166 The Nature-Study Idea 



the forest. There are steeper undulations in 

 the footpath. Even when the snow lies deep 

 on the earth, the ground-line carries the eye 

 into strange distances. You look far down 

 into the heart of the woods. You feel the 

 strength and resoluteness of the framework of 

 the trees. You see the corners and angles of 

 the rocks. You discover the trail that was lost 

 in the summer. You look clear through the 

 weedy tangle. You find new knot-holes in the 

 tree-trunks. You penetrate to the very depths. 

 You analyze, and gain insight. 



Many times in warm countries I have been 

 told that the climate has transcendent merit 

 because there is no winter. But to me this lack 

 is its disadvantage. There are things to see, 

 things to do, things to think about in the winter 

 as in the spring. There is interest in the winter 

 wayside, in the hibernating insects, in the few 

 hardy birds, and the deserted nests, in the fret- 

 work of the weeds against the snow, in the 

 strong outlines of the trees, in the snow-shapes, 

 in the cold deep sky. To many persons these 

 strong alternations of the seasons emphasize 



