SNOW. 87 



It lias all the appearance of veritable fairy-work. 

 Upon the substantial basis afforded by the fork, 

 where the limbs first part from the trunk, or, 

 above, where thick branches and boughs divide 

 from the limbs, it is not surprising to find snow 

 crystals piled in abundance. But the process is 

 continued by gradation upwards higher and 

 higher for the tiniest sprigs and the tiniest of 

 sprays support their burdens of flakes, raised 

 upon the most slender of foundations, each snow- 

 crystal clinging to each and forming structures 

 of singular delicacy and beauty, the countless 

 variations of which render detailed description 

 impossible, but give the mind impressions that 

 stimulate the sense of wonder and arouse admi- 

 ration in the least emotional beings. 



The picturesque and beautiful effects of fallen 

 snow vary with the variation in the arboreal forms 

 on which it is displayed, and when different 

 species of trees and shrubs grow side by side, 

 the contrast is most marked and striking. Ever- 

 greens strike the eye most by contrast of colour ; 

 deciduous trees, stripped, as they are in winter, 

 of their leafy appendages, by the beauty of form. 



