The United States seal of Maine.

Maine

The United States seal of Maine.

The United States seal of the Senate.

Senate

The United States seal of the Senate.

The United States seal of the Post Office.

Post Office

The United States seal of the Post Office.

The United States seal of the Navy Deparment.

Navy Department

The United States seal of the Navy Deparment.

The United States seal of Nevada.

Nevada

The United States seal of Nevada.

The United States seal of the Department of State.

Department of State

The United States seal of the Department of State.

The United States seal of Wisconsin.

Wisconsin

The United States seal of Wisconsin.

The seal of the United States and Cuba.

US and Cuba

The seal of the United States and Cuba.

A harbor seal perched on some ice.

Harbor Seal

A harbor seal perched on some ice.

The seal representing Bolton or Bolton le Moors, a municipal and parliamentary borough of England.

Bolton

The seal representing Bolton or Bolton le Moors, a municipal and parliamentary borough of England.

The seal of Bridgenorth, a parliamentary and municipal borough and market town of England, in the county of Shropshire, on both sides of the Severn.

Bridgenorth

The seal of Bridgenorth, a parliamentary and municipal borough and market town of England, in the county…

A seal representing the city of Bridgewater.

Bridgewater

A seal representing the city of Bridgewater.

A seal representing the city of Bridport, England.

Bridport

A seal representing the city of Bridport, England.

A seal representing the city of Brighton, England.

Brighton

A seal representing the city of Brighton, England.

A seal representing the city of Bristol, England.

Bristol

A seal representing the city of Bristol, England.

The seal for the city of Chester, England.

City Arms

The seal for the city of Chester, England.

A coat of arms representing the city of Chester, England.

Bishopic

A coat of arms representing the city of Chester, England.

The seal for the city of Chichester, England.

Arms of Chichester

The seal for the city of Chichester, England.

A seal representing the town of Colchester, England.

Colchester

A seal representing the town of Colchester, England.

"A market-town and municipal borough of England, in the county of Cheshire, near the border of Staffordshire, 26 miles south of Manchester by rail. it is finely situated in a deep valley, on the banks of the dane, a tributary of the Weaver." — Encyclopedia Britannica, 1893

Congleton

"A market-town and municipal borough of England, in the county of Cheshire, near the border of Staffordshire,…

"Henry I enriched the plain circlet with gems, and on his great seal the trefoils of his fathers crown assume a form resembling that of fleurs-de-lys." — Encyclopedia Britannica, 1893

Crown

"Henry I enriched the plain circlet with gems, and on his great seal the trefoils of his fathers crown…

"Upon his seal as earl of Chester, the same sovereign has the circlet of his open crown heightened with fleurs-de-lys only, alternating with small clusters of pearls." — Encyclopedia Britannica, 1893

Crown

"Upon his seal as earl of Chester, the same sovereign has the circlet of his open crown heightened with…

"A crown which appears on the great seal of Henry VIII." — Encyclopedia Britannica, 1893

Crown

"A crown which appears on the great seal of Henry VIII." — Encyclopedia Britannica, 1893

"The form of the arches shown appear for the first time upon the great seal of Edward VI." — Encyclopedia Britannica, 1893

Crown

"The form of the arches shown appear for the first time upon the great seal of Edward VI." — Encyclopedia…

A seal representing the city of Derby, England.

Derby

A seal representing the city of Derby, England.

"A royal and parliamentary burgh and seaport, situated on the east coast of Scotland, in the county of Forfar, on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, twelve miles from the confluence of that estuary with the German Ocean. It is the third town in Scotland as regards to population, and the second in commercial importance." — Encyclopedia Britannica, 1893

Dundee

"A royal and parliamentary burgh and seaport, situated on the east coast of Scotland, in the county…

The seal for the civil corporation of Durham and Framwellgate.

Corporation Seal

The seal for the civil corporation of Durham and Framwellgate.

"Corporation Seal." &mdash Encyclopedia Britannica, 1893

Corporation Seal

"Corporation Seal." &mdash Encyclopedia Britannica, 1893

"Star of the order of the Thistle." — Chambers' Encyclopedia, 1875

Order of the Thistle

"Star of the order of the Thistle." — Chambers' Encyclopedia, 1875

"The religious Order of the Heavenly Annunciation, or of the Nuns of the Annunciation of Mary, was instituted by Victoria Fornare at Genoa in 1682, after the rule of St. Augustine. All the convents of the order in France, Germany, and the Netherlands have disappeared since the French Revolution. Some still exist in Italy." — Chambers' Encyclopedia, 1875

Order of the Annunciation

"The religious Order of the Heavenly Annunciation, or of the Nuns of the Annunciation of Mary, was instituted…

A seal which has many bands of white around black.

Ribbon Seal

A seal which has many bands of white around black.

"Star of the Order of the Black Eagle." — Chambers' Encyclopedia, 1875

Black Eagle

"Star of the Order of the Black Eagle." — Chambers' Encyclopedia, 1875

Rootstock of Solomon's Seal, with the bottom of the stalk of the season, and the bud for the next year's growth.

Solomon's Seal

Rootstock of Solomon's Seal, with the bottom of the stalk of the season, and the bud for the next year's…

Now known as Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University or AAMU is an accredited public, coeducational land grant college located in Normal, Madison County, Alabama. It was established under the terms of the Morill Act of 1890 and is also a historically Black university.

Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama

Now known as Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University or AAMU is an accredited public, coeducational…

Destruction of the Confederate cruiser Alabama at Cherbourg, France.

Destruction of the Alabama

Destruction of the Confederate cruiser Alabama at Cherbourg, France.

The ancient Egyptians regarded the scarab as a symbol of immortality. 1. Stone scarab with wings, 2. The sacred beetle (<em>Scarabaeus sacer</em>), 3. Scarab from the British Museum, 4. Scarab seal from the tomb of Maket, 5, 6. Scarabs from monuments.

Egyptian scarabs

The ancient Egyptians regarded the scarab as a symbol of immortality. 1. Stone scarab with wings, 2.…

A sceptre from the seal of Edward the Confessor.

Sceptre of Edward the Confessor

A sceptre from the seal of Edward the Confessor.

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge coarsely and evenly wavy-toothed. Outline - reverse egg-shape or sometimes oval. Apex - blunt-pointed. Base - rounded or slightly pointed, and often somewhat unequal. Leaf - four to seven inches long, two to four inches wide; smooth above, paler and downy beneath. Teeth - twelve to twenty-six, decreasing evenly and uniformly to the apex. Bark - of trunk, gray; furrowed up and down with continuous and often very deep furrows, with sharp ridges between. Acorns - usually in pairs on a stem about one half of an inch long, or often shorter. Cup - rounded or somewhat top-shaped, with minute scales, or warty. Nut - usually long egg-shape or long oval; one to one and one fourth inches long; brown; about one third covered by the cup; sweet. September, October. Found - from Eastern Massachusetts to New York, southward to Delaware, along the Alleghany Mountains to Alabama and westward to Central Kentucky and Tennessee. General Information - A tree forth to seventy feet in height, with strong, hard wood, largely used in fencing, or railroad ties, etc.; of less value than that of the White Oak. Its bark is very rich in tannin. Quercus, possible from a Celtic word meaning to inquire, because it was among the oaks that the Druids oftenest practised their rites.

Genus Quercus, L. (Oak)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge coarsely and evenly wavy-toothed. Outline - reverse egg-shape or sometimes…

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge evenly and sharply (or sometime bluntly) toothed. Outline - very narrow oval (or sometimes wide). Apex - taper-pointed. Base - pointed or blunt. Leaf/Stem - three fourths to one inch long. Leaf - usually about five to seven inches long, by one and one half to two inches wide, but sometimes so wide as to resemble Q. prinus), from which, however, it is distinguished by its think bark. Of all the "chestnut-oak: leaves it most closely resembles the chestnut leaf. It is smooth above, whitish and minutely downy beneath. Bark - of trunk, light, flaky, and thin. Acorn - nearly stemless. Cup - about five twelfths to seven twelfths of an inch across; rounded; thin, with very small, closely pressed scales. Nut - seven twelfths to nine twelfths of an inch long; egg-shape or narrow oval, light brown, about one third covered by cup; sweet. October. Found - from Massachusetts to Delaware, along the mountains to Northern Alabama and westward. Very common west of the Alleghany Mountains. General Information - A tree forty to sixty feet high, with strong and durable wood. Quercus, possible from a Celtic word meaning to inquire, because it was among the oaks that the Druids oftenest practised their rites.

Genus Quercus, L. (Oak)

Leaves - simple; alternate; edge evenly and sharply (or sometime bluntly) toothed. Outline - very narrow…

Leaves - simple, alternate (often crowded at the ends of the branches); edge entire. Outline - broadly oval or egg-shape or reverse egg-shape. Apex - pointed. Base - slightly pointed. Leaf/Stem - one inch long or more. Leaf - about three to four inches long, sometimes yellowish-green; smooth above; whitish beneath, and slightly rough between the prominent curved ribs, seldom entirely flat, usually in clusters at the ends of the branches. Bark - of the branches, smooth, yellowish-green, with whitish streaks. Flowers - yellowish in loose flat clusters. June. Fruit - very dark blue when ripe, on reddish stems. August. Found - in low rich woods and along streams, from New Brunswick through the Northern States, and southward along the Alleghany Mountains to Northern Georgia and Alabama. General Information - A small tree or shrub, ten to twenty feet high, with wide-spreading branches and flattish top. A "Shaker Medicine" is made from its bitter bark. Cornus, from a Greek word meaning horn, because of the hardness of the wood.

Dogwood Leaves

Leaves - simple, alternate (often crowded at the ends of the branches); edge entire. Outline - broadly…

Leaves - simple; opposite; edge lobed, with the lobes very sparingly and coarsely sharp-toothed or the lower pair entire. Outline - rounded, with three to five lobes, usually five, with the hollows between the lobes and between the coarse teeth rounded. Apex - of the lobes, pointed. Base - heart-shaped or nearly squared. Leaf - dark green above; slightly lighter beneath; smooth or somewhat downy on the ribs; when heart-shaped, sometimes with overlapping lobes. Seed-wings - set wide apart, but only slightly diverging.  Bark - blackish. Flowers - yellow-green and very abundant. April, May.  Fruit - greenish-yellow, smooth, drooping, on thread-like and hairy stems one to two inches long, with wings about one inch long, broad and slightly spreading. September. Found - chiefly along streams and in river bottoms, from Western Vermont to Missouri and Northern Alabama. General Information - A tree fifty to eight feet high or more; of very great value in many directions, - as a shade tree, for fuel, for interior finish and the making of furniture, for its ashes, which give large quantities of potash; especially for its sap, which yields the "maple sugar" of commerce. The yield of sugar by an average tree in one season from five to ten pounds.

Genus Acer, L. (Maple)

Leaves - simple; opposite; edge lobed, with the lobes very sparingly and coarsely sharp-toothed or the…

Leaves - simple; indeterminate, in position because of their closeness; arranged singly in two flat distinctly opposite ranks up and down the branchlets. Leaf - one half inch long, narrow; blunt sometimes minutely toothed toward the apex; flat; green above; silvery white beneath. Bark - reddish and scaly; when old, somewhat roughened by long, shallow furrows. Cones - very small (three fourths of an inch long); drooping; oval or egg-shape. Scales - few, thin, rounded and entire. The seed with the wing is about three fourths the length of the scale. The cone does not fall apart when ripe. Found - from Southern New Brunswick and the Valley of the St. Lawrence through the Northern States to Delaware, and along the Alleghany Mountains to Alabama. Common northward, often forming large forests. General Information - An evergreen tree, sixty to eighty feet high, irregular in outline, very graceful, especially when young, with light and delicate foliage and horizontal or drooping branches. The timber is very coarse; the bark much used for tanning, and with medicinal qualities.

Genus Tsuga, Carr. (Hemlock)

Leaves - simple; indeterminate, in position because of their closeness; arranged singly in two flat…

Leaves - compound (odd-feathered; leaflets eleven to thirty-one); alternate; edge of leaflets evenly and sharply toothed. Outline - of leaflet, narrow egg-shape. Apex - long, taper-pointed. Base, rounded or slightly heart-shaped. Leaflet/Stem - lacking. Leaf/Stem - densely velvety-hairy. Leaflet - usually two to four inches long and about one fourth as wide; the under surface whitish and more or less downy. Leaf - one or two feet or more in length. Branchlets - and stalks, especially towards their ends, covered with a very dense velvet-like down, often crimson-tinged. The just is milky and acid. Flowers - greenish-yellow, in upright, pyramid-shaped bunches at the ends of the branches. June. Berries - rounded, somewhat flattened, bright crimson velvety, crowded. Stone - smooth. Juice, acid. September, October. Found - from New Brunswick and the valley of the St. Lawrence through the Northern States, and southward along the Alleghany Mountains to Central Alabama. General Information - A small tree, ten to thirty feet high (or often a shrub), with straggling and evenly spreading branches that are leaved mostly toward their ends, giving an umbrella-like look to the tree. The wood is very soft and brittle; yellow within; the sap-wood white. The young shoots with the pith removed, are used in the spring as "sap quills" in drawing the sap from the sugar maples. The downy and irregular branchlets are suggestive of the horns of a stag, whence the name. An infusion of the berries is sometimes used as a gargle for sore-throat. This species is not poisonous. A variety with deeply gashed leaves (var. laciniata) is reported from Hanover, N. H.

Genus Rhus, L. (Sumach)

Leaves - compound (odd-feathered; leaflets eleven to thirty-one); alternate; edge of leaflets evenly…

Leaves - compound (odd-feathered; leaflets, seven to nine); edge of leaflets nearly entire or slightly toothed. Outline - of leaflet, long oval or egg-shape. Apex - taper-pointed. Base - somewhat pointed. Leaf/Stem - velvety-downy. Leaflet/Stem - about one fourth of an inch long, or somewhat less, and velvety-downy. Leaf/Bud - rounded, nearly concealed by the leaf-stem, downy, and of a dark, rusty brown. Leaflet - two to six inches long, downy beneath, and pale, becoming reddish. Bark - of the trunk, dark ashy or granite-gray, or of a deep brown. It is slightly furrowed up and does, the furrows seldom joining or crossing. The branches are grayish. The young shoots are velvety, with a grayish or rusty down. Winged seeds - resembling those of the White Ash, but usually with the end of the wing more rounded. Found - along borders of streams and in low and swampy ground - New Brunswick to Minnesota, and southward to Northern Florida and Alabama; but rare west of the Alleghany Mountains. Its finest growth is in the Northern Atlantic States. General Information - A medium-sized tree, usually thirty to fifty feet high, of less value than the White Ash. Fraxinus from a Greek word meaning "separation," because of the ease with which the wood of the Ash can be split. I find in the notes of an old copy of White's "Natural History of Selborne" this comment: "The Ash, I think, has been termed by Gilpin the Venus of British trees." Gerardes' "Herbal" comments: "The leaves of the Ash are of so great a vertue against serpents, as that the serpents dare not be so bolde as to touch the morning and evening shadowes of the tree, but shunneth them afarre off, as Pliny reporteth in his 16 book, 13 chap. He also affirmeth that the serpent being penned in with boughes laide rounde about, will sooner run into the fire, if any be there, than come neere to the boughes of the Ash."In Scandinavian mythology the great and sacred tree, Yggdrasil, the greatest and most sacred of all trees, which binds together heaven and earth and hell, is an Ash. Its roots spread over the whole earth. Its branches reach above the heavens. Underneath lies a serpent; above is an eagle; a squirrel runs up and down the trunk, trying to breed strife between them.

Genus Fraxinus, L. (Ash)

Leaves - compound (odd-feathered; leaflets, seven to nine); edge of leaflets nearly entire or slightly…

Leaves - compound (hand-shaped; leaflets, usually five, sometimes seven); opposite; edge toothed. Outline - of leaflet, long oval, long egg-shape, or long reverse egg-shape. Apex - taper-pointed. Base - pointed. Leaflet - four to nine inches long, one to three inches wide, usually minutely downy beneath. Flowers, pale yellow. April, May. Fruit - two to two and one half inches in diameter, rounded. Husk - not prickly, but uneven. Nut - one or two in a husk, large and brown. Found - from Alleghany County, Pennsylvania, southward along the Alleghany Mountains to Northern Georgia and Alabama, and westward. General Information - A tree thirty to seventy feet high. Its wood is light and hard to split. With the other species of the same genus it is preferred, above any other American wood, for the making of artificial limbs.

Genus Aesculus, L. (Buckeye, Horse Chestnut)

Leaves - compound (hand-shaped; leaflets, usually five, sometimes seven); opposite; edge toothed. Outline…

Leaves - compound (hand-shaped; leaflets, five); opposite; edge toothed. Outline - of leaflet, oval or long oval. Apex - taper-pointed. Base - pointed. Leaflets - three to seven inches long; one and a half to three inches wide. Bark - with a disagreeable odor. Flowers - small, yellowish-white. June. Fruit - about three fourths of an inch in diameter. Husk - prickly when young. Nut - smooth. Found - along the western slopes of the Alleghany Mountains - Pennsylvania to Northern Alabama and westward. General Information - A small, ill-scented tree (eighteen to thirty-five feet high). Its wood is light and hard to split. With the other species of the same genus it is preferred, above any other American wood, for the making of artificial limbs.

Genus Aesculus, L. (Buckeye, Horse Chestnut)

Leaves - compound (hand-shaped; leaflets, five); opposite; edge toothed. Outline - of leaflet, oval…

The seal of the United States.

United States Seal

The seal of the United States.

The seal of the western part of the New Jersey colony.

Seal of West Jersey

The seal of the western part of the New Jersey colony.

The seal of the eastern part of the New Jersey colony.

Seal of East Jersey

The seal of the eastern part of the New Jersey colony.

The coat of arms of Brazil.

Brazilian Coat of Arms

The coat of arms of Brazil.

The coat of arms of Chile.

Chilean Coat of Arms

The coat of arms of Chile.

The coat of arms of China.

Chinese Coat of Arms

The coat of arms of China.

The coat of arms of Colombia.

Colombian Coat of Arms

The coat of arms of Colombia.

The coat of arms of Costa Rica.

Costa Rican Coat of Arms

The coat of arms of Costa Rica.

The coat of arms of Dominican Republic.

Dominican Republic Coat of Arms

The coat of arms of Dominican Republic.

The Coat of Arms of Ecuador.

Ecuador Coat of Arms

The Coat of Arms of Ecuador.

The Coat of Arms of Egypt.

Egyptian Coat of Arms

The Coat of Arms of Egypt.

The Coat of Arms of France.

French Coat of Arms

The Coat of Arms of France.

The Coat of Arms of Wurtemberg.

Wurtemberg Coat of Arms

The Coat of Arms of Wurtemberg.

The Coat of Arms of Bavaria.

Bavarian Coat of Arms

The Coat of Arms of Bavaria.