IDENTIFICATION OP TREES 185 



ornament or have originally grown in woods but have been left 

 isolated by the cutting down of their neighbors. In the latter 

 case the habit will be more or less that of a forest-grown tree 

 dependent upon the age at which the conditions of light and 

 shade were altered (see lower habit picture p. 329). In the 

 former case the top of the young tree may have been cut in the 

 process of transplanting causing an increased branching at the 

 point of cutting and the lower limbs may have been trimmed off, 

 giving a greater show of trunk. These mutilations, however, have 

 less influence upon the outline of the head or crown than might 

 be imagined since the tree is generally able to accommodate itself 

 to such accidents as those mentioned and express its individuality 

 despite them. The age of the tree is also an important factor 

 in the outline, young specimens being in general narrower and 

 more conical than in later life while those in old age may have 

 lost shape through ice storms, high winds and the attacks of fungi. 



So far as possible the photographs may have been taken from 

 mature specimens growing in the open and only those have been 

 chosen which have been considered to present an appearance typical 

 of the species. They will help one to form a mental picture of 

 those generalized features of a tree in the landscape which may 

 be recognized at a distance, but w^hich are difficult of analysis. 



Bark — Although it is upon the appearance of the bark more 

 than upon any other character that the woodsman depends in his 

 recognition of timber trees, the bark shares with the habit the 

 misfortune of being difficult of precise description. A study of 

 the photographs, however, in connection Avith the description of 

 the color and texture will enable one to recognize a large propor- 

 tion of our trees by the appearance of the bark alone. They 

 have been taken from mature trees of moderate size which have 

 developed the characteristic sculpturing of the bark rather than 

 from those of larger size which are less frequently seen. A tape 

 measure surrounding the trunk or in some instances a penknife 

 stuck into the bark may serve to give an idea of the relative size 

 of the markings on the trunk. The heading "Bark" is used 

 throughout the descriptions in reference to the trunk and larger 

 limbs and not to the twigs which are described under another 

 heading. 



