HOW TO STUDY THE TREES 
People are everywhere associated with trees. Trees give 
cooling shade in our parks and dooryards and along our high- 
ways; they lend their beauty to the landscape and relieve it of 
monotony; they yield many kinds of fruits, some of which 
furnish man and the animals of the forest with food; and they 
furnish vast quantities of lumber for a multitude of uses. How 
important it is, then, that every person, whether school-child or 
grown-up, should become acquainted with our trees. Most 
people know a few of our commonest trees, but are ignorant of 
the great wealth of tree forms about them. Some who may have 
wished to go further have been hindered for lack of a teacher or 
dismayed by the very multitude of manuals to which they have 
had access. 
In beginning a study of the trees the student should start on 
a solid foundation, eliminating the uncertainties and the errors 
which no doubt have appeared and retaining only the established 
facts. Once started he should go slowly, assimilating each new 
discovery before seeking another. He should begin with the 
trees nearest home, and, as he gradually grows to know these 
in all their aspects, should extend his trips afield. Not only should 
he be able to name the trees when they are fully clothed in their 
summer dress, but he should as readily know these same trees 
when the leaves have fallen and only the bare branches stand 
silhouetted against the sky. Then, and only then, will he derive 
the utmost satisfaction from his efforts. 
The characters which are used in studying the trees are 
habit, leaves, flowers, fruit, buds, bark, distribution and habitat. 
These will be discussed briefly in the next few pages, the same 
order that is used in the detailed descriptions of species being 
