THE LINDENS AND LIQUIDAMBER 



spices of Oriental summers into our New Eng- 

 land winter, very foreign to the snow and the 

 oak leaves." This Oriental spiciness may be 

 partly accounted for by the fact that our 

 sassafras is related to the camphor and cin- 

 namon trees of the tropics. 



The wood is soft and brittle, but it has 

 durability when placed in contact with the soil, 

 which makes it useful for posts and rails. It 

 is also used for ox yokes and cooperage. 

 Oil of sassafras, which is distilled from the bark 

 of the roots, is used for perfuming soap. This 

 tree is confined to eastern North America, and 

 deserves far more attention than has been given 

 it by landscape gardeners, it is a beautiful 

 tree as well as an individual one. 



Sassafras was a popular name used by the 

 French in Florida, and it has become both its 

 generic and specific name. 



149 



