282 Poachers and Poaching. 



is a girl grandchild, who has long lived with 

 him. Neither have ever been more than a 

 dozen miles from the spot, nor care to. Nomi- 

 nally the old man's work is to look after the 

 woods of one valley. This has been his life-work, 

 and he has no longing for change. He knows 

 nothing of what goes on without a narrow circle, 

 and his Bible and an occasional country newspaper 

 constitute his sole literature. 



As becomes his craft he never tires of talking 

 of trees. In his woods the giant oak is common, 

 with its gnarled and twisted bole, its wildly 

 reticulated branches, its lichens, and its host 

 of insect visitors. He has himself detected 

 the two varieties of the oak, and points out the 

 difference. In one case the acorns are borne 

 on stalks, in the other they are sessile. Of 

 these he speaks as the long and short-stalked 

 kinds. He has no confidence in the popular 

 theory that the wood of the one greatly excels 

 that of the other. He has worked both, and 

 has not discovered any substantial difference. 

 In late autumn he gathers from beneath the 

 oaks huge sacksful of acorns, of which he 

 disposes to the farmers. Next comes the majestic 

 beech, with its smooth bole and olive-grey 

 bark. The old man recalls its wondrous flood of 

 green in spring, and its not less glorious gold in 

 autumn. 



Some modern Orlando even haunts the forest 



