FOREST TREES AND FOREST SCENERY 
under the blows of the ax; a mere 
trembling in the outermost twigs, and 
then, hardly as if cut off from the 
source of life, the tall, straight form 
sinks slowly to the earth. 
Another common attribute of ever- 
green forests is their characteristic 
silence. Birds do not frequent them as 
much as the leafy forests. In these 
solitudes, far removed from village and 
farm, there is often no sound but the 
ring of the distant ax and the sough 
of the wind. In winter, as we push 
through the thickets of small spruces 
or hemlocks, or stand for a while be- 
neath lofty pines, while all around is 
muffled in snow, the silence seems sanc- 
tified and vaster than elsewhere. 
In addition to their grandeur and 
sublimity, and their silence, they are dis-. 
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