THE OUTDOOR WORLD 



365 



FIG. VI— THE MENIAL TASK OF A UlANT. 



librium, difficult root-nourishment, and 

 making the best of a bad bargain ! Its 

 fellow on the left succeeded too, but 

 only half as well, incapable as it was 

 of growing out far enough to its desir- 

 ed base-rock. And the four half-suc- 

 cesses on the right side of the picture 

 tell their own tale of pathetic trial. 



Fig. IV speaks also of a splendid vic- 

 tory, but of death, at last. 



Near Valcour, New York, about one 

 hundred years ago were planted mile- 

 long rows of Lombardy Poplars, wnich 

 are to-day huge giants of trees, rugged, 

 gnarled and unconquered of wind and 

 time. About seventy-five years ago, a 

 man with a mind which one shrinks 

 from properly and adequately charac- 

 terizing, conceived the condemnable 

 idea of turning these majestic beings 

 into fence-posts. He dug out of their 

 sides and hearts deep mortice-holes, 

 and into them he fitted and drove the 

 ends of oak planks, two inches thick, 

 and eight inches wide. Proud he must 

 have been of his blasphemous trick. 

 The planks were later cut off near the 

 trunk, but at present it would be im- 



possible to draw from the trees their 

 enemies thrust so ignomiously into 

 their flesh. The trees seem weirdly to 

 delight in their victory over the insults 

 and to exhibit the conquered slaves 

 with huge pride. The planks are sound 

 and cannot rot themselves out or away 

 from their sardonic conquerors (see 

 Fig. V). 



How one almost succeeded in en- 

 gulfing and hiding the enemy's spear 

 by oozing plastic material over it is 

 shown in Fig. VI. 



A City Tree's Prayer. 



BY J. J. LEVISON, B. A., M. F., BROOKLYN, 

 NEW YORK. 



If city trees could speak they would 

 offer the following prayer to their own- 

 ers : 



A NEGLECTED TREE. 



