Along the low banks of rivers, and on the wooded shores of ponds and
lakes that do not rise above the water-level, grows a slender and rather
elegant bush, with dark and dull green foliage, possessing a very
agreeable odor, which is perceived when the leaf is crushed. The
Sweet-Gale is indigenous both in Europe and America. It is found only in
wet places, where it forms knolls and copses, excluding all other plants
by the density and vigor of its growth. This exclusive habit is owing to
the multitude and tenacity of its roots, that form a subterranean
network almost impenetrable. The Sweet-Gale is about half aquatic; it
grows out of the water like the button-bush, and is, I believe, never
found except in lands which are annually inundated.
It is this shrub that regales the sight with fresh verdure, rising out
of the bosom of shallow waters in compact masses and forming little
islets of shrubbery, without the mixture of any other plant. Through
these wooded islets, on angling excursions, we propel our boat, while
the surface of the lake is spangled with water-lilies, which,
intermingled with the long blue spikes of pickerelweed and other aquatic
flowers, while the notes of the veery and the red mavis are heard from
the shore, afford the scene a kind of tropical splendor.