TREES WITH A PERSONALITY 19 



out the will's decree and the explanatory tablet 

 nailed to the old friend's bark will not be disturbed 

 for many years to come. Such tenderness is more 

 touching than a million-dollar philanthropy. 



Some trees show their personalities by the very 

 places they select for their homes. Willows, man- 

 groves and cypresses which like the damp places of 

 the earth are quite different creatures from the 

 sturdy pines and hemlocks which elect the wind- 

 swept hillsides. Every tree has pronounced tastes 

 not only as to habitat but in colour, leafage, bark, 

 flowers and even perfumes! 



Perhaps the most common tree in the northern 

 United States is the oak. Even a man who scarcely 

 knows one tree from another can usually pick out 

 any member of this famous family of wind-buffers. 



Most poets award the kingship among trees to 

 "lord of the woods, the long-surviving oak." Many 

 American tree-lovers would have ample grounds on 

 which to challenge this decree, if they based their 

 entire decision on the sometimes scrubby members 

 of the oak family in their home country; but a 

 consideration of oaks all over the world, particularly 

 the splendid specimens of the British Isles, leads 

 to the conclusion that the choice is well warranted. 



No other tree is a better embodiment of rugged 

 masculinity tempered by majestic mien. The pop- 



