FASHIONABLE TREES 55 



Thoreau calls a "handsome instep" where its great 

 roots grip the soil. 



The structural reason for the foliage-masses of 

 the different trees is quite apparent when one has 

 seen the skeleton of each. The few large branches 

 of the oak naturally make for grouped masses of 

 leaves with contrasting shadows and deep, cavern- 

 ous openings. The numerous slender branches and 

 side-shoots of the maple account for the smooth, 

 sunny surface of the leaf-clothed tree. The frame- 

 work of a tree determines whether its ultimate ex- 

 pression shall be one of gloom, dignity, or grace. 



The bark is both the skin and the winter overcoat 

 of trees. Each tree chooses a material with a pat- 

 tern and texture suited to its own particular style of 

 beauty. The beech is a hardy creature who wears 

 an outer covering which is wonderfully smooth and 

 fine, but which is so thin that we wonder how he 

 keeps from freezing to death. The walnut and 

 the pecan wear close-fitting coats of a considerably 

 heavier weight. The sycamore is content to appear 

 in a winter habit so rough as to seem ragged. The 

 birch is decidedly fashionable and sports clothes of 

 startling cut and colouring. She often wears over- 

 laying parchment suits of white, amber-yellow and 

 garnet-red. The red oak wears a beautiful pink 



