136 TREES 



spot where the hidden springs of water are, the twig goes 

 down, without any voKtion of the " water- witch . " At least, 

 so he says, and if water is struck by digging, his claims are 

 vindicated and scoffers hide their heads. 



THE BURNING BUSH 



American gardeners cherish with regard that amounts 

 almost to affection any shrub or tree which will lend color, 

 especially brilliant color, to the winter landscape. Thus 

 the hollyj the Japanese barberry, many of the haws, the 

 moimtain ash, and the rugosa rose will be found in the 

 shrubbery borders of many gardens, supplying the birds 

 with food when the ground is covered with snow, and 

 sprinkling the brightness of their red berries against the 

 monotony of dull green conifers. 



The burning bush {Euonymus atropurpureus, Jacq.) lends 

 its scarlet fruits to the vivid colors that paint any winter 

 landscape. They hang on slender stalks, clustered where 

 the leaves were attached. Four flattish lobes, deeply sepa- 

 rated by constrictions, form each of these strange-looking 

 fruits. In October each is pale purplish in color and one 

 half an inch across. Now the husk parts and curls back, 

 revealing the seeds, each of the four enveloped in a loose 

 scarlet wrinkled coat. Until midwinter the httle tree is 

 indeed a burning bushs glowing brighter as the advancing 

 season opens wider the purple husks, and the little 

 swinging Maltese cross, made by the four scarlet berries, 

 is the only thing one sees, looking up from below. 

 Birds take the berries, though they are bitter and 

 poisonouSo 



