260 



NATURE FOR ITS OWN SAKE 



about the oak. At least such is the romanti- 

 cist's point of view. 



The only power of motion possessed by a tree 

 lies in its growth upward, downward, and out- 

 ward. It is capable of being moved, however, 

 and the great mover is the wind. The slender 

 trees like the birch, the willow, the elm, and the 

 maple, are swung and tossed in their branches 

 as well as in the upper parts of the trunk ; 

 whereas the sturdier growths, like the oak and 

 the chestnut, are moved only in their leaves or 

 smaller stems. In a heavy gale the large 

 trees often rock when they will not bend. 

 The pines, the spruces, the hemlocks all the 

 conifers are great rockers. And they are also 

 great whisperers, great musicians. The slightest 

 wind will start the white pine sounding its 

 ^Eolian harp of needles, and in a gale the whole 

 tree will sometimes hum like the wires strung 

 on telegraph poles or the wind-swept cordage 

 of a ship's rigging. The elm is one of the 

 most graceful of the bending trees, and in fresh 

 winds its branches will roll on for hours, an 

 epitome of poetic motion. The birch is still 

 more easily bent, and the very word " willowy " 

 indicates the elasticity of our common meadow- 

 tree. The poplar, though often a tall tree, 



