170 THE LAUREL. 



rarely attains such dimensions except in the Middle 

 and Southern States. All the large trees in this re- 

 gion have perished, and I have not seen one since my 

 boyhood, when there were many of them. I am there- 

 fore led to believe that the changes in our climate conse- 

 quent upon the general clearing of the forest, whatever 

 their general effects may be, have not been favorable 

 to the Sassafras, which has become extinct as a tree 

 in this latitude. 



The Sassafras often attains the height of sixty feet in 

 the Southern States, and nearly forty feet in the country 

 round Philadelphia. The leaves, when young, are downy, 

 very deeply lobed, mucilaginous, and aromatic. The 

 flowers are greenish, inconspicuous, and only slightly fra- 

 grant. The berries are of a bright blue color, and are 

 the favorite food of some small birds. On account of 

 its agreeable aromatic properties, the Sassafras became 

 known to the Europeans at an early period, and was very 

 generally employed in medicine. At present it is simply 

 used as an aromatic stimulant. Gerard calls it the ague- 

 tree, and it was believed to be efficacious in the cure of 

 many diseases. There is a tradition that the odors of the 

 Sassafras, wafted from the A men' can shore, led Columbus 

 to believe that land was near, and encouraged him and his 

 mutinous crew to persevere on their voyage. 



THE BENZOIN. 



The Benzoin is never more than a middle-sized shrub, 

 sometimes, though rarely, attaining the height of eight 

 or ten feet. It is not branching, but sends up its long 

 stems, like some of the dwarf willows, directly from the 

 root, without assuming a tree form. "We often find these 

 long branches covered with foliage from the root to the 

 extremity. The leaves are of a handsome ovate form, 



