INTRODUCTION 5 



arrangement of the branches. The firm, ash-grey 

 rind of the Beech is easily recognised as differing 

 from the silvery flaking bark of the Birch ; and the 

 three kinds of Cedar in our parks, that of Mount 

 Lebanon, that of Mount Atlas and the Deodar, 

 are discriminated by the respectively horizontal, 

 ascending, and drooping direction of their branches. 



With the coming of spring the buds unfold, 

 revealing an almost infinite variety in the arrange- 

 ment, folding; and form of the leaves. It is important 

 also to notice whether a leaf has at the base of its 

 stalk the pair of more or less leaf-like appendages 

 known as "stipules," conspicuous in Roses and 

 WiUows, or whether these fall off at an early stage, 

 as in Oaks and Lindens, or are altogether absent. 

 The arrangement of the so-called " ribs " or " veins," 

 which make up the skeleton of the leaf and 

 conduct the liquid food of the plant, is also note- 

 worthy. 



Our truly British forest trees all have com- 

 paratively inconspicuous greenish blossoms, so that 

 many people are unaware of the fact that they have 

 flowers at all. The pollen in this case is carried 

 from tree to tree by wind, and not by insects : no 

 honey is, as a rule, secreted in the flower; and in 

 some cases, such as the Hazel and the Oak, the 

 flower-groups or catkins are produced early, before 

 the leaves are expanded, so that this' action of the 

 wind is unimpeded. The smaller trees of more open 

 ground, and many of our familiar but not truly 

 indigenous species, such as Thorns and Cherries on 

 the one hand, and Laburnum and Horse-chestnut on 



