Natural Decay of Forest Trees. \ 1 1 



overstep, as it were, the centre of gravity, the tree getting 

 top-heavy, when by a slight disturbance it fairly topples 

 over, the roots standing up erect, with masses of rock and 

 soil between them ; often, however, the trunk breaks across 

 near the ground. There is, moreover, canker and dry-rot, 

 which gradually destroy the soft interior, in some cases to 

 a surprising extent, when the tree is to all external appear- 

 ances in full vigour. Many fall from the effects of frost and 

 thaws loosening the soil around their roots ; but the most 

 fatal catastrophes follow hurricanes, which send one on 

 another, producing what is known as windfalls, which, as 

 just stated, serve to indicate the direction of the prevailing 

 wind. The perfect stillness of the woods at this season is 

 remarkable, for nearly all the birds of passage have flown 

 southwards, and, save a solitary squirrel, or a few migratory 

 thrushes among the berries in damp places, one wanders over 

 miles of forest and seldom meets with a living creature. 

 Thus, after several hours' search, I determined to penetrate 

 further into the interior, and selecting as my landmark one 

 gigantic pine trunk, that rose like a huge mast far above 

 the underwood around, I proceeded on through the gloomy 

 solitude, and had not gone far when the increased activity 

 of the dog quickened my pace, and away we went as fast 

 as the nature of the ground and obstacles would allow. 

 The scent was strong, and for more than half an hour our 

 course lay entirely in an opposite direction to that which we 

 had just been following. At length, as the spaniel drew up 

 at a rocky ledge, and barked furiously, I discovered the cha- 

 racteristic spoor of a porcupine, which in all probability had 

 taken to earth under the rock. 



It being now sunset, and not having a compass or any means 

 of directing our course, I began to feel that the sooner we got to 

 the old pine trunk the better, so with unpleasant forebodings of 

 what was coming, we made towards the skirts of the thick wood, 

 but no landmark was visible among the seemingly interminable 



