THE SNOWY MESPILU. 



THIS tree, which is conspicuous in the early part of May 

 from its profusion of white flowers in the swamps, is very 

 little known except in Canada and some of the northern 

 provinces of this continent. Yet it is far from being rare, 

 and is one of the most elegant of the small trees in our 

 native forest ; being allied to the mountain ash, branch- 

 ing in a similar manner, but exhibiting a neater and more 

 beautiful spray. It is exclusively a Northern tree, and 

 one of the earliest to put forth flowers and leaves after the 

 elm and the red maple. This tree is spread over almost 

 all the northern part of the American continent and the 

 Alleghany Mountains. From its habit of flowering at the 

 time of the annual appearance of the shad in our waters, 

 it is very frequently called the Shad-bush. 



The Snowy Mespilus is one of those trees which bot- 

 anists have described under so many different names 

 that I should shrink from the task, if the duty were 

 assigned me, of collecting all that have been applied to 

 it. But whenever there is much contrariety of opinion 

 among botanists respecting the generic rank and denomi- 

 nation of any plant, I usually resort to its earliest botan- 

 ical title. Indeed, I feel assured that the nice distinc- 

 tions upon which later botanists have founded its claims 

 to a different generic position are very much of the same 

 nature as those which divide theologians, whose eccle- 

 siastical acuteness enables them to discern a palpable dif- 

 ference in two doctrinal points, neither of which to an 

 unregenerate mind have any meaning at all. I therefore 



