SEPTEMBER AND XOVEiMBER. 



245 



foregoing species ; it is a member of the Birch 

 family, and bears a calkin, like my sketch, in early 

 spring. It is not surprising to learn that the black 

 alder is a near relative of the Eng- 

 lish holly {I. Aquifolium), to which it 

 bears a slight resemblance ; but the 

 holly has that bold, spiny leaf which 

 gives it an additional charm. Our 

 own holly (Z opacd) is a tree nearly 

 forty feet high, growing in New Eng- 

 land and southward, with oval, wavy- 

 margined, spiny-toothed, evergreen 

 leaves, and red berries. It is not as 

 beautiful as the English holly. The 

 so called mountain holly {Nemopan- 

 thes fasicularis) is not a true holly at 

 all ; its berries are a deep red, with a dull surface. It 

 is common in the wet bogs northward, particularly in 

 the White Mountain district. 



Cosmos. Cosmos is a beautiful white (or pale- 



Cosmosbipiiinatus. pink) flower wliich closely resembles 

 coreopsis or the single dahlia in form, and blooms in 

 early autumn. It is an annual which grows six feet 

 high sometimes, and its only enemy in the North 

 is Jack Frost, who appears too early in New Hamp- 

 shire for me to grow the plant successfully in my 

 garden. The dainty white flower comes to us from 



Smooth Alder 

 Catkin. 



