FOEEST TREES AND FOREST SCENERY 



blest plants, the liverworts and mosses 

 and the lichens that so beautifully 

 stain the rocks and color the stems of 

 trees. A close study of all their deli- 

 cate and tender characters, both of 

 form and color, is always a revelation. 

 Among these lowlier plants it is no 

 uncommon sight in the depth of win- 

 ter to see a field of fern sending a 

 thousand elegant sprays through the 

 light snow-covering; or half a dozen 

 kinds of mosses, all of different green, 

 but every one pure and brilliant, 

 gleaming in the shadow of some drip- 

 ping rock. Between the rock and 

 its ice cap, covered by the latter but 

 not concealed from view, there is a 

 fine collection of the most delicate 

 little liverworts and grasses, herbs with 

 tender leaves, and even flowers, it may 

 80 



