108 CONVERSATIONS ON THE 



country too, in Kentucky and Tennessee, and 

 other parts of the Western States, and in 

 some parts of Virginia : but it is not very com- 

 mon, and grows only in the most fertile 

 soils. It is a very small tree, seldom growing 

 more than fifteen or twenty feet high. The 

 flowers are dark purple, and the fruit is yel- 

 lowish, about three inches long, and of an 

 irregular shape, somewhat like a sweet po- 

 tato. It is soft and insipid, and not very 

 good to eat : the children gather it in the 

 woods, but it is never brought to market. 

 The wood is entirely useless, and the inner 

 bark and the roots have a very strong dis- 

 agreeable smell. It is cultivated in Europe 

 solely on account of its flowers and leaves, 

 which give it a handsome appearance. The 

 seed is a stone not much unlike that of the 

 date. 



" The next is the sweet gum, which is very 

 plentiful all over the country. You know itj 

 I dare say, by the fruit, which is a sort of 

 prickly ball, about an inch in diameter, anc 

 of a reddish brown colour." 



" Oh yes, Uncle Philip ; I have seen thou- 

 sands of them at Hoboken ; the ground is 

 covered with them in the fall. But I did not 



