CHAPTEE VII. 



I. Simple Alternate Leaves. 



3. With teeth. A. Edge not divided. 



THE ALDER, ETC. 



Speckled or The speckled or hoary alder, prop- 



Hoaxy Alder, erly speaking, is a shrub ; yet it often 

 AinuHncana. ^^.^^^ gO feet high, and sometimes 

 has one substantial trunk. There is scarcely a brook 

 or streamlet passing through the White Mountain 

 region which is not shaded by the very dark olive- 

 green foliage of the speckled alder, and I call to 

 mind mile after mile of valley road edged by this 

 beautiful bushy tree; indeed, it might justly be 

 called the "roadside genius" of sylvan 'Sew Hamp- 

 shire. I think the " speckled beauty " of the woods, 

 although he does not seem to know it, owes this 

 alder an enormous debt of gratitude for hiding his 

 cool and pebbly retreat and entangling the angler's 



" fly." Whoever has fished in a mountain stream has 



99 



