804 



Handbook of Nature-Study 



shows better on the bud than on the open flower. It might be well to 

 explain to the pupils that a bract is simply a leaf in some other business 

 than that ordinarily performed by leaves. 



The twigs have a beautiful, smooth bark, purplish brown above 

 and greenish below. The flowers grow at the tips of the twigs; and 

 the young leaves are just below the flowers and also at the tips of the 

 twigs. These twigs are spread and bent in a peculiar way, so that each 

 white flower-head may be seen by the admiring world and not be hidden 

 behind any of its neighbors. This habit makes this tree a favorite for plant- 

 ing, since it forms a mass of white bloom. 



The flowers of dogwood. 

 Photo by Cyrus Crosby. 



The dogwood banners unfurl before the flowers at their hearts open, and 

 they remain after the last flower has received within itself the gracious, vital 

 pollen which will enable it to mature into a beautiful berry. This long 

 period of bloom is another quality which adds to the value of the dogwood 

 as an ornamental tree. At the time the bracts fall, the curly petals also fall 

 out leaving the little calyx-tubes standing with style and stigma projecting 

 from their centers, making them look like a bunch of liliputian churns with 

 dashers. In autumn, the foliage turns to a rich, purplish crimson a most 

 satisfying color. 



During the winter, the flowering dogwood, which renders our forests so 

 beautiful in early spring, may be readily recognized by its bark, which is 

 broken up into small scales and mottled like the skin of a serpent ; and on 

 the tips of its branches are the beautiful clusters of red berries, or speaking 

 more exactly, drupes. This fruit is oval, with a brilliant, shining, red, 

 pulpy covering which must be attractive to birds. At its tip it has a little 

 purple crown, in the center of which may be seen the remnant of the style, 



