16 CONVERSATIONS ON THE 



of as yet, but they have their uses, and good 

 ones, too ; and people are finding them out 

 every day. As to the trees, I think I can soon 

 convince you that many of them are useful 

 enough, though they don't bear apples, or 

 peaches, or cherries. AVhat sort of a tree is 

 this under which we are sitting?" 



" A chestnut ; we gathered a great many 

 nuts from it last fall, when you were gone to 

 New- York, and they are almost ripe again 



now.' 



" Well, boys, I suppose you found the chest- 

 nuts very good eating, although not quite as 

 large as the peaches. Now tell me another 

 thing ; you have been up in the pasture-lot 

 this morning, and seen one of the men at 

 work ; what was he doing ?" 



" Splitting rails for the new fence." 

 " Well, the logs that he was at work upon, 

 are chestnut, and the handle of his axe was 

 hickory, and the beetle or mall that he drove 

 his wedges with, was oak; so there you see was 

 the wood of three large trees made useful in 

 one single operation. And now, boys, as we 

 have begun to talk about trees, if you like I 

 will tell you something about the principal 

 trees that grow in our country, and the things 



