160 AMERICAN HANDBOOK 



upon myself to pronounce them specifically 

 distinct, are yet sufficiently so to be practical. 

 The first variety is round-headed, the branches 

 extending out a long way, and very rigidly, 

 frequently very ruggedly tortuose and twist 

 ing ; the leaves very much shining, and the 

 berries nearly round. It seldom exceeds 

 fifty feet high. The leaves turn to a yellowish- 

 red in the fall. The other grows very erect 

 and tall, with few side branches. It fre 

 quently reaches eighty, or even ninety feet, 

 with a circumference of eight or nine. The 

 leaves turn to a deep purple in the fall. The 

 first variety is as frequently found in the 

 very driest as in the wettest places ; the lat 

 ter in situations which can neither be called 

 wet nor dry. They are indispensable trees 

 in ornamental planting. The best specimen 

 (round-headed var.) at Bartram, growing on 

 very gravelly soil, is forty-five feet high and 

 forty-eight inches in circumference. There 

 is a fine specimen of the other kind, but the 

 soil it is in being dry, will not permit it to 

 live there many years more. It may be pro 

 pagated from seeds sown early in the spring, 

 or as soon as ripe. They seldom grow the 



