LAURUS SASSAFRAS. 
Sassafras Tree. 
PLATE XXXV. 
Aunost every section of the United States 
produces the Sassafras tree. It not only inhab- 
its every latitude from New England to Florida, 
but we are told it is also found in the forests of 
Mexico and even of Brazil. Its peculiar foliage 
and the spicy qualities of its bark render it a 
prominent object of notice, and it seems to have 
been one of the earliest trees of the North Amer- 
ican continent to attract the attention of Europe- 
ans. Its character as an article of medicine was 
at one time so high, that it commanded an extraya- 
gant price, and treatises were written to celebrate 
its virtues. It still retains a place in the best 
Kuropean Pharmacopzias. 
