SPEAY AND FOLIAGE. 151 



general is rarely annual ; it appears in profusion 

 only every second or third year, and even then 

 seldom all the trees of the same kind bloom at once. 

 Thus, when you look into a grove of Oaks, about 

 the beginning of May, you will suppose, perhaps, 

 that some are much forwarder in leaf than others, 

 whereas, in fact, this appearance chiefly arises 

 from their being in bloom — their little pensile 

 catkins hanging in knots, adorned with tufts of 

 young leaves. 



Having thus made a few observations on the 

 forms of trees, their different modes of growth 

 and other peculiarities, I should add that I am 

 far from supposing Nature to act always in exact 

 conformity to the appearances which I have here 

 marked. In the general mode of growth which 

 each species observes, no doubt she is uniform ; 

 but in the particular m,anner in which the stem 

 rises, the branches shoot, the foliage hangs, and, 

 indeed, if I may so speak, in the specific character 

 of each individual, many circumstances will make 

 a difference, soil and climate especially. These 

 have the same effect on the form of trees which 

 they have on animal life. We not only see distant 



