THE SUMACH. 



THE Sumachs are not the objects of any special admi- 

 ration. They are not' the favorites of, nature or of art, 

 neither adding dignity to the landscape nor expression to 

 the canvas of the painter. But they blend their fine pin- 

 nate foliage with the wayside shrubbery, varying its ap- 

 pearance by their original habit of growth ; and they are 

 seen springing in little groups upon sandy plains, where 

 they relieve the eye that might otherwise be wearied with 

 the monotonous waste of sorrel and tufted andropogons. 

 They display many of the characters of the tropical 

 plants in their long compound leaves, and in the exu- 

 berant growth of their recent branches. They are dis- 

 tinguished by their milky, resinous, and in some cases 

 poisonous sap. 



THE VELVET SUMACH, 



The most common and conspicuous species in New 

 England is the Staghorn, or Velvet Sumach, the largest 

 of the genus. Its name is derived from a certain likeness 

 of its crooked branches, when deprived of their leaves, to 

 a stag's horn. This Sumach rises to the dignity of a tree 

 in favorable situations, and soon becomes a handsome 

 standard, if the suckers about the roots have no chance 

 to grow. Though its branches are crooked and irregular, 

 and form a spray that is absolutely ugly, the tree is very 

 comely when wearing its leafy garniture and decked with 

 conical bunches of crimson fruit. 



