FOREST TREES AND FOREST SCENERY 



principally for the elegant forms of 

 its branches. The smaller divisions, 

 the twigs, follow a zigzag course which 

 in itself is not beautiful, but the effect 

 is so bound up with the complex spiral 

 evolutions of the larger divisions, the 

 boughs and branches, that the result is 

 only to heighten the elegance of the 

 latter. The foliage of this tree is very 

 delicate, being composed of numerous 

 elliptically shaped leaflets, that are 

 gathered into sprays that hang airily 

 among the bold and sweeping boughs. 

 Much might be said here in com- 

 mendation of the sassafras tree, were 

 it economically more important. Its 

 brown, sculptured bark is very attrac- 

 tive, and its yellowish blossoms, that 

 break in early spring, are fragrant. 

 The leaves are of several shades of 

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