1 6 Common Trees 



THE TREES 



T 



REES are much more than columns of wood that lift their 

 heads toward the sky. They are living and friendly 

 creatures of a great and wonderful creation. They are glori- 

 ous nature-made objects, surpassed only by him who walks 

 among them in living beauty and thinking grace. They arc 

 the earth's fairest cloak, designed primarily for a life of service 

 and to broadcast happiness and bring comforts to the people 

 of the earth. 



The botanist tells us that "a tree is a woody perennial 

 plant having a single main stem commonly exceeding 10 feet 

 in height and usually devoid of branches below, but bearing 

 a crown of branches and foliage at the summit." This may 

 be a good descriptive definition of a tree, but it does not really 

 tell us what trees are. To really know trees we must have 

 a knowledge of more than the length of their trunk, the 

 position of their crown, and the distinctive characteristics 

 of their bark, branches, twigs, buds, leaves, flowers, fruit 

 and other structural features. Trees are living things, and 

 in their lives are more interesting and worthwhile lessons 

 than in their structures. The lives of trees unfold to us 

 beautiful messages and fashion an attitude of tree apprecia- 

 tion without which tree knowledge is soulless. 



There is a human as well as a material side to trees. They 

 do so many things that man docth. To say that they breathe, 

 eat. drink, grow, reproduce, work, and rest is naming only 

 a few of their common functions. They have habits, pos- 

 sess peculiarities, and are adaptive to the environment in 

 which they live. All these attributes place them among the 

 most interesting living things on the face of the earth. 



Many a time have I been impressed with the quiet and 

 natural ways of trees and their clean and normal lives. It 

 will ever be to our credit if we too can grow, live and give 

 in the same quietness and naturalness. Then. too. they stand 

 erect, reach high, root deep, and do many good deeds. In 

 many ways the acts of trees are worthy patterns for all of 

 us. If our lives give shelter, pleasantness, and relief as do 

 the trees, they will bring blessings and comforts in growing 

 abundance. 



