THE WITCH HAZEL 133 



note how many different forms of leaves belong on the 

 same sassafras tree. First, there is the simple ovate leaf; 

 second, a larger blade oval in form but with one side ex- 

 tended and lobed to form a thumb, making the whole 

 leaf look like the pattern of a mitten cut out by an un- 

 skilled hand; third, a symmetrical, three-lobed leaf, the 

 pattern of a narrow mitten with a large thumb on each 

 side. Not infrequently do all these forms occur on a single 

 twig. Only the mulberry, among our native trees, shows 

 such a variety of leaf forms as the sassafras. There is 

 quite as great variation in the size of the leaves. One 

 law seems to prevail among sassafras trees: more of the 

 oval leaves than the lobed ones are found on mature trees. 

 It is the roadside sapling, with its foliage within easy 

 reach, that delights boys and girls with its wonderful 

 variety of leaf patterns. Here the size of the leaves greatly 

 surpasses that of the foliage on full-grown trees, and the 

 autumnal colors are more glorious in the roadside thickets 

 than in the tree- tops far above them. 



Sassafras trees grow readily from seed in any loose, 

 moist soil. A single tree spreads by a multitude of fleshy 

 root-stalks, and these natural root-cuttings bear trans- 

 planting as easily as a poplar. Every garden border 

 should have one specimen at least to add its flame to the 

 conflagration of autumn foliage and the charming con- 

 trast of its blue berries on their coral stalks. 



THE WITCH HAZEL 



Eighteen genera compose the sub-tropical family in 

 which hamamelis is the type. Two or three Asiatic 

 species and one American are known. 



