Native Shrubs for the Home Garden 
the tips of the style so as to be in position to 
be removed by the first insect alighting upon 
the ball of bloom. After the removal of the 
pollen from the still immature stigma by visiting 
insects this tip becomes sticky, so as to receive 
pollen imported by insects from neighboring 
button ball blossoms. Thus the flower prevents 
self-fertilization, by passing through two stages, 
first male, then female. How wonderful are 
some of the provisions that Nature makes to 
bring about the reproduction of species! 
Nor are the blossoms of the button bush its 
only attraction. In the fall the greenish brist¬ 
ling seed heads turn to a dull crimson, thus 
Nature adds her last touch of beauty of the 
season to this decorative shrub. 
In moist woods growing among the alders we 
may find the black alder, a bush that resembles 
the common alder, but which, in fall and winter, 
is covered with bright vermilion berries about 
the size of peas. In the soft, diffused sunlight 
of the autumn woods, or, relieved against the 
snowy winter background, its clustered fruit is 
highly decorative and cannot fail to attract at¬ 
tention. 
The w ild magnolia, or sweet bay, is a slen¬ 
der tree, frequently found in a shrubby state 
AMERICAN I.INDEN BLOSSOMS 
AND 
SEED PODS 
ENGLISH HAWTHORN 
in the North, but 
in the South it attains 
a height of fifty feet or 
more. Its bark is a light brown¬ 
ish gray; the new twigs are deci¬ 
dedly green and turn to a ruddy hue as they grow 
older. The leaves are oval-shaped, thick and 
leathery and are about six inches long. The upper 
surface is a rich, deep, glossy green, while the under 
side is a whitish green. I he creamy white flowers 
are much the same shape as the yellow pond-lily, 
and it blossoms from May to August. They are 
delightfully fragrant. 
It is not an uncommon sight in New York and 
Philadelphia to see the street fakers peddle bunches 
of these lovely blossoms along the curbstones. 
Nearly all of these people have a curious custom of 
turning the waxen petals all outwards which not only 
destroys the character of the flowers, but gives it a 
decidedly camellia-like appearance. 
This shrub is common in the swamps of New 
Jersey and from there it extends southward and 
forms impenetrable thickets in Florida, especially 
in the interior swamps and pine barrens. 
In the fall this tree will be found to be decked with 
a new grace—the mature beauty of its fruited cones. 
These cone-shaped seed pods are about the size of a 
butternut and in color a pale orange-yellow. By a 
score of slits it cracks open when its fruit is ripe, and 
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