BJFFECT 01? THE SEASONS ON SOBNERT. 349 



is deep, all this little busMness of ramification has, 

 in some degree, the effect of foliage. 



The boles of trees likewise, and all their larger 

 limbs, add, at this season, a rich variety and con- 

 trast to the forest ; the smooth and the rough, the 

 light and the dark, often beautifully opposing 

 each other. In Winter, the stem predominates, as 

 the leaf in Summer. It is amusing in one season 

 to see the branches losing and discovering them- 

 selves among the foliage ; and it is amusing, also, 

 in the other, to walk through the desolate forest, 

 and see the various combinations of stems — the 

 traversing of branches across each other in so 

 many beautiful directions — and the pains, which 

 Nature takes in forming a wood, as well as a single 

 tree.* She leaves no part unclosed ; but pushing 

 in the branch, or the spray, as the opening allows, 

 she fills all vacant space, and brings the heads of 

 trees^ which grow near each other, into contact; 

 while every step we take presents us with some 

 beautiful variety in her mode of forming the fretted 

 roof under which we walk. 



* See page 13G. 



