4 Forests and Trees 



are relieved by touches of the tenderest and purest of all 

 passions, that mother love which softens and ennobles the 

 life of all the higher animals. But over and around all is 

 the forest which shelters this life and makes it possible. 



The birds, too, play their part. The ruffed grouse twits 

 and struts and drums ; the blue jay, fresh from pilfering 

 some nest, screams out his satisfaction with himself, while 

 on some high stub the cock of the woods pounds monoto- 

 nously as he extracts the juicy grubs. The glossy black of 

 his back makes a beautiful contrast to the fiery red on his 

 head, yet his is no holiday attire. He is an industrious 

 woodsman and has his living to make. The little birds, 

 too, warblers, nuthatches, chickadees and creepers, keep 

 up their search for insects, each in its own way and in its 

 own place. No one intrudes on the domain of the other. 

 They all go about their work with an earnestness that 

 shows how serious is the struggle to live. In fact the 

 tree tops as well as the ground beneath throb with life, 

 which they enfold with a security that enables each living 

 thing to do its work in comparative safety. The woods 

 has made these creatures what they are, has shaped their 

 habits and sharpened their senses, and the woods protects 

 and provides for them. And it is not only the winged or the 

 four-footed that the forest has nurtured. What is true 

 of bird and beast is true also of mankind. 



The forest has had tremendous influence upon the life 

 of man. In earliest times it supplied his fuel and shelter. 

 His rude tools and weapons were shaped from its roots and 

 stems, while nuts and berries were his surest supply of 



