NUT-BEARING TREES 



yielded their leaves to the 

 frost, the beech keeps its 

 clothing, turning from the 

 clear yellow of fall to light- 

 est fawn, and hanging out 

 in the forest a sign of 

 whiteness that is cheering 

 in the winter and earliest 

 spring. These bleached - 

 out leaves will often re- 

 main until fairly pushed ofif 

 by the opening buds of 

 another year. 



Of the hazelnut or fil- 

 bert, I know nothing from 

 the tree side, but I cannot 

 avoid mentioning another 

 botanically unrelated so- 

 called hazel — the witch- 

 hazel. This small tree is 

 known to most of us only 

 as giving name to a cer- 

 tain soothing extract. It 

 is worthy of more atten- 

 tion, for its curious and 



i8i 



The witch-hazel 



