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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