90 



THE ALDER. 



other in the structure of the flowers as to have been 

 placed by some botanists in the same genus, in 

 general form, character of the foliage, and place of 

 growth, no two trees are more distinct ; for while 

 the Birch is singularly marked by elegance of 

 form and lightness of foliage, the Alder is stiff, 

 heavy, and even gloomy. 



The Alder is a very widely diffused tree, grow- 

 ing by the sides of rivers and in swampy places 

 unfit for the growth of other trees, throughout 

 the whole of Europe, a great part of Asia, the 

 north of Africa, and some parts of North America. 

 Having this wide range, and growing in situations 

 where it could not fail to be conspicuous, it is 

 mentioned by the earliest poets and writers on 

 natural history ; thus Homer : 



" From out the cover'd rock, 

 In living rills a gushing fountain broke; 

 Around it and above, for ever green, 

 The bushy Alders form'd a shady scene." 



The poet Virgil assigns to the Alder the dis- 

 tinction of being the tree out of which the first 

 boat was shaped : 



" Tunc Alnos primum fluvii sensere cavatos." 

 " Then rivers first the hollowed Alder knew." 



" Nec non et torrentem undam levis innatat Alnus." 

 " And the light Alder skimm'd the torrent wave." 



Theophrastus was acquainted with its property 

 of dyeing leather, and Vitruvius recommends the 

 wood for piles, stating that the city of Ravenna 

 was built on it. 



The Alder, in its young state, is a bushy shrub 

 of a pyramidal form, heavily clothed with large, 



