132 HANDBOOK OF NATURE STUDY 



ones are bright orange; much broken and dark near the 

 base of old trees. 



Branchlets dull red the first winter, gradually changing to 

 a darker orange-brown, with increased lustre, for about five 

 years, then turning white. 



Male flower catkins form in summer and remain on the 

 branchlets until spring. 



Habitat. Rich woods, shores of lakes, banks of streams. 



From the bark of this tree the Indians built their canoes. 



Read : How to build a canoe, in The Young Voyagers, by Reid. 



7. The Ironwood or Hop-Hornbeam. Ostrya Virginica. 

 This is a small tree, usually not more than twenty to 



thirty feet high. In its summer foliage it is sometimes 

 mistaken for a young elm. In its winter condition it is eas- 

 ily distinguished from the elms by its brown, cylindrical 

 flower catkins, which appear in fall, but do not open until 

 spring. 



The bark is about one-fourth of an inch thick and broken 

 into narrow, light brown scales, slightly tinged with red on 

 the surface. The buds, fully one-fourth of an inch long, 

 seem rather large for the slender branchlets. Both buds 

 and branchlets are of a dull brown color and quite smooth, 

 but scarcely lustrous. 



The wood is very hard and heavy, and often shows a 

 twisted grain. Let the boys relate their experience in cut- 

 ting and splitting it. 



8. The Wild Hazelnut. Corylus Americana. 



Shrub, three to ten feet high ; bark brownish-gray ; form- 

 ing copses along edges of woods, along fences, and wherever 

 trees and shrubs grow; staminate catkins exposed during 

 winter. Compare the catkins of birches, alders, hazel, and 

 ironwood. 



