THE WOODS. 15 



we depend upon them for wood of all kinds, but 

 without them streams and springs would become 

 dry, rainfalls would quickly run away and evap- 

 orate, where now the water is retained in cool 

 shades and slowly fed to the sources of great 

 rivers. With the disappearance of trees would 

 go great troops of birds that feed on the insects 

 or fruits that are found on them. 



Trees are associated with the history of our 

 race more intimately than any other natural 

 feature of the earth. They have played an in- 

 dispensable part in the creation of mankind. 

 If there had been no fruit-trees there would 

 never have been evolved an animal to climb them, 

 and help himself to the concentrated foods. No 

 great advancement of brain could be reached on 

 other lines. But the hands of monkeys, apes 

 and men are all of the same pattern. Human 

 hands were evolved before our ancestors were 

 human. This marvellous instrument was formed 

 in the long run for climbing, and swinging from 

 branch to branch, for breaking the shells of nuts, 

 and all purposes for which apes use it to-day. 

 The hand was the pioneer of our race. It be- 

 came the servant of the brain. Slowly released 

 from the drudgery of bearing the body, it en- 

 tered the service of the mind. And the first of 

 our ancestors who used his fingers to fasten a 



