l90 : 



WITCH-HAZEL 



There is something witchlike in the appearance of 

 the witch-hazel, which blossoms late in October and 

 in November, with its irregular and angular spray 

 and petals like furies' hair, or small ribbon streamers. 

 Its blossoming, too, at this irregular period, when 

 other shrubs have lost their leaves, as well as blos- 

 soms, looks like witches' craft. Certainly it blooms 

 in no garden of man's. 



Concord and Merrimack Rivers, 379. 



October 9, 1851. To Conantum. The witch- 

 hazel here is in full blossom on this magical hillside, 

 while its broad yellow leaves are falling. It is an ex- 

 tremely interesting plant, — October and Novem- 

 ber's child, and yet reminds me of the very earliest 

 spring. Its blossoms smell like the spring, like the 

 willow catkins ; by their color as well as fragrance they 

 belong to the saffron dawn of the year, suggesting 

 amid all these signs of autumn, falling leaves and 

 frost, that the life of Nature, by which she eternally 

 flourishes, is untouched. It stands here in the 

 shadow on the side of the hill, while the sunlight from 

 over the top of the hill lights up its topmost sprays 

 and yellow blossoms. Its spray, so jointed and an- 

 gular, is not to be mistaken for any other. I lie 

 on my back with joy under its boughs. While its 



