WHAT THE TREES ARE 7 



trie fluid, and to fall in heavy rain at the same 

 moment. 



Trees and groves are considered a protection 

 to buildings near them. But it is not safe for 

 men and animals to take refuge under a tree in 

 the open plain. Lightning is supposed to be 

 conducted by the water passing down on the sur- 

 face of the branches and trunk, rather than by 

 the tree itself. If the tree acted as a conductor, 

 the lightning would pass through the trunk into 

 the ground, and the tree, like a true lightning 

 rod, would be a protection to objects near, so 

 long as they do not touch it. Some trees are 

 thought to be more exempt from lightning than 

 others. Hugh Maxwell, an American writer, 

 says: "Lightning often strikes the elm, the 

 chestnut, the oak, the pine, and less frequently 

 the ash: but it always evades the beech, the 

 birch, and the maple." Pines are said to be 

 safe when growing among oaks. Tiberius, the 

 cruel and lawless Emperor of early Eome, used 

 to don a crown of laurel leaves when a thunder 

 storm threatened, under the belief that lightning 

 never touched the leaves of this tree. 



Not only are the trees a safeguard against 

 drought, hut theif are a considerable protection 

 against floods and overflow. In Holland, Bel- 

 gium, France, and Germany willows are planted 



