xvi INTRODUCTION 



bur oak are easily remembered traits. The peculiar hori- 

 zontal peeling of bark on birches designates most of the 

 genus. The prussic-acid taste of a twig sets the cherry 

 tribe apart. The familiar aromatic taste of the green 

 twigs of sassafras is its best winter character; the mitten- 

 shaped leaves distinguish it in summer. 



It is necessary to get some book on the subject to dis- 

 cover the names of trees one studies, and to act as teacher 

 at times. A book makes a good staff, but a poor crutch. 

 The eyes and the judgment are the dependable things. 

 In spring the way in which the leaves open is significant; 

 so are the flowers. Every tree when it reaches proper age 

 bears flowers. Not all bear fruit, but blossoms come on 

 every tree. In summer the leaves and fruits are there to 

 be examined. In autumn the ripening fruits are the 

 special features. 



To know a tree's name is the beginning of acquaintance 

 — not an end in itself. There is all the rest of one's life in 

 which to follow it up. Tree friendships are very precious 

 things. John Muir, writing among his beloved trees of the 

 Yosemite Valley, adjures his world-weary fellow men to 

 seek the companionship of trees. 



" To learn how they live and behave in pure wildness, to 

 see them in their varying aspects through the seasons and 

 weather, rejoicing in the great storms, putting forth their 

 new leaves and flowers, when all the streams are in flood, 

 and the birds singing, and sending away their seeds in the 

 thoughtful Indian summer, when all the landscape is glow- 

 ing in deep, calm enthusiasm — for this you must love them 

 and live with them, as free from schemes and care and 

 time as the trees themselves." 



