TREES OF AMERICA. 95 



now, as one of the ever-greens ; you know 

 the colour and shape of the leaves, of course, 

 but I suppose you have never seen the 

 flowers ; they are of a delicate purple colour, 

 and curiously shaped. Some call it the ivy, 

 and some the calico-tree ; but the general 

 iiame is the mountain-laurel." 



" And that is the best name, too, Uncle 

 Philip ; for you hardly ever see it except upon 

 hills and mountains." 



" Very true : and in those parts of the 

 country where the lands are all low, it is not 

 to be seen at all. It is very abundant in New- 

 Jersey, more especially on the high grounds 

 about Weehawk, and all the way up the North 

 River, wherever the land is rocky and moun- 

 tainous, and the whole chain of the Alle- 

 ghany Mountains is covered with it; but it 

 disappears in those parts of the Southern 

 States where the rivers enter the low coun- 

 try." 



" It is a beautiful little tree, Uncle Philip, 

 even without the flowers ; but very trouble- 

 some to get through." 



"Yes, the branches and trunks get so 

 twisted and locked together, that it is almost 

 impossible to make way through them at all : 



