XII. THE CINNAMON FAMILY. 317 
served many other instances of the vigor with which the tupelo- 
Stands out against the sea breeze. 
Another fine tree of the same kind is near by, rising to sev- 
enty or eighty feet in height, without large branches till towards 
the top. 
Farther landward is a noble tree, sixty feet high, with a large 
flat top. This, at two feet from the surface, 1s six feet two 
inches in circumference; and, at from four to eight or nine feet, 
five feet eight inches. Its branches are small and nearly erect, 
a few large ones coming out at twenty or twenty-five feet from 
the ground. It is a remarkable thing to see trees of the same 
Species growing near each other, so entirely unlike in aspect 
and habit as these. 
Three or four other species of Nyssa are found in the United 
States, and, where well known, are considered by botanists as 
distinct. ‘hose who are acquainted with these, will have re- 
cognized, in the above description, which is taken from nature, 
peculiarities of some of the other species. An attentive study 
of the protean forms of the oak. has led me to doubt the value 
of distinctions of nearly allied species, founded on any thing but 
the fruit. Tull I shall have had better opportunities of exam- 
ining the fruit of the several varieties of Nyssa, I shall not be 
able to say, confidently. whether there is only one, or whether 
there are several species 1n the State. 
The tupelo is found around the ponds in Plymouth County, 
about Buzzard’s Bay, in the swamps in Franklin, and the other 
river counties, and in other parts of the State. It is found near 
Portsmouth, N. H., and in the Middle and Southern States, as 
far as Carolina and Georgia. 
FAMILY XII. THE CINNAMON FAMILY. LAURINEZ. 
VENTENAT. 
Most of the plants of this family are trees of great beauty, 
and often of a lofty stature. It also contains shrubs and a few 
leafless, parasitic, climbing herbs. Only eleven or twelve spe- 
