The Tupelos and the Dogwoods 



and have a park! The gentle donor of this tract would have 

 broken his heart over the look of it when these improvements (?) 

 were completed. Though he "leaned out from the gold bar of 

 heaven," I think he must have hurled imprecations down upon 

 the stupidity v/hich undid all he had so lovingly and intelligently 

 done, but chiefly upon the slothful and incompetent commissioners 

 who trusted such work to such hands. Only the people them- 

 selves, intelligent and vigilant, can defend themselves from such 

 maltreatment, and save from destruction natural beauty which 

 belongs to all. 



The Dogwood (Cornus Nuttallii, Aud.), of the Pacific 

 coast, occasionally reaches loo feet in height in the forest opposite 

 Vancouver Island. It grows tall and slim, and thus does not 

 commend itself to gardeners as its Eastern relative does. Its 

 flowers are very much like it in colouring and form, though much 

 more conspicuous because twice as large. The bracts do not 

 cover the flowers in the buds, and are not notched at the tip 

 when developed. There are often six instead of four of them. 



This dogwood seems not to thrive outside its native woods, 

 on the m.ountain slopes from British Columbia to southern Cali- 

 fornia. But here it is easily first in a land of splendid flowering 

 trees, leaning upon the sombre evergreens, in its snowy spring 

 robes and its rich scarlet autumnal garb — a spectacle never to 

 be forgotten once it is seen. 



The Rough-leaved Dogwood (C. asperifolia, Michx.) has 

 long been classed among the shrubby species. It becomes tree- 

 like in southern Arkansas and eastern Texas, sometimes reaching 

 a height of 50 feet. As a shrub it is distributed from Ontario 

 to Minnesota and Nebraska, and south into the Gulf States. 



The leaves are dark green, paler below and often softly 

 pubescent, but made rough above by stubby white hairs. This 

 is the only tree dogwood with white berries, so it is easily identified 

 by leaf and fruit. 



Alternate-leaved Dogwood (Cornus alterni folia, Linn.) — 

 A small tree or shrub, 15 to 30 feet high, with low, round head 

 made of layers of horizontal branches. Bark smooth, reddish 

 brown; twigs reddish green. IVood heavy, hard, fine textured, 

 brown. Buds pale brown, acute, scaly. Leaves alternate, 3 to 5 

 inches long, oval, pointed, entire, whitish beneath, on slim petioles. 

 Flowers in May, creamy white, small, in flat cymes, i^- to 3 inches 



414 



