PREFACE. 



" Every object which pleases must give us pleasure upon some certain principles ; but as the 

 objects of pleasure are almost infinite, so their principles vary without end, and every man finds 

 them out, not by felicity or successful hazard, but by care and sagacity." — Sir Joshua Reynolds. 



The life-history of a tree is to my mind full of interest, and 

 the marvel of its growth from seed to sapling, and so on to maturity, 

 an absorbing study. Every year the passing seasons bring fresh matter 

 for wonder and admiration in the unfolding of leaf, flower and bud, as 

 each in its turn displays a perfect construction, and gives a new 

 aspect to the whole tree. Then too, trees of different species exhibit 

 infinite variety in their habits of growth : the individuality of the one 

 lies in the complete development of all its parts ; another, starting 

 with the same equipnaent, fails year by year to bring all to perfec- 

 tion, and turns failure to account in the development of distinctive 

 features. Take for example the ash and the sycamore, where the 

 buds are found in the same position on the twig, but the resulting 

 ramification is quite dissimilar. Far smaller matters than the 

 architecture of the branches are also of importance in contributing to 

 the character of a tree. The thickness, the texture of the leaf call 

 for attention, once it is realised that they have an even greater 

 influence than its colour upon the general foliage effect. The 

 transparency of the young beech leaf lends brilliancy to its colouring 

 in the spring ; an unusually glossy texture gives it a highly reflective 

 surface when it is seen from certain points of view. Again,, the 

 manner in which the leaves and petioles of the sycamore are set upon 

 the shoot accounts for the sharp, dark shadows of its foliage, shadows 

 which would never appear on the foliage of a poplar or birch. 



