On “ The Point ”—Second Excursion 
forms of inflorescence that come so thick and fast. But 
in early fall the eye reverts to it again; its whiteness 
has turned to abundant blue-black berry-clusters, and 
the deep reddish-brown or bronze tint of foliage is 
exclusively its own. 
NETTLE-TREE.—An evident favorite of those who 
stocked the Park (for it is profusely scattered throughout 
the grounds) is the nettle-tree, also called hackberry 
and sugarberry. East of Ohio it is rarely found except 
in cultivation, as its habitat is chiefly the Middle and 
Western States. Its leaf is small, rather triangular, and 
decidedly lop-sided, as the linden is to some extent. It 
is said to resemble the elm-leaf closely, but the differ- 
ence, to a fairly good eye, is greater than the resemblance. 
Why it is made so much of in the Park I cannot discover, 
unless they secured a ‘‘job lot’’ at a bargain. I have 
tried hard to get interested in this species, with but poor 
success. It is one of the easiest to recognize in winter, 
as its branches are often filled with large clusters of 
coarse dead fibre, the withered stems of the fascicled 
staminate flowers; and its smooth, beech-like bark is 
covered toward the base with blistered excrescences not 
found in any other tree. It has no blossoms worth men- 
tioning, its dark berry-like fruit is not so abundant as 
to be attractive, and the foliage withers without a par- 
ticle of color in fall. This is the faintest praise with 
which I can bless this species. 
WILp Biack CHERRY.—But a good, honest ornament 
of our woods, and which bears itself most creditably in 
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