VEaETATION IN THE DUNES 



for making candles which had a delicate 

 greenish brown tint, and exhaled a faintly 

 aromatic odor. The berries w^ere gathered in 

 large quantities and boiled in kettles, and the 

 wax which rose to the surface of the water 

 was skimmed off when cool. 



Early in May the bayberry bushes are still 

 gray and wintry and well gleaned of berries, 

 unless perchance they have been long pro- 

 tected by the snow\ In the summer they are 

 densely clad in a dress of shimmering green; 

 in the autumn the leaves turn brown and the 

 berries, hitherto inconspicuous by their green 

 color, become gray and hoary. The fruiting 

 branches, with their closely clustered berries, 

 are very beautiful, and stand out the more 

 clearly as they generally drop their leaves 

 earlier than do the barren branches. Through- 

 out the winter the snowy gray of the bayberry 

 clusters is a delight to the eye. 



Less abundant than the bayberry among the 

 dunes is its first cousin, the sweet gale, a fra- 

 grant bush, but easily distinguished from the 

 bayberry by its dull green leaves with faintly 

 toothed edges. In the early spring, while the 

 bayberry is still gray in its winter sleep, the 

 sweet gale takes on a rich chestnut hue which 



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