GETTING ACQUAINTED WITH THE TREES 



be worth when the trees are gone or have been 

 mishandled, will aid to create the necessary 

 public sentiment. And to provide wise laws, as 

 may be often done with proper attention, is 

 the plain duty and the high privilege of the 

 tree-loving citizen. The trees are defenseless, 

 and they are often unreplaceable ; if you love 

 them protect them as you would your children. 

 The white-oak leaf is the most familiar and 

 characteristic, perhaps, of the family; but other 

 species, close to the white oak in habit, show 

 foliage of a very different appearance. The 

 swamp white oak, for instance, is a noble tree, 

 and in winter particularly its irregular branches 

 give it an especial expression of rugged strength 

 as it grows along a brookside ; but its leaves 

 smooth up on the edges, giving only a hint 

 of the deep serrations that typify its upland 

 brother. Deeply green above are these leaves 

 and softly white below, and in late summer 

 there appears, here and there, on a stout 

 stem, a most attractive acorn of large size. 

 Its curious cup gives a hint, or more than a 

 hint, as to the special designating character of 

 another oak, the mossy- cup or bur. This lat- 



38 



