142 SYLVA AMERICANA. 



upwards in a semi-circular direction. The leaves are opposite, 

 about three inches in length, oval, of a dark green above and 

 whitish beneath : the upper surface is very distinctly sulcated. 

 Towards the close of summer they are often marked with black 

 spots, and at the approach of winter they change to a dull red. 

 In New York and New Jersey the flowers are fully blown about 

 the middle of May, while the leaves are only beginning to unfold 

 themselves. The flowers are small, yellowish and collected in 

 bunches, which are surrounded with a very large involucre 

 composed of four white floral leaves, sometimes inclining to violet. 

 This fine involucre constitutes all the beauty of the flowers, which 

 are very numerous, and which, in their season, robe the tree in 

 white, like a full-blown apple tree, and render it one of the fairest 

 ornaments of the American forests. The seeds of a vivid, glossy 

 red, and of an oval shape, are always united. They remain 

 upon the trees till the first frosts. 



The wood is hard, compact, heavy and fine-grained, and is 

 susceptible of a brilliant polish. The sap is perfectly white, and 

 the heart is of a chocolate color. This tree is not large enough 

 for works which require pieces of considerable volume : it is 

 used for the handles of light tools, such as mallets, small vices, 

 etc. It is employed by engravers for cuts used in printing. 

 Some farmers select it for harrow teeth, for the names of horses' 

 collars, and also for lining the runners of sledges ; but to whatever 

 purpose it is applied, being liable to split, it should never be 

 wrought till it is perfectly seasoned. The shoots when three or 

 four years old," are found proper for the light hoops of small, 

 portable casks. In the Middle States, the cogs of mill wheels 

 are made of dogwood. Such are the profitable uses of this tree ; 

 it affords also excellent fuel, but it is too small to be brought into 

 the markets of the cities. The liber of this wood is extremely 

 bitter, and proves an excellent remedy in intermitting fevers. 

 The bark of this wood has a close analogy to the Peruvian bark, 

 and has proved, in many cases, to be capable of supplying its 

 place with success. We are told of a respectable physician of 

 Pennsylvania, who, during twenty years, had constantly employed 

 it, and who estimated 35 grains of it to be equivalent to^O grains 



