TREES AT LEISURE 



of mien proclaim at once its 

 identity and its place as a peer 

 in the forest realm. Who would 

 believe that a granite-gray col- 

 umn could hold store of sweet- 

 ness which a few weeks later we 

 may have for the asking! The 

 maple, more than other trees, 

 seems to need to have its close- 

 fisted bushiness pruned away 

 by jealous neighbors to make it 

 great and fine and generous. 

 To those who think that in 

 winter a maple is simply a maple 

 we should like to point out in 

 contrast to the tree just men- 

 tioned, the graceful, smooth, 

 gray-barked red maple, that, 

 true to its name keeps its bit 

 of winter landscape warm with 

 its glow, each of its bud-laden 

 twigs a ruddy dreamer of scarlet 

 past and crimson future. 



[21] 



