144 HANDBOOK OF NATURE STUDY 



in length when they open in spring. The loose, fertile catkins 

 appear in spring and terminate the leafy shoots of the season. 



7. TJie flowers of the Hazelnut. 



The long, slender tassels of the hazel bush are among the 

 first signs of spring. The sterile catkins appear in summer 

 and open in the following March or April, shedding yellow 

 pollen in profusion. Several of the fertile flowers are con- 

 cealed in one scaly bud; each ovary bears two elongated, 

 bright red stigmas, which are easily found if the bushes are 

 looked over with some care. 



The flowers of the hazel come out very early. Let the 

 pupils look for them when the poplar catkins are opening. 

 There are two species of hazel common everywhere from the 

 Atlantic coast to the Dakotas, and from Canada to New 

 Jersey, the common wild hazel (C6rylus Americana) and 

 the beaked hazelnut (C6rylus rostrata). Both form extensive 

 thickets and copses, and in some years yield a rich harvest 

 of sweet nuts for boys and girls as well as for squirrels and 

 chipmunks. The common hazel is a shrub from two to four 

 feet high, the nut is enclosed in two leafy bracts, which are 

 open when the nut is ripe and are not prolonged into a beak. 

 The beaked hazel is a shrub from two to six feet high, and 

 has the nut enclosed in several united bracts, which are 

 prolonged into a slender, tubular beak. 



8. The flowers of the Rock or Sugar Maple. 



The flowers of this maple appear with the leaves, as you 

 see. The pedicels, or stalks of the separate flowers, are pro- 

 duced in bunches of long, hairy threads. Find the calyx, 

 the stamens, anthers, and the ovary with its styles. The 

 sterile and the fertile flowers are in separate clusters on 

 the same or on different trees. The seeds ripen in autumn. 

 Compare the flowers of the soft maple, and if your time 

 permits, also the flowers of the box elder. 



