Wood and Plantations 51 



where the sun strikes down with parching heat, or the wind 

 sweeps over with unbroken fury, and they may, perhaps, 

 estimate, by contrast, their beauty and value. 



We are not now to enumerate the great usefulness of trees, 



- their value in the construction of our habitations, our 

 navies, the various implements of labor, - - in short, the 

 thousand associations which they suggest as ministering to 

 our daily wants; but let us imagine the loveliest scene, the 

 wildest landscape, or the most enchanting valley, despoiled 

 of trees, and we shall find nature shorn of her fair propor- 

 tions, and the character and expression of these favorite 

 spots almost entirely destroyed. 



Wood, in its many shapes, is then one of the greatest 

 sources of interest and character in landscapes. Variety, 

 which we need scarcely allude to as a fertile source of 

 beauty, is created in a wonderful degree by a natural arrange- 

 ment of trees. To a pile of buildings, or even of ruins, to a 

 group of rocks or animals, they communicate new life and 

 spirit by their irregular outlines, which, by partially con- 

 cealing some portions, and throwing others into stronger 

 light, contribute greatly to produce intricacy and variety, 

 and confer an expression, which, without these latter quali- 

 ties, might in a great measure be wanting. By shutting 

 out some parts, and inclosing others, they divide the extent 

 embraced by the eye into a hundred different landscapes, 

 instead of one tame scene bounded by the horizon. 



The different seasons of the year, too, are inseparably 

 connected in our minds with the effects produced by them 

 on woodland scenery. Spring is joyous and enlivening to 

 us, as nature then puts on her fresh livery of green, and the 

 trees bud and blossom with a renewed beauty, that speaks 

 with a mute and gentle eloquence to the heart. In sum- 

 mer they offer us a grateful shelter under their umbrageous 

 arms and leafy branches, and whisper unwritten music to 

 the passing breeze. In autumn we feel a melancholy 

 thoughtfulness as 



' We stand among tho fallen leaves," 



and gaze upon their dying glories. And in winter we see 



