28 SYLVAN WINTER. 



and branch, and twig and spray. The continuity of 

 the subdivision occasions considerable length, and 

 as with length there is necessarily weight, there 

 is a consequent drooping, which gives a very 

 graceful character to the tree. Yet the central 

 and upper branches stand erect with considerable 

 vigour, and the spray, in consequence of the 

 length and slenderness of the shoots, is curved 

 oftentimes by the effort to keep an upright position 

 after drooping. Probably it is the combination of 

 acute angles and curves that helps to give to the 

 Ash its easy and graceful aspect. It is in the 

 lower part of the tree that the branching makes 

 the most acute angles. As the limbs and 

 branches become lengthened, however, they 

 spread outward and commence to droop, and 

 it is this character which, observable throughout 

 all the ramification, gives its peculiar gracefulness 

 to the ' Venus of the Woods.' 



If the boy be father to the man, the sapling 

 may also be said to be the parent of the tree, and, 

 with few exceptions, to exhibit those peculiarities, 

 though softened by youth, that make the maturer 

 growth characteristic. As with other trees, so 



