80 



CHESTNUT TWIG 



The ultimate grace of the chestnut tree 

 is clearly expressed even in its smallest 

 twigs. 



of great delicacy. But these are 

 qualities that an inexperienced 

 student may well despair of as a 

 matter of special study at first 

 winter or summer. It is the kind 

 of tree knowledge obtained last. 

 One does not learn to identify trees 

 by reading written descriptions of 

 bark. Rather, he develops a feel- 

 ing for bark as a result of his study 

 and association with trees in the 

 field. What, then, is there for the 

 inexi)erienced student to occupy 

 himself with in winter? 



Whoever has studied botany is 

 used to a key based upon the form 

 and structure of the flower. When 

 one comes upon a strange plant at a 

 season other than the flowering the 

 kpy is usfU-ss. As a matter of fact 

 there can be no key based upon but 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



one element of plant life that will 

 serve to identify all plants at any 

 time. The structure of the flower 

 serves in the greatest number of 

 cases and is therefore the one univer- 

 sally adopted. It is not true, how- 

 ever, that the usual system of iden- 

 tifying trees based upon the leaf is 

 the most useful. In fact, a key based 

 upon the winter appearance is easier 

 to apply and more certain of appli- 

 cation than the summer key based 

 upon leaves. 



Though the finer distinctions of 

 bark and branches cannot be put into 

 words there are many distinctions 

 so divergent as to be of great prac- 



BLUE, OR WATER BEECH 



Readily and safely to be identified by a char- 

 acteristic bark. 



tical advantage. One may not rec- 

 ognize the subtle difference between 

 the bark of a white elm and that of 

 a slippery elm, but neither could be 

 confused with the bark of a beech or 

 a birch. Many of the rough barked 

 trees are divided into ridges and fur- 

 rows that present easy characteristic 

 differences. The flat-topped ridges of 

 one will distinguish it from the round- 

 topped ridges of another. In some 

 trees the ridges are divided by trans- 

 verse cracks into longish blocks as in 

 the sassafras, or into squares as in the 

 dogwood, or into hexagonal blocks as 



in the tupelo. Other kinds of bark 

 flake and scale without forming deep 

 fissures as the sycamore. Sometimes 

 the ridges of the sugar maple rise 

 in great projecting flaps. Sometimes 

 the ridges scale off in different ways. 

 The scales of the shagbark hickory 

 are attached at the top and break 

 loose at the bottom ; those of the sil- 

 ver maple are attached in the middle 

 and break loose at both ends. 



But it is upon the twig that one de- 

 pends most for the identification of 

 species. Twig is a technical term that 

 implies not only the end of the branch, 

 but also that portion only which grew 

 the preceding season. This twig is 

 made up of skin, wood and pith, as in 

 the main stem of the tree. 



When one breaks a twig of sassa- 

 fras he recognizes the characteristic 

 odor. Had it smelled of wintergreen 

 he would have suspected a birch. 

 Some twigs when broken will show 

 a dry pith, others will exude a milky 



BUTTERNUT 



The bark is light brown-gray, very rough and 

 seamed with short, ilat-topped ridges. 



