302 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



Maine to Minnesota ; its southern limit is New 

 Jersey. It is the last but not the least woodland 

 character which I have thought sufficiently interest- 

 ing and beautiful to include in nay group of ever- 

 green trees. Its lustrous, dark-green needle is as 

 rich in color as that of the young and vigorous fir, 

 and on the underneath concave surface is hidden that 

 unique green which is its exclusive possession among 

 the evergreens. What the ground hemlock lacks in 

 stature it more than compensates for in color. 



It will not do always to walk with head uphfted 

 and eyes only for the tops of trees ; if we do, some- 

 thing of beauty at our feet will be lost. Often the 

 daintiest bit of tree life is heedlessly crushed by some 

 ruthless foot. I was strongly impressed with this fact 

 one time when, scrambling through the shrubbery on 

 a hillside in an effort to reach a mountain ash, I trod 

 upon some dainty waxen berries of the ground hem- 

 lock. The fruit of the mountain ash is heavy and 

 coarse when compared with that of the ground hem- 

 lock. Place some of each together, and allow them 

 to give their own testimony. 



It is a blessed privilege to know the trees, the 

 flowers, and the leaves by direct contact and close 

 sympathy with them. It is not enough to behold a 

 tree with our eyes and never touch it with our hands. 

 Some of us are imperfectly aware of the personality 



