5 o TREES GROWING NEAR WATER. 



quently pointed at both ends; unequally and rather doubly serrate with 

 entire base ; green above, whitish and pubescent underneath. Flowers: grow- 

 ing in long, downy catkins. Fruit : very small ; broadly-winged ; pubescent at 

 the base. 



Not until it reaches the lower part of New York is this birch 

 very commonly seen, and from there it travels southward as 

 though in search of a still warmer climate. None other of the 

 birches is found in the south, and therefore it seems strange 

 that this one should reach its best development south of Balti- 

 more. The tree is very graceful, and when seen along the 

 banks of rivers and lakes its drooping branches appear as 

 though they were longing to stretch down and drink of the cool 

 water. They sometimes hang nearly to the ground. In the 

 autumn its foliage turns a bright yellow. This is the birch 

 from the twigs of which are made brooms. 



SPECKLED ALDER. HOARY ALDER. 



Alnus incdna. 



FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE TIME OF BLOOM 



Birch. Bushy , spreading. , Z-io/eet. Pennsylvania northivard. April. 



Bark : green ; shiny. Twigs : glabrous. Leaves : simple ; alternate ; with 

 short petioles ; broadly ovate, pointed at the apex and squared or rounded 

 at the base ; irregularly and finely serrate or sometimes coarsely toothed ; 

 the veins brownish and prominent on the under side ; pale dull green above, 

 whitish and very downy below ; with age becoming smoother. Flowers : reddish 

 brown ; growing in catkins from naked buds and appearing some time before 

 the leaves. Staminate catkins about three inches long ; pistillate ones thick 

 and shorter. Nut: orbicular. 



How eager the alders are to greet the spring. It seems as 

 though they could hardly wait for the winter to be gone. 

 When there is not a flower astir and the air is still full of the 

 scent of dried leaves, they and the white maples begin to bloom. 

 A point of interest about their pretty catkins is that while they 

 are formed one summer they do not develop until the next 

 season. Throughout the winter they have remained naked on 

 the trees. In earliest spring therefore they are quite ready 

 with their seeds and toss them about in the spirit of unconcern 



