A SPRAY OF PINE. 51 



All trees in primitive woods are less social, less 

 disposed to intermingle, than trees in groves or fields : 

 they are more heady ; they meet only on high grounds ; 

 they shake hands over the heads of their neighbors ; 

 the struggle for life is sharper and more merciless, 

 in these and other respects suggesting men in 

 cities. One tree falls against a more stanch one and 

 bruises only itself; a weaker one it carries to the 

 ground with it. 



Both the pine and the hemlock make friends with 

 the birch, the maple, and the oak, and one of the most 

 pleasing and striking features of our autumnal scenery 

 is a mountain side sown broadcast with these inter- 

 mingled trees, forming a combination of colors like 

 the richest tapestry, the dark green giving body and 

 permanence, the orange and yellow giving light and 

 brilliancy. 



