214 



THE ALDEK. 



growth of other trees, throughout the whole of Europe, 

 a great part of Asia, the north of Africa, and some parts 

 of North America. Having this wide range, and growing 

 in situations where it could not fail to be conspicuous, i 

 is mentioned by the earliest poets and writers on natural 

 history. 



The Alder, in its young state, is a bushy shrub of a 

 pyramidal form, heavily clothed with large, deep green 

 leaves, which as well as the young shoots are covered with 



FLOWER AND LEAF 



a glutinous substance, more especially in the early part of 

 the summer. The leaves are roundish, blunt and serrated,^ 

 shining above, and furnished at the angles of the veins 

 beneath with minute tufts of whitish down. The leaf- 

 stalks are nearly an inch in length, and furnished with 

 stipules, which entirely inclose the leaves before their 

 expansion. The flowers are of two kinds : the barren are 

 long drooping catkins which appear in the autumn and 

 hang on the tree all the winter ; and the fertile are oval 

 1 Serrated, notched like a saw. 



