89 
the yellow-flowered Cornus (Cornus mas) in addition to those 
mentioned above, and among all of them the earliest have 
been the alder and hazel which flowered in the first week. These 
latter shrubs have minute, inconspicuous flowers of two kinds, 
the pistillate or seed-producing and the staminate or pollen-pro- 
ducing in separate clusters at or near the ends of the branches. 
Fic. 18.—Alder (Alnus rugosa) in bloom, 
These clusters of staminate flowers are during the winter months 
stiff cylindrical bodies an inch long, exposed to the elements and 
with cured the remotest resemblance to a flower cluster. 
the advent of a change in season, these cylindrical bodies 
ae and their scales and stamens develop so that in a few 
days they attain a length of two to three inches. At this time 
