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LET’S KNOW SOME TREES 35 
leaves. What remains is the gray trunk and whitish branches or the 
many white stems of a shrub, from which hang the pear-shaped, 
eray-green fruit. Shortly the green outer husk splits and the glossy 
brown eye looks out. Then in a few days the ripened fruit falls. 
This seed, the buckeye, is a thing of beauty, but do not take it home. 
It will be dull and shriveled very soon, and besides, the youngsters 
will be sure to try to eat it. Do not let them. - It is liable to produce 
nausea, and there have been well-authenticated cases of poisoning 
and even death from eating it raw, although it is edible after roast- 
ing or boiling. At the best, it is sure to leave a most unpleasant 
sting in mouth and throat, because it contains so much saponin— 
essence of soap, as one might say. 
The California buckeye, either as tree or bush, is found ae 
anywhere in the western foothills of the Sierra, from Mount Shast 
to the Santa Barbara Mountains, and in the Coast Range. 
A people without children would face a hopeless future; a country 
without trees is almost as hopeless—THroporRE Roosevett. 
