In Winter Woods 385 
a little thawing mow and then, we can always find 
a few green ferns. Lichens, which make their 
homes .as far north as the Arctic circle, are not 
discouraged by the worst our January can do. 
Some mosses are green, still, under the snow, and 
on the trunks of many trees, even now, we may 
notice a green film which is caused by the growth 
of some tiny and humble cousins of the rich green 
which float at the edges of tidal 
hat 4 
“* sea-lettuces 
pools on rocky coasts. 
Probably the very great-grandparents of these 
little land alge were seaweeds or fresh-water 
weeds, and the family love for coolness and shade 
is constant through all changes. For when the 
leaves are gone, and even subdued colors “‘ tell’’ 
amid the general grayness of the woodlands, we 
see how persistently the land alge choose the 
north sides of the tree trunks. Lichens, too, love 
best to grow where the direct rays of the sun 
cannot reach them. 
We look southward through the woods, and every 
tree from earth to branches is spotted or filmed, 
or shrouded with a close-clinging growth of sober 
but living green. We see the north sides of all 
the tree-trunks and they are covered with minute 
shade-loving plants. 
