618 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



Then comes June, the period of 

 reproduction, redolent with the odors 

 of tuHp tree, eastern cherry, hnden 

 and mountain ash; when the bees are 

 busy and ah nature is bathed in a mist 

 of pollen, the inauguration of the busy 

 ripening period to follow. Finally, the 

 golden days of September and October, 

 when the rich harvest of brown acorns, 

 scarlet blue and purple berries, full- 



The Catalpa. 



this tree is a wonderful bloomer, being covered annually 

 late in june with a perfect sheet of flowers nearly 

 white and tinged with purple. 



blown catkins and bursting cones gives 

 to the world the sumptuous yield of 

 Nature's labors; when the year's work 

 is done and every living creature hunts This applies to all the oaks, hickories, 



just trees, and a lasting enthusiasm for 

 their study, the tree fruits and flowers 

 will furnish an inexhaustible storehouse 

 of information and pleasure. There 

 comes a time when all the wild flowers 

 that do dwell in the forest are well 

 known, familiar, less interesting because 

 so well known ; and then it is to the trees 

 themselves that the forest lover will 

 turn for further fields of exploration. 

 For, I hold that the tree 

 flowers are more interesting 

 than the prettiest plant flower 

 that carpets the forest floor. 

 Things are done on a much 

 grander scale up there aloft in 

 the tree crowns. In most 

 cases Nature has found it 

 necessary to divide the tree 

 flow^ers in half, putting the 

 stamens or pollen-producing 

 element into one flower and 

 the pistil or seed-producer 

 into another, a rather incom- 

 prehensible phenomenon to 

 the flower lover, who is used 

 to the complete flower con- 

 taining in itself both stamens 

 and pistil, such as is found on 

 most plants. But the plant 

 has swarms of bees, flies and 

 insects to transfer pollen from 

 one flower to the next, so it 

 need not bear a self-fertilizing 

 flower, whereas in whole fam- 

 ilies of trees the individuals, 

 by division of their own 

 flowers, are able to set seed without 

 requiring the pollen of another individ- 

 ual of the same species growing near it. 



and is hunted ; when all the denizens of 

 the forest are full to repletion with its 

 bounty and are storing its rewards for 

 the winter to come — the glorious 

 Hunter's Moon; the season of happiness 

 and thanksgiving since the beginning 

 of the modern world. 



To the lay mind but few trees outside 

 of the dogwood and one or two others 



willows, maples, walnuts; in general 

 to all the tree flowers that do not 

 depend upon flower display or fragrance 

 to attract bees. 



Let us examine together the flowers 

 and fruits of some of our more common 

 forest trees and see if they are not as 

 interesting as any wild-flower that ever 

 bloomed. We might divide them 



have any flowers at all, yet, if they only roughly into, the useful trees; the ones 



knew, what a field for enjoyable study with handsome, showy flowers; and the 



and investigation lies right before their conifers. May is the great month for 



eyes! For the man who does not tree flowers; set aside your study dates 



pretend to be a forester, but rather a for going into the forest in that month, 



forest lover, having an abiding love for or you will be too late to see the great 



