

PLATE XV. SMOOTH ALDER. Ahius rugosa.
(50

52 TREES GROWING NEAR WATER.

and lavishness which it sometimes pleases Nature to display.
They are then picked up by the wind or carried along with the
stream until they find some fitting niche to rest in, and to grow.
The quaint little cones are often seen in the autumn hanging
on the branches together with the young catkins. Although
usually a shrub, the speckled alder sometimes becomes a small
tree.

A. rugbsa, smooth alder, [Plate XV.) is also a shrub or small
tree which ranges in height from five to twenty-five or forty feet
high. That its obovate leaves are green and rather smooth
on both sides will serve as a means to distinguish it from Alnus
incana. Its young twigs are also slightly pubescent. Its fa-
vorite home is along the borders of streams where it forms
close thickets. It is found also on moist hillsides.

AHERICAN HORNBEAH. WATER BEECH. BLUE

BEECH. IRONWOOD. {Plate XVI.)

Carpmiis CaroHntana.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Birch. Head open: 10-40 yivi', New Brunswick to Aprils May.

branches spreading, higher southward. Minnesota^ south- Fruit: Aug., Sept.

ward to Florida
and Texas.

Tricnk ?Ln6. branches : ridged. Bark: smooth; greyish black, and irregularly
and vertically lined with stripes of dull grey. Branchlets : slender ; when
young, brownish jjurple, terminating in green-bronze ; those that are older, with
an ashy hue. Leaves: simple; alternate; with short, slender petioles;
ovate-lanceolate, or oblong, with pointed apex and rounded or slightly cordate
base; sharply and unevenly serrate ; ribs straight ; pubescent; especially so in
their angles; above smooth. Fruit : growing in a green, elongated, drooping
cluster. The small nuts growing singly at the base of two opposite, halberd-
shaped, three-lobed bracts.

This enchanting little tree or shrub is sometimes found grow-
ing in a one-sided fashion which allows its branches to droop
over a stream. As they do so the flower or fruit clusters hang
at right angles to the boughs ; so they are thrown into prom-
inence and give a light effect to the foliage. The bracts of the
clusters are much more strongly tinted with yellow than are the
dark green leaves. A young spray of the tree is very beauti-

^

Nuts and bracts.

PLATE XVi. AMERICAN HORNBEAM. Carpiniis Caroliniana.
(53)

54 TREES GROWING NEAR \VATER.

ful, and we may fancy it would make a bewitching decoration
for the white, fleecy gown of some woodland fairy.

The tree is slow of growth, and as the name ironwood implies,
its wood is very strong and compact. It is well adapted to the
making of farming implements, such as the teeth in rakes and
other similar articles where durability is required.

BLACK WILLOW. {Plate XVII.)
Sdlix nigra.

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

TfME OF BLOOM

Willow.

Head o/>eft, irregular;

branches^ stout,

upright.

15-35 /<?'''•

New Brunswick south-
ward attd westward to
California.

April, May.

Bark: Blackish or light brown ; rough; flaky. ^;-rt«i;/^^j; yellowish brown;
slender; brittle at the base. Stipules: inclined to vary. Leaves: simple;
alternate ; about two inches long, with short petioles ; narrowly lanceolate,
pointed at both ends or wedge-shaped at the base ; finely and sharply serrate
or entire ; pubescent, and later becoming smooth excepting along the midrib ;
the under side paler than the light green upper surface. Flowers : growing in
catkins and terminal at the end of the season's branches. Staminate ones with
from three to five stamens. Pistillate ones scaly.

A particular charm and freshness seems to cluster around the
willows ; and although about one hundred and sixty species of
them are recognised by botanists, there runs so strong a
family resemblance through them all that it would be difficult
to confuse any one of them with another genus. By their gen-
eral aspect and leaves many of the species can be known.
The study of the differences in their flowers is one that requires
minute observation and carefulness. Although each one of the
willows has its own habitat, the greater number of them are
fond of water and seek the river's edge. Here they have their
own work to do in holding the soil together and often forming
strong breastworks against the wind. They abundantly scatter
their seeds, and detached twigs and branches strike root with
great facility. In low places and the adjoining meadows their
trail can often be followed by numerous ones that have sprung
up and whose ancestors live on the river's bank. Salix nigra,
however, is seldom found growing away from water. Its wood

Ripe atid unripe fist ilia te powers. Sia mens.

PLATE XVII. BLACK WILLOW. Salix mgra.
(55)

Pistil.

TREES GROWING NEAR WATER. 57

The accompanying illustration shows the beauty of the pistillate
catkins at maturity. The stalks of their capsules have length-
ened, and they are bursting that the cotton-tufted seeds may
escape.

SHINING WILLOW. AMERICAN BAY WILLOW.
GLOSSY BROAD=LEAVED WILLOW. {Plate XIX)

Salix Uccida.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Willo'iV. Regular, bushy; I'l-io/eet, Nciv E>igla7id to N. J . and April, May .

branches, erect. Kentucky and tvestward.

Bark : dark brown ; smootli, or slightly scaly. Braiichlets : yellowish or
green; smooth ; polished. Leaf-buds t yellowish ; ovate ; smooth. Stipules:
mostly persistent; small; oblong or cordate; falling late in the season.
Leaves: simple ; alternate; with short, stout petioles, at most, half an inch
long; elliptical or lanceolate, with sharp-pointed apex and narrowed or slightly
rounded base ; finely and sharply serrate ; dark green above, lighter below ;
smooth; shiny on both sides; the midrib whitish and distinct. Catkins :
short, with leafy bracts and terminating a sparingly leafy branch. Slatitinate
ones : fluffy, with five or more stamens in each flower. Pistillate ones : long ;
dense.

We have no more beautiful willow shrub than Salix lucida.
It is a native species. In the swamps or along the borders of
streams it appears to attract and hold the sunshine which makes
a gay shimmering upon its glossy leaves.

About the catkins of the willows, — they are borne on different
plants ; and in the springtime we see many sorts of insects
darting in and out among them. They are busy seeking honey
and also performing the service of cross-fertilization. That so
many flowers grow in one inflorescence is a fact which must
always appeal to the sagacious insect. From twenty-five to
one hundred pods have been counted in a willow catkin. He
can therefore suck the honey and carry off the pollen with
much greater rapidity than he can when flowers are borne
singly. To save time, it must be remembered, is a most impor-
tant matter, for the more flowers that can be fertilized the
better it is for the tree. When the pollen is ripe it should then
be carried to another flower, otherwise it is liable to be injured

Staminatt branch.

Pistil. Stamens.

PLATE XIX. SHINING WILLOW. Salix hicida.
(58)

TREES GROWING NEAR WATER. 59

by rains or in many other ways. The fertile catkins can be
easily distinguished. They are generally the short, green ones
that develop soon after the sterile ones have been stripped of
their golden pollen.

The seeds of the willowsare very small. Amid the tufts of
cotton-like hairs vi^hich surround them at the base it is almost
with difficulty that they are detected. When the pods open
their beaks to release them, the slightest breeze is able to carry
them aloft, and the air is often apparently filled with their lint.
Of the millions that are tossed about very few germinate and
become shrubs of trees. Nature is far seeing and, knowing the
many imminent perils of their existence, strews with a lavish
hand.

BEBB'S WILLOW. LONG-BEAKED WILLOW. OCHRE-
FLOWERED WILLOW. {Plate XX.)
Salix Bebbtana.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Willow. Bushy; bratuhes, 4-18 or 2s/eet. Hudson Bay to Ne-M Jersey, April, May.
erect. 7tort/i2varci and westward.

Bark: dark green or reddish. Branches: yellowish. Twigs: reddish
brown ; pubescent when young. Stipules: semi-cordate. Leaves: simjile ;
alternate; elliptical or oblong-lanceolate, tapering into a point or blunt at
the apex and rounded or wedge-shaped at the base. Edge : variable ; remotely
toothed ; wavy ; serrate or entire. Dull olive-green and smooth above, pale
bluish green and covered with silky hairs underneath, becoming glabrous ; thin.
FUnoers : growing in sessile catkins and appearing with the leaves. Statninate
catkins: long; obovate ; pale yellow at maturity. Pistillate catkins: rather
short and with flowers growing loosely in them.

In earliest spring, almost as soon as the sap has begun to
flow under the bark of this willow, its catkins hasten to
develop and glisten in contrast to the bareness of the earth.
The leaves do not fully unfold until some time later. Although
the flowers in these strange little catkins have no beautifully-
coloured envelopes, the rich yellow anthers of the staminate
blossoms can hardly fail to attract the attention. Thousands
of bees are seen buzzing about them. This species is one that
is a native of America, and it occurs either as a shrub or as a

Staniinati branch.

Stamens. Pistil.

PLATE XX. BEBB'S WILLOW. Salix Bebbiana.
(60)

PLATE XXI. SILKY WILLOW. Salix sericea.
(6i)

62 TREES GROWING NEAR WATER.

small tree. It establishes itself along the borders of woods and
often in dry soil as well as remains faithfully by the side of
streams.

SILKY WILLOW. {Plate XXI)

Salix sericea.

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

TIME OF BLOOM

Willow.

Bushy, irregular.

5-12 yVf/.

Maine sout/tiuard to
Virginia.

May.

Tivigs : reddish purple ; slender. Stipules : narrow ; deciduous. Leaves :
simple ; alternate, with petioles three to four inches long ; lanceolate, with
taper-pointed apex and pointed or rounded base ; serrate ; extremely soft and
silky when young. As the leaves dry they turn dark brown or black. Flow-
ers: growing in long sessile catkins with leafy bracts at their bases.

Surely there is an inspiration to be found in the willow
shrubs as they unfold the earliest signs of spring. About them
there is a golden halo as soon as the sap begins to flow. The
little buds expand so radiantly, and the shy catkins peep out
and grow longer with every touch of warm, sunny air. There
is something so fresh and lively about them. They are eager
to cast off every sign of deadness. Along the streams and by
the borders of swamps the silky willow seems to cling with a
tender affection. The shrub is a native of America.

WEEPING WILLOW. RING WILLOW. {Plate XX TI.)

Salix Babyldnica.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

IVillow. Branches, pendulous. -^o-bo/eef. In cultivation. April, May.

Bark : grey; rough. Twigs : greenish; long; drooping ; supple; bitter to the
taste. Leaves: simple; alternate; linear-lanceolate; pointed at both ends;
sharply serrate all around ; when young slightly pubescent on the under side.
Flowers : dioecious; growing in long, loose catkins with entire scales and ter-
minal at the end of short, leafy and lateral branches.

When the spring winds skimmer gaily

Along the mirthful stream,
Then the stately, reverend willow

Wears a gown of tender green.

PLATE XXII. WEEPING WILLOW. Salix Balylonica.
(63)

64

TREES GROWING NEAR WATER.

And throughout the happy summer

It breathes as oft before —
For its heart is grave and solemn —

The sweetest tales of yore.

'Till in tune with winter's sorrow

It moans a plaintive cry,
And its boughs are bent with weeping

That calms the passer-by.

There is, perhaps, no other tree about which more sentiment
clusters than the weeping willow. It
is not like a flower that remains on the
earth only long enough to accomplish its
purpose of reproduction ; it lives to cast
its shade upon many generations. When
it has attained a great age and grown to a
large size there is a gravity about it
which is most impressive. The idea of
its weeping and its specific name have,
it is said, been suggested by the lamen-
tation of the Hebrews in Psalm cxxxvii,
although Populus Euphratica is also be-
lieved to be the Garab-tree of the Arabs,
and the weeping willow of the Psalmist,

" By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remem-
bered Zion.

We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof."

Thoreau, however, who is always cheerful, says of the tree :
" It may droop — it is so lithe and supple — but it never weeps.
It droops not to represent David's tears, but rather to snatch
the crown from Alexander's head."

The story of its introduction into Europe and America from
the Orient is an interesting one. Shortly after Alexander Pope
had built his villa at Twickenham on the Thames, he received
from a friend in Smyrna a drum of figs. Within it there also
was a small twig which excited the poet's curiosity. He stuck

Siilix BabyUnica.

TREES GROWING NEAR WATER. 65

it in the ground by the river's bank. It rooted, and soon grew
to be the delight of Pope and his friends. Were it still stand-
ing it would be regarded with peculiar interest ; for it was the
ancestor of all those that have since lived in Europe and Amer-
ica. In 1775 a young British officer who went to Boston took
with him, carefully wrapped in oiled silk, a twig from Pope's
willow. His expectations of settling peacefully in the new
world were not as speedily fulfilled as he had anticipated, and
so he presented the twig to Mr. Custis, the step-son of General
Washington, who planted it near his home at Abingdon, Vir-
ginia. There it took kindly to the soil and grew vigourously.
It was a child of Pope's willow, and the first one to strike
root in America. Later, in 1790, General Gates took a twig
from the tree and planted it at the entrance to the farm he
had bought on Manhattan Island. It also grew to a consider-
able size, and for many years was familiarly known as Gates'
weeping willow. The entrance to the farm where it stood is
now Third avenue and Twenty-second street.

It is believed that the staminate trees have never been intro-
duced into this country, and the willow is, therefore, not able
to reproduce itself by seed. The twigs of S. Babylonica have
been used as divining rods, and Herodotus mentions that the
Scythians found them excellent for this purpose.

■5". Babylonica annularis, hoop willow, is known by the pecu-
liarity of its leaves. They curve and recurve into rings.

WHITE WILLOW. HUNTINGTON WILLOW.

Salix alba.

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

TIME OF BLOOM

WiUoiu.

Thick set, branches,
ascending.

50-90 _/>c/.

Introduced, New York
and Penn.

April, May.

Bark: grey; rough. T%uigs: olive-green, not yellowish; brittle. Stipules:
lanceolate ; deciduous. Leaves : simple ; alternate ; with very short peti-
oles ; lanceolate to linear, tapering at both ends ; sharply serrate ; pubescent on
both surfaces, the lower one retaining its white, velvety hairs even when ma-
ture. Catkins : growing at the end of the season's short, leafy shoots.

Although generally familiar and common throughout a con-

66 TREES GROWING NEAR WATER.

siderable part of the country, S. alba is one of the introduced
willows that have escaped from cultivation. Its growth is free
and rapid ; as though it were quite independent of all care
and attention. Of the species there are several varieties, and it
is not always a simple matter to tell them from each other.
The fact that its own twigs are not yellowish will serve in one
instance to distinguish it from S. alba viteltina, yellow willow, or
golden osier.

6". dlba carhlea has olive coloured twigs, and its leaves are of
a bluish green hue.

S. dlba arge'ntea, as the name implies, has foliage that is very
silvery. This is a particularly beautiful feature of the tree, and
when a strong breeze is seen playing through it the under sur-
faces of the leaves appear like flashes of light through the
green.

YELLOW WILLOW. GOLDEN OSIER. {Plate XXIII)
Salix dlba vitelllna.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE . TIME OF BLOOM

Willow. Erects thick; spreading ^o-^o/eet. Introduced, general May.

broadly. in U. S.

_ Tivigs: yellowish green or reddish; smooth; brittle at the base. Leaves:
simple ; alternate ; lanceolate ; pointed at both ends ; when very young often
blunt or rounded at the apex; sharply serrate; pubescent, the silky white hairs
appearing on the upper surface of the leaf as well as underneath. This is es-
pecially so when young. Catkins : \o\\g\ slender.

Early in the spring especially, a golden glow from this wil-
low appears to lighten the whole of its surrounding atmos-
phere. It is a tree very common in America, perhaps the most
so of any one of the family. Even about old houses it is found,
and it grows abundantly in low places.

For its commercial value the golden osier has been exten-
sively planted in France, where it principally supplies the mar-
ket with hoops, and it is also exported by the French to Great
Britain and other countries.

' ■' brunJt.

PLATE XXIll. YELLOW WILLOW. Salix albavitellina.
(67)

68 TREES GROWING NEAR WATER.

BRITTLE WILLOW. CRACK WILLOW. i^Plate XXIV.)
Sa lix frdgilis.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Willow. Head., bushy, to-io/net. Introduced, Muss, to N. J . April, May.

irregular. and Penn.

Bark: grey; slightly rougli. Branches: greenish, tinged with red; smooth;
very brittle at the base, the most so of any species with this characteristic.
Leaves : simple ; alternate, with smooth petioles with two wart-like extuber-
ances near the base of the leaf; lanceolate; taper-pointed at both ends;
unevenly and sliarply serrate, the teeth somewhat incurved ; smooth and dark
green above, whitish below and only slightly downy, even when young.
Flowers : growing in catkins at the ends of the season's leafy shoots. Stami-
iiate catkitis : shorter than the long, loose pistillate ones.

Among the willows, Salix fragilis has its distinct place, and
it is regarded as a valuable tree. From its withes much of
the basket work with which we are so familiar is made, and
the industry in Europe, where it is generally distributed, is a
large one. The timber that it yields is fine and of a rich
salmon colour. From the old plants its twigs break away and
grow into new ones with astonishing facility. It is probably in
this way that it has escaped so widely from cultivation. It
has also many varieties and hybridizes well with other species.

An amusing story is told of a country school mistress who
prided herself on her knowledge of the family of willows. One
day she told a young lad to fetch her a twig with which she
might flog him. He sought one of a near-by willow and,
being v/ise in his generation, made slight circular incisions all
along the twig with his ever-ready pen-knife. When he
returned, he calmly held out his hand to the mistress. She
raised the twig ; but before the first blow was fairly adminis-
tered, it had flown in innumerable pieces all over the room.
" It is the brittle willow," said she with an air of wisdom to
the rest of the pupils.

Sianiinate branch.

Pistillate branch at
Maturity.

PLATE XXIV. BRITTLE WILLOW. Salix fragtlis.

70

TREES GROWING NEAR WATER.

DOWNY POPLAR. RIVER COTTONWOOD. SWAMP

COTTONWOOD. {Plate XXV)

Pdpuhis heterophylla.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Willow. Head narrow, round- i,c-%o feet. Southern Conn. April, May.

topped: branches, ir- iouthward and

regular. westward.

Bark: reddish brown ; rough; and broken into long, narrow plates.
Leaves: simple; alternate, with long, round petioles; rounded ovate, with
blunt apex and cordate base, the lobes of the base often overlapping the leaf-
stem ; serrate, with obtuse and incurved teeth. When young the leaves are
covered with a white wool which falls as the leaves mature ; the veins and
]jetioles, however, always retain traces of the down. Sta7ninate catkins : very
large; dense; drooping. Pistillate ones : raceme-like; loose.

It almost seems as though a little innate stubbornness were
displayed by this tree in the persistent
bluntness of its leaf. It also clings
with much tenacity to the soft down
of its early youth. That it has these
decisive characteristics, however, af-
fords us a good means of its identi-
fication. When its tiny seed is caught
on its upward sail in the air, and exam-
ined, it is found to be snugly placed
within a mass of silvery, white hairs
which at their bases are tinged with
orange-yellow. This touch of colour
and the beauty of the design for its
Pdpuius heterophylla. purposc in a thing so small is only

another instance of the fineness of Nature's conceptions.
In the northern Atlantic states the tree is local and rare. Its
wood is closely-grained, but soft and not durable.

FAMILY

Willow,

BALSAM POPLAR. TACAMAHAC.

Popiihis bahamifera.
SHAPE

Erect; narrow, open
head.

HEIGHT

60-80- loo yvv/'.

RANGE
Northward and
westiuard.

TIME OF BLOOM

April.

Fru it: May, June.

Bark: grey, tinged with red ; ridged; bitter. Branches: smooth, with wart-
like excrescences. Leaf-buds ; large ; covered with a yellow, resinous gum

Staminate and
jiistillate catkin.

Bursting catkin.

PLATE XXV. DOWNY POPLAR. Populus heterophylla.
(71)

72 TREES GROWING NEAR WATER.

which is scented like balsam. Leaves: simple; alternate; ovate-lanceolate;
pointed at the apex and rounded or sub-cordate at the base ; three-ribbed ;
finely serrate; bright green and shiny above, rather whitish below; glabrous.
Flowers: dioecious; growing in drooping catkins, and appearing some time
before the leaves. Stamens : numerous. Scales of the pistillate flowers
recurved at the apex.

It must be a dull heart that is not stirred by the sight of this
noble tree. Against the intense blue of a summer's sky its
great size and stately trunk make it indeed a noteworthy
object. It grows along the borders of streams and lakes and
inhabits bottom lands that have been inundated. Occasionally
it is found in dry soil. The fishermen of the Great Lakes know
the tree well. They seek the outer bark from the base of
old trees and use it as they would cork to float their nets.
The wood of the tree is brown and soft. It is made into pails,
tobacco boxes and also paper pulp.

BALH OF QILEAD. HEART=LEAVED BALSAM

POPLAR. {Plate XXVI)

Pdpiiliis cdndicans.

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

TIME OF BLOOM

IVillow.

Head, broaii, open:
branches, spreading.

40-50 /ftV.

In cultivation.

Aprii.

Bark: greenish grey, the branches often darkly spotted. Leaf-buds: large;
fragrant. Leaves: simple; alternate, with petioles that are almost round and
more or less hairy; broadly-ovate, or cordate, pointed at the apex and heart-
shaped at the base; coarsely serrate; netted-veined; the margins outlined by
fine white hairs. Bright green above ; whitish below; pubescent along the
ribs and veins. Flo'uers : growing in catkins, similar to those of the preced-
ing species.

This beautiful tree with its gracefully-shaped and abundant
foliage is frequently planted about dwellings and along drives.
It has in fact quite abandoned the forests and no longer luxuri-
ates in a state of wildness. Professor L. H. Bailey, however,
tells us that it is indigenous in Michigan and that there, it is
said, groves of it existed when the country was first settled.
Afterwards they were cut down to supply lumber. It is dis-
tinguished from the balsam poplar, of which it has been re-

PLATE XXVI. BALM OF GILEAD. Popultis candnwis

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

Staniinate branch. Pistillate branch.

PLATE XXVII. COTTONWOOD. Popuhis deltoides.
(73)

74

TREES GROWING NEAR WATER.

garded as a variety, by the width of its leaves with their cor-
date bases and ciliate margins and by their pubescence.

The seeds have wonderfully fine hairs which envelop the
fruit with thick masses of soft, snow-white cotton. The illus-
tration shows the pistillate catkins at maturity. Then the seeds
become detached from their capsules and are wafted by the
breezes to great distances from the trees.

COTTONWOOD. RIVER POPLAR. CAROLINA POPLAR.
NECKLACE POPLAR. {Plate XXV J I)

Pdpiilus deltoldes.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

lyUlow. Syjnmetrical^ open So-i^oyeef. Qttebec ivestivard a?id April.

head. soiithivard to N. J.^ Fla. Fruit: Jztne.
and Neiu Mexico.

Bark : granite-grey; smooth when young but becoming rough and furrowed
with age and breaking off in short, flaky pieces. Branchlets : greenish. Lea/-
buds : glutinous, with a substance like balsam. Leaves: simple; alternate,
with stout petioles which are flattened sidewise ; broadly-ovate, with taper-
pointed apex and squared or slightly cordate base. Irregularly and coarsely
serrate, with incurved teeth; when young, sticky and fragrant like balsam;
occasionally coarsely pubescent underneath ; the margins fringed ; at maturity
bright green, smooth and glossy above, paler below; ribs whitish on both
sides; thick. Flowers: dicEcious; growing \\\ catkins, and appearing before
the leaves; the fertile ones sometimes a foot long; their scales cut-fringed.
Sterile catkins : growing on stout stems; dense. Seeds: covered with a whit-
ish or rusty coloured substance.

There is to-day standing in Washington Hollow, Dutchess
county, New York, a cotton-wood tree the trunk of which
measures fifteen feet, two and a half inches in circumference.
The soft grey of its bark and its lustrous restless foliage form
an imposing spectacle against the sky. By those that live near
its shade its slightest movements are watched with interest.
Owing to the softness of its wood large branches are apt to
break away from the tree when there is a high wind. To look
out in the night when a storm is raging and see that all is
safe, — that no danger is impending from the cotton-wood, — has
become a custom. During the first part of June it is also a
care to those that live near it. It is then that its tiny seeds
which are not more than one twelfth of an inch long begin to

Flower in^ branch . Single flo^ver.

PLATE XXVIII. SWAMP WHITE OAK. Querciis platanoides.

(75)

76 TREES GROWING xNEAR WATER.

fly. They are hidden within a mass of soft, delicate cotton
which is surrounded by tufts of long, white or rusty coloured
hairs. As if with fleecy, etherial sails, they are then borne aloft
by the slightest breeze. So abundantly are they dispersed that
they have to be taken up in quantities from a near-by straw-
berry bed, and when the windows on the tree's side of the
house are left open the seeds can be gathered in basketfuls
from under the furniture. This cotton-like fibre which sur-
rounds the seeds of the poplar has been experimented with
for the manufacturing of cloth ; but as yet the enterprise has
not proved itself financially successful. Its wood also is of
little value commercially and warps badly in drying. This
poplar is the most rapid-growing tree of eastern North Amer-
ica and under favourable circumstances reaches a height of
forty feet in five or six years.

East of the Rockies the tree has been much planted ; but it
is not regarded as being long lived or thriving well in other
than a moist soil. Its natural habitat is along the banks of
rivers and streams and by lakes. Not one of the least remark-
able features of the large tree that has been mentioned is the
fact that it grows in dry soil.

SWAMP WHITE OAK. (Plate XXVIII.)

Qiiircus platanoldes.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Beech. Head, narroiv, round- ■yy-'jo/eet. Maine to Iowa, south- May, June.

topped: lower branches, ^vard to Delaware Fruit: Sept., Oct.

somewhat declined. and Georgia.

Bark : light grey and divided into large, flat, flaky scales. Leaves : simple;
alternate; obovate, with wedge-shaped and entire base and pointed or rounded
at the apex ; sinuate-toothed, the waves far apart and so large as to resemble
small lobes ; sinuses rounded and those of the middle waves extending deeper
into the leaves than the others ; dull, dark green above and smooth; silvery
and downy underneath. The ribs appear rusty. Acorns : ovoid; growing usu-
ally in pairs on a puduncle sometimes three inches long. Citp: round ; covered
with pubescent scales, the upper row becoming bristle-like and forming a
fringe about the edge. A^til: chestnut-brown ; oval ; about one inch long ;
edible; sweet.

To see this tree in all the glory of its best development we

Fruiting branch.

Flowering branch.

PLATE XXIX. WILLOW OAK. Qucrcus Phellos.
(77)

78 TREES GROWING NEAR WATER.

should go to the region of the Great Lakes. When its identity
is once known it is not easily forgotten, or confused with other
trees. The manner in which its lower bark separates into thin
scales and the little weird branches that are so often pendulous
from larger limbs — and sometimes from the trunk — make it a
marked figure on even a winter's landscape. From its leaves
it is known as belonging to the group of chestnut oaks, as in
outline they somewhat resemble those of the chestnut tree.

The wood of the swamp white oak is light brown, closely
grained and strong. Commercially it is not distinguished from
that of the white oak, Q. a/da, and of the burr oak, Q. viacrocarpa.
Pages i88 and 132 respectively.

WILLOW OAK. PEACH=LEAVED OAK. {Plate XXIX.)

Que'rcus Phellos.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Beech. Conical head: yy-^o/eet. L. I. and N. J . southward April., May.

branches^ slender. and west-ward. Fruit: Sept., Oct.

Bark : reddish brown; almost smooth, although having close scales. Leaves:
simple; alternate; with short grooved petioles; lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate,
with pointed and bristle-tipped apex and pointed base ; entire and slightly un-
dulate edge. When young, brilliant light green and soft above, dull and with a
whitish down underneath ; becoming thick and shiny above as they grow
older. Floitjers: moncecious. Acorns: very sinall; almost sessile. Cup:
saucer-shaped; pubescent inside. Nut: brown; three-eighths to one-half inch
long; globular. Kernel: bright orange ; bitter.

There seems to be nothing about the foliage of this attractive
tree to suggest to us the family to which it belongs ; but along
with the autumn comes the little tell-tale, the acorn. No doubt
there is lurking within it a strong sense of grace and outline,
or perhaps a sort of hero-worship for the willows has led it to
imitate their leaf. But in any case we cannot believe that it
laments having stepped out of the beaten track of its relatives ;
as its aspect is most gay and happy. In the southern towns it
is much planted for ornament and has besides its beauty the
advantage of growing rapidly. Its leather-like leaves remain
fresh long after those of most other trees have fallen. They

Fruiting branch.

Flowering branch.

PLATE XXX. LAUREL OAK. Qiiercus laiirifolia.
(79)

8o TREES GROWING NEAR WATER.

then turn a pale yellow. In moist woods and on sandy uplands
the tree occurs as well as by the borders of swamps.

LAURELOAK. SHINGLE OAK. WATER OAK. {Plate XXX)
Que reus laurifblia.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Beech. Head^ dense^ round-topped: -ioSo/eet, Penn.to Iowa and March^ April,

brunches, slender. or higher, southward to Fla. Fruit: Oct.

^a;-^; nearly black, flatly and broadly ridged. Leaves: simple; alternate;
with grooved, yellow petioles; long oblong with pointed and bristle-tipped
apex and pointed base. Edge entire, although the leaves of young shoots are
sometimes undulately-lobed. Bright green, smooth, stiff and glossy above.
Flowers: slightly downy below, ^c^rwj-: small; almost sessile. Ctip: saucer-
shaped, with closely compressed scales. Niit: globular or ovoid. Kernel:
bitter.

Two things are most noticeable about this tree : its tall
stately trunk and its dark, lustrous head of laurel-like foliage.
Within its centre it seems as though the breezes must be held
and not allowed to rush madly through as is their wont. The
tree is rather generally found east of the Alleghanies. Like that
of the willow oak its reddish-brown wood is poor and of little
value. One of its common names connects it with the making
of shingles, for which purpose it is largely used.

COnnON FRINGE TREE. OLD MAN'S BEARD.

{Plate XXXI.)

Chiondnthus Virgintca.

■AMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

TIME OF BLOOM

Olive.

Oblong. Head, narrow.

%-^lfeet.

N.J. and southern
Penn. southward.

June.
Fruit: Sept.

Bark: brown, or ashy grey and divided into thin scales. Leaves: large;
simple ; opposite; petioled; ovate or obovate, with pointed or rarely rounded
apex and pointed or narrowed at the base. Dark green and smooth above;
pubescent underneath when young; thick. Ftozvers: sx\ovi-vih.\if, faintly fra-
grant; growing in loose, drooping panicles. Calyx: small; four-lobed; tubular.
Corolla: with four slender petals, three quarters of an inch long, barely united
at the base. Stamens: two, very short. Pistil: one. Fruit: bluish purple ;
oval; glaucous and containing one seed.

The blossoms of the fringe tree are among those things of
nature that are seen by all. They make no demand upon that

PLATE XXXI. COMMON FRINGE TREE. CJiioiianthiis Virginica.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

Single flower. Flowering branch. Fruiting branch.

PLATE XXXIl. SWEET VIBURNUM. Viburnum Letttago.
(8 1)

82

TREES GROWING NEAR WATER.

more gifted and subtle observation
which watches tor the earliest signs
of spring in growth that is apparently
dead and is conscious of the beauty of
the golden dust in the catkins of the
hazel. They thrust themselves abun-
dantly upon the sight, and the wind
stirs their long petals that the attention
may not wander from them. And
about them there is a grace and fleeci-
ness which is most enchanting. In
cultivation the tree is frequently seen, and it would be quite
without objectionable features for the ornamentation of parks
and grounds were it not that its leaves unfold so late in the
season. Before they do so the majority of other trees are al-
ready fully clothed with verdure. They remind us of the
leaves of the magnolias and in the autumn turn to a uniform
tint of bright yellow.

The wood of the fringe tree is closely grained and heavy.
From the bark tonic properties are extracted which have been
used in the treatment of fevers.

Chiondnthus I'irginica.

SWEET VIBURNUM. SHEEP BERRY. NANNY BERRY.

{Plate XXXII.)
Viburnum Lentago.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Honeysuckle. Routtd-topped, \%-->,o/eet. Hudson Bay southward May ^ June,
bushy. to Ga. and westward. Fruit: Oct.

Bark; reddish brown and irregularly broken into small, thin plates.
Branches: light green; very pubescent. Wood: hard; unpleasantly scented.
Winter buds: glabrous. Leaves: simple; opposite; with slender margined
petioles, the borders of which are wavy and upon which brownish glands are
borne ; ovate, with pointed apex and rounded base, quite subject to variation ;
finely and sharply serrate ; bright green; glossy; glabrous. Flo-tuers : small ;
white; perfect; growing in broad sessile cymes. Fruit: red, turning later to
blue-black; ovoid; growing in clusters on red petioles ; glaucous; edible; sweet.

The sweet viburnum is a small tree. Along the borders of
streams and by swamps it rears itself boldly or seeks seclusion

I! mil I '/nil IK.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, 8Y FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING NEAR WATER. 83

in the deep woods. No matter, however, how lovely the tree,
there is always a slight disappointment in perceiving that it has
not the outer row of showy and neutral flowers that we associ-
ate with F. Opulus, cranberry tree, and V, alnifolium^ hobble-
bush.

Both of these are fine shrubs. Of the former, V. Opulus
{Plate XXX/II), the bark is smooth and grey, and its leaves
have from three to five lobes. Its fruit is juicy and acrid and is
used as a substitute for the true cranberries.

V. alnifolium {Plate XXXIV.) also bears bright scarlet and
beautiful fruit, but it is not edible. Its blossoms, however, are
very similar to those of the cranberry tree. The orbicular
leaves are pointed at the apex, cordate at the base and have
upon them a reddish scurf.

RED MAPLE. SWAMP MAPLE. SCARLET MAPLE.

SOFT MAPLE. {Plate XXXV, frontispiece.)

Acer riibrtan.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Maple Round-topped; branches, 30-50 <7r loo New Brunswick to March, April.
upright. feet. Fla., westward to Fruit: May, June.

Texas and Dakota.

^rtr^ ; dark grey ; rather smooth or flaky when young, becoming rough as
it grows older. Branches zwd twigs : reddish, marked by longitudinal white
lenticels. Leaves: simple; opposite; with long, round, reddish petioles;
rounded, with from three to five lobes variously shaped and toothed, the lower
pair small when present and frequently absent. Apex of lobes, pointed and
irregularly serrate ; the base of the leaf rounded or wedge shaped. Sinuses:
rounded and extending hardly more than a third way in to the midrib. Green
above, whitish underneath ; the veins pubescent on the under side. Flowers:
crimson ; showy ; growing on short pedicels in drooping, sessile, umbel-like
clusters which grow from lateral buds, and appear some time before the leaves.
'I'he staminate and pistillate flowers grow in separate clusters and usually on
f'ifferent trees. Fruit: bright red ; growing on lengthened pedicels with wings
liardly an inch long and slightly incurved; glabrous.

Who is it that can tell when the spring awakes, — when the
first sign of life is disclosed by the earth ? And how has he
who perhaps tells us found it out ? Has he followed the honey
bee from his lurking place, as through a dreary landscape he
seeks the swelling blossoms ; or has he been led by the rabbit

84

TREES GROWING NEAR WATER.

Acer ritbrum.

with his eager desire to gnaw the red
maples' buds ? It is indeed the insects
and animals that know best; for their
search is not that of the dilettante.
Their desire for food impels them
to look about diligently, and when
found they wish to carry it to their
young also. Often before the snow
is off the ground the sap of the red
maple begins to ascend; and in earliest
March, while the odour of winter's
pageant is still in the air, the flower-
buds begin to expand. Then it is not
long before they unfold their exquisite
blossoms which hang in the bare trees
like a shower of crimson light. As
we wander by the side of a stream, straining our eyes per-
haps for the first sight of the white violet, they may be sway-
ing over our heads. Hardly a leaf is to be seen on the trees
thus early in the year; but the soil is soft and oozy, and we
scent that the winter has passed.

The red maple is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful trees
of the American forest. As in the spring, the tree is in ad-
vance of others in the autumn, when it changes its hue to
varied tints of scarlet and orange. In brilliancy there is none
other to compare with it. During the winter its twigs are of a
deeper shade of red than at other seasons of the year.

The wood of the red maple is reddish brown and hard.
Furniture is made from it, and it is especially desirable when
running through it is found a curly grain. From the bark a
dye has been extracted and used by the Indians. Ink also has
been made from it.

PLATE XXXIV. HOBBLE-BUSH. Vibuniiun almfoluoii.

COPyHIGHT, 1900, BV FREDERICK ». STOKES COMPANY.
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

Enlarged flower.

PLATE XXXVI. SILVER MAPLE. Acer saccharinum.
(85)

86

TREES GROWING NEAR WATER.

SILVER MAPLE.

WHITE MAPLE.

{Plate XXX VJ.)

Acer sacchdriniim.

SOFT MAPLE.

FAMILY. SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Maple. Branches^ pendulous -y^-iiij feet. New Bruiislvick to March, April.

or wide-spreading. Fla. and westward. Fruit: May, June.

Bark: reddish brown; flaky. Leaves : simple; opposite ; with long petioles;
rounded in outline and having five lobes ; equally notched and toothed ; the
lower two smaller than the other three. Base of leaf, square or heart-shaped ;
apex of lobes, pointed. Sinuses : narrow ; pointed. Brilliant pale green above,
-silvery white beneath Pubescent when young, becoming glabrous; thin.
Flowers: small; yellowish green; without petals; growing on pedicels in
almost sessile corymbs from lateral buds and appearing before the leaves. Pis-
tillate and staminate blossoms growing in separate clusters on the same or dif-
ferent trees. Fruit : yellowish green, samaras growing on long, drooping pedi-
cels ; glabrous at maturity. Wings : large ; one frequently undeveloped.

About the leaf of the white
maple there is something very
beautiful. Its lines are so sharply
cut, and it is so free from the least
approach to stiffness. It shows
rather the crispness of line that
artists are always endeavouring
to throw into tlieir pictures. The
texture of the leaf is fine, too,
and pleasing. Through the silver
lining run the pale yellow veins,
and the colour effect is most
aesthetic. It seems as though the
singing of the breezes through
these trees must be more classic
and captivating than when it rushes
through those that are more
coarsely formed. The flowers are exquisite, and in earliest
spring the trees, when seen from a distance, appear to be tipped
with scarlet. In cultivation the tree is very general, as its
beauty and rapid growth make it desirable for shade. Un-
fortunately, through the brittleness of its branches, it is often

Acer sacchdrinutn.

s

Enlarged Enlarged fridt

f^istillatefloiver.

PLATE XXXVll. POISON SUMAC. Rhus Vcrnix.
(87)

88

TREES GROWING NEAR WATER.

damaged by high winds. Throughout the valley of the Mississ-
ippi it is one of the most common of the river trees.

From its light-coloured, strong and rather brittle wood fur-
niture is made, and it is largely used for interior work. The
sap of the tree yields maple sugar in small quantities.

POISON SUHAC. POISON ELDER. POISON ASH.

P0I50N DOGWOOD. {Plate XXXV 11?^

Rhiis Virnix,

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT

Sumac. Heady round: branches, d-i^/eet.

pendulous.

RANGE
New England south-
ward to Fill, and
^vesiward.

TIME OF BLOOM
June, July.
Fruit: Sept.

Bark: light grey; smooth. Branches: reddish brown ; smooth. Leaves:
compound; alternate; with reddish, smooth, unwinged stalks; odd-pinnate,
with from seven to thirteen oblong leaflets which have short red petiolules, the
terminal one longer than the other. Apex and base pointed or rounded.
Edge: entire; dark green above, paler below. Midrib: scarlet above; thin;
glabrous at maturity. Flowers : dioecious; dull greenish white; axillary ; many
imperfect; growing in loose panicles. Berries: greenish white; about the size
of peas ; smooth ; shiny ; poisonous to the touch as is the whole plant. Juice :
turning black with exposure to the air.

Not even among the plant world can everything be taken
on faith as good and beautiful. Here are the harmful spirits
as well as in other places, and unhappily it must be related
that such a one is the sumac of the swamps.
So violently poisonous to the touch is this
native species that to those that are not
immune to its evil effects even passing by the
shrub is fraught with danger, should the
breeze be in such a direction as to place
upon them its flying pollen. It is especially
to be avoided when the pores of the skin
are open as in perspiration. That the edges
of the leaflets are entire ; that its leaf-stalks
are without wing; and that its whitish fruit grows in axillary
panicles are simple guides to its identification. By remember-
ing them the possibility of confusing it with other and harm-
less species will be avoided. The tree, however, is not wholly

Rktis Virnix.

PLATE XXXVIII. SWAMP HICKORY. Ilicoria mtnliiia.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING NEAR WATER. 89

bad. Some of its properties are of considerable medicinal
value. The juice also can be used as a black, lustrous varnish
similar to that furnished by the related Japanese lacquer tree.
The poison sumac is almost exclusively found in swamps.

SWAHP HICKORY. BITTER-NUT. {Plate XXX VJI I.)

Hicbria minima.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Walnut, Head, broad: branches^ 50-75-100 Maine ivestward and May , June.

upright. feet. southward to Fla. Fruit: Sept.., Oct.
and Texas.

Bark: bright reddish brown; broken into thin, close, flake-like scales.
Leaves: compound ; alternate ; odd-pinnate; with slender, sometimes flattened
stalks and having from five to nine sessile leaflets ; lanceolate ; pointed at the
apex and pointed or blunt at the base ; sharply and coarsely serrate ; glabrous
on both sides or very sparingly pubescent underneath. Dark yellow green
aijove, lighter below. Staminate catkins : growing in threes on slender
peduncles and having lanceolate bracts ; pubescent. Pistillate flowers : cov-
ered with a yellow tomentum. F7-uit : with a dark green, rounded husk; soft
and thin, with winged edges and splitting when ripe half way to the middle.
Nitt : whitish; broader than long; thin-shelled; depressed at the top. Ker-
nel : very bitter.

By the swamp borders or in the low, wet woods of many lo-
calities this noble tree is plentiful. Its range extends farther
northward than that of any other one of the hickories, and it is
abundant in Canada. Its rapid growth and broad, shapely head
also make it a desirable feature in cultivation. But its fruit is
much better to look upon than it is to eat ; it is indeed a " bit-
ter-nut." From the accompanying illustration an idea of the
exquisite colouring of its foliage can be gained, and it is inter-
esting to know that it owes its sunny tint to many small, golden
glands that lie on the under surface of the leaflets.

Commercially Hicoria minima is less valuable than is general
with those of its genus. Ox-yokes and hoops are, however,
made from its pliable wood, and on the hearth it feeds a quick-
snapping, lively flame.

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

Walnut.

Head, narroiv; branches.

s,<y-xoo/eet.

Va. to Fla. and

upright.

Texas.

90 TREES GROWING NEAR WATER.

WATER HICKORY. SWAMP HICKORY. BITTER
PECAN. {Plate XXXIX.)

Hicbria aqtidtica.

TIME OF BLOOM

March, April.

Fruit: Sept., Oct.

Bark: light reddish brown; rough and having scales. Buds: reddish
brown; flattened, the terminal one very large. Leaves: compound; alternate;
odd-pinnate, with from seven to eleven ovate-lanceolate leaflets pointed at the
apex and rounded or wedge-shaped at the base ; serrate ; dark green above,
brown and lustrous below and pubescent. Starninaie flowers : growing in
long, slender catkins and produced from separate or leaf-bearing buds. Pistil-
late flowers : oblong and covered with pubescence. Fruit ; growing in clus-
ters of a few, with a greenish, thin husk which splits into four sections. A^ut :
darkly-coloured ; four-angled; rough and flattened, and having a thin shell.
Kernel : bitter ; puckery to the taste.

Away from the swamps this tree is seldom seen growing in
the full prime of its beauty, but when there, even although it
is a small tree, it has about it the same picturesqueness and
freshness that is associated with the genus. Its fondness truly
is for low country. Often the river swamps in which it seeks
its home are inundated during part of the year, and for this
reason it is difficult of access when its timber is desired. It
would seem, however, as though the commercial instinct might
be sacrificed rather than take it away from places to which it
adds so sylvan a charm, especially as its dark brown wood
is of less value than that of any other one of the hickories.
Although closely grained and compact it is very brittle and is
used for little else than fuel and fences. Once having seen the
fruit of the tree it cannot readily be mistaken; for the dusky,
flattened and rough shell is very distinctive.

ASH=LEAVED flAPLE. BOX ELDER. {Plate XL.)
Acer Negiindo.

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

TIME OF BLOOM

Maple.

Wide-spreading.

20-50 feet, or

Vermont and Penn,

April.

higher.

southward and
7uestward.

Fruit: June.

Bark of branchlets : greenish brown ; ridged. Twif^s : pea-green. Leaves:
compound; opposite, with long, slender stalks; odd-pinnate, with three, five

Pis tit III te floiver.

PLATE XXXIX. WATER HICKORY. Hicoria aquatica.
(90

92

TREES GROWING NEAR WATER.

Vi-c

*^>/-.,."". ...;■ - •■-•• -.

or rarely seven ovate leaflets ; taper-pointed at the apex and pointed, rounded
or wedged-shaped at the base ; coarsely and remotely toothed, often entire at
the base ; deep green above, pale underneath. J^ids : distinct ; slightly pubes-
cent. Flowers: yellowish green; dioecious; apetalous ; small; growing from
the sides of the branches in drooping clusters and appearing before the leaves.
The fertile ones in racemes of from six to eight inches long. Satnaras : large;
yellowish green ; the double wings, veiny.

The box elder is a rather mysterious
character and has much to answer for
in the way it has puzzled the minds of
botanists and earnest-thinking people.
In manner of growth its foliage has
suggested to some the elders, and
again it has been thought to be con-
nected with the ashes. Its fruit, how-
ever, shows conclusively that it belongs
to the maples. In spite of this ten-
dency to conciliate all, although we
should give it the benefit of the doubt
and think that it has been trying always to imitate the best,
it is a handsome tree of free and rapid growth. For the
ornamentation of parks or gardens it is well adapted, as its
foliage is a lively, brilliant green, and it is able to resist long
droughts. Unfortunately it is not regarded as being very long-
lived.

The wood of the ash-leaved maple is creamy white and not
strong. From it an inferior sort of furniture is made. In
small quantities the bark yields maple sugar. To the tree is
attached the distinction of having been one of the first of the
North American ones that were known in Europe.

Acer negiindo.

BLACK ASH. HOOP ASH. WATER ASH. {Plate XLI.)

Frdxinus nigra.

FAMILY SHAPE

Olive. Head, narrow, slender:
branches, upright.

HEIGHT RANGE

■ip-%ofeet,or New Foundland west-
higher, 'ward, southward to
Fla. and Ark.

TIME OF BLOOM
April, May.
Fruit: Jitiy,

Bark: dark, tinged with grey; rough and broken into irregular plates, be-
coming smooth in the branches which are marked with white, wart-like dots.

Enlarged flower.

PLATE XL. ASH-LEAVED MAPLE. Acerncgiindo.

(93)

PLATE XLI. BLACK ASH. Fraxinus nigra.

TREES GROWING NEAR WATER. 95

Leaf-Buds : bluish black. Leaves: twelve to sixteen inches long; compound;
opposite; odd-pinnate; having grooved stallis with from seven to eleven
broadly lanceolate, sessile leaflets, taper-pointed at the apex, and narrowed or
rounded at the base ; sharply and irregularly serrate ; deep green and glabrous
on the upper side; paler below and slightly pubescent along the whitish ribs.
Flowers : dioecious ; growing in long panicles and appearing before the leaves.
Samaras : oblong ; blunt at both ends; winged all around.

As early as March we may begin to look about for the blue-
black buds of the black ash. They seem not to mind about en-
countering the cold, and the tree is found farther northward
than any other one of the American ashes. In the swamps it
grows at times so prolifically as almost to fill in the wet ground.
When taken away and transplanted it is short-lived. As soon
as the first frost touches the leaves, or even earlier in the
autumn, they turn a rusty brown and begin to fall. When they
are crushed the odour they emit is similar to that of the elder.

The light brownish wood has a beautiful grain and is heavy
although not very strong. It is used in cabinet work and ex-
tensively for the making of barrel hoops. The Indians know
well the black ash and seek the pliable young saplings to use
in constructing their baskets.

RED ASH. {Plate XLII.)

Frdxiniis Pennsyhdm'ca.

TIME OF BLOOM

April, May.

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

Olive.

Head, irregular:

30-80 yv^/.

Atlantic states and

branches, upright.

Nciu Brunswick
to Minnesota.

Bark : brownish grey ; slightly furrowed vertically and becoming smooth on
the branches. Young shoots and leaf-stalks conspicuous for their pubescent,
rusty down. Leaves: ten to twelve inches long; compound; opposite; odd-
pinnate; with grooved, pubescent stalks and from five to nine long ovate or
lanceolate leaflets, which have downy petiolules hardly one quarter of an inch
long. Apex, taper-pointed ; 1)ase, pointed. Edge: entire or sparingly serrate
towards the apex. Light green above, paler on the under side and becoming
reddish. When unfolding, covered with a white tomentum. Flowers : dioe-
cious; growing in compact panicles; without petals. Saviaras : from one to
two and a half inches long ; broadly linear or oblanceolate, the wing rounded
or bluntly tipped at the apex. They remain on the branches over the winter.

The red ash is so called because the inner surface of the
outer bark of the branches is a light red, and the down that

Single sajjiara.

PLATE XLII. RED ASH. Fraxinits Pe7insylva}iica.
(96)

TREES GROWING NEAR WATER. 97

appears on the branches is also a ruddy, rich shade. The
former one of these peculiarities is a feature shared by the
white ash which commercially is a more valuable tree. In the
autumn the leaves of the red ash turn yellow, or brown and
yellow, before falling. When the question of an ash's identity
is to be settled, it should be remembered that the trees are
both staminate and pistillate ; and it is only on the latter ones
that fruit will be found. The staminate trees also must be ac-
corded their true place and not condemned as useless ones
which no longer bear fruit.

GREEN ASH. {Plate XLIII.)

Frdxiniis lanceolata,

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Otive. Round-topped; branches, 20-65 _/"f(V. Xeiu England, south- Aprii, May.

spreading. zvard and 2uestward.

Bark: greyish brown; furrowed. Brii;ic7i/ets: ash coloured and marked
with pale, cell-like places. Leaves: compound; opposite; odd-pinnate, with
from five to nine ovate or lanceolate, taper-pointed leaflets which grow on
smooth petiolules hardly a quarter of an inch long; sharply serrate and
becoming entire towards the base. Bright green on both sides and glabrous,
although occasionally downy in the angles of the ribs. Flcnvers : dioecious.
Samaras : small; similar to those of the white ash ; the wings more spatulate
in outline.

Between the red ash and the green ash there is great similar-
ity. Their flowers are identical, and the variableness of the
green ash is added to make it somewhat difficult to tell them
apart, excepting in extreme forms. The green ash, however, is
very nearly glabrous throughout, and it is the smaller of the
two trees. Its leaves also are shorter, narrower and more
sharply serrate. But it is the intense, lustrous, bright green
of the foliage by which it is most commonly known. Whether
the rain falls or the sun shines upon the leaves they are ever
brilliantly, beautifully green. Of all the ashes it is the one
most planted for ornament, and it has a rare faculty for adapting
itself to new surroundings. It requires an abundance of sun-
light.

PLATE XLlll. GREEN ASH. Fraxinus lanceolata.

TREES GROWING NEAR WATER. 99

Its wood is brown and strong. It is, however, not regarded
as being of much value commercially, although necessity has
sometimes caused it to be used as a substitute for the wood of
the white ash. This tree and the red ash, while preferring
moist ground, often grow on drier soil.

" The mountain stirr'd its bushy crown
And, as tradition teaches,
Young ashes pirouetted down

Coquetting with young beeches ;
And briony-vine and ivy-wreath

Ran forward to his rhyming.

And from the valleys underneath

Came little copses climbing."

— Tennyson.

BALD CYPRESS. CYPRESS. {Plate XLIV.)
Taxbdiuni distichuin.

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

TIME OF BLOOM

Pine.

Conical: branches^
spreading.

6o-\^o yeet.

Delaware to Texas.,
Arkansas northward.

April.

Bark: reddish brown ; furrowed. Braiuhlets: slender. Leaves: light green ;
simple; growing closely in two ranks along the branches ; half an inch long;
needle-shaped ; pointed ; occurring awl-shaped and overlapping each other ;
deciduous. Flozuers: monoecious ; yellowish ; a]:)pearing some time before the
leaves. Staminate flowers- growing compactly in terminal, drooping panicled
spikes. Pistillate ones: growing in rounded clusters. Cones : light brown; glob-
ular ; the several angular scales forming a closed ball until mature.

There is a strangeness in the ways and majestic aloofness
of the bald cypress. It is not as other trees. In the Atlantic
and Gulf states, where it sometimes forms extensive forests,
few can enter without feeling a desire to know its history. It
is ingenious too. That it may prevent the escape of moisture
and resist the violence of autumnal gales, is thought to be the
reason that its leaves, which may have been slender and spread
out from the branches, sometimes become close and scale-like.
At the time of pollenation, when it is shedding its golden
dust, and with its leaves in various positions, it is represented
by the illustration.

loo TREES GROWING NEAR WATER.

But more interesting tlian all else about the tree are the so-
called cypress knees, a feature that has baffled the theories
and explanations of many. Dr. Charles Mohr, who has studied
the subject most profoundly and is an authority on the form-
ation and usefulness of these knees, has been most kind in con-
tributing the following account of them to " A Guide to the
Trees." In his letter he says : " The following information has
been taken as concisely as possible from the statements made in
the manuscript of my monograph on Taxodium distichum
and transmitted to the Forestry division of the United States
department of Agriculture.

" The pyramidal or conical excrescences of the roots of the
cypress known as cypress knees and which form such a
striking peculiarity of the trees are always produced under
water, or in a constantly water-soaked soil. They are pro-
duced often in great number within a radius of from twenty-
five to forty feet or more from the trunk, varying from two to
six feet and more in height, and always rise above the water.
They are simple or with several tumid divisions and normally
bare of leaf-bearing sprouts. In the trees approaching their
fuller growth they are most frequently hollow, perfectly smooth
on the inside of the shell, with its wood compact and firm.

" The opinion about the uses these knees serve in the house-
hold of the tree is divided, and their import to its life is not
yet perfectly understood. On one side, it is contended that
their purpose is purely mechanical, to serve the tree as an
additional means for the support of the enormous weight of
the tree in the loose ground, and to increase its resistance to
the strain to which it is subjected under the pressure of heavy
winds. On a close study of the root system below ordinary
water mark, accidentally laid bare, the conclusion can scarcely
be avoided that the function of the knees is chiefly mechanical.
As an acute observer states, 'to strengthen the roots that the
tree may anchor itself safely in a yielding soil, acting as
trusses to increase their capacity for holding the tree firmly .to

PLATr .■,_.

KESS. Taxoc/m,

COPYRIGHT 1900, BT FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY.
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING NEAR WATER. loi

the soil.' This opinion finds confirmation in the fact that
scarcely any other tree of our forests offers a greater resistance
to the force of storms under the most unfavourable soil con-
ditions.

" On the other hand it is held that the function of the knees is
principally physiological by acting as organs of aeration. The
exposed parts of the knees effect the absorption, and by their
chlorophyll-bearing tissue, the partial decomposition of atmos-
pheric gases under the influence of light, and their trans-
mission to the sap of the roots, promote the process of
assimilation in parts of the tree debarred from a sufficient
supply of the same.

"With the decay of the tree, the knees rot and finally disap-
pear ; the same is said to take place after the drainage of the
swamp. Not being needed they are not present in the trees
grown on high land.

" From the fact that the knees serve the tree mechanically
by increasing the force of the tree to maintain its foothold in
a yielding ground and that further by their physiological
function the processes involved in its nutrition and growth
are promoted, it appears clearly that in the peculiar develop-
ment of the root system the cypress possesses the means of
adapting itself perfectly to the conditions of its immediate
surroundings."

SOUTHERN WHITE CEDAR. {Plate XL V.)

Chanicecyparis thyoides.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Pine. Spire-like; branches, -yi-^y^fect. Atlantic seaboard and April, May.
horizontal. Gulf states to Miss.

Bark : light reddish brown ; very fibrous ; separating into loose scales.
Branchlets: brown, their thin bark also separating. Leaves: tiny; simple;
ovate and awl-shaped ; overlapjnng each other like scales and growing closely
together in rows of four, up and down the branchlets. Dull brownish or blue-
green ; glaucous. Cf?;;^^ ; hardly one-half an inch wide; globose; sessile on
leafy branches ; purplish at maturity ; glaucous, and o]:)ening towards the centre
when ripe, 7iot towards the base. Scales : thick ; several-pointed and as though

Enlarged hud.

PLATE XLV. SOUTHERN WHITE CEDAR. ChamcecyParis thyoides.

(I02)

PLATE XLVI. ARBOR-VITAE. Thuja o.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING NEAR WATER.

103

fastened at their centres. Seeds : one or two under each fertile scale; oval;
winged at the sides.

In the fulness of Nature's heart she has provided this beau-
tiful and fragrant tree to flourish abun-
dantly in places where other useful timber
trees are very chary of establishing them-
selves. It grows in deep, cold swamps
which are frequently immersed during
several months of the year. In New
England and the Middle States it is not
as well-known as it is throughout its
more southern range. The deeply tinted
little cones which it develops are a pretty
sight as they jauntily sit among the blue-
green foliage: and the symmetrical figure
of the tree makes a clearly cut and
distinctive feature on the landscape.

In the south the wood of the tree is
used in ship-building. It is slightly fra-
grant, light-coloured and most durable when in contact with
the soil. The fact that it is soft and easily worked makes
it desirable for many purposes.

Chamacyparis thyo\des.

ARBOR VIT/E. WHITE CEDAR. {Plate XLVI.)

Thuja occt'dentdh's.

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

TIME OF BLOOM

Pine.

Conical; branches^
pendulous.

20-65 feet.

North Carolina north-
ward into Canada^ and
westward.

April, May.

Bark : greyish brown ; tinged with orange or red, and separated into narrow,
deciduous strips. Leaves : simple ; opposite ; blunt ; scale-like and overlapping
each other as they'grow closely together on branchlets that are very flat. Bright
green; aromatic; especially so when bruised. Cones: tiny; yellowish brown;
ovate ; nodding and opening to the base when ripe. Seales : six to ten ; ob-
long ; without points ; smooth. Seeds : one or two, with thin broad wings
notched at the apex.

This very formal and prim appearing tree has for along time
been extensively planted. In fact it was probably the first

164 TREES GROWING NEAR WATER.

North American tree to be known in Europe and has been cul-
tivated in Paris since before the middle of the XVIth century.
It forms an excellent hedge. When under the gardener's care
it is very prone to vary and produce new varieties, but it can
hardly be said to become more beautiful than when in its
wild state. The extremes of climate affect it very little. In
America it becomes smaller and grows less abundantly as it
reaches the limits of its southern range. Northward it covers
large areas of swamp land, and the forests that it forms are al-
most impenetrable. As of all coniferous trees, its fruit is inter-
esting. The tiny cones remain on the branches over the winter
to greet the new growth in the springtime. This is an act of
pure courtesy on their part, as during the preceding autumn
they have finished their own work and ripened and scattered
their seeds.

Speaking of this tree, Thoreau says : " How little I know of
that arbor vitae when I have heard only what science can tell
me. It is but a word, it is not a tree of life. But there are
twenty words for the tree and its different parts which the In-
dian gave, which are not in our botanies, which imply a more
practical and vital science. He used it every day. He was
well acquainted with its wood, its bark and its leaves. No
science does more than arrange what knowledge we have of
any class of objects. But, generally speaking, how much more
conversant was the Indian with any wild animal or plant than
we, and in his language is implied all that intimacy, as much as
ours is expressed in our language,"

It is true the Indians had many uses for the fragrant, yellowish
brown wood of the tree. They separated its thick layer of sap-
wood, as they could do with ease, and with it strengthened
their canoes. They also used parts of it in the making of their
baskets. Fluids of medicinal value are yielded by the tree,
and they have some local popularity for the curing of warts.
The fresh young branches are used to make brooms.

TREES GROWING NEAR WATER.

los

AHERICAN LARCH. TAHARACK.

{Plate XL VII.)
Larix laricina.

HACKHATACK.

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

TIME OF BLOOM

Pint.

Tall, straight: branches,
spreading.

50-iooyeet.

Northern III. to
N. £., northward
to Neiu Foundland.

May.

Bark: close, becoming scaly. Leaves : less than three quarters of an inch
or two inches long ; simple ; thread-like ; growing in bunches of many on short
twigs along the branches and having no sheaths ; pale green ; soft ; delicate ;
they wither and fall in the autumn. Cones: about half an inch long;
broadly ovate; growing on short peduncles at the ends of the branches;
greenish when young, and becoming purplish or brown at maturity. Seeds :
few ; rounded ; thin ; entire.

" Give me of your roots, O Tamarack !
Of your fibrous roots, O Larch-Tree I
My canoe to bind together,
So to bind the ends together
That the water may not enter,
That the river may not wet me !
And the Larch with all its fibres,
Shivered in the air of morning.
Touched his forehead with its tassels,
Said, with one long sigh of sorrow,
Take them all, O Hiawatha ! "

How beautifully has Longfel-
low depicted the Indian as one
in sympathy with nature. When
Hiawatha began to build his
canoe, he went to all the trees
that he knew has such materials
as were necessary to him, and
said, " Give me — " ; and although
it should have caused their death,
they answered, " Take, O Hia-
watha ! " Here was no ruthless
tearing away of life without per-
mission ; it was the tribute of a
man's understanding to these ^^^

mute inhabitants of the forest. ' Lhrix laridna.

Staminaie Scale of cone.

Jlo'Mcr

PLATE XLVII. AMERICAN LARCH. Larix laricina.
(io6)

TREES GROWING NEAR WATER. 107

Although they have no souls, life must still be sweet to
them.

The American larch with its soft, fine foliage is one of our
most graceful trees. In the early spring its flowers peep out,
much before the leaves ; they grow from broad lateral buds,
and although the sterile ones are yellow the fertile ones are a
brilliant crimson. The light brown wood of the tree is resinous
and very durable. Its more practical uses than those already
referred to are in the making of railroad ties and various parts
of ships.

Z. Europcea is a relative of the American tree w^hich is fre-
quently seen in cultivation. It is of rapid and fine growth and
very ornamental. Perhaps its colour is a deeper shade of green
than that of the native one, and its leaves are a trifle longer.
Its branches appear to droop more, and its cones too are longer
and have many more scales. There is a weeping form of the
European larch which is also known in cultivation.

Trees Preferring to Grow in Moist Soil:
Lowlands and Meadows.

A II about the soil was moist and traversing it was a road
that had become hard and dry. On either side of the road
greiv trees. They were zvater trees that had strayed away
from home. In the distance trailed a sluggish stream. Did
the trees long for it ? The ones on the farther side of the
road inc lilted over it so that a squirrel could hardly sit tipright
imder them ; and those on the side jiearest the water leaned
away from the road until they continually broke down its hard
bank. It was a strange scene throiigJi which to travel.

In the lowlands, away from the streams and swamps, there
are many trees ; but they are mostly contented with their lot,
and not so unhappy as those by the road.

UMBRELLA-TREE. ELK- WOOD. {Plate XL VIII.)

Magnolia iripitala.

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

TIME OF BLOOM

Magnolia.

Bushy.

20-40 feet.

Southeastern Penn. to

Ala.; tvestivard to

Ark. and Miss.

May, June.

Bark: light grey; smooth; marked with small dots similar to blisters.
Braftckes: green ; turning brown and grey as they grow older; brittle. Juice :
fragrant ; bitter. Leaves: simple; alternate; ovate-lanceolate; with short,
stout petioles and growing in clusters at the ends of the branches ; pointed at
the apex and tapering to a point at the base ; entire ; bright green ; the lower
surface covered with a thick tomentum at maturity; glabrous. Flowers : seven
and eight inches in diameter ; cream-white ; growing at the ends of the branches.
Sepals: light green ; obovate ; reflexed ; thin. Petals : six to nine ; narrow
and concave. Filaments: bright purple. Cone of/;-K//.' ovoid ; rose coloured
at maturity.

A glance at this tree either when it is in bloom or in fruit is
enough to assure us that it is a magnolia. Clustered about it

PLATE XLVlll. UMBRELLA-TREE. Magnolia tripetala.
(.109)

PLATE XLIX. NORTH AMERICAN PAPAW. Asiinina triloba.
(no)

PLATE L. JAMAICA CAPhr^ iKLc >._ appjrif ja>iiaucns

COPyRfGHT, 1900, BV FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANV.
PRINTED IN AMERIO.

TREES GROWING IN MOIST SOIL. iii

are many family traditions. Although it cannot vie in beauty
or outline with the great-flowered magnolia, it is far from being
without its own loveliness. Among the great, lustrous leaves,
which are often twenty inches long, the cylinder-shaped bunches
of ruddy fruit rest perhaps even more peacefully than do the
unfolding blossoms. The ribs of an umbrella are somewhat
suggested by the arrangement of the leaves at the ends of the
branches and it was this peculiarity which led the early settlers
in Virginia and North Carolina to call it umbrella or parasol tree.
Its specific name refers to its three petaloid sepals. The tree
is nowhere common. It grows in rather wet, deep soil, a little
inland from the great swamps, and by the borders of woods it is
found intermingled with masses of rhododendron. The tree is
more hardy than many others of the family, and for this reason
much attention has been paid to it by horticulturists. It is the spe-
cies most generally seen in the northern United States and in
Europe.

NORTH AriERICAN PAPAW. CUSTARD APPLE.

{Plate XLIX.)

Asiinina triloba.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Custard apple. Branches^ \o-i,o/cet. Penn. and western N. 1'., May, June.

spreading: southward to lo^va Fruit : Sept., Oct.

and westiuard.

Bark: dark brown; marked with silvery blotches ; smooth. Branchlets :
light brown, fringed with red and marked with narrow, parallel grooves.
Leaves: five to ten inches long; simi)le ; alternate; with ])ubescent petioles;
obovate-lanceolate, with pointed or slightly rounded apex and taper-pointed or
rounded base ; entire ; light green above, paler beneath and covered on the
lower surface with a rusty down ; glabrous at maturity ; thin ; glossy. Fiozu-
ers : solitary; axillary; pendulous; growing on club-shaped, pubescent ped-
uncles and appearing with the leaves. Sepals: three; pubescent. Petals:
greenish yellow, gradually turning to dull i)urple ; six, in two rows, the inner
ones small. Stamens: numerous; on the receptacle. Pistils: ajjpearing as
though enclosed in a round head formed by the anthers. Fricit : three to five
inches long ; oblong ; yellow and glaucous when young, becoming dark brown
when fully ripe. Fragrant ; edible ; sweet.

From the true papaw of the West Indies, this one is very
different ; and the genus is the only one of its family which is
not tropical in its preference. It can hardly be said, however,
to attain its full state of development in the north. It is a

112 TREES GROWING IN MOIST SOIL.

small tree or shrub, often only a bush, and when in full foliage
appears as though it were weighted down with the abundance
of its large, shining leaves. In the valley of the Mississippi
the tree is very common, and about that district its fruit is sent
in large quantities to the markets. Before it is fully ripe it
emits, as do the other parts of the tree, a peculiar and disagree-
able odour.

The papaw is a cautious little character and mistrusts the
vagaries of the wind. To perform the office of cross-fertiliza-
tion it relies with greater faith on the insects, for they can
assuredly be attracted by their appetites. At the base of the
inner petals, therefore, the flowers secrete abundant nectar.
The stamens are raised in a hemispherical mass from the cen-
tre of the bell-shaped flowers, and from it the stigmas protrude.
As the insect squeezes his body through the small opening be-
tween the stamens and the inner petals in search of the feast,
he is, no doubt, quite unconscious that the stigmas are eagerly
taking from him the golden pollen which he has attracted at
his last stopping place.

JAMAICA CAPER TREE. {Plate Z.)

Cdpparis Jamaicmsis.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Caper. Trunk, straight, slender. iZ-20/eet. Southern Florida. April, May.

Bark : dark reddish brown ; irregularly broken. BrancJdets : angular.
Leaves: simple; alternate; oblong-lanceolate or elliptical; growing on peti-
oles about a quarter of an inch long; rounded and notched at the apex,
rounded at the base ; entire ; dark yellowish green and lustrous on the upper
side, paler below and rough ifrom the presence of tiny scales ; the midrib con-
spicuous. Floweis ; white ; fragrant ; growing at tlie ends of the branches in a
terminal cluster. Sepals: recurved. Corolla: with four rounded petals which
become purple as they fade. Stamens: long; numerous; with purple filaments
and yellow anthers. Pods: two to several inches long; brownish red when
ripe and containing several kidney-shaped seeds.

There is an inspiration to be had from the pure, white flow-
ers of the Jamaica caper tree, with their long filaments as deli-
cate and misty in colouring as the threads of a spider's web.
Their fragrance also seems to be quite in harmony with the
warm, luxurious atmosphere upon which they lean. In the

PLATE. LI. RED BUD. Cercis Canadensis.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING IN MOIST SOIL.

113

West Indies the tree has many relatives, and there when the
pods of the species have turned to dark, reddish purple they are
called, with a strange attempt at hilarity, " dead man's fingers."
After the seeds have fallen they twist many times in drying.
The specimen from which the coloured illustration was painted
was found at Jew-Fish Key, in southern Florida.

The yellow wood of the tree is tinted with red. It has a fine
grain and a surface not unlike that of satin.

RED BUD. AMERICAN JUDAS=TREE. {Plate LI.)

Cercis Canadensis.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Senna. Broad, Jltit head; io-y)/eet. Ontario to N.J. southward April, .May.

branches, and zvestivard. Fruit: Se/t.
spreading.

Bark: purplish grey, the young branches almost smooth. Leaves: simple;
alternate; with petioles which are swollen at each end into a small, round ex-
tuberance. Rounded-cordate, the apex tapering into a blunt point and the
midrib sometimes projecting into a bristle. Palmately-veined ; entire ; glab-
rous or often slightly pubescent on the under side of the veins. Flmuers :
handsome ; several growing in sessile, umbel-like clusters on the old wood and
appearing before the leaves ; acrid to the taste. Calyx: red. Petals: rosy
pink; the wings overlapping or covering the small standard. Pods: small ;
shuttle-shaped ; winged along the seed-bearing margin and containing many
fiat, puckery-tasting seeds.

This little tree, for we are most accus-
tomed to seeing it small, is handsome at
all seasons of the year ; but it is truly a
sight in the early days of spring when it
is radiant with its exquisitely bright and
cheery blossoms. So eager then is the
tree to cover itself with them that they
sometimes appear even upon its trunk.
From a distance many might be allured
to its presence and think they were
approaching a profusion of deeply-tinted
peach blossoms, especially when it grows in among the haw-
thorns and flowering dogwood. As soon as the leaves
unfold, however, their shape would forbid such an error
and the flowers have the papilionaceous corolla of the senna

carets Canadensis.

114

TREES GROWING IN MOIST SOIL.

family. The legumes are a more yellow tone of green than
are the leaves and add in their turn touches of colour, like
high lights, throughout the tree. When given good soil and
sufficient room for development it grows rapidly in cultivation
and is a charming acquisition to parks and gardens; Its dark,
reddish-brown wood is not strong.

An ugly tradition that clusters about the old world relative
of this tree is that from its branches Judas hanged himself.

FOUR-WINGED SNOWDROP TREE.
BELL TREE. {Plate LII.)
Mohrodendron Carolhium.

SILVER

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

TIME OF BLOOM

Storax.

Head, narroiu: branches.

30-90 /eety

IVest ya. to Illinois

March, Aj>ril,

stout.

or a shrub.

southward to Fla.
and Texas.

Branches : reddish brown ; ridged. Leaves : simple ; alternate ; slender-
petioled ; ovate or oblong, with pointed apex and rounded or wedge-shaped
base; slightly serrate; bright green and glabrous above, slightly pubescent
underneath; thin. FUnvers : growing in loose, drooping clusters along the
branches and appearing with or before the leaves. Calyx : short ; four-
toothed. Corolla: campanulate ; four-parted. Sfanietis : eight to sixteen.
Pistil: one. Seed-vessels: long; oblong; four-winged and conspicuously
tipped with a remnant of the style.

So few leaves and flowers are to
be seen when these fair snowdrops
cover the tree that one is almost
inclined to look upon them with
suspicion and to wonder whether in
spite of their unsullied freshness
they have been desirous of taking a
peep at the earth before it was fully
clothed. But whatever may have been
their motives, it is truly a joy to have
them come forth so early in the sea-
son and to feel that the back of father
Winter is broken. When hung with
Mohrcdindron caronnum. them the trcc is a most pleasing

PLATE Lll. FOUR-WINGED SNOWDROP TREE.
Mohrodendroii Carolinian.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING IN MOIST SOIL. 115

sight. Often we then stop and wonder to find it among the
hickories and buckeyes : it would seem as though it should
find the company of the magnolias and cherry trees more
congenial. On moist, wooded slopes, in woods or nearing the
banks of streams it grows, and it is hardy as far northward as
eastern Massachusetts. It then however becomes a shrub.

NARROW=LEAVED COTTONWOOD. {Plate LTII)
Populus angustifblia.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Willow. Pyramidal, slender. 30-65 yi'f/. Dakota westward and to Aj>ril, May.

A rizona and New Mexico.

Bark: yellowish green and broken on old trees into broad, flat ridges.
Branches: grey. Leaves: simple; alternate; with petioles that are not
flattened laterally; lanceolate, or ovate-lanceolate; pointed or blunt at the
apex and narrowed or rounded at the base ; finely or coarsely serrate ; yellow-
green above, lighter below; the mid-rib yellow; thin. Staininate catkins :
cylindrical. Pistillate ones: from two to four inches long. Capsule: ovate
and surrounded by fine soft hairs.

When the flower-buds of the poplars begin to swell and their
colour changes to deeper tints every day, then we feel as
though the sleeping spring had indeed awaked. In fact. many
mistake these early unfolding flowers for the first shimmer of
young foliage. But on both the staminate and pistillate trees
the catkins lengthen and have satisfactorily settled their little
domestic affairs some time before the leaves burst from their
silver buds. And in this hastening into bloom there is some-
thing of method to be detected. The poplars rely on the wind
to carry their pollen from one plant to another and to facilitate
its reaching them, the pistillate flowers hang mostly near the
tips of the branches. Were the trees fully clothed with foliage
it would greatly obstruct the flying pollen and direct it into
idle paths.

When the leaves of Populus angustifolia unfold their out-
line is rather a surprise and is seen to resemble that of one of
the broad-leaved willows. From their buds exudes abundant
balsam. In moist soil and along the banks of streams of the

Capsule. Seed.

PLATE Llll. NARROW-LEAVED COTTONWOOD. Populus aiigustifolia.

(uC)

TREES GROWING IN MOIST SOIL.

117

far west, especially throughout the Rocky Mountains, this poplar
is the common species. Its wood is light, soft and very weak.

AMERICAN HOLLY. {Plate LIV.)

Ilex opaca.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT

Holiy. Head, compact; 20-50 yVf/.
branches, spreading.

RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Southern Maine along the April-June.

coast to Fla. and -westward. Fruit: Sept.

Bark: light grey; smooth. Braiichlets : slightly pubescent. Leaves: sim-
ple; alternate; elliptical or oval, with pointed apex and pointed base; the
teeth, sharp and spine-like; far apart. Siniises : rounded. Feather-veined,
the veins indistinct on the lower surface. Evergreen; dark green and glossy
above; lighter and tinged with yellow below ; thick; stiff; glal)rous. Floiuers:
white ; both staminate and pistillate ; axillary, and having their parts in fours.
Fruit : a bright red drupe which frequently remains on the tree well into the
winter.

The associations of the holly are all with the season of
merry-making and the blazing log of the yule-tide. When in a
wild state it needs, to bring out the beauty of its bright, red
berries and thick, shining leaves, the glistening white of a
snow-covered earth and the b:ire, gaunt
branches of other trees. By contrast then
its freshness is very attractive. During the
dusty, heated summer it might readily be
passed by unseen. The American holly is
not thought to be as beautiful as the English
one. There are fewer berries to be found
on it ; and its leaves have not nearly so
high and clear a lustre. But it is still a
crisp and cheery appearing tree and worthy
of a more extended cultivation than it
receives.

The wood of the holly is almost white. It is hard and fine
of grain. When made into work tables, boxes and similar arti-
cles it is very pretty.

/. vionticola^ large-leaved holly, bears a leaf which is very
distinctive from that of I. opaca. It is ovate-lanceolate, with a
taper-pointed apex and a finely serrated edge. In texture it is

Single floiver.

PLATE LIV. AMERICAN HOLLY. Ilex opaca.
(ii8)

PLATE LV. THREE-FLOWERtD THORN. Cra/ai:i,> hi/Loa.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING IN MOIST SOIL. 119

thin and not evergreen. The tree is rather tall and slender
and occasionally reaches a height of forty feet. Again it
occurs as a shrub. In May we shall find it in bloom. By
many it is well known and sought for in the damp woods of
the Catskill Mountains. It extends southward along the
mountains to Pennsylvania and to Alabama.

THREE=FLOWERED THORN. {Plate LV)
Cratcegiis trtjlbra.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

AppU. Spreading /rem base. 12-2.0 feci. Georgia and Alabama. April.

Bark 0/ branches : light greenish grey and close, becoming scaly. Spines :
dark red; branched; numerous on the main stem. Ledzvs : simple; alternate;
growing at the ends of the twigs; ovate ; pointed at the apex and rounded at
the base or tapering into a margin which extends along each side of the short
petiole ; irregularly or doubly serrate ; bright dark green above and pubescent
when young, later becoming rough ; ])aler below and pubescent. Flowers :
large ; growing in corymbs of mostly three flowers on jjubescent petioles, the
lateral ones, the longest. Calyx : with five lanceolate fringed lobes. Corolla:
wi:h five rosaceous white petals. Stamens: numerous. Fruit: globose;
brilliant orange or red.

Crataegus triflora is a rare tree : one quite imbued with the
idea of seclusion. At the present time it is only known to
occur at two stations ; along the cliffs of the Coosa River in
Georgia and near Birmingham, Alabama. Mr. Beadle, of Bilt-
niore, who has made an exhaustive study of the genus, has seen
it in bloom at the former place where, he says, there are about
fifty of the trees ; and he describes the effect they en masse
produce, when they unfold amid the russet tints of early
spring, as very lovely. "Individually," he says, "the shrub is
rather poor." At the top its branches divide many times and
the leaves appear to be thrust at the ends of the twigs so as to
form a covering for their nakedness. The particular charm of
its flowers is that they are large, and the two side ones seem
to have been quaintly prolonged so as to give a sort of pro-
tection to the one in the middle. From the coloured plate
this feature and the brilliancy of the fruit can be seen.

It was through the aid of a glance into the note book of Mr,

129

TREES GROWING IN MOIST SOIL.

Beadle and a well dried specimen that the accompanying
description was written.

AMERICAN ELM. WHITE ELM. {Plate L VI.)

FAMILY SHAPE

Ebn. Head^ round, broad:
branches, pendulous.

Ulmus Americana.

HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

100-120 J'eet. New Foundland south- March, April.
7uard to Fla. and west- Fruit: May.

ward to Texas.

Bark : ashy grey ; flaky. Branches : light green when young and without corky
ridges. Buds: flattened; smooth, or slightly pubescent. Stipules: linear to
lanceolate. Leaves : simple ; alternate ; with smooth petioles ; oval, orobovate,
with taper-pointed apex and rounded or slightly pointed base ; unequal sided;
coarsely or doubly serrate. Kibs : straight; conspicuous; veins and veinlets
numerous ; glabrous, or slightly rough above, pubescent underneath and be-
coming smooth at maturity. Flowers : dioecious ; minute ; growing in close,
drooping clusters on jointed stalks from lateral buds and appearing before the
leaves. Samaras : oval or ovate ; glabrous, with thickly fringed margins.

The American elm is very grace-
ful and stately. Its great arching
limbs uphold a spray of dark and
beautiful foliage which appears on
the landscape like a suddenly ar-
rested fountain. It is not strange
that so much sentiment clings about
these trees ; for at times they have
been associated with thrilling events
in their country's history. It was
under the shade of a great elm at
Cambridge, Mass., that Washington
stepped forward, drew his sword,
and in a few words assumed com-
mand of the American army. The
tree, after that eventful morning,
was known as the "Washington
Elm " ; and longer than any other
being it remained to testify to the younger generations that
it had been a witness of the scene. Although not at all
a phenomenal tree in size, the estimate was at the time made

ulmus A niericana.

PLATE LVI. AMERi

L l»iiis ^li/u'/icanij.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY.
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING IN MOIST SOIL. 121

that it developed every year a crop of seven millions of leaves,
and that they exposed to the air a surface of foliage equal to
about five acres.

On the banks of the Delaware there stood also a famous elm
tree. Under its branches William Penn made his treaty with
the Indians. It was not for lands, but for peace and friend-
ship. On March 3d, 1810, "The Treaty Tree," as the elm was
called, was prostrated by a storm. Its consecutive rings proved
it to be over two hundred and eighty-three years old. On
its site a monument with a suitable inscription was erected by
the Penn society.

The elms are dioecious ; their staminate and pistillate blos-
soms grow on different trees, or, to use the popular but erro-
neous expression, they are male and female. From each other
the two can be readily distinguished. The bud-scales of the
elms with their fringed margins and tufts of soft, white hairs
are very pretty. Very early in the spring they blow about
and often tint the ground while the flowers that have sprung
from them are unfolding.

The wood of the American elm is rather coarsely grained,
hard and heavy. Its medullary rays and its large open ducts
are conspicuous. For the making of small articles, floors, and
in ship building, it is very useful. The Indians occasionally
substituted its bark for that of birch when building their canoes.
It is to be lamented that so much damage is inflicted upon
these trees by insects and that their beauty is thus often
marred. Throughout New England, where the elms have con-
tributed so much to the beauty of the towns, it is quite pathetic
to see so many in a dilapidated condition. When planted the
tree requires soil where it can imbibe abundant moisture, and
to be away from the shade of other trees. It is very rapid of
growth.

122 TREES GROWING IN MOIST SOIL.

CORKY WHITE ELH. ROCK ELM. HICKORY EL/l.

{Plate L VII.)
Ulinus racetnbsa.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Elm. Heacf^round-topfied; io-ioo feet. New England southward April.

branches., rigid. and westward. E'ruit: June.

This species of elm might readily be mistaken for Ulmus
Americana as in general characteristics there is much that is
similar between the two. The marks of distinction, however,
are that the young branches of Ulmus racemosa are pubescent,
and as they grow older they develop large, corky wings. The
fringed bud-scales are more often than not covered with a soft
down, and the flowers grow in a raceme. The leaves, too, have
many fine hairs on the upper surface and are not so noticea-
bly serrate as those of Ulmus Americana. In the autumn its
foliage turns a bright yellow. The tree inhabits low grounds
where a heavy, wet clay soil prevails ; or it flourishes in gravelly
uplands and on the high bluffs of rivers. It grows slowly, and
its wood, although valuable, is threatened by extinction. While
it has been neglected by planters, the axe has sought it with dili-
gence. In the forests of Canada and North America most of
the large trees have already been felled.

U. alata, winged elm, Wahoo, is a comparatively small tree,
forty or fifty feet high, with an open, round-topped head and
slender branches, which are mostly covered with corky ridges.
The leaves are somewhat rough on the upper surface and
especially pubescent along the under veins. The samaras, also,
are pubescent and are densely fringed on their margins. In
wet, gravelly, or dry soil, the tree is known to grow. It in-
habits the country from Virginia to Illinois and southward.

5LIPPERY ELM. MOOSE ELM. RED ELM. {Plate LVIII.)

Ulmus fiilva.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Elm. Head, broad, flat: 6o-yo/eet. Quebec and New England March, April.
branches, spreading. southward and westward. Fruit: May.

Bark: reddish brown; rough. Branches: bright green when young, and
turning to light grey; very rough, although not having corky wings. Inner

Enlarged floiver.

PLATE LVII. CORKY WHITE ELM. Ubmis racemosa.
(123)

124

TREES GROWING IN MOIST SOIL.

bark: white; slippery. Leaf-buds: large; round and covered with a reddish
scurf. Leaves: simple; alternate; with rough petioles about an eighth of an
inch long; ovate or obovate, with taper-pointed apex and rounded or slightly
cordate base. Coarsely and doubly serrate ; rough and harsh on the upper sur-
face, soft and downy underneath in the angles of the straight ribs. Flowers:
growing on short pedicels in globular clusters ; fragrant when tilled Samaras :
dull yellow; semi-orbicular and containing a round, flat seed. The margins of
the wings unfringed ; glabrous, excepting over the seed.

There is something intensely human in the desire to chew, —
to chew the cud of meditation ; and when in the open country
one meets a boy with a certain felicitous expression and wag-
ging jaws, it is good evidence that somewhere in his rambles
he has met with the slippery elm tree. Should his pockets be
turned inside out there would also be a chance of finding a
quantity of its fragrant, inner bark stored away for future dis-
posal. To chew this gummy, slippery substance is not, per-
haps, the smallest item in his enjoyment as he carelessly breathes
the summer air or gazes at a cloudless sky. Unfortunately
this innate desire of the boy is often gratified at the tree's ex-
pense. In fact, it is almost impossible to protect it from him,
when it is cultivated as an ornament in parks, and its identity
is known. In a more conventionalized form the inner bark is
sold by chemists, and its properties are medicinal and nutritious.
The tree has a fine, shapely outline, and grows rapidly. Its

dark reddish wood is strong and
durable and is largely used for the
making of posts. When green it
splits very readily.

U. campestris, English elm, is in
this country very frequently seen in
cultivation and has distinctive char-
acteristics which prevent its being
confused with the native wild
species. Its branches are compar-
;^^ atively short and grow in a hori-
zontal or ascending line. This gives
iiimus camp^stru, it a compact, robust look ; very dif-

Enlarged flower.

PLATE LVIII. SLIPPERY ELM. Ulmusfulva.
(125)

126 TREES GROWING IN MOIST SOIL.

ferent from the graceful, languorous droop of the American elm.
The leaves are smaller and grow densely on the wingless
branches. Their upper surfaces, also, are less rough. Some-
times for weeks after those of the native tree have fallen they
remain fresh on the branches. The samaras of the English elm
are smooth and without fringed margins, and its bark is very
dark and much broken. It is not frequent that the tree es-
capes from cultivation.

U. suberbsa, is a variety of the preceding species and has an
immense amount of corky stuff on the branches.

HACKBERRY. SUQAR=BERRY. FALSE ELM.

NETTLE=TREE. {Plate LIX.)

Cdtis occide7itaIis.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Elm. Ro2i7id-topped; 15-50-140 y>^/. Quebec southward and April, May.

branches, spreading; westward. Fruit: Sept.
or pendulous.

Bark: silver-grey or brown ; crumpled; rough. Stipules: linear; whitish,
with a soft down. Leaves: simple; alternate; with slender, grooved petioles;
ovate, with taper-pointed apex and one-sided, pointed, rounded or cordate
base; serrate, becoming entire at the base. Very variable. Bright green;
glabrous and lustrous above, paler underneath and sometimes pubescent along
the ribs. Flowers: greenish; axillary; the staminate ones clustered; the
pistillate ones solitary and drooping on a peduncle. Calyx: five and six
parted. Stamens: long. Fruit: a small, globular drupe; purplish red, be-
coming nearly black when ripe, with a thin pulp; edible; sweet.

It is a very unusual sight to see this tree or, sometimes, shrub
growing over fifty feet high, although at times it stretches it-
self upward until it reaches one hundred and forty feet. Not
long ago one was reported to measure one hundred and twenty
feet high, and five feet in diameter at a distance of four feet
from the ground. Its appearance was strongly suggestive of a
very old elm. The tree is admirable for the purpose of trans-
planting and when well developed is very effective. It grows
rapidly and displays great endurance against dry weather or a
long drought. The leaves in the autumn turn a light yellow.
From its wood which is coarsely grained and rather soft a

PLATE LIX. HACKBERRY. Celtis occzdentalzs.
(127)

128

TREES GROWING IN MOIST SOIL.

cheap kind of furniture is made. Celtis is the ancient name of
the Greeks for the lotus.

RED nULBERRY. {Plate LX)

Morns rubra.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT

Mulberry . Head, round, dense; I'^-to feet.

branches, spreading.

RANGE

Western Neiv England,

soicihiuard and

westward.

TIME OF BLOOM
April, May.

Bark: greyish brown ; rough and separating into plates. Leaves: three to
seven inches long; simple; alternate; ovate; approaching orbicular, with
pointed apex and rather cordate base; or frequently occurring with unequal
lobes at the sides when the sinuses are rounded; coarsely serrate; thin ; yellow-
green and rough on the upper surface when young, becoming dark bluish green
and smooth; j^aler and downy or smooth below. Ribs: whitish and distinct.
Flowers: growing in axillary, catkin-like spikes; either dicecious or monoecious,
usually the latter. Fruit : similar in appearance to a long, wild blackberry; red,
turning when ripe to a rich, dark purple ; edible; sweet.

A homely barnyard scene,
where chickens and pigs rove
about at will and a lordly tur-
key gobbler exercises a sur-
veillance over all, is hardly
complete without the shade of
a red mulberry tree. No doubt
it has been planted there by the
farmer or his predecessor who
knew that its juicy fruit would
fatten his hogs and nourish
well his poultry. The flavour
is a trifle insipid, but these ani-
mals are not over discriminating and root and scratch under
the tree when the berries are falling until the ground is often
stained to the same deep, blood hue. The juice of thetree
itself is milky. Horticulturists have paid little attention to
Morus rubra as a fruit tree although it would seem as though
it had possibilities for a better development. The tree is very
ornamental. In early summer the green of its leaves is par-
ticularly enchanting and can hardly fail to attract the attention

Mdrus riibra.

PLATE LX. RED MULBERRY. Moms rubra.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, B1 FREDERICK *. STOKES COMPANY.
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

PLATE LXI. WHITE MULBERRY. Moms alba.
(129)

130

TREES GROWING IN MOIST SOIL.

of those that have an eye for colour. In their composition
there is an abundance of yellow, and they give an effect as
though they were continually glowing with sunshine.

The Indians of the southern states have some way of obtain-
ing fibres from the tree's inner bark, and these they weave
into cloth. The wood is light yellow, soft and very durable
--^>'^n when in contact with the ground. It is

cj^^'.'^'K^.V-'f quite valuable.
^'^^^^*— '-■ M- "^^'^^ ^v'l'te mulberry, {Plate LXI.)

^^/*iiAf^P^yf^'-''^j^'2 is a similar and very familiar tree which

''V ■

is also seen about old farmhouses. It
has escaped from cultivation. The tree
is small and has leaves that differ from
those of the red mulberry in being
smooth and shiny on both sides. Its
short, compact, staminate spikes grow on
slender peduncles. The fruit is white
or slightly tinted with pink and has an
insipid, sweetish flavour. In about 1830 the tree was intro-
duced from China, and in the old world, as is well known, its
leaves have for a long time been fed to silkworms.

M dries alba.

PAPER MULBERRY. {Plate LXII)

Broussotiitia papyrifera.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Mulberry. Low hranrhing. ■2o-T,o/eet. New York souihward. May, June.

Fruit: June, July.

Bark : light; fibrous; rather smooth. Leaves : simple ; alternate ; with long,
round petioles; broadly ovate, with pointed apex and slightly pointed or cor-
date base, or frequently occurring with from two to three unequal lobes when
the sinuses are rounded ; serrate ; thick; the upper surface rough, like velvet,
the lower surface downv. Flowers : dioecious ; the sterile ones growing in
spike-like calkins, the fertile ones in rounded heads; scaly; bristly. Fruit:
fleshy ; not edible.

Very frequently about old houses or in dilapidated grave-
yards we find this tree which has escaped from cultivation.
Its low-growing branches afford in such places a desirable

Flowering bra nch ,

PLATE LXII. PAPER MULBERRY. BroitssoJieiia papyrifera.
(131)

132 TREES GROWING IN MOIST SOIL.

shade. In Japan, whence it has been introduced into this
country, and also in China, the very fibrous bark is utilized
to make paper and this circumstance is responsible for its
English name. The leaves of the tree might readily be confused
with those of the red mulberry, but its club-shaped fruit is
quite different and is far from being edible. The tree spreads
itself by suckers.

BURR OAK. MOSSY=CUP OAK. OVER=CUP WHITE OAK.

{Plate LXIII.)
Qiih'ciis macrocdrpa.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Beech. Round-topped, broad; 60-80-160 Maine to Penn. and May, June,

branches, spreading. feet. westward to Montana,

southzvard to Texas.

Bark : brownish grey ; furrowed. Branchlets : marked with corky-winged
ridges. Leaves: six to fifteen inches long; simple ; alternate; with thick pet-
ioles, flattened and enlarged at their bases ; obovate ; lyrately pinnatifid, with
wedge-shaped base and from five to seven long, irregular lobes ; rounded or
hollowed at their apexes ; entire or wavy. The sinuse of the middle lobe
sometimes extending to within an eighth of an inch of the midrib. Dark green,
smooth and lustrous above; silvery white and downy underneath. Staminate
flowers : growing in slender catkins with greenish-yellow stems. Pistillate cat-
kins: s&ssWt. Acorns : very large; handsome. Cu/>: cup-shaped; covered with
rough, pointed scales, the upper row of which terminate in long bristle i:)oints
and form a mossy soft fringe about the nut; pubescent on the inner surface.
Nut : on'e to one and a half inches long; oval and almost covered by the cup.

About this noble tree there is the same semblance of strength
and durability as is so generally associated with the oaks. It is
one of the largest of the family of Eastern North America and
is more widely distributed than any other, although compara-
tively rare east of the Alleghanies. To various climatic condi-
tions it shows much adaptability. On the prairies the " Oak
Openings " are mostly composed of the burr oak ; and one that
has entered them has said, " he knew not whether he shuddered
from fear or delight." In the Mississippi basin it is commonly
seen in lowland forests. As it occurs northward it is interesting
to notice that the acorns become very much smaller, and as the
length of their fringe is proportionately reduced, they cease to

PLATE LXI II. BURR OAK. Qiiernis viacrocnrpa.

COPVRIGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING IN MOIST SOIL.

^33

suggest the dainty
bird's nests that
they do in the
south. Hardly a
more beautiful tree
can be imagined in
cultivation when
enough room has
been given it to
follow its own bent
of development.
One then looks
upon its great head
and branches with
almost a feeling of
awe.

As a timber tree
it is excelled in
value by few trees
of North America.
Its dark brown
wood closely resembles and is
the white oak, but it is super

Qzie'rcus iiiacrocarpa.

sometimes confused with that of
ior to it in strength.

PIN OAK. WATER OAK. SWAHP SPANISH OAK.

{Plate LXIV.)
Quircus palustris.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Beech. Tapering toivards the tp-do feet^ or Mass. southward May, June.

top: loiver branches, higher. and westward. Pruit: Sept., Oct.
declined.

Bark: dark grey or greenish brown; rough, with furrows that are slight
and far apart ; the bark of the branches often cracking and showing the reddish
inner bark. Leaves: three to five inches long ; simple ; alternate; with yellow
petioles ; obovate ; broad ; tapering or squared at the base, and having from
five to nine lobes which are toothed and bristle-tipped at the ends. Sinuses:
broad ; rounded ; and extending fully three quarters of the way to the midrib ;
bright green ; smooth and lustrous above, paler below and tufted in the

134

TREES GROWING IN MOIST SOIL.

angles of the ribs with reddish hairs. Flowers: monoecious; the staminate
ones growing in slender catkins; pistillate ones mostly solitary. Acorns:
small; growing on short stems or sessile. Cup: flat; saucer-shaped; finely
scaled. NtU: light brown; rounded; often striped ; very broad, with a thin
shell.

Quircus pahistris.

The leaves of the pin oak strongly suggest to us in general
outline those of the scarlet oak, page 244. When we come to

examine them closely, however, we
notice among other things that they
are smaller and that their sinuses
extend nearer to the midrib. These
very differences, although they may
seem slight, do in reality change
the whole aspect of the trees, and
give to the pin oak a lighter, more
delicate appearance which is very
pretty. When young it is tapering
and symmetrical in outline ; but
age seems to distort it, and it be-
comes irregular and straggling.
Its pendulous branches mark it distinctively. In early spring
when the tree is blooming, its delicate maize-coloured cat-
kins hang among the tender green leaves and sway and nod
with them most enchantingly. In lowlands and guarding the
borders of streams the tree is common, and it sometimes is found
extending its roots into the river bed. In all places the tree
has its own peculiar beauty, and it is an excellent one for plant-
ing. In the autumn its leaves turn a deep, rich red. Its wood
is coarse and not of any great value. It warps badly in drying.
Galls, or oak-apples as they are sometimes called, are the
round excrescences made on the branches of oak trees by gall-
flies and their larvae. In some parts of New Jersey it seems as
though they had an especial preference for this species. Often in
the spring before enough green has been put forth to cover the
bareness of winter it is quite pitiable to see so many galls cling-
ing to the branches and destroying the appearance of really fine

^ / ^1 s

PLATE LXIV. PIN OAK. Ortercus palusiris.
(135)

136 TREES GROWING IN MOIST SOIL.

trees. " That is a typical degenerate," is a criticism called
forth by one poor tree that was almost covered with them.
And it was so. When broken open little green worms are found
to be inhabitants of the galls, and they seem to thrive amazingly
well in the porous substance.

SWEET GUM. BILSTED. ALLIGATOR TREE. STAR-
LEAVED GUM. {Plate LXV.)

Liquiddmbar Styracijlua.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Witch-hazel. Rounded; branches, to-T.i,o/eet. Conn, and southern April. May.

slender. N. Y. southward and

•westwa rd to III.

Bark: reddish brown ; very rough. Branchlets : usually covered with corky
ridges. Stipules: lanceolate ; entire. Leaves: simple; alternate; with slen-
der petioles ; rounded in outline ; cordate at the base ; palmately-lobed, the lobes
from five to seven, usually five ; finely serrate ; brilliant, smooth and lustrous
above; ribs tufted in their angles below. Odour: pleasant, when bruised.
Flowers : monoecious ; the staminate ones growing in a dense terminal raceme ;
the pistillate ones growing in an a.xillary, peduncled head. Fruit : a hanging
globose ball of woody, pointed pods which open and release the few good seeds
contained within each one.

This most beautiful tree has many distinctive features. In
fact it seems to have a horror of doing things after any conven-
tional pattern. Its ideas are most chaste and original. In the
symmetry of their form and texture the star-like leaves are per-
fect, and the quaint balls of fruit which hang on the trees over
the winter are most interesting. The tree is also the only species
of this country. In the south it grows to a greater height than it
does northward, and its spicy, fragrant gum exudes more abun-
dantly from its bark. Amber fluid is the translation of the tree's
generic name which was bestowed on it in reference to this
gum or copal. It is quite valuable and is much used as a sub-
stitute for storax. The leaves contain tannin. Every year we
notice that this tree is being more extensively planted, and in
beauty of outline and detail it might almost be said to be unri-
valled. As soon as the summer has begun to wane the leaves
turn a brilliant, deep crimson. There is a shining bright-

PLATE LXV. SWEET GUM. Liquidambar StvnuiJIua.

COPYRcGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK *. STOKES COMPANY.
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

Siaminate flower.

PLATE LXVI. CORAL SUMAC. Rhus Metopiiim.

(137)

138 TREES GROWING IN MOIST SOIL.

ness about these leaves, and when a spray of them is gathered
they bear well a close inspection ; for they are not defaced or
worm-eaten as is so much of the autumn foliage. In fact insects
are very shy of the tree, and borers inflict no damage on the
wood. The brownish-red wood of the sweet gum is smooth and
has a fine finish. It is not very strong and in drying warps badly.
It has, however, been used as a substitute for black walnut.

CORAL SUriAC. POISON WOOD. HOG GUM.

{Plate LXVI.)
Rhiis Met opium.

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

TIME OF BLOOM

Sumac.

Head, broad: branches^
spreading or pendulous.

■20-1,0 feet.

Florida and
Florida Keys.

April-Ju7ie.

Bark: reddish brown; sepnrating into thin plate-like scales. Inner bark :
orange. Branchlets: with many deep, orange-coloured excresences. Leaves:
compound; alternate; growing near the end of the branches, with petioles that
are enlarged at their bases ; odd-pinnate, with usually five ovate leaflets rounded
at the apex, and rounded, squared or wedge-shaped at the base; entire; thick;
glabrous on both sides; olive-green above, paler below, the terminal leaflet
sometimes longer than the others. Flowers: dicEcious; growing in long
axillary, erect panicles. Fruit: many deep orange-coloured drupes about half
ai^ inch long; obovate; glabrous; poisonous.

About the southern keys and along the shores of Bay Bis-
cayne in southern Florida the coral sumac is common. It is
one of the most beautiful of all the smaller trees. In colour
its young bark is exquisite and suggests the mellow tones of
deeply tinted copper. Even though it is so fair, however,
confidence in it is sadly misplaced. The breath exhaled by the
dainty flowers is very poisonous, and its juices produce the
same symptoms of illness as do those of Rhus toxicodendron,
poison ivy. From incisions made in its bark an emetic and
resinous gum is obtained which has some commercial value.

The wood of the tree is not much used for it is rather weak.
In colour it is dark brown and is very effectively lined with red.

r

Flower stripped of envelope.

PLATE LXVll. WESTERN LOCUST. Robittia Neo-Mexicana.
(139)

I40 TREES GROWING IN MOIST SOIL.

WESTERN LOCUST. {Plate LXV II)

Robinia Nco-Mexicana.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Pea. Spreading;. \.--i-jJi:et. Colorado to Aiew Mexico Alay.

and ivcst'ivard.

Bark: light brown; rough and scaly. Stipjtles : developing later into spines.
Leaves : compound; alternate; with long pubescent petioles and having from
tilteen to twenty-one leaflets; oblong-elliptical, rounded or pointed at the apex
and rounded at the base; entire; bluish green and glabrous above, slightly
pubescent on the lower si.es of the veins and midrib. Floxvers : rose colour;
or nearly white, growing in short, compact racemes. Calyx: hairy. Corolla:
papilionaceous, the standard low and broad. Legiwies : linear; curving;
pointed at the lower end and covered with bristly hairs. Seeds : dark brown.

There is something particularly distinct and beautiful about
all of the locusts ; and if we have followed only one of them in
its course of development from the early swelling of its buds to
the change and oxidation of its leaves in the autumn, it is only
reasonable to feel ourselves somewhat in harmony with the
whole genus. It then becomes a matter of intense interest to
note the smallest variation in flower or foliage or fruit that
aids to distinguish one species from another.

In Colorado only, does Robinia Neo -Mexicana become a tree ;
in other places it occurs as a shrub. Through cultivation it is
becoming familiar, and it is quite hardy in New England. Time
however is required for it to regard the nearness of man with
fearlessness. Its instincts warn it, like those of the savage, to
be on the defensive. We notice therefore that it is most
abundantly supplied with sharp spines. Along the banks of
wild mountain streams in its natural habitat these were its
faithful weapons and protected its buds and bark from the
ravages of small animals,

AMERICAN MOUNTAIN ASH. ROWAN TREE.
AMERICAN SERVICE TREE. {Plate LXVIII.)

Sdrbus Americana.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Afple. Almost pyramidal., zo-^o/eet. Neiv Foitndland westward May., June,
slender. and southward along the Fruit: Sept.

A lleghanies.

^rt'^ : dull brown; almost smooth; odour, astringent. Leaves: compound;
alternate; odd-pinnate; with red, grooved stalks and from nine to seventeen

PLATE LXVI II. AMERICAN MOUNTAIN ASH. .Vrvv.vy _ /.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, Br FREDERICK *. STOKES COMPANr
PRfNTED IN AMERICA.

TREES (GROWING IN MOIST SOIL. 141

almost sessile, long ovate or lanceolate ieatlets, taper-pointed at the apex and
pointed or rounded at the base. Finely serrate; bright green above; paler
below and glabrous on both sides. /'Ycrac'rs : small; white; growing in large
flat cymes, as many as a hundred blossoms in some clusters. Fruit : bright
red scarlet berries about the size of large peas with a black spot at the apex.

It is not only i'.i the spring- that there is so much of beauty
about the trees ; although they then seem to be having their
revel of mirth and lavishness. The autumn, with its line of
purple in the sky, its many tinted mountains and hills, its
richly-coloured fruits that are busy scattering their seeds,
so beautifully fulfils the promises of early spring that there
seems to be about it an even greater charm. lUit there is a
note of sadness in the autumn, for it sings that the summer is
past. Grim Winter is on his way, and who v/ould stay his
unerring step as he returns to reclaim his own ? At this season
of the year the berries of the mountain ash are cheerful things
to look upon. Their shower of scarlet is abundant, and they
remain on the trees for a long time. In cultivation the tree is
now so frequent and familiar that it is almost a surprise to
meet it in its natural habitat. It then grows in low or moist
ground ; sometimes even in swamps and cold mountain woods.
An identical form of the tree occurs in Japan.

S. sainbiicifoUa, Western mountain ash, or elder-leaved
mountain ash, has broader and shorter leaflets than those of
Sorbus Americana which are doubly toothed and have blunt
points. It also grows in moist soil.

S. aniiiparia, Rowan tree or European mountain ash, differs
again in having leaves that are pubescent on both sides, espe-
cially so when young. The calyx of its flowers and the pedicels
are woolly.

Rowan tree as it is generally called is reported to have
escaped from cultivation on Prince Edward Island. Just how
it did so is not related ; but it probably hoodwinked the
officials or tossed a sleeping draught to the gate keepers, for it
has a long established reputation for witchcraft and the power
to dispel evil spirits.

142

TREES GROWING Ix\ MOIST SOIL.

BILTHORE ASH. {Plate LXIX.)
Fraxmits Bilt more aim.

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

TIME OF BLOOM

Olive.

Head, open; branches^
spreading.

30-100 yV'f/.

Ga. to I 'rt., Tenn.
and Ala.

April-June.

U/i/'er dark: light bluish grey. T^uigs : stout; velvety. Buds: dark
brown. Leaves: two to three inches long; compound; opposite; with dark,
jiubescent petioles; with from seven to nine oval, ovate or oblong-lanceolate,
leaflets pointed at the apex and pointed or rounded at the base; entire or
remotely dentate; soft light green and glabrous above, lighter and velvety
below. ' Santa >as : large, growing three to five inches long in dense panicles;
the wing many nerved and slightly lobed at the apex. Seeds : elliptical.

Among the ashes there is hardly one more graceful or with

foliage of a inore sunny, ex-
quisite green than that of the
Biltmore ash. It is light and
restless, and after it has faded
and fallen the tree looks as
though it missed it sadly ; but the
seed pods which have then turned
to a dull tan colour still cling to
the tree and for a long time
hang in great bunches upon its
boughs as though to cheer it for
its loss.

The tree received its name
from Mr. Beadle who so christ-
ened it because it is the common
species on the Biltmore estate.
It there grows abundantly along the French-Broad and
Swanona Rivers. In general appearance the tree suggests the
white ash, Fraxinus Americana, more than any other, although
it may be distinguished from it by the pubescence of its twigs
and petioles. Occasionally it grows to the height of a hundred
feet, but when it occurs in drier soil and among the mountains
it is generally small.

Fraxinus Biltiuoreana.

TlAiC l/>ia. DiuiiViwKt h\Or\. l / u.k l li il.^ hi i i tlii' t iiDUl.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PRINTED IN AMERICA,

PLATE LXX. WESTERN BLADDER-NUT. Staphylca nolanderi.

144 TREES GROWING IN MOIST SOIL.

WESTERN BLADDER=NUT. {Plate LXX)
Staphylea Boldnderi.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Staff-tree. Erect: branches. About yb/eet. ''^Pacific /orestsy April.

stout. Fruit: July.

Branches: reddish brown, the new growth light yellow or green. Leaves:
compound ; opposite ; three-foliate ; with long petioles ; the leaflets broadly
oval ; abruptly pointed at the apex, and jjointecl or blunt at the base ; serrate;
glabrous. Flowers: greenish white; perfect ; regular, and growing in drooping,
terminal panicles. Sefa/s : five. Pela/s : five. Slawens : five; exsevted. Pis-
til: one, with three styles. Fruit: large ; bladder-like, and containng from one
to four flattened seed in each cell.

To follow the woods and streams with eyes alert to all that
is growing is to live upon the brink of discovery, and when a
rare or unknown plant is found there is a certain dread and ex-
citement lest one may have been deceived, and a fear that the
illusion will be shattered by sonie one pointing out that it has
been known and written about in ages past.

The specific name of the western bladder-nut commemorates
the collector who first discovered it growing at McCloud's
Fork of the Sacramento River. It is one of the rarest shrubs of
the Pacific coast ; and it is not thought that it has been intro-
duced into cultivation. Even more interesting than the fine
delicate flowers are the curious bladder-like seed vessels. That
they have sprung from things so small seems indeed a mystery.

ELDER. {Plate LXXL)
Sajnbiicits Canadensis 7'ar. Mexicdna.

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

TIME OF BLOOM

Honeysuckle.

Round-topped,
compact.

10-30 yVv'/.

Western Texas to
California.

March-July.

Bark: brownish red ; broken in horizontal ridges. Leaves : compound ; op-
posite ; odd-pinnate ; with pubescent stalks and five ovate-lanceolate leaflets,
pointed at the apex and wedge-shaped at the base; sharply serrate, and be-
c uning entire at the base ; yellow-green ; thick ; pubescent along the veins.
Flowers: white; minute ; growing in large, flat cymes. Fruit : a blue-black
diupe ; juicy, and having no bloom.

There are, perhaps, few that are not familiar with the com-
mon elder, the shrub about which cluster so many old tradi-
tions. In western Texas, and extending to California, the vari-

PLATE LXXI. ELDER. Sainbucus Canadensis var. Mexi ana
(145)

146 TREES GROWING IN MOIST SOIL.

ety called Mexicana differs from it in becoming arborescent in
its habit. It is a very ornamental tree, free from objectional
features, and about houses it is much planted for shade. Its fine
light foliage makes it desirable for the purpose. The Indians
and Mexicans assiduously gather its fruit every year and have
many ways of preparing it as food, which, it is said, they keenly
relish.

S. Canadensis, sweet elder or elderberry, is a well known
woody shrub, which commonly grows from five to ten feet
high. Its flowers and cymes of deep purple fruit are possessed
of medicinal properties. The leaves when crushed emit a
heavy scent.

SWEET BUCKEYE. BIG BUCKEYE. YELLOW

BUCKEYE. (I^/ate LXXII)

^ilsculus octdndra.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Soap-berry. Compact; bruKches^ ^o-<jo/eet. Along the Alleghanies April-J une.

slightly pendulous. to Gii. ^vestward to lozva.

Bar/c : dark brown ; sei^arating irto thin pieces. Branchlets : orange-brown
when young. Leaves : pahiiatelv-compound ; opposite, with usually five or some-
times seven hjng, oval, or elliptical leaflets, taper-pointed at the apex and base;
sharply serrate; glabrous above and pubescent along the ribs undenieaih.
Flowers: pale yellow; growing on short pedicels in close panicles. Calyx:
oblong; with five points. Corolla : with five petals, the lateral ones long, nar-
row at the ends and rounded. Slamet/s : shorter than the petals. Fruit : a
round, green husk ; uneven on the surface, but without prickles and enclosing
one or two large brown nuts.

In the outline of the buckeyes there is something particularly
compact and well-regulated, and their symmetrical leaves
cling together as though to shut out the intrusion of other idea£
than their own. We can hardly fancy the boughs of these
trees waving poetically ; they are much too conventional. The
leaflets, as can be seen from a comparison of the illustrations,
are very differently shaped from those of the horse-chestnut,
which is an introduced tree. The sweet buckeye is so named
because the odour of the meat of its nut is not peculiar like
that of others of the genus, It is a handsome and shapely tree,

PLATE LXXII. SWEET BUCKEYE. Aescu/us octandra.

COPrRIGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANIT
PRINTED IN AMEBIC*.

TREES GROWING IN MOIST SOIL.

147

and appears well in cultivation.
In the early spring when it is
covered with its yellow flowers
it seems to have suddenly be-
come quite frivolous. In the
southwest the tree is hardly more
than a shrub. Its wood is creamy
white, strong, and difficult to
split.

A. octandra /lybnda, purple
sweet buckeye, is readily dis-
tinguished from the preceding
species in its season of bloom,
as its flowers are purple or dull
red. The leaves, also, are very Ascutus octandra.

downy on their under surface, and the bark of the tree islightei
in colour.

OHIO BUCKEYE.

FETID BUCKEYE. {Plate LX XIII.)

^senilis glabra .

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Soap-berry. Spreading: branches, iS-^S /^eef, or Aion^ tie A Ueghunies May.

slender. hi^lu-r. to Ala. and westward. Fruit: Oct.

Bark : grey ; furrowed and separating into lliin scales ; odour, disagreeable.
Leaves: palmately-compound ; opposite; with slentler petioles and five or seven
long oval leaflets, taper-])ointed at the apex and base ; unequally serrate; yel-
lowish green above, paler below; almost glabrous at maturity. Flowers: not
showy; pale yellow green ; growing in a short panicle; pubescent. Corolla:
with four erect and rather uniform petals having claws. Fruit: two smooth
nuts, enclosed in a green round husk with prickles when young.

Although this is not a cotnmon tree it has grown so exten-
sively in Ohio that the name "the Buckeye State " has been
the outcome. It is also hardy in New England. In low, moist
ground and river bottom lands it finds its natural ha'nitat. For
almost every contrivance of man it seems as though there

Enlarged J!oii.'fr.

PLATE LXXIII. OHIO BUCKEYE. jEsculus glabra.
(148J

TREES GROWING IN MOIST SOIL.

149

> «s.

were a tree which bore the
necessary and best adapted
wood. Such is the provision
and forethought of nature.
The wood of the genus ,-Escu-
lus is better than any other for
the making of artificial limbs.
A. Calif oniica, the California
buckeye, is usually a small
tree. The accompanying dia-
gram was taken from a speci-
men that had attained a great size and rounded, compact pro-
jiortions. It bears five leaflets that are slender stalked.

ii

^'^^

^sculus Cali/ornica.

Trees Preferring to Grow in Rich Soil:
Forests and Thickets.

// 2i'as tiviligJit in the denser ivoods,

All the birds Jiad ceased to sing.
And a ivondrous stillness filled the air

As each vine did closer cling.

Not a leaf zvas stirred on all the trees,
' Tivas as though their trunks ivcrc stone.

On the sultry air all there seemed carved ;
Too heavy and sad to moan.

Had the earth Just rung for evetiing prayer.
The tivilight breeze lulled to sleep ?

Or zvas it a painting, where all is dead,
And shadows are long and deep ?

No voice came the question to anszvcr,

Nor sign from the cloudless sky ;
' Till frightened perhaps by the calmness.

Sailed high a ivhitc butterfly.

CUCUMBER TREE. MOUNTAIN MAGNOLIA.

{Plate LXXJV:)
]\[agnblta acu/iu'nafa.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Magnolia. Pyramidal^ slender. 6o-c)o/eet. Soutliert! A'A'. sciith- A pi-ii-J une.

iv.ird andwcstivard.

Bark : AtkxV; rough. Branchlets : pubescent. Leaf-luids : silkv; pubescent.
Leaves: simple ; alternate; petioled and scattered along the branches ; oblong,
pointed at the apex and rounded at the base. Dark green above, lighter below

PLATE LXXIV. CUCUMBER TREE. Magnoliaacumiiiala.
(15')

152 TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL.

and pubescent. Flowers : three to six inches in diameter ; terminal ; solitary.
Calyx: reflexed. Corolla: pale greenish yellow; fragrant, with six large obo-
vate, narrow pointed petals. Fruit: large; ovate ; glabrous ; becoming rose
coloured when ripe. Seeds : orange-red and hanging when released from the
pods by fine white filaments.

When we wander through a strip of woodland where the soil
is rich and the atmosphere feels as though it were a shroud of
humid vapour, we may look about among the white ash, the
white oak and the sugar maples for the fragrant bloom of Mag-
nolia acuminata. But it is generally a rare find, and it is not
sufficiently common to be much associated with the forests. Its
growth is most luxurious in the valleys at the bases of the
mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. At all seasons
of the year it is a notable tree, although it can not be com-
pared to the great-fiowered magnolia, which has, however,
attained so leading a place in beauty's ranks that it is per-
haps unjust to use it as a standard for others. The resemblance
of the tree's fruit when green to a small cucumber is responsi-
ble for its English name. Magnolia acuminata has been used
with much success as a stock on which to graft Magnolia Vir-
ginia and the magnolias of Eastern Asia. They then grow
more freely than when left entirely dependent upon themselves.
The wood of the tree has been used in cabinet work ; but gen-
erally speaking that of the whole genus, excepting Magnolia
foetida^ is too soft and spongy to be of any great value.

M. cordata, yellow cucumber tree, is a variety of this species
which is widely cultivated. It is hardy as far northward as
Boston. A most beautiful effect is produced by it when its
lemon-coloured flowers are pushing out of the buds.

SMOOTH AZALEA. TREE AZALEA. {Plate LXXV.)
Azalea arbordscens.

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

TIME OF BLOOM

Heath.

Rounded.

Z-2o/eet.

Southern Penn. to
North Carolina.

June, July.

Bark: dark, tinged with red. Leaves: simple; alternate; petioled ; obo-
vate, acute at both ends, with entire margins which are delicately fringed.
Bright green and lustrous above, paler and glaucous underneath ; in drying
fragrant. Flowers: rose coloured or white; very fragrant; growing in terminal

PLATL Laa.

AZALEA. A.:dUii an.

COPYRIGHT, J900, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL. 153

clusters and appearing after the leaves. Calyx : five-lobed ; conspicuous.
Corolla : funnel-form with five somewhat irregular lobes ; viscid. Statnens:
red; five; protruding. Pistil: one with a red style; protruding. CapsziUs:
oblong.

Such a wealth of beauty and fragrance is shed about by this

lovely azalea in its season of bloom that its presence is hailed

by every breeze that blows. Often when a strip of woodland

is entered, and the dark trees cling together as though to shut

out the light of day, the perfume laden air bespeaks that by

following its guidance the azalea is to be found. Steps are

taken and the fragrance becomes stronger. Then as a burst of

rosy light the blossoms reveal themselves. Thousands of bees

hum about them and guard the tree from hands that would

carry its treasures away. Between this tree and the beautiful

'sX^xwhs Azalea %'iscosad,w^ Azalea nndiflora there is much that is

similar, although they never become arborescent in their habit.

Our familiarity with them, however, will help us to appreciate

this most charming relative of the south. It has appealed

strongly to horticulturists, and is much seen in greenhouses.

AflERICAN LINDEN. BASSWOOD. WHITEWOOD.

WHI5TLE=W00D. {Plate LXXVJ)

Tilia Ainerieana.

FAMII Y

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

TIME OF BLOOM

Linden.

Rounded, taperins;
io-Miird the suininit.

60-80- 1 20 /"fc/.

North-Miird and souiJt-

ward to Virginia and

ivestivn rd.

May, June.

Bark : dark brown deeply ridged vertically, and separating into thin scales.
Branches: light grey or brown, terminating in green. Leaves : four to five inches
long; simple; alternate; slender-petioled ; rounded in outline with abruptly
and conspicuously ]5ointed apex and cordate base ; one side of the leaf gener-
ally less developed than the other; sharply and irregularly toothed ; dark
green, smo(Jth and glossy above; pubescent underneath, and esi)ecially so in the
angles of the light coloured and prominent ribs. Floicers : cream colour ; fra-
grant ; growing under the leaves in a cvme on a long, slender i^eduncle that
hangs from the centre of the midrib of a leaf-like axillary bract which is ajJi^le-
green, lanceolate and smooth. Se/'als : five ; ]5ubescent. Petals : five. Stamens:
numerous, and adhering in clusters of five to a petal-like scale before each
petal. Fruit : greenish grey; round ; downy, and resembling small jieas when
young; the style and five-toothed stigma projecting from its top. Seeds: ten.

A bright but unfortunately unknown poet has said that " the

loveliest rose in the world is opportunity." And it is opportu-

IS4

TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL.

nity which we must court when studying the trees. Usually it is

a mistake to pass one by,

especially when it is in
bloom, with the thought
that we will study it when
later we return. Later our
path may lead us into unex-
pected places, where we
shall find ourselves en-
grossed by other things ;
and when, perchance, we
do return to the tree that
we have borne in mind, we
see that its blossoms have
perished and a new order of
things is in progress.

Either in bloom or in fruit
the American linden is an
interesting study. It ap-
pears to be hung with two
distinct sh:ules of green; the dark green of its leaves and the
shimmering, light apple-green of its curious bracts. The
daint}^, little blossoms fall early in the season, and their place
is taken by many precise, pert-looking balls of fruit. They
nod and sway with the breezes for a long time. Finalh', the
bracts lose their colour, become scale-like and gradually fall.
The carpet they then spread under the trees and the out-flying
ones are all that remain in the autumn to testify that anything
unusual has occurred.

The wood of Tilia Americana is brownish red and soft. It
is free from blemishes and knots, and is, therefore, desirable
to use for the panelling of carriages. Much care is necessary
when manipulating it, as it has a tendency to crack badly. The
inner bark is extremely tough, from it coarse rope and

mats are made.

Tilia A tnericana.

PLATE LXXVI. AMERICAN LINDEN. Tiiia Aiinruaiia.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

1S6 TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL.

T. Jieterophylhi^ {Plate LXXVIl), white basswood, linden bee-
tree or Wahoo, differs from the foregoing species in having
larger leaves which are covered underneath with a silvery white
down and through which show purple ribs. This delicate fea-
ture adds much to the beauty of the leaf. The height of the tree
is from about fifty to sixty feet. It inhabits the mountains of
Pennsylvania and occurs southward to Florida and westward to
Illinois. Recently it has been found in Central New York. On
the slopes of the mountains in Tennessee it is seen in a great
state of development. It is always a very beautiful tree.
Northward it is unfortunately rare even in cultivation.

T. pubescens is again distinguished by its comparatively small
leaf and its thinness. Much of the pubescence which is con-
spicuous along the ribs and in their angles is lost at maturity.
The bracts, to which are attached the peduncles of the blos-
soms, are sessile, and they are most often rounded at the ex-
tremities. The tree is found growing in rich soil from Long
Island to Florida, and westward to Texas.

T. EuropcBa, European linden, is commonly seen planted about
dwellings, and grows to a height of about thirty-five or forty
feet. There are varieties of it which are similar to both the
native small-leaved and large-leaved species. Their stamens,
however, are free from scales and the trees have pyramid-
shaped heads.

WILD RED CHERRY. BIRD CHERRY. PIN CHERRY.

PIGEON CHERRY. {Plate LXXVIII)

Prinuis Peniisylvdnica.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Plum. Ilcad^ narrow or ■zo-^o/eei. Nortltiunrd to Gii. and A/tril^Muy.

roun,/eti : branc/ies, to loiva and 'westivard. Fruit: Juiu\ Jiu'y,
horizontal.

Bark : reddish brown and covered with enlarged orange-coloured dots, when
old inclined to peel about the trunk into thin, papery sheets. Slifitles : early
falling. Lea7'es : simple ; alternate, or growing in clusters of five with slender,
grooved petioles ; oval, with pointed apex and pointed or rounded base; finely
serrate; netted-vemed ; thin ; bright green; smooth and lustrous above; paler

KLAlb LAAViii. vviLU Ktu urltKiM. rritiiKs i iiuisyli'iiniia.

COPYBIGMT, 1900, BV FREDERICK *. STOKES COMPANY
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL. 157

below, with niiiuite white pubescence; aromatic. Flovjcrs : white; almost
scentless; growing in umbels of four or five from long, slender pedicels from
separate, lateral buds. Calyx : with five recurved sepals. Corolla : of five
rosaceous petals. Stamens : numerous, of different lengths. Pistil : one. Frutt:
a light red drupe; round, about the size of a full-grown pea, and tipped with
a remnant of the style ; sour.

In the early spring woods, when but feeble suggestions are
to be seen of the swelHng foliage and a full-grown leaf is an
expectation, it is very pleasant to find the red cherry. At all
seasons of the year there is a sprightly, crisp charm about the
tree ; but it then claims our attention as being one of the first
that have ventured into bloom. The delicate, white blossoms
unfold with the leaves, or when they are partly grown, and
might almost be mistaken for belated snowflakes that are
slowly dropping through the branches. As they fall away the
fresh, green leaves which have been folded together lengthwise
in the bud begin to spread themselves. They ever retain a
wavy, curving edge. In the autumn they turn a bright yellow.
The tree germinates readily, and its seeds are deposited by
birds that greedily eat its fruit. In many places the red cherry
is abundantly seen among the shrubbery of the waysides, al-
though it then seldom attains a full development. The tree is
short lived. In the fruit herbalists have found medicinal prop-
erties.

P. Ma/ialeb, perfumed cherry, or Mahaleb, is a small tree, or
sometimes a shrub which is becoming frequent in this country
along the waysides and in w^aste places. It comes from Europe
where its wood is largely used in cabinet work. The particu-
lar charm about it is the fragrance of its white blossoms. They
grow in corymbed clusters on the young, leafy branches of the
season, and unfold at the same time as the smooth, ovate
leaves. The drupe is almost black and tinged with red.

PLATE LXXIX. AMERICAN CRAB-APPLE. Mahis coronarm.
(15S)

PLATE LXXX. NARROW-LEAVtD CRAB-APPLE. Mains atiiiiistijoiui.

COPVRIGHT, 1900, By FREDERICK «. STOKES COMPANY
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL. 159

AMERICAN CRAB=APPLE. SWEET=SCENTED CRAB
TREE. {Plate LXXIX.)

Mains coronaria.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Apple. Heady open; lo-i^/t-ft. Ontario to Mick., south- Aprit, May.

branches^ spreading. ward to So. Caroiina. Fruit- Sept.

Bark : reddish brown, the outer layers separating into thin plates. StipuUs :
early falling. Leaves : simple; alternate ; with slender, downy petioles; ovate,
with pointed apex and rounded or slightly cordate base. Edgetl toothed wlien
mature, and frequently appearing as though having two side lobes. Bright
green above; paler below; at maturity glabrous. Flowers : large; rose coloured,
or white; fragrant; growing in loose, terminal umbels and appearing after the
leaves. Calyx: pubc;scent. Corolla: of five petals. Stamens: numerous.
Pistil: one. Fruit : a yellowish-green pome; very fragrant; and covered with
a waxy substance ; sour.

Who that is acquainted with the odours of nature does not
lift his head in the air to inhale more freely the delightful fra-
grance of this little tree and then look about to locate its
presence ? The deeply-hued, brilliant blossoms are particularly
lovely and enliven all the rusty and misty green tones which
hover over the earth so early in the season. About the fruit,
however, there is a sly deception ; it appears as though it might
be very good and thus many are led to taste of it, when the
disillusion is sad indeed. By a little judicious management
housewives make it into crab-apple jelly and preserves. Cider
also is made from the fruit. As a shrub the American crab-
apple is rather distorted and bushy in outline; but when seen
as a small tree in cultivation hardly one more beautiful can be
imagined. Its fruit then becomes tinged with red and yellow.

M. a)i;usti folia, narrow-leaved crab-apple, {Plate LXXX.)
differs from the preceding species in that its leaves are narrowly-
oblong, or lanceolate. It mostly inhabits the south and west
and, what is rather unusual from its locality, bears smaller
flowers and fruit than the northern one. The coloured illustra-
tion shows clearly its lovely spray of pink blossoms and its
round, green fruit. Its wood is closely grained and heavy. It
is made into handles for tools and into many small articles.

Drujie, /aiii (ififit. Section of ftover.

PLATE LXXXl. CANADA PLUM. Prumis 7iigra.
(1601

TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL. i6i

CANADA PLUM. HORSE PLUM. {Plate LXXXI.)
Prunus nigra.

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

TIME OF BLOOM

Piutu.

Heady narrow ; branches.

20-30 feet.

New England to

May.

upright.

Wisconsin.

Fruit: August.

Bark: light brownish grey; thin and separating into sheets. Stipules: lanceo-
late, or lobed and early falling. Leaves: simple; alternate, with stout petioles
which have one or two red glands by the blade; oval; pointed at the apex and
obtuse or slightly cordate at the base; coarsely serrate; when young pubes-
cent and tinged witii red ; smooth at maturity ; not lustrous. Flowers : white;
turning as they fade to pink; growing on long, reddish pedicels in lateral
umbels and opening before the leaves. Fruit: an orange-red drupe; oval; the
skin thick. Stone : clinging closely to the flesh.

When this tree of the plum family is in bloom or hung with
its translucent, radiant fruit it seems to elicit continual praise.
In its wild state it is a thorny tree and the long spikes add much
to its rugged, picturesque beauty. When it, however, resigns
its cares in life into the hands of the horticulturist these thorns
become eliminated. Their original purpose which was to pro-
tect the fruit from the ravages of small animals is superfluous
in the modern garden. In fact pomologists have done much in
the way of diminishing them by budding with other stock and
selecting buds from those branches that have the fewest thorns.
For in cultivation thorns are no doubt an objection to a tree.
Pickers are annoyed by them, and during wind storms they
often puncture the fruit so as to render it unfit for the market.
Throughout the northern New England states and in Canada
the tree is widely cultivated, and is used as a stock upon which
to graft the domestic plum. As is true of many of the faiTiily
its fruit is quite prone to vary. Much of it finds its way into the
markets. It is eaten raw by many and is excellent for stewing
and making into preserves.

The usual habitat of the Canada plum is in rich, alluvial soil.
It also grows with the hawthorns in thickets, or by the borders
of forests and occasionally in the neighbourhood of streams.

PLATE LXXXII. WILD PLUM. Primus subcordata.
(162;

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

Plum.

Branches^
horizontal.

\o-2^/cet.

Oyegon and Cali/ornia.

TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL. 163

WILD PLUM. {Plate LXXXJI.)
Primus sicbcordata.

TIME OF BLOOM

March, April,
Fruit: Aug., Sept.

Bark: greyish brown; rough. Branchlcts : bright red and marked with
pale Icnticels. Lcai'cs : simple; alternate, petioled ; Ijroadly-ovate, bluntly
pointed at the apex and slightly cordate or squared at the base ; sharply and
singly or doubly serrate ; dark green and glabrous above only slighily jjubes-
cent underneath at maturity. Flowers : growing in nearly sessile umbels and
appearing before the leaves. Calyx: campanulate, with five pubescent lobes.
Corolla: with five white, rounded ]5etals. Fruit: dark bluish, red or yellow ;
somewhat acrid but pleasantly flavoured.

About the autumn colours in Oregon, Mr. E. W. Hammond
writes : " The wild plum sometimes becomes a small tree, but
is seen generally as a small shrub three, four or five feet in
height. It often sets the whole country-side ablaze in the
autumn with the abundance of its scarlet and crimson colours,
mingled, of course, with red and yellow, and garnished with a
sprinkling of green."

In bloom it is also a gay sight, as are all of its kindred when
their showers of delicate, flake-like petals alight. In fading
those of the wild plum turn to pale pink, and almost before the
earth can have accustomed itself to their presence they steadily
fall.

The tree or shrub is full of vigour and yields in cultivation
an abundance of fruit. Upon it several European species of
plums have been grafted with excellent results. West of the
Sierra Nevada mountains in California and Oregon, where
Prunus subcordata is well known, its fruit is yearly sought and
made into delicious jellies and jams.

HAWTHORN. SCARLET THORN. RED HAW.

{Plate LXXXIIi:)
Craicegus coccinca.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Apple. Spreading: branches, 10-2,0 /eet. NetuFoundlandifest- ISIay.

crooked. ivard, south~Luard to Fruit: Sept^

Florida.

Bark: brown or ask colour; broken in thin plates. Branchlets : silver-
green; glimmering. Thorns: one to two inches long; curved. Leaves:

PLATE LXXXIll. HAWTHORN. Cratcrgus coccinea.
(164)

trep:s growing in rich soil. 165

simple ; alternate ; sleuder-petioled in alternate bunches ; rounded-ovate, with
pointed apex and pointed or slightly heart-shaped base ; sharply and unevenly
toothed or forming small lobes; deep green tinged with red, shining and glab-
rous; membranous. Floivers : large; white, pink or reddish; clustered in a
corymb; odour, unpleasant. Calyx: urn-shaped; five-cleft. Corolla: of five
rosaceous petals. Stainois : numerous. Fistil : one with from three to five
styles. Fruit : bright scarlet ; ovate ; not edible.

Among the hawthorns there are a liumber of beautiful trees
with close, fine foliage and dainty, cherry-like blossoms which
unfold an abundance of brightness in the springtime. We are
prone to lament that the odours of many of the species are dis-
agreeable; but this is not so without a purpose. Carrion-loving
Hies which assist in accomplishing cross-fertilization are attracted
by this means, and the flapping of their wings makes a sonorous
hum through the treetops. Although this tree is common
throughout the north, it appears not to be as much found in
gardens as formerly. Until late in the autumn the bright red
fruit hangs on the branches. The closely grained and hard
wood is brown with a reddish tint.

C. macracd/if/ia, long-spined thorn, is a similar tree to the pre-
ceding one and has longer and brighter brown thorns which grow
on its straggling branches. Its leaves are broadly obovate, and
its flowers and fruit are rather small. From May until June it
may be found in bloom.

BLACK THORN. PEAR THORN. PEAR HAW.

{F/aie LXXXIV.)
Cratagiis iomentbsa.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Apple. Head, Jlaty broad : Z-2$Jeei. A tlatitic seaboard westtvard May, June.

branches, thick. to Missouri and Texas, Fruit: October.

Bark: ashy grey, broken into thin scales. Young tivigs : bronze-green or
dull orange. 77iorits : stout; one to two inches long. Stif'ulcs : linear.
ZfTrttrj-." simple ; alternate ; ovate and narrowing into a margined petiole; the
apex pointed ; sharply and unevenly serrate, or cut to appear like small lobes ;
thick. Upper surface greyish green, almost smooth and impressed above the
ribs ; pubescent below when young and remaining so along the ribs. Floivers :
numerous; white; odour, disagreeable; about one inch across and growing
in loose corymbs at the end of the branches. Fruit : orange or dull red; oval
or pear shaped ; about half an inch in diameter ; edible.

Although the blackthorn has not the advantage of having its

PLATE LXXXIV. BLACKTHORN. Cratcegiis tomenlusa.
(i66)

PLATE LXXXV. DOTTED - FRUITED THORN. Crata-gus punctata.

COPVRIGHT, 1900, By FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANy.
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL. 167

blossoms delicately tinted as those of the scarlet thorn, there are
several other little points of distinction between them which are
in its favour. Its flowers are larger, and its fruit is edible and
agreeable to the taste. Perhaps its chief charm, however, is that
the bright, cheery appearing fruit remains on the branches all
winter, or until the leaf-buds unfold in the spring. Such a feature
as this is much thought of when a tree is chosen to be cultivated
for ornament. The black thorn has, it must be confessed, a
rather changeable nature and varies greatly in the style of its
foliage and fruit. Not infrequently it descends to a shrub.
This may be nothing more than a clever adaptation to circum-
stances, as it is more widely distributed through different local-
ities than any other one of the American thorns.

DOTTED-FRUITED THORN. COMMON THORN. LARGE-
FRUITED THORN. {Plate LXXXV.)

Craio'gics punctata.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Apple. Flat-topped., i2-^o/eet. New Englcind westward May.

compact. atid southward to Gil. Fruit : Sept.

Bark: reddish brown; rough. Thorns: when present one to two inches
long; curved or branched. Stipules: lanceolate. Leaves: simple; alternate ;
obovate ; obtuse or slightly pointed at the apex, the base tapering and forming
on each side a margin to the petiole ; sharply and unevenly serrate, or even
deeply cut towards the apex, sometimes entire at the base ; thick ; light green
and downy when young, becoming grey-green and dull at maturity and fre-
quently remaining pubescent about the prominent ribs. Ftcwers : white;
usually from eight to fifteen growing in a leafy corymb. Fruit: one-half to
three-quarters of an inch in diameter ; yellow and dull red with white dots
upon the surface; slightly edible.

A bit of personal history that is usu-
ally quoted in connection with this
charming little tree is that it was intro-
duced into English gardens by the
Duke of Argyll. And for ornamenta-
tion hardly one more appropriate could
have been chosen. It is of good habit in
cultivation, and, when attention is paid
to it, it grows very quaintly; its head
being broad and flat. As its orange Crat^gus punctiita.

PLATE LXXXVI. COCKSPUR THORN. Cratcrgus Criis-Galli.
(i68)

TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL.

:6g

and scarlet foliage falls away in the autumn its branches are
seen to be covered with showy fruit. That they are dotted
with white and the smaller foliage, are marks by which this one
of the hawthorns may be known from other members of its
family.

COCKSPUR THORN. NEWCASTLE THORN.

{P/a/eZXXXFI.)

Crata-gus Cms- Gdlli.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Ap^U. Head, Jiat, /•road; \o-^o feet. Quebec, sotithivard and June.

branches, rigid. westzuard. I'ruit: October.

Bark: reddish brown or ash colour; scaly. Thorns: mimerous ; two or
four inches long; smooth; slender; straight. Leaves: simple; alternate;
obovate, or lanceolate; slightly pointed or rounded at the apex and tapering
into a very short leaf-stalk at the base ; very variable in width ; unevenly and
sharply serrate above the middle ; entire below ; thick ; dark green ; lustrous
and glabrous above, dull underneath. Fhnoers : numerous; white; fragrant;
growing in corymbs from short, lateral branches and apjiearing after the leaves.
Fruit : red; dull; globular, or slightly pear-shaped.

Both in Europe and America this small
tree is very generally cultivated. It is
the favourite of the family for hedge
planting, when its compact, thick manner
of growth and comparatively low height
show to great advantage. An added
charm about it is that its bright, firm fruit
remains on the branches over the winter.
Birds do not devour it; nor do fungal
diseases trouble the foliage. The tree
has ever a fresh, invigourating aspect,
leaves turn to dull orange or scarlet.

Crattr^us Crus-Cdlli.

In the autumn the

Enlarged flo-<ver. Flower laid open.

PLATE LXXXVIl. SOUR-WOOD. Oxyihndrtcm arboreicm.
(170)

PLATE LXXXVIII. WITCH-HAZEL. Hamamclis \-iroiuiaiia.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY.
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL. 171

SOUR-WOOD. 50RREL-TREE. {Plate LXXX VII.)

OxydaidriiDi arbor cum.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Heath. Oblong: hrandu-s, 15-6= /<■<-/. Penn.to Fla. and ivcstward June, July,

spreading. to Louisiana.

Bark : grev tinted with red ; deeply furrowed. Leaves : five to seven inches
long; si.iiple; alternate; slendcr-petioled ; ovate, with pointed apex and
pointed or rounded base; finely serrate ; lustrous ; becoming glabrous at matur-
ity; sour to the taste. Flowers: white; scented like honey; growing in long,
terminal, one-sided clusters at the end of leafy shoots. Calyx : five-toothed.
Corolla: urn-shaped; five-toothed; pubescent. Stamens: ten. Pistil: one.
Capsules: growing in long, drooping clusters; pyramid-shaped; five-valved.

In the same way that Browning has said that all that books
can teach us is to do without them ; so it matters not so much
what we learn about the trees as it does what we see and find
out for ourselves. And there is always an individual impression
to be received from them by those that have any keenness of
sensibility. But unfortunately many take their enjoyment
very dolefully and would think it the height of levity to indulge
any fanciful ideas the trees might suggest. Again many are
not in the habit of watching the trees as they come into bloom,
and for them to find the sour-wood hung with its delicate
sprays of flowers so suggestive of the lily-of-the-valley must in-
deed be a revelation. To be able then to inhale to the fullest
its beauty and its honey-like scent is a good gift of Providence.

The wood of the tree is hard and closely grained and is of
service in many ways. One extensive use to which it is put is
the making of handles for tools.

WITCH=H AZEL. {Plate LXXX VIII.)
Hamamelis VirginiaJia .

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Witch-hazel. Head, open^ bi-oad: %-yjfeet. Xo-:'a Scotia sojitlnvard Ang.-l^ec.

branches, spreading. to Florida and Ic.vas. Fruit: .-.pring.

Bark: brown; smooth; falling in thin scales. Iinwr bark: purplish red.
Stipules: lanceolate. Leaves: simiile ; alternate; with short, stout petioles;
obovate ; pointed or rounded at the ajoex, unequal at the base ; coarsely and
irregularly serrate; frequently entire below the middle. Dull green above,
lighter coloured and pubescent underneath; slightly astringent. Flowers:
bright yellow ; growing in axillary clusters on short peduncles. Calyx: four-

172 TREES GROWING EX RICH SOIL.

parted, with bractlets underneath; inner surface orange-brown; pubescent.
Corolla: bright yellow; of four almost linear petals, often twisted and falling
with the stamens. Fruit: a woody capsule, with orange-brown, pubescent
seeds.

This dainty shrub is one of the unccMiventional spirits of the
woodlands and pays the penalty for its vagaries by having at-
tached to it the reputation of witchcraft. It is very slow about
ripening its fruit. Throughout the autumn and winter the
calyx-lobes protect the ovary which does not begin to enlarge
until the following spring. The fruit of one year, therefore,
attains maturity at the same time that the flowers of the next
year are opening. When the pods burst open they cast forth
their seeds with astonishing force and to a great distance from
the plant. To the North American Indian we undoubtedly owe
the first knowledge of the efificacy of its bark for the curing of
inflammations. It has for a long time been distilled in alcohol
to make Pond's extract. A strange thing about it is, however,
that chemists have failed to discover in it any "active medicinal
properties."

Green hazel wands were for a long time used by the credu-
lous to locate, through their supposed power of witchcraft, the
presence under ground of gold or of springs of water. A forked
branch was twisted between the fingers and thumbs of both
hands, and the direction in which it pointed was taken as
an indication of where the desired metal or water should be
sought. The popular name of the plant is an outcome of this
practice. Although we are accustomed to seeing Hamamelis
Virginiana as a shrub, it becomes arborescent on the high
slopes of the Alleghany mountains in North and South Carolina
and in Tennessee. Its wood is reddish brown quite hard and
closely grained.

PLATE LXXXIX. AMERICAN CHESTNUT. Castanea dentata.

COPYRIGHT, t900, 8r FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL. 173

AMERICAN CHESTNUT. {Plate LXXXIX.)

Casta/wa dentdta.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Beech. Round-topped: ^o-^o feet or higher. Southern Maine to June, July,

branches, spreading. >/«. and 'I'enn. Sept., Oct.'

Bark: granite-grey; ridged, but smooth in young trees. Leaves: simple;
alternate; with short petioles; oblong-lanceolate; pointed at both ends or
rounded at the base ; feather-veined; coarsely serrate; the ribs terminating in
the sharp, bristle-pointed teeth of the edge. Siniisfs: rounded. Dark green
above, lighter coloured below; glabrous. Sloile flowers: yellow; sweet-
scented ; growing in slender, a.xillary catkins; fertile ones, about three or four
in each involucre. Fruit: growing in a green, prickly husk, which opens in
four sections and discloses three or four ovoid nuts, flattened on one or both
sides; brown, and ti|)ped with a white remnant of the style. Seldom more than
three fully developed; edible; sweet.

" Under a spreading chestnut tree

The village smithy stands;
The smith, a mighty man is he,

With large and sinewy hands ;
And the muscles of his brawny arms

Are strong as iron bands."

Fortunate, indeed, was the good smith immortalized by
Longfellow to be able to cool himself from his labours at the
forge under the voluminous, kindly shade of the chestnut tree.
It has, perhaps, the heart of a humanitarian. Country urchins
surely forget the need of money when they find, after a light
frost, the ground covered with its inviting nuts, and many a be-
grimmed Italian is consoled by them for the fortune he expected
to find in the new world. Early and late in the autumn we see
these men standing on the streets of the cities making with
their time-worn knives a cross upon the nuts, and then roasting
them in their little machines. Although they are smaller than
the nuts of the European varieties, their meat has a sweeter
flavour and a finer grain. Owing to their small size, however,
the labour of preparing these native chestnuts for cooking is
considerable, and this is perhaps the reason that chestnut
puree and pudding are not so frequent in this country as they
are in Europe.

The tree at all times is an imposing and beautiful object.

174 TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL.

It seems as though every one should know its tall, column-like
shaft, its dense, characteristic foliage, and its quaint fruit. It
grows very rapidly. Although durable when in contact with
the soil, its reddish-brown wood is not strong, and warps badly
when it is dried.

C. PiDiiila, Chinquapin, {Plate A'C) is a shrub or small round-
topped tree which grows on rich hillsides, in swamp borders or
even in dry soil, from New Jersey southward and westward.
Its leaves are oblong, feather-veined and conspicuously ser-
rate. On the under surface they have a dense, white fuzz. In
the burr there is but one ovoid nut, or, very rarely, two. The
meat is very sweet, and they are sold in large numbers in the
streets and markets of the southern and western cities. To
this fruit ancient writers have referred as being "a great
daintie."

AMERICAN BEECH. {Plate XCI.)
Fagiis Americana.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Beech. Raund-topf'cd : 50-70-1 20 yV-*-/. Nova Scotia to Fla. Aprils May,

branches Jiorizoutal. and westward. Sept. ^ Oct.

Bark: light bluish grey; smooth. Leaves: simple; alternate; with very
short petioles; ovate; oblong; with pointed apex and rounded or narrowed
base. Ribs : straight, uubranched and terminating in the remote teeth.
Fringed on the margins with soft, white hairs which soon fall; glabrous. Stam-
tnate flmvers : clustered on drooping peduncles. Pistillate ones: two only and
terminating a scaly bracted peduncle. Fruit : a pair of three-sided nuts, with a
sweet and edible kernel which grows within a four-celled, prickly burr splittng
when ripe midway to the base.

It is fortunate that there is no one type of tree which may
alone be regarded as beautiful. Beauty is truly, as has been so
justly and often said, in the eye of the beholder. By many the
American beech is thought to be the most lovely of all trees.
Its train of admirers are quite as ardent about it as those of the
American elm, the sugar maple, the gum tree, and many others.
Certainly in the spring when it is covered with its staminate
blossoms it is a splendid sight, and its perfect leaves are sel-
dom spotted or eaten by insects. In the winter, also, it is par-

FlATl aC. CHiNQuAriiN. i^aiictiiLii Jji///ii/u.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BV FREDERICK *. STOKES COMPANIT.
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING IN RIGII SOIL. 175

ticularly interesting. Its beautiful bark then appears very
bright, and after its fine leaves have fallen, although many of
them, pale and dried, cling to the branches throughout the
winter, the structure of its massive head is seen to advantage.
Of all the trees of America it is one of the most widely dis-
tributed. In the Canadian markets and those of many of the
middle and western states, its nuts are sold in considerable
quantities. Although the reddish and closely-grained W^ood
of the tree checks badly in drying and is difficult to season,
it is still a valuable article of commerce. Shoe lasts are made
from it, and pulleys and handles of tools; chairs and milking
stools also are often made of beech wood.

F. sylvdiica, the European beech, is planted in this country,
and was for a long time confused by early travellers wuth the
American species. It may be known by its broader leaves with
their strongly crenate edge and with the abundance of fine
hairs on their under surface. Often not until November do
these leaves begin to show their golden colour and gradually
to turn to russet-brown. On the ground as they fall they make
a fresh, thick bed. The American beech is then completely
stripped of its foliage.

F. sylvatica foliis atrorubentibiis, the beautiful copper beech,
with its shimmering masses of richly hued foliage, is a variety
of the preceding species. Although the little chlorophyll grains
which contain the green colouring matter of the foliage are
present and no doubt working away quite busily in these leaves;
there is probably some strong pigment in the leaf-sap which
overpowers them and thus gives its own deep, rich colouring
to the foliage,

CANOE BIRCH. PAPER BIRCH. WHITE BIRCH.

{Plate XCII.)
B^tttla papyrifera.

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

TIME OF BLOOM

Birch.

Pyramidal : branches.

i,o--jofeet or

Northern Penn.

Af^ril, May.

pendulous.

higher.

north wa rd.

Bark of trunk : chalky white; smooth and disaj^reeable to the touch; tough;
durable, and readily peeling from the wood; in its turn it separates into many

176 TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL.

thin papery sheets, which are faint red in colour and marlced with vhort, dark
lines. Leaves: simple; alternate; with downy petioles; ovate; with pointed
apex and rounded, wedge-shaped, or sub-cordate base ; doubly and unequally
serrate; dark green and smooth above; dull below and pubescent in the angles
of the straight ribs. Floivcrs: monoecious; growing in slender, cylindrical and
scaly catkins. Strobiles: growing on slender stalks ; the wings of the minute
nuts broad and often fringed.

Happily the canoe birch wears a uniform that we all know ;
and when many of _ the trees are seen from afar, amid the
dark shades of the forest, they appear not unlike the advancing
guard of a regiment. There is about them the same air of
distinction from all that surrounds them. The tree seems
to belong especially to the primitive people of the north,
who must surely regard it with affection. The Indian's birch-
bark canoe carries him swiftly and silently over the water as he
perchance guides it by a paddle made from the wood of the
tree. When the streams are frozen and the covering of the
earth is as white as the birch's bark, he is drawn on sledges or
glides along on snow shoes that are alike constructed in part
from the tree. From rough weather his wigwam is also pro-
tected by its resinous bark, and when the sweet sap begins to
flow in the springtime he knows how to boil it into a syrup or
make it into a cooling drink. Of his life the tree is a part, and
from the standpoint of sentiment it seems as though it should
be left to the Indian rather than given over to lumbermen who
sell it for the making of shoe lasts, pegs and fuel. Tourists
inflict great damage to the appearance of the tree by tearing
off its bark, as its peculiarity of peeling horizontally is well
known. In the mountainous regions of the north it is frequent
on wooded slopes or often by the borders of streams.

That Hiawatha's request comes so spontaneously to the mind
in connection with the tree seems to accentuate the Indians'
vital love and knowledge of it.

" Give me of your bark, O Birch-Tree I
Of your yellow bark, O Birch-Tree,
Growing by the rushing river,
Tall and stately in the valley !

PLATE XC I. AMERICAN BEECH. Fao:us Americana.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY.
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL. 177

I a light canoe will build me,
Build a swift Cheemaun for sailing,
That shall float upon the river,
Like a yellow leaf in Autumn,
Like a yellow water-lily !

" Lay aside your cloak, O Birch-Tree !
Lay aside your white skin wrapper,
For the summer-time is coming,
And the sun is warm in heaven,
And you need no white-skin wrapper !

And the tree with all its branches
Rustled in the breeze of morning,
Saying with a sigh of patience,
" Take my cloak, O Hiawatha ! "

SWEET BIRCH. BLACK BIRCH. CHERRY BIRCH.

{Plate XCIII.)

Bet tela lent a.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Bh-ch. Rounded: branches, 30 SjyVf/. New Foundiand to Ontario April, lijay.
slender. soiiihivard and westward.

Bark: dark; rich brown ; smooth but becoming rough as the tree grows
old; not suljject to peeling. Branches: reddish; smooth; ami covered with
while wart-like dots; sweet; aromatic. Leaves : simple; alternate ; with sliort,
downy petioles; ovate, with pointed apex and rounded or cordate base ; finely
and doubly serrate; ribs, straight ; vivid, green and glossy above; dull and
pubescent below but becoming smooth. Fhnvers : growing in catkins and
appearing before the leaves. Stamitiate ones: golden ; long. Pistillate ones: in
dense, shorter catkins. Strobiles: dark green; sessile; with rounded and
lobed scales. Ntit : obovate.

When we go among the trees and perhaps rest for awhile under
the shade ot the sweet birch, we might, if our ears were sufficient-
ly quickened, hear many tales of country-lore that are passing
through the swish of its leaves. Tales are astir about the evil
spirits that seek it and greedily devour its sweet bark. To their
hearts gratitude is unknown. The tree could tell also of many
that love the shimmer of its leaves ; that notice the golden pollen
in its beautiful spray of staminate blossoms and partake of its
shade as graciously as though they were accepting a gift from a
friend. The subtle instinct of the urchin, for surely he never
learned from botany how good to the taste were its twigs, leads

I'la'U'eriiig- branch . Fruiting branch.

Scale of fruit. Nutlet.

PLATE XCIII, SWEET BIRCH, Belula leiita.

(178)

PLATE XCII. CANOE BIRCH. Bctiila papyrifcra.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL. 179

him to spend many an hour under its shade. He chats to his
companion about his struggles with the trout or of the mischief
the squirrels have done to the leaf-buds, and he prides himself
upon locating a borer as surely as he can scent the advance of
spring. The sweet birch knows too the stride of the axe-man ;
for its fine, dark reddish wood is valuable. It receives a beau-
tiful polish and is strong and heavy. As a substitute for black
cherry it is made into furniture. In fact the appearance of
the tree is such that it might readily be mistaken for a cherry
tree. Birch oil which is an important article of commerce is
distilled from the foliage and graceful branches of the tree. It
is the same as the oil of wintergreen which is taken from the
quaint little plant, Gaiiltheria procwiibens.

YELLOW BIRCH. GREY BIRCH. {Plate XCIV.)

Bctula I II tea.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

BircJt. Fyruiiiidal: branches, 40 go/Vt-/. New England soiiik- April, May.

long, slender. -ward to Tenn.

Bar/c : light yellowish grey; marked horizontally and sejjarating and peel-
ing like shavings. Both the bark and the greyish-brown twigs have a slightly
aromatic sweet taste. Lcaz'i-s : simple; alternate; with slender downv, petioles,
often in pairs; ovate, with pointed apex and narrowed and ronnded or rarely
sub-cordate base, coarsely and unequally serrate ; ribs, straight and conspicuous.
Dull green above, downy below and becoming smooth at maturity. Stavihiate
ca(/:iiis: yellowish green ; three to four inches long. Pistillate calluns : short;
sessile. Nitts: oval ; broad; wider than the wings.

It is frequently said by many that they never notice the
bark of a tree or its leaves ; that it appeals to them entirely
by its general outline and presence. Again others observe
these things almost to the exclusion of the individual character
of the tree. The bark of the yellow birch, however, is one
that should attract the attention of all ; for it is particularlv
unique and beautiful. It is golden with a silver sheen and the
separating shreds curl about it like the ribbon decorations of
some fantastic lady. An air of delicacy also makes the tree
quite distinctive from those among which it grows.

In Canada and New England this birch is one of the largest

Fru itine bra nek ,

Flo%vering branch.

PLATE XCIV. YELLOW BIRCH. Betuhi hitea.
(i8o)

TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL. i8i

trees that are not evergreen, and there, as in New York state,
it is valued for its excellent timber. The light reddish-brown
wood has a fine, satin-like surface and is considerably made
into furniture, boxes and many small articles. It is also used
for fuel. As the tree occurs southward it is small, or it becomes
a shrub, A large amount of moisture is required by it that it
may thrive well.

HAZEL-NUT. FILBERT. {Flats XCV.)
Corylus Americdna.

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

TIME OF BLOOM

Birch.

Broad, spreading.

4-8 /f^/.

Maine westward atid to
Fla. and Texas.

.^ I arch, April.
Ju/y, August.

Branches : greyish or pinkish brown. Twigs : pubescent, with pinkish hairs.
Leaves : simple ; alternate; with hairy petioles ; ovate or almost rounded, with
pointed apex and slightly cordate or blunt at the base; irregularly and doubly
serrate; dark green and almost glabrous above, paler and pubescent beneath.
Stamiitate catkins: long; solitary. Fruit: growing in the base of an involucre
which is composed of two broad, leaf-like bracts, extending far above the nut
and deeply cut at the top ; green ; pubescent. Nut : golden brown ; ahnost
round ; shell, hard. Kernel: edible ; sweet.

Nutting days are truly among the best of all the year, and
who that has been brought up in the country cannot recall
some dense thicket or low stone wall by which these bushes
grew. The filberts, as the nuts are often called, yield up
readily their treasures. One sharp blow on the smooth shell
will sever it in two, and the round, solid meat then rolls inno-
cently out. It has only to be picked up and eaten.

One of the first signs that the season is advancing is to find
the hazel catkins hanging loosely and with their stigmas well out.
They then soon shed abundantly their pollen. Even during
the winter the staminate flower-buds shine brightly on the
bushes; but the demure pistillate ones lie hidden under their
scaly buds. They cling mostly, however, to the summit of the
branches where the golden dust can find them and the long
rays of sunshine linger upon them lovingly.

Buds, catkins and fruit.

PLATE XCV. HAZEL-NUT. Coryhis Americana.

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

Birch.

Erect, stiff.

\-'iJeet.

Nova Scotia southward
and wfstiDard.

TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL. 183

BEAKED HAZEL=NUT. {Plate XC VI. )

Cory I lis rostrata.

TIME OF BLOOM

April., J\lay.
Fruit: Aug., Sept.

Branches: light brown; glabrous or often pubescent; slender. Twigs:
nearly glabrous. Leaves: simple; alternate; with slender petioles; ovate,
or ovate-oblong; pointed at the apex and slightly cordate or blunt at the base;
doubly serrate; bright green above; glabrous; paler underneath and nearly
glabrous; thin. Stainina/e Jiozoers : growing in catkins ; the single flowers un-
der each bract with four stamens divided so as to produce eight anthers. Fis-
tillate JiLnvers : growing in dense spikes and having two flowers under each scale.
Fniit: growing in the base of an involucre which is prolonged into a curved
tube, cut at the summit and covered with bristly yellow hairs. A'ttt : brown;
ovoid or ovate. A'eniel: edible; sweet.

Especially when in fruit is this species of hazel-nut readily
distinguished from the common one ; for although they both
have strangely fashioned involucres that of Corylus rostrata
extends into a long, curious beak, and is moreover covered with
reddish tipped bristles which, when the nuts are being gathered,
penetrate the skin as readily as spun glass. This involucre is
indeed a most interesting contrivance. Its future existence,
as can be seen under a microscope, is foretold by a tiny ring
about the young ovary. Small as it is, it has a strong deter-
mination to grow and develops to some extent even when one or
neither of the pistillate flow.ers has been fertilized and there-
fore does not proceed to grow. This seems to be mere presump-
tion on its part; as its field of usefulness does then not exist,
and it but raises false hopes in the hearts of those seeking the
nuts. How much more are those appreciated that practice no
deception, but at maturity split open as though proudly to
show the fruit they have guarded.

LARQE=TOOTH ED ASPEN. POPLAR. {Plate XCVII.)

Pop 11 Ills gra ndidenta ta .

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

IVilloiv. Head, t2arro-a\- branches, ^o-Zo/cel. Nova Scotia southward March, April,
crooked and spreading. to North Carolina

and Tenn.

Bark: dark, reddish brown; irregularly furrowed; when young, greenish
grey. Z<faz'<fj: simple; alternate; broadly ovate; with short-pointed apex and

Involucre o/iuit. Pistillate J^ower.

PLATE XCVI. BEAKED HAZEL-NUT. Corylus rostraia,
(184)

Stiiiiiinate ii>ui pistillate brunches.

Eiiiar^eil /iiiit.

PLATE XCVII. LARGE-TOOTHED ASPEN. Popiihis <rrandiih-ntata.

(185)

x86 TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL.

rounded or squared at the base; coarsely and irregularly dentate, ihe sinuses
rounded ; ribs, distinct; dark green above; paler below and covered when young
with a silky wool ; glabrous at maturity ; the petiole flattened, /y^w^-j-; dioe-
cious ; growing in long, often curving catkins ; the scales of the staniinate ones
from five to six-cleft, sparingly fringed. The staminate trees bloom earlier
than the pistillate ones.

As the specific name of this tree implies, its characteristic
feature is the large, coarse teeth of its leaf margins. And the
link of kinship between it and the delicate Popidus tremuloiiks
is discernible even through the ruggedness of its foliage. As
the young leaves of the poplars unfold they have all a silvery
sheen that in the case of the willows is golden. Their
innumerable seeds also, when they begin to unloosen them-
selves from their long clusters and fly about, tint the tree and fill
the air with a silvery whiteness. In the autumn the leaves of
this species turn to such a clear, bright yellow that a luminous
glow is radiated by the tree to a considerable distance. We may
seek to find it in the deep, rich soil of woods or approaching
the borders of swamps.

The wood of Populus grandidentata is soft and not generally
regarded as being of much value. It is made into wood-pulp
and later into paper.

TULIP TREE. WHITE=WOOD. {Plate XCV/II)

LiriodendroJi Tulipifera.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Magnolia. Tall., rounded; branches, 6ct-igo_/'eet, Vermont and Rhode May.

spreading. Island to Florida Fruit: Sept., Oct.

and ivestivard.

Bark : reddish brown or grey ; furrowed. Branches : curved and marked
with narrow rings; aromatic. Leaves : simple ; alternate ; long petioled ; very
broadly ovate or nearly orbicular ; broadly notched at the apex, rounded or
cordate at the base and having four or more lobes, the sinuses between them
rounded. Dark green and shiny above, ])aler below. Flo'coers : iwo inches
high ; cup-sliaped ; erect and growing on stout peduncles. Petals : obovate ;
greenish yellow ; orange coloured within. Se/>a/s ; reflexd. .SArw^/w.' numer-
ous and growing in ranks upon the receptacle. Pistils : growing in a Cf)lumn-
like body upon the receptacle. Fruit : about three inches long, a cone of dry,
oblong and acute carpels.

There is something to make one tremble in the gigantic
proportions, the tall, column-like trunk and the strangely cut

II. TULIP TREE. Liriodendron TuHpifcra,

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING IxN RICH SOIL.

187

leaves of this tree when it is approached for the first time,
and the fancy is bred that the world would be a very different
place if trees should ever lose
their meek defenselessness and
strut about arranging things
to suit themselves. Man
would appear very small then,
while the tulip tree might be
the king of the globe. It is a
tree that at all times is readily
recognised; but in the spring,
when it is covered with its
tulip-like flowers, it is truly a
surprising sight. As freely
and unconsciously the great
structure throws out its bloom
as though it were some lively,
wayside flower. From the col-
oured illustration the imagina-
tion can picture the effect so
great a number of the flowers
would produce. In cultiva-
tion the tree is a great favour-
ite and has, especially when
young, a high-bred expression.
It is hardy, grows rapidly and becomes without doubt one of
the largest and most beautiful of the American forest. Often
when growing in the " open " it is clothed to the ground. As
a timber tree it is valuable, and is well adapted for making the
curved panels in carriages. By the aborigines it was used for
the frames of their canoes. In many parts of the South the
name yellow poplar clings to the tree. It originated because
the leaves have long petioles that aid them to tremble in the
wind. It is however not a desirable one and should be rejected.
At Craggy Mountain, twelve miles north-east of Asheville,

L iriodendron Ttilipi/era.

x88

TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL.

North Carolina, there is standing a tulip tree that is thought
to be the largest one in America, In girth it is thirty-one feet
at a distance of ten feet from the ground, and it stands up-
wards of one hundred and fifty feet high. In that rugged
place, at an elevation of three thousand feet above the sea
level, it raises a clear and straight shaft which is also hollow.
What is the tree's history, no one knows.

WHITE OAK. {Plate XCIX.)
Querctis alba.

HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

to-Zo/eetor Maitie to Ontario and May. June,

higher. southward and 2uest7vard. Fruit: Sejit., Oct.

FAMILY SHAPE

Beech. Head, broad;

branches, spreading.

Bark : light grey or nearly white ; less rough than that of most oaks ; often
scaly in old trees and breaking off in thin sheets. Leaves \s\mp\t; alternate;
obovate ; pinnately-lobed, wedge-shaped at the base and with from three to
nine lobes ; broad and rounded, with coarsely notched or entire edges. Simt-
.tes : narrow ; rounded. Bright green above, paler below; at maturity glabrous ;
variable. Acorns : a.xillary ; growing in pairs on short peduncles, or sessile.
C«/ : saucer-shaped ; shallow; rough, with appressed scales. yV«/; green,
turning to chestnut-brown ; lustrous ; oblong, from three-quarters to an inch
long ; edible ; sweet.

The ancients made oak trees
objects of love and reverence, and
they also attributed to them the
mystic power to foretell or advise
about coming events. The oldest
oracle of the Greeks was that of
Jupiter at Dodona in Epirus. It
was believed that two black doves
simultaneously flew from Thebes in
Egypt. One alighted in an oak
grove at Dodona and in a human
voice proclaimed that an oracle of
Jupiter should there be established
by the people. The other dove
carried a similar message to the temple of Jupiter Ammon in
the Lybian oasis. Accordingly, the oracles were set up, and

Qudrcus dlba.

PLATE XCIX. WHITE OAK. Oufrcux alba.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PRINTED IN AMERICA,

TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL. 189

the priests in the temples interpreted the responses that were
conveyed to them by the motion of the trees in the wind.
The lover in Tennyson's English Idyll, " The Talking Oak,"
exclaims in gratitude for the knowledge it has told him of
his sweetheart Olivia and in reference to the ancient oracle : —

" And I will work in prose and rhyme,

And praise thee more in both
Than bard has honour'd beech or lime.

Or that Thessalian growth,
In which the swarthy ring dove sat.

And mystic sentence spoke ;
And more than England honours that,

Thy famous brother oak,
Wherein the younger Charles abode

Till all the paths were dim.
And far below the Roundliead rode.

And humm'd a surly hymn."

Hercules we must also remember carried an oaken club.

Of the genus, Quercus alba is one of the most stately. It
seems odd, in earliest spring to see the great, grey thing
putting forth leaves as tender tinted and pink as many a shy,
woodland flower. In their second childhood, — that is, in the
late autumn, — the leaves again become a ruddy hue, deep and
vinous ; and after withering, drop from the trees at the be-
ginning of winter. Throughout their course of existence they
are very variable on different trees, and often two or three
distinct forms are jDresented.

The white oak is one of the very valuable timber trees of
North America and is imported as staves in large quantities
to Europe. In ship-building and in the manufacturing of car-
riages it has ail important place.

PLATE C. RED OAK. Qnercus rubra.
(190)

TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL.

191

RED OAK. {Plate C)

Quircus r libra.

FAMILY SHAPE

Beech. Round-topped:
branches, stout.

HEIGHT

50-80- 1 50 yv*"/.

RANGE
Netu Brunswick south-
ward and westward.

TIME OF BLOOM

May, June.
Fruit: Oct., Nov.

Bark : reddish brown, smooth for an oak, but rough and broken into scale-
like plates. Leaves : simple ; alternate ; with smooth, yellowish-green petioles
from one to one and a half inches long and oblong or obovate, rather rounded
or wedge-shaped at the base and having from nine to thirteen lobes which are
irregularly toothed and bristle-tipped at the ends; the sinuses between them
narrowed, rounded and extending about half-way to the midrib. Dark green
and glabrous on the upper surface, pale yellow-green below with rust-coloured
hairs in the angle of the ribs; thin. Staminate floiuers: growing in long, pubes-
cent catkins. Pistillate ones : growing on glabrous peduncles. Acorns : ^xo^-
ing on a short, thick neck or almost sessile. Cup : flat ; saucer-shayed ; finely
scaled. A^«/; sometimes an inch long; ovoid ; bitter.

When the red oak is seen growing in favourable circum-
stances the effect that it produces is admirable. Usually
its foliage is dense, but about
it there is no semblance of
heaviness. So small a thing
as that the lobes of the leaves
are unequal in size and have
bristle-pointed teeth is quite
sufficient to give to the great
tree a light, pleasing appear-
ance. But in outline the
leaves are very variable. They
turn in the autumn to a deep
red or orange and are quite
without the brilliancy that is
associated with the scarlet
oak, page 244. The acorns
are a good index to the spe-
cies; for the nut looks wonder-
fully large and out of propor-
tion to the shallow cup. They
are among those that require
two years in which to mature.

Que re us riibra.

The reddish-brown wood of

192 TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL.

the tree is coarsely grairied and thought, in the east, to be of
comparatively little value on account of its porous texture. As
it occurs westward, however, it is often found to be of better
quality. In cooperage it is used and also to make clap-boards.

At Thornedale, at Millbrook, N. Y., there is to-day standing
a red oak, the girth of which is twenty-two feet and four
inches at a distance of about five feet from the ground. It is
a venerable tree and remains like a great, green, trembling cloud
upon the landscape. " It was here in father's time, and his
father knew it for many years," is said of it, and its age is
estimated to be somewhat over two hundred years.

For the reason that the red oak adapts itself readily to vari-
ous climatic conditions it has been much planted. In Europe
it has thrived better than any other one of the American
species, many being there on record that are over a century old.

" Then here's to the oak, the brave old oak,
Who stands in his pride alone ;
And still flourished he, a hale green tree,
When a hundred years are gone ! "

— H. L. Chorley.

FLOWERING DOGWOOD. CORNELIAN TREE.

{Plate CI.)
Cdy)nis florida.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Dogwood. RoU7Ziiecl; branches, 11-4,0 feet. Neiv England to M inne- April-June.

spreading. sola and westward. Fruit: October.

Bark : blackish or dark red-brown ; roughly ridged. Leaves : simple ; oppo-
site ; petioled and mostly clustered at tlie ends of the branches ; elliptical, with
)ointed or taper-pointed apex and pointed base, often unequal at the sides,
'/^itire ; netted-veined ; with whitish and distinct ribs ; bright green above,
.(hibrous or slightly pubescent ; ]Daler underneath and pubescent. Flowers:
green ; tiiiy ; perfect ; growing in a rounded, central cluster and surrounded by
a showy involucre of four white, obcordate, petal-like bracts, notched at the
apex and tinted with pink. Fniil : an oval bunch of bright red, ovoid berries.

"Where cornels arch their cool boughs
o'er beds of wintergreen."

— Bryant.

There are a few among us that do not know and appreciate the

PLATE CI. FLOWERING DOGWOOD. Conius florida.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY,
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

PLATE Cll. ALTERNATE-LEAVED DOGWOOD. Comics alter mjolia.

(193)

194

TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL.

beauty of the dogwood when its bloom whitens the woods and
banks in early spring. The snowy involucre of the flowers un-
folds before the leaves are fully developed and can therefore
be seen from a great distance waving
its cheery message. Spring has re-
turned, it proclaims, and this is a story
that never grows old. The foliage of
this tree also contributes much to the
brilliancy of the autumn colouring.
Then little birds are seen capering in
and out among its gay leaves and
alighting on twigs that bend low with
the weight of their round, plump bodies.
They greedily eat the fruit and are
good agents in distributing its seeds.

In the south, Cornus florida attains more ample dimensions
than it does northward, where it frequently occurs as a shrub.
Country people watch the tree with especial interest, for it is
credited with coming into leaf at just the right time for plant-
ing Indian corn. The bitter bark of its roots contains a powerful
substance similar to quinine, and it is used as a tonic. The
wood is closely grained and strong, with a beautiful surface
like satin.

Cdrn us Jioridn .

ALTERNATE-LEAVED DOGWOOD. CORNEL. {Plate CII)

Cornus aliernifolia.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Dogwood. Flat-topped, lo-yy feet. New Brunswick westward and May, June,
bushy. southward along the AUeghanies. Fruit: Oct.

Bark: reddish brown; smooth, or broken irregularly in narrow ridges.
Branches: yellowish green; smooth, and streaked with white or light brown.
Leaves : simple ; alternate ; slender petioled, and crowded near the ends of the
branches; elliptical; entire; yellowish green and glabrous above; paler and
slightly pubescent underneath between the curved ribs. Flowers : small; cream
coloured ; growing in flat, open cymes, and having no involucre. Calyx : with
four, minutely-toothed sepals. Corolla : of four white, lanceolate petals. Sta-
metis : four. Pistil : one. Frttit : many dark blue berries, growing on reddish
petioles.

There is a freshness and vigour about the leaves of this dog-

CATALPA. Cataip.i ( \italpa.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, By FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL. 195

wood which can hardly fail to impress us, and they have a
strange little way of puffing up in places as though the type of
conventional flatness had been routed from their household.
Popularly, it has been slated that a first glance at this tree is
prone to give rise to just a little uncertainty as to whether its
leaves are opposite in growth or alternate. The specimens,
however, that were examined to aid in writing this description,
had no such pernicious inclinations to lead one astray. The
growth of their leaves was all distinctively alternate. The
blossoms have no beautiful involucres as have the flowering dog-
woods, but a pretty showing is made by the many, tiny flowers
that are crowded together in the cymes. In the autumn the
foliage turns to yellow and scarlet, and the bright blue berries
dangle from coral-coloured stems.

C. circiiia/a, round-leaved dogwood or cornel, does not attain
a dignity beyond that of a shrub of from three to ten feet high.
Its branches appear to be covered with wafts, and they are
streaked with white or green. The leaves are opposite, oval
and pubescent underneath. The flowers grow in very dense,
flat cymes. In almost any kind of soil the shrub will grow,
although it clings with some persistence to the edges and paths
of woods. From its bark cornine is largely extracted.

C.stolonifera, red-osier dogwood and C. candidissiina, panicled
dogwood, are both conspicuous shrubs along streams and in
damp thickets. The twigs of the former species are bright red ;
those of the latter are ashy in hue.

CATALPA. INDIAN BEAN. CANDLE-TREE.

BEAN TREE. {Flute CIII.)

Catdlpa Catdlpa.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Trumpet-creeper. Head, broad, roundid ; 20-30-40 Gulf states June, July.

branches, spreading. Jeet. northward. Fruit: Sept., Oct.

Bark: dark grey ; broken into small, flaky pieces. Leaves: simple; oppo-
site ; with long, round petioles ; broadly ovate, pointed at the apex or rarely
three-lobed, and slightly cordate at the base; entire; light green above and
glabrous; pubescent underneath, especially so along the ribs; peculiarly

196

TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL.

Catdlpa Catdlpa.

scented. Flowers: white, mottled with purple inside and spotted with yellow;
fragrant ; growing in an erect, terminal panicle. Calyx: irregular, or two-
lipped. Corolla : campanulate; two-lipped, with five spreading, crimped lobes.
Perfect stamens: two; rarely four in two pairs. Sterile stamens: three ; rarely one.
Pistil: one. Pods : six to twelve inches long; linear; hanging, and containing
winged and fragrant seeds.

The catalpa, as the aborigines called it, is one of our most
attractive trees, and it is now much seen throughout the middle
states. Before being so widely natural-
ized it was confined to the south. Until
taken in the hand and closely inspected
the beauty of its blossoms is hardly appre-
ciated. But many of our choicest exotics
are not more exquisite. The broad,
vivid green leaves form for them a plain
and artistic background. Within the pear-
shaped, glossy and reddish buds these
lovely blossoms are compressed into
round balls, in much the same way that
an accordion is folded together. It is quite interesting to
press a large bud between the thumb and fingers, when it
will divide into the two-lipped calyx, and the petals can then
be stretched out to their fullest extent. When they are allowed
to unfold naturally the stamens and pistil are the first to push
themselves upward from their cramped position, and as they do
so they bear along with them the pliable corolla. Its lobes are
the last of all to open and admit the insects within its richly
coloured centre. The crinkling of the lobes is a feature that
the flower never loses, and which is owing to their former posi-
tion in the bud. The pods, especially those of young trees in
cultivation, grow very long. When they have become dried and
brown, little country boys are credited with finding them good
to smoke. Their flavour, however, is very strong, like that of
weeds, and they burn the throat most horribly.

C. speciosa, larger Indian bean, often reaches one hundred and
twenty feet high and has longer pods than the preceding one.

TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL.

197

It is a more valuable species but is seldom found outside of
its natural range which is in the vicinity of southern Illinois
and the neighbouring states. Its bark and seeds are used
medicinally.

SUGAR HAPLE. HARD flAPLE. ROCK HAPLE.

SUGAR-TREE. {Plate Ciy.)

Acer Sdcchariwi.

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

TIME OF BLOOM

Maple.

Dome-like^

yi-120 feet.

New FoundUind southward

April, May.

rounded.

and weitward.

Fruit: Sept.

Bark : light grey ; rather smooth, becoming rough and scaly with age.
Leaves : simple ; oj^posite ; with long petioles ; rounded in outline, squared
or cordate at the base, with three, five or seven coarsely cut and sharply pointed
lobes, the lower pair smaller than the other three, and at times, entire; sinuses,
rounded. Rich green and glabrous above, lighter below and pubescent, espe-
cially so along the ribs. Flowers: greenish yellow; growing on drooping
pedicels in sessile, abundant corymbs, and appearing with the leaves. Calyx :
bell-shaped; fringed. Petals: none. Samaras: greenish yellow; drooping
on slender, hairy pedicels; the wings broad and slightly spreading; about one
inch long.

This is one of the very
good trees. It is so perfect
in outline, so beautiful and
useful. Perhaps it is most
widely known through its
sap, from which is made the
main quantity of maple
sugar. A square block of
this well-known article of
commerce, however, can
hardly disperse the same
love that is felt for the tree
by those living in its neigh-
bourhood, and who look
eagerly forward to the time
when sugar is made. Then
is the tree's yearly festival. Acer Sdccharum.

Enlarged Jlower. Samara.

PLATE CIV, SUGAR MAPLE. Acer Sacchariim.
(198)

TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL. 199

In earliest spring, as soon as the sap begins to flow freely, the
trees are tapped, and a wooden quill or trough is inserted in
the opening. At its other end is placed a bucket. The sap
then is averted in its upward course and directed into the
trough from where it trickles slowly down into the bucket.
About seventy drops fall every minute, — that is, under favour-
able circumstances and when the tree is well warmed by the
sunshine. This flow of the sap continues about three weeks.
There is then a gathering of the country about to enjoy the
" sugaring off." Great fires are built in the woods, and over
them kettles containing the sap are hung. This is the signal
for a general frolic among the girls and men of the village, al-
though stirring, tasting and sampling the syrup are not forgot-
ten. It must be taken from the fire at just the time that it has
turned to sugar. In certain parts of the country as in Ver-
mont, where the making of maple sugar is a large industry, it
commands great attention and is done after the most scientific
methods. In New York state there is a belt which includes
Schoharie, Otsego and Delaware counties and embraces Wayne
and Susquehanna counties in Pennsylvania that is yearly be-
coming more famous for its production of maple sugar. In
fact, the last census shows the yield to be a little below one hun-
dred thousand pounds. A tree of average size produces yearly,
it has been estimated, from four to eight pounds of sugar.

The wood of the sugar maple is more valuable than that of
any other of its genus. It is reddish brown, heavy and strong,
and capable of receiving a high polish. From it shoe lasts,
pegs and a large amount of furniture are made. When it is
burned for fuel its ashes even are valuable, for they contain a
considerable amount of potash.

Bird's-eye maple and curled maple are so called from differ-
ent conditions of the wood which arise from peculiar undula-
tions of its fibre.

A. nigrum, black sugar maple, often grows along streams or
inhabits river bottom lands. It is known from the preceding

Enlarged Jlo-,.

PLATE GV. SrRIPED MAPLE. -Acer Pennsylvanicum.

- " (200) - -.-■--

TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL. 201

species by its almost black bark and the formation of its leaves,
which is, however, very variable. Usually the lobes are severely
cut and have few or no teeth. The sinuses are long and nar-
row, and on both sides the leaf is of the same colour. Even
when old it retains a soft down underneath. When the base of
the leaf is heart-shaped the lobes not infrequently overlap
each other. Of the samaras, the wings are rather wide, but
hardly more so at the bottom than at the top. From the sap
of this tree also sugar is made.

STRIPED MAPLE. GOOSEFOOT MAPLE. MOOSEWOOD.

{Plate CV.)
Acer Pemisylvdnicicm.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Maple. Slender: hra7iches, 10-35 yi-fi'. Nova Scotia ivestward. May, June,

upright. southward to Georgia

and Teiniessee.

Bark: reddish brown or greenish ; conspicuously striped longitudinally with
lines of pale blue; smooth, and having upon it rough excrescences. Leaves:
large ; simple ; opposite ; with stout, grooved petioles ; rounded or cordate, with
three lobes above the middle ; sinuses pointed ; finely and doubly serrate. Glab-
rous above and below, slightly pubescent when young. F/cnvcrs : yellowish
green ; growing in terminal, drooping racemes and appearing after the leaves
have unfolded. The sterile and fertile flowers grow in different clusters on the
same tree. Saviaras : pale green, with widely diverging wings ; glabrous.

Dame Nature was surely in one of her jocund moods when
she gave so many fine little touches to the
striped maple. The bud-scales are very
attractive, and as the leaves unfold in the
springtime they cover the tree with a burst
of faint rose colour. Its racemes of delicate
flowers sway in the tree like tassels. The
brilliancy of its green garb and the gay
yellow tint to which it turns in the autumn,
make it one of the most beautiful trees in
cultivation. In outline its leaf has been
thought to suggest a goose's foot from the
wav in which it widfc-ns towards the summit and divides into

Acer Pennsylvdnicum.

202 TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL.

three well-cut lobes. The peculiar vertical marking of the
trunk is also a beautiful and characteristic feature and makes
it easy for us to retain our friendship with the tree during the
winter. The striped maple is a shrinking character and loves
to hide itself under the shade of larger trees. It frequently
occurs as a shrub. In fact in New England it forms an
immense amount of undergrowth. To it are sometimes
attached the names of false, or striped, dogwood. Its name of
moosewood was bestowed on it because in early spring deer
browse on the young shoots, that they may enjoy its sugar-like
sap.

nOUNTAIN MAPLE. {Plate CVJ.)

Acer spicaium.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Maple. Slender y taper ing. i2-y>/eet. Netv Foundland ivestivard May, June.

and southicard to N.
Carolina and Tenn.

Bark: brown or greenish ;, not striped. Leaves: three to five inches long;
simple ; opposite; rounded in outline, with three or rarely five lobes, pointed
at the apex and coarsely serrate. Above glabrous ; pubescent underneath
when young ; soft ; flexible. Flowei-s : greenish vellow ; growing in erect,
dense clusters and unfolding after the leaves. Petals: linear; spatulate.
Samaras : growing in clusters from nine to ten inches long, the wings diverg-
ing at right angles.

It is always a source of wonderment why Acer spicatum re-
mains so persistently under the shade of other trees. It could
well defy the full light of day that might fall
upon it in an open place, for it is very beauti-
ful. At the north it rarely occurs as other
than a tall shrub and clings to the rich woods
or grows by well-shaded roadsides. In the
coloured illustration the delicate samaras of
the mountain maple are seen wearing their
fresh, green tint of youth. Later, in the
autumn, they turn to brown. The foliage then
Acer spiciiium. bccomes a brilliant red or a clear, deep orange.
It is to the maples, we should remember, that we owe the

PLATE CVl. MOUNTAIN MAPLB. Acer spicatiwi.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY.
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

PLATE evil. FALSE SYCAMORE. Acfr Pseudo-Plataniis.
(203)

204

TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL.

greater part of the glorious colouring of the autumn. The
individual trees remain ever true to their colours and turn
every year to the particular ones that they have chosen.
A beautiful sight is to see two different maples standing closely
together when one has changed to scarlet and the other to
clear, bright yellow.

A. plantano'idcs, Norway maple, is one of the introduced
maples with which we are becoming familiar along drives in
parks and in general cultivation. It is a handsome tree,
rounded in outline and with broad, thin and smooth leaves,
which must luxuriate in the wealth of light and sunshine they
are capable of absorbing. In shape they are similar to those
of the sugar maple ; the lobes however are short, five to seven
in number, and have from two to five sharply pointed teeth.
The corymb-like clusters of fruit are a distinctive feature, the
wings being frequently two inches long and diverging so as
to form almost a straight line. Another mark of the tree's
identity is that the leaf-stem contains a milky juice.

A. Fseudo-Plataiuis {Plate CVJJ.), false sycamore, is another
European species that is extensively
planted for ornament in this country.
Its beautiful, firm leaves have very
long, red petioles and five short lobes
which are coarsely and irregularly
toothed. The sinuses are pointed. On
the upper surface the leaf is a rich
green, but underneath it is a much
lighter, softer colour. In its fruiting
season the tree is hung with a long
raceme of pubescent samaras with
wings that diverge widely.

A. JapSnicum atropurplireiim, blood-leaved Japanese maple, is
one of a number of dwarf maples which is mentioned here
because it is now becoming frequent in cultivation. It is

A cer Pseildo-Platdnus.

Plate CVill. locust tree. Rolnnia Pscudacacia.

COPYRIGHT 1900, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY.
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL.

205

extremely beautiful with rich wine-coloured foliage and a
graceful manner of growth.

LOCUST TREE.

YELLOW LOCUST.

{Plate CVIII.)
Robinia Pseudacacia,

FALSE ACACIA.

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

TIME OF BLOOM

Pea.

Head^ narrow, oblong;

4050 or 80

Penn. southward to

May, June.

branches, erect.

feet.

Go,, and westward.

Fruit: Sept.

Bark: reddish brown; rough and broken in ridges. Stipules: linear and
later developing into spines. Leaves: compound; alternate; with leaf-
stalks that are hollowed at the base and which cover the buds of the suc-
ceeding year ; odd-pinnate, with from eleven to twenty-five oval leaflets; rounded
at both ends and occasionally tipped with the end of the midrib; entire ; net-
ted-veined ; glabrous; when unfcjlding covered with a silvery pubescence.
Flowers: white; fragrant; growing in loose, axillary racemes, Ci7/r;c ; five-
toothed. Corolla: showy ; paijilionaceous ; the standard yellow at the base.
Legumes: linear; glabrous and containing from four to six brown seeds.
They remain on the trees over the winter.

**The slender acacia would not shake

One long milk-bloom on the tree.
The white lake-blossom fell into the lake

As the pimpernel dozed on the lea ;
But the rose was awake all night for your sake,

Knowing your promise to me ;
The lilies and roses were all awake,

They sigh'd for the dawn and thee." — Tennyson.

It is not only when the bright sun of
mid-day is shining that trees are well
seen. On some tranquil night in early
summer, lit by a bright moon, the
locust tree is clearly defined as it rises
to its stately height and casts about its
fantastic shadows. Its clusters of
moving, sensitive blossoms also appear
to be thrown into prominence by the
dimness of other things. It is then
free from the labour of digesting and
assimilating the sap, which work it
does in the sunshine, and calmly leans RoHnia Pseudac^da.

Legume, Pistil,

laiii open.

PLATE CIX. CLAMMY LOCUST. Robinia viscosa.
(206)

PLATt LA. KUbb ACACIA. Kobinia hispuhi.

COPTRIGHT, 1900, Br FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANr.
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL. 207

upon the cool night breezes. The luscious honey scent the
flowers cast about is one of its most seductive charms. There
is in the southern part of New Jersey an avenue of these trees
which for many generations was the admiration of those that
passed beneath them. Then a certain borer, called painted cly-
tus, found them out and set about the poor work of destruction.
Such ravages have thus been made among these trees that to-day
many of them are but dark, uncanny stumps with a mass of
suckers growing from their tops. Now and then one is seen
that has for some reason been less molested than the others,
and it stands out as though to testify to the departed glory of
its comrades. In fact, away from its native forests it is almost
impossible to protect the tree from such damage. This is
unfortunate, as its beauty has caused it to be perhaps more
planted in Europe and in America than anv other tree.

The wood of the locust tree is very valuable. It is closely
grained, heavy and especially strong when in contact with the
ground. Above all others it is preferred for the making of
treenails, and it is used for posts in vessels and for the masts
of ships. Long ago its excellence was known to the Indians
of Virginia, and from it their bows were constructed.

CLAMMY L0CU5T. {Plate CI X)

Robiiiia rnscbsa.

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

TIME OF BLOOM

Pea.

Slender: branches^
spreading.

y:>-i,o/eet.

Virginia to Georgia.

June.

One of the differences between this species of Robinia and
the preceding one is that its rough leaf-stems and branchlets
are clammy. Then it is a smaller tree and sometimes descends
to a shrub of from five to ten feet high. Its pink flowers grow
in erect or drooping, compact racemes. They are very showy,
but their colour hardly compensates for the sweet scent and
more graceful growth of the flowers of Robinia Pscudacacia.
Still it is one of our most rare and beautiful trees, and it is to
be lamented that it does not occur more generally in a wild

2o8 TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL.

state. It seems, however, to have a natural taste for luxury.
From the mountains of Carolina, where it is particularly charm-
ing, it has escaped, and it is seen in cultivation throughout the
Middle and Eastern States and in Canada, Its legumes are
linear-lanceolate, and they are slightly tipped with a vestige of
the style.

ROSE ACACIA. BRISTLY LOCUST. HOSS LOCUST.

{Plate ex.)

Robinia liispida.

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

TIME OF BLOOM

Pea.

Slender, spreading.

i-T-ofeet.

Virgi

Ilia ioiit/nuard.

June.

Ba>-k of branches: Purplish. Leaves: compound; alternate; with leaf-stalks
that are hollowed at the base aud which cover the buds of the succeeding
year; odd-pinnate, with broad leaflets, tipped with long bristles. Flowers:
large; showy; deep rose colour and growing in rather loose racemes. Corolla:
papilionaceous; the standard large. Legumes: linear, and covered with bristles.

A glance at this lovely plant is enough to cause it to be asso-
ciated with the family to which it belongs, although it is the
•one that is shrubby in its habit of growth. When in bloom it
is a soft, brilliant sight, and the papilionaceous corolla
reminds us strongly of many of our wild flowers.

" Is it a tree," a little child asked with amazement, " or is it
a big flower ? "

By plucking one of its leaves it is seen that it takes the same
precocious care of its offspring as is customary with other
members of the genus. The base of the long stalk is hollow,
and nestling cosily within its centre is the young bud of the
next season. Here it is as completely sheltered and hidden
away from harm as though a little house were built about it.
Throughout the northern states we are now accustomed to
seeing the shrub, as it is widely cultivated for ornament.

o 1 , t , i,-,n ' ^/■r ; ■ iiicaiitlios.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK A. STOKtS COMPANY
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL.

209

HONEY LOCUST. THREE=THORNED ACACIA. HONEY

SHUCKS. {Plate CXI.)

Gleditsia trtancd?tthos.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE

Senna. Irregular. T^-i^oJeet. IVestern N. V. southward

and westward.

TIME OF BLOOM
May., June.

Bark: grey and rough, with small scales at the base of the trunk. The
young branchlets reddish brown and having upon them wart-like excrescences.
'spines : two to four inches long; twice or thrice branched and cur\ed at the
Ijase. In very young and old trees they ai e sometimes absent. LitU'es : com-
pound; alternate; with long, downy petioles; abruptly pinnate, or twice
pinnate with from ten to twenty-six or more long, oblong leaflets tapering
towards the apex and rounded at the base; entire or slightly toothed; dark
green and lustrous above, yellow green below; glabrous; thin. Fiou'ers :
greenish white ; growing in narrow racemes. Calyx : three to five cleft.
Corolla : with from three to five narrow, spreading petals. Legit7nes: nine to
twenty inches long; reddish brown; flat; linear; curved and containing
between the seeds a sweet substance which has suggested the name of honey
locust.

It seems as though there
were no motion quite as un-
dulating and graceful as
that of a tree with an abun-
dance of fine foliage. This
the honey locust has, and
about it there is something
very interesting. As though
to atone for the fact that
its leaves are abruptly pin-
nate, a growth never as
pleasing as when they are
terminated by an odd leaf-
let, or by a tendril, the end
leaflet often again divides
itself, and the leaf becomes
twice pinnate. In this way
it satisfies its desire for a
mass of fleecy, light foliage.
Growing on the branches
just above the axils of the leaves, or where the leaflets grow

Gleditsia triancdnthos.

2IO TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL.

in little clusters, the long, sharply-pointed and richly-coloured
thorns appear. But they are not more curious to look at than
are the great pods which hang on the tree late in the season.
One is really inclined to wonder where they came from. As they
twist themselves like corkscrews in drying they produce an
eccentric effect. This is not their object, however ; they have
simply devised this plan as a means of securing a wider dis-
tribution of their seeds.

The tree is now widely planted throughout the north, and it
is often chosen to form hedges. That it withstands the on-
slaught of insects and grows rapidly from the seed are strong
points in its favour. It comes into leaf, however, late in the
spring when nearly all the other trees are already clothed with
verdure.

AMERICAN YELLOW=WOOD. KENTUCKY YELLOW-
WOOD. {Plate CXJL)

Cladrdstis lutea.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Ptn. Head, broad: branches^ 2,0-so/eet. Eastern Ky. to Tenn. May, June,

spreading. and North Carolina.

Bark: silvery grey; dose, something lilce that of the beech. Branches:
ashy. Leaves: compound; alternate; with stalks that are hollowed at their
bases and enclose the buds of the succeeding year; odd-pinnate; with from
seven to eleven oval or ovate leaflets ; pointed at the apex and rather blunt at
the base; entire; light green above; lighter below; glabrous.- Flowers: white;
fragrant; hanging in full, terminal panicles often a foot or more long. Corolla:
white; papilionaceous; the standard large and turned backward. Fruit:
many linear flat pods which hang from short peduncles and contain from four
to six seeds.

There is something mystical about the great bunches of this
tree's flowers when they unfold, and a strangeness lurks in
seeing things so purely white hanging from its boughs. When
the sun shines upon them after a shower, they sparkle as with
innumerable drops of crystallized dew, and tiny, round specks
of reflected sunshine gleam over their white petals. It is inter-
esting to notice their colours. Sometimes they blend crimson.

PLATE CXll. AMERICAN YELLOvV WOOD. Cladrastis lutca.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY.
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL.

yellow and green. The crimson tint is bordered with grey, and

the green sinks away into a deeper blue. .r^^fer

Every season there are flowers to be

seen on the tree, although it is only

on alternate years that it throws out

its full wealth of bloom. More than a

fortnight they seldom last, and in warm

weather hardly as long. In cultivation

it would be difificult to imagine a more

beautiful, low-growing tree than the

yellow-wood ; for besides its flowers,

its foliage is extremely graceful and

changes in the autumn to various tints of gold.

The wood of Cladrastis lutea is light yellow and brittle. In
fact its branches are very prone to break when they are struck
by a high gale of wind.

Cladrastis lutia

KENTUCKY COFFEE-TREE. STUMP TREE. {Plate CXIII.)

Gytmidcladus diolca.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT

Senna. Head, narrow: 40-80-1 loyV^^.
branches, ascending.

RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

N.Y. and Petin. south- May-July,

ward and ivestward. Fruit: Sept., Oct.

Bark: grey, tinged with red; coarse; rough and separating into persistent
scales. Branches: few and having no thorns. Stipules : lanceolate. Leaves :
one to three feet long; unequally twice-compound; alternate; odd-pinnate;
with from seven to thirteen leaflets on each division of the blade; ovate;
taper-pointed at the apex and rounded or cordate at the base; entire and
fringed about the margins. Dark green and glabrous above, pale yellow-green
below and slightlv pubescent along the ribs. Fhnvcts : white; dioecious;
growing in racemes along the branches. Legumes: large; six to ten inches
long, and broad; reddish brown; flat; glaucous and containing several hard
and grey seeds.

It is a pleasure to feel that we know just what to expect
from trees — that they are not with every return of the season
presenting us with new fashions. We may have noticed that
the late, unfolding leaves of the Kentucky coffee-tree are pink,
and that as thev become more accustomed to the world they

212

TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL.

Gytnnicladus dioica.

turn to a bronze-green. In the au-
tumn they again change to bright,
clear yellow. Nor is it only in one
particular year that these colours
succeed each other. At whatever
time we return to the tree, no matter
how long afterwards, we shall find
it telling the same story. A spray of
its doubly-compound leaves readily
adapts itself to conventional design-
ing. The curved pods remain un-
opened on the boughs throughout
the winter, when the tree has a la-
mentably dead and stump-like look.
Their seeds were at one time used
to make a beverage which was
thought to be something like coffee.

BLACK WALNUT. {Plate CXIV)
Jiiglatis nigra.

MMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Walnut. Rounded: branches.^ 30-60-1 50 yir*/. Mass. southivnrd Aprils May.

very thick. and ivestward. Fruit: October.

Bark : blackish; rough ; broadly ridged. Twigs : pubescent. Leaves : com-
pound; alternate; with stalks from one to two feet long, which are slightly pubes-
cent ; odd-pinnate, with from thirteen to twenty-three leaflets; ovate-
lanceolate; taper-pointed at the apex and rounded or slightly cordate at the
base; the sides often unequal, and the lower pair of leaflets smaller than the
others; sharply toothed; yellowish green above and glabrous, paler below and
pubescent. Fniit : large ; globose; solitary; the husk greenish yellow when
ripe and dotted with brownish red; spongy and decaying to release the nut.
Nut: black; deeply and sharply furrowed, and containing a rich, highly
flavoured kernel.

It has been estimated that fully one hundred years are re-
quired for this tree to attain the ample proportions necessary
for a valuable timber tree. Then the axeman who long has had
his eye on it, lays low the result of its patient, unerring growth.
How pathetic is this defenselessness of the tree against man !

PLATE CXIII. KENTUCKY COFFEE TREE. GyDiiwcladiis tUoica.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL.

213

Long before him it knew the
earth, and it has outgrown him;
but meekly it falls before his
will. So grea*- has been the
demand for the beautiful, dark
brown heart-wood of the black
walnut that it may now almost
be said to no longer exist in
the American forests. And
many of the trees that are ap-
proaching a marketable size
have already been bought " on
the stump" by lumbermen.
Those trees that once covered
vast tracts of forest land in
the Mississippi basin are now
no more, and east of the Alle-
ghany mountains they are also
scarce. During the civil war
gun stocks were largely made of the wood of the black walnut,
and trees were not planted to replace those that were destroyed.
As we all know, the meat of the nuts has a fine, rich flavour ;
but it is somewhat difficult of access, as it is most skilfully
fastened within the shells. In cultivation the tree has a sombre
aspect, and it is unfortunate that the fall web-worms eat so
ravenously its foliage.

Jitglans nigra.

BUTTERNUT. WHITE WALNUT. OILNUT. {Plate CXV.)

Juglans cinerea.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Walnut. Unsytnntetrical : branches, 30-50-100 New England south- May.

horizontal. feet. ward to Ga. and Fruit: Oct., Nov.

7vestward.

Bark : light brown ; deeply ridged. Branchlets : light grey; rough. Twigs :
sticky. Leaf-bnds\ scaly; pubescent. Leaves: compound; alternate; with
pubescent and sticky stalks ; odd-pinnate, with from eleven to seventeen long,
oval, sessile leaflets, taper-pointed at the apex and rounded at the base ; sharply

214 TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL.

and unevenly serrate; yellowish green above, underneath extremely pubescent.
Flowers I monoecious. Stammate catkins : growing from axillary buas. Their
flower bracts clothed during the winter with tomentum; pubescent. Pistillate
flaivers : six or eight, growing in terminal spikes, and covered with sticky hairs.
Fruit: growing in a husk from two to three inches long ; oblong; pointed; green
orgre'enish brown when ripe; sticky, and decaying away from the nut that it
encloses. Nut; ovate ; with a rough, furrowed shell, and sweet, highly flavoured
kernel.

As is often true of trees that come into leaf late in the season,
the butternut is one of the first to take offence at Jack Frost;
and that he may not further wound it by his familiarity, its
leaves drop silently to the ground very early in the autumn.
At all times the leaves of the tree are rather scarce, and its
exposed grey limbs present an unkempt appearance. So much
yellow is mixed with the colouring of the foliage that, while the
effect is peculiar, it robs it of all look of vigour. The trees
remind us of plants that have been too much in the shade.

But how insignificant are such points as these to the country
boys and squirrels that know the tree by its fruit. And how
sweet and tender is the young meat, only those know that have
braved the staining of fingers and have pounded the husks open
on some near-by rock. Perhaps the taste of the woodlands
still clings to them, for they are seemingly very different
when bought at the market.

The wood of the butternut is light brown and beautiful.
Among other things it is used for cabinet work.

nOCKER=NUT. WHITE=HEART HICKORY.

FRAGRANT HICKORY. {Plate C XVI >)

Hicbria dlba.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Walnut. Head^ rounded, narrow: jo-ioo/eet. New England south- May^June.

branches^ spreading. ward to Fla. and Fruit: Oct., Nov,

Texas and westward.

Bark: light grey; rough, but close; not broken into scales. Leaf-buds:
large; round, and covered with yellowish-brown scales. Leaves: comjiound;
alternate; odd-pinnate; with rough stalks and from seven to nine long, oval, al-
most sessile leaflets, taper-pointed at the ajjcx, and wedge-shaped or blunt at
the base; the lower pair of leaflets smaller and broader than the others.
.'^lightly serrate with blunt teeth; above deep yellowish green, paler and pubes-

PLATE CXIV. BLACK WALNUT. Jiii^hms ii/i^ra.

COPTRIGMT, 1900, 8Y FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY.
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

Pistilla te ftowtry
enla rged.

PLATE CXV. BUTTERNUT. Jw^Ians cinerea.
(215)

2i6 TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL.

cent underneath; fragrant when dried. Nut : one and a half to two and a half
inches long; greyish white, and growing in a thick green husk, which splits
when ripe nearly to the base into four sections; ovate; rounded; pointed at the
top; six-angled, with a hard and thick shell. Kernel : small; sweet, but not
highly flavoured.

It is true that the fruit of this tree is one that mocks. Its
large size and fresh, wholesome look lead many to seize it as
though with a promise of finding abundant meat. But a series
of disappointments is consequent. The husk of the nut is un-
usually thick, and the shell is thick; so when found the poor
little meat seems not to compensate for the trouble it has given,
especially as it is indifferently flavoured. To follow the
changes of colour of the tree's large leaf-buds is interesting. In
the winter their yellowish-brown scales forsake them, and they
become covered with those that are hard and greyish. It is not
well to be conspicuous late in the season when delicate, green
food is scarce; for there are hungry marauders about then as
well as in the summer time, although not perhaps of the same
class as the beautiful but terrible creature which is seen in the
coloured plate.

Of all the hickories this one is the most generally known
throughout the south. It grows also in the Atlantic states and
in Canada, but in these latter places it is rather rare. In the
rich soil of woods, or upon hillsides and ridges it is found.
The timber that the tree produces is very similar to that of the
shag-bark hickory.

SHAQ-BARK HICKORY. SHELL-BACK HICKORY.

WHITE WALNUT. {Plate CXVJI.)

Hicbria ovata.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

IValnut. Conical; head, narrow; 50-90- 120 /><•/. Southern Maine ^^"V-

trunk, column-like. ivestivard atid Fruit: Sept.,Oct.

southward to Fla.
and Texas.

Bark: grey; loosely attached, and breaking into long, loose strips, which
curve away from the tree at the bottom but remain attached at the middle.
Leaf-b7ids\ ovate; large; with leaf-like, brown and yellow-green scales. Leaves:
compound; alternate; odd-pinnate; with rough stalks and five or seven leaflets;

KLAlh LAVl. MuLKhK-NUT. Ificoriaixlha,

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY.
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

Pistillate Staminate
Jlower. flower.

PLATE CXVII. SHAG-BARK HICKORY. Hicoria ovata.
(217)

2i8 TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL.

long ovate, or obovate; sessile, with taper-pointed apex and wedge-shaped or
rounded base, the lower pair of leaflets varying greatly from tne others in
shape; sharply serrate; thin; dark yellowish green, and glabrous above; paler
below. Flowers I appearing after the leaves are nearly fully grown. Stainmate
catkins : light green; slender, and growing in threes on long peduncles, i^istillate
ones: in spikes of from two to five flowers. Fruit: growing in a thick, green
husk; smooth and lustrous on the outside, and openuig to the base into four
sections. Nut: whitish; ovate; flattened at the sides; four-angled, and con-
taining a sweet, highly flavoured kernel.

After the beautiful buds have burst their bright, petal-like
scales, the shag-bark equips itself for the summer with a green
sunshade of fresh and fragrant leaves. And it is also a sun-
shade that is picturesque and exquisite in outline. There is
besides no need of putting on one's spectacles before bowing to
the tree. Its strange, shaggy bark at once proclaims its ident-
ity, and formality is forgotten. With tranquil steadiness it
produces every year its fruit — a dainty gift to mankind. Were
it only for its own purposes of reproduction there would be no
need of its having so fine and sweet a flavour. It is the
well-known hickory nut of the market. Those that wander
much in the woods know well that a bit of self-restraint is nec-
essary in the early autumn; for these nuts will not be hurried
in their ripening, and no more pleasure is to be had from gath-
ering them too soon than there is from trying to unfold for
oneself the petals of a rose.

The brownish-white wood of the shag-bark is tough, elastic
and very valuable. Its uses are many.

H. lacinihsa, big shell-bark, or king nut, is a rare tree which
occasionally grows one hundred and twenty feet high, and is
found in rich soil from New York and Pennsylvania southward
and westward. It has a light grey bark which separates into
thin, narrow plates, and the young branchlets are orange colour.
The leaves are from ten to twenty inches long and have from
five to nine obovate leaflets. Either solitary, or in pairs, the
nuts grow, and they are much larger than those of the shag-
bark hickory. In fact, to one that sees them for the first time,
their size is astonishing. Their shell is also darker, with a yel-

PLATE CXVlll. SMALL-FRUITED HICKORY. Hicoria microcarpa.

(219)

220 TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL.

low tint, and the kernel, although sweet, has a less agreeable
flavour. Hicoria laciniosa is slow of growth, and the wood that
it produces is comparatively dark in colour. Otherwise there
is much similarity between it and that of Hicoria ovata.

SMALL=FRUITED HICKORY. {Plate CXVJII.)
Htcbria microcdrpa.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Walnut. Rounded, conical. (xx^o/eet. Mass. to Delaware and May, June.

■westward. Fruit: Se^t., Oct.

Bark : at first close, but separating into narrow strips. Leaves : compouud
alternate ; with smooth stalks and from five to seven sessile leaflets ; long ;
oval; pointed at the apex and at the base ; finely serrate ; glabrous above and
only slightly pubescent in the angles of the ribs underneath and dotted with
dark spots. Frtiit : growing in a nearly globular, green, thin husk which
splits when ripe nearly to the base. Nut : small ; round; smooth ; not ridged ;
thin-shelled. Kernel: sweet.

It is not always a simple matter to tell at a glance the differ-
ent hickories apart, for in general habit and picturesqueness
of outline they closely resemble each other. The foliage of
Hicoria microcarpa suggests that of Hicoria glabra, the pig-
nut, and the shell of its small fruit is also thin and free
from angles. In fact, Professor Sargent regards the tree as a
variety of Hicoria glabra.

About the leaf-buds of the hickories there is always a charm.
Many of them grow to the size of quite large leaves before fall-
ing and are full of colour. Usually the pistillate blossoms are
green, and so unobtrusive and modest are they that they might
readily be mistaken for the unfolding foliage. The wood of
the small-fruited hickory is light brown, tough and strong.

WHITE ASH. {Plate CXIX.)
Frdxtnus Americana.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Olive. Rounded: lower branches., ^o-i-io feet. Nova Scotia west- April-June,

slightly drooping. ward and south-

wa rd to Florida
and Texas.

Lotver Bark: brownish grey, tinged with red ; furrowed, and becoming smoother
upward and on the branches. Young shoots glossy, and marked with light
coloured dots. Leaf-buds ; rust coloured ; glabrous and growing in elongated

TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL.

221

panicles. Leaves : compound ; opposite ; odd-pinnate ; with from five to nine
ovate, or lance-obiong leaflets ; taper-pointed at the apex and pointed or inclined
to be rounded at the base and extending into smooth petiolules about one quar-
ter of an inch in length. Dark green and lustrous above, silvery underneath
and pubescent, becoming glabrous at maturity excepting on the whitish under
ribs. Flmuers : dioecious ; appearing before the leaves. Stamiiiate flowers ;
with three stamens which have short filaments and conspicuous anthers. Pis-
tillate ones : with their ovaries extended into a slender style and having a pur-
ple, spreading, tsvo-lobed sfigma. Satiiaras: hanging on slender pedicels in
loose clusters; the wings lanceolate and tapering to a point.

" Why lingereth she to clothe her heart with love,
Delaying as the tender ash delays
To clothe herself, when all the woods are green ? "

— Tennyson.

In the Eddas, the records of Scandinavian mythology, it is
told that a mighty ash tree, "Ygdrasil," sprang from the body
of the giant Ymir who under it
lies prostrate. It is thought to ""

support the whole universe. One
of its great roots penetrates into
the dwelling of the gods, another
into the abode of the giants, and
the third extends into the realms
of darkness. Each root is wa-
tered by a spring. In the abode
of the gods it is tended by three
Norns ; they are goddesses who ^^'^]
dispense fate and represent the
past, the present and the future.
The spring in the giant's hall is
Ymir's well and holds in its depths
wit and wisdom. But the third
spring feeds the adder, Nidhogge,
darkness, which never ceases
from gnawing at the tree's roots. Four harts ceaselessly travj.
erse the branches and bite off the buds. They are the four
winds. After their creation of the universe, these gods also
conceived the first man, Aske, to be made out of an ash tree,

Frdxinus A tntricina.

Pistil.

PLATE CXIX. WHITE ASH. Fraxinus Americana.
(222)

TREL^S GROWING IN RICH SOIL. 223

and the first woman out of an alder. She was called
Embla.

The white ash is an especially handsome tree of rapid
growth and with clean foliage that is not ravaged by insects.
Its flexible, fine timber is of great value in cabinet work and is
well adapted for the making of oars, carriage poles, shafts and
agricultural implements.

BLUE ASH. (J'late CXX.)
Frdxinus quadranguldta.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Olive. Slender. (>o-ioo/ect. Ontario to Minnesota and March, April.

southward to Alabama,

Bark : light grey ; tinged with red and divided irregularly into plate-like
scales. BraiichUls : squared; four-angled. Leaves: compound; opposite;
odd-pinnate ; with from five to nine or more long ovate or lanceolate leaflets
with very short petiolules, or nearly sessile. Apex and base taper-
pointed; sharply serrate ; yellowish green ; dull and glabrous above, pale and
glabrous below, but downy in the angles of the ribs when young. Flowers t
dioecious; insignificant; growing on slender pedicels from separate buds in
the axils of the leaf-scars of the preceding year, and unfolding as the terminal
bud expands. Samaras : hanging in clusters ; narrowly oblong ; the wings ex-
tending all around and nearly the same width throughout ; notched at the apex.

In rich woods and on the fertile bottom lands of the west the
blue ash is mostly found. But even throughout its natural
range it is not a common tree. As is true of nearly all the
members of its family, it is beautiful and unusually free from
objectionable features. It grows rapidly to a tall and stately
height, and its foliage has happily no blandishments for the in-
sect world. In the autumn it turns to a pale yellow, and al-
though the leaves have unfolded late in the spring, just when
the samaras are forming, they are among the first to fall. The
mark by which the tree is most readily known is the quadran-
gular shape of its stems. It has, however, been popularly
stated that they lose this feature as they grow old. But Mr.
Beadle, of Biltmore, who has grown several hundred thousands
of blue ashes, finds that from the first to the tenth year of their
age there is a strong increase in this characteristic, and that
to some extent it is always retained.

PLATE CXX. BLUE ASH. Fraxinits quadrangulata.

(2 2J,)

PLATE CXXI. Whiit riiNt. j miis .^n.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY FREDEhlCK A. STOKES COMPANY.
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL. 225

The dark, yellowish wood of the blue ash is valuable. It is
not very strong, but hard, and is adaptable for such purposes as
flooring and parts of carriages. Commercially, it is not distin-
guished from the other ashes of the northern and middle states.
From its inner bark a blue dye is extracted and to this cir-
cumstance is owing the tree's common name.

WHITE PINE. WEYMOUTH PINE. {Plate CXXL)
Plnus Strbbus.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOIVI

Pine. Conical; branches, Zo-ij^/eei. Northward to Great June.

tvhor led horizontally. Lakes., southward to Fruit: S^/>t.

Georgia and Iowa.

Bark : light greenish grey; smooth on young trunlcs and branches, and be-
coming rough and brownish with age. Leaves : three to five inches long; sim-
ple; arranged closely along the branches in clusters of five, and having short
sheaths which fall early; needle-shaped; three-sided; light green; soft; deli-
cate; glaucous. Cones : reddish brown; four to si.\ inches long; terminal; soli-
tary; drooping; cylindrical; slightly curved; resinous. Scales: thin; blunt.
Seeds : winged.

The tragrance of balsam, the greenness of hope seem to
come to us with the very name of a pine; but there are few among
them that can claim as much admiration as the white pine.
Much of the peculiar charm which distinguishes our scenery
from that of other lands is owing to its great whorled branches
which regularly stand out against the sky. Throughout the
winter how magnificent is this living creature of the forest,
when it stretches out its arms to uphold the snow and ice that
bend them without mercy to the ground. And how must it be
thrilled with delight as it is touched with the soft air of spring
which lovingly dries its needles by fanning them in its breezes.
Then as the silver sheen of their undersides passes through the
hazy blue tone of its green, Thoreau describes the effect ai
similar to that of cold flashes of electric light.

It is interesting to reflect that during the latter part of tb.e
XVIIth century all silver shillings and smaller coins that were
struck in the colony of Massachusetts bore the device of a
white pine. Also in 1772, a clause in extenuation to one in the
charter of Massachusetts Bay read : "That after September 21,

226

TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL.

Pinus Strbbus.

1772, in New England, New
York and New Jersey in
America no person shall
cut or destroy any white
pine trees, not growing in
any township or its bounds,
without his Majesty's li-
cense." The name Wey-
mouth pine was given to
it in England, and was to
commemorate Lord Wey-
mouth.

To-day the tree is in
. danger of extermination
from the axe, for it is the
most valuable timber tree
of Eastern America. Its
light, soft and straight-
grained wood is free from
knots and nearly so from
resin. It is easily worked
For carpentry and various
In low, fertile soil the tree

and receives a high polish.

constructions it is much used.

grows, often forming large forests, and also in sandy places. It

appears most conspicuous in groves of deciduous-leaved trees,

and in parts of New England it now occupies extensive tracts

of abandoned farm land.

HEMLOCK. {Plate CXXII.)

Tsu^a Canadensis.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Pine. Conical: branches^ 6o-?>o-ioo/eet. A'ezv Brunswick west- April, May.
horizontal, droofiing. ward to the Gt. Lakes

and southward.

Bark: reddish or grey; scaly, and becoming more rough and furrowed
with age. Leaves : linear; half an inch long; simple; growing flatly on little
petioles, singly, and opposite to each other up and down the branchlets; nar-
row; blunt at the apex and sometimes minutely toothed. When young light

PLATE CXXII. HEMLOCK. Tsi/ea Civiadcitsis.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, 8Y FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY.
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL. 227

yellow-green above, becoming darker; lustrous; silvery white underneath.
Cones- very small; hardly over half an inch long; ovate-oblong; solitary and
drooping at the ends of the branchlets. Sca/es : rounded; thni; and not open-
ing widely when the seeds are ripe. Seeds and wings nearly as long as the scales.

When on some open, rocky ridge this tree is seen growing by
itself, it is often clothed to the ground with its graceful and
drooping branches. Their spray is filmy and plume-like, and
as first the intense lustre of their dark-green needles is height-
ened and as then their silvery undersides dart upward, it appears
as though a light, fleecy cloud were gambolling through its
boughs. When the spring-time comes the tree is touched with
a lively yellow-green and is then, as also when it is young, one
of the most charming sights of nature. In October, in the for-
est's shade it becomes dark, almost black, and stretches itself
solemnly to its utmost height.

The hemlock has been much planted as an ornamental tree
and has in cultivation produced new varieties, but none of
them is so free and graceful in its growth as the wild tree.
More often than for its timber, which is coarsely grained and
brittle, it is felled for the sake of its bark. From this tannin is
largely taken to be used in the manufacture of leather, and it is
also known to possess medicinal properties.

T. Caroliniana^ Carolina hemlock, is also of all the evergreen
trees one of the most beautiful, and even in this point excels
a little the common hemlock which it so closely resembles. In
its habit of growth it is more dense, and the cones it bears are
slightly larger with scales that are prone to diverge. The tree
is not common and is generally found in groves along the high
bluffs of the Blue Ridge mountains — that part of the country
so rich in flora and forestry.

BLACK SPRUCE. {Plate CXXIII)

Plcea Mariana.
FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Pine. Trunk, straight; lower ^o-go-ioo/eet. North Carolina March-June,

branches, drooping. northward.

Bark: greyish brown; slightly rough. Branchlets: brown; greenish when
young and pubescent. Leaves : seldom over two-thirds of an inch long; dark

Scale o/cone^ showing
seeds.

PLATE CXXIll. BLACK SPRUCE. Picea Mariana.

(228)

TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL. 229

blue-green; simple; growing tliiclvly all along and on every side of the tan col-
oured twigs; needle-sliaped; four-sided; curved or strai-ht; rigid. Cones: one-
iialf to one and a half inches long; rich purple, and turning later to reddish
brown or tan colour; ovate or ovoid; terminal; solitary, and drooping at the
ends of the branches; often persistent for many years. Scales: rounded- per-
sistent; thin, and becoming wavy toothed at the apex. '

To speak definitely of the outlines of trees is often difficult,
for they adapt themselves with wonderful facility to the various
conditions under which they grow. The black spruce when it
inhabits dense thickets sends up a tall and slender shaft, quite
free from branches until near its top ; but when growing in an
open swamp with plenty of room for a free development it is
often clothed to the ground wnth vigourous boughs. It then is
very beautiful. After its youth has passed, however, and espe-
cially in cultivation it becomes scraggly and rough looking.
Only when the tree is surrounded by abundant moisture does
it thrive well, and near the coasts of southern New England,
New York and New Jersey, it occupies many small swamps
and bogs. From those of the red spruce its leaves are readily
distinguished for they are shorter and of a bluer tint of green.

The timber produced by the black spruce is valuable and
used among other purposes for the masts and spars of ships.
It is pale red or white, straightly grained, and is marked with
rather ornamental small knots. From the northern Indians it
was that Europeans first learned to boil its young twigs with
honey, and to extract the essence of spruce which is employed
in making beer of that name.

WHITE SPRUCE. {Plate CXXIK)
Plcea Canadhisis.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Pine. Cone-shaped, slender. 30-100-150 yV^/. Maine and north April, May.

west to Minnesota.

Bark: brown; scaly. Twigs: light buff; smooth. Leaves: light olive-
green; simple; growing closely and singly from all sides of the branches;
needle-shaped; four-sided; slender; slightly curved and sharply pointed on
the sterile branches ; more blunt on those that are fertile; glaucous. Staminate
flowers: pale red. Cones: one to two inches long ; pale green and turning
later to light brown or tan colour; solitary; drooping; terminal at the ends of

Scale of cone. Staminate flower.

PLATE CXXIV. WHITE SPRUCE. Picea Canadensis.

(230')

TREES GROWING IN RICH SOIL. 231

the branchlfets. Oval, or cylindiical; very soft to the touch and falling at the
end of the year. Scales : broadly obovate; rounded or twolobed at the apex;
entire.

As the tall shaft of the white spruce raises itself above the
level of surrounding things and spreads its branches until
they form a cone-shaped outline, it stands distinct and clear
against the monotonous skyline. Nature shows us many little
differences : nothing to her is insignificant. We notice therefore
that the needles of the spruces have fine and sharp points and
that they are arranged all about and on every side of the little
oranchlets. The fir trees have blunt-pointed needles, and the
under sides of their twigs are not covered by them. That this
tree may not be confused with the black spruce, its bark and
foliage are both lighter in colouring ; and the scales of its
cones are thinner and more papery to the touch than either
those of the black or red spruce. (Pages 227 and 258). Of its
clear, exquisitely white or faint yellow wood the best specimens
have been compared to satin-wood. It is much used for fine
interior finish.

BALSAH FIR. BALfl OF Q I LEAD FIR. {Plate CXXV.)

Abies balsa inea.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Pine. Pyramidal; branches, ^o-to feet. Nortkivard to Minn. Aprils May.

horizontal. southward to VV. Va.

Bark: grey; smooth and horizontally marked as though with blisters. Little
branchlets growing at an angle of forty-five degrees to the larger ones. Leaves :
one-half or barely an inch long; simple; growing singly and flatly along the
branchlets; needle-shaped; notched or blunt at the apex; very flat; straight;
grooved above and having a raised ridge below; dark blue-green above;
silvery bluish white below ; evergreen. Odour; aromatic. Cones: small; from
two to hardly four inches long; violet colour when young, becoming light
brown; growing erectly on the upper sides of the branches. Scales: broadly
rounded; flat and thin; opening and falling when the seeds are ripe. The
inner bract of the scales tipped with a bristle. Seeils : resinous.

Here we have the Christmas tree, the one most often
chosen from the forest to be the central figure of gay and
human scenes. But who that has read Anderson's story, " Der
Tannenbaum," can help sympathising with the little stranger

232

TREES GROWING ]N RICH SOIL.

as it stands alone amid its new and untried surroundings ?
Although it had ardently longed to grow
and to leave the quietude of the forest,
that it might see something of the world
without ; it had been hurt by the axeman,
and it found almost stifling the air of the
brilliantly-lighted room. It bled at its
base and suffered.

Even in cultivation the tree is short-
lived. It is the one, it is well to remem-
ber, from which the needles should be
gathered to fill pillows.

From the blister-like portions of its
bark, balsam is abundantly procured, and
the air laden with its odours is known to have certain bene-
ficial qualities, especially when breathed by those that have
pulmonary diseases.

A. Fraseri, Eraser's balsam fir, is a beautiful rare tree
which grows among the higher Alleghany mountains. It is very
like the preceding species. In general tone it is olive-green
although the under side of the needles is bluish white, and
running through their middle is a line of bright green. The
needles are very blunt-pointed and grow thickly on the upper
side of the little branchlets. The cones are small and oblong,
and the inner leaflet, or bract of the scales, projects a short and
reflexed point.

Abies balshntea.

PLATL

dALSAM fir. AIhcs l>a/sai//,a.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

Trees Preferring to Grow in Sandy or
Rocky Soil : Hillsides and Barrens.

" Father, thy Jiand
Hath reared these venerable columns, thou
Didst weave this verdant roof. Thou didst look doivn
Upon the naked eartJi, a)id, forthzuith, rose
All these fair ranks of trees. They, in thy sun,
Budded, and shook their greeii leaves in thy breeze,
And shot tozvards heaven. The century-living crow
Whose birth was in their tops, grezv old and died
A niong their branches, till at last, they stood.
As now they stand, massy, and tall, and dark,
Fit sJirine for humble worshipper to hold
Communion with his maker."

A Forest Hymn. — BRYANT.

PERSinnON. DATE=PLUM. {Plate CXXVI.)
Diosp^ros Virginiatta.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Ebony. Round-topped: brandies, lo-do feet or Rhode Isiand south- A[ay,June.

spreading or pendulous. higher. ward to Fla. and Fruit: Sept.-Nov.

westward to Illinois.

Bark: almost black or tinged with red ; rough and divided into plates ; as-
tringent. Leaves: three to five inches long ; simple ; alternate ; with short,
pubescent petioles; broadlv-lanceolate or oval, with pointed apex and pointed,
rounded or cordate base ; dark green and lustrous al:)ove, jiale and dull under-
neath ; thick ; the whole leaf bordered with a delicate fringe, and jiubescent
when young. Flmvers : small ; greenish yellow ; the staminate ones mostly
clustered, the pistillate ones, solitary; axillary. Cf/Zr^r ; four-parted. Corolla:
bell-shaped; four-cleft. Fruit : gXohose; almost sessile; astringent when
green; when ripe reddish orange or rusty brown ; edible; sweet; clinging to
the branches until the beginning of winter.

In the fresh, green days of its youth, the fruit of the persim-

234

TREKS GROWING IN SANDY SOIL.

mon has a very acrid taste, as those find that have been unable
to curb their impatience and have allowed its prettiness to
tempt them to " try and see." But as
it grows older, perhaps knows life bet-
ter, and has been mellowed and turned
to a rich, reddish orange or brown by
the unrelenting touch of Jack Frost, it
becomes sweet and agreeable. It is
also not until after the tree is a hun-
dred years old that it develops its
heart-wood. Then it is nearly black,
very firm and hard. From it shuttles
and shoe lasts are made. In fact, al-
most all the parts of the tree are use-
ful, as was well known by the Indians.
They, in some way, dried its fruit and afterwards made it into
beer. Combined with hops it is still brewed into domestic beer,
and it is manufactured into brandy. Tannin is also found in
the fruit which is possessed of a colouring matter, service-
able in making indelible ink. The seeds have been roasted as
a substitute for coffee. From the bitter bark a strengthening
tonic is produced.

Throughout the southern part of the Atlantic and Gulf
states the tree is very common, and many of them are often
found growing thickly together in a shrubby form. The Duke
of Argyle presented a persimmon tree to George the Third,
and it is said to be still contentedly growing in the old abore-
tum at Kew.

Diospyros Virginiana.

CALIFORNIA MAHOGANY. {Plate CXXVII.)

RJnis t7itegrifblia.

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

TIME OF BLOOM

Sum

■Loui, spreadins^.

10-30 yVc/, or
1-2 feet.

Coast of California.

March, April.

Bark: reddish or greyish brown; rough and ridged. Leaves: simple; al-
ternate ; with short, pubescent petioles ; oval ; rounded or pointed at the apex

PLATE CXavi. FtRSiivlMuN. Diospyros Vir<^i>i tan a.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK «. STOKES COMPANY.
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

Staininaie flower,
enlarged.

PLATE CXXVll. CALIFORNIA MAHOGANY. Rhus integrifolia.

(235)

236 TREES GROWING IN SANDY SOIL.

and rounded or tapering along the petiole at the l)ase; entire or sometimes dis-
tantly toothed, wlien the sinuses are rounded, deep yellow, green above,
paler beneath and glabrous, excepting along the veins and midrib ; evergreen.
Flowers: dioecious ; small; growing in terminal, close racemes. Sepals: five;
rose colour; fringed at the margin. Petals: five; rose colour; rounded; re-
flexed. Stamens: five, their filaments slender, with light coloured anthers.
Berries: ovate; deep red and covered with a dark, sticky pubescence ; their
juice viscid and resinous.

About the clusters of tiny flowers of this shrub there is a
flushed, rosy look as though they were blushing. Its fruit ap-
pears more assured and is of a deep, pure red which makes a
fine effect among its leaves. The sticky substance with which
the berries are covered renders them unpleasant to handle, and
seems to warn one from eating them, especially when the rather
unchristian-like characteristics of some of their relatives
are remembered. Many cooling drinks, however, which are
said to be excellent, are made from the oily substance that
abundantly exudes from them.

Growing inland in the sandy, sterile soil about California,
Rhus integrifolia is usually found as a small tree ; but when it
ventures to appear along the bluffs of the coast, it assumes a
low, prostrate position, that it may better resist the tempests
and high winds. For even greater protection, numbers of them
are often found growing closely together. Its wood is a clear
red and handsome. For fuel it is mostly used.

DWARF THORN. HAW. {Plate CXXVIII.)

Cratagus uniflbra.

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

TIME OF BLOOM

Apple.

Bushy.

3-8 or 12/eet.

Southern New York
southward.

May.
Fruit: Oct.

Bark: ash colour ; furrowed. Thorns: numerous; nearly one to two inches
long; slender; straight. Leaves: simple; alternate; almost sessile; spatu-
late-obovate, with rounded teeth and entire at the base ; lustrous and glabrous
above at maturity, pubescent underneath; thick. Flowers: white; usually
one only, growing on a short j^eduncle at the end of the branchlets amid a clus-
ter of leaves. Calyx: with five long j^oints which equal the petals in length.
C(3r^//(Z .• of five, rosaceous petals. Stamens: numerous. Styles: five. Fruit:
yellowish; gloljular or pear-shaped; covered with hairs when young and con-
taining five hard carpels.

Often in the sandy soil of abandoned fields and forest bor-

PLATE CXXVIII. DWARF THORN. Cratcpgtis uinflora.
(237)

238 TREES GROWING IN SANDY SOIL.

ders we find the dwarf thorn. Either in bloom or in fruit it is
a pleasing, cheery sight, and it makes no secret of its family
traits. The one delicate flower, — but rarely are two found, —
that snuggles among the bright green leaves, or the solitary
fruit, is an indication of its species, and it is also a shrub.
Only along the banks of the Appalachicola River in Florida
does it become arborescent.

It is always a gay time of the year when the hawthorns
blow. The pageant of colour is then wending its way to its
height of glory, and from the lowlands, the thickets and the
swamps are seen the flowering trees and shrubs. Mountain
sides are transformed into huge bouquets. The air is soft, and
summer has come again.

AMERICAN ASPEN. WHITE POPLAR. QUAKING ASP.

{Plate CXXIX.)
Pdpulus tremuloides.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Willow. Round-topped, syiiunetrical. ■zo-Zo-ioo feet. General. April.

Bark: nearly black at the base ; rough and broken, and having brownish
blotches under the branches. Braiichlets : greenish white; smooth; bitter.
Leaves: simple; alternate; with yellow petioles which are flattened sideways;
broadly-ovate or semi-orbicular ; rounded or abruptly pointed at the apex and
cordate at the base ; sharply and regularly serrate ; dark green and lustrous
above at maturity, yellowish green and glabrous underneath, but downy along
the edges ; when young covered with tomentum. Kibs ; whitish or pale yellow.
Flmvers : dioecious ; growing in drooping catkins and appearing before the
leaves. The scales of the catkins silky, and having from three to five linear
lobes.

The mythological legend concerning the poplars comes up-
permost in the mind when watching the ceaselessly trembling
leaves of this species.

After Phaeton had been hurled into the river Eridanus by
the thunderbolts of Jupiter, for the peril he had caused by at-
tempting to drive his father's chariot, his three sisters, the
Heliades, greatly lamented. They ever sat by the river's edge
and wrung their hands while their tears ceaselessly flowed. At
last such sorrow touched the compassion of the gods, who

Staminate Ripe

/lower. capsule.

PLATE CXXIX. AMERICAN ASPEN. Popiilus iretnuloides.
(239)

240 TREES GROWING IN SANDY SOIL.

changed them into poplar trees and their tears into amber ; for
it was the belief of the ancients that amber flowed like tear-
drops from the poplars.

The trees hardly suggest to us to-day such poignant grief.
They are very gay and silvery when glistening and moving in
the sunshine, and in the autumn they are fairly suffused with
a golden glow.

The long hairs that surround the seeds of Populus tremu-
loides waft them to considerable distances from the plants by
which they are borne. After they are deposited they germin-
ate quickly and are well adapted to grow in soil that has been
devoured by fire. On slopes of the Rocky mountains where
immense tracts of land have thus been swept over and the con-
iferous trees destroyed, this tree has sprung up and covered
the unsightly places with its stirring leaves. It also does good
work in holding the soil of steep mountain sides together.

" But here will sigh thine alder tree,
And here thine aspen shiver ;
And here by thee will hum the bee,
Forever and forever."

— Tennyson,

In the east the soft, light wood of Populus tremuloides is mostly
converted into wood pulp with which to make paper or used as
a substitute for rags. It is not strong or durable, but it is tough
and when bruised rapidly closes its wounds. For this reason
the ancients greatly desired it for bucklers. In early spring
the northern Indians eat its sweet inner bark, and they use it
for fuel. Even while green it burns freely.

LIVE OAK. {Plate CXXX)
Quircus Virginidna.

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

TIME OF BLOOM

Beech.

Head, spreadingy

40-60 feet.

Virginia to Florida and

March, April.

broad.

Mexico.

Fruit: Sept., Oct.

Bark: dark brown; deeply furrowed. Branches: grey. Leaves: simple;
alternate; with petioles about a quarter of an inch long; ovate-lanceolate;
with rounded apex and rounded or pointed base; entire, the edges inclined to

>-■■: Livt uAK, (j!/,-ni/s \'u\^iiinj)ia.

COPYRJGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY.
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING IN SANDY SOIL.

241

CM-ve inward. Occurring also in a spatulate form with minute side teeth
towards the apex. Dark green and glossy above, lighter and pubescent under-
neath; thick; firm; evergreen. Floioers : appearing with the young leaves;
the siamiiiate ones growing in long axillary catkins. Acorns : growing on
long stems. Cup: grey, or light brown; deep; pointed at the base and
covered with closely compressed, fine and downy scales; slightly fringed about
the top. A^ui ; dark brown; oval; lustrous, smooth.

When twilight is gathering its dimness these oaks cast broad
shadows upon the earth, and those that have never seen their
great forms in the south
hung with the swaying
Tillandsia can hardly
conceive of the mysti-
cal effect they then
produce. About their
small evergreen leaves
there seems to be a
firmness of purpose, and
the whole appearance
of the trees is vigourous
and powerful

^U^^^^^^

Qu^rcus Virginiiina.

Of the fifty species of oaks that are indigenous to America
none is more interesting than Quercus Virginiana. A small
spray of its foliage, such as is illustrated in the coloured plate,
bears hardly any resemblance to that of the red, the scarlet,
the white or many of the other oaks so familiar in the north-
eastern part of America. It rather suggests the willow oak,
with which the tree is often found growing. The acorns of the
live oak are small and among the quaintest of the family.

Quercus Virginiana produces timber which is rather difficult
to work, but it is strong and compact and receives readily a
high polish. It is much used in ship building. The bark of
the tree contains considerable tannin.

242

TREES GROWING IN SANDY SOIL.

SPANISH OAK. {Plate CXXXI.)
Quircus digitdta.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT

Beech. Round-topped: 20-30 or ?,ofeet.
branches, spreading.

RANGE

N.J. southward and
westward.

TIME OF BLOOM

May, June.
Fruit: i>ept., Oct.

Bark: brownish red or almost black; rough and broadly-winged. Leaves:
simple; alternate; obovate or oblong, widening towards the middle and
forming from three to seven long, slender lobes; the terminal one some-
what scythe-shaped; entire or sparingly toothed and bristle tipped; the base
wedge-shaped or rounded, frequently one-sided. Dark green and glabrous
above, rusty grey and pubescent underneath. Acorns: small; almost sessile.
Cup: shallow. Nut: rounded and slightly hollowed at the apex. Kernel :
bitter.

It is not difficult to recognise the Spanish oak although its
leaves are very variable and often occur on separate trees or

even on branches of the
same tree in two distinct
forms. They are always
downy underneath. Glanc-
ing upward through one
of these trees, when its foli-
age is beginning to dry and
fall in the autumn, it will be
noticed to have a more
sharply cut and angular look
than that of any other of
the oaks. The effect is
owing to its deeply incised
and slender lobes. Soil
and climatic conditions
greatly influence the tree's
growth. In the northern
Atlantic states it is not com-
mon, and it clings to the
In southern New Jersey, where it is more frequent,
it chooses gravelly places and barrens for its habitat ; but it
does not then attain the stately and slender height that it does
southward. It there grows in swamps, often side by side with

Qu^rcus digitita.

coast.

PlAI'c CXXXI. SPANISH OAK. (luenusu',

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BV FREDERICK ». STOKES COMPANY
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING IN SANDY SOIL. 243

the swamp white oak, and its bark is pale and scaly. Its
acorns are among those that require two years in which to
ripen.

The reddish brown wood of the Spanish oak, although strong,
IS not regarded as being of any especial value excepting for
fuel. Its bark contains tannin and properties which are of
value medicinally.

SCARLET OAK. {Plate CXXXII.)
Qiierctis cocchiea.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Beech. Head, narrow^ so-go feet or New England south- May, June.

open. higher. ward and westward. Fruit: Sept., Oct.

Bark: greyish brown; rough. Inner bark : reddish. Leaves: large; sim-
ple; alternate; slender-petioled; broadly oval; often squared at the base and
having from five to nine lobes, which frequently extend to within half an inch
of the midrib; toothed and bristle-tipped at their ends; sinuses, broadly
rounded. Bright green and lustrous above, lighter beneath, with slender,
yellow midrib; glabrous. Floivcrs : monoecious; yellowish green; the stam-
inate ones growing in slender catkins, the pistillate ones, bright red and
clustered on pubescent peduncles. Acorns: sessile or growing on peduncles;
quite large. Cup: scaly, with conical base. Nut: one-half to three-quarters
of an inch long; rounded. Kernel : white; bitter.

All minor characteristics of the scarlet oak seem to be
immersed in the brilliant bright red of its autumn foliage, the
most exquisite tint displayed by any one of the family. But
those that have watched its unfolding leaves in the spring
know that they too were red when they first peeped shyly out
at the world, and it therefore does not seem strange that when
they are about to die they should return to their early convic-
tions. The tree at all times is a charmingly gay feature
of the landscape and when seen must ever surpass the
accounts that have been written about it. In sandy or light,
dry soil it grows, often beside the black oak, and it is much
seen and desired in cultivation.

The custom of the oak family is for its pistillate flowers to
grow in an involucre that appears like a bud, and it is this
involucre which later becomes the cup, or cupule. When the

Steriic ait/,: ins.

PLATE CXXXII. SCARLET OAK. Quercus coccinea.

(244)

PLATE CXXXIII. BLACK OAK. Oiu-nus vciulina.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY.
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING IN SANDY SOIL. 245

nut drops into the ground and begins to germinate it does not
send up at once two cotyledons from the summit of its hypocotyl.
They, in the husk, have become so thickened as to have lost
their power of acting as leaves, and they occupy nearly the whole
of the seed. Instead, therefore, of growing themselves, they
supply to the plumule, or little bud which lies between them, an
abundance of nourishment. For this reason when it sends up
the first joint of its stem, the first leaves that appear on it are
imperfect, often little more than scales. The true cotyledons
have remained below. [Flafe VI.).

BLACK OAK. QUERCITRON. YELLOW=BARK OAK.

{Plate CXXXIII.)
Qiiircus velntlna.

Between the black oak and the scarlet oak there are certain
differences in colour which may aid many to distinguish them.
It is true thit at times they are dissimilar in leafage, but again
the black oak is so very variable that some of its forms are
nearly identical with those of Quercies coccinea.

The kernel of its nut is bright yellow and smaller than that
of the scarlet oak, which is white. But unfortunately the
acorns mature in September and October only, so during the
early part of the summer we must seek out some otiier unchang-
ing difference between them. Again we are aided by colour.
The bark of the black oak is a dark br6wn, or nearly black, and it
is broken into close scales. A still more poignant difference
is that its inner bark is deep orange, never reddish or grey.
In the spring its leaves are red, and they turn when the
tree blooms to a silvery green. They are rich red or russet
in hue in the autumn and quite without the vivid touch of
colour which is the chief charm of the scarlet oak.

The tree grows with a narrow, open head to a height of from
seventy to eighty or even a hundred feet. It is never as
stately as the red oak. In the coloured plate the leaves are

243 TREES GROWING IN SANDY SOIL.

represented in their broadest form. As they then appear and
after they have lost their bristles, which they often do at matur-
ity, they have a blunt and pronounced expression quite at vari-
ance with that of their narrower forms. Although generally pu-
bescent underneath, the leaves become smoother as they grow
old. In gravelly uplands the tree is found, and from Maine
southward to Florida and westward.

Quercitron, a well-known dye, is extracted from the bark of
the black oak which is also valuable because of its abundant
yield of tannin. A substance is besides taken from it that has
considerable efficacy when used for external applications.

LABRADOR PINE. GREY PINE. NORTHERN SCRUB

PINE. BANK'S PINE. {Plate CXXXIV.)

Plmis divaricdta.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Pine. Head^ open: branches, ^orZa-iao/eet. Sotctliuuxrd io Maine May, June.

long, straggly. and New i'ork, west-

ward to Illinois.

Bark : dark brown ; irregularly ridged and flaky when old. Tzuigs : red-
dish. Leaves: one inch long; greyish green ; simple ; growing closely crowded
along the branches in bunches of two with sheaths at their bases and diverging
widely ; needle-shaped ; pointed at the apex ; grooved above and curved ;
rigid ; evergreen. Cones : about two inches long ; numerous; oblong-conical;
growing usually in pairs and curving upward in the direction of the branches ;
thick. Scales : blunt ; thickened at the apex and lipped when young with a
spine ; glabrous.

About the great there is simplicity, and somehow we are
sensible of this when we stand before these grave inhabitants
of the forests, the pines. They have lived long on the globe.
In fact, the coniferous trees knew the world in one of its earli-
est geological ages, the Age of Reptiles. Flying things were
then not developed, but it mattered little to them. The wind
was already old and in spite of its extravagance served well
to distribute their pollen. From its aid they have never de-
parted in favour of the gay, gauzy and prudent insect messen-
gers of a later time. This is not true, however, of all trees.

It is interesting to notice the extreme simplicity of the or-

Scale of cone.
PLATE CXXXIV. LABRADOR PINE. Pintts divarzcata.

(247)

248 TREES GROWING IN SANDY SOIL.

gaiis by which these great beings reproduce themselves. The
fertile flowers of the pines proper grow in scaly catkins which
later develop into cones. Their pistils are not, as ordinarily,
leaves rolled together so as to form closed pods. They are
always open, scale-like leaves which bear on their inner sur-
faces, near the base, two or more ovules. About the woody
axis of the cone they grow in a spiral fashion, subtended by
the woody cone-scales. When the pollen is falling from the
stamens these pistil leaves of the young cone are ready to re-
ceive it, that it may fall directly upon the exposed ovules. As
it slips in between the opening scales it is caught by a tiny
drop of fluid which exudes from the coat of the ovule. When
the fluid is then absorbed, the little grain comes closely in con-
tact with the ovule's surface. As soon as this is accomplished
the cone-scales close tightly over each other to protect the
forming seeds, and not until they are ripe do they again diverge
and assume a drooping position to allow of their escape. The
sterile flowers also are simple, almost primitive in construction.
They grow in long, close tufts at the ends of the branches,
for both sorts of flowers are produced on the same tree. We
may regard them as single stamens which have been reduced
to a two-celled anther with hardly any filament. From them
the pollen flies in golden clouds during the days of May.
Each little grain is floated about by two bladder-like wings.
They can be caught and examined under a microscope ; for it
only needs a quickened observation to see them abundantly
lying about,

Pinus divaricata occurs both as a shrub and as a tree. It is
not very beautiful, for its short needles give it a blunt, obtuse
look. But its wood is much used for the making of charcoal.
It is quite resinous. The Canadian Indians find it easy to
work and often construct from it the frames of their canoes.

About the tree still clings some fetish idea, and in parts of
the country, women, to whom it is especially supposed to work
mischief, loudly declare that they would not pass within ten

TREES GROWING IN SANDY SOIL.

349

feet of it. The soil in which it grows is said to be poi-
soned by it, and thus it wrealcs an indirect injury upon brows-
ing cattle. The only way to dispel its supposed evil influence
is to have it mysteriously burned down, as the superstitious
dread of it is strong enough to preserve it from the axe.

CANADIAN PINE. RED PINE. {Plate CXXXV.)

Ptnus resindsa.

FAMILY
Pine.

SHAPE
Fyramiiiui, irregular.

TIME OF BLOOM
■^■'"J'. June.

HEIGHT RANGE

c^o-<)0-\%o/ect. Neiv Foundland and
noriliivard to
Wisconsin.

Bark : reddish brown ; almost smooth ; becoming scaly when old
Branches : red; smooth. Leaves: five to eight inches long; dark green
simple ; growing along the branches in bunches of two and having at their
bases a long, persistent sheath ; needle-shaped ; rounded on the upper side,
the lower one hollowed; supple; glabrous. Cones: two to three inches long;
growing at the apex of the branches in crowded clusters ; ovate-conical ; glab-
rous. Scales : rounded at their bases ; somewhat thickened and having no
prickly points.

It is to the clear, bright colour
of the bark of its trunk that this
species of pine owes its name of
red pine, but its specific name is
rather misleading. The tree is
not nearly so rich in resin as
many another. This resin which
we find in the wood of coniferous
trees plays an important part in
their construction. With the oil
of turpentine which is held in the
tree, it forms a sticky substance
well known as balsam. And bal-
sam is the balm for all the pine
tree's wounds. Wherever the
trunk, the branches, or even the
leaves have been bruised it ex-
udes and adheres closely to the
spot. By the action of the sun Pinus resindsa.

Stnminate
Jlowering branch.

PLATE CXXXV. CANADIAN PINE. Pimis resinosa.
(250)

TREES GROWING IN SANDY SOIL. 251

and the air it is then hardened into a soothing plaster which
prevents the vital fluids from escaping. Through the aid of bal-
sam therefore the tree is often saved from dying and is kept
alive for a long time, even although it has been girdled. The
heart-wood of many pines also never seems to grow old. When
necessary it can resume the function of its youth and pilot the
sap up to the leaves for nourishment.

The wood of the Canadian, or red pine, is pale red, hard and
compact. Its grain is not nearly so beautiful as that of the
yellow pine. For many purposes it is used, such as the con-
struction of bridges, and it is largely exported from Canada to
Great Britain. The bark contains tannin.

Although always a picturesque tree, it is in its youth that
Pinus resinosa is most beautiful. Its long, supple needles then
grow in clusters along the branches as well as in thick, soft
tufts at their extremities. As the tree grows old the side
needles fall away, and were it not for the end clusters it would
look almost as though it were dead.

JERSEY PINE. SCRUB PINE. {Plate CXXXVI.)
Ptnus Virgz'fizdna.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Pine. Pyramidal, irregular; i^-^o/eet, Easiern States to South April, May.

branches, scraggly, or higher. Carolina and Indiana,
drooping.

Bark : greyish brown or black ; rough ; flaky. Branches : smooth ; the
twigs purplish; glaucous. Leaves: from nearly one to three inches long;
deep yellow-green; simple; growing closely along the branches in bunches of
two and sheathed at their bases ; when old spreading ; needle-shaped ; round
and glabrous on the upper side, flat and rough below ; slightly curved; stiff.
Cones: from nearly two to three inches long; solitary; ovate-oblong and
growing on short stalks. Scales : thin ; thickened at the apex and tipped with
a stiff, awl-shaped prickle ; often cracked horizontally.

From the subtle but recognised lines of beauty this pine has
indeed departed, and its reputation is that of not being hand-
some. But who shall say that its rugged, irregular growth does
not present beauty in another than the conventional form?
Surely in the regions where it grows no one stops to criticise it,

Stnminaie flower. Scale of cone.

PLATE CXXXVI. JERSEY PINE. Pinus Virginiana.
(252)

Plate CXXXVII. long-leaved pine, rnms pa/ustris.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK *. STOKES COMPANY.
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING IN SANDY SOIL. 953

or to think that it is other than attractive. Over fields where
the soil has been exhausted by succeeding crops it spreads
itself rapidly and lends a sturdy, wholesome look to the land-
scape. Sometimes it forms dark forests. One of its strong
points of individuality is that its branches are smooth ; those of
other pines are usually scaly. In the Atlantic states it rarely
grows to a great height.

The reddish-yellow wood of the Jersey pine is resinous and
not very strong. It is brittle and pithy in substance, and for
these reasons is of rather inferior value.

LONQ=LEAVED PINE. SOUTHERN YELLOW PINE.

Q EORQ I A PI N E. {Plate CXXX VII)

Plnus palilstris.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Pine. Head, round, open: -jo^a-iio feet. North Carolina south- March, Apr il.\
trunk, slender. ivard to Texas.

Bark: orange-brown, separating into thin scaly plates. Leaves : ten to fifteen
inches long; dark bluish green; simple; growing closely in bunches of three,
and forming thick tufts at the ends of the branches; sheaths from one to one
and a quarter inches long; slender; flexible. Cones : six to ten inches long;
light brown; cylindrical; terminal; erect. Scales : thick, with small, blunt spines
at their ends.

To those that have walked through the great forests formed
by this tree and by, among others, the white cedars and live oaks,
there must always cling a memory of the impression made by
its masses of long, flexible needles and its beautiful cones.
About it there is the same appearance of gravity and aloofness
which characterises so many of the pines. It seems as thougli
they were less playful, more reserved than the deciduous-leaved
trees ; as though even Nature did not venture to dress and
undress them just whenever she chose.

Of the pitch pines this great tree is the most valuable, and
so extensively has its wood been utilized that the very name
Georgia pine is suggestive of commerce. Viaducts, bridges,
trestle-work and great quantities of railroad ties are made
from it. Even its stumps are cut up and sold in bundles for

254

TREES GROWING IN SANDY SOIL.

kindling wood. The colour of the wood is a deep, rich orange,
yellow or light red, and it is more ornamental than that fur-
nished by any other of the pines.
Its juices also are valuable, and
supply the greater part of our
turpentine, resin and tar. In the
" turpentine country " of Georgia
it is truly a pathetic sight to see
these trees when girdled and
bruised from the process of box-
ing. Their juices have then been
drawn off and sent to be distilled.
Even before the Revolution this
making of turpentine was~ar~large
industry in this country. For
many years the trees exist — it can
hardly be called living — and some-
times a small tuft of green at
their top is all that distinguishes
them from those that are dead.
Were it not for the long continued activity of their heart-wood
and the healing salve of their balsam they would have neces-
sarily succumbed. Through its extensive usefulness, however,
the tree seems to be doomed by the axe. Even the young
trees when they occur among objectionable undergrowth are
set on fire that they may clear it away, and their ashes improve
and fertilize the land. At Christmas time also in the south
many fall every year for the decoration of houses and churches.

Pi n u s palustr is.

SHORT-LEAVED PINE. YELLOW PINE. SPRUCE PINE.

BULL-PINE. {Plate CXXXVIII.)

Plnits echindta.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE

Pine. Pyramidal: branches, i^o-\iofeet. Neiv York to Florida
spreading, regular. westward to Kansas.

Bark : greyish brown; rough; much broken into plates. Branchlets : green
or purplish; stout; glaucous when young. Leaves: three to five inches long ;

TIME OF BLOOM

May , June.

PLATE CXXXVIll. SHORT-LEAVED PINE. J'iiuis eclin:.Ua.

COPrRIGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANlf
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING IN SANDY SOIL. 255

dark bluish green; simple; growing closely along the branches in bunches of
two, or sometimes three on the young shoots, and having sheaths at their bases;
diverging widely at maturity; needle-shaped; slender; dark green, and rounded
on the outer side, hollowed on the inner one; soft; evergreen. Cones : one and
a half to two inches long; ovate; solitary and lateral; rough and jagged as they
grow older. Scales: thick at the apex, and tipped with a weak, projecting
prickle which falls early.

Dark, but clear against the autumn sky, this handsome tree
raises itself on the sandy hills, or in the flat meadows. It
breathes a sense of sturdiness. Often we see its leaves so
clothed with dust that the very life of their colouring appears
to be gone ; then they are washed by the rain, and their sombre
brightness is restored. By the coloured illustration, which is
very beautiful, the distinctive cones of the species are clearly
represented. When they are old and lying useless upon the
ground they are quite jagged and have a used-up ex-
pression.

The tree is rather generally distributed and seems to be get-
ting in readiness to supply a new crop of valuable timber when
that of Pinus pdlustris, long-leaved pine, from which its com-
mon name of short-leaved pine is used as a designation, shall be
exhausted. In many ways the wood of the two trees is similar,
although that of Pinus echinata can hardly boast as rich a col-
our. It has, however, the same beautiful lines. It is closely or
coarsely grained and varies greatly in quality. It is only mod-
erately resinous. For all kinds of building and carpentry it is
of inestimable value. When used for fuel it emits a large
amount of heat and burns with a lively, brilliant flame.

PITCH PINE. TORCH PINE. CANDLEWOOD PINE.

{Plate C XXXIX.)
Plnus rigida.

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

TIME OF BLOOM

Pine.

Head., open; branches,

irregular: trunk.,

ciirving.

30-80 yVf/.

Eastern and Middle
states: Ga. and Ky.

April, May.

Bark: dark, tinged with purple or red; rough and deeply furrowed; separat-
ing into strips. Leaves: three to six inches long; dark yellow-green; simple;
growing closely along the branches in bunches of three and having short

256

TREES GROWING IN SANDY SOIL.

sheaths at their bases; at maturity spreading; needle-shaped; flattened on
the outer side, the inner one slightly ridged and rough; curved ; rigid; sharp ;
evergreen. Under the microscope the surface can be seen to be marked with
fine white dots. Cones: one and a half to three inches long; growing mostly
ill clusters of two or four; ovoid-conical; lateral. Scales: thickened at their
apex and tipped with a stiff and sometimes recurved prickle.

How much the trees give to man ; the life element of
the air he breathes is only the beginning of their generosity,
for they supply his wants as well. It seems as though they
had a grand, stupid fondness for the
whole animal world.

The pitch pine is rough and scraggly
in appearance, and its light, reddish-brown
timber is coarse and of slight value. But
its wood contains an immense quantity of
pitch, and so it is desirable for fuel and
for making charcoal. It is also rich in
tar and turpentine. Through the pine
barrens of Long Island and especially of
New Jersey where it forms the bulk of
** the pines" it is well known. It grows
rapidly and can sustain itself in soil where
pinusrigida. many others would die from a lack of

nourishment. Even when cut down numerous and vigourous
shoots often spring up from its stump. Occasionally the
tree inhabits cold, deep swamps. About Cape Cod and on Nan-
tucket a most interesting and successful experiment has been
made in sowing its seeds.

On February 27, 1855, Thoreau wrote in his journal: "A
week or two ago I brought home a handsome pitch pine cone,
which had freshly fallen and was closed perfectly tight. It
was put into a table-drawer. To-day I am agreeably surprised
that it has there dried and opened with perfect regularity,
filling the drawer, and from a solid, narrow and sharp cone has
become a broad, rounded, open one, has in fact expanded into
a conical flower with rigid scales, and has shed a remarkable

Staminate branch.

Enlarged staminate /lower. Cone.

PLATE CXXXIX. PITCH PINE. Piniis rigida.
(257)

258 TREES GROWING IN SANDY SOIL.

quantity of delicate winged seeds. Each scale, which is very
elaborately and perfectly constructed, is armed with a short
spine pointing downward, as if to protect its seeds from squir-
rels and birds. That hard, close cone, which defied all violent
attempts to open it, and could only be cut open, has thus
yielded to the gentle persuasion of warmth and dryness.
" The expanding of the pine cones, that, too, is a season."

RED SPRUCE. {Plate CXL)

Plcea rubens.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Pine. Pyramidal; branches., "jo-yoo feet. Maine to Ga. ivestward May, June,

spreading-. to Minnesota.

Bark: reddish brown; scaly, or nearly smooth. Twigs: light green when
young; slender; pubescent. Leaves: olive-green; simple; scattered closely
along the branches; needle-sha]:)ed; straight or incurved above the middle;
pointed or rounded at the apex; lustrous at maturity. Cones : from one to two
and a half inches long; green, turning later to purplish brown; oval or ovoid,
and falling at the end of the first season or during the winter. Scales : undu-
late; often two-lobed.

Although favouring gravelly slopes, the red spruce is also
found in the forests along with the white pine, the balsam fir, the
yellow birches and the sugar maples. It is most abundant in
northern New England and New York, In fact it is the prin-
cipal timber spruce of the northeastern United States. The
dense groves often formed by it appear like waves of rich, dark
colouring, and cast about deep and melancholy shadows. From
the black spruce the tree is rather unsatisfactorily distinguished
by the size and shape of its staminate blossoms and its cones.
The latter are the larger of the two, and they mature and fall
during their first winter. Those of the black spruce are often
persistent for many years. Recent observations by Dr. Britton
and by Prof. Peck, State botanists of New York, seem, however,
to indicate that they are different forms of one species. The
timber of the tree is similar to that of the black spruce. It is
light and soft, closely grained, and has a beautiful surface like
satin. For the flooring of houses it is much used. Paper pulp

PLATE CXL. RED SPRUCE. Picea rubens.
(259)

26o

TREES GROWING IN SANDY SOIL.

is made from the wood, and much of the spruce beer that is
manufactured owes its existence to this tree. In many places
it springs up where once the white pine was known.

NORWAY SPRUCE. {Plate CXLI.)

Picea excelsa.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Pine. Pyramidal : branches, low, 50-120 feet. Widely cultivated. April, May.
inclined to droop.

Bark: greyish black; rough. Braiuhlets: brown; stout. Leaves: dark olive-
green; simple; scattered singly and closely about all sides of the branches;
needle-shaped; four-sided; slightly curved; sharp. Cones : five to seven inches
long; reddish brown; almost cylindiical, and hanging from the ends of the
branches. Sea/es: large; pointed.

From the great forests of Norway this tree has been taken^
and it is now so widely planted in this country that many re-
gard it as a native. To all hardly any tree is more familiar, for
Its great size, its conspicuous cones and its
drooping branches, with which it is often
clothed to the ground, make it a marked
figure anywhere. There are many vari-
eties of it which are sold at the nurseries.
From cultivation it sometimes escapes
and apparently attempts to enjoy a state
of freedom and abandon similar to that
it has known in its native land. To
watch the new leaves come on the
sj)ruces in the budding days of spring is a
great delight. The extremities of all
the branches are then tipped very deli-
I'fy^ cately with a soft yellow-green, quite dif-
ferent from the weather-beaten look of
the rest of the foliage which has upheld
masses of ice throughout the winter.
To the tree these young bits give a wonderful appearance of
freshness and newness of life.

Picea excelsa.

Scale o/ cone.

PLATE CXLI. NORWAY SPRUCE. Ptcea exceha.
(261)

Trees Preferring to Grow in Light or

Dry Soil ; Upland Places, Meadows and

Roadsides.

IV/ien lo7v upon the meadows adjoining the roadsides hangs
a mist so zvhite as to suggest a pJiantovi lake, and the air is
chilled ivith a scent of moisture, tJien the time of the autumn
haze has come. Through it dimly can be seen the outlines of
trees. Trees at ivhose bases are soft beds of brown leaves.
They have finished their zvork and their frolic %vith the high
luinds which have coaxed them aivay from the boughs.
Grateful then must the trees feel to the mist that etishrouds
them while grief for their loss is fresh, and before they have
learned to silently appear naked before the winter.

SNOWBERRY. CORAL=BERRY. INDIAN CURRANT.

{Plate CXLII.)
Symphoricdrpos Syjiiphorzcdrpos.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Honeysuckle. Erect, ipreading. 2-s/eet. Ga. and No. Carolina July.

jiorihuiarei. Fruit: Sept.

Branches: purplish brown: pubescent. Leaves: simple; alternate; with
short petioles ; oval; blunt or rounded at both ends ; entire ; glabrous above
and pubescent underneath. Flowers : growing in small, dense, axillary ckisters
not as long as the leaves. Calvx : four to five-toothed. Corolla : white or
reddish; campanulate ; four to five-lohed. Stamens: included. Berries:
bluish red ; nearly globose and remaining on the branches after the leaves
have fallen.

After the glories of the summer and the early autumn have
departed, with the humility of natural beauty the warm, richly-
coloured berries of this shrub illumine the landscape. It

PLATE CXLII. SNOWBERRY. Syiiiphoruarpos Syinpii.u :. ,' . p

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY.
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING IN DRY SOIL. 263

seems as though their wealth of loveliness had been held in re-
serve for a time when other things should have faded, and as a
compensation for their rather insignificant showing of flowers
in the spring. They cling to the bushes throughout the winter,
and are truly snowberries, for of the earth's soft, white cloak
they have no dread.

In North Carolina the shrub is commonly seen, where it is
much planted about old farmhouses. Bordering many of the
drives of the Biltmore estate it is abundantly growing. The
creeping roots of the shrub have a curious way of entangling
themselves with other things, and not exactly respecting the
laws of independence. On this account it has in some places
been rather a nuisance on plantations, as is uniquely suggested
to the mind by its name of " Devil's shoe strings." Not infre-
quently the snowberry gleams from among rocks and by the
banks of streams.

5ASSAFRAS. AGUE TREE. {Plate CXLIII.)

Sassafras Sassafras.

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

TIME OF BLOOM

Laurel.

Head., narrow., Jlat.

I 5-50-90 /£■£•;.

Eastern Mass. soiith-
ivard and -a<csi'!vard.

April, J/ay.
Fruit: A ug.-Oct.

Bark: dark, reddish brown ; irregularly broken, and furrowed. Branchlets :
yellowish grey when young, peeling readily ; aromatic; mucilaginous. Leaves:
>imple; alternate; peiioled ; entire or two to five-lobed ; ovate or obovate;
when two-lobed usually mitten-shaped; the apex of the leaves and lobes
bluntly pointed or slightly rounded ; taper-pointed at the base. Sinuses : when
the lobes are ]>resent, rounded. Dark green ; shiny, becoming soon glabrous
and often sprinkled with pellucid dots. Flowers : dioecious ; greenish yellow;
growing in umbel-like clusters and appearing with the leaves. Calyx: six-
lobed. Stamens: nine. Fruit: blue; growing on red pedicels; oval; one-
seeded ; pungent.

It is always pleasant to come upon the sassafras, either when
it grows in rich woods or in the dry, well-drained soil of the
roadsides. In the spring especially, its drooping clusters of
flowers attract us, as they shine pure and white among its
quaint and young, flushed leaves. The large buds and the bark
of the crisp, green shoots are also enticing ; for they are gifted

PLATE CXLlll. SASSAFRAS. Sassafras sassafras.

(264)

TREES GROWING IN DRY SOIL. 265

with a pleasant fragrance and spicy taste. About the foliage
there is a wholesome, clean look, and in the autumn it turns to
a delicate yellow and reddish hue. The brilliant fruit also adds
greatly to its charm, but this is of short duration. The birds
greedily devour it, as soon as its colour flashes upon their
watchful eyes.

The wood of the sassafras is brittle, but it is also durable.
From the bark of its roots a powerful, aromatic oil is extracted
which is largely used as a stimulant. It has now, however,
lost the flavour it formerly had in the treatment of rheumatism,
A'.though the tree is reported to grow to the height of one
hundred and twenty-five feet, it is rather small at the north
and often becomes a shrub. Even in winter the bright, lus-
trous green is not driven from its twigs, and it is a cheery, en-
couraging sight.

WILD BLACK CHERRY. RUM CHERRY. CABINET

CHERRY. {Plate CXLIV)

Pruniis serd/i'na.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Plum. Head, narrow: branches, s°-qo/eei. Southern Ontario to May, June.

horizontal. Fta. and westward. Fruit: July-SeJ>t.

Bark : reddish brown or blackish ; rough and broken into plates ; becoming
smoother towards the top of the tree. Branchlets : rich, reddish brown, and
marked with tiny orange-coloured dots; aromatic; bitter. Leaves: simple;
alternate ; oblong or oval-lanceolate ; taper-jjointed at the apex and pointed or
rounded at the base ; finely serrate, with small, incurved teeth ; at maturity
glabrous; firm; glossy; the light coloured midrib very distinct. Flcnoers :
white ; growing on pedicels in long, slender racemes which terminate leafy
shoots. Calyx : bell-shaped ; five-lobed. Corolla : of five small petals.
Stiime7is : numerous. Pistil : one. Frtdt : almost black ; a small, round
drupe ; vinous, although not disagreeable to the taste.

Such a pretty point is brought to mind by the illustration of
the black cherry. In early spring when the bloom unfolds, it
is so soft and light that its stem holds it uprightly in the sur-
rounding atmosphere ; but as it fades away and the rich, heavy
fruit matures, the slender stalk is not equal to its weight. So it
supplely bends and the clusters are seen drooping all through

Enla rged flower.

PLATE CXLIV. WILD BLACK CHERRY. Prunus serotina.

(266)

PLATE CXLV. APPLE. Mn/iis Ma/us.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PRINTED (N AMERICA.

TREES GROWING IN DRY SOIL.

267

'^•C!^*-

the bright foliage of the tree. Unfortunately it is not very
discriminating about its soil, but along the roadsides and in the
woods and glades the tree is a familiar character. Especially
towards the northern limit of its
range it forms a quantity of shrubby
growth by fences. Little boys and
wayfarers enjoy eating the fruit, and
in many farmhouses there is re-
served for especial occasions, in the
corner of some old cupboard, a bot-
tle of cherry bounce.

As a timber tree it is one of the
most valuable of the x\merican for-
est, but it is now becoming scarce.
It was at one time a most promi-
nent feature of the woodlands on
the slopes of the Alleghany moun-
tains. In texture its wood is firm
and durable with a satin-like sur-
face which receives a high polish. In cabinet work it is most
conspicuous. When first worked the wood is quite light, but
it becomes darker with time and exposure. There is none
that is better coloured. From the aromatic bark which con-
tains a bitter element a tonic is prepared, and it is reported to
possess considerable efficacy in the curing of pulmonary com-
plaints. From the vivid green inner layer the bark peels
readily. In the autumn the foliage turns to a bright, cheery
yellow.

Pritnus serdiina.

FAMILY
Apple.

APPLE. {Plate CXL F.)

Malus Malus.

SHAPE

Roil nd-topped, compnct.

HEIGHT
1 5-35 Z'?^^-

RANGE
Introduced.

TIME OF BLOOM
April, May.

Bark: greyish. Leaves: simple; alternate; with woolly petioles; oval or
ovate; bluntly pointed or rounded at the apex and rounded or cordate at the
base; serrate, occasionally almost entire; bright green and nearly glabrous

i68 TREES (a<0\VlNG IN DRV SOIL.

above, covered with a woolly clown underneath. Mowers : white, tinted with
pink and growing in an umbel. Calyx : covered with tomentum when young.
Fruit : large; globose; depressed at the apex and base.

" Come, let us plant the apjjle-tree
Cleave the tough greensward with the spade;
Wide let its hollow bed be made;
There gently lay the roots, and there
Sift the dark mould with kindly care,

And press it o'er them tenderly,
As, round the sleeping infant's feet,
We softly fold the cradle-sheet;

So plant we the apple-tree."

— Bryant,

When scattered over the country and in among the other trees
there are those that appear like rosy-tinted snowballs, it is the
time of the apple trees' blooming. From the swelling of their
buds to the advent of the full-grown petals which quiver against
the intense blue of the sky and exhale their faint perfume, the
earth seems suddenly to have lost its wits in the excess of
extravagance. But such a holiday mood could hardly be of
long duration. There is work to be done, and fruit must grow
and ripen. So the blossom storm carries away the dainty flecks
of white, and sombreness comes back again.

It is then the turn of the foliage to expand, to become dense
and to provide shelter for the protection of the forming fruit.

Although a cultivated tree, and one that has been introduced
from Europe and western Asia, it lingers so often by the lanes
and waysides of this country and its boughs of fruit so tempt-
ingly appeal to the wayfarer that it has here been accorded a
place. To study the trees and forget the common apple would
be sad indeed.

PLAT::

\ JUNE-BERRV. ./,,/,

' ( 'iU!iIi/t//s/s

I CHOKE-CHERRY. J'naius I irginiana.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BV FREDERICK *. STOKES COMPANT
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING IN DRY SOIL.

269

JUNE-BERRY. SERVICE-BERRY. MAY=CHERRY.

{Plate CXL VI.)

Ameldnchier Canddetisis.

FAMILY SHAPE

Apple. Heady rouiui-toppdi :
branches, spreading.

HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

\o-so_feet, or New Foiindland west- Marck-Alay.
higher. ward, southward to Fruit: June, July.

Fla. and Louisiana,

Bark: purplish brown; ridged. Bud-scales and bracts: sticky. Leaves:
simple; alternate; slender petioled ; ovate, with at times, bristle-pointed apex
and rounded or slightly cordate base ; finely serrate; dark green and dull
above, paler below and becoming glabrous at maturity ; thick. Flowers :
white; large; growing in terminal, loose racemes and appearing before the
leaves. Calyx : five-cleft. Corolla : of five almost linear petals notched at the
apex. .S'Aj'wVwj- ; numerous. Pistils: numerous. Fruit: a small red or pur-
plish pome ; sweet; edible.

Even to those, — and there are perhaps many, — that walk
through the woods and pastures without ever hearing the music
passing through the tree-tops and quivering in the insects'
wings, and whose eyes are never caught by the subtle unfold-
ings of spring, the white bloom of the shad-bush, gleaming
through the almost bare branches of other trees, must be an
event in the year. There is no passing it by ; it is one of the
spirits of nature that the dullest eye must see and admire.
Even the pink of its buds is an exquisite
tint. The fleecy white petals seem to wave
and beckon in the breezes as though to
attract the attention, and do so at a season
of the year when there is little foliage to
hide them from view. It is then that the
knowing ones sigh as with relief and feel
grateful that the spring is indeed on its
way. The winter has passed ; the shad
are running in the waters. All along the
shrub is a leader of the seasons. As
early as June its fruit becomes crimson,
and at the approach of autumn the leaves turn bright yellow.

The Indians and birds seem to vie with each other in their
appreciation of the berries. Early they seek them. The
birds to enjoy a feast and afterwards to scatter the seeds, and

.A vieldnchier Canadensis.

270

TRJiES GRUVViNG IN DRY SOIL.

the Indians to manipulate them into a sort of cake which they
greatly relish and find wholesome. After the berries are
crushed, they place them in the sunshine where they harden
into a paste. This they prudently put by for use during the
winter months. Along the Atlantic coast and through the
Gulf states Amelanchier Botrgapium, the shad-bush, a related
species, with broader, shorter petals, is only known as a shrub.
The wood of Amelanchier Canadensis is fine and capable of re-
ceiving a high polish.

A. alnifdlia, northwestern June-berry, occurs throughout the
northwest as a shrub from three to eight feet high, or as a tree
as tall as forty feet. Formerly it was regarded as a variety of
the preceding species. Its shorter petals and more rounded
fruit are marks by which it may be known. There are, in fact,
several wild species of the genus whose differences are not
very great. As a genus they are readily known.

PEACH . {Plate CXL VII.)
Amygdalus Persica.

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

TIME OF BLOOM

Plum.

Scraggly.

About 10/eet.

New York to North
Carolina,

Aprils May.

Bark', purplish brown; smooth; bitter. Leaves; simple; alternate ; grow-
ing in clusters along the stem and terminating the branches ; lanceolate ; finely
serrate; bright green above and glabrous; thick; bitter and containing
prussic acid. Flowers ; purplish pink; growing singly from scaly buds along
the branches and appearing before tiie leaves ; almost sessile. Calyx: tubu-
lar ; bell-shaped, with five spreading lobes. Corolla: of five petals. Stamens:
numerous on the throat of the calyx. Pistil : ow&. Fniit : <^oh\x\2.x ; velvety
and containing a deeply-wrinkled stone ; the kernel flavoured with prussic acid.

Although in a truly wild state this lovely
flowering tree is unknown, it sometimes strays
from the gardens to the waysides. Here
amid the medley of tender greens that stand
out from a background of brown and purple
and are tipped with golden, the brilliant
masses of blossoms give a life and inspi-
ration to the landscape that is tj^pical of the

A ttt^gdalus Pirsica .

F-LHI L UA^VM, PtACH.

'.^ /V;-./r,

COPVRrCHT, 1900, BV FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANV.
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING IN DRY SOIL. 271

springtime. Spring is, in fact, as the poets never grow tired of
telling us, the time to enjoy the fullness of life in the country.
Bowers of colour are everywhere, and what has been grey and
apparently dead during the winter is budding. An old slanting
roof within a small enclosure is transformed by the peaches'
spray into a garden that rivals those of Japan.

SILVER-LEAF POPLAR. WHITE POPLAR. ABELE.

{Plate CXLVIII.)
Popiilus dlba.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Wiiloiv^ Tall, round-topped. -^o-ioojeet. Introduced Nezu Bruns- March-May.

■wick to Virginia.

Bark: light grey ; furrowed at the base and becoming smoother towards the
to)). Buds: not glutinous. Leaves: simple; alternate; with rounded and
downy petioles ; rounded-ovate ; cordate at the base, with from three to fivj
jjointed Iol:)es ; finely serrate ; dark green and smooth above, white and cot-
tony underneath. The young leaves covered with down on both surfaces.
Slaniinate flowers : growing in long, drooping catkins.

The roadsides that have about them the greatest charm are
those that are shady, and in summer time, when the sun is
high, they are sought with gratitude by both man and beast.
Often along their borders an introduced tree will be mingled
with those that are natives ; sometimes this is so even in remote
places, and far away from any habitation. This has been noticed
about Populus alba. How has it come there is then wondered.
To follow, however, in imagination one of its fine, tufted seeds
as it is carried along by a playful breeze, is to find that al-
though it may rest awhile in some nook to-day, to-morrow it
will be taken up again, and perhaps again later, and may not
reach its final destination until a considerable distance has
been travelled. Much of the growth of this poplar that we
ordinarily see, however, is from the innumerable suckers that
spring up from the bases of the old trees, and which also mar
the beauty of many that are younger.

East of the Alleghanies the tree is very common. It grows,
as well as in dry soil, by the side of streams and in moist
woods.

Pistillate branch.

PLATE CXLVIII. SILVER-LEAF POPLAR. Popiilus alba.
(272)

TREES GROWING IN DRY SOIL.

= 73

As early as March the shining brown scales which cover its
flower-buds begin to respond to the tempered atmosphere.
Then they split open and are among the first to send into the
world their grey and rosy-tinted offsprings.

LOMBARDY POPLAR. {Plate CXLIX.)
Popiilus dilatata.

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

TIME OF BLOOM

W 'iiio-M.

I'ltfering: branches,
perpendicular.

30-60 yivi'.

Planted.

W/;-/7, Mar.

Bark: roughish. Branches: growing closely together. Buds : possessing
a glutinous substance, like balsam. Leaves : simple; alternate; with petioles
which are flattened sidewise; very broadly oval ; pointed at the apex and at
the base ; finely serrate ; smooth. Flmvcrs : dioecious; growing in catkins.

As in the human family, we find that every tree has its own
particular appearance, — one to which it remains true both
in sunshine and in shade. Even although it loses its leaves
in winter time, its outline is then quite as well j.

known to tree lovers as when it is fully clothed
with verdure. In its manner of growth there is
hardly any tree that is more distinct than the
Lombardy poplar, and it is perhaps for this reason
that it is so generally known. Constantly it is being
referred to as though it were the only species of
poplar in existence. About one hundred years ago
it was imported from Italy and soon began to be
much planted in this country. Through cultivation
it has spread widely and also by the means it em-
ploys of sending up shoots froin its buried parts. popu'iZs
At present it is not nearly so much seen as formerly ; diutata.
for insects have bored into its trunk and preyed greatly upon
its foliage. In parts of New Jersey, where it was once almost
as common as the indigenous trees, it is now rarely seen.

Not by all is the symmetrical, uncompromising aspect of the
tree admired, nor does its stiff outline blend with every variety
of landscape; but it is beloved by many that have witli it

Pistillate branch.

PLATE CXLIX. LOMBARDY POPLAR. Populus dilatata.
(274)

PLA,

■Hilt B I K C H . Jit til /, I /', /'// iijL Uia.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING IN DRY SOIL.

27s

pleasant associations and again because it is a tree at once
recognised. To know a tree does much in fact towards awak-
ening the affections.

AMERICAN WHITE BIRCH. OLD-FIELD BIRCH.

QREY BIRCH. {Plate CL.)

Bitula populifblia.

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

TIME OF BLOOM

Birch.

Pyramidal; branches.,
often pendulous.

il-^ofeet.

Ne-M Brunswick to

Ontario.^ southward

to Delaware.

May.

Bark of trunk : chalky white; smooth; not peeling readily. Yoicng
branches: rich, reddish brown, and spotted with wart-like dots. Buds: ses-
sile; scaly. Leaves : simple; alternate; with long, slender petioles ; some-
times in pairs ; almost triangular ; pointed at the apex, and squared, roundej
or pointed at the base ; unevenly serrate ; often becoming entire at the base ;
liright green, lustrous and glabrous above, lighter underneath and almost
glabrous at maturity. Flowers : yellowish green ; growing in scaly catkins.
.St.iminate ones : from two to four inches long, and having three liny flowers
under each bract. Stamens : four ; short. Pistillate catkins : with two to
tiiree blossoms under each bract. Ovaries : naked. Fruit: broadly winged.

The white birch is one of the restless, short-lived spirits of
t'le woodlands. It is delicate and beautiful with leaves almost
as tremulous as those of the aspen. Through
it, a stream of tenderness seems to flow, for >^ .
ils trunk too is flexible, and often during the 'i\l^
winter bends under the load of ice it has to
uphold. Its powers of endurance are greatly 'j?:
in contrast to those of many of the trees, the
oaks especially.

Of the birches of Eastern North America it
is the smallest and least widely distributed.
On lands that have been devoured by fire or
those that have been abandoned by farmers,
it springs up quickly. In southern New England it is fre-
quently found growing on the margins of swamps. Hardly a
tree more graceful or sylph-like is known in cultivation, when

Bitula populi/blia.

276

TREES GROWING IN DRY SOIL.

its white bark and exquisitely-shaped and fluttering leaves
show to great advantage.

Commercially it is not of any very great
value. Its soft, weak wood is too perishable.
Spools and barrel-hoops are made from it,
and upon the hearth it finds a welcome
place.

Betula pendil/a, weeping birch, is a Euro-
pean species, which is extensively planted in
this country. Its drooping branches and
delicate, soft leaves are extremely attrac-
tive.

B^tula pendula.

HOP=HORNBEAM. IRON=WOOD.

{Plate CLI.)
Ostrya Virgvizdna.

LEVERWOOD.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Birck. Head^ round; branches^ ■i.a-to/eet. From the norths sou'h- April, May.

drooping at the ends. •ward and ivest-ward. Fruit: July, Sept.

Bark: brownish; furrowed vertically, and scaly. Brajic/iiets : ■pwpW'^h
brown, and dotted with grey; lustrous. Leaves; simple; alternate; with
short, rough petioles ; oblong-lanceolate ; taper-pointed at the apex and
rounded at the base ; often unequal ; doubly and sharply serrate; dark, yellow-
green above ; almost smooth ; lighter coloured below and tufted in tlie axils of
the straight veins. Flowers : growing in long catkins ; the staminate ones
about two inches long, with scales fringed on the margins. Pistillate catkins:
shorter. Fruit: green; growing in long, drooping, hop-like strobiles, with
entire, overlapping scales, or sacs which arc bristly at their bases. Nitts :
flattened.

Those that see this tree usually stop awhi.le and carefully

regard its birch-like leaves and its swinging clusters of yellow

tinted fruit. Both are very beautiful, but hardly more so

than are its flower clusters when they begin to lengthen in

early spring. It is said that the furrows on the bark of this

tree are finer than those of any other with a rough bark, and

that, as it grows older, this feature becomes more pronounced.

It contains considerable tannin. The tree is very shapely

and generally small. It is not common. For this reason its

wood which is hard and strong and receives a high polish has

Floivering branch. Branch in fruit

Pistillate flower.

PLATE CLI. HOP-HORNBEAM. Ostrya Virgitiiana.
(277)

Nut and cnvolucre.

278

TREES GROWING IN DRY SOIL.

not the value to which it would be entitled if it could be pro-
cured in larger quantities.

All living in and about New York have an opportunity to
study the tree as it has been most abundantly planted in
Central Park.

POST OAK. IRON OAK. BOX WHITE OAK. ROUND-
LEAVED WHITE OAK. {Plate CLII.)

Quirctis minor.

FAMILY
Beech.

SHAPE
Head, round, dense;
branches, spreading.

HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

10-100 feet. Mass. southzuard and May, June.

■westward to Indian Fruit: Sept., Oct.
Territory and Texas.

Bark : rather dark grey; rough but slightly so in comparison to other oaks,
excepting the white oak. Leaves: simple; alternate; long-obovate; with
rounded or wedge-shaped base, and having from three to seven variously
shaped lobes, frequently spreading out at almost right angles from the midrib.
At the apex they are lo'bed, or hollowed and become narrow or remain square
at the base; dark green and shiny above with fine hairs, lighter coloured and
downy underneath; thick; coarse. Floivers : appearing l:)efore the leaves are
partly grown. Slaminate catkins: three or four inches long. Pistillate ones :
sessile. Acorns : two or three growing on a short stem, or solitary, and
almost sessile. Cup: deeply saucer-shaped, with small, lanceolate scales often
fringed at the margin. Nut: small; dark brOwn, delicately striped and
lustrous; oval; very sweet.

What is the object, we sometimes
wonder, to which trees direct their
growth, and why are some of them
irp- content to be low while others are lofty,
and why do many remain weak when
others grow strong ? It is not difficult
to trace the aspirations of the oaks ;
they are visibly for power and en-
durance. Quercus minor displays it, in
its compact, rough manner of growth,
which is so noticeable that the tree
could hardly be mistaken for a member
of any other genus. Its dark foliage
too is ruggedly and distinctively cut.
Qu4rcus minor. Throughout the south whcrc the tree

Staviinate branch.

PLATE CLll. POST OAK. Quercus minor.
(279)

28o TREES GROWING IN DRY SOIL.

is well known its wood is especially valued. For railroad ties,
staves, cooperage, ship-building and many purposes it is used.
In quality it is similar to that of the white oak, page i88, and in
fact the trees were for a long time confused one with the other.
Towards the western limit of its range it grows abundantly
with Black-jack, Quercus Mary/andica, and forms a belt which
was familiarly known to early settlers of that part of the coun-
try as " Cross Timbers." In New England the post oak often
becomes a shrub, when its branches are low and contorted.

BLACK=JACK. BARREN OAK. {Plate CL/II.)
Quercus MixryhiJidica.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

lieeck. Head^ irregular; branches, i,--i's-<^o feet. Long Isla}id south- May, June.

stout, contorted. ward and west- l-'ruit: Oct., Nox\

ward.

Bark: blackish; rough; ridged and separating into close scales. Leaves:
simple; alternate; broadly obovate; rounded or slightly cordate at the base,
widening above the middle of the leaf and forming three or tive very short,
slight lobes; rounded at the ai)ex or slightly pointed; bristle-tipi:ed. Sinuses :
shallow; dark green and glossy above with fine star-like hairs, covered v\'ith
a rusty pubescence underneath when young, at maturity glabrous. A'il's : dis-
tinct and branching conspicuously above the middle. Sta7iiiiiate catkins : two
to four inches long; ]}ubescent. Pistillate o)ies : growing on short peduncles
and covered witli a white wool. Acorns: small; ovoid; sessile or nearly so.
Cup: deep; top-shaped; and covered with coarse, com]:)ressed scales;
pubescent. Ntit : dark brown; edible; sweet.

There is something very interesting about Black-jack. Per-
haps it is its common name which fixes it so firmly in the
memory and makes the tree an old friend after it has once been
seen. Much character is displayed about its unusually shaped
leaves, and although they have somewhat departed from the
oi-thodox conception of beauty, they have a firm, broad out-
line of their own. When they unfold in the spring they are
bright pink on the upper side, a feature curious to recall when
they have attained their large size and dark, lustrous greenness
of maturity. Black-jack has a decided preference for dry,
sterile soil. The wood it bears is dark brown and strong, but
it checks badly in drying. It is therefore mostly used for fuel
and for making charcoal,

Staminate branch.

PLATE CLIII. BLACK-JACK. (2icercus Marylandica.
(281)

282 TREES GROWING IN DRY SOIL.

ROCK CHESTNUT OAK. SWAMP CHESTNUT OAK.
CHESTNUT OAK. {Plate CLIV.)

Quire lis Prhiiis.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Beech. Head, broad., irregular. 40-80-100 /i?^/. Maitie southiuard May., June.

to Del., Ky. Fruit: Oct., Nov.
Tenn. and Ala.

Bark: blackish or reddish brown; ridged and separating into close scales.
Leaves : simple; alternate; broadly-obovate or oval, with bluntly pointed apex
and rounded or slightly pointed base; evenly and crenately toothed, the teeth
decreasing in size as they reach the apex; dark green and glabrous above,
paler and downy underneath. Acorns : growing in pairs or solitary on a short
peduncle. Ctip : rounded; thick and covered with minute, thin scales. Nut:
brown at maturity; long-ovate or ovoid; edible; slightly sweet.

That the oaks are silent expressions of strength has been
told in the folk-lore and poetry of every nation whose soil they
inhabit ; but it was the Autocrat of the Breakfast Table who
explained that while " others shirk the work of resisting
gravity, the oak defies it. It chooses the horizontal direction
for its limbs so that their whole weight may tell, — and then
stretches them out fifty or sixty feet, so that the strain may be
mighty enough to be worth resisting. At 90° the oak stops
short ; to slant upward another degree would mark infirmity
of purpose ; to bend downward, weakness of organization."

Of the latter tendency one would never suspect the rock
chestnut oak, and few of its genus are constructed to display
more vigour. It also lives to a venerable age and seems like
the patriarch of the generation to the more perishable trees,
the flowers and grasses that grow under its shade. The tree is
known as an Appalachian one and makes, on the dry hillsides
of Carolina and Tennessee, its best growth. Although its
wood is not nearly so valuable as that of the white oaks, it
has still a field of usefulness in the making of railroad ties
and fences. From its bark an unusually large quantity of
tannin is extracted. The tree was one of the first of the
American oaks to be known in Europe,

PLATE CLIV. ROCK CHESTNUT OAK. Oucrciis Prinus.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BV FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY.
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING IN DRY SOIL 283

CHESTNUT OAK. YELLOW OAK. {Plate CLV.)

Quercus acuminata.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Beech. Tall, straight : head, ^o-Zo-ito feet. Vermont to northern May., June.

narrow. Ala. and westward. Fruit: Oct., Nov

Bark: light grey; broken into thin flakes. Branchlets : marked with pale
lenticels. Leaves: five to seven inches long ; simple; alternate; petioled; at
most an inch long; lanceolate, or obovate with taper-pointed apex and pointed,
wedged-shaped or blunt base; sharply and evenly serrate. Sinuses : rounded.
The veins extending from the midrib to the summit of the teeth. Yellow-
green and glabrous above, silvery and slightly downy underneath. StiUninate
Jiowers : growing in catkins from three to four inches long. Pistillate o?ies : in
short, sessile spikes. /i<.w;/i- : small; sessile. O// .• round; broad; thin; the
scales closely compressed. A'ltt : light brown; ovate; about one-third covered
by the cup; edible; sweet.

Those that have paid little or no attention to the trees, ex-
cepting perhaps to regard them as affording a gracious and
wholesome shade, are invariably surprised when their interest
in them is quickened to see how exquisite are many of the
blossoms with which they are hung in the spring. Then it is a
revelation that the long yellow clusters, looking like bits of
string, which dangle from this great oak are in reality its stami-
nate flowers. In this way many of them grow snugly together.
The pistillate blossoms are congregated in more compact clus-
ters, and, as in many monoecious trees, they are located near
the tips of the lower boughs. From the top-most branches
the staminate ones sway. That their respective positions are
such is another illustration of Nature's theory that nothing is
insignificant. When the breezes bend the tree-tops the pollen
is shaken out, and its natural fall is then downward upon the
pistillate ones which eagerly arrest its flight.

This chestnut oak is a beautiful and mightytree, with a pale,
almost white bark. Its long leaves hang closely to the branches
and resemble, in general outline, those of the true chestnut.
That is when it grows in the Atlantic states, where it is some-
what rare and local. West of the Alleghanies it inhabits rich
bottom lands. Its leaves then are very variable. In their
broadest forms, with their teeth considerably rounded, they

Stantinate branch.

PLATE CLV. CHESTNUT OAK. Oucrcus acuminata.
(284)

TREES GROWING IN DRY SOIL. 285

closely resemble those of Quercus Prinus. But the difference in
the quality and colouring of the bark of the two trees would
prevent their being mistaken for one another.

The wood of Quercus acuminata is used in cooperage.

BLACK-HAW. STAQ=BUSH. {Plate CLVI.)
Vibtirnum prunifblium.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Honeysuckle. Low^ branching, is-20/eet. Conn, and X .Y.to Fla. May.

and Texas. Fruit : Sept.

Wood: reddish brown; hard. Leaves : simple; opposite; with short, slightly
or rarely margined petioles with straight edges; broadly oval, or obovate;
pointed or blunt at the apex and base; very variable; finely serrate; the teeth
sharp; glabrous; lustrous. FUmjers : white; small; perfect; growing in com-
pound, sessile cymes at the ends of the branches. Frmt : dark blue; oval;
glaucous ; edible; sweet.

Just before the earth begins to grow green and tiny leaves
venture to show themselves and to shiver, there is about it
something very clean and russet looking. Everywhere small
harbingers of spring are peeping out, and they seem to enjoy hav-
ing things pretty much their own way. Later in the season we
owe an abundance of bloom to the Viburnums. Throughout
the north the black-haw is most frequently found as a low,
branching shrub of about six, eight or twelve feet high. Its
leaves are smaller than those of Viburnian lejitago, page 82, and
the differences in the margins of the petioles serve as a means
of their identification. Its cymes of flowers stand out well from
the leaves. Besides these particular features the shrub is one
that grows in dry soil.

V. acerifolium, maple-leaved arrow-wood, or dockmaxie, is a
shrub of about six feet high. Its bloom — broad cymes of small
white flowers — which grows on long peduncles, is very familiar
to us in the early days of spring*, and later its bright crimson
drupes, turning eventually to black, are very noticeable. The
leaves might be mistaken, and frequently are, for those of a
young maple tree. In dry or rocky woods, or abundantly along
shady roadsides, the plant is found.

Enlarged Jlo'ver.

PLATE CLVI. BLACK-HAW. Viburnum prunz/oiium.
(286)

TREES GROWING IN DRY SOIL.

287

STAG HORN sun AC. VINEGAR TREE. {Plate CL VII.)

Rhiis hirta.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

iiumac. Umbrella-like. lo-^o/eet. New Brunswick westward, June.

southfjard to Alabama. Fruit: Aug.-Oci.

Bark: dark brown; smooth. Inner bark: yellow. Braiichlets and leaf-
stems: covered thickly with a velvety, crimson down. Juice : milky; viscid, and
turning black with exposure to the atmosphere. Leaves : compound ; alternate;
with stout stalks, reddish on their upper sides ; odd-pinnate with from eleven to
thirty-one, narrowly oval, sessile leaflets ; taper-pointed at the apex and cordate
or rounded at the base; evenly and sharply serrate. When unfolding covered
underneath with reddish hairs and becoming nearly white and glabrous at
maturity. Flcnvers : yellowish green ; growing in large, dense, terminal pani-
cles, the fertile ones forming those that are the most compact. Berries : bright
crimson; rounded or flattened and covered with long, reddish hairs; acrid ; not
poisonous.

Over the surrounding green of summer there is a warmth and
richness of colour cast by the splendid hue of this plant's fruit,
and the young growth of the tree is a vivid, bright red. This is,
in fact, one of the beautiful and very noticeable small trees of
the waysides and rocky thickets. Not
infrequently, however, it descends to a
shrub. The straggling and uneven
growth of the tree, as it thrusts the
ends of its branches outward, repre-
sent somewhat the horns of a stag,
and they are similarly covered with a
velvety coating. The name vinegar
tree is due to the acidity of its fruit
and twigs, which is the outcome
of the innumerable fine hairs which Rhiis hirta.

cover them. From the young shoots the pith can readily be
removed, and quills are thus made with which to draw out the
sap of maple trees in the spring-time. Little country boys,
however, convert them into pin or putty blowers, and, at the
expense of the enemy, amuse themselves highly. Both the
bark and the leaves of the tree are rich in tannin. Through
the wood large ducts can be seen which designate clearly the
annual layers of its growth.

PLATE CLVIl. STAGHORN SUMAC. Rhus hirta.
(288)

PLATE CLVIIl. SMOOTH UPLAND SUMAC. K/uts ^r-labra.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, DY FREDERICK *. STOKES COMPANY.
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING IN DRY SOIL. 289

SMOOTH UPLAND SUMAC. SCARLET SUflAC.

{Plate CL VIII.)
Rhus glabra.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Sumac. Spyeading. biishy. i-T-o/ect. Maine soutkward to June-Aug.

Fla. and westzuard.

Along the waysides and hugging the borders of fields this
sumac raises itself so lustily and so often that there are few
among us to whom it is not familiar. Too frequently, the ban
of being poisonous is placed upon it, and this, it must be re-
gretted, is the outcome of a melancholy lack of observation.
The sharply serrated leaves, the terminal growth and shape of
the closely packed bunches of beautiful, crimson fruit, are ever
ready to help us in distinguishing it from the deadly poisonous
sumac, Rhus veniix, which inhabits the swamps. It is interest-
ing to notice in this species, as also in the staghorn sumac,
that sometimes the whole or part of the flower-cluster has
not been transformed into flowers, but has remained as small
green leaves.

AILANTHU5. CHINESE SUMAC. TREE-OF-HEAVEN.

{Plate CLIX.)
Aildnthus glandulbsa.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Ailanthus. Round-topped^ \o<)afeet. Escaped from cultivation. June. July,

spreading. Fruit: Oct.

Bark: brown; smooth. Branchlets: covered with whitish dots. Leaves:
very large; compound; alternate; odd-pinnate; with from seventeen to
forty-one leaflets, with short petiolules ; the odd one often absent or
dwarfed and coarsely toothed. Leaflets : lanceolate or long ovate ; taper-
pointed at the apex, and squared or slightly cordate at the base ; entire, with
one or two blunt teeth at each side near the base ; feather-veined; bright
green above, lighter below; thin and almost glabrous. Fioiuers : small;
greenish yellow; growing in terminal, compound panicles. Caivx : of five
minute sepals. Corolla : of five petals. Statnens : in sterile flowers, ten.
Fertile floi.uers : with from two to five ovaries. Samaras : flat ; the seeds
growing in the centre of the thin, membranous wing.

The generic and Asiatic name of this remarkable tree is
from " ailanto," which means. Tree of Heaven, and by the

290

TREES GROWING IN DRY SOIL

Chinese in whose country it is a native, it is regarded with
much affection. A Jesuit missionary is credited with having,
in 1761, first sent its seeds to England. A little over thirty
years later it was brought to America and took root, near
Philadelphia. Since then it has been considerably planted.

In parts of Long Island, New York
and New Jersey it is abundant.
The tree is of striking, majestic
presence, and its long, wand-like
stems of leaflets form a responsive
playing-ground for the breezes.
^^'hen in full bloom the flowers have
a feathery, fine appearance, but
they are not handsome. Their
odour also, and it is that of the
staminate ones, is generally thought
to be very disagreeable. They ex-
hale one of the heavy, oppressive
scents which close upon the atmos-
phere and prevent many from
breathing it without feeling some physical distress. After the
bloom has passed, however, the tree is without objectionable
features.

When the great bunches of samaras begin to ripen, the pis-
tillate trees are most conspicuous. From a summer green they
vary in colour to red, and in drying they turn to a soft shade of
tan. Often trees hung with red samaras and others hung with
green ones stand side by side. The ailanthus seeds itself readily
and is also reproduced by abundant suckers which arise from
its base. In cultivation, where a fine, waving effect of shrub-
bery is desired, it can be gained by keeping the main stems of
the trees cut down and allowing these shoots to grow to their
utmost height.

A ildnthus glandulbsa.

PLATE CLIX. AILANTHUS. .lilaiilli.

COPyRIGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK *. STOKES COMPANY
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING IN DRV S0:L 291

PIG=NUT. BROOM HICKORY. {^Plate CLX.)
Hkbria glabra.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

a^alnut. Head, niirrow; branches, 60-90-120 _/>^/. ALiine westnuirii April.

slightly pendulous. and to Fla. and Fruit: Oct., Nov.

Texas.

Bark: light gr:y; close, not shaggy. Leaves: compound; alternate; odd-
pinnate ; growing on smooth stalks and having from five to nine sessile leaf-
lets, which are oblong, long-pointed at the apex and wedge-shaped, pointed or
rounded at the base; the lower pair of leaflets much smaller than the others;
sharply serrate ; thick ; dark yellowish green, and glabrous uii the upper side
at maturity; slightly tufted in the angles of the ribs on the under sides.
Flowers: greenish yellow; growing in catkins. The staminate ones, three to
seven inches long ; the pistillate ones growing in spikes with from two to five
flowers. Fruit : with a globose, or pear-shaped husk which is thin and splits
open only at the apex, or to about the middle. Nut : oblong, with a smooth,
unridged shell ; thin. Kernel : small ; very bitter.

All undoubtedly know the pig-nut, for it is generally im-
pressed upon us by experience ; and to the mind clings the re-
membrance of early days when its nuts were eaten in error for
those of the good, old shagbark. Their bitter, disappointing
flavour vaguely touches the palate with the very name of pig-
nut. Throughout the northern states the tree is common and
well known.

Commercially its strong, tough and flexible wood is not dis-
tinguished from that of the shell-bark hickories. For the
handles of tools, agricultural implements and the making of
many similar articles, it is useful.

HORSE CHESTNUT. {Plate CLX I)
^senilis Hippocastanunt.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

Soapberry. Rounded, compact. ^o-^a/eet. Introducid. May, June.

Bark : brownish. Leaves : palniately-compound ; opposite ; and having
five, or more often seven long, oval leaflets ; abruptly pointed at the apex nnd
tapering at the base; ribs straight ; the edges scalloped and toothed. When
young pubescent with a brown wool. Flowers: large; cream-white, sjjotted
with yellow and ]Durple, and growing in a terminal thysus. Calyx ■ five-cleft.
Corolla: of five spreading petals raised on short claws. Stamens: seven; e.x-
serted, with orange-coloured anthers. Pistil: one; included. Fruit; a
round, green, prickly husk which encloses within its valves one or two nuts.
Nut: mahogany colour; with a white scar on one side ; lustrous when young,
but becoming dull and wrinkled with age. Kernel: aromatic; poisonous and
having a strong odour.

Pistillate Staminatt
/lower. Jlower.

PLATE CLX. PIG-NUr. Hicoria glabra.
(292)

TREES GROWING IN DRY SOIL. 293

Throughout its entire career there is something very charac-
teristic about the horse chestnut tree. The large, silky leaf-
buds remind us of those of the magnolia as they unfold in the
early spring, and as from them the beautifully formed leaflets
begin to grow, we continue to notice how individual is the
whole aspect of the tree. Everything that it does appears to
be well planned and regular. The exquisite bunches of flowers
have a unique way of pointing upward, and the fragrance that
emanates from them is as good a guide to the tree's locality, as
to see their shimmering light. Again
the mahogany-coloured nut with its white
scar is as unmistakable as the piebald
horse of one's neighbour. It is rather
disappointing to attempt to eat its abun-
dant meat; for it is intensely bitter, al-
though it is not, as has been thought by
many, poisonous. In fact, on the con-
tinent, cattle, sheep and pigs are fed upon
the nuts, and rooks devour them with

. , . ^sculus Hippochstanunt.

avidity, ihey are moreover not without

efficacy of another sort, for an ancient superstition assures us
that to carry one constantly in the pocket will prevent rheu-
matism from attacking the wearer.

The flowers of this tree appear to have been especially de-
signed to suit the convenience of the bumble-bee that visits
them so frequently. The protruding stamens and style do
not interfere with him as he alights on the petals; he only
brushes them a little with his under part and covers himself
with pollen. His legs fit well into the spaces between the
petals, and he is therefore able to settle himself quite comforta-
bly. He then thrusts his proboscis into the honey-holding sac
at the base of the flower, quickly draws it out and is away to
another one. The rapidity with which he accomplishes this
is truly astonishing. It is the work of only a very few seconds.

Although well known in this country the tree is not a native.

PLATE CLXI. HORSE CHESTNUT.

(294)

-ul2is Hippocastanunt.

TREES GROWING IN DRY SOIL. 295

By Professor Sargent it is said to be indigenous in the moun-
tains of northern Greece. As a timber tree it is practically-
worthless. Buds, page 30.

.'^senilis rubicunda, red horse chestnut, is cultivated mostly
for ornament, and for the sake of the contrasting colours of their
flowers it is planted by the side of /Esculus Hippocastanum.
The deep pink of its blossoms mingling with the bright green
of its leaves, spotted here and there with red, is very lovely.
The tree is never tall, sometimes hardly more than a shrub.
Each flower has but four slightly spreading petals. Generally,
it is thought to be a hybrid between the horse chestnut and
Esculus Favia, red buckeye. This latter plant bears bright
red flowers, and usually occurs as a shrub. Its best growth is
in Virginia and southward.

HICKORY PINE. TABLE=MOUNTAIN PINE. PRICKLY

PINE. {Plate CLXII.)

Plmts pimgetis.

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

TIME OF BLOOM

Pine.

Head., narroiu : branches,
short., ascending.

lo-bo/eei.

iV.J. and Fenn. to

No. Carolina and

Tenn.

May.

Bark: reddish l)ro\vn ; when old, rough and Ijroken into jjlate-like scales.
Leaves I dark bluish green; seldom over two inches long; simple; growing
closely along the branches in bunches of two or sometimes three, and having
sheaths at their bases ; needle-shaped, the outer side round and smooth, the
inner side grooved; stiff. Stamiitate flawers: growing in long spikes. Pistillate
ones : clustered in the young cones. Cones : pale, reddish yellow ; three to four
inches long; oblong or ovate; sessile, and frequently growing in clusters of
four or more; heavy. Scales: woody, with a hooked spine nearly an inch long.

The great pines, so simple in construction, must always inter-
est us, and from the larches, the firs, the cedars and the spruces,
which also are members of the family coniferse, we readily dis-
tinguish them because their leaves, although varying greatly in
length, are needle-shaped and grow in clusters of from two to
five. At their bases they are sheathed, or held together by a
thin, membranous scale. When pressed together they form a
cylinder.

Envolucre of Winged
ttatninate f,o~i.icr^ seed,
enlarged.

PLATE CLXll. HICKORY PINE. Pitius pungms.

^296)

TREES GROWING IN DRY SOIL. 297

Pinus pungens has a rather limited range. Its cones are very
abundant and beautiful. After fertilization has taken place,
and their scales have closed to protect the young and forming
seeds, it is astonishing how hard and heavy they are found to
be when taken in the hand. Almost they appear like bits of clay.
Light brown and coarsely grained wood is produced by the
tree, and it is soft and brittle. In Pennsylvania it is largely
made into charcoal.

COMMON JUNIPER. GROUND CEDAR. {Phxte CLXIII.)

Jutiiperus conuiiiiiu's.

FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM

rine. Loxv, broixd^ spreading. ■20-2^ /eet. -Wr'i( Scotin soui/nvard Aprils May.

and ■ivest%i'arti. Fruit: Oct.

Bark: reddish brown and separating into thin, papery sheets. Leaves : sini-
l)le ; linear-lanceolate or awl-shaped; spreading and growing in whorles of
three up and down the slender branchlets ; rigid; shari:)ly pointed; channelled;
dark yellow-green and glaucous on the upper side; astringent. Berries : large ;
sessile ; bluish grey; glaucous ; fragrant when dried; sweet.

By Professor Sargent it is said that Juniperus communis is
the most widely distributed tree of the northern hemisphere
It occurs in Europe and Asia also. In India its twigs are
burned as incense, and its berry-like cones are employed in the
practice of medicine. In this country the latter are considera-
bly used to flavour gin, and they take in New England fully
three years in which to mature. The tree is erect with an irregu-
larly shaped head, and it is not infrequently found growing
by the side of Juniperus Virginiana. Junipenis fiana, the low
juniper, thrives in pastures and on dry hillsides as a shrub,
when its branches grow low, often closely to the ground.

" The birch-tree swung her fragrant hair,

The bramble cast her berry,
The gin within the juniper

Began to make him merry.
The poplars, in long order due,

With cypress promenaded.
The shock-head willows two and two

By rivers gallopaded " — Tennyson.

PLATE CLXIII, COMMON JUNIPER. Juniperus commwiis.
(298)

PLATE CLXIV. RED CEDAR. Juniperus Vi)sinia?ia.

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PRINTED IN AMERICA.

TREES GROWING IN DRY SOIL.

299

RED CEDAR. SAVIN. {Plate CLX/V.)
Juniper us Virgmiana.

FAMILY

SHAPE

HEIGHT

RANGE

TIME OF BLOOM

Pine.

Conic,

irregular ivhen
old.

15-30-iooyi'f/.

General.

April, iMay.
Fruit: Sept., Oct.

Bark : reddish brown, and separating into long shreds, hiner bark: smooth ;
polished. Leaves ; minute; dull green ; simple ; opposite in pairs ; ovate; over-
lapping each other, and growing in four rows on the rather square, fine branch-
lets; stiff; sharp. When young the leaves spread out somewhat from the
branches, which are then more rounded, and are needle-shaped. When pulled
away from the branch it canine seen that they grow in jjairs, or sometimes threes.
Berries: small; bluish grey ; growing erectly and closely along the branchleis.

From the coloured plate something of the beauty of the pistil-
late cedar tree may be gathered when its olive-green foliage is
alive with the brightness of its
berries. The staminate trees are
of a rather rusty brown tone, and
although they are not generally
regarded as attractive, there are
many that delight in their unsym-
metrical and rather weird style
of growth. The tree, as Juni-
perus communis, is more widely
distributed than any other con-
iferous one of North America.
Its versatility and knack of adapt-
ing itself to various conditions
of climate and soil are truly
wonderful. From a low bush it
ranges in size to a great tree with

a fine, straight trunk, and it is either pyramidal or rounded.
Throughout New England and New Brunswick it favours dry
soil ; in the valleys of Pennsylvania it seeks that which is
alluvial. On the limestone hills of Kentucky and Tennessee
are the "cedar brakes"; while in Florida the tree grows to
a great size in swamps and in bottom lands. Throughout the

Juniperus Virginiitna.

300^ TREES GROWING IN DRY SOIL.

Rocky mountains, in the extreme northwest and in southern
California it seeks such haunts as suit its fancy.

The formal outline of the tree is valuable in landscape gar-
dening when it is desired to produce rugged effects. Often we
then see it cut into fantastic shapes, a trick learned from the
Japanese by the Dutch, and it is sufficiently hardy to stand well
this suppression of its natural growth.

For a long time the Indians have delighted in its bright red,
fragrant and spicy wood which does not decay, and, as it is ob-
jectionable to moths, cedar chests and closets are appreciated
by thrifty housewives. Its principal use, however, is in the
making of lead pencils. Of the heterogeneous community that
daily wields thousands of them, it is a matter of interest to
wonder how many ever cast a glance of recognition, or expend
a thought upon the tree that has so abundantly yielded of its
best.

D. H, HILL LIBRARY

North Carolina State College

Index to English Names.

Abele, 271.
Acacia, False, 205.

" Rose, 208.

" Three-Thorned, 209.
Ague Tree, 263.
Ailanthus, 289.
Alder, Black, 44.

" Hoary, 50.

" Smooth, 52.

" Speckled, 50.
Alligator Tree, 136.
Apple, 267.

" Custard, in.
Arbor-Vitas, 103.

Arrow-Wood, Maple-Leaved, 285.
Ash, Biltmore, 142.

'* Black, 92.

" Blue, 223.

« Green, 97.

" Hoop, 92.

" Mountain, American, 140.

«< " Elder-Leaved, 141.

" " European, 141.

" " Western, 141.

" Poison, 88.

" Red, 95.

" Water, 92.

" White, 220.
Aspen, American, 238.

" Large-Toothed, 183.
Asp, Quaking, 238.
Azalea, Smooth, 152.
" Tree, 152.

Balm of Gilead, 72.
Basswood, 153.

White, 156.
Bay, Bull, 37.

" Sweet, 39.
Bean Tree, 195.
Bee-Tree, Linden, 156.
Beech, American, 174.

" Blue, 52.

" Copper, 175.

" European, 175.

" Water, 52.
Bilsted, 136.
Birch, American White, 275.

" Black, 177.

" Canoe, 175.

" Cherry, 177.

" Grey, 179.

" Grey,' 275.

" Old-Field, 275.

" Paper, 175.

" Red, 48.

" River, 48.

" Sweet, 177.

" Weeping, 276.

" White, 175.

" Yellow, 179.
Bitter-nut, 89.
Black-Haw, 285.
Black-jack, 2S0.
Bladder-nut. Western, 144.
Buckeye, Big, 146.

" California, 149.

304

INDEX TO ENGLISH NAMES.

Buckeye, Fetid, 147.
Ohio, 147.
" Purple Sweet, 147.

Red, 295.
" Sweet, 146.
" Yellow, 146.
Uutton-Ball Tree, 47.
Hutterniit, 213.
Hutton-Wood, 47.

Candle-Tree, 195.
Caper Tree, Jamaica, 112.
Catalpa, 195.
Cedar, Ground, 297.
*' Red, 299.
" Southern White, loi.
" White, 103,
Cherry, Bird, 156.
" Cabinet, 265.

Choke, 46.
" Perfumed, 157.
" Pigeon, 156.
" Pin, 156.
" Rum, 265.

Wild Black, 265.
Wild Red, 156.
Chestnut, American, 173.
" Horse, 291.

" Red Horse, 295.

Chinquapin, 174.
Coffee-Tree, Kentucky, 211.
Cornel, 194.

" 195-
Cornelian Tree, 192.
Coral-Berry, 262.
Cottonwood, 74.

" Narrow-Leaved, 115.

" River, 70.

" Swamp, 70.

Cranberry Tree, 83.
Crab-apple, American, 159.

" Narrow-Leaved, 159.

Crab Tree, Sweet Scented, 159.

Cucumber Tree, 150,

" " Yellow, 152.

Cypress, 99.

Bald, 99.

Date-Plum, 233.

Dockmaxie, 285.

Dogwood, Alternate-Leaved, 194.

" False, 202.

" Flowering, 192.

" Panicled, 195.

Poison, 88.

" Red-Osier, 195.

" Round-Leaved, 195.

** Striped, 202.

Elder, 144.
Elderberry, 146.
Elder, Box, 90.

" Poison, 88.

" Sweet, 146.
Elk-Wood, loS.
Elm, American, 120.

" Corky White, 122.

" English, 124.

" False, 126.

" Hickory, 122.

" Moose, 122.

" Red, 122.

" Rock, 122.

" Slippery. 122.

" Winged, 122.

" White, 120.

Filbert, 181.

Fir, Balm of Gilead, 231.

" Balsam, 231.

" Eraser's Balsam, 232.
Fringe Tree, Common, 80.

Gum, Black, 40.
" Hog. 38.

INDEX TO ENGLISH NAMES.

30s

Gum, Sour, 40.

" Star-Leaved, 136.
" Sweet, 136.

Hackberry, 126.
Hackmatack, 105.
Haw, 236.

" Pear, 165.
" Red, 163.
Hawthorn, 163.
Hazel-Nut, i8i.

" Beaked, 183.

Hemlock, 226.

" Carolina, 227.

Hickory, Broom, 291.
*' Fragrant, 214.
" Shag-Bark, 216.
" Shell-Bark, 216.
" Big Shell-Bark, 218.
" Small-Fruited, 220.
*' Swamp, 89.
«» " 90.

•' Water, 90.
" White-Heart, 214.
Hobble-Bush, 83.
Holly, American, 117.

" Large-Leaved, 118.
Honey Shucks, 209.
Hop-Hornbeam, 276.
Hornbeam, American, 52.

Indian Bean, 195.

" Larger, 196.

Indian Currant, 262.
Ironwood, 52.
" 276.

Judas-Tree, American, 113.
June-Berry, 269.
June-Berry, Northwestern, 270.
Juniper, Common, 297.
" Low, 297.

King Nut, 218.

Larch, American, 105.
Leverwood, 276.
Linden, American, 153.

" European, 156.
Locust, Bristly, 208.

" Clammy, 207.

" Honey, 209.

" Moss, 208.

" Tree, 205.

" Western, 140.

" Yellow, 205.

Magnolia, Great-Flowered, 37.
" Laurel, 39.

" Mountain, 150.

" Small, 39.

Mahaleb, 157.
Mahogany, California, 234.
Maple, Ash-Leaved, 90.
" Bird's-eye, 198.
" Black Sugar, 198.
" Blood-Leaved Japanese, 204.
•• Curled, 198.
" Goosefoot, 201.
" Hard, 197.
" Mountain, 202.
** Norway, 204.
" Red, 83.
** Rock, 197.
" Scarlet, 83.
" Silver, 86.
" Soft, 83.
" Soft, 86.
" Striped, 201.
" Sugar, 197.
" Swamp, 83.
" White, 86.
May-Cherry, 269.
Mocker-nut, 214.
Moose Wood, 201.
Mulberry, Paper, 130.
" Red, 1 28.

" White, 130.

3o6

INDEX TO ENGLISH NAMES.

Nanny Berry, 82.
Nettle-Tree, 126.

Oak, Barren, 280.

' Black, 245.

' Box White, 278.

' Burr, 132.

' Chestnut, 283.
Iron, 278.

' Laurel, 80.

' Live, 240.

' Mossy-Cup, 132.

' Over-cup White, 132.

' Peach-leaved, 78.

' Pin, 133.
Post, 278.

' Red, 191.

' Rock Chestnut, 282.

' Round-Leaved White, 278.

' Scarlet, 243.

' Shingle, 80.

' Spanish, 242.

' Swamp Chestnut, 282.

' Swamp Spanish, 133.

' Swamp White, 76.

' Water, 89.

' Water, 133.

' White, 188.

' Willow, 78.

' Yellow, 283.

' Yellow-Bark, 245.
Oilnut, 213.
Old Man's Beard, 80.
Osier. Golden, 66.

Papaw, North American, in.
Peach, 270.
Pecan, Bitter, 90.
Pepperridge, 40.
Persimmon, 233.
Pig-nut, 291.
Pine, Canadian, 249,
" Candlewood, 255.

Pine, Bank's, 246.
" Bull, 254.
" Georgia, 253.
" Grey, 246.
" Hickory, 295.
" Jersey, 251.
" Labrador, 246.
" Long-Leaved, 253.
" Northern Scrub, 2^6.
" Pitch, 255.
" Prickly, 295.
" Red, 249.
" Scrub, 251.
" Short-Leaved, 254.
" Spruce, 254.
" Southern Yellow, 253.
" Table-Mountain, 295.
" Torch, 255.
" Weymouth, 225.
" White, 225.
" Yellow, 254.
Plane-Tree, 47.
Plum, Canada, 44.
" " 161.

" Date, 233.
" Horse, 161.
" Wild, 163.

" Red, 44.
" " Yellow, 44.
Poison Wood, 138.
Poplar, 83.

" Balsam, 70.

" Carolina, 74.

" Downy, 70.

" Heart-Leaved Balsam, 72.

" Lombardy, 273.

" Necklace, 74.

" River, 74.

" Silver-Leaf, 271.

" White, 238.

" " 271.

QUCERITRON, 245.

INDEX TO ENGLISH NAMES.

307

Red Bud, 113.
Rowan Tree, 140.
" " 141.

Sassafras, 263.

" Swamp, 39.

Savin, 299.
Service-Berry, 269.

" Tree, American, 140.
Shad-Bush, 270.
Sheep Berry, 82.
Silver Bell Tree, 114.
Snowberry, 262.

Snowdrop Tree, Four-Winged, 114.
Sorrel-Tree, 171.
Sour-Wood, 171.
Spruce, Black, 227.

" Norway, 260.

*' Red, 258.

" White, 229.
Stag-Bush, 285.
Stump Tree, 211.
Sugar-Berry, 126.

" Tree, 197.
Sumac, Chinese, 289.

<' Coral, 138.

" Poison, 88.

" Scarlet, 289.

" Smooth Upland, 289.

" Staghorn, 287.
Sycamore, 48.

" False, 204.

Tacamahac, 70.
Tamarack, 105.
Thorn, Black, 165.

" Cockspur, 169.

" Common, 167.

" Dwarf, 236.

" Dotted-Fruited, 167.

" Large-Fruited, T67.

" Long-Spined, 165.

" Newcastle, 169.

" Pear, 165.

Thorn, Scarlet, 163.

" Three- Flowered, 119.
Tulip Tree, 186.
Tupelo, 40.

" Water, 42.
Tree-of-Heaven, 289.

Umbrella-Tree, io8.

Viburnum, Sweet, 82.
Vhiegar Tree, 287.

Wahoo, 122,
Wahoo, 156.
Walnut, Black, 212.

" White, 213.

« White, 216.
Whistle-wood, 153.
Whitewood, 153.
White-wood, 186.
Willow, Almond, 56.

" American Bay, 57.

« Bebb's, 59.

« Black, 54.

" Brittle, 68,

" Crack, 68.

" Glossy Broad-Leaved, 57.

" Hoop, 65.

" Huntington, 65.

" Long-Beaked, 59.

" Ochre-Flowered, 59.

" Peach-Leaved, 56.

" Ring, 62.

" Scythe-Leaved, 56.

" Shining, 57.
Silky, 62.

" Western Black, 56.
White, 65.

" Weeping, 62.

" Yellow, 66.
Winterberry, Virginia, 44.
Witch-Hazel, 171.

Yellow Wood, American, 210.
" Kentucky, 210.

Index to Latin Names.

Abies balsamea, 231.
Abies Fraseri, 232.

Acer Japonicum atropurpureum, 204.
" Negundo, 90.
" nigrum, 198.
" Pennsylvanicum, 201.
" platanoicles, 204.
" Pseudo-Platanus, 204.
" rubrum, 183.
" saccharinum, 86.
" Saccharum, 197.
" spicatutn, 202.
.^isculus Californica, 149.
" glabra, 147,
" Hippocastanum, 291.
" octandra, 146.
" " var. hybrida, 147.

" Pavia, 295.
" rubicunda, 295.
Ailanthus glandulosa, 289,
Alnus incana, 50.
" rugosa, 52.
Amelanchier alnifolia, 270.

" Botrgapium, 270.

" Canadensis, 269.

Amygdalus Persica, 270.
Asimina triloba, 1 11.
Azalea arborescens, 152.
" nudiflora, 153.
" viscosa, 153.

BeTULA LENTA, 1 77.

" lutea, 179.

Betula nigra, 48,

" papyrifera, 175.
" penduJa, 276.
" popuiifolia, 275.

Broussonetia papyrifera, 130.

Capparis Jamaicensis, 112.
Carpi-nus Caroliniana, 52.
Castanea dentata, 173.
" purnila, 174.
Catalpa Catalpa, 195.
" speciosa, 196.
Celtis occidentalis, 126.
Cercis Canadensis, 113.
Chamaecyparis thyoides, loi.
Chionanthus Virginica, 80.
Cladrastis lutea, 210.
Cornus alternifolia, 194.
" candidissima, 195.
" circinata, 195.
" florida, 192.
" stolonifera, 195.
Corylus Americana, iSr.

" rostrata, 183.
Crataegus coccinea, 163.
" Crus-Galli, 169.
" macracantha, 165.
" punctata, 167.
" tomentosa, 165.
" triflora, 119.
" uniflora, 236.

DlOSPYROS ViRGINIANA, 233.

INDEX TO LATIN NAMES.

309

Fagus Americana, 174.
" sylvatica, 175.
«* " foliis atrorubentibus,

175-
Ficus Sycomorus, 48.

Fraxinus Americana, 220.

" Biltmoreana, 142.

" lanceolata, 97.

" nigra, 92.

" Pennsylvanica, 95.

" quadrangulata, 223.

Gleditsia triancan thos. 209.
Gymnocladus dioica, 211.

Hamamelis Virginiana, 171.
Hicoria alba, 214.

" aquatica, 90,

" glabra, 291.

" laciniosa, 218.

" mfcrocarpa, 220.

" minima, 89.

*' ovata, 216.

Ilex monticola, 118.
" opaca, 117.
*' verticillata, 44.

JUGLANS CINEREA, 213.

" nigra, 212.
Juniperus communis, 297.
" nana, 297.
" Virginiana, 299.

Larix Europ.^a, 107.

" laricina, 105.
Liquidambar Styraciflua, 136.
Liriodendron Tulipifera, 186.

Magnolia acuminata, 150.
" cordata, 152.

" fcetida, 37.

- " tripetala, loS.

" Virginiana, 39.

Malus angustifolia, 159.

" coronaria, 159.

" Malus, 267.
Mohrodendron Carolinum, 114.
Morus alba, 130.

" rubra, 128.

Nyssa biflora, 42.
" sylvatica, 40.

Ostrya Virginiana, 276.
Oxydendrum arboreum, 171.

PiCEA Canadensis, 229.
" excelsa, 260.
" Mariana, 227.
" rubens, 258.
Pinus divaricata, 246.
" echinata, 254.
" palustris, 253.
" pungens, 295.
*' resinosa, 249.
" rigida, 255.
" Strobus, 225.
" Virginiana, 251.
Platanus occidentalis, 47.
Populus alba, 271.

" angustifolia, 115.

" balsamifera, 70.

" candicans, 72.

" deltoides, 74.

" dilatata, 273.

" grandidentata, 183.

" heterophylla, 70,

" tremuloides, 238.
Prunus Americana, 44.

" Mahabel, 157.

" nigra, 161.

" Pennsylvanica, 156.

" serotima, 265.

" subcordata, 163.

■' Virginiana, 46.

3IO

INDEX TO LATIN NAMES.

Quercus acuminata, 283.

" alba, 188.

" coccinea, 243.

" digitata, 242.

" laurifolia, 80.

" macrocarpa, 132.

" Marylandica, 280.

" minor, 278.

" palustris, 133,

Phellos, 78.

" platanoides, 76.

" Priiius, 282.

" rubra, 191.

" velutiiia, 245.

" Virginiana, 240.

Rhus glabra, 289.
" hirta, 287.
" integrifolia, 234.
" Metopium, 138.
" toxicodendron, 138.
" Vernix, 88.

ROBINIA HISPIDA, 2oS.
Robinia, Neo-Mexicana, 140.

" Pseudacacia, 205.

" viscosa, 207.

Salix alba, 65.

" " argentea, 66,

" " ccerulea, 66.

" " vitellini, 66,

Salix amygdaloides, 56.

" Babylonica, 62.

" " annularis, 65.

" Bebbiana, 59.

Salix fragilis, 68.
" lucida, 57.
" nigra, 54.

" falcata, 56.
" sericea, 62.
Sambucus Canadensis, 146.

" " var. Mexicana,

144.
Sassafras Sassafras, 263.
Sorbus Americana, 140.
" ancuparia, 141.
" sambucifolia, 141.
Staphylea Bolanderi, 144.
Symphoricarpos Symphoricarpos, 262.

TAXODIUM DISTICHUM, 99.

Thuja occidentalis, 103.
Tilia Americana, 153.

" Europaea, 156.

" heterophylla, 156.

" pubescens, 156.
Tsuga Canadensis, 226.

" Caroliniana, 227.

Ulmus alata, 122.
" Americana, 120.
" campestris, 124.
" fulva, 122.
" racemosa, 126.
" suberosa, 126.

Viburnum acerifolium, 285.
" alnifolium, 83.

" Lentago, 82.

" Opulus, 83.

** prunifolium, 285.

Index to Technical Terms.

Abruptly Pinnate, 5.
Alburnum, 2.
Alternate LeaveSj 3.
Ament, 10.
Anther, 14.
Arboreous Stems, 2.
Arrow-shaped, 7.
Auriculate, 7.
Axillary inflorescence, g.

Bark, cellular, 2.

•' fibrous, 2.

" inner, 2. .

" outer, 2.
Banner, 14.
Bell-shaped, 13.
Bl.ide, 3.
Buds, 2-3.

" adventitious, 3.

" axillary, 2.

" Latent, 3.

" Lateral, 3.

" Leaf, 2.

" Naked, 3.

" Scaly, 3.

" Terminal, 1-2.
Butterfly-shaped, 14.
Bracts, 10.

Campanulate, 13.
Calyx, 12-13.
Capitulum, 10.
Capsule, 17.

Catkin, 10.
Cleft, 8.

Complete Flower, 11.
Compound Leaves, 5.
Cone, 17.
Cordate, 7.
Corky Layer, 2.
Corolla. 12-13.
Corymb, 19.
Cotyledons, 17.
Crenate, 7.
Cross-fertilization, 15.
Cyme, 10.

Determinate, 9.
Dioecious, 1 1.
Dicotyledonous, 18.
Divided, S.
Drupe, 17.
Dry Fruits, 17.

Elliptical, 6.
Embryo, 17.
Endogenous Stems, 2.
Endosperm, 17.
Entire Leaves, 7.
Exogenous Stems, 2.
Exserted Stamens, 14.

Feather-veined, 4.
Fertilization, 15.
Fertilizing organs, 14.
Filament. 14.

312

INDEX TO TECHNICAL TERMS.

Fleshy Fruits, i6.
Funnel-Form, 13.

Gamopetalous, 13.
Gamosepalous, I2.
Glabrous, 8.
Glaucous, 8.
Green Layer, 2.

Head, 10.
Heart-shaped, 7.
Heart-wood, 2.
Hypocotyl, 17.

Imperfect Flowers, ii.
Incised, 8.

Included Stamens, 14.
Incomplete Flowers, 12.
Indeterminate 9.
Inflorescence, 9.
Inner Layer, 2.
Irregular Flowers, 12.

Keel, 14.

Kernel, 17
Key Fruits, 17.
Kidney-shaped, 7.

Labiate, 13.
Lanceolate, 6.
Leaf-buds, 2.
Leaves, 3-9.
Legume, 17.
Liber, 2.
Linear, 6.
Lobed, 8.

Midrib, 3.
Midvein, 3.

Monocotyledonous, 18.
Monoecious, 11.
Multiple Primary Roots, 2.

Netted-veined Leaves, 4.
Neutral Flowers, 11.
Nucleus, 17.
Nut, 17.

Obcordate, 7.

Oblanceolate, 6.

Oblong, 6.

Obovate, 6.

Odd-pinnate, 5.

Opposite, 3.

Orbicular, 7.

Organs of Reproduction, i.

Organs of Vegetation, i.

Outer Layer, 2.

Oval, 6.

Ovary, 15.

Ovate, 6.

Ovules, 15.

Palmately compound, 6.

Palmately-veined, 5.

Panicle, 9.

Papilionaceous, 14.

Parallel-veined, 5.

Parted, 13.

Pedicel, 9.

Peduncle, 9.

Peltate, 7.

Perfect Flowers, 11.

Petals, 13.

Petiole, 3.

Pinnate, 5.

Pinnately-veined, 4.

Pistil, 15.

Pistillate Flowers, 11.

Plumule, 18.

Pod, 17.

Pollen, 14.

Polycotyledonous, 18.

Polypetalous, 13.

Polysepalous, 12.

INDEX TO TECHNICAL TERMS.

313

Pome, 16.
Pubescent, 8.

Raceme, 9.
Regular Flowers, la.
Reniform, 7.
Ribs, 3.
Root, 2.
Rosaceous, 14.

Sagittate, 7.
Salver-shaped, 13.
Samara, 17.
Sap-wood, 2.
Seed-bearing Organs, 15.
Seeds, 15, 17.
Seed Leaves, 17.
Seed Vessels, 15.
Self-fertilization, 16.
Sepals, 12.
Serrate, 8.
Sessile, 9.
Shield-shaped, 7.
Simple Leaves, 5.
Simple Primary Roots, 2.
Sinuses, 8.
Solitary, 9.
Spatulate, 7.

Spike, 10.
Stamens, 14.
Staminate Flowers, II.
Standard, 14.
Stigma, 15.
Stipules, 3.
Stone Fruit, 16.
Strobile, 17.
Style, 15.
Suckers, 3.

Terminal, 9.
Thorns, 3.
Thysus, 9.
Tomentose, 8.
Tubular, 13*

Umbel, 10.
Undulate, 7.

Veins, 3.
Veinlets, 4.
Veinulets, 4.

Wheel-Shaped, 13.
Whorled, 3.
Wings, 14.

Miscellaneous Index.

Acorn, Cup of, 243.

Ash, Mythological Legend concerning,

221.
Ashes, Staminate and Pistillate, 97.
" Red and Green, Similarity
between, 97.

Buckeye State, The, 147.

Coniferous Trees, Early, 246.
Cotyledons, Thickening of Oak, 245.
Cross Timbers, 2S0.

Elms, Historical, 120-121.
" being dioecious, 121.

Hawthorns, disagreeable odour of,

165.
Hickories, Leaf-buds of, 220.

Galls, 134.

Locust Tree, ravaged by insects, 207.

Magnoll\, Fertilization of, 38.
" Useful wood of, 39.

" Historical, 39.

Maple Sugar, the Making of, 197.
Maples, Autumn Colouring of, 204.
" Introduced, 204.

" Red, Earliest Signs of Spring,

83-

Needles, those of Spruces and Firs,
231.

Oak- Apples, 134.

Oaks, differences between Black and
Scarlet, 245.

Oaks, Growth of Pistillate Flowers,
243-

Oak branches, angle of, 2S2.

Oak Grove at Dodona, 188.

Oaks, Number indigenous to Amer-
ica, 241.

Oak, Notable Red, 192.
" Openings, 132.

Oaks, Location of Flowers, 283.

Opportunity, 154.

Outlines of Trees, 229.

Pines, Heart- Wood of, 251.
" Means of distinction, 295.
" Pitch, 256.
" Resin found in, 249.

The, 256.
" Simplicity of Organs of, 246.
Pine, White, Historical incident, 225.
Poplars, Flower-buds of, 115.

" Mythological Legend con-
cerning, 238.
Poplar, Notable Tree, 74.

" Seeds, 74.
Poplars, Sheen of, 186.

Quills for Maple Sap, 287.

Silkworms, Leaves fed to, 130.
Sumac, Poisonous, 88.

302 MISCELLANEOUS INDEX.

Tulip Tree, Notable, 187. Willows, Number of Species of, 54.

Turpentine, The making of, 254. " Natural habitat of, 54.

" Basket work made from, 68.

Willows, Those Native and Intro- « Hoops made from, 66.

duced, 56. « Seeds of, 74.

Willow Catkins, 57. « sheen of, 186.

" Historical Weeping, 64.

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