OUR COUSINS, THE TREES. 



453 



to you or me as to a queen or emperor. And ^vhat is this "best" 

 that is never withheld, unless we lack receptivity? [The rightful 

 claims of the forester, lumberman and artisan, or the man of com- 

 merce, have no place in this exposition, as practical compulsion 

 here plays the major part ; and this theme is concerned only with 

 free gifts between those who are akin.] Their faculty of entering 

 into our sorrows, with comprehension rare, has already received its 

 mention; and their power to rejoice with us, in moments of delight 

 or exultation, knows no limit. If their amis seem striving to em- 

 brace us, their leaves to murmur tender, murmurous phrases, and 

 their patient, beauteous personality persuasively to whisper of en- 

 durance and hope in our hours of grief, just as surely in our joyous 



The Minnesota elm on farm of A. C. Loring, at I^ake Minnetonka. 



days do their branches toss with happy glee, their leaves ripple with 

 laughter and their whole aspect breathe of good cheer. 



The adaptability of "our cousins" breeds in us, too, a philosophic 

 calm concerning environment. Some species are naturally gregari- 

 ous, others preferring a more solitary situation : this one selects the 

 rich loam of a valley for its habitat ; that, the more sterile land of the 

 hill ; while many thrive best in a northern climate, and others creep 

 toward a tropical heat ; but should fate or man interfere with this 

 natural order of things, our tree-philosopher adapts itself to changed 

 conditions as far as Mother Nature will permit. 



Both in summer and winter do we owe them a debt for provid- 

 ing homes for our feathered songsters, and during the latter season 

 a genial fancy makes us almost believe that the enduring foliage 

 of the evergreens, and the dried leaves still clinging to some of our 



