332 VOICES FROM THE WOODLANDS. 



and by her ministry innumerable seeds are committed to 

 the earth. Different kinds of winged and creeping insects 

 derive nourishment from the bark, or leaves, or flowers ; and 

 the Aphis Pini converts the buds or young shoots into a 

 beautiful gall, somewhat resembling a fir-cone or pine-apple 

 in miniature. A species of Chermes occasionally pro- 

 duces an enormous scaly protuberance at the summit of the 

 branches, and formed by the extravasations of the juices, 

 in consequence of punctures made for the deposition of 

 her eggs. The magnificent and rare Adonestis Pini feeds 

 upon our boughs; and entomologists conjecture that ten 

 different species are sheltered and sustained by the hos- 

 pitable pine. 



But who may number the homeless creatures that take 

 refuge beneath our shade in the cold regions of the furthest 

 north ? Bears and arctic foxes, squirrels and ermines, hares 

 and sables, are sheltered by those gigantic firs, whose giant 

 arms uphold a load of snow, and prevent it from falling to 

 the ground. The ground, too, is covered with soft moss 



