TREE FRUITS AND FLOWERS 



623 



later develops into two green seeds on 

 a long stem. These ripen to blue- 

 black berries, sour in taste, but a 

 tremendous delight to all song birds, 

 for whom alone, not to speak of the 



Pholo by American Museum of Natural History. 



The Dor.wooD. 



ONE OF THE MOST CONSPICUOUS OF ALL THE FLOWERING TREES 

 WHEN IN BLOOM IS THE DOGWOOD. 



gorgeous coloration of the tupelo's 

 autumn leaves, I will go to considerable 

 pains to spare every sour gum on my 

 place whose, room is not urgently 

 wanted. 



The great beech, without which and 

 plenty of him no eastern forest is 



complete, puts forth in May huge 

 quantities of little button balls of 

 compound flowerets which are its sterile 

 flowers; while, tucked in close to the 

 twigs, are odd little growths resembling 

 tiny green barnacles with a 

 pair of tentacles extended. 

 These grow into green burrs, 

 turning brown in autumn, and 

 bursting open to discharge two 

 three-cornered seeds, sweet and 

 edible, which are the beech nut, 

 beloved of all forest dwellers. 

 Going over into June, the 

 flower show in the forest is 

 about over; but still perfumes 

 greet your nostrils, and you 

 may come upon the big showy 

 yellow-and-red blooms of the 

 tulip tree, whole clusters of 

 tulips dotting the immense 

 wall of the tree like Christmas 

 candles. The simile is further 

 carried out when the fruit 

 develops, for each one is a 

 tight green sheath of upright 

 conical shape, composed of 

 numerous winged seeds com- 

 pactly assembled. These open 

 and scatter in the fall, a tiny 

 seed, forsooth, for such a 

 mighty giant of the forest as 

 the liriodendron. 



When casting for black bass 

 among the lily-pads in June, 

 should your nostrils be assailed 

 by a most heavenly perfume 

 floating out over the water, 

 look along the banks for a 

 flowering wild cherry, of the 

 black or choke variety. It 

 will be covered with the white 

 spikes of compound cherry 

 blossoms, fragrant, giving off 

 billows of perfume and calling 

 all the bees for miles around. 

 I know of no sweeter odor in 

 the forest, and, furthermore, 

 have not the least objection to 

 all I can reach of the red- 

 dish-black cherries when they ripen 

 in September. The wild red cherry, 

 which behaves much as our cultivated 

 varieties, with similar flower and fruit, 

 budding in May and ripening fruit early 

 in July, is sweeter but by no means as 



eating 



