EARLY-FLOWERING SHRUBS. 43 



and are in rounded clusters with the seed cases sur- 

 rounded by eight narrow persistent scales, which 

 grow long and burry as the fruit develops. The 



A road in Buck's Co., Pennsylvania. Sassafras Trees. 



fruit, ripe in earlj July, is a small nut in brown- 

 green clusters of a burlike appearance. This 

 aromatic shrub grows from one to two feet high. 



Sweet fern and sassafras, frequently found grow- 

 ing together on the borders of the road, are two 

 remarkably decorative plants with extremely conven- 

 tional f oliage. 



