CHAPTER III: THE TREE FAMILIES 



It is quite possible for a person who has never had any par- 

 ticular interest in trees to acquire by himself a general knowledge 

 of the tree families represented in our American forests, and to 

 form an intimate and delightful acquaintance with particular 

 species and individual trees, as his personal preferences dictate. 

 And it is not to be undertaken as a herculean task, a duty to be 

 performed, a means of grace, or an ill-tasting medicine that does 

 one good. True, there are half a hundred families or more, and 

 over six hundred distinct species of trees, if we wander from Key 

 West to the far Aleutians, and from Maine to Mexico, and count 

 every species any botanist has discovered and named. But the 

 average forest contains comparatively few families. Different 

 families have traits in common that indicate their relationship. 

 Within the family closer kinship still is revealed. 



The discovery of these family ties and family groups comes 

 easy and as naturally as breathing, once it is begun. The neces- 

 sary botany is unconsciously imbibed. One borrows that from 

 the books as need is. Every acorn-bearing tree is an oak. The 

 needle leaves set in scaly sheaths at the base distinguish the 

 pines from all other evergreens. The hickories have close rela- 

 tives in all the nut trees. The sycamores have no near relatives 

 at all. The willows and poplars are alike in catkin flowers and 

 fluffy seeds. All locusts bear pods. 



The key that follows is a simple tool. It unlocks mysteries 

 that are largely imaginary as to the common tree families by 

 setting them forth in brief, descriptive terms, giving a bird's-eye 

 view of them, and emphasising their chief points of similarity 

 and difference. Botanical terms have been avoided, and such 

 characters selected as shall be obvious to the inexperienced 

 observer. 



The plan of construction is easily grasped. A and AA are 

 the two grand divisions into which trees naturally fall. Being 

 co-ordinate, these have the same letter of the alphabet, and are 

 set on the extreme left margin of the page. The second has an 



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