THROUGH THE CHANGING YEAR 145 



its leaves in the winter. Though, even here, 

 what we gained in shelter we should lose in 

 light, and we can always arrange screens of 

 evergreen trees. Even in winter, house or 

 farmstead looks, and is, much more comfort- 

 able for the trees about it. How often, near 

 the coast, we see a plantation screening the 

 farm from the cold sea-winds. From time 

 immemorial the living tree has been chiefly 

 useful as a shade ; and, in saying this, I do 

 not overlook such larger, and more communal 

 value, as the influence of trees upon climate 

 and rainfall ; and such exceptional use as the 

 protection of mountain - villages against the 

 destructive avalanche. The leafiness of trees, 

 then, is one of their qualities that we value 

 most. The spreading tree is more to us 

 than the lofty pyramidal tree. The Lombardy 

 poplar and the lofty firs are welcome here and 

 there ; but oak, beech, elm and the rest of the 

 widely branching trees are better for general 

 use, as a house is more comfortable than a 

 tower. 



As a part of the pageant of nature, of the 

 beautiful visible world, how delightfully the 

 trees add to the interest of the landscape by 



