222 THE MOUNTAIN. 



the circumstances of growth, as of the soil, air, moisture, and 

 other special surroundings of the plant. As it grows on the 

 mountain, the tree, an object of loveliness, is especially at- 

 tractive, and it would seem that in the beech the spirit of 

 grace and beauty had found its most appropriate image 

 and symbol of perfection. It grows in extensive con- 

 tinuous forests, the rugged web of interwoven roots forming 

 almost a floor for miles, while the white symmetrical stems, 

 uninterrupted by branches to a great height, present the 

 appearance of Grecian columns, giving an expression of art 

 to these vast and leafy sylvan temples. In striking contrast 

 with the hemlock forests, the beech groves appear in . gay 

 and fanciful antagonism. They grow everywhere on, but seek 

 the flatter slopes of the mountain, and seem to affect the 

 gentle undulating surfaces of the table-land. These forests, 

 with their series of white columnar trunks sporting long, 

 thin, and graceful branches, covered with delicate, green, 

 membranous leaves, half translucent, present an array always 

 festive and beautiful. In the early spring, when the tender 

 tissue-paper young leaves are unfolding, and present their soft 

 and delicate surfaces to the air, it is hard to imagine anything 

 more ethereal and exquisite than a waving grove of this lovely 

 tree. In autumn, when the leaves have turned yellow, they 

 appear almost to possess a self-luminous or phosphores- 

 cent pov>^er, for, at this time, however dark the night ma} 

 be, or dense the forests, the traveler sees his path illuminated 

 by a mild, diffused light, each object integrated as by a hazy 

 moon or snow. The effect of this mystic and peculiar light 

 is enchanting. After being for a time in beech woods the 

 contrast is fearful, if the pathway lies through a hemlock 



'■'■ red hecch." This occurs when the tree is old, but with small dia- 

 meter, the annual layers being very thin, and the limbs and foliage 

 small in quantity and proportion. With a large amount of limbs and 

 leaves the white wood predominates, and a tree of a given diameter 

 may exhibit only half the number of concentric annual sheets, and be 

 of only half the age, of a red or heart-wood tree of the same dimen- 

 sion of trunk. 



