THE MINISTRY OF TREES 



The characteristic note is given to 

 many of the greatest natural landscapes by 

 trees, usually by some particular species. 

 The pine forests of northern Wisconsin, 

 the larches of eastern Quebec, the palm 

 groves of Florida all play this role. In 

 eastern Oklahoma, and through the Ozark 

 Mountains, the whiteoaks and jackoaks, 

 scattered sparsely over the hillside, clothe 

 the landscape with a weird and unforgeta- 

 ble character. What would the White 

 Mountains be without pines or spruce? 

 Just what Niagara Falls would be without 

 water. 



It is interesting to take a glance at the 

 literature of trees. On my shelves are 

 perhaps fifty books devoted to them. 

 About one-third are scientific or technical 

 works, dealing with botany, arboriculture, 

 or forestry. The remainder were intended 

 to be poetical. A few of this number really 

 have poetry in them; but the significant 

 thing is that so much of the literature of 

 trees should be given to their aesthetic and 

 spiritual appreciation, rather than to the 

 mere technical knowledge of them. 



It may be well to remember in this 

 connection, what Professor Bailey has 



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