2l6 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



THE YELLOW, STAR-SHAPED FLOWERS 

 THE WITCH-HAZEL. 



OF 



ers alone for such study we lose much 

 of the true character of the plants, for 

 we find many of them most interesting 

 in their winter forms, and attractive in 

 their fruits. 



We need not now he confined to 

 paths and trails ; in fact many of them 

 are almost obliterated by the fallen 

 leaves, and we are invited to wander 

 where our inclination leads us. Along 

 the margins of the meadow and edges 

 of the swamp the black alder, or "win- 

 terberry" brightens up the landscape 

 with great masses of scarlet berries 



—some of these shrubs still retain- 

 ing their green leaves, which form 

 an attractive setting for the fruit. Be- 

 side the trails through the woods we 

 find scattered here and there another 

 shrub with similar berries, — even more 

 beautiful, though not so numerous. 

 They are oblong in shape, of a deeper 

 scarlet and glossy surface, and are the 

 fruit of the spice bush, which we know 

 so well in the spring as one of the first 

 shrubs to bloom in the woods, — throw- 

 ing forth its greenish-yellow blossoms 

 before the leaves appear, and when 

 only the pussy-willows and alder cat- 

 kins have given us warning of the ap- 

 proach of spring. Now it takes on a 

 new interest. 



Perhaps the favorite shrub, or at 

 least the most distinctive of the No- 

 vember woods, is the witch hazel, now 

 just in its prime. It seems to be every- 

 where, and though it would be quite 

 obscure were it not in bloom, it now 

 lights up the thickets and pathways 

 by the abundance of its yellow, star- 

 shaped flowers, — scraggly and not 

 beautiful as individual blooms, but ad- 

 ding greatly to the life and beauty of 

 the landscape by its welcome presence. 

 Like the spice bush, it blooms when 



"ALONG THE EDGES OF THE SWAMP THE 

 BLACK ALDER BRIGHTENS UP THE LAND- 

 SCAPE WITH GREAT MASSES OF SCAR- 

 LET BERRIES." 



