240 THE MOUNTAIN. 



The Kalmia latifolta, or Mountain Laurel, abounds 

 on the AUeghanies, and is the only species of the genus found 

 here. In the dense thickets in which it grows it is frequently 

 seen twenty feet high, with long, knotty roots and twisted 

 stems. It grows abundantly on almost every part of the moun- 

 tain, and is found in immense continuous brakes, frequently 

 under dense masses of forest-trees, seeming not to be affected 

 by the absence of light in such places. It bears a profusion 

 of beautiful white and rose-colored flowers, which are much 

 admired. The leaves and fruit of this plant are poisonous. 



But by far the most beautiful individual of this order, the 

 real pride of the mountain, is the " Rhododendron," or 

 Rose-Bay tree. This splendid plant, which is generally 

 called ''big laurel," is not a laurel, but closely allied to it. 

 It belongs, with the laurel, as we have just seen, to the family 

 of heaths, or natural order Ericacege, sub-order Ericineae, and 

 tribe Rhodoreae. It differs from the laurel very essentially, 

 forming a separate genus called Rhododendron, the proper 

 botanical name of the laurel, as has just been stated, being 

 Kalmia. Unlike the latter, it is not poisonous, and differs 

 in its foliage and inflorescence, being a much more im- 

 perial and distinguished plant. With the common laurel it 

 covers considerable tracts of the mountain forests, and, like 

 that plant, it seeks the cool, sequestered shades of the 

 deepest wilds, preferring the banks of mountain streams 

 and unfrequented places. A splendid savage, he lives upon 

 the sand-soil in the roughest parts of the mountain, flourish- 

 ing, like an imperial chief of his order, in unapproachable 

 seclusion. Sometimes, with the common laurel, it forms 

 dense groves, called " laurel swamps, ^^ — very improperly, 

 however, as they are not ivater plants, and will not grow in 

 swamps. Together, they form thickets, so dense and inter- 

 woven that it is almost impossible for man or animal to pass 

 through them, thus making a wall as impenetrable as a 

 Mexican chaparral. They have been, from time immemorial, 

 the terror of the huntsman, as his life was in danger if he 



