180 SYLVAN WINTER. 



the shoots, and are conical and prominent, dark- 

 coloured and terminal. As the tree acquires size 

 and age, there supervenes a rich, crumpled appear- 

 ance, which, as our engraving shows, gives to it 

 the * character ' we have already claimed for it. 

 Without, there is a smoothness of bark suggestive 

 of the Beech, and a lightness of hue in the ' larger 

 parts,' which, combined with the smoothness, is 

 beautiful. 



* In ancient days, when superstition held that 

 place in society which dissipation and impiety 

 now hold,' sternly remarked Gilpin, ' the Moun- 

 tain Ash was considered an object of great 

 veneration. Often at this day a stump of it is 

 found in some old burying-place, or near the 

 circle of a Druid temple, whose rites it formerly 

 invested with its sacred shade. Its chief merit 

 now consists in being the ornament of land- 

 scape.' He continues, 'In the Scottish islands 

 it becomes a considerable tree. There are some 

 rocky mountains covered with dark Pines and 

 waving Birch, which cast a solemn gloom over 

 the lake below ; a few Mountain Ashes joining in 

 a clump, and mixing with them, have a fine effect. 



