The Chorus of the Forest 



tile, and for man}- otlier purposes, some of them 



very amusing. Wherever man takes 2)ossession of 



the gift of the Lord the forest and its musie (hs- 



ap])ear. 



To be sure, new music springs up in tlie fields 



to take its place, but the substitute is very mild. 



On account of its A\ild, weird, appealing strain. The 



found no-svhere else in nature, the chorus of the ^' '^*.' 



of Music 



forest thrills the heart. It is the onlj^ place on 

 earth where tree music can be had in perfection, 

 and no other is like it. Great organs haAC been 

 built and numerous wind and string instrviments 

 made, all in an effort to reproduce the sigh and 

 the sob, the wail and the roar of the forest, but 

 they forever fall short of its grandeur and majesty. 

 This incomparable tree harping can not be re- 

 produced out of its element; it may be cojMed in 

 parts so accurately that its tones can be recognized, 

 but the real music of nature is when the waves 

 of wind sweep among the boughs of trees. It is 

 when crickets of the forest floor sing cheerily, 

 when grasshoppers energetically play their fiddles, 

 and locusts sow their notes on smnmer air. The 

 leaf-rustle of the chewink on earth, the mournful 

 wail of the pcAvee in the treetops. the impudent 

 chuckle of the crow, and the battle-cry of the 

 hawk, are parts of it. The scream of the night 

 jar, the command of the whip-poor-will, and the 

 serenade of the courting owl combine their notes. 



159 



