238 SYLVAN WINTER. 



and wind, have ripened the branches that have 

 been developed from the -buds in the earlier 

 months. Their bark, first green and tender, has 

 become embrowned and hardened, thus pro- 

 ducing warmth and protection for the soft and 

 tender tissue in them, and preserving the de- 

 licacy and perfection of the moist channels that 

 convey the plant's life-blood the sap first down 

 into the trunk and roots, where it can receive 

 protection during the period of rest, and then up 

 again to create life and beauty when the suc- 

 ceeding spring dawns upon the woods. The 

 effect of frost upon these delicate vessels would 

 be ruinous to their vitality and vigour. But 

 everything has been anticipated. The leaves, 

 which are thin, tender, and delicate, as are those 

 of deciduous plants, fall away and leave the rough 

 and well-prepared branches which bore them to 

 withstand the wintry cold. The leaves of ever- 

 greens which remain during the season of sleep, 

 are prepared by long exposure and by the 

 hardening and thickening of their epidermis, or 

 outer coating of cellular tissue, to withstand the 

 severest influences of Winter. 



