228 HOW TO KNOW WILD FRUITS 



Tupelo is the Indian name for the tree. An 

 interesting tradition in connection with the tree 

 still clings around slavery days. It was cus- 

 tomary to use a log of the Sour Gum as the 

 back log for the rousing Christmas fire. As 

 long as the fire lasted, work on the plantation 

 was suspended. Prompted by the characteristic 

 love of leisure possessed by the colored race, the 

 slaves would cut a large log in the fall, sink it 

 under water, and leave it there until near Christ- 

 mas, when they would raise it and carry it in 

 with the other Christmas fuel. Full of water, it 

 burnt a long time, and the slaves enjoyed a cor- 

 respondingly long vacation. The tree ranges 

 from New England west to Michigan, and south 

 to Florida and Texas. 



ALPINE OR BLACK BEARBERRY 



Mairania alpina Arctostaphylos alpina 



Heath Family 



Fruit. The globose drupes are black and 

 juicy. They inclose four or five separate nut- 

 lets, each one-seeded. They grow in small 

 clusters. 



