TREE FORMS AND EXPRESSIONS 187 



Holy Writ, as well as for its nobleness of dimen- 

 sions and stature. 



It is with certain interesting scenes in the romance 

 of travel that we associate the palms of the tropics. 

 They have acquired singular attractions by appear- 

 ing frequently in scenes that represent the life and 

 manners of the simple inhabitants of the equatorial 

 regions. We see them in pictures bending their 

 fan-like heads majestically over the humble hut of 

 the Indian, supplying him at once with milk, bread, 

 and fruit, and affording him the luxury of their 

 shade. They emblemize the beneficence of nature, 

 which, by means of their products, supplies the 

 wants of man before he has learned the arts of civi- 

 lized life. 



Writers in general apply the term "picturesque" 

 to trees which are devoid of symmetry and very 

 irregular in their outlines, either crooked from age 

 or from some natural eccentricity of growth. Thus 

 the tupelo is so called, to distinguish it from round- 

 headed and symmetrical or beautiful trees. This 

 distinction is not very precise; but it is sanctioned 

 by general use, and answers very well for common 

 purposes of vague description. I shall use the 

 words in a similar manner, not adhering to the dis- 

 tinction as philosophical. Indeed, it is impossible 

 to find words that will clearly express a complex 

 idea. Words are very much like tunes played on 

 a jew's-harp; the notes intended to be given by the 



