104 



TREE ANCESTORS 



China, which at least illustrates the community of origin of many 

 of the trees of North America and eastern Asia. 



The hazels are all shrubs or small trees, especially toward their 

 northern limits, although the beaked hazel frequently reaches 

 heights of between 15 and 20 feet north of the Great Lakes. Com- 

 monly, even as far south as southern New England, the hazels are 

 shrubs of rocky thickets or fence rows, seldom attaining the stature 



Fig. 20. Existing Range and Fossil Occurrences of the Hazel Outside 

 THE Modern Range 



of small trees, although some of the foreign species are somewhat 

 larger. Their wood is of no commercial importance, although 

 that of the western species is sometimes used for broom handles. 

 Nor are the nuts much sought after, though this is not the case 

 abroad where hazels are the chief quest of youthful nutting expedi- 

 tions during the fall of the year, and we import a considerable 

 quantity of hazel nuts under the name of filberts. 



