TREES AT LEISURE 



white ash give the effect of being 

 warped into terminal curves. 

 Contrast the bark of the white 

 ash with the rugged virile bark 

 of the hemlock and then turn 

 to the basswood's straight bole 

 and note the fine elongated net- 

 work w T hich covers it and learn 

 to greet each as a friend well 

 known and well beloved! 



The hornbeam, or blue beech, 

 ever tries to tie into a knot its 

 twisted slender branches; often 

 even the grain of the wood is 

 hard twisted, so that the close 

 bark shows as a loose spiral. 

 One wonders if it is because of 

 this vital writhing that the sap 

 which slowly oozes from the tree 

 in spring soon turns red as 

 blood. Very different in appear- 

 ance is her sister, the hop horn- 

 beam, whose slender trunk is 



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