THE GUELDER ROSE. 



GENERAL REMARKS. 



NDIVIDUALITY in a tree does not by itself constitute 

 beauty, but a tree possessing strongly marked character- 

 istics is always interesting. At all times the growth of 

 the Guelder Rose offers certain note-worthy features, and 

 for each season of the year it reserves some distinctive development. 

 The opening flowers and buds are particularly decorative in character : 

 florets of two distinct forms and shades of colour make up the head 

 of blossom, while the foliage, unlike that of any other forest tree, 

 shows two separate types. The shape of the stipules and of the leaf 

 petioles, and an unusually constant method of ramification mark it 

 out from all other species. L can, however, claim its measure of 

 beauty as well as of distinction. Its crowns of blossom are whiter 

 and more shapely than the loose clusters of the Elder-berry growing 

 beside it, and its leaves, large and clear-cut, make fine patterns 

 against the indefinite undergrowth of the hedgerow. In autumn, when 

 the glory of its purple-red foliage has faded, clusters of scarlet berries 

 still hang about the stems of mealy-grey, and linger on to lighten 

 the sombreness of the copse in winter. 



