56 The Amateur Poacher 



When the oak first puts forth its buds, the woods 

 take a ruddy tint. Gradually the background of 

 green comes to the front, and the oak-apples swell, 

 streaked with rosy stains, whence their semblance to 

 the edible fruit of the orchard. All unconscious of 

 the white or red cross daubed on the rough bark, 

 the tree prepares its glory of leaf, though doomed the 

 while by that sad mark to the axe. 



Cutting away the bushes with his billhook, the 

 woodman next swings the cumbrous grub-axe, whose 

 wide edge clears the earth from the larger roots. 

 Then he puts his pipe in his pocket, and settles to 

 the serious work of the ' great axe/ as he calls it. I 

 never could use this ungainly tool aright : a top- 

 heavy, clumsy, awkward thing, it rules you instead 

 of you ruling it. The handle, too, is flat almost 

 with an edge itself sometimes and is quite beyond 

 the grasp of any but hands of iron. Now, the 

 American axe feels balanced like a sword ; this is 

 because of the peculiar curve of the handle. To 

 strike you stand with the left foot slightly forward, 

 and the left hand uppermost : the ' S ' curve (it is 

 of course not nearly so crooked as the letter) of the 

 American axe adjusts itself to the anatomy of the 

 attitude, so to speak. 



The straight English handle does not ; it is stiff, 



