18 NATURE IN A CITY YARD 



minute is likely to make you neglect the 

 landscape ; but lie flat, face up, beneath a 

 tree (if you have n't one, a big azalea like 

 the one in our yard will do), and you will 

 realize that you never appreciated arboreal 

 anatomy before. How light and strong it 

 is, how full of lessons for engineers and 

 builders and painters ! And it is so un- 

 accustomed; the tangents in the boughs 

 are so unexpected ; the masses of leaf, 

 flower, and fruit are so remarkable; it is 

 so inspiring to see that castle in the air, so 

 light, so fairy-like, yet so sturdy and tough, 

 with the birds and bees and butterflies seek- 

 ing its entrances ! 



Strangest of all is that it impresses one 

 in a vague way with a consciousness of its 

 strength and purpose. What made it bend 

 this bough to avoid another ? Why did it 

 thin out its leaves here, where it was likely 

 to clash them against another branchful ? 

 You wonder if they hear and know, these 

 trees, all that is said and done by the 

 clumsy black beetles on two legs that 

 crawl over their roots. 



If you can't look up into a tree for ex- 



