THE SLEEP OF THE TEBES 



"And when the autumn winds have stripped thee 

 bare, 

 And round thee lies the smooth, untrodden snow, 

 When naught is thine that made thee once so fair, 



I love to watch thy shadowy form below, 

 And through thy leafless arms to look above 

 On stars that brighter beam when most we need 

 their love." 



— Jones Very. 



Nowhere is forehandedness better exempli- 

 fied than among the trees. They begin to get 

 ready for winter in midsummer. By this time 

 the twigs are as long gjs they expect to grow 

 that season; the ring of new wood is formed 

 around the trunk; and the business of thicken- 

 ing the bark of the tender shoots and sealing the 

 buds up warm and tight is begun. Then, too, 

 the trees prepare to part with their leaves. 

 They know that their usefuhiess is nearly gone, 

 for the summer's heat has greatly, diminished 

 the water supply. JEach day less soU-water is 



95 



