SNOW. 87 



It has all the appearance of veritable fairy-work. 

 Upon the substantial basis afforded by the fork, 

 where the limbs first part from the trunk, or, 

 above, where thick branches and boughs divide 

 from the limbs, it is not surprising to find snow 

 crystals piled in abundance. But the process i& 

 continued by gradation upwards — higher an^ 

 higher — ^for the tiniest sprigs and the tinie|t pf 

 sprays support their burdens of flakes, ra|p(i 

 upon the most slender of foundations, each sna^™ 

 crystal clinging to each and forming structuM^ 

 of singular delicacy and beauty, the countleaa 

 variations of which render detailed description' 

 impossible, but give the mind impressions tha,^ 

 stimulate the sense of wonder and arouse admi- 

 ration in the least emotional beings. 



The picturesque and beautiful effects of fallen 

 snow vary with the variation in the arboreal forms 

 on which it is displayed, and when different 

 species of trees and shrubs grow side by side, 

 the contrast is most marked and striking. Ever- 

 greens strike the eye most by contrast of colour ; 

 deciduous trees, stripped, as they are in winter, 

 of their leafy appendages, by the beauty of form. 



