January Walnut. 49 



decidedly the walnut. Its bark is magnificent in the 

 strength of the deeply-furrowed lines which mark it 

 (tempting beyond measure to an etcher), and its fine 

 pale grays exhibit to perfection that wealth of dark 

 mosses which the landscape-painter knows and values. 

 Besides this, there is so much grandeur in its far-spread- 

 ing, powerful arms, that it is well for us to see them 

 during part of the year without their voluminous green 

 sleeves. Happily for the beauty of many a village 

 the walnut is productive during life, so that it is allowed 

 to come to full maturity. The oak is inferior both in 

 form and color, and expresses only a sturdy strength. 

 The ash shows her grace of structure, her tall and ele- 

 gant limbs, whilst her bunches of ' keys' hang like orna- 

 ments on the lofty branches ; and there will be a little 

 rich green moss, perhaps, about her foot, and on her 

 trunk one or two different kinds of lichen, either gray 

 or golden. As for the towering poplar, there will be 

 nothing whatever on all his height but here and there 

 a remnant of last year's leaves, withered and curled, 

 whilst the branches whiten towards the summit. The 

 alder would be almost as naked were it not for the 

 quantities of brown catkins, which give a deep and 

 rather rich color at a distance. All the branches of 

 the horse-chestnut are tipped with brown buds, whose 

 abundant adhesive varnish protects the tiny leaf rudi- 

 ments, all snugly wrapped in cotton. The ground 

 beneath is strewn with the sere leaves of the preced- 

 ing year, and the smooth-rinded old mahogany-colored 

 fruit. 



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