ADAPTATIONS IN ANIMALS AND PLANTS 



49 



The Little Pear-Siiaped House 

 on the ^yitch-hazel bough 



KVERY one remembers the child- 

 hood rambles among the hazel 

 bushes, and the green clusters of 

 nuts growing upon their branches. IIow 

 many times have we tasted the acrid 

 coverings and turned them back to 

 determine their stage of ripeness! This 

 reminder is probably all that is neces- 

 sary to dispel the possible confusion 

 between the hazel shrubs and those of 

 the witch-hazel, which are seemingly 

 less familiar to the average person, but 

 for the sake of those who do not recall 

 the witch-hazel shrub, the illustration on 

 this page will aid in this identification. 



The seed capsule of witch-hazel is quite 



unlike that of the hazel nut, the former 



being outwardly formed something like an 



acorn covered with pubescence. The basal 



portion of the seed receptacle is like a little saucer, with four 



projecting processes, and colored the same dingy green as the 



top. The apex is divided into two small lips which are turned a 



trifle outward and are spined at the middle. In the fall, some 



of the witch-hazel branches are often fairly covered with the 



seed capsules, and when ripe they snap apart in the middle 



with considerable violence, throwing the hard, woody seeds 



in every direction over the surrounding ground. Frequently, 



in the open forests where these bushes abound, they attain a 



height of from ten to twelve feet. 



On the branches of th.e witch-hazel one may come across 



