164 THE WITCH HAZEL 



many places* The strong, woody pods from last year's 

 flowers mature beside the new flowers and soon they 

 noisily open to eject small, nutlike seeds* This 

 fusilade can be enjoyed beside the fire by placing a 

 spray loaded with mature pods in a warm place. In 

 a few minutes they will begin to pop open and eject 

 the nutlets in all directions, sometimes with surpris- 

 ing force. But in the silence of the autumn woods, in 

 the listening hush of falling leaves, this strange 

 reproductive effort seems most impressive. When 

 every tree and shrub seems saddened into silence by 

 the slowly-dying year, when the withered leaves give 

 back the strength and richness they borrowed from 

 the earth, when the air is still with the moist chill of 

 approaching winter, the snapping of a Witch Hazel 

 pod, sending the twin seeds on their mission with 

 the mystery of life, is a gladdening reminder of the 

 perpetual activity that brings new life out of the 

 year's decay. 



