1895.] ESSAYS. 73 



tulip, the tree of heaven and the poplar, are generally considered well 

 adapted to the street, and I wish we might have avenues of oaks and 

 beeches. 



My only argument for the study of trees is the pleasure to be had 

 from it. Of the educational value of such study I have said nothing. 

 I believe I cannot do better, however, in closing, than to quote what 

 Professor Sargent says of this aspect of the subject, in an editorial 

 article in "Garden and Forest," entitled "The Tree as a School- 

 master." " When its economic uses are to bf considered a wide field 

 opens to the tree-student as he learns how great a part it plays in 

 every enterprise of man. To it he owes his dwelling and his boat, 

 his oar and his weapon, often his clothing and his meat and drink ; it 

 has modified his character, determined his history, and been a staple 

 of his commerce with other lands. Far-reaching has been its influ- 

 ence upon the race from prehistoric days until the time when the 

 wooden walls of England became the bulwark of that liberty of 

 which our independence is the outcome. Thus the story of the tree 

 leads to the history of the race which it has so strongly infljiienced, 

 and opens out the whole human horizon to its pupil. Hence he who 

 makes a companion of trees, and seriously seeks to learn the secret 

 of their importance, finds his own mind and knowledge constantly 

 expanding with the effort to master this ever-widening topic. As the 

 subject grows, he himself grows ; his silent but wise instructor con- 

 ducting him step by step to higher and wider outlooks ; to a more 

 comprehensive grasp of information ; to a keener understanding of 

 humanity; to a deeper reverence for nature; while filling him with 

 unending surprise at the educational resources of that schoolmaster 

 which has opened to him the door to the whole world of knowledge." 



