FOREST TREP]S AND FOREST SCENERY 



needles. The elegance of this habit 

 in the white pine appears to advantage 

 when we stand a little above it on a 

 gentle slope and see the branches 

 clearly defined against the surface of 

 a lake below or some far-away gray 

 cloud. 



Both in middle age and when it is 

 old the white pine is a distinguished- 

 looking tree. When young it is some- 

 times elegantly symmetrical ; but more 

 often, owing to a crowded position, it 

 lacks the air of neatness that belongs 

 to a few of the other pines and to most 

 of the firs. At maturity it is a very 

 impressive tree, especially in the dense 

 forest, where it develops a tall, dark, 

 stately stem. In its declining years 

 the branches begin to break and fall 

 away, no longer able to bear the weight 

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