Trees, Shrubs and Vines 



has done its whole duty by early rising, but follows up 

 the floral display by a growth of dark-green, almost 

 glossy, laurel-shaped foliage that has lost none of its 

 freshness in the last of September, when brilliant scarlet 

 berries peep out among the leaves in striking contrast, 

 for rarely do bright fruit and deep-green foliage occur 

 together so late in fall. 



Individually, the flower of the spice-bush is as dimin- 

 utive and ineff"ective as can be imagined, almost micro- 

 scopic; but this is only one instance out of many in 

 the floral kingdom that contradicts the old adage, and 

 proves that quantity is sometimes quite equal to quality. 

 With the exception of the magnolia, rhododendron, 

 azalea, and one or two others, all of our most striking 

 landscape inflorescence is produced by the vast aggre- 

 gation of diminutive blossoms. Throughout the Park 

 and in every lawn about the last of April the leafless 

 branches of the forsythia are buried in small yellow 

 flowers, looking like wands of gold ; at about the same 

 time, a tree here and there in the landscape is seen to 

 have suddenly burst as by magic into snowy white; it 

 is the shadbush or June-berry smothered in myriads of 

 diminutive rose-shaped flowers; later the numerous 

 black haws — tree and shrub — and wild black cherry 

 tree, form snowy masses out of a million tiny flowers ; 

 still more inconspicuous are the separate blossoms of 

 the Judas-tree — an anomaly in nature — whose every 

 branch and twig seems dipped in blood, from countless 

 tiny purplish-red flowers; a beautiful tree of this sort is 

 in the Park not far from the Webster statue, and others 

 not so large are on the east side. Of almost micro- 



50 



