GETTING ACQUAINTED WITH THE TREES 



flowers on thread-like stems, each cluster sur- 

 mounted by soft green foliage apparently bor- 

 rowed from the ash, and it seems that no other 

 tree could fit better into the place or the sea- 

 son. Then I remember another, a single stately 

 tree that has had a great field all to itself, and 

 stands up in superb dignity, dominating even 

 the group of pin -oaks nearest to it. 'Twas 

 the surprising mist of bloom on this tree that 

 took me up the field on a run, one spring 

 day, when the running was sweet in the 

 air, but sticky underfoot. The color effect of 

 the flowers is most delicate, and almost inde- 

 scribable in ordinary chromatic terms. Don't 

 miss the acquaintance of the ash -leaved maple 

 at its flowering time, in the very flush of the 

 springtime, my tree -loving friends! 



I have not found a noticeable fragrance in 

 the flowers of the box -elder, such as is very 

 apparent where there is a group of Norway 

 maples in bloom together. The red maples 

 also give to the air a faint and delightfully 

 spicy odor, under favorable conditions. May 

 I hint that the lusty box-elder, when it is 

 booming along its spring growth, furnishes 



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