352 EDWARD W. BERRY 



stages were past, as was possible in both Asia and North America. 

 The gum was only one of the many forest trees of the European 

 Tertiary that met this fate. The witch hazel, tulip tree, hickory, 

 walnut, magnolia, and many others shared the same misfortune. 

 By way of contrast with the present distribution of the sweet 

 gum the accompanying map shows the Tertiary occurrences, thus 

 illustrating something of the past history as it has just been 

 related. 



The record of the sweet gum ancestry does not go back so far 

 nor is it as detailed as that of many of our forest trees, but it 

 does cover several million years and all of the continents of the 

 northern hemisphere, and it is surely impressive when we recall 

 that while we have collected the gum balls, as the fruits are com- 

 monly called, admired the shape of the leaves and their autumnal 

 tints, it remained for the twentieth century to discover the beauty 

 of the wood and utilize it for interior finishing. 



The witch hazel is closely related to the sweet gum but is 

 sharply contrasted with it in size, in leaf habit, in flowers and 

 fruits. It is small and elfish of stature, with zig-zag branches, 

 coarse prominently veined simple leaves, bilocular woody cap- 

 sules with large bony seeds, and fringe-like bright yellow flowers. 

 Blooming in the winter it is a favorite topic for discussion whether 

 the witch hazel is the last flower of fall of the first flower of spring. 

 The persistence of the fruit of the previous season until the flow- 

 ering time comes around again has suggested the scientific name 

 of the genus Hamamelis, derived from the Greek words ajua, 

 with, and (iriXov, fruit. 



The witch hazel is an altogether different plant from the old 

 saxon witch or wych hazel, a name applied to the common Euro- 

 pean hazel nut which was Thor's tree and a magic tree as well. 

 Opinions differ as to the origin to the fact that the twigs were 

 long reputed to have magic properties as divining rods — not, 

 however, for the discovery of witches, but to locate water, oil or 

 precious minerals. Others see the origin of the name in the once 

 considered mysterious bombardment of seeds from the per- 

 sistent fruits. When the yellow pennants of the witch hazel are 

 uncoiled and the November woods are tinged with a yellow halo 



