In the " Ramble " — Fourth Excursion 



situation that is thinly wooded. Its fruit might be 

 better or worse — ^more easily better, and is of variable 

 color. It is readily distinguished from similar growths 

 by its sharp thorns. 



Common Sandthorn {Hippophae rhamnoides). — We 

 must not fail to mention (though not found in the 

 "Ramble ") a tree that is interesting both for itself and 

 for its rarity — the sandthorn of Europe, of which there 

 is but one example in the Park, bending over the " West 

 Drive" just at the point where the entrance driveway 

 at Ninetieth Street meets it. It is half tree, half shrub, 

 with narrow leaves not much over an inch long, green 

 above and silvery - white beneath. The flowers are 

 rather inconspicuous, and ripen into orange-colored 

 fruit; the branches are somewhat thorny. The ob- 

 server will be struck by the foliage and drooping figure 

 of this interesting specimen. 



Walnut and Butternut. — A large and luxuriant 

 walnut is a massive, stately growth that ought to mo- 

 nopolize an extensive greensward for its full effect, albeit 

 a trifle too symmetrical to be very picturesque. Its great 

 compound leaf is rich-hued and shapely, the handsom- 

 est leaf of all our timber-trees, and the blackish bark 

 gives a tone of solidity and strength. It is of westerly 

 growth and comparatively infrequent in the Eastern 

 States. The so-called English walnut (^Juglans regia), 

 though really from Asia, is in the Park, but it is not 

 distinctive enough from our own to call for special 

 comment. 



121 



