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 



