THE TULIP TREE AND SASSAFRAS. 39 



grow thickly anywhere, and it is seldom that one 

 finds more than a few good-sized specimens on an 

 acre of forest land. 



There is, or used to be, a large tulip tree growing 

 on the slope of Mount Mitchell, in North Carolina, 

 not far from the spot where Prof. Mitchell lost his 

 life. The trunk of this tree in 1806 measured thirty- 

 three feet in circumference at three feet from the 

 ground. There is a notable group of six beautiful 

 trees, each one of which is over 50 feet high, near 

 the Eastern Railroad station at East Saugus, Mass. 

 On the eastern side of the town of Englewood, X. J., 

 there is a small but most symmetrical specimen, which 

 at the period of bloom is a domelike mass of soft, 

 yellow-green flowers and leaves. I have never seen a 

 tulip tree which equaled this one in form and color. 



Sassafras Sassafras may be identified at once 



Sasmfra* officinale, by its strongly aromatic taste; not 



Sassafras sassafras. ^ ^ Q ^ ^^ ftnd tw j<^ but 



also the leaves, have a pungent flavor, reminding one 

 of a certain kind of old-fashioned sugar candy. A 

 decoction of the root and bark also contributes largely 

 to the making of root beer. The tree, according to 

 Gray, attains an altitude of 125 feet, and Prof. Ap- 

 gar records its height as 100 feet.* This is a sur- 



*Vide Trees of the Northern United States, Austin C. Apgar; 



