The Service-berries 



narrow, long petals. Fruit, June, a red, juicy, sweet berry, with 

 lo-celled core. Preferred habitat, rich, upland soil, borders of 

 woods. Distribution, Newfoundland to the Dakotas, south to the 

 Gulf. Uses: A desirable park or lawn tree; wood occasionally 

 used for tool handles, etc. 



Do you wait until you are sure of finding violets a-plenty 

 . before you take the time to go to the woods? Then you miss a 

 rare and most delightful experience. Go two weeks earlier this 

 year, and you may see the little June-berry tree put on her bridal 

 veil. The larger trees which stand about with naked branches 

 are but a background to set off the charms of this modest wood- 

 land beauty. It is not simply by contrast with the barrenness 

 around it that this tree delights the beholder. The soft, graceful, 

 feathery clusters and the individual, starry blossoms would be 

 attractive at any season. But that flowers so delicate should 

 unfold so early, while yet winter lingers, is a marvel that goes 

 straight to the heart. You break the sprays that lean toward you 

 as if in invitation, and carry them home with a sense of personal 

 gratitude. What makes one feel a glow of warmth when looking 

 at this tree? The sharp spring air does not justify it. There is 

 a faint undertone of colour that takes off the chill of the white cloud 

 of blossoms. Looking close we see that the strap-shaped bracts 

 are red, a pair of them below each flower, and the tinge is deepened 

 by the red-brown of the silky infant leaves, which hang limp and 

 helpless, their two halves folded on the midrib, and quite obscured 

 by the mass of bloom. 



In summer the leaves are not distinctive. They are daintier 

 than those of the apple and pear, and have not the hydrocyanic 

 acid odour of the foliage of plums and cherries. The twigs lack 

 the thorns characteristic of the hawthorns. So, by elimination, 

 we may be able to identify this tree among the multitude of its 

 relatives. 



The fruit cluster is a good clue all summer long, though the 

 birds take the berries so promptly that it is exceptional good luck 

 if you find a ripe one on the tree. But the long branching stems 

 which bore the sweet morsels are held out empty, or with dry, 

 undeveloped berries upon them, ' longer and looser in structure 

 than the racemes of the cherry group. 



Showy as it is in blossom, the June-berry is never a self- 

 assertive tree. Its flowers are gone as suddenly as they came, and 



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