PLANTING AND CARE OP TREES 11 



INTRODUCTION. 

 THE STUDY OF TREES. 



It is frequently the practice in an introductor}^ chapter to show 

 the importance of the subject to be discussed and to attempt to 

 prove that it, of all subjects for study, is most worthy of the 

 .•eader's consideration. Many words could thus be used in de- 

 scribing the misfortune to civilization, literature and art had our 

 world been devoid of trees and the product of trees. The for- 

 ester and the lumberman bear testimony to the utilitarian value 

 of trees and the landscape architect to their use in making our sur- 

 roundings more beautiful. It is not necessary, therefore, to jus- 

 tify the interest in our subject. 



Although the botanical specialist and the student of tree dis- 

 eases, may, it is hoped, find in the present volume added means of 

 identifying their tree specimens, the book is not intended pri- 

 marily for the indoor laboratory. It is meant to serve as an intro- 

 duction to the study and appreciation of one phase of outdoor life. 

 The present chapter will suggest some of the ways in which the 

 study of trees may be carried on. 



Tree Identification — In the early stages of knowledge come 

 names. If one objects that so large a part of the book is 

 given over to the means of distinguishing one tree from another — 

 in other words to learning their names — it must be remembered 

 that the natural approach toward knowing a person is learning 

 his name. It is not otherwise with trees. We who are teachers 

 know the difficulties in learning the names in a new class of stu- 

 dents. Some of us may have devised temporary expedients as 

 jotting down in our roll book such distingiiishing facial character- 

 istics of the students as the color of the eyes or of the hair. No 

 doubt, if it were worth while, a satisfactory key to the identification 

 of a class of students could be worked out by the use of such 

 characters. We have never tried it with our students because we 

 have soon come to know them less by such detailed marks of dis- 

 tinction than by the whole face and Ave finally learn to recognize 

 them even at a distance by some indefinable peculiarity of form or 

 habit of gait. 



The more minute characters of the twig used in the keys and 

 descriptive text are to be used as we use the color of the hair and 



Library 

 JNT. C, State CollefrA 



