178 SYLVAN WINTER. 



picturesque tree, both in its ramification and in 

 its foliage. Perhaps,' he added, * it is the most 

 picturesque of any of the aquatic tribe, except 

 the Weeping Willow. He who would see the 

 Alder in perfection,' he continued, ' must follow 

 the banks of the Mole in Surrey, through the 

 sweet vales of Dorking and Mickleham, into the 

 groves of Esher. The Mole indeed is far from 

 being a beautiful river ; it is a silent and sluggish 

 stream. But what beauty it has it owes greatly 

 to the Alder, which everywhere fringes its 

 meadows, and in many places forms pleasing 

 scenes, especially in the vale between Box Hill 

 and the high ground of Norbury Park.' There 

 is a ruggedness about the spray, as our illustra- 

 tion will show, that quite accounts for the pic- 

 turesqueness of the shrub or tree — for the Alder 

 is both, according to its more or less favourable 

 conditions of growth. The winter buds are pro- 

 minent, and the shoots are irregularly produced, 

 and grow irregularly, thus giving rise to that 

 ' picturesqueness ' which inequality of growth 

 often causes. 



' Character ' we may again claim for the form 



