INTRODUCTION 



being Box, Yew, Cherry Laurel, Portugal Laurel, Butchers Broom, and 

 Holly-leaved Barberry. 



The outdoor student will probably have but little to do with the roots 

 of trees, though many interesting questions are connected with their functions. 

 Above ground, however, he has much to interest him and help him in the 

 identification of the species at all seasons. 



SHAPES OF TREES 



Viewed from a distance most of our trees will be found to have a more 

 or less distinctive shape, and much can be done to take this as a rough 

 identification mark, but the peculiar characteristics of each tree are most 

 apparent in late autumn and winter when the leaves are fallen and the 

 different modes of branching are laid bare. In the Oak, with its expansive 

 spread and large rounded head, we then notice the stoutness of its limbs, 

 which, continually subdividing at right angles, twist here and there horizontally 

 in various contortions, at once adding the idea of great strength to that of 

 beauty. On the other hand, the Ash, with its easy-flowing lines and loose 

 pendent branches, rather suggests the idea of beauty and elegance. Compare 

 again the massive form of the Elms with the light gracefulness of the Silver 

 Birch, and the tall spire-like column of the Lombardy Poplar, or the elon- 

 gated pyramidal growth of the Deodar, with the broadly pyramidal head or 

 flattened top of the Cedar of Lebanon. In their general conical outline, how 

 well are many of the Conifers adapted for bearing the masses of snow in their 

 native climes. 



IMPORTANCE OF STUDYING THE SPRAY 



To obtain a more accurate idea of the nice peculiarities and distinctions 

 of trees we must examine their smaller parts with more precision, and a study 

 of the spray is an interesting one for the winter months. We shall see that 

 the mode of growth in the spray corresponds with that of the larger branches. 

 In the Oak it breaks out in right angles, or nearly so, in a series of long and 

 short shoots, giving that abrupt mode of ramification for which the Oak 



