334 Personality of Trees [THIRD WEEK 



burnt out by the signal fire of one of our forefather pioneers. 

 And so on and on the story would unfold, until the top- 

 most, freshly sawed-off limb had for its purpose only the 

 desire of the present owner for a clearer view of the water 

 beyond. 



Finally we come to the tree best beloved of us in the 

 north, the carefully grafted descendant of some sour little 

 wild crab-apple. A faithful servant indeed has the mon- 

 arch of the old orchard proved. It has fed us and our 

 fathers before us, and its gnarled trunk and low-hanging 

 branches tell the story of the rosy fruit which has weighed 

 down its limbs year after year. Old age has laid a heavy 

 hand upon it, but not until the outermost twig has ceased 

 to blossom, and its death, unlike that of its wild kindred, 

 has come silently and peacefully, do we give the order to 

 have the tree felled. Even in its death it serves us, giving 

 back from the open hearth the light and heat which it has 

 stored up throughout the summers of many years. 



Let us give more thought to the trees about us, and 

 when possible succour them in distress, straighten the bent 

 sapling, remove the parasitic lichen, and give them the 

 best chance for a long, patient, strong life. 



In the far North stands a Pine-tree, lone, 



Upon a wintry height; 

 It sleeps; around it snows have thrown 



A covering of white. 



It dreams forever of a Palm 



That, far i' the morning-land, 

 Stands silent in a most sad calm 



Midst of the burning sand. 



(From the German of Heine.) SIDNEY LANIER. 



