242 THE MOUNTAIN. 



branch in this condition is carried into a heated chamber, 

 the leaves may be seen expanding and rising from the close 

 compact bunch, and assuming the flat or patent attitude, 

 the points stretching upward as in the summer air. Under 

 the influence of very severe frost, with the folded condition 

 of the leaf described, the plant exhibits the same blackened, 

 gloomy appearance, which characterizes the evergreen trees 

 under the same conditions. 



In full foliage and inflorescence the Rhododendron stands 

 the monarch of the American heath, and always impresses 

 the beholder with emotions of delight, from its present- 

 ing a striking contrast with the more homely and familiar 

 forms of the other tribes of bushes. Of this less imposing, 

 but graceful and beautiful department of the mountain 

 forests, constituting the true underwood of the woodsman, 

 there are many plants which are objects of attraction. 



The HYDRANGEA ARBORESCENS is a bush found in many 

 parts of the mountain. This plant, like some of the ever- 

 greens described, seeks the gloom of the depths of forests, 

 its white flowers and dark-green leaves, in shady ravines and 

 woody solitudes, effecting a perpetual surprise. 



HAMAMELIS YIRGINIOA, the "Witch Hazel," a tall shrub, 

 is here, as elsewhere, a common plant. Late in the autumn 

 its yellow flowers may be seen among the dead and withered 

 leaves of other plants, affording a strange and startling con- 

 trast with the surrounding forms, blooming, when their blos- 

 soms and foliage are dead. This "weird" shrub stands the 

 noblest symbol of the true and loving heart, blooming with 

 promise and joy in the midst of desolation and death. 



CORYLUS AMERICANA and ROSTRATA are found in the 

 mountain. They grow on its slopes and the vales at its 

 base. This filbert group seem to have an affinity for the 

 mountain. 



DIRCA PALUSTRIS. This plant grows abundantly along 

 the streams in ravines and small vales. It is interesting 

 on account of the peculiar kind of bark of the plant, 



