THE WITCH HAZEL 
162 
in the peculiar ways and manners of the herbs they 
gathered and prescribed. 
The Witch Hazel, with its peculiar habit of burst- 
ing into flower after shedding its leaves in the fall, 
was naturally regarded as possessing unusual qualities. 
Any tree or shrub that could afford to so far ignore 
and disregard the established usages of the forest 
was confidingly credited with extraordinary powers. 
It is a shrub approaching the dignity of a tree, 
sometimes reaching a height of twenty feet, and is 
abundant wherever it has an opportunity in southern 
Ontario. Its rich, green, pear-shaped or oval leaves 
have wavy -toothed edges and are conspicuously 
though not quite evenly divided by a depression 
along the mid-rib. It bears some resemblance to the 
leaf of the Hazel, and that accounts for its name. 
People who see resemblances can never conceive of 
the amount of trouble and confusion chargeable to 
their account. 
After the leaves fall the little globular buds which 
have been forming in clusters during the summer 
open suddenly into picturesque yellow flowers, each 
with four long, narrow, crumpling petals forming an 
irregular cross. Such handsome and striking adorn- 
ment at so unusual a season has enabled the Witch 
Hazel to achieve a place of distinction. Its attributes 
are not only medicinal but esoteric. The Witch 
Hazel not only effects a wide range of wonderful 
