FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



We find no more than just so many berries on a 

 stem, and this fact decides a species ; the leaves grow 



just so many in a cluster, 

 and this decides anoth- 

 er species ; the bark is 

 marked thus and so, and 

 there is no further doubt 

 about yet another species. 

 It is plain, therefore, 

 that by comparative ex- 

 amination we can decide 

 beyond peradventure 

 what the tree is by its leaf, its fruit, or its bark. 

 But it is with the leaves that we have chiefly to do ; 

 in almost all cases their assistance is 

 sufficient for the identification of the 

 tree. I have consequently arranged 

 them in the succeeding chapters 



Nyssa biflora; 

 usually two berries. 



according to a progression from 

 simple to complex 

 forms. 



Fig. A is the sim- 

 plest form of a leaf ; 

 it is without divisions 

 and has an entire and unbroken edy;e. But this is 

 not all which we must look at ; it is a most important 

 fact to know how the leaf grew. Did it spring 



Nyssa uniflora ; 

 not more than one berry. 



