172 



TREES GROWING L\ RICH SOIL. 





pill ltd, wiili br.ictlLls uiiclcnicalli; inner surt'mc orange-brown; pubescent. 

 Ci'/oiiu: l;riglu yellow; of tinir almost linear petals, often twisted and falling 

 with the stamens. Fruit: a woody capsule, with oran^e-br(jwn, pubescent 

 seeds. 



This dainty s1h-ii1) is one of ilic uiuonvcniioual spirits of tlio 

 woodlaiKls and pays tlic pv'iialiy for its vagaries by having at- 

 tached to ittlie reputation ol" witchcraft. It is very slow about 

 ripening its fruit. Throughout the autumn and winter the 

 calyx-lobes protect the ovary which does not begin to enlarge 



un 



til the following spring. The fruit of one year, therefore, 

 attains maturity at the same time that the llowers of the next 

 year are opening. When the pods burst open they cast forth 



th 



eir seeds with astonishino- force and to a ijreat distance fr 



oni 



the plant. To the North American Indian we undoid)tedly owe 

 the first knowledge of the efricacy of its bark for the ciuMng of 

 inflammations. It has for a long time been distilled in alcohol 

 to make Tond's extract A strange thing about it is, however, 

 that chemists have failed to discover in it any "active medicinal 

 properties." 



Green hazel wands were for a long time used by the credu- 

 lous to locate, through their supposed jiower of witchcraft, the 

 presence underground of gold or of springs of water. A forked 

 branch was twisted between the fingers and thumbs of both 

 hands, and the direction in Avhich it pointetl was taken as 



an mdicatmn c 



)f where the desired metal or watei' should be 



sought. The poi)ular name of the plant is an outcome of this 

 practice. Although we are accustomed to seeing Hamamelis 

 Virginiana as a shnd), it becomes arborescent on the iiigh 

 slopes of the Alleghany mountains in North and South Carolina 

 and in Tennessee. Its wood is reddish brown quite hard and 

 closely grained. 



