ROSE FAMILY 



Professor Sargent calls this a " bushy, intricately branched 

 tree " and any one who has ever hunted among its branches 

 for birds' nests will fully appreciate the felicitous character- 

 ization. This is the thorn of old pasture fields, and the race 

 of sparrows have ever sought safety for their nests among 

 its twisted, rigid, well-armed twigs. 



The spines are not mature except on third year wood. 

 They are undeveloped branches and appear from buds grow- 

 ing in the axils of former leaves. On the second year wood 

 they reach three-eighths of an inch in length and in winter are 

 crowned with a single globular bud, this continues the growth 

 for another year. Then they become sharp and pointed and 

 further growth ceases except as they enlarge with the branch. 



The haws of all the thorns are alike in this, that they sug- 

 gest tiny apples, but the ratio of seed to flesh is out of all rea- 

 son, from the standpoint of the consumer. It is apparent 

 that even the birds take this view of the case, for the scarlet 

 haws are frequently left on the branches all winter long ; 

 while their neighbors the black cherries are eagerly eaten 

 and the sassafras berries are scarcely allowed to ripen. They 

 are smooth, of a beautiful shining red, but they keep the 

 promise to the eye only to break it to the hope. 



SCARLET HAW. HAWTHORN 



CratiFgiis mollis. 



A small tree, with straight trunk, spreading and contorted 

 branches, which form a round, compact head. Roots fibrous. 

 Grows on margins of swamps, along the banks of streams, on prai- 

 ries in rich soil. 



Bark. — Reddish brown to ashy gray. The surface broken into 

 small scales, Branchlets when young are tomentous, then become 

 orange brown and lustrous, finally ashy gray. Stout, zigzag, armed 

 with stout, chestnut brown, shining spines two or three inches long, 

 these at length become ashy gray. 



Wood. — Light brown; heavy, hard, close-grained. Sp. gr., 

 0.7953 ; weight of cu. ft., 49.56 lbs. 



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