"It's called a tree in botany!" retorted Zan triumphantly.
"Yes, a hazel-nut is a tree although it looks like a bush to me," explained Miss Miller.
"Is that a hazel-nut tree?" wondered Jane amazed.
"It doesn't look like much!" said Nita deprecatingly.
"Looks don't count for everything—wait till you want some hazel-nuts. This is a record-breaker for nuts!" snapped Zan, defending her pet hazel-nut.
"I consider a hazel-nut a very interesting specimen to study. Its blossoms are very small and very sweet; in fact, a cluster of hazel flowers makes a lovely nose-gay. The male tree blooms in catkins and is more conspicuous. Its growth is like unto a large shrub or low tree with wood that is tough but flexible. The leaf is shaped like a roseleaf and notched on the edges. The nuts form in a bell-like cup and the meat is very sweet and good.
"The Witch-hazel, from which a fluid called 'Pond's Extract' comes, is peculiar in that it blooms in the Fall—the yellow stars shining in the woods. The name originally was spelled 'wyche' meaning a box. The wood was always used for making chests that fitted in old-time halls. These chests or wyches, had no connection whatever with magic. To-day, however, the common belief is that the name is derived from the magic power of the 'Dowser' or Water-Finder. A hazel wand is accorded the quality of discovering water under the ground when held in the hands of certain people. If the holder passed over a spot where water could be found the wand would bend until its tip touched the earth where water could be found if dug for."
"Do you believe that, Miss Miller?" asked a sceptical one.
"I used to accept the statement as a fact until quite recently when I read of a renowned engineer who claims that the wand is quite unnecessary as water can be found by any one strong-minded enough to concentrate upon the discovery about to be made. This Englishman, who is an authority in such matters, says that many well-known engineers have tried and found that the wand has not the inherent power to discriminate or fathom for water. I have known folks who might experiment and carry a wand forever without its ever moving a hair's breadth in their hands, as they themselves were too material and 'thick' to discern the things under the earth or above the earth, either!"
"Let's sit down here and listen to more of this queer talk," suggested Zan eagerly.