322 



THE FIR TRIBE. 



the tops of the trees retain their sombre hue, 

 while the ground is thickly covered with a white 

 mantle ; but though they refused to give the fleecy 

 particles a lodgment above, they do their utmost 

 to retain it below, protracting the period of thaw- 

 ing by intercepting the sun's rays, as well as by re- 

 ducing the temperature of the air around them by 

 abundant radiation. We consequently find the 

 ground in woods covered with a sheet of snow long 

 after every particle has been thawed in the out- 

 skirts of the forest, and the soil yet moist beneath 

 the shade, when the exposed country is parched 

 with drought. 



BUDS OF STONE-PINE. 



There is yet another peculiarity of the Fir-tribe 

 connected with this subject which deserves no- 



