76 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE FARM 



and structure and color of the pith will often furnish good 

 characters. 



One who is learning them should employ his senses of 

 touch, taste and smell as well as his sight. The toughness 

 and pliancy of hickory twigs are revealed to our fingers. By 

 biting twigs, distinctive flavors may be discerned in most 

 twigs. Tulip tree is bitter, and sweet birch is deliciously 

 aromatic. The buds of linden are mucilaginous when 

 chewed. The twigs of walnut and sassafras have a smell that 

 is instantly recognizable. There is no difficulty at all about 

 knowing the principal kinds of trees if one will take the 

 trouble to note their characteristics. 



Study 9. Recognition Characters of Deciduous Trees in 



Winter 



The object of this study is to learn to recognize a dozen or 

 more common native trees. The apparatus needed by the 

 student is only a lens and a knife: collective use may per- 

 haps be made of an axe or a hooked pole. 



The program of work should consist of a short excursion 

 among the trees, first where growing in the open, to observe 

 their outlines, and later, into the woods. The species 

 selected for examination will be studied as to the characters 

 indicated by the column headings of the table on pages 74 

 and 75. 



The record of this study will consist in: 



1. The completed tabulation. 



2 . Simple outline sketches of twigs : 



(a) Of ash and birch or elm. 



(b) Longitudinal sections of walnut or butternut. 



(c) Cross sections of oak and linden. 



