SURROUNDINGS OF THE HOME 261 



tree, shrub, herb, and weed met in one's daily walks. Recog- 

 nition of new plants as members of a well-known family is 

 much the same as to learn that a chance acquaintance is a 

 relative of some friend of ours. 



In order to describe trees for purposes of identification 

 it is well to make use of some technical terms of definite 

 meaning. All who would have any complete knowledge of 

 plants must study Botany. But it is not necessary to be a 

 botanist in order to know and appreciate trees, any more than 

 it is necessary to be a psychologist in order to know and love 

 our friends. It is probable, however, that one who comes to 

 know trees, and to understand something of the conditions 

 for their growth and well-being, will desire to have a knowl- 

 edge of Botany. Studies of the plants with which one is 

 more or less familiar may prove an excellent introduction to 

 it. 



The general form of trees taken as a whole is one of 

 their distinguishing characteristics. An observer who is ac- 

 quainted with trees readily recognizes any familiar kind by its 

 form even at a distance. Yet to describe just what is 

 meant by the "form" of any tree is not easy. For one thing 

 trees are classed as having tops spreading (as the apple and 

 white elm), or erect (as evergreens and poplars). The angle 

 which the branches make with the tree trunk is in a general 

 way a noticeable feature; so is the relative amount of 

 smaller branches and twigs (the "spray"). 



To one well acquainted with trees the appearance of the 

 bark on the trunk and on the younger growths of limbs 

 identifies the kind of tree. The beginner must acquire this 

 ability of recognition through personal acquaintance with 

 different trees, getting it incidentally in connection with other 

 means of identifying them. As trees grow the old bark 

 cracks in a variety of ways often characteristic of the kind 

 of tree, and as new bark forms underneath year by year these 



