17 



and stately poise; each like some winged victory of 

 Samothrace, to join the hosts of the primeval forests. 



The Cottonwood has a very easily distinguishable 

 leaf, one which you cannot mistake — large, broad, 

 spade-shaped or heart-shaped (deltoid). The margin 

 is serrate (notched) with cartilaginous teeth. The leaf 

 stems (petioles) are noticeably flattened and often bear 

 gland-like protuberances on the top. In early spring 

 the tree flowers before the leaves expand, showing its 

 bloom in long, drooping, conspicuous catkins, which 

 develop later into seed pods that burst and let free 

 the seeds, covered with cotton-like down which the 

 winds drift hither and thither, dispersing the seeds in 

 the way that Nature has ordered. The cotton-like 

 down has given the name to the tree, and in fact to 

 the whole populus family, which are often indiscrimi- 

 nately called cottonwoods on this account. About half 

 way between the third and fourth of these magnificent 

 cottonwoods, you will find, on the left of the Walk, two 

 very interesting trees. They are often called Varnish 

 trees, and they belong to the bladder-nut family. They 

 are from China, but have become quite naturalized 

 here, especially in parks and on ornamental grounds. 

 The botanical name of the tree is rather imposing, 

 Kcslreuteria paniculata, and is taken from Joseph 

 Gottlieb Koelreuter, a German botanist. It is a fair 

 sized tree growing from about twenty to forty feet 

 in height, with a rather bunchy, round head, "all 

 head and shoulders." You can know it easily by its 

 long, alternate compound leaves, which are irregularly 

 pinnate and made up of several thin, coarsely-toothed 



