THE DOGWOODS 113 



saving of every flowering dogwood tree is a duty owed 

 to his community by every wood-lot owner within the 

 range of this hardy, handsome tree. Though exterminated 

 over much of its range, it is able and willing to grow in any 

 state east of the Mississippi River. It is one of the most 

 deservedly popular trees planted for ornament in this 

 country and in Europe. 



Western Dogwood 



C. Nuttallii, x\ud. 



The Pacific Coast outdoes the rest of the country in 

 the size of its forest trees. Superlatives in vegetation 

 abound where the breath of the Japan current tempers the 

 air. The Western dogwood often reaches one hundred 

 feet in height in the forests near Seattle. Its flowers have 

 six, instead of four, of the petal-like, white bracts, each 

 narrower and pointed, and without the terminal notch. 

 The tree in blossom is more magnificent than the eastern 

 species, for the flowers are often tw^ce as large, and the 

 spectacle of one of these trees, after the leaves turn to 

 scarlet in autumn, and it leans against the sombre ever- 

 greens that cover the mountainside, is always startling, 

 even in a country where surprises are the rule. 



European Dogwood 



C. nias. 



The European dogwood or cornel is often planted in the 

 Eastern states as an ornamental tree, but not for its 

 flowers alone, though these tiny, button-like clusters 

 cover the bare branches in earliest spring. Tlie showy 



