Trees, Shrubs and Vines 



which will be found stated in the detailed descriptions. 

 The bark has a peculiarly tough and obstinate look in 

 all of them, and the fruits are quite diverse. Of hick- 

 ory-nuts only the ' ' shagbark ' ' and the pecan-nut (a 

 hickory growing in Illinois and southward) have com- 

 mercial value. It will gild the edge of this somewhat 

 unflattering account to say that the hickory contributes 

 a very distinctive tone to autumn coloring. The rusty 

 yellow that first replaces the green soon deepens to a 

 rich golden brown, by which the fuU-foliaged pyramidal 

 mass becomes a notable object in an October landscape. 



Black Haw. — Of all low trees and shrubs in woods 

 and lanes the most conspicuous for abundant bloom in 

 the middle of May, as the dogwood fades, is the black 

 haw or stag-bush, one of the most valuable of native 

 growths for planting broadcast, and very desirable for 

 the particular season when in flower. It is cosmopolitan, 

 thriving an)rwhere, and its mass of pure white makes it 

 for the nonce the rival of the apple-tree, and the later- 

 blooming thorn. True, it is not exactly a " cultured " 

 plant ; it lacks the indefinable something that makes so 

 many of our shrubs decorative when past the blooming 

 period. Its small leaf, in form and texture, is scarcely 

 dressy enough to compete with the choicer kinds. But 

 it is such a royal blossomer that in its palmy days of 

 May it is a very effective species for the lawn, and much 

 of the beauty of Central Park at that season is due to 

 the abundant planting of this small variety. After its 

 gala-day of flowering — which, by the way, is of good 

 length — it is fairly crowded out of mind by the other 



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