THE LAUREL FAMILY 129 



The Red Bay 



Persea Borhonia, Streng. 



Another laurel native to stream and swamp borders, 

 from Virginia to Texas and north to Arkansas, is the red 

 bay, whose bark, thick, red, and furrowed into scaly ridges 

 on the trunli, becomes smooth and green on the branches. 

 The evergreen leaves are narrowly oval, three to four 

 inches long, bright green, polished, with pale linings. The 

 white flowers are very minute bells borne in axillary clus- 

 ters, succeeded in autumn by blue or black shiny berries, 

 one half inch long, one-seeded, making a pretty contrast 

 with the clear yellow of the year-old leaves and the bright 

 green of the new ones. 



This native laurel, lover of rich, moist soil, deserves the 

 place in cultivation more commonly granted its European 

 cousin, Launis nohilU;, Linn., the familiar tub laurel of 

 hotel verandas in the Northern states, and much grown 

 out of doors in southern California and in milder climates 

 east. The tree is occasionally sixty to seventy feet high, 

 with trunk two to three feet in diameter. Such specimens 

 furnish the cabinet-maker and carpenter with a beautiful, 

 bright red, close-grained wood for fine interior finish and 

 furniture. Formerly it was used in the construction of 

 river boats, but the timber supply is now very limited. 



The Avocado 



P. gratis'simay Gaertn. 



In Florida and southern California the avocado or 

 alligator pear is bein^ extensively cultivated. This 



