58 THE HUMAN SIDE OF TREES 



poplar stabs the sky-line like a slender exclamation- 

 point. 



In the use of colour there are of course marked 

 differences. The oaks and maples have a corner 

 on the vivid autumn effects, while such trees as the 

 birches, ashes, and poplars go in for softer tones. 

 Even the maples are by no means agreed as to the 

 correct shade for October wear. The Norway 

 maple seems to prefer oranges and gold, while the 

 sugar maple usually picks out different blendings 

 of red and crimson. These colour schemes are 

 worked in material of different textures. Viewed 

 from a little distance, some trees have a foliage- 

 dress which looks coarse and dense with deep and 

 sombre shadows. Many more wear clothes which 

 have a light and elegant look. 



The fashions and caprices of trees have wielded a 

 larger influence over man's history, since his orig- 

 inal short stay in the Garden of Eden, than he is 

 consciously aware of. Since Mother Eve first 

 draped herself in fig leaves, mankind has imitated 

 the tree fashions. Among other things, the trees 

 were the first to originate the relation of colour to 

 the seasons. Man gets his ideas of colour-sym- 

 bolism from them. 



