In Winter Woods 385 



a little thawing now and then, we can always find 

 a few green ferns. Lichens, which make their 

 homes as far north as the Arctic circle, are not 

 discouraged by the worst our January can do. 

 Some mosses are green, still, under the snow, and 

 on the trunks of many trees, even now, we may 

 notice a green film which is caused by the growth 

 of some tiny and humble cousins of the rich green 

 11 sea-lettuces " which float at the edges of tidal 

 pools on rocky coasts. 



Probably the very great-grandparents of these 

 little land algae were seaweeds or fresh-water 

 weeds, and the family love for coolness and shade 

 is constant through all changes. For when the 

 leaves are gone, and even subdued colors "tell" 

 amid the general grayness of the woodlands, we 

 see how persistently the land algae choose the 

 north sides of the tree trunks. Lichens, too, love 

 best to grow where the direct rays of the sun 

 cannot reach them. 



We look southward through the woods, and every 

 tree from earth to branches is spotted or filmed, 

 or shrouded with a close-clinging growth of sober 

 but living green. We see the north sides of all 

 the tree-trunks and they are covered with minute 

 shade-loving plants. 



