FOREST TREES AND FOREST SCENERY 
taken as a whole, are decidedly richer 
in shrubs and small plants than the 
evergreen or coniferous forests. This 
adventitious source of beauty has much 
to do with their general character, be- 
cause the gay show of blossom and 
fruit, bright stem, and diverse habits 
of growth of these lesser plants, con- 
tributes appreciably to the liveliness of 
sylvan scenery. But the effect derived 
from the blossoms and fruits of many 
of the trees themselves should not be 
overlooked. In this respect the broad- 
leaf trees are superior to the evergreens. 
The poplars and willows ripen their 
woolly and silvery tassels when the 
snow has scarcely disappeared. The 
bright tufts of the red maple, the little 
yellow flowers of the sassafras, the 
snowy white ones of the serviceberry 
112 
