THE CONIFEROUS FORESTS 
these forests noble and stately. A 
nobleness lies in the nature of the 
living trees themselves; for, though 
we may call them unconscious, it is 
life still, and they are expressive with 
meaning. Far simpler in their habits 
and requirements than the broadleaf 
trees, they are, nevertheless, more gen- 
erous to man. Hndurance and hard- 
ship is their lot, but noble form of 
trunk and crown and useful soft wood 
are the products of their life. There is 
no forest mantle like theirs to shield 
from the blast, especially when it is 
formed of young thickets of the sim- 
ple but refined spruces and _ firs. 
When, at the last, they yield their life 
to man, it seems to me there is some- 
thing exalted even in the manner of 
their fall. The tree hardly quivers 
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