Fifty Common Trees of New York 5 



Study the winter twigs carefully. It is obvious that hickories have a ter- 

 minal bud as do also the maples and the ashes. But watch out when you 

 come to the basswood, the elms, and the birches. They may look at first 

 glance as if they had a terminal bud, but on closer examination you will 

 see that there is really a leaf scar on the end of the twig and the bud is a 

 little below and to one side. The color of buds will also be helpful ; for 

 example, by a glance at the color of the bud you can tell at once whether 

 you have a soft or a hard maple. Under leaves you will find a statement 

 as to whether they are arranged opposite or alternate. This will apply 

 also to the buds and will help to tell some trees apart. 



leaves are, for those just starting in the study of our forest trees, the 

 easiest approach. As you study the leaves and compare them, look for 

 the following points : Are they simple (one leaf to a stem) or compound? 

 Are they arranged opposite on the twig or alternate? How is the mar- 

 gin of the leaf shaped? This is very important. In some leaves the 

 margin is entire (no breaks at all) ; in some, it is like the fine teeth of a 

 carpenter's saw, this we have called serrate (saw -like) ; in others, the 

 margin is more deeply notched, as in the chestnut, the beech, and the big- 

 toothed aspen, these margins we have called toothed. Then we come to 

 the oaks and some others where the margin is very deeply cut and the 

 leaves are described as looed, and the hollows between are called clefts. 



Trees have flowers as do most of our green plants, but they are as a 

 rule inconspicuous, and high up in tree tops where they cannot easily be 

 obtained to aid in identification. Then, too, they are only present for a 

 very brief season. In the interest of using available space for more im- 

 portant features, the description of flowers has been left out. 



The fruit of the forest trees is an important item in the appreciation 

 of the forest, not so much as a means of identifying the tree, but as rec- 

 ognizing the origin from which the different forest trees must spring. 

 Fruit, it should be remembered, does not mean in this connection neces- 

 sarily fleshy, edible products, such as apples or cherries, but includes any 

 seed and the covering in which it develops, whether cone, pod, samara 

 (winged-seed), burr, or husk. Make careful note as to the time of year 

 the seed matures, which is given in the text in every case. 



Some brief mention is also made of the uses of the tree and where it is 

 to be found growing naturally. This should round out your knowledge 

 and appreciation of the trees of your community. 



MAKING A TREE COLLECTION 



One of the requirements of the forest-appreciation project is to make 

 a collection of (1) a winter twig, (2) a leaf, and (3) a fruit of at least 



