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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11723 ***
+
+Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
+      file which includes the original illustrations.
+      See 11723-h.htm or 11723-h.zip:
+      (http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/1/1/7/2/11723/11723-h/11723-h.htm)
+      or
+      (http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/1/1/7/2/11723/11723-h.zip)
+
+
+
+
+
+AMONG THE TREES AT ELMRIDGE
+
+BY
+
+ELLA RODMAN CHURCH
+
+1886
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+CHAPTER     I. A SPRING OPENING.
+CHAPTER    II. THE MAPLES.
+CHAPTER   III. OLD ACQUAINTANCES: THE ELMS.
+CHAPTER    IV. MAJESTY AND STRENGTH: THE OAK.
+CHAPTER     V. BEAUTY AND GRACE: THE ASH.
+CHAPTER    VI. THE OLIVE TREE.
+CHAPTER   VII. THE USEFUL BIRCH.
+CHAPTER  VIII. THE POPLARS.
+CHAPTER    IX. ALL A-BLOW: THE APPLE TREE.
+CHAPTER     X. A FRUITFUL FAMILY: THE PEACH, ALMOND, PLUM AND CHERRY.
+CHAPTER    XI. THE CHERRY-STORY.
+CHAPTER   XII. THE MULBERRY FAMILY.
+CHAPTER  XIII. QUEER RELATIONS: THE CAOUTCHOUC AND THE MILK TREE.
+CHAPTER   XIV. HOME AND ABROAD: LINDEN, CAMPHOR, BEECH.
+CHAPTER    XV. THE TENT AND THE LOCUSTS.
+CHAPTER   XVI. THE WALNUT FAMILY AND THE AILANTHUS.
+CHAPTER  XVII. SOME BEAUTIFUL TREES: THE CHESTNUT AND HORSE-CHESTNUT.
+CHAPTER XVIII. AMONG THE PINES.
+CHAPTER   XIX. GIANT AND NUT PINES.
+CHAPTER    XX. MORE WINTER TREES: THE FIRS AND THE SPRUCES.
+CHAPTER   XXI. THE CEDARS.
+CHAPTER  XXII. THE PALMS.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+_A SPRING OPENING._
+
+On that bright spring afternoon when three happy, interested children
+went off to the woods with their governess to take their first lesson in
+the study of wild flowers, they saw also some other things which made a
+fresh series of "Elmridge Talks," and these things were found among the
+trees of the roadside and forest.
+
+"What makes it look so _yellow_ over there, Miss Harson?" asked Clara,
+who was peering curiously at a clump of trees that seemed to have been
+touched with gold or sunlight. "And just look over here," she continued,
+"at these pink ones!"
+
+Malcolm shouted at the idea:
+
+"Yellow and pink trees! That sounds like a Japanese fan. Where are they,
+I should like to know?"
+
+"Here, you perverse boy!" said his governess as she laughingly turned
+him around. "Are you looking up into the sky for them? There is a clump
+of golden willows right before you, with some rosy maples on one side.
+What other colors can you call them?"
+
+Malcolm had to confess that "yellow and pink trees" were not so wide of
+the mark, after all, and that they were very pretty. Little Edith was
+particularly delighted with them, and wanted to "pick the flowers"
+immediately.
+
+"They are too high for that, dear," was the reply, "and these
+blossoms--for that is what they really are, although nothing more than
+fringes and catkins--are much prettier massed on the trees than they
+would be if gathered. The still-bare twigs and branches seem, as you
+see, to be draped with golden and rose-colored veils, but there will be
+no leaves until these queer flowers have dropped. If we look closely at
+the twigs and branches, we shall see that they are glossy and polished,
+as though they had been varnished and then brightened with color by the
+painter's brush. It is the flowing of the sap that does this. The
+swelling of the bark occasioned by the flow of sap gives the whole mass
+a livelier hue; hence the ashen green of the poplar, the golden green of
+the willow and the dark crimson of the peach tree, the wild rose and the
+red osier are perceptibly heightened by the first warm days of spring."
+
+[Illustration: MALE CATKIN OF WILLOW.]
+
+"Miss Harson," asked Clara, with a perplexed face, "what are catkins?"
+
+"Here," said her governess, reaching from the top bar of the road-fence
+for the lowest branch of a willow tree; "examine this catkin for
+yourself, and I will tell you what my _Botany_ says of it: 'An ament, or
+catkin, is an assemblage of flowers composed of scales and stamens or
+pistils arranged along a common thread-like receptacle, as in the
+chestnut and willow. It is a kind of calyx, by some classed as a mode of
+inflorescence (or flowering), and each chaffy scale protects one or more
+of the stamens or pistils, the whole forming one aggregate flower. The
+ament is common to forest-trees, as the oak and chestnut, and is also
+found upon the willow and poplar.'"
+
+"It's funny-looking," said Malcolm, when he had made himself thoroughly
+acquainted with the appearance of the catkin, "but it doesn't look much
+like a flower: it looks more like a pussy's tail."
+
+"Yes, and that is the origin of its name. 'Catkin' is diminutive for
+'cat;' so this collection of flowers is called 'catkin,' or
+'little cat.'"
+
+"I think I'll call them 'pussy-tails,'" said Edith.
+
+"There is a great deal to be learned about trees," said Miss Harson,
+when all were comfortably seated in the pleasant schoolroom; "and,
+besides the natural history of their species, some old trees have
+wonderful stories connected with them, while many in tropical countries
+are so wonderful in themselves that they do not need stories to make
+them interesting. The common trees around us will be our subjects at
+first; for I suppose that you can scarcely tell a willow from a poplar,
+or a chestnut tree from either, can you?"
+
+"I can tell a chestnut tree," said Malcolm, confidently.
+
+"When it is not the season for nuts?" asked his governess, smiling.
+
+There was not a very positive reply to this; and Miss Harson continued:
+
+"I do not think that any of us know as much as we ought to know of the
+trees which we see every day, and of the uses to which many of them are
+put, to say nothing of many familiar trees that we read about, and even
+depend upon for some of the necessaries of life."
+
+"Like the cocoanut tree," suggested Clara.
+
+"That is not exactly necessary to our comfort, dear," was the reply,
+"for people can manage to live without cocoanuts, although in many forms
+they are very agreeable to the taste, and it is only the inhabitants of
+the countries where they grow who look upon these trees as necessaries;
+but we will take them up in their turn. And first let us find out what
+we can about the willow, because it is the first tree, with us, to
+become green in the spring, and, of that large class which is called
+_deciduous_, the last one to lose its leaves."
+
+"And why are they called _deciduous?_" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Because they shed their leaves every autumn and are furnished with a
+new set in the spring: 'deciduous' is Latin for 'falling off.' And this
+is the case with nearly all our native trees and plants. _Persistent_,
+or permanent, leaves remain on the stem and branches all through the
+changes of season, like the leaves of the pine and box, while
+_evergreens_ look fresh through the entire year and are generally
+cone-bearing and resinous trees. 'These change their leaves annually,
+but, the young leaves appearing before the old ones decay, the tree is
+always green.'"
+
+"Miss Harson," said Clara, "when people talk about _weeping_ willows,
+what do they mean? Do the trees really cry? I sometimes read about 'em
+in stories, and I never knew what they did."
+
+"They cry dreadfully," said Malcolm, "when it rains."
+
+"But only as you do when you are out in it," replied his governess--"by
+having the water drip from your clothes.--No, Clara, the tree is called
+'weeping' because it seems to 'assume the attitude of a person in tears,
+who bends over and appears to droop.' The sprays of this tree are
+particularly beautiful, and 'willowy' is often used for 'graceful,' as
+meaning the same thing. Its language is 'sorrow,' and it is often seen
+in burial-grounds and in mourning-pictures. 'We remember it in sacred
+history, associating it with the rivers of Babylon, and with the tears
+of the children of Israel, who sat down under the shade of this tree and
+hung their harps upon its branches. It is distinguished by the graceful
+beauty of its outlines, its light-green, delicate foliage, its sorrowing
+attitude and its flowing drapery.'"
+
+"Were those weeping willows that we saw to-day?" asked Clara.
+
+"No," replied her brother, quickly; "they just stuck up straight and
+didn't weep a bit."
+
+"They are called _water_ willows," said Miss Harson, "because they are
+never found in dry places. They are more common than the weeping willow.
+The water willow has the same delicate foliage and the same habit, under
+an April sky, of gleaming with a drapery of golden verdure among the
+still-naked trees of the forest or orchard. 'When Spring has closed her
+delicate flowers,' says a bright writer, 'and the multitudes that crowd
+around the footsteps of May have yielded their places to the brighter
+host of June, the willow scatters the golden aments that adorned it,
+and appears in the deeper garniture of its own green foliage.' A group
+of these golden willows, seen in a rainstorm, will have so bright an
+appearance as to make it seem as if the sun were actually shining."
+
+[Illustration: THE WHITE WILLOW (_Salix alba_).]
+
+"I wish we had them all around here, then," said Edith; "I like to see
+the sun shining when it rains."
+
+"But the sun is _not_ shining, dear," replied her governess: "it is only
+the reflection from the willows that makes it look so; and we can make
+just such sunshine ourselves when it rains, or when there is dullness of
+any sort, by being all the more cheerful and striving to make others
+happy. Who loves to be called 'Little Sunshine'?"
+
+"I do," said the child, caressing the hand that had patted her rosy
+cheek.
+
+"Let's all be golden willows," said Malcolm, in a comical way that made
+them laugh.
+
+Miss Harson told him that he could not make a better attempt than to be
+one of those home-brighteners who bring the sunshine with them, but she
+added that such people are always considerate for others. Malcolm
+wondered a little if this meant that _he_ was not, but he soon forgot it
+in hearing the many things that were to be said of the willow.
+
+"The family-name of this tree is _Salix_, from a word that means 'to
+spring,' because a willow-branch, if planted, will take root and grow so
+quickly that it seems almost like magic. 'And they shall _spring up_ as
+among the grass, as willows by the watercourses,' says the prophet
+Isaiah, speaking of the children of the people of God. The flowers of
+the willow are of two kinds--one bearing stamens, and the other
+pistils--and each grows upon a separate plant. When the ovary, at the
+base of the pistil, is ripe, it opens by two valves and lets out, as
+through a door, multitudes of small seeds covered with a fine down, like
+the seeds of the cotton-plant. This downy substance is greedily sought
+after by the birds as a lining for their nests, and they may be seen
+carrying it away in their bills. And in some parts of Germany people
+take the trouble to collect it and use it as a wadding to their winter
+dresses, and even manufacture it into a coarse kind of paper."
+
+"What queer people!" exclaimed Clara. "And how funny they must look in
+their wadded dresses!"
+
+"They are not graceful people," was the reply, "but they live in a cold
+climate and show their good sense by dressing as warmly as possible. It
+was quite a surprise, though, to me to find that the willow was of use
+in clothing people. The more we learn of the works of God, the better we
+shall understand that last verse of the first chapter of the Bible: 'And
+God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.' The
+bees, too, are attracted by the willow catkins, but they do not want the
+down. On mild days whole swarms of them may be seen reveling in the
+sweets of the fresh blossoms. 'Cold days will come long after the willow
+catkins appear, and the bees will find but few flowers venturesome
+enough to open their petals. They have, however, thoroughly enjoyed
+their feast, and the short season of plenty will often be the means of
+saving a hive from famine.'"
+
+"Are willow baskets made of willow trees?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Yes," said Miss Harson. "Basket-making has been a great industry in
+England from the earliest times; the ancient Britons were particularly
+skillful in weaving the supple wands of the willow. They even made of
+these slender stems little boats called 'coracles,' in which they could
+paddle down the small rivers, and the boats could be carried on their
+shoulders when they were walking on dry land."
+
+"Just like our Indians' birch-bark canoes," said Malcolm, who was
+reading about the North American Indians. "But isn't it strange, Miss
+Harson, that the Indians and the Britons didn't get drowned going out in
+such little light boats?"
+
+"Their very lightness buoyed them up upon the waves," was the reply;
+"but it does seem wonderful that they could bear the weight of men. The
+willow, however, was also used by the Romans in making their
+battle-shields, and even for the manufacture of ropes as well as
+baskets. The rims of cart-wheels, too, used to be made of willow, as now
+they are hooped with iron; so, you see, it is a strong wood as well as a
+pliant one. The kind used for basket-making is the _Salix viminalis_,
+and the rods of this species are called 'osiers.' Let us see now what
+this English book says of the process of basket-making:
+
+"'The quick and vigorous growth of the willow renders it easy to provide
+materials for this branch of industry. Osier-beds are planted in every
+suitable place, and here the willow-cutter comes as to an ample store.
+Autumn is the season for him to ply his trade, and he cuts the willow
+rods down and ties them in bundles. He then sets them up on end in
+standing water to the depth of a few inches. Here they remain during the
+winter, until the shoots, in the following spring, begin to sprout, when
+they are in a fit state to be peeled. A machine is used in some places
+to compress the greatest number of rods into a bundle.
+
+[Illustration: THE POLLARD WILLOW IN WINTER.]
+
+"'Aged or infirm people and women and children can earn money by peeling
+willows at so much per bundle. The operation is very simple, and so is
+the necessary apparatus. Sometimes a wooden bench with holes in it is
+used, the willow-twigs being drawn through the holes. Another way is
+to draw the rod through two pieces of iron joined together, and with one
+end thrust into the ground to make it stand upright. The willow-peeler
+sits down before his instrument and merely thrusts the rod between the
+two pieces of iron and draws it out again. This proceeding scrapes the
+bark off one end, and then he turns it and fits it in the other way; so
+that by a simple process the whole rod is peeled. When the rods are
+quite prepared, they are again tied up in bundles and sold to the
+basket-makers.'"
+
+"But how do they make the baskets?" asked Clara and Edith. "That is the
+nicest part."
+
+"There is little to tell about it, though," said their governess,
+"because it is such easy work that any one can learn to do it. You saw
+the Indian women making baskets when papa took us to Maine last summer,
+and you noticed how very quickly they did it, beginning with the flat
+bottom and working rapidly up. It is a favorite occupation for the
+blind, and one of the things which are taught them in asylums."
+
+"I wonder," said Malcolm, "if there is anything else that can be done
+with the willow?"
+
+"Oh yes," replied Miss Harson; "we have not yet come to the end of its
+resources. It makes the best quality of charcoal, and in many parts of
+England the tree is raised for this express purpose. 'The abode of the
+charcoal-burner,' says an English writer, 'may be known from a distance
+by the cloud of smoke that hovers over it, and that must make it rather
+unhealthy. It is sometimes a small dome-shaped hut made of green turf,
+and, except for the difference of the material, might remind us of the
+hut of the Esquimaux. Beside it stands a caravan like those which make
+their appearance at fairs, and that contains the family goods and
+chattels. A string of clothes hung out to dry, a water-tub and a rough,
+shaggy dog usually complete the picture.'"
+
+"But how can people live in the hut," asked Malcolm, "if the charcoal is
+burned in it? Ugh! I should think they'd choke."
+
+"They certainly would," said his governess; "for the charcoal-smoke is
+death when inhaled for any length of time. But the charcoal-burner knows
+this quite as well as does any one else, and he makes his fire outside
+of the house, puts a rude fence around it and lets it smoke away like a
+huge pipe. The hut is more or less enveloped in smoke, but this is not
+so bad as letting it rise from the inside would be. A great deal of
+willow charcoal is made in Germany and other parts of Europe."
+
+"But, Miss Harson," said Clara, in a puzzled tone, "I don't see what
+they do with it all. It doesn't take much to clean people's teeth."
+
+"No, dear," was the smiling reply, "and I am afraid that the people who
+make it are rather careless about their teeth.--You need not laugh,
+Malcolm, because it is 'just like a girl,' for it is quite as much like
+a boy not to know things which he has never been taught, and you must
+remember that you have two years the start of your sister in getting
+acquainted with the world. Perhaps you will kindly tell us of some of
+the uses to which charcoal is applied?"
+
+"Well," said the young gentleman, after an awkward silence, "it takes
+lots of it to kindle fires."
+
+"I do not think that Kitty ever uses it in the kitchen," said Miss
+Harson, "for she is supplied with kindling-wood for that purpose. You
+will have to think of something else."
+
+But Malcolm could not think, and his governess finally told him that a
+great deal of charcoal is used for making gun-powder, and still more for
+fuel in France and the South of Europe, where a brass vessel supplies
+the place of a grate or stove. Quantities of it are consumed in
+steel-and iron-works, in preserving meat and other food, and in many
+similar ways. The children listened with great interest, and Malcolm
+felt sure that the next time he was asked about charcoal he would have a
+sensible answer.
+
+"Our insect friends the aphides, or plant-lice, are very fond of the
+willow," continued Miss Harson, "and in hot, dry weather great masses of
+them gather on the leaves and drop a sugary juice, which the
+country-people call 'honey-dew,' and in some remote places, where
+knowledge is limited, it has been thought to come from the clouds. But
+we, who have learned something about these aphides[1], know that it
+comes from their little green bodies, and that the ants often carry the
+insects off to their nests, where they feed and 'tend them for the sake
+of this very juice. The aphis that infests the willow is the largest of
+the tribe, and the branches and stems of the tree are often blackened by
+the honey-dew that falls upon them."
+
+[1] See _Flyers and Crawlers_, by the author. Presbyterian Board of
+Publication.
+
+"Do willow trees grow everywhere?" asked Clara.
+
+"They are certainly found in a great many different places," was the
+reply, "and even in the warmest countries. In one of the missionary
+settlements in Africa there is a solitary willow that has a story
+attached to it. It was the only tree in the settlement--think what a
+place that must have been!--except those the missionary had planted in
+his own garden, and it would never have existed but for the laziness of
+its owner. Nothing would have induced any of the natives to take the
+trouble to plant a tree, and therefore the willow had not been planted.
+But it happened, a long-time ago, that a native had fetched a log of
+wood from a distance, to make into a bowl when he should feel in the
+humor to do so. He threw the log into a pool of water, and soon forgot
+all about it. Weeks and months passed, and he never felt in the humor to
+work. But the log of wood set to work of its own accord. It had been cut
+from a willow, and it took root at the bottom of the pool and began to
+grow. In the end it became a handsome and flourishing tree."
+
+This story was approved by the young audience, except that it was too
+short; but their governess laughingly said that, as there was nothing
+more to tell, it could not very well be any longer.
+
+[Illustration: THE WEEPING WILLOW (_Salix Babylonica_).]
+
+"The weeping willow," continued Miss Harson, "was first planted in
+England in not so lazy a way, but almost as accidentally. Many years ago
+a basket of figs was sent from Turkey to the poet Pope, and the basket
+was made of willow. Willows and their cousins the poplars are natives of
+the East; you remember that the one hundred and thirty-seventh psalm
+says of the captive Jews, 'By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down,
+yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the
+willows in the midst thereof.' 'The poet valued highly the small slender
+twigs, as associated with so much that was interesting, and he untwisted
+the basket and planted one of the branches in the ground. It had some
+tiny buds upon it, and he hoped he might be able to rear it, as none of
+this species of willow was known in England. Happily, the willow is very
+quick to take root and grow. The little branch soon became a tree, and
+drooped gracefully over the river in the same manner that its race had
+done over the waters of Babylon. From that one branch all the weeping
+willows in England are descended.'"
+
+"And then they were brought over here," said Malcolm. "But what odd
+leaves they have, Miss Harson!--so narrow and long. They don't look like
+the leaves of other trees."
+
+"The leaf is somewhat like that of the olive, only that of the olive is
+broader. The willow is a native of Babylon, and the weeping willow is
+called _Salix Babylonica_. It was considered one of the handsomest
+trees of the East, and is particularly mentioned among those which God
+commanded the Israelites to select for branches to bear in their hands
+at the feast of tabernacles. Read the verse, Malcolm--the fortieth of
+the twenty-third chapter of Leviticus."
+
+Malcolm read:
+
+"'And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees,
+branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and _willows of
+the brook;_ and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days.'"
+
+[Illustration: LEAF OF WEEPING WILLOW.]
+
+"A place called the 'brook of the willows,'" added his governess, "is
+mentioned in Isaiah xv. 7, and this brook, according to travelers in
+Palestine, flows into the south-eastern extremity of the Dead Sea. The
+willow has always been considered by the poets as an emblem of woe and
+desertion, and this idea probably came from the weeping of the captive
+Jews under the willows of Babylon. The branches of the _Salix
+Babylonica_ often droop so low as to touch the ground, and because of
+this sweeping habit, and of its association with watercourses in the
+Bible, it has been considered a very suitable tree to plant beside ponds
+and fountains in ornamental grounds, as well as in cemeteries as an
+emblem of mourning."
+
+"How much there is to remember about the willow!" said Clara,
+thoughtfully. "I wonder if all the trees will be so interesting?"
+
+"They are not all _Bible_ trees," replied Miss Harson. "But the wise
+king of Israel found them interesting, for he 'spake of trees, from the
+cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of
+the wall.'"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+_THE MAPLES._
+
+"The pink trees next, I suppose," said Malcolm, "since we have had the
+yellow ones?"
+
+"_Real_ pink trees?" asked Edith, with very wide-open eyes.
+
+"No, dear;" replied her governess; "there are no pink trees, except when
+they are covered with bloom like the peach trees. Malcolm only means the
+maples that we saw in blossom yesterday and thought of such a pretty
+color. There are many varieties of the maple, which is always a
+beautiful and useful tree, but the red, or scarlet, maple is the very
+queen of the family. It is not so large as are most of the others; but
+when a very young tree, its grace and beauty are noticeable among its
+companions. It is often found in low, moist places, but it thrives just
+as well in high, dry ground; and it is therefore a most convenient
+tree. Here is a very pretty description, Malcolm, in one of papa's large
+books, that you can read to us."
+
+Malcolm read remarkably well for a boy of his age, and he always enjoyed
+being called upon in this way.
+
+[Illustration: THE RED MAPLE.]
+
+Miss Harson pointed to these lines:
+
+"Coming forth in the spring, like morning in the east, arrayed in
+crimson and purple; bearing itself, not proudly but gracefully in
+modest green, among the more stately trees in summer; and ere it bids
+adieu to the season stepping forth in robes of gold, vermilion, crimson
+and variegated scarlet,--stands the queen of the American forest, the
+pride of all eyes and the delight of every picturesque observer of
+nature, the red maple."
+
+"Why, I never saw such a tree as that!" exclaimed Clara, in great
+surprise.
+
+"Yes, dear," replied her governess; "you have seen it, but you never
+thought of describing it to yourself in just this way. When you saw it
+yesterday, it was coming forth in the spring, like morning in the east,
+arrayed in crimson and purple,' but you just called it a pink tree. It
+is much nearer red, however, than it is pink."
+
+"I've seen all the rest of the colors, too," said Malcolm, "when we went
+out after nuts."
+
+"That is its autumn dress," said Miss Harson, "although a small tree is
+often seen with no color on it but brilliant red. But first we must see
+what it is like in spring and summer. It is also called the scarlet,
+the white, the soft and the swamp maple, and the flowers, as you see
+from this specimen, are in whorls, or pairs, of bright crimson, in
+crowded bunches on the purple branches. The leaves are in three or five
+lobes, with deep notches between, and some of them are very broad, while
+others are long and narrow. The trunk of the red maple is a clear ashy
+gray, often mottled with patches of white lichens; and when the tree is
+old, the bark cracks and can be peeled off in long, narrow strips."
+
+"Is anything done with the bark?" asked Clara.
+
+"Yes, it is used, with other substances, for dyeing, and also for making
+ink. The sap, too, can be boiled down to sugar, but it is not nearly so
+rich as that of the proper sugar-maple. The wood, which is very
+light-colored with a tinge of rose in it, is often made into common
+furniture, as it takes a fine polish and is easy to work with. It is
+used, too, for building-purposes. The early-summer foliage of the red
+maple is of a beautiful yellow green, and the young leaves are very
+delicate and airy-looking; but the graceful tree is in such a hurry to
+display her gay autumn colors that she will often put on a scarlet or
+crimson streamer in July or August. One brilliantly-colored branch will
+be seen on a green tree, or the leaves of an entire tree will turn red
+while all the other trees around it are clothed in summer greenness."
+
+"Don't you remember, Miss Harson," said Edith, "the little tree that I
+thought was on fire and how frightened I was?"
+
+"Yes, dear, I remember it very well--an innocent little red maple that
+_would_ put on its flame-colored dress when it should have been all in
+green, like its sisters; but it was too green at heart to be in a blaze.
+This tree is often used for fuel, but it has to be cut down and dried
+first. The reddening of the leaf generally begins at the veins and
+spreads out from them until the whole is tinted. Sometimes it appears in
+spots, almost like drops of blood, on the green surface; but, come as it
+will, it is always beautiful. It is said of the red maple that 'it
+stands among the occupants of the forest like Venus among the
+planets--the brightest in the midst of brightness and the most beautiful
+in a constellation of beauty,'"
+
+"Is there such a thing as a silver tree?" asked Clara.
+
+[Illustration: THE SILVER-LEAF MAPLE.]
+
+"There is a tree called 'the silver maple,'" was the reply, "and there
+is also the silver poplar. The silver maple is considered the most
+graceful of the large and handsome maple family. I have not told you, I
+think, that the name of the family is _Acer_, which means 'sharp' or
+'hard,' and it was supposed to have been given in old English times
+when the wood of the maple was used for javelins. The silver maple gets
+its name from the whitish under-surface of its leaves, and it is a
+favorite shade-tree; it has a slender trunk and long, drooping branches.
+The foliage is light and rather dull-looking, and it is not a very
+bright tree in autumn. The leaves are so deeply notched that they have a
+fringe-like appearance, and this, with its slender form and bending,
+swaying habit, gives it a very graceful look."
+
+Little Edith wished to know "if the wood was like silver," and Malcolm
+asked her how she expected it to grow if it was.
+
+But Miss Harson replied kindly,
+
+"The silver, dear, is all in the leaves, and there is not much of it
+there. The wood is white and of little use, as it is soft and
+perishable; but the beauty of the finely-cut foliage, the contrast
+between the green of the upper surface of the leaves and the silver
+color of the lower, and the magnificent spread of the limbs of the white
+maple, recommend it as an ornamental tree; and this is the purpose for
+which it is intended. It is used very largely in the cities for shade
+and beauty. It is often called the 'river maple,' because it is so
+frequently seen on the banks of streams."
+
+"And now," said Malcolm, "I hope there is ever so much about the
+maple-sugar tree. Can't we get some this spring, Miss Harson, before
+it's all gone?"
+
+"We can certainly buy the sugar in town, Malcolm, if that is what you
+mean; but it does not grow on the trees in cakes, and we shall scarcely
+be able to tap the trunks and go through with the process of preparing
+the sap, even if it were not too late for that. We will do what we can,
+though, to become acquainted with the rock maple, that we may be able to
+recognize it when we see it. When young, it is a beautiful, neat and
+shapely tree with a rich, full leafy head of a great variety of forms.
+It is the largest and strongest of the maples, and gives the best shade.
+It can be distinguished from the other members of the family by its
+leaves, in which the notch between the lobes is round instead of being
+sharp, and also by their appearing at the same time with the blossoms,
+which are of a yellowish-green color. The green tint of the leaves is
+darker on some trees than it is on others, and in autumn they become,
+often before the first touch of the frost, of a splendid orange or gold,
+sometimes of a bright scarlet or crimson, color, each tree commonly
+retaining from year to year the same color or colors, and differing
+somewhat from every other. The most beautiful and valuable maple-wood is
+taken from this tree. It is known as 'curled maple' and 'bird's-eye
+maple,' and the common variety looks like satin-wood. In the curled
+maple the fibres are in waves instead of in straight lines, and the
+surface seems to change with alternate light and shade; in the
+bird's-eye, irregular snarls of fibres look like roundish projections
+rising from hollow places, each one resembling the eye of a bird.
+Buckets, tubs and many useful things are made of the straight variety,
+and for lasts it is considered better than any other kind of wood. The
+curled and the bird's-eye are largely used for furniture."
+
+"But isn't it a shame," said Clara, "to spoil the maple-sugar by making
+the trees into chairs and things?"
+
+"You would not think so," replied her governess, "if you needed the
+'chairs and things' more than you need the sugar. But the supply of
+trees seems to be sufficient for both purposes."
+
+"Does the sugar come right out of the tree when people tap on it with a
+hammer?" asked Edith, whose ideas of sugar-making were rather crude.
+
+"You blessed baby!" cried Malcolm, with a shout of laughter. Let's take
+our hammers and go after some maple-sugar right away."
+
+"No, Edie," said Miss Harson as she took her much-loved little pupil on
+her lap; "we'll stay at home and learn just how the sugar is made. To
+_tap_ a tree, dear, means to make cuts in the trunk for the sap to flow
+out, and in the sugar-maple this sap is more like water than sugar. From
+the middle of February to the second week in March, according to the
+warmth or the coldness of the locality, is the time for tapping the
+trees; and when the holes are bored, spouts of elder or sumac from which
+the pith has been taken are put into them at one end, while the other
+goes down to the bucket which receives the sap. 'Several holes are so
+bored that their spouts shall lead to the same bucket, and high enough
+to allow the bucket to hang two or three feet from the ground, to
+prevent leaves and dirt from being blown in.' The next thing is to boil
+the sap, and this is done in great iron kettles, over immense
+wood-fires, out there among the trees, with plenty of snow on the
+ground, and only two or three rude little cabins for the men and boys to
+sleep in. This is called 'the sugar-camp,' and the sap-season lasts five
+or six weeks."
+
+"And why is it boiled?"
+
+"Boiling drives the water off in vapor, and leaves the sugar behind in
+the pot."
+
+"And do they stay in the woods there all the time?" asked Malcolm, with
+great interest. "What lots of fun they must have, with the big fires and
+the snow and as much maple-sugar as ever they want to eat! _I'd_ like
+to stay in a sugar-camp in the woods."
+
+[Illustration: MAKING MAPLE SUGAR.]
+
+"Perhaps not, after trying it and finding how much hard work there is in
+sugar-making," replied his governess. "'The kettles must be carefully
+watched and plenty of wood brought to keep them boiling, and during the
+process the sap, or syrup, is strained; lime or salaeratus is added, to
+neutralize the free acid; and the white of egg, isinglass or milk, to
+cause foreign substances to rise in a scum to the surface. When it has
+been sufficiently boiled, the syrup is poured into moulds or casks to
+harden.' The sugar with which the most pains have been taken is very
+light-colored, and I have seen it almost white."
+
+"Have you ever been to a sugar-camp, Miss Harson?" asked Clara, who was
+wishing, like Malcolm, that she could go to one herself.
+
+"Yes," said Miss Harson; "I did go once, in Vermont, when the family
+with whom I was staying took me to see the 'sugaring off.' This is
+putting it into the pans and buckets to harden after it has been
+sufficiently boiled and clarified; and we younger ones, by way of
+amusement, were allowed to make jack-wax."
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed three voices at once; "what is that? Is it good to eat?"
+
+"I thought it particularly good," was the reply, "and I am quite sure
+that you would agree with me. To make it, we poured a small quantity of
+hot syrup on the snow to cool; and when it was fit to eat, it was just
+like wax, instead of being hard like the cakes in moulds. It took only a
+few minutes, too, to make it, and it seemed a great deal nicer because
+we did it ourselves. I remember that it was the last of March and very
+cold, but there were big fires to get warmed at, and we had a
+delightful time."
+
+"Were there any Indians there, Miss Harson?" asked little Edith, after
+being quiet for some time. Vermont was such a long way off on the map,
+besides being up almost at the top, that Indians and bears and all sorts
+of wild things seemed to have a right to live there.
+
+"No," said her governess, smiling at the question; "I did not see one,
+even at the sugar-camp. Yet the Indians made maple-sugar long before we
+knew anything about it, and from them the white people learned how to
+do it."
+
+"Well, that's the funniest thing!" exclaimed Malcolm. "I thought that
+Indians were always scalping people instead of making maple-sugar."
+
+"They did a great many other things, though, besides fighting, and their
+life was spent so much out of doors that they studied the nature of
+every plant and living thing about them. The healing-properties of some
+of our most valuable herbs were first discovered by the Indians, and, as
+they never had any grocery-stores, the presence of trees that would
+supply them with sugar was a blessing not likely to be neglected. The
+devoted missionary John Brainerd first heard of this tree-sugar from
+them, and it is said that he used to preach to them when they were thus
+peacefully employed, and obtained a better hearing than at other times."
+
+"Have we any maple-sugar trees?" asked Clara.
+
+"No," replied Miss Harson; "there are none at Elmridge, and I have seen
+none anywhere near here. They seem to flourish best in the Northern and
+North-eastern States, while in Western Canada the tree is found in
+groves of from five to twenty acres. These are called 'sugar-bushes,'
+and few farmers in that part of America are without them. In England the
+maple trees are called 'sycamores,' and the sap is used as a sweet
+drink. I will read to you from a little English book called _Voices from
+the Woodlands_ a simple account of a country festival where maple sap
+was the choicest refreshment:
+
+"'"Take care of that young tree," said Farmer Robinson to his laborer,
+who was diligently employed in clearing away a rambling company of
+brambles which had grown unmolested during the time of the last tenant;
+"the soil is good, and in a very few years we shall have pasturage for
+our bees, and plenty of maple-wine."
+
+"'The farmer spoke true; before his young laborer had attained middle
+age the sapling had grown into a fine tree. Its branches spread wide and
+high, and bees came from all parts to gather their honey-harvests among
+the flowers; beneath its shade lambkins were wont in spring to sleep
+beside their dams; and when the time of shearing came, and the sheep
+were disburdened of their fleeces, you might see them hastening to the
+sycamore tree for shelter.
+
+"'A kind of rustic festival was held about the same time in honor of the
+maple-wine. Hither came the farmer and his dame, with their children and
+young neighbors, each carrying bunches of flowers. Older people came in
+their holiday dresses, some with baskets containing cakes, others tea
+and sugar, with which the farmer and his wife had plentifully supplied
+them; and joyfully did they rest a while on the green sward while young
+men gathered sticks, and, a bright fire having been kindled, the kettle
+sent up its bubbling steam.
+
+"'When this was ended, and few of the piled-up cakes remained--when,
+also, the young children had emptied their cans and rinsed them at the
+old stone trough into which rushed a full stream--tiny hands joyfully
+held up the small cans and bright eyes looked anxiously to the stem of
+the tall tree while the farmer warily cut an incision in the bark.
+
+"'What joy when a sweet watery juice began to trickle! and the farmer
+filled one small cup, then another, till all were satisfied and a
+portion sent to the older people, who were contentedly looking on from
+the grassy slope where they had seated themselves. The farmer's wife
+knew naught concerning the process for obtaining sugar, or else she
+might have sweetened her children's puddings from the watery liquid
+yielded by the sycamore, or greater maple--an art well known to the
+aboriginal tribes of North America.'"
+
+"Does that mean Indians, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm, with a wry face at
+the long word.
+
+"Yes," was the reply; "and I hope that you will feel properly grateful
+to these aborigines whenever you eat maple-sugar."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+_OLD ACQUAINTANCES: THE ELMS._
+
+Miss Harson had admonished her little flock that they must use their own
+eyes and be able to tell her things instead of depending altogether on
+her to tell them; so now they were all peering curiously among the trees
+to see which were putting on their new spring suits. The yellow trees
+and the pink trees had been readily distinguished, but, although the
+others had not been idle, it was not so easy for little people to
+discern their leaf-buds.
+
+Clara soon made a discovery, however, of what her governess had noticed
+for a day or two, and the wonder was found on their own home-elms, those
+stately trees which had shaded the house ever since it was built, and
+from which the place got its pretty name--Elmridge.
+
+"Well, dear," said Miss Harson, coming to the upper window from which an
+eager head was thrust, "what is it that you wish me to see?"
+
+"Those funny flowers on the bare elm trees," was the reply. "Look, Miss
+Harson! Didn't I see them first?"
+
+"You have certainly spoken of them first, for neither Malcolm nor Edith
+has said anything about them. But they must both come up here now, where
+they can see them, and Malcolm and I can manage to reach some of the
+blossoms by getting out of the broad window on to the little balcony."
+
+Up came the two children kangaroo-fashion in a series of jumps, and
+presently Miss Harson was holding a cluster of dark maroon-colored
+flowers in her hand.
+
+"How queer and dark they make the trees look!" said Malcolm; "and
+they're so thick that they 'most cover up the branches. They're
+like fringe."
+
+"A very good description," replied his governess. "And now I wish you
+all to examine the trees very thoroughly and tell me afterward what you
+have noticed about them; then we will go down to the schoolroom and see
+what the books will tell us in our talk about the American elm and its
+cousin of England."
+
+The books had a great deal to tell about them, but Miss Harson preferred
+to hear the children first.
+
+"What did my little Edith see when she looked out of the window?" she
+asked.
+
+"Stems of trees," was the reply, "with flowers on 'em."
+
+"A very good general idea," continued Miss Harson, "but perhaps Clara
+can tell us something more particular about the elms?"
+
+"They are very tall," said Clara, hesitatingly, "and they make it nice
+and shady in summer; and some of the branches bend over in such a lovely
+way! Papa calls one of them 'the plume.'"
+
+"And now Malcolm?"
+
+"The trunk--or big 'stem,' as Edie would call it--is very thick, and the
+branches begin low down, near the ground."
+
+"Some of them do," said his governess, "but many of the elms on your
+father's grounds are seventy feet high before the branches begin.
+Sometimes two or three trunks shoot up together and spread out at the
+top in light, feathery plumes like palm trees. The elm has a great
+variety of shapes; sometimes it is a parasol, when a number of branches
+rise together to a great height and spread out suddenly in the shape of
+an umbrella. This makes a very regular-looking and beautiful tree. For
+about three-quarters of the way up, the 'plume' of which Clara speaks
+has one straight trunk, which then bends over droopingly. Small twigs
+cluster around the trunk all the way from bottom to top and give the
+tree the appearance of having a vine twining about it. I think that the
+plume-shape is the prettiest and most odd-looking of all the elms.
+Another strange shape is the vase, which seems to rest on the roots that
+stand out above the ground. 'The straight trunk is the neck of the vase,
+and the middle consists of the lower part of the branches as they swell
+outward with a graceful curve, then gradually diverge until they bend
+over at their extremities and form the lip of the vase by a circle of
+terminal sprays.'"
+
+"Have we any trees that look like vases, Miss Harson?" asked Clara.
+
+"Yes," was the reply; "not far from Hemlock Lodge there is one which we
+will look at when the leaves are all out. But you must not expect to
+find a perfect vase-shape, for it is only an approach to it. The
+dome-shaped elm has a broad, round head, which is formed by the shooting
+forth of branches of nearly equal length from the same part of the
+trunk, which gradually spread outward with a graceful curve into the
+roof or dome that crowns the tree."
+
+"I know something else about our elms," said Malcolm: "some of the roots
+are on top of the ground. Isn't that very queer, Miss Harson?"
+
+[Illustration: WYCH-ELM LEAVES.]
+
+"Not for old elm trees, as this is quite a habit with them. Indeed, in
+many ways, the elm is so entirely different from other trees that it can
+be recognized at a great distance. It is both graceful and majestic,
+and is the most drooping of the drooping trees, except the willow, which
+it greatly surpasses in grandeur and in the variety of its forms. The
+green leaves are broad, ovate, heart-shaped, from two to four or five
+inches long. You can see their exact shape in this illustration. Their
+summer tint is very bright and vivid, but it turns in autumn to a sober
+brown, sometimes touched with a bright golden yellow, And now,"
+continued Miss Harson, "we will examine the flowers which we have here,
+and we see that each blossom is on a green, slender thread less than
+half an inch long, and that it consists of a brown cup parted into
+seven or eight divisions, rounded at the border and containing about
+eight brown stamens and a long compressed ovary surmounted by two short
+styles. This ripens into a flattened seed-vessel before the leaves are
+fully out, and the seeds, being small and chaffy, are wafted in all
+directions and carried to great distances by the wind."
+
+"Where does slippery elm come from?" asked Clara.
+
+"From another American species, dear, which is very much like the white
+elm that we have been considering. The slippery elm is a smaller tree,
+does not droop so much, and the trunk is smoother and darker. The leaves
+are thicker and very rough on the upper side. The inner bark contains a
+great deal of mucilage--that, I suppose, is the reason for its being
+called 'slippery'--and it has been extensively used as a medicine. The
+wood is very strong and preferred to that of the white elm for
+building-purposes, although the latter is considered the best native
+wood for hubs of wheels. There is a great elm tree on Boston Common
+which is over two hundred years old, and another in Cambridge called the
+'Washington Elm,' because near it or beneath its shade General
+Washington is said to have first drawn his sword on taking command of
+the American army. In 1744 the celebrated George Whitefield preached
+beneath this tree."
+
+"I'm glad we have elm trees here," said Malcolm, "though I s'pose nobody
+ever did anything in particular under ours."
+
+"You mean," replied his governess, laughing, "that they are not
+_historical_ trees; but they are certainly very fine ones. There is
+another species of elm, the English, which is often seen in this country
+too. It is a very large and stately tree, but not so graceful as our own
+elm. It is distinguished from the American elm by its bark, which is
+darker and much more broken; by having one principal stem, which soars
+upward to a great height; and by its branches, which are thrown out more
+boldly and abruptly and at a larger angle. Its limbs stretch out
+horizontally or tend upward with an appearance of strength to the very
+extremity; in the American elm they are almost universally drooping at
+the end. Its leaves are closer, smaller, more numerous and of a darker
+color. In England this tree is a great favorite with those black and
+solemn birds the rooks. The poet Hood writes of it as
+
+     "'The tall, abounding elm that grows
+       In hedgerows up and down,
+     In field and forest, copse and park,
+       And in the peopled town,
+     With colonies of noisy rooks
+       That nestle on its crown.'
+
+"Some of these English elms are very ancient and of an immense size; one
+of them, known as the 'Chequer Elm,' measures thirty-one feet around the
+trunk, of which only the shell is left. It was planted seven hundred
+years ago. The Chipstead Elm is fifteen feet around; the Crawley Elm,
+thirty-five. A writer says, 'The ample branches of the Crawley Elm
+shelter Mayday gambols while troops of rustics celebrate the opening of
+green leaves and flowers. Yet not alone beneath its shade, but within
+the capacious hollow which time has wrought in the old tree, young
+children with their posies and weak and aged people find shelter during
+the rustic _fêtes_.'"
+
+"Does that mean that people can sit inside the tree?" asked Clara. "I
+wish we had one to play house in where Hemlock Lodge is."
+
+"That is one of the things, Clara," replied Miss Harson, "that people
+can have only in the place where they grow. In the South of England
+there is another great elm tree with a hollow trunk which has fitted
+into it a door fastened by a lock and key. A dozen people can be
+comfortably accommodated inside, and there is a story told of a woman
+and her infant who lived there for a time."
+
+"What a funny house!" said Malcolm. "Just like a woodpecker's."
+
+"Another great elm, near London, has a winding staircase cut within it,
+and a turret at the top where at least twenty persons can stand. One
+species of this tree, called the _wych-_, or _witch-_, elm, was believed
+by ignorant people to possess magical powers and to defend from the
+malice of witches the place on which it grew. Even now it is said that
+in remote parts of England the dairymaid flies to it as a resource on
+the days when she churns her butter. She gathers a twig from the tree
+and puts it into a little hole in the churn. If this practice were
+neglected, she confidently believes that she might go on churning all
+day without getting any butter."
+
+"Isn't that silly?" exclaimed Clara.
+
+"Very silly indeed," replied her governess; "but we must remember that
+the poor ignorant girl knows no better. The wood of the European elm is
+stronger than ours; it is hard and fine-grained, and brownish in color,
+and is much used in the building of ships, for hubs of wheels, axletrees
+and many other purposes. In France the leaves and shoots are used to
+feed cattle. In Russia the leaves of one variety are made into tea. The
+inner bark is in some places made into mats, and in Norway they
+kiln-dry it and grind it with corn as an ingredient in bread. So that
+the elm tree is almost as useful as it is beautiful."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+_MAJESTY AND STRENGTH: THE OAK_.
+
+"Here," said Miss Harson, "is a small branch from an oak tree containing
+the young leaves and the catkins, which come out together; for the oak
+belongs, like the willow and the maple, to the division of
+_amentaceous_ plants."
+
+"Oh dear!" sighed Clara at the hard name.
+
+But Malcolm repeated:
+
+"_Amentaceous_--_ament_. I know, Miss Harson: it's _catkins_"
+
+"Yes, it means trees which produce their flowers in catkins, or looking
+as if strung on long drooping stems; and the oak is the monarch of this
+family, and in Great Britain of all the forest-trees. It is especially
+an English tree, although our woods contain several varieties. But they
+do not hold the pre-eminence in our forests that the oaks do in those
+of England. The oak ordinarily runs more to breadth than to height, and
+spreads itself out to a vast distance with an air of strength and
+grandeur. This is its striking character and what gives it its peculiar
+appearance. Oaks do not always go straight out, but crook and bend to
+right and left, upward and downward, abruptly or with a gentle sweep.
+
+[Illustration: MALE CATKIN OF THE OAK.]
+
+[Illustration: THE OAK]
+
+"The white oak is the handsomest species, and takes its name from the
+very light color of the bark on the trunk, by which it is easily known.
+The leaves are long in proportion to the width and deeply divided into
+lobes, of which there are three or four on each side. There is a great
+variety in the shape of oak-leaves, those of our white oak being long
+and slender, while the red oak has very broad ones, and the foliage of
+the scarlet oak is almost skeleton-like. The chestnut oak has leaves
+almost exactly like those of the chestnut. The acorns of the different
+varieties, too, differ in size and shape.
+
+[Illustration: WHITE-OAK LEAF.]
+
+"There is so much to be said of the oak," continued Miss Harson, "it is
+such an ancient and venerable tree and has so many stories attached to
+it, that it is not easy to begin an account of it. The blossoms,
+perhaps, will be the best starting-point: and I should like to have you
+examine this branch and tell me if you see any difference in the
+blossoms."
+
+"They are nearly all alike," said Malcolm, "but here at the ends of the
+twigs are one or two that look like buds."'
+
+"That is just what I wanted you to notice," replied his governess, "for
+the flowers are of two kinds, one bearing the stamens, and the other the
+pistils. The flowers that bear the stamens grow on loose scaly catkins,
+as you may see in this branch. Those with the pistils are also in
+catkins, but very small, like a bud. The bud spreads into a little
+branchlet and bears the flowers at the tip. The calyx is not seen at
+first; it is a mere membrane covering the ovary. By degrees the ovary
+swells into the acorn and the membrane becomes part of the shell."
+
+"I like acorns," said little Edith, "they're so nice to play with."
+
+"But they're not nice to eat," said Clara.
+
+[Illustration: SQUIRREL AND ACORN]
+
+"Some animals think they are," continued Miss Harson. "If you should
+come here in October, you would find the squirrels feasting on them. In
+old times in England the oaks were valued highly on account of their
+acorns, and great herds of swine were driven into the forests to feed
+upon them. In the time of the Saxons a crop of acorns often formed a
+part of the dowry bestowed upon the Saxon queens, and the king himself
+would be glad to accept a gift or grant of acorns; and the failure of
+the crop would be considered as a kind of famine. In those days laws
+were made to protect the oaks from being felled or injured, and a man
+who cut down a tree under the shadow of which thirty hogs could stand
+was fined three pounds. The herds of swine were placed under the care of
+a swineherd, whose sole employment was to keep them together, and they
+formed a staple part of the riches of the country. But when the Norman
+kings began to rule, they brought with them a passionate love of hunting
+and took possession of the forests as preserves for their favorite
+sport. The herds of swine were forbidden to roam about as heretofore,
+and their owners were reduced to poverty in consequence."
+
+"Wasn't that wicked, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Yes; it was both unjust and cruel, and it was one of the great
+grievances of the nation. Even at this day the laws for the protection
+of game are one of the grounds of ill-feeling on the part of the poor
+toward the nobles. In Spain the acorns have the taste of nuts, and are
+sold in the markets as an article of food. They grow abundantly in the
+woods and forests. Once, in time of war, a foreign army subsisted almost
+entirely on them. Herds of swine range the forests in Spain and feed
+luxuriously upon acorns, and the salted meats of Malaga, that are famous
+for their delicate flavor, are thought to owe it to this cause. Some of
+our American Indians depend upon acorns and fish for their winter food;
+and when the acorns drop from the tree, they are buried in sand and
+soaked in water to draw out the bitter taste."
+
+"I shouldn't like them," said Clara, with a wry face at the thought of
+such food.
+
+"Well, dear," replied her governess, laughing, "as you are not an
+Indian, you will probably not be called upon to like them; but it would
+be better to eat acorns than to starve. You may have noticed the trunk
+and branches of the oak are often gnarled and knotted, and this helps to
+give the tree its appearance of great strength. It is just as strong as
+it looks, and for building-purposes it lasts longer than any other
+wood. Beams and rafters of oak are found in old English houses, showing
+among the brick-work, and many of these half-timbered houses, as they
+are called, were built hundreds of years ago.
+
+"Bedsteads and other articles of furniture, too, were 'built' in those
+days, rather than made, for they were not expected to be moved about;
+and a heavy oak bedstead is still in existence which is said to have
+belonged to King Richard III. It is curiously carved, and the king
+rested upon it the night before the battle of Bosworth Field, where he
+was killed. Clumsy as the bedstead was, he took it about with him from
+place to place; but after the fatal battle it passed into the hands of
+various owners, and nothing remarkable was discovered about it until the
+king had been dead a hundred years. By that time the bedstead had come
+into the possession of a woman who found a fortune in it. One morning,
+says the story, as she was making the bed, she heard a chinking sound,
+and saw, to her great delight, a piece of money drop on the floor. Of
+course she at once set about examining the bedstead, and found that the
+lower part of it was hollow and contained a treasure. Three hundred
+pounds--a fortune in those days--was brought to light, having remained
+hidden all those years. As King Richard was not there to claim his gold,
+the woman quickly possessed herself of it. But, as it happened, she had
+better have remained in ignorance and poverty. As soon as the matter
+became known one of her servants robbed her of the gold, and even caused
+her death. Thus it was said in the neighborhood that 'King Richard's
+gold' did nobody any good."
+
+The children were very much pleased with this story, and Malcolm said
+that he always liked to hear about people who found gold and things.
+
+"I think that I do, myself," replied Miss Harson, "although, as in this
+poor woman's case and in many others, gold is not the best thing to
+find. It often brings with it so much sorrow and sin as to be a curse to
+its owner. The only safe treasure is that laid up in heaven, where
+'neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break
+through nor steal,'
+
+"From the very earliest times the oak has been used for shipbuilding.
+The Saxons, we are told, kept a formidable fleet of vessels with curved
+bottoms and the prow and poop adorned with representations of the head
+and tail of some grotesque and fabulous creature. King Alfred had many
+vessels that carried sixty oars and were entirely of oak. A vessel
+supposed to be of his time has been discovered in the bed of a river in
+Kent, and after the lapse of so many centuries it is as sound as ever
+and as hard as iron."
+
+"Do oak trees ever have apples on 'em?" asked Clara. "In a story that I
+read there was something about 'oak-apples.'"
+
+[Illustration: THE OAK-GALL INSECT (_Cynips_).]
+
+"They are not apples such as we eat, or fruit in any sense," said her
+governess. "They are the work of a species of fly called _Cynips_, which
+is very apt to attack the oak. 'The female insect is armed with a sharp
+weapon called an _ovipositor_, which she plunges into a leaf and makes
+a wound. Here she lays her eggs; and when she has done so, she flies
+away and we hear no more of her. But the wound she has made disturbs the
+circulation of the sap. It flows round and round the eggs as though it
+had met with some foreign body it would fain remove. Very soon the eggs
+are in the midst of a ball-like and fleshy chamber--the most suitable
+provision for them, and one which the parent-insect had provided by
+means of puncturing the leaf. As the eggs are hatched the grubs will
+find themselves safely housed and in the midst of an abundance
+of food.'"
+
+[Illustration: OAK-APPLES.]
+
+"Well," exclaimed Malcolm, in great disgust, "_apple_ is a queer name
+for a ball full of little flies!"
+
+"It's a very pretty ball, though," said Miss Harson, "with a smooth skin
+and tinged with red or yellow, like a ripe apple. If it is cut open, a
+number of granules are seen, each containing a grub embedded in a
+fruit-like substance. The grub undergoes its transformation, and in due
+course emerges a perfect insect. These pretty pink-and-white apples used
+to be gathered by English boys on the twenty-ninth of May, which was
+called 'Oak-Apple Day.'"
+
+"Did they eat 'em?" asked Edith.
+
+"I do not see how they could, dear," was the reply; "they were probably
+gathered just to look at. Yet 'May-apples,' which grow, you will
+remember, on the wild azalea and the swamp honeysuckle, are often eaten,
+and they are formed in the same way; so we will not be too positive
+about the oak-apples."
+
+"What are oak-_galls_, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm. "Are they the same
+as oak-apples?"
+
+"Not quite the same," was the reply, although both are produced by the
+same insect. This is what one of our English books says of them: 'When
+the acorn itself is wounded, it becomes a kind of monstrosity, and
+remains on the stalk like an irregularly-shaped ball. It is called a
+"nut-gall," and is found principally on a small oak, a native of the
+southern and central parts of Europe. All these oak-apples and nut-galls
+are of importance, but the latter more especially, and they form an
+important article of commerce. A substance called "gallic acid" resides
+in the oak; and when the puncture is made by the cynips, it flows in
+great abundance to the wound. Gallic acid is one of the ingredients used
+in dyeing stuffs and cloths, and therefore the supply yielded by the
+nut-gall is highly welcome. The nut-galls are carefully collected from
+the small oak on which they are found, the Pyreneean oak. It is easily
+known by the dense covering of down on the young leaves, that appear
+some weeks later than the leaves of the common oak. The galls are
+pounded and boiled, and into the infusion thus made the stuffs about to
+be dyed are dipped,'"
+
+"I should think," said Clara, "that people would plant oak trees
+everywhere, when they are so useful. Is anything done with the bark?"
+
+"Yes," said her governess; "the bark, which is very rough, is valuable
+for tanning leather and for medicine. The element which has the effect
+of turning raw hide or skin into leather is called _tannin_; it is also
+found in the bark of some other trees and in tropical plants."
+
+"Didn't people use to worship oak trees," asked Malcolm--"people who
+lived ever so long ago?"
+
+"You are thinking of the Druids, who lived in old times in Britain and
+Gaul," replied Miss Harson, "and whose strange heathen rites were
+practiced in oak-groves; and they really did consider the tree sacred.
+These Druids have left their traces in some parts of England and France
+in rows of huge stones set upright; and wherever an immense stone was
+found lying on two others, in the shape of a table, there had been a
+Druid altar, where the priest offered sacrifices, often of human beings.
+So horrible may be a so-called religion that men themselves devise,
+and that has not come from the true God.
+
+[Illustration: DRUIDIC SACRIFICE.]
+
+"It was an article in the Druids' creed, and one to which they strictly
+adhered, that no temple with a covered roof was to be built in honor of
+the gods. All the places appointed for public worship were in the open
+air, and generally on some eminence from which the moon and stars might
+be observed; for to the heavenly bodies much adoration was offered. But
+to afford shelter from wind or rain, and also to ensure privacy and shut
+out all external objects, the place fixed upon, either for teaching
+their disciples or for carrying out the rites of their idolatrous
+worship, was in the recess of some grove or wood. An oak-grove was
+supposed to be the favorite of the gods whom they ignorantly worshiped,
+and therefore the Druids declared the oak to be a sacred tree. The Druid
+priest always bound a wreath of oak-leaves on his forehead before he
+would perform any religious ceremony. One of these ceremonies was to go
+in search of the mistletoe, which sometimes grows on the oak and was
+considered as sacred as the tree itself, being much used in their
+worship. One priest would climb to the branch on which the misletoe was
+growing and cut it with a golden knife, while another priest stood below
+and held out his white robe to receive it.
+
+"These sacred groves were all cut down by the Romans, who waged fierce
+war against the Druids, and nothing is left of them now but the circles
+of stones that formed their temples. At a place called Stonehenge,
+'cromlechs,' or altar-tables, are still standing, and very ancient oaks
+stood in a circle round these stones for many centuries after the Druids
+were swept away."
+
+"Miss Harson," said Clara when all had expressed their horror of the
+Druids and rejoiced that they _were_ swept away, "are there any oak
+trees in the Bible?"
+
+"Look and see," was the reply; "and first you may find Genesis xxxv. 4."
+
+Clara read:
+
+"'And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their
+hands, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid
+them under the _oak_ which was by Shechem.'"
+
+"In the eighth verse of the same chapter," said Miss Harson, "we read
+that Rebekah's nurse was buried under an oak at Bethel. We are told in
+the book of Joshua[2] that 'Joshua took a great stone and set it up
+there under an _oak_, that was by the sanctuary of the Lord;' and in
+Judges[3], 'There came an angel of the Lord and sat under an _oak_ which
+was in Ophrah.'--Malcolm, you may read Second Samuel, eighteenth
+chapter, ninth verse."
+
+[2] Josh. xxiv. 26.
+
+[3] Judg. vi. II.
+
+Malcolm read:
+
+"'And Absalom met the servants of David. And Absalom rode upon a mule,
+and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great _oak_, and his head
+caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the
+earth; and the mule that was under him went away.'"
+
+"Poor Absalom!" said Edith, softly. "Wasn't that dreadful?"
+
+"Yes, dear," replied her governess, "it _was_ dreadful; but it is still
+more dreadful that Absalom was such a wicked man. In Isaiah[4] we read
+of the oaks of Bashan, that, like the cedars of Lebanon, were 'high and
+lifted up,' and the oaks of Bashan are mentioned again in Zechariah[5].
+Several varieties of the oak are found in Palestine.
+
+[4] Isa. ii. 13.
+
+[5] Zech. xi. 2.
+
+[Illustration: ABRAHAM'S OAK, NEAR HEBRON.]
+
+"In his _Ride Through Palestine_, Dr. Dulles tells of a great oak near
+Hebron known as 'Abraham's oak,' supposed to occupy the ground where the
+patriarch pitched his tent under the oaks of Mamre. It is an aged tree,
+and a grand one. Here is a picture of it, from the _Ride_[6]. The crests
+and sides of the hills beyond the Jordan are still clothed, as in
+ancient times, with magnificent oaks.
+
+[6] See page 85
+
+"We get a good idea of the strength and durability of this wood from the
+fact that there is an old wooden church near Ongar, in Essex, the nave
+of which is composed of half logs of oak roughly fastened by wooden
+pegs. The ancient fabric dates back to the time of King Edmund, who was
+slain by the robber Leolf in the year A.D. 946. The oaken church was
+hurriedly put together--according to report--in order to make a
+temporary receptacle for the body of the murdered prince on its way to
+burial. Be that as it may, it was afterward used as a parish church,
+and, though the oaken logs are corroded by the weather, they are still
+sound, and, having been beaten by the storms of a thousand winters, bid
+fair to defy those of a thousand more."
+
+"I should think, then," said Malcolm, "that people would always build
+their houses with oak if it lasts so long."
+
+"Yet they do not do this even in England," was the reply, "where the
+trees grow to such an immense size and the ancient buildings still in
+existence prove the great endurance of the oak. Now brick and stone and
+iron are used, which outlast any wood. And now," continued Miss Harson,
+"I am going to tell you something about a foreign species of this tree
+which I am sure will surprise you. It is found in the South of Europe
+and in Algeria, and is called the _cork oak_."
+
+"'The _cork_ oak'!" exclaimed Clara, quite as much surprised as she was
+expected to be. "Do the corks that come in bottles grow on it?"
+
+"Not just in that shape, dear, but they are made from its bark. The
+outside bark, or _epidermis_, consists of a thin, transparent,
+tissue-like substance, which covers not only the bark, but the whole of
+the tree, stem, leaves and branches, and beneath the epidermis is found
+a layer of cellular tissue, generally green. It covers the trunk and
+branches, fills up the spaces between the veins of the leaves and
+contains the sap, which flows in canals arranged for it in the most
+beautiful and wonderful manner. In one species of oak this layer--which
+is called the _suber_--assumes a peculiar character and is of remarkable
+thickness. When the tree is some five years old, its whole energy is
+directed toward the increase of the suber. A mass of cells is formed
+with great rapidity, and layer upon layer is added, until that part of
+the trunk grows so unwieldy that it would crack and split of its own
+accord. But such a thing is rarely allowed to happen: the suber is of
+too much value to man. After it is taken from the tree and has undergone
+due preparation, it appears in our shops and houses under the name
+of _cork_"
+
+"I should like to see how they get it," said Malcolm.
+
+"The trunk is regularly marked around in deep cuts, which begin close
+to the branches and go down almost to the roots. A ladder is used to
+mount to the upper part of the trunk, and the cuts, or incisions, are
+made with a long knife or with an axe. Then they strip off the sheets of
+cork between the circles. This operation is a very delicate one, and
+requires much care and skill lest the inner part should be injured. If
+the operation is carried out successfully, the cork-like substance will
+grow again and become as abundant as ever.
+
+"The next thing to be done to the pieces of bark is partially to burn,
+or char, them, and also to make them quite flat, as they come from the
+trunk in a rounded shape. The burning makes the pores close up, so that
+the liquid in a vessel for which it is used as a stopper cannot come
+through; and this is done over a brisk fire, in what is called a
+_burning-yard_. Another process, called _rounding_, removes every trace
+of the fire, unless the cork has been too much burned, and then, having
+already been flattened by the pressure of heavy stones, it is ready for
+the cork-maker, who cuts the material first into strips and then into
+squares according to the size of corks wanted.
+
+"Cork is very light and elastic, and can be used successfully in
+contrivances for the rescue of men from the perils of the deep. The cork
+jacket and the lifeboat have been the means of saving many lives, for
+cork will float on the surface of the water and bear up the person
+wearing the jacket and the shipwrecked people in the lifeboat. 'The
+shallowness of the boat and the bulk of cork within allow but little
+room for water; so that even when filled it is in no danger of
+overturning or sinking, like other crafts. Also, the lifeboat can move
+across the waves with perfect safety, and can make its way from one
+object to another in a broken sea as easily as an ordinary boat can pass
+from one ship to another.'"
+
+The children declared that the cork-oak was the best tree of all, but
+they agreed with their governess that the entire oak family was made up
+of grand and useful trees.
+
+"Our American oaks," said Miss Harson, "are very handsome in autumn
+because of their brilliant foliage; the _scarlet oak_, which turns to a
+deep crimson and keeps its leaves longer than any of the other forest
+trees, is the most showy of the species. But we have no cork oaks, and
+no oaks that we know to be a thousand years old. There was once a famous
+oak in this country, called the 'Charter Oak,' which fell to the ground
+in August, 1856, before any of us were born. I wonder if you would like
+to hear the story about it?"
+
+This question was thought extremely funny by three such devourers of
+stories as the little Kyles, and they eagerly assured their governess
+that they would like it.
+
+"If that is really the case," continued Miss Harson, smiling at the
+excited faces, "I must tell you the history of
+
+"THE CHARTER OAK.
+
+"This tree grew in Hartford, Connecticut, and it is said that before the
+English governor Wyllis went there to live his steward, whom he had
+sent on before to get a house ready for him, came near cutting down this
+very oak. He was clearing away the trees around it on the hillside when
+a party of Indians appeared and begged him to leave that particular
+tree, because, they said, 'it had been the guide of their ancestors for
+centuries.' So the oak was spared; even then it was old and hollow.
+
+"King Charles II. granted the people of Connecticut a very liberal
+charter of rights, which was publicly read in the Assembly at Hartford
+and declared to belong for ever to them and their successors. A
+committee was appointed to take charge of it, under a solemn oath that
+they would preserve this palladium of the rights of the people.
+
+"When James II., the tyrannical brother of Charles II., came to the
+throne, he changed the government of New England and ordered the people
+of Connecticut to give up their charter. This they refused to do; and
+when a third command from the king had been sent to them, they called a
+special meeting of the Assembly, under their own governor, Treat, and
+resolved to hold on to the charter which had been given them.
+
+"On the 31st of October, 1687, Sir Edmund Andros, attended by members of
+his council and a bodyguard of sixty soldiers, entered Hartford to take
+the charter by force. The General Assembly was in session; he was
+received with courtesy, but with coldness. He entered the assembly-room
+and publicly demanded the charter. Remonstrances were made, and the
+session was protracted till evening. The governor and his associates
+appeared to yield. The charter was brought in and laid upon the table.
+Sir Edmund thought that he had succeeded, when suddenly the lights were
+all put out, and total darkness followed. There was no noise, no
+conflict, but all was quiet. When the candles were again lighted, _the
+charter was gone_! Sir Edmund was disconcerted. He declared the
+government of Connecticut to be in his own hands, and that the colony
+was annexed to Massachusetts and the other New England colonies, and
+proceeded to appoint officers. Captain Jeremiah Wadsworth, a patriot of
+those times, had hidden the charter in the hollow of Wyllis's oak,
+whence it was afterward known as the Charter Oak."
+
+"Then the English governor couldn't get it!" exclaimed Malcolm,
+delightedly. "Wasn't that splendid?"
+
+"It was a grand hiding-place, certainly, for no one would think of
+looking inside a tree for such a thing as that, and they were grand men
+who preserved their country's liberties in those trying times. But more
+peaceful years were at hand. About eighteen months after the charter had
+disappeared so mysteriously, the tyrant James II. was compelled to give
+up his throne to his daughter and son-in-law, the prince and princess of
+Orange, and Governor Treat and his associates again took the government
+of Connecticut under the old charter, which the hollow oak had
+faithfully kept from harm. No tree in our whole country has received
+more attention than this historic Hartford oak; and when, at last, its
+mere shell of a trunk was laid low by a storm, it seemed as if a large
+part of the city had been swept away.
+
+"Ancient oaks are apt to be almost entirely without branches; the huge
+trunk, with an opening at the top, and often with one also at the
+bottom, stands like a maimed giant, just tottering, perhaps, to its
+fall, because of the decay going on within, while outside all seems fair
+and sound. It was so with the Charter Oak; and when this monarch of the
+forest was unexpectedly laid low, rich and poor, great and small, were
+gathered to mourn its loss. A dirge was played and all the bells in the
+city were tolled at sundown, for this monument of the past was a link
+gone that could not be replaced."
+
+"Thank you, Miss Harson," said Clara; "_true_ stories are so nice! But I
+wish I had seen the Charter Oak before it was blown down."
+
+"You could not have done that, dear," was the reply, "unless you had
+been born about thirty years sooner."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+_BEAUTY AND GRACE: THE ASH_.
+
+"What tree comes next, Miss Harson?" asked Clara, on an April day that
+was mild enough for the piazza. "You told us so many interesting things
+about the oak that I suppose we needn't expect to hear of another tree
+like that."
+
+"No," was the reply; "not just like that, perhaps, for the oak is grand
+and venerable above all our familiar trees, but the ash, which is more
+especially an American tree, belongs to a large and interesting family,
+and I am quite sure that you will very much like to hear something about
+it. I have put it next to the oak because there is a sort of rivalry
+between the two as to which can get on its spring dress the soonest, and
+an old English rhyme says,
+
+     "'If the oak's before the ash,
+     Then you may expect a splash;
+     But if the ash is 'fore the oak,
+     Then you must beware a soak.'"
+
+"That must mean," said Malcolm, after considering this rather puzzling
+verse, "that it'll rain any way."
+
+"I think it does," replied Miss Harson, with a smile at Malcolm's air of
+deep thought, "and it is quite safe to say that in England. But, as 'a
+soak' sounds more serious than 'a splash,' it is to be hoped that the
+ash will not get ahead of the oak. I do not know what they are doing in
+England this year, but here the oak is a day or two ahead. The foliage
+of the ash is entirely different, as it has _pinnate_ leaves, which
+means leaves arranged in two rows, one on each side of a common stem, or
+_petiole_, like--What, Clara?"
+
+"Rose-leaves," was the prompt reply.
+
+"And leaves of the locust trees on the other side of the road," added
+Malcolm.
+
+[Illustration: THE COMMON ASH.]
+
+"And the sumac," said their governess, "and a number of others that
+might be mentioned. This kind of foliage is always graceful, and the
+ash is one of our largest and handsomest trees. It is said to be more
+common in America than in any other part of the globe. In Europe,
+because of its beauty, it is called the painter's tree. It is a
+particularly neat and regular-looking tree, and its smooth gray trunk
+is higher than that of most trees before any branches appear. Where is
+there a tree on the grounds answering this description, Malcolm?"
+
+"Down at the end of the vegetable-garden," was the reply, "and close
+beside the laundry."
+
+[Illustration: AMERICAN WHITE ASH.]
+
+"Yes; you are really learning to distinguish trees very well. There are
+several species--the white, red, black and mountain ash. The white ash
+is a graceful tree, rising in the forest to the height of seventy or
+eighty feet, with a straight trunk and a diameter of three feet or more
+at the base. On an open plain it throws out its branches, with a gentle
+double curvature, to a distance on every side, and forms a broad, round
+head of great beauty. The flowers of the ash are greenish white in color
+and appear with the leaves in loose clusters. 'The trunk of our largest
+American ash is covered with a whitish bark which in very young trees is
+nearly smooth; on older trees it is broken by deep furrows into
+irregular plates, and on very old stems it becomes smooth again, from
+the rough plates scaling off. The branches are grayish green dotted with
+gray or white.' Now who can tell _me_ something about this tree?"
+
+"I know that furniture is made of the wood," said Clara, "because that
+pretty set in the large spare-room is ash. And it is very
+light-colored."
+
+"The wood is used for a great many things," replied Miss Harson, "and
+the ash has been called the husbandman's tree because the timber is so
+much in demand for farming-implements, and for articles that need to be
+both strong and light. It does not last so long as the oak, but it is
+more elastic and can better resist sudden shocks and jerks; it is
+therefore particularly desirable for the spokes of wheels and ladders
+and the beams of floors. Staircases were made of it in olden times, and
+they may still be found in some English halls and abbeys. The forest ash
+makes better oars than any other wood, and the tree has so many good
+qualities that an old English poet spoke of it as
+
+     "'The ash for nothing ill.'
+
+"But Malcolm looks as if he had something to say, and I shall be very
+happy to hear it."
+
+"It is only about the red berries that they bear in autumn, Miss Harson;
+it looks queer to see berries growing on a tree."
+
+"The mountain ash is the only one that has berries," replied his
+governess, "and the bloom is in clusters of white flowers. The berries
+are sometimes dark red and often of a bright scarlet, and they remain on
+the tree during the winter, to the great delight of the birds. We should
+find them very sour, although pretty to look at; but the little
+feathered wanderers eat them with great relish when the snows of winter
+make bird-food scarce and the bright-red berries gleam out most
+invitingly. In some parts of Europe the berries are dried and ground
+into flour. The rowan, or roan, tree is the English name of the mountain
+ash, and in some parts of Great Britain it is called _witchen_, because
+of its supposed power against witches and evil spirits and all their
+spells. In old times branches of it were hung about houses and stables
+and cow-sheds, for it was thought that
+
+             "'witches have no power
+     Where there is roan-tree wood.'"
+
+"But that isn't true, is it?" asked Edith.
+
+"No, dear, not true of either the witches or the wood. But ignorant
+people believe a great many foolish things, and the leaves and twigs of
+the ash tree were thought to have peculiar virtue. In some places it was
+once the practice to pluck an ash-leaf in every case where the leaflets
+were of even number, and to say,
+
+     "'Even ash, I do thee pluck,
+     Hoping thus to meet good luck;
+     If no luck I get from thee,
+     Better far be on the tree.'"
+
+"It sounds like what children say on finding a four-leafed clover," said
+Clara.
+
+"It is on the same principle," was the reply, "for clover-leaves grow
+naturally in threes and ash-leaves in sevens. Both rhymes are equally
+silly where luck is concerned, and those who believe God's words--that
+even 'the hairs of our head are all numbered'--will have no faith in
+'luck.' In old times the ash was believed to perform wonderful cures of
+various kinds, and in remote parts of England a little mouse called the
+shrew-mouse bore a very bad character. If a horse or cow had pains in
+its limbs, they were said to be caused by a shrew-mouse running over it.
+Our forefathers provided themselves with what they called a shrew-ash,
+in order to meet the case. The shrew-ash was nothing more than an ash
+tree in the trunk of which a hole had been bored and a poor little
+shrew-mouse put in, with many charms and incantations happily long since
+forgotten."
+
+"And couldn't the poor little mouse get out again?" asked Edith.
+
+"I am afraid not, dear; and we can only rejoice that we did not live in
+those dark days. Among other beliefs in its virtues, the leaves and
+wood of the ash were regarded throughout Northern Europe as a protection
+from all manner of snakes, and in harvest-time children were suspended
+in their cradles from the branches of tall ash trees while their mothers
+were working in the harvest-field below. Even now serpents are said to
+dislike the tree so much that they will not come near it, and the leaf
+is considered a cure for the bite of a poisonous snake. I have been told
+that an ash-leaf rubbed on a mosquito-bite will at once take out the
+sting and itching, and no better remedy can be found for the sting of a
+bee or a wasp."
+
+"It's ever so much nicer than mud," said Clara, who had rather a talent
+for getting into hornets' nests.
+
+"But the mud, you see, is always to be had," replied Miss Harson, "while
+ash-leaves do not grow everywhere; and I do not know that they have any
+power to cure the sting.
+
+"The other species of ash found in this country are not so important as
+the white, but the black ash is remarkable as the slenderest deciduous
+tree of its height to be found in the forest. It is often seventy or
+eighty feet tall, with a trunk not more than a foot around. The color of
+the trunk is a dark granite-gray and the bark is rough. The wood is
+remarkable for its toughness, and for making baskets the Indians prefer
+it to any other, except the trunk of a young white oak.
+
+"The red ash is very much like the white, but the wood is less valuable.
+It is a spreading, broad-headed tree, and the trunk is erect and
+branching. It is not so tall as the black ash, yet its trunk is three
+times as thick.
+
+"A species of ash grows in Sicily that yields a substance called _manna_
+which used to be valuable as a medicine, and this manna is obtained in
+the same way as maple-sap--by making holes or incisions in the bark of
+the tree. At the proper season the persons whose business it is to
+collect manna begin to make incisions, one after the other, up the stem.
+The manna flows out like clear water, but it soon congeals and becomes
+a solid substance. It has a sweet taste, and while in a liquid state
+runs into a leaf of the tree that has been inserted in the wound.
+Afterward it flows into a vessel placed below, from which it is carried
+away and shipped off to other countries."
+
+"Is there any story about the ash?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Not much of a story, dear," was the reply--"only a little legend of the
+manna trees; but, such as it is, you shall have it:
+
+"The king of Naples, it is said, fenced a number of trees round and
+forbade any to collect the store they yielded unless they paid a
+tribute. By this means the royal revenue would be largely increased.
+But, according to the story, the manna trees, as if they disapproved of
+this ungenerous arrangement, refused to yield any manna, and suddenly
+became bare and barren. Upon this the king, finding his scheme a
+failure, revoked the tax and took away the fence. Then the trees poured
+out their manna, as usual, in the greatest abundance; so that it was
+said, 'When the king found he could not make a gain of what Providence
+had freely bestowed, he gave up the attempt and left the manna as free
+as God had given it.'
+
+[Illustration: THE SWING.]
+
+"There, now!" said Miss Harson; "after this long talk, you had better
+run off and see if there is not a tree somewhere on the grounds, with
+two ropes attached to it, that will bear better fruit than any tree we
+have studied yet."
+
+The trio laughed and raced for the swing, which was first reached by
+Clara, who seated herself all ready for the push which Malcolm would not
+grudge, for he pronounced his sister sweeter than apple or peach; and
+so she was.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+_THE OLIVE TREE_.
+
+"The ash," said Miss Harson, "has some relations of which, I think, you
+will be rather surprised to hear. These relations are both trees and
+shrubs, and the lilac, for instance, is one of them."
+
+"Why, they don't look a bit alike," exclaimed Clara.
+
+"No, they certainly do not; for, although this fragrant shrub often
+grows as large as a tree, it is quite different from the ash tree. Yet
+both belong to the olive family."
+
+"The kind of olives that papa likes to eat at dinner, and that you and I
+_don't_ like, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"The very same," replied his governess; "only that we are speaking now
+of the tree on which the olives grow. It is well said that the very name
+of 'olive' suggests the idea of Palestine and the sunny lands of the
+East. The olive tree is one of the most prominent trees of the Bible. It
+is mentioned in the very earliest part of the Scriptures, in the book of
+Genesis. I wonder if some one can tell me about it?"
+
+"I remember: a dove found a leaf when it was raining and brought it to
+Noah in the ark," said little Edith, quickly.
+
+"The rain had stopped falling, dear, after the deluge, and the waters
+were receding, or falling, when Noah sent forth the dove a second time
+to see what it would find. Here is the verse: 'And the dove came in to
+him in the evening; and lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off;
+so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth[7].' For
+this reason the olive-branch is a common emblem of peace. The olive tree
+is often mentioned in other parts of the Bible, and was considered one
+of the most valuable trees of Palestine, which is described as 'a land
+of oil-olive and honey.' It is not nearly so handsome as some other
+trees of the Holy Land, nor is it grand-looking or graceful. The
+leaves, which are long for the width, and smooth, are dark green on the
+upper side and silvery beneath; they generally grow in pairs. The fruit
+is shaped like a plum; it is green when first formed, then paler in
+color; and when quite ripe, it is black."
+
+[7] Gen. viii. 9.
+
+"But those that papa eats are olive-color," said Clara.
+
+"Yes," replied Miss Harson, smiling, "but all these hues I have
+mentioned are olive-color in some stage of the fruit; and it is in the
+green stage, before it is quite ripe, that it is gathered for
+preserving."
+
+"But that isn't _preserves_, is it?" asked Malcolm, drawing up his mouth
+at the recollection of an olive he had once tried to eat. "I thought
+preserves were always sweet."
+
+"That is the shape in which you are accustomed to them, Malcolm; but to
+preserve a thing means to keep it from decay, and salt and vinegar will
+do this as well as sugar. Preserves of this kind are what _you_ call
+'puckery.'--As to the color, Clara, 'olive-green' is a color by itself,
+because of its peculiar tint. It is a gray green instead of a blue or
+yellow green, and it has a very dull effect. The fruit is produced only
+once in two years, and in bearing-season the tree is loaded with white
+blossoms that drop to the ground like flakes of snow. It is said that
+not one in a hundred of these numerous flowers becomes an olive. Here,"
+continued Miss Harson, pointing to a page of a book in her hand, "is a
+representation of an olive-branch with some of the plum-shaped fruit.
+The branch, you see, is hard and stiff-looking."
+
+[Illustration: OLIVE-BRANCH WITH FRUIT.]
+
+"I should think the tree would be prettier when all those white flowers
+are on it," said little Edith.
+
+"It is--much prettier," replied her governess--"but not so useful. The
+fruit of the olive is so valuable that numbers of people depend upon it
+for their support. The wood, too, is very hard and durable, and, as it
+takes a fine polish, it is used for making many ornamental articles."
+
+"And where does the olive-oil come from?" asked Clara. "Do they make
+holes in the tree for it, as they do for maple-sap?"
+
+Malcolm was about to exclaim at this idea, but he remembered just in
+time that, should Miss Harson happen to question him, he himself could
+not tell where the oil came from.
+
+"The oil is pressed from the olives," was the reply; "a large, vigorous
+tree is said to yield a thousand pounds of it. It is such an important
+article of commerce in the regions where it is prepared that every one
+desires to get as much as he can out of his olive trees, but those who
+are too greedy of gain will spoil the quality of the oil to make a
+larger quantity. The small olive of Syria is considered the most
+delicate, and Italian olives also are very fine; those of Spain are
+larger and coarser. The best olive-oil comes from the south-eastern
+portion of France and is a clear, pure liquid; it is obtained from the
+first pressing of the fruit. This must be only a gentle squeeze, to get
+the purest oil: the quality usually sold is made by a heavier pressure;
+and then, when the olives are worked over again, come the dregs, which
+are not fit for table-use."
+
+"Do they mash 'em, like making apples into cider?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Something like that; and the olive-farmers take the most anxious care
+of their orchards, for they know that the more olives the more oil.
+This with the Italians means a living, and one of their proverbs says,
+'If you wish to leave a competency to your grandchildren, plant an
+olive.' The poorest of the fruit is eaten in their own families, 'to
+save it,' and, as it does not taste so well, it will go much farther.
+They do not eat olives, though, as we see them eaten--one or two as a
+relish; but a respectable dishful is provided for each person, instead
+of the bread and potatoes which they do not have."
+
+"I'd rather have the bread and potatoes," said Clara, "and I'm glad that
+I don't have to eat a whole plate of olives."
+
+"If you had always been accustomed to having olives, as the Italians
+are," replied Miss Harson, "you would think them very nice. I do not
+suppose that their children ever think how much more inviting are the
+olives that are kept for sale. Olives intended for exportation are
+gathered while still green, usually in the month of October. They are
+soaked for some hours in the strongest lye, to get rid of their
+bitterness, and are afterward allowed to stand for a fortnight in
+frequently-changed fresh water, in order to be perfectly purified of the
+lye. It only then remains to preserve them in common salt and water,
+when they are ready for export."
+
+"That's what they taste of," exclaimed Malcolm--"salt; and I don't like
+salt things."
+
+"I think," said his governess, with a smile, "that I have seen a boy
+whom I know enjoying sliced ham and tongue very much indeed."
+
+"So I do, Miss Harson," was the eager reply; "but ham and tongue, you
+know, don't taste like olives."
+
+"No, because they are ham and tongue. But they certainly taste salty,
+and that is what you object to. It is generally found that sweeping
+assertions are not very safe ones. But to come back to our olive tree:
+it is an evergreen, and it grows very easily. The readiness with which a
+twig will take root reminds us of the willow. A fine grove of olive
+trees at Messa, in Morocco, was accidentally planted. It is said that
+one of the kings of the dynasty of Saddia, being on a military
+expedition, encamped here with his army. The pegs with which the cavalry
+picketed their horses were cut from olive trees in the neighborhood,
+and, some sudden cause of alarm leading to the abandonment of the
+position, the pegs were left in the ground. Making the best of the
+situation, the pegs developed into the handsomest group of olive trees
+in the district."
+
+The children wondered if any trees had ever been planted in such a
+strange way before, and little Edith said thoughtfully,
+
+"But, Miss Harson, why don't good people go around and plant trees
+wherever there aren't any? It would be so nice!"
+
+"Some good people do plant trees, dear, wherever they can," replied her
+governess, "thinking, as they say, of those who are to come after them;
+a great many roadside trees have grown in this way. But no one is
+allowed to meddle with other people's property; waste-places might
+easily be beautified with trees if the owners cared for anything but for
+their own present interests. But here is something you will like to
+hear about the olives of Palestine: 'They are all planted together in
+the grove like the trees in a forest, and it would seem scarcely
+possible for the owners to distinguish their own property. But when the
+fruit is getting ripe, watchmen are appointed to guard the grove and
+prevent a single olive from being touched even by the person who has a
+right to the tree.'--You do not look as if you would like
+that, Malcolm."
+
+[Illustration: OLIVE TREE.--GATHERING THE FRUIT.]
+
+"Indeed I wouldn't!" replied the boy. "I rather think I'd take my own
+olives whenever I wanted 'em."
+
+"Not if you lived where all were agreed on this point, as they seem to
+be in Palestine.--'Days pass on, and the autumn is at hand before the
+governor of the district issues the wished-for proclamation; then the
+watchmen are removed. Immediately the scene becomes a most animated one.
+The grove is alive with an eager throng of men, women and children
+shaking down the precious fruit. It is, however, scarcely possible to
+bring every berry down, nor would it seem desirable, since after this
+great harvest comes the gleaning-time, when the poor, who have no olive
+trees, are permitted to come into the grove and shake down what
+is left.'"
+
+"Isn't there something about that in the Bible, Miss Harson?" asked
+Clara.
+
+"Yes; it is in the book of the prophet Isaiah, 'Yet gleaning grapes
+shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three
+berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost
+fruitful branches thereof, saith the Lord God of Israel[8].' This is a
+prophecy about God's people, but the Jews were told by God to leave
+something, when they were harvesting, for the poor to glean. Does it not
+seem wonderful that the mighty Ruler of the universe should condescend
+to such small things? But nothing is small with him, and we see that his
+loving care extends to the poorest and the meanest."
+
+[8] Isa. xvii. 6.
+
+"Miss Harson," asked Edith, with great earnestness, "has each of our
+hairs got a number on it? I couldn't find any."
+
+The young lady could scarcely keep from smiling, but she was obliged to
+call Malcolm to order, and even Clara seemed amused at her little
+sister's queer interpretation of the loving words, "The very hairs of
+your head are all numbered."
+
+Miss Harson took her youngest pupil on her knee and explained to her the
+meaning of our Saviour's words in Luke xii. 7, where it is added, "Fear
+not,", because the heavenly Father's loving care is always around us.
+
+"It was a natural mistake," she continued, "for a very little girl to
+make; but we must not try to find amusement in mistakes about God's
+word. Many grown people are irreverent in this way without knowing it:
+perhaps they were not properly taught when they were children. But _my_
+children must not have this excuse, and I want them all to promise me
+that they will never utter nor listen to words from the Bible in any
+other but a reverent manner."
+
+All promised, Malcolm with a flushed face and subdued tone; and Edith
+felt that one of the great puzzles of her small existence had
+been solved.
+
+"Oil is the most important product of the olive tree," said Miss Harson,
+"and it has well been called its richness and fatness. The great demand
+for it in Europe and Asia prevents the best quality from being sent
+abroad, and it is said that even the most wealthy foreigners seldom get
+it pure. It is a most important article of food, taking the place held
+by butter and lard with us. Innumerable lamps, too, are kept burning by
+means of this oil, and so varied are its uses in the East that it was a
+greater thing than we can understand for the prophet Habakkuk to say,
+'Although the labor of the olive shall fail, ... yet will I rejoice in
+the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.' Job says, 'The rock
+poured me out rivers of oil[9];' this means the oil of the olive, which
+will thrive on the sides and tops of rocky hills where there is scarcely
+any earth. It is a very long-lived tree, as well as an evergreen; the
+Psalmist says, 'I am like a green olive tree in the house of God.'"
+
+[9] Job xxiii. 6.
+
+"What does a _wild_ olive tree mean, Miss Harson?" asked Clara.
+
+"It means, dear, one that has grown without being cultivated, like our
+wild cherry and plum trees. The wild olive is smaller than the other,
+and inferior to it in every way. There are a great many olive trees in
+Palestine, and a place where they must have been very plentiful is
+called by a name which we often see in the Bible.--What is it, Malcolm?"
+
+"Is it 'the Mount of Olives'?" said Malcolm.
+
+"Yes, and it is sometimes called 'Olivet.' It is mentioned in the Old
+Testament as well as in the New. In Second Samuel it is written: 'And
+David went up by the ascent of Mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and
+had his head covered, and he went barefoot: and all the people that was
+with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they
+went up[10].'"
+
+[10] 2 Sam. xv. 30.
+
+"What was the matter?" asked Edith.
+
+"King David's wicked son Absalom had risen up against his father because
+he wished to be king in his stead. You remember how he was caught by the
+head in the boughs of an oak during the very battle that he was fighting
+for this purpose; so we know that he did not succeed in his wicked plan,
+but lost his life instead.--The Mount of Olives is described as 'a
+ridge running north and south on the east side of Jerusalem, its summit
+about half a mile from the city wall and separated from it by the valley
+of the Kidron. It is composed of a chalky limestone, the rocks
+everywhere showing themselves. The olive trees that formerly covered it
+and gave it its name are now represented by a few trees and clumps of
+trees. There are three prominent summits on the ridge; of these, the
+southernmost, which is lower than the other two, is now known as 'the
+Mount of Offence,' originally 'the Mount of Corruption,' because Solomon
+defiled it with idolatrous worship. Over this ridge passes the road to
+Bethany, the most frequented route to Jericho and the Jordan. The side
+of the Mount of Olives toward the west contains many tombs cut in the
+rock. The central summit rises two hundred feet above Jerusalem and
+presents a fine view of the city, and, indeed, of the whole region,
+including the mountains of Ephraim on the north, the valley of the
+Jordan on the east, a part of the Dead Sea on the south-east, and beyond
+it Kerak, in the mountains of Moab. Perhaps no spot on earth unites so
+fine a view with so many memorials of the most solemn and important
+events. Over this hill the Saviour often climbed in his journeys to and
+from the Holy City. Gethsemane lay at its foot on the west, and Bethany
+on its eastern slope.'"
+
+During the reading of this description of the Mount of Olives, Miss
+Harson showed the children pictures of the different spots mentioned,
+and thus they were not likely soon to forget what had been told them.
+
+"Who can repeat some words from the New Testament about this mountain?"
+asked Miss Harson.
+
+"'Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives,'" said Clara, who had learned
+this verse in her Sunday lesson, "and it is the first verse of the
+eighth chapter of St. John."
+
+"And the verse just before it, at the end of the seventh chapter,"
+replied her governess, "says that 'every man went unto his own house,'
+but 'Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives.' In another place it is said
+that 'at night he went out and abode in the Mount of Olives,' and in
+still another that he 'continued all night in prayer to God,' probably
+on the same mountain."
+
+"And can people really go and see the very same Mount of Olives now?"
+asked Malcolm, eagerly.
+
+"The very same," was the reply, "except, as I just read to you, many of
+the olive trees that gave it its name are no longer there. The Garden of
+Gethsemane, too, the most sacred spot near the mountain, is much
+changed, and a traveler who saw it lately says:
+
+"'At the foot of the Mount of Olives is a garden enclosed by a wall.
+There are paths and there are plots of flowers, the work of loving hands
+in recent years. The flowers speak of to-day, but there are olive trees
+in the garden that testify of the history of far-away years. Their
+venerable trunks, gnarled and rugged, are like the rough, marred binding
+of old books, shutting in a history going back to a far-off date.
+
+"'On one side of this garden slope upward the terraces of the Mount of
+Olives--terraces that are cultivated to-day even as the slopes of Olivet
+have been cultivated for generations and centuries. The other side of
+the garden looks toward the eastern wall of Jerusalem. Deep down in its
+shadowy bed, between the wall and the garden, lies the ravine of
+the Kedron.
+
+[Illustration: GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE.]
+
+"'If you visit that garden and look upon its old olive trees, the
+keeper of the place will tell you that you are in Gethsemane, the spot
+of our Saviour's betrayal. He will point out the "Grotto of the Agony,"
+the place where the disciples slumbered, and that where Judas, before
+his brethren, ceased publicly to be a follower and became the betrayer
+of Jesus. Some things you very naturally may question as the guardian of
+the enclosure tells his story. Whether any one of the venerable olive
+trees ever threw its shadow across the prostrate form of Jesus is more
+than doubtful, but that these trees are burdened with the history of
+centuries all must concede. "Gethsemane" means "oil-press," and olive
+trees long ago gave Olivet its name. That somewhere in this neighborhood
+the Saviour suffered cannot be doubted, and within that closed wall may
+have been the very spot where he bowed in his agony, and where he heard
+the tongue of Judas utter his treacherous "Rabbi!" and where he felt the
+serpent-breath of the traitor as that traitor kissed him.'"
+
+Miss Harson read of this solemn spot in a low, reverent tone; and the
+little audience were very quiet, until at last Clara said,
+
+"Whenever we see an ash tree or olives, how much there will be to think
+of!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+_THE USEFUL BIRCH_.
+
+"Oh, Miss Harson!" called out Clara, in great excitement, as she caught
+up with her governess on a run; "hasn't Edie poisoned herself? She has
+been eating this twig."
+
+Edith, of course, at once began to cry.
+
+"You are not poisoned, dear," said Miss Harson, very quickly, after
+trying the twig herself; "for this is birch-wood, and it cannot possibly
+hurt you. But remember, Edie, that this must not happen again; _never_
+put anything to your mouth unless you know it to be harmless. The birds
+and squirrels and other animals that are obliged to pick up their own
+living as soon as they are able to use their limbs have the faculty
+given them of knowing what is good for them to eat, but little girls are
+not intended to live in the woods, and they cannot tell whether or not
+the things they find there are fit to eat."
+
+"I took only a little bit," sobbed Edith; "Clara snatched it away as
+soon as it tasted good."
+
+Malcolm laughingly tossed his little sister into a sort of evergreen
+cradle where the branches grew low--for they were enjoying an afternoon
+in the woods--and held her there securely, while their governess
+replied,
+
+"'A little bit' is too much of a thing that might be harmful. You must
+remember to 'touch not, taste not, handle not,' until you have asked
+permission. But I am going to let you all chew as many birch-shoots as
+you want, and I too shall chew some; for when I was a little girl, I
+used to think they were 'puffickly d'licious.'"
+
+The children were much amazed to think that Miss Harson had ever talked
+like Edith--indeed, the two older ones could scarcely believe that they
+once did so themselves; but all soon had their hands full of
+birch-twigs, and they began gnawing like so many squirrels. All approved
+of the "birchskin," as Edith called it, and Malcolm declared that "it
+would be grand fun to live in the woods all the time."
+
+"Couldn't we have a tent, Miss Harson," asked Clara, "and try it?"
+
+"I have no doubt," was the reply, "that your indulgent papa would have a
+tent put up here for you if he thought it would make you happier, but I
+have my doubts as to whether it would do so. In the first place, I
+should object very much to living in the tent with you, and how could
+you possibly live there alone?"
+
+Clara and Edith were quite sure that they could not get along without
+their friend and governess, but Malcolm thought he would like to try
+being a hermit or an Indian, he was not quite ready to say which.
+
+"While you are deciding," said Miss Harson, with a smile, "it may be as
+well for us to go on as usual; but I think that a little tent could be
+put up here somewhere, which we might enjoy for an hour or so on
+pleasant days. I will see about it."
+
+The little girls were delighted, and Malcolm finally condescended to be
+pleased with the idea.
+
+"This is a very young birch," continued their governess, "and you see
+how slender and graceful it is; also that the bark, or 'skin,' is very
+dark. For this reason it is called the black, or cherry, birch, and also
+because the tree is very much like the black cherry. It is also called
+sweet birch and mahogany birch; the _sweet_ part you can probably
+understand, and it gets its other name from the color of the wood, which
+often resembles mahogany and at one time was much used for furniture.
+There are larger trees of the same kind all around us, and I should like
+to know if anything else has been noticed besides the twigs of this
+little one."
+
+"_I_ see something," replied Malcolm: "there are flowers--purple and
+yellow."
+
+"And what is the particular name for these tree-blossoms?" asked Miss
+Harson.
+
+"Isn't it _catkins_?" inquired Clara, timidly.
+
+"Yes, catkins, or aments. They hang, as you see, like long tassels of
+purple and gold, and are as fragrant as the bark. Bryant's line,
+
+     "'The fragrant birch above him hung her tassels in the sky,'
+
+"was written of this same black birch. Some of these trees are sixty or
+seventy feet high, and all are very graceful, this species being
+considered the most beautiful of the numerous birch family. The leaves,
+which are just coming out, are two or three inches long and about half
+as wide; they taper to a point and have serrate, or sawlike, edges. The
+wood is firm and durable, and is much used for cattle-yokes as well as
+for bedsteads and chairs. The large trees yield a great quantity of
+sweetish sap, which makes a pleasant drink. The trees are tapped just as
+the sugar-maples are, and in some parts of the country gathering this
+sap, which is sometimes used to make vinegar, is quite an
+important event."
+
+"Oh! oh! _oh_!" screamed Edith, and began to run.
+
+"Oh! oh! oh!" echoed Clara; and Malcolm declared that she was just like
+"Jill," who "came tumbling after."
+
+"What is the matter, children?" asked their governess, in dismay; but
+she stood perfectly still.
+
+"Only a poor little garter-snake," said Malcolm, "putting his head out
+to see if it's warm enough for him yet. But he has gone back into his
+hole frightened to death at such dreadful noises. Hello! what's the
+matter with Edie now?"
+
+The little sister had fallen, tripped up by some rough roots, and,
+expecting the poor startled garter-snake to come and make a meal off
+her, she was calling loudly for help.
+
+Miss Harson had her in her arms in a moment, and it was soon found that
+one foot had quite a bad bruise.
+
+"If only you had not run away!" said her governess. "He was such an
+innocent little snake to make all this fuss about, and very pretty too,
+if you had stopped to look at him."
+
+"Are snakes ever pretty?" asked Edith, in great surprise.
+
+"Certainly they are, dear, and this one had lovely stripes. I wish you
+could have seen him."
+
+The little girl began to wish so too, it was so funny to think of a
+snake being pretty, and she felt quite ashamed that she had scampered
+away in such a silly fashion.
+
+"What a goose I was!" said Clara, doing her thinking aloud. "But I
+thought it must be something dreadful, when Edie screamed so."
+
+"How much better it would have been to have found out before you
+screamed!" replied Miss Harson.--"But come, Edith; see what a nice cane
+Malcolm has just cut to help your lame foot with. He is offering you his
+arm, too, on the other side, and between the two I think you will get
+along finely."
+
+Edith thought the same thing, and enjoyed being helped home in this
+fashion. Her foot was quite painful, though, and considerably swollen;
+and Clara bathed it with arnica when the little girl had been
+comfortably established on the schoolroom sofa.
+
+"Perhaps," said Miss Harson, "our little invalid will not care to hear
+about trees this evening?"
+
+But the little invalid did care, and it was decided to take a further
+ramble among the birches.
+
+"I want to hear about birch-bark," said Malcolm--"not the kind we've
+been eating, but the kind that canoes and things are made of."
+
+[Illustration: THE CUT-LEAVED WHITE BIRCH.]
+
+"You have already heard about the black birch," replied his governess,
+"and, besides this, we have the white, or gray, birch, the bark of which
+is white, chalky and dotted with black; the red birch, with bark of a
+reddish or chocolate color; the yellow birch, bark yellowish, with a
+silvery lustre; and the canoe birch, which has a white bark with a
+pearly lustre. There is also a dwarf, or shrub, birch. The list, you
+see, is quite a long one."
+
+"What kind grow in _our_ woods?" asked Clara.
+
+"You certainly know of one kind," was the reply--"the black, or sweet,
+birch, which we have all tried and like so well. Besides this, there is
+the white, or little gray, birch, which is seldom over twenty-five or
+thirty feet high. It is, however, a graceful and beautiful object,
+enjoying to an eminent decree the lightness and airiness of the birch
+family, and spreading out its glistening leaves on the ends of a very
+slender and often pensile spray with an indescribable softness. An
+English poet has called this tree the
+
+                           "'most beautiful
+     Of forest-trees, the lady of the woods.'"
+
+The children laughed at the idea of calling a tree a _lady_, it seemed
+so comical; but Miss Harson said that she thought this was a very good
+description of a slender, graceful tree.
+
+[Illustration: WHITE-BIRCH LEAF.]
+
+"Four or five inches," she continued, "will span its waist, or trunk,
+and this seems a very good reason for calling it _little_. Another name
+for this tree is poplar birch, because the triangular-shaped leaves,
+which taper to a very long, slender point, have a habit of trembling
+like those of the poplars. The branches are of a dark chocolate color
+which contrasts very prettily with the grayish-white trunk, and their
+extreme slenderness causes them to droop somewhat like those of the
+willow. The white birch will spring up in the poorest kind of soil, and
+it is found in the highest latitude in which any tree can live. Its leaf
+is 'deltoid' in shape and indented at the edge. The bark of this species
+is said to be more durable than any other vegetable substance, and a
+piece of birch-wood was once found changed into stone, while the outer
+bark, white and shining, remained in its natural state,"
+
+"I don't see how it could," said Malcolm. "What kept it from turning
+into stone too?"
+
+"Its peculiar nature," was the reply, "which is a thing that we cannot
+explain, and we shall have to take the story just as it is. We certainly
+know that the wood has been proved to be very strong, and it is much
+used for timber."
+
+"Is the red birch really red, Miss Harson?" asked Clara, who thought
+that this promised to be the prettiest member of the family.
+
+"The bark has a reddish tinge, and it is so loose and ragged-looking
+that it has been said to roll up its bark in coarse ringlets, which are
+whitish with a stain of crimson. The red birch, which is more rare than
+any of the other kinds, is a much larger tree than the white birch, but,
+like all its relations, it is very graceful. The wood is white and hard
+and makes very good fuel, while the twigs are made into brooms for
+sweeping streets and courtyards."
+
+"But there isn't very much red about it, after all," said Malcolm.
+
+"It wasn't red," murmured Edith; "it was green;" and the next moment
+"the baby" was fast asleep, but Miss Harson was afraid that she had
+taken the snake with her to the land of Nod, so restless was her sleep.
+
+"I hope the yellow birch is yellow," said Clara again.
+
+"We will see what is said of its color," replied her governess, "and
+here it is: 'Distinguished by its yellowish bark, of a soft silken
+texture and silvery or pearly lustre,' It is a large tree, and has been
+named _excelsa_--'lofty'--because of its height. The slender, flowing
+branches are very graceful, and the tree is often as symmetrical as a
+fine elm, but droops less. The roots of the yellow birch seem to enjoy
+getting above the ground and twisting themselves in a very fantastic
+manner, and, taken altogether, it is a strikingly handsome and
+ornamental tree. The wood was at one time much liked for fuel, and many
+of the logs were of immense size."
+
+"Now," said Malcolm, gleefully, "the canoe birch has _got_ to come next,
+because there isn't anything else to come."
+
+"That is an excellent reason," replied Miss Harson, "and the canoe birch
+it shall be. There is more to be said of it than of any of the others,
+and it also grows in greater quantities. Thick woods of it are found in
+Maine and New Hampshire--for it loves a cold climate--and in other
+Northern portions of the country. The tall trunks of the trees resemble
+pillars of polished marble supporting a canopy of bright-green foliage.
+The leaves are something of a heart-shape, and their vivid summer green
+turns to golden tints in autumn. The bark of the canoe birch is almost
+snowy white on the outside, and very prettily marked with fine brown
+stripes two or three inches long, which go around the trunk. This bark
+is very smooth and soft, and it is easily separated into very thin
+sheets. For this reason the tree is often called the paper birch, and
+the smooth, thin layers of bark make very good writing-paper when none
+other can be had."
+
+"Oh, Miss Harson!" exclaimed Clara; "did you ever see any that was
+written on?"
+
+"Yes," was the reply; "I once wrote a letter on some myself."
+
+"Did you _really_?" cried two eager voices. "How _could_ you? Oh, do
+tell us about it!"
+
+"I was making a visit at a village in Maine," said their governess,
+"where the beautiful trees are to be seen in all their perfection, and I
+thought it would be appropriate to write a letter from there on birch
+bark. So I split my bark very thin and got a respectable sheet of it
+ready; then I cut another piece, to form an envelope, and gummed it
+together. I had quite a struggle to write on it decently with a steel
+pen, because the pen would go through the paper; but I persevered, and
+finally I accomplished my letter. It seemed odd to put a postage-stamp
+on birch bark, and I smiled to think how surprised the home-people
+would be to get such a letter. They _were_ surprised, and they told me
+afterward that the postman laughed when he delivered it."
+
+The children thought this very interesting, and they wished that there
+were canoe-birch trees growing at Elmridge, that they might be enabled
+to try the experiment for themselves.
+
+"Now," continued Miss Harson, "I am going to read you an account of
+canoe-making, and of some other uses to which the bark is put:
+
+"'In Canada and in the district of Maine the country-people place large
+pieces of the bark immediately below the shingles of the roof, to form a
+more impenetrable covering for their houses. Baskets, boxes and
+portfolios are made of it, which are sometimes embroidered with silk of
+different colors. Divided into very thin sheets, it forms a substitute
+for paper, and placed between the soles of the shoes and in the crown of
+the hat it is a defence against dampness. But the most important purpose
+to which it is applied, and one in which it is replaced by the bark of
+no other tree, is in the construction of canoes. To procure proper
+pieces, the largest and smoothest trunks are selected. In the spring two
+circular incisions are made, several feet apart, and two longitudinal
+ones on opposite sides of the tree; after which, by introducing a wooden
+wedge, the bark is easily detached. These plates are usually ten or
+twelve feet long and two feet nine inches broad. To form the canoe, they
+are stitched together with fibrous roots of the white spruce about the
+size of a quill, which are deprived of the bark, split and suppled in
+water. The seams are coated with resin of the balm of Gilead.
+
+"'Great use is made of these canoes by the savages and by the French
+Canadians in their long journeys into the interior of the country; they
+are very light, and are easily transported on the shoulders from one
+lake or river to another, which is called the _portage_. A canoe
+calculated for four persons, with their baggage, weighs from forty to
+fifty pounds; some of them are made to carry fifteen passengers.'
+
+"And now let me show you a picture of the Kentucky pioneer in a
+birch-bark canoe."
+
+"Why, Miss Harson, the Indians are trying to kill him!" exclaimed
+Malcolm.
+
+"Yes," she replied; "when you read the history of the United States, you
+will find that not only Daniel Boone, but the most of the early settlers
+of these Western lands, had trouble with the Indians. Nor is this
+strange. These pioneers were often rough men, and were looked upon by
+the natives as invaders of their country and treated as enemies. But to
+come back to the uses of the bark of the birch:
+
+"'In the settlements of the Hudson Bay Company tents are made of the
+bark of this tree, which for that purpose is cut into pieces twelve feet
+long and four feet wide. These are sewed together by threads made of the
+white-spruce roots; and so rapidly is a tent put up that a circular one
+twenty feet in diameter and ten feet high does not occupy more than half
+an hour in pitching. Every traveler and hunter in Canada enjoys these
+"rind-tents," as they are called, which are used only during the hot
+summer months, when they are found particularly comfortable.'"
+
+[Illustration: IN THE BIRCH-BARK CANOE]
+
+"Well, that's the funniest thing yet!" exclaimed Malcolm. "'Rind-tents'!
+I wish I could see one. Did they have any in Maine where you were,
+Miss Harson?"
+
+"No," was the reply, "I did not even hear of such a thing there, and to
+see it you would probably have to go far to the north. The English
+birch, which is found also in many parts of Europe, is put to a great
+many uses; the leaves produce a yellow dye, and the wood, when mixed
+with copperas, will color red, black and brown. An old birch tree that
+is supposed to be giving an account of itself says,
+
+"'How many are the uses of my bark! Thrifty men who sit beside the
+blazing hearth when my branches throw up a clear bright flame, and
+follow the example of their fathers in making their own shoes and those
+of their families, tan the hides with my bark. Kamschadales construct
+from it both hats and vessels for holding milk, and the Swedish
+fisherman his shoes. The Norwegian covers with it his low-roofed hut
+and spreads upon the surface layers of moss at least three or four
+inches thick, and, having twisted long strips together, he obtains
+excellent torches with which to cheer the darkness of his long nights.
+Fishermen, in like manner, make great use of them in alluring their
+finny prey. For this purpose they fit a portion of blazing birch in a
+cleft stick and spear the fish when attracted by its flickering light.'"
+
+The children exclaimed at this queer way of fishing, but Malcolm was
+very much taken with the idea of doing it by night with blazing torches,
+and he thought that he would like to be a Norwegian fisherman even
+better than a hermit or an Indian.
+
+"The old tree goes on to say," continued Miss Harson, "that 'Finland
+mothers form of the dried leaves soft, elastic beds for their children,
+and from me is prepared the _mona_, their sole medicine in all diseases.
+My buds in spring exhale a delicious fragrance after showers, and the
+bark, when burnt, seems to purify the air in confined dwellings.'
+
+"In Lapland the twigs of the birch, covered with reindeer-skins, are
+used for beds, but they cannot be so comfortable, I should think, as the
+leaves. The fragrant wood of the tree makes the fires which have to be
+kept up inside the huts even in summer to drive away the mosquitoes, and
+the people of those Northern regions would find it hard to get along
+without the useful birch."
+
+"I like to hear about it," said Clara. "Can you tell us something more
+that is done with it, Miss Harson?"
+
+"There is just one thing more," replied her governess, with a smile,
+"which I will read out of an old book; and I desire you all to pay
+particular attention to it."
+
+Little Edith was wide awake again by this time, and her great blue eyes
+looked as if she were ready to devour every word.
+
+"Birch rods," continued Miss Harson, "are quite different from birch
+_twigs_, and the uses to which they were put were not altogether
+agreeable to the boys who ran away from school or did not get their
+lessons. 'My branches,' says the birch, 'gently waving in the wind,
+awakened in those days no feelings of dread with truant urchins--for
+_all_ might be truants then, if so it pleased them--but at length a
+scribe arose who thus wrote concerning my ductile twigs: "The civil uses
+whereunto the birch serveth are many, as for the punishment of children
+both at home and abroad; for it hath an admirable influence upon them to
+quiet them when they wax unruly, and therefore some call the tree
+_make-peace_"'" Malcolm and Clara both laughed, and asked their young
+governess when the birch rods were coming; but Edith did not feel quite
+so easy, and, with her bruised foot and all, it took a great deal of
+petting that night to get her comfortably to bed.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+_THE POPLARS_.
+
+The bruised foot was not comfortable to walk on for two or three days,
+and Edith was settled in the great easy arm-chair with dolls and toys
+and picture-books in a pile that seemed as if it would not stop growing
+until every article belonging to herself and Clara had been gathered
+there. "We can go on with our trees," said Miss Harson, "even if we do
+not see them just yet; and this evening I should like to tell you
+something about the poplar, a large tree with alternate leaves which is
+often found in dusty towns, where it seems to flourish as well as in its
+favorite situation by a running stream. An old English writer calls the
+poplars 'hospitable trees, for anything thrives under their shade.' They
+are not handsomely-shaped trees, but the foliage is thick and pretty. In
+the latter part of this month--April--the trees are so covered with
+their olive-green catkins that large portions of the forests seem to be
+colored by them."
+
+[Illustration: IN THE EASY CHAIR]
+
+"Are there any poplars at Elmridge?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Not nearer than the woods," was the reply, "where we must go and look
+for them when Edith's foot is quite well again, though there are a good
+many in the city. The poplar is often planted by the roadside because it
+grows so rapidly and makes a good shade. The _Abele_, or silver poplar,
+is an especial favorite for this purpose.
+
+"The balm of Gilead, or Canada poplar, is the largest of the species,
+and really a handsome tree, often growing to the height of fifty or
+sixty feet, with a trunk of proportionate size. It has large leaves of a
+bright, glossy green, which grow loosely on long branches, A peculiarity
+of this tree is that before the leaves begin to expand the buds are
+covered with a yellow, glutinous balsam that diffuses a penetrating but
+very agreeable odor unlike any other. The balsam is gathered as a
+healing anodyne, and for many ailments it is a favorite remedy in
+domestic medicine. All the poplars produce more or less of this
+substance.
+
+"The river poplaris found on the banks of rivers and brooks and in wet
+places, and is a noble and graceful tree. The trunk is light gray in
+color, and the young trees have a smooth, leather-like bark. The broad
+leaves, of a very rich green, grow on stems nearly as long as
+themselves, and the flowering aments are of a light-red color. The
+leaf-stalks and young branches are also brightly tinted. Another of
+these trees has a very singular name: it is called the necklace poplar."
+
+[Illustration: LOMBARDY POPLAR.]
+
+"Do the flowers grow like real necklaces?" asked Clara.
+
+"Not quite," replied her governess, "but the reason given is something
+like it. The tree is so called from the resemblance of the long ament,
+before opening, to the beads of a necklace. In Europe it is known as the
+Swiss poplar and the black Italian poplar. Its timber is much valued
+there for building. There are also the black poplar and that queer,
+stiff-looking tree the Lombardy poplar. Cannot one of you tell me where
+there are some tall, narrow trees that look almost as if they had been
+cut out of wood and stuck there?"
+
+"I know where there are some," said Malcolm: "right in front of Mrs.
+Bush's old house; and I think they're miserable-looking trees."
+
+"When old and rusty, they are not in the least cheerful," replied Miss
+Harson; "and it is so long since Lombardy poplars were admired that few
+are found except about old places. The tree is shaped like a tall spire,
+and in hot, calm weather drops of clear water trickle from its leaves
+like a slight shower of rain. It was once a favorite shade-tree, and a
+century ago great numbers of Lombardy poplars were planted by village
+waysides, in front of dwelling-houses, on the borders of public
+grounds, and particularly in avenues leading to houses that stand at
+some distance from the high-road.
+
+[Illustration: A GROUP OF POPLARS IN CASHMERE]
+
+"The poplar is found in many lands. The Lombardy poplar, as its name
+indicates, was brought from Italy, where it grows luxuriantly beside the
+orange and the myrtle; but after one of our cold winters many of its
+small branches will decay, and this gives it a forlorn appearance. When
+fresh and green, the Lombardy poplar is quite handsome. Some one wrote
+of it long ago: 'There is no other tree that so pleasantly adorns the
+sides of narrow lanes and avenues, and so neatly accommodates itself to
+limited enclosures. Its foliage is dense and of the liveliest verdure,
+making delicate music to the soft touch of every breeze. Its
+terebinthine odors scent the vernal gales that enter our open windows
+with the morning sun. Its branches, always turning upward and closely
+gathered together, afford a harbor to the singing-birds that make them a
+favorite resort, and its long, tapering spire that points to heaven
+gives an air of cheerfulness and religious tranquillity to village
+scenery.'"
+
+"I wish we had some," said Edith, "with singing-birds in 'em."
+
+"Why, my dear child," replied her governess, "have we not the beautiful
+elms, in which the birds build their nests and where they fly in and out
+continually? They are the very same birds that build in the
+Lombardy poplars."
+
+"I thought that singing-birds always lived in cages," said the little
+queen in the easy-chair.
+
+"And did you think they were hung all over the Lombardy poplars?" asked
+Malcolm, in a broad grin.
+
+Edith laughed too, and Miss Harson said smilingly.
+
+"I thought that the birds about Elmridge did a great deal of singing,
+and the blue-birds and robins kept it up all day. But I should not like
+to see the old Lombardy poplars hung with gilded cages, and the birds
+which should happen to be prisoners in the cages would like it
+still less."
+
+"Well," said Edith, contentedly, as she settled herself again to
+listen.
+
+"The poplar," continued Miss Harson, "has a great many insect enemies,
+and the Lombardy is not often seen now, because a great many of these
+trees were destroyed on account of a worm, or caterpillar, by which they
+were infested. Poplar-wood is soft, light and generally of a pale-yellow
+color; it is much used for toy-making and for boarded floors, 'for which
+last purpose it is well adapted from its whiteness and the facility with
+which it is scoured, and also from the difficulty with which it catches
+fire and the slowness with which it burns. A red-hot poker falling on a
+board of poplar would burn its way without causing more combustion than
+the hole through which it passed.'"
+
+"I should think, then," said Malcolm, "that all wooden things would be
+made of poplar."
+
+"It is generally thought not to be durable," was the reply, "but it is
+said that if kept dry the wood will last as long as that of any tree.
+Says the poplar plank,
+
+     "'Though heart of oak be ne'er so stout,
+     Keep me dry and I'll see him out.'
+
+"The poplar has been highly praised, for every part of this tree answers
+some good purpose. The bark, being light, like cork, serves to support
+the nets of fishermen; the inner bark is used by the Kamschadales as a
+material for bread; brooms are made from the twigs, and paper from the
+cottony down of the seeds. Horses, cows and sheep browse upon it.
+
+"And now," said Miss Harson, when the children were wondering if that
+were the end, "we have come to the most interesting tree of the whole
+species--the aspen, or trembling poplar. It is a small, graceful tree
+with rounded leaves having a wavy, toothed border, covered with soft
+silk when young, which remains only as a fringe on the edge at maturity,
+supported by a very slender footstalk about as long as the leaf, and
+compressed laterally from near the base. They are thus agitated by the
+slightest breath of wind with that quivering, restless motion
+characteristic of all the poplars, but in none so striking as this. 'To
+quiver like an aspen-leaf has become a proverb. The foliage appears
+lighter than that of most other trees, from continually displaying the
+under side of the leaves.
+
+"The aspen has been called a very poetical tree, because it is the only
+one whose leaves tremble when the wind is apparently calm. It is said,
+however, to suggest fickleness and caprice, levity and irresolution--a
+bad character for any tree. The small American aspen, which is quite
+common, has a smooth, pale-green bark, which gets whitish and rough as
+the tree grows old. The foliage is thin, but a single leaf will be
+found, when examined, uncommonly beautiful. A spray of the small aspen,
+when in leaf, is very light and airy-looking, and the leaves produce a
+constant rustling sound. 'Legends of no ordinary interest linger around
+this tree. Ask the Italian peasant who pastures his sheep beside a grove
+of _Abele_ why the leaves of these trees are always trembling in even
+the hottest weather when not a breeze is stirring, and he will tell you
+that the wood of the trembling-poplar formed the cross on which our
+Saviour suffered.'"
+
+"Oh, Miss Harson!" said Clara, in a low tone. "Is that _true_?"
+
+"We do not know that it is, dear, nor do we know that it is not. Here
+are some verses about it which I like very much:
+
+     "'The tremulousness began, as legends tell,
+       When he, the meek One, bowed his head to death
+     E'en on an aspen cross, when some near dell
+       Was visited by men whose every breath
+     That Sufferer gave them. Hastening to the wood--
+       The wood of aspens--they with ruffian power
+     Did hew the fair, pale tree, which trembling stood
+       As if awestruck; and from that fearful hour
+     Aspens have quivered as with conscious dread
+     Of that foul crime which bowed the meek Redeemer's head.
+
+     "'Far distant from those days, oh let not man,
+       Boastful of reason, check with scornful speech
+     Those legends pure; for who the heart may scan
+       Or say what hallowed thoughts such legends teach
+     To those who may perchance their scant flocks keep
+       On hill or plain, to whom the quivering tree
+     Hinteth a thought which, holy, solemn, deep,
+       Sinks in the heart, bidding their spirits flee
+     All thoughts of vice, that dread and hateful thing
+     Which troubleth of each joy the pure and gushing spring?'"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+_ALL A-BLOW: THE APPLE TREE_.
+
+It certainly was a beautiful sight, and the children exclaimed over it
+in ectasy. It was now past the middle of April, and Miss Harson had
+taken her little flock to visit an apple-orchard at some distance from
+Elmridge, and the whole place seemed to be one mass of pink-and-white
+bloom.
+
+"And how deliciously _sweet_ it is!" said Malcolm as he sniffed the
+fragrant air.
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed Edith, turning up her funny little nose to get the full
+benefit of all this fragrance; "I can't breathe half enough at once."
+
+"That is just my case," said her governess, laughing, "but I did not
+think to say it in that way. Get all you can of this deliciousness,
+children; I wish that we could carry some of it away with us."
+
+"And so you shall," replied a hearty voice as Mr. Grove, the owner of
+the orchard, came up with a knife in his hand and began cutting off
+small branches of apple--blossoms. "I like to see folks enjoy things."
+
+"I hope you don't mind our trespassing on your grounds?" said Miss
+Harson. "I can engage that my little friends will do no injury, and I
+particularly wished them to see your beautiful orchard in bloom; it is
+almost equal to a field of roses."
+
+"Don't mind it at all, miss," was the reply--"quite the contrary; and I
+think, myself, it's a pretty sight. Smells good, too. Now, here's a
+nosegay big enough for you three young ladies, and Bub there can
+carry it."
+
+Malcolm, who was quite proud of his name, felt so indignant at being
+called "Bub" that he almost forgot the farmer's generosity; but his
+governess acknowledged it, very much to the worthy man's satisfaction.
+
+Edith, however, was rather shocked.
+
+"I thought it was wicked," said she, "to cut off flowers from fruit
+trees? Won't these make apples?"
+
+"Not them particular ones, Sis," replied Mr. Grove, with a laugh;
+"they're done for now. But it ain't wicked to cut off your own apple
+blows when there's too many on the tree to make good apples, and there's
+plenty to spare yet." He was very much amused at the little girl's
+serious face over this wholesale destruction of infant apples, and he
+invited them all to come to the house and get a drink of fresh milk. The
+children thought this a very pleasant invitation, and Miss Harson was
+quite willing to gratify them.
+
+The farmer led his guests into a very cheerful and wonderfully clean
+kitchen, where Mrs. Groves was busy with her baking, and the loaves of
+fresh bread looked very inviting. She was as pleasant and hospitable as
+her husband, and after shaking up a funny-looking patchwork cushion in a
+rocking-chair for the young lady to sit down on she told the little
+girls that she would get them a couple of crickets if they would wait a
+minute, and disappeared into the next room.
+
+The two little sisters looked at each other in dismay and wondered what
+they could do with these insects, but before they could consult Miss
+Harson good Mrs. Grove had returned carrying in each hand a small flat
+footstool. The girls sat down very carefully, for they were not
+accustomed to such low seats; but the whole party were tired with their
+walk and glad to rest for a short time. Malcolm, being a boy, was
+expected to sit where he could, and he speedily established himself in
+the corner of a wooden settle.
+
+In spite of the apple-blossoms, the kitchen fire was very comfortable;
+and, as the baking was just coming to an end, Mrs.
+
+Grove said that "she would be ready to visit with them in a minute:" she
+did not seem to allow herself more than a "minute" for anything. Besides
+the milk, some very nice seed-cakes in the shape of hearts were
+produced, and Edith thought them the most delightful little cakes she
+had ever tasted. Clara and Malcolm, too, were quite hungry, and Miss
+Harson enjoyed her glass of milk and seed-cake as well as did the young
+people. The farmer and his wife seemed really sorry to part with their
+guests when they rose to go, but Miss Harson said that it was time for
+them to be at home, and the children were obedient on the instant.
+
+"Well," said the worthy couple, "you know now where to come when you
+want more apple-blows and a drink of milk."
+
+Malcolm was quite laden with the mass of rosy flowers which Mr. Grove
+piled up in his arms, and he enjoyed the delicious scent all the
+way home.
+
+"I must get out the big jar," said Miss Harson as she surveyed their
+treasures, "and there are so many buds that I think we may be able to
+keep them for some days.--What would you say, Edith, if I told you that
+people cut off not only the blossoms, but even the fruit itself, while
+it is green, to make what is left on the tree handsomer and better?"
+
+Edith looked her surprise, and the other children could not understand
+why all the fruit that formed should not be left on the tree to ripen.
+
+"It is very often left," replied their governess, "but, although the
+crop is a large one, it will be of inferior quality; and those who
+understand fruit-raising thin it out, so that the tree may not have more
+fruit than it can well nourish. But now it is time for papa to come, and
+after dinner we will have a regular apple-talk."
+
+"How nice it was at Mrs. Grove's to-day!" said Clara, when they were
+gathered for the talk. "I think that kitchens are pleasanter to sit in
+than parlors and school-rooms."
+
+"So do I," chimed in Edith; "but I was afraid about the crickets at
+first. I thought we'd have to hold 'em in our hands, and I didn't
+like that."
+
+Why _would_ people always laugh when there was nothing to laugh at? The
+little girl thought she had a very funny brother and sister, and Miss
+Harson, too, was funny sometimes.
+
+"Have you so soon forgotten about the real insect-crickets, dear?" asked
+her governess, kindly. "Why, it will be months yet before we see one.
+Besides, I thought I told you that in some places a little bench is
+called a 'cricket'?--Do you know, Clara, why you thought Mrs. Grove's
+kitchen so pleasant? It is larger and better furnished than kitchens
+usually are, there were pleasant people in it, and you were tired and
+hungry and ready to enjoy rest and refreshments; but I am quite sure
+that, on the whole, you would like your own quarters best, because you
+are better fitted for them, as Mrs. Grove is for hers. We had a very
+pleasant visit, though, and some day we may repeat it--perhaps when the
+apples are ripe."
+
+"Good! good!" cried the children, clapping their hands; and Malcolm
+added that he "would like to be let loose in that apple-orchard."
+
+"Perhaps you would like it better than Farmer Grove would," was the
+reply. "But we haven't got to the apples yet; we must first find out a
+little about the tree. We learn in the beginning that it was one of the
+very earliest trees planted in this country by the settlers, because it
+is both hardy and useful. There is a wild species called the Virginia
+crab-apple, which bears beautiful pink flowers as fragrant as roses, but
+its small apples are intensely sour. The blossoms of the cultivated
+apple tree are more beautiful than those of any other fruit; they are
+delicious to both sight and scent."
+
+"And do look, Miss Harson," said Clara, "at these lovely half-open buds!
+They are just like tiny roses, and _so_ sweet!"
+
+Down went Clara's head among the clustered blossoms, and then Edith had
+to come too; and Malcolm declared that between the two they would smell
+them to death.
+
+"It seems," continued Miss Harson, "that the apple tree grows wild in
+every part of Europe except in the frigid zone and in Western Asia,
+China and Japan. It is thought to have been planted in Britain by the
+Romans; and when it was brought here, it seemed to do better than it had
+done anywhere else. It is said that 'not only the Indians, but many
+indigenous insects, birds and quadrupeds, welcomed the apple tree to
+these shores. The butterfly of the tent-caterpillar saddled her eggs on
+the very first twig that was formed, and it has since shared her
+affections with the wild cherry; and the canker-worm also, in a measure,
+abandoned the elm to feed on it. As it grew apace the bluebird, robin,
+cherry-bird, king-bird, and many more, came with haste and built their
+nests and warbled in its boughs, and so became orchard-birds and
+multiplied more than ever. It was an era in the history of their race in
+America. The downy woodpecker found such a savory morsel under its bark
+that he perforated it in a ring quite round the tree before he left it.
+It did not take the partridge long to find out how sweet its buds were,
+and every winter eve she flew, and still flies, from the wood to pluck
+them, much to the farmer's sorrow. The rabbit, too, was not slow to
+learn the taste of its twigs and bark; and when the fruit was ripe, the
+squirrel half rolled, half carried, it to his hole. Even the musquash
+crept up the bank from the brook at evening, and greedily devoured it,
+until he had worn a path in the grass there; and when it was frozen and
+thawed, the crow and the jay were glad to taste it occasionally. The owl
+crept into the first apple tree that became hollow, and fairly hooted
+with delight, finding it just the place for him; so, settling down into
+it, he has remained there ever since.'
+
+"Speaking of these buds, Clara," said her governess, "I think I forgot
+to tell you that the apple tree belongs to the family Rosaceae, and
+therefore the half-opened blossoms have a right to look like roses. The
+tree is not a handsome one, being a small edition of the oak in its
+sturdy outline, but it is less graceful or picturesque-looking, being
+often broader than it is high and resembling in shape a half globe. The
+leaves are not pretty except when first unfolded, and their color is
+then a beautiful light tint known as apple-green. But the foliage soon
+becomes dusty and shabby-looking. An old apple tree, with its gnarled,
+and often hollow, trunk, is generally handsomer than a young one, unless
+in the time of blossoms; for only a young apple-orchard is covered with
+such a profusion of bloom as that we saw to-day."
+
+"I am glad," said Clara, "that it belongs to the rose family, for now
+the dear little buds seem prettier than ever."
+
+"The apples are prettier yet," observed
+
+Malcolm; "if there's anything I like, it's apples."
+
+"I am afraid that you eat too many of them for your good," replied his
+governess; "I shall have to limit you to so many a day."
+
+"I have eaten only six to-day," was the modest reply, "and they were
+little russets, too."
+
+"Oh, Malcolm, Malcolm!" said Miss Harson, laughing; "what shall I do
+with you? Why, you would soon make an apple-famine in most places. Three
+apples a day must be your allowance for the present; and if at any time
+we go to live in an orchard, you may have six."
+
+"Why, _we_ have only one," exclaimed little Edith, "and we don't want
+any more.--Do we, Clara?"
+
+[Illustration: Apple Blossoms.]
+
+"If you don't want 'em," said Malcolm, "there's no sense in eating
+'em.--But I'll remember, Miss Harson. I suppose three at one time ought
+to be enough."
+
+Malcolm's expression, as he said this, was so doleful that every one
+laughed at him; and his governess continued:
+
+"The apple tree is said to produce a greater variety of beautiful fruit
+than any other tree that is known, and apples are liked by almost every
+one. They are a very wholesome fruit and nearly as valuable as bread and
+potatoes for food, because they can be used in so many different ways,
+and the poorer qualities make very nourishing food for nearly
+all animals."
+
+"Rex fairly snatches the apple out of my hand when I go to give him
+one," said Malcolm.
+
+"So does Regina," added Clara, who trembled in her shoes whenever she
+offered these dainties to the handsome carriage-horses.
+
+Edith had not dared to venture on such a feat yet, and therefore she had
+nothing to say.
+
+"All horses are fond of apples," said Miss Harson, "and the fruit is
+very thoroughly appreciated. Ancient Britain was celebrated for her
+apple-orchards, and the tree was reverenced by the Druids because the
+mistletoe grew abundantly on it. In Saxon times, when England became a
+Christian country, the rite of coronation, or crowning of a king, was in
+such words as these: 'May the almighty Lord give thee, O king, from the
+dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth, abundance of corn and wine
+and oil! Be thou the lord of thy brothers, and let the sons of thy
+mother bow down before thee. Let the people serve thee and the tribes
+adore thee. May the Almighty bless thee with the blessings of heaven
+above, and the mountains and the valleys with the blessings of the deep
+below, with the blessings of grapes and _apples_! Bless, O Lord, the
+courage of this prince, and prosper the work of his hands; and by thy
+blessing may his land be filled with _apples_, with the fruit and dew of
+heaven from the top of the ancient mountains, from the _apples_ of the
+eternal hills, from the fruit of the earth and its fullness!' You will
+see from this how highly apples were valued in England in those
+ancient times."
+
+"I should like to pick them up when they are ripe," said Clara, and
+Malcolm expressed a desire to hire himself out by the day to Mr. Grove
+when that time arrived.
+
+"An apple-orchard in autumn," continued their governess, "is often a
+merry scene. Ladders are put against the trees, and the finest apples
+are carefully picked off, but such as are to be used for cider-making
+are shaken to the ground. Men and boys are at work, and even women and
+children are there with baskets and aprons spread out to catch the
+fruit; and they run back and forth wherever the apples fall thickest,
+with much laughter at the unexpected showers that come down upon their
+heads and necks. Large baskets filled with these apples are carried to
+the mill, where, after being laid in heaps a while to mellow, they are
+crushed and pressed till their juice is extracted; and this, being
+fermented, becomes cider. From this cider, by a second fermentation, the
+best vinegar is made."
+
+[Illustration: THE APPLE-HARVEST.]
+
+"Miss Harson," asked Edith, as the talk seemed to have come to an end,
+"isn't there any more about apple trees? I like 'em."
+
+"Yes, dear," was the reply; "there is more. I was just looking over, in
+this little book, some queer superstitions about apple trees in England,
+and here is a strange performance which is said to take place in some
+very retired parts of the country:
+
+"'Scarcely have the merry bells ushered in the morning of Christmas than
+a troop of people may be seen entering the apple-orchard, often when the
+trees are powdered with hoarfrost and snow lies deep upon the ground.
+One of the company carries a large flask filled with cider and
+tastefully decorated with holly-branches; and when every one has
+advanced about ten paces from the choicest tree, rustic pipes made from
+the hollow boughs of elder are played upon by young men, while Echo
+repeats the strain, and it seems as if fairy-musicians responded in low,
+sweet tones from some neighboring wood or hill. Then bursts forth a
+chorus of loud and sonorous voices while the cider-flask is being
+emptied of its contents around the tree, and all sing some such words
+as these:
+
+              "'"Here's to thee, old apple tree!
+                 Long mayest thou grow.
+     And long mayest thou blow, and ripen the apples that hang on
+     thy bough!
+
+               "'"This full can of apple wine,
+                  Old tree, be thine:
+     It will cheer thee and warm thee amid the deep snow;
+
+               "'"Till the goldfinch--fond bird!--
+                  In the orchard is heard
+     Singing blithe 'mid the blossoms that whiten thy bough."'"
+
+"But what did they do it for?" asked Malcolm, who enjoyed the account as
+much as the others. "There doesn't seem to be any sense in it."
+
+"There _is_ no sense in it," replied his governess, "but these ignorant
+people had inherited the custom from their fathers and grandfathers, and
+they really believed--and perhaps still believe--that this attention
+would be sure to bring a fine crop of apples. We are distinctly told,
+though, that 'it is God that giveth the increase;' and to him alone
+belong the fruits of the earth. Sometimes the crop is so great that the
+trees fairly bend over with the weight of the fruit, and there is an old
+English saying: 'The more apples the tree bears, the more she bows to
+the folk.'"
+
+"How funny!" laughed Edith. "Does the apple tree move its head, Miss
+Harson?"
+
+"It cannot go quite so far as that," was the reply; "it just stays bent
+over like a person carrying a heavy burden. The branches of overladen
+fruit trees are sometimes propped up with long poles to keep them from
+breaking. There is another strange custom, which used to be practiced on
+New Year's eve. It was called 'Apple-Howling,' and a troop of boys
+visited the different orchards--which would scarcely have been desirable
+when the apples were ripe--and, forming a ring around the trees,
+repeated these words:
+
+     "'Stand fast, root! bear well, top!
+       Pray God send us a good howling crop--
+         Every twig, apples big;
+         Every bough, apples enow.'
+
+"All then shouted in chorus, while one of the party played on a cow's
+horn, and the trees were well rapped with the sticks which they carried.
+This ceremony is thought to have been a relic of some heathen sacrifice,
+and it is quite absurd enough to be that."
+
+"What is 'a howling crop,' Miss Harson?" asked Clara. "That name sounds
+so queer!"
+
+"I don't know what it can be," replied her governess, "unless it refers
+to the strange expression sometimes used, 'howling with delight.' We
+hear more commonly of 'howling with pain,' but 'a howling crop' must be
+one that makes the owner scream, as well as dance for joy."
+
+"Why, _I_ scream only when I'm frightened," said Edith, who began to
+think that there were much sillier people in the world than herself.
+
+"At garter-snakes," added Malcolm, giving his sister a sly pinch; but
+Edith did not mind his pinches, because he always took good care not
+to hurt her.
+
+Miss Harson said that the best way was not to scream at all, as it was
+both a silly and a troublesome habit, and the sooner her charges broke
+themselves of it the better she should like it. Clara and Edith both
+promised to try--just as they had promised before, when the ants were so
+troublesome; but they were nine months older now, and seemed to be
+getting a little ashamed of the habit.
+
+"Are apples mentioned anywhere in the Bible?" asked Miss Harson,
+presently.
+
+Clara and Malcolm were busy thinking, but nothing came of it, until
+their governess said,
+
+"Turn to the book of Proverbs, Clara, and find the twenty-fifth chapter
+and the eleventh verse."
+
+Clara read very carefully:
+
+"'A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.' But
+what does it mean?" she asked.
+
+"It probably means 'framed in silver' or 'in silver frames[11],'" was
+the reply; "and then it is easy to understand how important our words
+are, and that 'fitly-spoken' ones are as valuable and lasting as golden
+apples framed in silver. The apple tree is mentioned in Joel, where it
+is said that 'all the trees of the field are withered[12],' and both
+apple trees and apples are mentioned in several places of the Old
+Testament. But, to tell the whole truth, scholars are not agreed as to
+whether the Hebrew word denotes the apple or some other fruit that grew
+in the land of Israel."
+
+[11] The Revised Version renders the phrase "in baskets of silver."
+
+[12] Joel i. 12.
+
+The children had all enjoyed the "apple-talk," and they felt that the
+fruit which they were so accustomed to seeing would now have a new
+meaning for them.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+_A FRUITFUL FAMILY: THE PEACH, ALMOND, PLUM AND CHERRY_.
+
+Snowdrops, crocuses, hyacinths and tulips were blooming out of doors and
+in-doors; the grass looked green and velvety, and the fruit trees were,
+as John expressed it, "all a-blow." The peach trees, without a sign of a
+leaf, looked, as every one said of them, like immense bouquets of pink
+flowers, while pear, cherry and plum trees seemed as if they were
+dressed in white.
+
+One cloudy, windy day, when the petals fell off in showers and strewed
+the ground, Edith declared that it was snowing; but she soon saw her
+mistake, and then began to worry because there would be no blossoms left
+for fruit.
+
+"If the flowers stayed on, there would be no fruit," said Miss Harson.
+"Let me show you just where the little green germ is."
+
+"Why, of course!" said Malcolm; "it's in the part that stays on the
+tree."
+
+Edith listened intently while her governess showed her the ovary of a
+blossom safe on the twig where it grew, and explained to her that it was
+this which, nourished by the sap of the tree, with the aid of the sun
+and air, would ripen into fruit, while the petals were merely a fringe
+or ornament to the true blossom.
+
+At Elmridge, scattered here and there through garden and grounds, as Mr.
+Kyle liked to have them, there were some fruit trees of every kind that
+would flourish in that part of the country, but there was no orchard;
+and for this reason Miss Harson had taken the children to see the grand
+apple-blossoming at Farmer Grove's. Two very large pear trees stood one
+on either side of the lawn, and there were dwarf pear trees in
+the garden.
+
+"I think pears are nicer than apples," said Clara as they stood looking
+at the fine trees, now perfectly covered with their snowy blossoms.
+
+But Malcolm, who found it hard work to be happy on three apples a day,
+stoutly disagreed with his sister on this point, and declared that
+nothing was so good as apples.
+
+"How about ice-cream?" asked his governess, when she heard this sweeping
+assertion.
+
+The young gentleman was silent, for his exploits with this frozen luxury
+were a constant subject of wonder to his friends and relatives.
+
+"You will notice," said Miss Harson, "that the shape of these trees is
+much more graceful than that of the apple tree. They are tall and
+slender, forming what is called an imperfect pyramid. Standard pear
+trees, like these, give a good shade, and the long, slender branches are
+well clothed with leaves of a bright, glossy green. This rich color
+lasts late into the autumn, and it is then varied with yellow, and often
+with red and black, spots; so that pear-leaves are not to be despised in
+gathering autumn-leaf treasures. The pear is not so useful a fruit as
+the apple, nor so showy in color; but it has a more delicate and spicy
+flavor, and often is of an immense size."
+
+"Yes, indeed!" said Clara. "Don't you remember, Miss Harson, that
+sometimes Edith and I can have only one pear divided between us at
+dessert because they are so large?"
+
+"Yes, dear; and I think that half a duchess pear is as much as can be
+comfortably managed at once."
+
+"Well," observed Malcolm, "I don't want half an apple.--But, Miss
+Harson, do they ever have 'pear-howlings' in England?"
+
+"I have never read of any," was the reply, "and I think that strange
+custom is confined to apple trees. And there is no mention made of
+either pears or pear trees in the Scriptures."
+
+"What are prickly-pears?" asked Clara. "Do they have thorns on 'em?"
+
+"There is a plant by this name," replied her governess, "with large
+yellow flowers, and the fruit is full of small seeds and has a crimson
+pulp. It grows in sandy places near the salt water; it is abundant in
+North Africa and Syria, and is considered quite good to eat; but neither
+plant nor fruit bears any resemblance to our pear trees: it is
+a cactus."
+
+"Won't you have a story for us this evening, Miss Harson?" asked Edith,
+rather wistfully.
+
+"Perhaps so, dear--I have been thinking of it--but it will not be about
+pear trees."
+
+"Oh, I don't care," with a very bright face; "I'd as soon have it about
+cherry trees, or--'Most anything!"
+
+Miss Harson laughed, and said,
+
+"Well, then, I think it will be about cherries; so you must rest on
+that. This morning we will go around among the fruit trees and see what
+we can learn from seeing them."
+
+Of course it was Saturday morning and there were no lessons, or they
+would not have been roaming around "promiscuous," as Jane called it; for
+the young governess was very careful not to let the getting of one kind
+of knowledge interfere with the getting of another.
+
+"How do you like these pretty quince trees?" asked Miss Harson as they
+came to some large bushes with great pinkish flowers.
+
+"I like 'em," replied Edith, "because they're so little. And oh what
+pretty flowers!"
+
+"Some more relations of the rose," said her governess. "And do you
+notice how fragrant they are? The tree is always low and crooked, just
+as you see it, and the branches straggle not very gracefully. The under
+part of the dark-green leaves is whitish and downy-looking, and the
+flowers are handsome enough to warrant the cultivation of the tree just
+for their sake, but the large golden fruit is much prized for preserves,
+and in the autumn a small tree laden down with it is quite an ornamental
+object. The quince is more like a pear than an apple. As the book says,
+'it has the same tender and mucilaginous core; the seeds are not
+enclosed in a dry hull, like those of the apple; and the pulp of the
+quince, like that of the pear, is granulated, while that of the apple
+displays in its texture a firmer and finer organization.' The fruit,
+however, is so hard, even when ripe, that it cannot be eaten without
+cooking. It is said to be a native of hedges and rocky places in the
+South of Europe."
+
+[Illustration: PEACH-BLOSSOM.]
+
+"These peach trees," said Clara, "look like sticks with pink flowers all
+over 'em." "They are remarkably bare of leaves when in bloom," was the
+reply: "the leaves burst forth from their envelopes as the blossoms pass
+away; but how beautiful the blossoms are! from the deepest pink to that
+delicate tint which is called peach-color. But do you know that we have
+left the apple and rose family now, and have come to the almond family?"
+
+The children were very much surprised to hear this, and they looked at
+the peach trees with fresh interest.
+
+"Yes," continued Miss Harson, "the family consists of the almond tree,
+the peach tree, the apricot tree, the plum tree and the cherry tree; and
+one thing that distinguishes them from the other families is the gum
+which is found on their trunks.--Look around, Malcolm, at the peach,
+plum and cherry trees, which are the only members of the family that we
+have at Elmridge, and you will find gum oozing from the bark, especially
+where there are knotholes."
+
+Malcolm not only found the gum, but succeeded in helping himself to some
+of it, which he shared with his sisters. It had a rather sweet taste,
+and the children seemed to like it, having first obtained permission of
+their governess to eat it.
+
+"That is another of the things that I thought 'puffickly d'licious' when
+I was a child," said the young lady, laughing. "But there is another
+peculiarity of this family of trees which is not so innocent, and that
+is that in the fruit-kernel, and also in the leaves, there is a deadly
+poison called prussic acid."
+
+"O--h!" exclaimed the children, drawing back from the trees as though
+they expected to be poisoned on the spot.
+
+"But, as we do not eat either the kernels or the leaves," continued
+their governess, "we need not feel uneasy, for the fruit never yet
+poisoned any one. Here are the cherry trees, so covered with blossoms
+that they look like masses of snow; and the smaller plum trees are also
+attired in white. We will begin this evening with the almond tree, and
+see what we can find out about the family."
+
+"Do almond trees and peach trees look alike?" asked Clara, when they
+were fairly settled by the schoolroom fire; for the evenings were too
+cool yet for the piazza.
+
+"Very much alike," was the reply; "only the almond tree is larger and it
+has white instead of pink blossoms. Then it is the _fruit_ of the peach
+we eat, but of the almond we eat the kernel of the stem. I will read you
+a little account of it:
+
+"'The common almond is a native of Barbary, but has long been
+cultivated in the South of Europe and the temperate parts of Asia. The
+fruit is produced in very large quantities and exported in to northern
+countries; it is also pressed for oil and used for various domestic
+purposes. There are numerous varieties of this species, but the two
+chief kinds are the bitter almond and the sweet almond. The sweet almond
+affords a favorite article for dessert, but it contains little
+nourishment, and of all nuts is the most difficult of digestion. The
+tree has been cultivated in England for about three centuries for the
+sake of its beautiful foliage, as the fruit will not ripen without a
+greater degree of heat than is found in that climate. The distilled
+water of the bitter almond is highly injurious to the human species,
+and, taken in a large dose, produces almost instant death.' The prussic
+acid which can be obtained from the kernel of the peach is found also in
+the bitter almond."
+
+[Illustration: THE ALMOND.--BRANCH AND FRUIT.]
+
+"But what do they want to find it for," asked Malcolm, "when it kills
+people?"
+
+"Because," replied his governess, "like some other noxious things, it
+can be made valuable when used moderately and in the right way. But it
+is often employed to give a flavor to intoxicating liquors, and this is
+_not_ a right way, as it makes them even more dangerous than before. But
+we will leave the prussic acid and return to our almond tree. It
+flourishes in Palestine, where it blooms in January, and in March the
+ripe fruit can be gathered."
+
+This seemed wonderfully strange to the children--flowers in January and
+fruit in March; and Miss Harson explained to them that in that part of
+the world they do not often have our bitter cold weather with its ice
+and snow to kill the tender buds.
+
+"This tree," continued Miss Harson, "is occasionally mentioned in the
+Old Testament. In Jeremiah the prophet says, 'I see a rod of an almond
+tree[13];' also in Ecclesiastes it is said that 'the almond tree shall
+flourish[14].'"
+
+[13] Jer. i. II.
+
+[14] Eccl. xii. 5.
+
+"Are there ever many peach trees growing in one place," asked Clara,
+"like the apple trees in Mr. Grove's orchard?"
+
+"Yes," was the reply, "for in some places there are immense
+peach-orchards, covering many acres of ground; and when the trees in
+these are in blossom, the spring landscape seems to be pink with them.
+These great peach-fields are found in Delaware and Maryland, where the
+fruit grows in such perfection, and also in some of the Western States.
+We all know how delicious it is, but, unfortunately, so does a certain
+green worm, who curls up in the leaves which he gnaws in spite of the
+prussic acid. This insect will often attack the finest peaches and lay
+its eggs in them when the fruit is but half grown. In this way the young
+grubs find food and lodging provided for them all in one, and they
+thrive, while the peach decays."
+
+"What a shame it is," exclaimed Malcolm, in great indignation, "to have
+our best peaches eaten by wretched little worms who might just as well
+eat grass and leave the peaches for us!"
+
+"Perhaps they think it a shame that they are so often shaken to the
+ground or washed off the trees," replied Miss Harson; "and, as to their
+eating grass, they evidently prefer peaches. 'Insects as well as human
+beings have discriminating tastes, and the poor plum tree suffers even
+more than the peach from their attentions. In some parts of the country
+it has been entirely given up to their depredations, and farmers will
+not try to raise this fruit because of these active enemies. The whole
+almond family are liable to the attacks of insects. Canker-worms of one
+or of several species often strip them of their leaves; the
+tent-caterpillars pitch their tents among the branches and carry on
+their dangerous depredations; the slug-worms, the offspring of a fly
+called _Selandria cerasi_, reduce the leaves to skeletons, and thus
+destroy them; the cherry-weevils penetrate their bark, cover their
+branches with warts and cause them to decay; and borers gnaw galleries
+in their trunks and devour the inner bark and sap-wood.' So you see
+that, with such an army of destroyers, we may be thankful to get any
+fruit at all."
+
+"I'm glad to know the name of that fly," said Malcolm, who considered it
+an additional grievance that it should have such a long name, "but I
+won't try to call him by it if I meet him anywhere."
+
+"I think it's pretty," said Clara, beginning to repeat it, and making a
+decided failure.
+
+"Fortunately," continued their governess, after reading it again for
+them, "there are other things much more important for you to remember
+just now, and I could not have said it myself without the book. And now
+let us see what else we can learn about the plum. It is a native, it
+seems, of North America, Europe and Asia, and many of the wild species
+are thorny. The cultivated plums, damsons and gages are varieties of
+the _Prunus domestica_, the cultivated plum tree. These have no thorns;
+the leaves are oval in shape, and the flowers grow singly. The most
+highly-valued cultivated plum trees came originally from the East, where
+they have been known from time immemorial. In many countries of Eastern
+Europe domestic animals are fattened on their fruits, and an alcoholic
+liquor is obtained from them; they also yield a white, crystallizable
+sugar. The prunes which we import from France are the dried fruit of
+varieties of the plum which contain a sufficient quantity of sugar to
+preserve the fruit from decay."
+
+"Do prunes really grow on trees, Miss Harson?" asked Edith, who was
+rather disposed to think that they grew in pretty boxes.
+
+"Yes, dear," was the reply; "they grow just as our plums do, only they
+are dried and packed in layers before they reach this country. We have
+two species of wild plum in North America--the beach-plum, a low shrub
+found in New England, the fruit of which is dark blue and about the
+size of damsons; while the other is quite a large tree, and very showy
+when covered with its scarlet fruit. In Maine it is called plum-granate,
+probably from its red color," "I know what's coming next," said
+Clara--"cherries; because all the rest have been used up. And then we're
+to have the story."
+
+"But they're all interesting," replied Malcolm, gallantly, "because Miss
+Harson makes them so."
+
+"I hope that is not the only reason," said his governess, laughing, "for
+trees are always beautiful and interesting and it is a privilege to be
+able to learn something of their habits and history.--Like most fruit
+trees, the cherry has many varieties, but it is always a handsome tree,
+and less spoiled by insects than others of the almond family. The black
+cherry is the most common species in the United States, and is both wild
+and cultivated. The garden cherry has broad, ovate, rough and serrate
+leaves, growing thickly on the branches, and this, with the height of
+the tree, makes a fine shade. Some old cherry trees have huge trunks,
+and their thick branches spread to a great distance. The branches of the
+wild cherry are too straggling to make a beautiful tree, and the leaves
+are small and narrow. The blossoms of the cultivated cherry are in
+umbels, while those of the wild cherry are borne in racemes."
+
+"I remember that, Miss Harson," said Clara, pleased with her knowledge.
+"'Umbel' means 'like an umbrella,' and 'raceme' means 'growing along
+a stem.'"
+
+"Very well indeed!" was the reply; "I am glad you have not forgotten
+it.--Of our cultivated cherries, we have here at Elmridge, besides the
+large black ones, which are so very sweet about the first of July, the
+great ox-hearts, which look like painted wax and ripen in June, and
+those very acid red ones, often called pie-cherries, which are used for
+pies and preserves. The cherry is a beautiful fruit, and one that is
+popular with birds as well as with boys. The great northern cherry of
+Europe, which was named by Linnaeus the 'bird-cherry,' is encouraged in
+Great Britain and on the Continent for the benefit of the birds, which
+are regarded as the most important checks to the over-multiplication of
+insects. The fact not yet properly understood in America--that the birds
+which are the most mischievous consumers of fruit are the most useful as
+destroyers of insects--is well known by all farmers in Europe; and while
+we destroy the birds to save the fruit, and sometimes cut down the
+fruit-trees to starve the birds, the Europeans more wisely plant them
+for the food and accommodation of the birds."
+
+"Isn't it wicked to kill the poor little birds?" asked Edith.
+
+"Yes, dear; it is cruel to kill them just for sport, as is often done,
+and very foolish, as we have just seen, to destroy them for the sake of
+the fruit, which the insects make way with in much greater quantities
+than the birds do."
+
+"Miss Harson," asked Clara, "do people cut down real cherry trees to
+make the pretty red furniture like that in your room?"
+
+"It is the wood of the wild cherry," replied her governess, "that is
+used for this purpose. It is of a light-red or fresh mahogany color,
+growing darker and richer with age. It is very close-grained, compact,
+takes a good polish, and when perfectly seasoned is not liable to shrink
+or warp. It is therefore particularly suitable, and much employed, for
+tables, chests of drawers, and other cabinet-work, and when polished and
+varnished is not less beautiful for such articles than are inferior
+kinds of mahogany."
+
+"'Cherry' sounds pretty to say," continued Clara. "I wonder how the tree
+got that name?"
+
+"That wonder is easily explained," said Miss Harson, "for I have been
+reading about it, and I was just going to tell you. 'Cherry comes from
+'Cerasus,' the name of a town on the Black Sea from whence the tree is
+supposed to have been introduced into Italy, and it designates a genus
+of about forty species, natives of all the temperate regions of the
+northern hemisphere. They are trees or shrubs with smooth serrated
+leaves, which are folded together when young, and white or reddish
+flowers growing in bunches, like umbels, and preceding the leaves or in
+terminal racemes accompanying or following the leaves. A few species,
+with numerous varieties, produce valuable fruits; nearly all are
+remarkable for the abundance of their early flowers, sometimes rendered
+double by cultivation. And now," added the young lady, "we have arrived
+at the story, which is translated from the German; and in Germany the
+cherries are particularly fine. A plateful of this beautiful fruit was,
+as you will see, the cause of some remarkable changes."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+_THE CHERRY-STORY._
+
+On the banks of the Rhine, in the pleasant little village of Rebenheim,
+lived Ehrenberg, the village mayor. He was much respected for his
+virtues, and his wife was greatly beloved for her charity to the poor.
+They had an only daughter--the little Caroline--who gave early promise
+of a superior mind and a benevolent heart. She was the idol of her
+parents, who devoted their whole care to giving her a sound religious
+education.
+
+Not far from the house, and close to the orchard and kitchen-garden,
+there was another little garden, planted exclusively with flowers. The
+day that Caroline was born her father planted a cherry tree in the
+middle of the flower-garden. He had chosen a tree with a short trunk, in
+order that his little daughter could more easily admire the blossoms
+and pluck the cherries when they were ripe.
+
+When the tree bloomed for the first time and was so covered with
+blossoms that it looked like a single bunch of white flowers, the father
+and mother came out one morning to enjoy the sight. Little Caroline was
+in her mother's arms. The infant smiled, and, stretching out her little
+hands for the blossoms, endeavored at the same time to speak her joy,
+but in such a way as no one but a mother could understand:
+
+"Flowers! flowers! Pretty! pretty!"
+
+The child engaged more of the parents' thoughts than all the
+cherry-blossoms and gardens and orchards, and all they were worth. They
+resolved to educate her well; they prayed to God to bless their care and
+attention by making Caroline worthy of him and the joy and consolation
+of her parents. As soon as the little girl was old enough to understand,
+her mother told her lovingly of that kind Father in heaven who makes the
+flowers bloom and the trees bud and the cherries and apples grow ruddy
+and ripe; she told her also of the blessed Son of God, once an infant
+like herself, who died for all the world.
+
+The cherry tree in the middle of the garden was given to Caroline for
+her own, and it was a greater treasure to her than were all the flowers.
+She watched and admired it every day, from the moment the first bud
+appeared until the cherries were ripe. She grieved when she saw the
+white blossoms turn yellow and drop to the earth, but her grief was
+changed into joy when the cherries appeared, green at first and smaller
+than peas, and then daily growing larger and larger, until the rich red
+skin of the ripe cherry at last blushed among the interstices of the
+green leaves.
+
+"Thus it is," said her father; "youth and beauty fade like the blossoms,
+but virtue is the fruit which we expect from the tree. This whole world
+is, as it were, a large garden, in which God has appointed to every man
+a place, that he may bring forth abundant and good fruit. As God sends
+rain and sunshine on the trees, so does he send down grace on men to
+make them grow in virtue, if they will but do their part."
+
+In the course of time war approached the quiet village which had
+hitherto been the abode of peace and domestic bliss, and the battle
+raged fearfully. Balls and shells whizzed about, and several houses
+caught fire. As soon as the danger would permit, the mayor tried to
+extinguish the flames, while his wife and little daughter were praying
+earnestly for themselves and for their neighbors.
+
+In the afternoon a ring was heard at the door, and, looking out of the
+window, Madame Ehrenberg saw an officer of hussars standing before her.
+Fortunately, he was a German, and mother and daughter ran to open
+the door.
+
+"Do not be alarmed," said the officer, in a friendly tone, when he saw
+the frightened faces; "the danger is over, and you are quite safe. The
+fire in the village, too, is almost quenched, and the mayor will soon be
+here. I beg you for some refreshment, if it is only a morsel of bread
+and a drink of water. It was sharp work," he added, wiping the
+perspiration from his brow, "but, thank God, we have conquered,"
+Provisions were scarce, for the village had been plundered by the enemy,
+but the good lady brought forth a flask of wine and some rye bread, with
+many regrets that she had nothing better to offer. But the visitor, as
+he ate the bread with a hearty relish, declared that it was enough, for
+it was the first morsel he had tasted that day.
+
+Caroline ran and brought in on a porcelain plate some of the ripest
+cherries from her own tree.
+
+"Cherries!" exclaimed the officer. "They are a rarity in this district.
+How did they escape the enemy? All the trees in the country around are
+stripped."
+
+"The cherries," said the mother, "are from a little tree which was
+planted in Caroline's flower-garden on her birthday. It is but a few
+days since they became ripe; the enemy, perhaps, did not notice the
+little tree."
+
+"And is it for me you intend the cherries, my dear child?" asked the
+officer. "Oh no; you must keep them. It were a pity to take one of them
+from you."
+
+"How could we refuse a few cherries," said Caroline, "to the man that
+sheds his blood in our defence? You must eat them all," said she, while
+the tears streamed down her cheeks. "Do, I entreat you! Eat them all."
+
+He took some of the cherries and laid them on the table, near his
+wine-glass; but he had scarcely placed the glass to his lips when the
+trumpet sounded. He sprang up and girded on his sword.
+
+"That is the signal to march," said he. "I cannot wait one instant."
+
+Caroline wrapped the cherries in a roll of white paper and insisted that
+he should put them in his pocket.
+
+"The weather is very warm," said she, "and even cherries will be some
+refreshment."
+
+"Oh," said the officer, with emotion, "what a happiness it is for a
+soldier, who is often obliged to snatch each morsel from unwilling
+hands, to meet with a generous and benevolent family! I wish it were in
+my power, my dear child, to give you some pledge of my gratitude, but I
+have nothing--not so much as a single groat. You must be content with my
+simple thanks." With these words, and once more bidding Caroline and her
+mother an affectionate farewell, he took his departure, and walked
+rapidly out of sight.
+
+The joy of the good family for their happy deliverance was, alas! of
+short continuance. Some weeks after, a dreadful battle was fought near
+the village, which was reduced to a heap of ruins. The mayor's house was
+burned to the ground and all his property destroyed. Alas for the
+horrors of cruel war! Father, mother and daughter fled away on foot, and
+wept bitterly when they looked back on their once happy village, now but
+a mass of blazing ruins.
+
+The family retired to a distant town, and lived there in very great
+distress. The mayor endeavored to obtain a livelihood as a scrivener, or
+clerk; his wife worked at dressmaking and millinery, and Caroline, who
+soon became skillful in such matters, faithfully assisted her.
+
+A lady in town--the Countess von Buchenhaim--gave them much employment,
+and one day Caroline went to this lady's house to carry home a bonnet.
+She was taken to the garden, where the countess was sitting in the
+summer-house with her sister and nieces, who had come to visit her. The
+young ladies were delighted with the bonnet, and their mother gave
+orders for three more, particularly praising the blue flowers, which
+were the work of Caroline's own hands.
+
+The Countess von Buchenhaim spoke very kindly of the young girl to her
+sister, and related the sad story of the worthy family's misfortunes.
+The count was standing with his brother-in-law, the colonel, at some
+little distance from the door of the summer-house, and the colonel, a
+fine-looking man in a hussar's uniform and with a star on his breast,
+overheard the conversation. Coming up, he looked closely at Caroline.
+
+"Is it possible," said he, "that you are the daughter of the mayor of
+Rebenheim? How tall you have grown! I should scarcely have recognized
+you, though we are old acquaintances."
+
+Caroline stood there abashed, looking full in the face of the stranger,
+her cheeks covered with blushes. Taking her by the hand, the colonel
+conducted her to his wife, who was sitting near the countess.
+
+"See, Amelia," said he; "this is the young lady who saved my life ten
+years ago, when she was only a child."
+
+"How can that be possible?" asked Caroline, in amazement.
+
+"It must indeed appear incomprehensible to you," answered the colonel,
+"but do you remember the hussar-officer that one day, after a battle,
+stood knocking at the door of your father's house in Rebenheim? Do you
+remember the cherries which you so kindly gave him?"
+
+"Oh, was it you?" exclaimed Caroline, while her face beamed with a smile
+of recognition. "Thank God you are alive! But how I could have done
+anything toward saving your life I cannot understand."
+
+"In truth, it would be impossible for you to guess the great service
+you did me," said he, "but my wife and daughters know it well; I wrote
+to them of it at once. And I look upon it as one of the most remarkable
+occurrences of my life."
+
+"And one that I ought to remember better than any other event of the
+war," said his lady, rising and affectionately embracing Caroline.
+
+"Well," said the countess, "neither I nor my husband ever heard the
+story. Please give us a full account of it."
+
+"Oh, it is easily told," said the colonel. "Hungry and thirsty, I
+entered the house in which Caroline and her parents dwelt, and, to tell
+the plain truth, I begged for some bread and water. They gave me a share
+of the best they had, and did not hesitate to do so, though their
+village and themselves were in the greatest distress. Caroline robbed
+every bough on her cherry tree to refresh me. Fine cherries they
+were--the only ones, probably, in the whole country. But the enemy did
+not give me time to eat them; I was obliged to depart in a hurry.
+Caroline insisted, with the kindest hospitality, that I should take them
+with me, but that was no easy matter: my horse had been shot under me
+the day before. I took from my knapsack whatever articles I could in a
+hurry, and, thrusting them into my pockets, I fought on foot until a
+hussar gave me his horse. All that I was worth was in my pockets, so
+that to make room for the cherries I was obliged to take the pocket-book
+out of my pocket and place it here beneath my vest. The enemy, who had
+been driven back, made a feint of advancing on us, and I led down my
+hussars in gallant style. But suddenly we found ourselves in front of a
+body of infantry concealed behind a hedge. One of them fired at me, and
+the fellow had taken good aim, for the ball struck me here on the
+breast. But it rebounded from the pocket-book; otherwise, I should have
+been shot through the body and fallen dead on the spot. Tell me," said
+he, in a tone of deep emotion; "was not that little child an instrument
+in the hand of God to save me from death? Am I right or not when I give
+Caroline the credit, under God, of having saved my life? Her must I
+thank that my Amelia is not a widow and my daughters orphans."
+
+All agreed with him. His wife, who had Caroline's hand locked in her own
+during the whole narrative, now pressed it affectionately and with tears
+in her eyes.
+
+"You, then," said she, "were the good angel that averted such a terrible
+misfortune from our family?"
+
+Her two daughters also gazed with pleasure at Caroline.
+
+"Every time we ate cherries," said the younger, "we spoke of you without
+knowing you."
+
+All had kind and grateful words for the young girl, but the colonel soon
+bade her farewell for the present, and said that he had some business to
+attend to with his brother-in-law. This business was to urge the count
+to appoint Ehrenberg his steward in place of the one who had died a few
+months before. A better man, he said, could not be found; for when he
+had visited Rebenheim to make inquiries for the family, although none
+could tell where they had gone, all were loud in their praise, and the
+mayor was pronounced a pattern of justice, honor and charity.
+
+The count drew out the order, signed it, and gave it to his
+brother-in-law, who wished himself to take it to Mr. Ehrenberg; and he
+went at once to the house and saluted him as "master-steward of
+Buchenhaim."
+
+"Read that," he said to the astonished man as he handed him the paper in
+which he was duly appointed steward of Buchenhaim, with a good salary of
+a thousand thalers and several valuable perquisites.
+
+"And you," said the colonel to Caroline and her mother, "must prepare to
+remove at once. Your lodgings are so confined! But you will find it very
+different in the house which you are to occupy in Buchenhaim. The
+dwelling is large and commodious, with a fine garden attached, well
+stocked with cherry trees. Next Monday you will be there, and this very
+day you must start. What a happy feast we shall have there!--not like
+the hasty meal you gave the hussar-officer amid the thunder of cannon
+and the blazing roofs of Rebenheim. Do not forget to have cherries, dear
+Caroline, for dessert; I think they will be fully ripe by that time."
+
+With these words the colonel hurried away to escape the thanks of this
+good family, and, in truth, to conceal his own tears. So rapidly did he
+disappear that Ehrenberg could scarcely accompany him down the steps.
+
+"Oh, Caroline," said the happy father when he returned, "who could have
+imagined that the little cherry tree I planted in the flower-garden the
+day you were born would ever produce such good fruit?"
+
+"It was the providence of God," exclaimed the mother, clasping her
+hands. "I remember distinctly the first time the blossoms appeared on
+that tree, when you and I went out to look at it, and little Caroline,
+then an infant in my arms, was so much delighted with the white flowers.
+We resolved then to educate our daughter piously, and prayed fervently
+to God that she, who was then as full of promise as the blossoms on the
+tree, might by his grace one day be the prop of our old age. That prayer
+is now fulfilled beyond our fondest anticipations. Praise for ever be to
+the name of God!"
+
+Edith declared that this was one of the very sweetest stories Miss
+Harson had ever told them, and Clara and Malcolm were equally well
+pleased with it.
+
+"Were those cherries like ours?" asked Clara.
+
+"They were larger and finer than ours generally are, I think," was the
+reply, "being the great northern cherry, or bird-cherry, of Europe,
+which grows in Germany to great perfection. And the little German girl's
+plate of cherries, which she so generously urged upon a stranger when
+food of any kind was so scarce, is a beautiful illustration of the first
+verse of the eleventh chapter of Proverbs: 'Cast thy bread upon the
+waters; for thou shalt find it after many days.'"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+_THE MULBERRY FAMILY_.
+
+"There is a fruit tree," said Miss Harson, "belonging to an entirely
+different family, which we have not considered yet; and, although it is
+not a common tree with us, one specimen of it is to be found in Mrs.
+Bush's garden, where you have all enjoyed the fruit very much. What
+is it?"
+
+"Mulberry," said Clara, promptly, while Malcolm was wondering what it
+could be.
+
+"Oh yes," said Edith, very innocently; "I like to go and see Mrs. Bush
+when there are mulberries."
+
+Mrs. Bush was not a cheerful person to visit, as she was quite old and
+rather hard of hearing, and she lived alone in the gloomy old house with
+the Lombardy poplars in front, where everything looked dark and shut up.
+A queer woman in a sunbonnet, nearly as old as Mrs. Bush, lived close
+by, and "kept an eye on her," as she said.
+
+Mrs. Bush's great enjoyment was to have visitors of all ages, to whom
+she talked a great deal, and cried as she talked, about a daughter who
+had died a few years ago. The little Kyles did not care to go there
+except when, as Edith said, there were ripe mulberries; but Mrs. Bush
+liked very much to have them, and Miss Harson took her little charges
+there occasionally, because, as she explained to them, it gave pleasure
+to a lonely old woman, and such visits were just as much charity, though
+of a different kind, as giving food and clothes to those who need them.
+The children delighted in the mulberries just because they did not have
+them at home, although they had fruit that was very much nicer; but Miss
+Harson never wished even to taste them, although she too had liked them
+when a little girl.
+
+"The mulberry tree," continued their governess, "belongs to the
+bread-fruit family, but the other members of this remarkable family,
+except the Osage orange, are found only in foreign countries. The
+bread-fruit tree itself, the fig, the Indian fig, or banyan tree, and
+the deadly upas tree, are all relations of the mulberry."
+
+"Well, trees are queer things," exclaimed Malcolm, "to belong to
+families that are not a bit alike."
+
+"They are alike in important points, when we examine them carefully,"
+was the reply. "The bread-fruit genus consists, with a single exception,
+of trees and shrubs with alternate, toothed or lobed or entire leaves
+and milky juice. This reminds me that the famous cow tree of South
+America, which yields a large supply of rich and wholesome milk, is one
+of the members; and you see what a number of famous trees we have on
+hand now. There are several kinds of mulberries--the red, black, white
+and paper mulberry, which are all occasionally found in this country,
+and they were once quite popular here for their shade. The fruit is
+unusually small for tree-fruit, and very soft when ripe, as you all
+know; it is not unlike a long, narrow blackberry, and forms, like it, a
+compound fruit, as though many small berries had grown together. The
+tree in Mrs. Bush's garden is the black mulberry, as any one might know
+by the stained lips and hands that sometimes come from there; and it has
+been cultivated from ancient times for its fine appearance and shade. It
+is found wild in the forests of Persia, and is thought to have been
+taken from there to Europe. The tree is more beautiful than useful, for
+the silkworms do not thrive well on the leaves and the wood is neither
+strong nor durable."
+
+"Why, I thought," said Clara, "that silkworms always lived on
+mulberry-leaves?"
+
+"The white mulberry is their favorite food; and another species, called
+the _Morus multicaulis_--for _Morus_ is the scientific name of the
+family--has more delicate leaves than any other, and produces a finer
+quality of silk. These trees are natives of China, and the white
+mulberry grows very rapidly to the height of thirty or forty feet. The
+paper mulberry is so called because in China and Japan--of which it is a
+native--its bark is manufactured into paper. In the South-Sea Islands,
+where it is also found, the bark is made into the curious dresses which
+we sometimes see imported thence. It is a low, thick-branched tree with
+large light-colored downy leaves and dark-scarlet fruit."
+
+"I wonder," said Malcolm, "if the bark is like birch-bark?"
+
+"It does not look like it," replied Miss Harson, "but it seems to be
+very much of the same nature. The red mulberry and black mulberry are
+the most hardy of these trees, and the red mulberry will thrive farther
+north than any of the family. The wood is valuable for many purposes for
+which timber is used, and especially in boat-building. And now, as we
+learned something about silkworms and their cocoons in our talks about
+insects[15], there is little more to be said of the mulberry tree which
+any but learned people would care to know."
+
+[15] See _Flyers and Crawlers_. Presbyterian Board of Publication.
+
+"I want to hear about the bread tree," said little Edith, "and how the
+loaves of bread grow on it."
+
+"Do they, Miss Harson?" asked Clara, not exactly seeing how this could
+be.
+
+"I don't believe they're very hot," remarked Malcolm, who was puzzled
+over the bread-fruit tree himself, but who laughed at his little
+sister's idea in a very knowing way. It was not an ill-natured laugh,
+though, and a glance from his governess always quieted him.
+
+"No, dear," replied Miss Harson, answering Clara; "loaves of bread do
+not grow on any tree. But I will tell you about the bread-fruit
+presently; let us finish the _Morus_ family and their kindred in our own
+country before we go to their foreign relations. The Osage orange is so
+much used in the United States, and in this part of it, for hedges, on
+account of its rapid growth and ornamental appearance, that we really
+ought to know something about it. 'It is a beautiful low, spreading,
+round-headed tree with the port and splendor of an orange tree. Its
+oval, entire, polished leaves have the shining green of natives of
+warmer regions, and its curiously-tesselated, succulent compound fruit
+the size and golden color of an orange. It was first found in the
+country of the Osage Indians, from whom it gets its name, and it has
+since been cultivated in many parts of this country and in Europe. The
+Osages belonged to the Sioux, or Dacotah, tribe of Indians, and their
+home was in the south-western part of the old United States. The Osage
+orange--a tree from thirty to forty feet high with leaves even more
+bright and glossy than those of the ordinary orange--was first found
+growing wild near one of their villages."
+
+"But what a very high hedge it would make!" said Malcolm.
+
+"Yes, if left to its natural growth, it would be a very absurd fence
+indeed. But this is not the case; the branches spread out very widely,
+and by cutting off the tops and trimming the remainder twice in a season
+a very handsome thickset hedge is produced, with lustrous leaves and
+sharp, straight thorns. Another name for this tree is yellow-wood, or
+bow-wood, because the wood is of a bright-yellow color, and the grain is
+so fine and elastic that the Southern Indians have been in the habit of
+using it to make their bows. The experiment of feeding silkworms upon
+the leaves has been tried, but it was not very successful."
+
+"I suppose the worms didn't know that it belonged to the mulberry
+family," said Clara, "and I don't see now why it does."
+
+For reply, her governess read:
+
+"'The sap of the young wood and of the leaves is _milky_ and contains a
+large proportion of caoutchouc.'"
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed Malcolm; "that sounds just like sneezing. What is it,
+Miss Harson?"
+
+"Something that you wear on your feet and over your shoulders in wet
+weather; so now guess."
+
+"Overshoes!" replied Clara, in a great hurry.
+
+"How many of them do you wear over your shoulders at once?" asked her
+brother. "And it must be a queer kind of sap that has overshoes in it.
+Why couldn't you say 'India-rubber'?"
+
+"And why couldn't _you_ say it before Clara put it into your head by
+saying 'Overshoes?" asked Miss Harson. "Clara has the right idea, only
+she did not express it in the clearest way. The sap of the caoutchouc,
+or India-rubber, tree is the most valuable yet discovered, and, as it is
+of a milky nature, it can very properly be brought into the present
+class of trees."
+
+"Is _that_ a mulberry too?" asked Clara, who thought that the size of
+the family was getting beyond all bounds.
+
+"It is not really set down as belonging to the bread-fruit family," was
+the reply, "but it certainly has the peculiarity of their milky sap.
+However, as I know that you are all eager to hear about the bread-fruit
+tree, we will take that next. This tree is found in various tropical
+regions, but principally in the South-Sea Islands, where it is about
+forty feet high. The immense leaves are half a yard long and over a
+quarter wide, and are deeply divided into sharp lobes. The fruit looks
+like a very large green berry, being about the size of a cocoanut or
+melon, and the proper time for gathering it is about a week before it is
+ripe. When baked, it is not very unlike bread. It is cooked by being
+cut into several pieces, which are baked in an oven in the ground. It is
+often eaten with orange-juice and cocoanut-milk. Some of the South-Sea
+islanders depend very much upon it for their food. The large seeds, when
+roasted, are said to taste like the best chestnuts. The pulp, which is
+the bread-part, is said to resemble a baked potato and is very white and
+tender, but, unless eaten soon after the fruit is gathered, it grows
+hard and choky."
+
+[Illustration: THE BREAD-FRUIT.]
+
+"So Edie's 'loaves of bread' are green?" said Malcolm, rather
+teasingly.
+
+"That's because they grow on a tree," replied Clara. "Our loaves of
+bread are raw dough before they're baked, and they are grains of wheat
+before they are dough."
+
+"That is quite true, dear," replied her governess, laughing, "and we
+must teach Malcolm not to be quite so critical.--The bread-fruit is a
+wonderful tree, and it certainly does bear uncooked loaves of bread, at
+least, for they require no kneading to be ready for the oven. The fruit
+is to be found on the tree for eight months of the year--which is very
+different from any of our fruits--and two or three bread-fruit trees
+will supply one man with food all the year round."
+
+"Put what does he do when there is no fresh fruit on them?" asked
+Malcolm. "You told us that it was not good to eat unless it was fresh."
+
+"We should not think it good, but the native makes it into a sour paste
+called _mahé_, and the people of the islands eat this during the four
+months when the fresh fruit is not to be had. The bread-fruit is said
+to be very nourishing, and it can be prepared in various ways. The
+timber of this tree, though soft, is found useful in building houses and
+boats; the flowers, when dried, serve for tinder; the viscid, milky
+juice answers for birdlime and glue; the leaves, for towels and packing;
+and the inner bark, beaten together, makes one species of the
+South-Sea cloth."
+
+"What a very useful tree!" exclaimed Clara.
+
+"It is indeed," replied Miss Harson; "and this is the case with many of
+the trees found in these warm countries, where the inhabitants know
+little of the arts and manufactures, and would almost starve rather than
+exert themselves very greatly. There is another species of bread-fruit,
+called the jaca, or jack, tree, found on the mainland of Asia, which
+produces its fruit on different parts of the tree, according to its age.
+When the tree is young, the fruit grows from the twigs; in middle age it
+grows from the trunk; and when the tree gets old, it grows from
+the roots."
+
+[Illustration: JACK-FRUIT TREE.]
+
+There was a picture of the jack tree with fruit growing out of the
+trunk and great branches like melons, and the children crowded eagerly
+around to look at it. All agreed that it was the very queerest tree they
+had yet heard of.
+
+"The fruit is even larger than that of the island bread-fruit,"
+continued their governess, "but it is not so pleasant to our taste, nor
+is it so nourishing. It often weighs over thirty pounds and has two or
+three hundred seeds, each of which is four times as large as an almond
+and is surrounded by a pulp which is greatly relished by the natives of
+India. The seeds, or nuts, are roasted, like those of smaller fruit, and
+make very good chestnuts. The fruit has a strong odor not very agreeable
+to noses not educated to it."
+
+"Miss Harson," said Malcolm, "what is the upas tree like, and why is it
+called _deadly_?"
+
+"It is a tree eighty feet high, with white and slightly-furrowed bark;
+the branches, which are very thick, grow nearly at the top, dividing
+into smaller ones, which form an irregular sort of crown to the tall,
+straight trunk. There is no reason for calling it _deadly_ except a
+foolish notion and the fact that a very strong poison is prepared from
+the milky sap. The tree grows in the island of Java, and for a long time
+many fabulous stories were told of its dangerous nature. Travelers in
+that region would send home the wildest and most improbable stories of
+the poison tree, until the very name of the upas was enough to make
+people shudder. It is said that a Dutch surgeon stationed on the island
+did much to keep up the impression. He wrote an account of the valley in
+which the upas was said to be growing alone, for no tree nor shrub was
+to be found near it. And he declared that neither animal nor bird could
+breathe the noxious effluvia from the tree without instant death. In
+fact, he called this fatal spot 'The Valley of Death.'"
+
+"And wasn't it true, Miss Harson?"
+
+"Not all true, Clara; some one who had spent many years in Java proved
+these stories to be entirely false. Instead of growing in a dismal
+valley by itself, the graceful-looking upas tree is found in the most
+fertile spots, among other trees, and very often climbing plants are
+twisted round its trunk, while birds nestle in the branches. It can be
+handled, too, like any other tree; and all this is as unlike the Dutch
+surgeon's account as possible. One of his stories was that the criminals
+on the island were employed to collect the poison from the trunk of the
+tree; that they were permitted to choose whether to die by the hand of
+the executioner or to go to the upas for a box of its fatal juice; and
+that the ground all about the tree was strewed with the dead bodies of
+those who had perished on this errand."
+
+"Oh," exclaimed Edith, "wasn't that dreadful?"
+
+"The story was dreadful, dear, but it was only a story, you know: the
+upas tree did not kill people at all; and to turn the milky juice into a
+dangerous poison took a great deal of time and trouble. It was mixed
+with various spices and fermented; when ready for use, it was poured
+into the hollow joints of bamboo and carefully kept from the air. Both
+for war and for the chase arrows are dipped in this fatal preparation,
+and the effect has been witnessed by naturalists on animals, and also on
+man. The instant it touches the blood it is carried through the whole
+system, so that it may be felt in all the veins and causes a burning
+sensation, especially in the head, which is followed by sickness
+and death."
+
+"Well," said Clara, drawing a long breath, "I'm glad that I don't live
+in Java."
+
+"The poisoned arrows are not constantly flying about in Java, dear,"
+replied her governess, with a smile, "and I do not think you would be in
+any danger from them; but there are a great many other reasons why it is
+not pleasant, except for natives, to live in Java. There are a number of
+Dutch settlers there, because the island was conquered by the Dutch
+nation, but while war with the natives was going on they suffered
+terribly from these poisoned arrows; so that the very name of upas
+caused them to tremble. The word 'upas,' in the language of the natives,
+means poison, and there is in the island a valley called the upas, or
+poison, valley. It has nothing, however, to do with the tree, which does
+not grow anywhere in the neighborhood. That valley may literally be
+called 'The Valley of Death.' We are told that it came to exist in this
+way: The largest mountain in Java was once partly buried in a very
+dreadful manner. In the middle of a summer night the people in the
+neighborhood perceived a luminous cloud that seemed wholly to envelop
+the mountain. They were extremely alarmed and took to flight, but ere
+they could escape a terrific noise was heard, like the discharge of
+cannon, and part of the mountain fell in and disappeared. At the same
+moment quantities of stones and lava were thrown to the distance of
+several miles. Fifteen miles of ground covered with villages and
+plantations were swallowed up or buried under the lava from the
+mountain; and when all was over and people tried to visit the scene of
+the disaster, they could not approach it on account of the heat of the
+stones and other substances piled upon one another. And yet as much as
+six weeks had elapsed since the catastrophe. This upas valley is about
+half a mile in circumference, and the vapor that escapes through the
+cracks and fissures is fatal to every living thing. Here, indeed, are to
+be seen the bones of animals and birds, and even the skeletons of human
+beings who were unfortunate enough to enter and were overpowered by the
+deadly vapor. And now," added Miss Harson, "I have given you this
+account to make you understand that the famous upas valley of Java is
+not a valley of upas trees, but one of poisonous vapors."
+
+"And the deadly upas," said Malcolm, "is not deadly, after all! I think
+I shall remember that."
+
+"And I too," said Clara and Edith, who had listened with great interest
+to the description.
+
+"Shall we have some figs now, by way of variety?" was a question that
+caused three pairs of eyes to turn rather expectantly on the speaker;
+for figs were very popular with the small people of Elmridge.
+
+[Illustration: THE BANYAN TREE.]
+
+"Not in the way of refreshments, just at present," continued their
+governess, "but only as belonging to the mulberry family; and we will
+begin with that curious tree the banyan, or Indian fig. This stately and
+beautiful tree is found on the banks of the river Ganges and in many
+parts of India, and is a tree much valued and venerated by the Hindu. He
+plants it near the temple of his idol; and if the village in which he
+resides does not possess any such edifice, he uses the banyan for a
+temple and places the idol beneath it. Here, every morning and evening,
+he performs the rites of his heathen worship. And, more than this, he
+considers the tree, with its out-stretched and far-sheltering arms, an
+emblem of the creator of all things."
+
+"Is that only one tree?" asked Malcolm as Miss Harson displayed a
+picture that was more like a small grove. "Why, it looks like two or
+three trees together."
+
+"Does it grow up from the ground or down from the air?" asked Clara.
+"Just look at these queer branches with one end fast to the tree and the
+other end fast to the ground!"
+
+Edith thought that the branches which had not reached the ground looked
+like snakes, but, for all that, it was certainly a grand tree.
+
+"The peculiar growth of the banyan," continued Miss Harson, "renders it
+an object of beauty and produces those column-like stems that cause it
+to become a grove in itself. It may be said to grow, not from the seed,
+but from the branches. They spread out horizontally, and each branch
+sends out a number of rootlets that at first hang from it like slender
+cords and wave about in the wind.--Those are your 'snakes,' Edith.--But
+by degrees they reach the ground and root themselves into it; then the
+cord tightens and thickens and becomes a stem, acting like a prop to the
+widespreading branch of the parent plant. Indeed, column on column is
+added in this manner, the books tell us, so long as the mother-tree can
+support its numerous progeny."
+
+"How very strange!" said Clara. "The mulberry seems to have some very
+funny relations."
+
+"Such a great tree ought to bear very large figs," added Malcolm.
+
+"On the contrary," replied his governess, "it bears uncommonly small
+ones--no larger than a hazel-nut, and of a red color. They are not
+considered eatable by the natives, but birds and animals feed upon them,
+and in the leafy bower of the banyan are found the peacock, the monkey
+and the squirrel. Here, too, are a myriad of pigeons as green as the
+leaf and with eyes and feet of a brilliant red. They are so like the
+foliage in color that they can be seen only by the practiced eye of the
+hunter, and even he would fail to detect them were it not for their
+restless movements. As they flutter about from branch to branch they are
+apt to fall victims to his skill in shooting his arrows."
+
+"If they would only keep still!" exclaimed Edith, who felt a strong
+sympathy for the green pigeons. "Poor pretty things! Why don't they,
+Miss Harson, instead of getting killed?"
+
+"They do not know their danger until it is too late, and it is quite as
+hard for them to keep still as it is for little girls."
+
+Edith wondered if that meant her; she was a little girl, but she did not
+think she was so very restless. However, Miss Harson didn't tell her,
+and she soon forgot it in listening to what was said of the queer tree
+with branches like snakes.
+
+"The leaves of the banyan tree are large and soft and of a very bright
+green, and the deep shade and pillared walks are so welcome to the Hindu
+that he even tries to improve on Nature and coax the shoots to grow just
+where he wishes them. He binds wet clay and moss on the branch to make
+the rootlet sprout."
+
+"Will it grow then?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Yes, just as a cutting planted in the earth will grow, although it
+seems a very odd style of gardening.--The sacred fig tree of
+India--_Ficus religiosa_--is a near relative of the banyan, and very
+much like it in general appearance; but the leaves are on such slender
+stalks that they tremble like those of the aspen. It is known as the bo
+tree of Ceylon, and is said to have been placed in charge of the priests
+long before the present race of inhabitants had appeared in the island."
+
+"Where do the real figs grow?" asked Clara.
+
+"In a great many moderately warm or sub-tropical countries," was the
+reply, "but Smyrna figs are the most celebrated. Immense quantities of
+the fruit are dried and packed in Asiatic Turkey for exportation from
+this city, and it is said that in the fig season nothing else is talked
+about there."
+
+"I didn't know that they were dried," said Malcolm, in great surprise;
+"I thought they were just packed tight in boxes and then sent off."
+
+[Illustration: LEAF AND FRUIT OF THE FIG TREE.]
+
+"'In its native country,'" read Miss Harson, "'and when growing on the
+tree, the fig presents a different appearance from the dried and packed
+specimens we see in this country. It is a firm and fleshy fruit, and
+has a delicious honey-drop hanging from the point.' And here," she
+added, "is a small branch from the fig tree, with fruit growing on it."
+
+"Why, it's shaped like a pear!" exclaimed Malcolm.
+
+"And what large, pretty leaves it has!" said Clara.
+
+"'The fig tree is common in Palestine and the East,'" Miss Harson
+continued to read, "'and flourishes with the greatest luxuriance in
+those barren and stony situations, where little else will grow. Its
+large size and its abundance of five-lobed leaves render it a pleasant
+shade-tree, and its fruit furnishes a wholesome food very much used in
+all the lands of the Bible.' Figs were among the fruits mentioned in the
+'land that flowed with milk and honey,' and it was a symbol of peace and
+plenty, as you will find, Malcolm, by reading to us from First Kings,
+fourth chapter, twenty-fifth verse."
+
+"'And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under
+his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of
+Solomon.'--That's what it means, then!" said Malcolm, when he had
+finished reading the verse. "I've heard people say, 'Under your own vine
+and fig tree,' and I couldn't tell what they meant."
+
+"Yes," replied his governess, "some persons make very free with the
+words of Holy Scripture and twist them to suit meanings for which they
+were not intended. Having a house of one's own is usually meant by this
+quotation, and almost the same words are repeated in other parts of the
+Old Testament. The fig is often mentioned in the Bible, and two kinds
+are spoken of--the very early fig, and the one that ripens late in the
+summer. The early fig was considered the best; and I think that Clara
+will tell us what is said of it by the prophet Jeremiah."
+
+Clara read slowly:
+
+"'One basket had very good figs, _even like the figs that are first
+ripe_; and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be
+eaten, they were so bad[16].'"
+
+[16] Jer. xxiv. 2.
+
+"But can figs be naughty, Miss Harson?" asked Edith, with very
+wide-open eyes. "I thought that only children were naughty,"
+
+"There are 'naughty' grown people as well as naughty children," was the
+reply, "and inanimate things like figs in old times were called naughty
+too, in the sense of being bad.--The fruit of the fig tree appears not
+only before the leaves, but without any sign of blossoms, the flowers
+being small and hidden in the little buttons which first shoot out from
+the points of the sterns, and around which the outer and firm part of
+the fig grows. The leaves come out so late in the season that our
+Saviour said, 'Now learn a parable of the fig tree; when his branch is
+yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh[17].'
+Did not our Lord say something else about a fig tree?"
+
+[17] Matt. xxiv. 32.
+
+"Yes," replied Clara; "the one that was withered away because it had no
+figs on it."
+
+"The barren fig tree which was withered at our Saviour's word, as an
+awful warning to unfruitful professors of religion, seems to have spent
+itself in leaves. It stood by the wayside, free to all, and, as the time
+for stripping the trees of their fruit had not come--for in Mark we are
+told that 'the time of figs was not yet[18]'--it was reasonable to
+expect to find it covered with figs in various stages of growth. Yet
+there was 'nothing thereon, but leaves only.' Find the nineteenth verse
+of the twenty-first chapter of Matthew, Malcolm, and read what is
+said there."
+
+[18] Mark xi. 13.
+
+"'And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found
+nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on
+thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.'"
+
+"A fig tree having leaves," said Miss Harson, "should also have figs,
+for these, as I have already told you, appear before the leaves, and
+both are on the tree at the same time; so that, although unripe figs are
+seen without leaves, leaves should not be seen without figs; and if it
+was not yet the season for figs, it was not the season for leaves
+either. The barren fig tree has often been compared to people who make a
+show of goodness in words, but leave the doing of good works to others;
+and when anything is expected of them, there is sure to be
+disappointment. 'Nothing but leaves' has become a proverb; and when it
+can be used to express the barren condition of those who profess to
+follow the teachings of our Lord, it is sad indeed."
+
+"Do fig trees grow wild?" asked Clara, presently.
+
+"Yes," was the reply, "and very curious-looking things they are. 'Their
+roots twist into all kinds of whimsical contortions, so as to look more
+like a mass of snakes than the roots of a tree. They unite themselves so
+closely to the substances that come in their way, such as the face of
+rocks, or even the stems of other trees, that nothing can pull them
+away. And in some parts of India these strong, tough roots are made to
+serve the purpose of bridges and twisted over some stream or cataract.
+The wild fig is often a dangerous parasite, and does not attain
+perfection without completing some work of destruction among its
+neighbors in the forest. A slender rootlet may sometimes be seen hanging
+from the crown of a palm. The seed was carried there by some bird that
+had fed upon the fruit of a wild fig, and it rooted itself with
+surprising facility. The rootlet, as it descends, envelops the
+column-like stem of the palm with a woody network, and at length reaches
+the ground. Meanwhile, the true stem of the parasite shoots upward from
+the crown of the palm. It sends out numberless rootlets, each of which,
+as soon as it reaches the ground, takes root; and between them the palm
+is stifled and perishes, leaving the fig in undisturbed possession. The
+parasite does not, however, long survive the decline; for, no longer fed
+by the juices of the palm, it also, in process of time, begins to
+languish and decline.'"
+
+"What a mean thing it is!" exclaimed Malcolm--"as mean as the cuckoo,
+that lays its eggs in other birds' nests. And I'm glad it dies when it
+has killed the palm tree; it just serves it right. But don't figs ever
+grow in this country, Miss Harson?"
+
+"Yes," replied his governess; "they are cultivated in the Southern
+States and in California, like many other semi-tropical fruits, and are
+principally eaten fresh, but for drying they are not equal to the
+imported ones. No doubt the cultivation of figs in California will
+become a prosperous trade, for the climate and circumstances there are
+much like those of Syria."
+
+[Illustration: DWARF FIG TREE IN A POT.]
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+_QUEER RELATIONS: THE CAOUTCHOUC AND THE MILK TREE_.
+
+"What dark, strange-looking trees!" exclaimed the children while looking
+at an illustration of caoutchouc trees in Brazil. "How thick and strong
+they are! And what funny tops!--like pointed umbrellas."
+
+"The India-rubber tree is not likely to be mistaken for any other," said
+their governess, "and it does not look very dark and gloomy in that
+forest, where everything seems to be crowded close and in a tangle,
+because South American vegetation grows so thickly and rapidly. This is
+the country which supplies the largest quantity of India-rubber. Immense
+cargoes are shipped from the town of Para, on the river Amazon, and
+obtained from the _Siphonia elastica_."
+
+"Are the stems all made of India-rubber?" asked Edith, who thought that
+was exactly what they looked like.
+
+"Are the stems of the maple trees made of maple-sugar?" replied Miss
+Harson. "The India-rubber is got from its tree as the sugar is from the
+maple tree. It is taken from the trunk in the shape of a very thick
+milky fluid, and it is said that no other vital fluid, whether in animal
+or in plant, contains so much solid material within it; and it is a
+matter of surprise that the sap, thus encumbered, can circulate through
+all the delicate vessels of the tree. Tropical heat is required to form
+the caoutchouc; for when the tree is cultivated in hothouses, the
+substance of the sap is quite different. The full-grown trees are very
+handsome, with round column-like trunks about sixty feet high, and the
+crown of foliage is said to resemble that of the ash."
+
+"Did people always know about India-rubber?" asked Clara.
+
+"No indeed! It is not more than a hundred and fifty years--perhaps not
+so long--since it was a great curiosity; so that a piece half an inch
+square would sell in London for nearly a dollar of our money, but now it
+comes in shiploads, and a pound of it costs less than quarter of that
+sum. It is used for so many purposes that it seems as if the world could
+never have gone on without it. All sorts of outside garments to keep out
+the rain are made of it. Waterproof cloaks are called macintoshes in
+England because this was the name of the person who invented them.
+India-rubber is also used for tents and many other things, and, as water
+cannot get through it, there is a great saving of trouble and expense."
+
+"It must be splendid for tents," said Malcolm; "no one need care, when
+snug under cover, whether or not it rained in the woods."
+
+"People do care, though," was the reply, "for they expect, when in the
+woods, to live out of doors; but the India-rubber is certainly a great
+improvement on tents that get soaked through."
+
+"I like it," said Edith, "because it rubs things out. When I draw a
+house and it's all wrong, my piece of India-rubber will take it away,
+and then I can make another one on the paper."
+
+"That is the very smallest of its uses," replied Miss Harson, smiling at
+the little girl's earnestness, "and yet we find it a great convenience.
+An English writer, speaking of it when it was first known in England,
+said that he had seen a substance that would efface from paper the marks
+of a black-lead pencil, and he thought it must be of use to those who
+practiced drawing."
+
+"How funny that sounds!" exclaimed Malcolm. "Why, I couldn't get along
+without my India-rubber when I make mistakes,"
+
+"You might," said his governess, "if you had some stale bread to rub
+with; for people _have_ gotten along without a great many things which
+they now think necessary."
+
+"Miss Harson," said Clara, "won't you tell us, please, how they get the
+caoutch--whatever it is--and make it into India-rubber?"
+
+"I will," was the laughing reply, "when you can say the word properly.
+C-a-o-u-t-c-h-o-u-c--koochook."
+
+As Clara said, Miss Harson made things so easy to understand! and in a
+very short time the hard word was mastered.
+
+"As I have never seen the sap gathered," continued the young lady, "I
+shall have to read you an account of it, instead of telling you from my
+own experience; but the description is so plain that I think we shall
+all be able to understand it very well: 'At certain seasons of the year
+the natives visit some islands in the river Amazon that for many months
+are covered with water. As soon as the water subsides and a footing can
+be obtained the Indians arrive in parties, to seek for the trees. The
+Indian who comes every morning to collect the juice from the trunk has a
+number of trees allotted to him, and goes the round of the whole. The
+previous night he has made a long, deep cut in the bark of each and hung
+an earthen vessel beneath, to receive the thick, creamlike substance
+that trickles down. The vessel is filled by morning, and he pours the
+contents into one much larger and carries it to his hut. He is provided
+with a number of moulds of different shapes and sizes, and he dips them
+into the juice and puts them aside to dry. They are then dipped again,
+and the process is continued until the coat of India-rubber on the mould
+is of sufficient thickness. It is made black by passing it through the
+smoke of burning palm-nuts. The moulds are broken and taken out, leaving
+the India-rubber ready for sale, and pretty much as we used to see it in
+the shops before the people of this country had learned how to
+work it.'"
+
+"That seems easy enough," said Malcolm, "but how do they make it into
+gutta-percha?"
+
+"Gutta-percha is not made," replied his governess, "and it is taken from
+an entirely different tree, the _Icosandra gutta_, which grows in
+Southern Asia. The milky fluid is procured in the same way, but it is
+placed in vessels to evaporate, and the solid substance left at the
+bottom is the gutta-percha. It is not elastic, like India-rubber, and
+is called 'vegetable leather' because of its toughness and leathery
+appearance. It was discovered by an English traveler a long time before
+it was supposed to have any useful properties, but now it is considered
+a very valuable material. The wonderful submarine telegraph could not
+convey its messages between the Old World and the New were not its wires
+protected from injury by a coating of gutta-percha. Its unyielding
+nature and its not being elastic render it the very material needed. The
+long straps used in working machines are also made of gutta-percha, and
+this is another instance where its non-elasticity gives it the
+preference over India-rubber."
+
+"And what is vulcanite?" asked Clara.
+
+"It is caoutchouc mixed with sulphur. Unless a small quantity of
+brimstone is added in the manufacture of overshoes, they become soft
+when exposed to heat and hardened when exposed to cold; but it was
+discovered that the sulphur will keep them from being affected by
+changes in temperature. When a large amount of sulphur is used, the
+India-rubber, becomes as hard as horn or wood, and this is the substance
+called vulcanite. Now the gum is imported in masses, to be wrought over
+by our skillful mechanics."
+
+The children were very much pleased to find that they had learned the
+nature of three important articles--India-rubber, gutta-percha and
+vulcanite--and they thought it would be quite easy to remember the
+differences between them.
+
+"And now," said Miss Harson, "the last of these useful trees--the cow
+tree, or milk tree--is the most curious one of all. Like the caoutchouc,
+it is a native of South America; but the sap is a rich fluid that
+answers for food, like milk. It is a fine-looking tree with oblong,
+pointed leaves about ten inches in length and a fleshy fruit containing
+one or two nuts. The sap is the most valuable part; and when incisions
+are made in the trunk of the tree, there is an abundant flow of thick
+milk-like sap, which is described as having an agreeable and balmv
+smell. The German traveler Humboldt drank it from the shell of a
+calabash, and the natives dip their bread of maize or cassava in it.
+This milk is said to be very fattening; and when exposed to the air, it
+thickens into a substance which the people call cheese."
+
+"Milk and cheese from a tree!" exclaimed Malcolm. "Do you think we'd
+like them as well as ours, Miss Harson?"
+
+"No," was the reply, "I do not think we should; but if we had never
+known any other kind, it would be quite a different matter, and the
+traveler says that both smell and taste are agreeable. The sap, it
+seems, is like curdled milk, and the natives say that they can tell,
+from the thickness and color of the foliage, the trunks that yield the
+most juice. This wonderful tree will be found growing on the side of a
+barren rock, and its large, woody roots can scarcely penetrate into the
+stone. For several months of the year not a single shower moistens its
+foliage. Its branches then appear dead and dried; but when the trunk is
+pierced, there flows from it a sweet and nourishing milk. It is at the
+rising of the sun that this vegetable fountain is most abundant. The
+negroes and natives are then seen hastening from all quarters, furnished
+with large bowls to receive the milk, which grows yellow and thickens at
+its surface. Some empty their bowls while under the tree itself; others
+carry the juice home to their children."
+
+"Isn't it funny," said Edith, laughing, "to go and get their breakfasts
+from a _tree_? I wish we had some milk trees here."
+
+"But you would not find it pleasant," replied their governess, "to have
+some other things that are always found where the milk tree grows. The
+intense heat and the swarms of mosquitoes and biting flies, the serpents
+and jaguars and other disagreeable and dangerous creatures, make life in
+that region anything but pleasant, and the curious vegetation and
+delicious fruits are not worth the suffering inflicted by all these
+torments."
+
+On hearing of these drawbacks the children soon decided that their own
+dear home was the best, and no longer envied the possessors even of
+the cow tree.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+_HOME AND ABROAD: LINDEN, CAMPHOR, BEECH_.
+
+"Now," said Miss Harson to her expectant flock, "it is to be hoped that
+our foreign wanderings among such wonderful trees have not spoiled you
+for home trees, as there are still a number of them which we have not
+yet examined."
+
+"No indeed!" they assured her; "they liked to hear about them all, and
+they were going to try and remember everything she told them about
+the trees."
+
+Their governess said that would be too much to expect, and if they
+remembered the most important things she would be quite satisfied,
+
+"We will take the linden, lime, or basswood, tree--for it has all three
+of these names--this evening," she continued, "and there are nine or ten
+species of the tree, which are found in America, Europe and Western
+Asia. It is a very handsome, regular-looking tree with rich, thick
+masses of foliage that make a deep shade. The leaves are heart-shaped
+and very finely veined, have sharply-serrated edges and are four or five
+inches long. The leaf-stalk is half the length of the leaf. It blooms
+in July and August, and the flowers are yellowish white and very
+fragrant; when an avenue of limes is in blossom, the whole atmosphere is
+filled with a delightful perfume which can hardly be described."
+
+[Illustration: THE LINDEN OR LIME TREE (_Tilia_).]
+
+"There are no lime trees here, are there?" asked Clara.
+
+"No," was the reply, "I do not think there are any in this neighborhood;
+but they grow abundantly not many miles away. Our native trees are not
+so pretty as the English lime, which, clothed with softer foliage, has a
+smaller leaf and a neater and more elegant spray. Ours bears larger and
+more conspicuous flowers, in heavier clusters, but of inferior
+sweetness. Both species are remarkable for their size and longevity. The
+young leaves of the lime are of a bright fresh tint that contrasts
+strongly with the very dark color of the branches; and these branches
+are so finely divided that their beauty is seen to the greatest
+advantage when winter has stripped them bare of leaves.
+
+"'The linden has in all ages been celebrated for the fragrance of its
+flowers and the excellence of the honey made from them. The famous
+Mount Hybla was covered with lime trees. The aroma from its flowers is
+like that of mignonette; it perfumes the whole atmosphere, and is
+perceptible to the inhabitants of all the beehives within a circuit of a
+mile. The real linden honey is of a greenish color and delicious taste
+when taken from the hive immediately after the trees have been in
+blossom, and is often sold for more than the ordinary kind. There is a
+forest in Lithuania that abounds in lime trees, and here swarms of wild
+bees live in the hollow trunks and collect their honey from the lime.'"
+
+[Illustration: LEAF AND FLOWER OF LIME TREE _(Tilia)._]
+
+"What fun it would be, if we were there, to go and get it!" exclaimed
+Malcolm. "But don't bees make honey from the lime trees that grow in
+this country, too, Miss Harson?"
+
+"Certainly they do; and the beekeepers look anxiously forward to the
+blossoming of the trees, because they provide such abundant supplies for
+the busy swarms. The flowers have other uses, too, besides the making of
+honey: the Swiss are said to obtain a favorite beverage from them, and
+in the South of France an infusion of the blossoms is taken for colds
+and hoarseness, and also for fever. 'Active boys climb to the topmost
+branches and gather the fragrant flowers, which their mothers catch in
+their aprons for that purpose. An avenue of limes has been ravaged and
+torn in pieces by the eagerness of the people to gather the blossoms,
+and they are often made into tea which is a soft sugary beverage in
+taste a little like licorice.'"
+
+"How queer," said Clara, "to make tea from flowers!"
+
+"Is it any queerer," asked her governess, "than to make it from leaves?
+I should think that the flowers might even be better, and yet I should
+scarcely like lime-tea that tastes like licorice."
+
+The children, though, seemed to think that they would like it, and Miss
+Harson had very little doubt that such would be the case.
+
+"Both the bark and the wood of the lime tree are valuable," she
+continued. "The fibres of the bark are strong and firm, and make
+excellent ropes and cordage. In Sweden and Russia they are made into a
+kind of matting that is very useful for packing-purposes and in
+protecting delicate plants from the frost. 'The manufacture of this
+useful material is carried on in the summer, close by the woods and
+forests where the lime trees grow in abundance. As soon as the sap
+begins to ascend freely the bark parts from the wood and can be taken
+away with ease. Great strips are then peeled off and steeped in water
+until they separate into layers; the layers are still further divided
+into smaller strips or ribbons, and are hung up in the shade of the
+wood, generally on the very tree itself from which they have been taken.
+After a time they are woven into the matting and sent to market for
+sale. The Swedish fishermen also manufacture it into a coarse thread for
+fishing-nets, and from the fibres of the young shoots the Russian
+peasant makes the strong shoes he wears, using the outer bark for the
+soles. In Italy the garments of the poorer people are often made of
+cloth woven from this material."
+
+"Why, people can fairly _live_ on trees," said Malcolm. "I didn't know
+that they were good for anything but shade--except the trees that have
+fruit and nuts on 'em."
+
+"There is a great deal for us all to learn of the works of the Creator,"
+replied Miss Harson, "and the blessing of trees is not half known. The
+wood of the lime is said never to be worm-eaten; it is very soft and
+smooth and of a pale-yellow color. It is used for the famous Tunbridge
+ware, and is called the carver's tree, because, as the poet says,
+
+     "'Smooth linden best obeys
+     The carver's chisel--best his curious work
+     Displays in nicest touches.'
+
+"The fruits and flowers carved for the choir of St. Paul's cathedral in
+London are done in lime-wood.
+
+"So numerous are the purposes to which the bark, wood, leaves and
+blossoms of the lime, or linden, tree can be applied that centuries ago
+it was called the tree of a thousand uses. Linden is the name by which
+it is always known on the continent of Europe, and there it is indeed a
+magnificent tree, forming the most delightful avenues and branching
+colonnades. One of the principal streets in Berlin is called 'Unter den
+Linden.' In the Middle Ages, when the Swiss and the Flemings were always
+struggling for liberty, it was their custom to plant a lime tree on the
+field of battle, and many of these old trees still remain and have been
+the subject of ballads and poetical effusions:
+
+     "'The stately lime, smooth, gentle, straight and fair.'"
+
+"Is there any story about it, Miss Harson?"
+
+"No," was the reply, "not much of a story; only descriptions of some
+very large and very ancient trees. One of these, the old linden tree of
+Soleure, in Switzerland, was spoken of by an English traveler two
+hundred years ago as 'right noble and wondrous to behold. A bower
+composed of its branches is capable of holding three hundred persons
+sitting at ease; it has also a fountain set about with many tables
+formed solely of the boughs, to which men ascend by steps; and all is
+kept so accurately and thick that the sun never looks into it.'"
+
+"It is just like a tent," said Malcolm, "it must be pleasant to sit by
+the fountain. Wouldn't you like it, Miss Harson?"
+
+"I am sure I should," replied his governess; "and I should also like to
+see the famous lime tree of Zurich, the boughs of which will shelter
+five hundred persons. At Augsburg, in Germany, feasts and weddings have
+often been celebrated under the shade of some venerable limes that
+branch out to an immense distance. In early times divine honors were
+paid to them as emblems of immortality. And now," said Miss Harson, "the
+last of these famous trees is a noble lime tree which grew on the farm
+belonging to the ancestors of Linnaeus, the great naturalist, beneath
+the shade of which he played in childhood, and from which his ancestors
+derived their surname. That noble tree still blossoms from year to year,
+beautiful in every change of seasons."
+
+"Lime, linden and basswood," said Clara--"three names to remember for
+one tree. But didn't you say, Miss Harson, that it's always called
+basswood in our country?"
+
+"Often, but not always. The name linden is quite common with us, and it
+will be well for you to remember that it is also called lime, so that
+when you go to Europe you will know what is meant by _lime_ and
+_linden_."
+
+The children laughed at this idea, for it seemed very funny to think of
+a little girl like Clara going to Europe, but, as their governess told
+them, little girls did go constantly; besides, this was the time to
+learn what would be of use to them when they were grown.
+
+"The fragrant lime," said Miss Harson, "has a relative in Asia whose
+acquaintance I wish you to make, and you know it already in one of its
+products, which is common in every household. It is also very
+fragrant--or rather, I should say, it has a strong aromatic odor which
+is very reviving in cases of faintness or illness, although it has quite
+a contrary effect on insects, particularly on mosquitoes. I should like
+to have some one tell me what this white, powerful substance is."
+
+This was quite a conundrum, and for a little while the children were
+extremely puzzled over its solution; but presently Clara asked,
+
+"Do the moths hate it too, Miss Harson? And isn't it camphor?"
+
+"Camphor doesn't grow on a _tree_," said Malcolm, in a superior tone;
+"it is dug out of the earth."
+
+"I have never read of any camphor-mines," replied his governess,
+laughing, "and I think you will find that camphor--which is just what I
+meant--is obtained from the trunk of a tree."
+
+"Like India-rubber?" asked Edith.
+
+"No, dear, not like India-rubber, for it grows in even a more curious
+way than that, masses of it being found in the trunk of the camphor
+tree--not in the form of sap, but in lumps, as we use it."
+
+"I thought it was like water," said Edith, in a puzzled tone.
+
+"So it is when dissolved in alcohol, as we generally have it; but it is
+also used in lumps to drive away moths and for various other purposes.
+But I will tell you all about the tree, which grows in the islands of
+Sumatra and Borneo and bears the botanical name _Dryobalanops camphora_.
+The camphor is also called _barus_ camphor, to distinguish it from the
+_laurus_, of which I will tell you afterward, and it is of a better
+quality and more easily obtained. The tree grows in the forests of
+these East Indian islands and is remarkable for its majestic size, dense
+foliage and magnolia-like flowers. The trunk rises as high as ninety
+feet without a single branch, and within it are cavities, sometimes a
+foot and a half long, which cannot be perceived until the bark is split
+open. These cavities contain the camphor in clear crystalline masses,
+and with it an oil known as camphor oil, that is thought by some to be
+camphor in an immature form. But the oil, even when crystallized by
+artificial means, does not produce such good camphor as that already
+solidified in the tree."
+
+"To think," exclaimed Clara, "of camphor growing in that way! But how do
+they get it out, Miss Harson? Do they cut great holes in the trunk of
+the tree?"
+
+"No, dear; I have just read to you that the camphor cannot be seen until
+the bark is split open, and the grand trees have to be cut down. But to
+do this is no easy matter. The hard, close-grained timber requires days
+of hewing and sawing to get it severed. The masses of roots are as
+unyielding as iron, and run twisting through the soil to the distance
+of sixty yards. Even at their farthest extremity they are as thick as a
+man's thigh."
+
+"I shouldn't think the camphor was worth all that trouble," said
+Malcolm; "it don't seem to amount to much, any wary."
+
+"It is more valuable than you suppose," replied Miss Harson; "for,
+besides preserving furs and woolen fabrics from the devouring moth, it
+protects the contents of cabinets and museums from the attacks of the
+minute creatures that prey upon the dried specimens of the naturalist.
+Not any of the insect tribe can endure the powerful scent of the
+camphor, and they either retreat before it or are killed by it. But its
+principal value is in medicine. It is used both internally and
+externally. It acts as a nervous stimulant, and is a favorite domestic
+remedy.--So you see, Malcolm, that camphor really amounts to a great
+deal, and we could not very well do without it."
+
+"How can people tell when there is any camphor inside the tree?" asked
+Clara.
+
+"They cannot tell," was the reply, "until the trunk is split open,
+although a tribe of men in Sumatra say that they know before-hand, by a
+kind of magic, which is the right tree to cut down. But the beautiful,
+stately tree is often wasted in vain, and after all their hard work the
+camphor-seekers find the cavities of the split-up trunk filled with a
+thick black substance like pitch instead of the pure white camphor."
+
+"Poor things!" said Edith, pityingly; "that's too bad."
+
+"Camphor is found in many trees and shrubs," continued her governess,
+"but in all others except the camphor tree of Sumatra and Borneo it has
+to be distilled from the wood and roots. The camphor-laurel, which is
+about the size of an English oak, is the most important of these trees.
+It grows abundantly in the Chinese island of Formosa, and 'camphor
+mandarin' is the title of a rich Chinaman who pays the government for
+the privilege of extracting all the camphor, which he sends to other
+countries at a large profit. Every part of this tree is full of camphor,
+and the tree gives out, when bruised, a strong perfume.
+
+"The European bay tree, which is more like an immense shrub, is also a
+member of this singular tribe, and its leaves have the strong family
+flavor. They were used in medicine, as well as the berries, before the
+camphor-laurel became known in Europe; in the time of Queen Elizabeth
+the floors of the better sort of houses were strewed with bay-leaves
+instead of being carpeted as now. The bay was an emblem of victory in
+old Roman times, and victorious generals were crowned with it. A wreath
+of this laurel, with the berries on, was placed on the head of a
+favorite poet in the Middle Ages, and in this way came the title
+'poet-laureate'--_laureatus_,' crowned with laurel.'
+
+"Do you remember," continued Miss Harson, "the tall, straight tree that
+I showed you yesterday when we were out in the woods--the one with a
+fluted trunk? What was its name?"
+
+"I know!" said Malcolm, quite excited. "Think of the seashore! Beach!
+That's what I told myself to remember."
+
+[Illustration: AMERICAN BEECH.]
+
+"A very good idea," replied his governess, laughing; "only you must not
+spell it with an _a_, like the seashore, for it is _b-e-e-c-h._--The
+fluted, or ribbed, shaft of this grand-looking tree is often sixty or
+seventy feet high, and, although it is found in its greatest perfection
+in England, it is a common tree in most of the woods in this country.
+For depth of shade no tree is equal to the beech, and its long beautiful
+leaves, with their close ridges and serrated edges, are very much like
+those of the chestnut. The leaves are of a light, fresh green and very
+neat and perfect, because they are so seldom attacked by insects; they
+remain longer on the branches than those of any deciduous tree, and
+give a cheerful air to the wood in winter. In the autumn they change to
+a light yellow-brown, which makes a pretty contrast to the reds and
+greens and purples of other trees. The branches start out almost
+straight from the tree, but they very soon curve and turn regularly
+upward. Every small twig turns in the same direction, making the long
+leaf-buds at the end look like so many little spears. I showed you these
+'stuck-up' buds when we were looking at the tree, and you noticed how
+different they were from the other trees."
+
+Yes, the children remembered it; and it always seemed to them
+particularly nice to have part of the talk out of doors and the rest in
+the house.
+
+"Doesn't the beech tree have nuts?" asked Malcolm. "John says it does."
+
+"Yes," replied Miss Harson; "it has tiny three-cornered nuts which seem
+particularly small for so large a tree. But these nuts are eagerly
+devoured by pigeons, partridges and squirrels. Bears are said to be very
+fond of them, and swine fatten very rapidly upon them. Most varieties
+are so small as not to repay the trouble of gathering, drying and
+opening them. Fortunately, this is not the case with all, as it is a
+delicious nut. In France the beech-nut is much used for making oil,
+which is highly valued for burning in lamps and for cooking. In parts of
+the same country the nuts, roasted, serve as a substitute for coffee."
+
+"I'd like to find some when they're ripe," said Clara, "if they _are_
+little."
+
+"We will have a search for them, then," was the reply, "when the time
+comes.--The flowers which produce these little nuts are very showy and
+grow in roundish tassels, or heads, which hang by thread-like, silky
+stalks, one or two inches long, from the midst of the young leaves of a
+newly-opened bud. A traveler says of these leaves, 'We used always to
+think that the most luxurious and refreshing bed was that which prevails
+universally in Italy, and which consists entirely of a pile of
+mattresses filled with the luxuriant spathe of the Indian corn; which
+beds have the advantage of being soft as well as elastic, and we have
+always found the sleep enjoyed on them to be particularly sound and
+restorative. But the beds made of beech-leaves are really no whit behind
+them in these qualities, whilst the fragrant smell of green tea, which
+the leaves retain, is most gratifying. The objection to them is the
+slight crackling noise which the leaves occasion as the individual turns
+in bed, but this is no inconvenience at all; or if so in any degree, it
+is an inconvenience which is overbalanced by the advantages of this most
+luxurious couch."
+
+"But how funny," said Malcolm, "to sleep on leaves! That's what the
+Babes in the Wood did."
+
+"No," replied Clara, very earnestly, "they didn't sleep _on_ leaves, you
+know; but when they had laid down and gone to sleep, the robins came and
+covered them with leaves."
+
+"Yes," chimed in little Edith; "I like that way best, because they'd be
+so cold in the woods."
+
+"And that really was the case," said Miss Harson, after listening with a
+smile to this discussion, "although there were probably leaves on the
+ground for the children to lie upon. A bed of leaves is not a bad thing
+where there are no mattresses, and such a bed is often used as a matter
+of course. You will remember my reading to you about the beds which the
+Finland mothers make for their children of the leaves of the
+canoe-birch. 'Leafy beds' are no strange thing--not mere poetry."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+_THE TENT AND THE LOCUSTS_.
+
+There came a bright balmy day in May when the children found a
+delightful surprise awaiting them. The tent in the woods, which had been
+proposed on the day when birch-twigs were found to be eatable, was
+almost forgotten--or if thought of, it was as a thing that could not
+possibly be--when, on the day in question, Miss Harson took her charges
+out as usual, and led them to a very pretty cleared space with a fringe
+of rocks and trees all around it. But on this spot, which hitherto had
+been quite bare, there now stood some sort of a little house different
+from other houses and quite pretty.
+
+"It's a tent!" exclaimed Malcolm. "Who put it there, I should like to
+know, on _our_ land?"
+
+"Are there gypsies here, Miss Harson?" whispered Clara, rather
+fearfully.
+
+But the young lady walked deliberately up to the entrance of the tent
+and invited her little flock to come inside.
+
+"I know the gentleman who had it put here," she said, "and he is quite
+willing that we should use it; but he will not give any one else
+this liberty."
+
+"I think I know him too," said Malcolm as he walked in after Miss
+Harson.
+
+"And I!"--"And I!" exclaimed the little girls. "It is our own papa. How
+very kind of him!"
+
+"Yes," replied their governess; "he said, when I spoke of a tent, that
+it would be a good thing for the wood-ramblers to have a place of
+shelter when they were over-taken by a sudden shower, and also a place
+in which to rest comfortably when they were tired; and this pretty tent,
+you see, is all ready for us at any time."
+
+It was a very nice tent indeed, having a long cushioned seat inside, two
+little rocking-chairs that were at once appropriated, a small table, and
+a bracket with books on it. On the table there was a round basket of
+oranges, which made every one thirsty at once.
+
+"I do believe," said Malcolm, suddenly, "that it's made of
+India-rubber."
+
+"Not the orange, I hope?" replied Miss Harson, while the little sisters
+looked up in surprise.
+
+An India-rubber orange was a thing to be laughed at, though not to be
+eaten, and the children were in such a state of glee over this pleasant
+surprise that they were ready to laugh almost at nothing.
+
+Presently their governess said,
+
+"Malcolm means the tent, of course; and he is quite right, for the
+covering is India-rubber cloth."
+
+"But why isn't it dark and ugly, like the waterproofs?" was the next
+question.
+
+"Simply because it need not be so, and it is prettier to have it white
+or of this pale gray. But these shades are too conspicuous for overshoes
+or waterproof cloaks, so the latter are made as dark as possible. The
+caoutchoue, you know, is naturally white or very light colored."
+
+"How do they make the cloth?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"It is first made as cloth," was the reply; "then a thin coating of
+India-rubber is spread over two layers of it. The cloth is then put
+together and pressed between rollers, so that the two pieces firmly
+adhere, with the caoutchoue between them. No rain can penetrate such a
+screen as this,"
+
+It was delightful to know that they would be safe and dry in case of a
+shower, and the children thought it must be just the prettiest tent that
+ever was made. The cushioned seat was covered with scarlet, and so were
+the little chairs, which Clara and Edith knew were meant for them; the
+edges of the cloth were scalloped with the same bright color, and there
+was even a rug to match spread in front of the "divan," as Miss Harson
+laughingly said the cushioned seat must be called.
+
+"Haven't we 'most come to the end of the trees?" asked Clara. "I never
+thought that there were so many different kinds,"
+
+"Look around and see if you feel acquainted with them all," replied her
+governess.
+
+They had left the tent after quite a long "sitting," and were now on
+their way to the house.
+
+Clara's first glance, on doing as she had been directed, fell on three
+trees by the side of a fence, that were different from any they had
+yet studied.
+
+"What do you notice about them?" continued Miss Harson; "for I wish you
+to use your own eyes and thoughts as much as possible."
+
+"Why, the trunk is dark gray, and it isn't smooth, but it looks as if
+some one had dug out long, thin pieces of bark."
+
+"We will call it 'deeply furrowed,'" said her governess, "as that is a
+better expression; but your description is very good indeed."
+
+"The leaves are ever so pretty," said Malcolm--"so many of 'em on one
+stem!--and the green looks as if it was just made."
+
+"You mean by that, I suppose," replied Miss Harson, "that it is a very
+fresh tint; and we are seeing it in its first beauty now. This is the
+locust tree, and May is its time for leafing out in the tenderest of
+greens. The pinnate--from _pinna_, Latin for feather'--leaves are
+composed of from nine to twenty-five leaflets, which are egg-shaped,
+with a short point, very smooth, light green above and still lighter
+beneath. These leaves are much liked by cattle, and they are said to be
+very nutritious to them."
+
+[Illustration: FOLIAGE OF HONEY-LOCUST.]
+
+"How can you remember everything so, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm, lost
+in wonder, as the young lady, looking up at the trees, said these things
+as if they had been written there. John had declared that she talked
+like a book, and this seemed more like it than ever.
+
+"Oh no," was the laughing reply; "I do not remember _everything_,
+Malcolm, and perhaps it is just as well that I do not. But I will not
+tax my memory any more about the locust just now; we can take it up
+again this evening."
+
+"I should like to know," exclaimed Clara, after some thought, "why a
+tree is called _locust_, when a locust is such a disagreeable insect?"
+
+"I am afraid that I cannot tell you," replied Miss Harson, "unless the
+color of the leaves is similar to that of the 'disagreeable insect,'
+which is really very handsome, or unless the insects are very partial to
+the tree; I have seen no explanation of it. But the tree itself is very
+much admired, with its profusion of pinnate leaves and racemes of
+flowers that fill the air with the most agreeable odors."
+
+"What color are the flowers, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"This description will tell you," was the reply. "The tree is not pretty
+in winter, and has no promise of beauty until 'May hangs on these
+withered boughs a green drapery that hides all their deformity; she
+infuses into their foliage a perfection of verdure that no other tree
+can rival, and a beauty in the forms of its leaves that renders it one
+of the chief ornaments of the groves and waysides. June weaves into this
+green foliage pendent clusters of flowers of mingled brown and white,
+filling the air with fragrance and enticing the bee with odors as sweet
+as from groves of citron and myrtle.'"
+
+"That sounds pretty," said Clara, who liked imposing sentences, "but
+brown and white are not very handsome colors for flowers."
+
+"The white is certainly prettier without the mixture of brown," replied
+her governess, "but we have to take our flowers ready-made, and can
+hardly expect them to be beautiful and fragrant too. The separate
+blossoms are shaped like those of the pea and bean; they hang in long
+clusters somewhat resembling bunches of grapes. The leaves--or, rather,
+leaflets--are very sensitive and have a habit of folding over one
+another in wet and dull weather, and also in the night--a habit that is
+peculiar to all the members of the acacia family, to which the
+locust belongs."
+
+"I should think it ought to belong to the pea family," said Malcolm, "if
+the flowers are shaped like pea-blossoms."
+
+"So it does," replied Miss Harson--"or, rather, to the bean family, of
+which the pea is a member, on account of its blossoms; but the acacia,
+like many others, is a brother, or sister, on account of its leaves as
+well as its blossoms. The peculiar distinction of this family is that
+its flowers are butterfly-shaped or its fruit in pods, and it often
+possesses both these characters. By one or the other all the plants of
+the family are known, and the butterfly-shaped flowers are of a
+character not to be mistaken, as they are found in no other family. It
+includes herbs, shrubs and trees--an immense and perfectly natural
+family, distributed throughout almost every part of the globe. There are
+at present in all not less than thirty-seven hundred species. So you see
+that the locust tree is certainly rich in relations."
+
+The children thought that it must have some family claim on almost
+every plant in the world.
+
+[Illustration: CAROB TREE AND FRUIT.]
+
+"Do you remember that in the story of the Prodigal Son, told by our
+Lord, it is said that the bad son became so poor that he wanted to eat
+the 'husks' that the swine ate? Those 'husks' were the fruit of a Syrian
+member of this family. The tree is the carob tree, of which you have
+here a picture--a fine large tree bearing a sweet pod containing the
+seeds. I have seen these pods for sale in this country, and foolishly
+called St. John's bread, as if the 'locusts' eaten by John the Baptist
+were pods of a locust tree, and not insect locusts."
+
+"Yes," said Malcolm, "I have tasted those pods, and they are real sweet;
+but I wouldn't care to make a breakfast from them."
+
+"I like calling the flowers 'butterfly-shaped,'" said Clara, "because
+that is just what the pea and bean-blossoms look like; though Kitty
+calls 'em 'little ladies in hoods.' Isn't that funny, Miss Harson?"
+
+"It is very quaint, I think, but I do not dislike it: it is like seeing
+faces in pansies; and some people are full of these odd imaginations.
+There is a kind of locust, called the clammy-barked, found in the
+Southern parts of the United States, which is a smaller tree than the
+common locust and has large pale-pink flowers, while the rose acacia is
+a very beautiful flowering shrub. The sweet, or honey, locust is
+another variety, which is also called the three-thorned acacia, because
+the thorns consist of one long spine with two shorter ones projecting
+out of it, like little branches, near its base. This is said to display
+much of the elegance of the tropical acacia in the minute division and
+symmetry of its compound leaves. These are of a light and brilliant
+green and lie flat upon the branches, giving them a fan-like appearance
+such as we observe in the hemlock."
+
+"But why is it called honey-locust?" asked Malcolm. "Do the bees make
+honey in the trunk?"
+
+"No," replied his governess; "the name comes from the sweetness of the
+pulp around the seeds, which ripen in large flat pods, and of which boys
+and girls are fond. But the flowers of this species are only small
+greenish aments. Locust-wood is very durable, and, as it will bear
+exposure to all kinds of weather, it is much used in shipbuilding and as
+posts for gates. It is thought that the shittah and shittim wood of the
+Bible, of which Moses made the greater part of the tables, altars and
+planks of the tabernacle, was the same as the black acacia found in the
+deserts of Arabia and about Mount Sinai and the mountains which border
+on the Red Sea, and is so hard and solid as to be almost incorruptible.
+
+"And now," added Miss Harson, "reading of the numerous relations of the
+locust, considering that 'the acacia, not less valued for its airy
+foliage and elegant blossoms than for its hard and durable wood; the
+braziletto, logwood and rosewoods of commerce; the laburnum; the furze
+and the broom, both the pride of the otherwise dreary heaths of Europe;
+the bean, the pea, the vetch, the clover, the trefoil, the lucerne--all
+staple articles of culture by the farmer--are so many species of
+Leguminosae, and that the gums Arabic and Senegal, kino and various
+precious medicinal drugs, not to mention indigo, the most useful of all
+dyes, are products of other species,--it will be perceived that it would
+be difficult to point out an order with greater claims upon the
+attention.'"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+_THE WALNUT FAMILY AND THE AILANTHUS_.
+
+"The walnut family," said Miss Harson, "with the ugly name
+_Juglandaceae_, are distinguished by pinnate, or compound, leaves, which
+have an aromatic odor when crushed, and by blossoms in catkins. Of these
+trees, the black walnut is one of the handsomest and most
+highly prized."
+
+"Are there any of them here?" asked Malcolm.
+
+[Illustration: THE WALNUT TREE.]
+
+"No," was the reply; "I do not think you have ever seen one. They are
+more common in the western part of the Middle States and in the Western
+States; in Ohio particularly they grow to a very large size. Solitary
+trees are sometimes seen in this part of the country, and the branches,
+extending themselves horizontally to a great distance, spread out into a
+spacious head, which gives them a very majestic appearance. The trunk
+is rough and furrowed, and the leaves have from six to ten pairs of
+leaflets and an odd one. They are smooth, strongly serrated and rather
+pointed; the color is a light, bright green. The catkins are green, from
+four to seven inches long, and hang from the axils of the last year's
+leaves. The leaves are much longer than those of the locust, and the
+leaf-stalk is downy. The nut, which is very oily, is shaped like an
+English walnut, but resembles it in no other way, as the shell is very
+thick and dark-colored. When thoroughly dried, the black walnut is very
+much liked--as I think some witnesses here could testify--and is used in
+making candy."
+
+"And just the nicest kind of candy, too," said the children, with one
+voice.
+
+Their governess smiled, for this was very much her own opinion.
+
+"You do not know," she continued, "how strangely these nuts grow. They
+have an outer husk, or rind, which when green is hard and has a very
+pleasant smell; the tree then seems to be covered with green balls. As
+the nuts ripen this outer part becomes so dark that it is almost black
+and grows soft and spongy. A rich brown dye is made from it.
+Black-walnut wood has long been famous for its beauty, and it grows
+deeper and darker with age. It is handsomely shaded and takes a fine
+polish, and this, with its durability, makes it very valuable for
+furniture. Posts made of it will last a long time, and it can be put to
+almost any use for which hard-wood is available.
+
+"The walnut tree has a great variety of good qualities in addition to
+its fine appearance and generous shade. From the kernel a valuable oil
+may be obtained for use in cookery and in lamps. Bread has also been
+made from the kernels. The spongy husk of the nuts is used as dyestuff.
+It thus unites almost all the qualities desirable in a tree--beauty,
+gracefulness and richness of foliage in every period of its growth; bark
+and husks which may be employed in an important art; fruit valuable as
+food; wood unsurpassed in durability and in elegance."
+
+"I like English walnuts," said Clara, "they have such thin, pretty
+shells; and papa, you know, can open them in just two halves with
+a knife."
+
+"Once," said Miss Harson, "I had a little bag sent to me made of two
+very large walnut shells with blue silk between, and in this bag there
+was a pair of kid gloves rolled up very tight."
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed the children. It sounded like a fairy-tale, but they
+knew that it was true, because Miss Harson said that it had really
+happened. They were very much surprised, though, that a bag could be
+made of nutshells, and that a pair of gloves could be crowded into so
+small a compass.
+
+"Did it come from England?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"No," replied his governess; "it was sent to me from the island of
+Madeira, where these nuts grow so abundantly that they have often been
+called Madeira-nuts. It also grows abundantly in Europe, and the nuts
+are used for dessert, pickling, and many other purposes, while the
+poorer classes often depend largely on them for food."
+
+"Do they eat 'em instead of bread?" asked Edith. "I'd like that; they're
+ever so much nicer!"
+
+"Perhaps you would not think so if you had hardly anything else to eat;
+you would get tired of them then. In many places on the continent of
+Europe the roads are lined with walnut trees for miles together, and in
+the proper season the people may feast upon the fruit as much as they
+like. A person, it is said, once traveled from Florence to Geneva and
+ate nothing by the way but walnuts; but I must say that I should not
+like to do it. One species bears a nut as large as an egg; but if kept
+any time, it will shrink to half its natural size. The shell of this
+great walnut, we are told, is sometimes used for making little
+ornamental boxes to hold gloves and small fancy-articles; so you see
+that mine was not the only glove-bag made of two walnut-shells."
+
+"How pretty they must be!" said Clara. "I should like to see one."
+
+"I think that I can make one when I get a large nut, and I shall be glad
+to show you how it is done."
+
+This was a delightful prospect, and the children volunteered to save for
+that especial purpose all the large nuts they could find.
+
+"The English walnut tree," continued Miss Harson, "is a native of
+Persia or the North of China, and the long pinnated leaves seem to mark
+its Oriental origin; but it has taken very kindly to its European home.
+In some parts of Germany the walnut trees were considered to be such a
+valuable possession that no young man was allowed to marry until he
+owned a certain number; and if one tree was cut down, another was
+always planted."
+
+"Don't they grow in this country?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Not very often in our more northern States," was the reply, "for the
+climate here is too cold for them; but at a house where I visited there
+was an English walnut tree in the garden, and it seemed to do very well.
+The nuts were always gathered while they were green, and made
+into pickles."
+
+This was considered quite dreadful, for ripe nuts were certainly a great
+deal better than pickles.
+
+"But there was a great deal of uncertainty about having the ripe nuts,
+for there were bad boys all around who would not have hesitated to rob
+the tree. Besides, pickled walnuts are considered a great delicacy by
+those who eat such things. There are some other ways, too, of using the
+nuts, which you would not like any better. One of these is to make them
+into oil, as the people do in the South of Europe; this oil is used to
+burn in their lamps and as an article of food. 'In Piedmont, among the
+light-hearted peasantry, cracking the walnuts and taking them from the
+shell is a holiday proceeding. The peasants, with their wives and
+children, assemble in the evening, after their day's work is over, in
+the kitchen of some château where the walnuts have been gathered, and
+where their services are required. They sit round a table, and at each
+end is a man with a small mallet, who cracks the walnuts and passes them
+on; the rest of the party take them out of their shells. At supper-time
+the table is cleared, and a repast of dried fruit, vegetables and wine
+is set out. The remainder of the evening is spent in singing and
+dancing. The crushing and pressing of the nuts, for oil, take place
+when the whole harvest is in.'"
+
+"But don't walnuts come from California? Our grocer said he had
+California nuts," remarked Malcolm.
+
+"Yes; that wonderful country is beginning to supply us with English
+walnuts."
+
+"Are you going to tell us a story, Miss Harson?" asked Edith, hopefully.
+
+"I have no story, dear," was the reply, "but there is something here
+which you may like about birds stealing the nuts."
+
+Of course they would like this; for if there was to be no story, birds
+and stealing promised to furnish a good substitute.
+
+"'Birds are as fond of walnuts as we are,'" read Miss Harson, "'and rob
+the trees without any mercy. Not only the little titmouse, but the grave
+and solemn rook'--a kind of crow, you remember--'is not above paying a
+visit to the walnut tree and stealing all he can find. There is a walnut
+tree growing in a garden the owner of which may be said to have planted
+it for the benefit of the rooks. Not that he had any such purpose, but,
+as it happens, he cannot help himself. The rooks begin a series of
+robberies as soon as the fruit is ripe, and carry them on with an
+adroitness that would be amusing but for the result. As many as fifty
+rooks come, one after the other, and each will carry off a walnut. The
+old ones are the most at home in the process, and the most daring. The
+bird approaches the tree and floats for a second in the air, as if
+occupied in finding out which of the walnuts will be the easiest to
+obtain; then, with a bold stroke, he darts at the one selected, and
+rarely misses his aim.
+
+"'The young rooks are much more timid and not so successful. They settle
+on the branch and knock down a great many walnuts in their clumsy
+attempts to secure one. Even when the walnut has been obtained, the
+young rook is not sure of his prize: one of his older and stronger
+brethren is very likely to attack him and knock the walnut out of his
+bill. Then, by a dextrous swoop, the robber catches it up before it
+reaches the ground, and carries it off in triumph. The feasting ground
+of the rooks is the next field, and here they come to eat their walnuts.
+They crack the shell with their beaks and devour the kernel with great
+relish. Then, when one walnut is finished, they fly back to the tree for
+another. There is no chance for the owner of the garden, who does not
+think it worth while even to shake his tree: he knows there will not be
+a single walnut left.'"
+
+"I should think not, with those greedy creatures," exclaimed Malcolm.
+"Why doesn't the man shoot 'em?"
+
+"He probably thinks it would be of little use, when there are such
+numbers of the birds; besides, he may prefer losing his walnuts to
+disturbing them, for rooks are treated with great consideration in
+England, and there is no such wholesale destruction of birds as is
+seen here."
+
+The rooks were certainly very comical, and the children thought this
+little account of their antics over the walnut tree the next best thing
+to a story.
+
+"Another fine shade-tree," continued Miss Harson, "and one very much
+like the black walnut, is the butternut, or oil-nut, tree. It is low
+and broad-headed, spreading into several large branches; the leaves are
+pinnate, like those of the walnut, but have not so many leaflets. The
+nut has an entirely different taste, and is even more oily. To many
+persons it is not at all agreeable. It is a great favorite, though, with
+country-boys, and in October, when the kernel is ripe, they may be seen
+with deeply-stained hands and faces, as the thin, leathery husks when
+handled leave plentiful traces. The butternut is not round like the
+walnut, but oblong, and pointed at the end; it is about two inches in
+length and marked by deep furrows and sharp irregular ridges. It is very
+pretty when sawn across in slices, and looks like scroll-saw work.--We
+shall have to get some, Malcolm, for you to practice on with your saw."
+
+[Illustration: THE BUTTERNUT TREE.]
+
+As his scroll-saw was just then the delight of Malcolm's heart, he felt
+particularly interested in butternuts, and immediately mapped out in his
+mind something very beautiful to be wrought with them for his governess.
+
+"The bark and the nutshells have long been used to give a brown color to
+wool, and the Shakers dye a rich purple with it. The bark of the trunk
+will give a black and that of the root a fawn-colored dye, while an
+inferior sugar has been made from the sap. The young half-grown nuts are
+much used for pickles. Butternut-wood is exceedingly handsome, of a
+pale, reddish tint, and durable when exposed to heat and moisture. It
+makes beautiful fronts for drawers and excellent light, tough and
+durable wooden bowls. It is also used for the panels of carriages, as
+well as for posts and rails. It is a more common tree than the walnut in
+our part of the country; there is a large one in front of a house a few
+miles from here which I will show you on our next drive."
+
+"I am glad of it," said Clara, "for I can remember about the trees so
+much better when I have seen them. I wish we could see every one of the
+trees you have told us of, Miss Harson."
+
+"Perhaps you will some day," replied her governess, "and you will then
+find that a little knowledge of them before-hand is a great help."
+
+"Are there any more of the walnut family?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Yes, the hickory belongs to it; and this is a tree which is peculiar to
+America. The European walnut is more like it than any other. It is
+always a stately and elegant tree and very valuable for its timber.
+There are several varieties, which are much alike, the principal
+difference being in the nuts. You have all seen most of the trees and
+gathered the nuts. They are:
+
+"1. The shellbark, with five large leaflets, a large nut, of which the
+husk is deeply grooved at the seams, and a rough, scaly trunk.
+
+"2. The mocker-nut, with seven or nine leaflets, a hard, thick-shelled
+nut, and leaflets and twigs very downy when young, and strongly odorous.
+
+"3. The pignut, with three, five or seven narrow leaflets, small,
+thin-shelled fruit and a pretty hard nut.
+
+"4. The bitternut, with seven, nine or eleven small, narrow, serrated
+leaves, small fruit with long, prominent seams, bitter and thin-shelled
+nuts and very yellow buds.
+
+"The shellbark is often called 'shagbark,' and it is the finest of the
+hickories and one that is seldom mistaken for any of the others. It may
+readily be distinguished by the shaggy bark of its trunk, the excellence
+of its globular fruit, its leaves, which are large and have five
+leaflets, and by its ovate, half-covered buds. It is a tall, slender
+tree with irregular branches, and the foliage seems to lie in masses of
+dense, dark green. But in October, when the nuts ripen, the leaves turn
+to orange-brown, and finally to the color of a russet apple; so that
+they do not add greatly to the beauty of the forest."
+
+"But the nuts are good," said Malcolm. "Didn't we have fine times
+picking 'em up?"
+
+"We did indeed," replied Miss Harson, "and I hope we shall again."
+
+"How long will it be before they are ripe?" asked the little girls.
+
+"Just about five months, I think."
+
+"Oh dear!" was the reply; "that's _so_ long to wait!"
+
+"But you needn't wait," said their governess; "you can enjoy each season
+as it comes, and all the good things that our heavenly Father sends with
+it. Remember that, as you cannot expect ripe nuts in May or June,
+neither can you look for strawberries and roses in October. Tents are of
+very little use then, too."
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed the children, to whom the tent was still a delightful
+novelty; and they decided not to wish just yet for nutting-time to come.
+
+"The nut, as you have so often seen, is covered with a brown husk that
+is very thick and marked with four furrows, by which it separates into
+as many distinct pieces, one being larger than the rest. The nuts
+differ very much in size and shape, and also in hardness, but the best
+kinds have thin shells and soft kernels; they are also rounder and
+fuller than the poorer sorts. There is a peculiar sweetness in the taste
+of this nut when in its best condition, and it is quite equal to the
+European walnut. The wood of this tree is particularly valuable for
+fuel, and in old times, when wood-fires were the only kind known, a good
+hickory back-log was sure to be found on every hearth. It is the
+heaviest of our native woods, and the wise men say that it yields, pound
+for pound or cord for cord, more heat than any other, in any shape in
+which it may be consumed."
+
+"But what a pity," said Clara, "to burn up trees that bear nuts! Why
+can't they take those that don't?"
+
+"They are not so desirable for fuel," was the reply; "and when people
+own trees which they are willing to turn into money, they generally
+consider in what way they can get the most for them. Nuts which grow in
+the woods and fields are a very uncertain crop, of which every one
+seems to gather more than the owner, and it is therefore more profitable
+for him to cut his trees down and sell them for their wood, which the
+people in the cities and towns are so glad to get."
+
+"What's the use," asked Malcolm, "of calling a tree such a name as
+_mocker-nut_? What does it mean?"
+
+"That is just what I have not been able to find out," replied Miss
+Harson, "but it has an Indian sound, and it seems that the Indians used
+to make a black dye from the bark; so we will give them the credit for
+it. The name is not often used, for the tree is generally known as the
+white walnut. The nut is the largest of the hickories, being often from
+four to six inches around, and it is shaped somewhat like a pear. One
+variety, however, is known as the square nut. The shell is very thick
+and hard, but the kernel is sweet when once it is gotten out. This tree
+is as stately and finely-shaped as the shagbark. It varies from the
+other hickories in the number of its leaflets, which are seven or nine,
+the down on its leaves and recent shoots, the hardness of the husk and
+thickness of the nut, the roundness of its large covered buds, and the
+strong resinous odor in leaves, buds and husks. In its general
+appearance it resembles the shellbark, as well as in the fullness of its
+foliage and the size of its leaves. 'White-heart hickory' is a name
+often given to this species, because the wood is supposed, when young,
+to be whiter than that of any of the others,"
+
+"_Pignut_ is another beautiful name," said Malcolm, who was disposed to
+be critical. "Do pigs ever eat the nuts, Miss Harson?"
+
+"I dare say that they do when they have the chance," was the reply, "as
+they delight in nuts; but that is said not to be the proper name for the
+species. Some of the nuts are shaped like a fresh fig, and 'fig-nut'
+seems to be the name originally intended. But there is a great variety
+in the shape of the nuts, as some are nearly round and others very
+irregular. They are alike, however, in having very hard, tough shells,
+and the kernel is not pleasant enough to repay the trouble of getting
+at it. These nuts are very apt to grow in pairs, and several bushels of
+them can be gathered from one tree."
+
+"Aren't they good to eat?" asked Clara.
+
+"Not at all good," replied her governess, "except to those who are not
+particular about what they eat; and this may be the reason for calling
+them 'pignuts,'"
+
+"_Bitternut_ doesn't sound much better," said Malcolm, again. "I wonder
+what that species has to say for itself?"
+
+"Not very much, I am afraid, for it is sometimes called the bitter
+pignut, and even boys will not eat it, while squirrels refuse to feed on
+it when any other nut can be found. The shell of this nut is so thin
+that it can be broken in the fingers, but, as no one cares to break it,
+it is safer than many a thicker shell. It is intensely bitter, and well
+deserves its name. The tree, however, is handsome and the most graceful
+of all the hickories; the small, slender leaves give it the look of an
+ash, and the trunk is smoother than that of most large trees. In summer
+the finely-cut foliage is of a bright green, and in autumn it changes
+to a rich orange, which lasts after the other species have become russet
+and brown."
+
+"Is there anything more about hickory trees?" said Clara.
+
+"Only to speak of the great value of the wood," replied Miss Harson.
+"Its uses are almost endless. Great numbers of walking-sticks are made
+of it, as for this purpose no other native wood equals it in beauty and
+strength. It is next in value to white oak for making hoops; it makes
+the best screws, the smoothest and most durable handles for chisels,
+augurs, gimlets, axes, and many other common tools. As fuel, hickory is
+preferred to every other wood, burning freely, making a pleasant,
+brilliant fire and throwing out great heat. Charcoal made from it is
+heavier than that made from any other wood, but it is not considered
+more valuable than that of birch or alder. The ashes of hickories abound
+in alkali, and are considered better for the purpose of making soap than
+any other of the native woods, being next to those of the apple tree."
+
+"There, Clara!" said Malcolm; "you see now why people cut down hickory
+trees. The nuts are nowhere, with all these other things."
+
+"We have finished the walnut family," said Miss Harson, "but there is a
+tree that I wish to speak of here because of its long pinnate leaves,
+which appear to connect it with the walnuts and hickories. This is the
+ailanthus, a large tree which you have often seen in the village, and
+which used to be popular as a shade-tree. It is very clean-looking, for
+the only insect that will eat its leaves is the silkworm."
+
+"Oh, Miss Harson!" exclaimed the children. "Are there real silkworms on
+'em? and can we see 'em?"
+
+"Why, do you not remember our talk about silkworms?" replied their
+governess. "I am sure I told you that they would not live here in the
+open air, but they do in China; and the ailanthus is a Chinese tree. It
+was planted in Great Britain over a hundred years ago for the express
+purpose of feeding silkworms, because a species of silkworm which was
+known to be hardy and capable of forming its cocoons in the English
+climate is attached to this tree and feeds upon its leaves. It was not
+successful, however, for silkworms, but as a stately and ornamental tree
+with tropical-looking foliage it was much admired. The ailanthus is
+quite common in this country as a wayside tree. It possesses a good deal
+of beauty, from the size and graceful sweep of its large compound
+leaves, that retain their brightness and verdure after midsummer, when
+our native trees have become dull. These leaves have nine or ten
+leaflets as large as a beech-leaf."
+
+"Isn't that the tree that smells so in summer?" asked Clara, with a
+disgusted face.
+
+"Yes; the greenish flowers have a particularly disagreeable odor, which
+is very strong and penetrating, and this is probably the reason why the
+tree has lost favor in so many places. But this is only during the
+season of blossoming, and for several months it is a beautiful
+Oriental-looking tree with every leaf perfect, while nearly all other
+foliage is more or less ravaged by insects."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+_SOME BEAUTIFUL TREES: THE CHESTNUT AND HORSE-CHESTNUT._
+
+The nearest trees to the tent, and standing just back of it, were two
+magnificent chestnuts, now in full leaf-beauty; and Miss Harson and her
+little flock stood admiring their majestic size and beautiful color.
+
+"These are the handsomest trees yet," said Malcolm.
+
+"I almost think so myself," replied his governess, gazing up into the
+rich green depths, "and I wish you particularly to notice these
+radiated--or star-like--tufts of foliage. The leaves, you see, are long,
+lengthened to a tapering point, serrated--or notched like a saw--at the
+edge, and of a bright and nearly pure green. Though arranged
+alternately, like those of the beech, on the recent branches, they are
+clustered in stars containing from five to seven leaves on the fruitful
+branches that grow out from the perfected wood. Now stand off a little
+and see how the foliage seems to be all in tufts, each composed of
+several long, pointed leaves drooping from the centre. The aments, too,
+with their light silvery-green tint, glisten beautifully on the
+darker leaves."
+
+"How high do you think these trees are, Miss Harson?" asked Clara. "It
+makes me dizzy to look up to the top."
+
+[Illustration: LEAF OF THE CHESTNUT.]
+
+"They can be scarcely less than ninety feet," was the reply, "and they
+are very fine specimens of the family; but the great chestnut which is
+the only tree in the field on the left of the house is broader. It
+spreads out like an apple tree, because it has abundance of room, and it
+is nearly as broad as it is high."
+
+"And aren't its chestnuts just splendid?" exclaimed Malcolm--"the
+biggest we find anywhere."
+
+[Illustration: THE CHESTNUT TREE.]
+
+"The bark, you see," continued his governess, "is very dark-colored,
+hard and rugged, with long, deep clefts. In smaller and younger trees it
+is smooth. I suppose I need not tell you that the fruit is within a burr
+covered with sharp, stiff bristles which are not handled with impunity.
+It opens by four valves more than halfway down when ripe, and contains
+the nuts, from one to three in number, in a downy cup. These green burrs
+are very ornamental to the tree; and when they are ripe, the green takes
+on a yellow tinge."
+
+"You didn't say anything about the cunning little tails of the nuts,
+Miss Harson," said Edith, in a disappointed tone. "I think they're the
+prettiest part, and they stick up in the burr like little mice-tails."
+
+"Well, dear," was the smiling reply, "_you_ have told us about them, and
+I think you have given a very good description. That is just what they
+always reminded me of when I was about your age--little mice-tails."
+
+Edith looked pleased and shy, and she did not mind Malcolm's laughing at
+her "little tails," because Miss Harson used to think the same as she
+did about them.
+
+"This beautiful tree came from Asia, and it belongs to the _Castanea_
+family, the Greeks having given it that name from a town in Pontus where
+they obtained it. It was transplanted into the North and West, and is
+now found in most temperate regions. The wood of the chestnut is very
+valuable, as it is strong, elastic and durable, and is often used as a
+substitute for oak and pine. It makes very beautiful furniture."
+
+"What kind of chestnuts," asked Clara, "are those great big ones, like
+horse-chestnuts, that they have in some of the stores? Are they good
+to eat?"
+
+"Yes," replied Miss Harson; "they are particularly good, and many people
+in the southern countries of Europe almost live on them. They are three
+or four times larger than our nuts, these Spanish and Italian chestnuts,
+and they are eaten instead of bread and potatoes by the peasantry of
+Spain and Italy. The Spanish chestnut is one of the most stately of
+European trees, and sometimes it is found growing in our own country,
+but never in the woods. It is carefully planted and cultivated as an
+ornamental tree for private grounds. And now," added the young lady, "as
+we have sufficiently examined our American chestnut trees and it is
+rather damp and cool to-day for tent-life, suppose we return to the
+house and get better acquainted with the foreign chestnuts?"
+
+Edith asked if there was to be a story, but she did not complain when
+Miss Harson thought not, only an account of a very large tree; for the
+children always felt quite sure that there would be something which they
+would like to hear.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The evening was damp, and Clara said that, the schoolroom looked like a
+mixture of summer and winter. The fire was both pleasant and
+comfortable, but there were lilacs and tulips and hyacinths and plenty
+of wild flowers in vases and baskets; the leaves were all out on the
+trees by the windows, and the grass was like velvet.
+
+"One of the largest trees in the world, if not the largest," said Miss
+Harson, "is a chestnut tree on the side of Mount Etna, in Sicily, which
+abounds with chestnut trees of giant proportions and remarkable beauty.
+It is called 'The Chestnut Tree of a Hundred Horses,' and this title is
+said to have originated in a report that a queen of Aragon once took
+shelter under its branches attended by her principal nobility, all of
+whom found refuge from a violent storm under the spreading boughs of the
+tree. At one time it was supposed that the tree really consisted of a
+clump of several united, but this is not the case; for on digging away
+the earth the root was found entire, and at no great depth. Five
+enormous branches rise from the trunk, the outside surface of each being
+covered with bark, while on the inside is none. The verdure and the
+support of the tree thus depend on the outer bark alone. The intervals
+between the branches are of various extent, one of them being sufficient
+to allow two carriages to drive abreast. In the middle cavity--or what
+is called the hollow--of the tree a hut has been built for the use of
+persons employed in collecting and preserving the fruit. They dry the
+chestnuts in an oven, and then make them into various conserves for
+sale. A whole caravan of men and animals were once accommodated in the
+enclosure, and also a flock of sheep folded there. The age of this
+prodigious tree must be very great indeed. It belongs to the tribe
+which bears sweet, or edible, chestnuts, that form an agreeable article
+of food. The foliage is rich, shadowy and beautiful.
+
+"The wood of the chestnut is much used in England for hop-poles, and old
+houses in London are floored or wainscoted with it. The beautiful roof
+of Westminster Abbey is made of chestnut wood.
+
+"There are magnificent forests of Spanish chestnuts in the Apennines,
+and it was the favorite tree of the great painter Salvator Rosa, who
+spent much time studying the beautiful play of light and shade on its
+foliage. The peasants make a gala-time of gathering and preparing the
+nuts. A traveler, having penetrated the extensive forest which covers
+the Vallombrosan Apennines for nearly five miles, came unexpectedly upon
+those festive scenes, which are not unfrequent among the chestnut-range.
+It was a holiday, and a group of peasants dressed in the gay and
+picturesque attire of the neighborhood of the Arno were dancing in an
+open and level space covered with smooth turf and surrounded with
+magnificent chestnuts, while the inmost recesses of the forest resounded
+with their mirth and minstrelsy. Some beat down the chestnuts with
+sticks and filled baskets with them, which they emptied from time to
+time; others, stretched listlessly upon the turf, picked out the
+contents of the bristling capsules in which the kernels were entrenched,
+for these, when newly gathered, are sweet and nutritious; others again,
+and especially young peasant-girls, pelted their companions with
+the fruit."
+
+"Like snowballing," said Malcolm; "only the prickers must have stung.
+What grand times they had with their chestnuting!"
+
+"These gay, thoughtless people," replied his governess, "almost live in
+the open air and enjoy the present moment. It is not easy to tell what
+they would do without these bountiful chestnut-harvests, for their
+principal article of food is a thick porridge called _polenta_, which
+they make from the ground nuts. In France a kind of cake is made from
+the same material, and the chestnuts are prepared by drying them in
+smoke. Another dish is like mashed potatoes, and large quantities are
+exported in the shape of sweetmeats, made by dipping them, after
+boiling, into clarified sugar and drying them."
+
+"Miss Harson," asked Clara, "why are horse-chestnuts _called_
+'horse-chestnuts '? Do horses like 'em?"
+
+"Not usually," was the reply. "The nuts are sometimes ground and given
+to horses, but, as sheep, deer and other cattle eat them in their
+natural state, it would seem more reasonable to name them after some of
+those animals, if that was the reason. It is likely that because they
+look like chestnuts, but are much larger, they were called
+'horse-chestnuts,' The tree is not in any respect a chestnut; and when
+it was first planted in England, some centuries ago, it was called 'a
+rare foreign tree,' and was much admired. It is supposed to have come
+from India. The large nuts are like chestnuts in appearance.--Except,
+Edith, that they have no 'cunning little tails.'--In the month of May
+there is not a more beautiful tree to be found than the horse-chestnut,
+with its large, deeply-cut leaves of a bright-green color and its long,
+tapering spikes of variegated flowers, which turn upward from the dense
+foliage. The tree at this time has been compared to a huge chandelier,
+and the erect blossoms to so many wax lights. The bitter nuts ripen
+early in the autumn and fall from the tree, but long before this the
+beautiful foliage has turned rusty in our Northern States, and is no
+longer ornamental. The overshadowing branches, which give such a
+pleasant shade in summer, early in autumn begin to show the ravages of
+the insects or the natural decay of the leaves."
+
+"Then," said Malcolm, "it isn't a nice tree to have, and I'm glad that
+there are elms here instead."
+
+"I should like to have some of all the trees," replied Clara, "because
+then we could study about them better.--Wouldn't you, Miss Harson?"
+
+"I think so," said her governess, "if they were not undesirable to have,
+as some trees are. If it were always May, I should want horse-chestnut
+trees; for I think there is scarcely anything so pretty as those fresh
+leaves and blossoms. The branches, too, begin low down, and that gives
+the tree a generous spreading look which is very attractive in the way
+of shade. In more southern States they have a longer season of beauty
+than those in the North."
+
+"Do people ever eat the horse-chestnut?" asked Edith.
+
+"Not often, dear--it is too bitter; but an old writer who lived in the
+days when it was first seen in England says that he planted it in his
+orchard as a fruit tree, between his mulberry and his walnut, and that
+he roasted the chestnuts and ate them. It is like the bitternut-hickory,
+which even boys will not eat."
+
+"I should think that somebody or something ought to eat it," said Clara,
+thoughtfully; "it seems like such a waste."
+
+Everyone laughed at her wise air, and she was asked if she intended to
+set the example. She was not quite ready, though, to do that; and Miss
+Harson continued:
+
+"A naturalist once took from the tree a tiny flower-bud and proceeded to
+dissect it. After the external covering, which consisted of seventeen
+scales, he came upon the down which protects the flower. On removing
+this he could perceive four branchlets surrounding the spike of flowers,
+and the flowers themselves, though so minute, were as distinct as
+possible, and he could not only count their number, but discern the
+stamens, and even the pollen."
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed the children; "how very curious!"
+
+"Yes," replied their governess; "it shows how perfect and wonderful,
+from the beginning, are all the works of God."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+_AMONG THE PINES_.
+
+"How good it smells here!" exclaimed Edith, with her small nose in the
+air to inhale what she called "a good sniff" in the fragrant pine-woods.
+
+Miss Harson had taken the children in the carriage to a pine-grove some
+miles from Elmridge, and Thomas and the horses waited by the roadside
+while the little party walked about or stood gazing up at the tall
+slender trees that seemed to tower to the very skies. Thomas was not
+fond of waiting, but he thought that he had the best of it in this case:
+it was more cheerful to sit in the carriage and "flick" the flies from
+Rex and Regina than to go poking about in the gloomy pine-woods. Yet,
+notwithstanding the darkness of its interior and the sombre character of
+its dense masses of evergreen foliage as seen from without--whence the
+name of "black timber," which has been applied to it--the shade and
+shelter it affords and the sentiment of grandeur it inspires cause it to
+become allied with the most profound and agreeable sensations; and it
+was something of this feeling, though they could not express it in
+words, which possessed the young tree-hunters as they stood in the
+pine-grove.
+
+"It's nice to breathe here," said Clara.
+
+"It is delicious," replied her governess, enthusiastically, her eyes
+kindling as she repeated the lines:
+
+     "'His praise, ye winds, that from four quarter blow,
+     Breathe soft and loud; and wave your tops, ye pines,
+     With every plant, in sign of worship. Wave!'"
+
+"What a queer brown color--almost like red--the ground is!" said
+Malcolm. "And look, Miss Harson! it's made of lots of little
+sharp sticks."
+
+"The sharp sticks are pine-needles," was the reply--"the dead
+pine-leaves of last year; and when the new growth of leaves have been
+put forth, they cover the ground with a smooth brown matting as
+comfortable as a gravel-walk, and yet a carpet of Nature's making. 'The
+foliage of the pine is so hard and durable that in summer we always find
+the last year's crop lying upon the ground in a state of perfect
+soundness, and under it that of the preceding year only partially
+decayed.'"
+
+"It's kind of slippery in some places," continued Malcolm, taking a
+slide as he spoke. "And see those queer-looking roots sprouting out of
+the ground!"
+
+"I see the roots," said Miss Harson, "but no sprouts. That is the white
+pine, the roots of which are often seen above the ground, spreading to
+some distance from the trunk. Generally the roots of pine trees are
+small, compared with the size of the trunks, and spread horizontally
+instead of descending far into the ground. For this reason pines are
+often uprooted by high winds, which break off the deciduous trees near
+the ground. But I wish you particularly to notice the trunks of these
+trees and tell me if you can see any difference in them."
+
+Those particular trees had probably never been stared at so hard
+before, and the three children exclaimed almost together:
+
+"Some are rough, and some are smooth, and the rough ones have little
+bunches of leaves on 'em."
+
+"These are the pitch-pines," replied their governess. "They are the
+roughest of all our forest-trees, and they have a rounder head than any
+of the other American evergreens. The branches, you see, turn in various
+directions and are curved downward at the ends. This tree has also the
+peculiar habit of sending out little branchlets full of leaves along the
+stem from the root upward, and this has a very pretty effect, like that
+of some elm trees. It is the pitch-pine that produces the fragrance we
+are all enjoying so much. What do you notice about the smoother trees?"
+
+"They are very tall and big," replied Clara--"ever so much handsomer
+than the rough ones."
+
+[Illustration: THE WHITE PINE.]
+
+"The white pine," said Miss Harson, "is one of the loftiest and most
+valuable of North American trees. Its top can be seen at a great
+distance, looking like a spire as it towers above the heads of the trees
+around it. You see that it has widespread branches and silken-looking,
+tufted foliage. The leaves are in fives and not so stiff as those of the
+other pines, and you will notice that the branches are in whorls, like a
+series of stages one above another. The foliage has a tasseled effect
+with those long silky tufts at the ends of the branches, and the whole
+outline of the tree is very pleasing."
+
+"This isn't a pine tree, is it?" asked Malcolm, touching a small tree
+with very slender branches, some of them as slight as willow-withes and
+covered with grayish-red bark, while that on the main stem was
+bluish gray.
+
+[Illustration: THE LARCH.]
+
+"It is a species of pine," was the reply, "because it belongs to the
+Coniferae, or cone-producing, family; but it is not an evergreen,
+although it ranks as such. This is the larch--generally called in New
+England by its Indian name of _hacmatack_--and it differs from the other
+pines in its crowded tufts of leaves, which, after turning to a soft
+leather-color, fall, in New England, early in November. The cones, too,
+are very small."
+
+"What's the use of cones, any way?" asked Malcolm as he picked up some
+very large ones under the white and pitch pines.
+
+"Their principal use," replied his governess, "is to contain the seeds
+of future trees: they are the fruit of the pine; but they have a number
+of uses besides, which you shall hear about this evening."
+
+"The little cones at Hemlock Lodge are pretty," said Edith, "and Clara
+and me play with 'em. We play they're a orphan-'sylum."
+
+[Illustration: FOLIAGE OF THE LARCH (_Larix Americana_).]
+
+"'Clara and I,' dear," corrected Miss Harson, smiling at the
+"orphan-'sylum," while Malcolm said he had never thought of that before,
+and it must be what they were meant for. Edith could not quite
+understand whether this was fun or earnest, but Miss Harson shook her
+head at Malcolm and called him "naughty boy."
+
+"The spruce and hemlock," continued their governess, "and many of the
+other evergreens, we have at Elmridge, but I brought you here to-day for
+our drive that you might examine these magnificent pine trees, and so be
+better able to understand whatever we can find out about them this
+evening. Thomas is probably tired of waiting by this time; so we will
+leave the fragrant pine-woods for the present, and promise ourselves
+some future visits."
+
+Every green thing was now in full summer beauty, and daisies and
+buttercups gemmed the fields, while the garden at Elmridge was all aglow
+with blossoms, The children remembered their flower-studies of last
+year, and took fresh pleasure in the woods because of them; but the
+trees now seemed quite as interesting as the flowers had been.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"The trees known as evergreens," said Miss Harson, "are not so bright
+and cheerful-looking as those which are deciduous, or leaf-shedding, but
+they have the advantage of being clothed with foliage, although of a
+sober hue, all the year round. They consist of pines, firs, junipers,
+cypresses, spruces, larches, yews and hemlocks, with some foreign trees,
+and form a distinct and striking natural group. 'This family has claims
+to our particular attention from the importance of its products in
+naval, and especially in civil and domestic, architecture, and in many
+other arts, and, in some instances, in medicine. Some of the species in
+this country are of more rapid growth, attain to a larger size and rise
+to a loftier height than any other trees known. The white pine is much
+the tallest of our native trees.'"
+
+"How high does it grow, Miss Harson?" asked Clara.
+
+"From one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet," was replied, "and on
+the north-west coast of America one called the 'Douglas's pine' is the
+loftiest tree known; it is said to measure over three hundred feet.
+'From the pines are obtained the best masts and much of the most
+valuable ship-timber, and in the building and finishing of houses they
+are of almost indispensable utility. The bark of some of them, as the
+hemlock and larch, is of great value in tanning, and from others are
+obtained the various kinds of pitch, tar, turpentine, resin and
+balsams,' The pines and firs have circles of branches in imperfect
+whorls around the trunk, and, as one of these whorls is formed each
+year, it is easy to calculate the age of young trees. In thick woods the
+lower whorls of branches soon decay for want of light and air, and this
+leaves a smooth trunk, which rises without a branch, like a beautiful
+shaft, for a hundred feet or more.
+
+"These trees are found everywhere except in the hot regions around the
+equator. The white pine is the most common, but in the evergreen woods
+of our own country it is mixed with pitch-pine and fir trees. In our
+Southern States there are thin forests, called pine-barrens, through
+which one can travel for miles on horseback. The white pine is easily
+distinguished by its leaves being in fives, by its very long cones,
+composed of loosely-arranged scales, and when young by the smoothness
+and delicate light-green color of the bark. It is known throughout New
+England by the name 'white pine,' which is given it on account of the
+whiteness of the wood. In England it is called the Weymouth pine.
+
+"Many very large trees are found in Maine, on the Penobscot River, but
+most of the largest and most valuable timber trees have been cut down.
+The lumberers, as they are called, are constantly hewing down the grand
+old trees for timber, white pine being the principal timber of New
+England and Canada."
+
+"And they float it down the rivers on rafts, don't they?" said Malcolm.
+"Won't you tell us about that, Miss Harson?"
+
+"Yes," was the reply.--"But do not look so expectant, Edie; it is not a
+story, dear, only a description of pine-cutting in the forests of Maine
+and Canada. But I should like you to know how these great trees are
+turned into timber, and you will see that, like many other necessary
+things, it is neither easy nor pleasant. We do not get much without hard
+work on the part of somebody: remember that. Now I will read:
+
+"'The business of procuring trees suitable for masts of ships is
+difficult and fatiguing. The pines which grew in the neighborhood of the
+rivers and in the most accessible places have all been cut down. Paths
+have now to be cleared with immense labor to the recesses of the forest,
+in order to obtain a fresh supply. This arduous employment is called
+"lumbering," and those who engage in it are "lumberers." The word
+"lumber," in its general sense, applies to all kinds of timber. But
+though many different trees, such as oak, ash and maple, are cut down,
+yet the main business is with the pines. And when a suitable plot of
+ground has been chosen for erecting a saw-mill,' to prepare the boards,
+'it is called "pine-land," or a spot where the pine trees predominate.
+
+"'A body of wood-cutters unite to form what is called a
+"lumbering-party," and they are in the employ of a master-lumberman, who
+pays them wages and finds them in provisions. The provisions are
+obtained on credit and under promise of payment when the timber has been
+cut down and sold. If the timber meets with any accident in its passage
+down the river, the master-lumberman cannot make good the loss, and the
+shopkeeper loses his money.
+
+"'When the lumbering-party are ready to start, they take with them a
+supply of necessaries, and also what tools they will require, and
+proceed up the river to the heart of the forest. When they reach a
+suitable spot where the giant trees which are to serve for masts grow
+thick and dark, they get all their supplies on shore--their axes, their
+cooking-utensils and the casks of molasses'--and too often of whisky or
+rum, too, I am sorry to say--'that will be used lavishly. The molasses
+is used instead of sugar to sweeten the great draughts of tea--made, not
+from the product of China, but from the tops of the hemlock.
+
+"'The first thing to be done is to build some kind of shelter, for they
+must remain in the forest until spring, and the cold of those Northern
+winters is terrible. Their cabin--for it cannot be called by any better
+name--is built of logs of wood cut down on purpose and put together as
+rudely as possible. It is only five feet high, and the roof is covered
+with boards. There is a great blazing fire kept up day and night, for
+the frost is intense, and the provisions have to be kept in a deep place
+made in the ground under the cabin. The smoke of the fire goes out
+through a hole in the roof, and the floor is strewn with branches of
+fir, the only couch the poor hardworking lumberers have to rest upon.
+When night comes, they turn into the cabin to sleep, and lie with their
+feet to the fire. If a man chances to awaken, he instantly jumps up and
+throws fresh logs on the fire; for it is of the utmost importance not to
+let it go out. One of the men is the cook for the whole party, and his
+duty is to have breakfast ready before it is light in the morning. He
+prepares a meal of boiled meat and the hemlock tea sweetened with
+molasses, and the rest of the party partake heartily of both, and in
+some camps also of rum, under the mistaken notion that it helps them to
+bear the severe toil. When breakfast is over, they divide into several
+gangs. One gang cuts down the trees, another saws them in pieces, and
+the third gang is occupied in conveying them, by means of oxen, to the
+bank of the nearest stream, which is now frozen over.
+
+"'It is a hard winter for the lumbermen. The snow covers the ground
+until the middle of May, and the frost is often intense. But they toil
+through it, felling, sawing and conveying until a quantity of trees have
+been laid prostrate and made available for the market. Then, at last,
+the weather changes; the snow begins to melt and the streams and rills
+are set at liberty. The rivers flow briskly on and are much swollen with
+the melting snow, and the men say that the freshets have come down.
+
+"'Hard as their toil has been, the most difficult and fatiguing has yet
+to be encountered. The timber is collected on the banks of the river,
+and has now to be thrown into the water and made into rafts, so that it
+can be floated down to the nearest market-town. The water, filled with
+melting snow, is deadly cold and can scarcely be endured, but the men
+are in it from morning till night constructing the rafts, which are put
+together as simply as possible, and the smallest outlay made to suffice.
+The rafts are of different sizes, according to the breadth of the
+stream; and when all is ready, they are launched, and the convoy fairly
+sets out on its voyage.
+
+"'The great ugly masses of floating timber move slowly along under the
+care of a pilot, and the lumberers ride upon the rafts, often without
+shelter or protection from the weather. They guide themselves by long
+and powerful poles fixed on pivots, and which act as rudders. As they
+journey down the stream they sing and shout and make the utmost noise
+and riot. If there comes a storm or a change of weather, the pilot
+steers his convoy into some safe creek for the night, and secures it as
+best he can.
+
+"'Thus by degrees the raft reaches the place of destination,
+occasionally with some loss and damage to the timber. In this case the
+master-lumberer bears the loss, and is obliged to refund the expenses
+incurred as best he can. At any rate, the men are now paid off, and set
+out on foot for their homes.'"
+
+Malcolm was particularly delighted with this narrative of stirring
+activity, and even the little girls seemed very much interested in it.
+They were so sorry for the poor lumbermen who had such dreary winters
+off there in the Northern woods, and Clara wondered if they couldn't
+have warm comforters and mittens.
+
+"They probably have those things when they go into camp," said Miss
+Harson, "but they are likely to find them in the way of working, and to
+cast them aside.--Great ships are not built for nothing: even to get the
+timber in readiness costs heavy labor, but, after all, no doubt, the men
+get interested in it and enjoy its excitement. Fortunately for the many
+uses to which its timber is put, the white pine grows very rapidly,
+gaining from fifteen inches to three feet every year. In deep and damp
+old woods it is slower of growth; it is then almost without sap-wood and
+has a yellowish color like the flesh of the pumpkin. For this reason it
+is called 'pumpkin-pine.' The bark of young trees of the white-pine
+species is very smooth and of a reddish, bottle-green color. It is
+covered in summer with a pearly gloss. On old trunks the bark is less
+rough than that of any other pine. This tree has the spreading habit of
+the cedar of Lebanon. In addition to its grand and picturesque
+character, the white pine, says a lover of trees, may be 'regarded as a
+true symbol of benevolence. Under its outspread roof numerous small
+animals, nestling in the bed of dry leaves that cover the ground, find
+shelter and repose. The squirrel feeds upon the kernels obtained from
+its cones; the hare browses upon the trefoil'--clover--'and the spicy
+foliage of the _hypericum_'--St. John's wort--'which are protected in
+its shade; and the fawn reposes on its brown couch of leaves unmolested
+by the outer tempest. From its green arbors the quails are often roused
+in midwinter, where they feed upon the berries of the _Mitchella_ and
+the spicy wintergreen. Nature, indeed, seems to have specially designed
+this tree to protect her living creatures both in summer and
+in winter.'"
+
+"Hurrah for the white pine," said Malcolm, with great energy, "the grand
+old _American_ tree!"
+
+"I'm glad that the little birds and animals have such a nice home under
+it in winter," said Clara.
+
+"I'm glad too," added Edith, "but I wish we could find some and see how
+they look in their soft bed. Don't they ever put their heads out the
+least bit, Miss Harson?"
+
+"Not when they suspect that there is any one around, dear, and the
+little creatures are very sharp to find this out. Our heavenly Father,
+you know, takes thought for sparrows and all such helpless things, and
+they are fed and cared for without any thought of their own.--The white
+pine," she continued, "is truly a magnificent tree, but I think we shall
+find that the pitch-pine is also very useful."
+
+"That's the rough one," said Malcolm; "I remember how it looks, with
+little tufts sticking out along the trunk."
+
+"Yes," replied his governess, "and out authority says this tree is
+distinguished by its leaves being in threes--the white pine, you know,
+has them in _fives_--by the rigidity and sharpness of the scales of its
+cones, by the roughness of its bark, and by the denseness of the brushes
+of its stiff, crowded leaves. Its usual height is from forty to fifty
+feet, but it is sometimes much taller. The trunk is not only rough, but
+very dark in color; and from this circumstance the species is frequently
+called black pine. The wood is very hard and firm, and contains a
+quantity of resin. This is much more abundant in the branches than in
+the trunk, and the boards and other lumber of this wood are usually full
+of pitch-knots."
+
+"What are pitch-knots?" asked Clara.
+
+"'When a growing branch,'" read Miss Harson, "'is broken off, the
+remaining portion becomes charged with resin,' which is deposited by the
+resin-bearing sap of the tree, 'forming what is called a pitch-knot,
+extending sometimes to the heart. The same thing takes place through the
+whole heart of a tree when, full of juice, its life is suddenly
+destroyed.' 'Resin' is another name for turpentine, but is used of it
+commonly when hardened into a solid form. The tar is obtained by slowly
+burning splintered pine, both trunk and root, with a smothered flame,
+and collecting the black liquid, which is expelled by the heat and
+caught in cavities beneath the burning pile. Pitch is thickened tar, and
+is used in calking ships and for like purposes."
+
+"I am going to remember that," said Malcolm; "I could never make out
+what all those different things meant."
+
+"What are you thinking about so seriously, Clara?" asked her governess.
+"If it is a puzzle, let me see if I cannot solve it for you."
+
+"Well, Miss Harson, I was thinking of those brown leaves, or 'needles,'
+in the pine-woods, and it seems strange to say that the leaves of
+evergreens never fall off."
+
+"It would not only be strange, dear, but quite untrue, to say that; for
+the same leaves do not, of course, remain for ever on the tree. The
+deciduous trees lose their leaves in the autumn and are entirely bare
+until the next spring, but the evergreens, although they renew their
+leaves, too, are never left without verdure of some sort. Late in
+October you may see the yellow or brown foliage of the pines, then ready
+to fall, surrounding the branches of the previous year's growth, forming
+a whorl of brown fringe surmounted by a tuft of green leaves of the
+present year's growth. Their leaves always turn yellow before the fall."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+_GIANT AND NUT PINES_.
+
+Great was the surprise of Edith when Miss Harson gave the little sleeper
+a gentle shake and told her that it was time to be up. But the birds
+without the window told the same story, and the little maiden was soon
+at the breakfast-table and ready for the day's duties and enjoyments,
+including their "tree-talk."
+
+"Are there any more kinds of pine trees?" asked Malcolm.
+
+[Illustration: "AWAKE, LITTLE ONE!"]
+
+"Yes, indeed!--more than we can take up this summer," replied Miss
+Harson. "There is the Norway pine, or red pine, which in Maine and New
+Hampshire is often seen in forests of white and pitch pine. It has a
+tall trunk of eighty feet or so, and a smooth reddish bark. The leaves
+are in twos, six or eight inches long, and form large tufts or brushes
+at the end of the branchlets. The wood is strong and resembles that of
+the pitch-pine, but it contains no resin. The giant pines of California
+belong to a different species from any that we have been considering,
+and the genus, or order, in which they have been arranged is called
+_Sequoia_[19]. They are generally known, however, as the 'Big Trees.' In
+one grove there are a hundred and three of them, which cover a space of
+fifty acres, called 'Mammoth-Tree Grove.' One of the giants has been
+felled--a task which occupied twenty-two days. It was impossible to cut
+it down, in the ordinary sense of the term, and the men had to bore into
+it with augers until it was at last severed in twain. Even then the
+amazing bulk of the tree prevented it from falling, and it still kept
+its upright position. Two more days were employed in driving wedges into
+the severed part on one side, thus to compel the giant to totter and
+fall. The trunk was no less than three hundred and two feet in height
+and ninety-six in circumference. The stump, which was left standing,
+presented such a large surface that a party of thirty couples have
+danced with ease upon it and still left abundant room for lookers-on."
+
+[19] _Sequoia gigantea_.
+
+When the children had sufficiently exclaimed over the size of this huge
+tree, their governess continued:
+
+"It is thought that these trees must have been growing for more than two
+thousand years, which would make them probably two hundred years old at
+the birth of our Saviour. Does it not seem wonderful to think of? There
+are other groups of giant pines scattered on the mountains and in the
+forests, and some youthful giants about five hundred years old."
+
+"I suppose they are the babies of the family," said Clara; and this idea
+amused Edith very much.
+
+"There is still another kind of pine," said Miss Harson--"the Italian,
+or stone, pine. It is shaped almost exactly like an umbrella with a very
+long handle. The _Pinus pinea_ bears large cones, the seed of which is
+not only eatable, but considered a delicious nut. The cone is three
+years in ripening; it is then about four inches long and three wide, and
+has a reddish hue. Each scale of which the cone is formed is hollow at
+the base and contains a seed much larger than that of any other species.
+When the cone is ripe, it is gathered by the owners of the forest; and
+when thoroughly dried on the roof or thrown for a few minutes into the
+fire, it separates into many compartments, from each of which drops a
+smooth white nut in shape like the seed of the date. The shell is very
+hard, and within it is the fruit, which is much used in making
+sweetmeats. The stone-pine is found also in Palestine, and is supposed
+to be the cypress of the Bible. The author of _The Ride Through
+Palestine_[20] speaks of passing through a fine grove of the stone-pine,
+'tall and umbrella-topped,' with dry sticks rising oddly here and there
+from the very tops of the trees. These sticks were covered with
+birdlime, to snare the poor bird which might be tempted to set foot on
+such treacherous supports; and if the cones were ripe, they would be
+quite sure to do it. Here is the picture, from the book just mentioned.
+Italian pine is a prettier name than stone-pine, and this is the name by
+which it is known to artists, who put it into almost every picture of
+Italian scenery.
+
+     "'Much they admire that old religious tree
+     With shaft above the rest upshooting free,
+     And shaking, when its dark locks feel the wind,
+     Its wealthy fruit with rough and massive rind.'"
+
+[20] Presbyterian Board of Publication.
+
+[Illustration: STONE-PINE--"FIR" _(Pinus maritima_)].
+
+"But how queer it sounds to call fruit _wealthy_!" said Malcolm.
+
+"It is odd," replied his governess, "only because the word is not now
+used in that sense; but the fruit is wealthy both because of its
+abundance and because it can be put to so many uses. Let us see what is
+said of it:
+
+"'The kernels, or seeds, from the cones of the stone-pine have always
+been esteemed as a delicacy. In the old days of Rome and Greece they
+were preserved in honey, and some of the larders of the ill-fated city
+of Pompeii were amply stored with jars of this agreeable conserve, which
+were found intact after all those years. The kernels are also sugared
+over and used as _bonbons_. They enter into many dishes of Italian
+cookery, but great care has to be taken not to expose them to the air.
+They are usually kept in the cones until they are wanted, and will then
+retain their freshness for some years. The squirrels eagerly seek after
+the fruit of this pine and almost subsist upon it. They take the cone in
+their paws and dash out the seeds, thus scattering many of them and
+helping to propagate the tree.
+
+"'There is a bird called the crossbill that makes its nest in the pine.
+It fixes its nest in place by means of the resin of the tree and coats
+it with the same material, so as to render it impervious to the rain.
+The seeds from the cones form its chief food, and it extracts them with
+its curious bill, the two parts of which cross each other. It grasps the
+cone with its foot, after the fashion of a parrot, and digs into it with
+the upper part of its bill, which is like a hook, and forces out the
+seed with a jerk.'"
+
+[Illustration: PINE-CONE (_Pinus Sylvestris_.)]
+
+The children enjoyed this account very much, and they thought that
+stone-pine nuts--which they had never seen, and perhaps never would
+see--must be the most delicious nuts that ever grew.
+
+"What nice times the birds have," said Clara, "helping themselves to all
+the good things that other people can't reach!"
+
+"They are not exactly 'people,'" replied Miss Harson, laughing; "and, in
+spite of all these 'nice times,' you would not be quite willing to
+change with them, I think."
+
+No, on the whole, Clara was quite sure that she would not.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+_MORE WINTER TREES: THE FIRS AND THE SPRUCES_.
+
+There were some beautiful evergreens on the lawn at Elmridge, and,
+although the foliage seemed dark in summer, it gave the place a very
+cheerful look in winter, when other trees were quite bare, while the
+birds flew in and out of them so constantly that spring seemed to have
+come long before it really did arrive.
+
+"This balsam-fir," said Miss Harson as they stood near a tall, beautiful
+tree that tapered to a point, "has, you see, a straight, smooth trunk
+and tapers regularly and rapidly to the top. You will notice, too, that
+the leaves, which are needle-shaped and nearly flat, do not grow in
+clusters, but singly, and that their color is peculiar. There are faint
+white lines on the upper part and a silvery-blue tinge beneath, and
+this silvery look is produced by many lines of small, shining resinous
+dots. The deep-green bark, striped with gray, is full of balsam, or
+resin, known as balm of Gilead or Canada balsam, and highly valued as a
+cure for diseases of the lungs. The long cones are erect, or standing,
+and grow thickly near the ends of the upper branches. They have round,
+bluish-purple scales, and the soft color has a very pretty effect on the
+tree. They ripen every year, and the lively little squirrel, as he is
+called, feasts upon them, as the crossbill does on the cones of the
+stone-pine. But the mischievous little animal also barks the boughs and
+gnaws off the tops of the leading shoots, so that many trees are injured
+and defaced by his depredations."
+
+[Illustration: AMERICAN WHITE SPRUCE.]
+
+"He _is_ a lively little squirrel," observed Malcolm. "How he does race!
+But he doesn't gnaw our trees, does he?"
+
+"No, I think not, for he prefers staying in the woods and fields; but
+fir-woods are his especial delight. Our balsam-fir is the American
+sister of the silver fir of Europe, both having bluish-green foliage
+with a silvery under surface, in a single row on either side of the
+branches, which curve gracefully upward at the ends. The tree has a
+peculiarly light, airy appearance until it is old, when there is little
+foliage except at the ends of the branches. The silver fir is one of the
+tallest trees on the continent of Europe, and it is remarkable for the
+beauty of its form and foliage and the value of its timber."
+
+"I know what this tree is," said Clara, turning to an evergreen of
+stately form and graceful, drooping branches that almost touched the
+ground: "it's Norway spruce. Papa told me this morning."
+
+[Illustration: THE NORWAY PINE.]
+
+"Yes," replied her governess, "and a beautiful tree it is, like the fir
+in many respects, but the bark is rougher and the cones droop. The
+branches, too, are lower and more sweeping. But the fir and the spruce
+are more alike than many sisters and brothers. The Scotch fir, about
+which there are many interesting things to be learned, is more
+rugged-looking, and the Norway spruce, which will bear studying too, is
+more grand and majestic."
+
+[Illustration: THE HEMLOCK SPRUCE.]
+
+"I know this one, Miss Harson," said little Edith as they came to a
+sweeping hemlock near the bay-window of the dining-room.
+
+"Yes, dear," was the reply; "Hemlock Lodge has made you feel very well
+acquainted with the tree after which it is named. It is one of the most
+beautiful of the evergreens, with its widely-spreading branches and
+their delicate, fringe-like foliage; but, although the branches are
+ornamental for church and house decoration, they are very perishable,
+and drop their small needles almost immediately when placed in a heated
+room. And now," continued the young lady, "we have come back to warm
+piazza-days again, and can have our talk in the open air."
+
+So on the piazza they speedily established themselves, with Miss Harson
+in the low, comfortable chair and her audience on the crimson cushions
+that had been piled up in a corner.
+
+"We shall find a great deal about the fir tree," said Miss Harson, "as
+it is very hardy and rugged, and as common in all Northern regions as
+the white birch--quite as useful, too, as we shall soon see. This rugged
+species--which is generally called the Scotch fir--is not so smooth and
+handsome as our balsam-fir, but it is a tree which the people who live
+near the great Northern forests of Europe could not easily do without.
+It belongs to the great pine family and is often called a pine, but in
+the countries of Great Britain especially it is called the Scotch fir.
+Although well shaped, it is not a particularly elegant-looking tree. The
+branches are generally gnarled and broken, and the style of the tree is
+more sturdy than graceful. The Scotch fir often grows to the height of a
+hundred feet, and the bark is of a reddish tinge. 'It is one of the most
+useful of the tribe, and, like the bountiful palm, confers the greatest
+blessing on the inhabitants of the country where it grows. It serves the
+peasants of the bleak, barren parts of Sweden and Lapland for food:
+their scanty supply of meal often runs short, and they go to the pine to
+eke it out. They choose the oldest and least resinous of the branches
+and take out the inner bark. They first grind it in a mill, and then mix
+it with their store of meal; after this it is worked into dough and made
+into cakes like pancakes. The bark-bread is a valuable addition to
+their slender resources, and sometimes the young shoots are used as
+well as the bark. Indeed, so largely is this store of food drawn upon
+that many trees have been destroyed, and in some places the forest is
+actually thinned."
+
+"They're as bad as the squirrels," said Malcolm. "But how I should hate
+to eat such stuff!"
+
+"It may not be so very bad," replied his governess. "Some people think
+that only white bread is fit to eat, but I think that Kitty's brown
+bread is rather liked in this family."
+
+The children all laughed, for didn't papa declare--with _such_ a sober
+face!--that they were eating him out of house and home in brown bread
+alone? Kitty, too, pretended to grumble because the plump loaves
+disappeared so fast, but she said to herself at the same time, "Bless
+their hearts! let 'em eat: it's better than a doctor's bill."
+
+"A great many other things besides pancakes are made from the tree,"
+continued Miss Harson, "and the fresh green tops furnish very
+nice carpets."
+
+There was a faint "_Oh!_" at this, but, after all, it was not so
+surprising as the cakes had been.
+
+"They are scattered on the floors of houses as rushes used to be in old
+times in England, and thus they serve as carpet and prevent the mud and
+dirt that stick to the shoes of the peasants from staining the floor;
+and when trodden on, the leaves give out a most agreeable
+aromatic perfume."
+
+"I'd like that part," said Clara.
+
+[Illustration: THE BLUE SPRUCE.]
+
+"But you cannot have one part without taking it all; almost everything,
+you see, has a pleasant side.--'The peasant finds no limit to the use
+of the pine. Of its bark he makes the little canoe which is to carry him
+along the river; it is simple in its construction, and as light as
+possible. When he comes within safe distance of one of those gushing,
+foaming cataracts that he meets with in his course, he pushes his canoe
+to land and carries it on his shoulders until the danger is past; then
+he launches it again, and paddles merrily onward. Not a single nail is
+used in his canoe: the planks are tightly secured together by a natural
+cordage made of the roots of the pine. He splits them of the right
+thickness, and with very little preparation they form exactly the
+material he needs.'"
+
+Malcolm evidently had some idea of making a canoe of this kind, but he
+became discouraged when his governess reminded him that he could not cut
+down trees, and that his father would prefer having them left standing.
+It did not seem necessary to speak of any difficulties in the way of
+putting the boat together.
+
+"Another use for the fir is to light up the poor hut of the peasant. 'He
+splits up the branches into laths and makes them into torches. If he
+wants a light, he takes one of the laths and kindles it at the fire;
+then he fixes it in a rude frame, which serves him for a candlestick.
+The light is very brilliant while it lasts, but is soon spent, and he
+is in darkness again. The same use is made of the pine. It is no unusual
+circumstance, in the Scotch pine-woods, to come upon a tree with the
+trunk scooped out from each side and carried away: the cottager has been
+to fetch material for his candles. But this somewhat rough usage does
+not hurt the tree, and it continues green and healthy.' In our Southern
+States pine-fat with resin is called lightwood, and is used for the
+same purpose."
+
+"That's an easy way of getting candles," said Clara.
+
+"Easy, perhaps, compared with the trouble of moulding them," replied
+Miss Harson, "but I do not think we should fancy either way of
+preparing them."
+
+"Is there anything to tell about the spruce tree?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"It is too much like the fir," replied his governess, "to have any very
+distinct character; but there are species here, known as the white and
+black spruce, besides the hemlock."
+
+But the children thought that hemlock was hemlock: how did it come to
+be spruce?
+
+"Because it has the family features--leaves solitary and very short;
+cones pendulous, or hanging, with the scales thin at the edge; and the
+fruit ripens in a single year. The hemlock-spruce, as it is sometimes
+called, is, I think, the most beautiful of the family. 'It is
+distinguished from all the other pines by the softness and delicacy of
+its tufted foliage, from the spruce by its slender, tapering branchlets
+and the smoothness of its limbs, and from the balsam-fir by its small
+terminal cones, by the irregularity of its branches and the gracefulness
+of its whole appearance.' The delicate green of the young trees forms a
+rich mass of verdure, and at this season each twig has on the end a tuft
+of new leaves yellowish-green in color and making a beautiful contrast
+to the darker hue of last year's foliage. The bark of the trunk is
+reddish, and that of the smooth branches and small twigs is light gray.
+The branchlets are very small, light and slender, and are set
+irregularly on the sides of the small branches; so that they form a
+flat surface. This arrangement renders them singularly well adapted to
+the making of brooms--a use of the hemlock familiar to housekeepers in
+the country towns throughout New England. The leaves, which are
+extremely delicate and of a silvery whiteness on the under side, are
+arranged in a row on each side of the branchlets. The slender,
+thread-like stems on which they grow make them move easily with the
+slightest breath of wind, and this, with the silvery hue underneath,
+gives to the foliage a glittering look that is very pretty. But I think
+you all can tell me when the hemlock is prettiest?"
+
+"After a snow-storm," said Clara. "Don't we all look, almost the first
+thing, at the tree by the dining-room window?"
+
+"Yes," replied Miss Harson; "it is a beautiful sight with the snow lying
+on it in masses and the dark green of the leaves peeping through. 'The
+branches put forth irregularly from all parts of the trunk, and lie one
+above another, each bending over at its extremities upon the surface of
+those below, like the feathers upon the wings of a bird,' And soft,
+downy plumes they look, with the snow resting on them and making them
+more feathery than ever."
+
+"So they are like feathers?" said Malcolm, to whom this was a new idea,
+"I'll look for 'em the next time it snows; yet--" He was going to add
+that he wished it would snow to-morrow; but remembering that it was only
+the beginning of June, and that Miss Harson had shown them how each
+season has its pleasures, he stopped just in time.
+
+"The pretty little cones of the hemlock, which grow very thickly on the
+tree, have a crimson tinge at first, and turn to a light brown. They are
+found hanging on the ends of the small branches, and they fall during
+the autumn and winter. This tree is a native of the coldest parts of
+North America, where it is found in whole forests, and it flourishes on
+granite rocks on the sides of hills exposed to the most violent storms.
+The wood is firm and contains very little resin; it is much used for
+building-purposes. A great quantity of tannin is obtained from the
+bark; and when mixed with that of the oak, it is valuable for
+preparing leather.
+
+"We have taken the prettiest of the spruces first," continued Miss
+Harson, "and now we must see what are the differences between them. 'The
+two species of American spruce, the black and the white--or, as they are
+more commonly called, the double and the single--are distinguished from
+the fir and the hemlock in every stage of growth by the roughness of the
+bark on their branches, produced by little ridges running down from the
+base of each leaf, and by the disposition of the leaves, which are
+arranged in spirals equally on every side of the young shoots. The
+double is distinguished from the single spruce by the darker color of
+the foliage--whence its name of black spruce--by the greater thickness,
+in proportion to the length, of the cones, and by the looseness of its
+scales, which are jagged, or toothed, on the edge.' It is a
+well-proportioned tree, but stiff-looking, and the dark foliage, which
+never seems to change, gives it a gloomy aspect. The leaves are closely
+arranged in spiral lines. The black spruce is never a very large tree,
+but the wood is light, elastic and durable, and is valuable in
+shipbuilding, for making ladders and for shingles. The young shoots are
+much in demand for making spruce-beer. The white spruce is more slender
+and tapering, and the bark and leaves are lighter. The root is very
+tough, and the Canadian Indians make threads from the fibres, with which
+they sew together the birch-bark for their canoes. The wood is as
+valuable as that of the black spruce."
+
+"Does the Norway spruce come from Norway?" asked Clara.
+
+"Yes; that is its native land, where it presents its most grand and
+beautiful appearance. There it 'rivals the palm in stature, and even
+attains the height of one hundred and eighty feet. Its handsome branches
+spread out on every side and clothe the trunk to its base, while the
+summit of the tree ends in an arrow-like point. In very old trees the
+branches droop at the extremities, and not only rest upon the ground,
+but actually take root in it and grow. Thus a number of young trees are
+often seen clustering around the trunk of an old one.'"
+
+"Why, that's like the banyan tree," said Malcolm.
+
+"Only there is a difference in the manner of growth, for the branches of
+the banyan are some distance from the ground and send forth rootlets
+without touching it. The Norway spruce is also the great tree of the
+Alps, where it seems to match the majestic scenery. The timber is
+valuable for building; and when sawed into planks, it is called white
+deal, while that of the Scotch fir is red deal.
+
+"And now," said Miss Harson, "before we leave the firs, let us see what
+is said about them in the Bible. They were used for shipbuilding in the
+city of Tyre; for the prophet Ezekiel says, 'They have made all thy ship
+boards of fir trees of Senir[21],' and it is written that 'David and all
+the house of Israel played before the Lord on all manner of instruments
+made of firwood[22].' The same wood was used then in building houses,
+as you will find, Malcolm, by turning to the Song of Solomon, seventh
+chapter, seventeenth verse."
+
+[21] Ezek. xxvii. 5.
+
+[22] 2 Sam. vi. 5.
+
+"'The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir,'" read
+Malcolm.
+
+"In Kings it is said, 'So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees,
+according to his desire[23],' and these trees were to be used for the
+very house, or palace, of which the Jewish king speaks in his Song.
+Evergreens are often mentioned in the Bible, and in that beautiful
+Christmas chapter, the sixtieth of Isaiah, you will find the fir tree
+again.--Read the thirteenth verse, Clara."
+
+[23] I Kings v. 10.
+
+"'The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine
+tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I
+will make the place of my feet glorious.'--What is 'the glory of
+Lebanon,' Miss Harson?"
+
+"The cedar of Lebanon, dear; and we will now turn our attention to that
+and the other cedars."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+_THE CEDARS_.
+
+"The cypress tribe," said Miss Harson, "differ from the pines, or
+Coniferae, by not having their fruit in a true cone, but in a roundish
+head which consists of a small number of scales, sometimes forming a
+sort of berry. One of the most common of this family is the arbor vitae,
+or tree of life--a tree so small as to look like a pointed shrub, and
+more used for fences than for ornament. An arbor-vitae hedge, you know,
+divides our flower garden from the kitchen-garden and goes all the way
+down to the brook."
+
+"I like the smell of it," said Clara. "Don't you, Miss Harson?"
+
+[Illustration: SIBERIAN ARBOR VITAE]
+
+"Yes," was the reply, "there is something very fresh and pleasant about
+it; and when well kept, as John is sure to keep ours, it makes a
+beautiful hedge. As a tree it has been known to reach forty or fifty
+feet in height, with a trunk ten feet in circumference. The leaves are
+arranged in four rows, in alternately opposite pairs, and seem to make
+up the fan-like branchlets. These branchlets look like parts of a large
+compound, flat leaf. The bark is slightly furrowed, smooth to the touch,
+and very white when the tree stands exposed. The wood is reddish,
+somewhat odorous, very light, soft and fine-grained. In the northern
+part of the United States and in Canada it holds the first place for
+durability."
+
+"I thought the cypress was a flower," said Malcolm.
+
+"So one kind of cypress is," replied his governess--"the blossom of an
+airy-looking and beautiful creeper; but the name also belongs to a
+family of trees. The white cedar, or cypress, is a very graceful tree
+which generally grows in swamps. 'It is entirely free from the stiffness
+of the pines, and to the spiry top of the poplar it unites the airy
+lightness of the hemlock. The trunk is straight and tall, tapering very
+gradually, and toward the top there are short irregular branches,
+forming a small but beautiful head, above which the leading shoot waves
+like a slender plume.' The leaves are very small and scale-like, with
+sharp points, and grow in four rows on the ends of the branchlets,
+giving them the appearance of large compound leaves. The wood is very
+durable, and is used for many building-purposes. It is generally of a
+faint rose-color, and always keeps its aromatic odor."
+
+[Illustration: IRISH JUNIPER.]
+
+"Is that what our cedar-chests are made of to keep the moths from our
+winter clothes?" asked Clara.
+
+"Yes," replied Miss Harson, "but the name 'cedar' is; not correct,
+though it is one commonly given to this tree. The wood of the European
+cypress is also used for many purposes where strength and durability are
+required, for it really seems never to wear out. This tree is described
+as tapering and cone-like, with upright branches growing close to the
+trunk, and in its general appearance a little resembling a poplar. Its
+frond-like branches are closely covered with very small sharp-pointed
+leaves of a yellow-green color, smooth and shining, and they remain on
+the tree five or six years. The cypress is often seen in burying-grounds
+in Europe, and in Turkey it often stands at each end of a grave. The
+oldest tree in Europe is thought to be an Italian cypress said to have
+been planted in the year of our Saviour's birth; it is an object of
+great reverence in the neighborhood. This ancient tree is a hundred and
+twenty feet high and twenty-three feet around the trunk.
+
+"The juniper--or red cedar, as it is improperly called--is not a
+handsome tree, but it is a very useful one. It has a scraggy, stunted
+look, and the foliage is apt to be rusty; but it will grow in rocky,
+sandy places where no other tree would even try to hold up its head, and
+the wood, when made into timber, lasts for a great many years. Posts for
+fences are made of the juniper or red cedar, and the shipbuilder,
+boatbuilder, carpenter, cabinet-maker and turner are all steady
+customers for it. The 'cedar-apples' found on this tree are one phase
+of the life of a very curious fungus. They are covered with a
+reddish-brown bark; and when fresh, they are tough and fleshy, somewhat
+like an unripe apple. When dry they become of a woody nature."
+
+"They pucker up your mouth awfully," said Malcolm, who had made several
+attempts to eat them; but, do what he would, he could not even "make
+believe" they were nice.
+
+"I have no doubt of it," was the reply, "remembering the dreadful faces
+I have seen on some of our rambles. But the birds like them, as they do
+everything of the kind that is not poisonous."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Isn't it beautiful?" exclaimed the children, in delight. They were
+admiring a magnificent cedar of Lebanon in one of the pictures which
+Miss Harson had collected for their benefit, and it seemed no wonder
+that the grand spreading tree should be called "the glory of Lebanon."
+
+"It is indeed beautiful," replied their governess; "and think of seeing
+a whole mountain covered with such trees! A traveler speaks of them as
+the most solemnly impressive trees in the world, and says that their
+massive trunks, clothed with a scaly texture almost like the skin of
+living animals and contorted with all the irregularities of age, may
+well have suggested those ideas of royal, almost divine, strength and
+solidity which the sacred writers ascribe to them.--Turn to the
+ninety-second psalm, Clara, and read the twelfth verse."
+
+"'The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree; he shall grow like a
+cedar in Lebanon.'"
+
+"In the thirty-first chapter of Ezekiel," continued Miss Harson, "it is
+written, 'Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair
+branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his
+top was among the thick boughs. The waters made him great, the deep set
+him up on high with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent
+out her little rivers unto all the trees of the field. Therefore his
+height was exalted above all the trees of the field and his boughs were
+multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of
+waters, when he shot forth. All the fowls of heaven made their nests in
+his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring
+forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations.'"
+
+[Illustration: CEDAR OF LEBANON.]
+
+"Are the leaves like those of our cedar trees?" asked Malcolm, who was
+studying the picture quite intently. "The tree doesn't look like 'em."
+
+"They are somewhat like them," replied his governess, "being slender and
+straight and about an inch long. They grow in tufts, and in the centre
+of some of the tufts there is a small cone which is very pretty and
+often brought to this country by travelers for their friends at home. In
+_The Land and the Book_ there is a picture of small branches with cones,
+and the author says of the cedar: 'There is a striking peculiarity in
+the shape of this tree which I have not seen any notice of in books of
+travel. The branches are thrown out horizontally from the parent trunk.
+These again part into limbs, which preserve the same horizontal
+direction, and so on down to the minutest twigs; and even the
+arrangement of the clustered leaves has the same general tendency. Climb
+into one, and you are delighted with a succession of verdant floors
+spread around the trunk and gradually narrowing as you ascend. The
+beautiful cones seem to stand upon or rise out of this green flooring.'
+The same writer says that by examining the different growths of wood
+inside the trunk of one of the trees these ancient cedars of Lebanon
+have been proved to be three thousand five hundred years old."
+
+"Oh, Miss Harson!" exclaimed her audience; "could any tree be as old as
+that?"
+
+"It is possible. The circle of growing wood which is made each year is a
+pretty good method of telling the age of a tree, and these cedars of
+Lebanon are considered the oldest trees in the world. Travelers have
+always spoken of the beauty and symmetry of these trees, with their
+widespreading branches and cone-like tops. All through the Middle Ages a
+visit to the cedars of Lebanon was regarded by many persons in the light
+of a pilgrimage. Some of the trees were thought to have been planted by
+King Solomon himself, and were looked upon as sacred relics. Indeed, the
+visitors took away so many pieces from the bark that it was feared the
+trees would be destroyed. The cedars stand in a valley a considerable
+way up the mountain, where the snow renders it inaccessible for part of
+the year."
+
+"Are the trees just in one particular place, then?" asked Malcolm. "I
+thought they grew all over that country?"
+
+"The principal and best-known grove of very large and ancient cedars of
+Lebanon is found in one place," replied his governess, "but there are
+other groves now known to exist. The famous grove was fast disappearing,
+until there were but few of them left. The pilgrims who went to visit
+them in such numbers in olden times were accompanied by monks from a
+monastery about four miles below, who would beseech them not to injure a
+single leaf. But the greatest care could not preserve the trees. Some of
+them have been struck down by lightning, some broken by enormous loads
+of snow, and others torn to fragments by tempests. Some have even been
+cut down with axes like any common tree. But better care is now taken of
+them; so that we may hope that the grove will live and increase."
+
+"But why weren't they saved," asked Clara, "when people thought so much
+of them?"
+
+"It seems to be a part of the general desolation of the land of God's
+chosen but rebellious people. In the third chapter of the prophet
+Isaiah, verses eleven and twelve, it is said, 'For the day of the Lord
+of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every
+one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low; and upon all the
+cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of
+Bashan.' The same prophet says, in the tenth chapter and nineteenth
+verse, 'And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a
+child may write them.' These words have been particularly applied to the
+stately cedars of Lebanon, for 'the once magnificent grove is but a
+speck on the mountain-side. Many persons have taken it in the distance
+for a wood of fir trees, but on approaching nearer and taking a closer
+view the cedars resume somewhat of their ancient majesty. The space they
+cover is not more than half a mile, but, once amidst them, the beautiful
+fan-like branches overhead, the exquisite green of the younger trees and
+the colossal size of the older ones fill the mind with interest and
+admiration. Within the grove all is hushed as in a land of the past.
+Where once the Tyrian workman plied his axe and the sound of many
+voices came upon the ear, there are now the silence and solitude of
+desertion and decay.'--Malcolm," added his governess, "you may read us
+what is written in the sixth verse of the fourteenth chapter of Hosea."
+
+"'His branches,'" read Malcolm, "'shall spread, and his beauty shall be
+as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.' What does that mean,
+Miss Harson?"
+
+"It means the fragrant resin which exudes from both the trunk and the
+cones of the beautiful cedar. It is soft, and its fragrance is like that
+of the balsam of Mecca. 'Everything about this tree has a strong
+balsamic odor, and hence the whole grove is so pleasant and fragrant
+that it is delightful to walk in it. The wood is peculiarly adapted for
+building, because it is not subject to decay, nor is it eaten of worms.
+It was much used for rafters and for boards with which to cover houses
+and form the floors and ceilings of rooms. It was of a red color,
+beautiful, solid and free from knots. The palace of Persepolis, the
+temple of Jerusalem and Solomon's palace were all in this way built with
+cedar, and the house of the forest of Lebanon was perhaps so called from
+the quantity of this wood used in its construction.' We are told in
+First Kings that Solomon 'built also the house of the forest of
+Lebanon[24],' and that 'he made three hundred shields of beaten gold'
+and 'put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon[25].' All the
+drinking-vessels, too, of this wonderful palace, which is always spoken
+of as 'the house of the forest of Lebanon,' were of pure gold, and its
+magnificence shows how highly the beautiful cedar-wood was valued."
+
+[24] I Kings vii. 2.
+
+[25] I Kings x. 17.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+_THE PALMS_.
+
+"There is a wonderful evergreen," said Miss Harson, "which grows in
+tropical countries, and also in some sub-tropical countries, such as the
+Holy Land, and is said to have nearly as many uses as there are days in
+a year. You must tell me what it is when you have seen the picture."
+
+[Illustration: PALM TREE.]
+
+Malcolm and Clara both pronounced it a palm tree, and Clara asked if
+there were any such trees growing in this country.
+
+"Some of its relations are found on our Southern seacoast," replied
+their governess; "South Carolina, you know, is called 'the Palmetto
+State.' There is a member of the family called the cabbage-palmetto,
+the unexpanded leaves of which are used as a table vegetable, which you
+may see in Florida. Its young leaves are all in a mass at the top, and
+when boiled make a dish something like cabbage. The leaves of the
+palmetto are also used, when perfect, in the manufacture of hats,
+baskets and mats, and for many other purposes. But its stately and
+majestic cousin, the date-palm of the East, with its tall, slender stalk
+and magnificent crown of feathery leaves, has had its praises sung in
+every age and clime. 'Besides its great importance as a fruit-producer,
+it has a special beauty of its own when the clusters of dates are
+hanging in golden ripeness under its coronal of dark-green leaves. Its
+well-known fruit affords sustenance to the dwellers on the borders of
+the great African desert; it is as necessary to them as is the camel,
+and in many cases they may be said to owe their existence to it alone.
+The tree rears its column-like stem to the height of ninety feet, and
+its crown consists of fifty leaves about twelve feet in length and
+fringed at the edges like a feather. Between the leaf and the stem there
+issue several horny spathes, or sheaths, out of which spring clusters of
+panicles that bear small white flowers,' These flowers are followed by
+the dates, which grow in a dense bunch that hangs down several feet."
+
+"But how do people manage to climb such a tree as that," asked Malcolm,
+"to get the dates? It goes straight up in the air without any branches,
+and looks as if it would snap in two if any one tried it."
+
+"It does not snap, though, for it is very strong; and the climbing is
+easier than you imagine, even when the tree is a hundred feet high, as
+it sometimes is. The trunk, you see, is full of rugged knots. These
+projections are the remains of decayed leaves which have dropped off
+when their work was done. As the older leaves decay the stalk advances
+in height. It has not true wood, like most trees, but the stem has
+bundles of fibres that are closely pressed together on the outer part.
+Toward the root these are so entwined that they become as hard as iron
+and are very difficult to cut. The tree grows very slowly, but it lives
+for centuries. I have a Persian fable in rhyme for you, called
+
+     "'THE GOURD AND THE PALM.
+
+     "'"How old art thou?" said the garrulous gourd
+     As o'er the palm tree's crest it poured
+     Its spreading leaves and tendrils fine,
+     And hung a-bloom in the morning shine.
+     "A hundred years," the palm tree sighed.--
+     "And I," the saucy gourd replied,
+     "Am at the most a hundred hours,
+     And overtop thee in the bowers."
+
+     "'Through all the palm tree's leaves there went
+     A tremor as of self-content.
+     "I live my life," it whispering said,
+     "See what I see, and count the dead;
+     And every year of all I've known
+     A gourd above my head has grown
+     And made a boast like thine to-day,
+     Yet here I stand; but where are they?"'"
+
+The children were very much pleased with the fable, and they began to
+feel quite an affection for the venerable and useful palm tree.
+
+"The date tree," continued their governess, "as this species of palm is
+often called, blossoms in April, and the fruit ripens in October. Each
+tree produces from ten to twelve bunches, and the usual weight of a
+bunch is about fifteen pounds. It is esteemed a crime to fell a date
+tree or to supply an axe intended for that purpose, even though the tree
+may belong to an enemy. The date-harvest is expected with as much
+anxiety by the Arab in the oasis as the gathering in of the wheat and
+corn in temperate regions. If it were to fail, the Arabs would be in
+danger of famine. The blessings of the date-palm are without limit to
+the Arab. Its leaves give a refreshing shade in a region where the beams
+of the sun are almost insupportable; men, and also camels, feed upon the
+fruit; the wood of the tree is used for fuel and for building the native
+huts; and ropes, mats, baskets, beds, and all kinds of articles, are
+manufactured from the fibres of the leaves. The Arab cannot imagine how
+a nation can exist without date-palms, and he may well regard it as the
+greatest injury that he can inflict upon his enemy to cut down
+his trees."
+
+"Miss Harson," asked Edith, very earnestly, "isn't the palm tree in the
+Bible?"
+
+[Illustration: DATE-PALM AT JERICHO.]
+
+"It certainly is, dear," replied her governess, "and it is one of the
+trees most frequently mentioned. In Deuteronomy, thirty-fourth chapter,
+third verse, Jericho is called the 'city of palm trees.' Travelers still
+speak of these trees as yet growing in Palestine, but they are not
+nearly so abundant as they once were; near Jericho only one or two can
+be found. There are many allusions to the palm in the Scriptures. King
+David, in the ninety-second psalm, says that the righteous shall
+flourish like the palm tree: 'Those that be planted in the house of the
+Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall bring forth
+fruit in old age.' The palm is always upright, in spite of rain or wind.
+'There it stands, looking calmly down upon the world below, and
+patiently yielding its large clusters of golden fruit from generation to
+generation. It brings forth fruit in old age.' The allusion to being
+planted in the house of the Lord is probably drawn from the custom of
+planting beautiful and long-lived trees in the courts of temples and
+palaces. Solomon covered all the walls of the holy of holies round
+about with golden palm trees.--You will find this, Clara, in
+First Kings."
+
+Clara read:
+
+"'And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved
+figures of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, within and
+without[26].'"
+
+[26] I Kings vi. 29.
+
+"In the thirty-second verse," continued Miss Harson, "it is written that
+he overlaid them with gold, 'and spread gold upon the cherubim, and upon
+the palm trees.' 'They were thus planted, as it were, within the very
+house of the Lord; and their presence there was not only ornamental, but
+appropriate and highly suggestive--the very best emblem not only of
+patience in well-doing, but of the rewards of the righteous, a fat and
+flourishing old age, a peaceful end, a glorious immortality.'"
+
+"What does a 'palmer' mean, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm. "Is it a man
+who has palm trees or who sells dates? I saw the word in a book I was
+reading, but I couldn't understand what it meant."
+
+"In olden times," replied his governess, "when people made so many
+pilgrimages, some of the pilgrims went to the Holy Land and some to Rome
+and other places; but those who went to Palestine were thought to be the
+most devout, both because it was so much farther off and because there
+were so many sacred spots to visit there. These pilgrims always brought
+home with them branches of palm, to show that they had really been to
+the land where the tree grew; and so they were called _palmers_. To say
+that such-a-one was a palmer was far more than to say that he was
+a pilgrim."
+
+"Miss Harson," said Clara, holding up one of the books, "here is a
+picture called 'the cocoanut-palm,' but I didn't know that cocoanuts
+grew on palm trees. Will you tell us something about it?"
+
+[Illustration: COCOANUT-PALM TREES IN SOUTH-EASTERN AFRICA.]
+
+"Certainly I will, dear," was the reply. "I fully intended to do so, for
+the cocoanut-palm is too valuable a member of the family to be passed
+over. This species does not grow in Palestine, and it is not one of the
+trees of the Bible; its home is in the warmest countries, and it grows
+most luxuriantly in the islands of the tropics or near the seacoast on
+the main-lands. Although its general form is similar to that of the
+date-palm, the foliage and fruit are quite different. The leaves are
+very much broader, and they have not the light, airy look of the foliage
+of the date-palm. But 'the cocoanut-palm is the most valuable of
+Nature's gifts to the inhabitants of those parts of the tropics where it
+grows, and its hundred uses, as they are not inaptly called, extend
+beyond the tropics over the civilized world. The beautiful islands of
+the southern seas are fringed with cocoanut-palms that encircle them as
+with a green and feathery belt. The ripe nuts drop into the sea, but,
+protected by their husks, they float away until the tide washes them on
+to the shore of some neighboring island, where they can take root
+and grow.'"
+
+"Wouldn't it be nice," said Edith, "if some would float here?"
+
+"A great many cocoanuts float here in ships," replied Miss Harson, "but
+they would not take root and grow, because the climate is not suited to
+them; it is too cold for them. We cannot have tropical fruit without
+tropical heat, and I am sure that none of us would want such a change as
+that. You may sometimes see small cocoanut trees in hothouses or
+horticultural gardens, where they are shielded from our cold air. The
+island of Ceylon, in the East Indies, is full of cocoanut-palm trees,
+for they are carefully cultivated by the inhabitants, and the feathery
+groves stretch mile after mile. The tree shoots up a column-like stem to
+the height of a hundred feet, and is crowned with a tuft of broad leaves
+about twelve feet long. The flowers are yellowish white and grow in
+clusters, and the seed ripens into a hard nut which in its fibrous husk
+is about the size of an infant's head."
+
+"I've seen the nut in its husk," said Malcolm, "when papa took me down
+to the wharf where the ships come in. There were lots of cocoanuts, and
+some of 'em had their coats on."
+
+"This brown husk," continued his governess, "is a valuable part of the
+nut, for the toughest ropes and cables are made of its fibres, as well
+as the useful brown matting so generally used to cover offices and
+passages. Brushes, nets and other domestic articles are also
+manufactured from the husk. Scarcely any other tree in the world is so
+useful to man or contributes so much to his comfort as the
+cocoanut-palm. Food and drink are alike obtained from it. The kernel of
+the nut is an article of diet, and can be prepared in many ways. The
+native is almost sustained by it, and in Ceylon it forms a part of
+nearly every dish. The spathe that encloses the yet-unopened flowers is
+made to yield a favorite beverage called palm-wine, or, more familiarly,
+'toddy.' When the fresh juice is used, it is an innocent and refreshing
+drink; but when left to ferment, it intoxicates, and is the one evil
+result from the bountiful gifts of the tree. Oil is prepared in great
+quantities from the nuts and used for various purposes."
+
+"Are there any more kinds of palm trees?" asked the children.
+
+"Yes," was the reply; "there are a great many members of this most
+useful family, but the one that will interest you most, after the
+date-and cocoanut-palm, is, I think, the sago-palm."
+
+[Illustration: YOUNG COCOANUT TREE IN POT (_Cocos nucifera_).]
+
+"Why, Miss Harson!" exclaimed Clara, in surprise; "does sago really grow
+on a tree?"
+
+"It really grows _in_ a tree--for it is a kind of starch secreted by the
+tree for the use of its flowers and fruit--and in order to obtain it the
+tree has to be cut down. The pith is then taken out and cut in slices,
+soaked in water and roasted; and when it assumes the shape of the small
+globules in which we see it, it is ready for exportation."
+
+"Well!" said Malcolm; "I never knew _that_ before. We've learned ever so
+many things, Miss Harson."
+
+"There is one thing about the palm," said Miss Harson, "which I have
+purposely left for the last--especially as it is the last also of our
+trees for the present--and that is the sacred associations which its
+branches have for both Jews and Christians. The Jews were commanded on
+the first day of the feast of tabernacles to 'take the boughs of goodly
+trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and
+willows of the brook, to rejoice before the Lord their God.' The palm
+was a symbol of victory, and branches of it were strewn in the path of
+conquerors, more especially of those who had fought for religious truth.
+It is the emblem of the martyr, as a conqueror through Christ. The
+Sunday before Easter is called Palm Sunday because in the ancient
+churches leaves of palm were carried that day by worshipers in memory of
+those strewn in the way on the triumphal entry of the King of Zion into
+Jerusalem. You will find it, Malcolm, in John."
+
+Malcolm read very reverently:
+
+"'On the next day, much people that were come to the feast, when they
+heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees,
+and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna; Blessed is the King of
+Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord[27].'"
+
+[27] John xii. 12, 13.
+
+"Here," said Miss Harson, "is a little hymn written on these very
+verses:
+
+     "'See a small procession slowly
+       Toward the temple wind its way;
+     In the midst rides, meek and lowly,
+       One whom angel-hosts obey.
+
+     "'How the shouting crowd adore him,
+       Now, for once, they know their King;
+     Some their garments cast before him,
+       Green palm-branches others bring.
+
+     "'Calmly, yet with holy sorrow,
+       Christ permits the sacrifice.
+     Knowing well that on the morrow
+       Changed will be those fickle cries.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+     "'Children, when in prayers and praises
+       Loudly we with lips adore,
+     While the heart no anthem raises,
+       Are not we like those of yore?
+
+     "'O Lord Jesus, let us never
+       Lift the voice in heartless songs;
+     Help us to remember ever
+       All that to thy name belongs.'"
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11723 ***
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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Among the Trees at Elmridge, by Ella Rodman
+Church
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Among the Trees at Elmridge
+
+Author: Ella Rodman Church
+
+Release Date: March 26, 2004  [eBook #11723]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: iso-8859-1
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AMONG THE TREES AT ELMRIDGE***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Charlie Kirschner, and the Project
+Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team
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+
+Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
+      file which includes the original illustrations.
+      See 11723-h.htm or 11723-h.zip:
+      (http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/1/1/7/2/11723/11723-h/11723-h.htm)
+      or
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+
+
+
+
+
+AMONG THE TREES AT ELMRIDGE
+
+BY
+
+ELLA RODMAN CHURCH
+
+1886
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+CHAPTER     I. A SPRING OPENING.
+CHAPTER    II. THE MAPLES.
+CHAPTER   III. OLD ACQUAINTANCES: THE ELMS.
+CHAPTER    IV. MAJESTY AND STRENGTH: THE OAK.
+CHAPTER     V. BEAUTY AND GRACE: THE ASH.
+CHAPTER    VI. THE OLIVE TREE.
+CHAPTER   VII. THE USEFUL BIRCH.
+CHAPTER  VIII. THE POPLARS.
+CHAPTER    IX. ALL A-BLOW: THE APPLE TREE.
+CHAPTER     X. A FRUITFUL FAMILY: THE PEACH, ALMOND, PLUM AND CHERRY.
+CHAPTER    XI. THE CHERRY-STORY.
+CHAPTER   XII. THE MULBERRY FAMILY.
+CHAPTER  XIII. QUEER RELATIONS: THE CAOUTCHOUC AND THE MILK TREE.
+CHAPTER   XIV. HOME AND ABROAD: LINDEN, CAMPHOR, BEECH.
+CHAPTER    XV. THE TENT AND THE LOCUSTS.
+CHAPTER   XVI. THE WALNUT FAMILY AND THE AILANTHUS.
+CHAPTER  XVII. SOME BEAUTIFUL TREES: THE CHESTNUT AND HORSE-CHESTNUT.
+CHAPTER XVIII. AMONG THE PINES.
+CHAPTER   XIX. GIANT AND NUT PINES.
+CHAPTER    XX. MORE WINTER TREES: THE FIRS AND THE SPRUCES.
+CHAPTER   XXI. THE CEDARS.
+CHAPTER  XXII. THE PALMS.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+_A SPRING OPENING._
+
+On that bright spring afternoon when three happy, interested children
+went off to the woods with their governess to take their first lesson in
+the study of wild flowers, they saw also some other things which made a
+fresh series of "Elmridge Talks," and these things were found among the
+trees of the roadside and forest.
+
+"What makes it look so _yellow_ over there, Miss Harson?" asked Clara,
+who was peering curiously at a clump of trees that seemed to have been
+touched with gold or sunlight. "And just look over here," she continued,
+"at these pink ones!"
+
+Malcolm shouted at the idea:
+
+"Yellow and pink trees! That sounds like a Japanese fan. Where are they,
+I should like to know?"
+
+"Here, you perverse boy!" said his governess as she laughingly turned
+him around. "Are you looking up into the sky for them? There is a clump
+of golden willows right before you, with some rosy maples on one side.
+What other colors can you call them?"
+
+Malcolm had to confess that "yellow and pink trees" were not so wide of
+the mark, after all, and that they were very pretty. Little Edith was
+particularly delighted with them, and wanted to "pick the flowers"
+immediately.
+
+"They are too high for that, dear," was the reply, "and these
+blossoms--for that is what they really are, although nothing more than
+fringes and catkins--are much prettier massed on the trees than they
+would be if gathered. The still-bare twigs and branches seem, as you
+see, to be draped with golden and rose-colored veils, but there will be
+no leaves until these queer flowers have dropped. If we look closely at
+the twigs and branches, we shall see that they are glossy and polished,
+as though they had been varnished and then brightened with color by the
+painter's brush. It is the flowing of the sap that does this. The
+swelling of the bark occasioned by the flow of sap gives the whole mass
+a livelier hue; hence the ashen green of the poplar, the golden green of
+the willow and the dark crimson of the peach tree, the wild rose and the
+red osier are perceptibly heightened by the first warm days of spring."
+
+[Illustration: MALE CATKIN OF WILLOW.]
+
+"Miss Harson," asked Clara, with a perplexed face, "what are catkins?"
+
+"Here," said her governess, reaching from the top bar of the road-fence
+for the lowest branch of a willow tree; "examine this catkin for
+yourself, and I will tell you what my _Botany_ says of it: 'An ament, or
+catkin, is an assemblage of flowers composed of scales and stamens or
+pistils arranged along a common thread-like receptacle, as in the
+chestnut and willow. It is a kind of calyx, by some classed as a mode of
+inflorescence (or flowering), and each chaffy scale protects one or more
+of the stamens or pistils, the whole forming one aggregate flower. The
+ament is common to forest-trees, as the oak and chestnut, and is also
+found upon the willow and poplar.'"
+
+"It's funny-looking," said Malcolm, when he had made himself thoroughly
+acquainted with the appearance of the catkin, "but it doesn't look much
+like a flower: it looks more like a pussy's tail."
+
+"Yes, and that is the origin of its name. 'Catkin' is diminutive for
+'cat;' so this collection of flowers is called 'catkin,' or
+'little cat.'"
+
+"I think I'll call them 'pussy-tails,'" said Edith.
+
+"There is a great deal to be learned about trees," said Miss Harson,
+when all were comfortably seated in the pleasant schoolroom; "and,
+besides the natural history of their species, some old trees have
+wonderful stories connected with them, while many in tropical countries
+are so wonderful in themselves that they do not need stories to make
+them interesting. The common trees around us will be our subjects at
+first; for I suppose that you can scarcely tell a willow from a poplar,
+or a chestnut tree from either, can you?"
+
+"I can tell a chestnut tree," said Malcolm, confidently.
+
+"When it is not the season for nuts?" asked his governess, smiling.
+
+There was not a very positive reply to this; and Miss Harson continued:
+
+"I do not think that any of us know as much as we ought to know of the
+trees which we see every day, and of the uses to which many of them are
+put, to say nothing of many familiar trees that we read about, and even
+depend upon for some of the necessaries of life."
+
+"Like the cocoanut tree," suggested Clara.
+
+"That is not exactly necessary to our comfort, dear," was the reply,
+"for people can manage to live without cocoanuts, although in many forms
+they are very agreeable to the taste, and it is only the inhabitants of
+the countries where they grow who look upon these trees as necessaries;
+but we will take them up in their turn. And first let us find out what
+we can about the willow, because it is the first tree, with us, to
+become green in the spring, and, of that large class which is called
+_deciduous_, the last one to lose its leaves."
+
+"And why are they called _deciduous?_" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Because they shed their leaves every autumn and are furnished with a
+new set in the spring: 'deciduous' is Latin for 'falling off.' And this
+is the case with nearly all our native trees and plants. _Persistent_,
+or permanent, leaves remain on the stem and branches all through the
+changes of season, like the leaves of the pine and box, while
+_evergreens_ look fresh through the entire year and are generally
+cone-bearing and resinous trees. 'These change their leaves annually,
+but, the young leaves appearing before the old ones decay, the tree is
+always green.'"
+
+"Miss Harson," said Clara, "when people talk about _weeping_ willows,
+what do they mean? Do the trees really cry? I sometimes read about 'em
+in stories, and I never knew what they did."
+
+"They cry dreadfully," said Malcolm, "when it rains."
+
+"But only as you do when you are out in it," replied his governess--"by
+having the water drip from your clothes.--No, Clara, the tree is called
+'weeping' because it seems to 'assume the attitude of a person in tears,
+who bends over and appears to droop.' The sprays of this tree are
+particularly beautiful, and 'willowy' is often used for 'graceful,' as
+meaning the same thing. Its language is 'sorrow,' and it is often seen
+in burial-grounds and in mourning-pictures. 'We remember it in sacred
+history, associating it with the rivers of Babylon, and with the tears
+of the children of Israel, who sat down under the shade of this tree and
+hung their harps upon its branches. It is distinguished by the graceful
+beauty of its outlines, its light-green, delicate foliage, its sorrowing
+attitude and its flowing drapery.'"
+
+"Were those weeping willows that we saw to-day?" asked Clara.
+
+"No," replied her brother, quickly; "they just stuck up straight and
+didn't weep a bit."
+
+"They are called _water_ willows," said Miss Harson, "because they are
+never found in dry places. They are more common than the weeping willow.
+The water willow has the same delicate foliage and the same habit, under
+an April sky, of gleaming with a drapery of golden verdure among the
+still-naked trees of the forest or orchard. 'When Spring has closed her
+delicate flowers,' says a bright writer, 'and the multitudes that crowd
+around the footsteps of May have yielded their places to the brighter
+host of June, the willow scatters the golden aments that adorned it,
+and appears in the deeper garniture of its own green foliage.' A group
+of these golden willows, seen in a rainstorm, will have so bright an
+appearance as to make it seem as if the sun were actually shining."
+
+[Illustration: THE WHITE WILLOW (_Salix alba_).]
+
+"I wish we had them all around here, then," said Edith; "I like to see
+the sun shining when it rains."
+
+"But the sun is _not_ shining, dear," replied her governess: "it is only
+the reflection from the willows that makes it look so; and we can make
+just such sunshine ourselves when it rains, or when there is dullness of
+any sort, by being all the more cheerful and striving to make others
+happy. Who loves to be called 'Little Sunshine'?"
+
+"I do," said the child, caressing the hand that had patted her rosy
+cheek.
+
+"Let's all be golden willows," said Malcolm, in a comical way that made
+them laugh.
+
+Miss Harson told him that he could not make a better attempt than to be
+one of those home-brighteners who bring the sunshine with them, but she
+added that such people are always considerate for others. Malcolm
+wondered a little if this meant that _he_ was not, but he soon forgot it
+in hearing the many things that were to be said of the willow.
+
+"The family-name of this tree is _Salix_, from a word that means 'to
+spring,' because a willow-branch, if planted, will take root and grow so
+quickly that it seems almost like magic. 'And they shall _spring up_ as
+among the grass, as willows by the watercourses,' says the prophet
+Isaiah, speaking of the children of the people of God. The flowers of
+the willow are of two kinds--one bearing stamens, and the other
+pistils--and each grows upon a separate plant. When the ovary, at the
+base of the pistil, is ripe, it opens by two valves and lets out, as
+through a door, multitudes of small seeds covered with a fine down, like
+the seeds of the cotton-plant. This downy substance is greedily sought
+after by the birds as a lining for their nests, and they may be seen
+carrying it away in their bills. And in some parts of Germany people
+take the trouble to collect it and use it as a wadding to their winter
+dresses, and even manufacture it into a coarse kind of paper."
+
+"What queer people!" exclaimed Clara. "And how funny they must look in
+their wadded dresses!"
+
+"They are not graceful people," was the reply, "but they live in a cold
+climate and show their good sense by dressing as warmly as possible. It
+was quite a surprise, though, to me to find that the willow was of use
+in clothing people. The more we learn of the works of God, the better we
+shall understand that last verse of the first chapter of the Bible: 'And
+God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.' The
+bees, too, are attracted by the willow catkins, but they do not want the
+down. On mild days whole swarms of them may be seen reveling in the
+sweets of the fresh blossoms. 'Cold days will come long after the willow
+catkins appear, and the bees will find but few flowers venturesome
+enough to open their petals. They have, however, thoroughly enjoyed
+their feast, and the short season of plenty will often be the means of
+saving a hive from famine.'"
+
+"Are willow baskets made of willow trees?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Yes," said Miss Harson. "Basket-making has been a great industry in
+England from the earliest times; the ancient Britons were particularly
+skillful in weaving the supple wands of the willow. They even made of
+these slender stems little boats called 'coracles,' in which they could
+paddle down the small rivers, and the boats could be carried on their
+shoulders when they were walking on dry land."
+
+"Just like our Indians' birch-bark canoes," said Malcolm, who was
+reading about the North American Indians. "But isn't it strange, Miss
+Harson, that the Indians and the Britons didn't get drowned going out in
+such little light boats?"
+
+"Their very lightness buoyed them up upon the waves," was the reply;
+"but it does seem wonderful that they could bear the weight of men. The
+willow, however, was also used by the Romans in making their
+battle-shields, and even for the manufacture of ropes as well as
+baskets. The rims of cart-wheels, too, used to be made of willow, as now
+they are hooped with iron; so, you see, it is a strong wood as well as a
+pliant one. The kind used for basket-making is the _Salix viminalis_,
+and the rods of this species are called 'osiers.' Let us see now what
+this English book says of the process of basket-making:
+
+"'The quick and vigorous growth of the willow renders it easy to provide
+materials for this branch of industry. Osier-beds are planted in every
+suitable place, and here the willow-cutter comes as to an ample store.
+Autumn is the season for him to ply his trade, and he cuts the willow
+rods down and ties them in bundles. He then sets them up on end in
+standing water to the depth of a few inches. Here they remain during the
+winter, until the shoots, in the following spring, begin to sprout, when
+they are in a fit state to be peeled. A machine is used in some places
+to compress the greatest number of rods into a bundle.
+
+[Illustration: THE POLLARD WILLOW IN WINTER.]
+
+"'Aged or infirm people and women and children can earn money by peeling
+willows at so much per bundle. The operation is very simple, and so is
+the necessary apparatus. Sometimes a wooden bench with holes in it is
+used, the willow-twigs being drawn through the holes. Another way is
+to draw the rod through two pieces of iron joined together, and with one
+end thrust into the ground to make it stand upright. The willow-peeler
+sits down before his instrument and merely thrusts the rod between the
+two pieces of iron and draws it out again. This proceeding scrapes the
+bark off one end, and then he turns it and fits it in the other way; so
+that by a simple process the whole rod is peeled. When the rods are
+quite prepared, they are again tied up in bundles and sold to the
+basket-makers.'"
+
+"But how do they make the baskets?" asked Clara and Edith. "That is the
+nicest part."
+
+"There is little to tell about it, though," said their governess,
+"because it is such easy work that any one can learn to do it. You saw
+the Indian women making baskets when papa took us to Maine last summer,
+and you noticed how very quickly they did it, beginning with the flat
+bottom and working rapidly up. It is a favorite occupation for the
+blind, and one of the things which are taught them in asylums."
+
+"I wonder," said Malcolm, "if there is anything else that can be done
+with the willow?"
+
+"Oh yes," replied Miss Harson; "we have not yet come to the end of its
+resources. It makes the best quality of charcoal, and in many parts of
+England the tree is raised for this express purpose. 'The abode of the
+charcoal-burner,' says an English writer, 'may be known from a distance
+by the cloud of smoke that hovers over it, and that must make it rather
+unhealthy. It is sometimes a small dome-shaped hut made of green turf,
+and, except for the difference of the material, might remind us of the
+hut of the Esquimaux. Beside it stands a caravan like those which make
+their appearance at fairs, and that contains the family goods and
+chattels. A string of clothes hung out to dry, a water-tub and a rough,
+shaggy dog usually complete the picture.'"
+
+"But how can people live in the hut," asked Malcolm, "if the charcoal is
+burned in it? Ugh! I should think they'd choke."
+
+"They certainly would," said his governess; "for the charcoal-smoke is
+death when inhaled for any length of time. But the charcoal-burner knows
+this quite as well as does any one else, and he makes his fire outside
+of the house, puts a rude fence around it and lets it smoke away like a
+huge pipe. The hut is more or less enveloped in smoke, but this is not
+so bad as letting it rise from the inside would be. A great deal of
+willow charcoal is made in Germany and other parts of Europe."
+
+"But, Miss Harson," said Clara, in a puzzled tone, "I don't see what
+they do with it all. It doesn't take much to clean people's teeth."
+
+"No, dear," was the smiling reply, "and I am afraid that the people who
+make it are rather careless about their teeth.--You need not laugh,
+Malcolm, because it is 'just like a girl,' for it is quite as much like
+a boy not to know things which he has never been taught, and you must
+remember that you have two years the start of your sister in getting
+acquainted with the world. Perhaps you will kindly tell us of some of
+the uses to which charcoal is applied?"
+
+"Well," said the young gentleman, after an awkward silence, "it takes
+lots of it to kindle fires."
+
+"I do not think that Kitty ever uses it in the kitchen," said Miss
+Harson, "for she is supplied with kindling-wood for that purpose. You
+will have to think of something else."
+
+But Malcolm could not think, and his governess finally told him that a
+great deal of charcoal is used for making gun-powder, and still more for
+fuel in France and the South of Europe, where a brass vessel supplies
+the place of a grate or stove. Quantities of it are consumed in
+steel-and iron-works, in preserving meat and other food, and in many
+similar ways. The children listened with great interest, and Malcolm
+felt sure that the next time he was asked about charcoal he would have a
+sensible answer.
+
+"Our insect friends the aphides, or plant-lice, are very fond of the
+willow," continued Miss Harson, "and in hot, dry weather great masses of
+them gather on the leaves and drop a sugary juice, which the
+country-people call 'honey-dew,' and in some remote places, where
+knowledge is limited, it has been thought to come from the clouds. But
+we, who have learned something about these aphides[1], know that it
+comes from their little green bodies, and that the ants often carry the
+insects off to their nests, where they feed and 'tend them for the sake
+of this very juice. The aphis that infests the willow is the largest of
+the tribe, and the branches and stems of the tree are often blackened by
+the honey-dew that falls upon them."
+
+[1] See _Flyers and Crawlers_, by the author. Presbyterian Board of
+Publication.
+
+"Do willow trees grow everywhere?" asked Clara.
+
+"They are certainly found in a great many different places," was the
+reply, "and even in the warmest countries. In one of the missionary
+settlements in Africa there is a solitary willow that has a story
+attached to it. It was the only tree in the settlement--think what a
+place that must have been!--except those the missionary had planted in
+his own garden, and it would never have existed but for the laziness of
+its owner. Nothing would have induced any of the natives to take the
+trouble to plant a tree, and therefore the willow had not been planted.
+But it happened, a long-time ago, that a native had fetched a log of
+wood from a distance, to make into a bowl when he should feel in the
+humor to do so. He threw the log into a pool of water, and soon forgot
+all about it. Weeks and months passed, and he never felt in the humor to
+work. But the log of wood set to work of its own accord. It had been cut
+from a willow, and it took root at the bottom of the pool and began to
+grow. In the end it became a handsome and flourishing tree."
+
+This story was approved by the young audience, except that it was too
+short; but their governess laughingly said that, as there was nothing
+more to tell, it could not very well be any longer.
+
+[Illustration: THE WEEPING WILLOW (_Salix Babylonica_).]
+
+"The weeping willow," continued Miss Harson, "was first planted in
+England in not so lazy a way, but almost as accidentally. Many years ago
+a basket of figs was sent from Turkey to the poet Pope, and the basket
+was made of willow. Willows and their cousins the poplars are natives of
+the East; you remember that the one hundred and thirty-seventh psalm
+says of the captive Jews, 'By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down,
+yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the
+willows in the midst thereof.' 'The poet valued highly the small slender
+twigs, as associated with so much that was interesting, and he untwisted
+the basket and planted one of the branches in the ground. It had some
+tiny buds upon it, and he hoped he might be able to rear it, as none of
+this species of willow was known in England. Happily, the willow is very
+quick to take root and grow. The little branch soon became a tree, and
+drooped gracefully over the river in the same manner that its race had
+done over the waters of Babylon. From that one branch all the weeping
+willows in England are descended.'"
+
+"And then they were brought over here," said Malcolm. "But what odd
+leaves they have, Miss Harson!--so narrow and long. They don't look like
+the leaves of other trees."
+
+"The leaf is somewhat like that of the olive, only that of the olive is
+broader. The willow is a native of Babylon, and the weeping willow is
+called _Salix Babylonica_. It was considered one of the handsomest
+trees of the East, and is particularly mentioned among those which God
+commanded the Israelites to select for branches to bear in their hands
+at the feast of tabernacles. Read the verse, Malcolm--the fortieth of
+the twenty-third chapter of Leviticus."
+
+Malcolm read:
+
+"'And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees,
+branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and _willows of
+the brook;_ and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days.'"
+
+[Illustration: LEAF OF WEEPING WILLOW.]
+
+"A place called the 'brook of the willows,'" added his governess, "is
+mentioned in Isaiah xv. 7, and this brook, according to travelers in
+Palestine, flows into the south-eastern extremity of the Dead Sea. The
+willow has always been considered by the poets as an emblem of woe and
+desertion, and this idea probably came from the weeping of the captive
+Jews under the willows of Babylon. The branches of the _Salix
+Babylonica_ often droop so low as to touch the ground, and because of
+this sweeping habit, and of its association with watercourses in the
+Bible, it has been considered a very suitable tree to plant beside ponds
+and fountains in ornamental grounds, as well as in cemeteries as an
+emblem of mourning."
+
+"How much there is to remember about the willow!" said Clara,
+thoughtfully. "I wonder if all the trees will be so interesting?"
+
+"They are not all _Bible_ trees," replied Miss Harson. "But the wise
+king of Israel found them interesting, for he 'spake of trees, from the
+cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of
+the wall.'"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+_THE MAPLES._
+
+"The pink trees next, I suppose," said Malcolm, "since we have had the
+yellow ones?"
+
+"_Real_ pink trees?" asked Edith, with very wide-open eyes.
+
+"No, dear;" replied her governess; "there are no pink trees, except when
+they are covered with bloom like the peach trees. Malcolm only means the
+maples that we saw in blossom yesterday and thought of such a pretty
+color. There are many varieties of the maple, which is always a
+beautiful and useful tree, but the red, or scarlet, maple is the very
+queen of the family. It is not so large as are most of the others; but
+when a very young tree, its grace and beauty are noticeable among its
+companions. It is often found in low, moist places, but it thrives just
+as well in high, dry ground; and it is therefore a most convenient
+tree. Here is a very pretty description, Malcolm, in one of papa's large
+books, that you can read to us."
+
+Malcolm read remarkably well for a boy of his age, and he always enjoyed
+being called upon in this way.
+
+[Illustration: THE RED MAPLE.]
+
+Miss Harson pointed to these lines:
+
+"Coming forth in the spring, like morning in the east, arrayed in
+crimson and purple; bearing itself, not proudly but gracefully in
+modest green, among the more stately trees in summer; and ere it bids
+adieu to the season stepping forth in robes of gold, vermilion, crimson
+and variegated scarlet,--stands the queen of the American forest, the
+pride of all eyes and the delight of every picturesque observer of
+nature, the red maple."
+
+"Why, I never saw such a tree as that!" exclaimed Clara, in great
+surprise.
+
+"Yes, dear," replied her governess; "you have seen it, but you never
+thought of describing it to yourself in just this way. When you saw it
+yesterday, it was coming forth in the spring, like morning in the east,
+arrayed in crimson and purple,' but you just called it a pink tree. It
+is much nearer red, however, than it is pink."
+
+"I've seen all the rest of the colors, too," said Malcolm, "when we went
+out after nuts."
+
+"That is its autumn dress," said Miss Harson, "although a small tree is
+often seen with no color on it but brilliant red. But first we must see
+what it is like in spring and summer. It is also called the scarlet,
+the white, the soft and the swamp maple, and the flowers, as you see
+from this specimen, are in whorls, or pairs, of bright crimson, in
+crowded bunches on the purple branches. The leaves are in three or five
+lobes, with deep notches between, and some of them are very broad, while
+others are long and narrow. The trunk of the red maple is a clear ashy
+gray, often mottled with patches of white lichens; and when the tree is
+old, the bark cracks and can be peeled off in long, narrow strips."
+
+"Is anything done with the bark?" asked Clara.
+
+"Yes, it is used, with other substances, for dyeing, and also for making
+ink. The sap, too, can be boiled down to sugar, but it is not nearly so
+rich as that of the proper sugar-maple. The wood, which is very
+light-colored with a tinge of rose in it, is often made into common
+furniture, as it takes a fine polish and is easy to work with. It is
+used, too, for building-purposes. The early-summer foliage of the red
+maple is of a beautiful yellow green, and the young leaves are very
+delicate and airy-looking; but the graceful tree is in such a hurry to
+display her gay autumn colors that she will often put on a scarlet or
+crimson streamer in July or August. One brilliantly-colored branch will
+be seen on a green tree, or the leaves of an entire tree will turn red
+while all the other trees around it are clothed in summer greenness."
+
+"Don't you remember, Miss Harson," said Edith, "the little tree that I
+thought was on fire and how frightened I was?"
+
+"Yes, dear, I remember it very well--an innocent little red maple that
+_would_ put on its flame-colored dress when it should have been all in
+green, like its sisters; but it was too green at heart to be in a blaze.
+This tree is often used for fuel, but it has to be cut down and dried
+first. The reddening of the leaf generally begins at the veins and
+spreads out from them until the whole is tinted. Sometimes it appears in
+spots, almost like drops of blood, on the green surface; but, come as it
+will, it is always beautiful. It is said of the red maple that 'it
+stands among the occupants of the forest like Venus among the
+planets--the brightest in the midst of brightness and the most beautiful
+in a constellation of beauty,'"
+
+"Is there such a thing as a silver tree?" asked Clara.
+
+[Illustration: THE SILVER-LEAF MAPLE.]
+
+"There is a tree called 'the silver maple,'" was the reply, "and there
+is also the silver poplar. The silver maple is considered the most
+graceful of the large and handsome maple family. I have not told you, I
+think, that the name of the family is _Acer_, which means 'sharp' or
+'hard,' and it was supposed to have been given in old English times
+when the wood of the maple was used for javelins. The silver maple gets
+its name from the whitish under-surface of its leaves, and it is a
+favorite shade-tree; it has a slender trunk and long, drooping branches.
+The foliage is light and rather dull-looking, and it is not a very
+bright tree in autumn. The leaves are so deeply notched that they have a
+fringe-like appearance, and this, with its slender form and bending,
+swaying habit, gives it a very graceful look."
+
+Little Edith wished to know "if the wood was like silver," and Malcolm
+asked her how she expected it to grow if it was.
+
+But Miss Harson replied kindly,
+
+"The silver, dear, is all in the leaves, and there is not much of it
+there. The wood is white and of little use, as it is soft and
+perishable; but the beauty of the finely-cut foliage, the contrast
+between the green of the upper surface of the leaves and the silver
+color of the lower, and the magnificent spread of the limbs of the white
+maple, recommend it as an ornamental tree; and this is the purpose for
+which it is intended. It is used very largely in the cities for shade
+and beauty. It is often called the 'river maple,' because it is so
+frequently seen on the banks of streams."
+
+"And now," said Malcolm, "I hope there is ever so much about the
+maple-sugar tree. Can't we get some this spring, Miss Harson, before
+it's all gone?"
+
+"We can certainly buy the sugar in town, Malcolm, if that is what you
+mean; but it does not grow on the trees in cakes, and we shall scarcely
+be able to tap the trunks and go through with the process of preparing
+the sap, even if it were not too late for that. We will do what we can,
+though, to become acquainted with the rock maple, that we may be able to
+recognize it when we see it. When young, it is a beautiful, neat and
+shapely tree with a rich, full leafy head of a great variety of forms.
+It is the largest and strongest of the maples, and gives the best shade.
+It can be distinguished from the other members of the family by its
+leaves, in which the notch between the lobes is round instead of being
+sharp, and also by their appearing at the same time with the blossoms,
+which are of a yellowish-green color. The green tint of the leaves is
+darker on some trees than it is on others, and in autumn they become,
+often before the first touch of the frost, of a splendid orange or gold,
+sometimes of a bright scarlet or crimson, color, each tree commonly
+retaining from year to year the same color or colors, and differing
+somewhat from every other. The most beautiful and valuable maple-wood is
+taken from this tree. It is known as 'curled maple' and 'bird's-eye
+maple,' and the common variety looks like satin-wood. In the curled
+maple the fibres are in waves instead of in straight lines, and the
+surface seems to change with alternate light and shade; in the
+bird's-eye, irregular snarls of fibres look like roundish projections
+rising from hollow places, each one resembling the eye of a bird.
+Buckets, tubs and many useful things are made of the straight variety,
+and for lasts it is considered better than any other kind of wood. The
+curled and the bird's-eye are largely used for furniture."
+
+"But isn't it a shame," said Clara, "to spoil the maple-sugar by making
+the trees into chairs and things?"
+
+"You would not think so," replied her governess, "if you needed the
+'chairs and things' more than you need the sugar. But the supply of
+trees seems to be sufficient for both purposes."
+
+"Does the sugar come right out of the tree when people tap on it with a
+hammer?" asked Edith, whose ideas of sugar-making were rather crude.
+
+"You blessed baby!" cried Malcolm, with a shout of laughter. Let's take
+our hammers and go after some maple-sugar right away."
+
+"No, Edie," said Miss Harson as she took her much-loved little pupil on
+her lap; "we'll stay at home and learn just how the sugar is made. To
+_tap_ a tree, dear, means to make cuts in the trunk for the sap to flow
+out, and in the sugar-maple this sap is more like water than sugar. From
+the middle of February to the second week in March, according to the
+warmth or the coldness of the locality, is the time for tapping the
+trees; and when the holes are bored, spouts of elder or sumac from which
+the pith has been taken are put into them at one end, while the other
+goes down to the bucket which receives the sap. 'Several holes are so
+bored that their spouts shall lead to the same bucket, and high enough
+to allow the bucket to hang two or three feet from the ground, to
+prevent leaves and dirt from being blown in.' The next thing is to boil
+the sap, and this is done in great iron kettles, over immense
+wood-fires, out there among the trees, with plenty of snow on the
+ground, and only two or three rude little cabins for the men and boys to
+sleep in. This is called 'the sugar-camp,' and the sap-season lasts five
+or six weeks."
+
+"And why is it boiled?"
+
+"Boiling drives the water off in vapor, and leaves the sugar behind in
+the pot."
+
+"And do they stay in the woods there all the time?" asked Malcolm, with
+great interest. "What lots of fun they must have, with the big fires and
+the snow and as much maple-sugar as ever they want to eat! _I'd_ like
+to stay in a sugar-camp in the woods."
+
+[Illustration: MAKING MAPLE SUGAR.]
+
+"Perhaps not, after trying it and finding how much hard work there is in
+sugar-making," replied his governess. "'The kettles must be carefully
+watched and plenty of wood brought to keep them boiling, and during the
+process the sap, or syrup, is strained; lime or salaeratus is added, to
+neutralize the free acid; and the white of egg, isinglass or milk, to
+cause foreign substances to rise in a scum to the surface. When it has
+been sufficiently boiled, the syrup is poured into moulds or casks to
+harden.' The sugar with which the most pains have been taken is very
+light-colored, and I have seen it almost white."
+
+"Have you ever been to a sugar-camp, Miss Harson?" asked Clara, who was
+wishing, like Malcolm, that she could go to one herself.
+
+"Yes," said Miss Harson; "I did go once, in Vermont, when the family
+with whom I was staying took me to see the 'sugaring off.' This is
+putting it into the pans and buckets to harden after it has been
+sufficiently boiled and clarified; and we younger ones, by way of
+amusement, were allowed to make jack-wax."
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed three voices at once; "what is that? Is it good to eat?"
+
+"I thought it particularly good," was the reply, "and I am quite sure
+that you would agree with me. To make it, we poured a small quantity of
+hot syrup on the snow to cool; and when it was fit to eat, it was just
+like wax, instead of being hard like the cakes in moulds. It took only a
+few minutes, too, to make it, and it seemed a great deal nicer because
+we did it ourselves. I remember that it was the last of March and very
+cold, but there were big fires to get warmed at, and we had a
+delightful time."
+
+"Were there any Indians there, Miss Harson?" asked little Edith, after
+being quiet for some time. Vermont was such a long way off on the map,
+besides being up almost at the top, that Indians and bears and all sorts
+of wild things seemed to have a right to live there.
+
+"No," said her governess, smiling at the question; "I did not see one,
+even at the sugar-camp. Yet the Indians made maple-sugar long before we
+knew anything about it, and from them the white people learned how to
+do it."
+
+"Well, that's the funniest thing!" exclaimed Malcolm. "I thought that
+Indians were always scalping people instead of making maple-sugar."
+
+"They did a great many other things, though, besides fighting, and their
+life was spent so much out of doors that they studied the nature of
+every plant and living thing about them. The healing-properties of some
+of our most valuable herbs were first discovered by the Indians, and, as
+they never had any grocery-stores, the presence of trees that would
+supply them with sugar was a blessing not likely to be neglected. The
+devoted missionary John Brainerd first heard of this tree-sugar from
+them, and it is said that he used to preach to them when they were thus
+peacefully employed, and obtained a better hearing than at other times."
+
+"Have we any maple-sugar trees?" asked Clara.
+
+"No," replied Miss Harson; "there are none at Elmridge, and I have seen
+none anywhere near here. They seem to flourish best in the Northern and
+North-eastern States, while in Western Canada the tree is found in
+groves of from five to twenty acres. These are called 'sugar-bushes,'
+and few farmers in that part of America are without them. In England the
+maple trees are called 'sycamores,' and the sap is used as a sweet
+drink. I will read to you from a little English book called _Voices from
+the Woodlands_ a simple account of a country festival where maple sap
+was the choicest refreshment:
+
+"'"Take care of that young tree," said Farmer Robinson to his laborer,
+who was diligently employed in clearing away a rambling company of
+brambles which had grown unmolested during the time of the last tenant;
+"the soil is good, and in a very few years we shall have pasturage for
+our bees, and plenty of maple-wine."
+
+"'The farmer spoke true; before his young laborer had attained middle
+age the sapling had grown into a fine tree. Its branches spread wide and
+high, and bees came from all parts to gather their honey-harvests among
+the flowers; beneath its shade lambkins were wont in spring to sleep
+beside their dams; and when the time of shearing came, and the sheep
+were disburdened of their fleeces, you might see them hastening to the
+sycamore tree for shelter.
+
+"'A kind of rustic festival was held about the same time in honor of the
+maple-wine. Hither came the farmer and his dame, with their children and
+young neighbors, each carrying bunches of flowers. Older people came in
+their holiday dresses, some with baskets containing cakes, others tea
+and sugar, with which the farmer and his wife had plentifully supplied
+them; and joyfully did they rest a while on the green sward while young
+men gathered sticks, and, a bright fire having been kindled, the kettle
+sent up its bubbling steam.
+
+"'When this was ended, and few of the piled-up cakes remained--when,
+also, the young children had emptied their cans and rinsed them at the
+old stone trough into which rushed a full stream--tiny hands joyfully
+held up the small cans and bright eyes looked anxiously to the stem of
+the tall tree while the farmer warily cut an incision in the bark.
+
+"'What joy when a sweet watery juice began to trickle! and the farmer
+filled one small cup, then another, till all were satisfied and a
+portion sent to the older people, who were contentedly looking on from
+the grassy slope where they had seated themselves. The farmer's wife
+knew naught concerning the process for obtaining sugar, or else she
+might have sweetened her children's puddings from the watery liquid
+yielded by the sycamore, or greater maple--an art well known to the
+aboriginal tribes of North America.'"
+
+"Does that mean Indians, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm, with a wry face at
+the long word.
+
+"Yes," was the reply; "and I hope that you will feel properly grateful
+to these aborigines whenever you eat maple-sugar."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+_OLD ACQUAINTANCES: THE ELMS._
+
+Miss Harson had admonished her little flock that they must use their own
+eyes and be able to tell her things instead of depending altogether on
+her to tell them; so now they were all peering curiously among the trees
+to see which were putting on their new spring suits. The yellow trees
+and the pink trees had been readily distinguished, but, although the
+others had not been idle, it was not so easy for little people to
+discern their leaf-buds.
+
+Clara soon made a discovery, however, of what her governess had noticed
+for a day or two, and the wonder was found on their own home-elms, those
+stately trees which had shaded the house ever since it was built, and
+from which the place got its pretty name--Elmridge.
+
+"Well, dear," said Miss Harson, coming to the upper window from which an
+eager head was thrust, "what is it that you wish me to see?"
+
+"Those funny flowers on the bare elm trees," was the reply. "Look, Miss
+Harson! Didn't I see them first?"
+
+"You have certainly spoken of them first, for neither Malcolm nor Edith
+has said anything about them. But they must both come up here now, where
+they can see them, and Malcolm and I can manage to reach some of the
+blossoms by getting out of the broad window on to the little balcony."
+
+Up came the two children kangaroo-fashion in a series of jumps, and
+presently Miss Harson was holding a cluster of dark maroon-colored
+flowers in her hand.
+
+"How queer and dark they make the trees look!" said Malcolm; "and
+they're so thick that they 'most cover up the branches. They're
+like fringe."
+
+"A very good description," replied his governess. "And now I wish you
+all to examine the trees very thoroughly and tell me afterward what you
+have noticed about them; then we will go down to the schoolroom and see
+what the books will tell us in our talk about the American elm and its
+cousin of England."
+
+The books had a great deal to tell about them, but Miss Harson preferred
+to hear the children first.
+
+"What did my little Edith see when she looked out of the window?" she
+asked.
+
+"Stems of trees," was the reply, "with flowers on 'em."
+
+"A very good general idea," continued Miss Harson, "but perhaps Clara
+can tell us something more particular about the elms?"
+
+"They are very tall," said Clara, hesitatingly, "and they make it nice
+and shady in summer; and some of the branches bend over in such a lovely
+way! Papa calls one of them 'the plume.'"
+
+"And now Malcolm?"
+
+"The trunk--or big 'stem,' as Edie would call it--is very thick, and the
+branches begin low down, near the ground."
+
+"Some of them do," said his governess, "but many of the elms on your
+father's grounds are seventy feet high before the branches begin.
+Sometimes two or three trunks shoot up together and spread out at the
+top in light, feathery plumes like palm trees. The elm has a great
+variety of shapes; sometimes it is a parasol, when a number of branches
+rise together to a great height and spread out suddenly in the shape of
+an umbrella. This makes a very regular-looking and beautiful tree. For
+about three-quarters of the way up, the 'plume' of which Clara speaks
+has one straight trunk, which then bends over droopingly. Small twigs
+cluster around the trunk all the way from bottom to top and give the
+tree the appearance of having a vine twining about it. I think that the
+plume-shape is the prettiest and most odd-looking of all the elms.
+Another strange shape is the vase, which seems to rest on the roots that
+stand out above the ground. 'The straight trunk is the neck of the vase,
+and the middle consists of the lower part of the branches as they swell
+outward with a graceful curve, then gradually diverge until they bend
+over at their extremities and form the lip of the vase by a circle of
+terminal sprays.'"
+
+"Have we any trees that look like vases, Miss Harson?" asked Clara.
+
+"Yes," was the reply; "not far from Hemlock Lodge there is one which we
+will look at when the leaves are all out. But you must not expect to
+find a perfect vase-shape, for it is only an approach to it. The
+dome-shaped elm has a broad, round head, which is formed by the shooting
+forth of branches of nearly equal length from the same part of the
+trunk, which gradually spread outward with a graceful curve into the
+roof or dome that crowns the tree."
+
+"I know something else about our elms," said Malcolm: "some of the roots
+are on top of the ground. Isn't that very queer, Miss Harson?"
+
+[Illustration: WYCH-ELM LEAVES.]
+
+"Not for old elm trees, as this is quite a habit with them. Indeed, in
+many ways, the elm is so entirely different from other trees that it can
+be recognized at a great distance. It is both graceful and majestic,
+and is the most drooping of the drooping trees, except the willow, which
+it greatly surpasses in grandeur and in the variety of its forms. The
+green leaves are broad, ovate, heart-shaped, from two to four or five
+inches long. You can see their exact shape in this illustration. Their
+summer tint is very bright and vivid, but it turns in autumn to a sober
+brown, sometimes touched with a bright golden yellow, And now,"
+continued Miss Harson, "we will examine the flowers which we have here,
+and we see that each blossom is on a green, slender thread less than
+half an inch long, and that it consists of a brown cup parted into
+seven or eight divisions, rounded at the border and containing about
+eight brown stamens and a long compressed ovary surmounted by two short
+styles. This ripens into a flattened seed-vessel before the leaves are
+fully out, and the seeds, being small and chaffy, are wafted in all
+directions and carried to great distances by the wind."
+
+"Where does slippery elm come from?" asked Clara.
+
+"From another American species, dear, which is very much like the white
+elm that we have been considering. The slippery elm is a smaller tree,
+does not droop so much, and the trunk is smoother and darker. The leaves
+are thicker and very rough on the upper side. The inner bark contains a
+great deal of mucilage--that, I suppose, is the reason for its being
+called 'slippery'--and it has been extensively used as a medicine. The
+wood is very strong and preferred to that of the white elm for
+building-purposes, although the latter is considered the best native
+wood for hubs of wheels. There is a great elm tree on Boston Common
+which is over two hundred years old, and another in Cambridge called the
+'Washington Elm,' because near it or beneath its shade General
+Washington is said to have first drawn his sword on taking command of
+the American army. In 1744 the celebrated George Whitefield preached
+beneath this tree."
+
+"I'm glad we have elm trees here," said Malcolm, "though I s'pose nobody
+ever did anything in particular under ours."
+
+"You mean," replied his governess, laughing, "that they are not
+_historical_ trees; but they are certainly very fine ones. There is
+another species of elm, the English, which is often seen in this country
+too. It is a very large and stately tree, but not so graceful as our own
+elm. It is distinguished from the American elm by its bark, which is
+darker and much more broken; by having one principal stem, which soars
+upward to a great height; and by its branches, which are thrown out more
+boldly and abruptly and at a larger angle. Its limbs stretch out
+horizontally or tend upward with an appearance of strength to the very
+extremity; in the American elm they are almost universally drooping at
+the end. Its leaves are closer, smaller, more numerous and of a darker
+color. In England this tree is a great favorite with those black and
+solemn birds the rooks. The poet Hood writes of it as
+
+     "'The tall, abounding elm that grows
+       In hedgerows up and down,
+     In field and forest, copse and park,
+       And in the peopled town,
+     With colonies of noisy rooks
+       That nestle on its crown.'
+
+"Some of these English elms are very ancient and of an immense size; one
+of them, known as the 'Chequer Elm,' measures thirty-one feet around the
+trunk, of which only the shell is left. It was planted seven hundred
+years ago. The Chipstead Elm is fifteen feet around; the Crawley Elm,
+thirty-five. A writer says, 'The ample branches of the Crawley Elm
+shelter Mayday gambols while troops of rustics celebrate the opening of
+green leaves and flowers. Yet not alone beneath its shade, but within
+the capacious hollow which time has wrought in the old tree, young
+children with their posies and weak and aged people find shelter during
+the rustic _fêtes_.'"
+
+"Does that mean that people can sit inside the tree?" asked Clara. "I
+wish we had one to play house in where Hemlock Lodge is."
+
+"That is one of the things, Clara," replied Miss Harson, "that people
+can have only in the place where they grow. In the South of England
+there is another great elm tree with a hollow trunk which has fitted
+into it a door fastened by a lock and key. A dozen people can be
+comfortably accommodated inside, and there is a story told of a woman
+and her infant who lived there for a time."
+
+"What a funny house!" said Malcolm. "Just like a woodpecker's."
+
+"Another great elm, near London, has a winding staircase cut within it,
+and a turret at the top where at least twenty persons can stand. One
+species of this tree, called the _wych-_, or _witch-_, elm, was believed
+by ignorant people to possess magical powers and to defend from the
+malice of witches the place on which it grew. Even now it is said that
+in remote parts of England the dairymaid flies to it as a resource on
+the days when she churns her butter. She gathers a twig from the tree
+and puts it into a little hole in the churn. If this practice were
+neglected, she confidently believes that she might go on churning all
+day without getting any butter."
+
+"Isn't that silly?" exclaimed Clara.
+
+"Very silly indeed," replied her governess; "but we must remember that
+the poor ignorant girl knows no better. The wood of the European elm is
+stronger than ours; it is hard and fine-grained, and brownish in color,
+and is much used in the building of ships, for hubs of wheels, axletrees
+and many other purposes. In France the leaves and shoots are used to
+feed cattle. In Russia the leaves of one variety are made into tea. The
+inner bark is in some places made into mats, and in Norway they
+kiln-dry it and grind it with corn as an ingredient in bread. So that
+the elm tree is almost as useful as it is beautiful."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+_MAJESTY AND STRENGTH: THE OAK_.
+
+"Here," said Miss Harson, "is a small branch from an oak tree containing
+the young leaves and the catkins, which come out together; for the oak
+belongs, like the willow and the maple, to the division of
+_amentaceous_ plants."
+
+"Oh dear!" sighed Clara at the hard name.
+
+But Malcolm repeated:
+
+"_Amentaceous_--_ament_. I know, Miss Harson: it's _catkins_"
+
+"Yes, it means trees which produce their flowers in catkins, or looking
+as if strung on long drooping stems; and the oak is the monarch of this
+family, and in Great Britain of all the forest-trees. It is especially
+an English tree, although our woods contain several varieties. But they
+do not hold the pre-eminence in our forests that the oaks do in those
+of England. The oak ordinarily runs more to breadth than to height, and
+spreads itself out to a vast distance with an air of strength and
+grandeur. This is its striking character and what gives it its peculiar
+appearance. Oaks do not always go straight out, but crook and bend to
+right and left, upward and downward, abruptly or with a gentle sweep.
+
+[Illustration: MALE CATKIN OF THE OAK.]
+
+[Illustration: THE OAK]
+
+"The white oak is the handsomest species, and takes its name from the
+very light color of the bark on the trunk, by which it is easily known.
+The leaves are long in proportion to the width and deeply divided into
+lobes, of which there are three or four on each side. There is a great
+variety in the shape of oak-leaves, those of our white oak being long
+and slender, while the red oak has very broad ones, and the foliage of
+the scarlet oak is almost skeleton-like. The chestnut oak has leaves
+almost exactly like those of the chestnut. The acorns of the different
+varieties, too, differ in size and shape.
+
+[Illustration: WHITE-OAK LEAF.]
+
+"There is so much to be said of the oak," continued Miss Harson, "it is
+such an ancient and venerable tree and has so many stories attached to
+it, that it is not easy to begin an account of it. The blossoms,
+perhaps, will be the best starting-point: and I should like to have you
+examine this branch and tell me if you see any difference in the
+blossoms."
+
+"They are nearly all alike," said Malcolm, "but here at the ends of the
+twigs are one or two that look like buds."'
+
+"That is just what I wanted you to notice," replied his governess, "for
+the flowers are of two kinds, one bearing the stamens, and the other the
+pistils. The flowers that bear the stamens grow on loose scaly catkins,
+as you may see in this branch. Those with the pistils are also in
+catkins, but very small, like a bud. The bud spreads into a little
+branchlet and bears the flowers at the tip. The calyx is not seen at
+first; it is a mere membrane covering the ovary. By degrees the ovary
+swells into the acorn and the membrane becomes part of the shell."
+
+"I like acorns," said little Edith, "they're so nice to play with."
+
+"But they're not nice to eat," said Clara.
+
+[Illustration: SQUIRREL AND ACORN]
+
+"Some animals think they are," continued Miss Harson. "If you should
+come here in October, you would find the squirrels feasting on them. In
+old times in England the oaks were valued highly on account of their
+acorns, and great herds of swine were driven into the forests to feed
+upon them. In the time of the Saxons a crop of acorns often formed a
+part of the dowry bestowed upon the Saxon queens, and the king himself
+would be glad to accept a gift or grant of acorns; and the failure of
+the crop would be considered as a kind of famine. In those days laws
+were made to protect the oaks from being felled or injured, and a man
+who cut down a tree under the shadow of which thirty hogs could stand
+was fined three pounds. The herds of swine were placed under the care of
+a swineherd, whose sole employment was to keep them together, and they
+formed a staple part of the riches of the country. But when the Norman
+kings began to rule, they brought with them a passionate love of hunting
+and took possession of the forests as preserves for their favorite
+sport. The herds of swine were forbidden to roam about as heretofore,
+and their owners were reduced to poverty in consequence."
+
+"Wasn't that wicked, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Yes; it was both unjust and cruel, and it was one of the great
+grievances of the nation. Even at this day the laws for the protection
+of game are one of the grounds of ill-feeling on the part of the poor
+toward the nobles. In Spain the acorns have the taste of nuts, and are
+sold in the markets as an article of food. They grow abundantly in the
+woods and forests. Once, in time of war, a foreign army subsisted almost
+entirely on them. Herds of swine range the forests in Spain and feed
+luxuriously upon acorns, and the salted meats of Malaga, that are famous
+for their delicate flavor, are thought to owe it to this cause. Some of
+our American Indians depend upon acorns and fish for their winter food;
+and when the acorns drop from the tree, they are buried in sand and
+soaked in water to draw out the bitter taste."
+
+"I shouldn't like them," said Clara, with a wry face at the thought of
+such food.
+
+"Well, dear," replied her governess, laughing, "as you are not an
+Indian, you will probably not be called upon to like them; but it would
+be better to eat acorns than to starve. You may have noticed the trunk
+and branches of the oak are often gnarled and knotted, and this helps to
+give the tree its appearance of great strength. It is just as strong as
+it looks, and for building-purposes it lasts longer than any other
+wood. Beams and rafters of oak are found in old English houses, showing
+among the brick-work, and many of these half-timbered houses, as they
+are called, were built hundreds of years ago.
+
+"Bedsteads and other articles of furniture, too, were 'built' in those
+days, rather than made, for they were not expected to be moved about;
+and a heavy oak bedstead is still in existence which is said to have
+belonged to King Richard III. It is curiously carved, and the king
+rested upon it the night before the battle of Bosworth Field, where he
+was killed. Clumsy as the bedstead was, he took it about with him from
+place to place; but after the fatal battle it passed into the hands of
+various owners, and nothing remarkable was discovered about it until the
+king had been dead a hundred years. By that time the bedstead had come
+into the possession of a woman who found a fortune in it. One morning,
+says the story, as she was making the bed, she heard a chinking sound,
+and saw, to her great delight, a piece of money drop on the floor. Of
+course she at once set about examining the bedstead, and found that the
+lower part of it was hollow and contained a treasure. Three hundred
+pounds--a fortune in those days--was brought to light, having remained
+hidden all those years. As King Richard was not there to claim his gold,
+the woman quickly possessed herself of it. But, as it happened, she had
+better have remained in ignorance and poverty. As soon as the matter
+became known one of her servants robbed her of the gold, and even caused
+her death. Thus it was said in the neighborhood that 'King Richard's
+gold' did nobody any good."
+
+The children were very much pleased with this story, and Malcolm said
+that he always liked to hear about people who found gold and things.
+
+"I think that I do, myself," replied Miss Harson, "although, as in this
+poor woman's case and in many others, gold is not the best thing to
+find. It often brings with it so much sorrow and sin as to be a curse to
+its owner. The only safe treasure is that laid up in heaven, where
+'neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break
+through nor steal,'
+
+"From the very earliest times the oak has been used for shipbuilding.
+The Saxons, we are told, kept a formidable fleet of vessels with curved
+bottoms and the prow and poop adorned with representations of the head
+and tail of some grotesque and fabulous creature. King Alfred had many
+vessels that carried sixty oars and were entirely of oak. A vessel
+supposed to be of his time has been discovered in the bed of a river in
+Kent, and after the lapse of so many centuries it is as sound as ever
+and as hard as iron."
+
+"Do oak trees ever have apples on 'em?" asked Clara. "In a story that I
+read there was something about 'oak-apples.'"
+
+[Illustration: THE OAK-GALL INSECT (_Cynips_).]
+
+"They are not apples such as we eat, or fruit in any sense," said her
+governess. "They are the work of a species of fly called _Cynips_, which
+is very apt to attack the oak. 'The female insect is armed with a sharp
+weapon called an _ovipositor_, which she plunges into a leaf and makes
+a wound. Here she lays her eggs; and when she has done so, she flies
+away and we hear no more of her. But the wound she has made disturbs the
+circulation of the sap. It flows round and round the eggs as though it
+had met with some foreign body it would fain remove. Very soon the eggs
+are in the midst of a ball-like and fleshy chamber--the most suitable
+provision for them, and one which the parent-insect had provided by
+means of puncturing the leaf. As the eggs are hatched the grubs will
+find themselves safely housed and in the midst of an abundance
+of food.'"
+
+[Illustration: OAK-APPLES.]
+
+"Well," exclaimed Malcolm, in great disgust, "_apple_ is a queer name
+for a ball full of little flies!"
+
+"It's a very pretty ball, though," said Miss Harson, "with a smooth skin
+and tinged with red or yellow, like a ripe apple. If it is cut open, a
+number of granules are seen, each containing a grub embedded in a
+fruit-like substance. The grub undergoes its transformation, and in due
+course emerges a perfect insect. These pretty pink-and-white apples used
+to be gathered by English boys on the twenty-ninth of May, which was
+called 'Oak-Apple Day.'"
+
+"Did they eat 'em?" asked Edith.
+
+"I do not see how they could, dear," was the reply; "they were probably
+gathered just to look at. Yet 'May-apples,' which grow, you will
+remember, on the wild azalea and the swamp honeysuckle, are often eaten,
+and they are formed in the same way; so we will not be too positive
+about the oak-apples."
+
+"What are oak-_galls_, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm. "Are they the same
+as oak-apples?"
+
+"Not quite the same," was the reply, although both are produced by the
+same insect. This is what one of our English books says of them: 'When
+the acorn itself is wounded, it becomes a kind of monstrosity, and
+remains on the stalk like an irregularly-shaped ball. It is called a
+"nut-gall," and is found principally on a small oak, a native of the
+southern and central parts of Europe. All these oak-apples and nut-galls
+are of importance, but the latter more especially, and they form an
+important article of commerce. A substance called "gallic acid" resides
+in the oak; and when the puncture is made by the cynips, it flows in
+great abundance to the wound. Gallic acid is one of the ingredients used
+in dyeing stuffs and cloths, and therefore the supply yielded by the
+nut-gall is highly welcome. The nut-galls are carefully collected from
+the small oak on which they are found, the Pyreneean oak. It is easily
+known by the dense covering of down on the young leaves, that appear
+some weeks later than the leaves of the common oak. The galls are
+pounded and boiled, and into the infusion thus made the stuffs about to
+be dyed are dipped,'"
+
+"I should think," said Clara, "that people would plant oak trees
+everywhere, when they are so useful. Is anything done with the bark?"
+
+"Yes," said her governess; "the bark, which is very rough, is valuable
+for tanning leather and for medicine. The element which has the effect
+of turning raw hide or skin into leather is called _tannin_; it is also
+found in the bark of some other trees and in tropical plants."
+
+"Didn't people use to worship oak trees," asked Malcolm--"people who
+lived ever so long ago?"
+
+"You are thinking of the Druids, who lived in old times in Britain and
+Gaul," replied Miss Harson, "and whose strange heathen rites were
+practiced in oak-groves; and they really did consider the tree sacred.
+These Druids have left their traces in some parts of England and France
+in rows of huge stones set upright; and wherever an immense stone was
+found lying on two others, in the shape of a table, there had been a
+Druid altar, where the priest offered sacrifices, often of human beings.
+So horrible may be a so-called religion that men themselves devise,
+and that has not come from the true God.
+
+[Illustration: DRUIDIC SACRIFICE.]
+
+"It was an article in the Druids' creed, and one to which they strictly
+adhered, that no temple with a covered roof was to be built in honor of
+the gods. All the places appointed for public worship were in the open
+air, and generally on some eminence from which the moon and stars might
+be observed; for to the heavenly bodies much adoration was offered. But
+to afford shelter from wind or rain, and also to ensure privacy and shut
+out all external objects, the place fixed upon, either for teaching
+their disciples or for carrying out the rites of their idolatrous
+worship, was in the recess of some grove or wood. An oak-grove was
+supposed to be the favorite of the gods whom they ignorantly worshiped,
+and therefore the Druids declared the oak to be a sacred tree. The Druid
+priest always bound a wreath of oak-leaves on his forehead before he
+would perform any religious ceremony. One of these ceremonies was to go
+in search of the mistletoe, which sometimes grows on the oak and was
+considered as sacred as the tree itself, being much used in their
+worship. One priest would climb to the branch on which the misletoe was
+growing and cut it with a golden knife, while another priest stood below
+and held out his white robe to receive it.
+
+"These sacred groves were all cut down by the Romans, who waged fierce
+war against the Druids, and nothing is left of them now but the circles
+of stones that formed their temples. At a place called Stonehenge,
+'cromlechs,' or altar-tables, are still standing, and very ancient oaks
+stood in a circle round these stones for many centuries after the Druids
+were swept away."
+
+"Miss Harson," said Clara when all had expressed their horror of the
+Druids and rejoiced that they _were_ swept away, "are there any oak
+trees in the Bible?"
+
+"Look and see," was the reply; "and first you may find Genesis xxxv. 4."
+
+Clara read:
+
+"'And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their
+hands, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid
+them under the _oak_ which was by Shechem.'"
+
+"In the eighth verse of the same chapter," said Miss Harson, "we read
+that Rebekah's nurse was buried under an oak at Bethel. We are told in
+the book of Joshua[2] that 'Joshua took a great stone and set it up
+there under an _oak_, that was by the sanctuary of the Lord;' and in
+Judges[3], 'There came an angel of the Lord and sat under an _oak_ which
+was in Ophrah.'--Malcolm, you may read Second Samuel, eighteenth
+chapter, ninth verse."
+
+[2] Josh. xxiv. 26.
+
+[3] Judg. vi. II.
+
+Malcolm read:
+
+"'And Absalom met the servants of David. And Absalom rode upon a mule,
+and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great _oak_, and his head
+caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the
+earth; and the mule that was under him went away.'"
+
+"Poor Absalom!" said Edith, softly. "Wasn't that dreadful?"
+
+"Yes, dear," replied her governess, "it _was_ dreadful; but it is still
+more dreadful that Absalom was such a wicked man. In Isaiah[4] we read
+of the oaks of Bashan, that, like the cedars of Lebanon, were 'high and
+lifted up,' and the oaks of Bashan are mentioned again in Zechariah[5].
+Several varieties of the oak are found in Palestine.
+
+[4] Isa. ii. 13.
+
+[5] Zech. xi. 2.
+
+[Illustration: ABRAHAM'S OAK, NEAR HEBRON.]
+
+"In his _Ride Through Palestine_, Dr. Dulles tells of a great oak near
+Hebron known as 'Abraham's oak,' supposed to occupy the ground where the
+patriarch pitched his tent under the oaks of Mamre. It is an aged tree,
+and a grand one. Here is a picture of it, from the _Ride_[6]. The crests
+and sides of the hills beyond the Jordan are still clothed, as in
+ancient times, with magnificent oaks.
+
+[6] See page 85
+
+"We get a good idea of the strength and durability of this wood from the
+fact that there is an old wooden church near Ongar, in Essex, the nave
+of which is composed of half logs of oak roughly fastened by wooden
+pegs. The ancient fabric dates back to the time of King Edmund, who was
+slain by the robber Leolf in the year A.D. 946. The oaken church was
+hurriedly put together--according to report--in order to make a
+temporary receptacle for the body of the murdered prince on its way to
+burial. Be that as it may, it was afterward used as a parish church,
+and, though the oaken logs are corroded by the weather, they are still
+sound, and, having been beaten by the storms of a thousand winters, bid
+fair to defy those of a thousand more."
+
+"I should think, then," said Malcolm, "that people would always build
+their houses with oak if it lasts so long."
+
+"Yet they do not do this even in England," was the reply, "where the
+trees grow to such an immense size and the ancient buildings still in
+existence prove the great endurance of the oak. Now brick and stone and
+iron are used, which outlast any wood. And now," continued Miss Harson,
+"I am going to tell you something about a foreign species of this tree
+which I am sure will surprise you. It is found in the South of Europe
+and in Algeria, and is called the _cork oak_."
+
+"'The _cork_ oak'!" exclaimed Clara, quite as much surprised as she was
+expected to be. "Do the corks that come in bottles grow on it?"
+
+"Not just in that shape, dear, but they are made from its bark. The
+outside bark, or _epidermis_, consists of a thin, transparent,
+tissue-like substance, which covers not only the bark, but the whole of
+the tree, stem, leaves and branches, and beneath the epidermis is found
+a layer of cellular tissue, generally green. It covers the trunk and
+branches, fills up the spaces between the veins of the leaves and
+contains the sap, which flows in canals arranged for it in the most
+beautiful and wonderful manner. In one species of oak this layer--which
+is called the _suber_--assumes a peculiar character and is of remarkable
+thickness. When the tree is some five years old, its whole energy is
+directed toward the increase of the suber. A mass of cells is formed
+with great rapidity, and layer upon layer is added, until that part of
+the trunk grows so unwieldy that it would crack and split of its own
+accord. But such a thing is rarely allowed to happen: the suber is of
+too much value to man. After it is taken from the tree and has undergone
+due preparation, it appears in our shops and houses under the name
+of _cork_"
+
+"I should like to see how they get it," said Malcolm.
+
+"The trunk is regularly marked around in deep cuts, which begin close
+to the branches and go down almost to the roots. A ladder is used to
+mount to the upper part of the trunk, and the cuts, or incisions, are
+made with a long knife or with an axe. Then they strip off the sheets of
+cork between the circles. This operation is a very delicate one, and
+requires much care and skill lest the inner part should be injured. If
+the operation is carried out successfully, the cork-like substance will
+grow again and become as abundant as ever.
+
+"The next thing to be done to the pieces of bark is partially to burn,
+or char, them, and also to make them quite flat, as they come from the
+trunk in a rounded shape. The burning makes the pores close up, so that
+the liquid in a vessel for which it is used as a stopper cannot come
+through; and this is done over a brisk fire, in what is called a
+_burning-yard_. Another process, called _rounding_, removes every trace
+of the fire, unless the cork has been too much burned, and then, having
+already been flattened by the pressure of heavy stones, it is ready for
+the cork-maker, who cuts the material first into strips and then into
+squares according to the size of corks wanted.
+
+"Cork is very light and elastic, and can be used successfully in
+contrivances for the rescue of men from the perils of the deep. The cork
+jacket and the lifeboat have been the means of saving many lives, for
+cork will float on the surface of the water and bear up the person
+wearing the jacket and the shipwrecked people in the lifeboat. 'The
+shallowness of the boat and the bulk of cork within allow but little
+room for water; so that even when filled it is in no danger of
+overturning or sinking, like other crafts. Also, the lifeboat can move
+across the waves with perfect safety, and can make its way from one
+object to another in a broken sea as easily as an ordinary boat can pass
+from one ship to another.'"
+
+The children declared that the cork-oak was the best tree of all, but
+they agreed with their governess that the entire oak family was made up
+of grand and useful trees.
+
+"Our American oaks," said Miss Harson, "are very handsome in autumn
+because of their brilliant foliage; the _scarlet oak_, which turns to a
+deep crimson and keeps its leaves longer than any of the other forest
+trees, is the most showy of the species. But we have no cork oaks, and
+no oaks that we know to be a thousand years old. There was once a famous
+oak in this country, called the 'Charter Oak,' which fell to the ground
+in August, 1856, before any of us were born. I wonder if you would like
+to hear the story about it?"
+
+This question was thought extremely funny by three such devourers of
+stories as the little Kyles, and they eagerly assured their governess
+that they would like it.
+
+"If that is really the case," continued Miss Harson, smiling at the
+excited faces, "I must tell you the history of
+
+"THE CHARTER OAK.
+
+"This tree grew in Hartford, Connecticut, and it is said that before the
+English governor Wyllis went there to live his steward, whom he had
+sent on before to get a house ready for him, came near cutting down this
+very oak. He was clearing away the trees around it on the hillside when
+a party of Indians appeared and begged him to leave that particular
+tree, because, they said, 'it had been the guide of their ancestors for
+centuries.' So the oak was spared; even then it was old and hollow.
+
+"King Charles II. granted the people of Connecticut a very liberal
+charter of rights, which was publicly read in the Assembly at Hartford
+and declared to belong for ever to them and their successors. A
+committee was appointed to take charge of it, under a solemn oath that
+they would preserve this palladium of the rights of the people.
+
+"When James II., the tyrannical brother of Charles II., came to the
+throne, he changed the government of New England and ordered the people
+of Connecticut to give up their charter. This they refused to do; and
+when a third command from the king had been sent to them, they called a
+special meeting of the Assembly, under their own governor, Treat, and
+resolved to hold on to the charter which had been given them.
+
+"On the 31st of October, 1687, Sir Edmund Andros, attended by members of
+his council and a bodyguard of sixty soldiers, entered Hartford to take
+the charter by force. The General Assembly was in session; he was
+received with courtesy, but with coldness. He entered the assembly-room
+and publicly demanded the charter. Remonstrances were made, and the
+session was protracted till evening. The governor and his associates
+appeared to yield. The charter was brought in and laid upon the table.
+Sir Edmund thought that he had succeeded, when suddenly the lights were
+all put out, and total darkness followed. There was no noise, no
+conflict, but all was quiet. When the candles were again lighted, _the
+charter was gone_! Sir Edmund was disconcerted. He declared the
+government of Connecticut to be in his own hands, and that the colony
+was annexed to Massachusetts and the other New England colonies, and
+proceeded to appoint officers. Captain Jeremiah Wadsworth, a patriot of
+those times, had hidden the charter in the hollow of Wyllis's oak,
+whence it was afterward known as the Charter Oak."
+
+"Then the English governor couldn't get it!" exclaimed Malcolm,
+delightedly. "Wasn't that splendid?"
+
+"It was a grand hiding-place, certainly, for no one would think of
+looking inside a tree for such a thing as that, and they were grand men
+who preserved their country's liberties in those trying times. But more
+peaceful years were at hand. About eighteen months after the charter had
+disappeared so mysteriously, the tyrant James II. was compelled to give
+up his throne to his daughter and son-in-law, the prince and princess of
+Orange, and Governor Treat and his associates again took the government
+of Connecticut under the old charter, which the hollow oak had
+faithfully kept from harm. No tree in our whole country has received
+more attention than this historic Hartford oak; and when, at last, its
+mere shell of a trunk was laid low by a storm, it seemed as if a large
+part of the city had been swept away.
+
+"Ancient oaks are apt to be almost entirely without branches; the huge
+trunk, with an opening at the top, and often with one also at the
+bottom, stands like a maimed giant, just tottering, perhaps, to its
+fall, because of the decay going on within, while outside all seems fair
+and sound. It was so with the Charter Oak; and when this monarch of the
+forest was unexpectedly laid low, rich and poor, great and small, were
+gathered to mourn its loss. A dirge was played and all the bells in the
+city were tolled at sundown, for this monument of the past was a link
+gone that could not be replaced."
+
+"Thank you, Miss Harson," said Clara; "_true_ stories are so nice! But I
+wish I had seen the Charter Oak before it was blown down."
+
+"You could not have done that, dear," was the reply, "unless you had
+been born about thirty years sooner."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+_BEAUTY AND GRACE: THE ASH_.
+
+"What tree comes next, Miss Harson?" asked Clara, on an April day that
+was mild enough for the piazza. "You told us so many interesting things
+about the oak that I suppose we needn't expect to hear of another tree
+like that."
+
+"No," was the reply; "not just like that, perhaps, for the oak is grand
+and venerable above all our familiar trees, but the ash, which is more
+especially an American tree, belongs to a large and interesting family,
+and I am quite sure that you will very much like to hear something about
+it. I have put it next to the oak because there is a sort of rivalry
+between the two as to which can get on its spring dress the soonest, and
+an old English rhyme says,
+
+     "'If the oak's before the ash,
+     Then you may expect a splash;
+     But if the ash is 'fore the oak,
+     Then you must beware a soak.'"
+
+"That must mean," said Malcolm, after considering this rather puzzling
+verse, "that it'll rain any way."
+
+"I think it does," replied Miss Harson, with a smile at Malcolm's air of
+deep thought, "and it is quite safe to say that in England. But, as 'a
+soak' sounds more serious than 'a splash,' it is to be hoped that the
+ash will not get ahead of the oak. I do not know what they are doing in
+England this year, but here the oak is a day or two ahead. The foliage
+of the ash is entirely different, as it has _pinnate_ leaves, which
+means leaves arranged in two rows, one on each side of a common stem, or
+_petiole_, like--What, Clara?"
+
+"Rose-leaves," was the prompt reply.
+
+"And leaves of the locust trees on the other side of the road," added
+Malcolm.
+
+[Illustration: THE COMMON ASH.]
+
+"And the sumac," said their governess, "and a number of others that
+might be mentioned. This kind of foliage is always graceful, and the
+ash is one of our largest and handsomest trees. It is said to be more
+common in America than in any other part of the globe. In Europe,
+because of its beauty, it is called the painter's tree. It is a
+particularly neat and regular-looking tree, and its smooth gray trunk
+is higher than that of most trees before any branches appear. Where is
+there a tree on the grounds answering this description, Malcolm?"
+
+"Down at the end of the vegetable-garden," was the reply, "and close
+beside the laundry."
+
+[Illustration: AMERICAN WHITE ASH.]
+
+"Yes; you are really learning to distinguish trees very well. There are
+several species--the white, red, black and mountain ash. The white ash
+is a graceful tree, rising in the forest to the height of seventy or
+eighty feet, with a straight trunk and a diameter of three feet or more
+at the base. On an open plain it throws out its branches, with a gentle
+double curvature, to a distance on every side, and forms a broad, round
+head of great beauty. The flowers of the ash are greenish white in color
+and appear with the leaves in loose clusters. 'The trunk of our largest
+American ash is covered with a whitish bark which in very young trees is
+nearly smooth; on older trees it is broken by deep furrows into
+irregular plates, and on very old stems it becomes smooth again, from
+the rough plates scaling off. The branches are grayish green dotted with
+gray or white.' Now who can tell _me_ something about this tree?"
+
+"I know that furniture is made of the wood," said Clara, "because that
+pretty set in the large spare-room is ash. And it is very
+light-colored."
+
+"The wood is used for a great many things," replied Miss Harson, "and
+the ash has been called the husbandman's tree because the timber is so
+much in demand for farming-implements, and for articles that need to be
+both strong and light. It does not last so long as the oak, but it is
+more elastic and can better resist sudden shocks and jerks; it is
+therefore particularly desirable for the spokes of wheels and ladders
+and the beams of floors. Staircases were made of it in olden times, and
+they may still be found in some English halls and abbeys. The forest ash
+makes better oars than any other wood, and the tree has so many good
+qualities that an old English poet spoke of it as
+
+     "'The ash for nothing ill.'
+
+"But Malcolm looks as if he had something to say, and I shall be very
+happy to hear it."
+
+"It is only about the red berries that they bear in autumn, Miss Harson;
+it looks queer to see berries growing on a tree."
+
+"The mountain ash is the only one that has berries," replied his
+governess, "and the bloom is in clusters of white flowers. The berries
+are sometimes dark red and often of a bright scarlet, and they remain on
+the tree during the winter, to the great delight of the birds. We should
+find them very sour, although pretty to look at; but the little
+feathered wanderers eat them with great relish when the snows of winter
+make bird-food scarce and the bright-red berries gleam out most
+invitingly. In some parts of Europe the berries are dried and ground
+into flour. The rowan, or roan, tree is the English name of the mountain
+ash, and in some parts of Great Britain it is called _witchen_, because
+of its supposed power against witches and evil spirits and all their
+spells. In old times branches of it were hung about houses and stables
+and cow-sheds, for it was thought that
+
+             "'witches have no power
+     Where there is roan-tree wood.'"
+
+"But that isn't true, is it?" asked Edith.
+
+"No, dear, not true of either the witches or the wood. But ignorant
+people believe a great many foolish things, and the leaves and twigs of
+the ash tree were thought to have peculiar virtue. In some places it was
+once the practice to pluck an ash-leaf in every case where the leaflets
+were of even number, and to say,
+
+     "'Even ash, I do thee pluck,
+     Hoping thus to meet good luck;
+     If no luck I get from thee,
+     Better far be on the tree.'"
+
+"It sounds like what children say on finding a four-leafed clover," said
+Clara.
+
+"It is on the same principle," was the reply, "for clover-leaves grow
+naturally in threes and ash-leaves in sevens. Both rhymes are equally
+silly where luck is concerned, and those who believe God's words--that
+even 'the hairs of our head are all numbered'--will have no faith in
+'luck.' In old times the ash was believed to perform wonderful cures of
+various kinds, and in remote parts of England a little mouse called the
+shrew-mouse bore a very bad character. If a horse or cow had pains in
+its limbs, they were said to be caused by a shrew-mouse running over it.
+Our forefathers provided themselves with what they called a shrew-ash,
+in order to meet the case. The shrew-ash was nothing more than an ash
+tree in the trunk of which a hole had been bored and a poor little
+shrew-mouse put in, with many charms and incantations happily long since
+forgotten."
+
+"And couldn't the poor little mouse get out again?" asked Edith.
+
+"I am afraid not, dear; and we can only rejoice that we did not live in
+those dark days. Among other beliefs in its virtues, the leaves and
+wood of the ash were regarded throughout Northern Europe as a protection
+from all manner of snakes, and in harvest-time children were suspended
+in their cradles from the branches of tall ash trees while their mothers
+were working in the harvest-field below. Even now serpents are said to
+dislike the tree so much that they will not come near it, and the leaf
+is considered a cure for the bite of a poisonous snake. I have been told
+that an ash-leaf rubbed on a mosquito-bite will at once take out the
+sting and itching, and no better remedy can be found for the sting of a
+bee or a wasp."
+
+"It's ever so much nicer than mud," said Clara, who had rather a talent
+for getting into hornets' nests.
+
+"But the mud, you see, is always to be had," replied Miss Harson, "while
+ash-leaves do not grow everywhere; and I do not know that they have any
+power to cure the sting.
+
+"The other species of ash found in this country are not so important as
+the white, but the black ash is remarkable as the slenderest deciduous
+tree of its height to be found in the forest. It is often seventy or
+eighty feet tall, with a trunk not more than a foot around. The color of
+the trunk is a dark granite-gray and the bark is rough. The wood is
+remarkable for its toughness, and for making baskets the Indians prefer
+it to any other, except the trunk of a young white oak.
+
+"The red ash is very much like the white, but the wood is less valuable.
+It is a spreading, broad-headed tree, and the trunk is erect and
+branching. It is not so tall as the black ash, yet its trunk is three
+times as thick.
+
+"A species of ash grows in Sicily that yields a substance called _manna_
+which used to be valuable as a medicine, and this manna is obtained in
+the same way as maple-sap--by making holes or incisions in the bark of
+the tree. At the proper season the persons whose business it is to
+collect manna begin to make incisions, one after the other, up the stem.
+The manna flows out like clear water, but it soon congeals and becomes
+a solid substance. It has a sweet taste, and while in a liquid state
+runs into a leaf of the tree that has been inserted in the wound.
+Afterward it flows into a vessel placed below, from which it is carried
+away and shipped off to other countries."
+
+"Is there any story about the ash?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Not much of a story, dear," was the reply--"only a little legend of the
+manna trees; but, such as it is, you shall have it:
+
+"The king of Naples, it is said, fenced a number of trees round and
+forbade any to collect the store they yielded unless they paid a
+tribute. By this means the royal revenue would be largely increased.
+But, according to the story, the manna trees, as if they disapproved of
+this ungenerous arrangement, refused to yield any manna, and suddenly
+became bare and barren. Upon this the king, finding his scheme a
+failure, revoked the tax and took away the fence. Then the trees poured
+out their manna, as usual, in the greatest abundance; so that it was
+said, 'When the king found he could not make a gain of what Providence
+had freely bestowed, he gave up the attempt and left the manna as free
+as God had given it.'
+
+[Illustration: THE SWING.]
+
+"There, now!" said Miss Harson; "after this long talk, you had better
+run off and see if there is not a tree somewhere on the grounds, with
+two ropes attached to it, that will bear better fruit than any tree we
+have studied yet."
+
+The trio laughed and raced for the swing, which was first reached by
+Clara, who seated herself all ready for the push which Malcolm would not
+grudge, for he pronounced his sister sweeter than apple or peach; and
+so she was.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+_THE OLIVE TREE_.
+
+"The ash," said Miss Harson, "has some relations of which, I think, you
+will be rather surprised to hear. These relations are both trees and
+shrubs, and the lilac, for instance, is one of them."
+
+"Why, they don't look a bit alike," exclaimed Clara.
+
+"No, they certainly do not; for, although this fragrant shrub often
+grows as large as a tree, it is quite different from the ash tree. Yet
+both belong to the olive family."
+
+"The kind of olives that papa likes to eat at dinner, and that you and I
+_don't_ like, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"The very same," replied his governess; "only that we are speaking now
+of the tree on which the olives grow. It is well said that the very name
+of 'olive' suggests the idea of Palestine and the sunny lands of the
+East. The olive tree is one of the most prominent trees of the Bible. It
+is mentioned in the very earliest part of the Scriptures, in the book of
+Genesis. I wonder if some one can tell me about it?"
+
+"I remember: a dove found a leaf when it was raining and brought it to
+Noah in the ark," said little Edith, quickly.
+
+"The rain had stopped falling, dear, after the deluge, and the waters
+were receding, or falling, when Noah sent forth the dove a second time
+to see what it would find. Here is the verse: 'And the dove came in to
+him in the evening; and lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off;
+so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth[7].' For
+this reason the olive-branch is a common emblem of peace. The olive tree
+is often mentioned in other parts of the Bible, and was considered one
+of the most valuable trees of Palestine, which is described as 'a land
+of oil-olive and honey.' It is not nearly so handsome as some other
+trees of the Holy Land, nor is it grand-looking or graceful. The
+leaves, which are long for the width, and smooth, are dark green on the
+upper side and silvery beneath; they generally grow in pairs. The fruit
+is shaped like a plum; it is green when first formed, then paler in
+color; and when quite ripe, it is black."
+
+[7] Gen. viii. 9.
+
+"But those that papa eats are olive-color," said Clara.
+
+"Yes," replied Miss Harson, smiling, "but all these hues I have
+mentioned are olive-color in some stage of the fruit; and it is in the
+green stage, before it is quite ripe, that it is gathered for
+preserving."
+
+"But that isn't _preserves_, is it?" asked Malcolm, drawing up his mouth
+at the recollection of an olive he had once tried to eat. "I thought
+preserves were always sweet."
+
+"That is the shape in which you are accustomed to them, Malcolm; but to
+preserve a thing means to keep it from decay, and salt and vinegar will
+do this as well as sugar. Preserves of this kind are what _you_ call
+'puckery.'--As to the color, Clara, 'olive-green' is a color by itself,
+because of its peculiar tint. It is a gray green instead of a blue or
+yellow green, and it has a very dull effect. The fruit is produced only
+once in two years, and in bearing-season the tree is loaded with white
+blossoms that drop to the ground like flakes of snow. It is said that
+not one in a hundred of these numerous flowers becomes an olive. Here,"
+continued Miss Harson, pointing to a page of a book in her hand, "is a
+representation of an olive-branch with some of the plum-shaped fruit.
+The branch, you see, is hard and stiff-looking."
+
+[Illustration: OLIVE-BRANCH WITH FRUIT.]
+
+"I should think the tree would be prettier when all those white flowers
+are on it," said little Edith.
+
+"It is--much prettier," replied her governess--"but not so useful. The
+fruit of the olive is so valuable that numbers of people depend upon it
+for their support. The wood, too, is very hard and durable, and, as it
+takes a fine polish, it is used for making many ornamental articles."
+
+"And where does the olive-oil come from?" asked Clara. "Do they make
+holes in the tree for it, as they do for maple-sap?"
+
+Malcolm was about to exclaim at this idea, but he remembered just in
+time that, should Miss Harson happen to question him, he himself could
+not tell where the oil came from.
+
+"The oil is pressed from the olives," was the reply; "a large, vigorous
+tree is said to yield a thousand pounds of it. It is such an important
+article of commerce in the regions where it is prepared that every one
+desires to get as much as he can out of his olive trees, but those who
+are too greedy of gain will spoil the quality of the oil to make a
+larger quantity. The small olive of Syria is considered the most
+delicate, and Italian olives also are very fine; those of Spain are
+larger and coarser. The best olive-oil comes from the south-eastern
+portion of France and is a clear, pure liquid; it is obtained from the
+first pressing of the fruit. This must be only a gentle squeeze, to get
+the purest oil: the quality usually sold is made by a heavier pressure;
+and then, when the olives are worked over again, come the dregs, which
+are not fit for table-use."
+
+"Do they mash 'em, like making apples into cider?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Something like that; and the olive-farmers take the most anxious care
+of their orchards, for they know that the more olives the more oil.
+This with the Italians means a living, and one of their proverbs says,
+'If you wish to leave a competency to your grandchildren, plant an
+olive.' The poorest of the fruit is eaten in their own families, 'to
+save it,' and, as it does not taste so well, it will go much farther.
+They do not eat olives, though, as we see them eaten--one or two as a
+relish; but a respectable dishful is provided for each person, instead
+of the bread and potatoes which they do not have."
+
+"I'd rather have the bread and potatoes," said Clara, "and I'm glad that
+I don't have to eat a whole plate of olives."
+
+"If you had always been accustomed to having olives, as the Italians
+are," replied Miss Harson, "you would think them very nice. I do not
+suppose that their children ever think how much more inviting are the
+olives that are kept for sale. Olives intended for exportation are
+gathered while still green, usually in the month of October. They are
+soaked for some hours in the strongest lye, to get rid of their
+bitterness, and are afterward allowed to stand for a fortnight in
+frequently-changed fresh water, in order to be perfectly purified of the
+lye. It only then remains to preserve them in common salt and water,
+when they are ready for export."
+
+"That's what they taste of," exclaimed Malcolm--"salt; and I don't like
+salt things."
+
+"I think," said his governess, with a smile, "that I have seen a boy
+whom I know enjoying sliced ham and tongue very much indeed."
+
+"So I do, Miss Harson," was the eager reply; "but ham and tongue, you
+know, don't taste like olives."
+
+"No, because they are ham and tongue. But they certainly taste salty,
+and that is what you object to. It is generally found that sweeping
+assertions are not very safe ones. But to come back to our olive tree:
+it is an evergreen, and it grows very easily. The readiness with which a
+twig will take root reminds us of the willow. A fine grove of olive
+trees at Messa, in Morocco, was accidentally planted. It is said that
+one of the kings of the dynasty of Saddia, being on a military
+expedition, encamped here with his army. The pegs with which the cavalry
+picketed their horses were cut from olive trees in the neighborhood,
+and, some sudden cause of alarm leading to the abandonment of the
+position, the pegs were left in the ground. Making the best of the
+situation, the pegs developed into the handsomest group of olive trees
+in the district."
+
+The children wondered if any trees had ever been planted in such a
+strange way before, and little Edith said thoughtfully,
+
+"But, Miss Harson, why don't good people go around and plant trees
+wherever there aren't any? It would be so nice!"
+
+"Some good people do plant trees, dear, wherever they can," replied her
+governess, "thinking, as they say, of those who are to come after them;
+a great many roadside trees have grown in this way. But no one is
+allowed to meddle with other people's property; waste-places might
+easily be beautified with trees if the owners cared for anything but for
+their own present interests. But here is something you will like to
+hear about the olives of Palestine: 'They are all planted together in
+the grove like the trees in a forest, and it would seem scarcely
+possible for the owners to distinguish their own property. But when the
+fruit is getting ripe, watchmen are appointed to guard the grove and
+prevent a single olive from being touched even by the person who has a
+right to the tree.'--You do not look as if you would like
+that, Malcolm."
+
+[Illustration: OLIVE TREE.--GATHERING THE FRUIT.]
+
+"Indeed I wouldn't!" replied the boy. "I rather think I'd take my own
+olives whenever I wanted 'em."
+
+"Not if you lived where all were agreed on this point, as they seem to
+be in Palestine.--'Days pass on, and the autumn is at hand before the
+governor of the district issues the wished-for proclamation; then the
+watchmen are removed. Immediately the scene becomes a most animated one.
+The grove is alive with an eager throng of men, women and children
+shaking down the precious fruit. It is, however, scarcely possible to
+bring every berry down, nor would it seem desirable, since after this
+great harvest comes the gleaning-time, when the poor, who have no olive
+trees, are permitted to come into the grove and shake down what
+is left.'"
+
+"Isn't there something about that in the Bible, Miss Harson?" asked
+Clara.
+
+"Yes; it is in the book of the prophet Isaiah, 'Yet gleaning grapes
+shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three
+berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost
+fruitful branches thereof, saith the Lord God of Israel[8].' This is a
+prophecy about God's people, but the Jews were told by God to leave
+something, when they were harvesting, for the poor to glean. Does it not
+seem wonderful that the mighty Ruler of the universe should condescend
+to such small things? But nothing is small with him, and we see that his
+loving care extends to the poorest and the meanest."
+
+[8] Isa. xvii. 6.
+
+"Miss Harson," asked Edith, with great earnestness, "has each of our
+hairs got a number on it? I couldn't find any."
+
+The young lady could scarcely keep from smiling, but she was obliged to
+call Malcolm to order, and even Clara seemed amused at her little
+sister's queer interpretation of the loving words, "The very hairs of
+your head are all numbered."
+
+Miss Harson took her youngest pupil on her knee and explained to her the
+meaning of our Saviour's words in Luke xii. 7, where it is added, "Fear
+not,", because the heavenly Father's loving care is always around us.
+
+"It was a natural mistake," she continued, "for a very little girl to
+make; but we must not try to find amusement in mistakes about God's
+word. Many grown people are irreverent in this way without knowing it:
+perhaps they were not properly taught when they were children. But _my_
+children must not have this excuse, and I want them all to promise me
+that they will never utter nor listen to words from the Bible in any
+other but a reverent manner."
+
+All promised, Malcolm with a flushed face and subdued tone; and Edith
+felt that one of the great puzzles of her small existence had
+been solved.
+
+"Oil is the most important product of the olive tree," said Miss Harson,
+"and it has well been called its richness and fatness. The great demand
+for it in Europe and Asia prevents the best quality from being sent
+abroad, and it is said that even the most wealthy foreigners seldom get
+it pure. It is a most important article of food, taking the place held
+by butter and lard with us. Innumerable lamps, too, are kept burning by
+means of this oil, and so varied are its uses in the East that it was a
+greater thing than we can understand for the prophet Habakkuk to say,
+'Although the labor of the olive shall fail, ... yet will I rejoice in
+the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.' Job says, 'The rock
+poured me out rivers of oil[9];' this means the oil of the olive, which
+will thrive on the sides and tops of rocky hills where there is scarcely
+any earth. It is a very long-lived tree, as well as an evergreen; the
+Psalmist says, 'I am like a green olive tree in the house of God.'"
+
+[9] Job xxiii. 6.
+
+"What does a _wild_ olive tree mean, Miss Harson?" asked Clara.
+
+"It means, dear, one that has grown without being cultivated, like our
+wild cherry and plum trees. The wild olive is smaller than the other,
+and inferior to it in every way. There are a great many olive trees in
+Palestine, and a place where they must have been very plentiful is
+called by a name which we often see in the Bible.--What is it, Malcolm?"
+
+"Is it 'the Mount of Olives'?" said Malcolm.
+
+"Yes, and it is sometimes called 'Olivet.' It is mentioned in the Old
+Testament as well as in the New. In Second Samuel it is written: 'And
+David went up by the ascent of Mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and
+had his head covered, and he went barefoot: and all the people that was
+with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they
+went up[10].'"
+
+[10] 2 Sam. xv. 30.
+
+"What was the matter?" asked Edith.
+
+"King David's wicked son Absalom had risen up against his father because
+he wished to be king in his stead. You remember how he was caught by the
+head in the boughs of an oak during the very battle that he was fighting
+for this purpose; so we know that he did not succeed in his wicked plan,
+but lost his life instead.--The Mount of Olives is described as 'a
+ridge running north and south on the east side of Jerusalem, its summit
+about half a mile from the city wall and separated from it by the valley
+of the Kidron. It is composed of a chalky limestone, the rocks
+everywhere showing themselves. The olive trees that formerly covered it
+and gave it its name are now represented by a few trees and clumps of
+trees. There are three prominent summits on the ridge; of these, the
+southernmost, which is lower than the other two, is now known as 'the
+Mount of Offence,' originally 'the Mount of Corruption,' because Solomon
+defiled it with idolatrous worship. Over this ridge passes the road to
+Bethany, the most frequented route to Jericho and the Jordan. The side
+of the Mount of Olives toward the west contains many tombs cut in the
+rock. The central summit rises two hundred feet above Jerusalem and
+presents a fine view of the city, and, indeed, of the whole region,
+including the mountains of Ephraim on the north, the valley of the
+Jordan on the east, a part of the Dead Sea on the south-east, and beyond
+it Kerak, in the mountains of Moab. Perhaps no spot on earth unites so
+fine a view with so many memorials of the most solemn and important
+events. Over this hill the Saviour often climbed in his journeys to and
+from the Holy City. Gethsemane lay at its foot on the west, and Bethany
+on its eastern slope.'"
+
+During the reading of this description of the Mount of Olives, Miss
+Harson showed the children pictures of the different spots mentioned,
+and thus they were not likely soon to forget what had been told them.
+
+"Who can repeat some words from the New Testament about this mountain?"
+asked Miss Harson.
+
+"'Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives,'" said Clara, who had learned
+this verse in her Sunday lesson, "and it is the first verse of the
+eighth chapter of St. John."
+
+"And the verse just before it, at the end of the seventh chapter,"
+replied her governess, "says that 'every man went unto his own house,'
+but 'Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives.' In another place it is said
+that 'at night he went out and abode in the Mount of Olives,' and in
+still another that he 'continued all night in prayer to God,' probably
+on the same mountain."
+
+"And can people really go and see the very same Mount of Olives now?"
+asked Malcolm, eagerly.
+
+"The very same," was the reply, "except, as I just read to you, many of
+the olive trees that gave it its name are no longer there. The Garden of
+Gethsemane, too, the most sacred spot near the mountain, is much
+changed, and a traveler who saw it lately says:
+
+"'At the foot of the Mount of Olives is a garden enclosed by a wall.
+There are paths and there are plots of flowers, the work of loving hands
+in recent years. The flowers speak of to-day, but there are olive trees
+in the garden that testify of the history of far-away years. Their
+venerable trunks, gnarled and rugged, are like the rough, marred binding
+of old books, shutting in a history going back to a far-off date.
+
+"'On one side of this garden slope upward the terraces of the Mount of
+Olives--terraces that are cultivated to-day even as the slopes of Olivet
+have been cultivated for generations and centuries. The other side of
+the garden looks toward the eastern wall of Jerusalem. Deep down in its
+shadowy bed, between the wall and the garden, lies the ravine of
+the Kedron.
+
+[Illustration: GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE.]
+
+"'If you visit that garden and look upon its old olive trees, the
+keeper of the place will tell you that you are in Gethsemane, the spot
+of our Saviour's betrayal. He will point out the "Grotto of the Agony,"
+the place where the disciples slumbered, and that where Judas, before
+his brethren, ceased publicly to be a follower and became the betrayer
+of Jesus. Some things you very naturally may question as the guardian of
+the enclosure tells his story. Whether any one of the venerable olive
+trees ever threw its shadow across the prostrate form of Jesus is more
+than doubtful, but that these trees are burdened with the history of
+centuries all must concede. "Gethsemane" means "oil-press," and olive
+trees long ago gave Olivet its name. That somewhere in this neighborhood
+the Saviour suffered cannot be doubted, and within that closed wall may
+have been the very spot where he bowed in his agony, and where he heard
+the tongue of Judas utter his treacherous "Rabbi!" and where he felt the
+serpent-breath of the traitor as that traitor kissed him.'"
+
+Miss Harson read of this solemn spot in a low, reverent tone; and the
+little audience were very quiet, until at last Clara said,
+
+"Whenever we see an ash tree or olives, how much there will be to think
+of!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+_THE USEFUL BIRCH_.
+
+"Oh, Miss Harson!" called out Clara, in great excitement, as she caught
+up with her governess on a run; "hasn't Edie poisoned herself? She has
+been eating this twig."
+
+Edith, of course, at once began to cry.
+
+"You are not poisoned, dear," said Miss Harson, very quickly, after
+trying the twig herself; "for this is birch-wood, and it cannot possibly
+hurt you. But remember, Edie, that this must not happen again; _never_
+put anything to your mouth unless you know it to be harmless. The birds
+and squirrels and other animals that are obliged to pick up their own
+living as soon as they are able to use their limbs have the faculty
+given them of knowing what is good for them to eat, but little girls are
+not intended to live in the woods, and they cannot tell whether or not
+the things they find there are fit to eat."
+
+"I took only a little bit," sobbed Edith; "Clara snatched it away as
+soon as it tasted good."
+
+Malcolm laughingly tossed his little sister into a sort of evergreen
+cradle where the branches grew low--for they were enjoying an afternoon
+in the woods--and held her there securely, while their governess
+replied,
+
+"'A little bit' is too much of a thing that might be harmful. You must
+remember to 'touch not, taste not, handle not,' until you have asked
+permission. But I am going to let you all chew as many birch-shoots as
+you want, and I too shall chew some; for when I was a little girl, I
+used to think they were 'puffickly d'licious.'"
+
+The children were much amazed to think that Miss Harson had ever talked
+like Edith--indeed, the two older ones could scarcely believe that they
+once did so themselves; but all soon had their hands full of
+birch-twigs, and they began gnawing like so many squirrels. All approved
+of the "birchskin," as Edith called it, and Malcolm declared that "it
+would be grand fun to live in the woods all the time."
+
+"Couldn't we have a tent, Miss Harson," asked Clara, "and try it?"
+
+"I have no doubt," was the reply, "that your indulgent papa would have a
+tent put up here for you if he thought it would make you happier, but I
+have my doubts as to whether it would do so. In the first place, I
+should object very much to living in the tent with you, and how could
+you possibly live there alone?"
+
+Clara and Edith were quite sure that they could not get along without
+their friend and governess, but Malcolm thought he would like to try
+being a hermit or an Indian, he was not quite ready to say which.
+
+"While you are deciding," said Miss Harson, with a smile, "it may be as
+well for us to go on as usual; but I think that a little tent could be
+put up here somewhere, which we might enjoy for an hour or so on
+pleasant days. I will see about it."
+
+The little girls were delighted, and Malcolm finally condescended to be
+pleased with the idea.
+
+"This is a very young birch," continued their governess, "and you see
+how slender and graceful it is; also that the bark, or 'skin,' is very
+dark. For this reason it is called the black, or cherry, birch, and also
+because the tree is very much like the black cherry. It is also called
+sweet birch and mahogany birch; the _sweet_ part you can probably
+understand, and it gets its other name from the color of the wood, which
+often resembles mahogany and at one time was much used for furniture.
+There are larger trees of the same kind all around us, and I should like
+to know if anything else has been noticed besides the twigs of this
+little one."
+
+"_I_ see something," replied Malcolm: "there are flowers--purple and
+yellow."
+
+"And what is the particular name for these tree-blossoms?" asked Miss
+Harson.
+
+"Isn't it _catkins_?" inquired Clara, timidly.
+
+"Yes, catkins, or aments. They hang, as you see, like long tassels of
+purple and gold, and are as fragrant as the bark. Bryant's line,
+
+     "'The fragrant birch above him hung her tassels in the sky,'
+
+"was written of this same black birch. Some of these trees are sixty or
+seventy feet high, and all are very graceful, this species being
+considered the most beautiful of the numerous birch family. The leaves,
+which are just coming out, are two or three inches long and about half
+as wide; they taper to a point and have serrate, or sawlike, edges. The
+wood is firm and durable, and is much used for cattle-yokes as well as
+for bedsteads and chairs. The large trees yield a great quantity of
+sweetish sap, which makes a pleasant drink. The trees are tapped just as
+the sugar-maples are, and in some parts of the country gathering this
+sap, which is sometimes used to make vinegar, is quite an
+important event."
+
+"Oh! oh! _oh_!" screamed Edith, and began to run.
+
+"Oh! oh! oh!" echoed Clara; and Malcolm declared that she was just like
+"Jill," who "came tumbling after."
+
+"What is the matter, children?" asked their governess, in dismay; but
+she stood perfectly still.
+
+"Only a poor little garter-snake," said Malcolm, "putting his head out
+to see if it's warm enough for him yet. But he has gone back into his
+hole frightened to death at such dreadful noises. Hello! what's the
+matter with Edie now?"
+
+The little sister had fallen, tripped up by some rough roots, and,
+expecting the poor startled garter-snake to come and make a meal off
+her, she was calling loudly for help.
+
+Miss Harson had her in her arms in a moment, and it was soon found that
+one foot had quite a bad bruise.
+
+"If only you had not run away!" said her governess. "He was such an
+innocent little snake to make all this fuss about, and very pretty too,
+if you had stopped to look at him."
+
+"Are snakes ever pretty?" asked Edith, in great surprise.
+
+"Certainly they are, dear, and this one had lovely stripes. I wish you
+could have seen him."
+
+The little girl began to wish so too, it was so funny to think of a
+snake being pretty, and she felt quite ashamed that she had scampered
+away in such a silly fashion.
+
+"What a goose I was!" said Clara, doing her thinking aloud. "But I
+thought it must be something dreadful, when Edie screamed so."
+
+"How much better it would have been to have found out before you
+screamed!" replied Miss Harson.--"But come, Edith; see what a nice cane
+Malcolm has just cut to help your lame foot with. He is offering you his
+arm, too, on the other side, and between the two I think you will get
+along finely."
+
+Edith thought the same thing, and enjoyed being helped home in this
+fashion. Her foot was quite painful, though, and considerably swollen;
+and Clara bathed it with arnica when the little girl had been
+comfortably established on the schoolroom sofa.
+
+"Perhaps," said Miss Harson, "our little invalid will not care to hear
+about trees this evening?"
+
+But the little invalid did care, and it was decided to take a further
+ramble among the birches.
+
+"I want to hear about birch-bark," said Malcolm--"not the kind we've
+been eating, but the kind that canoes and things are made of."
+
+[Illustration: THE CUT-LEAVED WHITE BIRCH.]
+
+"You have already heard about the black birch," replied his governess,
+"and, besides this, we have the white, or gray, birch, the bark of which
+is white, chalky and dotted with black; the red birch, with bark of a
+reddish or chocolate color; the yellow birch, bark yellowish, with a
+silvery lustre; and the canoe birch, which has a white bark with a
+pearly lustre. There is also a dwarf, or shrub, birch. The list, you
+see, is quite a long one."
+
+"What kind grow in _our_ woods?" asked Clara.
+
+"You certainly know of one kind," was the reply--"the black, or sweet,
+birch, which we have all tried and like so well. Besides this, there is
+the white, or little gray, birch, which is seldom over twenty-five or
+thirty feet high. It is, however, a graceful and beautiful object,
+enjoying to an eminent decree the lightness and airiness of the birch
+family, and spreading out its glistening leaves on the ends of a very
+slender and often pensile spray with an indescribable softness. An
+English poet has called this tree the
+
+                           "'most beautiful
+     Of forest-trees, the lady of the woods.'"
+
+The children laughed at the idea of calling a tree a _lady_, it seemed
+so comical; but Miss Harson said that she thought this was a very good
+description of a slender, graceful tree.
+
+[Illustration: WHITE-BIRCH LEAF.]
+
+"Four or five inches," she continued, "will span its waist, or trunk,
+and this seems a very good reason for calling it _little_. Another name
+for this tree is poplar birch, because the triangular-shaped leaves,
+which taper to a very long, slender point, have a habit of trembling
+like those of the poplars. The branches are of a dark chocolate color
+which contrasts very prettily with the grayish-white trunk, and their
+extreme slenderness causes them to droop somewhat like those of the
+willow. The white birch will spring up in the poorest kind of soil, and
+it is found in the highest latitude in which any tree can live. Its leaf
+is 'deltoid' in shape and indented at the edge. The bark of this species
+is said to be more durable than any other vegetable substance, and a
+piece of birch-wood was once found changed into stone, while the outer
+bark, white and shining, remained in its natural state,"
+
+"I don't see how it could," said Malcolm. "What kept it from turning
+into stone too?"
+
+"Its peculiar nature," was the reply, "which is a thing that we cannot
+explain, and we shall have to take the story just as it is. We certainly
+know that the wood has been proved to be very strong, and it is much
+used for timber."
+
+"Is the red birch really red, Miss Harson?" asked Clara, who thought
+that this promised to be the prettiest member of the family.
+
+"The bark has a reddish tinge, and it is so loose and ragged-looking
+that it has been said to roll up its bark in coarse ringlets, which are
+whitish with a stain of crimson. The red birch, which is more rare than
+any of the other kinds, is a much larger tree than the white birch, but,
+like all its relations, it is very graceful. The wood is white and hard
+and makes very good fuel, while the twigs are made into brooms for
+sweeping streets and courtyards."
+
+"But there isn't very much red about it, after all," said Malcolm.
+
+"It wasn't red," murmured Edith; "it was green;" and the next moment
+"the baby" was fast asleep, but Miss Harson was afraid that she had
+taken the snake with her to the land of Nod, so restless was her sleep.
+
+"I hope the yellow birch is yellow," said Clara again.
+
+"We will see what is said of its color," replied her governess, "and
+here it is: 'Distinguished by its yellowish bark, of a soft silken
+texture and silvery or pearly lustre,' It is a large tree, and has been
+named _excelsa_--'lofty'--because of its height. The slender, flowing
+branches are very graceful, and the tree is often as symmetrical as a
+fine elm, but droops less. The roots of the yellow birch seem to enjoy
+getting above the ground and twisting themselves in a very fantastic
+manner, and, taken altogether, it is a strikingly handsome and
+ornamental tree. The wood was at one time much liked for fuel, and many
+of the logs were of immense size."
+
+"Now," said Malcolm, gleefully, "the canoe birch has _got_ to come next,
+because there isn't anything else to come."
+
+"That is an excellent reason," replied Miss Harson, "and the canoe birch
+it shall be. There is more to be said of it than of any of the others,
+and it also grows in greater quantities. Thick woods of it are found in
+Maine and New Hampshire--for it loves a cold climate--and in other
+Northern portions of the country. The tall trunks of the trees resemble
+pillars of polished marble supporting a canopy of bright-green foliage.
+The leaves are something of a heart-shape, and their vivid summer green
+turns to golden tints in autumn. The bark of the canoe birch is almost
+snowy white on the outside, and very prettily marked with fine brown
+stripes two or three inches long, which go around the trunk. This bark
+is very smooth and soft, and it is easily separated into very thin
+sheets. For this reason the tree is often called the paper birch, and
+the smooth, thin layers of bark make very good writing-paper when none
+other can be had."
+
+"Oh, Miss Harson!" exclaimed Clara; "did you ever see any that was
+written on?"
+
+"Yes," was the reply; "I once wrote a letter on some myself."
+
+"Did you _really_?" cried two eager voices. "How _could_ you? Oh, do
+tell us about it!"
+
+"I was making a visit at a village in Maine," said their governess,
+"where the beautiful trees are to be seen in all their perfection, and I
+thought it would be appropriate to write a letter from there on birch
+bark. So I split my bark very thin and got a respectable sheet of it
+ready; then I cut another piece, to form an envelope, and gummed it
+together. I had quite a struggle to write on it decently with a steel
+pen, because the pen would go through the paper; but I persevered, and
+finally I accomplished my letter. It seemed odd to put a postage-stamp
+on birch bark, and I smiled to think how surprised the home-people
+would be to get such a letter. They _were_ surprised, and they told me
+afterward that the postman laughed when he delivered it."
+
+The children thought this very interesting, and they wished that there
+were canoe-birch trees growing at Elmridge, that they might be enabled
+to try the experiment for themselves.
+
+"Now," continued Miss Harson, "I am going to read you an account of
+canoe-making, and of some other uses to which the bark is put:
+
+"'In Canada and in the district of Maine the country-people place large
+pieces of the bark immediately below the shingles of the roof, to form a
+more impenetrable covering for their houses. Baskets, boxes and
+portfolios are made of it, which are sometimes embroidered with silk of
+different colors. Divided into very thin sheets, it forms a substitute
+for paper, and placed between the soles of the shoes and in the crown of
+the hat it is a defence against dampness. But the most important purpose
+to which it is applied, and one in which it is replaced by the bark of
+no other tree, is in the construction of canoes. To procure proper
+pieces, the largest and smoothest trunks are selected. In the spring two
+circular incisions are made, several feet apart, and two longitudinal
+ones on opposite sides of the tree; after which, by introducing a wooden
+wedge, the bark is easily detached. These plates are usually ten or
+twelve feet long and two feet nine inches broad. To form the canoe, they
+are stitched together with fibrous roots of the white spruce about the
+size of a quill, which are deprived of the bark, split and suppled in
+water. The seams are coated with resin of the balm of Gilead.
+
+"'Great use is made of these canoes by the savages and by the French
+Canadians in their long journeys into the interior of the country; they
+are very light, and are easily transported on the shoulders from one
+lake or river to another, which is called the _portage_. A canoe
+calculated for four persons, with their baggage, weighs from forty to
+fifty pounds; some of them are made to carry fifteen passengers.'
+
+"And now let me show you a picture of the Kentucky pioneer in a
+birch-bark canoe."
+
+"Why, Miss Harson, the Indians are trying to kill him!" exclaimed
+Malcolm.
+
+"Yes," she replied; "when you read the history of the United States, you
+will find that not only Daniel Boone, but the most of the early settlers
+of these Western lands, had trouble with the Indians. Nor is this
+strange. These pioneers were often rough men, and were looked upon by
+the natives as invaders of their country and treated as enemies. But to
+come back to the uses of the bark of the birch:
+
+"'In the settlements of the Hudson Bay Company tents are made of the
+bark of this tree, which for that purpose is cut into pieces twelve feet
+long and four feet wide. These are sewed together by threads made of the
+white-spruce roots; and so rapidly is a tent put up that a circular one
+twenty feet in diameter and ten feet high does not occupy more than half
+an hour in pitching. Every traveler and hunter in Canada enjoys these
+"rind-tents," as they are called, which are used only during the hot
+summer months, when they are found particularly comfortable.'"
+
+[Illustration: IN THE BIRCH-BARK CANOE]
+
+"Well, that's the funniest thing yet!" exclaimed Malcolm. "'Rind-tents'!
+I wish I could see one. Did they have any in Maine where you were,
+Miss Harson?"
+
+"No," was the reply, "I did not even hear of such a thing there, and to
+see it you would probably have to go far to the north. The English
+birch, which is found also in many parts of Europe, is put to a great
+many uses; the leaves produce a yellow dye, and the wood, when mixed
+with copperas, will color red, black and brown. An old birch tree that
+is supposed to be giving an account of itself says,
+
+"'How many are the uses of my bark! Thrifty men who sit beside the
+blazing hearth when my branches throw up a clear bright flame, and
+follow the example of their fathers in making their own shoes and those
+of their families, tan the hides with my bark. Kamschadales construct
+from it both hats and vessels for holding milk, and the Swedish
+fisherman his shoes. The Norwegian covers with it his low-roofed hut
+and spreads upon the surface layers of moss at least three or four
+inches thick, and, having twisted long strips together, he obtains
+excellent torches with which to cheer the darkness of his long nights.
+Fishermen, in like manner, make great use of them in alluring their
+finny prey. For this purpose they fit a portion of blazing birch in a
+cleft stick and spear the fish when attracted by its flickering light.'"
+
+The children exclaimed at this queer way of fishing, but Malcolm was
+very much taken with the idea of doing it by night with blazing torches,
+and he thought that he would like to be a Norwegian fisherman even
+better than a hermit or an Indian.
+
+"The old tree goes on to say," continued Miss Harson, "that 'Finland
+mothers form of the dried leaves soft, elastic beds for their children,
+and from me is prepared the _mona_, their sole medicine in all diseases.
+My buds in spring exhale a delicious fragrance after showers, and the
+bark, when burnt, seems to purify the air in confined dwellings.'
+
+"In Lapland the twigs of the birch, covered with reindeer-skins, are
+used for beds, but they cannot be so comfortable, I should think, as the
+leaves. The fragrant wood of the tree makes the fires which have to be
+kept up inside the huts even in summer to drive away the mosquitoes, and
+the people of those Northern regions would find it hard to get along
+without the useful birch."
+
+"I like to hear about it," said Clara. "Can you tell us something more
+that is done with it, Miss Harson?"
+
+"There is just one thing more," replied her governess, with a smile,
+"which I will read out of an old book; and I desire you all to pay
+particular attention to it."
+
+Little Edith was wide awake again by this time, and her great blue eyes
+looked as if she were ready to devour every word.
+
+"Birch rods," continued Miss Harson, "are quite different from birch
+_twigs_, and the uses to which they were put were not altogether
+agreeable to the boys who ran away from school or did not get their
+lessons. 'My branches,' says the birch, 'gently waving in the wind,
+awakened in those days no feelings of dread with truant urchins--for
+_all_ might be truants then, if so it pleased them--but at length a
+scribe arose who thus wrote concerning my ductile twigs: "The civil uses
+whereunto the birch serveth are many, as for the punishment of children
+both at home and abroad; for it hath an admirable influence upon them to
+quiet them when they wax unruly, and therefore some call the tree
+_make-peace_"'" Malcolm and Clara both laughed, and asked their young
+governess when the birch rods were coming; but Edith did not feel quite
+so easy, and, with her bruised foot and all, it took a great deal of
+petting that night to get her comfortably to bed.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+_THE POPLARS_.
+
+The bruised foot was not comfortable to walk on for two or three days,
+and Edith was settled in the great easy arm-chair with dolls and toys
+and picture-books in a pile that seemed as if it would not stop growing
+until every article belonging to herself and Clara had been gathered
+there. "We can go on with our trees," said Miss Harson, "even if we do
+not see them just yet; and this evening I should like to tell you
+something about the poplar, a large tree with alternate leaves which is
+often found in dusty towns, where it seems to flourish as well as in its
+favorite situation by a running stream. An old English writer calls the
+poplars 'hospitable trees, for anything thrives under their shade.' They
+are not handsomely-shaped trees, but the foliage is thick and pretty. In
+the latter part of this month--April--the trees are so covered with
+their olive-green catkins that large portions of the forests seem to be
+colored by them."
+
+[Illustration: IN THE EASY CHAIR]
+
+"Are there any poplars at Elmridge?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Not nearer than the woods," was the reply, "where we must go and look
+for them when Edith's foot is quite well again, though there are a good
+many in the city. The poplar is often planted by the roadside because it
+grows so rapidly and makes a good shade. The _Abele_, or silver poplar,
+is an especial favorite for this purpose.
+
+"The balm of Gilead, or Canada poplar, is the largest of the species,
+and really a handsome tree, often growing to the height of fifty or
+sixty feet, with a trunk of proportionate size. It has large leaves of a
+bright, glossy green, which grow loosely on long branches, A peculiarity
+of this tree is that before the leaves begin to expand the buds are
+covered with a yellow, glutinous balsam that diffuses a penetrating but
+very agreeable odor unlike any other. The balsam is gathered as a
+healing anodyne, and for many ailments it is a favorite remedy in
+domestic medicine. All the poplars produce more or less of this
+substance.
+
+"The river poplaris found on the banks of rivers and brooks and in wet
+places, and is a noble and graceful tree. The trunk is light gray in
+color, and the young trees have a smooth, leather-like bark. The broad
+leaves, of a very rich green, grow on stems nearly as long as
+themselves, and the flowering aments are of a light-red color. The
+leaf-stalks and young branches are also brightly tinted. Another of
+these trees has a very singular name: it is called the necklace poplar."
+
+[Illustration: LOMBARDY POPLAR.]
+
+"Do the flowers grow like real necklaces?" asked Clara.
+
+"Not quite," replied her governess, "but the reason given is something
+like it. The tree is so called from the resemblance of the long ament,
+before opening, to the beads of a necklace. In Europe it is known as the
+Swiss poplar and the black Italian poplar. Its timber is much valued
+there for building. There are also the black poplar and that queer,
+stiff-looking tree the Lombardy poplar. Cannot one of you tell me where
+there are some tall, narrow trees that look almost as if they had been
+cut out of wood and stuck there?"
+
+"I know where there are some," said Malcolm: "right in front of Mrs.
+Bush's old house; and I think they're miserable-looking trees."
+
+"When old and rusty, they are not in the least cheerful," replied Miss
+Harson; "and it is so long since Lombardy poplars were admired that few
+are found except about old places. The tree is shaped like a tall spire,
+and in hot, calm weather drops of clear water trickle from its leaves
+like a slight shower of rain. It was once a favorite shade-tree, and a
+century ago great numbers of Lombardy poplars were planted by village
+waysides, in front of dwelling-houses, on the borders of public
+grounds, and particularly in avenues leading to houses that stand at
+some distance from the high-road.
+
+[Illustration: A GROUP OF POPLARS IN CASHMERE]
+
+"The poplar is found in many lands. The Lombardy poplar, as its name
+indicates, was brought from Italy, where it grows luxuriantly beside the
+orange and the myrtle; but after one of our cold winters many of its
+small branches will decay, and this gives it a forlorn appearance. When
+fresh and green, the Lombardy poplar is quite handsome. Some one wrote
+of it long ago: 'There is no other tree that so pleasantly adorns the
+sides of narrow lanes and avenues, and so neatly accommodates itself to
+limited enclosures. Its foliage is dense and of the liveliest verdure,
+making delicate music to the soft touch of every breeze. Its
+terebinthine odors scent the vernal gales that enter our open windows
+with the morning sun. Its branches, always turning upward and closely
+gathered together, afford a harbor to the singing-birds that make them a
+favorite resort, and its long, tapering spire that points to heaven
+gives an air of cheerfulness and religious tranquillity to village
+scenery.'"
+
+"I wish we had some," said Edith, "with singing-birds in 'em."
+
+"Why, my dear child," replied her governess, "have we not the beautiful
+elms, in which the birds build their nests and where they fly in and out
+continually? They are the very same birds that build in the
+Lombardy poplars."
+
+"I thought that singing-birds always lived in cages," said the little
+queen in the easy-chair.
+
+"And did you think they were hung all over the Lombardy poplars?" asked
+Malcolm, in a broad grin.
+
+Edith laughed too, and Miss Harson said smilingly.
+
+"I thought that the birds about Elmridge did a great deal of singing,
+and the blue-birds and robins kept it up all day. But I should not like
+to see the old Lombardy poplars hung with gilded cages, and the birds
+which should happen to be prisoners in the cages would like it
+still less."
+
+"Well," said Edith, contentedly, as she settled herself again to
+listen.
+
+"The poplar," continued Miss Harson, "has a great many insect enemies,
+and the Lombardy is not often seen now, because a great many of these
+trees were destroyed on account of a worm, or caterpillar, by which they
+were infested. Poplar-wood is soft, light and generally of a pale-yellow
+color; it is much used for toy-making and for boarded floors, 'for which
+last purpose it is well adapted from its whiteness and the facility with
+which it is scoured, and also from the difficulty with which it catches
+fire and the slowness with which it burns. A red-hot poker falling on a
+board of poplar would burn its way without causing more combustion than
+the hole through which it passed.'"
+
+"I should think, then," said Malcolm, "that all wooden things would be
+made of poplar."
+
+"It is generally thought not to be durable," was the reply, "but it is
+said that if kept dry the wood will last as long as that of any tree.
+Says the poplar plank,
+
+     "'Though heart of oak be ne'er so stout,
+     Keep me dry and I'll see him out.'
+
+"The poplar has been highly praised, for every part of this tree answers
+some good purpose. The bark, being light, like cork, serves to support
+the nets of fishermen; the inner bark is used by the Kamschadales as a
+material for bread; brooms are made from the twigs, and paper from the
+cottony down of the seeds. Horses, cows and sheep browse upon it.
+
+"And now," said Miss Harson, when the children were wondering if that
+were the end, "we have come to the most interesting tree of the whole
+species--the aspen, or trembling poplar. It is a small, graceful tree
+with rounded leaves having a wavy, toothed border, covered with soft
+silk when young, which remains only as a fringe on the edge at maturity,
+supported by a very slender footstalk about as long as the leaf, and
+compressed laterally from near the base. They are thus agitated by the
+slightest breath of wind with that quivering, restless motion
+characteristic of all the poplars, but in none so striking as this. 'To
+quiver like an aspen-leaf has become a proverb. The foliage appears
+lighter than that of most other trees, from continually displaying the
+under side of the leaves.
+
+"The aspen has been called a very poetical tree, because it is the only
+one whose leaves tremble when the wind is apparently calm. It is said,
+however, to suggest fickleness and caprice, levity and irresolution--a
+bad character for any tree. The small American aspen, which is quite
+common, has a smooth, pale-green bark, which gets whitish and rough as
+the tree grows old. The foliage is thin, but a single leaf will be
+found, when examined, uncommonly beautiful. A spray of the small aspen,
+when in leaf, is very light and airy-looking, and the leaves produce a
+constant rustling sound. 'Legends of no ordinary interest linger around
+this tree. Ask the Italian peasant who pastures his sheep beside a grove
+of _Abele_ why the leaves of these trees are always trembling in even
+the hottest weather when not a breeze is stirring, and he will tell you
+that the wood of the trembling-poplar formed the cross on which our
+Saviour suffered.'"
+
+"Oh, Miss Harson!" said Clara, in a low tone. "Is that _true_?"
+
+"We do not know that it is, dear, nor do we know that it is not. Here
+are some verses about it which I like very much:
+
+     "'The tremulousness began, as legends tell,
+       When he, the meek One, bowed his head to death
+     E'en on an aspen cross, when some near dell
+       Was visited by men whose every breath
+     That Sufferer gave them. Hastening to the wood--
+       The wood of aspens--they with ruffian power
+     Did hew the fair, pale tree, which trembling stood
+       As if awestruck; and from that fearful hour
+     Aspens have quivered as with conscious dread
+     Of that foul crime which bowed the meek Redeemer's head.
+
+     "'Far distant from those days, oh let not man,
+       Boastful of reason, check with scornful speech
+     Those legends pure; for who the heart may scan
+       Or say what hallowed thoughts such legends teach
+     To those who may perchance their scant flocks keep
+       On hill or plain, to whom the quivering tree
+     Hinteth a thought which, holy, solemn, deep,
+       Sinks in the heart, bidding their spirits flee
+     All thoughts of vice, that dread and hateful thing
+     Which troubleth of each joy the pure and gushing spring?'"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+_ALL A-BLOW: THE APPLE TREE_.
+
+It certainly was a beautiful sight, and the children exclaimed over it
+in ectasy. It was now past the middle of April, and Miss Harson had
+taken her little flock to visit an apple-orchard at some distance from
+Elmridge, and the whole place seemed to be one mass of pink-and-white
+bloom.
+
+"And how deliciously _sweet_ it is!" said Malcolm as he sniffed the
+fragrant air.
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed Edith, turning up her funny little nose to get the full
+benefit of all this fragrance; "I can't breathe half enough at once."
+
+"That is just my case," said her governess, laughing, "but I did not
+think to say it in that way. Get all you can of this deliciousness,
+children; I wish that we could carry some of it away with us."
+
+"And so you shall," replied a hearty voice as Mr. Grove, the owner of
+the orchard, came up with a knife in his hand and began cutting off
+small branches of apple--blossoms. "I like to see folks enjoy things."
+
+"I hope you don't mind our trespassing on your grounds?" said Miss
+Harson. "I can engage that my little friends will do no injury, and I
+particularly wished them to see your beautiful orchard in bloom; it is
+almost equal to a field of roses."
+
+"Don't mind it at all, miss," was the reply--"quite the contrary; and I
+think, myself, it's a pretty sight. Smells good, too. Now, here's a
+nosegay big enough for you three young ladies, and Bub there can
+carry it."
+
+Malcolm, who was quite proud of his name, felt so indignant at being
+called "Bub" that he almost forgot the farmer's generosity; but his
+governess acknowledged it, very much to the worthy man's satisfaction.
+
+Edith, however, was rather shocked.
+
+"I thought it was wicked," said she, "to cut off flowers from fruit
+trees? Won't these make apples?"
+
+"Not them particular ones, Sis," replied Mr. Grove, with a laugh;
+"they're done for now. But it ain't wicked to cut off your own apple
+blows when there's too many on the tree to make good apples, and there's
+plenty to spare yet." He was very much amused at the little girl's
+serious face over this wholesale destruction of infant apples, and he
+invited them all to come to the house and get a drink of fresh milk. The
+children thought this a very pleasant invitation, and Miss Harson was
+quite willing to gratify them.
+
+The farmer led his guests into a very cheerful and wonderfully clean
+kitchen, where Mrs. Groves was busy with her baking, and the loaves of
+fresh bread looked very inviting. She was as pleasant and hospitable as
+her husband, and after shaking up a funny-looking patchwork cushion in a
+rocking-chair for the young lady to sit down on she told the little
+girls that she would get them a couple of crickets if they would wait a
+minute, and disappeared into the next room.
+
+The two little sisters looked at each other in dismay and wondered what
+they could do with these insects, but before they could consult Miss
+Harson good Mrs. Grove had returned carrying in each hand a small flat
+footstool. The girls sat down very carefully, for they were not
+accustomed to such low seats; but the whole party were tired with their
+walk and glad to rest for a short time. Malcolm, being a boy, was
+expected to sit where he could, and he speedily established himself in
+the corner of a wooden settle.
+
+In spite of the apple-blossoms, the kitchen fire was very comfortable;
+and, as the baking was just coming to an end, Mrs.
+
+Grove said that "she would be ready to visit with them in a minute:" she
+did not seem to allow herself more than a "minute" for anything. Besides
+the milk, some very nice seed-cakes in the shape of hearts were
+produced, and Edith thought them the most delightful little cakes she
+had ever tasted. Clara and Malcolm, too, were quite hungry, and Miss
+Harson enjoyed her glass of milk and seed-cake as well as did the young
+people. The farmer and his wife seemed really sorry to part with their
+guests when they rose to go, but Miss Harson said that it was time for
+them to be at home, and the children were obedient on the instant.
+
+"Well," said the worthy couple, "you know now where to come when you
+want more apple-blows and a drink of milk."
+
+Malcolm was quite laden with the mass of rosy flowers which Mr. Grove
+piled up in his arms, and he enjoyed the delicious scent all the
+way home.
+
+"I must get out the big jar," said Miss Harson as she surveyed their
+treasures, "and there are so many buds that I think we may be able to
+keep them for some days.--What would you say, Edith, if I told you that
+people cut off not only the blossoms, but even the fruit itself, while
+it is green, to make what is left on the tree handsomer and better?"
+
+Edith looked her surprise, and the other children could not understand
+why all the fruit that formed should not be left on the tree to ripen.
+
+"It is very often left," replied their governess, "but, although the
+crop is a large one, it will be of inferior quality; and those who
+understand fruit-raising thin it out, so that the tree may not have more
+fruit than it can well nourish. But now it is time for papa to come, and
+after dinner we will have a regular apple-talk."
+
+"How nice it was at Mrs. Grove's to-day!" said Clara, when they were
+gathered for the talk. "I think that kitchens are pleasanter to sit in
+than parlors and school-rooms."
+
+"So do I," chimed in Edith; "but I was afraid about the crickets at
+first. I thought we'd have to hold 'em in our hands, and I didn't
+like that."
+
+Why _would_ people always laugh when there was nothing to laugh at? The
+little girl thought she had a very funny brother and sister, and Miss
+Harson, too, was funny sometimes.
+
+"Have you so soon forgotten about the real insect-crickets, dear?" asked
+her governess, kindly. "Why, it will be months yet before we see one.
+Besides, I thought I told you that in some places a little bench is
+called a 'cricket'?--Do you know, Clara, why you thought Mrs. Grove's
+kitchen so pleasant? It is larger and better furnished than kitchens
+usually are, there were pleasant people in it, and you were tired and
+hungry and ready to enjoy rest and refreshments; but I am quite sure
+that, on the whole, you would like your own quarters best, because you
+are better fitted for them, as Mrs. Grove is for hers. We had a very
+pleasant visit, though, and some day we may repeat it--perhaps when the
+apples are ripe."
+
+"Good! good!" cried the children, clapping their hands; and Malcolm
+added that he "would like to be let loose in that apple-orchard."
+
+"Perhaps you would like it better than Farmer Grove would," was the
+reply. "But we haven't got to the apples yet; we must first find out a
+little about the tree. We learn in the beginning that it was one of the
+very earliest trees planted in this country by the settlers, because it
+is both hardy and useful. There is a wild species called the Virginia
+crab-apple, which bears beautiful pink flowers as fragrant as roses, but
+its small apples are intensely sour. The blossoms of the cultivated
+apple tree are more beautiful than those of any other fruit; they are
+delicious to both sight and scent."
+
+"And do look, Miss Harson," said Clara, "at these lovely half-open buds!
+They are just like tiny roses, and _so_ sweet!"
+
+Down went Clara's head among the clustered blossoms, and then Edith had
+to come too; and Malcolm declared that between the two they would smell
+them to death.
+
+"It seems," continued Miss Harson, "that the apple tree grows wild in
+every part of Europe except in the frigid zone and in Western Asia,
+China and Japan. It is thought to have been planted in Britain by the
+Romans; and when it was brought here, it seemed to do better than it had
+done anywhere else. It is said that 'not only the Indians, but many
+indigenous insects, birds and quadrupeds, welcomed the apple tree to
+these shores. The butterfly of the tent-caterpillar saddled her eggs on
+the very first twig that was formed, and it has since shared her
+affections with the wild cherry; and the canker-worm also, in a measure,
+abandoned the elm to feed on it. As it grew apace the bluebird, robin,
+cherry-bird, king-bird, and many more, came with haste and built their
+nests and warbled in its boughs, and so became orchard-birds and
+multiplied more than ever. It was an era in the history of their race in
+America. The downy woodpecker found such a savory morsel under its bark
+that he perforated it in a ring quite round the tree before he left it.
+It did not take the partridge long to find out how sweet its buds were,
+and every winter eve she flew, and still flies, from the wood to pluck
+them, much to the farmer's sorrow. The rabbit, too, was not slow to
+learn the taste of its twigs and bark; and when the fruit was ripe, the
+squirrel half rolled, half carried, it to his hole. Even the musquash
+crept up the bank from the brook at evening, and greedily devoured it,
+until he had worn a path in the grass there; and when it was frozen and
+thawed, the crow and the jay were glad to taste it occasionally. The owl
+crept into the first apple tree that became hollow, and fairly hooted
+with delight, finding it just the place for him; so, settling down into
+it, he has remained there ever since.'
+
+"Speaking of these buds, Clara," said her governess, "I think I forgot
+to tell you that the apple tree belongs to the family Rosaceae, and
+therefore the half-opened blossoms have a right to look like roses. The
+tree is not a handsome one, being a small edition of the oak in its
+sturdy outline, but it is less graceful or picturesque-looking, being
+often broader than it is high and resembling in shape a half globe. The
+leaves are not pretty except when first unfolded, and their color is
+then a beautiful light tint known as apple-green. But the foliage soon
+becomes dusty and shabby-looking. An old apple tree, with its gnarled,
+and often hollow, trunk, is generally handsomer than a young one, unless
+in the time of blossoms; for only a young apple-orchard is covered with
+such a profusion of bloom as that we saw to-day."
+
+"I am glad," said Clara, "that it belongs to the rose family, for now
+the dear little buds seem prettier than ever."
+
+"The apples are prettier yet," observed
+
+Malcolm; "if there's anything I like, it's apples."
+
+"I am afraid that you eat too many of them for your good," replied his
+governess; "I shall have to limit you to so many a day."
+
+"I have eaten only six to-day," was the modest reply, "and they were
+little russets, too."
+
+"Oh, Malcolm, Malcolm!" said Miss Harson, laughing; "what shall I do
+with you? Why, you would soon make an apple-famine in most places. Three
+apples a day must be your allowance for the present; and if at any time
+we go to live in an orchard, you may have six."
+
+"Why, _we_ have only one," exclaimed little Edith, "and we don't want
+any more.--Do we, Clara?"
+
+[Illustration: Apple Blossoms.]
+
+"If you don't want 'em," said Malcolm, "there's no sense in eating
+'em.--But I'll remember, Miss Harson. I suppose three at one time ought
+to be enough."
+
+Malcolm's expression, as he said this, was so doleful that every one
+laughed at him; and his governess continued:
+
+"The apple tree is said to produce a greater variety of beautiful fruit
+than any other tree that is known, and apples are liked by almost every
+one. They are a very wholesome fruit and nearly as valuable as bread and
+potatoes for food, because they can be used in so many different ways,
+and the poorer qualities make very nourishing food for nearly
+all animals."
+
+"Rex fairly snatches the apple out of my hand when I go to give him
+one," said Malcolm.
+
+"So does Regina," added Clara, who trembled in her shoes whenever she
+offered these dainties to the handsome carriage-horses.
+
+Edith had not dared to venture on such a feat yet, and therefore she had
+nothing to say.
+
+"All horses are fond of apples," said Miss Harson, "and the fruit is
+very thoroughly appreciated. Ancient Britain was celebrated for her
+apple-orchards, and the tree was reverenced by the Druids because the
+mistletoe grew abundantly on it. In Saxon times, when England became a
+Christian country, the rite of coronation, or crowning of a king, was in
+such words as these: 'May the almighty Lord give thee, O king, from the
+dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth, abundance of corn and wine
+and oil! Be thou the lord of thy brothers, and let the sons of thy
+mother bow down before thee. Let the people serve thee and the tribes
+adore thee. May the Almighty bless thee with the blessings of heaven
+above, and the mountains and the valleys with the blessings of the deep
+below, with the blessings of grapes and _apples_! Bless, O Lord, the
+courage of this prince, and prosper the work of his hands; and by thy
+blessing may his land be filled with _apples_, with the fruit and dew of
+heaven from the top of the ancient mountains, from the _apples_ of the
+eternal hills, from the fruit of the earth and its fullness!' You will
+see from this how highly apples were valued in England in those
+ancient times."
+
+"I should like to pick them up when they are ripe," said Clara, and
+Malcolm expressed a desire to hire himself out by the day to Mr. Grove
+when that time arrived.
+
+"An apple-orchard in autumn," continued their governess, "is often a
+merry scene. Ladders are put against the trees, and the finest apples
+are carefully picked off, but such as are to be used for cider-making
+are shaken to the ground. Men and boys are at work, and even women and
+children are there with baskets and aprons spread out to catch the
+fruit; and they run back and forth wherever the apples fall thickest,
+with much laughter at the unexpected showers that come down upon their
+heads and necks. Large baskets filled with these apples are carried to
+the mill, where, after being laid in heaps a while to mellow, they are
+crushed and pressed till their juice is extracted; and this, being
+fermented, becomes cider. From this cider, by a second fermentation, the
+best vinegar is made."
+
+[Illustration: THE APPLE-HARVEST.]
+
+"Miss Harson," asked Edith, as the talk seemed to have come to an end,
+"isn't there any more about apple trees? I like 'em."
+
+"Yes, dear," was the reply; "there is more. I was just looking over, in
+this little book, some queer superstitions about apple trees in England,
+and here is a strange performance which is said to take place in some
+very retired parts of the country:
+
+"'Scarcely have the merry bells ushered in the morning of Christmas than
+a troop of people may be seen entering the apple-orchard, often when the
+trees are powdered with hoarfrost and snow lies deep upon the ground.
+One of the company carries a large flask filled with cider and
+tastefully decorated with holly-branches; and when every one has
+advanced about ten paces from the choicest tree, rustic pipes made from
+the hollow boughs of elder are played upon by young men, while Echo
+repeats the strain, and it seems as if fairy-musicians responded in low,
+sweet tones from some neighboring wood or hill. Then bursts forth a
+chorus of loud and sonorous voices while the cider-flask is being
+emptied of its contents around the tree, and all sing some such words
+as these:
+
+              "'"Here's to thee, old apple tree!
+                 Long mayest thou grow.
+     And long mayest thou blow, and ripen the apples that hang on
+     thy bough!
+
+               "'"This full can of apple wine,
+                  Old tree, be thine:
+     It will cheer thee and warm thee amid the deep snow;
+
+               "'"Till the goldfinch--fond bird!--
+                  In the orchard is heard
+     Singing blithe 'mid the blossoms that whiten thy bough."'"
+
+"But what did they do it for?" asked Malcolm, who enjoyed the account as
+much as the others. "There doesn't seem to be any sense in it."
+
+"There _is_ no sense in it," replied his governess, "but these ignorant
+people had inherited the custom from their fathers and grandfathers, and
+they really believed--and perhaps still believe--that this attention
+would be sure to bring a fine crop of apples. We are distinctly told,
+though, that 'it is God that giveth the increase;' and to him alone
+belong the fruits of the earth. Sometimes the crop is so great that the
+trees fairly bend over with the weight of the fruit, and there is an old
+English saying: 'The more apples the tree bears, the more she bows to
+the folk.'"
+
+"How funny!" laughed Edith. "Does the apple tree move its head, Miss
+Harson?"
+
+"It cannot go quite so far as that," was the reply; "it just stays bent
+over like a person carrying a heavy burden. The branches of overladen
+fruit trees are sometimes propped up with long poles to keep them from
+breaking. There is another strange custom, which used to be practiced on
+New Year's eve. It was called 'Apple-Howling,' and a troop of boys
+visited the different orchards--which would scarcely have been desirable
+when the apples were ripe--and, forming a ring around the trees,
+repeated these words:
+
+     "'Stand fast, root! bear well, top!
+       Pray God send us a good howling crop--
+         Every twig, apples big;
+         Every bough, apples enow.'
+
+"All then shouted in chorus, while one of the party played on a cow's
+horn, and the trees were well rapped with the sticks which they carried.
+This ceremony is thought to have been a relic of some heathen sacrifice,
+and it is quite absurd enough to be that."
+
+"What is 'a howling crop,' Miss Harson?" asked Clara. "That name sounds
+so queer!"
+
+"I don't know what it can be," replied her governess, "unless it refers
+to the strange expression sometimes used, 'howling with delight.' We
+hear more commonly of 'howling with pain,' but 'a howling crop' must be
+one that makes the owner scream, as well as dance for joy."
+
+"Why, _I_ scream only when I'm frightened," said Edith, who began to
+think that there were much sillier people in the world than herself.
+
+"At garter-snakes," added Malcolm, giving his sister a sly pinch; but
+Edith did not mind his pinches, because he always took good care not
+to hurt her.
+
+Miss Harson said that the best way was not to scream at all, as it was
+both a silly and a troublesome habit, and the sooner her charges broke
+themselves of it the better she should like it. Clara and Edith both
+promised to try--just as they had promised before, when the ants were so
+troublesome; but they were nine months older now, and seemed to be
+getting a little ashamed of the habit.
+
+"Are apples mentioned anywhere in the Bible?" asked Miss Harson,
+presently.
+
+Clara and Malcolm were busy thinking, but nothing came of it, until
+their governess said,
+
+"Turn to the book of Proverbs, Clara, and find the twenty-fifth chapter
+and the eleventh verse."
+
+Clara read very carefully:
+
+"'A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.' But
+what does it mean?" she asked.
+
+"It probably means 'framed in silver' or 'in silver frames[11],'" was
+the reply; "and then it is easy to understand how important our words
+are, and that 'fitly-spoken' ones are as valuable and lasting as golden
+apples framed in silver. The apple tree is mentioned in Joel, where it
+is said that 'all the trees of the field are withered[12],' and both
+apple trees and apples are mentioned in several places of the Old
+Testament. But, to tell the whole truth, scholars are not agreed as to
+whether the Hebrew word denotes the apple or some other fruit that grew
+in the land of Israel."
+
+[11] The Revised Version renders the phrase "in baskets of silver."
+
+[12] Joel i. 12.
+
+The children had all enjoyed the "apple-talk," and they felt that the
+fruit which they were so accustomed to seeing would now have a new
+meaning for them.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+_A FRUITFUL FAMILY: THE PEACH, ALMOND, PLUM AND CHERRY_.
+
+Snowdrops, crocuses, hyacinths and tulips were blooming out of doors and
+in-doors; the grass looked green and velvety, and the fruit trees were,
+as John expressed it, "all a-blow." The peach trees, without a sign of a
+leaf, looked, as every one said of them, like immense bouquets of pink
+flowers, while pear, cherry and plum trees seemed as if they were
+dressed in white.
+
+One cloudy, windy day, when the petals fell off in showers and strewed
+the ground, Edith declared that it was snowing; but she soon saw her
+mistake, and then began to worry because there would be no blossoms left
+for fruit.
+
+"If the flowers stayed on, there would be no fruit," said Miss Harson.
+"Let me show you just where the little green germ is."
+
+"Why, of course!" said Malcolm; "it's in the part that stays on the
+tree."
+
+Edith listened intently while her governess showed her the ovary of a
+blossom safe on the twig where it grew, and explained to her that it was
+this which, nourished by the sap of the tree, with the aid of the sun
+and air, would ripen into fruit, while the petals were merely a fringe
+or ornament to the true blossom.
+
+At Elmridge, scattered here and there through garden and grounds, as Mr.
+Kyle liked to have them, there were some fruit trees of every kind that
+would flourish in that part of the country, but there was no orchard;
+and for this reason Miss Harson had taken the children to see the grand
+apple-blossoming at Farmer Grove's. Two very large pear trees stood one
+on either side of the lawn, and there were dwarf pear trees in
+the garden.
+
+"I think pears are nicer than apples," said Clara as they stood looking
+at the fine trees, now perfectly covered with their snowy blossoms.
+
+But Malcolm, who found it hard work to be happy on three apples a day,
+stoutly disagreed with his sister on this point, and declared that
+nothing was so good as apples.
+
+"How about ice-cream?" asked his governess, when she heard this sweeping
+assertion.
+
+The young gentleman was silent, for his exploits with this frozen luxury
+were a constant subject of wonder to his friends and relatives.
+
+"You will notice," said Miss Harson, "that the shape of these trees is
+much more graceful than that of the apple tree. They are tall and
+slender, forming what is called an imperfect pyramid. Standard pear
+trees, like these, give a good shade, and the long, slender branches are
+well clothed with leaves of a bright, glossy green. This rich color
+lasts late into the autumn, and it is then varied with yellow, and often
+with red and black, spots; so that pear-leaves are not to be despised in
+gathering autumn-leaf treasures. The pear is not so useful a fruit as
+the apple, nor so showy in color; but it has a more delicate and spicy
+flavor, and often is of an immense size."
+
+"Yes, indeed!" said Clara. "Don't you remember, Miss Harson, that
+sometimes Edith and I can have only one pear divided between us at
+dessert because they are so large?"
+
+"Yes, dear; and I think that half a duchess pear is as much as can be
+comfortably managed at once."
+
+"Well," observed Malcolm, "I don't want half an apple.--But, Miss
+Harson, do they ever have 'pear-howlings' in England?"
+
+"I have never read of any," was the reply, "and I think that strange
+custom is confined to apple trees. And there is no mention made of
+either pears or pear trees in the Scriptures."
+
+"What are prickly-pears?" asked Clara. "Do they have thorns on 'em?"
+
+"There is a plant by this name," replied her governess, "with large
+yellow flowers, and the fruit is full of small seeds and has a crimson
+pulp. It grows in sandy places near the salt water; it is abundant in
+North Africa and Syria, and is considered quite good to eat; but neither
+plant nor fruit bears any resemblance to our pear trees: it is
+a cactus."
+
+"Won't you have a story for us this evening, Miss Harson?" asked Edith,
+rather wistfully.
+
+"Perhaps so, dear--I have been thinking of it--but it will not be about
+pear trees."
+
+"Oh, I don't care," with a very bright face; "I'd as soon have it about
+cherry trees, or--'Most anything!"
+
+Miss Harson laughed, and said,
+
+"Well, then, I think it will be about cherries; so you must rest on
+that. This morning we will go around among the fruit trees and see what
+we can learn from seeing them."
+
+Of course it was Saturday morning and there were no lessons, or they
+would not have been roaming around "promiscuous," as Jane called it; for
+the young governess was very careful not to let the getting of one kind
+of knowledge interfere with the getting of another.
+
+"How do you like these pretty quince trees?" asked Miss Harson as they
+came to some large bushes with great pinkish flowers.
+
+"I like 'em," replied Edith, "because they're so little. And oh what
+pretty flowers!"
+
+"Some more relations of the rose," said her governess. "And do you
+notice how fragrant they are? The tree is always low and crooked, just
+as you see it, and the branches straggle not very gracefully. The under
+part of the dark-green leaves is whitish and downy-looking, and the
+flowers are handsome enough to warrant the cultivation of the tree just
+for their sake, but the large golden fruit is much prized for preserves,
+and in the autumn a small tree laden down with it is quite an ornamental
+object. The quince is more like a pear than an apple. As the book says,
+'it has the same tender and mucilaginous core; the seeds are not
+enclosed in a dry hull, like those of the apple; and the pulp of the
+quince, like that of the pear, is granulated, while that of the apple
+displays in its texture a firmer and finer organization.' The fruit,
+however, is so hard, even when ripe, that it cannot be eaten without
+cooking. It is said to be a native of hedges and rocky places in the
+South of Europe."
+
+[Illustration: PEACH-BLOSSOM.]
+
+"These peach trees," said Clara, "look like sticks with pink flowers all
+over 'em." "They are remarkably bare of leaves when in bloom," was the
+reply: "the leaves burst forth from their envelopes as the blossoms pass
+away; but how beautiful the blossoms are! from the deepest pink to that
+delicate tint which is called peach-color. But do you know that we have
+left the apple and rose family now, and have come to the almond family?"
+
+The children were very much surprised to hear this, and they looked at
+the peach trees with fresh interest.
+
+"Yes," continued Miss Harson, "the family consists of the almond tree,
+the peach tree, the apricot tree, the plum tree and the cherry tree; and
+one thing that distinguishes them from the other families is the gum
+which is found on their trunks.--Look around, Malcolm, at the peach,
+plum and cherry trees, which are the only members of the family that we
+have at Elmridge, and you will find gum oozing from the bark, especially
+where there are knotholes."
+
+Malcolm not only found the gum, but succeeded in helping himself to some
+of it, which he shared with his sisters. It had a rather sweet taste,
+and the children seemed to like it, having first obtained permission of
+their governess to eat it.
+
+"That is another of the things that I thought 'puffickly d'licious' when
+I was a child," said the young lady, laughing. "But there is another
+peculiarity of this family of trees which is not so innocent, and that
+is that in the fruit-kernel, and also in the leaves, there is a deadly
+poison called prussic acid."
+
+"O--h!" exclaimed the children, drawing back from the trees as though
+they expected to be poisoned on the spot.
+
+"But, as we do not eat either the kernels or the leaves," continued
+their governess, "we need not feel uneasy, for the fruit never yet
+poisoned any one. Here are the cherry trees, so covered with blossoms
+that they look like masses of snow; and the smaller plum trees are also
+attired in white. We will begin this evening with the almond tree, and
+see what we can find out about the family."
+
+"Do almond trees and peach trees look alike?" asked Clara, when they
+were fairly settled by the schoolroom fire; for the evenings were too
+cool yet for the piazza.
+
+"Very much alike," was the reply; "only the almond tree is larger and it
+has white instead of pink blossoms. Then it is the _fruit_ of the peach
+we eat, but of the almond we eat the kernel of the stem. I will read you
+a little account of it:
+
+"'The common almond is a native of Barbary, but has long been
+cultivated in the South of Europe and the temperate parts of Asia. The
+fruit is produced in very large quantities and exported in to northern
+countries; it is also pressed for oil and used for various domestic
+purposes. There are numerous varieties of this species, but the two
+chief kinds are the bitter almond and the sweet almond. The sweet almond
+affords a favorite article for dessert, but it contains little
+nourishment, and of all nuts is the most difficult of digestion. The
+tree has been cultivated in England for about three centuries for the
+sake of its beautiful foliage, as the fruit will not ripen without a
+greater degree of heat than is found in that climate. The distilled
+water of the bitter almond is highly injurious to the human species,
+and, taken in a large dose, produces almost instant death.' The prussic
+acid which can be obtained from the kernel of the peach is found also in
+the bitter almond."
+
+[Illustration: THE ALMOND.--BRANCH AND FRUIT.]
+
+"But what do they want to find it for," asked Malcolm, "when it kills
+people?"
+
+"Because," replied his governess, "like some other noxious things, it
+can be made valuable when used moderately and in the right way. But it
+is often employed to give a flavor to intoxicating liquors, and this is
+_not_ a right way, as it makes them even more dangerous than before. But
+we will leave the prussic acid and return to our almond tree. It
+flourishes in Palestine, where it blooms in January, and in March the
+ripe fruit can be gathered."
+
+This seemed wonderfully strange to the children--flowers in January and
+fruit in March; and Miss Harson explained to them that in that part of
+the world they do not often have our bitter cold weather with its ice
+and snow to kill the tender buds.
+
+"This tree," continued Miss Harson, "is occasionally mentioned in the
+Old Testament. In Jeremiah the prophet says, 'I see a rod of an almond
+tree[13];' also in Ecclesiastes it is said that 'the almond tree shall
+flourish[14].'"
+
+[13] Jer. i. II.
+
+[14] Eccl. xii. 5.
+
+"Are there ever many peach trees growing in one place," asked Clara,
+"like the apple trees in Mr. Grove's orchard?"
+
+"Yes," was the reply, "for in some places there are immense
+peach-orchards, covering many acres of ground; and when the trees in
+these are in blossom, the spring landscape seems to be pink with them.
+These great peach-fields are found in Delaware and Maryland, where the
+fruit grows in such perfection, and also in some of the Western States.
+We all know how delicious it is, but, unfortunately, so does a certain
+green worm, who curls up in the leaves which he gnaws in spite of the
+prussic acid. This insect will often attack the finest peaches and lay
+its eggs in them when the fruit is but half grown. In this way the young
+grubs find food and lodging provided for them all in one, and they
+thrive, while the peach decays."
+
+"What a shame it is," exclaimed Malcolm, in great indignation, "to have
+our best peaches eaten by wretched little worms who might just as well
+eat grass and leave the peaches for us!"
+
+"Perhaps they think it a shame that they are so often shaken to the
+ground or washed off the trees," replied Miss Harson; "and, as to their
+eating grass, they evidently prefer peaches. 'Insects as well as human
+beings have discriminating tastes, and the poor plum tree suffers even
+more than the peach from their attentions. In some parts of the country
+it has been entirely given up to their depredations, and farmers will
+not try to raise this fruit because of these active enemies. The whole
+almond family are liable to the attacks of insects. Canker-worms of one
+or of several species often strip them of their leaves; the
+tent-caterpillars pitch their tents among the branches and carry on
+their dangerous depredations; the slug-worms, the offspring of a fly
+called _Selandria cerasi_, reduce the leaves to skeletons, and thus
+destroy them; the cherry-weevils penetrate their bark, cover their
+branches with warts and cause them to decay; and borers gnaw galleries
+in their trunks and devour the inner bark and sap-wood.' So you see
+that, with such an army of destroyers, we may be thankful to get any
+fruit at all."
+
+"I'm glad to know the name of that fly," said Malcolm, who considered it
+an additional grievance that it should have such a long name, "but I
+won't try to call him by it if I meet him anywhere."
+
+"I think it's pretty," said Clara, beginning to repeat it, and making a
+decided failure.
+
+"Fortunately," continued their governess, after reading it again for
+them, "there are other things much more important for you to remember
+just now, and I could not have said it myself without the book. And now
+let us see what else we can learn about the plum. It is a native, it
+seems, of North America, Europe and Asia, and many of the wild species
+are thorny. The cultivated plums, damsons and gages are varieties of
+the _Prunus domestica_, the cultivated plum tree. These have no thorns;
+the leaves are oval in shape, and the flowers grow singly. The most
+highly-valued cultivated plum trees came originally from the East, where
+they have been known from time immemorial. In many countries of Eastern
+Europe domestic animals are fattened on their fruits, and an alcoholic
+liquor is obtained from them; they also yield a white, crystallizable
+sugar. The prunes which we import from France are the dried fruit of
+varieties of the plum which contain a sufficient quantity of sugar to
+preserve the fruit from decay."
+
+"Do prunes really grow on trees, Miss Harson?" asked Edith, who was
+rather disposed to think that they grew in pretty boxes.
+
+"Yes, dear," was the reply; "they grow just as our plums do, only they
+are dried and packed in layers before they reach this country. We have
+two species of wild plum in North America--the beach-plum, a low shrub
+found in New England, the fruit of which is dark blue and about the
+size of damsons; while the other is quite a large tree, and very showy
+when covered with its scarlet fruit. In Maine it is called plum-granate,
+probably from its red color," "I know what's coming next," said
+Clara--"cherries; because all the rest have been used up. And then we're
+to have the story."
+
+"But they're all interesting," replied Malcolm, gallantly, "because Miss
+Harson makes them so."
+
+"I hope that is not the only reason," said his governess, laughing, "for
+trees are always beautiful and interesting and it is a privilege to be
+able to learn something of their habits and history.--Like most fruit
+trees, the cherry has many varieties, but it is always a handsome tree,
+and less spoiled by insects than others of the almond family. The black
+cherry is the most common species in the United States, and is both wild
+and cultivated. The garden cherry has broad, ovate, rough and serrate
+leaves, growing thickly on the branches, and this, with the height of
+the tree, makes a fine shade. Some old cherry trees have huge trunks,
+and their thick branches spread to a great distance. The branches of the
+wild cherry are too straggling to make a beautiful tree, and the leaves
+are small and narrow. The blossoms of the cultivated cherry are in
+umbels, while those of the wild cherry are borne in racemes."
+
+"I remember that, Miss Harson," said Clara, pleased with her knowledge.
+"'Umbel' means 'like an umbrella,' and 'raceme' means 'growing along
+a stem.'"
+
+"Very well indeed!" was the reply; "I am glad you have not forgotten
+it.--Of our cultivated cherries, we have here at Elmridge, besides the
+large black ones, which are so very sweet about the first of July, the
+great ox-hearts, which look like painted wax and ripen in June, and
+those very acid red ones, often called pie-cherries, which are used for
+pies and preserves. The cherry is a beautiful fruit, and one that is
+popular with birds as well as with boys. The great northern cherry of
+Europe, which was named by Linnaeus the 'bird-cherry,' is encouraged in
+Great Britain and on the Continent for the benefit of the birds, which
+are regarded as the most important checks to the over-multiplication of
+insects. The fact not yet properly understood in America--that the birds
+which are the most mischievous consumers of fruit are the most useful as
+destroyers of insects--is well known by all farmers in Europe; and while
+we destroy the birds to save the fruit, and sometimes cut down the
+fruit-trees to starve the birds, the Europeans more wisely plant them
+for the food and accommodation of the birds."
+
+"Isn't it wicked to kill the poor little birds?" asked Edith.
+
+"Yes, dear; it is cruel to kill them just for sport, as is often done,
+and very foolish, as we have just seen, to destroy them for the sake of
+the fruit, which the insects make way with in much greater quantities
+than the birds do."
+
+"Miss Harson," asked Clara, "do people cut down real cherry trees to
+make the pretty red furniture like that in your room?"
+
+"It is the wood of the wild cherry," replied her governess, "that is
+used for this purpose. It is of a light-red or fresh mahogany color,
+growing darker and richer with age. It is very close-grained, compact,
+takes a good polish, and when perfectly seasoned is not liable to shrink
+or warp. It is therefore particularly suitable, and much employed, for
+tables, chests of drawers, and other cabinet-work, and when polished and
+varnished is not less beautiful for such articles than are inferior
+kinds of mahogany."
+
+"'Cherry' sounds pretty to say," continued Clara. "I wonder how the tree
+got that name?"
+
+"That wonder is easily explained," said Miss Harson, "for I have been
+reading about it, and I was just going to tell you. 'Cherry comes from
+'Cerasus,' the name of a town on the Black Sea from whence the tree is
+supposed to have been introduced into Italy, and it designates a genus
+of about forty species, natives of all the temperate regions of the
+northern hemisphere. They are trees or shrubs with smooth serrated
+leaves, which are folded together when young, and white or reddish
+flowers growing in bunches, like umbels, and preceding the leaves or in
+terminal racemes accompanying or following the leaves. A few species,
+with numerous varieties, produce valuable fruits; nearly all are
+remarkable for the abundance of their early flowers, sometimes rendered
+double by cultivation. And now," added the young lady, "we have arrived
+at the story, which is translated from the German; and in Germany the
+cherries are particularly fine. A plateful of this beautiful fruit was,
+as you will see, the cause of some remarkable changes."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+_THE CHERRY-STORY._
+
+On the banks of the Rhine, in the pleasant little village of Rebenheim,
+lived Ehrenberg, the village mayor. He was much respected for his
+virtues, and his wife was greatly beloved for her charity to the poor.
+They had an only daughter--the little Caroline--who gave early promise
+of a superior mind and a benevolent heart. She was the idol of her
+parents, who devoted their whole care to giving her a sound religious
+education.
+
+Not far from the house, and close to the orchard and kitchen-garden,
+there was another little garden, planted exclusively with flowers. The
+day that Caroline was born her father planted a cherry tree in the
+middle of the flower-garden. He had chosen a tree with a short trunk, in
+order that his little daughter could more easily admire the blossoms
+and pluck the cherries when they were ripe.
+
+When the tree bloomed for the first time and was so covered with
+blossoms that it looked like a single bunch of white flowers, the father
+and mother came out one morning to enjoy the sight. Little Caroline was
+in her mother's arms. The infant smiled, and, stretching out her little
+hands for the blossoms, endeavored at the same time to speak her joy,
+but in such a way as no one but a mother could understand:
+
+"Flowers! flowers! Pretty! pretty!"
+
+The child engaged more of the parents' thoughts than all the
+cherry-blossoms and gardens and orchards, and all they were worth. They
+resolved to educate her well; they prayed to God to bless their care and
+attention by making Caroline worthy of him and the joy and consolation
+of her parents. As soon as the little girl was old enough to understand,
+her mother told her lovingly of that kind Father in heaven who makes the
+flowers bloom and the trees bud and the cherries and apples grow ruddy
+and ripe; she told her also of the blessed Son of God, once an infant
+like herself, who died for all the world.
+
+The cherry tree in the middle of the garden was given to Caroline for
+her own, and it was a greater treasure to her than were all the flowers.
+She watched and admired it every day, from the moment the first bud
+appeared until the cherries were ripe. She grieved when she saw the
+white blossoms turn yellow and drop to the earth, but her grief was
+changed into joy when the cherries appeared, green at first and smaller
+than peas, and then daily growing larger and larger, until the rich red
+skin of the ripe cherry at last blushed among the interstices of the
+green leaves.
+
+"Thus it is," said her father; "youth and beauty fade like the blossoms,
+but virtue is the fruit which we expect from the tree. This whole world
+is, as it were, a large garden, in which God has appointed to every man
+a place, that he may bring forth abundant and good fruit. As God sends
+rain and sunshine on the trees, so does he send down grace on men to
+make them grow in virtue, if they will but do their part."
+
+In the course of time war approached the quiet village which had
+hitherto been the abode of peace and domestic bliss, and the battle
+raged fearfully. Balls and shells whizzed about, and several houses
+caught fire. As soon as the danger would permit, the mayor tried to
+extinguish the flames, while his wife and little daughter were praying
+earnestly for themselves and for their neighbors.
+
+In the afternoon a ring was heard at the door, and, looking out of the
+window, Madame Ehrenberg saw an officer of hussars standing before her.
+Fortunately, he was a German, and mother and daughter ran to open
+the door.
+
+"Do not be alarmed," said the officer, in a friendly tone, when he saw
+the frightened faces; "the danger is over, and you are quite safe. The
+fire in the village, too, is almost quenched, and the mayor will soon be
+here. I beg you for some refreshment, if it is only a morsel of bread
+and a drink of water. It was sharp work," he added, wiping the
+perspiration from his brow, "but, thank God, we have conquered,"
+Provisions were scarce, for the village had been plundered by the enemy,
+but the good lady brought forth a flask of wine and some rye bread, with
+many regrets that she had nothing better to offer. But the visitor, as
+he ate the bread with a hearty relish, declared that it was enough, for
+it was the first morsel he had tasted that day.
+
+Caroline ran and brought in on a porcelain plate some of the ripest
+cherries from her own tree.
+
+"Cherries!" exclaimed the officer. "They are a rarity in this district.
+How did they escape the enemy? All the trees in the country around are
+stripped."
+
+"The cherries," said the mother, "are from a little tree which was
+planted in Caroline's flower-garden on her birthday. It is but a few
+days since they became ripe; the enemy, perhaps, did not notice the
+little tree."
+
+"And is it for me you intend the cherries, my dear child?" asked the
+officer. "Oh no; you must keep them. It were a pity to take one of them
+from you."
+
+"How could we refuse a few cherries," said Caroline, "to the man that
+sheds his blood in our defence? You must eat them all," said she, while
+the tears streamed down her cheeks. "Do, I entreat you! Eat them all."
+
+He took some of the cherries and laid them on the table, near his
+wine-glass; but he had scarcely placed the glass to his lips when the
+trumpet sounded. He sprang up and girded on his sword.
+
+"That is the signal to march," said he. "I cannot wait one instant."
+
+Caroline wrapped the cherries in a roll of white paper and insisted that
+he should put them in his pocket.
+
+"The weather is very warm," said she, "and even cherries will be some
+refreshment."
+
+"Oh," said the officer, with emotion, "what a happiness it is for a
+soldier, who is often obliged to snatch each morsel from unwilling
+hands, to meet with a generous and benevolent family! I wish it were in
+my power, my dear child, to give you some pledge of my gratitude, but I
+have nothing--not so much as a single groat. You must be content with my
+simple thanks." With these words, and once more bidding Caroline and her
+mother an affectionate farewell, he took his departure, and walked
+rapidly out of sight.
+
+The joy of the good family for their happy deliverance was, alas! of
+short continuance. Some weeks after, a dreadful battle was fought near
+the village, which was reduced to a heap of ruins. The mayor's house was
+burned to the ground and all his property destroyed. Alas for the
+horrors of cruel war! Father, mother and daughter fled away on foot, and
+wept bitterly when they looked back on their once happy village, now but
+a mass of blazing ruins.
+
+The family retired to a distant town, and lived there in very great
+distress. The mayor endeavored to obtain a livelihood as a scrivener, or
+clerk; his wife worked at dressmaking and millinery, and Caroline, who
+soon became skillful in such matters, faithfully assisted her.
+
+A lady in town--the Countess von Buchenhaim--gave them much employment,
+and one day Caroline went to this lady's house to carry home a bonnet.
+She was taken to the garden, where the countess was sitting in the
+summer-house with her sister and nieces, who had come to visit her. The
+young ladies were delighted with the bonnet, and their mother gave
+orders for three more, particularly praising the blue flowers, which
+were the work of Caroline's own hands.
+
+The Countess von Buchenhaim spoke very kindly of the young girl to her
+sister, and related the sad story of the worthy family's misfortunes.
+The count was standing with his brother-in-law, the colonel, at some
+little distance from the door of the summer-house, and the colonel, a
+fine-looking man in a hussar's uniform and with a star on his breast,
+overheard the conversation. Coming up, he looked closely at Caroline.
+
+"Is it possible," said he, "that you are the daughter of the mayor of
+Rebenheim? How tall you have grown! I should scarcely have recognized
+you, though we are old acquaintances."
+
+Caroline stood there abashed, looking full in the face of the stranger,
+her cheeks covered with blushes. Taking her by the hand, the colonel
+conducted her to his wife, who was sitting near the countess.
+
+"See, Amelia," said he; "this is the young lady who saved my life ten
+years ago, when she was only a child."
+
+"How can that be possible?" asked Caroline, in amazement.
+
+"It must indeed appear incomprehensible to you," answered the colonel,
+"but do you remember the hussar-officer that one day, after a battle,
+stood knocking at the door of your father's house in Rebenheim? Do you
+remember the cherries which you so kindly gave him?"
+
+"Oh, was it you?" exclaimed Caroline, while her face beamed with a smile
+of recognition. "Thank God you are alive! But how I could have done
+anything toward saving your life I cannot understand."
+
+"In truth, it would be impossible for you to guess the great service
+you did me," said he, "but my wife and daughters know it well; I wrote
+to them of it at once. And I look upon it as one of the most remarkable
+occurrences of my life."
+
+"And one that I ought to remember better than any other event of the
+war," said his lady, rising and affectionately embracing Caroline.
+
+"Well," said the countess, "neither I nor my husband ever heard the
+story. Please give us a full account of it."
+
+"Oh, it is easily told," said the colonel. "Hungry and thirsty, I
+entered the house in which Caroline and her parents dwelt, and, to tell
+the plain truth, I begged for some bread and water. They gave me a share
+of the best they had, and did not hesitate to do so, though their
+village and themselves were in the greatest distress. Caroline robbed
+every bough on her cherry tree to refresh me. Fine cherries they
+were--the only ones, probably, in the whole country. But the enemy did
+not give me time to eat them; I was obliged to depart in a hurry.
+Caroline insisted, with the kindest hospitality, that I should take them
+with me, but that was no easy matter: my horse had been shot under me
+the day before. I took from my knapsack whatever articles I could in a
+hurry, and, thrusting them into my pockets, I fought on foot until a
+hussar gave me his horse. All that I was worth was in my pockets, so
+that to make room for the cherries I was obliged to take the pocket-book
+out of my pocket and place it here beneath my vest. The enemy, who had
+been driven back, made a feint of advancing on us, and I led down my
+hussars in gallant style. But suddenly we found ourselves in front of a
+body of infantry concealed behind a hedge. One of them fired at me, and
+the fellow had taken good aim, for the ball struck me here on the
+breast. But it rebounded from the pocket-book; otherwise, I should have
+been shot through the body and fallen dead on the spot. Tell me," said
+he, in a tone of deep emotion; "was not that little child an instrument
+in the hand of God to save me from death? Am I right or not when I give
+Caroline the credit, under God, of having saved my life? Her must I
+thank that my Amelia is not a widow and my daughters orphans."
+
+All agreed with him. His wife, who had Caroline's hand locked in her own
+during the whole narrative, now pressed it affectionately and with tears
+in her eyes.
+
+"You, then," said she, "were the good angel that averted such a terrible
+misfortune from our family?"
+
+Her two daughters also gazed with pleasure at Caroline.
+
+"Every time we ate cherries," said the younger, "we spoke of you without
+knowing you."
+
+All had kind and grateful words for the young girl, but the colonel soon
+bade her farewell for the present, and said that he had some business to
+attend to with his brother-in-law. This business was to urge the count
+to appoint Ehrenberg his steward in place of the one who had died a few
+months before. A better man, he said, could not be found; for when he
+had visited Rebenheim to make inquiries for the family, although none
+could tell where they had gone, all were loud in their praise, and the
+mayor was pronounced a pattern of justice, honor and charity.
+
+The count drew out the order, signed it, and gave it to his
+brother-in-law, who wished himself to take it to Mr. Ehrenberg; and he
+went at once to the house and saluted him as "master-steward of
+Buchenhaim."
+
+"Read that," he said to the astonished man as he handed him the paper in
+which he was duly appointed steward of Buchenhaim, with a good salary of
+a thousand thalers and several valuable perquisites.
+
+"And you," said the colonel to Caroline and her mother, "must prepare to
+remove at once. Your lodgings are so confined! But you will find it very
+different in the house which you are to occupy in Buchenhaim. The
+dwelling is large and commodious, with a fine garden attached, well
+stocked with cherry trees. Next Monday you will be there, and this very
+day you must start. What a happy feast we shall have there!--not like
+the hasty meal you gave the hussar-officer amid the thunder of cannon
+and the blazing roofs of Rebenheim. Do not forget to have cherries, dear
+Caroline, for dessert; I think they will be fully ripe by that time."
+
+With these words the colonel hurried away to escape the thanks of this
+good family, and, in truth, to conceal his own tears. So rapidly did he
+disappear that Ehrenberg could scarcely accompany him down the steps.
+
+"Oh, Caroline," said the happy father when he returned, "who could have
+imagined that the little cherry tree I planted in the flower-garden the
+day you were born would ever produce such good fruit?"
+
+"It was the providence of God," exclaimed the mother, clasping her
+hands. "I remember distinctly the first time the blossoms appeared on
+that tree, when you and I went out to look at it, and little Caroline,
+then an infant in my arms, was so much delighted with the white flowers.
+We resolved then to educate our daughter piously, and prayed fervently
+to God that she, who was then as full of promise as the blossoms on the
+tree, might by his grace one day be the prop of our old age. That prayer
+is now fulfilled beyond our fondest anticipations. Praise for ever be to
+the name of God!"
+
+Edith declared that this was one of the very sweetest stories Miss
+Harson had ever told them, and Clara and Malcolm were equally well
+pleased with it.
+
+"Were those cherries like ours?" asked Clara.
+
+"They were larger and finer than ours generally are, I think," was the
+reply, "being the great northern cherry, or bird-cherry, of Europe,
+which grows in Germany to great perfection. And the little German girl's
+plate of cherries, which she so generously urged upon a stranger when
+food of any kind was so scarce, is a beautiful illustration of the first
+verse of the eleventh chapter of Proverbs: 'Cast thy bread upon the
+waters; for thou shalt find it after many days.'"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+_THE MULBERRY FAMILY_.
+
+"There is a fruit tree," said Miss Harson, "belonging to an entirely
+different family, which we have not considered yet; and, although it is
+not a common tree with us, one specimen of it is to be found in Mrs.
+Bush's garden, where you have all enjoyed the fruit very much. What
+is it?"
+
+"Mulberry," said Clara, promptly, while Malcolm was wondering what it
+could be.
+
+"Oh yes," said Edith, very innocently; "I like to go and see Mrs. Bush
+when there are mulberries."
+
+Mrs. Bush was not a cheerful person to visit, as she was quite old and
+rather hard of hearing, and she lived alone in the gloomy old house with
+the Lombardy poplars in front, where everything looked dark and shut up.
+A queer woman in a sunbonnet, nearly as old as Mrs. Bush, lived close
+by, and "kept an eye on her," as she said.
+
+Mrs. Bush's great enjoyment was to have visitors of all ages, to whom
+she talked a great deal, and cried as she talked, about a daughter who
+had died a few years ago. The little Kyles did not care to go there
+except when, as Edith said, there were ripe mulberries; but Mrs. Bush
+liked very much to have them, and Miss Harson took her little charges
+there occasionally, because, as she explained to them, it gave pleasure
+to a lonely old woman, and such visits were just as much charity, though
+of a different kind, as giving food and clothes to those who need them.
+The children delighted in the mulberries just because they did not have
+them at home, although they had fruit that was very much nicer; but Miss
+Harson never wished even to taste them, although she too had liked them
+when a little girl.
+
+"The mulberry tree," continued their governess, "belongs to the
+bread-fruit family, but the other members of this remarkable family,
+except the Osage orange, are found only in foreign countries. The
+bread-fruit tree itself, the fig, the Indian fig, or banyan tree, and
+the deadly upas tree, are all relations of the mulberry."
+
+"Well, trees are queer things," exclaimed Malcolm, "to belong to
+families that are not a bit alike."
+
+"They are alike in important points, when we examine them carefully,"
+was the reply. "The bread-fruit genus consists, with a single exception,
+of trees and shrubs with alternate, toothed or lobed or entire leaves
+and milky juice. This reminds me that the famous cow tree of South
+America, which yields a large supply of rich and wholesome milk, is one
+of the members; and you see what a number of famous trees we have on
+hand now. There are several kinds of mulberries--the red, black, white
+and paper mulberry, which are all occasionally found in this country,
+and they were once quite popular here for their shade. The fruit is
+unusually small for tree-fruit, and very soft when ripe, as you all
+know; it is not unlike a long, narrow blackberry, and forms, like it, a
+compound fruit, as though many small berries had grown together. The
+tree in Mrs. Bush's garden is the black mulberry, as any one might know
+by the stained lips and hands that sometimes come from there; and it has
+been cultivated from ancient times for its fine appearance and shade. It
+is found wild in the forests of Persia, and is thought to have been
+taken from there to Europe. The tree is more beautiful than useful, for
+the silkworms do not thrive well on the leaves and the wood is neither
+strong nor durable."
+
+"Why, I thought," said Clara, "that silkworms always lived on
+mulberry-leaves?"
+
+"The white mulberry is their favorite food; and another species, called
+the _Morus multicaulis_--for _Morus_ is the scientific name of the
+family--has more delicate leaves than any other, and produces a finer
+quality of silk. These trees are natives of China, and the white
+mulberry grows very rapidly to the height of thirty or forty feet. The
+paper mulberry is so called because in China and Japan--of which it is a
+native--its bark is manufactured into paper. In the South-Sea Islands,
+where it is also found, the bark is made into the curious dresses which
+we sometimes see imported thence. It is a low, thick-branched tree with
+large light-colored downy leaves and dark-scarlet fruit."
+
+"I wonder," said Malcolm, "if the bark is like birch-bark?"
+
+"It does not look like it," replied Miss Harson, "but it seems to be
+very much of the same nature. The red mulberry and black mulberry are
+the most hardy of these trees, and the red mulberry will thrive farther
+north than any of the family. The wood is valuable for many purposes for
+which timber is used, and especially in boat-building. And now, as we
+learned something about silkworms and their cocoons in our talks about
+insects[15], there is little more to be said of the mulberry tree which
+any but learned people would care to know."
+
+[15] See _Flyers and Crawlers_. Presbyterian Board of Publication.
+
+"I want to hear about the bread tree," said little Edith, "and how the
+loaves of bread grow on it."
+
+"Do they, Miss Harson?" asked Clara, not exactly seeing how this could
+be.
+
+"I don't believe they're very hot," remarked Malcolm, who was puzzled
+over the bread-fruit tree himself, but who laughed at his little
+sister's idea in a very knowing way. It was not an ill-natured laugh,
+though, and a glance from his governess always quieted him.
+
+"No, dear," replied Miss Harson, answering Clara; "loaves of bread do
+not grow on any tree. But I will tell you about the bread-fruit
+presently; let us finish the _Morus_ family and their kindred in our own
+country before we go to their foreign relations. The Osage orange is so
+much used in the United States, and in this part of it, for hedges, on
+account of its rapid growth and ornamental appearance, that we really
+ought to know something about it. 'It is a beautiful low, spreading,
+round-headed tree with the port and splendor of an orange tree. Its
+oval, entire, polished leaves have the shining green of natives of
+warmer regions, and its curiously-tesselated, succulent compound fruit
+the size and golden color of an orange. It was first found in the
+country of the Osage Indians, from whom it gets its name, and it has
+since been cultivated in many parts of this country and in Europe. The
+Osages belonged to the Sioux, or Dacotah, tribe of Indians, and their
+home was in the south-western part of the old United States. The Osage
+orange--a tree from thirty to forty feet high with leaves even more
+bright and glossy than those of the ordinary orange--was first found
+growing wild near one of their villages."
+
+"But what a very high hedge it would make!" said Malcolm.
+
+"Yes, if left to its natural growth, it would be a very absurd fence
+indeed. But this is not the case; the branches spread out very widely,
+and by cutting off the tops and trimming the remainder twice in a season
+a very handsome thickset hedge is produced, with lustrous leaves and
+sharp, straight thorns. Another name for this tree is yellow-wood, or
+bow-wood, because the wood is of a bright-yellow color, and the grain is
+so fine and elastic that the Southern Indians have been in the habit of
+using it to make their bows. The experiment of feeding silkworms upon
+the leaves has been tried, but it was not very successful."
+
+"I suppose the worms didn't know that it belonged to the mulberry
+family," said Clara, "and I don't see now why it does."
+
+For reply, her governess read:
+
+"'The sap of the young wood and of the leaves is _milky_ and contains a
+large proportion of caoutchouc.'"
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed Malcolm; "that sounds just like sneezing. What is it,
+Miss Harson?"
+
+"Something that you wear on your feet and over your shoulders in wet
+weather; so now guess."
+
+"Overshoes!" replied Clara, in a great hurry.
+
+"How many of them do you wear over your shoulders at once?" asked her
+brother. "And it must be a queer kind of sap that has overshoes in it.
+Why couldn't you say 'India-rubber'?"
+
+"And why couldn't _you_ say it before Clara put it into your head by
+saying 'Overshoes?" asked Miss Harson. "Clara has the right idea, only
+she did not express it in the clearest way. The sap of the caoutchouc,
+or India-rubber, tree is the most valuable yet discovered, and, as it is
+of a milky nature, it can very properly be brought into the present
+class of trees."
+
+"Is _that_ a mulberry too?" asked Clara, who thought that the size of
+the family was getting beyond all bounds.
+
+"It is not really set down as belonging to the bread-fruit family," was
+the reply, "but it certainly has the peculiarity of their milky sap.
+However, as I know that you are all eager to hear about the bread-fruit
+tree, we will take that next. This tree is found in various tropical
+regions, but principally in the South-Sea Islands, where it is about
+forty feet high. The immense leaves are half a yard long and over a
+quarter wide, and are deeply divided into sharp lobes. The fruit looks
+like a very large green berry, being about the size of a cocoanut or
+melon, and the proper time for gathering it is about a week before it is
+ripe. When baked, it is not very unlike bread. It is cooked by being
+cut into several pieces, which are baked in an oven in the ground. It is
+often eaten with orange-juice and cocoanut-milk. Some of the South-Sea
+islanders depend very much upon it for their food. The large seeds, when
+roasted, are said to taste like the best chestnuts. The pulp, which is
+the bread-part, is said to resemble a baked potato and is very white and
+tender, but, unless eaten soon after the fruit is gathered, it grows
+hard and choky."
+
+[Illustration: THE BREAD-FRUIT.]
+
+"So Edie's 'loaves of bread' are green?" said Malcolm, rather
+teasingly.
+
+"That's because they grow on a tree," replied Clara. "Our loaves of
+bread are raw dough before they're baked, and they are grains of wheat
+before they are dough."
+
+"That is quite true, dear," replied her governess, laughing, "and we
+must teach Malcolm not to be quite so critical.--The bread-fruit is a
+wonderful tree, and it certainly does bear uncooked loaves of bread, at
+least, for they require no kneading to be ready for the oven. The fruit
+is to be found on the tree for eight months of the year--which is very
+different from any of our fruits--and two or three bread-fruit trees
+will supply one man with food all the year round."
+
+"Put what does he do when there is no fresh fruit on them?" asked
+Malcolm. "You told us that it was not good to eat unless it was fresh."
+
+"We should not think it good, but the native makes it into a sour paste
+called _mahé_, and the people of the islands eat this during the four
+months when the fresh fruit is not to be had. The bread-fruit is said
+to be very nourishing, and it can be prepared in various ways. The
+timber of this tree, though soft, is found useful in building houses and
+boats; the flowers, when dried, serve for tinder; the viscid, milky
+juice answers for birdlime and glue; the leaves, for towels and packing;
+and the inner bark, beaten together, makes one species of the
+South-Sea cloth."
+
+"What a very useful tree!" exclaimed Clara.
+
+"It is indeed," replied Miss Harson; "and this is the case with many of
+the trees found in these warm countries, where the inhabitants know
+little of the arts and manufactures, and would almost starve rather than
+exert themselves very greatly. There is another species of bread-fruit,
+called the jaca, or jack, tree, found on the mainland of Asia, which
+produces its fruit on different parts of the tree, according to its age.
+When the tree is young, the fruit grows from the twigs; in middle age it
+grows from the trunk; and when the tree gets old, it grows from
+the roots."
+
+[Illustration: JACK-FRUIT TREE.]
+
+There was a picture of the jack tree with fruit growing out of the
+trunk and great branches like melons, and the children crowded eagerly
+around to look at it. All agreed that it was the very queerest tree they
+had yet heard of.
+
+"The fruit is even larger than that of the island bread-fruit,"
+continued their governess, "but it is not so pleasant to our taste, nor
+is it so nourishing. It often weighs over thirty pounds and has two or
+three hundred seeds, each of which is four times as large as an almond
+and is surrounded by a pulp which is greatly relished by the natives of
+India. The seeds, or nuts, are roasted, like those of smaller fruit, and
+make very good chestnuts. The fruit has a strong odor not very agreeable
+to noses not educated to it."
+
+"Miss Harson," said Malcolm, "what is the upas tree like, and why is it
+called _deadly_?"
+
+"It is a tree eighty feet high, with white and slightly-furrowed bark;
+the branches, which are very thick, grow nearly at the top, dividing
+into smaller ones, which form an irregular sort of crown to the tall,
+straight trunk. There is no reason for calling it _deadly_ except a
+foolish notion and the fact that a very strong poison is prepared from
+the milky sap. The tree grows in the island of Java, and for a long time
+many fabulous stories were told of its dangerous nature. Travelers in
+that region would send home the wildest and most improbable stories of
+the poison tree, until the very name of the upas was enough to make
+people shudder. It is said that a Dutch surgeon stationed on the island
+did much to keep up the impression. He wrote an account of the valley in
+which the upas was said to be growing alone, for no tree nor shrub was
+to be found near it. And he declared that neither animal nor bird could
+breathe the noxious effluvia from the tree without instant death. In
+fact, he called this fatal spot 'The Valley of Death.'"
+
+"And wasn't it true, Miss Harson?"
+
+"Not all true, Clara; some one who had spent many years in Java proved
+these stories to be entirely false. Instead of growing in a dismal
+valley by itself, the graceful-looking upas tree is found in the most
+fertile spots, among other trees, and very often climbing plants are
+twisted round its trunk, while birds nestle in the branches. It can be
+handled, too, like any other tree; and all this is as unlike the Dutch
+surgeon's account as possible. One of his stories was that the criminals
+on the island were employed to collect the poison from the trunk of the
+tree; that they were permitted to choose whether to die by the hand of
+the executioner or to go to the upas for a box of its fatal juice; and
+that the ground all about the tree was strewed with the dead bodies of
+those who had perished on this errand."
+
+"Oh," exclaimed Edith, "wasn't that dreadful?"
+
+"The story was dreadful, dear, but it was only a story, you know: the
+upas tree did not kill people at all; and to turn the milky juice into a
+dangerous poison took a great deal of time and trouble. It was mixed
+with various spices and fermented; when ready for use, it was poured
+into the hollow joints of bamboo and carefully kept from the air. Both
+for war and for the chase arrows are dipped in this fatal preparation,
+and the effect has been witnessed by naturalists on animals, and also on
+man. The instant it touches the blood it is carried through the whole
+system, so that it may be felt in all the veins and causes a burning
+sensation, especially in the head, which is followed by sickness
+and death."
+
+"Well," said Clara, drawing a long breath, "I'm glad that I don't live
+in Java."
+
+"The poisoned arrows are not constantly flying about in Java, dear,"
+replied her governess, with a smile, "and I do not think you would be in
+any danger from them; but there are a great many other reasons why it is
+not pleasant, except for natives, to live in Java. There are a number of
+Dutch settlers there, because the island was conquered by the Dutch
+nation, but while war with the natives was going on they suffered
+terribly from these poisoned arrows; so that the very name of upas
+caused them to tremble. The word 'upas,' in the language of the natives,
+means poison, and there is in the island a valley called the upas, or
+poison, valley. It has nothing, however, to do with the tree, which does
+not grow anywhere in the neighborhood. That valley may literally be
+called 'The Valley of Death.' We are told that it came to exist in this
+way: The largest mountain in Java was once partly buried in a very
+dreadful manner. In the middle of a summer night the people in the
+neighborhood perceived a luminous cloud that seemed wholly to envelop
+the mountain. They were extremely alarmed and took to flight, but ere
+they could escape a terrific noise was heard, like the discharge of
+cannon, and part of the mountain fell in and disappeared. At the same
+moment quantities of stones and lava were thrown to the distance of
+several miles. Fifteen miles of ground covered with villages and
+plantations were swallowed up or buried under the lava from the
+mountain; and when all was over and people tried to visit the scene of
+the disaster, they could not approach it on account of the heat of the
+stones and other substances piled upon one another. And yet as much as
+six weeks had elapsed since the catastrophe. This upas valley is about
+half a mile in circumference, and the vapor that escapes through the
+cracks and fissures is fatal to every living thing. Here, indeed, are to
+be seen the bones of animals and birds, and even the skeletons of human
+beings who were unfortunate enough to enter and were overpowered by the
+deadly vapor. And now," added Miss Harson, "I have given you this
+account to make you understand that the famous upas valley of Java is
+not a valley of upas trees, but one of poisonous vapors."
+
+"And the deadly upas," said Malcolm, "is not deadly, after all! I think
+I shall remember that."
+
+"And I too," said Clara and Edith, who had listened with great interest
+to the description.
+
+"Shall we have some figs now, by way of variety?" was a question that
+caused three pairs of eyes to turn rather expectantly on the speaker;
+for figs were very popular with the small people of Elmridge.
+
+[Illustration: THE BANYAN TREE.]
+
+"Not in the way of refreshments, just at present," continued their
+governess, "but only as belonging to the mulberry family; and we will
+begin with that curious tree the banyan, or Indian fig. This stately and
+beautiful tree is found on the banks of the river Ganges and in many
+parts of India, and is a tree much valued and venerated by the Hindu. He
+plants it near the temple of his idol; and if the village in which he
+resides does not possess any such edifice, he uses the banyan for a
+temple and places the idol beneath it. Here, every morning and evening,
+he performs the rites of his heathen worship. And, more than this, he
+considers the tree, with its out-stretched and far-sheltering arms, an
+emblem of the creator of all things."
+
+"Is that only one tree?" asked Malcolm as Miss Harson displayed a
+picture that was more like a small grove. "Why, it looks like two or
+three trees together."
+
+"Does it grow up from the ground or down from the air?" asked Clara.
+"Just look at these queer branches with one end fast to the tree and the
+other end fast to the ground!"
+
+Edith thought that the branches which had not reached the ground looked
+like snakes, but, for all that, it was certainly a grand tree.
+
+"The peculiar growth of the banyan," continued Miss Harson, "renders it
+an object of beauty and produces those column-like stems that cause it
+to become a grove in itself. It may be said to grow, not from the seed,
+but from the branches. They spread out horizontally, and each branch
+sends out a number of rootlets that at first hang from it like slender
+cords and wave about in the wind.--Those are your 'snakes,' Edith.--But
+by degrees they reach the ground and root themselves into it; then the
+cord tightens and thickens and becomes a stem, acting like a prop to the
+widespreading branch of the parent plant. Indeed, column on column is
+added in this manner, the books tell us, so long as the mother-tree can
+support its numerous progeny."
+
+"How very strange!" said Clara. "The mulberry seems to have some very
+funny relations."
+
+"Such a great tree ought to bear very large figs," added Malcolm.
+
+"On the contrary," replied his governess, "it bears uncommonly small
+ones--no larger than a hazel-nut, and of a red color. They are not
+considered eatable by the natives, but birds and animals feed upon them,
+and in the leafy bower of the banyan are found the peacock, the monkey
+and the squirrel. Here, too, are a myriad of pigeons as green as the
+leaf and with eyes and feet of a brilliant red. They are so like the
+foliage in color that they can be seen only by the practiced eye of the
+hunter, and even he would fail to detect them were it not for their
+restless movements. As they flutter about from branch to branch they are
+apt to fall victims to his skill in shooting his arrows."
+
+"If they would only keep still!" exclaimed Edith, who felt a strong
+sympathy for the green pigeons. "Poor pretty things! Why don't they,
+Miss Harson, instead of getting killed?"
+
+"They do not know their danger until it is too late, and it is quite as
+hard for them to keep still as it is for little girls."
+
+Edith wondered if that meant her; she was a little girl, but she did not
+think she was so very restless. However, Miss Harson didn't tell her,
+and she soon forgot it in listening to what was said of the queer tree
+with branches like snakes.
+
+"The leaves of the banyan tree are large and soft and of a very bright
+green, and the deep shade and pillared walks are so welcome to the Hindu
+that he even tries to improve on Nature and coax the shoots to grow just
+where he wishes them. He binds wet clay and moss on the branch to make
+the rootlet sprout."
+
+"Will it grow then?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Yes, just as a cutting planted in the earth will grow, although it
+seems a very odd style of gardening.--The sacred fig tree of
+India--_Ficus religiosa_--is a near relative of the banyan, and very
+much like it in general appearance; but the leaves are on such slender
+stalks that they tremble like those of the aspen. It is known as the bo
+tree of Ceylon, and is said to have been placed in charge of the priests
+long before the present race of inhabitants had appeared in the island."
+
+"Where do the real figs grow?" asked Clara.
+
+"In a great many moderately warm or sub-tropical countries," was the
+reply, "but Smyrna figs are the most celebrated. Immense quantities of
+the fruit are dried and packed in Asiatic Turkey for exportation from
+this city, and it is said that in the fig season nothing else is talked
+about there."
+
+"I didn't know that they were dried," said Malcolm, in great surprise;
+"I thought they were just packed tight in boxes and then sent off."
+
+[Illustration: LEAF AND FRUIT OF THE FIG TREE.]
+
+"'In its native country,'" read Miss Harson, "'and when growing on the
+tree, the fig presents a different appearance from the dried and packed
+specimens we see in this country. It is a firm and fleshy fruit, and
+has a delicious honey-drop hanging from the point.' And here," she
+added, "is a small branch from the fig tree, with fruit growing on it."
+
+"Why, it's shaped like a pear!" exclaimed Malcolm.
+
+"And what large, pretty leaves it has!" said Clara.
+
+"'The fig tree is common in Palestine and the East,'" Miss Harson
+continued to read, "'and flourishes with the greatest luxuriance in
+those barren and stony situations, where little else will grow. Its
+large size and its abundance of five-lobed leaves render it a pleasant
+shade-tree, and its fruit furnishes a wholesome food very much used in
+all the lands of the Bible.' Figs were among the fruits mentioned in the
+'land that flowed with milk and honey,' and it was a symbol of peace and
+plenty, as you will find, Malcolm, by reading to us from First Kings,
+fourth chapter, twenty-fifth verse."
+
+"'And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under
+his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of
+Solomon.'--That's what it means, then!" said Malcolm, when he had
+finished reading the verse. "I've heard people say, 'Under your own vine
+and fig tree,' and I couldn't tell what they meant."
+
+"Yes," replied his governess, "some persons make very free with the
+words of Holy Scripture and twist them to suit meanings for which they
+were not intended. Having a house of one's own is usually meant by this
+quotation, and almost the same words are repeated in other parts of the
+Old Testament. The fig is often mentioned in the Bible, and two kinds
+are spoken of--the very early fig, and the one that ripens late in the
+summer. The early fig was considered the best; and I think that Clara
+will tell us what is said of it by the prophet Jeremiah."
+
+Clara read slowly:
+
+"'One basket had very good figs, _even like the figs that are first
+ripe_; and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be
+eaten, they were so bad[16].'"
+
+[16] Jer. xxiv. 2.
+
+"But can figs be naughty, Miss Harson?" asked Edith, with very
+wide-open eyes. "I thought that only children were naughty,"
+
+"There are 'naughty' grown people as well as naughty children," was the
+reply, "and inanimate things like figs in old times were called naughty
+too, in the sense of being bad.--The fruit of the fig tree appears not
+only before the leaves, but without any sign of blossoms, the flowers
+being small and hidden in the little buttons which first shoot out from
+the points of the sterns, and around which the outer and firm part of
+the fig grows. The leaves come out so late in the season that our
+Saviour said, 'Now learn a parable of the fig tree; when his branch is
+yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh[17].'
+Did not our Lord say something else about a fig tree?"
+
+[17] Matt. xxiv. 32.
+
+"Yes," replied Clara; "the one that was withered away because it had no
+figs on it."
+
+"The barren fig tree which was withered at our Saviour's word, as an
+awful warning to unfruitful professors of religion, seems to have spent
+itself in leaves. It stood by the wayside, free to all, and, as the time
+for stripping the trees of their fruit had not come--for in Mark we are
+told that 'the time of figs was not yet[18]'--it was reasonable to
+expect to find it covered with figs in various stages of growth. Yet
+there was 'nothing thereon, but leaves only.' Find the nineteenth verse
+of the twenty-first chapter of Matthew, Malcolm, and read what is
+said there."
+
+[18] Mark xi. 13.
+
+"'And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found
+nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on
+thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.'"
+
+"A fig tree having leaves," said Miss Harson, "should also have figs,
+for these, as I have already told you, appear before the leaves, and
+both are on the tree at the same time; so that, although unripe figs are
+seen without leaves, leaves should not be seen without figs; and if it
+was not yet the season for figs, it was not the season for leaves
+either. The barren fig tree has often been compared to people who make a
+show of goodness in words, but leave the doing of good works to others;
+and when anything is expected of them, there is sure to be
+disappointment. 'Nothing but leaves' has become a proverb; and when it
+can be used to express the barren condition of those who profess to
+follow the teachings of our Lord, it is sad indeed."
+
+"Do fig trees grow wild?" asked Clara, presently.
+
+"Yes," was the reply, "and very curious-looking things they are. 'Their
+roots twist into all kinds of whimsical contortions, so as to look more
+like a mass of snakes than the roots of a tree. They unite themselves so
+closely to the substances that come in their way, such as the face of
+rocks, or even the stems of other trees, that nothing can pull them
+away. And in some parts of India these strong, tough roots are made to
+serve the purpose of bridges and twisted over some stream or cataract.
+The wild fig is often a dangerous parasite, and does not attain
+perfection without completing some work of destruction among its
+neighbors in the forest. A slender rootlet may sometimes be seen hanging
+from the crown of a palm. The seed was carried there by some bird that
+had fed upon the fruit of a wild fig, and it rooted itself with
+surprising facility. The rootlet, as it descends, envelops the
+column-like stem of the palm with a woody network, and at length reaches
+the ground. Meanwhile, the true stem of the parasite shoots upward from
+the crown of the palm. It sends out numberless rootlets, each of which,
+as soon as it reaches the ground, takes root; and between them the palm
+is stifled and perishes, leaving the fig in undisturbed possession. The
+parasite does not, however, long survive the decline; for, no longer fed
+by the juices of the palm, it also, in process of time, begins to
+languish and decline.'"
+
+"What a mean thing it is!" exclaimed Malcolm--"as mean as the cuckoo,
+that lays its eggs in other birds' nests. And I'm glad it dies when it
+has killed the palm tree; it just serves it right. But don't figs ever
+grow in this country, Miss Harson?"
+
+"Yes," replied his governess; "they are cultivated in the Southern
+States and in California, like many other semi-tropical fruits, and are
+principally eaten fresh, but for drying they are not equal to the
+imported ones. No doubt the cultivation of figs in California will
+become a prosperous trade, for the climate and circumstances there are
+much like those of Syria."
+
+[Illustration: DWARF FIG TREE IN A POT.]
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+_QUEER RELATIONS: THE CAOUTCHOUC AND THE MILK TREE_.
+
+"What dark, strange-looking trees!" exclaimed the children while looking
+at an illustration of caoutchouc trees in Brazil. "How thick and strong
+they are! And what funny tops!--like pointed umbrellas."
+
+"The India-rubber tree is not likely to be mistaken for any other," said
+their governess, "and it does not look very dark and gloomy in that
+forest, where everything seems to be crowded close and in a tangle,
+because South American vegetation grows so thickly and rapidly. This is
+the country which supplies the largest quantity of India-rubber. Immense
+cargoes are shipped from the town of Para, on the river Amazon, and
+obtained from the _Siphonia elastica_."
+
+"Are the stems all made of India-rubber?" asked Edith, who thought that
+was exactly what they looked like.
+
+"Are the stems of the maple trees made of maple-sugar?" replied Miss
+Harson. "The India-rubber is got from its tree as the sugar is from the
+maple tree. It is taken from the trunk in the shape of a very thick
+milky fluid, and it is said that no other vital fluid, whether in animal
+or in plant, contains so much solid material within it; and it is a
+matter of surprise that the sap, thus encumbered, can circulate through
+all the delicate vessels of the tree. Tropical heat is required to form
+the caoutchouc; for when the tree is cultivated in hothouses, the
+substance of the sap is quite different. The full-grown trees are very
+handsome, with round column-like trunks about sixty feet high, and the
+crown of foliage is said to resemble that of the ash."
+
+"Did people always know about India-rubber?" asked Clara.
+
+"No indeed! It is not more than a hundred and fifty years--perhaps not
+so long--since it was a great curiosity; so that a piece half an inch
+square would sell in London for nearly a dollar of our money, but now it
+comes in shiploads, and a pound of it costs less than quarter of that
+sum. It is used for so many purposes that it seems as if the world could
+never have gone on without it. All sorts of outside garments to keep out
+the rain are made of it. Waterproof cloaks are called macintoshes in
+England because this was the name of the person who invented them.
+India-rubber is also used for tents and many other things, and, as water
+cannot get through it, there is a great saving of trouble and expense."
+
+"It must be splendid for tents," said Malcolm; "no one need care, when
+snug under cover, whether or not it rained in the woods."
+
+"People do care, though," was the reply, "for they expect, when in the
+woods, to live out of doors; but the India-rubber is certainly a great
+improvement on tents that get soaked through."
+
+"I like it," said Edith, "because it rubs things out. When I draw a
+house and it's all wrong, my piece of India-rubber will take it away,
+and then I can make another one on the paper."
+
+"That is the very smallest of its uses," replied Miss Harson, smiling at
+the little girl's earnestness, "and yet we find it a great convenience.
+An English writer, speaking of it when it was first known in England,
+said that he had seen a substance that would efface from paper the marks
+of a black-lead pencil, and he thought it must be of use to those who
+practiced drawing."
+
+"How funny that sounds!" exclaimed Malcolm. "Why, I couldn't get along
+without my India-rubber when I make mistakes,"
+
+"You might," said his governess, "if you had some stale bread to rub
+with; for people _have_ gotten along without a great many things which
+they now think necessary."
+
+"Miss Harson," said Clara, "won't you tell us, please, how they get the
+caoutch--whatever it is--and make it into India-rubber?"
+
+"I will," was the laughing reply, "when you can say the word properly.
+C-a-o-u-t-c-h-o-u-c--koochook."
+
+As Clara said, Miss Harson made things so easy to understand! and in a
+very short time the hard word was mastered.
+
+"As I have never seen the sap gathered," continued the young lady, "I
+shall have to read you an account of it, instead of telling you from my
+own experience; but the description is so plain that I think we shall
+all be able to understand it very well: 'At certain seasons of the year
+the natives visit some islands in the river Amazon that for many months
+are covered with water. As soon as the water subsides and a footing can
+be obtained the Indians arrive in parties, to seek for the trees. The
+Indian who comes every morning to collect the juice from the trunk has a
+number of trees allotted to him, and goes the round of the whole. The
+previous night he has made a long, deep cut in the bark of each and hung
+an earthen vessel beneath, to receive the thick, creamlike substance
+that trickles down. The vessel is filled by morning, and he pours the
+contents into one much larger and carries it to his hut. He is provided
+with a number of moulds of different shapes and sizes, and he dips them
+into the juice and puts them aside to dry. They are then dipped again,
+and the process is continued until the coat of India-rubber on the mould
+is of sufficient thickness. It is made black by passing it through the
+smoke of burning palm-nuts. The moulds are broken and taken out, leaving
+the India-rubber ready for sale, and pretty much as we used to see it in
+the shops before the people of this country had learned how to
+work it.'"
+
+"That seems easy enough," said Malcolm, "but how do they make it into
+gutta-percha?"
+
+"Gutta-percha is not made," replied his governess, "and it is taken from
+an entirely different tree, the _Icosandra gutta_, which grows in
+Southern Asia. The milky fluid is procured in the same way, but it is
+placed in vessels to evaporate, and the solid substance left at the
+bottom is the gutta-percha. It is not elastic, like India-rubber, and
+is called 'vegetable leather' because of its toughness and leathery
+appearance. It was discovered by an English traveler a long time before
+it was supposed to have any useful properties, but now it is considered
+a very valuable material. The wonderful submarine telegraph could not
+convey its messages between the Old World and the New were not its wires
+protected from injury by a coating of gutta-percha. Its unyielding
+nature and its not being elastic render it the very material needed. The
+long straps used in working machines are also made of gutta-percha, and
+this is another instance where its non-elasticity gives it the
+preference over India-rubber."
+
+"And what is vulcanite?" asked Clara.
+
+"It is caoutchouc mixed with sulphur. Unless a small quantity of
+brimstone is added in the manufacture of overshoes, they become soft
+when exposed to heat and hardened when exposed to cold; but it was
+discovered that the sulphur will keep them from being affected by
+changes in temperature. When a large amount of sulphur is used, the
+India-rubber, becomes as hard as horn or wood, and this is the substance
+called vulcanite. Now the gum is imported in masses, to be wrought over
+by our skillful mechanics."
+
+The children were very much pleased to find that they had learned the
+nature of three important articles--India-rubber, gutta-percha and
+vulcanite--and they thought it would be quite easy to remember the
+differences between them.
+
+"And now," said Miss Harson, "the last of these useful trees--the cow
+tree, or milk tree--is the most curious one of all. Like the caoutchouc,
+it is a native of South America; but the sap is a rich fluid that
+answers for food, like milk. It is a fine-looking tree with oblong,
+pointed leaves about ten inches in length and a fleshy fruit containing
+one or two nuts. The sap is the most valuable part; and when incisions
+are made in the trunk of the tree, there is an abundant flow of thick
+milk-like sap, which is described as having an agreeable and balmv
+smell. The German traveler Humboldt drank it from the shell of a
+calabash, and the natives dip their bread of maize or cassava in it.
+This milk is said to be very fattening; and when exposed to the air, it
+thickens into a substance which the people call cheese."
+
+"Milk and cheese from a tree!" exclaimed Malcolm. "Do you think we'd
+like them as well as ours, Miss Harson?"
+
+"No," was the reply, "I do not think we should; but if we had never
+known any other kind, it would be quite a different matter, and the
+traveler says that both smell and taste are agreeable. The sap, it
+seems, is like curdled milk, and the natives say that they can tell,
+from the thickness and color of the foliage, the trunks that yield the
+most juice. This wonderful tree will be found growing on the side of a
+barren rock, and its large, woody roots can scarcely penetrate into the
+stone. For several months of the year not a single shower moistens its
+foliage. Its branches then appear dead and dried; but when the trunk is
+pierced, there flows from it a sweet and nourishing milk. It is at the
+rising of the sun that this vegetable fountain is most abundant. The
+negroes and natives are then seen hastening from all quarters, furnished
+with large bowls to receive the milk, which grows yellow and thickens at
+its surface. Some empty their bowls while under the tree itself; others
+carry the juice home to their children."
+
+"Isn't it funny," said Edith, laughing, "to go and get their breakfasts
+from a _tree_? I wish we had some milk trees here."
+
+"But you would not find it pleasant," replied their governess, "to have
+some other things that are always found where the milk tree grows. The
+intense heat and the swarms of mosquitoes and biting flies, the serpents
+and jaguars and other disagreeable and dangerous creatures, make life in
+that region anything but pleasant, and the curious vegetation and
+delicious fruits are not worth the suffering inflicted by all these
+torments."
+
+On hearing of these drawbacks the children soon decided that their own
+dear home was the best, and no longer envied the possessors even of
+the cow tree.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+_HOME AND ABROAD: LINDEN, CAMPHOR, BEECH_.
+
+"Now," said Miss Harson to her expectant flock, "it is to be hoped that
+our foreign wanderings among such wonderful trees have not spoiled you
+for home trees, as there are still a number of them which we have not
+yet examined."
+
+"No indeed!" they assured her; "they liked to hear about them all, and
+they were going to try and remember everything she told them about
+the trees."
+
+Their governess said that would be too much to expect, and if they
+remembered the most important things she would be quite satisfied,
+
+"We will take the linden, lime, or basswood, tree--for it has all three
+of these names--this evening," she continued, "and there are nine or ten
+species of the tree, which are found in America, Europe and Western
+Asia. It is a very handsome, regular-looking tree with rich, thick
+masses of foliage that make a deep shade. The leaves are heart-shaped
+and very finely veined, have sharply-serrated edges and are four or five
+inches long. The leaf-stalk is half the length of the leaf. It blooms
+in July and August, and the flowers are yellowish white and very
+fragrant; when an avenue of limes is in blossom, the whole atmosphere is
+filled with a delightful perfume which can hardly be described."
+
+[Illustration: THE LINDEN OR LIME TREE (_Tilia_).]
+
+"There are no lime trees here, are there?" asked Clara.
+
+"No," was the reply, "I do not think there are any in this neighborhood;
+but they grow abundantly not many miles away. Our native trees are not
+so pretty as the English lime, which, clothed with softer foliage, has a
+smaller leaf and a neater and more elegant spray. Ours bears larger and
+more conspicuous flowers, in heavier clusters, but of inferior
+sweetness. Both species are remarkable for their size and longevity. The
+young leaves of the lime are of a bright fresh tint that contrasts
+strongly with the very dark color of the branches; and these branches
+are so finely divided that their beauty is seen to the greatest
+advantage when winter has stripped them bare of leaves.
+
+"'The linden has in all ages been celebrated for the fragrance of its
+flowers and the excellence of the honey made from them. The famous
+Mount Hybla was covered with lime trees. The aroma from its flowers is
+like that of mignonette; it perfumes the whole atmosphere, and is
+perceptible to the inhabitants of all the beehives within a circuit of a
+mile. The real linden honey is of a greenish color and delicious taste
+when taken from the hive immediately after the trees have been in
+blossom, and is often sold for more than the ordinary kind. There is a
+forest in Lithuania that abounds in lime trees, and here swarms of wild
+bees live in the hollow trunks and collect their honey from the lime.'"
+
+[Illustration: LEAF AND FLOWER OF LIME TREE _(Tilia)._]
+
+"What fun it would be, if we were there, to go and get it!" exclaimed
+Malcolm. "But don't bees make honey from the lime trees that grow in
+this country, too, Miss Harson?"
+
+"Certainly they do; and the beekeepers look anxiously forward to the
+blossoming of the trees, because they provide such abundant supplies for
+the busy swarms. The flowers have other uses, too, besides the making of
+honey: the Swiss are said to obtain a favorite beverage from them, and
+in the South of France an infusion of the blossoms is taken for colds
+and hoarseness, and also for fever. 'Active boys climb to the topmost
+branches and gather the fragrant flowers, which their mothers catch in
+their aprons for that purpose. An avenue of limes has been ravaged and
+torn in pieces by the eagerness of the people to gather the blossoms,
+and they are often made into tea which is a soft sugary beverage in
+taste a little like licorice.'"
+
+"How queer," said Clara, "to make tea from flowers!"
+
+"Is it any queerer," asked her governess, "than to make it from leaves?
+I should think that the flowers might even be better, and yet I should
+scarcely like lime-tea that tastes like licorice."
+
+The children, though, seemed to think that they would like it, and Miss
+Harson had very little doubt that such would be the case.
+
+"Both the bark and the wood of the lime tree are valuable," she
+continued. "The fibres of the bark are strong and firm, and make
+excellent ropes and cordage. In Sweden and Russia they are made into a
+kind of matting that is very useful for packing-purposes and in
+protecting delicate plants from the frost. 'The manufacture of this
+useful material is carried on in the summer, close by the woods and
+forests where the lime trees grow in abundance. As soon as the sap
+begins to ascend freely the bark parts from the wood and can be taken
+away with ease. Great strips are then peeled off and steeped in water
+until they separate into layers; the layers are still further divided
+into smaller strips or ribbons, and are hung up in the shade of the
+wood, generally on the very tree itself from which they have been taken.
+After a time they are woven into the matting and sent to market for
+sale. The Swedish fishermen also manufacture it into a coarse thread for
+fishing-nets, and from the fibres of the young shoots the Russian
+peasant makes the strong shoes he wears, using the outer bark for the
+soles. In Italy the garments of the poorer people are often made of
+cloth woven from this material."
+
+"Why, people can fairly _live_ on trees," said Malcolm. "I didn't know
+that they were good for anything but shade--except the trees that have
+fruit and nuts on 'em."
+
+"There is a great deal for us all to learn of the works of the Creator,"
+replied Miss Harson, "and the blessing of trees is not half known. The
+wood of the lime is said never to be worm-eaten; it is very soft and
+smooth and of a pale-yellow color. It is used for the famous Tunbridge
+ware, and is called the carver's tree, because, as the poet says,
+
+     "'Smooth linden best obeys
+     The carver's chisel--best his curious work
+     Displays in nicest touches.'
+
+"The fruits and flowers carved for the choir of St. Paul's cathedral in
+London are done in lime-wood.
+
+"So numerous are the purposes to which the bark, wood, leaves and
+blossoms of the lime, or linden, tree can be applied that centuries ago
+it was called the tree of a thousand uses. Linden is the name by which
+it is always known on the continent of Europe, and there it is indeed a
+magnificent tree, forming the most delightful avenues and branching
+colonnades. One of the principal streets in Berlin is called 'Unter den
+Linden.' In the Middle Ages, when the Swiss and the Flemings were always
+struggling for liberty, it was their custom to plant a lime tree on the
+field of battle, and many of these old trees still remain and have been
+the subject of ballads and poetical effusions:
+
+     "'The stately lime, smooth, gentle, straight and fair.'"
+
+"Is there any story about it, Miss Harson?"
+
+"No," was the reply, "not much of a story; only descriptions of some
+very large and very ancient trees. One of these, the old linden tree of
+Soleure, in Switzerland, was spoken of by an English traveler two
+hundred years ago as 'right noble and wondrous to behold. A bower
+composed of its branches is capable of holding three hundred persons
+sitting at ease; it has also a fountain set about with many tables
+formed solely of the boughs, to which men ascend by steps; and all is
+kept so accurately and thick that the sun never looks into it.'"
+
+"It is just like a tent," said Malcolm, "it must be pleasant to sit by
+the fountain. Wouldn't you like it, Miss Harson?"
+
+"I am sure I should," replied his governess; "and I should also like to
+see the famous lime tree of Zurich, the boughs of which will shelter
+five hundred persons. At Augsburg, in Germany, feasts and weddings have
+often been celebrated under the shade of some venerable limes that
+branch out to an immense distance. In early times divine honors were
+paid to them as emblems of immortality. And now," said Miss Harson, "the
+last of these famous trees is a noble lime tree which grew on the farm
+belonging to the ancestors of Linnaeus, the great naturalist, beneath
+the shade of which he played in childhood, and from which his ancestors
+derived their surname. That noble tree still blossoms from year to year,
+beautiful in every change of seasons."
+
+"Lime, linden and basswood," said Clara--"three names to remember for
+one tree. But didn't you say, Miss Harson, that it's always called
+basswood in our country?"
+
+"Often, but not always. The name linden is quite common with us, and it
+will be well for you to remember that it is also called lime, so that
+when you go to Europe you will know what is meant by _lime_ and
+_linden_."
+
+The children laughed at this idea, for it seemed very funny to think of
+a little girl like Clara going to Europe, but, as their governess told
+them, little girls did go constantly; besides, this was the time to
+learn what would be of use to them when they were grown.
+
+"The fragrant lime," said Miss Harson, "has a relative in Asia whose
+acquaintance I wish you to make, and you know it already in one of its
+products, which is common in every household. It is also very
+fragrant--or rather, I should say, it has a strong aromatic odor which
+is very reviving in cases of faintness or illness, although it has quite
+a contrary effect on insects, particularly on mosquitoes. I should like
+to have some one tell me what this white, powerful substance is."
+
+This was quite a conundrum, and for a little while the children were
+extremely puzzled over its solution; but presently Clara asked,
+
+"Do the moths hate it too, Miss Harson? And isn't it camphor?"
+
+"Camphor doesn't grow on a _tree_," said Malcolm, in a superior tone;
+"it is dug out of the earth."
+
+"I have never read of any camphor-mines," replied his governess,
+laughing, "and I think you will find that camphor--which is just what I
+meant--is obtained from the trunk of a tree."
+
+"Like India-rubber?" asked Edith.
+
+"No, dear, not like India-rubber, for it grows in even a more curious
+way than that, masses of it being found in the trunk of the camphor
+tree--not in the form of sap, but in lumps, as we use it."
+
+"I thought it was like water," said Edith, in a puzzled tone.
+
+"So it is when dissolved in alcohol, as we generally have it; but it is
+also used in lumps to drive away moths and for various other purposes.
+But I will tell you all about the tree, which grows in the islands of
+Sumatra and Borneo and bears the botanical name _Dryobalanops camphora_.
+The camphor is also called _barus_ camphor, to distinguish it from the
+_laurus_, of which I will tell you afterward, and it is of a better
+quality and more easily obtained. The tree grows in the forests of
+these East Indian islands and is remarkable for its majestic size, dense
+foliage and magnolia-like flowers. The trunk rises as high as ninety
+feet without a single branch, and within it are cavities, sometimes a
+foot and a half long, which cannot be perceived until the bark is split
+open. These cavities contain the camphor in clear crystalline masses,
+and with it an oil known as camphor oil, that is thought by some to be
+camphor in an immature form. But the oil, even when crystallized by
+artificial means, does not produce such good camphor as that already
+solidified in the tree."
+
+"To think," exclaimed Clara, "of camphor growing in that way! But how do
+they get it out, Miss Harson? Do they cut great holes in the trunk of
+the tree?"
+
+"No, dear; I have just read to you that the camphor cannot be seen until
+the bark is split open, and the grand trees have to be cut down. But to
+do this is no easy matter. The hard, close-grained timber requires days
+of hewing and sawing to get it severed. The masses of roots are as
+unyielding as iron, and run twisting through the soil to the distance
+of sixty yards. Even at their farthest extremity they are as thick as a
+man's thigh."
+
+"I shouldn't think the camphor was worth all that trouble," said
+Malcolm; "it don't seem to amount to much, any wary."
+
+"It is more valuable than you suppose," replied Miss Harson; "for,
+besides preserving furs and woolen fabrics from the devouring moth, it
+protects the contents of cabinets and museums from the attacks of the
+minute creatures that prey upon the dried specimens of the naturalist.
+Not any of the insect tribe can endure the powerful scent of the
+camphor, and they either retreat before it or are killed by it. But its
+principal value is in medicine. It is used both internally and
+externally. It acts as a nervous stimulant, and is a favorite domestic
+remedy.--So you see, Malcolm, that camphor really amounts to a great
+deal, and we could not very well do without it."
+
+"How can people tell when there is any camphor inside the tree?" asked
+Clara.
+
+"They cannot tell," was the reply, "until the trunk is split open,
+although a tribe of men in Sumatra say that they know before-hand, by a
+kind of magic, which is the right tree to cut down. But the beautiful,
+stately tree is often wasted in vain, and after all their hard work the
+camphor-seekers find the cavities of the split-up trunk filled with a
+thick black substance like pitch instead of the pure white camphor."
+
+"Poor things!" said Edith, pityingly; "that's too bad."
+
+"Camphor is found in many trees and shrubs," continued her governess,
+"but in all others except the camphor tree of Sumatra and Borneo it has
+to be distilled from the wood and roots. The camphor-laurel, which is
+about the size of an English oak, is the most important of these trees.
+It grows abundantly in the Chinese island of Formosa, and 'camphor
+mandarin' is the title of a rich Chinaman who pays the government for
+the privilege of extracting all the camphor, which he sends to other
+countries at a large profit. Every part of this tree is full of camphor,
+and the tree gives out, when bruised, a strong perfume.
+
+"The European bay tree, which is more like an immense shrub, is also a
+member of this singular tribe, and its leaves have the strong family
+flavor. They were used in medicine, as well as the berries, before the
+camphor-laurel became known in Europe; in the time of Queen Elizabeth
+the floors of the better sort of houses were strewed with bay-leaves
+instead of being carpeted as now. The bay was an emblem of victory in
+old Roman times, and victorious generals were crowned with it. A wreath
+of this laurel, with the berries on, was placed on the head of a
+favorite poet in the Middle Ages, and in this way came the title
+'poet-laureate'--_laureatus_,' crowned with laurel.'
+
+"Do you remember," continued Miss Harson, "the tall, straight tree that
+I showed you yesterday when we were out in the woods--the one with a
+fluted trunk? What was its name?"
+
+"I know!" said Malcolm, quite excited. "Think of the seashore! Beach!
+That's what I told myself to remember."
+
+[Illustration: AMERICAN BEECH.]
+
+"A very good idea," replied his governess, laughing; "only you must not
+spell it with an _a_, like the seashore, for it is _b-e-e-c-h._--The
+fluted, or ribbed, shaft of this grand-looking tree is often sixty or
+seventy feet high, and, although it is found in its greatest perfection
+in England, it is a common tree in most of the woods in this country.
+For depth of shade no tree is equal to the beech, and its long beautiful
+leaves, with their close ridges and serrated edges, are very much like
+those of the chestnut. The leaves are of a light, fresh green and very
+neat and perfect, because they are so seldom attacked by insects; they
+remain longer on the branches than those of any deciduous tree, and
+give a cheerful air to the wood in winter. In the autumn they change to
+a light yellow-brown, which makes a pretty contrast to the reds and
+greens and purples of other trees. The branches start out almost
+straight from the tree, but they very soon curve and turn regularly
+upward. Every small twig turns in the same direction, making the long
+leaf-buds at the end look like so many little spears. I showed you these
+'stuck-up' buds when we were looking at the tree, and you noticed how
+different they were from the other trees."
+
+Yes, the children remembered it; and it always seemed to them
+particularly nice to have part of the talk out of doors and the rest in
+the house.
+
+"Doesn't the beech tree have nuts?" asked Malcolm. "John says it does."
+
+"Yes," replied Miss Harson; "it has tiny three-cornered nuts which seem
+particularly small for so large a tree. But these nuts are eagerly
+devoured by pigeons, partridges and squirrels. Bears are said to be very
+fond of them, and swine fatten very rapidly upon them. Most varieties
+are so small as not to repay the trouble of gathering, drying and
+opening them. Fortunately, this is not the case with all, as it is a
+delicious nut. In France the beech-nut is much used for making oil,
+which is highly valued for burning in lamps and for cooking. In parts of
+the same country the nuts, roasted, serve as a substitute for coffee."
+
+"I'd like to find some when they're ripe," said Clara, "if they _are_
+little."
+
+"We will have a search for them, then," was the reply, "when the time
+comes.--The flowers which produce these little nuts are very showy and
+grow in roundish tassels, or heads, which hang by thread-like, silky
+stalks, one or two inches long, from the midst of the young leaves of a
+newly-opened bud. A traveler says of these leaves, 'We used always to
+think that the most luxurious and refreshing bed was that which prevails
+universally in Italy, and which consists entirely of a pile of
+mattresses filled with the luxuriant spathe of the Indian corn; which
+beds have the advantage of being soft as well as elastic, and we have
+always found the sleep enjoyed on them to be particularly sound and
+restorative. But the beds made of beech-leaves are really no whit behind
+them in these qualities, whilst the fragrant smell of green tea, which
+the leaves retain, is most gratifying. The objection to them is the
+slight crackling noise which the leaves occasion as the individual turns
+in bed, but this is no inconvenience at all; or if so in any degree, it
+is an inconvenience which is overbalanced by the advantages of this most
+luxurious couch."
+
+"But how funny," said Malcolm, "to sleep on leaves! That's what the
+Babes in the Wood did."
+
+"No," replied Clara, very earnestly, "they didn't sleep _on_ leaves, you
+know; but when they had laid down and gone to sleep, the robins came and
+covered them with leaves."
+
+"Yes," chimed in little Edith; "I like that way best, because they'd be
+so cold in the woods."
+
+"And that really was the case," said Miss Harson, after listening with a
+smile to this discussion, "although there were probably leaves on the
+ground for the children to lie upon. A bed of leaves is not a bad thing
+where there are no mattresses, and such a bed is often used as a matter
+of course. You will remember my reading to you about the beds which the
+Finland mothers make for their children of the leaves of the
+canoe-birch. 'Leafy beds' are no strange thing--not mere poetry."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+_THE TENT AND THE LOCUSTS_.
+
+There came a bright balmy day in May when the children found a
+delightful surprise awaiting them. The tent in the woods, which had been
+proposed on the day when birch-twigs were found to be eatable, was
+almost forgotten--or if thought of, it was as a thing that could not
+possibly be--when, on the day in question, Miss Harson took her charges
+out as usual, and led them to a very pretty cleared space with a fringe
+of rocks and trees all around it. But on this spot, which hitherto had
+been quite bare, there now stood some sort of a little house different
+from other houses and quite pretty.
+
+"It's a tent!" exclaimed Malcolm. "Who put it there, I should like to
+know, on _our_ land?"
+
+"Are there gypsies here, Miss Harson?" whispered Clara, rather
+fearfully.
+
+But the young lady walked deliberately up to the entrance of the tent
+and invited her little flock to come inside.
+
+"I know the gentleman who had it put here," she said, "and he is quite
+willing that we should use it; but he will not give any one else
+this liberty."
+
+"I think I know him too," said Malcolm as he walked in after Miss
+Harson.
+
+"And I!"--"And I!" exclaimed the little girls. "It is our own papa. How
+very kind of him!"
+
+"Yes," replied their governess; "he said, when I spoke of a tent, that
+it would be a good thing for the wood-ramblers to have a place of
+shelter when they were over-taken by a sudden shower, and also a place
+in which to rest comfortably when they were tired; and this pretty tent,
+you see, is all ready for us at any time."
+
+It was a very nice tent indeed, having a long cushioned seat inside, two
+little rocking-chairs that were at once appropriated, a small table, and
+a bracket with books on it. On the table there was a round basket of
+oranges, which made every one thirsty at once.
+
+"I do believe," said Malcolm, suddenly, "that it's made of
+India-rubber."
+
+"Not the orange, I hope?" replied Miss Harson, while the little sisters
+looked up in surprise.
+
+An India-rubber orange was a thing to be laughed at, though not to be
+eaten, and the children were in such a state of glee over this pleasant
+surprise that they were ready to laugh almost at nothing.
+
+Presently their governess said,
+
+"Malcolm means the tent, of course; and he is quite right, for the
+covering is India-rubber cloth."
+
+"But why isn't it dark and ugly, like the waterproofs?" was the next
+question.
+
+"Simply because it need not be so, and it is prettier to have it white
+or of this pale gray. But these shades are too conspicuous for overshoes
+or waterproof cloaks, so the latter are made as dark as possible. The
+caoutchoue, you know, is naturally white or very light colored."
+
+"How do they make the cloth?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"It is first made as cloth," was the reply; "then a thin coating of
+India-rubber is spread over two layers of it. The cloth is then put
+together and pressed between rollers, so that the two pieces firmly
+adhere, with the caoutchoue between them. No rain can penetrate such a
+screen as this,"
+
+It was delightful to know that they would be safe and dry in case of a
+shower, and the children thought it must be just the prettiest tent that
+ever was made. The cushioned seat was covered with scarlet, and so were
+the little chairs, which Clara and Edith knew were meant for them; the
+edges of the cloth were scalloped with the same bright color, and there
+was even a rug to match spread in front of the "divan," as Miss Harson
+laughingly said the cushioned seat must be called.
+
+"Haven't we 'most come to the end of the trees?" asked Clara. "I never
+thought that there were so many different kinds,"
+
+"Look around and see if you feel acquainted with them all," replied her
+governess.
+
+They had left the tent after quite a long "sitting," and were now on
+their way to the house.
+
+Clara's first glance, on doing as she had been directed, fell on three
+trees by the side of a fence, that were different from any they had
+yet studied.
+
+"What do you notice about them?" continued Miss Harson; "for I wish you
+to use your own eyes and thoughts as much as possible."
+
+"Why, the trunk is dark gray, and it isn't smooth, but it looks as if
+some one had dug out long, thin pieces of bark."
+
+"We will call it 'deeply furrowed,'" said her governess, "as that is a
+better expression; but your description is very good indeed."
+
+"The leaves are ever so pretty," said Malcolm--"so many of 'em on one
+stem!--and the green looks as if it was just made."
+
+"You mean by that, I suppose," replied Miss Harson, "that it is a very
+fresh tint; and we are seeing it in its first beauty now. This is the
+locust tree, and May is its time for leafing out in the tenderest of
+greens. The pinnate--from _pinna_, Latin for feather'--leaves are
+composed of from nine to twenty-five leaflets, which are egg-shaped,
+with a short point, very smooth, light green above and still lighter
+beneath. These leaves are much liked by cattle, and they are said to be
+very nutritious to them."
+
+[Illustration: FOLIAGE OF HONEY-LOCUST.]
+
+"How can you remember everything so, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm, lost
+in wonder, as the young lady, looking up at the trees, said these things
+as if they had been written there. John had declared that she talked
+like a book, and this seemed more like it than ever.
+
+"Oh no," was the laughing reply; "I do not remember _everything_,
+Malcolm, and perhaps it is just as well that I do not. But I will not
+tax my memory any more about the locust just now; we can take it up
+again this evening."
+
+"I should like to know," exclaimed Clara, after some thought, "why a
+tree is called _locust_, when a locust is such a disagreeable insect?"
+
+"I am afraid that I cannot tell you," replied Miss Harson, "unless the
+color of the leaves is similar to that of the 'disagreeable insect,'
+which is really very handsome, or unless the insects are very partial to
+the tree; I have seen no explanation of it. But the tree itself is very
+much admired, with its profusion of pinnate leaves and racemes of
+flowers that fill the air with the most agreeable odors."
+
+"What color are the flowers, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"This description will tell you," was the reply. "The tree is not pretty
+in winter, and has no promise of beauty until 'May hangs on these
+withered boughs a green drapery that hides all their deformity; she
+infuses into their foliage a perfection of verdure that no other tree
+can rival, and a beauty in the forms of its leaves that renders it one
+of the chief ornaments of the groves and waysides. June weaves into this
+green foliage pendent clusters of flowers of mingled brown and white,
+filling the air with fragrance and enticing the bee with odors as sweet
+as from groves of citron and myrtle.'"
+
+"That sounds pretty," said Clara, who liked imposing sentences, "but
+brown and white are not very handsome colors for flowers."
+
+"The white is certainly prettier without the mixture of brown," replied
+her governess, "but we have to take our flowers ready-made, and can
+hardly expect them to be beautiful and fragrant too. The separate
+blossoms are shaped like those of the pea and bean; they hang in long
+clusters somewhat resembling bunches of grapes. The leaves--or, rather,
+leaflets--are very sensitive and have a habit of folding over one
+another in wet and dull weather, and also in the night--a habit that is
+peculiar to all the members of the acacia family, to which the
+locust belongs."
+
+"I should think it ought to belong to the pea family," said Malcolm, "if
+the flowers are shaped like pea-blossoms."
+
+"So it does," replied Miss Harson--"or, rather, to the bean family, of
+which the pea is a member, on account of its blossoms; but the acacia,
+like many others, is a brother, or sister, on account of its leaves as
+well as its blossoms. The peculiar distinction of this family is that
+its flowers are butterfly-shaped or its fruit in pods, and it often
+possesses both these characters. By one or the other all the plants of
+the family are known, and the butterfly-shaped flowers are of a
+character not to be mistaken, as they are found in no other family. It
+includes herbs, shrubs and trees--an immense and perfectly natural
+family, distributed throughout almost every part of the globe. There are
+at present in all not less than thirty-seven hundred species. So you see
+that the locust tree is certainly rich in relations."
+
+The children thought that it must have some family claim on almost
+every plant in the world.
+
+[Illustration: CAROB TREE AND FRUIT.]
+
+"Do you remember that in the story of the Prodigal Son, told by our
+Lord, it is said that the bad son became so poor that he wanted to eat
+the 'husks' that the swine ate? Those 'husks' were the fruit of a Syrian
+member of this family. The tree is the carob tree, of which you have
+here a picture--a fine large tree bearing a sweet pod containing the
+seeds. I have seen these pods for sale in this country, and foolishly
+called St. John's bread, as if the 'locusts' eaten by John the Baptist
+were pods of a locust tree, and not insect locusts."
+
+"Yes," said Malcolm, "I have tasted those pods, and they are real sweet;
+but I wouldn't care to make a breakfast from them."
+
+"I like calling the flowers 'butterfly-shaped,'" said Clara, "because
+that is just what the pea and bean-blossoms look like; though Kitty
+calls 'em 'little ladies in hoods.' Isn't that funny, Miss Harson?"
+
+"It is very quaint, I think, but I do not dislike it: it is like seeing
+faces in pansies; and some people are full of these odd imaginations.
+There is a kind of locust, called the clammy-barked, found in the
+Southern parts of the United States, which is a smaller tree than the
+common locust and has large pale-pink flowers, while the rose acacia is
+a very beautiful flowering shrub. The sweet, or honey, locust is
+another variety, which is also called the three-thorned acacia, because
+the thorns consist of one long spine with two shorter ones projecting
+out of it, like little branches, near its base. This is said to display
+much of the elegance of the tropical acacia in the minute division and
+symmetry of its compound leaves. These are of a light and brilliant
+green and lie flat upon the branches, giving them a fan-like appearance
+such as we observe in the hemlock."
+
+"But why is it called honey-locust?" asked Malcolm. "Do the bees make
+honey in the trunk?"
+
+"No," replied his governess; "the name comes from the sweetness of the
+pulp around the seeds, which ripen in large flat pods, and of which boys
+and girls are fond. But the flowers of this species are only small
+greenish aments. Locust-wood is very durable, and, as it will bear
+exposure to all kinds of weather, it is much used in shipbuilding and as
+posts for gates. It is thought that the shittah and shittim wood of the
+Bible, of which Moses made the greater part of the tables, altars and
+planks of the tabernacle, was the same as the black acacia found in the
+deserts of Arabia and about Mount Sinai and the mountains which border
+on the Red Sea, and is so hard and solid as to be almost incorruptible.
+
+"And now," added Miss Harson, "reading of the numerous relations of the
+locust, considering that 'the acacia, not less valued for its airy
+foliage and elegant blossoms than for its hard and durable wood; the
+braziletto, logwood and rosewoods of commerce; the laburnum; the furze
+and the broom, both the pride of the otherwise dreary heaths of Europe;
+the bean, the pea, the vetch, the clover, the trefoil, the lucerne--all
+staple articles of culture by the farmer--are so many species of
+Leguminosae, and that the gums Arabic and Senegal, kino and various
+precious medicinal drugs, not to mention indigo, the most useful of all
+dyes, are products of other species,--it will be perceived that it would
+be difficult to point out an order with greater claims upon the
+attention.'"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+_THE WALNUT FAMILY AND THE AILANTHUS_.
+
+"The walnut family," said Miss Harson, "with the ugly name
+_Juglandaceae_, are distinguished by pinnate, or compound, leaves, which
+have an aromatic odor when crushed, and by blossoms in catkins. Of these
+trees, the black walnut is one of the handsomest and most
+highly prized."
+
+"Are there any of them here?" asked Malcolm.
+
+[Illustration: THE WALNUT TREE.]
+
+"No," was the reply; "I do not think you have ever seen one. They are
+more common in the western part of the Middle States and in the Western
+States; in Ohio particularly they grow to a very large size. Solitary
+trees are sometimes seen in this part of the country, and the branches,
+extending themselves horizontally to a great distance, spread out into a
+spacious head, which gives them a very majestic appearance. The trunk
+is rough and furrowed, and the leaves have from six to ten pairs of
+leaflets and an odd one. They are smooth, strongly serrated and rather
+pointed; the color is a light, bright green. The catkins are green, from
+four to seven inches long, and hang from the axils of the last year's
+leaves. The leaves are much longer than those of the locust, and the
+leaf-stalk is downy. The nut, which is very oily, is shaped like an
+English walnut, but resembles it in no other way, as the shell is very
+thick and dark-colored. When thoroughly dried, the black walnut is very
+much liked--as I think some witnesses here could testify--and is used in
+making candy."
+
+"And just the nicest kind of candy, too," said the children, with one
+voice.
+
+Their governess smiled, for this was very much her own opinion.
+
+"You do not know," she continued, "how strangely these nuts grow. They
+have an outer husk, or rind, which when green is hard and has a very
+pleasant smell; the tree then seems to be covered with green balls. As
+the nuts ripen this outer part becomes so dark that it is almost black
+and grows soft and spongy. A rich brown dye is made from it.
+Black-walnut wood has long been famous for its beauty, and it grows
+deeper and darker with age. It is handsomely shaded and takes a fine
+polish, and this, with its durability, makes it very valuable for
+furniture. Posts made of it will last a long time, and it can be put to
+almost any use for which hard-wood is available.
+
+"The walnut tree has a great variety of good qualities in addition to
+its fine appearance and generous shade. From the kernel a valuable oil
+may be obtained for use in cookery and in lamps. Bread has also been
+made from the kernels. The spongy husk of the nuts is used as dyestuff.
+It thus unites almost all the qualities desirable in a tree--beauty,
+gracefulness and richness of foliage in every period of its growth; bark
+and husks which may be employed in an important art; fruit valuable as
+food; wood unsurpassed in durability and in elegance."
+
+"I like English walnuts," said Clara, "they have such thin, pretty
+shells; and papa, you know, can open them in just two halves with
+a knife."
+
+"Once," said Miss Harson, "I had a little bag sent to me made of two
+very large walnut shells with blue silk between, and in this bag there
+was a pair of kid gloves rolled up very tight."
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed the children. It sounded like a fairy-tale, but they
+knew that it was true, because Miss Harson said that it had really
+happened. They were very much surprised, though, that a bag could be
+made of nutshells, and that a pair of gloves could be crowded into so
+small a compass.
+
+"Did it come from England?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"No," replied his governess; "it was sent to me from the island of
+Madeira, where these nuts grow so abundantly that they have often been
+called Madeira-nuts. It also grows abundantly in Europe, and the nuts
+are used for dessert, pickling, and many other purposes, while the
+poorer classes often depend largely on them for food."
+
+"Do they eat 'em instead of bread?" asked Edith. "I'd like that; they're
+ever so much nicer!"
+
+"Perhaps you would not think so if you had hardly anything else to eat;
+you would get tired of them then. In many places on the continent of
+Europe the roads are lined with walnut trees for miles together, and in
+the proper season the people may feast upon the fruit as much as they
+like. A person, it is said, once traveled from Florence to Geneva and
+ate nothing by the way but walnuts; but I must say that I should not
+like to do it. One species bears a nut as large as an egg; but if kept
+any time, it will shrink to half its natural size. The shell of this
+great walnut, we are told, is sometimes used for making little
+ornamental boxes to hold gloves and small fancy-articles; so you see
+that mine was not the only glove-bag made of two walnut-shells."
+
+"How pretty they must be!" said Clara. "I should like to see one."
+
+"I think that I can make one when I get a large nut, and I shall be glad
+to show you how it is done."
+
+This was a delightful prospect, and the children volunteered to save for
+that especial purpose all the large nuts they could find.
+
+"The English walnut tree," continued Miss Harson, "is a native of
+Persia or the North of China, and the long pinnated leaves seem to mark
+its Oriental origin; but it has taken very kindly to its European home.
+In some parts of Germany the walnut trees were considered to be such a
+valuable possession that no young man was allowed to marry until he
+owned a certain number; and if one tree was cut down, another was
+always planted."
+
+"Don't they grow in this country?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Not very often in our more northern States," was the reply, "for the
+climate here is too cold for them; but at a house where I visited there
+was an English walnut tree in the garden, and it seemed to do very well.
+The nuts were always gathered while they were green, and made
+into pickles."
+
+This was considered quite dreadful, for ripe nuts were certainly a great
+deal better than pickles.
+
+"But there was a great deal of uncertainty about having the ripe nuts,
+for there were bad boys all around who would not have hesitated to rob
+the tree. Besides, pickled walnuts are considered a great delicacy by
+those who eat such things. There are some other ways, too, of using the
+nuts, which you would not like any better. One of these is to make them
+into oil, as the people do in the South of Europe; this oil is used to
+burn in their lamps and as an article of food. 'In Piedmont, among the
+light-hearted peasantry, cracking the walnuts and taking them from the
+shell is a holiday proceeding. The peasants, with their wives and
+children, assemble in the evening, after their day's work is over, in
+the kitchen of some château where the walnuts have been gathered, and
+where their services are required. They sit round a table, and at each
+end is a man with a small mallet, who cracks the walnuts and passes them
+on; the rest of the party take them out of their shells. At supper-time
+the table is cleared, and a repast of dried fruit, vegetables and wine
+is set out. The remainder of the evening is spent in singing and
+dancing. The crushing and pressing of the nuts, for oil, take place
+when the whole harvest is in.'"
+
+"But don't walnuts come from California? Our grocer said he had
+California nuts," remarked Malcolm.
+
+"Yes; that wonderful country is beginning to supply us with English
+walnuts."
+
+"Are you going to tell us a story, Miss Harson?" asked Edith, hopefully.
+
+"I have no story, dear," was the reply, "but there is something here
+which you may like about birds stealing the nuts."
+
+Of course they would like this; for if there was to be no story, birds
+and stealing promised to furnish a good substitute.
+
+"'Birds are as fond of walnuts as we are,'" read Miss Harson, "'and rob
+the trees without any mercy. Not only the little titmouse, but the grave
+and solemn rook'--a kind of crow, you remember--'is not above paying a
+visit to the walnut tree and stealing all he can find. There is a walnut
+tree growing in a garden the owner of which may be said to have planted
+it for the benefit of the rooks. Not that he had any such purpose, but,
+as it happens, he cannot help himself. The rooks begin a series of
+robberies as soon as the fruit is ripe, and carry them on with an
+adroitness that would be amusing but for the result. As many as fifty
+rooks come, one after the other, and each will carry off a walnut. The
+old ones are the most at home in the process, and the most daring. The
+bird approaches the tree and floats for a second in the air, as if
+occupied in finding out which of the walnuts will be the easiest to
+obtain; then, with a bold stroke, he darts at the one selected, and
+rarely misses his aim.
+
+"'The young rooks are much more timid and not so successful. They settle
+on the branch and knock down a great many walnuts in their clumsy
+attempts to secure one. Even when the walnut has been obtained, the
+young rook is not sure of his prize: one of his older and stronger
+brethren is very likely to attack him and knock the walnut out of his
+bill. Then, by a dextrous swoop, the robber catches it up before it
+reaches the ground, and carries it off in triumph. The feasting ground
+of the rooks is the next field, and here they come to eat their walnuts.
+They crack the shell with their beaks and devour the kernel with great
+relish. Then, when one walnut is finished, they fly back to the tree for
+another. There is no chance for the owner of the garden, who does not
+think it worth while even to shake his tree: he knows there will not be
+a single walnut left.'"
+
+"I should think not, with those greedy creatures," exclaimed Malcolm.
+"Why doesn't the man shoot 'em?"
+
+"He probably thinks it would be of little use, when there are such
+numbers of the birds; besides, he may prefer losing his walnuts to
+disturbing them, for rooks are treated with great consideration in
+England, and there is no such wholesale destruction of birds as is
+seen here."
+
+The rooks were certainly very comical, and the children thought this
+little account of their antics over the walnut tree the next best thing
+to a story.
+
+"Another fine shade-tree," continued Miss Harson, "and one very much
+like the black walnut, is the butternut, or oil-nut, tree. It is low
+and broad-headed, spreading into several large branches; the leaves are
+pinnate, like those of the walnut, but have not so many leaflets. The
+nut has an entirely different taste, and is even more oily. To many
+persons it is not at all agreeable. It is a great favorite, though, with
+country-boys, and in October, when the kernel is ripe, they may be seen
+with deeply-stained hands and faces, as the thin, leathery husks when
+handled leave plentiful traces. The butternut is not round like the
+walnut, but oblong, and pointed at the end; it is about two inches in
+length and marked by deep furrows and sharp irregular ridges. It is very
+pretty when sawn across in slices, and looks like scroll-saw work.--We
+shall have to get some, Malcolm, for you to practice on with your saw."
+
+[Illustration: THE BUTTERNUT TREE.]
+
+As his scroll-saw was just then the delight of Malcolm's heart, he felt
+particularly interested in butternuts, and immediately mapped out in his
+mind something very beautiful to be wrought with them for his governess.
+
+"The bark and the nutshells have long been used to give a brown color to
+wool, and the Shakers dye a rich purple with it. The bark of the trunk
+will give a black and that of the root a fawn-colored dye, while an
+inferior sugar has been made from the sap. The young half-grown nuts are
+much used for pickles. Butternut-wood is exceedingly handsome, of a
+pale, reddish tint, and durable when exposed to heat and moisture. It
+makes beautiful fronts for drawers and excellent light, tough and
+durable wooden bowls. It is also used for the panels of carriages, as
+well as for posts and rails. It is a more common tree than the walnut in
+our part of the country; there is a large one in front of a house a few
+miles from here which I will show you on our next drive."
+
+"I am glad of it," said Clara, "for I can remember about the trees so
+much better when I have seen them. I wish we could see every one of the
+trees you have told us of, Miss Harson."
+
+"Perhaps you will some day," replied her governess, "and you will then
+find that a little knowledge of them before-hand is a great help."
+
+"Are there any more of the walnut family?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Yes, the hickory belongs to it; and this is a tree which is peculiar to
+America. The European walnut is more like it than any other. It is
+always a stately and elegant tree and very valuable for its timber.
+There are several varieties, which are much alike, the principal
+difference being in the nuts. You have all seen most of the trees and
+gathered the nuts. They are:
+
+"1. The shellbark, with five large leaflets, a large nut, of which the
+husk is deeply grooved at the seams, and a rough, scaly trunk.
+
+"2. The mocker-nut, with seven or nine leaflets, a hard, thick-shelled
+nut, and leaflets and twigs very downy when young, and strongly odorous.
+
+"3. The pignut, with three, five or seven narrow leaflets, small,
+thin-shelled fruit and a pretty hard nut.
+
+"4. The bitternut, with seven, nine or eleven small, narrow, serrated
+leaves, small fruit with long, prominent seams, bitter and thin-shelled
+nuts and very yellow buds.
+
+"The shellbark is often called 'shagbark,' and it is the finest of the
+hickories and one that is seldom mistaken for any of the others. It may
+readily be distinguished by the shaggy bark of its trunk, the excellence
+of its globular fruit, its leaves, which are large and have five
+leaflets, and by its ovate, half-covered buds. It is a tall, slender
+tree with irregular branches, and the foliage seems to lie in masses of
+dense, dark green. But in October, when the nuts ripen, the leaves turn
+to orange-brown, and finally to the color of a russet apple; so that
+they do not add greatly to the beauty of the forest."
+
+"But the nuts are good," said Malcolm. "Didn't we have fine times
+picking 'em up?"
+
+"We did indeed," replied Miss Harson, "and I hope we shall again."
+
+"How long will it be before they are ripe?" asked the little girls.
+
+"Just about five months, I think."
+
+"Oh dear!" was the reply; "that's _so_ long to wait!"
+
+"But you needn't wait," said their governess; "you can enjoy each season
+as it comes, and all the good things that our heavenly Father sends with
+it. Remember that, as you cannot expect ripe nuts in May or June,
+neither can you look for strawberries and roses in October. Tents are of
+very little use then, too."
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed the children, to whom the tent was still a delightful
+novelty; and they decided not to wish just yet for nutting-time to come.
+
+"The nut, as you have so often seen, is covered with a brown husk that
+is very thick and marked with four furrows, by which it separates into
+as many distinct pieces, one being larger than the rest. The nuts
+differ very much in size and shape, and also in hardness, but the best
+kinds have thin shells and soft kernels; they are also rounder and
+fuller than the poorer sorts. There is a peculiar sweetness in the taste
+of this nut when in its best condition, and it is quite equal to the
+European walnut. The wood of this tree is particularly valuable for
+fuel, and in old times, when wood-fires were the only kind known, a good
+hickory back-log was sure to be found on every hearth. It is the
+heaviest of our native woods, and the wise men say that it yields, pound
+for pound or cord for cord, more heat than any other, in any shape in
+which it may be consumed."
+
+"But what a pity," said Clara, "to burn up trees that bear nuts! Why
+can't they take those that don't?"
+
+"They are not so desirable for fuel," was the reply; "and when people
+own trees which they are willing to turn into money, they generally
+consider in what way they can get the most for them. Nuts which grow in
+the woods and fields are a very uncertain crop, of which every one
+seems to gather more than the owner, and it is therefore more profitable
+for him to cut his trees down and sell them for their wood, which the
+people in the cities and towns are so glad to get."
+
+"What's the use," asked Malcolm, "of calling a tree such a name as
+_mocker-nut_? What does it mean?"
+
+"That is just what I have not been able to find out," replied Miss
+Harson, "but it has an Indian sound, and it seems that the Indians used
+to make a black dye from the bark; so we will give them the credit for
+it. The name is not often used, for the tree is generally known as the
+white walnut. The nut is the largest of the hickories, being often from
+four to six inches around, and it is shaped somewhat like a pear. One
+variety, however, is known as the square nut. The shell is very thick
+and hard, but the kernel is sweet when once it is gotten out. This tree
+is as stately and finely-shaped as the shagbark. It varies from the
+other hickories in the number of its leaflets, which are seven or nine,
+the down on its leaves and recent shoots, the hardness of the husk and
+thickness of the nut, the roundness of its large covered buds, and the
+strong resinous odor in leaves, buds and husks. In its general
+appearance it resembles the shellbark, as well as in the fullness of its
+foliage and the size of its leaves. 'White-heart hickory' is a name
+often given to this species, because the wood is supposed, when young,
+to be whiter than that of any of the others,"
+
+"_Pignut_ is another beautiful name," said Malcolm, who was disposed to
+be critical. "Do pigs ever eat the nuts, Miss Harson?"
+
+"I dare say that they do when they have the chance," was the reply, "as
+they delight in nuts; but that is said not to be the proper name for the
+species. Some of the nuts are shaped like a fresh fig, and 'fig-nut'
+seems to be the name originally intended. But there is a great variety
+in the shape of the nuts, as some are nearly round and others very
+irregular. They are alike, however, in having very hard, tough shells,
+and the kernel is not pleasant enough to repay the trouble of getting
+at it. These nuts are very apt to grow in pairs, and several bushels of
+them can be gathered from one tree."
+
+"Aren't they good to eat?" asked Clara.
+
+"Not at all good," replied her governess, "except to those who are not
+particular about what they eat; and this may be the reason for calling
+them 'pignuts,'"
+
+"_Bitternut_ doesn't sound much better," said Malcolm, again. "I wonder
+what that species has to say for itself?"
+
+"Not very much, I am afraid, for it is sometimes called the bitter
+pignut, and even boys will not eat it, while squirrels refuse to feed on
+it when any other nut can be found. The shell of this nut is so thin
+that it can be broken in the fingers, but, as no one cares to break it,
+it is safer than many a thicker shell. It is intensely bitter, and well
+deserves its name. The tree, however, is handsome and the most graceful
+of all the hickories; the small, slender leaves give it the look of an
+ash, and the trunk is smoother than that of most large trees. In summer
+the finely-cut foliage is of a bright green, and in autumn it changes
+to a rich orange, which lasts after the other species have become russet
+and brown."
+
+"Is there anything more about hickory trees?" said Clara.
+
+"Only to speak of the great value of the wood," replied Miss Harson.
+"Its uses are almost endless. Great numbers of walking-sticks are made
+of it, as for this purpose no other native wood equals it in beauty and
+strength. It is next in value to white oak for making hoops; it makes
+the best screws, the smoothest and most durable handles for chisels,
+augurs, gimlets, axes, and many other common tools. As fuel, hickory is
+preferred to every other wood, burning freely, making a pleasant,
+brilliant fire and throwing out great heat. Charcoal made from it is
+heavier than that made from any other wood, but it is not considered
+more valuable than that of birch or alder. The ashes of hickories abound
+in alkali, and are considered better for the purpose of making soap than
+any other of the native woods, being next to those of the apple tree."
+
+"There, Clara!" said Malcolm; "you see now why people cut down hickory
+trees. The nuts are nowhere, with all these other things."
+
+"We have finished the walnut family," said Miss Harson, "but there is a
+tree that I wish to speak of here because of its long pinnate leaves,
+which appear to connect it with the walnuts and hickories. This is the
+ailanthus, a large tree which you have often seen in the village, and
+which used to be popular as a shade-tree. It is very clean-looking, for
+the only insect that will eat its leaves is the silkworm."
+
+"Oh, Miss Harson!" exclaimed the children. "Are there real silkworms on
+'em? and can we see 'em?"
+
+"Why, do you not remember our talk about silkworms?" replied their
+governess. "I am sure I told you that they would not live here in the
+open air, but they do in China; and the ailanthus is a Chinese tree. It
+was planted in Great Britain over a hundred years ago for the express
+purpose of feeding silkworms, because a species of silkworm which was
+known to be hardy and capable of forming its cocoons in the English
+climate is attached to this tree and feeds upon its leaves. It was not
+successful, however, for silkworms, but as a stately and ornamental tree
+with tropical-looking foliage it was much admired. The ailanthus is
+quite common in this country as a wayside tree. It possesses a good deal
+of beauty, from the size and graceful sweep of its large compound
+leaves, that retain their brightness and verdure after midsummer, when
+our native trees have become dull. These leaves have nine or ten
+leaflets as large as a beech-leaf."
+
+"Isn't that the tree that smells so in summer?" asked Clara, with a
+disgusted face.
+
+"Yes; the greenish flowers have a particularly disagreeable odor, which
+is very strong and penetrating, and this is probably the reason why the
+tree has lost favor in so many places. But this is only during the
+season of blossoming, and for several months it is a beautiful
+Oriental-looking tree with every leaf perfect, while nearly all other
+foliage is more or less ravaged by insects."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+_SOME BEAUTIFUL TREES: THE CHESTNUT AND HORSE-CHESTNUT._
+
+The nearest trees to the tent, and standing just back of it, were two
+magnificent chestnuts, now in full leaf-beauty; and Miss Harson and her
+little flock stood admiring their majestic size and beautiful color.
+
+"These are the handsomest trees yet," said Malcolm.
+
+"I almost think so myself," replied his governess, gazing up into the
+rich green depths, "and I wish you particularly to notice these
+radiated--or star-like--tufts of foliage. The leaves, you see, are long,
+lengthened to a tapering point, serrated--or notched like a saw--at the
+edge, and of a bright and nearly pure green. Though arranged
+alternately, like those of the beech, on the recent branches, they are
+clustered in stars containing from five to seven leaves on the fruitful
+branches that grow out from the perfected wood. Now stand off a little
+and see how the foliage seems to be all in tufts, each composed of
+several long, pointed leaves drooping from the centre. The aments, too,
+with their light silvery-green tint, glisten beautifully on the
+darker leaves."
+
+"How high do you think these trees are, Miss Harson?" asked Clara. "It
+makes me dizzy to look up to the top."
+
+[Illustration: LEAF OF THE CHESTNUT.]
+
+"They can be scarcely less than ninety feet," was the reply, "and they
+are very fine specimens of the family; but the great chestnut which is
+the only tree in the field on the left of the house is broader. It
+spreads out like an apple tree, because it has abundance of room, and it
+is nearly as broad as it is high."
+
+"And aren't its chestnuts just splendid?" exclaimed Malcolm--"the
+biggest we find anywhere."
+
+[Illustration: THE CHESTNUT TREE.]
+
+"The bark, you see," continued his governess, "is very dark-colored,
+hard and rugged, with long, deep clefts. In smaller and younger trees it
+is smooth. I suppose I need not tell you that the fruit is within a burr
+covered with sharp, stiff bristles which are not handled with impunity.
+It opens by four valves more than halfway down when ripe, and contains
+the nuts, from one to three in number, in a downy cup. These green burrs
+are very ornamental to the tree; and when they are ripe, the green takes
+on a yellow tinge."
+
+"You didn't say anything about the cunning little tails of the nuts,
+Miss Harson," said Edith, in a disappointed tone. "I think they're the
+prettiest part, and they stick up in the burr like little mice-tails."
+
+"Well, dear," was the smiling reply, "_you_ have told us about them, and
+I think you have given a very good description. That is just what they
+always reminded me of when I was about your age--little mice-tails."
+
+Edith looked pleased and shy, and she did not mind Malcolm's laughing at
+her "little tails," because Miss Harson used to think the same as she
+did about them.
+
+"This beautiful tree came from Asia, and it belongs to the _Castanea_
+family, the Greeks having given it that name from a town in Pontus where
+they obtained it. It was transplanted into the North and West, and is
+now found in most temperate regions. The wood of the chestnut is very
+valuable, as it is strong, elastic and durable, and is often used as a
+substitute for oak and pine. It makes very beautiful furniture."
+
+"What kind of chestnuts," asked Clara, "are those great big ones, like
+horse-chestnuts, that they have in some of the stores? Are they good
+to eat?"
+
+"Yes," replied Miss Harson; "they are particularly good, and many people
+in the southern countries of Europe almost live on them. They are three
+or four times larger than our nuts, these Spanish and Italian chestnuts,
+and they are eaten instead of bread and potatoes by the peasantry of
+Spain and Italy. The Spanish chestnut is one of the most stately of
+European trees, and sometimes it is found growing in our own country,
+but never in the woods. It is carefully planted and cultivated as an
+ornamental tree for private grounds. And now," added the young lady, "as
+we have sufficiently examined our American chestnut trees and it is
+rather damp and cool to-day for tent-life, suppose we return to the
+house and get better acquainted with the foreign chestnuts?"
+
+Edith asked if there was to be a story, but she did not complain when
+Miss Harson thought not, only an account of a very large tree; for the
+children always felt quite sure that there would be something which they
+would like to hear.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The evening was damp, and Clara said that, the schoolroom looked like a
+mixture of summer and winter. The fire was both pleasant and
+comfortable, but there were lilacs and tulips and hyacinths and plenty
+of wild flowers in vases and baskets; the leaves were all out on the
+trees by the windows, and the grass was like velvet.
+
+"One of the largest trees in the world, if not the largest," said Miss
+Harson, "is a chestnut tree on the side of Mount Etna, in Sicily, which
+abounds with chestnut trees of giant proportions and remarkable beauty.
+It is called 'The Chestnut Tree of a Hundred Horses,' and this title is
+said to have originated in a report that a queen of Aragon once took
+shelter under its branches attended by her principal nobility, all of
+whom found refuge from a violent storm under the spreading boughs of the
+tree. At one time it was supposed that the tree really consisted of a
+clump of several united, but this is not the case; for on digging away
+the earth the root was found entire, and at no great depth. Five
+enormous branches rise from the trunk, the outside surface of each being
+covered with bark, while on the inside is none. The verdure and the
+support of the tree thus depend on the outer bark alone. The intervals
+between the branches are of various extent, one of them being sufficient
+to allow two carriages to drive abreast. In the middle cavity--or what
+is called the hollow--of the tree a hut has been built for the use of
+persons employed in collecting and preserving the fruit. They dry the
+chestnuts in an oven, and then make them into various conserves for
+sale. A whole caravan of men and animals were once accommodated in the
+enclosure, and also a flock of sheep folded there. The age of this
+prodigious tree must be very great indeed. It belongs to the tribe
+which bears sweet, or edible, chestnuts, that form an agreeable article
+of food. The foliage is rich, shadowy and beautiful.
+
+"The wood of the chestnut is much used in England for hop-poles, and old
+houses in London are floored or wainscoted with it. The beautiful roof
+of Westminster Abbey is made of chestnut wood.
+
+"There are magnificent forests of Spanish chestnuts in the Apennines,
+and it was the favorite tree of the great painter Salvator Rosa, who
+spent much time studying the beautiful play of light and shade on its
+foliage. The peasants make a gala-time of gathering and preparing the
+nuts. A traveler, having penetrated the extensive forest which covers
+the Vallombrosan Apennines for nearly five miles, came unexpectedly upon
+those festive scenes, which are not unfrequent among the chestnut-range.
+It was a holiday, and a group of peasants dressed in the gay and
+picturesque attire of the neighborhood of the Arno were dancing in an
+open and level space covered with smooth turf and surrounded with
+magnificent chestnuts, while the inmost recesses of the forest resounded
+with their mirth and minstrelsy. Some beat down the chestnuts with
+sticks and filled baskets with them, which they emptied from time to
+time; others, stretched listlessly upon the turf, picked out the
+contents of the bristling capsules in which the kernels were entrenched,
+for these, when newly gathered, are sweet and nutritious; others again,
+and especially young peasant-girls, pelted their companions with
+the fruit."
+
+"Like snowballing," said Malcolm; "only the prickers must have stung.
+What grand times they had with their chestnuting!"
+
+"These gay, thoughtless people," replied his governess, "almost live in
+the open air and enjoy the present moment. It is not easy to tell what
+they would do without these bountiful chestnut-harvests, for their
+principal article of food is a thick porridge called _polenta_, which
+they make from the ground nuts. In France a kind of cake is made from
+the same material, and the chestnuts are prepared by drying them in
+smoke. Another dish is like mashed potatoes, and large quantities are
+exported in the shape of sweetmeats, made by dipping them, after
+boiling, into clarified sugar and drying them."
+
+"Miss Harson," asked Clara, "why are horse-chestnuts _called_
+'horse-chestnuts '? Do horses like 'em?"
+
+"Not usually," was the reply. "The nuts are sometimes ground and given
+to horses, but, as sheep, deer and other cattle eat them in their
+natural state, it would seem more reasonable to name them after some of
+those animals, if that was the reason. It is likely that because they
+look like chestnuts, but are much larger, they were called
+'horse-chestnuts,' The tree is not in any respect a chestnut; and when
+it was first planted in England, some centuries ago, it was called 'a
+rare foreign tree,' and was much admired. It is supposed to have come
+from India. The large nuts are like chestnuts in appearance.--Except,
+Edith, that they have no 'cunning little tails.'--In the month of May
+there is not a more beautiful tree to be found than the horse-chestnut,
+with its large, deeply-cut leaves of a bright-green color and its long,
+tapering spikes of variegated flowers, which turn upward from the dense
+foliage. The tree at this time has been compared to a huge chandelier,
+and the erect blossoms to so many wax lights. The bitter nuts ripen
+early in the autumn and fall from the tree, but long before this the
+beautiful foliage has turned rusty in our Northern States, and is no
+longer ornamental. The overshadowing branches, which give such a
+pleasant shade in summer, early in autumn begin to show the ravages of
+the insects or the natural decay of the leaves."
+
+"Then," said Malcolm, "it isn't a nice tree to have, and I'm glad that
+there are elms here instead."
+
+"I should like to have some of all the trees," replied Clara, "because
+then we could study about them better.--Wouldn't you, Miss Harson?"
+
+"I think so," said her governess, "if they were not undesirable to have,
+as some trees are. If it were always May, I should want horse-chestnut
+trees; for I think there is scarcely anything so pretty as those fresh
+leaves and blossoms. The branches, too, begin low down, and that gives
+the tree a generous spreading look which is very attractive in the way
+of shade. In more southern States they have a longer season of beauty
+than those in the North."
+
+"Do people ever eat the horse-chestnut?" asked Edith.
+
+"Not often, dear--it is too bitter; but an old writer who lived in the
+days when it was first seen in England says that he planted it in his
+orchard as a fruit tree, between his mulberry and his walnut, and that
+he roasted the chestnuts and ate them. It is like the bitternut-hickory,
+which even boys will not eat."
+
+"I should think that somebody or something ought to eat it," said Clara,
+thoughtfully; "it seems like such a waste."
+
+Everyone laughed at her wise air, and she was asked if she intended to
+set the example. She was not quite ready, though, to do that; and Miss
+Harson continued:
+
+"A naturalist once took from the tree a tiny flower-bud and proceeded to
+dissect it. After the external covering, which consisted of seventeen
+scales, he came upon the down which protects the flower. On removing
+this he could perceive four branchlets surrounding the spike of flowers,
+and the flowers themselves, though so minute, were as distinct as
+possible, and he could not only count their number, but discern the
+stamens, and even the pollen."
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed the children; "how very curious!"
+
+"Yes," replied their governess; "it shows how perfect and wonderful,
+from the beginning, are all the works of God."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+_AMONG THE PINES_.
+
+"How good it smells here!" exclaimed Edith, with her small nose in the
+air to inhale what she called "a good sniff" in the fragrant pine-woods.
+
+Miss Harson had taken the children in the carriage to a pine-grove some
+miles from Elmridge, and Thomas and the horses waited by the roadside
+while the little party walked about or stood gazing up at the tall
+slender trees that seemed to tower to the very skies. Thomas was not
+fond of waiting, but he thought that he had the best of it in this case:
+it was more cheerful to sit in the carriage and "flick" the flies from
+Rex and Regina than to go poking about in the gloomy pine-woods. Yet,
+notwithstanding the darkness of its interior and the sombre character of
+its dense masses of evergreen foliage as seen from without--whence the
+name of "black timber," which has been applied to it--the shade and
+shelter it affords and the sentiment of grandeur it inspires cause it to
+become allied with the most profound and agreeable sensations; and it
+was something of this feeling, though they could not express it in
+words, which possessed the young tree-hunters as they stood in the
+pine-grove.
+
+"It's nice to breathe here," said Clara.
+
+"It is delicious," replied her governess, enthusiastically, her eyes
+kindling as she repeated the lines:
+
+     "'His praise, ye winds, that from four quarter blow,
+     Breathe soft and loud; and wave your tops, ye pines,
+     With every plant, in sign of worship. Wave!'"
+
+"What a queer brown color--almost like red--the ground is!" said
+Malcolm. "And look, Miss Harson! it's made of lots of little
+sharp sticks."
+
+"The sharp sticks are pine-needles," was the reply--"the dead
+pine-leaves of last year; and when the new growth of leaves have been
+put forth, they cover the ground with a smooth brown matting as
+comfortable as a gravel-walk, and yet a carpet of Nature's making. 'The
+foliage of the pine is so hard and durable that in summer we always find
+the last year's crop lying upon the ground in a state of perfect
+soundness, and under it that of the preceding year only partially
+decayed.'"
+
+"It's kind of slippery in some places," continued Malcolm, taking a
+slide as he spoke. "And see those queer-looking roots sprouting out of
+the ground!"
+
+"I see the roots," said Miss Harson, "but no sprouts. That is the white
+pine, the roots of which are often seen above the ground, spreading to
+some distance from the trunk. Generally the roots of pine trees are
+small, compared with the size of the trunks, and spread horizontally
+instead of descending far into the ground. For this reason pines are
+often uprooted by high winds, which break off the deciduous trees near
+the ground. But I wish you particularly to notice the trunks of these
+trees and tell me if you can see any difference in them."
+
+Those particular trees had probably never been stared at so hard
+before, and the three children exclaimed almost together:
+
+"Some are rough, and some are smooth, and the rough ones have little
+bunches of leaves on 'em."
+
+"These are the pitch-pines," replied their governess. "They are the
+roughest of all our forest-trees, and they have a rounder head than any
+of the other American evergreens. The branches, you see, turn in various
+directions and are curved downward at the ends. This tree has also the
+peculiar habit of sending out little branchlets full of leaves along the
+stem from the root upward, and this has a very pretty effect, like that
+of some elm trees. It is the pitch-pine that produces the fragrance we
+are all enjoying so much. What do you notice about the smoother trees?"
+
+"They are very tall and big," replied Clara--"ever so much handsomer
+than the rough ones."
+
+[Illustration: THE WHITE PINE.]
+
+"The white pine," said Miss Harson, "is one of the loftiest and most
+valuable of North American trees. Its top can be seen at a great
+distance, looking like a spire as it towers above the heads of the trees
+around it. You see that it has widespread branches and silken-looking,
+tufted foliage. The leaves are in fives and not so stiff as those of the
+other pines, and you will notice that the branches are in whorls, like a
+series of stages one above another. The foliage has a tasseled effect
+with those long silky tufts at the ends of the branches, and the whole
+outline of the tree is very pleasing."
+
+"This isn't a pine tree, is it?" asked Malcolm, touching a small tree
+with very slender branches, some of them as slight as willow-withes and
+covered with grayish-red bark, while that on the main stem was
+bluish gray.
+
+[Illustration: THE LARCH.]
+
+"It is a species of pine," was the reply, "because it belongs to the
+Coniferae, or cone-producing, family; but it is not an evergreen,
+although it ranks as such. This is the larch--generally called in New
+England by its Indian name of _hacmatack_--and it differs from the other
+pines in its crowded tufts of leaves, which, after turning to a soft
+leather-color, fall, in New England, early in November. The cones, too,
+are very small."
+
+"What's the use of cones, any way?" asked Malcolm as he picked up some
+very large ones under the white and pitch pines.
+
+"Their principal use," replied his governess, "is to contain the seeds
+of future trees: they are the fruit of the pine; but they have a number
+of uses besides, which you shall hear about this evening."
+
+"The little cones at Hemlock Lodge are pretty," said Edith, "and Clara
+and me play with 'em. We play they're a orphan-'sylum."
+
+[Illustration: FOLIAGE OF THE LARCH (_Larix Americana_).]
+
+"'Clara and I,' dear," corrected Miss Harson, smiling at the
+"orphan-'sylum," while Malcolm said he had never thought of that before,
+and it must be what they were meant for. Edith could not quite
+understand whether this was fun or earnest, but Miss Harson shook her
+head at Malcolm and called him "naughty boy."
+
+"The spruce and hemlock," continued their governess, "and many of the
+other evergreens, we have at Elmridge, but I brought you here to-day for
+our drive that you might examine these magnificent pine trees, and so be
+better able to understand whatever we can find out about them this
+evening. Thomas is probably tired of waiting by this time; so we will
+leave the fragrant pine-woods for the present, and promise ourselves
+some future visits."
+
+Every green thing was now in full summer beauty, and daisies and
+buttercups gemmed the fields, while the garden at Elmridge was all aglow
+with blossoms, The children remembered their flower-studies of last
+year, and took fresh pleasure in the woods because of them; but the
+trees now seemed quite as interesting as the flowers had been.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"The trees known as evergreens," said Miss Harson, "are not so bright
+and cheerful-looking as those which are deciduous, or leaf-shedding, but
+they have the advantage of being clothed with foliage, although of a
+sober hue, all the year round. They consist of pines, firs, junipers,
+cypresses, spruces, larches, yews and hemlocks, with some foreign trees,
+and form a distinct and striking natural group. 'This family has claims
+to our particular attention from the importance of its products in
+naval, and especially in civil and domestic, architecture, and in many
+other arts, and, in some instances, in medicine. Some of the species in
+this country are of more rapid growth, attain to a larger size and rise
+to a loftier height than any other trees known. The white pine is much
+the tallest of our native trees.'"
+
+"How high does it grow, Miss Harson?" asked Clara.
+
+"From one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet," was replied, "and on
+the north-west coast of America one called the 'Douglas's pine' is the
+loftiest tree known; it is said to measure over three hundred feet.
+'From the pines are obtained the best masts and much of the most
+valuable ship-timber, and in the building and finishing of houses they
+are of almost indispensable utility. The bark of some of them, as the
+hemlock and larch, is of great value in tanning, and from others are
+obtained the various kinds of pitch, tar, turpentine, resin and
+balsams,' The pines and firs have circles of branches in imperfect
+whorls around the trunk, and, as one of these whorls is formed each
+year, it is easy to calculate the age of young trees. In thick woods the
+lower whorls of branches soon decay for want of light and air, and this
+leaves a smooth trunk, which rises without a branch, like a beautiful
+shaft, for a hundred feet or more.
+
+"These trees are found everywhere except in the hot regions around the
+equator. The white pine is the most common, but in the evergreen woods
+of our own country it is mixed with pitch-pine and fir trees. In our
+Southern States there are thin forests, called pine-barrens, through
+which one can travel for miles on horseback. The white pine is easily
+distinguished by its leaves being in fives, by its very long cones,
+composed of loosely-arranged scales, and when young by the smoothness
+and delicate light-green color of the bark. It is known throughout New
+England by the name 'white pine,' which is given it on account of the
+whiteness of the wood. In England it is called the Weymouth pine.
+
+"Many very large trees are found in Maine, on the Penobscot River, but
+most of the largest and most valuable timber trees have been cut down.
+The lumberers, as they are called, are constantly hewing down the grand
+old trees for timber, white pine being the principal timber of New
+England and Canada."
+
+"And they float it down the rivers on rafts, don't they?" said Malcolm.
+"Won't you tell us about that, Miss Harson?"
+
+"Yes," was the reply.--"But do not look so expectant, Edie; it is not a
+story, dear, only a description of pine-cutting in the forests of Maine
+and Canada. But I should like you to know how these great trees are
+turned into timber, and you will see that, like many other necessary
+things, it is neither easy nor pleasant. We do not get much without hard
+work on the part of somebody: remember that. Now I will read:
+
+"'The business of procuring trees suitable for masts of ships is
+difficult and fatiguing. The pines which grew in the neighborhood of the
+rivers and in the most accessible places have all been cut down. Paths
+have now to be cleared with immense labor to the recesses of the forest,
+in order to obtain a fresh supply. This arduous employment is called
+"lumbering," and those who engage in it are "lumberers." The word
+"lumber," in its general sense, applies to all kinds of timber. But
+though many different trees, such as oak, ash and maple, are cut down,
+yet the main business is with the pines. And when a suitable plot of
+ground has been chosen for erecting a saw-mill,' to prepare the boards,
+'it is called "pine-land," or a spot where the pine trees predominate.
+
+"'A body of wood-cutters unite to form what is called a
+"lumbering-party," and they are in the employ of a master-lumberman, who
+pays them wages and finds them in provisions. The provisions are
+obtained on credit and under promise of payment when the timber has been
+cut down and sold. If the timber meets with any accident in its passage
+down the river, the master-lumberman cannot make good the loss, and the
+shopkeeper loses his money.
+
+"'When the lumbering-party are ready to start, they take with them a
+supply of necessaries, and also what tools they will require, and
+proceed up the river to the heart of the forest. When they reach a
+suitable spot where the giant trees which are to serve for masts grow
+thick and dark, they get all their supplies on shore--their axes, their
+cooking-utensils and the casks of molasses'--and too often of whisky or
+rum, too, I am sorry to say--'that will be used lavishly. The molasses
+is used instead of sugar to sweeten the great draughts of tea--made, not
+from the product of China, but from the tops of the hemlock.
+
+"'The first thing to be done is to build some kind of shelter, for they
+must remain in the forest until spring, and the cold of those Northern
+winters is terrible. Their cabin--for it cannot be called by any better
+name--is built of logs of wood cut down on purpose and put together as
+rudely as possible. It is only five feet high, and the roof is covered
+with boards. There is a great blazing fire kept up day and night, for
+the frost is intense, and the provisions have to be kept in a deep place
+made in the ground under the cabin. The smoke of the fire goes out
+through a hole in the roof, and the floor is strewn with branches of
+fir, the only couch the poor hardworking lumberers have to rest upon.
+When night comes, they turn into the cabin to sleep, and lie with their
+feet to the fire. If a man chances to awaken, he instantly jumps up and
+throws fresh logs on the fire; for it is of the utmost importance not to
+let it go out. One of the men is the cook for the whole party, and his
+duty is to have breakfast ready before it is light in the morning. He
+prepares a meal of boiled meat and the hemlock tea sweetened with
+molasses, and the rest of the party partake heartily of both, and in
+some camps also of rum, under the mistaken notion that it helps them to
+bear the severe toil. When breakfast is over, they divide into several
+gangs. One gang cuts down the trees, another saws them in pieces, and
+the third gang is occupied in conveying them, by means of oxen, to the
+bank of the nearest stream, which is now frozen over.
+
+"'It is a hard winter for the lumbermen. The snow covers the ground
+until the middle of May, and the frost is often intense. But they toil
+through it, felling, sawing and conveying until a quantity of trees have
+been laid prostrate and made available for the market. Then, at last,
+the weather changes; the snow begins to melt and the streams and rills
+are set at liberty. The rivers flow briskly on and are much swollen with
+the melting snow, and the men say that the freshets have come down.
+
+"'Hard as their toil has been, the most difficult and fatiguing has yet
+to be encountered. The timber is collected on the banks of the river,
+and has now to be thrown into the water and made into rafts, so that it
+can be floated down to the nearest market-town. The water, filled with
+melting snow, is deadly cold and can scarcely be endured, but the men
+are in it from morning till night constructing the rafts, which are put
+together as simply as possible, and the smallest outlay made to suffice.
+The rafts are of different sizes, according to the breadth of the
+stream; and when all is ready, they are launched, and the convoy fairly
+sets out on its voyage.
+
+"'The great ugly masses of floating timber move slowly along under the
+care of a pilot, and the lumberers ride upon the rafts, often without
+shelter or protection from the weather. They guide themselves by long
+and powerful poles fixed on pivots, and which act as rudders. As they
+journey down the stream they sing and shout and make the utmost noise
+and riot. If there comes a storm or a change of weather, the pilot
+steers his convoy into some safe creek for the night, and secures it as
+best he can.
+
+"'Thus by degrees the raft reaches the place of destination,
+occasionally with some loss and damage to the timber. In this case the
+master-lumberer bears the loss, and is obliged to refund the expenses
+incurred as best he can. At any rate, the men are now paid off, and set
+out on foot for their homes.'"
+
+Malcolm was particularly delighted with this narrative of stirring
+activity, and even the little girls seemed very much interested in it.
+They were so sorry for the poor lumbermen who had such dreary winters
+off there in the Northern woods, and Clara wondered if they couldn't
+have warm comforters and mittens.
+
+"They probably have those things when they go into camp," said Miss
+Harson, "but they are likely to find them in the way of working, and to
+cast them aside.--Great ships are not built for nothing: even to get the
+timber in readiness costs heavy labor, but, after all, no doubt, the men
+get interested in it and enjoy its excitement. Fortunately for the many
+uses to which its timber is put, the white pine grows very rapidly,
+gaining from fifteen inches to three feet every year. In deep and damp
+old woods it is slower of growth; it is then almost without sap-wood and
+has a yellowish color like the flesh of the pumpkin. For this reason it
+is called 'pumpkin-pine.' The bark of young trees of the white-pine
+species is very smooth and of a reddish, bottle-green color. It is
+covered in summer with a pearly gloss. On old trunks the bark is less
+rough than that of any other pine. This tree has the spreading habit of
+the cedar of Lebanon. In addition to its grand and picturesque
+character, the white pine, says a lover of trees, may be 'regarded as a
+true symbol of benevolence. Under its outspread roof numerous small
+animals, nestling in the bed of dry leaves that cover the ground, find
+shelter and repose. The squirrel feeds upon the kernels obtained from
+its cones; the hare browses upon the trefoil'--clover--'and the spicy
+foliage of the _hypericum_'--St. John's wort--'which are protected in
+its shade; and the fawn reposes on its brown couch of leaves unmolested
+by the outer tempest. From its green arbors the quails are often roused
+in midwinter, where they feed upon the berries of the _Mitchella_ and
+the spicy wintergreen. Nature, indeed, seems to have specially designed
+this tree to protect her living creatures both in summer and
+in winter.'"
+
+"Hurrah for the white pine," said Malcolm, with great energy, "the grand
+old _American_ tree!"
+
+"I'm glad that the little birds and animals have such a nice home under
+it in winter," said Clara.
+
+"I'm glad too," added Edith, "but I wish we could find some and see how
+they look in their soft bed. Don't they ever put their heads out the
+least bit, Miss Harson?"
+
+"Not when they suspect that there is any one around, dear, and the
+little creatures are very sharp to find this out. Our heavenly Father,
+you know, takes thought for sparrows and all such helpless things, and
+they are fed and cared for without any thought of their own.--The white
+pine," she continued, "is truly a magnificent tree, but I think we shall
+find that the pitch-pine is also very useful."
+
+"That's the rough one," said Malcolm; "I remember how it looks, with
+little tufts sticking out along the trunk."
+
+"Yes," replied his governess, "and out authority says this tree is
+distinguished by its leaves being in threes--the white pine, you know,
+has them in _fives_--by the rigidity and sharpness of the scales of its
+cones, by the roughness of its bark, and by the denseness of the brushes
+of its stiff, crowded leaves. Its usual height is from forty to fifty
+feet, but it is sometimes much taller. The trunk is not only rough, but
+very dark in color; and from this circumstance the species is frequently
+called black pine. The wood is very hard and firm, and contains a
+quantity of resin. This is much more abundant in the branches than in
+the trunk, and the boards and other lumber of this wood are usually full
+of pitch-knots."
+
+"What are pitch-knots?" asked Clara.
+
+"'When a growing branch,'" read Miss Harson, "'is broken off, the
+remaining portion becomes charged with resin,' which is deposited by the
+resin-bearing sap of the tree, 'forming what is called a pitch-knot,
+extending sometimes to the heart. The same thing takes place through the
+whole heart of a tree when, full of juice, its life is suddenly
+destroyed.' 'Resin' is another name for turpentine, but is used of it
+commonly when hardened into a solid form. The tar is obtained by slowly
+burning splintered pine, both trunk and root, with a smothered flame,
+and collecting the black liquid, which is expelled by the heat and
+caught in cavities beneath the burning pile. Pitch is thickened tar, and
+is used in calking ships and for like purposes."
+
+"I am going to remember that," said Malcolm; "I could never make out
+what all those different things meant."
+
+"What are you thinking about so seriously, Clara?" asked her governess.
+"If it is a puzzle, let me see if I cannot solve it for you."
+
+"Well, Miss Harson, I was thinking of those brown leaves, or 'needles,'
+in the pine-woods, and it seems strange to say that the leaves of
+evergreens never fall off."
+
+"It would not only be strange, dear, but quite untrue, to say that; for
+the same leaves do not, of course, remain for ever on the tree. The
+deciduous trees lose their leaves in the autumn and are entirely bare
+until the next spring, but the evergreens, although they renew their
+leaves, too, are never left without verdure of some sort. Late in
+October you may see the yellow or brown foliage of the pines, then ready
+to fall, surrounding the branches of the previous year's growth, forming
+a whorl of brown fringe surmounted by a tuft of green leaves of the
+present year's growth. Their leaves always turn yellow before the fall."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+_GIANT AND NUT PINES_.
+
+Great was the surprise of Edith when Miss Harson gave the little sleeper
+a gentle shake and told her that it was time to be up. But the birds
+without the window told the same story, and the little maiden was soon
+at the breakfast-table and ready for the day's duties and enjoyments,
+including their "tree-talk."
+
+"Are there any more kinds of pine trees?" asked Malcolm.
+
+[Illustration: "AWAKE, LITTLE ONE!"]
+
+"Yes, indeed!--more than we can take up this summer," replied Miss
+Harson. "There is the Norway pine, or red pine, which in Maine and New
+Hampshire is often seen in forests of white and pitch pine. It has a
+tall trunk of eighty feet or so, and a smooth reddish bark. The leaves
+are in twos, six or eight inches long, and form large tufts or brushes
+at the end of the branchlets. The wood is strong and resembles that of
+the pitch-pine, but it contains no resin. The giant pines of California
+belong to a different species from any that we have been considering,
+and the genus, or order, in which they have been arranged is called
+_Sequoia_[19]. They are generally known, however, as the 'Big Trees.' In
+one grove there are a hundred and three of them, which cover a space of
+fifty acres, called 'Mammoth-Tree Grove.' One of the giants has been
+felled--a task which occupied twenty-two days. It was impossible to cut
+it down, in the ordinary sense of the term, and the men had to bore into
+it with augers until it was at last severed in twain. Even then the
+amazing bulk of the tree prevented it from falling, and it still kept
+its upright position. Two more days were employed in driving wedges into
+the severed part on one side, thus to compel the giant to totter and
+fall. The trunk was no less than three hundred and two feet in height
+and ninety-six in circumference. The stump, which was left standing,
+presented such a large surface that a party of thirty couples have
+danced with ease upon it and still left abundant room for lookers-on."
+
+[19] _Sequoia gigantea_.
+
+When the children had sufficiently exclaimed over the size of this huge
+tree, their governess continued:
+
+"It is thought that these trees must have been growing for more than two
+thousand years, which would make them probably two hundred years old at
+the birth of our Saviour. Does it not seem wonderful to think of? There
+are other groups of giant pines scattered on the mountains and in the
+forests, and some youthful giants about five hundred years old."
+
+"I suppose they are the babies of the family," said Clara; and this idea
+amused Edith very much.
+
+"There is still another kind of pine," said Miss Harson--"the Italian,
+or stone, pine. It is shaped almost exactly like an umbrella with a very
+long handle. The _Pinus pinea_ bears large cones, the seed of which is
+not only eatable, but considered a delicious nut. The cone is three
+years in ripening; it is then about four inches long and three wide, and
+has a reddish hue. Each scale of which the cone is formed is hollow at
+the base and contains a seed much larger than that of any other species.
+When the cone is ripe, it is gathered by the owners of the forest; and
+when thoroughly dried on the roof or thrown for a few minutes into the
+fire, it separates into many compartments, from each of which drops a
+smooth white nut in shape like the seed of the date. The shell is very
+hard, and within it is the fruit, which is much used in making
+sweetmeats. The stone-pine is found also in Palestine, and is supposed
+to be the cypress of the Bible. The author of _The Ride Through
+Palestine_[20] speaks of passing through a fine grove of the stone-pine,
+'tall and umbrella-topped,' with dry sticks rising oddly here and there
+from the very tops of the trees. These sticks were covered with
+birdlime, to snare the poor bird which might be tempted to set foot on
+such treacherous supports; and if the cones were ripe, they would be
+quite sure to do it. Here is the picture, from the book just mentioned.
+Italian pine is a prettier name than stone-pine, and this is the name by
+which it is known to artists, who put it into almost every picture of
+Italian scenery.
+
+     "'Much they admire that old religious tree
+     With shaft above the rest upshooting free,
+     And shaking, when its dark locks feel the wind,
+     Its wealthy fruit with rough and massive rind.'"
+
+[20] Presbyterian Board of Publication.
+
+[Illustration: STONE-PINE--"FIR" _(Pinus maritima_)].
+
+"But how queer it sounds to call fruit _wealthy_!" said Malcolm.
+
+"It is odd," replied his governess, "only because the word is not now
+used in that sense; but the fruit is wealthy both because of its
+abundance and because it can be put to so many uses. Let us see what is
+said of it:
+
+"'The kernels, or seeds, from the cones of the stone-pine have always
+been esteemed as a delicacy. In the old days of Rome and Greece they
+were preserved in honey, and some of the larders of the ill-fated city
+of Pompeii were amply stored with jars of this agreeable conserve, which
+were found intact after all those years. The kernels are also sugared
+over and used as _bonbons_. They enter into many dishes of Italian
+cookery, but great care has to be taken not to expose them to the air.
+They are usually kept in the cones until they are wanted, and will then
+retain their freshness for some years. The squirrels eagerly seek after
+the fruit of this pine and almost subsist upon it. They take the cone in
+their paws and dash out the seeds, thus scattering many of them and
+helping to propagate the tree.
+
+"'There is a bird called the crossbill that makes its nest in the pine.
+It fixes its nest in place by means of the resin of the tree and coats
+it with the same material, so as to render it impervious to the rain.
+The seeds from the cones form its chief food, and it extracts them with
+its curious bill, the two parts of which cross each other. It grasps the
+cone with its foot, after the fashion of a parrot, and digs into it with
+the upper part of its bill, which is like a hook, and forces out the
+seed with a jerk.'"
+
+[Illustration: PINE-CONE (_Pinus Sylvestris_.)]
+
+The children enjoyed this account very much, and they thought that
+stone-pine nuts--which they had never seen, and perhaps never would
+see--must be the most delicious nuts that ever grew.
+
+"What nice times the birds have," said Clara, "helping themselves to all
+the good things that other people can't reach!"
+
+"They are not exactly 'people,'" replied Miss Harson, laughing; "and, in
+spite of all these 'nice times,' you would not be quite willing to
+change with them, I think."
+
+No, on the whole, Clara was quite sure that she would not.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+_MORE WINTER TREES: THE FIRS AND THE SPRUCES_.
+
+There were some beautiful evergreens on the lawn at Elmridge, and,
+although the foliage seemed dark in summer, it gave the place a very
+cheerful look in winter, when other trees were quite bare, while the
+birds flew in and out of them so constantly that spring seemed to have
+come long before it really did arrive.
+
+"This balsam-fir," said Miss Harson as they stood near a tall, beautiful
+tree that tapered to a point, "has, you see, a straight, smooth trunk
+and tapers regularly and rapidly to the top. You will notice, too, that
+the leaves, which are needle-shaped and nearly flat, do not grow in
+clusters, but singly, and that their color is peculiar. There are faint
+white lines on the upper part and a silvery-blue tinge beneath, and
+this silvery look is produced by many lines of small, shining resinous
+dots. The deep-green bark, striped with gray, is full of balsam, or
+resin, known as balm of Gilead or Canada balsam, and highly valued as a
+cure for diseases of the lungs. The long cones are erect, or standing,
+and grow thickly near the ends of the upper branches. They have round,
+bluish-purple scales, and the soft color has a very pretty effect on the
+tree. They ripen every year, and the lively little squirrel, as he is
+called, feasts upon them, as the crossbill does on the cones of the
+stone-pine. But the mischievous little animal also barks the boughs and
+gnaws off the tops of the leading shoots, so that many trees are injured
+and defaced by his depredations."
+
+[Illustration: AMERICAN WHITE SPRUCE.]
+
+"He _is_ a lively little squirrel," observed Malcolm. "How he does race!
+But he doesn't gnaw our trees, does he?"
+
+"No, I think not, for he prefers staying in the woods and fields; but
+fir-woods are his especial delight. Our balsam-fir is the American
+sister of the silver fir of Europe, both having bluish-green foliage
+with a silvery under surface, in a single row on either side of the
+branches, which curve gracefully upward at the ends. The tree has a
+peculiarly light, airy appearance until it is old, when there is little
+foliage except at the ends of the branches. The silver fir is one of the
+tallest trees on the continent of Europe, and it is remarkable for the
+beauty of its form and foliage and the value of its timber."
+
+"I know what this tree is," said Clara, turning to an evergreen of
+stately form and graceful, drooping branches that almost touched the
+ground: "it's Norway spruce. Papa told me this morning."
+
+[Illustration: THE NORWAY PINE.]
+
+"Yes," replied her governess, "and a beautiful tree it is, like the fir
+in many respects, but the bark is rougher and the cones droop. The
+branches, too, are lower and more sweeping. But the fir and the spruce
+are more alike than many sisters and brothers. The Scotch fir, about
+which there are many interesting things to be learned, is more
+rugged-looking, and the Norway spruce, which will bear studying too, is
+more grand and majestic."
+
+[Illustration: THE HEMLOCK SPRUCE.]
+
+"I know this one, Miss Harson," said little Edith as they came to a
+sweeping hemlock near the bay-window of the dining-room.
+
+"Yes, dear," was the reply; "Hemlock Lodge has made you feel very well
+acquainted with the tree after which it is named. It is one of the most
+beautiful of the evergreens, with its widely-spreading branches and
+their delicate, fringe-like foliage; but, although the branches are
+ornamental for church and house decoration, they are very perishable,
+and drop their small needles almost immediately when placed in a heated
+room. And now," continued the young lady, "we have come back to warm
+piazza-days again, and can have our talk in the open air."
+
+So on the piazza they speedily established themselves, with Miss Harson
+in the low, comfortable chair and her audience on the crimson cushions
+that had been piled up in a corner.
+
+"We shall find a great deal about the fir tree," said Miss Harson, "as
+it is very hardy and rugged, and as common in all Northern regions as
+the white birch--quite as useful, too, as we shall soon see. This rugged
+species--which is generally called the Scotch fir--is not so smooth and
+handsome as our balsam-fir, but it is a tree which the people who live
+near the great Northern forests of Europe could not easily do without.
+It belongs to the great pine family and is often called a pine, but in
+the countries of Great Britain especially it is called the Scotch fir.
+Although well shaped, it is not a particularly elegant-looking tree. The
+branches are generally gnarled and broken, and the style of the tree is
+more sturdy than graceful. The Scotch fir often grows to the height of a
+hundred feet, and the bark is of a reddish tinge. 'It is one of the most
+useful of the tribe, and, like the bountiful palm, confers the greatest
+blessing on the inhabitants of the country where it grows. It serves the
+peasants of the bleak, barren parts of Sweden and Lapland for food:
+their scanty supply of meal often runs short, and they go to the pine to
+eke it out. They choose the oldest and least resinous of the branches
+and take out the inner bark. They first grind it in a mill, and then mix
+it with their store of meal; after this it is worked into dough and made
+into cakes like pancakes. The bark-bread is a valuable addition to
+their slender resources, and sometimes the young shoots are used as
+well as the bark. Indeed, so largely is this store of food drawn upon
+that many trees have been destroyed, and in some places the forest is
+actually thinned."
+
+"They're as bad as the squirrels," said Malcolm. "But how I should hate
+to eat such stuff!"
+
+"It may not be so very bad," replied his governess. "Some people think
+that only white bread is fit to eat, but I think that Kitty's brown
+bread is rather liked in this family."
+
+The children all laughed, for didn't papa declare--with _such_ a sober
+face!--that they were eating him out of house and home in brown bread
+alone? Kitty, too, pretended to grumble because the plump loaves
+disappeared so fast, but she said to herself at the same time, "Bless
+their hearts! let 'em eat: it's better than a doctor's bill."
+
+"A great many other things besides pancakes are made from the tree,"
+continued Miss Harson, "and the fresh green tops furnish very
+nice carpets."
+
+There was a faint "_Oh!_" at this, but, after all, it was not so
+surprising as the cakes had been.
+
+"They are scattered on the floors of houses as rushes used to be in old
+times in England, and thus they serve as carpet and prevent the mud and
+dirt that stick to the shoes of the peasants from staining the floor;
+and when trodden on, the leaves give out a most agreeable
+aromatic perfume."
+
+"I'd like that part," said Clara.
+
+[Illustration: THE BLUE SPRUCE.]
+
+"But you cannot have one part without taking it all; almost everything,
+you see, has a pleasant side.--'The peasant finds no limit to the use
+of the pine. Of its bark he makes the little canoe which is to carry him
+along the river; it is simple in its construction, and as light as
+possible. When he comes within safe distance of one of those gushing,
+foaming cataracts that he meets with in his course, he pushes his canoe
+to land and carries it on his shoulders until the danger is past; then
+he launches it again, and paddles merrily onward. Not a single nail is
+used in his canoe: the planks are tightly secured together by a natural
+cordage made of the roots of the pine. He splits them of the right
+thickness, and with very little preparation they form exactly the
+material he needs.'"
+
+Malcolm evidently had some idea of making a canoe of this kind, but he
+became discouraged when his governess reminded him that he could not cut
+down trees, and that his father would prefer having them left standing.
+It did not seem necessary to speak of any difficulties in the way of
+putting the boat together.
+
+"Another use for the fir is to light up the poor hut of the peasant. 'He
+splits up the branches into laths and makes them into torches. If he
+wants a light, he takes one of the laths and kindles it at the fire;
+then he fixes it in a rude frame, which serves him for a candlestick.
+The light is very brilliant while it lasts, but is soon spent, and he
+is in darkness again. The same use is made of the pine. It is no unusual
+circumstance, in the Scotch pine-woods, to come upon a tree with the
+trunk scooped out from each side and carried away: the cottager has been
+to fetch material for his candles. But this somewhat rough usage does
+not hurt the tree, and it continues green and healthy.' In our Southern
+States pine-fat with resin is called lightwood, and is used for the
+same purpose."
+
+"That's an easy way of getting candles," said Clara.
+
+"Easy, perhaps, compared with the trouble of moulding them," replied
+Miss Harson, "but I do not think we should fancy either way of
+preparing them."
+
+"Is there anything to tell about the spruce tree?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"It is too much like the fir," replied his governess, "to have any very
+distinct character; but there are species here, known as the white and
+black spruce, besides the hemlock."
+
+But the children thought that hemlock was hemlock: how did it come to
+be spruce?
+
+"Because it has the family features--leaves solitary and very short;
+cones pendulous, or hanging, with the scales thin at the edge; and the
+fruit ripens in a single year. The hemlock-spruce, as it is sometimes
+called, is, I think, the most beautiful of the family. 'It is
+distinguished from all the other pines by the softness and delicacy of
+its tufted foliage, from the spruce by its slender, tapering branchlets
+and the smoothness of its limbs, and from the balsam-fir by its small
+terminal cones, by the irregularity of its branches and the gracefulness
+of its whole appearance.' The delicate green of the young trees forms a
+rich mass of verdure, and at this season each twig has on the end a tuft
+of new leaves yellowish-green in color and making a beautiful contrast
+to the darker hue of last year's foliage. The bark of the trunk is
+reddish, and that of the smooth branches and small twigs is light gray.
+The branchlets are very small, light and slender, and are set
+irregularly on the sides of the small branches; so that they form a
+flat surface. This arrangement renders them singularly well adapted to
+the making of brooms--a use of the hemlock familiar to housekeepers in
+the country towns throughout New England. The leaves, which are
+extremely delicate and of a silvery whiteness on the under side, are
+arranged in a row on each side of the branchlets. The slender,
+thread-like stems on which they grow make them move easily with the
+slightest breath of wind, and this, with the silvery hue underneath,
+gives to the foliage a glittering look that is very pretty. But I think
+you all can tell me when the hemlock is prettiest?"
+
+"After a snow-storm," said Clara. "Don't we all look, almost the first
+thing, at the tree by the dining-room window?"
+
+"Yes," replied Miss Harson; "it is a beautiful sight with the snow lying
+on it in masses and the dark green of the leaves peeping through. 'The
+branches put forth irregularly from all parts of the trunk, and lie one
+above another, each bending over at its extremities upon the surface of
+those below, like the feathers upon the wings of a bird,' And soft,
+downy plumes they look, with the snow resting on them and making them
+more feathery than ever."
+
+"So they are like feathers?" said Malcolm, to whom this was a new idea,
+"I'll look for 'em the next time it snows; yet--" He was going to add
+that he wished it would snow to-morrow; but remembering that it was only
+the beginning of June, and that Miss Harson had shown them how each
+season has its pleasures, he stopped just in time.
+
+"The pretty little cones of the hemlock, which grow very thickly on the
+tree, have a crimson tinge at first, and turn to a light brown. They are
+found hanging on the ends of the small branches, and they fall during
+the autumn and winter. This tree is a native of the coldest parts of
+North America, where it is found in whole forests, and it flourishes on
+granite rocks on the sides of hills exposed to the most violent storms.
+The wood is firm and contains very little resin; it is much used for
+building-purposes. A great quantity of tannin is obtained from the
+bark; and when mixed with that of the oak, it is valuable for
+preparing leather.
+
+"We have taken the prettiest of the spruces first," continued Miss
+Harson, "and now we must see what are the differences between them. 'The
+two species of American spruce, the black and the white--or, as they are
+more commonly called, the double and the single--are distinguished from
+the fir and the hemlock in every stage of growth by the roughness of the
+bark on their branches, produced by little ridges running down from the
+base of each leaf, and by the disposition of the leaves, which are
+arranged in spirals equally on every side of the young shoots. The
+double is distinguished from the single spruce by the darker color of
+the foliage--whence its name of black spruce--by the greater thickness,
+in proportion to the length, of the cones, and by the looseness of its
+scales, which are jagged, or toothed, on the edge.' It is a
+well-proportioned tree, but stiff-looking, and the dark foliage, which
+never seems to change, gives it a gloomy aspect. The leaves are closely
+arranged in spiral lines. The black spruce is never a very large tree,
+but the wood is light, elastic and durable, and is valuable in
+shipbuilding, for making ladders and for shingles. The young shoots are
+much in demand for making spruce-beer. The white spruce is more slender
+and tapering, and the bark and leaves are lighter. The root is very
+tough, and the Canadian Indians make threads from the fibres, with which
+they sew together the birch-bark for their canoes. The wood is as
+valuable as that of the black spruce."
+
+"Does the Norway spruce come from Norway?" asked Clara.
+
+"Yes; that is its native land, where it presents its most grand and
+beautiful appearance. There it 'rivals the palm in stature, and even
+attains the height of one hundred and eighty feet. Its handsome branches
+spread out on every side and clothe the trunk to its base, while the
+summit of the tree ends in an arrow-like point. In very old trees the
+branches droop at the extremities, and not only rest upon the ground,
+but actually take root in it and grow. Thus a number of young trees are
+often seen clustering around the trunk of an old one.'"
+
+"Why, that's like the banyan tree," said Malcolm.
+
+"Only there is a difference in the manner of growth, for the branches of
+the banyan are some distance from the ground and send forth rootlets
+without touching it. The Norway spruce is also the great tree of the
+Alps, where it seems to match the majestic scenery. The timber is
+valuable for building; and when sawed into planks, it is called white
+deal, while that of the Scotch fir is red deal.
+
+"And now," said Miss Harson, "before we leave the firs, let us see what
+is said about them in the Bible. They were used for shipbuilding in the
+city of Tyre; for the prophet Ezekiel says, 'They have made all thy ship
+boards of fir trees of Senir[21],' and it is written that 'David and all
+the house of Israel played before the Lord on all manner of instruments
+made of firwood[22].' The same wood was used then in building houses,
+as you will find, Malcolm, by turning to the Song of Solomon, seventh
+chapter, seventeenth verse."
+
+[21] Ezek. xxvii. 5.
+
+[22] 2 Sam. vi. 5.
+
+"'The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir,'" read
+Malcolm.
+
+"In Kings it is said, 'So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees,
+according to his desire[23],' and these trees were to be used for the
+very house, or palace, of which the Jewish king speaks in his Song.
+Evergreens are often mentioned in the Bible, and in that beautiful
+Christmas chapter, the sixtieth of Isaiah, you will find the fir tree
+again.--Read the thirteenth verse, Clara."
+
+[23] I Kings v. 10.
+
+"'The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine
+tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I
+will make the place of my feet glorious.'--What is 'the glory of
+Lebanon,' Miss Harson?"
+
+"The cedar of Lebanon, dear; and we will now turn our attention to that
+and the other cedars."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+_THE CEDARS_.
+
+"The cypress tribe," said Miss Harson, "differ from the pines, or
+Coniferae, by not having their fruit in a true cone, but in a roundish
+head which consists of a small number of scales, sometimes forming a
+sort of berry. One of the most common of this family is the arbor vitae,
+or tree of life--a tree so small as to look like a pointed shrub, and
+more used for fences than for ornament. An arbor-vitae hedge, you know,
+divides our flower garden from the kitchen-garden and goes all the way
+down to the brook."
+
+"I like the smell of it," said Clara. "Don't you, Miss Harson?"
+
+[Illustration: SIBERIAN ARBOR VITAE]
+
+"Yes," was the reply, "there is something very fresh and pleasant about
+it; and when well kept, as John is sure to keep ours, it makes a
+beautiful hedge. As a tree it has been known to reach forty or fifty
+feet in height, with a trunk ten feet in circumference. The leaves are
+arranged in four rows, in alternately opposite pairs, and seem to make
+up the fan-like branchlets. These branchlets look like parts of a large
+compound, flat leaf. The bark is slightly furrowed, smooth to the touch,
+and very white when the tree stands exposed. The wood is reddish,
+somewhat odorous, very light, soft and fine-grained. In the northern
+part of the United States and in Canada it holds the first place for
+durability."
+
+"I thought the cypress was a flower," said Malcolm.
+
+"So one kind of cypress is," replied his governess--"the blossom of an
+airy-looking and beautiful creeper; but the name also belongs to a
+family of trees. The white cedar, or cypress, is a very graceful tree
+which generally grows in swamps. 'It is entirely free from the stiffness
+of the pines, and to the spiry top of the poplar it unites the airy
+lightness of the hemlock. The trunk is straight and tall, tapering very
+gradually, and toward the top there are short irregular branches,
+forming a small but beautiful head, above which the leading shoot waves
+like a slender plume.' The leaves are very small and scale-like, with
+sharp points, and grow in four rows on the ends of the branchlets,
+giving them the appearance of large compound leaves. The wood is very
+durable, and is used for many building-purposes. It is generally of a
+faint rose-color, and always keeps its aromatic odor."
+
+[Illustration: IRISH JUNIPER.]
+
+"Is that what our cedar-chests are made of to keep the moths from our
+winter clothes?" asked Clara.
+
+"Yes," replied Miss Harson, "but the name 'cedar' is; not correct,
+though it is one commonly given to this tree. The wood of the European
+cypress is also used for many purposes where strength and durability are
+required, for it really seems never to wear out. This tree is described
+as tapering and cone-like, with upright branches growing close to the
+trunk, and in its general appearance a little resembling a poplar. Its
+frond-like branches are closely covered with very small sharp-pointed
+leaves of a yellow-green color, smooth and shining, and they remain on
+the tree five or six years. The cypress is often seen in burying-grounds
+in Europe, and in Turkey it often stands at each end of a grave. The
+oldest tree in Europe is thought to be an Italian cypress said to have
+been planted in the year of our Saviour's birth; it is an object of
+great reverence in the neighborhood. This ancient tree is a hundred and
+twenty feet high and twenty-three feet around the trunk.
+
+"The juniper--or red cedar, as it is improperly called--is not a
+handsome tree, but it is a very useful one. It has a scraggy, stunted
+look, and the foliage is apt to be rusty; but it will grow in rocky,
+sandy places where no other tree would even try to hold up its head, and
+the wood, when made into timber, lasts for a great many years. Posts for
+fences are made of the juniper or red cedar, and the shipbuilder,
+boatbuilder, carpenter, cabinet-maker and turner are all steady
+customers for it. The 'cedar-apples' found on this tree are one phase
+of the life of a very curious fungus. They are covered with a
+reddish-brown bark; and when fresh, they are tough and fleshy, somewhat
+like an unripe apple. When dry they become of a woody nature."
+
+"They pucker up your mouth awfully," said Malcolm, who had made several
+attempts to eat them; but, do what he would, he could not even "make
+believe" they were nice.
+
+"I have no doubt of it," was the reply, "remembering the dreadful faces
+I have seen on some of our rambles. But the birds like them, as they do
+everything of the kind that is not poisonous."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Isn't it beautiful?" exclaimed the children, in delight. They were
+admiring a magnificent cedar of Lebanon in one of the pictures which
+Miss Harson had collected for their benefit, and it seemed no wonder
+that the grand spreading tree should be called "the glory of Lebanon."
+
+"It is indeed beautiful," replied their governess; "and think of seeing
+a whole mountain covered with such trees! A traveler speaks of them as
+the most solemnly impressive trees in the world, and says that their
+massive trunks, clothed with a scaly texture almost like the skin of
+living animals and contorted with all the irregularities of age, may
+well have suggested those ideas of royal, almost divine, strength and
+solidity which the sacred writers ascribe to them.--Turn to the
+ninety-second psalm, Clara, and read the twelfth verse."
+
+"'The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree; he shall grow like a
+cedar in Lebanon.'"
+
+"In the thirty-first chapter of Ezekiel," continued Miss Harson, "it is
+written, 'Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair
+branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his
+top was among the thick boughs. The waters made him great, the deep set
+him up on high with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent
+out her little rivers unto all the trees of the field. Therefore his
+height was exalted above all the trees of the field and his boughs were
+multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of
+waters, when he shot forth. All the fowls of heaven made their nests in
+his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring
+forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations.'"
+
+[Illustration: CEDAR OF LEBANON.]
+
+"Are the leaves like those of our cedar trees?" asked Malcolm, who was
+studying the picture quite intently. "The tree doesn't look like 'em."
+
+"They are somewhat like them," replied his governess, "being slender and
+straight and about an inch long. They grow in tufts, and in the centre
+of some of the tufts there is a small cone which is very pretty and
+often brought to this country by travelers for their friends at home. In
+_The Land and the Book_ there is a picture of small branches with cones,
+and the author says of the cedar: 'There is a striking peculiarity in
+the shape of this tree which I have not seen any notice of in books of
+travel. The branches are thrown out horizontally from the parent trunk.
+These again part into limbs, which preserve the same horizontal
+direction, and so on down to the minutest twigs; and even the
+arrangement of the clustered leaves has the same general tendency. Climb
+into one, and you are delighted with a succession of verdant floors
+spread around the trunk and gradually narrowing as you ascend. The
+beautiful cones seem to stand upon or rise out of this green flooring.'
+The same writer says that by examining the different growths of wood
+inside the trunk of one of the trees these ancient cedars of Lebanon
+have been proved to be three thousand five hundred years old."
+
+"Oh, Miss Harson!" exclaimed her audience; "could any tree be as old as
+that?"
+
+"It is possible. The circle of growing wood which is made each year is a
+pretty good method of telling the age of a tree, and these cedars of
+Lebanon are considered the oldest trees in the world. Travelers have
+always spoken of the beauty and symmetry of these trees, with their
+widespreading branches and cone-like tops. All through the Middle Ages a
+visit to the cedars of Lebanon was regarded by many persons in the light
+of a pilgrimage. Some of the trees were thought to have been planted by
+King Solomon himself, and were looked upon as sacred relics. Indeed, the
+visitors took away so many pieces from the bark that it was feared the
+trees would be destroyed. The cedars stand in a valley a considerable
+way up the mountain, where the snow renders it inaccessible for part of
+the year."
+
+"Are the trees just in one particular place, then?" asked Malcolm. "I
+thought they grew all over that country?"
+
+"The principal and best-known grove of very large and ancient cedars of
+Lebanon is found in one place," replied his governess, "but there are
+other groves now known to exist. The famous grove was fast disappearing,
+until there were but few of them left. The pilgrims who went to visit
+them in such numbers in olden times were accompanied by monks from a
+monastery about four miles below, who would beseech them not to injure a
+single leaf. But the greatest care could not preserve the trees. Some of
+them have been struck down by lightning, some broken by enormous loads
+of snow, and others torn to fragments by tempests. Some have even been
+cut down with axes like any common tree. But better care is now taken of
+them; so that we may hope that the grove will live and increase."
+
+"But why weren't they saved," asked Clara, "when people thought so much
+of them?"
+
+"It seems to be a part of the general desolation of the land of God's
+chosen but rebellious people. In the third chapter of the prophet
+Isaiah, verses eleven and twelve, it is said, 'For the day of the Lord
+of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every
+one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low; and upon all the
+cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of
+Bashan.' The same prophet says, in the tenth chapter and nineteenth
+verse, 'And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a
+child may write them.' These words have been particularly applied to the
+stately cedars of Lebanon, for 'the once magnificent grove is but a
+speck on the mountain-side. Many persons have taken it in the distance
+for a wood of fir trees, but on approaching nearer and taking a closer
+view the cedars resume somewhat of their ancient majesty. The space they
+cover is not more than half a mile, but, once amidst them, the beautiful
+fan-like branches overhead, the exquisite green of the younger trees and
+the colossal size of the older ones fill the mind with interest and
+admiration. Within the grove all is hushed as in a land of the past.
+Where once the Tyrian workman plied his axe and the sound of many
+voices came upon the ear, there are now the silence and solitude of
+desertion and decay.'--Malcolm," added his governess, "you may read us
+what is written in the sixth verse of the fourteenth chapter of Hosea."
+
+"'His branches,'" read Malcolm, "'shall spread, and his beauty shall be
+as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.' What does that mean,
+Miss Harson?"
+
+"It means the fragrant resin which exudes from both the trunk and the
+cones of the beautiful cedar. It is soft, and its fragrance is like that
+of the balsam of Mecca. 'Everything about this tree has a strong
+balsamic odor, and hence the whole grove is so pleasant and fragrant
+that it is delightful to walk in it. The wood is peculiarly adapted for
+building, because it is not subject to decay, nor is it eaten of worms.
+It was much used for rafters and for boards with which to cover houses
+and form the floors and ceilings of rooms. It was of a red color,
+beautiful, solid and free from knots. The palace of Persepolis, the
+temple of Jerusalem and Solomon's palace were all in this way built with
+cedar, and the house of the forest of Lebanon was perhaps so called from
+the quantity of this wood used in its construction.' We are told in
+First Kings that Solomon 'built also the house of the forest of
+Lebanon[24],' and that 'he made three hundred shields of beaten gold'
+and 'put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon[25].' All the
+drinking-vessels, too, of this wonderful palace, which is always spoken
+of as 'the house of the forest of Lebanon,' were of pure gold, and its
+magnificence shows how highly the beautiful cedar-wood was valued."
+
+[24] I Kings vii. 2.
+
+[25] I Kings x. 17.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+_THE PALMS_.
+
+"There is a wonderful evergreen," said Miss Harson, "which grows in
+tropical countries, and also in some sub-tropical countries, such as the
+Holy Land, and is said to have nearly as many uses as there are days in
+a year. You must tell me what it is when you have seen the picture."
+
+[Illustration: PALM TREE.]
+
+Malcolm and Clara both pronounced it a palm tree, and Clara asked if
+there were any such trees growing in this country.
+
+"Some of its relations are found on our Southern seacoast," replied
+their governess; "South Carolina, you know, is called 'the Palmetto
+State.' There is a member of the family called the cabbage-palmetto,
+the unexpanded leaves of which are used as a table vegetable, which you
+may see in Florida. Its young leaves are all in a mass at the top, and
+when boiled make a dish something like cabbage. The leaves of the
+palmetto are also used, when perfect, in the manufacture of hats,
+baskets and mats, and for many other purposes. But its stately and
+majestic cousin, the date-palm of the East, with its tall, slender stalk
+and magnificent crown of feathery leaves, has had its praises sung in
+every age and clime. 'Besides its great importance as a fruit-producer,
+it has a special beauty of its own when the clusters of dates are
+hanging in golden ripeness under its coronal of dark-green leaves. Its
+well-known fruit affords sustenance to the dwellers on the borders of
+the great African desert; it is as necessary to them as is the camel,
+and in many cases they may be said to owe their existence to it alone.
+The tree rears its column-like stem to the height of ninety feet, and
+its crown consists of fifty leaves about twelve feet in length and
+fringed at the edges like a feather. Between the leaf and the stem there
+issue several horny spathes, or sheaths, out of which spring clusters of
+panicles that bear small white flowers,' These flowers are followed by
+the dates, which grow in a dense bunch that hangs down several feet."
+
+"But how do people manage to climb such a tree as that," asked Malcolm,
+"to get the dates? It goes straight up in the air without any branches,
+and looks as if it would snap in two if any one tried it."
+
+"It does not snap, though, for it is very strong; and the climbing is
+easier than you imagine, even when the tree is a hundred feet high, as
+it sometimes is. The trunk, you see, is full of rugged knots. These
+projections are the remains of decayed leaves which have dropped off
+when their work was done. As the older leaves decay the stalk advances
+in height. It has not true wood, like most trees, but the stem has
+bundles of fibres that are closely pressed together on the outer part.
+Toward the root these are so entwined that they become as hard as iron
+and are very difficult to cut. The tree grows very slowly, but it lives
+for centuries. I have a Persian fable in rhyme for you, called
+
+     "'THE GOURD AND THE PALM.
+
+     "'"How old art thou?" said the garrulous gourd
+     As o'er the palm tree's crest it poured
+     Its spreading leaves and tendrils fine,
+     And hung a-bloom in the morning shine.
+     "A hundred years," the palm tree sighed.--
+     "And I," the saucy gourd replied,
+     "Am at the most a hundred hours,
+     And overtop thee in the bowers."
+
+     "'Through all the palm tree's leaves there went
+     A tremor as of self-content.
+     "I live my life," it whispering said,
+     "See what I see, and count the dead;
+     And every year of all I've known
+     A gourd above my head has grown
+     And made a boast like thine to-day,
+     Yet here I stand; but where are they?"'"
+
+The children were very much pleased with the fable, and they began to
+feel quite an affection for the venerable and useful palm tree.
+
+"The date tree," continued their governess, "as this species of palm is
+often called, blossoms in April, and the fruit ripens in October. Each
+tree produces from ten to twelve bunches, and the usual weight of a
+bunch is about fifteen pounds. It is esteemed a crime to fell a date
+tree or to supply an axe intended for that purpose, even though the tree
+may belong to an enemy. The date-harvest is expected with as much
+anxiety by the Arab in the oasis as the gathering in of the wheat and
+corn in temperate regions. If it were to fail, the Arabs would be in
+danger of famine. The blessings of the date-palm are without limit to
+the Arab. Its leaves give a refreshing shade in a region where the beams
+of the sun are almost insupportable; men, and also camels, feed upon the
+fruit; the wood of the tree is used for fuel and for building the native
+huts; and ropes, mats, baskets, beds, and all kinds of articles, are
+manufactured from the fibres of the leaves. The Arab cannot imagine how
+a nation can exist without date-palms, and he may well regard it as the
+greatest injury that he can inflict upon his enemy to cut down
+his trees."
+
+"Miss Harson," asked Edith, very earnestly, "isn't the palm tree in the
+Bible?"
+
+[Illustration: DATE-PALM AT JERICHO.]
+
+"It certainly is, dear," replied her governess, "and it is one of the
+trees most frequently mentioned. In Deuteronomy, thirty-fourth chapter,
+third verse, Jericho is called the 'city of palm trees.' Travelers still
+speak of these trees as yet growing in Palestine, but they are not
+nearly so abundant as they once were; near Jericho only one or two can
+be found. There are many allusions to the palm in the Scriptures. King
+David, in the ninety-second psalm, says that the righteous shall
+flourish like the palm tree: 'Those that be planted in the house of the
+Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall bring forth
+fruit in old age.' The palm is always upright, in spite of rain or wind.
+'There it stands, looking calmly down upon the world below, and
+patiently yielding its large clusters of golden fruit from generation to
+generation. It brings forth fruit in old age.' The allusion to being
+planted in the house of the Lord is probably drawn from the custom of
+planting beautiful and long-lived trees in the courts of temples and
+palaces. Solomon covered all the walls of the holy of holies round
+about with golden palm trees.--You will find this, Clara, in
+First Kings."
+
+Clara read:
+
+"'And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved
+figures of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, within and
+without[26].'"
+
+[26] I Kings vi. 29.
+
+"In the thirty-second verse," continued Miss Harson, "it is written that
+he overlaid them with gold, 'and spread gold upon the cherubim, and upon
+the palm trees.' 'They were thus planted, as it were, within the very
+house of the Lord; and their presence there was not only ornamental, but
+appropriate and highly suggestive--the very best emblem not only of
+patience in well-doing, but of the rewards of the righteous, a fat and
+flourishing old age, a peaceful end, a glorious immortality.'"
+
+"What does a 'palmer' mean, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm. "Is it a man
+who has palm trees or who sells dates? I saw the word in a book I was
+reading, but I couldn't understand what it meant."
+
+"In olden times," replied his governess, "when people made so many
+pilgrimages, some of the pilgrims went to the Holy Land and some to Rome
+and other places; but those who went to Palestine were thought to be the
+most devout, both because it was so much farther off and because there
+were so many sacred spots to visit there. These pilgrims always brought
+home with them branches of palm, to show that they had really been to
+the land where the tree grew; and so they were called _palmers_. To say
+that such-a-one was a palmer was far more than to say that he was
+a pilgrim."
+
+"Miss Harson," said Clara, holding up one of the books, "here is a
+picture called 'the cocoanut-palm,' but I didn't know that cocoanuts
+grew on palm trees. Will you tell us something about it?"
+
+[Illustration: COCOANUT-PALM TREES IN SOUTH-EASTERN AFRICA.]
+
+"Certainly I will, dear," was the reply. "I fully intended to do so, for
+the cocoanut-palm is too valuable a member of the family to be passed
+over. This species does not grow in Palestine, and it is not one of the
+trees of the Bible; its home is in the warmest countries, and it grows
+most luxuriantly in the islands of the tropics or near the seacoast on
+the main-lands. Although its general form is similar to that of the
+date-palm, the foliage and fruit are quite different. The leaves are
+very much broader, and they have not the light, airy look of the foliage
+of the date-palm. But 'the cocoanut-palm is the most valuable of
+Nature's gifts to the inhabitants of those parts of the tropics where it
+grows, and its hundred uses, as they are not inaptly called, extend
+beyond the tropics over the civilized world. The beautiful islands of
+the southern seas are fringed with cocoanut-palms that encircle them as
+with a green and feathery belt. The ripe nuts drop into the sea, but,
+protected by their husks, they float away until the tide washes them on
+to the shore of some neighboring island, where they can take root
+and grow.'"
+
+"Wouldn't it be nice," said Edith, "if some would float here?"
+
+"A great many cocoanuts float here in ships," replied Miss Harson, "but
+they would not take root and grow, because the climate is not suited to
+them; it is too cold for them. We cannot have tropical fruit without
+tropical heat, and I am sure that none of us would want such a change as
+that. You may sometimes see small cocoanut trees in hothouses or
+horticultural gardens, where they are shielded from our cold air. The
+island of Ceylon, in the East Indies, is full of cocoanut-palm trees,
+for they are carefully cultivated by the inhabitants, and the feathery
+groves stretch mile after mile. The tree shoots up a column-like stem to
+the height of a hundred feet, and is crowned with a tuft of broad leaves
+about twelve feet long. The flowers are yellowish white and grow in
+clusters, and the seed ripens into a hard nut which in its fibrous husk
+is about the size of an infant's head."
+
+"I've seen the nut in its husk," said Malcolm, "when papa took me down
+to the wharf where the ships come in. There were lots of cocoanuts, and
+some of 'em had their coats on."
+
+"This brown husk," continued his governess, "is a valuable part of the
+nut, for the toughest ropes and cables are made of its fibres, as well
+as the useful brown matting so generally used to cover offices and
+passages. Brushes, nets and other domestic articles are also
+manufactured from the husk. Scarcely any other tree in the world is so
+useful to man or contributes so much to his comfort as the
+cocoanut-palm. Food and drink are alike obtained from it. The kernel of
+the nut is an article of diet, and can be prepared in many ways. The
+native is almost sustained by it, and in Ceylon it forms a part of
+nearly every dish. The spathe that encloses the yet-unopened flowers is
+made to yield a favorite beverage called palm-wine, or, more familiarly,
+'toddy.' When the fresh juice is used, it is an innocent and refreshing
+drink; but when left to ferment, it intoxicates, and is the one evil
+result from the bountiful gifts of the tree. Oil is prepared in great
+quantities from the nuts and used for various purposes."
+
+"Are there any more kinds of palm trees?" asked the children.
+
+"Yes," was the reply; "there are a great many members of this most
+useful family, but the one that will interest you most, after the
+date-and cocoanut-palm, is, I think, the sago-palm."
+
+[Illustration: YOUNG COCOANUT TREE IN POT (_Cocos nucifera_).]
+
+"Why, Miss Harson!" exclaimed Clara, in surprise; "does sago really grow
+on a tree?"
+
+"It really grows _in_ a tree--for it is a kind of starch secreted by the
+tree for the use of its flowers and fruit--and in order to obtain it the
+tree has to be cut down. The pith is then taken out and cut in slices,
+soaked in water and roasted; and when it assumes the shape of the small
+globules in which we see it, it is ready for exportation."
+
+"Well!" said Malcolm; "I never knew _that_ before. We've learned ever so
+many things, Miss Harson."
+
+"There is one thing about the palm," said Miss Harson, "which I have
+purposely left for the last--especially as it is the last also of our
+trees for the present--and that is the sacred associations which its
+branches have for both Jews and Christians. The Jews were commanded on
+the first day of the feast of tabernacles to 'take the boughs of goodly
+trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and
+willows of the brook, to rejoice before the Lord their God.' The palm
+was a symbol of victory, and branches of it were strewn in the path of
+conquerors, more especially of those who had fought for religious truth.
+It is the emblem of the martyr, as a conqueror through Christ. The
+Sunday before Easter is called Palm Sunday because in the ancient
+churches leaves of palm were carried that day by worshipers in memory of
+those strewn in the way on the triumphal entry of the King of Zion into
+Jerusalem. You will find it, Malcolm, in John."
+
+Malcolm read very reverently:
+
+"'On the next day, much people that were come to the feast, when they
+heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees,
+and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna; Blessed is the King of
+Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord[27].'"
+
+[27] John xii. 12, 13.
+
+"Here," said Miss Harson, "is a little hymn written on these very
+verses:
+
+     "'See a small procession slowly
+       Toward the temple wind its way;
+     In the midst rides, meek and lowly,
+       One whom angel-hosts obey.
+
+     "'How the shouting crowd adore him,
+       Now, for once, they know their King;
+     Some their garments cast before him,
+       Green palm-branches others bring.
+
+     "'Calmly, yet with holy sorrow,
+       Christ permits the sacrifice.
+     Knowing well that on the morrow
+       Changed will be those fickle cries.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+     "'Children, when in prayers and praises
+       Loudly we with lips adore,
+     While the heart no anthem raises,
+       Are not we like those of yore?
+
+     "'O Lord Jesus, let us never
+       Lift the voice in heartless songs;
+     Help us to remember ever
+       All that to thy name belongs.'"
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AMONG THE TREES AT ELMRIDGE***
+
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+<html>
+<head>
+<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
+<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Among the Trees at Elmridge, by Ella Rodman Church</title>
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+<body>
+<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, Among the Trees at Elmridge, by Ella Rodman
+Church</h1>
+<pre>
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at <a href = "https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>
+
+Title: Among the Trees at Elmridge
+
+Author: Ella Rodman Church
+
+Release Date: March 26, 2004  [eBook #11723]
+[HTML version only corrected January 5, 2009]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: iso-8859-1
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AMONG THE TREES AT ELMRIDGE***
+</pre>
+<br>
+<br>
+<center><h3>E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Charlie Kirschner,<br>
+            and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team</h3></center>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr class="full" noshade>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h1>AMONG THE TREES</h1>
+<h3>AT</h3>
+<h2>ELMRIDGE</h2>
+<h4>BY</h4>
+<h3>ELLA RODMAN CHURCH</h3>
+<h4>1886</h4>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2>CONTENTS.</h2>
+<center><a href="#CHAPTER_I.">CHAPTER I.<br>
+A SPRING OPENING.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_II.">CHAPTER II.<br>
+THE MAPLES.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_III.">CHAPTER III.<br>
+OLD ACQUAINTANCES: THE ELMS.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_IV.">CHAPTER IV.<br>
+MAJESTY AND STRENGTH: THE OAK.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_V.">CHAPTER V.<br>
+BEAUTY AND GRACE: THE ASH.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_VI.">CHAPTER VI.<br>
+THE OLIVE TREE.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_VII.">CHAPTER VII.<br>
+THE USEFUL BIRCH.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_VIII.">CHAPTER VIII.<br>
+THE POPLARS.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_IX.">CHAPTER IX.<br>
+ALL A-BLOW: THE APPLE TREE.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_X.">CHAPTER X.<br>
+A FRUITFUL FAMILY: THE PEACH, ALMOND, PLUM AND CHERRY.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XI.">CHAPTER XI.<br>
+THE CHERRY-STORY.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XII.">CHAPTER XII.<br>
+THE MULBERRY FAMILY.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XIII.">CHAPTER XIII.<br>
+QUEER RELATIONS: THE CAOUTCHOUC AND THE MILK TREE.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XIV.">CHAPTER XIV.<br>
+HOME AND ABROAD: LINDEN, CAMPHOR, BEECH.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XV.">CHAPTER XV.<br>
+THE TENT AND THE LOCUSTS.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XVI.">CHAPTER XVI.<br>
+THE WALNUT FAMILY AND THE AILANTHUS.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XVII.">CHAPTER XVII.<br>
+SOME BEAUTIFUL TREES: THE CHESTNUT AND HORSE-CHESTNUT.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII.">CHAPTER XVIII.<br>
+AMONG THE PINES.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XIX.">CHAPTER XIX.<br>
+GIANT AND NUT PINES.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XX.">CHAPTER XX.<br>
+MORE WINTER TREES: THE FIRS AND THE SPRUCES.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XXI.">CHAPTER XXI.<br>
+THE CEDARS.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XXII.">CHAPTER XXII.<br>
+THE PALMS.</a><br>
+<br></center>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/005.png" width="50%" alt=
+""><br></p>
+<h2>AMONG THE TREES AT ELMRIDGE.</h2>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I." id="CHAPTER_I."></a>CHAPTER I.</h2>
+<br>
+<h3><i>A SPRING OPENING.</i></h3>
+<p>On that bright spring afternoon when three happy, interested
+children went off to the woods with their governess to take their
+first lesson in the study of wild flowers, they saw also some other
+things which made a fresh series of "Elmridge Talks," and these
+things were found among the trees of the roadside and forest.</p>
+<p>"What makes it look so <i>yellow</i> over there, Miss Harson?"
+asked Clara, who was peering curiously at a clump of trees that
+seemed to have been touched with gold or sunlight. "And just look
+over here," she continued, "at these pink ones!"</p>
+<p>Malcolm shouted at the idea:</p>
+<p>"Yellow and pink trees! That sounds like a Japanese fan. Where
+are they, I should like to know?"</p>
+<p>"Here, you perverse boy!" said his governess as she laughingly
+turned him around. "Are you looking up into the sky for them? There
+is a clump of golden willows right before you, with some rosy
+maples on one side. What other colors can you call them?"</p>
+<p>Malcolm had to confess that "yellow and pink trees" were not so
+wide of the mark, after all, and that they were very pretty. Little
+Edith was particularly delighted with them, and wanted to "pick the
+flowers" immediately.</p>
+<p class="right"><img src="Images/007.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>MALE CATKIN OF WILLOW</b></p>
+<p>"They are too high for that, dear," was the reply, "and these
+blossoms--for that is what they really are, although nothing more
+than fringes and catkins--are much prettier massed on the trees
+than they would be if gathered. The still-bare twigs and branches
+seem, as you see, to be draped with golden and rose-colored veils,
+but there will be no leaves until these queer flowers have dropped.
+If we look closely at the twigs and branches, we shall see that
+they are glossy and polished, as though they had been varnished and
+then brightened with color by the painter's brush. It is the
+flowing of the sap that does this. The swelling of the bark
+occasioned by the flow of sap gives the whole mass a livelier hue;
+hence the ashen green of the poplar, the golden green of the willow
+and the dark crimson of the peach tree, the wild rose and the red
+osier are perceptibly heightened by the first warm days of
+spring."</p>
+<p>"Miss Harson," asked Clara, with a perplexed face, "what are
+catkins?"</p>
+<p>"Here," said her governess, reaching from the top bar of the
+road-fence for the lowest branch of a willow tree; "examine this
+catkin for yourself, and I will tell you what my <i>Botany</i> says
+of it: 'An ament, or catkin, is an assemblage of flowers composed
+of scales and stamens or pistils arranged along a common
+thread-like receptacle, as in the chestnut and willow. It is a kind
+of calyx, by some classed as a mode of inflorescence (or
+flowering), and each chaffy scale protects one or more of the
+stamens or pistils, the whole forming one aggregate flower. The
+ament is common to forest-trees, as the oak and chestnut, and is
+also found upon the willow and poplar.'"</p>
+<p>"It's funny-looking," said Malcolm, when he had made himself
+thoroughly acquainted with the appearance of the catkin, "but it
+doesn't look much like a flower: it looks more like a pussy's
+tail."</p>
+<p>"Yes, and that is the origin of its name. 'Catkin' is diminutive
+for 'cat;' so this collection of flowers is called 'catkin,' or
+'little cat.'"</p>
+<p>"I think I'll call them 'pussy-tails,'" said Edith.</p>
+<p>"There is a great deal to be learned about trees," said Miss
+Harson, when all were comfortably seated in the pleasant
+schoolroom; "and, besides the natural history of their species,
+some old trees have wonderful stories connected with them, while
+many in tropical countries are so wonderful in themselves that they
+do not need stories to make them interesting. The common trees
+around us will be our subjects at first; for I suppose that you can
+scarcely tell a willow from a poplar, or a chestnut tree from
+either, can you?"</p>
+<p>"I can tell a chestnut tree," said Malcolm, confidently.</p>
+<p>"When it is not the season for nuts?" asked his governess,
+smiling.</p>
+<p>There was not a very positive reply to this; and Miss Harson
+continued:</p>
+<p>"I do not think that any of us know as much as we ought to know
+of the trees which we see every day, and of the uses to which many
+of them are put, to say nothing of many familiar trees that we read
+about, and even depend upon for some of the necessaries of
+life."</p>
+<p>"Like the cocoanut tree," suggested Clara.</p>
+<p>"That is not exactly necessary to our comfort, dear," was the
+reply, "for people can manage to live without cocoanuts, although
+in many forms they are very agreeable to the taste, and it is only
+the inhabitants of the countries where they grow who look upon
+these trees as necessaries; but we will take them up in their turn.
+And first let us find out what we can about the willow, because it
+is the first tree, with us, to become green in the spring, and, of
+that large class which is called <i>deciduous</i>, the last one to
+lose its leaves."</p>
+<p>"And why are they called <i>deciduous?</i>" asked Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"Because they shed their leaves every autumn and are furnished
+with a new set in the spring: 'deciduous' is Latin for 'falling
+off.' And this is the case with nearly all our native trees and
+plants. <i>Persistent</i>, or permanent, leaves remain on the stem
+and branches all through the changes of season, like the leaves of
+the pine and box, while <i>evergreens</i> look fresh through the
+entire year and are generally cone-bearing and resinous trees.
+'These change their leaves annually, but, the young leaves
+appearing before the old ones decay, the tree is always
+green.'"</p>
+<p>"Miss Harson," said Clara, "when people talk about
+<i>weeping</i> willows, what do they mean? Do the trees really cry?
+I sometimes read about 'em in stories, and I never knew what they
+did."</p>
+<p>"They cry dreadfully," said Malcolm, "when it rains."</p>
+<p>"But only as you do when you are out in it," replied his
+governess--"by having the water drip from your clothes.--No, Clara,
+the tree is called 'weeping' because it seems to 'assume the
+attitude of a person in tears, who bends over and appears to
+droop.' The sprays of this tree are particularly beautiful, and
+'willowy' is often used for 'graceful,' as meaning the same thing.
+Its language is 'sorrow,' and it is often seen in burial-grounds
+and in mourning-pictures. 'We remember it in sacred history,
+associating it with the rivers of Babylon, and with the tears of
+the children of Israel, who sat down under the shade of this tree
+and hung their harps upon its branches. It is distinguished by the
+graceful beauty of its outlines, its light-green, delicate foliage,
+its sorrowing attitude and its flowing drapery.'"</p>
+<p>"Were those weeping willows that we saw to-day?" asked
+Clara.</p>
+<p>"No," replied her brother, quickly; "they just stuck up straight
+and didn't weep a bit."</p>
+<p>"They are called <i>water</i> willows," said Miss Harson,
+"because they are never found in dry places. They are more common
+than the weeping willow. The water willow has the same delicate
+foliage and the same habit, under an April sky, of gleaming with a
+drapery of golden verdure among the still-naked trees of the forest
+or orchard. 'When Spring has closed her delicate flowers,' says a
+bright writer, 'and the multitudes that crowd around the footsteps
+of May have yielded their places to the brighter host of June, the
+willow scatters the golden aments that adorned it, and appears in
+the deeper garniture of its own green foliage.' A group of these
+golden willows, seen in a rainstorm, will have so bright an
+appearance as to make it seem as if the sun were actually
+shining."</p>
+<p class="ctr"><a href="Images/013.png"><img src="Images/013.png"
+width="40%" alt=""></a><br>
+<b>THE WHITE WILLOW (<i>Salix alba</i>)</b></p>
+<p>"I wish we had them all around here, then," said Edith; "I like
+to see the sun shining when it rains."</p>
+<p>"But the sun is <i>not</i> shining, dear," replied her
+governess: "it is only the reflection from the willows that makes
+it look so; and we can make just such sunshine ourselves when it
+rains, or when there is dullness of any sort, by being all the more
+cheerful and striving to make others happy. Who loves to be called
+'Little Sunshine'?"</p>
+<p>"I do," said the child, caressing the hand that had patted her
+rosy cheek.</p>
+<p>"Let's all be golden willows," said Malcolm, in a comical way
+that made them laugh.</p>
+<p>Miss Harson told him that he could not make a better attempt
+than to be one of those home-brighteners who bring the sunshine
+with them, but she added that such people are always considerate
+for others. Malcolm wondered a little if this meant that <i>he</i>
+was not, but he soon forgot it in hearing the many things that were
+to be said of the willow.</p>
+<p>"The family-name of this tree is <i>Salix</i>, from a word that
+means 'to spring,' because a willow-branch, if planted, will take
+root and grow so quickly that it seems almost like magic. 'And they
+shall <i>spring up</i> as among the grass, as willows by the
+watercourses,' says the prophet Isaiah, speaking of the children of
+the people of God. The flowers of the willow are of two kinds--one
+bearing stamens, and the other pistils--and each grows upon a
+separate plant. When the ovary, at the base of the pistil, is ripe,
+it opens by two valves and lets out, as through a door, multitudes
+of small seeds covered with a fine down, like the seeds of the
+cotton-plant. This downy substance is greedily sought after by the
+birds as a lining for their nests, and they may be seen carrying it
+away in their bills. And in some parts of Germany people take the
+trouble to collect it and use it as a wadding to their winter
+dresses, and even manufacture it into a coarse kind of paper."</p>
+<p>"What queer people!" exclaimed Clara. "And how funny they must
+look in their wadded dresses!"</p>
+<p>"They are not graceful people," was the reply, "but they live in
+a cold climate and show their good sense by dressing as warmly as
+possible. It was quite a surprise, though, to me to find that the
+willow was of use in clothing people. The more we learn of the
+works of God, the better we shall understand that last verse of the
+first chapter of the Bible: 'And God saw everything that he had
+made, and behold, it was very good.' The bees, too, are attracted
+by the willow catkins, but they do not want the down. On mild days
+whole swarms of them may be seen reveling in the sweets of the
+fresh blossoms. 'Cold days will come long after the willow catkins
+appear, and the bees will find but few flowers venturesome enough
+to open their petals. They have, however, thoroughly enjoyed their
+feast, and the short season of plenty will often be the means of
+saving a hive from famine.'"</p>
+<p>"Are willow baskets made of willow trees?" asked Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"Yes," said Miss Harson. "Basket-making has been a great
+industry in England from the earliest times; the ancient Britons
+were particularly skillful in weaving the supple wands of the
+willow. They even made of these slender stems little boats called
+'coracles,' in which they could paddle down the small rivers, and
+the boats could be carried on their shoulders when they were
+walking on dry land."</p>
+<p>"Just like our Indians' birch-bark canoes," said Malcolm, who
+was reading about the North American Indians. "But isn't it
+strange, Miss Harson, that the Indians and the Britons didn't get
+drowned going out in such little light boats?"</p>
+<p>"Their very lightness buoyed them up upon the waves," was the
+reply; "but it does seem wonderful that they could bear the weight
+of men. The willow, however, was also used by the Romans in making
+their battle-shields, and even for the manufacture of ropes as well
+as baskets. The rims of cart-wheels, too, used to be made of
+willow, as now they are hooped with iron; so, you see, it is a
+strong wood as well as a pliant one. The kind used for
+basket-making is the <i>Salix viminalis</i>, and the rods of this
+species are called 'osiers.' Let us see now what this English book
+says of the process of basket-making:</p>
+<p>"'The quick and vigorous growth of the willow renders it easy to
+provide materials for this branch of industry. Osier-beds are
+planted in every suitable place, and here the willow-cutter comes
+as to an ample store. Autumn is the season for him to ply his
+trade, and he cuts the willow rods down and ties them in bundles.
+He then sets them up on end in standing water to the depth of a few
+inches. Here they remain during the winter, until the shoots, in
+the following spring, begin to sprout, when they are in a fit state
+to be peeled. A machine is used in some places to compress the
+greatest number of rods into a bundle.</p>
+<p class="ctr"><a href="Images/019.png"><img src="Images/019.png"
+width="40%" alt=""></a><br>
+<b>THE POLLARD WILLOW IN WINTER.</b></p>
+<p>"'Aged or infirm people and women and children can earn money by
+peeling willows at so much per bundle. The operation is very
+simple, and so is the necessary apparatus. Sometimes a wooden bench
+with holes in it is used, the willow-twigs being drawn through the
+holes. Another way is to draw the rod through two pieces of iron
+joined together, and with one end thrust into the ground to make it
+stand upright. The willow-peeler sits down before his instrument
+and merely thrusts the rod between the two pieces of iron and draws
+it out again. This proceeding scrapes the bark off one end, and
+then he turns it and fits it in the other way; so that by a simple
+process the whole rod is peeled. When the rods are quite prepared,
+they are again tied up in bundles and sold to the
+basket-makers.'"</p>
+<p>"But how do they make the baskets?" asked Clara and Edith. "That
+is the nicest part."</p>
+<p>"There is little to tell about it, though," said their
+governess, "because it is such easy work that any one can learn to
+do it. You saw the Indian women making baskets when papa took us to
+Maine last summer, and you noticed how very quickly they did it,
+beginning with the flat bottom and working rapidly up. It is a
+favorite occupation for the blind, and one of the things which are
+taught them in asylums."</p>
+<p>"I wonder," said Malcolm, "if there is anything else that can be
+done with the willow?"</p>
+<p>"Oh yes," replied Miss Harson; "we have not yet come to the end
+of its resources. It makes the best quality of charcoal, and in
+many parts of England the tree is raised for this express purpose.
+'The abode of the charcoal-burner,' says an English writer, 'may be
+known from a distance by the cloud of smoke that hovers over it,
+and that must make it rather unhealthy. It is sometimes a small
+dome-shaped hut made of green turf, and, except for the difference
+of the material, might remind us of the hut of the Esquimaux.
+Beside it stands a caravan like those which make their appearance
+at fairs, and that contains the family goods and chattels. A string
+of clothes hung out to dry, a water-tub and a rough, shaggy dog
+usually complete the picture.'"</p>
+<p>"But how can people live in the hut," asked Malcolm, "if the
+charcoal is burned in it? Ugh! I should think they'd choke."</p>
+<p>"They certainly would," said his governess; "for the
+charcoal-smoke is death when inhaled for any length of time. But
+the charcoal-burner knows this quite as well as does any one else,
+and he makes his fire outside of the house, puts a rude fence
+around it and lets it smoke away like a huge pipe. The hut is more
+or less enveloped in smoke, but this is not so bad as letting it
+rise from the inside would be. A great deal of willow charcoal is
+made in Germany and other parts of Europe."</p>
+<p>"But, Miss Harson," said Clara, in a puzzled tone, "I don't see
+what they do with it all. It doesn't take much to clean people's
+teeth."</p>
+<p>"No, dear," was the smiling reply, "and I am afraid that the
+people who make it are rather careless about their teeth.--You need
+not laugh, Malcolm, because it is 'just like a girl,' for it is
+quite as much like a boy not to know things which he has never been
+taught, and you must remember that you have two years the start of
+your sister in getting acquainted with the world. Perhaps you will
+kindly tell us of some of the uses to which charcoal is
+applied?"</p>
+<p>"Well," said the young gentleman, after an awkward silence, "it
+takes lots of it to kindle fires."</p>
+<p>"I do not think that Kitty ever uses it in the kitchen," said
+Miss Harson, "for she is supplied with kindling-wood for that
+purpose. You will have to think of something else."</p>
+<p>But Malcolm could not think, and his governess finally told him
+that a great deal of charcoal is used for making gun-powder, and
+still more for fuel in France and the South of Europe, where a
+brass vessel supplies the place of a grate or stove. Quantities of
+it are consumed in steel-and iron-works, in preserving meat and
+other food, and in many similar ways. The children listened with
+great interest, and Malcolm felt sure that the next time he was
+asked about charcoal he would have a sensible answer.</p>
+<p>"Our insect friends the aphides, or plant-lice, are very fond of
+the willow," continued Miss Harson, "and in hot, dry weather great
+masses of them gather on the leaves and drop a sugary juice, which
+the country-people call 'honey-dew,' and in some remote places,
+where knowledge is limited, it has been thought to come from the
+clouds. But we, who have learned something about these
+aphides<a name="FNanchor1" id="FNanchor1"></a><a href=
+"#Footnote_1">[1]</a>, know that it comes from their little green
+bodies, and that the ants often carry the insects off to their
+nests, where they feed and 'tend them for the sake of this very
+juice. The aphis that infests the willow is the largest of the
+tribe, and the branches and stems of the tree are often blackened
+by the honey-dew that falls upon them."</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_1" id="Footnote_1"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor1">[1]</a> See <i>Flyers and Crawlers</i>, by the author.
+Presbyterian Board of Publication.</blockquote>
+<p>"Do willow trees grow everywhere?" asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"They are certainly found in a great many different places," was
+the reply, "and even in the warmest countries. In one of the
+missionary settlements in Africa there is a solitary willow that
+has a story attached to it. It was the only tree in the
+settlement--think what a place that must have been!--except those
+the missionary had planted in his own garden, and it would never
+have existed but for the laziness of its owner. Nothing would have
+induced any of the natives to take the trouble to plant a tree, and
+therefore the willow had not been planted. But it happened, a
+long-time ago, that a native had fetched a log of wood from a
+distance, to make into a bowl when he should feel in the humor to
+do so. He threw the log into a pool of water, and soon forgot all
+about it. Weeks and months passed, and he never felt in the humor
+to work. But the log of wood set to work of its own accord. It had
+been cut from a willow, and it took root at the bottom of the pool
+and began to grow. In the end it became a handsome and flourishing
+tree."</p>
+<p>This story was approved by the young audience, except that it
+was too short; but their governess laughingly said that, as there
+was nothing more to tell, it could not very well be any longer.</p>
+<p class="ctr"><a href="Images/026.png"><img src="Images/026.png"
+width="40%" alt=""></a><br>
+<b>THE WEEPING WILLOW (<i>Salix Babylonica</i>).</b></p>
+<p>"The weeping willow," continued Miss Harson, "was first planted
+in England in not so lazy a way, but almost as accidentally. Many
+years ago a basket of figs was sent from Turkey to the poet Pope,
+and the basket was made of willow. Willows and their cousins the
+poplars are natives of the East; you remember that the one hundred
+and thirty-seventh psalm says of the captive Jews, 'By the rivers
+of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered
+Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.'
+'The poet valued highly the small slender twigs, as associated with
+so much that was interesting, and he untwisted the basket and
+planted one of the branches in the ground. It had some tiny buds
+upon it, and he hoped he might be able to rear it, as none of this
+species of willow was known in England. Happily, the willow is very
+quick to take root and grow. The little branch soon became a tree,
+and drooped gracefully over the river in the same manner that its
+race had done over the waters of Babylon. From that one branch all
+the weeping willows in England are descended.'"</p>
+<p>"And then they were brought over here," said Malcolm. "But what
+odd leaves they have, Miss Harson!--so narrow and long. They don't
+look like the leaves of other trees."</p>
+<p>"The leaf is somewhat like that of the olive, only that of the
+olive is broader. The willow is a native of Babylon, and the
+weeping willow is called <i>Salix Babylonica</i>. It was considered
+one of the handsomest trees of the East, and is particularly
+mentioned among those which God commanded the Israelites to select
+for branches to bear in their hands at the feast of tabernacles.
+Read the verse, Malcolm--the fortieth of the twenty-third chapter
+of Leviticus."</p>
+<p class="left"><a href="Images/028.png"><img src="Images/028.png"
+width="20%" alt=""></a><br>
+<b>LEAF OF WEEPING WILLOW.</b></p>
+<p>Malcolm read:</p>
+<p>"'And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly
+trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and
+<i>willows of the brook;</i> and ye shall rejoice before the Lord
+your God seven days.'"</p>
+<p>"A place called the 'brook of the willows,'" added his
+governess, "is mentioned in Isaiah xv. 7, and this brook, according
+to travelers in Palestine, flows into the south-eastern extremity
+of the Dead Sea. The willow has always been considered by the poets
+as an emblem of woe and desertion, and this idea probably came from
+the weeping of the captive Jews under the willows of Babylon. The
+branches of the <i>Salix Babylonica</i> often droop so low as to
+touch the ground, and because of this sweeping habit, and of its
+association with watercourses in the Bible, it has been considered
+a very suitable tree to plant beside ponds and fountains in
+ornamental grounds, as well as in cemeteries as an emblem of
+mourning."</p>
+<p>"How much there is to remember about the willow!" said Clara,
+thoughtfully. "I wonder if all the trees will be so
+interesting?"</p>
+<p>"They are not all <i>Bible</i> trees," replied Miss Harson. "But
+the wise king of Israel found them interesting, for he 'spake of
+trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop
+that springeth out of the wall.'"</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II." id="CHAPTER_II."></a>CHAPTER II.</h2>
+<h3><i>THE MAPLES.</i></h3>
+<br>
+<p>"The pink trees next, I suppose," said Malcolm, "since we have
+had the yellow ones?"</p>
+<p>"<i>Real</i> pink trees?" asked Edith, with very wide-open
+eyes.</p>
+<p>"No, dear;" replied her governess; "there are no pink trees,
+except when they are covered with bloom like the peach trees.
+Malcolm only means the maples that we saw in blossom yesterday and
+thought of such a pretty color. There are many varieties of the
+maple, which is always a beautiful and useful tree, but the red, or
+scarlet, maple is the very queen of the family. It is not so large
+as are most of the others; but when a very young tree, its grace
+and beauty are noticeable among its companions. It is often found
+in low, moist places, but it thrives just as well in high, dry
+ground; and it is therefore a most convenient tree. Here is a very
+pretty description, Malcolm, in one of papa's large books, that you
+can read to us."</p>
+<p>Malcolm read remarkably well for a boy of his age, and he always
+enjoyed being called upon in this way.</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/031.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>THE RED MAPLE.</b></p>
+<p>Miss Harson pointed to these lines:</p>
+<p>"Coming forth in the spring, like morning in the east, arrayed
+in crimson and purple; bearing itself, not proudly but gracefully
+in modest green, among the more stately trees in summer; and ere it
+bids adieu to the season stepping forth in robes of gold,
+vermilion, crimson and variegated scarlet,--stands the queen of the
+American forest, the pride of all eyes and the delight of every
+picturesque observer of nature, the red maple."</p>
+<p>"Why, I never saw such a tree as that!" exclaimed Clara, in
+great surprise.</p>
+<p>"Yes, dear," replied her governess; "you have seen it, but you
+never thought of describing it to yourself in just this way. When
+you saw it yesterday, it was coming forth in the spring, like
+morning in the east, arrayed in crimson and purple,' but you just
+called it a pink tree. It is much nearer red, however, than it is
+pink."</p>
+<p>"I've seen all the rest of the colors, too," said Malcolm, "when
+we went out after nuts."</p>
+<p>"That is its autumn dress," said Miss Harson, "although a small
+tree is often seen with no color on it but brilliant red. But first
+we must see what it is like in spring and summer. It is also called
+the scarlet, the white, the soft and the swamp maple, and the
+flowers, as you see from this specimen, are in whorls, or pairs, of
+bright crimson, in crowded bunches on the purple branches. The
+leaves are in three or five lobes, with deep notches between, and
+some of them are very broad, while others are long and narrow. The
+trunk of the red maple is a clear ashy gray, often mottled with
+patches of white lichens; and when the tree is old, the bark cracks
+and can be peeled off in long, narrow strips."</p>
+<p>"Is anything done with the bark?" asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"Yes, it is used, with other substances, for dyeing, and also
+for making ink. The sap, too, can be boiled down to sugar, but it
+is not nearly so rich as that of the proper sugar-maple. The wood,
+which is very light-colored with a tinge of rose in it, is often
+made into common furniture, as it takes a fine polish and is easy
+to work with. It is used, too, for building-purposes. The
+early-summer foliage of the red maple is of a beautiful yellow
+green, and the young leaves are very delicate and airy-looking; but
+the graceful tree is in such a hurry to display her gay autumn
+colors that she will often put on a scarlet or crimson streamer in
+July or August. One brilliantly-colored branch will be seen on a
+green tree, or the leaves of an entire tree will turn red while all
+the other trees around it are clothed in summer greenness."</p>
+<p>"Don't you remember, Miss Harson," said Edith, "the little tree
+that I thought was on fire and how frightened I was?"</p>
+<p>"Yes, dear, I remember it very well--an innocent little red
+maple that <i>would</i> put on its flame-colored dress when it
+should have been all in green, like its sisters; but it was too
+green at heart to be in a blaze. This tree is often used for fuel,
+but it has to be cut down and dried first. The reddening of the
+leaf generally begins at the veins and spreads out from them until
+the whole is tinted. Sometimes it appears in spots, almost like
+drops of blood, on the green surface; but, come as it will, it is
+always beautiful. It is said of the red maple that 'it stands among
+the occupants of the forest like Venus among the planets--the
+brightest in the midst of brightness and the most beautiful in a
+constellation of beauty,'"</p>
+<p class="right"><img src="Images/035.png" width="50%" alt=""><br>
+<b>THE SILVER-LEAF MAPLE.</b></p>
+<p>"Is there such a thing as a silver tree?" asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"There is a tree called 'the silver maple,'" was the reply, "and
+there is also the silver poplar. The silver maple is considered the
+most graceful of the large and handsome maple family. I have not
+told you, I think, that the name of the family is <i>Acer</i>,
+which means 'sharp' or 'hard,' and it was supposed to have been
+given in old English times when the wood of the maple was used for
+javelins. The silver maple gets its name from the whitish
+under-surface of its leaves, and it is a favorite shade-tree; it
+has a slender trunk and long, drooping branches. The foliage is
+light and rather dull-looking, and it is not a very bright tree in
+autumn. The leaves are so deeply notched that they have a
+fringe-like appearance, and this, with its slender form and
+bending, swaying habit, gives it a very graceful look."</p>
+<p>Little Edith wished to know "if the wood was like silver," and
+Malcolm asked her how she expected it to grow if it was.</p>
+<p>But Miss Harson replied kindly,</p>
+<p>"The silver, dear, is all in the leaves, and there is not much
+of it there. The wood is white and of little use, as it is soft and
+perishable; but the beauty of the finely-cut foliage, the contrast
+between the green of the upper surface of the leaves and the silver
+color of the lower, and the magnificent spread of the limbs of the
+white maple, recommend it as an ornamental tree; and this is the
+purpose for which it is intended. It is used very largely in the
+cities for shade and beauty. It is often called the 'river maple,'
+because it is so frequently seen on the banks of streams."</p>
+<p>"And now," said Malcolm, "I hope there is ever so much about the
+maple-sugar tree. Can't we get some this spring, Miss Harson,
+before it's all gone?"</p>
+<p>"We can certainly buy the sugar in town, Malcolm, if that is
+what you mean; but it does not grow on the trees in cakes, and we
+shall scarcely be able to tap the trunks and go through with the
+process of preparing the sap, even if it were not too late for
+that. We will do what we can, though, to become acquainted with the
+rock maple, that we may be able to recognize it when we see it.
+When young, it is a beautiful, neat and shapely tree with a rich,
+full leafy head of a great variety of forms. It is the largest and
+strongest of the maples, and gives the best shade. It can be
+distinguished from the other members of the family by its leaves,
+in which the notch between the lobes is round instead of being
+sharp, and also by their appearing at the same time with the
+blossoms, which are of a yellowish-green color. The green tint of
+the leaves is darker on some trees than it is on others, and in
+autumn they become, often before the first touch of the frost, of a
+splendid orange or gold, sometimes of a bright scarlet or crimson,
+color, each tree commonly retaining from year to year the same
+color or colors, and differing somewhat from every other. The most
+beautiful and valuable maple-wood is taken from this tree. It is
+known as 'curled maple' and 'bird's-eye maple,' and the common
+variety looks like satin-wood. In the curled maple the fibres are
+in waves instead of in straight lines, and the surface seems to
+change with alternate light and shade; in the bird's-eye, irregular
+snarls of fibres look like roundish projections rising from hollow
+places, each one resembling the eye of a bird. Buckets, tubs and
+many useful things are made of the straight variety, and for lasts
+it is considered better than any other kind of wood. The curled and
+the bird's-eye are largely used for furniture."</p>
+<p>"But isn't it a shame," said Clara, "to spoil the maple-sugar by
+making the trees into chairs and things?"</p>
+<p>"You would not think so," replied her governess, "if you needed
+the 'chairs and things' more than you need the sugar. But the
+supply of trees seems to be sufficient for both purposes."</p>
+<p>"Does the sugar come right out of the tree when people tap on it
+with a hammer?" asked Edith, whose ideas of sugar-making were
+rather crude.</p>
+<p>"You blessed baby!" cried Malcolm, with a shout of laughter.
+Let's take our hammers and go after some maple-sugar right
+away."</p>
+<p>"No, Edie," said Miss Harson as she took her much-loved little
+pupil on her lap; "we'll stay at home and learn just how the sugar
+is made. To <i>tap</i> a tree, dear, means to make cuts in the
+trunk for the sap to flow out, and in the sugar-maple this sap is
+more like water than sugar. From the middle of February to the
+second week in March, according to the warmth or the coldness of
+the locality, is the time for tapping the trees; and when the holes
+are bored, spouts of elder or sumac from which the pith has been
+taken are put into them at one end, while the other goes down to
+the bucket which receives the sap. 'Several holes are so bored that
+their spouts shall lead to the same bucket, and high enough to
+allow the bucket to hang two or three feet from the ground, to
+prevent leaves and dirt from being blown in.' The next thing is to
+boil the sap, and this is done in great iron kettles, over immense
+wood-fires, out there among the trees, with plenty of snow on the
+ground, and only two or three rude little cabins for the men and
+boys to sleep in. This is called 'the sugar-camp,' and the
+sap-season lasts five or six weeks."</p>
+<p>"And why is it boiled?"</p>
+<p>"Boiling drives the water off in vapor, and leaves the sugar
+behind in the pot."</p>
+<p>"And do they stay in the woods there all the time?" asked
+Malcolm, with great interest. "What lots of fun they must have,
+with the big fires and the snow and as much maple-sugar as ever
+they want to eat! <i>I'd</i> like to stay in a sugar-camp in the
+woods."</p>
+<p class="ctr"><a href="Images/041.png"><img src="Images/041.png"
+width="40%" alt=""></a><br>
+<b>MAKING MAPLE SUGAR.</b></p>
+<p>"Perhaps not, after trying it and finding how much hard work
+there is in sugar-making," replied his governess. "'The kettles
+must be carefully watched and plenty of wood brought to keep them
+boiling, and during the process the sap, or syrup, is strained;
+lime or salaeratus is added, to neutralize the free acid; and the
+white of egg, isinglass or milk, to cause foreign substances to
+rise in a scum to the surface. When it has been sufficiently
+boiled, the syrup is poured into moulds or casks to harden.' The
+sugar with which the most pains have been taken is very
+light-colored, and I have seen it almost white."</p>
+<p>"Have you ever been to a sugar-camp, Miss Harson?" asked Clara,
+who was wishing, like Malcolm, that she could go to one
+herself.</p>
+<p>"Yes," said Miss Harson; "I did go once, in Vermont, when the
+family with whom I was staying took me to see the 'sugaring off.'
+This is putting it into the pans and buckets to harden after it has
+been sufficiently boiled and clarified; and we younger ones, by way
+of amusement, were allowed to make jack-wax."</p>
+<p>"Oh!" exclaimed three voices at once; "what is that? Is it good
+to eat?"</p>
+<p>"I thought it particularly good," was the reply, "and I am quite
+sure that you would agree with me. To make it, we poured a small
+quantity of hot syrup on the snow to cool; and when it was fit to
+eat, it was just like wax, instead of being hard like the cakes in
+moulds. It took only a few minutes, too, to make it, and it seemed
+a great deal nicer because we did it ourselves. I remember that it
+was the last of March and very cold, but there were big fires to
+get warmed at, and we had a delightful time."</p>
+<p>"Were there any Indians there, Miss Harson?" asked little Edith,
+after being quiet for some time. Vermont was such a long way off on
+the map, besides being up almost at the top, that Indians and bears
+and all sorts of wild things seemed to have a right to live
+there.</p>
+<p>"No," said her governess, smiling at the question; "I did not
+see one, even at the sugar-camp. Yet the Indians made maple-sugar
+long before we knew anything about it, and from them the white
+people learned how to do it."</p>
+<p>"Well, that's the funniest thing!" exclaimed Malcolm. "I thought
+that Indians were always scalping people instead of making
+maple-sugar."</p>
+<p>"They did a great many other things, though, besides fighting,
+and their life was spent so much out of doors that they studied the
+nature of every plant and living thing about them. The
+healing-properties of some of our most valuable herbs were first
+discovered by the Indians, and, as they never had any
+grocery-stores, the presence of trees that would supply them with
+sugar was a blessing not likely to be neglected. The devoted
+missionary John Brainerd first heard of this tree-sugar from them,
+and it is said that he used to preach to them when they were thus
+peacefully employed, and obtained a better hearing than at other
+times."</p>
+<p>"Have we any maple-sugar trees?" asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"No," replied Miss Harson; "there are none at Elmridge, and I
+have seen none anywhere near here. They seem to flourish best in
+the Northern and North-eastern States, while in Western Canada the
+tree is found in groves of from five to twenty acres. These are
+called 'sugar-bushes,' and few farmers in that part of America are
+without them. In England the maple trees are called 'sycamores,'
+and the sap is used as a sweet drink. I will read to you from a
+little English book called <i>Voices from the Woodlands</i> a
+simple account of a country festival where maple sap was the
+choicest refreshment:</p>
+<p>"'"Take care of that young tree," said Farmer Robinson to his
+laborer, who was diligently employed in clearing away a rambling
+company of brambles which had grown unmolested during the time of
+the last tenant; "the soil is good, and in a very few years we
+shall have pasturage for our bees, and plenty of maple-wine."</p>
+<p>"'The farmer spoke true; before his young laborer had attained
+middle age the sapling had grown into a fine tree. Its branches
+spread wide and high, and bees came from all parts to gather their
+honey-harvests among the flowers; beneath its shade lambkins were
+wont in spring to sleep beside their dams; and when the time of
+shearing came, and the sheep were disburdened of their fleeces, you
+might see them hastening to the sycamore tree for shelter.</p>
+<p>"'A kind of rustic festival was held about the same time in
+honor of the maple-wine. Hither came the farmer and his dame, with
+their children and young neighbors, each carrying bunches of
+flowers. Older people came in their holiday dresses, some with
+baskets containing cakes, others tea and sugar, with which the
+farmer and his wife had plentifully supplied them; and joyfully did
+they rest a while on the green sward while young men gathered
+sticks, and, a bright fire having been kindled, the kettle sent up
+its bubbling steam.</p>
+<p>"'When this was ended, and few of the piled-up cakes
+remained--when, also, the young children had emptied their cans and
+rinsed them at the old stone trough into which rushed a full
+stream--tiny hands joyfully held up the small cans and bright eyes
+looked anxiously to the stem of the tall tree while the farmer
+warily cut an incision in the bark.</p>
+<p>"'What joy when a sweet watery juice began to trickle! and the
+farmer filled one small cup, then another, till all were satisfied
+and a portion sent to the older people, who were contentedly
+looking on from the grassy slope where they had seated themselves.
+The farmer's wife knew naught concerning the process for obtaining
+sugar, or else she might have sweetened her children's puddings
+from the watery liquid yielded by the sycamore, or greater
+maple--an art well known to the aboriginal tribes of North
+America.'"</p>
+<p>"Does that mean Indians, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm, with a wry
+face at the long word.</p>
+<p>"Yes," was the reply; "and I hope that you will feel properly
+grateful to these aborigines whenever you eat maple-sugar."</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III." id="CHAPTER_III."></a>CHAPTER III.</h2>
+<h3><i>OLD ACQUAINTANCES: THE ELMS.</i></h3>
+<br>
+<p>Miss Harson had admonished her little flock that they must use
+their own eyes and be able to tell her things instead of depending
+altogether on her to tell them; so now they were all peering
+curiously among the trees to see which were putting on their new
+spring suits. The yellow trees and the pink trees had been readily
+distinguished, but, although the others had not been idle, it was
+not so easy for little people to discern their leaf-buds.</p>
+<p>Clara soon made a discovery, however, of what her governess had
+noticed for a day or two, and the wonder was found on their own
+home-elms, those stately trees which had shaded the house ever
+since it was built, and from which the place got its pretty
+name--Elmridge.</p>
+<p>"Well, dear," said Miss Harson, coming to the upper window from
+which an eager head was thrust, "what is it that you wish me to
+see?"</p>
+<br>
+<p>"Those funny flowers on the bare elm trees," was the reply.
+"Look, Miss Harson! Didn't I see them first?"</p>
+<p>"You have certainly spoken of them first, for neither Malcolm
+nor Edith has said anything about them. But they must both come up
+here now, where they can see them, and Malcolm and I can manage to
+reach some of the blossoms by getting out of the broad window on to
+the little balcony."</p>
+<p>Up came the two children kangaroo-fashion in a series of jumps,
+and presently Miss Harson was holding a cluster of dark
+maroon-colored flowers in her hand.</p>
+<p>"How queer and dark they make the trees look!" said Malcolm;
+"and they're so thick that they 'most cover up the branches.
+They're like fringe."</p>
+<p>"A very good description," replied his governess. "And now I
+wish you all to examine the trees very thoroughly and tell me
+afterward what you have noticed about them; then we will go down to
+the schoolroom and see what the books will tell us in our talk
+about the American elm and its cousin of England."</p>
+<p>The books had a great deal to tell about them, but Miss Harson
+preferred to hear the children first.</p>
+<p>"What did my little Edith see when she looked out of the
+window?" she asked.</p>
+<p>"Stems of trees," was the reply, "with flowers on 'em."</p>
+<p>"A very good general idea," continued Miss Harson, "but perhaps
+Clara can tell us something more particular about the elms?"</p>
+<p>"They are very tall," said Clara, hesitatingly, "and they make
+it nice and shady in summer; and some of the branches bend over in
+such a lovely way! Papa calls one of them 'the plume.'"</p>
+<p>"And now Malcolm?"</p>
+<p>"The trunk--or big 'stem,' as Edie would call it--is very thick,
+and the branches begin low down, near the ground."</p>
+<p>"Some of them do," said his governess, "but many of the elms on
+your father's grounds are seventy feet high before the branches
+begin. Sometimes two or three trunks shoot up together and spread
+out at the top in light, feathery plumes like palm trees. The elm
+has a great variety of shapes; sometimes it is a parasol, when a
+number of branches rise together to a great height and spread out
+suddenly in the shape of an umbrella. This makes a very
+regular-looking and beautiful tree. For about three-quarters of the
+way up, the 'plume' of which Clara speaks has one straight trunk,
+which then bends over droopingly. Small twigs cluster around the
+trunk all the way from bottom to top and give the tree the
+appearance of having a vine twining about it. I think that the
+plume-shape is the prettiest and most odd-looking of all the elms.
+Another strange shape is the vase, which seems to rest on the roots
+that stand out above the ground. 'The straight trunk is the neck of
+the vase, and the middle consists of the lower part of the branches
+as they swell outward with a graceful curve, then gradually diverge
+until they bend over at their extremities and form the lip of the
+vase by a circle of terminal sprays.'"</p>
+<p>"Have we any trees that look like vases, Miss Harson?" asked
+Clara.</p>
+<p>"Yes," was the reply; "not far from Hemlock Lodge there is one
+which we will look at when the leaves are all out. But you must not
+expect to find a perfect vase-shape, for it is only an approach to
+it. The dome-shaped elm has a broad, round head, which is formed by
+the shooting forth of branches of nearly equal length from the same
+part of the trunk, which gradually spread outward with a graceful
+curve into the roof or dome that crowns the tree."</p>
+<p>"I know something else about our elms," said Malcolm: "some of
+the roots are on top of the ground. Isn't that very queer, Miss
+Harson?"</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/053.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>WYCH-ELM LEAVES.</b></p>
+<p>"Not for old elm trees, as this is quite a habit with them.
+Indeed, in many ways, the elm is so entirely different from other
+trees that it can be recognized at a great distance. It is both
+graceful and majestic, and is the most drooping of the drooping
+trees, except the willow, which it greatly surpasses in grandeur
+and in the variety of its forms. The green leaves are broad, ovate,
+heart-shaped, from two to four or five inches long. You can see
+their exact shape in this illustration. Their summer tint is very
+bright and vivid, but it turns in autumn to a sober brown,
+sometimes touched with a bright golden yellow, And now," continued
+Miss Harson, "we will examine the flowers which we have here, and
+we see that each blossom is on a green, slender thread less than
+half an inch long, and that it consists of a brown cup parted into
+seven or eight divisions, rounded at the border and containing
+about eight brown stamens and a long compressed ovary surmounted by
+two short styles. This ripens into a flattened seed-vessel before
+the leaves are fully out, and the seeds, being small and chaffy,
+are wafted in all directions and carried to great distances by the
+wind."</p>
+<p>"Where does slippery elm come from?" asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"From another American species, dear, which is very much like
+the white elm that we have been considering. The slippery elm is a
+smaller tree, does not droop so much, and the trunk is smoother and
+darker. The leaves are thicker and very rough on the upper side.
+The inner bark contains a great deal of mucilage--that, I suppose,
+is the reason for its being called 'slippery'--and it has been
+extensively used as a medicine. The wood is very strong and
+preferred to that of the white elm for building-purposes, although
+the latter is considered the best native wood for hubs of wheels.
+There is a great elm tree on Boston Common which is over two
+hundred years old, and another in Cambridge called the 'Washington
+Elm,' because near it or beneath its shade General Washington is
+said to have first drawn his sword on taking command of the
+American army. In 1744 the celebrated George Whitefield preached
+beneath this tree."</p>
+<p>"I'm glad we have elm trees here," said Malcolm, "though I
+s'pose nobody ever did anything in particular under ours."</p>
+<p>"You mean," replied his governess, laughing, "that they are not
+<i>historical</i> trees; but they are certainly very fine ones.
+There is another species of elm, the English, which is often seen
+in this country too. It is a very large and stately tree, but not
+so graceful as our own elm. It is distinguished from the American
+elm by its bark, which is darker and much more broken; by having
+one principal stem, which soars upward to a great height; and by
+its branches, which are thrown out more boldly and abruptly and at
+a larger angle. Its limbs stretch out horizontally or tend upward
+with an appearance of strength to the very extremity; in the
+American elm they are almost universally drooping at the end. Its
+leaves are closer, smaller, more numerous and of a darker color. In
+England this tree is a great favorite with those black and solemn
+birds the rooks. The poet Hood writes of it as</p>
+<blockquote>"'The tall, abounding elm that grows<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;In hedgerows up and down,<br>
+In field and forest, copse and park,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;And in the peopled town,<br>
+With colonies of noisy rooks<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;That nestle on its crown.'<br></blockquote>
+<p>"Some of these English elms are very ancient and of an immense
+size; one of them, known as the 'Chequer Elm,' measures thirty-one
+feet around the trunk, of which only the shell is left. It was
+planted seven hundred years ago. The Chipstead Elm is fifteen feet
+around; the Crawley Elm, thirty-five. A writer says, 'The ample
+branches of the Crawley Elm shelter Mayday gambols while troops of
+rustics celebrate the opening of green leaves and flowers. Yet not
+alone beneath its shade, but within the capacious hollow which time
+has wrought in the old tree, young children with their posies and
+weak and aged people find shelter during the rustic
+<i>f&ecirc;tes</i>.'"</p>
+<p>"Does that mean that people can sit inside the tree?" asked
+Clara. "I wish we had one to play house in where Hemlock Lodge
+is."</p>
+<p>"That is one of the things, Clara," replied Miss Harson, "that
+people can have only in the place where they grow. In the South of
+England there is another great elm tree with a hollow trunk which
+has fitted into it a door fastened by a lock and key. A dozen
+people can be comfortably accommodated inside, and there is a story
+told of a woman and her infant who lived there for a time."</p>
+<p>"What a funny house!" said Malcolm. "Just like a
+woodpecker's."</p>
+<p>"Another great elm, near London, has a winding staircase cut
+within it, and a turret at the top where at least twenty persons
+can stand. One species of this tree, called the <i>wych-</i>, or
+<i>witch-</i>, elm, was believed by ignorant people to possess
+magical powers and to defend from the malice of witches the place
+on which it grew. Even now it is said that in remote parts of
+England the dairymaid flies to it as a resource on the days when
+she churns her butter. She gathers a twig from the tree and puts it
+into a little hole in the churn. If this practice were neglected,
+she confidently believes that she might go on churning all day
+without getting any butter."</p>
+<p>"Isn't that silly?" exclaimed Clara.</p>
+<p>"Very silly indeed," replied her governess; "but we must
+remember that the poor ignorant girl knows no better. The wood of
+the European elm is stronger than ours; it is hard and
+fine-grained, and brownish in color, and is much used in the
+building of ships, for hubs of wheels, axletrees and many other
+purposes. In France the leaves and shoots are used to feed cattle.
+In Russia the leaves of one variety are made into tea. The inner
+bark is in some places made into mats, and in Norway they kiln-dry
+it and grind it with corn as an ingredient in bread. So that the
+elm tree is almost as useful as it is beautiful."</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/059.png" width="40%" alt=
+""><br></p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV." id="CHAPTER_IV."></a>CHAPTER IV.</h2>
+<h3><i>MAJESTY AND STRENGTH: THE OAK</i>.</h3>
+<br>
+<p>"Here," said Miss Harson, "is a small branch from an oak tree
+containing the young leaves and the catkins, which come out
+together; for the oak belongs, like the willow and the maple, to
+the division of <i>amentaceous</i> plants."</p>
+<p>"Oh dear!" sighed Clara at the hard name.</p>
+<p>But Malcolm repeated:</p>
+<p>"<i>Amentaceous</i>--<i>ament</i>. I know, Miss Harson: it's
+<i>catkins</i>"</p>
+<p>"Yes, it means trees which produce their flowers in catkins, or
+looking as if strung on long drooping stems; and the oak is the
+monarch of this family, and in Great Britain of all the
+forest-trees. It is especially an English tree, although our woods
+contain several varieties. But they do not hold the pre-eminence in
+our forests that the oaks do in those of England. The oak
+ordinarily runs more to breadth than to height, and spreads itself
+out to a vast distance with an air of strength and grandeur. This
+is its striking character and what gives it its peculiar
+appearance. Oaks do not always go straight out, but crook and bend
+to right and left, upward and downward, abruptly or with a gentle
+sweep.</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/061.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>MALE CATKIN OF THE OAK.</b></p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/062.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>THE OAK.</b></p>
+<p class="right"><img src="Images/063.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>WHITE-OAK LEAF.</b></p>
+<p>"The white oak is the handsomest species, and takes its name
+from the very light color of the bark on the trunk, by which it is
+easily known. The leaves are long in proportion to the width and
+deeply divided into lobes, of which there are three or four on each
+side. There is a great variety in the shape of oak-leaves, those of
+our white oak being long and slender, while the red oak has very
+broad ones, and the foliage of the scarlet oak is almost
+skeleton-like. The chestnut oak has leaves almost exactly like
+those of the chestnut. The acorns of the different varieties, too,
+differ in size and shape.</p>
+<p>"There is so much to be said of the oak," continued Miss Harson,
+"it is such an ancient and venerable tree and has so many stories
+attached to it, that it is not easy to begin an account of it. The
+blossoms, perhaps, will be the best starting-point: and I should
+like to have you examine this branch and tell me if you see any
+difference in the blossoms."</p>
+<p>"They are nearly all alike," said Malcolm, "but here at the ends
+of the twigs are one or two that look like buds."'</p>
+<p>"That is just what I wanted you to notice," replied his
+governess, "for the flowers are of two kinds, one bearing the
+stamens, and the other the pistils. The flowers that bear the
+stamens grow on loose scaly catkins, as you may see in this branch.
+Those with the pistils are also in catkins, but very small, like a
+bud. The bud spreads into a little branchlet and bears the flowers
+at the tip. The calyx is not seen at first; it is a mere membrane
+covering the ovary. By degrees the ovary swells into the acorn and
+the membrane becomes part of the shell."</p>
+<p>"I like acorns," said little Edith, "they're so nice to play
+with."</p>
+<p>"But they're not nice to eat," said Clara.</p>
+<p class="ctr"><a href="Images/065.png"><img src="Images/065.png"
+width="40%" alt=""></a><br>
+<b>SQUIRREL AND ACORN.</b></p>
+<p>"Some animals think they are," continued Miss Harson. "If you
+should come here in October, you would find the squirrels feasting
+on them. In old times in England the oaks were valued highly on
+account of their acorns, and great herds of swine were driven into
+the forests to feed upon them. In the time of the Saxons a crop of
+acorns often formed a part of the dowry bestowed upon the Saxon
+queens, and the king himself would be glad to accept a gift or
+grant of acorns; and the failure of the crop would be considered as
+a kind of famine. In those days laws were made to protect the oaks
+from being felled or injured, and a man who cut down a tree under
+the shadow of which thirty hogs could stand was fined three pounds.
+The herds of swine were placed under the care of a swineherd, whose
+sole employment was to keep them together, and they formed a staple
+part of the riches of the country. But when the Norman kings began
+to rule, they brought with them a passionate love of hunting and
+took possession of the forests as preserves for their favorite
+sport. The herds of swine were forbidden to roam about as
+heretofore, and their owners were reduced to poverty in
+consequence."</p>
+<p>"Wasn't that wicked, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"Yes; it was both unjust and cruel, and it was one of the great
+grievances of the nation. Even at this day the laws for the
+protection of game are one of the grounds of ill-feeling on the
+part of the poor toward the nobles. In Spain the acorns have the
+taste of nuts, and are sold in the markets as an article of food.
+They grow abundantly in the woods and forests. Once, in time of
+war, a foreign army subsisted almost entirely on them. Herds of
+swine range the forests in Spain and feed luxuriously upon acorns,
+and the salted meats of Malaga, that are famous for their delicate
+flavor, are thought to owe it to this cause. Some of our American
+Indians depend upon acorns and fish for their winter food; and when
+the acorns drop from the tree, they are buried in sand and soaked
+in water to draw out the bitter taste."</p>
+<p>"I shouldn't like them," said Clara, with a wry face at the
+thought of such food.</p>
+<p>"Well, dear," replied her governess, laughing, "as you are not
+an Indian, you will probably not be called upon to like them; but
+it would be better to eat acorns than to starve. You may have
+noticed the trunk and branches of the oak are often gnarled and
+knotted, and this helps to give the tree its appearance of great
+strength. It is just as strong as it looks, and for
+building-purposes it lasts longer than any other wood. Beams and
+rafters of oak are found in old English houses, showing among the
+brick-work, and many of these half-timbered houses, as they are
+called, were built hundreds of years ago.</p>
+<p>"Bedsteads and other articles of furniture, too, were 'built' in
+those days, rather than made, for they were not expected to be
+moved about; and a heavy oak bedstead is still in existence which
+is said to have belonged to King Richard III. It is curiously
+carved, and the king rested upon it the night before the battle of
+Bosworth Field, where he was killed. Clumsy as the bedstead was, he
+took it about with him from place to place; but after the fatal
+battle it passed into the hands of various owners, and nothing
+remarkable was discovered about it until the king had been dead a
+hundred years. By that time the bedstead had come into the
+possession of a woman who found a fortune in it. One morning, says
+the story, as she was making the bed, she heard a chinking sound,
+and saw, to her great delight, a piece of money drop on the floor.
+Of course she at once set about examining the bedstead, and found
+that the lower part of it was hollow and contained a treasure.
+Three hundred pounds--a fortune in those days--was brought to
+light, having remained hidden all those years. As King Richard was
+not there to claim his gold, the woman quickly possessed herself of
+it. But, as it happened, she had better have remained in ignorance
+and poverty. As soon as the matter became known one of her servants
+robbed her of the gold, and even caused her death. Thus it was said
+in the neighborhood that 'King Richard's gold' did nobody any
+good."</p>
+<p>The children were very much pleased with this story, and Malcolm
+said that he always liked to hear about people who found gold and
+things.</p>
+<p>"I think that I do, myself," replied Miss Harson, "although, as
+in this poor woman's case and in many others, gold is not the best
+thing to find. It often brings with it so much sorrow and sin as to
+be a curse to its owner. The only safe treasure is that laid up in
+heaven, where 'neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where
+thieves do not break through nor steal,'</p>
+<p>"From the very earliest times the oak has been used for
+shipbuilding. The Saxons, we are told, kept a formidable fleet of
+vessels with curved bottoms and the prow and poop adorned with
+representations of the head and tail of some grotesque and fabulous
+creature. King Alfred had many vessels that carried sixty oars and
+were entirely of oak. A vessel supposed to be of his time has been
+discovered in the bed of a river in Kent, and after the lapse of so
+many centuries it is as sound as ever and as hard as iron."</p>
+<p>"Do oak trees ever have apples on 'em?" asked Clara. "In a story
+that I read there was something about 'oak-apples.'"</p>
+<p class="left"><img src="Images/070.png" width="30%" alt=""><br>
+<b>THE OAK-GALL INSECT<br>
+(<i>Cynips</i>).</b></p>
+<p>"They are not apples such as we eat, or fruit in any sense,"
+said her governess. "They are the work of a species of fly called
+<i>Cynips</i>, which is very apt to attack the oak. 'The female
+insect is armed with a sharp weapon called an <i>ovipositor</i>,
+which she plunges into a leaf and makes a wound. Here she lays her
+eggs; and when she has done so, she flies away and we hear no more
+of her. But the wound she has made disturbs the circulation of the
+sap. It flows round and round the eggs as though it had met with
+some foreign body it would fain remove. Very soon the eggs are in
+the midst of a ball-like and fleshy chamber--the most suitable
+provision for them, and one which the parent-insect had provided by
+means of puncturing the leaf. As the eggs are hatched the grubs
+will find themselves safely housed and in the midst of an abundance
+of food.'"</p>
+<p class="right"><img src="Images/071.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>OAK-APPLES.</b></p>
+<p>"Well," exclaimed Malcolm, in great disgust, "<i>apple</i> is a
+queer name for a ball full of little flies!"</p>
+<p>"It's a very pretty ball, though," said Miss Harson, "with a
+smooth skin and tinged with red or yellow, like a ripe apple. If it
+is cut open, a number of granules are seen, each containing a grub
+embedded in a fruit-like substance. The grub undergoes its
+transformation, and in due course emerges a perfect insect. These
+pretty pink-and-white apples used to be gathered by English boys on
+the twenty-ninth of May, which was called 'Oak-Apple Day.'"</p>
+<p>"Did they eat 'em?" asked Edith.</p>
+<p>"I do not see how they could, dear," was the reply; "they were
+probably gathered just to look at. Yet 'May-apples,' which grow,
+you will remember, on the wild azalea and the swamp honeysuckle,
+are often eaten, and they are formed in the same way; so we will
+not be too positive about the oak-apples."</p>
+<p>"What are oak-<i>galls</i>, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm. "Are
+they the same as oak-apples?"</p>
+<p>"Not quite the same," was the reply, although both are produced
+by the same insect. This is what one of our English books says of
+them: 'When the acorn itself is wounded, it becomes a kind of
+monstrosity, and remains on the stalk like an irregularly-shaped
+ball. It is called a "nut-gall," and is found principally on a
+small oak, a native of the southern and central parts of Europe.
+All these oak-apples and nut-galls are of importance, but the
+latter more especially, and they form an important article of
+commerce. A substance called "gallic acid" resides in the oak; and
+when the puncture is made by the cynips, it flows in great
+abundance to the wound. Gallic acid is one of the ingredients used
+in dyeing stuffs and cloths, and therefore the supply yielded by
+the nut-gall is highly welcome. The nut-galls are carefully
+collected from the small oak on which they are found, the Pyreneean
+oak. It is easily known by the dense covering of down on the young
+leaves, that appear some weeks later than the leaves of the common
+oak. The galls are pounded and boiled, and into the infusion thus
+made the stuffs about to be dyed are dipped,'"</p>
+<p>"I should think," said Clara, "that people would plant oak trees
+everywhere, when they are so useful. Is anything done with the
+bark?"</p>
+<p>"Yes," said her governess; "the bark, which is very rough, is
+valuable for tanning leather and for medicine. The element which
+has the effect of turning raw hide or skin into leather is called
+<i>tannin</i>; it is also found in the bark of some other trees and
+in tropical plants."</p>
+<p>"Didn't people use to worship oak trees," asked Malcolm--"people
+who lived ever so long ago?"</p>
+<p>"You are thinking of the Druids, who lived in old times in
+Britain and Gaul," replied Miss Harson, "and whose strange heathen
+rites were practiced in oak-groves; and they really did consider
+the tree sacred. These Druids have left their traces in some parts
+of England and France in rows of huge stones set upright; and
+wherever an immense stone was found lying on two others, in the
+shape of a table, there had been a Druid altar, where the priest
+offered sacrifices, often of human beings. So horrible may be a
+so-called religion that men themselves devise, and that has not
+come from the true God.</p>
+<p class="ctr"><a href="Images/075.png"><img src="Images/075.png"
+width="40%" alt=""></a><br>
+<b>DRUIDIC SACRIFICE.</b></p>
+<p>"It was an article in the Druids' creed, and one to which they
+strictly adhered, that no temple with a covered roof was to be
+built in honor of the gods. All the places appointed for public
+worship were in the open air, and generally on some eminence from
+which the moon and stars might be observed; for to the heavenly
+bodies much adoration was offered. But to afford shelter from wind
+or rain, and also to ensure privacy and shut out all external
+objects, the place fixed upon, either for teaching their disciples
+or for carrying out the rites of their idolatrous worship, was in
+the recess of some grove or wood. An oak-grove was supposed to be
+the favorite of the gods whom they ignorantly worshiped, and
+therefore the Druids declared the oak to be a sacred tree. The
+Druid priest always bound a wreath of oak-leaves on his forehead
+before he would perform any religious ceremony. One of these
+ceremonies was to go in search of the mistletoe, which sometimes
+grows on the oak and was considered as sacred as the tree itself,
+being much used in their worship. One priest would climb to the
+branch on which the misletoe was growing and cut it with a golden
+knife, while another priest stood below and held out his white robe
+to receive it.</p>
+<p>"These sacred groves were all cut down by the Romans, who waged
+fierce war against the Druids, and nothing is left of them now but
+the circles of stones that formed their temples. At a place called
+Stonehenge, 'cromlechs,' or altar-tables, are still standing, and
+very ancient oaks stood in a circle round these stones for many
+centuries after the Druids were swept away."</p>
+<p>"Miss Harson," said Clara when all had expressed their horror of
+the Druids and rejoiced that they <i>were</i> swept away, "are
+there any oak trees in the Bible?"</p>
+<p>"Look and see," was the reply; "and first you may find Genesis
+xxxv. 4."</p>
+<p>Clara read:</p>
+<p>"'And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in
+their hands, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and
+Jacob hid them under the <i>oak</i> which was by Shechem.'"</p>
+<p>"In the eighth verse of the same chapter," said Miss Harson, "we
+read that Rebekah's nurse was buried under an oak at Bethel. We are
+told in the book of Joshua<a name="FNanchor2" id=
+"FNanchor2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2">[2]</a> that 'Joshua took a
+great stone and set it up there under an <i>oak</i>, that was by
+the sanctuary of the Lord;' and in Judges<a name="FNanchor3" id=
+"FNanchor3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3">[3]</a>, 'There came an angel
+of the Lord and sat under an <i>oak</i> which was in
+Ophrah.'--Malcolm, you may read Second Samuel, eighteenth chapter,
+ninth verse."</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_2" id="Footnote_2"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor2">[2]</a> Josh. xxiv. 26.</blockquote>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_3" id="Footnote_3"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor3">[3]</a> Judg. vi. II.</blockquote>
+<p>Malcolm read:</p>
+<p>"'And Absalom met the servants of David. And Absalom rode upon a
+mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great
+<i>oak</i>, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken
+up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under
+him went away.'"</p>
+<p>"Poor Absalom!" said Edith, softly. "Wasn't that dreadful?"</p>
+<p>"Yes, dear," replied her governess, "it <i>was</i> dreadful; but
+it is still more dreadful that Absalom was such a wicked man. In
+Isaiah<a name="FNanchor4" id="FNanchor4"></a><a href=
+"#Footnote_4">[4]</a> we read of the oaks of Bashan, that, like the
+cedars of Lebanon, were 'high and lifted up,' and the oaks of
+Bashan are mentioned again in Zechariah<a name="FNanchor5" id=
+"FNanchor5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5">[5]</a>. Several varieties of
+the oak are found in Palestine.</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_4" id="Footnote_4"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor4">[4]</a> Isa. ii. 13.</blockquote>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_5" id="Footnote_5"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor5">[5]</a> Zech. xi. 2.</blockquote>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/079.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>ABRAHAM'S OAK, NEAR HEBRON.</b></p>
+<p>"In his <i>Ride Through Palestine</i>, Dr. Dulles tells of a
+great oak near Hebron known as 'Abraham's oak,' supposed to occupy
+the ground where the patriarch pitched his tent under the oaks of
+Mamre. It is an aged tree, and a grand one. Here is a picture of
+it, from the <i>Ride</i><a name="FNanchor6" id=
+"FNanchor6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6">[6]</a>. The crests and sides
+of the hills beyond the Jordan are still clothed, as in ancient
+times, with magnificent oaks.</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_6" id="Footnote_6"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor6">[6]</a> See page 85.(link to 079.PNG)</blockquote>
+<p>"We get a good idea of the strength and durability of this wood
+from the fact that there is an old wooden church near Ongar, in
+Essex, the nave of which is composed of half logs of oak roughly
+fastened by wooden pegs. The ancient fabric dates back to the time
+of King Edmund, who was slain by the robber Leolf in the year A.D.
+946. The oaken church was hurriedly put together--according to
+report--in order to make a temporary receptacle for the body of the
+murdered prince on its way to burial. Be that as it may, it was
+afterward used as a parish church, and, though the oaken logs are
+corroded by the weather, they are still sound, and, having been
+beaten by the storms of a thousand winters, bid fair to defy those
+of a thousand more."</p>
+<p>"I should think, then," said Malcolm, "that people would always
+build their houses with oak if it lasts so long."</p>
+<p>"Yet they do not do this even in England," was the reply, "where
+the trees grow to such an immense size and the ancient buildings
+still in existence prove the great endurance of the oak. Now brick
+and stone and iron are used, which outlast any wood. And now,"
+continued Miss Harson, "I am going to tell you something about a
+foreign species of this tree which I am sure will surprise you. It
+is found in the South of Europe and in Algeria, and is called the
+<i>cork oak</i>."</p>
+<p>"'The <i>cork</i> oak'!" exclaimed Clara, quite as much
+surprised as she was expected to be. "Do the corks that come in
+bottles grow on it?"</p>
+<p>"Not just in that shape, dear, but they are made from its bark.
+The outside bark, or <i>epidermis</i>, consists of a thin,
+transparent, tissue-like substance, which covers not only the bark,
+but the whole of the tree, stem, leaves and branches, and beneath
+the epidermis is found a layer of cellular tissue, generally green.
+It covers the trunk and branches, fills up the spaces between the
+veins of the leaves and contains the sap, which flows in canals
+arranged for it in the most beautiful and wonderful manner. In one
+species of oak this layer--which is called the
+<i>suber</i>--assumes a peculiar character and is of remarkable
+thickness. When the tree is some five years old, its whole energy
+is directed toward the increase of the suber. A mass of cells is
+formed with great rapidity, and layer upon layer is added, until
+that part of the trunk grows so unwieldy that it would crack and
+split of its own accord. But such a thing is rarely allowed to
+happen: the suber is of too much value to man. After it is taken
+from the tree and has undergone due preparation, it appears in our
+shops and houses under the name of <i>cork</i>"</p>
+<p>"I should like to see how they get it," said Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"The trunk is regularly marked around in deep cuts, which begin
+close to the branches and go down almost to the roots. A ladder is
+used to mount to the upper part of the trunk, and the cuts, or
+incisions, are made with a long knife or with an axe. Then they
+strip off the sheets of cork between the circles. This operation is
+a very delicate one, and requires much care and skill lest the
+inner part should be injured. If the operation is carried out
+successfully, the cork-like substance will grow again and become as
+abundant as ever.</p>
+<p>"The next thing to be done to the pieces of bark is partially to
+burn, or char, them, and also to make them quite flat, as they come
+from the trunk in a rounded shape. The burning makes the pores
+close up, so that the liquid in a vessel for which it is used as a
+stopper cannot come through; and this is done over a brisk fire, in
+what is called a <i>burning-yard</i>. Another process, called
+<i>rounding</i>, removes every trace of the fire, unless the cork
+has been too much burned, and then, having already been flattened
+by the pressure of heavy stones, it is ready for the cork-maker,
+who cuts the material first into strips and then into squares
+according to the size of corks wanted.</p>
+<p>"Cork is very light and elastic, and can be used successfully in
+contrivances for the rescue of men from the perils of the deep. The
+cork jacket and the lifeboat have been the means of saving many
+lives, for cork will float on the surface of the water and bear up
+the person wearing the jacket and the shipwrecked people in the
+lifeboat. 'The shallowness of the boat and the bulk of cork within
+allow but little room for water; so that even when filled it is in
+no danger of overturning or sinking, like other crafts. Also, the
+lifeboat can move across the waves with perfect safety, and can
+make its way from one object to another in a broken sea as easily
+as an ordinary boat can pass from one ship to another.'"</p>
+<p>The children declared that the cork-oak was the best tree of
+all, but they agreed with their governess that the entire oak
+family was made up of grand and useful trees.</p>
+<p>"Our American oaks," said Miss Harson, "are very handsome in
+autumn because of their brilliant foliage; the <i>scarlet oak</i>,
+which turns to a deep crimson and keeps its leaves longer than any
+of the other forest trees, is the most showy of the species. But we
+have no cork oaks, and no oaks that we know to be a thousand years
+old. There was once a famous oak in this country, called the
+'Charter Oak,' which fell to the ground in August, 1856, before any
+of us were born. I wonder if you would like to hear the story about
+it?"</p>
+<p>This question was thought extremely funny by three such
+devourers of stories as the little Kyles, and they eagerly assured
+their governess that they would like it.</p>
+<p>"If that is really the case," continued Miss Harson, smiling at
+the excited faces, "I must tell you the history of</p>
+<p>"THE CHARTER OAK.</p>
+<p>"This tree grew in Hartford, Connecticut, and it is said that
+before the English governor Wyllis went there to live his steward,
+whom he had sent on before to get a house ready for him, came near
+cutting down this very oak. He was clearing away the trees around
+it on the hillside when a party of Indians appeared and begged him
+to leave that particular tree, because, they said, 'it had been the
+guide of their ancestors for centuries.' So the oak was spared;
+even then it was old and hollow.</p>
+<p>"King Charles II. granted the people of Connecticut a very
+liberal charter of rights, which was publicly read in the Assembly
+at Hartford and declared to belong for ever to them and their
+successors. A committee was appointed to take charge of it, under a
+solemn oath that they would preserve this palladium of the rights
+of the people.</p>
+<p>"When James II., the tyrannical brother of Charles II., came to
+the throne, he changed the government of New England and ordered
+the people of Connecticut to give up their charter. This they
+refused to do; and when a third command from the king had been sent
+to them, they called a special meeting of the Assembly, under their
+own governor, Treat, and resolved to hold on to the charter which
+had been given them.</p>
+<p>"On the 31st of October, 1687, Sir Edmund Andros, attended by
+members of his council and a bodyguard of sixty soldiers, entered
+Hartford to take the charter by force. The General Assembly was in
+session; he was received with courtesy, but with coldness. He
+entered the assembly-room and publicly demanded the charter.
+Remonstrances were made, and the session was protracted till
+evening. The governor and his associates appeared to yield. The
+charter was brought in and laid upon the table. Sir Edmund thought
+that he had succeeded, when suddenly the lights were all put out,
+and total darkness followed. There was no noise, no conflict, but
+all was quiet. When the candles were again lighted, <i>the charter
+was gone</i>! Sir Edmund was disconcerted. He declared the
+government of Connecticut to be in his own hands, and that the
+colony was annexed to Massachusetts and the other New England
+colonies, and proceeded to appoint officers. Captain Jeremiah
+Wadsworth, a patriot of those times, had hidden the charter in the
+hollow of Wyllis's oak, whence it was afterward known as the
+Charter Oak."</p>
+<p>"Then the English governor couldn't get it!" exclaimed Malcolm,
+delightedly. "Wasn't that splendid?"</p>
+<p>"It was a grand hiding-place, certainly, for no one would think
+of looking inside a tree for such a thing as that, and they were
+grand men who preserved their country's liberties in those trying
+times. But more peaceful years were at hand. About eighteen months
+after the charter had disappeared so mysteriously, the tyrant James
+II. was compelled to give up his throne to his daughter and
+son-in-law, the prince and princess of Orange, and Governor Treat
+and his associates again took the government of Connecticut under
+the old charter, which the hollow oak had faithfully kept from
+harm. No tree in our whole country has received more attention than
+this historic Hartford oak; and when, at last, its mere shell of a
+trunk was laid low by a storm, it seemed as if a large part of the
+city had been swept away.</p>
+<p>"Ancient oaks are apt to be almost entirely without branches;
+the huge trunk, with an opening at the top, and often with one also
+at the bottom, stands like a maimed giant, just tottering, perhaps,
+to its fall, because of the decay going on within, while outside
+all seems fair and sound. It was so with the Charter Oak; and when
+this monarch of the forest was unexpectedly laid low, rich and
+poor, great and small, were gathered to mourn its loss. A dirge was
+played and all the bells in the city were tolled at sundown, for
+this monument of the past was a link gone that could not be
+replaced."</p>
+<p>"Thank you, Miss Harson," said Clara; "<i>true</i> stories are
+so nice! But I wish I had seen the Charter Oak before it was blown
+down."</p>
+<p>"You could not have done that, dear," was the reply, "unless you
+had been born about thirty years sooner."</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V." id="CHAPTER_V."></a>CHAPTER V.</h2>
+<h3><i>BEAUTY AND GRACE: THE ASH</i>.</h3>
+<br>
+<p>"What tree comes next, Miss Harson?" asked Clara, on an April
+day that was mild enough for the piazza. "You told us so many
+interesting things about the oak that I suppose we needn't expect
+to hear of another tree like that."</p>
+<p>"No," was the reply; "not just like that, perhaps, for the oak
+is grand and venerable above all our familiar trees, but the ash,
+which is more especially an American tree, belongs to a large and
+interesting family, and I am quite sure that you will very much
+like to hear something about it. I have put it next to the oak
+because there is a sort of rivalry between the two as to which can
+get on its spring dress the soonest, and an old English rhyme
+says,</p>
+<blockquote>"'If the oak's before the ash,<br>
+Then you may expect a splash;<br>
+But if the ash is 'fore the oak,<br>
+Then you must beware a soak.'"<br></blockquote>
+<p>"That must mean," said Malcolm, after considering this rather
+puzzling verse, "that it'll rain any way."</p>
+<p>"I think it does," replied Miss Harson, with a smile at
+Malcolm's air of deep thought, "and it is quite safe to say that in
+England. But, as 'a soak' sounds more serious than 'a splash,' it
+is to be hoped that the ash will not get ahead of the oak. I do not
+know what they are doing in England this year, but here the oak is
+a day or two ahead. The foliage of the ash is entirely different,
+as it has <i>pinnate</i> leaves, which means leaves arranged in two
+rows, one on each side of a common stem, or <i>petiole</i>,
+like--What, Clara?"</p>
+<p>"Rose-leaves," was the prompt reply.</p>
+<p>"And leaves of the locust trees on the other side of the road,"
+added Malcolm.</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/092.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>THE COMMON ASH.</b></p>
+<p>"And the sumac," said their governess, "and a number of others
+that might be mentioned. This kind of foliage is always graceful,
+and the ash is one of our largest and handsomest trees. It is said
+to be more common in America than in any other part of the globe.
+In Europe, because of its beauty, it is called the painter's tree.
+It is a particularly neat and regular-looking tree, and its smooth
+gray trunk is higher than that of most trees before any branches
+appear. Where is there a tree on the grounds answering this
+description, Malcolm?"</p>
+<p class="right"><img src="Images/093.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>AMERICAN WHITE ASH.</b></p>
+<p>"Down at the end of the vegetable-garden," was the reply, "and
+close beside the laundry."</p>
+<p>"Yes; you are really learning to distinguish trees very well.
+There are several species--the white, red, black and mountain ash.
+The white ash is a graceful tree, rising in the forest to the
+height of seventy or eighty feet, with a straight trunk and a
+diameter of three feet or more at the base. On an open plain it
+throws out its branches, with a gentle double curvature, to a
+distance on every side, and forms a broad, round head of great
+beauty. The flowers of the ash are greenish white in color and
+appear with the leaves in loose clusters. 'The trunk of our largest
+American ash is covered with a whitish bark which in very young
+trees is nearly smooth; on older trees it is broken by deep furrows
+into irregular plates, and on very old stems it becomes smooth
+again, from the rough plates scaling off. The branches are grayish
+green dotted with gray or white.' Now who can tell <i>me</i>
+something about this tree?"</p>
+<p>"I know that furniture is made of the wood," said Clara,
+"because that pretty set in the large spare-room is ash. And it is
+very light-colored."</p>
+<p>"The wood is used for a great many things," replied Miss Harson,
+"and the ash has been called the husbandman's tree because the
+timber is so much in demand for farming-implements, and for
+articles that need to be both strong and light. It does not last so
+long as the oak, but it is more elastic and can better resist
+sudden shocks and jerks; it is therefore particularly desirable for
+the spokes of wheels and ladders and the beams of floors.
+Staircases were made of it in olden times, and they may still be
+found in some English halls and abbeys. The forest ash makes better
+oars than any other wood, and the tree has so many good qualities
+that an old English poet spoke of it as</p>
+<blockquote>"'The ash for nothing ill.'<br></blockquote>
+<p>"But Malcolm looks as if he had something to say, and I shall be
+very happy to hear it."</p>
+<p>"It is only about the red berries that they bear in autumn, Miss
+Harson; it looks queer to see berries growing on a tree."</p>
+<br>
+<p>"The mountain ash is the only one that has berries," replied his
+governess, "and the bloom is in clusters of white flowers. The
+berries are sometimes dark red and often of a bright scarlet, and
+they remain on the tree during the winter, to the great delight of
+the birds. We should find them very sour, although pretty to look
+at; but the little feathered wanderers eat them with great relish
+when the snows of winter make bird-food scarce and the bright-red
+berries gleam out most invitingly. In some parts of Europe the
+berries are dried and ground into flour. The rowan, or roan, tree
+is the English name of the mountain ash, and in some parts of Great
+Britain it is called <i>witchen</i>, because of its supposed power
+against witches and evil spirits and all their spells. In old times
+branches of it were hung about houses and stables and cow-sheds,
+for it was thought that</p>
+<blockquote>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "'witches
+have no power<br>
+Where there is roan-tree wood.'"<br></blockquote>
+<p>"But that isn't true, is it?" asked Edith.</p>
+<p>"No, dear, not true of either the witches or the wood. But
+ignorant people believe a great many foolish things, and the leaves
+and twigs of the ash tree were thought to have peculiar virtue. In
+some places it was once the practice to pluck an ash-leaf in every
+case where the leaflets were of even number, and to say,</p>
+<blockquote>"'Even ash, I do thee pluck,<br>
+Hoping thus to meet good luck;<br>
+If no luck I get from thee,<br>
+Better far be on the tree.'"<br></blockquote>
+<p>"It sounds like what children say on finding a four-leafed
+clover," said Clara.</p>
+<p>"It is on the same principle," was the reply, "for clover-leaves
+grow naturally in threes and ash-leaves in sevens. Both rhymes are
+equally silly where luck is concerned, and those who believe God's
+words--that even 'the hairs of our head are all numbered'--will
+have no faith in 'luck.' In old times the ash was believed to
+perform wonderful cures of various kinds, and in remote parts of
+England a little mouse called the shrew-mouse bore a very bad
+character. If a horse or cow had pains in its limbs, they were said
+to be caused by a shrew-mouse running over it. Our forefathers
+provided themselves with what they called a shrew-ash, in order to
+meet the case. The shrew-ash was nothing more than an ash tree in
+the trunk of which a hole had been bored and a poor little
+shrew-mouse put in, with many charms and incantations happily long
+since forgotten."</p>
+<p>"And couldn't the poor little mouse get out again?" asked
+Edith.</p>
+<p>"I am afraid not, dear; and we can only rejoice that we did not
+live in those dark days. Among other beliefs in its virtues, the
+leaves and wood of the ash were regarded throughout Northern Europe
+as a protection from all manner of snakes, and in harvest-time
+children were suspended in their cradles from the branches of tall
+ash trees while their mothers were working in the harvest-field
+below. Even now serpents are said to dislike the tree so much that
+they will not come near it, and the leaf is considered a cure for
+the bite of a poisonous snake. I have been told that an ash-leaf
+rubbed on a mosquito-bite will at once take out the sting and
+itching, and no better remedy can be found for the sting of a bee
+or a wasp."</p>
+<p>"It's ever so much nicer than mud," said Clara, who had rather a
+talent for getting into hornets' nests.</p>
+<br>
+<p>"But the mud, you see, is always to be had," replied Miss
+Harson, "while ash-leaves do not grow everywhere; and I do not know
+that they have any power to cure the sting.</p>
+<p>"The other species of ash found in this country are not so
+important as the white, but the black ash is remarkable as the
+slenderest deciduous tree of its height to be found in the forest.
+It is often seventy or eighty feet tall, with a trunk not more than
+a foot around. The color of the trunk is a dark granite-gray and
+the bark is rough. The wood is remarkable for its toughness, and
+for making baskets the Indians prefer it to any other, except the
+trunk of a young white oak.</p>
+<p>"The red ash is very much like the white, but the wood is less
+valuable. It is a spreading, broad-headed tree, and the trunk is
+erect and branching. It is not so tall as the black ash, yet its
+trunk is three times as thick.</p>
+<p>"A species of ash grows in Sicily that yields a substance called
+<i>manna</i> which used to be valuable as a medicine, and this
+manna is obtained in the same way as maple-sap--by making holes or
+incisions in the bark of the tree. At the proper season the persons
+whose business it is to collect manna begin to make incisions, one
+after the other, up the stem. The manna flows out like clear water,
+but it soon congeals and becomes a solid substance. It has a sweet
+taste, and while in a liquid state runs into a leaf of the tree
+that has been inserted in the wound. Afterward it flows into a
+vessel placed below, from which it is carried away and shipped off
+to other countries."</p>
+<p>"Is there any story about the ash?" asked Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"Not much of a story, dear," was the reply--"only a little
+legend of the manna trees; but, such as it is, you shall have
+it:</p>
+<p>"The king of Naples, it is said, fenced a number of trees round
+and forbade any to collect the store they yielded unless they paid
+a tribute. By this means the royal revenue would be largely
+increased. But, according to the story, the manna trees, as if they
+disapproved of this ungenerous arrangement, refused to yield any
+manna, and suddenly became bare and barren. Upon this the king,
+finding his scheme a failure, revoked the tax and took away the
+fence. Then the trees poured out their manna, as usual, in the
+greatest abundance; so that it was said, 'When the king found he
+could not make a gain of what Providence had freely bestowed, he
+gave up the attempt and left the manna as free as God had given
+it.'</p>
+<p class="ctr"><a href="Images/101.png"><img src="Images/101.png"
+width="40%" alt=""></a><br>
+<b>THE SWING.</b></p>
+<p>"There, now!" said Miss Harson; "after this long talk, you had
+better run off and see if there is not a tree somewhere on the
+grounds, with two ropes attached to it, that will bear better fruit
+than any tree we have studied yet."</p>
+<p>The trio laughed and raced for the swing, which was first
+reached by Clara, who seated herself all ready for the push which
+Malcolm would not grudge, for he pronounced his sister sweeter than
+apple or peach; and so she was.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI." id="CHAPTER_VI."></a>CHAPTER VI.</h2>
+<h3><i>THE OLIVE TREE</i>.</h3>
+<br>
+<p>"The ash," said Miss Harson, "has some relations of which, I
+think, you will be rather surprised to hear. These relations are
+both trees and shrubs, and the lilac, for instance, is one of
+them."</p>
+<p>"Why, they don't look a bit alike," exclaimed Clara.</p>
+<p>"No, they certainly do not; for, although this fragrant shrub
+often grows as large as a tree, it is quite different from the ash
+tree. Yet both belong to the olive family."</p>
+<p>"The kind of olives that papa likes to eat at dinner, and that
+you and I <i>don't</i> like, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"The very same," replied his governess; "only that we are
+speaking now of the tree on which the olives grow. It is well said
+that the very name of 'olive' suggests the idea of Palestine and
+the sunny lands of the East. The olive tree is one of the most
+prominent trees of the Bible. It is mentioned in the very earliest
+part of the Scriptures, in the book of Genesis. I wonder if some
+one can tell me about it?"</p>
+<p>"I remember: a dove found a leaf when it was raining and brought
+it to Noah in the ark," said little Edith, quickly.</p>
+<p>"The rain had stopped falling, dear, after the deluge, and the
+waters were receding, or falling, when Noah sent forth the dove a
+second time to see what it would find. Here is the verse: 'And the
+dove came in to him in the evening; and lo, in her mouth was an
+olive leaf pluckt off; so Noah knew that the waters were abated
+from off the earth<a name="FNanchor7" id="FNanchor7"></a><a href=
+"#Footnote_7">[7]</a>.' For this reason the olive-branch is a
+common emblem of peace. The olive tree is often mentioned in other
+parts of the Bible, and was considered one of the most valuable
+trees of Palestine, which is described as 'a land of oil-olive and
+honey.' It is not nearly so handsome as some other trees of the
+Holy Land, nor is it grand-looking or graceful. The leaves, which
+are long for the width, and smooth, are dark green on the upper
+side and silvery beneath; they generally grow in pairs. The fruit
+is shaped like a plum; it is green when first formed, then paler in
+color; and when quite ripe, it is black."</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_7" id="Footnote_7"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor7">[7]</a> Gen. viii. 9.</blockquote>
+<p>"But those that papa eats are olive-color," said Clara.</p>
+<p>"Yes," replied Miss Harson, smiling, "but all these hues I have
+mentioned are olive-color in some stage of the fruit; and it is in
+the green stage, before it is quite ripe, that it is gathered for
+preserving."</p>
+<p>"But that isn't <i>preserves</i>, is it?" asked Malcolm, drawing
+up his mouth at the recollection of an olive he had once tried to
+eat. "I thought preserves were always sweet."</p>
+<p>"That is the shape in which you are accustomed to them, Malcolm;
+but to preserve a thing means to keep it from decay, and salt and
+vinegar will do this as well as sugar. Preserves of this kind are
+what <i>you</i> call 'puckery.'--As to the color, Clara,
+'olive-green' is a color by itself, because of its peculiar tint.
+It is a gray green instead of a blue or yellow green, and it has a
+very dull effect. The fruit is produced only once in two years, and
+in bearing-season the tree is loaded with white blossoms that drop
+to the ground like flakes of snow. It is said that not one in a
+hundred of these numerous flowers becomes an olive. Here,"
+continued Miss Harson, pointing to a page of a book in her hand,
+"is a representation of an olive-branch with some of the
+plum-shaped fruit. The branch, you see, is hard and
+stiff-looking."</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/106.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>OLIVE-BRANCH WITH FRUIT.</b></p>
+<p>"I should think the tree would be prettier when all those white
+flowers are on it," said little Edith.</p>
+<p>"It is--much prettier," replied her governess--"but not so
+useful. The fruit of the olive is so valuable that numbers of
+people depend upon it for their support. The wood, too, is very
+hard and durable, and, as it takes a fine polish, it is used for
+making many ornamental articles."</p>
+<p>"And where does the olive-oil come from?" asked Clara. "Do they
+make holes in the tree for it, as they do for maple-sap?"</p>
+<p>Malcolm was about to exclaim at this idea, but he remembered
+just in time that, should Miss Harson happen to question him, he
+himself could not tell where the oil came from.</p>
+<p>"The oil is pressed from the olives," was the reply; "a large,
+vigorous tree is said to yield a thousand pounds of it. It is such
+an important article of commerce in the regions where it is
+prepared that every one desires to get as much as he can out of his
+olive trees, but those who are too greedy of gain will spoil the
+quality of the oil to make a larger quantity. The small olive of
+Syria is considered the most delicate, and Italian olives also are
+very fine; those of Spain are larger and coarser. The best
+olive-oil comes from the south-eastern portion of France and is a
+clear, pure liquid; it is obtained from the first pressing of the
+fruit. This must be only a gentle squeeze, to get the purest oil:
+the quality usually sold is made by a heavier pressure; and then,
+when the olives are worked over again, come the dregs, which are
+not fit for table-use."</p>
+<p>"Do they mash 'em, like making apples into cider?" asked
+Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"Something like that; and the olive-farmers take the most
+anxious care of their orchards, for they know that the more olives
+the more oil. This with the Italians means a living, and one of
+their proverbs says, 'If you wish to leave a competency to your
+grandchildren, plant an olive.' The poorest of the fruit is eaten
+in their own families, 'to save it,' and, as it does not taste so
+well, it will go much farther. They do not eat olives, though, as
+we see them eaten--one or two as a relish; but a respectable
+dishful is provided for each person, instead of the bread and
+potatoes which they do not have."</p>
+<p>"I'd rather have the bread and potatoes," said Clara, "and I'm
+glad that I don't have to eat a whole plate of olives."</p>
+<p>"If you had always been accustomed to having olives, as the
+Italians are," replied Miss Harson, "you would think them very
+nice. I do not suppose that their children ever think how much more
+inviting are the olives that are kept for sale. Olives intended for
+exportation are gathered while still green, usually in the month of
+October. They are soaked for some hours in the strongest lye, to
+get rid of their bitterness, and are afterward allowed to stand for
+a fortnight in frequently-changed fresh water, in order to be
+perfectly purified of the lye. It only then remains to preserve
+them in common salt and water, when they are ready for export."</p>
+<p>"That's what they taste of," exclaimed Malcolm--"salt; and I
+don't like salt things."</p>
+<p>"I think," said his governess, with a smile, "that I have seen a
+boy whom I know enjoying sliced ham and tongue very much
+indeed."</p>
+<p>"So I do, Miss Harson," was the eager reply; "but ham and
+tongue, you know, don't taste like olives."</p>
+<p>"No, because they are ham and tongue. But they certainly taste
+salty, and that is what you object to. It is generally found that
+sweeping assertions are not very safe ones. But to come back to our
+olive tree: it is an evergreen, and it grows very easily. The
+readiness with which a twig will take root reminds us of the
+willow. A fine grove of olive trees at Messa, in Morocco, was
+accidentally planted. It is said that one of the kings of the
+dynasty of Saddia, being on a military expedition, encamped here
+with his army. The pegs with which the cavalry picketed their
+horses were cut from olive trees in the neighborhood, and, some
+sudden cause of alarm leading to the abandonment of the position,
+the pegs were left in the ground. Making the best of the situation,
+the pegs developed into the handsomest group of olive trees in the
+district."</p>
+<p>The children wondered if any trees had ever been planted in such
+a strange way before, and little Edith said thoughtfully,</p>
+<p>"But, Miss Harson, why don't good people go around and plant
+trees wherever there aren't any? It would be so nice!"</p>
+<p>"Some good people do plant trees, dear, wherever they can,"
+replied her governess, "thinking, as they say, of those who are to
+come after them; a great many roadside trees have grown in this
+way. But no one is allowed to meddle with other people's property;
+waste-places might easily be beautified with trees if the owners
+cared for anything but for their own present interests. But here is
+something you will like to hear about the olives of Palestine:
+'They are all planted together in the grove like the trees in a
+forest, and it would seem scarcely possible for the owners to
+distinguish their own property. But when the fruit is getting ripe,
+watchmen are appointed to guard the grove and prevent a single
+olive from being touched even by the person who has a right to the
+tree.'--You do not look as if you would like that, Malcolm."</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/112.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>OLIVE TREE.--GATHERING THE FRUIT.</b></p>
+<p>"Indeed I wouldn't!" replied the boy. "I rather think I'd take
+my own olives whenever I wanted 'em."</p>
+<p>"Not if you lived where all were agreed on this point, as they
+seem to be in Palestine.--'Days pass on, and the autumn is at hand
+before the governor of the district issues the wished-for
+proclamation; then the watchmen are removed. Immediately the scene
+becomes a most animated one. The grove is alive with an eager
+throng of men, women and children shaking down the precious fruit.
+It is, however, scarcely possible to bring every berry down, nor
+would it seem desirable, since after this great harvest comes the
+gleaning-time, when the poor, who have no olive trees, are
+permitted to come into the grove and shake down what is left.'"</p>
+<p>"Isn't there something about that in the Bible, Miss Harson?"
+asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"Yes; it is in the book of the prophet Isaiah, 'Yet gleaning
+grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or
+three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in
+the outmost fruitful branches thereof, saith the Lord God of
+Israel<a name="FNanchor8" id="FNanchor8"></a><a href=
+"#Footnote_8">[8]</a>.' This is a prophecy about God's people, but
+the Jews were told by God to leave something, when they were
+harvesting, for the poor to glean. Does it not seem wonderful that
+the mighty Ruler of the universe should condescend to such small
+things? But nothing is small with him, and we see that his loving
+care extends to the poorest and the meanest."</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_8" id="Footnote_8"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor8">[8]</a> Isa. xvii. 6.</blockquote>
+<p>"Miss Harson," asked Edith, with great earnestness, "has each of
+our hairs got a number on it? I couldn't find any."</p>
+<p>The young lady could scarcely keep from smiling, but she was
+obliged to call Malcolm to order, and even Clara seemed amused at
+her little sister's queer interpretation of the loving words, "The
+very hairs of your head are all numbered."</p>
+<p>Miss Harson took her youngest pupil on her knee and explained to
+her the meaning of our Saviour's words in Luke xii. 7, where it is
+added, "Fear not,", because the heavenly Father's loving care is
+always around us.</p>
+<p>"It was a natural mistake," she continued, "for a very little
+girl to make; but we must not try to find amusement in mistakes
+about God's word. Many grown people are irreverent in this way
+without knowing it: perhaps they were not properly taught when they
+were children. But <i>my</i> children must not have this excuse,
+and I want them all to promise me that they will never utter nor
+listen to words from the Bible in any other but a reverent
+manner."</p>
+<p>All promised, Malcolm with a flushed face and subdued tone; and
+Edith felt that one of the great puzzles of her small existence had
+been solved.</p>
+<p>"Oil is the most important product of the olive tree," said Miss
+Harson, "and it has well been called its richness and fatness. The
+great demand for it in Europe and Asia prevents the best quality
+from being sent abroad, and it is said that even the most wealthy
+foreigners seldom get it pure. It is a most important article of
+food, taking the place held by butter and lard with us. Innumerable
+lamps, too, are kept burning by means of this oil, and so varied
+are its uses in the East that it was a greater thing than we can
+understand for the prophet Habakkuk to say, 'Although the labor of
+the olive shall fail, ... yet will I rejoice in the Lord, I will
+joy in the God of my salvation.' Job says, 'The rock poured me out
+rivers of oil<a name="FNanchor9" id="FNanchor9"></a><a href=
+"#Footnote_9">[9]</a>;' this means the oil of the olive, which will
+thrive on the sides and tops of rocky hills where there is scarcely
+any earth. It is a very long-lived tree, as well as an evergreen;
+the Psalmist says, 'I am like a green olive tree in the house of
+God.'"</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_9" id="Footnote_9"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor9">[9]</a> Job xxiii. 6.</blockquote>
+<p>"What does a <i>wild</i> olive tree mean, Miss Harson?" asked
+Clara.</p>
+<p>"It means, dear, one that has grown without being cultivated,
+like our wild cherry and plum trees. The wild olive is smaller than
+the other, and inferior to it in every way. There are a great many
+olive trees in Palestine, and a place where they must have been
+very plentiful is called by a name which we often see in the
+Bible.--What is it, Malcolm?"</p>
+<p>"Is it 'the Mount of Olives'?" said Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"Yes, and it is sometimes called 'Olivet.' It is mentioned in
+the Old Testament as well as in the New. In Second Samuel it is
+written: 'And David went up by the ascent of Mount Olivet, and wept
+as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot: and
+all the people that was with him covered every man his head, and
+they went up, weeping as they went up<a name="FNanchor10" id=
+"FNanchor10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10">[10]</a>.'"</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_10" id="Footnote_10"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor10">[10]</a> 2 Sam. xv. 30.</blockquote>
+<p>"What was the matter?" asked Edith.</p>
+<p>"King David's wicked son Absalom had risen up against his father
+because he wished to be king in his stead. You remember how he was
+caught by the head in the boughs of an oak during the very battle
+that he was fighting for this purpose; so we know that he did not
+succeed in his wicked plan, but lost his life instead.--The Mount
+of Olives is described as 'a ridge running north and south on the
+east side of Jerusalem, its summit about half a mile from the city
+wall and separated from it by the valley of the Kidron. It is
+composed of a chalky limestone, the rocks everywhere showing
+themselves. The olive trees that formerly covered it and gave it
+its name are now represented by a few trees and clumps of trees.
+There are three prominent summits on the ridge; of these, the
+southernmost, which is lower than the other two, is now known as
+'the Mount of Offence,' originally 'the Mount of Corruption,'
+because Solomon defiled it with idolatrous worship. Over this ridge
+passes the road to Bethany, the most frequented route to Jericho
+and the Jordan. The side of the Mount of Olives toward the west
+contains many tombs cut in the rock. The central summit rises two
+hundred feet above Jerusalem and presents a fine view of the city,
+and, indeed, of the whole region, including the mountains of
+Ephraim on the north, the valley of the Jordan on the east, a part
+of the Dead Sea on the south-east, and beyond it Kerak, in the
+mountains of Moab. Perhaps no spot on earth unites so fine a view
+with so many memorials of the most solemn and important events.
+Over this hill the Saviour often climbed in his journeys to and
+from the Holy City. Gethsemane lay at its foot on the west, and
+Bethany on its eastern slope.'"</p>
+<p>During the reading of this description of the Mount of Olives,
+Miss Harson showed the children pictures of the different spots
+mentioned, and thus they were not likely soon to forget what had
+been told them.</p>
+<p>"Who can repeat some words from the New Testament about this
+mountain?" asked Miss Harson.</p>
+<p>"'Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives,'" said Clara, who had
+learned this verse in her Sunday lesson, "and it is the first verse
+of the eighth chapter of St. John."</p>
+<p>"And the verse just before it, at the end of the seventh
+chapter," replied her governess, "says that 'every man went unto
+his own house,' but 'Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives.' In
+another place it is said that 'at night he went out and abode in
+the Mount of Olives,' and in still another that he 'continued all
+night in prayer to God,' probably on the same mountain."</p>
+<p>"And can people really go and see the very same Mount of Olives
+now?" asked Malcolm, eagerly.</p>
+<p>"The very same," was the reply, "except, as I just read to you,
+many of the olive trees that gave it its name are no longer there.
+The Garden of Gethsemane, too, the most sacred spot near the
+mountain, is much changed, and a traveler who saw it lately
+says:</p>
+<p>"'At the foot of the Mount of Olives is a garden enclosed by a
+wall. There are paths and there are plots of flowers, the work of
+loving hands in recent years. The flowers speak of to-day, but
+there are olive trees in the garden that testify of the history of
+far-away years. Their venerable trunks, gnarled and rugged, are
+like the rough, marred binding of old books, shutting in a history
+going back to a far-off date.</p>
+<p>"'On one side of this garden slope upward the terraces of the
+Mount of Olives--terraces that are cultivated to-day even as the
+slopes of Olivet have been cultivated for generations and
+centuries. The other side of the garden looks toward the eastern
+wall of Jerusalem. Deep down in its shadowy bed, between the wall
+and the garden, lies the ravine of the Kedron.</p>
+<p class="ctr"><a href="Images/121.png"><img src="Images/121.png"
+width="40%" alt=""></a><br>
+<b>GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE.</b></p>
+<p>"'If you visit that garden and look upon its old olive trees,
+the keeper of the place will tell you that you are in Gethsemane,
+the spot of our Saviour's betrayal. He will point out the "Grotto
+of the Agony," the place where the disciples slumbered, and that
+where Judas, before his brethren, ceased publicly to be a follower
+and became the betrayer of Jesus. Some things you very naturally
+may question as the guardian of the enclosure tells his story.
+Whether any one of the venerable olive trees ever threw its shadow
+across the prostrate form of Jesus is more than doubtful, but that
+these trees are burdened with the history of centuries all must
+concede. "Gethsemane" means "oil-press," and olive trees long ago
+gave Olivet its name. That somewhere in this neighborhood the
+Saviour suffered cannot be doubted, and within that closed wall may
+have been the very spot where he bowed in his agony, and where he
+heard the tongue of Judas utter his treacherous "Rabbi!" and where
+he felt the serpent-breath of the traitor as that traitor kissed
+him.'"</p>
+<p>Miss Harson read of this solemn spot in a low, reverent tone;
+and the little audience were very quiet, until at last Clara
+said,</p>
+<p>"Whenever we see an ash tree or olives, how much there will be
+to think of!"</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII." id="CHAPTER_VII."></a>CHAPTER VII.</h2>
+<h3><i>THE USEFUL BIRCH</i>.</h3>
+<br>
+<p>"Oh, Miss Harson!" called out Clara, in great excitement, as she
+caught up with her governess on a run; "hasn't Edie poisoned
+herself? She has been eating this twig."</p>
+<p>Edith, of course, at once began to cry.</p>
+<p>"You are not poisoned, dear," said Miss Harson, very quickly,
+after trying the twig herself; "for this is birch-wood, and it
+cannot possibly hurt you. But remember, Edie, that this must not
+happen again; <i>never</i> put anything to your mouth unless you
+know it to be harmless. The birds and squirrels and other animals
+that are obliged to pick up their own living as soon as they are
+able to use their limbs have the faculty given them of knowing what
+is good for them to eat, but little girls are not intended to live
+in the woods, and they cannot tell whether or not the things they
+find there are fit to eat."</p>
+<p>"I took only a little bit," sobbed Edith; "Clara snatched it
+away as soon as it tasted good."</p>
+<p>Malcolm laughingly tossed his little sister into a sort of
+evergreen cradle where the branches grew low--for they were
+enjoying an afternoon in the woods--and held her there securely,
+while their governess replied,</p>
+<p>"'A little bit' is too much of a thing that might be harmful.
+You must remember to 'touch not, taste not, handle not,' until you
+have asked permission. But I am going to let you all chew as many
+birch-shoots as you want, and I too shall chew some; for when I was
+a little girl, I used to think they were 'puffickly
+d'licious.'"</p>
+<p>The children were much amazed to think that Miss Harson had ever
+talked like Edith--indeed, the two older ones could scarcely
+believe that they once did so themselves; but all soon had their
+hands full of birch-twigs, and they began gnawing like so many
+squirrels. All approved of the "birchskin," as Edith called it, and
+Malcolm declared that "it would be grand fun to live in the woods
+all the time."</p>
+<p>"Couldn't we have a tent, Miss Harson," asked Clara, "and try
+it?"</p>
+<p>"I have no doubt," was the reply, "that your indulgent papa
+would have a tent put up here for you if he thought it would make
+you happier, but I have my doubts as to whether it would do so. In
+the first place, I should object very much to living in the tent
+with you, and how could you possibly live there alone?"</p>
+<p>Clara and Edith were quite sure that they could not get along
+without their friend and governess, but Malcolm thought he would
+like to try being a hermit or an Indian, he was not quite ready to
+say which.</p>
+<p>"While you are deciding," said Miss Harson, with a smile, "it
+may be as well for us to go on as usual; but I think that a little
+tent could be put up here somewhere, which we might enjoy for an
+hour or so on pleasant days. I will see about it."</p>
+<p>The little girls were delighted, and Malcolm finally
+condescended to be pleased with the idea.</p>
+<p>"This is a very young birch," continued their governess, "and
+you see how slender and graceful it is; also that the bark, or
+'skin,' is very dark. For this reason it is called the black, or
+cherry, birch, and also because the tree is very much like the
+black cherry. It is also called sweet birch and mahogany birch; the
+<i>sweet</i> part you can probably understand, and it gets its
+other name from the color of the wood, which often resembles
+mahogany and at one time was much used for furniture. There are
+larger trees of the same kind all around us, and I should like to
+know if anything else has been noticed besides the twigs of this
+little one."</p>
+<p>"<i>I</i> see something," replied Malcolm: "there are
+flowers--purple and yellow."</p>
+<p>"And what is the particular name for these tree-blossoms?" asked
+Miss Harson.</p>
+<p>"Isn't it <i>catkins</i>?" inquired Clara, timidly.</p>
+<p>"Yes, catkins, or aments. They hang, as you see, like long
+tassels of purple and gold, and are as fragrant as the bark.
+Bryant's line,</p>
+<blockquote>"'The fragrant birch above him hung her tassels in the
+sky,'<br></blockquote>
+<p>"was written of this same black birch. Some of these trees are
+sixty or seventy feet high, and all are very graceful, this species
+being considered the most beautiful of the numerous birch family.
+The leaves, which are just coming out, are two or three inches long
+and about half as wide; they taper to a point and have serrate, or
+sawlike, edges. The wood is firm and durable, and is much used for
+cattle-yokes as well as for bedsteads and chairs. The large trees
+yield a great quantity of sweetish sap, which makes a pleasant
+drink. The trees are tapped just as the sugar-maples are, and in
+some parts of the country gathering this sap, which is sometimes
+used to make vinegar, is quite an important event."</p>
+<p>"Oh! oh! <i>oh</i>!" screamed Edith, and began to run.</p>
+<p>"Oh! oh! oh!" echoed Clara; and Malcolm declared that she was
+just like "Jill," who "came tumbling after."</p>
+<br>
+<p>"What is the matter, children?" asked their governess, in
+dismay; but she stood perfectly still.</p>
+<p>"Only a poor little garter-snake," said Malcolm, "putting his
+head out to see if it's warm enough for him yet. But he has gone
+back into his hole frightened to death at such dreadful noises.
+Hello! what's the matter with Edie now?"</p>
+<p>The little sister had fallen, tripped up by some rough roots,
+and, expecting the poor startled garter-snake to come and make a
+meal off her, she was calling loudly for help.</p>
+<p>Miss Harson had her in her arms in a moment, and it was soon
+found that one foot had quite a bad bruise.</p>
+<p>"If only you had not run away!" said her governess. "He was such
+an innocent little snake to make all this fuss about, and very
+pretty too, if you had stopped to look at him."</p>
+<p>"Are snakes ever pretty?" asked Edith, in great surprise.</p>
+<p>"Certainly they are, dear, and this one had lovely stripes. I
+wish you could have seen him."</p>
+<p>The little girl began to wish so too, it was so funny to think
+of a snake being pretty, and she felt quite ashamed that she had
+scampered away in such a silly fashion.</p>
+<p>"What a goose I was!" said Clara, doing her thinking aloud. "But
+I thought it must be something dreadful, when Edie screamed
+so."</p>
+<p>"How much better it would have been to have found out before you
+screamed!" replied Miss Harson.--"But come, Edith; see what a nice
+cane Malcolm has just cut to help your lame foot with. He is
+offering you his arm, too, on the other side, and between the two I
+think you will get along finely."</p>
+<p>Edith thought the same thing, and enjoyed being helped home in
+this fashion. Her foot was quite painful, though, and considerably
+swollen; and Clara bathed it with arnica when the little girl had
+been comfortably established on the schoolroom sofa.</p>
+<p>"Perhaps," said Miss Harson, "our little invalid will not care
+to hear about trees this evening?"</p>
+<p class="right"><img src="Images/131.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>THE CUT-LEAVED WHITE BIRCH.</b></p>
+<p>But the little invalid did care, and it was decided to take a
+further ramble among the birches.</p>
+<p>"I want to hear about birch-bark," said Malcolm--"not the kind
+we've been eating, but the kind that canoes and things are made
+of."</p>
+<p>"You have already heard about the black birch," replied his
+governess, "and, besides this, we have the white, or gray, birch,
+the bark of which is white, chalky and dotted with black; the red
+birch, with bark of a reddish or chocolate color; the yellow birch,
+bark yellowish, with a silvery lustre; and the canoe birch, which
+has a white bark with a pearly lustre. There is also a dwarf, or
+shrub, birch. The list, you see, is quite a long one."</p>
+<p>"What kind grow in <i>our</i> woods?" asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"You certainly know of one kind," was the reply--"the black, or
+sweet, birch, which we have all tried and like so well. Besides
+this, there is the white, or little gray, birch, which is seldom
+over twenty-five or thirty feet high. It is, however, a graceful
+and beautiful object, enjoying to an eminent decree the lightness
+and airiness of the birch family, and spreading out its glistening
+leaves on the ends of a very slender and often pensile spray with
+an indescribable softness. An English poet has called this tree
+the</p>
+<blockquote>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+"'most beautiful<br>
+Of forest-trees, the lady of the woods.'"<br></blockquote>
+<p>The children laughed at the idea of calling a tree a
+<i>lady</i>, it seemed so comical; but Miss Harson said that she
+thought this was a very good description of a slender, graceful
+tree.</p>
+<p class="right"><img src="Images/133.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>WHITE-BIRCH LEAF.</b></p>
+<p>"Four or five inches," she continued, "will span its waist, or
+trunk, and this seems a very good reason for calling it
+<i>little</i>. Another name for this tree is poplar birch, because
+the triangular-shaped leaves, which taper to a very long, slender
+point, have a habit of trembling like those of the poplars. The
+branches are of a dark chocolate color which contrasts very
+prettily with the grayish-white trunk, and their extreme
+slenderness causes them to droop somewhat like those of the willow.
+The white birch will spring up in the poorest kind of soil, and it
+is found in the highest latitude in which any tree can live. Its
+leaf is 'deltoid' in shape and indented at the edge. The bark of
+this species is said to be more durable than any other vegetable
+substance, and a piece of birch-wood was once found changed into
+stone, while the outer bark, white and shining, remained in its
+natural state,"</p>
+<p>"I don't see how it could," said Malcolm. "What kept it from
+turning into stone too?"</p>
+<p>"Its peculiar nature," was the reply, "which is a thing that we
+cannot explain, and we shall have to take the story just as it is.
+We certainly know that the wood has been proved to be very strong,
+and it is much used for timber."</p>
+<p>"Is the red birch really red, Miss Harson?" asked Clara, who
+thought that this promised to be the prettiest member of the
+family.</p>
+<p>"The bark has a reddish tinge, and it is so loose and
+ragged-looking that it has been said to roll up its bark in coarse
+ringlets, which are whitish with a stain of crimson. The red birch,
+which is more rare than any of the other kinds, is a much larger
+tree than the white birch, but, like all its relations, it is very
+graceful. The wood is white and hard and makes very good fuel,
+while the twigs are made into brooms for sweeping streets and
+courtyards."</p>
+<p>"But there isn't very much red about it, after all," said
+Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"It wasn't red," murmured Edith; "it was green;" and the next
+moment "the baby" was fast asleep, but Miss Harson was afraid that
+she had taken the snake with her to the land of Nod, so restless
+was her sleep.</p>
+<p>"I hope the yellow birch is yellow," said Clara again.</p>
+<p>"We will see what is said of its color," replied her governess,
+"and here it is: 'Distinguished by its yellowish bark, of a soft
+silken texture and silvery or pearly lustre,' It is a large tree,
+and has been named <i>excelsa</i>--'lofty'--because of its height.
+The slender, flowing branches are very graceful, and the tree is
+often as symmetrical as a fine elm, but droops less. The roots of
+the yellow birch seem to enjoy getting above the ground and
+twisting themselves in a very fantastic manner, and, taken
+altogether, it is a strikingly handsome and ornamental tree. The
+wood was at one time much liked for fuel, and many of the logs were
+of immense size."</p>
+<p>"Now," said Malcolm, gleefully, "the canoe birch has <i>got</i>
+to come next, because there isn't anything else to come."</p>
+<p>"That is an excellent reason," replied Miss Harson, "and the
+canoe birch it shall be. There is more to be said of it than of any
+of the others, and it also grows in greater quantities. Thick woods
+of it are found in Maine and New Hampshire--for it loves a cold
+climate--and in other Northern portions of the country. The tall
+trunks of the trees resemble pillars of polished marble supporting
+a canopy of bright-green foliage. The leaves are something of a
+heart-shape, and their vivid summer green turns to golden tints in
+autumn. The bark of the canoe birch is almost snowy white on the
+outside, and very prettily marked with fine brown stripes two or
+three inches long, which go around the trunk. This bark is very
+smooth and soft, and it is easily separated into very thin sheets.
+For this reason the tree is often called the paper birch, and the
+smooth, thin layers of bark make very good writing-paper when none
+other can be had."</p>
+<p>"Oh, Miss Harson!" exclaimed Clara; "did you ever see any that
+was written on?"</p>
+<p>"Yes," was the reply; "I once wrote a letter on some
+myself."</p>
+<p>"Did you <i>really</i>?" cried two eager voices. "How
+<i>could</i> you? Oh, do tell us about it!"</p>
+<p>"I was making a visit at a village in Maine," said their
+governess, "where the beautiful trees are to be seen in all their
+perfection, and I thought it would be appropriate to write a letter
+from there on birch bark. So I split my bark very thin and got a
+respectable sheet of it ready; then I cut another piece, to form an
+envelope, and gummed it together. I had quite a struggle to write
+on it decently with a steel pen, because the pen would go through
+the paper; but I persevered, and finally I accomplished my letter.
+It seemed odd to put a postage-stamp on birch bark, and I smiled to
+think how surprised the home-people would be to get such a letter.
+They <i>were</i> surprised, and they told me afterward that the
+postman laughed when he delivered it."</p>
+<p>The children thought this very interesting, and they wished that
+there were canoe-birch trees growing at Elmridge, that they might
+be enabled to try the experiment for themselves.</p>
+<p>"Now," continued Miss Harson, "I am going to read you an account
+of canoe-making, and of some other uses to which the bark is
+put:</p>
+<p>"'In Canada and in the district of Maine the country-people
+place large pieces of the bark immediately below the shingles of
+the roof, to form a more impenetrable covering for their houses.
+Baskets, boxes and portfolios are made of it, which are sometimes
+embroidered with silk of different colors. Divided into very thin
+sheets, it forms a substitute for paper, and placed between the
+soles of the shoes and in the crown of the hat it is a defence
+against dampness. But the most important purpose to which it is
+applied, and one in which it is replaced by the bark of no other
+tree, is in the construction of canoes. To procure proper pieces,
+the largest and smoothest trunks are selected. In the spring two
+circular incisions are made, several feet apart, and two
+longitudinal ones on opposite sides of the tree; after which, by
+introducing a wooden wedge, the bark is easily detached. These
+plates are usually ten or twelve feet long and two feet nine inches
+broad. To form the canoe, they are stitched together with fibrous
+roots of the white spruce about the size of a quill, which are
+deprived of the bark, split and suppled in water. The seams are
+coated with resin of the balm of Gilead.</p>
+<p>"'Great use is made of these canoes by the savages and by the
+French Canadians in their long journeys into the interior of the
+country; they are very light, and are easily transported on the
+shoulders from one lake or river to another, which is called the
+<i>portage</i>. A canoe calculated for four persons, with their
+baggage, weighs from forty to fifty pounds; some of them are made
+to carry fifteen passengers.'</p>
+<p>"And now let me show you a picture of the Kentucky pioneer in a
+birch-bark canoe."</p>
+<p>"Why, Miss Harson, the Indians are trying to kill him!"
+exclaimed Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"Yes," she replied; "when you read the history of the United
+States, you will find that not only Daniel Boone, but the most of
+the early settlers of these Western lands, had trouble with the
+Indians. Nor is this strange. These pioneers were often rough men,
+and were looked upon by the natives as invaders of their country
+and treated as enemies. But to come back to the uses of the bark of
+the birch:</p>
+<p>"'In the settlements of the Hudson Bay Company tents are made of
+the bark of this tree, which for that purpose is cut into pieces
+twelve feet long and four feet wide. These are sewed together by
+threads made of the white-spruce roots; and so rapidly is a tent
+put up that a circular one twenty feet in diameter and ten feet
+high does not occupy more than half an hour in pitching. Every
+traveler and hunter in Canada enjoys these "rind-tents," as they
+are called, which are used only during the hot summer months, when
+they are found particularly comfortable.'"</p>
+<p class="ctr"><a href="Images/141.png"><img src="Images/141.png"
+width="40%" alt=""></a><br>
+<b>IN THE BIRCH-BARK CANOE.</b></p>
+<p>"Well, that's the funniest thing yet!" exclaimed Malcolm.
+"'Rind-tents'! I wish I could see one. Did they have any in Maine
+where you were, Miss Harson?"</p>
+<p>"No," was the reply, "I did not even hear of such a thing there,
+and to see it you would probably have to go far to the north. The
+English birch, which is found also in many parts of Europe, is put
+to a great many uses; the leaves produce a yellow dye, and the
+wood, when mixed with copperas, will color red, black and brown. An
+old birch tree that is supposed to be giving an account of itself
+says,</p>
+<p>"'How many are the uses of my bark! Thrifty men who sit beside
+the blazing hearth when my branches throw up a clear bright flame,
+and follow the example of their fathers in making their own shoes
+and those of their families, tan the hides with my bark.
+Kamschadales construct from it both hats and vessels for holding
+milk, and the Swedish fisherman his shoes. The Norwegian covers
+with it his low-roofed hut and spreads upon the surface layers of
+moss at least three or four inches thick, and, having twisted long
+strips together, he obtains excellent torches with which to cheer
+the darkness of his long nights. Fishermen, in like manner, make
+great use of them in alluring their finny prey. For this purpose
+they fit a portion of blazing birch in a cleft stick and spear the
+fish when attracted by its flickering light.'"</p>
+<p>The children exclaimed at this queer way of fishing, but Malcolm
+was very much taken with the idea of doing it by night with blazing
+torches, and he thought that he would like to be a Norwegian
+fisherman even better than a hermit or an Indian.</p>
+<p>"The old tree goes on to say," continued Miss Harson, "that
+'Finland mothers form of the dried leaves soft, elastic beds for
+their children, and from me is prepared the <i>mona</i>, their sole
+medicine in all diseases. My buds in spring exhale a delicious
+fragrance after showers, and the bark, when burnt, seems to purify
+the air in confined dwellings.'</p>
+<p>"In Lapland the twigs of the birch, covered with reindeer-skins,
+are used for beds, but they cannot be so comfortable, I should
+think, as the leaves. The fragrant wood of the tree makes the fires
+which have to be kept up inside the huts even in summer to drive
+away the mosquitoes, and the people of those Northern regions would
+find it hard to get along without the useful birch."</p>
+<p>"I like to hear about it," said Clara. "Can you tell us
+something more that is done with it, Miss Harson?"</p>
+<p>"There is just one thing more," replied her governess, with a
+smile, "which I will read out of an old book; and I desire you all
+to pay particular attention to it."</p>
+<p>Little Edith was wide awake again by this time, and her great
+blue eyes looked as if she were ready to devour every word.</p>
+<p>"Birch rods," continued Miss Harson, "are quite different from
+birch <i>twigs</i>, and the uses to which they were put were not
+altogether agreeable to the boys who ran away from school or did
+not get their lessons. 'My branches,' says the birch, 'gently
+waving in the wind, awakened in those days no feelings of dread
+with truant urchins--for <i>all</i> might be truants then, if so it
+pleased them--but at length a scribe arose who thus wrote
+concerning my ductile twigs: "The civil uses whereunto the birch
+serveth are many, as for the punishment of children both at home
+and abroad; for it hath an admirable influence upon them to quiet
+them when they wax unruly, and therefore some call the tree
+<i>make-peace</i>"'" Malcolm and Clara both laughed, and asked
+their young governess when the birch rods were coming; but Edith
+did not feel quite so easy, and, with her bruised foot and all, it
+took a great deal of petting that night to get her comfortably to
+bed.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII." id="CHAPTER_VIII."></a>CHAPTER
+VIII.</h2>
+<h3><i>THE POPLARS</i>.</h3>
+<br>
+<p>The bruised foot was not comfortable to walk on for two or three
+days, and Edith was settled in the great easy arm-chair with dolls
+and toys and picture-books in a pile that seemed as if it would not
+stop growing until every article belonging to herself and Clara had
+been gathered there. "We can go on with our trees," said Miss
+Harson, "even if we do not see them just yet; and this evening I
+should like to tell you something about the poplar, a large tree
+with alternate leaves which is often found in dusty towns, where it
+seems to flourish as well as in its favorite situation by a running
+stream. An old English writer calls the poplars 'hospitable trees,
+for anything thrives under their shade.' They are not
+handsomely-shaped trees, but the foliage is thick and pretty. In
+the latter part of this month--April--the trees are so covered with
+their olive-green catkins that large portions of the forests seem
+to be colored by them."</p>
+<p class="ctr"><a href="Images/147.png"><img src="Images/147.png"
+width="40%" alt=""></a><br>
+<b>IN THE EASY CHAIR.</b></p>
+<p>"Are there any poplars at Elmridge?" asked Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"Not nearer than the woods," was the reply, "where we must go
+and look for them when Edith's foot is quite well again, though
+there are a good many in the city. The poplar is often planted by
+the roadside because it grows so rapidly and makes a good shade.
+The <i>Abele</i>, or silver poplar, is an especial favorite for
+this purpose.</p>
+<p>"The balm of Gilead, or Canada poplar, is the largest of the
+species, and really a handsome tree, often growing to the height of
+fifty or sixty feet, with a trunk of proportionate size. It has
+large leaves of a bright, glossy green, which grow loosely on long
+branches, A peculiarity of this tree is that before the leaves
+begin to expand the buds are covered with a yellow, glutinous
+balsam that diffuses a penetrating but very agreeable odor unlike
+any other. The balsam is gathered as a healing anodyne, and for
+many ailments it is a favorite remedy in domestic medicine. All the
+poplars produce more or less of this substance.</p>
+<p class="right"><img src="Images/149.png" width="35%" alt=""><br>
+<b>LOMBARDY POPLAR.</b></p>
+<p>"The river poplaris found on the banks of rivers and brooks and
+in wet places, and is a noble and graceful tree. The trunk is light
+gray in color, and the young trees have a smooth, leather-like
+bark. The broad leaves, of a very rich green, grow on stems nearly
+as long as themselves, and the flowering aments are of a light-red
+color. The leaf-stalks and young branches are also brightly tinted.
+Another of these trees has a very singular name: it is called the
+necklace poplar."</p>
+<p>"Do the flowers grow like real necklaces?" asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"Not quite," replied her governess, "but the reason given is
+something like it. The tree is so called from the resemblance of
+the long ament, before opening, to the beads of a necklace. In
+Europe it is known as the Swiss poplar and the black Italian
+poplar. Its timber is much valued there for building. There are
+also the black poplar and that queer, stiff-looking tree the
+Lombardy poplar. Cannot one of you tell me where there are some
+tall, narrow trees that look almost as if they had been cut out of
+wood and stuck there?"</p>
+<p>"I know where there are some," said Malcolm: "right in front of
+Mrs. Bush's old house; and I think they're miserable-looking
+trees."</p>
+<p>"When old and rusty, they are not in the least cheerful,"
+replied Miss Harson; "and it is so long since Lombardy poplars were
+admired that few are found except about old places. The tree is
+shaped like a tall spire, and in hot, calm weather drops of clear
+water trickle from its leaves like a slight shower of rain. It was
+once a favorite shade-tree, and a century ago great numbers of
+Lombardy poplars were planted by village waysides, in front of
+dwelling-houses, on the borders of public grounds, and particularly
+in avenues leading to houses that stand at some distance from the
+high-road.</p>
+<p class="ctr"><a href="Images/151.png"><img src="Images/151.png"
+width="40%" alt=""></a><br>
+<b>A GROUP OF POPLARS IN CASHMERE.</b></p>
+<p>"The poplar is found in many lands. The Lombardy poplar, as its
+name indicates, was brought from Italy, where it grows luxuriantly
+beside the orange and the myrtle; but after one of our cold winters
+many of its small branches will decay, and this gives it a forlorn
+appearance. When fresh and green, the Lombardy poplar is quite
+handsome. Some one wrote of it long ago: 'There is no other tree
+that so pleasantly adorns the sides of narrow lanes and avenues,
+and so neatly accommodates itself to limited enclosures. Its
+foliage is dense and of the liveliest verdure, making delicate
+music to the soft touch of every breeze. Its terebinthine odors
+scent the vernal gales that enter our open windows with the morning
+sun. Its branches, always turning upward and closely gathered
+together, afford a harbor to the singing-birds that make them a
+favorite resort, and its long, tapering spire that points to heaven
+gives an air of cheerfulness and religious tranquillity to village
+scenery.'"</p>
+<p>"I wish we had some," said Edith, "with singing-birds in
+'em."</p>
+<p>"Why, my dear child," replied her governess, "have we not the
+beautiful elms, in which the birds build their nests and where they
+fly in and out continually? They are the very same birds that build
+in the Lombardy poplars."</p>
+<p>"I thought that singing-birds always lived in cages," said the
+little queen in the easy-chair.</p>
+<p>"And did you think they were hung all over the Lombardy
+poplars?" asked Malcolm, in a broad grin.</p>
+<p>Edith laughed too, and Miss Harson said smilingly.</p>
+<p>"I thought that the birds about Elmridge did a great deal of
+singing, and the blue-birds and robins kept it up all day. But I
+should not like to see the old Lombardy poplars hung with gilded
+cages, and the birds which should happen to be prisoners in the
+cages would like it still less."</p>
+<p>"Well," said Edith, contentedly, as she settled herself again to
+listen.</p>
+<p>"The poplar," continued Miss Harson, "has a great many insect
+enemies, and the Lombardy is not often seen now, because a great
+many of these trees were destroyed on account of a worm, or
+caterpillar, by which they were infested. Poplar-wood is soft,
+light and generally of a pale-yellow color; it is much used for
+toy-making and for boarded floors, 'for which last purpose it is
+well adapted from its whiteness and the facility with which it is
+scoured, and also from the difficulty with which it catches fire
+and the slowness with which it burns. A red-hot poker falling on a
+board of poplar would burn its way without causing more combustion
+than the hole through which it passed.'"</p>
+<p>"I should think, then," said Malcolm, "that all wooden things
+would be made of poplar."</p>
+<p>"It is generally thought not to be durable," was the reply, "but
+it is said that if kept dry the wood will last as long as that of
+any tree. Says the poplar plank,</p>
+<blockquote>"'Though heart of oak be ne'er so stout,<br>
+Keep me dry and I'll see him out.'<br></blockquote>
+<p>"The poplar has been highly praised, for every part of this tree
+answers some good purpose. The bark, being light, like cork, serves
+to support the nets of fishermen; the inner bark is used by the
+Kamschadales as a material for bread; brooms are made from the
+twigs, and paper from the cottony down of the seeds. Horses, cows
+and sheep browse upon it.</p>
+<p>"And now," said Miss Harson, when the children were wondering if
+that were the end, "we have come to the most interesting tree of
+the whole species--the aspen, or trembling poplar. It is a small,
+graceful tree with rounded leaves having a wavy, toothed border,
+covered with soft silk when young, which remains only as a fringe
+on the edge at maturity, supported by a very slender footstalk
+about as long as the leaf, and compressed laterally from near the
+base. They are thus agitated by the slightest breath of wind with
+that quivering, restless motion characteristic of all the poplars,
+but in none so striking as this. 'To quiver like an aspen-leaf has
+become a proverb. The foliage appears lighter than that of most
+other trees, from continually displaying the under side of the
+leaves.</p>
+<p>"The aspen has been called a very poetical tree, because it is
+the only one whose leaves tremble when the wind is apparently calm.
+It is said, however, to suggest fickleness and caprice, levity and
+irresolution--a bad character for any tree. The small American
+aspen, which is quite common, has a smooth, pale-green bark, which
+gets whitish and rough as the tree grows old. The foliage is thin,
+but a single leaf will be found, when examined, uncommonly
+beautiful. A spray of the small aspen, when in leaf, is very light
+and airy-looking, and the leaves produce a constant rustling sound.
+'Legends of no ordinary interest linger around this tree. Ask the
+Italian peasant who pastures his sheep beside a grove of
+<i>Abele</i> why the leaves of these trees are always trembling in
+even the hottest weather when not a breeze is stirring, and he will
+tell you that the wood of the trembling-poplar formed the cross on
+which our Saviour suffered.'"</p>
+<p>"Oh, Miss Harson!" said Clara, in a low tone. "Is that
+<i>true</i>?"</p>
+<p>"We do not know that it is, dear, nor do we know that it is not.
+Here are some verses about it which I like very much:</p>
+<blockquote>"'The tremulousness began, as legends tell,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;When he, the meek One, bowed his head to death<br>
+E'en on an aspen cross, when some near dell<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;Was visited by men whose every breath<br>
+That Sufferer gave them. Hastening to the wood--<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;The wood of aspens--they with ruffian power<br>
+Did hew the fair, pale tree, which trembling stood<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;As if awestruck; and from that fearful hour<br>
+Aspens have quivered as with conscious dread<br>
+Of that foul crime which bowed the meek Redeemer's head.<br>
+<br>
+"'Far distant from those days, oh let not man,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;Boastful of reason, check with scornful speech<br>
+Those legends pure; for who the heart may scan<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;Or say what hallowed thoughts such legends teach<br>
+To those who may perchance their scant flocks keep<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;On hill or plain, to whom the quivering tree<br>
+Hinteth a thought which, holy, solemn, deep,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;Sinks in the heart, bidding their spirits flee<br>
+All thoughts of vice, that dread and hateful thing<br>
+Which troubleth of each joy the pure and gushing
+spring?'"<br></blockquote>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX." id="CHAPTER_IX."></a>CHAPTER IX.</h2>
+<h3><i>ALL A-BLOW: THE APPLE TREE</i>.</h3>
+<br>
+<p>It certainly was a beautiful sight, and the children exclaimed
+over it in ectasy. It was now past the middle of April, and Miss
+Harson had taken her little flock to visit an apple-orchard at some
+distance from Elmridge, and the whole place seemed to be one mass
+of pink-and-white bloom.</p>
+<p>"And how deliciously <i>sweet</i> it is!" said Malcolm as he
+sniffed the fragrant air.</p>
+<p>"Oh!" exclaimed Edith, turning up her funny little nose to get
+the full benefit of all this fragrance; "I can't breathe half
+enough at once."</p>
+<p>"That is just my case," said her governess, laughing, "but I did
+not think to say it in that way. Get all you can of this
+deliciousness, children; I wish that we could carry some of it away
+with us."</p>
+<p>"And so you shall," replied a hearty voice as Mr. Grove, the
+owner of the orchard, came up with a knife in his hand and began
+cutting off small branches of apple--blossoms. "I like to see folks
+enjoy things."</p>
+<p>"I hope you don't mind our trespassing on your grounds?" said
+Miss Harson. "I can engage that my little friends will do no
+injury, and I particularly wished them to see your beautiful
+orchard in bloom; it is almost equal to a field of roses."</p>
+<p>"Don't mind it at all, miss," was the reply--"quite the
+contrary; and I think, myself, it's a pretty sight. Smells good,
+too. Now, here's a nosegay big enough for you three young ladies,
+and Bub there can carry it."</p>
+<p>Malcolm, who was quite proud of his name, felt so indignant at
+being called "Bub" that he almost forgot the farmer's generosity;
+but his governess acknowledged it, very much to the worthy man's
+satisfaction.</p>
+<p>Edith, however, was rather shocked.</p>
+<p>"I thought it was wicked," said she, "to cut off flowers from
+fruit trees? Won't these make apples?"</p>
+<p>"Not them particular ones, Sis," replied Mr. Grove, with a
+laugh; "they're done for now. But it ain't wicked to cut off your
+own apple blows when there's too many on the tree to make good
+apples, and there's plenty to spare yet." He was very much amused
+at the little girl's serious face over this wholesale destruction
+of infant apples, and he invited them all to come to the house and
+get a drink of fresh milk. The children thought this a very
+pleasant invitation, and Miss Harson was quite willing to gratify
+them.</p>
+<p>The farmer led his guests into a very cheerful and wonderfully
+clean kitchen, where Mrs. Groves was busy with her baking, and the
+loaves of fresh bread looked very inviting. She was as pleasant and
+hospitable as her husband, and after shaking up a funny-looking
+patchwork cushion in a rocking-chair for the young lady to sit down
+on she told the little girls that she would get them a couple of
+crickets if they would wait a minute, and disappeared into the next
+room.</p>
+<p>The two little sisters looked at each other in dismay and
+wondered what they could do with these insects, but before they
+could consult Miss Harson good Mrs. Grove had returned carrying in
+each hand a small flat footstool. The girls sat down very
+carefully, for they were not accustomed to such low seats; but the
+whole party were tired with their walk and glad to rest for a short
+time. Malcolm, being a boy, was expected to sit where he could, and
+he speedily established himself in the corner of a wooden
+settle.</p>
+<p>In spite of the apple-blossoms, the kitchen fire was very
+comfortable; and, as the baking was just coming to an end, Mrs.</p>
+<p>Grove said that "she would be ready to visit with them in a
+minute:" she did not seem to allow herself more than a "minute" for
+anything. Besides the milk, some very nice seed-cakes in the shape
+of hearts were produced, and Edith thought them the most delightful
+little cakes she had ever tasted. Clara and Malcolm, too, were
+quite hungry, and Miss Harson enjoyed her glass of milk and
+seed-cake as well as did the young people. The farmer and his wife
+seemed really sorry to part with their guests when they rose to go,
+but Miss Harson said that it was time for them to be at home, and
+the children were obedient on the instant.</p>
+<p>"Well," said the worthy couple, "you know now where to come when
+you want more apple-blows and a drink of milk."</p>
+<p>Malcolm was quite laden with the mass of rosy flowers which Mr.
+Grove piled up in his arms, and he enjoyed the delicious scent all
+the way home.</p>
+<p>"I must get out the big jar," said Miss Harson as she surveyed
+their treasures, "and there are so many buds that I think we may be
+able to keep them for some days.--What would you say, Edith, if I
+told you that people cut off not only the blossoms, but even the
+fruit itself, while it is green, to make what is left on the tree
+handsomer and better?"</p>
+<p>Edith looked her surprise, and the other children could not
+understand why all the fruit that formed should not be left on the
+tree to ripen.</p>
+<p>"It is very often left," replied their governess, "but, although
+the crop is a large one, it will be of inferior quality; and those
+who understand fruit-raising thin it out, so that the tree may not
+have more fruit than it can well nourish. But now it is time for
+papa to come, and after dinner we will have a regular
+apple-talk."</p>
+<br>
+<p>"How nice it was at Mrs. Grove's to-day!" said Clara, when they
+were gathered for the talk. "I think that kitchens are pleasanter
+to sit in than parlors and school-rooms."</p>
+<p>"So do I," chimed in Edith; "but I was afraid about the crickets
+at first. I thought we'd have to hold 'em in our hands, and I
+didn't like that."</p>
+<p>Why <i>would</i> people always laugh when there was nothing to
+laugh at? The little girl thought she had a very funny brother and
+sister, and Miss Harson, too, was funny sometimes.</p>
+<p>"Have you so soon forgotten about the real insect-crickets,
+dear?" asked her governess, kindly. "Why, it will be months yet
+before we see one. Besides, I thought I told you that in some
+places a little bench is called a 'cricket'?--Do you know, Clara,
+why you thought Mrs. Grove's kitchen so pleasant? It is larger and
+better furnished than kitchens usually are, there were pleasant
+people in it, and you were tired and hungry and ready to enjoy rest
+and refreshments; but I am quite sure that, on the whole, you would
+like your own quarters best, because you are better fitted for
+them, as Mrs. Grove is for hers. We had a very pleasant visit,
+though, and some day we may repeat it--perhaps when the apples are
+ripe."</p>
+<p>"Good! good!" cried the children, clapping their hands; and
+Malcolm added that he "would like to be let loose in that
+apple-orchard."</p>
+<p>"Perhaps you would like it better than Farmer Grove would," was
+the reply. "But we haven't got to the apples yet; we must first
+find out a little about the tree. We learn in the beginning that it
+was one of the very earliest trees planted in this country by the
+settlers, because it is both hardy and useful. There is a wild
+species called the Virginia crab-apple, which bears beautiful pink
+flowers as fragrant as roses, but its small apples are intensely
+sour. The blossoms of the cultivated apple tree are more beautiful
+than those of any other fruit; they are delicious to both sight and
+scent."</p>
+<p>"And do look, Miss Harson," said Clara, "at these lovely
+half-open buds! They are just like tiny roses, and <i>so</i>
+sweet!"</p>
+<p>Down went Clara's head among the clustered blossoms, and then
+Edith had to come too; and Malcolm declared that between the two
+they would smell them to death.</p>
+<p>"It seems," continued Miss Harson, "that the apple tree grows
+wild in every part of Europe except in the frigid zone and in
+Western Asia, China and Japan. It is thought to have been planted
+in Britain by the Romans; and when it was brought here, it seemed
+to do better than it had done anywhere else. It is said that 'not
+only the Indians, but many indigenous insects, birds and
+quadrupeds, welcomed the apple tree to these shores. The butterfly
+of the tent-caterpillar saddled her eggs on the very first twig
+that was formed, and it has since shared her affections with the
+wild cherry; and the canker-worm also, in a measure, abandoned the
+elm to feed on it. As it grew apace the bluebird, robin,
+cherry-bird, king-bird, and many more, came with haste and built
+their nests and warbled in its boughs, and so became orchard-birds
+and multiplied more than ever. It was an era in the history of
+their race in America. The downy woodpecker found such a savory
+morsel under its bark that he perforated it in a ring quite round
+the tree before he left it. It did not take the partridge long to
+find out how sweet its buds were, and every winter eve she flew,
+and still flies, from the wood to pluck them, much to the farmer's
+sorrow. The rabbit, too, was not slow to learn the taste of its
+twigs and bark; and when the fruit was ripe, the squirrel half
+rolled, half carried, it to his hole. Even the musquash crept up
+the bank from the brook at evening, and greedily devoured it, until
+he had worn a path in the grass there; and when it was frozen and
+thawed, the crow and the jay were glad to taste it occasionally.
+The owl crept into the first apple tree that became hollow, and
+fairly hooted with delight, finding it just the place for him; so,
+settling down into it, he has remained there ever since.'</p>
+<p>"Speaking of these buds, Clara," said her governess, "I think I
+forgot to tell you that the apple tree belongs to the family
+Rosaceae, and therefore the half-opened blossoms have a right to
+look like roses. The tree is not a handsome one, being a small
+edition of the oak in its sturdy outline, but it is less graceful
+or picturesque-looking, being often broader than it is high and
+resembling in shape a half globe. The leaves are not pretty except
+when first unfolded, and their color is then a beautiful light tint
+known as apple-green. But the foliage soon becomes dusty and
+shabby-looking. An old apple tree, with its gnarled, and often
+hollow, trunk, is generally handsomer than a young one, unless in
+the time of blossoms; for only a young apple-orchard is covered
+with such a profusion of bloom as that we saw to-day."</p>
+<p>"I am glad," said Clara, "that it belongs to the rose family,
+for now the dear little buds seem prettier than ever."</p>
+<p>"The apples are prettier yet," observed</p>
+<p>Malcolm; "if there's anything I like, it's apples."</p>
+<p>"I am afraid that you eat too many of them for your good,"
+replied his governess; "I shall have to limit you to so many a
+day."</p>
+<p>"I have eaten only six to-day," was the modest reply, "and they
+were little russets, too."</p>
+<p>"Oh, Malcolm, Malcolm!" said Miss Harson, laughing; "what shall
+I do with you? Why, you would soon make an apple-famine in most
+places. Three apples a day must be your allowance for the present;
+and if at any time we go to live in an orchard, you may have
+six."</p>
+<p>"Why, <i>we</i> have only one," exclaimed little Edith, "and we
+don't want any more.--Do we, Clara?"</p>
+<p class="ctr"><a href="Images/169.png"><img src="Images/169.png"
+width="40%" alt=""></a><br>
+<b>Apple Blossoms.</b></p>
+<p>"If you don't want 'em," said Malcolm, "there's no sense in
+eating 'em.--But I'll remember, Miss Harson. I suppose three at one
+time ought to be enough."</p>
+<p>Malcolm's expression, as he said this, was so doleful that every
+one laughed at him; and his governess continued:</p>
+<p>"The apple tree is said to produce a greater variety of
+beautiful fruit than any other tree that is known, and apples are
+liked by almost every one. They are a very wholesome fruit and
+nearly as valuable as bread and potatoes for food, because they can
+be used in so many different ways, and the poorer qualities make
+very nourishing food for nearly all animals."</p>
+<p>"Rex fairly snatches the apple out of my hand when I go to give
+him one," said Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"So does Regina," added Clara, who trembled in her shoes
+whenever she offered these dainties to the handsome
+carriage-horses.</p>
+<p>Edith had not dared to venture on such a feat yet, and therefore
+she had nothing to say.</p>
+<p>"All horses are fond of apples," said Miss Harson, "and the
+fruit is very thoroughly appreciated. Ancient Britain was
+celebrated for her apple-orchards, and the tree was reverenced by
+the Druids because the mistletoe grew abundantly on it. In Saxon
+times, when England became a Christian country, the rite of
+coronation, or crowning of a king, was in such words as these: 'May
+the almighty Lord give thee, O king, from the dew of heaven and the
+fatness of the earth, abundance of corn and wine and oil! Be thou
+the lord of thy brothers, and let the sons of thy mother bow down
+before thee. Let the people serve thee and the tribes adore thee.
+May the Almighty bless thee with the blessings of heaven above, and
+the mountains and the valleys with the blessings of the deep below,
+with the blessings of grapes and <i>apples</i>! Bless, O Lord, the
+courage of this prince, and prosper the work of his hands; and by
+thy blessing may his land be filled with <i>apples</i>, with the
+fruit and dew of heaven from the top of the ancient mountains, from
+the <i>apples</i> of the eternal hills, from the fruit of the earth
+and its fullness!' You will see from this how highly apples were
+valued in England in those ancient times."</p>
+<p>"I should like to pick them up when they are ripe," said Clara,
+and Malcolm expressed a desire to hire himself out by the day to
+Mr. Grove when that time arrived.</p>
+<br>
+<p>"An apple-orchard in autumn," continued their governess, "is
+often a merry scene. Ladders are put against the trees, and the
+finest apples are carefully picked off, but such as are to be used
+for cider-making are shaken to the ground. Men and boys are at
+work, and even women and children are there with baskets and aprons
+spread out to catch the fruit; and they run back and forth wherever
+the apples fall thickest, with much laughter at the unexpected
+showers that come down upon their heads and necks. Large baskets
+filled with these apples are carried to the mill, where, after
+being laid in heaps a while to mellow, they are crushed and pressed
+till their juice is extracted; and this, being fermented, becomes
+cider. From this cider, by a second fermentation, the best vinegar
+is made."</p>
+<p class="ctr"><a href="Images/173.png"><img src="Images/173.png"
+width="40%" alt=""></a><br>
+<b>THE APPLE-HARVEST.</b></p>
+<p>"Miss Harson," asked Edith, as the talk seemed to have come to
+an end, "isn't there any more about apple trees? I like 'em."</p>
+<p>"Yes, dear," was the reply; "there is more. I was just looking
+over, in this little book, some queer superstitions about apple
+trees in England, and here is a strange performance which is said
+to take place in some very retired parts of the country:</p>
+<p>"'Scarcely have the merry bells ushered in the morning of
+Christmas than a troop of people may be seen entering the
+apple-orchard, often when the trees are powdered with hoarfrost and
+snow lies deep upon the ground. One of the company carries a large
+flask filled with cider and tastefully decorated with
+holly-branches; and when every one has advanced about ten paces
+from the choicest tree, rustic pipes made from the hollow boughs of
+elder are played upon by young men, while Echo repeats the strain,
+and it seems as if fairy-musicians responded in low, sweet tones
+from some neighboring wood or hill. Then bursts forth a chorus of
+loud and sonorous voices while the cider-flask is being emptied of
+its contents around the tree, and all sing some such words as
+these:</p>
+<blockquote>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"'"Here's to
+thee, old apple tree!<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+Long mayest thou grow.<br>
+And long mayest thou blow, and ripen the apples that hang on<br>
+thy bough!<br>
+<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "'"This full
+can of apple wine,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Old
+tree, be thine:<br>
+It will cheer thee and warm thee amid the deep snow;<br>
+<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "'"Till the
+goldfinch--fond bird!--<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In
+the orchard is heard<br>
+Singing blithe 'mid the blossoms that whiten thy
+bough."'"<br></blockquote>
+<p>"But what did they do it for?" asked Malcolm, who enjoyed the
+account as much as the others. "There doesn't seem to be any sense
+in it."</p>
+<p>"There <i>is</i> no sense in it," replied his governess, "but
+these ignorant people had inherited the custom from their fathers
+and grandfathers, and they really believed--and perhaps still
+believe--that this attention would be sure to bring a fine crop of
+apples. We are distinctly told, though, that 'it is God that giveth
+the increase;' and to him alone belong the fruits of the earth.
+Sometimes the crop is so great that the trees fairly bend over with
+the weight of the fruit, and there is an old English saying: 'The
+more apples the tree bears, the more she bows to the folk.'"</p>
+<p>"How funny!" laughed Edith. "Does the apple tree move its head,
+Miss Harson?"</p>
+<p>"It cannot go quite so far as that," was the reply; "it just
+stays bent over like a person carrying a heavy burden. The branches
+of overladen fruit trees are sometimes propped up with long poles
+to keep them from breaking. There is another strange custom, which
+used to be practiced on New Year's eve. It was called
+'Apple-Howling,' and a troop of boys visited the different
+orchards--which would scarcely have been desirable when the apples
+were ripe--and, forming a ring around the trees, repeated these
+words:</p>
+<blockquote>"'Stand fast, root! bear well, top!<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;Pray God send us a good howling crop--<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Every twig, apples big;<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Every bough, apples enow.'<br></blockquote>
+<p>"All then shouted in chorus, while one of the party played on a
+cow's horn, and the trees were well rapped with the sticks which
+they carried. This ceremony is thought to have been a relic of some
+heathen sacrifice, and it is quite absurd enough to be that."</p>
+<p>"What is 'a howling crop,' Miss Harson?" asked Clara. "That name
+sounds so queer!"</p>
+<p>"I don't know what it can be," replied her governess, "unless it
+refers to the strange expression sometimes used, 'howling with
+delight.' We hear more commonly of 'howling with pain,' but 'a
+howling crop' must be one that makes the owner scream, as well as
+dance for joy."</p>
+<p>"Why, <i>I</i> scream only when I'm frightened," said Edith, who
+began to think that there were much sillier people in the world
+than herself.</p>
+<p>"At garter-snakes," added Malcolm, giving his sister a sly
+pinch; but Edith did not mind his pinches, because he always took
+good care not to hurt her.</p>
+<p>Miss Harson said that the best way was not to scream at all, as
+it was both a silly and a troublesome habit, and the sooner her
+charges broke themselves of it the better she should like it. Clara
+and Edith both promised to try--just as they had promised before,
+when the ants were so troublesome; but they were nine months older
+now, and seemed to be getting a little ashamed of the habit.</p>
+<p>"Are apples mentioned anywhere in the Bible?" asked Miss Harson,
+presently.</p>
+<p>Clara and Malcolm were busy thinking, but nothing came of it,
+until their governess said,</p>
+<p>"Turn to the book of Proverbs, Clara, and find the twenty-fifth
+chapter and the eleventh verse."</p>
+<p>Clara read very carefully:</p>
+<p>"'A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of
+silver.' But what does it mean?" she asked.</p>
+<p>"It probably means 'framed in silver' or 'in silver
+frames<a name="FNanchor11" id="FNanchor11"></a><a href=
+"#Footnote_11">[11]</a>,'" was the reply; "and then it is easy to
+understand how important our words are, and that 'fitly-spoken'
+ones are as valuable and lasting as golden apples framed in silver.
+The apple tree is mentioned in Joel, where it is said that 'all the
+trees of the field are withered<a name="FNanchor12" id=
+"FNanchor12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12">[12]</a>,' and both apple
+trees and apples are mentioned in several places of the Old
+Testament. But, to tell the whole truth, scholars are not agreed as
+to whether the Hebrew word denotes the apple or some other fruit
+that grew in the land of Israel."</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_11" id="Footnote_11"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor11">[11]</a> The Revised Version renders the phrase "in
+baskets of silver."</blockquote>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_12" id="Footnote_12"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor12">[12]</a> Joel i. 12.</blockquote>
+<p>The children had all enjoyed the "apple-talk," and they felt
+that the fruit which they were so accustomed to seeing would now
+have a new meaning for them.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X." id="CHAPTER_X."></a>CHAPTER X.</h2>
+<h3><i>A FRUITFUL FAMILY: THE PEACH, ALMOND, PLUM AND
+CHERRY</i>.</h3>
+<br>
+<p>Snowdrops, crocuses, hyacinths and tulips were blooming out of
+doors and in-doors; the grass looked green and velvety, and the
+fruit trees were, as John expressed it, "all a-blow." The peach
+trees, without a sign of a leaf, looked, as every one said of them,
+like immense bouquets of pink flowers, while pear, cherry and plum
+trees seemed as if they were dressed in white.</p>
+<p>One cloudy, windy day, when the petals fell off in showers and
+strewed the ground, Edith declared that it was snowing; but she
+soon saw her mistake, and then began to worry because there would
+be no blossoms left for fruit.</p>
+<p>"If the flowers stayed on, there would be no fruit," said Miss
+Harson. "Let me show you just where the little green germ is."</p>
+<p>"Why, of course!" said Malcolm; "it's in the part that stays on
+the tree."</p>
+<p>Edith listened intently while her governess showed her the ovary
+of a blossom safe on the twig where it grew, and explained to her
+that it was this which, nourished by the sap of the tree, with the
+aid of the sun and air, would ripen into fruit, while the petals
+were merely a fringe or ornament to the true blossom.</p>
+<p>At Elmridge, scattered here and there through garden and
+grounds, as Mr. Kyle liked to have them, there were some fruit
+trees of every kind that would flourish in that part of the
+country, but there was no orchard; and for this reason Miss Harson
+had taken the children to see the grand apple-blossoming at Farmer
+Grove's. Two very large pear trees stood one on either side of the
+lawn, and there were dwarf pear trees in the garden.</p>
+<p>"I think pears are nicer than apples," said Clara as they stood
+looking at the fine trees, now perfectly covered with their snowy
+blossoms.</p>
+<p>But Malcolm, who found it hard work to be happy on three apples
+a day, stoutly disagreed with his sister on this point, and
+declared that nothing was so good as apples.</p>
+<p>"How about ice-cream?" asked his governess, when she heard this
+sweeping assertion.</p>
+<p>The young gentleman was silent, for his exploits with this
+frozen luxury were a constant subject of wonder to his friends and
+relatives.</p>
+<p>"You will notice," said Miss Harson, "that the shape of these
+trees is much more graceful than that of the apple tree. They are
+tall and slender, forming what is called an imperfect pyramid.
+Standard pear trees, like these, give a good shade, and the long,
+slender branches are well clothed with leaves of a bright, glossy
+green. This rich color lasts late into the autumn, and it is then
+varied with yellow, and often with red and black, spots; so that
+pear-leaves are not to be despised in gathering autumn-leaf
+treasures. The pear is not so useful a fruit as the apple, nor so
+showy in color; but it has a more delicate and spicy flavor, and
+often is of an immense size."</p>
+<p>"Yes, indeed!" said Clara. "Don't you remember, Miss Harson,
+that sometimes Edith and I can have only one pear divided between
+us at dessert because they are so large?"</p>
+<p>"Yes, dear; and I think that half a duchess pear is as much as
+can be comfortably managed at once."</p>
+<p>"Well," observed Malcolm, "I don't want half an apple.--But,
+Miss Harson, do they ever have 'pear-howlings' in England?"</p>
+<p>"I have never read of any," was the reply, "and I think that
+strange custom is confined to apple trees. And there is no mention
+made of either pears or pear trees in the Scriptures."</p>
+<p>"What are prickly-pears?" asked Clara. "Do they have thorns on
+'em?"</p>
+<p>"There is a plant by this name," replied her governess, "with
+large yellow flowers, and the fruit is full of small seeds and has
+a crimson pulp. It grows in sandy places near the salt water; it is
+abundant in North Africa and Syria, and is considered quite good to
+eat; but neither plant nor fruit bears any resemblance to our pear
+trees: it is a cactus."</p>
+<p>"Won't you have a story for us this evening, Miss Harson?" asked
+Edith, rather wistfully.</p>
+<p>"Perhaps so, dear--I have been thinking of it--but it will not
+be about pear trees."</p>
+<p>"Oh, I don't care," with a very bright face; "I'd as soon have
+it about cherry trees, or--'Most anything!"</p>
+<p>Miss Harson laughed, and said,</p>
+<p>"Well, then, I think it will be about cherries; so you must rest
+on that. This morning we will go around among the fruit trees and
+see what we can learn from seeing them."</p>
+<p>Of course it was Saturday morning and there were no lessons, or
+they would not have been roaming around "promiscuous," as Jane
+called it; for the young governess was very careful not to let the
+getting of one kind of knowledge interfere with the getting of
+another.</p>
+<p>"How do you like these pretty quince trees?" asked Miss Harson
+as they came to some large bushes with great pinkish flowers.</p>
+<p>"I like 'em," replied Edith, "because they're so little. And oh
+what pretty flowers!"</p>
+<p>"Some more relations of the rose," said her governess. "And do
+you notice how fragrant they are? The tree is always low and
+crooked, just as you see it, and the branches straggle not very
+gracefully. The under part of the dark-green leaves is whitish and
+downy-looking, and the flowers are handsome enough to warrant the
+cultivation of the tree just for their sake, but the large golden
+fruit is much prized for preserves, and in the autumn a small tree
+laden down with it is quite an ornamental object. The quince is
+more like a pear than an apple. As the book says, 'it has the same
+tender and mucilaginous core; the seeds are not enclosed in a dry
+hull, like those of the apple; and the pulp of the quince, like
+that of the pear, is granulated, while that of the apple displays
+in its texture a firmer and finer organization.' The fruit,
+however, is so hard, even when ripe, that it cannot be eaten
+without cooking. It is said to be a native of hedges and rocky
+places in the South of Europe."</p>
+<p class="left"><img src="Images/186.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>PEACH-BLOSSOM.</b></p>
+<p>"These peach trees," said Clara, "look like sticks with pink
+flowers all over 'em." "They are remarkably bare of leaves when in
+bloom," was the reply: "the leaves burst forth from their envelopes
+as the blossoms pass away; but how beautiful the blossoms are! from
+the deepest pink to that delicate tint which is called peach-color.
+But do you know that we have left the apple and rose family now,
+and have come to the almond family?"</p>
+<p>The children were very much surprised to hear this, and they
+looked at the peach trees with fresh interest.</p>
+<p>"Yes," continued Miss Harson, "the family consists of the almond
+tree, the peach tree, the apricot tree, the plum tree and the
+cherry tree; and one thing that distinguishes them from the other
+families is the gum which is found on their trunks.--Look around,
+Malcolm, at the peach, plum and cherry trees, which are the only
+members of the family that we have at Elmridge, and you will find
+gum oozing from the bark, especially where there are
+knotholes."</p>
+<p>Malcolm not only found the gum, but succeeded in helping himself
+to some of it, which he shared with his sisters. It had a rather
+sweet taste, and the children seemed to like it, having first
+obtained permission of their governess to eat it.</p>
+<p>"That is another of the things that I thought 'puffickly
+d'licious' when I was a child," said the young lady, laughing. "But
+there is another peculiarity of this family of trees which is not
+so innocent, and that is that in the fruit-kernel, and also in the
+leaves, there is a deadly poison called prussic acid."</p>
+<p>"O--h!" exclaimed the children, drawing back from the trees as
+though they expected to be poisoned on the spot.</p>
+<p>"But, as we do not eat either the kernels or the leaves,"
+continued their governess, "we need not feel uneasy, for the fruit
+never yet poisoned any one. Here are the cherry trees, so covered
+with blossoms that they look like masses of snow; and the smaller
+plum trees are also attired in white. We will begin this evening
+with the almond tree, and see what we can find out about the
+family."</p>
+<p>"Do almond trees and peach trees look alike?" asked Clara, when
+they were fairly settled by the schoolroom fire; for the evenings
+were too cool yet for the piazza.</p>
+<p>"Very much alike," was the reply; "only the almond tree is
+larger and it has white instead of pink blossoms. Then it is the
+<i>fruit</i> of the peach we eat, but of the almond we eat the
+kernel of the stem. I will read you a little account of it:</p>
+<p class="right"><img src="Images/189.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>THE ALMOND.--BRANCH AND FRUIT.</b></p>
+<p>"'The common almond is a native of Barbary, but has long been
+cultivated in the South of Europe and the temperate parts of Asia.
+The fruit is produced in very large quantities and exported in to
+northern countries; it is also pressed for oil and used for various
+domestic purposes. There are numerous varieties of this species,
+but the two chief kinds are the bitter almond and the sweet almond.
+The sweet almond affords a favorite article for dessert, but it
+contains little nourishment, and of all nuts is the most difficult
+of digestion. The tree has been cultivated in England for about
+three centuries for the sake of its beautiful foliage, as the fruit
+will not ripen without a greater degree of heat than is found in
+that climate. The distilled water of the bitter almond is highly
+injurious to the human species, and, taken in a large dose,
+produces almost instant death.' The prussic acid which can be
+obtained from the kernel of the peach is found also in the bitter
+almond."</p>
+<p>"But what do they want to find it for," asked Malcolm, "when it
+kills people?"</p>
+<p>"Because," replied his governess, "like some other noxious
+things, it can be made valuable when used moderately and in the
+right way. But it is often employed to give a flavor to
+intoxicating liquors, and this is <i>not</i> a right way, as it
+makes them even more dangerous than before. But we will leave the
+prussic acid and return to our almond tree. It flourishes in
+Palestine, where it blooms in January, and in March the ripe fruit
+can be gathered."</p>
+<p>This seemed wonderfully strange to the children--flowers in
+January and fruit in March; and Miss Harson explained to them that
+in that part of the world they do not often have our bitter cold
+weather with its ice and snow to kill the tender buds.</p>
+<p>"This tree," continued Miss Harson, "is occasionally mentioned
+in the Old Testament. In Jeremiah the prophet says, 'I see a rod of
+an almond tree<a name="FNanchor13" id="FNanchor13"></a><a href=
+"#Footnote_13">[13]</a>;' also in Ecclesiastes it is said that 'the
+almond tree shall flourish<a name="FNanchor14" id=
+"FNanchor14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14">[14]</a>.'"</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_13" id="Footnote_13"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor13">[13]</a> Jer. i. II.</blockquote>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_14" id="Footnote_14"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor14">[14]</a> Eccl. xii. 5.</blockquote>
+<p>"Are there ever many peach trees growing in one place," asked
+Clara, "like the apple trees in Mr. Grove's orchard?"</p>
+<p>"Yes," was the reply, "for in some places there are immense
+peach-orchards, covering many acres of ground; and when the trees
+in these are in blossom, the spring landscape seems to be pink with
+them. These great peach-fields are found in Delaware and Maryland,
+where the fruit grows in such perfection, and also in some of the
+Western States. We all know how delicious it is, but,
+unfortunately, so does a certain green worm, who curls up in the
+leaves which he gnaws in spite of the prussic acid. This insect
+will often attack the finest peaches and lay its eggs in them when
+the fruit is but half grown. In this way the young grubs find food
+and lodging provided for them all in one, and they thrive, while
+the peach decays."</p>
+<p>"What a shame it is," exclaimed Malcolm, in great indignation,
+"to have our best peaches eaten by wretched little worms who might
+just as well eat grass and leave the peaches for us!"</p>
+<p>"Perhaps they think it a shame that they are so often shaken to
+the ground or washed off the trees," replied Miss Harson; "and, as
+to their eating grass, they evidently prefer peaches. 'Insects as
+well as human beings have discriminating tastes, and the poor plum
+tree suffers even more than the peach from their attentions. In
+some parts of the country it has been entirely given up to their
+depredations, and farmers will not try to raise this fruit because
+of these active enemies. The whole almond family are liable to the
+attacks of insects. Canker-worms of one or of several species often
+strip them of their leaves; the tent-caterpillars pitch their tents
+among the branches and carry on their dangerous depredations; the
+slug-worms, the offspring of a fly called <i>Selandria cerasi</i>,
+reduce the leaves to skeletons, and thus destroy them; the
+cherry-weevils penetrate their bark, cover their branches with
+warts and cause them to decay; and borers gnaw galleries in their
+trunks and devour the inner bark and sap-wood.' So you see that,
+with such an army of destroyers, we may be thankful to get any
+fruit at all."</p>
+<p>"I'm glad to know the name of that fly," said Malcolm, who
+considered it an additional grievance that it should have such a
+long name, "but I won't try to call him by it if I meet him
+anywhere."</p>
+<p>"I think it's pretty," said Clara, beginning to repeat it, and
+making a decided failure.</p>
+<p>"Fortunately," continued their governess, after reading it again
+for them, "there are other things much more important for you to
+remember just now, and I could not have said it myself without the
+book. And now let us see what else we can learn about the plum. It
+is a native, it seems, of North America, Europe and Asia, and many
+of the wild species are thorny. The cultivated plums, damsons and
+gages are varieties of the <i>Prunus domestica</i>, the cultivated
+plum tree. These have no thorns; the leaves are oval in shape, and
+the flowers grow singly. The most highly-valued cultivated plum
+trees came originally from the East, where they have been known
+from time immemorial. In many countries of Eastern Europe domestic
+animals are fattened on their fruits, and an alcoholic liquor is
+obtained from them; they also yield a white, crystallizable sugar.
+The prunes which we import from France are the dried fruit of
+varieties of the plum which contain a sufficient quantity of sugar
+to preserve the fruit from decay."</p>
+<p>"Do prunes really grow on trees, Miss Harson?" asked Edith, who
+was rather disposed to think that they grew in pretty boxes.</p>
+<p>"Yes, dear," was the reply; "they grow just as our plums do,
+only they are dried and packed in layers before they reach this
+country. We have two species of wild plum in North America--the
+beach-plum, a low shrub found in New England, the fruit of which is
+dark blue and about the size of damsons; while the other is quite a
+large tree, and very showy when covered with its scarlet fruit. In
+Maine it is called plum-granate, probably from its red color," "I
+know what's coming next," said Clara--"cherries; because all the
+rest have been used up. And then we're to have the story."</p>
+<p>"But they're all interesting," replied Malcolm, gallantly,
+"because Miss Harson makes them so."</p>
+<p>"I hope that is not the only reason," said his governess,
+laughing, "for trees are always beautiful and interesting and it is
+a privilege to be able to learn something of their habits and
+history.--Like most fruit trees, the cherry has many varieties, but
+it is always a handsome tree, and less spoiled by insects than
+others of the almond family. The black cherry is the most common
+species in the United States, and is both wild and cultivated. The
+garden cherry has broad, ovate, rough and serrate leaves, growing
+thickly on the branches, and this, with the height of the tree,
+makes a fine shade. Some old cherry trees have huge trunks, and
+their thick branches spread to a great distance. The branches of
+the wild cherry are too straggling to make a beautiful tree, and
+the leaves are small and narrow. The blossoms of the cultivated
+cherry are in umbels, while those of the wild cherry are borne in
+racemes."</p>
+<p>"I remember that, Miss Harson," said Clara, pleased with her
+knowledge. "'Umbel' means 'like an umbrella,' and 'raceme' means
+'growing along a stem.'"</p>
+<p>"Very well indeed!" was the reply; "I am glad you have not
+forgotten it.--Of our cultivated cherries, we have here at
+Elmridge, besides the large black ones, which are so very sweet
+about the first of July, the great ox-hearts, which look like
+painted wax and ripen in June, and those very acid red ones, often
+called pie-cherries, which are used for pies and preserves. The
+cherry is a beautiful fruit, and one that is popular with birds as
+well as with boys. The great northern cherry of Europe, which was
+named by Linnaeus the 'bird-cherry,' is encouraged in Great Britain
+and on the Continent for the benefit of the birds, which are
+regarded as the most important checks to the over-multiplication of
+insects. The fact not yet properly understood in America--that the
+birds which are the most mischievous consumers of fruit are the
+most useful as destroyers of insects--is well known by all farmers
+in Europe; and while we destroy the birds to save the fruit, and
+sometimes cut down the fruit-trees to starve the birds, the
+Europeans more wisely plant them for the food and accommodation of
+the birds."</p>
+<p>"Isn't it wicked to kill the poor little birds?" asked
+Edith.</p>
+<p>"Yes, dear; it is cruel to kill them just for sport, as is often
+done, and very foolish, as we have just seen, to destroy them for
+the sake of the fruit, which the insects make way with in much
+greater quantities than the birds do."</p>
+<p>"Miss Harson," asked Clara, "do people cut down real cherry
+trees to make the pretty red furniture like that in your room?"</p>
+<p>"It is the wood of the wild cherry," replied her governess,
+"that is used for this purpose. It is of a light-red or fresh
+mahogany color, growing darker and richer with age. It is very
+close-grained, compact, takes a good polish, and when perfectly
+seasoned is not liable to shrink or warp. It is therefore
+particularly suitable, and much employed, for tables, chests of
+drawers, and other cabinet-work, and when polished and varnished is
+not less beautiful for such articles than are inferior kinds of
+mahogany."</p>
+<p>"'Cherry' sounds pretty to say," continued Clara. "I wonder how
+the tree got that name?"</p>
+<p>"That wonder is easily explained," said Miss Harson, "for I have
+been reading about it, and I was just going to tell you. 'Cherry
+comes from 'Cerasus,' the name of a town on the Black Sea from
+whence the tree is supposed to have been introduced into Italy, and
+it designates a genus of about forty species, natives of all the
+temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. They are trees or
+shrubs with smooth serrated leaves, which are folded together when
+young, and white or reddish flowers growing in bunches, like
+umbels, and preceding the leaves or in terminal racemes
+accompanying or following the leaves. A few species, with numerous
+varieties, produce valuable fruits; nearly all are remarkable for
+the abundance of their early flowers, sometimes rendered double by
+cultivation. And now," added the young lady, "we have arrived at
+the story, which is translated from the German; and in Germany the
+cherries are particularly fine. A plateful of this beautiful fruit
+was, as you will see, the cause of some remarkable changes."</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI." id="CHAPTER_XI."></a>CHAPTER XI.</h2>
+<h3><i>THE CHERRY-STORY.</i></h3>
+<br>
+<p>On the banks of the Rhine, in the pleasant little village of
+Rebenheim, lived Ehrenberg, the village mayor. He was much
+respected for his virtues, and his wife was greatly beloved for her
+charity to the poor. They had an only daughter--the little
+Caroline--who gave early promise of a superior mind and a
+benevolent heart. She was the idol of her parents, who devoted
+their whole care to giving her a sound religious education.</p>
+<p>Not far from the house, and close to the orchard and
+kitchen-garden, there was another little garden, planted
+exclusively with flowers. The day that Caroline was born her father
+planted a cherry tree in the middle of the flower-garden. He had
+chosen a tree with a short trunk, in order that his little daughter
+could more easily admire the blossoms and pluck the cherries when
+they were ripe.</p>
+<p>When the tree bloomed for the first time and was so covered with
+blossoms that it looked like a single bunch of white flowers, the
+father and mother came out one morning to enjoy the sight. Little
+Caroline was in her mother's arms. The infant smiled, and,
+stretching out her little hands for the blossoms, endeavored at the
+same time to speak her joy, but in such a way as no one but a
+mother could understand:</p>
+<p>"Flowers! flowers! Pretty! pretty!"</p>
+<p>The child engaged more of the parents' thoughts than all the
+cherry-blossoms and gardens and orchards, and all they were worth.
+They resolved to educate her well; they prayed to God to bless
+their care and attention by making Caroline worthy of him and the
+joy and consolation of her parents. As soon as the little girl was
+old enough to understand, her mother told her lovingly of that kind
+Father in heaven who makes the flowers bloom and the trees bud and
+the cherries and apples grow ruddy and ripe; she told her also of
+the blessed Son of God, once an infant like herself, who died for
+all the world.</p>
+<p>The cherry tree in the middle of the garden was given to
+Caroline for her own, and it was a greater treasure to her than
+were all the flowers. She watched and admired it every day, from
+the moment the first bud appeared until the cherries were ripe. She
+grieved when she saw the white blossoms turn yellow and drop to the
+earth, but her grief was changed into joy when the cherries
+appeared, green at first and smaller than peas, and then daily
+growing larger and larger, until the rich red skin of the ripe
+cherry at last blushed among the interstices of the green
+leaves.</p>
+<p>"Thus it is," said her father; "youth and beauty fade like the
+blossoms, but virtue is the fruit which we expect from the tree.
+This whole world is, as it were, a large garden, in which God has
+appointed to every man a place, that he may bring forth abundant
+and good fruit. As God sends rain and sunshine on the trees, so
+does he send down grace on men to make them grow in virtue, if they
+will but do their part."</p>
+<p>In the course of time war approached the quiet village which had
+hitherto been the abode of peace and domestic bliss, and the battle
+raged fearfully. Balls and shells whizzed about, and several houses
+caught fire. As soon as the danger would permit, the mayor tried to
+extinguish the flames, while his wife and little daughter were
+praying earnestly for themselves and for their neighbors.</p>
+<p>In the afternoon a ring was heard at the door, and, looking out
+of the window, Madame Ehrenberg saw an officer of hussars standing
+before her. Fortunately, he was a German, and mother and daughter
+ran to open the door.</p>
+<p>"Do not be alarmed," said the officer, in a friendly tone, when
+he saw the frightened faces; "the danger is over, and you are quite
+safe. The fire in the village, too, is almost quenched, and the
+mayor will soon be here. I beg you for some refreshment, if it is
+only a morsel of bread and a drink of water. It was sharp work," he
+added, wiping the perspiration from his brow, "but, thank God, we
+have conquered," Provisions were scarce, for the village had been
+plundered by the enemy, but the good lady brought forth a flask of
+wine and some rye bread, with many regrets that she had nothing
+better to offer. But the visitor, as he ate the bread with a hearty
+relish, declared that it was enough, for it was the first morsel he
+had tasted that day.</p>
+<p>Caroline ran and brought in on a porcelain plate some of the
+ripest cherries from her own tree.</p>
+<p>"Cherries!" exclaimed the officer. "They are a rarity in this
+district. How did they escape the enemy? All the trees in the
+country around are stripped."</p>
+<p>"The cherries," said the mother, "are from a little tree which
+was planted in Caroline's flower-garden on her birthday. It is but
+a few days since they became ripe; the enemy, perhaps, did not
+notice the little tree."</p>
+<p>"And is it for me you intend the cherries, my dear child?" asked
+the officer. "Oh no; you must keep them. It were a pity to take one
+of them from you."</p>
+<p>"How could we refuse a few cherries," said Caroline, "to the man
+that sheds his blood in our defence? You must eat them all," said
+she, while the tears streamed down her cheeks. "Do, I entreat you!
+Eat them all."</p>
+<p>He took some of the cherries and laid them on the table, near
+his wine-glass; but he had scarcely placed the glass to his lips
+when the trumpet sounded. He sprang up and girded on his sword.</p>
+<p>"That is the signal to march," said he. "I cannot wait one
+instant."</p>
+<p>Caroline wrapped the cherries in a roll of white paper and
+insisted that he should put them in his pocket.</p>
+<p>"The weather is very warm," said she, "and even cherries will be
+some refreshment."</p>
+<p>"Oh," said the officer, with emotion, "what a happiness it is
+for a soldier, who is often obliged to snatch each morsel from
+unwilling hands, to meet with a generous and benevolent family! I
+wish it were in my power, my dear child, to give you some pledge of
+my gratitude, but I have nothing--not so much as a single groat.
+You must be content with my simple thanks." With these words, and
+once more bidding Caroline and her mother an affectionate farewell,
+he took his departure, and walked rapidly out of sight.</p>
+<p>The joy of the good family for their happy deliverance was,
+alas! of short continuance. Some weeks after, a dreadful battle was
+fought near the village, which was reduced to a heap of ruins. The
+mayor's house was burned to the ground and all his property
+destroyed. Alas for the horrors of cruel war! Father, mother and
+daughter fled away on foot, and wept bitterly when they looked back
+on their once happy village, now but a mass of blazing ruins.</p>
+<p>The family retired to a distant town, and lived there in very
+great distress. The mayor endeavored to obtain a livelihood as a
+scrivener, or clerk; his wife worked at dressmaking and millinery,
+and Caroline, who soon became skillful in such matters, faithfully
+assisted her.</p>
+<p>A lady in town--the Countess von Buchenhaim--gave them much
+employment, and one day Caroline went to this lady's house to carry
+home a bonnet. She was taken to the garden, where the countess was
+sitting in the summer-house with her sister and nieces, who had
+come to visit her. The young ladies were delighted with the bonnet,
+and their mother gave orders for three more, particularly praising
+the blue flowers, which were the work of Caroline's own hands.</p>
+<p>The Countess von Buchenhaim spoke very kindly of the young girl
+to her sister, and related the sad story of the worthy family's
+misfortunes. The count was standing with his brother-in-law, the
+colonel, at some little distance from the door of the summer-house,
+and the colonel, a fine-looking man in a hussar's uniform and with
+a star on his breast, overheard the conversation. Coming up, he
+looked closely at Caroline.</p>
+<p>"Is it possible," said he, "that you are the daughter of the
+mayor of Rebenheim? How tall you have grown! I should scarcely have
+recognized you, though we are old acquaintances."</p>
+<p>Caroline stood there abashed, looking full in the face of the
+stranger, her cheeks covered with blushes. Taking her by the hand,
+the colonel conducted her to his wife, who was sitting near the
+countess.</p>
+<p>"See, Amelia," said he; "this is the young lady who saved my
+life ten years ago, when she was only a child."</p>
+<p>"How can that be possible?" asked Caroline, in amazement.</p>
+<p>"It must indeed appear incomprehensible to you," answered the
+colonel, "but do you remember the hussar-officer that one day,
+after a battle, stood knocking at the door of your father's house
+in Rebenheim? Do you remember the cherries which you so kindly gave
+him?"</p>
+<p>"Oh, was it you?" exclaimed Caroline, while her face beamed with
+a smile of recognition. "Thank God you are alive! But how I could
+have done anything toward saving your life I cannot
+understand."</p>
+<p>"In truth, it would be impossible for you to guess the great
+service you did me," said he, "but my wife and daughters know it
+well; I wrote to them of it at once. And I look upon it as one of
+the most remarkable occurrences of my life."</p>
+<p>"And one that I ought to remember better than any other event of
+the war," said his lady, rising and affectionately embracing
+Caroline.</p>
+<p>"Well," said the countess, "neither I nor my husband ever heard
+the story. Please give us a full account of it."</p>
+<p>"Oh, it is easily told," said the colonel. "Hungry and thirsty,
+I entered the house in which Caroline and her parents dwelt, and,
+to tell the plain truth, I begged for some bread and water. They
+gave me a share of the best they had, and did not hesitate to do
+so, though their village and themselves were in the greatest
+distress. Caroline robbed every bough on her cherry tree to refresh
+me. Fine cherries they were--the only ones, probably, in the whole
+country. But the enemy did not give me time to eat them; I was
+obliged to depart in a hurry. Caroline insisted, with the kindest
+hospitality, that I should take them with me, but that was no easy
+matter: my horse had been shot under me the day before. I took from
+my knapsack whatever articles I could in a hurry, and, thrusting
+them into my pockets, I fought on foot until a hussar gave me his
+horse. All that I was worth was in my pockets, so that to make room
+for the cherries I was obliged to take the pocket-book out of my
+pocket and place it here beneath my vest. The enemy, who had been
+driven back, made a feint of advancing on us, and I led down my
+hussars in gallant style. But suddenly we found ourselves in front
+of a body of infantry concealed behind a hedge. One of them fired
+at me, and the fellow had taken good aim, for the ball struck me
+here on the breast. But it rebounded from the pocket-book;
+otherwise, I should have been shot through the body and fallen dead
+on the spot. Tell me," said he, in a tone of deep emotion; "was not
+that little child an instrument in the hand of God to save me from
+death? Am I right or not when I give Caroline the credit, under
+God, of having saved my life? Her must I thank that my Amelia is
+not a widow and my daughters orphans."</p>
+<p>All agreed with him. His wife, who had Caroline's hand locked in
+her own during the whole narrative, now pressed it affectionately
+and with tears in her eyes.</p>
+<p>"You, then," said she, "were the good angel that averted such a
+terrible misfortune from our family?"</p>
+<p>Her two daughters also gazed with pleasure at Caroline.</p>
+<p>"Every time we ate cherries," said the younger, "we spoke of you
+without knowing you."</p>
+<p>All had kind and grateful words for the young girl, but the
+colonel soon bade her farewell for the present, and said that he
+had some business to attend to with his brother-in-law. This
+business was to urge the count to appoint Ehrenberg his steward in
+place of the one who had died a few months before. A better man, he
+said, could not be found; for when he had visited Rebenheim to make
+inquiries for the family, although none could tell where they had
+gone, all were loud in their praise, and the mayor was pronounced a
+pattern of justice, honor and charity.</p>
+<p>The count drew out the order, signed it, and gave it to his
+brother-in-law, who wished himself to take it to Mr. Ehrenberg; and
+he went at once to the house and saluted him as "master-steward of
+Buchenhaim."</p>
+<p>"Read that," he said to the astonished man as he handed him the
+paper in which he was duly appointed steward of Buchenhaim, with a
+good salary of a thousand thalers and several valuable
+perquisites.</p>
+<p>"And you," said the colonel to Caroline and her mother, "must
+prepare to remove at once. Your lodgings are so confined! But you
+will find it very different in the house which you are to occupy in
+Buchenhaim. The dwelling is large and commodious, with a fine
+garden attached, well stocked with cherry trees. Next Monday you
+will be there, and this very day you must start. What a happy feast
+we shall have there!--not like the hasty meal you gave the
+hussar-officer amid the thunder of cannon and the blazing roofs of
+Rebenheim. Do not forget to have cherries, dear Caroline, for
+dessert; I think they will be fully ripe by that time."</p>
+<p>With these words the colonel hurried away to escape the thanks
+of this good family, and, in truth, to conceal his own tears. So
+rapidly did he disappear that Ehrenberg could scarcely accompany
+him down the steps.</p>
+<p>"Oh, Caroline," said the happy father when he returned, "who
+could have imagined that the little cherry tree I planted in the
+flower-garden the day you were born would ever produce such good
+fruit?"</p>
+<p>"It was the providence of God," exclaimed the mother, clasping
+her hands. "I remember distinctly the first time the blossoms
+appeared on that tree, when you and I went out to look at it, and
+little Caroline, then an infant in my arms, was so much delighted
+with the white flowers. We resolved then to educate our daughter
+piously, and prayed fervently to God that she, who was then as full
+of promise as the blossoms on the tree, might by his grace one day
+be the prop of our old age. That prayer is now fulfilled beyond our
+fondest anticipations. Praise for ever be to the name of God!"</p>
+<p>Edith declared that this was one of the very sweetest stories
+Miss Harson had ever told them, and Clara and Malcolm were equally
+well pleased with it.</p>
+<p>"Were those cherries like ours?" asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"They were larger and finer than ours generally are, I think,"
+was the reply, "being the great northern cherry, or bird-cherry, of
+Europe, which grows in Germany to great perfection. And the little
+German girl's plate of cherries, which she so generously urged upon
+a stranger when food of any kind was so scarce, is a beautiful
+illustration of the first verse of the eleventh chapter of
+Proverbs: 'Cast thy bread upon the waters; for thou shalt find it
+after many days.'"</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII." id="CHAPTER_XII."></a>CHAPTER XII.</h2>
+<h3><i>THE MULBERRY FAMILY</i>.</h3>
+<br>
+<p>"There is a fruit tree," said Miss Harson, "belonging to an
+entirely different family, which we have not considered yet; and,
+although it is not a common tree with us, one specimen of it is to
+be found in Mrs. Bush's garden, where you have all enjoyed the
+fruit very much. What is it?"</p>
+<p>"Mulberry," said Clara, promptly, while Malcolm was wondering
+what it could be.</p>
+<p>"Oh yes," said Edith, very innocently; "I like to go and see
+Mrs. Bush when there are mulberries."</p>
+<p>Mrs. Bush was not a cheerful person to visit, as she was quite
+old and rather hard of hearing, and she lived alone in the gloomy
+old house with the Lombardy poplars in front, where everything
+looked dark and shut up. A queer woman in a sunbonnet, nearly as
+old as Mrs. Bush, lived close by, and "kept an eye on her," as she
+said.</p>
+<p>Mrs. Bush's great enjoyment was to have visitors of all ages, to
+whom she talked a great deal, and cried as she talked, about a
+daughter who had died a few years ago. The little Kyles did not
+care to go there except when, as Edith said, there were ripe
+mulberries; but Mrs. Bush liked very much to have them, and Miss
+Harson took her little charges there occasionally, because, as she
+explained to them, it gave pleasure to a lonely old woman, and such
+visits were just as much charity, though of a different kind, as
+giving food and clothes to those who need them. The children
+delighted in the mulberries just because they did not have them at
+home, although they had fruit that was very much nicer; but Miss
+Harson never wished even to taste them, although she too had liked
+them when a little girl.</p>
+<p>"The mulberry tree," continued their governess, "belongs to the
+bread-fruit family, but the other members of this remarkable
+family, except the Osage orange, are found only in foreign
+countries. The bread-fruit tree itself, the fig, the Indian fig, or
+banyan tree, and the deadly upas tree, are all relations of the
+mulberry."</p>
+<p>"Well, trees are queer things," exclaimed Malcolm, "to belong to
+families that are not a bit alike."</p>
+<p>"They are alike in important points, when we examine them
+carefully," was the reply. "The bread-fruit genus consists, with a
+single exception, of trees and shrubs with alternate, toothed or
+lobed or entire leaves and milky juice. This reminds me that the
+famous cow tree of South America, which yields a large supply of
+rich and wholesome milk, is one of the members; and you see what a
+number of famous trees we have on hand now. There are several kinds
+of mulberries--the red, black, white and paper mulberry, which are
+all occasionally found in this country, and they were once quite
+popular here for their shade. The fruit is unusually small for
+tree-fruit, and very soft when ripe, as you all know; it is not
+unlike a long, narrow blackberry, and forms, like it, a compound
+fruit, as though many small berries had grown together. The tree in
+Mrs. Bush's garden is the black mulberry, as any one might know by
+the stained lips and hands that sometimes come from there; and it
+has been cultivated from ancient times for its fine appearance and
+shade. It is found wild in the forests of Persia, and is thought to
+have been taken from there to Europe. The tree is more beautiful
+than useful, for the silkworms do not thrive well on the leaves and
+the wood is neither strong nor durable."</p>
+<p>"Why, I thought," said Clara, "that silkworms always lived on
+mulberry-leaves?"</p>
+<p>"The white mulberry is their favorite food; and another species,
+called the <i>Morus multicaulis</i>--for <i>Morus</i> is the
+scientific name of the family--has more delicate leaves than any
+other, and produces a finer quality of silk. These trees are
+natives of China, and the white mulberry grows very rapidly to the
+height of thirty or forty feet. The paper mulberry is so called
+because in China and Japan--of which it is a native--its bark is
+manufactured into paper. In the South-Sea Islands, where it is also
+found, the bark is made into the curious dresses which we sometimes
+see imported thence. It is a low, thick-branched tree with large
+light-colored downy leaves and dark-scarlet fruit."</p>
+<p>"I wonder," said Malcolm, "if the bark is like birch-bark?"</p>
+<p>"It does not look like it," replied Miss Harson, "but it seems
+to be very much of the same nature. The red mulberry and black
+mulberry are the most hardy of these trees, and the red mulberry
+will thrive farther north than any of the family. The wood is
+valuable for many purposes for which timber is used, and especially
+in boat-building. And now, as we learned something about silkworms
+and their cocoons in our talks about insects<a name="FNanchor15"
+id="FNanchor15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15">[15]</a>, there is
+little more to be said of the mulberry tree which any but learned
+people would care to know."</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_15" id="Footnote_15"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor15">[15]</a> See <i>Flyers and Crawlers</i>. Presbyterian
+Board of Publication.</blockquote>
+<p>"I want to hear about the bread tree," said little Edith, "and
+how the loaves of bread grow on it."</p>
+<p>"Do they, Miss Harson?" asked Clara, not exactly seeing how this
+could be.</p>
+<p>"I don't believe they're very hot," remarked Malcolm, who was
+puzzled over the bread-fruit tree himself, but who laughed at his
+little sister's idea in a very knowing way. It was not an
+ill-natured laugh, though, and a glance from his governess always
+quieted him.</p>
+<p>"No, dear," replied Miss Harson, answering Clara; "loaves of
+bread do not grow on any tree. But I will tell you about the
+bread-fruit presently; let us finish the <i>Morus</i> family and
+their kindred in our own country before we go to their foreign
+relations. The Osage orange is so much used in the United States,
+and in this part of it, for hedges, on account of its rapid growth
+and ornamental appearance, that we really ought to know something
+about it. 'It is a beautiful low, spreading, round-headed tree with
+the port and splendor of an orange tree. Its oval, entire, polished
+leaves have the shining green of natives of warmer regions, and its
+curiously-tesselated, succulent compound fruit the size and golden
+color of an orange. It was first found in the country of the Osage
+Indians, from whom it gets its name, and it has since been
+cultivated in many parts of this country and in Europe. The Osages
+belonged to the Sioux, or Dacotah, tribe of Indians, and their home
+was in the south-western part of the old United States. The Osage
+orange--a tree from thirty to forty feet high with leaves even more
+bright and glossy than those of the ordinary orange--was first
+found growing wild near one of their villages."</p>
+<p>"But what a very high hedge it would make!" said Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"Yes, if left to its natural growth, it would be a very absurd
+fence indeed. But this is not the case; the branches spread out
+very widely, and by cutting off the tops and trimming the remainder
+twice in a season a very handsome thickset hedge is produced, with
+lustrous leaves and sharp, straight thorns. Another name for this
+tree is yellow-wood, or bow-wood, because the wood is of a
+bright-yellow color, and the grain is so fine and elastic that the
+Southern Indians have been in the habit of using it to make their
+bows. The experiment of feeding silkworms upon the leaves has been
+tried, but it was not very successful."</p>
+<p>"I suppose the worms didn't know that it belonged to the
+mulberry family," said Clara, "and I don't see now why it
+does."</p>
+<p>For reply, her governess read:</p>
+<p>"'The sap of the young wood and of the leaves is <i>milky</i>
+and contains a large proportion of caoutchouc.'"</p>
+<p>"Oh!" exclaimed Malcolm; "that sounds just like sneezing. What
+is it, Miss Harson?"</p>
+<p>"Something that you wear on your feet and over your shoulders in
+wet weather; so now guess."</p>
+<p>"Overshoes!" replied Clara, in a great hurry.</p>
+<p>"How many of them do you wear over your shoulders at once?"
+asked her brother. "And it must be a queer kind of sap that has
+overshoes in it. Why couldn't you say 'India-rubber'?"</p>
+<p>"And why couldn't <i>you</i> say it before Clara put it into
+your head by saying 'Overshoes?" asked Miss Harson. "Clara has the
+right idea, only she did not express it in the clearest way. The
+sap of the caoutchouc, or India-rubber, tree is the most valuable
+yet discovered, and, as it is of a milky nature, it can very
+properly be brought into the present class of trees."</p>
+<p>"Is <i>that</i> a mulberry too?" asked Clara, who thought that
+the size of the family was getting beyond all bounds.</p>
+<p>"It is not really set down as belonging to the bread-fruit
+family," was the reply, "but it certainly has the peculiarity of
+their milky sap. However, as I know that you are all eager to hear
+about the bread-fruit tree, we will take that next. This tree is
+found in various tropical regions, but principally in the South-Sea
+Islands, where it is about forty feet high. The immense leaves are
+half a yard long and over a quarter wide, and are deeply divided
+into sharp lobes. The fruit looks like a very large green berry,
+being about the size of a cocoanut or melon, and the proper time
+for gathering it is about a week before it is ripe. When baked, it
+is not very unlike bread. It is cooked by being cut into several
+pieces, which are baked in an oven in the ground. It is often eaten
+with orange-juice and cocoanut-milk. Some of the South-Sea
+islanders depend very much upon it for their food. The large seeds,
+when roasted, are said to taste like the best chestnuts. The pulp,
+which is the bread-part, is said to resemble a baked potato and is
+very white and tender, but, unless eaten soon after the fruit is
+gathered, it grows hard and choky."</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/224.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>THE BREAD-FRUIT.</b></p>
+<p>"So Edie's 'loaves of bread' are green?" said Malcolm, rather
+teasingly.</p>
+<p>"That's because they grow on a tree," replied Clara. "Our loaves
+of bread are raw dough before they're baked, and they are grains of
+wheat before they are dough."</p>
+<p>"That is quite true, dear," replied her governess, laughing,
+"and we must teach Malcolm not to be quite so critical.--The
+bread-fruit is a wonderful tree, and it certainly does bear
+uncooked loaves of bread, at least, for they require no kneading to
+be ready for the oven. The fruit is to be found on the tree for
+eight months of the year--which is very different from any of our
+fruits--and two or three bread-fruit trees will supply one man with
+food all the year round."</p>
+<p>"Put what does he do when there is no fresh fruit on them?"
+asked Malcolm. "You told us that it was not good to eat unless it
+was fresh."</p>
+<p>"We should not think it good, but the native makes it into a
+sour paste called <i>mah&eacute;</i>, and the people of the islands
+eat this during the four months when the fresh fruit is not to be
+had. The bread-fruit is said to be very nourishing, and it can be
+prepared in various ways. The timber of this tree, though soft, is
+found useful in building houses and boats; the flowers, when dried,
+serve for tinder; the viscid, milky juice answers for birdlime and
+glue; the leaves, for towels and packing; and the inner bark,
+beaten together, makes one species of the South-Sea cloth."</p>
+<p>"What a very useful tree!" exclaimed Clara.</p>
+<p>"It is indeed," replied Miss Harson; "and this is the case with
+many of the trees found in these warm countries, where the
+inhabitants know little of the arts and manufactures, and would
+almost starve rather than exert themselves very greatly. There is
+another species of bread-fruit, called the jaca, or jack, tree,
+found on the mainland of Asia, which produces its fruit on
+different parts of the tree, according to its age. When the tree is
+young, the fruit grows from the twigs; in middle age it grows from
+the trunk; and when the tree gets old, it grows from the
+roots."</p>
+<p class="ctr"><a href="Images/227.png"><img src="Images/227.png"
+width="40%" alt=""></a><br>
+<b>JACK-FRUIT TREE.</b></p>
+<p>There was a picture of the jack tree with fruit growing out of
+the trunk and great branches like melons, and the children crowded
+eagerly around to look at it. All agreed that it was the very
+queerest tree they had yet heard of.</p>
+<p>"The fruit is even larger than that of the island bread-fruit,"
+continued their governess, "but it is not so pleasant to our taste,
+nor is it so nourishing. It often weighs over thirty pounds and has
+two or three hundred seeds, each of which is four times as large as
+an almond and is surrounded by a pulp which is greatly relished by
+the natives of India. The seeds, or nuts, are roasted, like those
+of smaller fruit, and make very good chestnuts. The fruit has a
+strong odor not very agreeable to noses not educated to it."</p>
+<p>"Miss Harson," said Malcolm, "what is the upas tree like, and
+why is it called <i>deadly</i>?"</p>
+<p>"It is a tree eighty feet high, with white and slightly-furrowed
+bark; the branches, which are very thick, grow nearly at the top,
+dividing into smaller ones, which form an irregular sort of crown
+to the tall, straight trunk. There is no reason for calling it
+<i>deadly</i> except a foolish notion and the fact that a very
+strong poison is prepared from the milky sap. The tree grows in the
+island of Java, and for a long time many fabulous stories were told
+of its dangerous nature. Travelers in that region would send home
+the wildest and most improbable stories of the poison tree, until
+the very name of the upas was enough to make people shudder. It is
+said that a Dutch surgeon stationed on the island did much to keep
+up the impression. He wrote an account of the valley in which the
+upas was said to be growing alone, for no tree nor shrub was to be
+found near it. And he declared that neither animal nor bird could
+breathe the noxious effluvia from the tree without instant death.
+In fact, he called this fatal spot 'The Valley of Death.'"</p>
+<p>"And wasn't it true, Miss Harson?"</p>
+<p>"Not all true, Clara; some one who had spent many years in Java
+proved these stories to be entirely false. Instead of growing in a
+dismal valley by itself, the graceful-looking upas tree is found in
+the most fertile spots, among other trees, and very often climbing
+plants are twisted round its trunk, while birds nestle in the
+branches. It can be handled, too, like any other tree; and all this
+is as unlike the Dutch surgeon's account as possible. One of his
+stories was that the criminals on the island were employed to
+collect the poison from the trunk of the tree; that they were
+permitted to choose whether to die by the hand of the executioner
+or to go to the upas for a box of its fatal juice; and that the
+ground all about the tree was strewed with the dead bodies of those
+who had perished on this errand."</p>
+<p>"Oh," exclaimed Edith, "wasn't that dreadful?"</p>
+<p>"The story was dreadful, dear, but it was only a story, you
+know: the upas tree did not kill people at all; and to turn the
+milky juice into a dangerous poison took a great deal of time and
+trouble. It was mixed with various spices and fermented; when ready
+for use, it was poured into the hollow joints of bamboo and
+carefully kept from the air. Both for war and for the chase arrows
+are dipped in this fatal preparation, and the effect has been
+witnessed by naturalists on animals, and also on man. The instant
+it touches the blood it is carried through the whole system, so
+that it may be felt in all the veins and causes a burning
+sensation, especially in the head, which is followed by sickness
+and death."</p>
+<p>"Well," said Clara, drawing a long breath, "I'm glad that I
+don't live in Java."</p>
+<p>"The poisoned arrows are not constantly flying about in Java,
+dear," replied her governess, with a smile, "and I do not think you
+would be in any danger from them; but there are a great many other
+reasons why it is not pleasant, except for natives, to live in
+Java. There are a number of Dutch settlers there, because the
+island was conquered by the Dutch nation, but while war with the
+natives was going on they suffered terribly from these poisoned
+arrows; so that the very name of upas caused them to tremble. The
+word 'upas,' in the language of the natives, means poison, and
+there is in the island a valley called the upas, or poison, valley.
+It has nothing, however, to do with the tree, which does not grow
+anywhere in the neighborhood. That valley may literally be called
+'The Valley of Death.' We are told that it came to exist in this
+way: The largest mountain in Java was once partly buried in a very
+dreadful manner. In the middle of a summer night the people in the
+neighborhood perceived a luminous cloud that seemed wholly to
+envelop the mountain. They were extremely alarmed and took to
+flight, but ere they could escape a terrific noise was heard, like
+the discharge of cannon, and part of the mountain fell in and
+disappeared. At the same moment quantities of stones and lava were
+thrown to the distance of several miles. Fifteen miles of ground
+covered with villages and plantations were swallowed up or buried
+under the lava from the mountain; and when all was over and people
+tried to visit the scene of the disaster, they could not approach
+it on account of the heat of the stones and other substances piled
+upon one another. And yet as much as six weeks had elapsed since
+the catastrophe. This upas valley is about half a mile in
+circumference, and the vapor that escapes through the cracks and
+fissures is fatal to every living thing. Here, indeed, are to be
+seen the bones of animals and birds, and even the skeletons of
+human beings who were unfortunate enough to enter and were
+overpowered by the deadly vapor. And now," added Miss Harson, "I
+have given you this account to make you understand that the famous
+upas valley of Java is not a valley of upas trees, but one of
+poisonous vapors."</p>
+<p>"And the deadly upas," said Malcolm, "is not deadly, after all!
+I think I shall remember that."</p>
+<p>"And I too," said Clara and Edith, who had listened with great
+interest to the description.</p>
+<p>"Shall we have some figs now, by way of variety?" was a question
+that caused three pairs of eyes to turn rather expectantly on the
+speaker; for figs were very popular with the small people of
+Elmridge.</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/234.png" width="60%" alt=""><br>
+<b>THE BANYAN TREE.</b></p>
+<p>"Not in the way of refreshments, just at present," continued
+their governess, "but only as belonging to the mulberry family; and
+we will begin with that curious tree the banyan, or Indian fig.
+This stately and beautiful tree is found on the banks of the river
+Ganges and in many parts of India, and is a tree much valued and
+venerated by the Hindu. He plants it near the temple of his idol;
+and if the village in which he resides does not possess any such
+edifice, he uses the banyan for a temple and places the idol
+beneath it. Here, every morning and evening, he performs the rites
+of his heathen worship. And, more than this, he considers the tree,
+with its out-stretched and far-sheltering arms, an emblem of the
+creator of all things."</p>
+<p>"Is that only one tree?" asked Malcolm as Miss Harson displayed
+a picture that was more like a small grove. "Why, it looks like two
+or three trees together."</p>
+<p>"Does it grow up from the ground or down from the air?" asked
+Clara. "Just look at these queer branches with one end fast to the
+tree and the other end fast to the ground!"</p>
+<p>Edith thought that the branches which had not reached the ground
+looked like snakes, but, for all that, it was certainly a grand
+tree.</p>
+<p>"The peculiar growth of the banyan," continued Miss Harson,
+"renders it an object of beauty and produces those column-like
+stems that cause it to become a grove in itself. It may be said to
+grow, not from the seed, but from the branches. They spread out
+horizontally, and each branch sends out a number of rootlets that
+at first hang from it like slender cords and wave about in the
+wind.--Those are your 'snakes,' Edith.--But by degrees they reach
+the ground and root themselves into it; then the cord tightens and
+thickens and becomes a stem, acting like a prop to the
+widespreading branch of the parent plant. Indeed, column on column
+is added in this manner, the books tell us, so long as the
+mother-tree can support its numerous progeny."</p>
+<p>"How very strange!" said Clara. "The mulberry seems to have some
+very funny relations."</p>
+<p>"Such a great tree ought to bear very large figs," added
+Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"On the contrary," replied his governess, "it bears uncommonly
+small ones--no larger than a hazel-nut, and of a red color. They
+are not considered eatable by the natives, but birds and animals
+feed upon them, and in the leafy bower of the banyan are found the
+peacock, the monkey and the squirrel. Here, too, are a myriad of
+pigeons as green as the leaf and with eyes and feet of a brilliant
+red. They are so like the foliage in color that they can be seen
+only by the practiced eye of the hunter, and even he would fail to
+detect them were it not for their restless movements. As they
+flutter about from branch to branch they are apt to fall victims to
+his skill in shooting his arrows."</p>
+<p>"If they would only keep still!" exclaimed Edith, who felt a
+strong sympathy for the green pigeons. "Poor pretty things! Why
+don't they, Miss Harson, instead of getting killed?"</p>
+<p>"They do not know their danger until it is too late, and it is
+quite as hard for them to keep still as it is for little
+girls."</p>
+<p>Edith wondered if that meant her; she was a little girl, but she
+did not think she was so very restless. However, Miss Harson didn't
+tell her, and she soon forgot it in listening to what was said of
+the queer tree with branches like snakes.</p>
+<p>"The leaves of the banyan tree are large and soft and of a very
+bright green, and the deep shade and pillared walks are so welcome
+to the Hindu that he even tries to improve on Nature and coax the
+shoots to grow just where he wishes them. He binds wet clay and
+moss on the branch to make the rootlet sprout."</p>
+<p>"Will it grow then?" asked Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"Yes, just as a cutting planted in the earth will grow, although
+it seems a very odd style of gardening.--The sacred fig tree of
+India--<i>Ficus religiosa</i>--is a near relative of the banyan,
+and very much like it in general appearance; but the leaves are on
+such slender stalks that they tremble like those of the aspen. It
+is known as the bo tree of Ceylon, and is said to have been placed
+in charge of the priests long before the present race of
+inhabitants had appeared in the island."</p>
+<p>"Where do the real figs grow?" asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"In a great many moderately warm or sub-tropical countries," was
+the reply, "but Smyrna figs are the most celebrated. Immense
+quantities of the fruit are dried and packed in Asiatic Turkey for
+exportation from this city, and it is said that in the fig season
+nothing else is talked about there."</p>
+<p>"I didn't know that they were dried," said Malcolm, in great
+surprise; "I thought they were just packed tight in boxes and then
+sent off."</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/239.png" width="35%" alt=""><br>
+<b>LEAF AND FRUIT OF THE FIG TREE.</b></p>
+<p>"'In its native country,'" read Miss Harson, "'and when growing
+on the tree, the fig presents a different appearance from the dried
+and packed specimens we see in this country. It is a firm and
+fleshy fruit, and has a delicious honey-drop hanging from the
+point.' And here," she added, "is a small branch from the fig tree,
+with fruit growing on it."</p>
+<p>"Why, it's shaped like a pear!" exclaimed Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"And what large, pretty leaves it has!" said Clara.</p>
+<p>"'The fig tree is common in Palestine and the East,'" Miss
+Harson continued to read, "'and flourishes with the greatest
+luxuriance in those barren and stony situations, where little else
+will grow. Its large size and its abundance of five-lobed leaves
+render it a pleasant shade-tree, and its fruit furnishes a
+wholesome food very much used in all the lands of the Bible.' Figs
+were among the fruits mentioned in the 'land that flowed with milk
+and honey,' and it was a symbol of peace and plenty, as you will
+find, Malcolm, by reading to us from First Kings, fourth chapter,
+twenty-fifth verse."</p>
+<p>"'And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine
+and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of
+Solomon.'--That's what it means, then!" said Malcolm, when he had
+finished reading the verse. "I've heard people say, 'Under your own
+vine and fig tree,' and I couldn't tell what they meant."</p>
+<p>"Yes," replied his governess, "some persons make very free with
+the words of Holy Scripture and twist them to suit meanings for
+which they were not intended. Having a house of one's own is
+usually meant by this quotation, and almost the same words are
+repeated in other parts of the Old Testament. The fig is often
+mentioned in the Bible, and two kinds are spoken of--the very early
+fig, and the one that ripens late in the summer. The early fig was
+considered the best; and I think that Clara will tell us what is
+said of it by the prophet Jeremiah."</p>
+<p>Clara read slowly:</p>
+<p>"'One basket had very good figs, <i>even like the figs that are
+first ripe</i>; and the other basket had very naughty figs, which
+could not be eaten, they were so bad<a name="FNanchor16" id=
+"FNanchor16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16">[16]</a>.'"</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_16" id="Footnote_16"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor16">[16]</a> Jer. xxiv. 2.</blockquote>
+<p>"But can figs be naughty, Miss Harson?" asked Edith, with very
+wide-open eyes. "I thought that only children were naughty,"</p>
+<p>"There are 'naughty' grown people as well as naughty children,"
+was the reply, "and inanimate things like figs in old times were
+called naughty too, in the sense of being bad.--The fruit of the
+fig tree appears not only before the leaves, but without any sign
+of blossoms, the flowers being small and hidden in the little
+buttons which first shoot out from the points of the sterns, and
+around which the outer and firm part of the fig grows. The leaves
+come out so late in the season that our Saviour said, 'Now learn a
+parable of the fig tree; when his branch is yet tender, and putteth
+forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh<a name="FNanchor17" id=
+"FNanchor17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17">[17]</a>.' Did not our Lord
+say something else about a fig tree?"</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_17" id="Footnote_17"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor17">[17]</a> Matt. xxiv. 32.</blockquote>
+<p>"Yes," replied Clara; "the one that was withered away because it
+had no figs on it."</p>
+<p>"The barren fig tree which was withered at our Saviour's word,
+as an awful warning to unfruitful professors of religion, seems to
+have spent itself in leaves. It stood by the wayside, free to all,
+and, as the time for stripping the trees of their fruit had not
+come--for in Mark we are told that 'the time of figs was not
+yet<a name="FNanchor18" id="FNanchor18"></a><a href=
+"#Footnote_18">[18]</a>'--it was reasonable to expect to find it
+covered with figs in various stages of growth. Yet there was
+'nothing thereon, but leaves only.' Find the nineteenth verse of
+the twenty-first chapter of Matthew, Malcolm, and read what is said
+there."</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_18" id="Footnote_18"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor18">[18]</a> Mark xi. 13.</blockquote>
+<p>"'And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and
+found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no
+fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig
+tree withered away.'"</p>
+<p>"A fig tree having leaves," said Miss Harson, "should also have
+figs, for these, as I have already told you, appear before the
+leaves, and both are on the tree at the same time; so that,
+although unripe figs are seen without leaves, leaves should not be
+seen without figs; and if it was not yet the season for figs, it
+was not the season for leaves either. The barren fig tree has often
+been compared to people who make a show of goodness in words, but
+leave the doing of good works to others; and when anything is
+expected of them, there is sure to be disappointment. 'Nothing but
+leaves' has become a proverb; and when it can be used to express
+the barren condition of those who profess to follow the teachings
+of our Lord, it is sad indeed."</p>
+<p>"Do fig trees grow wild?" asked Clara, presently.</p>
+<p>"Yes," was the reply, "and very curious-looking things they are.
+'Their roots twist into all kinds of whimsical contortions, so as
+to look more like a mass of snakes than the roots of a tree. They
+unite themselves so closely to the substances that come in their
+way, such as the face of rocks, or even the stems of other trees,
+that nothing can pull them away. And in some parts of India these
+strong, tough roots are made to serve the purpose of bridges and
+twisted over some stream or cataract. The wild fig is often a
+dangerous parasite, and does not attain perfection without
+completing some work of destruction among its neighbors in the
+forest. A slender rootlet may sometimes be seen hanging from the
+crown of a palm. The seed was carried there by some bird that had
+fed upon the fruit of a wild fig, and it rooted itself with
+surprising facility. The rootlet, as it descends, envelops the
+column-like stem of the palm with a woody network, and at length
+reaches the ground. Meanwhile, the true stem of the parasite shoots
+upward from the crown of the palm. It sends out numberless
+rootlets, each of which, as soon as it reaches the ground, takes
+root; and between them the palm is stifled and perishes, leaving
+the fig in undisturbed possession. The parasite does not, however,
+long survive the decline; for, no longer fed by the juices of the
+palm, it also, in process of time, begins to languish and
+decline.'"</p>
+<p>"What a mean thing it is!" exclaimed Malcolm--"as mean as the
+cuckoo, that lays its eggs in other birds' nests. And I'm glad it
+dies when it has killed the palm tree; it just serves it right. But
+don't figs ever grow in this country, Miss Harson?"</p>
+<p>"Yes," replied his governess; "they are cultivated in the
+Southern States and in California, like many other semi-tropical
+fruits, and are principally eaten fresh, but for drying they are
+not equal to the imported ones. No doubt the cultivation of figs in
+California will become a prosperous trade, for the climate and
+circumstances there are much like those of Syria."</p>
+<br>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/246.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>DWARF FIG TREE IN A POT.</b></p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII." id="CHAPTER_XIII."></a>CHAPTER
+XIII.</h2>
+<h3><i>QUEER RELATIONS: THE CAOUTCHOUC AND THE MILK TREE</i>.</h3>
+<br>
+<p>"What dark, strange-looking trees!" exclaimed the children while
+looking at an illustration of caoutchouc trees in Brazil. "How
+thick and strong they are! And what funny tops!--like pointed
+umbrellas."</p>
+<p>"The India-rubber tree is not likely to be mistaken for any
+other," said their governess, "and it does not look very dark and
+gloomy in that forest, where everything seems to be crowded close
+and in a tangle, because South American vegetation grows so thickly
+and rapidly. This is the country which supplies the largest
+quantity of India-rubber. Immense cargoes are shipped from the town
+of Para, on the river Amazon, and obtained from the <i>Siphonia
+elastica</i>."</p>
+<p>"Are the stems all made of India-rubber?" asked Edith, who
+thought that was exactly what they looked like.</p>
+<p>"Are the stems of the maple trees made of maple-sugar?" replied
+Miss Harson. "The India-rubber is got from its tree as the sugar is
+from the maple tree. It is taken from the trunk in the shape of a
+very thick milky fluid, and it is said that no other vital fluid,
+whether in animal or in plant, contains so much solid material
+within it; and it is a matter of surprise that the sap, thus
+encumbered, can circulate through all the delicate vessels of the
+tree. Tropical heat is required to form the caoutchouc; for when
+the tree is cultivated in hothouses, the substance of the sap is
+quite different. The full-grown trees are very handsome, with round
+column-like trunks about sixty feet high, and the crown of foliage
+is said to resemble that of the ash."</p>
+<p>"Did people always know about India-rubber?" asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"No indeed! It is not more than a hundred and fifty
+years--perhaps not so long--since it was a great curiosity; so that
+a piece half an inch square would sell in London for nearly a
+dollar of our money, but now it comes in shiploads, and a pound of
+it costs less than quarter of that sum. It is used for so many
+purposes that it seems as if the world could never have gone on
+without it. All sorts of outside garments to keep out the rain are
+made of it. Waterproof cloaks are called macintoshes in England
+because this was the name of the person who invented them.
+India-rubber is also used for tents and many other things, and, as
+water cannot get through it, there is a great saving of trouble and
+expense."</p>
+<p>"It must be splendid for tents," said Malcolm; "no one need
+care, when snug under cover, whether or not it rained in the
+woods."</p>
+<p>"People do care, though," was the reply, "for they expect, when
+in the woods, to live out of doors; but the India-rubber is
+certainly a great improvement on tents that get soaked
+through."</p>
+<p>"I like it," said Edith, "because it rubs things out. When I
+draw a house and it's all wrong, my piece of India-rubber will take
+it away, and then I can make another one on the paper."</p>
+<p>"That is the very smallest of its uses," replied Miss Harson,
+smiling at the little girl's earnestness, "and yet we find it a
+great convenience. An English writer, speaking of it when it was
+first known in England, said that he had seen a substance that
+would efface from paper the marks of a black-lead pencil, and he
+thought it must be of use to those who practiced drawing."</p>
+<p>"How funny that sounds!" exclaimed Malcolm. "Why, I couldn't get
+along without my India-rubber when I make mistakes,"</p>
+<p>"You might," said his governess, "if you had some stale bread to
+rub with; for people <i>have</i> gotten along without a great many
+things which they now think necessary."</p>
+<p>"Miss Harson," said Clara, "won't you tell us, please, how they
+get the caoutch--whatever it is--and make it into
+India-rubber?"</p>
+<p>"I will," was the laughing reply, "when you can say the word
+properly. C-a-o-u-t-c-h-o-u-c--koochook."</p>
+<p>As Clara said, Miss Harson made things so easy to understand!
+and in a very short time the hard word was mastered.</p>
+<p>"As I have never seen the sap gathered," continued the young
+lady, "I shall have to read you an account of it, instead of
+telling you from my own experience; but the description is so plain
+that I think we shall all be able to understand it very well: 'At
+certain seasons of the year the natives visit some islands in the
+river Amazon that for many months are covered with water. As soon
+as the water subsides and a footing can be obtained the Indians
+arrive in parties, to seek for the trees. The Indian who comes
+every morning to collect the juice from the trunk has a number of
+trees allotted to him, and goes the round of the whole. The
+previous night he has made a long, deep cut in the bark of each and
+hung an earthen vessel beneath, to receive the thick, creamlike
+substance that trickles down. The vessel is filled by morning, and
+he pours the contents into one much larger and carries it to his
+hut. He is provided with a number of moulds of different shapes and
+sizes, and he dips them into the juice and puts them aside to dry.
+They are then dipped again, and the process is continued until the
+coat of India-rubber on the mould is of sufficient thickness. It is
+made black by passing it through the smoke of burning palm-nuts.
+The moulds are broken and taken out, leaving the India-rubber ready
+for sale, and pretty much as we used to see it in the shops before
+the people of this country had learned how to work it.'"</p>
+<p>"That seems easy enough," said Malcolm, "but how do they make it
+into gutta-percha?"</p>
+<p>"Gutta-percha is not made," replied his governess, "and it is
+taken from an entirely different tree, the <i>Icosandra gutta</i>,
+which grows in Southern Asia. The milky fluid is procured in the
+same way, but it is placed in vessels to evaporate, and the solid
+substance left at the bottom is the gutta-percha. It is not
+elastic, like India-rubber, and is called 'vegetable leather'
+because of its toughness and leathery appearance. It was discovered
+by an English traveler a long time before it was supposed to have
+any useful properties, but now it is considered a very valuable
+material. The wonderful submarine telegraph could not convey its
+messages between the Old World and the New were not its wires
+protected from injury by a coating of gutta-percha. Its unyielding
+nature and its not being elastic render it the very material
+needed. The long straps used in working machines are also made of
+gutta-percha, and this is another instance where its non-elasticity
+gives it the preference over India-rubber."</p>
+<p>"And what is vulcanite?" asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"It is caoutchouc mixed with sulphur. Unless a small quantity of
+brimstone is added in the manufacture of overshoes, they become
+soft when exposed to heat and hardened when exposed to cold; but it
+was discovered that the sulphur will keep them from being affected
+by changes in temperature. When a large amount of sulphur is used,
+the India-rubber, becomes as hard as horn or wood, and this is the
+substance called vulcanite. Now the gum is imported in masses, to
+be wrought over by our skillful mechanics."</p>
+<p>The children were very much pleased to find that they had
+learned the nature of three important articles--India-rubber,
+gutta-percha and vulcanite--and they thought it would be quite easy
+to remember the differences between them.</p>
+<p>"And now," said Miss Harson, "the last of these useful
+trees--the cow tree, or milk tree--is the most curious one of all.
+Like the caoutchouc, it is a native of South America; but the sap
+is a rich fluid that answers for food, like milk. It is a
+fine-looking tree with oblong, pointed leaves about ten inches in
+length and a fleshy fruit containing one or two nuts. The sap is
+the most valuable part; and when incisions are made in the trunk of
+the tree, there is an abundant flow of thick milk-like sap, which
+is described as having an agreeable and balmv smell. The German
+traveler Humboldt drank it from the shell of a calabash, and the
+natives dip their bread of maize or cassava in it. This milk is
+said to be very fattening; and when exposed to the air, it thickens
+into a substance which the people call cheese."</p>
+<p>"Milk and cheese from a tree!" exclaimed Malcolm. "Do you think
+we'd like them as well as ours, Miss Harson?"</p>
+<p>"No," was the reply, "I do not think we should; but if we had
+never known any other kind, it would be quite a different matter,
+and the traveler says that both smell and taste are agreeable. The
+sap, it seems, is like curdled milk, and the natives say that they
+can tell, from the thickness and color of the foliage, the trunks
+that yield the most juice. This wonderful tree will be found
+growing on the side of a barren rock, and its large, woody roots
+can scarcely penetrate into the stone. For several months of the
+year not a single shower moistens its foliage. Its branches then
+appear dead and dried; but when the trunk is pierced, there flows
+from it a sweet and nourishing milk. It is at the rising of the sun
+that this vegetable fountain is most abundant. The negroes and
+natives are then seen hastening from all quarters, furnished with
+large bowls to receive the milk, which grows yellow and thickens at
+its surface. Some empty their bowls while under the tree itself;
+others carry the juice home to their children."</p>
+<p>"Isn't it funny," said Edith, laughing, "to go and get their
+breakfasts from a <i>tree</i>? I wish we had some milk trees
+here."</p>
+<p>"But you would not find it pleasant," replied their governess,
+"to have some other things that are always found where the milk
+tree grows. The intense heat and the swarms of mosquitoes and
+biting flies, the serpents and jaguars and other disagreeable and
+dangerous creatures, make life in that region anything but
+pleasant, and the curious vegetation and delicious fruits are not
+worth the suffering inflicted by all these torments."</p>
+<p>On hearing of these drawbacks the children soon decided that
+their own dear home was the best, and no longer envied the
+possessors even of the cow tree.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV." id="CHAPTER_XIV."></a>CHAPTER XIV.</h2>
+<h3><i>HOME AND ABROAD: LINDEN, CAMPHOR, BEECH</i>.</h3>
+<br>
+<p>"Now," said Miss Harson to her expectant flock, "it is to be
+hoped that our foreign wanderings among such wonderful trees have
+not spoiled you for home trees, as there are still a number of them
+which we have not yet examined."</p>
+<p>"No indeed!" they assured her; "they liked to hear about them
+all, and they were going to try and remember everything she told
+them about the trees."</p>
+<p>Their governess said that would be too much to expect, and if
+they remembered the most important things she would be quite
+satisfied,</p>
+<p>"We will take the linden, lime, or basswood, tree--for it has
+all three of these names--this evening," she continued, "and there
+are nine or ten species of the tree, which are found in America,
+Europe and Western Asia. It is a very handsome, regular-looking
+tree with rich, thick masses of foliage that make a deep shade. The
+leaves are heart-shaped and very finely veined, have
+sharply-serrated edges and are four or five inches long. The
+leaf-stalk is half the length of the leaf. It blooms in July and
+August, and the flowers are yellowish white and very fragrant; when
+an avenue of limes is in blossom, the whole atmosphere is filled
+with a delightful perfume which can hardly be described."</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/258.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>THE LINDEN OR LIME TREE (<i>Tilia</i>).</b></p>
+<p>"There are no lime trees here, are there?" asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"No," was the reply, "I do not think there are any in this
+neighborhood; but they grow abundantly not many miles away. Our
+native trees are not so pretty as the English lime, which, clothed
+with softer foliage, has a smaller leaf and a neater and more
+elegant spray. Ours bears larger and more conspicuous flowers, in
+heavier clusters, but of inferior sweetness. Both species are
+remarkable for their size and longevity. The young leaves of the
+lime are of a bright fresh tint that contrasts strongly with the
+very dark color of the branches; and these branches are so finely
+divided that their beauty is seen to the greatest advantage when
+winter has stripped them bare of leaves.</p>
+<p>"'The linden has in all ages been celebrated for the fragrance
+of its flowers and the excellence of the honey made from them. The
+famous Mount Hybla was covered with lime trees. The aroma from its
+flowers is like that of mignonette; it perfumes the whole
+atmosphere, and is perceptible to the inhabitants of all the
+beehives within a circuit of a mile. The real linden honey is of a
+greenish color and delicious taste when taken from the hive
+immediately after the trees have been in blossom, and is often sold
+for more than the ordinary kind. There is a forest in Lithuania
+that abounds in lime trees, and here swarms of wild bees live in
+the hollow trunks and collect their honey from the lime.'"</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/260.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>LEAF AND FLOWER OF LIME TREE <i>(Tilia)</i>.</b></p>
+<p>"What fun it would be, if we were there, to go and get it!"
+exclaimed Malcolm. "But don't bees make honey from the lime trees
+that grow in this country, too, Miss Harson?"</p>
+<p>"Certainly they do; and the beekeepers look anxiously forward to
+the blossoming of the trees, because they provide such abundant
+supplies for the busy swarms. The flowers have other uses, too,
+besides the making of honey: the Swiss are said to obtain a
+favorite beverage from them, and in the South of France an infusion
+of the blossoms is taken for colds and hoarseness, and also for
+fever. 'Active boys climb to the topmost branches and gather the
+fragrant flowers, which their mothers catch in their aprons for
+that purpose. An avenue of limes has been ravaged and torn in
+pieces by the eagerness of the people to gather the blossoms, and
+they are often made into tea which is a soft sugary beverage in
+taste a little like licorice.'"</p>
+<p>"How queer," said Clara, "to make tea from flowers!"</p>
+<p>"Is it any queerer," asked her governess, "than to make it from
+leaves? I should think that the flowers might even be better, and
+yet I should scarcely like lime-tea that tastes like licorice."</p>
+<p>The children, though, seemed to think that they would like it,
+and Miss Harson had very little doubt that such would be the
+case.</p>
+<p>"Both the bark and the wood of the lime tree are valuable," she
+continued. "The fibres of the bark are strong and firm, and make
+excellent ropes and cordage. In Sweden and Russia they are made
+into a kind of matting that is very useful for packing-purposes and
+in protecting delicate plants from the frost. 'The manufacture of
+this useful material is carried on in the summer, close by the
+woods and forests where the lime trees grow in abundance. As soon
+as the sap begins to ascend freely the bark parts from the wood and
+can be taken away with ease. Great strips are then peeled off and
+steeped in water until they separate into layers; the layers are
+still further divided into smaller strips or ribbons, and are hung
+up in the shade of the wood, generally on the very tree itself from
+which they have been taken. After a time they are woven into the
+matting and sent to market for sale. The Swedish fishermen also
+manufacture it into a coarse thread for fishing-nets, and from the
+fibres of the young shoots the Russian peasant makes the strong
+shoes he wears, using the outer bark for the soles. In Italy the
+garments of the poorer people are often made of cloth woven from
+this material."</p>
+<p>"Why, people can fairly <i>live</i> on trees," said Malcolm. "I
+didn't know that they were good for anything but shade--except the
+trees that have fruit and nuts on 'em."</p>
+<p>"There is a great deal for us all to learn of the works of the
+Creator," replied Miss Harson, "and the blessing of trees is not
+half known. The wood of the lime is said never to be worm-eaten; it
+is very soft and smooth and of a pale-yellow color. It is used for
+the famous Tunbridge ware, and is called the carver's tree,
+because, as the poet says,</p>
+<blockquote>"'Smooth linden best obeys<br>
+The carver's chisel--best his curious work<br>
+Displays in nicest touches.'<br></blockquote>
+<p>"The fruits and flowers carved for the choir of St. Paul's
+cathedral in London are done in lime-wood.</p>
+<p>"So numerous are the purposes to which the bark, wood, leaves
+and blossoms of the lime, or linden, tree can be applied that
+centuries ago it was called the tree of a thousand uses. Linden is
+the name by which it is always known on the continent of Europe,
+and there it is indeed a magnificent tree, forming the most
+delightful avenues and branching colonnades. One of the principal
+streets in Berlin is called 'Unter den Linden.' In the Middle Ages,
+when the Swiss and the Flemings were always struggling for liberty,
+it was their custom to plant a lime tree on the field of battle,
+and many of these old trees still remain and have been the subject
+of ballads and poetical effusions:</p>
+<blockquote>"'The stately lime, smooth, gentle, straight and
+fair.'"<br></blockquote>
+<p>"Is there any story about it, Miss Harson?"</p>
+<p>"No," was the reply, "not much of a story; only descriptions of
+some very large and very ancient trees. One of these, the old
+linden tree of Soleure, in Switzerland, was spoken of by an English
+traveler two hundred years ago as 'right noble and wondrous to
+behold. A bower composed of its branches is capable of holding
+three hundred persons sitting at ease; it has also a fountain set
+about with many tables formed solely of the boughs, to which men
+ascend by steps; and all is kept so accurately and thick that the
+sun never looks into it.'"</p>
+<p>"It is just like a tent," said Malcolm, "it must be pleasant to
+sit by the fountain. Wouldn't you like it, Miss Harson?"</p>
+<p>"I am sure I should," replied his governess; "and I should also
+like to see the famous lime tree of Zurich, the boughs of which
+will shelter five hundred persons. At Augsburg, in Germany, feasts
+and weddings have often been celebrated under the shade of some
+venerable limes that branch out to an immense distance. In early
+times divine honors were paid to them as emblems of immortality.
+And now," said Miss Harson, "the last of these famous trees is a
+noble lime tree which grew on the farm belonging to the ancestors
+of Linnaeus, the great naturalist, beneath the shade of which he
+played in childhood, and from which his ancestors derived their
+surname. That noble tree still blossoms from year to year,
+beautiful in every change of seasons."</p>
+<p>"Lime, linden and basswood," said Clara--"three names to
+remember for one tree. But didn't you say, Miss Harson, that it's
+always called basswood in our country?"</p>
+<p>"Often, but not always. The name linden is quite common with us,
+and it will be well for you to remember that it is also called
+lime, so that when you go to Europe you will know what is meant by
+<i>lime</i> and <i>linden</i>."</p>
+<p>The children laughed at this idea, for it seemed very funny to
+think of a little girl like Clara going to Europe, but, as their
+governess told them, little girls did go constantly; besides, this
+was the time to learn what would be of use to them when they were
+grown.</p>
+<p>"The fragrant lime," said Miss Harson, "has a relative in Asia
+whose acquaintance I wish you to make, and you know it already in
+one of its products, which is common in every household. It is also
+very fragrant--or rather, I should say, it has a strong aromatic
+odor which is very reviving in cases of faintness or illness,
+although it has quite a contrary effect on insects, particularly on
+mosquitoes. I should like to have some one tell me what this white,
+powerful substance is."</p>
+<p>This was quite a conundrum, and for a little while the children
+were extremely puzzled over its solution; but presently Clara
+asked,</p>
+<p>"Do the moths hate it too, Miss Harson? And isn't it
+camphor?"</p>
+<p>"Camphor doesn't grow on a <i>tree</i>," said Malcolm, in a
+superior tone; "it is dug out of the earth."</p>
+<p>"I have never read of any camphor-mines," replied his governess,
+laughing, "and I think you will find that camphor--which is just
+what I meant--is obtained from the trunk of a tree."</p>
+<p>"Like India-rubber?" asked Edith.</p>
+<p>"No, dear, not like India-rubber, for it grows in even a more
+curious way than that, masses of it being found in the trunk of the
+camphor tree--not in the form of sap, but in lumps, as we use
+it."</p>
+<p>"I thought it was like water," said Edith, in a puzzled
+tone.</p>
+<p>"So it is when dissolved in alcohol, as we generally have it;
+but it is also used in lumps to drive away moths and for various
+other purposes. But I will tell you all about the tree, which grows
+in the islands of Sumatra and Borneo and bears the botanical name
+<i>Dryobalanops camphora</i>. The camphor is also called
+<i>barus</i> camphor, to distinguish it from the <i>laurus</i>, of
+which I will tell you afterward, and it is of a better quality and
+more easily obtained. The tree grows in the forests of these East
+Indian islands and is remarkable for its majestic size, dense
+foliage and magnolia-like flowers. The trunk rises as high as
+ninety feet without a single branch, and within it are cavities,
+sometimes a foot and a half long, which cannot be perceived until
+the bark is split open. These cavities contain the camphor in clear
+crystalline masses, and with it an oil known as camphor oil, that
+is thought by some to be camphor in an immature form. But the oil,
+even when crystallized by artificial means, does not produce such
+good camphor as that already solidified in the tree."</p>
+<p>"To think," exclaimed Clara, "of camphor growing in that way!
+But how do they get it out, Miss Harson? Do they cut great holes in
+the trunk of the tree?"</p>
+<p>"No, dear; I have just read to you that the camphor cannot be
+seen until the bark is split open, and the grand trees have to be
+cut down. But to do this is no easy matter. The hard, close-grained
+timber requires days of hewing and sawing to get it severed. The
+masses of roots are as unyielding as iron, and run twisting through
+the soil to the distance of sixty yards. Even at their farthest
+extremity they are as thick as a man's thigh."</p>
+<p>"I shouldn't think the camphor was worth all that trouble," said
+Malcolm; "it don't seem to amount to much, any wary."</p>
+<p>"It is more valuable than you suppose," replied Miss Harson;
+"for, besides preserving furs and woolen fabrics from the devouring
+moth, it protects the contents of cabinets and museums from the
+attacks of the minute creatures that prey upon the dried specimens
+of the naturalist. Not any of the insect tribe can endure the
+powerful scent of the camphor, and they either retreat before it or
+are killed by it. But its principal value is in medicine. It is
+used both internally and externally. It acts as a nervous
+stimulant, and is a favorite domestic remedy.--So you see, Malcolm,
+that camphor really amounts to a great deal, and we could not very
+well do without it."</p>
+<p>"How can people tell when there is any camphor inside the tree?"
+asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"They cannot tell," was the reply, "until the trunk is split
+open, although a tribe of men in Sumatra say that they know
+before-hand, by a kind of magic, which is the right tree to cut
+down. But the beautiful, stately tree is often wasted in vain, and
+after all their hard work the camphor-seekers find the cavities of
+the split-up trunk filled with a thick black substance like pitch
+instead of the pure white camphor."</p>
+<p>"Poor things!" said Edith, pityingly; "that's too bad."</p>
+<p>"Camphor is found in many trees and shrubs," continued her
+governess, "but in all others except the camphor tree of Sumatra
+and Borneo it has to be distilled from the wood and roots. The
+camphor-laurel, which is about the size of an English oak, is the
+most important of these trees. It grows abundantly in the Chinese
+island of Formosa, and 'camphor mandarin' is the title of a rich
+Chinaman who pays the government for the privilege of extracting
+all the camphor, which he sends to other countries at a large
+profit. Every part of this tree is full of camphor, and the tree
+gives out, when bruised, a strong perfume.</p>
+<p>"The European bay tree, which is more like an immense shrub, is
+also a member of this singular tribe, and its leaves have the
+strong family flavor. They were used in medicine, as well as the
+berries, before the camphor-laurel became known in Europe; in the
+time of Queen Elizabeth the floors of the better sort of houses
+were strewed with bay-leaves instead of being carpeted as now. The
+bay was an emblem of victory in old Roman times, and victorious
+generals were crowned with it. A wreath of this laurel, with the
+berries on, was placed on the head of a favorite poet in the Middle
+Ages, and in this way came the title
+'poet-laureate'--<i>laureatus</i>,' crowned with laurel.'</p>
+<p>"Do you remember," continued Miss Harson, "the tall, straight
+tree that I showed you yesterday when we were out in the woods--the
+one with a fluted trunk? What was its name?"</p>
+<p>"I know!" said Malcolm, quite excited. "Think of the seashore!
+Beach! That's what I told myself to remember."</p>
+<p class="right"><img src="Images/273.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>AMERICAN BEECH.</b></p>
+<p>"A very good idea," replied his governess, laughing; "only you
+must not spell it with an <i>a</i>, like the seashore, for it is
+<i>b-e-e-c-h.</i>--The fluted, or ribbed, shaft of this
+grand-looking tree is often sixty or seventy feet high, and,
+although it is found in its greatest perfection in England, it is a
+common tree in most of the woods in this country. For depth of
+shade no tree is equal to the beech, and its long beautiful leaves,
+with their close ridges and serrated edges, are very much like
+those of the chestnut. The leaves are of a light, fresh green and
+very neat and perfect, because they are so seldom attacked by
+insects; they remain longer on the branches than those of any
+deciduous tree, and give a cheerful air to the wood in winter. In
+the autumn they change to a light yellow-brown, which makes a
+pretty contrast to the reds and greens and purples of other trees.
+The branches start out almost straight from the tree, but they very
+soon curve and turn regularly upward. Every small twig turns in the
+same direction, making the long leaf-buds at the end look like so
+many little spears. I showed you these 'stuck-up' buds when we were
+looking at the tree, and you noticed how different they were from
+the other trees."</p>
+<p>Yes, the children remembered it; and it always seemed to them
+particularly nice to have part of the talk out of doors and the
+rest in the house.</p>
+<p>"Doesn't the beech tree have nuts?" asked Malcolm. "John says it
+does."</p>
+<p>"Yes," replied Miss Harson; "it has tiny three-cornered nuts
+which seem particularly small for so large a tree. But these nuts
+are eagerly devoured by pigeons, partridges and squirrels. Bears
+are said to be very fond of them, and swine fatten very rapidly
+upon them. Most varieties are so small as not to repay the trouble
+of gathering, drying and opening them. Fortunately, this is not the
+case with all, as it is a delicious nut. In France the beech-nut is
+much used for making oil, which is highly valued for burning in
+lamps and for cooking. In parts of the same country the nuts,
+roasted, serve as a substitute for coffee."</p>
+<p>"I'd like to find some when they're ripe," said Clara, "if they
+<i>are</i> little."</p>
+<p>"We will have a search for them, then," was the reply, "when the
+time comes.--The flowers which produce these little nuts are very
+showy and grow in roundish tassels, or heads, which hang by
+thread-like, silky stalks, one or two inches long, from the midst
+of the young leaves of a newly-opened bud. A traveler says of these
+leaves, 'We used always to think that the most luxurious and
+refreshing bed was that which prevails universally in Italy, and
+which consists entirely of a pile of mattresses filled with the
+luxuriant spathe of the Indian corn; which beds have the advantage
+of being soft as well as elastic, and we have always found the
+sleep enjoyed on them to be particularly sound and restorative. But
+the beds made of beech-leaves are really no whit behind them in
+these qualities, whilst the fragrant smell of green tea, which the
+leaves retain, is most gratifying. The objection to them is the
+slight crackling noise which the leaves occasion as the individual
+turns in bed, but this is no inconvenience at all; or if so in any
+degree, it is an inconvenience which is overbalanced by the
+advantages of this most luxurious couch."</p>
+<p>"But how funny," said Malcolm, "to sleep on leaves! That's what
+the Babes in the Wood did."</p>
+<p>"No," replied Clara, very earnestly, "they didn't sleep
+<i>on</i> leaves, you know; but when they had laid down and gone to
+sleep, the robins came and covered them with leaves."</p>
+<p>"Yes," chimed in little Edith; "I like that way best, because
+they'd be so cold in the woods."</p>
+<p>"And that really was the case," said Miss Harson, after
+listening with a smile to this discussion, "although there were
+probably leaves on the ground for the children to lie upon. A bed
+of leaves is not a bad thing where there are no mattresses, and
+such a bed is often used as a matter of course. You will remember
+my reading to you about the beds which the Finland mothers make for
+their children of the leaves of the canoe-birch. 'Leafy beds' are
+no strange thing--not mere poetry."</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV." id="CHAPTER_XV."></a>CHAPTER XV.</h2>
+<h3><i>THE TENT AND THE LOCUSTS</i>.</h3>
+<br>
+<p>There came a bright balmy day in May when the children found a
+delightful surprise awaiting them. The tent in the woods, which had
+been proposed on the day when birch-twigs were found to be eatable,
+was almost forgotten--or if thought of, it was as a thing that
+could not possibly be--when, on the day in question, Miss Harson
+took her charges out as usual, and led them to a very pretty
+cleared space with a fringe of rocks and trees all around it. But
+on this spot, which hitherto had been quite bare, there now stood
+some sort of a little house different from other houses and quite
+pretty.</p>
+<p>"It's a tent!" exclaimed Malcolm. "Who put it there, I should
+like to know, on <i>our</i> land?"</p>
+<p>"Are there gypsies here, Miss Harson?" whispered Clara, rather
+fearfully.</p>
+<p>But the young lady walked deliberately up to the entrance of the
+tent and invited her little flock to come inside.</p>
+<p>"I know the gentleman who had it put here," she said, "and he is
+quite willing that we should use it; but he will not give any one
+else this liberty."</p>
+<p>"I think I know him too," said Malcolm as he walked in after
+Miss Harson.</p>
+<p>"And I!"--"And I!" exclaimed the little girls. "It is our own
+papa. How very kind of him!"</p>
+<p>"Yes," replied their governess; "he said, when I spoke of a
+tent, that it would be a good thing for the wood-ramblers to have a
+place of shelter when they were over-taken by a sudden shower, and
+also a place in which to rest comfortably when they were tired; and
+this pretty tent, you see, is all ready for us at any time."</p>
+<p>It was a very nice tent indeed, having a long cushioned seat
+inside, two little rocking-chairs that were at once appropriated, a
+small table, and a bracket with books on it. On the table there was
+a round basket of oranges, which made every one thirsty at
+once.</p>
+<p>"I do believe," said Malcolm, suddenly, "that it's made of
+India-rubber."</p>
+<p>"Not the orange, I hope?" replied Miss Harson, while the little
+sisters looked up in surprise.</p>
+<p>An India-rubber orange was a thing to be laughed at, though not
+to be eaten, and the children were in such a state of glee over
+this pleasant surprise that they were ready to laugh almost at
+nothing.</p>
+<p>Presently their governess said,</p>
+<p>"Malcolm means the tent, of course; and he is quite right, for
+the covering is India-rubber cloth."</p>
+<p>"But why isn't it dark and ugly, like the waterproofs?" was the
+next question.</p>
+<p>"Simply because it need not be so, and it is prettier to have it
+white or of this pale gray. But these shades are too conspicuous
+for overshoes or waterproof cloaks, so the latter are made as dark
+as possible. The caoutchoue, you know, is naturally white or very
+light colored."</p>
+<p>"How do they make the cloth?" asked Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"It is first made as cloth," was the reply; "then a thin coating
+of India-rubber is spread over two layers of it. The cloth is then
+put together and pressed between rollers, so that the two pieces
+firmly adhere, with the caoutchoue between them. No rain can
+penetrate such a screen as this,"</p>
+<p>It was delightful to know that they would be safe and dry in
+case of a shower, and the children thought it must be just the
+prettiest tent that ever was made. The cushioned seat was covered
+with scarlet, and so were the little chairs, which Clara and Edith
+knew were meant for them; the edges of the cloth were scalloped
+with the same bright color, and there was even a rug to match
+spread in front of the "divan," as Miss Harson laughingly said the
+cushioned seat must be called.</p>
+<p>"Haven't we 'most come to the end of the trees?" asked Clara. "I
+never thought that there were so many different kinds,"</p>
+<p>"Look around and see if you feel acquainted with them all,"
+replied her governess.</p>
+<p>They had left the tent after quite a long "sitting," and were
+now on their way to the house.</p>
+<p>Clara's first glance, on doing as she had been directed, fell on
+three trees by the side of a fence, that were different from any
+they had yet studied.</p>
+<p>"What do you notice about them?" continued Miss Harson; "for I
+wish you to use your own eyes and thoughts as much as
+possible."</p>
+<p>"Why, the trunk is dark gray, and it isn't smooth, but it looks
+as if some one had dug out long, thin pieces of bark."</p>
+<p>"We will call it 'deeply furrowed,'" said her governess, "as
+that is a better expression; but your description is very good
+indeed."</p>
+<p>"The leaves are ever so pretty," said Malcolm--"so many of 'em
+on one stem!-- and the green looks as if it was just made."</p>
+<p>"You mean by that, I suppose," replied Miss Harson, "that it is
+a very fresh tint; and we are seeing it in its first beauty now.
+This is the locust tree, and May is its time for leafing out in the
+tenderest of greens. The pinnate--from <i>pinna</i>, Latin for
+feather' --leaves are composed of from nine to twenty-five
+leaflets, which are egg-shaped, with a short point, very smooth,
+light green above and still lighter beneath. These leaves are much
+liked by cattle, and they are said to be very nutritious to
+them."</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/283.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>FOLIAGE OF HONEY-LOCUST.</b></p>
+<p>"How can you remember everything so, Miss Harson?" asked
+Malcolm, lost in wonder, as the young lady, looking up at the
+trees, said these things as if they had been written there. John
+had declared that she talked like a book, and this seemed more like
+it than ever.</p>
+<p>"Oh no," was the laughing reply; "I do not remember
+<i>everything</i>, Malcolm, and perhaps it is just as well that I
+do not. But I will not tax my memory any more about the locust just
+now; we can take it up again this evening."</p>
+<p>"I should like to know," exclaimed Clara, after some thought,
+"why a tree is called <i>locust</i>, when a locust is such a
+disagreeable insect?"</p>
+<p>"I am afraid that I cannot tell you," replied Miss Harson,
+"unless the color of the leaves is similar to that of the
+'disagreeable insect,' which is really very handsome, or unless the
+insects are very partial to the tree; I have seen no explanation of
+it. But the tree itself is very much admired, with its profusion of
+pinnate leaves and racemes of flowers that fill the air with the
+most agreeable odors."</p>
+<p>"What color are the flowers, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"This description will tell you," was the reply. "The tree is
+not pretty in winter, and has no promise of beauty until 'May hangs
+on these withered boughs a green drapery that hides all their
+deformity; she infuses into their foliage a perfection of verdure
+that no other tree can rival, and a beauty in the forms of its
+leaves that renders it one of the chief ornaments of the groves and
+waysides. June weaves into this green foliage pendent clusters of
+flowers of mingled brown and white, filling the air with fragrance
+and enticing the bee with odors as sweet as from groves of citron
+and myrtle.'"</p>
+<p>"That sounds pretty," said Clara, who liked imposing sentences,
+"but brown and white are not very handsome colors for flowers."</p>
+<p>"The white is certainly prettier without the mixture of brown,"
+replied her governess, "but we have to take our flowers ready-made,
+and can hardly expect them to be beautiful and fragrant too. The
+separate blossoms are shaped like those of the pea and bean; they
+hang in long clusters somewhat resembling bunches of grapes. The
+leaves--or, rather, leaflets--are very sensitive and have a habit
+of folding over one another in wet and dull weather, and also in
+the night--a habit that is peculiar to all the members of the
+acacia family, to which the locust belongs."</p>
+<p>"I should think it ought to belong to the pea family," said
+Malcolm, "if the flowers are shaped like pea-blossoms."</p>
+<p>"So it does," replied Miss Harson--"or, rather, to the bean
+family, of which the pea is a member, on account of its blossoms;
+but the acacia, like many others, is a brother, or sister, on
+account of its leaves as well as its blossoms. The peculiar
+distinction of this family is that its flowers are butterfly-shaped
+or its fruit in pods, and it often possesses both these characters.
+By one or the other all the plants of the family are known, and the
+butterfly-shaped flowers are of a character not to be mistaken, as
+they are found in no other family. It includes herbs, shrubs and
+trees--an immense and perfectly natural family, distributed
+throughout almost every part of the globe. There are at present in
+all not less than thirty-seven hundred species. So you see that the
+locust tree is certainly rich in relations."</p>
+<p>The children thought that it must have some family claim on
+almost every plant in the world.</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/287.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>CAROB TREE AND FRUIT.</b></p>
+<p>"Do you remember that in the story of the Prodigal Son, told by
+our Lord, it is said that the bad son became so poor that he wanted
+to eat the 'husks' that the swine ate? Those 'husks' were the fruit
+of a Syrian member of this family. The tree is the carob tree, of
+which you have here a picture--a fine large tree bearing a sweet
+pod containing the seeds. I have seen these pods for sale in this
+country, and foolishly called St. John's bread, as if the 'locusts'
+eaten by John the Baptist were pods of a locust tree, and not
+insect locusts."</p>
+<p>"Yes," said Malcolm, "I have tasted those pods, and they are
+real sweet; but I wouldn't care to make a breakfast from them."</p>
+<p>"I like calling the flowers 'butterfly-shaped,'" said Clara,
+"because that is just what the pea and bean-blossoms look like;
+though Kitty calls 'em 'little ladies in hoods.' Isn't that funny,
+Miss Harson?"</p>
+<p>"It is very quaint, I think, but I do not dislike it: it is like
+seeing faces in pansies; and some people are full of these odd
+imaginations. There is a kind of locust, called the clammy-barked,
+found in the Southern parts of the United States, which is a
+smaller tree than the common locust and has large pale-pink
+flowers, while the rose acacia is a very beautiful flowering shrub.
+The sweet, or honey, locust is another variety, which is also
+called the three-thorned acacia, because the thorns consist of one
+long spine with two shorter ones projecting out of it, like little
+branches, near its base. This is said to display much of the
+elegance of the tropical acacia in the minute division and symmetry
+of its compound leaves. These are of a light and brilliant green
+and lie flat upon the branches, giving them a fan-like appearance
+such as we observe in the hemlock."</p>
+<p>"But why is it called honey-locust?" asked Malcolm. "Do the bees
+make honey in the trunk?"</p>
+<p>"No," replied his governess; "the name comes from the sweetness
+of the pulp around the seeds, which ripen in large flat pods, and
+of which boys and girls are fond. But the flowers of this species
+are only small greenish aments. Locust-wood is very durable, and,
+as it will bear exposure to all kinds of weather, it is much used
+in shipbuilding and as posts for gates. It is thought that the
+shittah and shittim wood of the Bible, of which Moses made the
+greater part of the tables, altars and planks of the tabernacle,
+was the same as the black acacia found in the deserts of Arabia and
+about Mount Sinai and the mountains which border on the Red Sea,
+and is so hard and solid as to be almost incorruptible.</p>
+<p>"And now," added Miss Harson, "reading of the numerous relations
+of the locust, considering that 'the acacia, not less valued for
+its airy foliage and elegant blossoms than for its hard and durable
+wood; the braziletto, logwood and rosewoods of commerce; the
+laburnum; the furze and the broom, both the pride of the otherwise
+dreary heaths of Europe; the bean, the pea, the vetch, the clover,
+the trefoil, the lucerne--all staple articles of culture by the
+farmer--are so many species of Leguminosae, and that the gums
+Arabic and Senegal, kino and various precious medicinal drugs, not
+to mention indigo, the most useful of all dyes, are products of
+other species,--it will be perceived that it would be difficult to
+point out an order with greater claims upon the attention.'"</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI." id="CHAPTER_XVI."></a>CHAPTER XVI.</h2>
+<h3><i>THE WALNUT FAMILY AND THE AILANTHUS</i>.</h3>
+<br>
+<p>"The walnut family," said Miss Harson, "with the ugly name
+<i>Juglandaceae</i>, are distinguished by pinnate, or compound,
+leaves, which have an aromatic odor when crushed, and by blossoms
+in catkins. Of these trees, the black walnut is one of the
+handsomest and most highly prized."</p>
+<p>"Are there any of them here?" asked Malcolm.</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/292.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>THE WALNUT TREE.</b></p>
+<p>"No," was the reply; "I do not think you have ever seen one.
+They are more common in the western part of the Middle States and
+in the Western States; in Ohio particularly they grow to a very
+large size. Solitary trees are sometimes seen in this part of the
+country, and the branches, extending themselves horizontally to a
+great distance, spread out into a spacious head, which gives them a
+very majestic appearance. The trunk is rough and furrowed, and the
+leaves have from six to ten pairs of leaflets and an odd one. They
+are smooth, strongly serrated and rather pointed; the color is a
+light, bright green. The catkins are green, from four to seven
+inches long, and hang from the axils of the last year's leaves. The
+leaves are much longer than those of the locust, and the leaf-stalk
+is downy. The nut, which is very oily, is shaped like an English
+walnut, but resembles it in no other way, as the shell is very
+thick and dark-colored. When thoroughly dried, the black walnut is
+very much liked--as I think some witnesses here could testify--and
+is used in making candy."</p>
+<p>"And just the nicest kind of candy, too," said the children,
+with one voice.</p>
+<p>Their governess smiled, for this was very much her own
+opinion.</p>
+<p>"You do not know," she continued, "how strangely these nuts
+grow. They have an outer husk, or rind, which when green is hard
+and has a very pleasant smell; the tree then seems to be covered
+with green balls. As the nuts ripen this outer part becomes so dark
+that it is almost black and grows soft and spongy. A rich brown dye
+is made from it. Black-walnut wood has long been famous for its
+beauty, and it grows deeper and darker with age. It is handsomely
+shaded and takes a fine polish, and this, with its durability,
+makes it very valuable for furniture. Posts made of it will last a
+long time, and it can be put to almost any use for which hard-wood
+is available.</p>
+<p>"The walnut tree has a great variety of good qualities in
+addition to its fine appearance and generous shade. From the kernel
+a valuable oil may be obtained for use in cookery and in lamps.
+Bread has also been made from the kernels. The spongy husk of the
+nuts is used as dyestuff. It thus unites almost all the qualities
+desirable in a tree--beauty, gracefulness and richness of foliage
+in every period of its growth; bark and husks which may be employed
+in an important art; fruit valuable as food; wood unsurpassed in
+durability and in elegance."</p>
+<p>"I like English walnuts," said Clara, "they have such thin,
+pretty shells; and papa, you know, can open them in just two halves
+with a knife."</p>
+<p>"Once," said Miss Harson, "I had a little bag sent to me made of
+two very large walnut shells with blue silk between, and in this
+bag there was a pair of kid gloves rolled up very tight."</p>
+<p>"Oh!" exclaimed the children. It sounded like a fairy-tale, but
+they knew that it was true, because Miss Harson said that it had
+really happened. They were very much surprised, though, that a bag
+could be made of nutshells, and that a pair of gloves could be
+crowded into so small a compass.</p>
+<p>"Did it come from England?" asked Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"No," replied his governess; "it was sent to me from the island
+of Madeira, where these nuts grow so abundantly that they have
+often been called Madeira-nuts. It also grows abundantly in Europe,
+and the nuts are used for dessert, pickling, and many other
+purposes, while the poorer classes often depend largely on them for
+food."</p>
+<p>"Do they eat 'em instead of bread?" asked Edith. "I'd like that;
+they're ever so much nicer!"</p>
+<p>"Perhaps you would not think so if you had hardly anything else
+to eat; you would get tired of them then. In many places on the
+continent of Europe the roads are lined with walnut trees for miles
+together, and in the proper season the people may feast upon the
+fruit as much as they like. A person, it is said, once traveled
+from Florence to Geneva and ate nothing by the way but walnuts; but
+I must say that I should not like to do it. One species bears a nut
+as large as an egg; but if kept any time, it will shrink to half
+its natural size. The shell of this great walnut, we are told, is
+sometimes used for making little ornamental boxes to hold gloves
+and small fancy-articles; so you see that mine was not the only
+glove-bag made of two walnut-shells."</p>
+<p>"How pretty they must be!" said Clara. "I should like to see
+one."</p>
+<p>"I think that I can make one when I get a large nut, and I shall
+be glad to show you how it is done."</p>
+<p>This was a delightful prospect, and the children volunteered to
+save for that especial purpose all the large nuts they could
+find.</p>
+<p>"The English walnut tree," continued Miss Harson, "is a native
+of Persia or the North of China, and the long pinnated leaves seem
+to mark its Oriental origin; but it has taken very kindly to its
+European home. In some parts of Germany the walnut trees were
+considered to be such a valuable possession that no young man was
+allowed to marry until he owned a certain number; and if one tree
+was cut down, another was always planted."</p>
+<p>"Don't they grow in this country?" asked Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"Not very often in our more northern States," was the reply,
+"for the climate here is too cold for them; but at a house where I
+visited there was an English walnut tree in the garden, and it
+seemed to do very well. The nuts were always gathered while they
+were green, and made into pickles."</p>
+<p>This was considered quite dreadful, for ripe nuts were certainly
+a great deal better than pickles.</p>
+<p>"But there was a great deal of uncertainty about having the ripe
+nuts, for there were bad boys all around who would not have
+hesitated to rob the tree. Besides, pickled walnuts are considered
+a great delicacy by those who eat such things. There are some other
+ways, too, of using the nuts, which you would not like any better.
+One of these is to make them into oil, as the people do in the
+South of Europe; this oil is used to burn in their lamps and as an
+article of food. 'In Piedmont, among the light-hearted peasantry,
+cracking the walnuts and taking them from the shell is a holiday
+proceeding. The peasants, with their wives and children, assemble
+in the evening, after their day's work is over, in the kitchen of
+some ch&acirc;teau where the walnuts have been gathered, and where
+their services are required. They sit round a table, and at each
+end is a man with a small mallet, who cracks the walnuts and passes
+them on; the rest of the party take them out of their shells. At
+supper-time the table is cleared, and a repast of dried fruit,
+vegetables and wine is set out. The remainder of the evening is
+spent in singing and dancing. The crushing and pressing of the
+nuts, for oil, take place when the whole harvest is in.'"</p>
+<p>"But don't walnuts come from California? Our grocer said he had
+California nuts," remarked Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"Yes; that wonderful country is beginning to supply us with
+English walnuts."</p>
+<p>"Are you going to tell us a story, Miss Harson?" asked Edith,
+hopefully.</p>
+<p>"I have no story, dear," was the reply, "but there is something
+here which you may like about birds stealing the nuts."</p>
+<p>Of course they would like this; for if there was to be no story,
+birds and stealing promised to furnish a good substitute.</p>
+<p>"'Birds are as fond of walnuts as we are,'" read Miss Harson,
+"'and rob the trees without any mercy. Not only the little
+titmouse, but the grave and solemn rook'--a kind of crow, you
+remember--'is not above paying a visit to the walnut tree and
+stealing all he can find. There is a walnut tree growing in a
+garden the owner of which may be said to have planted it for the
+benefit of the rooks. Not that he had any such purpose, but, as it
+happens, he cannot help himself. The rooks begin a series of
+robberies as soon as the fruit is ripe, and carry them on with an
+adroitness that would be amusing but for the result. As many as
+fifty rooks come, one after the other, and each will carry off a
+walnut. The old ones are the most at home in the process, and the
+most daring. The bird approaches the tree and floats for a second
+in the air, as if occupied in finding out which of the walnuts will
+be the easiest to obtain; then, with a bold stroke, he darts at the
+one selected, and rarely misses his aim.</p>
+<p>"'The young rooks are much more timid and not so successful.
+They settle on the branch and knock down a great many walnuts in
+their clumsy attempts to secure one. Even when the walnut has been
+obtained, the young rook is not sure of his prize: one of his older
+and stronger brethren is very likely to attack him and knock the
+walnut out of his bill. Then, by a dextrous swoop, the robber
+catches it up before it reaches the ground, and carries it off in
+triumph. The feasting ground of the rooks is the next field, and
+here they come to eat their walnuts. They crack the shell with
+their beaks and devour the kernel with great relish. Then, when one
+walnut is finished, they fly back to the tree for another. There is
+no chance for the owner of the garden, who does not think it worth
+while even to shake his tree: he knows there will not be a single
+walnut left.'"</p>
+<p>"I should think not, with those greedy creatures," exclaimed
+Malcolm. "Why doesn't the man shoot 'em?"</p>
+<p>"He probably thinks it would be of little use, when there are
+such numbers of the birds; besides, he may prefer losing his
+walnuts to disturbing them, for rooks are treated with great
+consideration in England, and there is no such wholesale
+destruction of birds as is seen here."</p>
+<p>The rooks were certainly very comical, and the children thought
+this little account of their antics over the walnut tree the next
+best thing to a story.</p>
+<p class="left"><img src="Images/302.png" width="50%" alt=""><br>
+<b>THE BUTTERNUT TREE.</b></p>
+<p>"Another fine shade-tree," continued Miss Harson, "and one very
+much like the black walnut, is the butternut, or oil-nut, tree. It
+is low and broad-headed, spreading into several large branches; the
+leaves are pinnate, like those of the walnut, but have not so many
+leaflets. The nut has an entirely different taste, and is even more
+oily. To many persons it is not at all agreeable. It is a great
+favorite, though, with country-boys, and in October, when the
+kernel is ripe, they may be seen with deeply-stained hands and
+faces, as the thin, leathery husks when handled leave plentiful
+traces. The butternut is not round like the walnut, but oblong, and
+pointed at the end; it is about two inches in length and marked by
+deep furrows and sharp irregular ridges. It is very pretty when
+sawn across in slices, and looks like scroll-saw work.--We shall
+have to get some, Malcolm, for you to practice on with your
+saw."</p>
+<p>As his scroll-saw was just then the delight of Malcolm's heart,
+he felt particularly interested in butternuts, and immediately
+mapped out in his mind something very beautiful to be wrought with
+them for his governess.</p>
+<p>"The bark and the nutshells have long been used to give a brown
+color to wool, and the Shakers dye a rich purple with it. The bark
+of the trunk will give a black and that of the root a fawn-colored
+dye, while an inferior sugar has been made from the sap. The young
+half-grown nuts are much used for pickles. Butternut-wood is
+exceedingly handsome, of a pale, reddish tint, and durable when
+exposed to heat and moisture. It makes beautiful fronts for drawers
+and excellent light, tough and durable wooden bowls. It is also
+used for the panels of carriages, as well as for posts and rails.
+It is a more common tree than the walnut in our part of the
+country; there is a large one in front of a house a few miles from
+here which I will show you on our next drive."</p>
+<p>"I am glad of it," said Clara, "for I can remember about the
+trees so much better when I have seen them. I wish we could see
+every one of the trees you have told us of, Miss Harson."</p>
+<p>"Perhaps you will some day," replied her governess, "and you
+will then find that a little knowledge of them before-hand is a
+great help."</p>
+<p>"Are there any more of the walnut family?" asked Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"Yes, the hickory belongs to it; and this is a tree which is
+peculiar to America. The European walnut is more like it than any
+other. It is always a stately and elegant tree and very valuable
+for its timber. There are several varieties, which are much alike,
+the principal difference being in the nuts. You have all seen most
+of the trees and gathered the nuts. They are:</p>
+<p>"1. The shellbark, with five large leaflets, a large nut, of
+which the husk is deeply grooved at the seams, and a rough, scaly
+trunk.</p>
+<p>"2. The mocker-nut, with seven or nine leaflets, a hard,
+thick-shelled nut, and leaflets and twigs very downy when young,
+and strongly odorous.</p>
+<p>"3. The pignut, with three, five or seven narrow leaflets,
+small, thin-shelled fruit and a pretty hard nut.</p>
+<p>"4. The bitternut, with seven, nine or eleven small, narrow,
+serrated leaves, small fruit with long, prominent seams, bitter and
+thin-shelled nuts and very yellow buds.</p>
+<p>"The shellbark is often called 'shagbark,' and it is the finest
+of the hickories and one that is seldom mistaken for any of the
+others. It may readily be distinguished by the shaggy bark of its
+trunk, the excellence of its globular fruit, its leaves, which are
+large and have five leaflets, and by its ovate, half-covered buds.
+It is a tall, slender tree with irregular branches, and the foliage
+seems to lie in masses of dense, dark green. But in October, when
+the nuts ripen, the leaves turn to orange-brown, and finally to the
+color of a russet apple; so that they do not add greatly to the
+beauty of the forest."</p>
+<p>"But the nuts are good," said Malcolm. "Didn't we have fine
+times picking 'em up?"</p>
+<p>"We did indeed," replied Miss Harson, "and I hope we shall
+again."</p>
+<p>"How long will it be before they are ripe?" asked the little
+girls.</p>
+<p>"Just about five months, I think."</p>
+<p>"Oh dear!" was the reply; "that's <i>so</i> long to wait!"</p>
+<p>"But you needn't wait," said their governess; "you can enjoy
+each season as it comes, and all the good things that our heavenly
+Father sends with it. Remember that, as you cannot expect ripe nuts
+in May or June, neither can you look for strawberries and roses in
+October. Tents are of very little use then, too."</p>
+<p>"Oh!" exclaimed the children, to whom the tent was still a
+delightful novelty; and they decided not to wish just yet for
+nutting-time to come.</p>
+<p>"The nut, as you have so often seen, is covered with a brown
+husk that is very thick and marked with four furrows, by which it
+separates into as many distinct pieces, one being larger than the
+rest. The nuts differ very much in size and shape, and also in
+hardness, but the best kinds have thin shells and soft kernels;
+they are also rounder and fuller than the poorer sorts. There is a
+peculiar sweetness in the taste of this nut when in its best
+condition, and it is quite equal to the European walnut. The wood
+of this tree is particularly valuable for fuel, and in old times,
+when wood-fires were the only kind known, a good hickory back-log
+was sure to be found on every hearth. It is the heaviest of our
+native woods, and the wise men say that it yields, pound for pound
+or cord for cord, more heat than any other, in any shape in which
+it may be consumed."</p>
+<p>"But what a pity," said Clara, "to burn up trees that bear nuts!
+Why can't they take those that don't?"</p>
+<p>"They are not so desirable for fuel," was the reply; "and when
+people own trees which they are willing to turn into money, they
+generally consider in what way they can get the most for them. Nuts
+which grow in the woods and fields are a very uncertain crop, of
+which every one seems to gather more than the owner, and it is
+therefore more profitable for him to cut his trees down and sell
+them for their wood, which the people in the cities and towns are
+so glad to get."</p>
+<p>"What's the use," asked Malcolm, "of calling a tree such a name
+as <i>mocker-nut</i>? What does it mean?"</p>
+<p>"That is just what I have not been able to find out," replied
+Miss Harson, "but it has an Indian sound, and it seems that the
+Indians used to make a black dye from the bark; so we will give
+them the credit for it. The name is not often used, for the tree is
+generally known as the white walnut. The nut is the largest of the
+hickories, being often from four to six inches around, and it is
+shaped somewhat like a pear. One variety, however, is known as the
+square nut. The shell is very thick and hard, but the kernel is
+sweet when once it is gotten out. This tree is as stately and
+finely-shaped as the shagbark. It varies from the other hickories
+in the number of its leaflets, which are seven or nine, the down on
+its leaves and recent shoots, the hardness of the husk and
+thickness of the nut, the roundness of its large covered buds, and
+the strong resinous odor in leaves, buds and husks. In its general
+appearance it resembles the shellbark, as well as in the fullness
+of its foliage and the size of its leaves. 'White-heart hickory' is
+a name often given to this species, because the wood is supposed,
+when young, to be whiter than that of any of the others,"</p>
+<p>"<i>Pignut</i> is another beautiful name," said Malcolm, who was
+disposed to be critical. "Do pigs ever eat the nuts, Miss
+Harson?"</p>
+<p>"I dare say that they do when they have the chance," was the
+reply, "as they delight in nuts; but that is said not to be the
+proper name for the species. Some of the nuts are shaped like a
+fresh fig, and 'fig-nut' seems to be the name originally intended.
+But there is a great variety in the shape of the nuts, as some are
+nearly round and others very irregular. They are alike, however, in
+having very hard, tough shells, and the kernel is not pleasant
+enough to repay the trouble of getting at it. These nuts are very
+apt to grow in pairs, and several bushels of them can be gathered
+from one tree."</p>
+<p>"Aren't they good to eat?" asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"Not at all good," replied her governess, "except to those who
+are not particular about what they eat; and this may be the reason
+for calling them 'pignuts,'"</p>
+<p>"<i>Bitternut</i> doesn't sound much better," said Malcolm,
+again. "I wonder what that species has to say for itself?"</p>
+<p>"Not very much, I am afraid, for it is sometimes called the
+bitter pignut, and even boys will not eat it, while squirrels
+refuse to feed on it when any other nut can be found. The shell of
+this nut is so thin that it can be broken in the fingers, but, as
+no one cares to break it, it is safer than many a thicker shell. It
+is intensely bitter, and well deserves its name. The tree, however,
+is handsome and the most graceful of all the hickories; the small,
+slender leaves give it the look of an ash, and the trunk is
+smoother than that of most large trees. In summer the finely-cut
+foliage is of a bright green, and in autumn it changes to a rich
+orange, which lasts after the other species have become russet and
+brown."</p>
+<p>"Is there anything more about hickory trees?" said Clara.</p>
+<p>"Only to speak of the great value of the wood," replied Miss
+Harson. "Its uses are almost endless. Great numbers of
+walking-sticks are made of it, as for this purpose no other native
+wood equals it in beauty and strength. It is next in value to white
+oak for making hoops; it makes the best screws, the smoothest and
+most durable handles for chisels, augurs, gimlets, axes, and many
+other common tools. As fuel, hickory is preferred to every other
+wood, burning freely, making a pleasant, brilliant fire and
+throwing out great heat. Charcoal made from it is heavier than that
+made from any other wood, but it is not considered more valuable
+than that of birch or alder. The ashes of hickories abound in
+alkali, and are considered better for the purpose of making soap
+than any other of the native woods, being next to those of the
+apple tree."</p>
+<p>"There, Clara!" said Malcolm; "you see now why people cut down
+hickory trees. The nuts are nowhere, with all these other
+things."</p>
+<p>"We have finished the walnut family," said Miss Harson, "but
+there is a tree that I wish to speak of here because of its long
+pinnate leaves, which appear to connect it with the walnuts and
+hickories. This is the ailanthus, a large tree which you have often
+seen in the village, and which used to be popular as a shade-tree.
+It is very clean-looking, for the only insect that will eat its
+leaves is the silkworm."</p>
+<p>"Oh, Miss Harson!" exclaimed the children. "Are there real
+silkworms on 'em? and can we see 'em?"</p>
+<p>"Why, do you not remember our talk about silkworms?" replied
+their governess. "I am sure I told you that they would not live
+here in the open air, but they do in China; and the ailanthus is a
+Chinese tree. It was planted in Great Britain over a hundred years
+ago for the express purpose of feeding silkworms, because a species
+of silkworm which was known to be hardy and capable of forming its
+cocoons in the English climate is attached to this tree and feeds
+upon its leaves. It was not successful, however, for silkworms, but
+as a stately and ornamental tree with tropical-looking foliage it
+was much admired. The ailanthus is quite common in this country as
+a wayside tree. It possesses a good deal of beauty, from the size
+and graceful sweep of its large compound leaves, that retain their
+brightness and verdure after midsummer, when our native trees have
+become dull. These leaves have nine or ten leaflets as large as a
+beech-leaf."</p>
+<p>"Isn't that the tree that smells so in summer?" asked Clara,
+with a disgusted face.</p>
+<p>"Yes; the greenish flowers have a particularly disagreeable
+odor, which is very strong and penetrating, and this is probably
+the reason why the tree has lost favor in so many places. But this
+is only during the season of blossoming, and for several months it
+is a beautiful Oriental-looking tree with every leaf perfect, while
+nearly all other foliage is more or less ravaged by insects."</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII." id="CHAPTER_XVII."></a>CHAPTER
+XVII.</h2>
+<h3><i>SOME BEAUTIFUL TREES: THE CHESTNUT AND
+HORSE-CHESTNUT.</i></h3>
+<p>The nearest trees to the tent, and standing just back of it,
+were two magnificent chestnuts, now in full leaf-beauty; and Miss
+Harson and her little flock stood admiring their majestic size and
+beautiful color.</p>
+<p>"These are the handsomest trees yet," said Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"I almost think so myself," replied his governess, gazing up
+into the rich green depths, "and I wish you particularly to notice
+these radiated--or star-like--tufts of foliage. The leaves, you
+see, are long, lengthened to a tapering point, serrated--or notched
+like a saw--at the edge, and of a bright and nearly pure green.
+Though arranged alternately, like those of the beech, on the recent
+branches, they are clustered in stars containing from five to seven
+leaves on the fruitful branches that grow out from the perfected
+wood. Now stand off a little and see how the foliage seems to be
+all in tufts, each composed of several long, pointed leaves
+drooping from the centre. The aments, too, with their light
+silvery-green tint, glisten beautifully on the darker leaves."</p>
+<p class="right"><img src="Images/315.png" width="30%" alt=""><br>
+<b>LEAF OF THE CHESTNUT.</b></p>
+<p>"How high do you think these trees are, Miss Harson?" asked
+Clara. "It makes me dizzy to look up to the top."</p>
+<p>"They can be scarcely less than ninety feet," was the reply,
+"and they are very fine specimens of the family; but the great
+chestnut which is the only tree in the field on the left of the
+house is broader. It spreads out like an apple tree, because it has
+abundance of room, and it is nearly as broad as it is high."</p>
+<p>"And aren't its chestnuts just splendid?" exclaimed
+Malcolm--"the biggest we find anywhere."</p>
+<p>"The bark, you see," continued his governess, "is very
+dark-colored, hard and rugged, with long, deep clefts. In smaller
+and younger trees it is smooth. I suppose I need not tell you that
+the fruit is within a burr covered with sharp, stiff bristles which
+are not handled with impunity. It opens by four valves more than
+halfway down when ripe, and contains the nuts, from one to three in
+number, in a downy cup. These green burrs are very ornamental to
+the tree; and when they are ripe, the green takes on a yellow
+tinge."</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/316.png" width="50%" alt=""><br>
+<b>THE CHESTNUT TREE.</b></p>
+<p>"You didn't say anything about the cunning little tails of the
+nuts, Miss Harson," said Edith, in a disappointed tone. "I think
+they're the prettiest part, and they stick up in the burr like
+little mice-tails."</p>
+<p>"Well, dear," was the smiling reply, "<i>you</i> have told us
+about them, and I think you have given a very good description.
+That is just what they always reminded me of when I was about your
+age--little mice-tails."</p>
+<p>Edith looked pleased and shy, and she did not mind Malcolm's
+laughing at her "little tails," because Miss Harson used to think
+the same as she did about them.</p>
+<p>"This beautiful tree came from Asia, and it belongs to the
+<i>Castanea</i> family, the Greeks having given it that name from a
+town in Pontus where they obtained it. It was transplanted into the
+North and West, and is now found in most temperate regions. The
+wood of the chestnut is very valuable, as it is strong, elastic and
+durable, and is often used as a substitute for oak and pine. It
+makes very beautiful furniture."</p>
+<p>"What kind of chestnuts," asked Clara, "are those great big
+ones, like horse-chestnuts, that they have in some of the stores?
+Are they good to eat?"</p>
+<p>"Yes," replied Miss Harson; "they are particularly good, and
+many people in the southern countries of Europe almost live on
+them. They are three or four times larger than our nuts, these
+Spanish and Italian chestnuts, and they are eaten instead of bread
+and potatoes by the peasantry of Spain and Italy. The Spanish
+chestnut is one of the most stately of European trees, and
+sometimes it is found growing in our own country, but never in the
+woods. It is carefully planted and cultivated as an ornamental tree
+for private grounds. And now," added the young lady, "as we have
+sufficiently examined our American chestnut trees and it is rather
+damp and cool to-day for tent-life, suppose we return to the house
+and get better acquainted with the foreign chestnuts?"</p>
+<p>Edith asked if there was to be a story, but she did not complain
+when Miss Harson thought not, only an account of a very large tree;
+for the children always felt quite sure that there would be
+something which they would like to hear.</p>
+<hr style="width: 25%;">
+<p>The evening was damp, and Clara said that, the schoolroom looked
+like a mixture of summer and winter. The fire was both pleasant and
+comfortable, but there were lilacs and tulips and hyacinths and
+plenty of wild flowers in vases and baskets; the leaves were all
+out on the trees by the windows, and the grass was like velvet.</p>
+<p>"One of the largest trees in the world, if not the largest,"
+said Miss Harson, "is a chestnut tree on the side of Mount Etna, in
+Sicily, which abounds with chestnut trees of giant proportions and
+remarkable beauty. It is called 'The Chestnut Tree of a Hundred
+Horses,' and this title is said to have originated in a report that
+a queen of Aragon once took shelter under its branches attended by
+her principal nobility, all of whom found refuge from a violent
+storm under the spreading boughs of the tree. At one time it was
+supposed that the tree really consisted of a clump of several
+united, but this is not the case; for on digging away the earth the
+root was found entire, and at no great depth. Five enormous
+branches rise from the trunk, the outside surface of each being
+covered with bark, while on the inside is none. The verdure and the
+support of the tree thus depend on the outer bark alone. The
+intervals between the branches are of various extent, one of them
+being sufficient to allow two carriages to drive abreast. In the
+middle cavity--or what is called the hollow--of the tree a hut has
+been built for the use of persons employed in collecting and
+preserving the fruit. They dry the chestnuts in an oven, and then
+make them into various conserves for sale. A whole caravan of men
+and animals were once accommodated in the enclosure, and also a
+flock of sheep folded there. The age of this prodigious tree must
+be very great indeed. It belongs to the tribe which bears sweet, or
+edible, chestnuts, that form an agreeable article of food. The
+foliage is rich, shadowy and beautiful.</p>
+<p>"The wood of the chestnut is much used in England for hop-poles,
+and old houses in London are floored or wainscoted with it. The
+beautiful roof of Westminster Abbey is made of chestnut wood.</p>
+<p>"There are magnificent forests of Spanish chestnuts in the
+Apennines, and it was the favorite tree of the great painter
+Salvator Rosa, who spent much time studying the beautiful play of
+light and shade on its foliage. The peasants make a gala-time of
+gathering and preparing the nuts. A traveler, having penetrated the
+extensive forest which covers the Vallombrosan Apennines for nearly
+five miles, came unexpectedly upon those festive scenes, which are
+not unfrequent among the chestnut-range. It was a holiday, and a
+group of peasants dressed in the gay and picturesque attire of the
+neighborhood of the Arno were dancing in an open and level space
+covered with smooth turf and surrounded with magnificent chestnuts,
+while the inmost recesses of the forest resounded with their mirth
+and minstrelsy. Some beat down the chestnuts with sticks and filled
+baskets with them, which they emptied from time to time; others,
+stretched listlessly upon the turf, picked out the contents of the
+bristling capsules in which the kernels were entrenched, for these,
+when newly gathered, are sweet and nutritious; others again, and
+especially young peasant-girls, pelted their companions with the
+fruit."</p>
+<p>"Like snowballing," said Malcolm; "only the prickers must have
+stung. What grand times they had with their chestnuting!"</p>
+<p>"These gay, thoughtless people," replied his governess, "almost
+live in the open air and enjoy the present moment. It is not easy
+to tell what they would do without these bountiful
+chestnut-harvests, for their principal article of food is a thick
+porridge called <i>polenta</i>, which they make from the ground
+nuts. In France a kind of cake is made from the same material, and
+the chestnuts are prepared by drying them in smoke. Another dish is
+like mashed potatoes, and large quantities are exported in the
+shape of sweetmeats, made by dipping them, after boiling, into
+clarified sugar and drying them."</p>
+<p>"Miss Harson," asked Clara, "why are horse-chestnuts
+<i>called</i> 'horse-chestnuts '? Do horses like 'em?"</p>
+<p>"Not usually," was the reply. "The nuts are sometimes ground and
+given to horses, but, as sheep, deer and other cattle eat them in
+their natural state, it would seem more reasonable to name them
+after some of those animals, if that was the reason. It is likely
+that because they look like chestnuts, but are much larger, they
+were called 'horse-chestnuts,' The tree is not in any respect a
+chestnut; and when it was first planted in England, some centuries
+ago, it was called 'a rare foreign tree,' and was much admired. It
+is supposed to have come from India. The large nuts are like
+chestnuts in appearance.--Except, Edith, that they have no 'cunning
+little tails.'--In the month of May there is not a more beautiful
+tree to be found than the horse-chestnut, with its large,
+deeply-cut leaves of a bright-green color and its long, tapering
+spikes of variegated flowers, which turn upward from the dense
+foliage. The tree at this time has been compared to a huge
+chandelier, and the erect blossoms to so many wax lights. The
+bitter nuts ripen early in the autumn and fall from the tree, but
+long before this the beautiful foliage has turned rusty in our
+Northern States, and is no longer ornamental. The overshadowing
+branches, which give such a pleasant shade in summer, early in
+autumn begin to show the ravages of the insects or the natural
+decay of the leaves."</p>
+<p>"Then," said Malcolm, "it isn't a nice tree to have, and I'm
+glad that there are elms here instead."</p>
+<p>"I should like to have some of all the trees," replied Clara,
+"because then we could study about them better.--Wouldn't you, Miss
+Harson?"</p>
+<p>"I think so," said her governess, "if they were not undesirable
+to have, as some trees are. If it were always May, I should want
+horse-chestnut trees; for I think there is scarcely anything so
+pretty as those fresh leaves and blossoms. The branches, too, begin
+low down, and that gives the tree a generous spreading look which
+is very attractive in the way of shade. In more southern States
+they have a longer season of beauty than those in the North."</p>
+<p>"Do people ever eat the horse-chestnut?" asked Edith.</p>
+<p>"Not often, dear--it is too bitter; but an old writer who lived
+in the days when it was first seen in England says that he planted
+it in his orchard as a fruit tree, between his mulberry and his
+walnut, and that he roasted the chestnuts and ate them. It is like
+the bitternut-hickory, which even boys will not eat."</p>
+<p>"I should think that somebody or something ought to eat it,"
+said Clara, thoughtfully; "it seems like such a waste."</p>
+<p>Everyone laughed at her wise air, and she was asked if she
+intended to set the example. She was not quite ready, though, to do
+that; and Miss Harson continued:</p>
+<p>"A naturalist once took from the tree a tiny flower-bud and
+proceeded to dissect it. After the external covering, which
+consisted of seventeen scales, he came upon the down which protects
+the flower. On removing this he could perceive four branchlets
+surrounding the spike of flowers, and the flowers themselves,
+though so minute, were as distinct as possible, and he could not
+only count their number, but discern the stamens, and even the
+pollen."</p>
+<p>"Oh!" exclaimed the children; "how very curious!"</p>
+<p>"Yes," replied their governess; "it shows how perfect and
+wonderful, from the beginning, are all the works of God."</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII." id="CHAPTER_XVIII."></a>CHAPTER
+XVIII.</h2>
+<h3><i>AMONG THE PINES</i>.</h3>
+<br>
+<p>"How good it smells here!" exclaimed Edith, with her small nose
+in the air to inhale what she called "a good sniff" in the fragrant
+pine-woods.</p>
+<p>Miss Harson had taken the children in the carriage to a
+pine-grove some miles from Elmridge, and Thomas and the horses
+waited by the roadside while the little party walked about or stood
+gazing up at the tall slender trees that seemed to tower to the
+very skies. Thomas was not fond of waiting, but he thought that he
+had the best of it in this case: it was more cheerful to sit in the
+carriage and "flick" the flies from Rex and Regina than to go
+poking about in the gloomy pine-woods. Yet, notwithstanding the
+darkness of its interior and the sombre character of its dense
+masses of evergreen foliage as seen from without--whence the name
+of "black timber," which has been applied to it--the shade and
+shelter it affords and the sentiment of grandeur it inspires cause
+it to become allied with the most profound and agreeable
+sensations; and it was something of this feeling, though they could
+not express it in words, which possessed the young tree-hunters as
+they stood in the pine-grove.</p>
+<p>"It's nice to breathe here," said Clara.</p>
+<p>"It is delicious," replied her governess, enthusiastically, her
+eyes kindling as she repeated the lines:</p>
+<blockquote>"'His praise, ye winds, that from four quarter
+blow,<br>
+Breathe soft and loud; and wave your tops, ye pines,<br>
+With every plant, in sign of worship. Wave!'"<br></blockquote>
+<p>"What a queer brown color--almost like red--the ground is!" said
+Malcolm. "And look, Miss Harson! it's made of lots of little sharp
+sticks."</p>
+<p>"The sharp sticks are pine-needles," was the reply--"the dead
+pine-leaves of last year; and when the new growth of leaves have
+been put forth, they cover the ground with a smooth brown matting
+as comfortable as a gravel-walk, and yet a carpet of Nature's
+making. 'The foliage of the pine is so hard and durable that in
+summer we always find the last year's crop lying upon the ground in
+a state of perfect soundness, and under it that of the preceding
+year only partially decayed.'"</p>
+<p>"It's kind of slippery in some places," continued Malcolm,
+taking a slide as he spoke. "And see those queer-looking roots
+sprouting out of the ground!"</p>
+<p>"I see the roots," said Miss Harson, "but no sprouts. That is
+the white pine, the roots of which are often seen above the ground,
+spreading to some distance from the trunk. Generally the roots of
+pine trees are small, compared with the size of the trunks, and
+spread horizontally instead of descending far into the ground. For
+this reason pines are often uprooted by high winds, which break off
+the deciduous trees near the ground. But I wish you particularly to
+notice the trunks of these trees and tell me if you can see any
+difference in them."</p>
+<p>Those particular trees had probably never been stared at so hard
+before, and the three children exclaimed almost together:</p>
+<p>"Some are rough, and some are smooth, and the rough ones have
+little bunches of leaves on 'em."</p>
+<p>"These are the pitch-pines," replied their governess. "They are
+the roughest of all our forest-trees, and they have a rounder head
+than any of the other American evergreens. The branches, you see,
+turn in various directions and are curved downward at the ends.
+This tree has also the peculiar habit of sending out little
+branchlets full of leaves along the stem from the root upward, and
+this has a very pretty effect, like that of some elm trees. It is
+the pitch-pine that produces the fragrance we are all enjoying so
+much. What do you notice about the smoother trees?"</p>
+<p class="right"><img src="Images/331.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>THE WHITE PINE.</b></p>
+<p>"They are very tall and big," replied Clara--"ever so much
+handsomer than the rough ones."</p>
+<p>"The white pine," said Miss Harson, "is one of the loftiest and
+most valuable of North American trees. Its top can be seen at a
+great distance, looking like a spire as it towers above the heads
+of the trees around it. You see that it has widespread branches and
+silken-looking, tufted foliage. The leaves are in fives and not so
+stiff as those of the other pines, and you will notice that the
+branches are in whorls, like a series of stages one above another.
+The foliage has a tasseled effect with those long silky tufts at
+the ends of the branches, and the whole outline of the tree is very
+pleasing."</p>
+<p>"This isn't a pine tree, is it?" asked Malcolm, touching a small
+tree with very slender branches, some of them as slight as
+willow-withes and covered with grayish-red bark, while that on the
+main stem was bluish gray.</p>
+<p class="left"><img src="Images/332.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>THE LARCH.</b></p>
+<p>"It is a species of pine," was the reply, "because it belongs to
+the Coniferae, or cone-producing, family; but it is not an
+evergreen, although it ranks as such. This is the larch--generally
+called in New England by its Indian name of <i>hacmatack</i>--and
+it differs from the other pines in its crowded tufts of leaves,
+which, after turning to a soft leather-color, fall, in New England,
+early in November. The cones, too, are very small."</p>
+<p>"What's the use of cones, any way?" asked Malcolm as he picked
+up some very large ones under the white and pitch pines.</p>
+<p class="right"><img src="Images/333.png" width="30%" alt=""><br>
+<b>FOLIAGE OF THE<br>
+LARCH (<i>Larix<br>
+Americana</i>).</b></p>
+<p>"Their principal use," replied his governess, "is to contain the
+seeds of future trees: they are the fruit of the pine; but they
+have a number of uses besides, which you shall hear about this
+evening."</p>
+<p>"The little cones at Hemlock Lodge are pretty," said Edith, "and
+Clara and me play with 'em. We play they're a orphan-'sylum."</p>
+<p>"'Clara and I,' dear," corrected Miss Harson, smiling at the
+"orphan-'sylum," while Malcolm said he had never thought of that
+before, and it must be what they were meant for. Edith could not
+quite understand whether this was fun or earnest, but Miss Harson
+shook her head at Malcolm and called him "naughty boy."</p>
+<p>"The spruce and hemlock," continued their governess, "and many
+of the other evergreens, we have at Elmridge, but I brought you
+here to-day for our drive that you might examine these magnificent
+pine trees, and so be better able to understand whatever we can
+find out about them this evening. Thomas is probably tired of
+waiting by this time; so we will leave the fragrant pine-woods for
+the present, and promise ourselves some future visits."</p>
+<p>Every green thing was now in full summer beauty, and daisies and
+buttercups gemmed the fields, while the garden at Elmridge was all
+aglow with blossoms, The children remembered their flower-studies
+of last year, and took fresh pleasure in the woods because of them;
+but the trees now seemed quite as interesting as the flowers had
+been.</p>
+<hr style="width: 25%;">
+<p>"The trees known as evergreens," said Miss Harson, "are not so
+bright and cheerful-looking as those which are deciduous, or
+leaf-shedding, but they have the advantage of being clothed with
+foliage, although of a sober hue, all the year round. They consist
+of pines, firs, junipers, cypresses, spruces, larches, yews and
+hemlocks, with some foreign trees, and form a distinct and striking
+natural group. 'This family has claims to our particular attention
+from the importance of its products in naval, and especially in
+civil and domestic, architecture, and in many other arts, and, in
+some instances, in medicine. Some of the species in this country
+are of more rapid growth, attain to a larger size and rise to a
+loftier height than any other trees known. The white pine is much
+the tallest of our native trees.'"</p>
+<p>"How high does it grow, Miss Harson?" asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"From one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet," was replied,
+"and on the north-west coast of America one called the 'Douglas's
+pine' is the loftiest tree known; it is said to measure over three
+hundred feet. 'From the pines are obtained the best masts and much
+of the most valuable ship-timber, and in the building and finishing
+of houses they are of almost indispensable utility. The bark of
+some of them, as the hemlock and larch, is of great value in
+tanning, and from others are obtained the various kinds of pitch,
+tar, turpentine, resin and balsams,' The pines and firs have
+circles of branches in imperfect whorls around the trunk, and, as
+one of these whorls is formed each year, it is easy to calculate
+the age of young trees. In thick woods the lower whorls of branches
+soon decay for want of light and air, and this leaves a smooth
+trunk, which rises without a branch, like a beautiful shaft, for a
+hundred feet or more.</p>
+<p>"These trees are found everywhere except in the hot regions
+around the equator. The white pine is the most common, but in the
+evergreen woods of our own country it is mixed with pitch-pine and
+fir trees. In our Southern States there are thin forests, called
+pine-barrens, through which one can travel for miles on horseback.
+The white pine is easily distinguished by its leaves being in
+fives, by its very long cones, composed of loosely-arranged scales,
+and when young by the smoothness and delicate light-green color of
+the bark. It is known throughout New England by the name 'white
+pine,' which is given it on account of the whiteness of the wood.
+In England it is called the Weymouth pine.</p>
+<p>"Many very large trees are found in Maine, on the Penobscot
+River, but most of the largest and most valuable timber trees have
+been cut down. The lumberers, as they are called, are constantly
+hewing down the grand old trees for timber, white pine being the
+principal timber of New England and Canada."</p>
+<p>"And they float it down the rivers on rafts, don't they?" said
+Malcolm. "Won't you tell us about that, Miss Harson?"</p>
+<p>"Yes," was the reply.--"But do not look so expectant, Edie; it
+is not a story, dear, only a description of pine-cutting in the
+forests of Maine and Canada. But I should like you to know how
+these great trees are turned into timber, and you will see that,
+like many other necessary things, it is neither easy nor pleasant.
+We do not get much without hard work on the part of somebody:
+remember that. Now I will read:</p>
+<p>"'The business of procuring trees suitable for masts of ships is
+difficult and fatiguing. The pines which grew in the neighborhood
+of the rivers and in the most accessible places have all been cut
+down. Paths have now to be cleared with immense labor to the
+recesses of the forest, in order to obtain a fresh supply. This
+arduous employment is called "lumbering," and those who engage in
+it are "lumberers." The word "lumber," in its general sense,
+applies to all kinds of timber. But though many different trees,
+such as oak, ash and maple, are cut down, yet the main business is
+with the pines. And when a suitable plot of ground has been chosen
+for erecting a saw-mill,' to prepare the boards, 'it is called
+"pine-land," or a spot where the pine trees predominate.</p>
+<p>"'A body of wood-cutters unite to form what is called a
+"lumbering-party," and they are in the employ of a
+master-lumberman, who pays them wages and finds them in provisions.
+The provisions are obtained on credit and under promise of payment
+when the timber has been cut down and sold. If the timber meets
+with any accident in its passage down the river, the
+master-lumberman cannot make good the loss, and the shopkeeper
+loses his money.</p>
+<p>"'When the lumbering-party are ready to start, they take with
+them a supply of necessaries, and also what tools they will
+require, and proceed up the river to the heart of the forest. When
+they reach a suitable spot where the giant trees which are to serve
+for masts grow thick and dark, they get all their supplies on
+shore--their axes, their cooking-utensils and the casks of
+molasses'--and too often of whisky or rum, too, I am sorry to
+say--'that will be used lavishly. The molasses is used instead of
+sugar to sweeten the great draughts of tea--made, not from the
+product of China, but from the tops of the hemlock.</p>
+<p>"'The first thing to be done is to build some kind of shelter,
+for they must remain in the forest until spring, and the cold of
+those Northern winters is terrible. Their cabin--for it cannot be
+called by any better name--is built of logs of wood cut down on
+purpose and put together as rudely as possible. It is only five
+feet high, and the roof is covered with boards. There is a great
+blazing fire kept up day and night, for the frost is intense, and
+the provisions have to be kept in a deep place made in the ground
+under the cabin. The smoke of the fire goes out through a hole in
+the roof, and the floor is strewn with branches of fir, the only
+couch the poor hardworking lumberers have to rest upon. When night
+comes, they turn into the cabin to sleep, and lie with their feet
+to the fire. If a man chances to awaken, he instantly jumps up and
+throws fresh logs on the fire; for it is of the utmost importance
+not to let it go out. One of the men is the cook for the whole
+party, and his duty is to have breakfast ready before it is light
+in the morning. He prepares a meal of boiled meat and the hemlock
+tea sweetened with molasses, and the rest of the party partake
+heartily of both, and in some camps also of rum, under the mistaken
+notion that it helps them to bear the severe toil. When breakfast
+is over, they divide into several gangs. One gang cuts down the
+trees, another saws them in pieces, and the third gang is occupied
+in conveying them, by means of oxen, to the bank of the nearest
+stream, which is now frozen over.</p>
+<p>"'It is a hard winter for the lumbermen. The snow covers the
+ground until the middle of May, and the frost is often intense. But
+they toil through it, felling, sawing and conveying until a
+quantity of trees have been laid prostrate and made available for
+the market. Then, at last, the weather changes; the snow begins to
+melt and the streams and rills are set at liberty. The rivers flow
+briskly on and are much swollen with the melting snow, and the men
+say that the freshets have come down.</p>
+<p>"'Hard as their toil has been, the most difficult and fatiguing
+has yet to be encountered. The timber is collected on the banks of
+the river, and has now to be thrown into the water and made into
+rafts, so that it can be floated down to the nearest market-town.
+The water, filled with melting snow, is deadly cold and can
+scarcely be endured, but the men are in it from morning till night
+constructing the rafts, which are put together as simply as
+possible, and the smallest outlay made to suffice. The rafts are of
+different sizes, according to the breadth of the stream; and when
+all is ready, they are launched, and the convoy fairly sets out on
+its voyage.</p>
+<p>"'The great ugly masses of floating timber move slowly along
+under the care of a pilot, and the lumberers ride upon the rafts,
+often without shelter or protection from the weather. They guide
+themselves by long and powerful poles fixed on pivots, and which
+act as rudders. As they journey down the stream they sing and shout
+and make the utmost noise and riot. If there comes a storm or a
+change of weather, the pilot steers his convoy into some safe creek
+for the night, and secures it as best he can.</p>
+<p>"'Thus by degrees the raft reaches the place of destination,
+occasionally with some loss and damage to the timber. In this case
+the master-lumberer bears the loss, and is obliged to refund the
+expenses incurred as best he can. At any rate, the men are now paid
+off, and set out on foot for their homes.'"</p>
+<p>Malcolm was particularly delighted with this narrative of
+stirring activity, and even the little girls seemed very much
+interested in it. They were so sorry for the poor lumbermen who had
+such dreary winters off there in the Northern woods, and Clara
+wondered if they couldn't have warm comforters and mittens.</p>
+<p>"They probably have those things when they go into camp," said
+Miss Harson, "but they are likely to find them in the way of
+working, and to cast them aside.--Great ships are not built for
+nothing: even to get the timber in readiness costs heavy labor,
+but, after all, no doubt, the men get interested in it and enjoy
+its excitement. Fortunately for the many uses to which its timber
+is put, the white pine grows very rapidly, gaining from fifteen
+inches to three feet every year. In deep and damp old woods it is
+slower of growth; it is then almost without sap-wood and has a
+yellowish color like the flesh of the pumpkin. For this reason it
+is called 'pumpkin-pine.' The bark of young trees of the white-pine
+species is very smooth and of a reddish, bottle-green color. It is
+covered in summer with a pearly gloss. On old trunks the bark is
+less rough than that of any other pine. This tree has the spreading
+habit of the cedar of Lebanon. In addition to its grand and
+picturesque character, the white pine, says a lover of trees, may
+be 'regarded as a true symbol of benevolence. Under its outspread
+roof numerous small animals, nestling in the bed of dry leaves that
+cover the ground, find shelter and repose. The squirrel feeds upon
+the kernels obtained from its cones; the hare browses upon the
+trefoil'--clover--'and the spicy foliage of the
+<i>hypericum</i>'--St. John's wort--'which are protected in its
+shade; and the fawn reposes on its brown couch of leaves unmolested
+by the outer tempest. From its green arbors the quails are often
+roused in midwinter, where they feed upon the berries of the
+<i>Mitchella</i> and the spicy wintergreen. Nature, indeed, seems
+to have specially designed this tree to protect her living
+creatures both in summer and in winter.'"</p>
+<p>"Hurrah for the white pine," said Malcolm, with great energy,
+"the grand old <i>American</i> tree!"</p>
+<p>"I'm glad that the little birds and animals have such a nice
+home under it in winter," said Clara.</p>
+<p>"I'm glad too," added Edith, "but I wish we could find some and
+see how they look in their soft bed. Don't they ever put their
+heads out the least bit, Miss Harson?"</p>
+<p>"Not when they suspect that there is any one around, dear, and
+the little creatures are very sharp to find this out. Our heavenly
+Father, you know, takes thought for sparrows and all such helpless
+things, and they are fed and cared for without any thought of their
+own.--The white pine," she continued, "is truly a magnificent tree,
+but I think we shall find that the pitch-pine is also very
+useful."</p>
+<p>"That's the rough one," said Malcolm; "I remember how it looks,
+with little tufts sticking out along the trunk."</p>
+<p>"Yes," replied his governess, "and out authority says this tree
+is distinguished by its leaves being in threes--the white pine, you
+know, has them in <i>fives</i>--by the rigidity and sharpness of
+the scales of its cones, by the roughness of its bark, and by the
+denseness of the brushes of its stiff, crowded leaves. Its usual
+height is from forty to fifty feet, but it is sometimes much
+taller. The trunk is not only rough, but very dark in color; and
+from this circumstance the species is frequently called black pine.
+The wood is very hard and firm, and contains a quantity of resin.
+This is much more abundant in the branches than in the trunk, and
+the boards and other lumber of this wood are usually full of
+pitch-knots."</p>
+<p>"What are pitch-knots?" asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"'When a growing branch,'" read Miss Harson, "'is broken off,
+the remaining portion becomes charged with resin,' which is
+deposited by the resin-bearing sap of the tree, 'forming what is
+called a pitch-knot, extending sometimes to the heart. The same
+thing takes place through the whole heart of a tree when, full of
+juice, its life is suddenly destroyed.' 'Resin' is another name for
+turpentine, but is used of it commonly when hardened into a solid
+form. The tar is obtained by slowly burning splintered pine, both
+trunk and root, with a smothered flame, and collecting the black
+liquid, which is expelled by the heat and caught in cavities
+beneath the burning pile. Pitch is thickened tar, and is used in
+calking ships and for like purposes."</p>
+<p>"I am going to remember that," said Malcolm; "I could never make
+out what all those different things meant."</p>
+<p>"What are you thinking about so seriously, Clara?" asked her
+governess. "If it is a puzzle, let me see if I cannot solve it for
+you."</p>
+<p>"Well, Miss Harson, I was thinking of those brown leaves, or
+'needles,' in the pine-woods, and it seems strange to say that the
+leaves of evergreens never fall off."</p>
+<p>"It would not only be strange, dear, but quite untrue, to say
+that; for the same leaves do not, of course, remain for ever on the
+tree. The deciduous trees lose their leaves in the autumn and are
+entirely bare until the next spring, but the evergreens, although
+they renew their leaves, too, are never left without verdure of
+some sort. Late in October you may see the yellow or brown foliage
+of the pines, then ready to fall, surrounding the branches of the
+previous year's growth, forming a whorl of brown fringe surmounted
+by a tuft of green leaves of the present year's growth. Their
+leaves always turn yellow before the fall."</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX." id="CHAPTER_XIX."></a>CHAPTER XIX.</h2>
+<h3><i>GIANT AND NUT PINES</i>.</h3>
+<br>
+<p>Great was the surprise of Edith when Miss Harson gave the little
+sleeper a gentle shake and told her that it was time to be up. But
+the birds without the window told the same story, and the little
+maiden was soon at the breakfast-table and ready for the day's
+duties and enjoyments, including their "tree-talk."</p>
+<p>"Are there any more kinds of pine trees?" asked Malcolm.</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/350.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>"AWAKE, LITTLE ONE!".</b></p>
+<p>"Yes, indeed!--more than we can take up this summer," replied
+Miss Harson. "There is the Norway pine, or red pine, which in Maine
+and New Hampshire is often seen in forests of white and pitch pine.
+It has a tall trunk of eighty feet or so, and a smooth reddish
+bark. The leaves are in twos, six or eight inches long, and form
+large tufts or brushes at the end of the branchlets. The wood is
+strong and resembles that of the pitch-pine, but it contains no
+resin. The giant pines of California belong to a different species
+from any that we have been considering, and the genus, or order, in
+which they have been arranged is called <i>Sequoia</i><a name=
+"FNanchor19" id="FNanchor19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19">[19]</a>.
+They are generally known, however, as the 'Big Trees.' In one grove
+there are a hundred and three of them, which cover a space of fifty
+acres, called 'Mammoth-Tree Grove.' One of the giants has been
+felled--a task which occupied twenty-two days. It was impossible to
+cut it down, in the ordinary sense of the term, and the men had to
+bore into it with augers until it was at last severed in twain.
+Even then the amazing bulk of the tree prevented it from falling,
+and it still kept its upright position. Two more days were employed
+in driving wedges into the severed part on one side, thus to compel
+the giant to totter and fall. The trunk was no less than three
+hundred and two feet in height and ninety-six in circumference. The
+stump, which was left standing, presented such a large surface that
+a party of thirty couples have danced with ease upon it and still
+left abundant room for lookers-on."</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_19" id="Footnote_19"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor19">[19]</a> <i>Sequoia gigantea</i>.</blockquote>
+<p>When the children had sufficiently exclaimed over the size of
+this huge tree, their governess continued:</p>
+<p>"It is thought that these trees must have been growing for more
+than two thousand years, which would make them probably two hundred
+years old at the birth of our Saviour. Does it not seem wonderful
+to think of? There are other groups of giant pines scattered on the
+mountains and in the forests, and some youthful giants about five
+hundred years old."</p>
+<p>"I suppose they are the babies of the family," said Clara; and
+this idea amused Edith very much.</p>
+<p>"There is still another kind of pine," said Miss Harson--"the
+Italian, or stone, pine. It is shaped almost exactly like an
+umbrella with a very long handle. The <i>Pinus pinea</i> bears
+large cones, the seed of which is not only eatable, but considered
+a delicious nut. The cone is three years in ripening; it is then
+about four inches long and three wide, and has a reddish hue. Each
+scale of which the cone is formed is hollow at the base and
+contains a seed much larger than that of any other species. When
+the cone is ripe, it is gathered by the owners of the forest; and
+when thoroughly dried on the roof or thrown for a few minutes into
+the fire, it separates into many compartments, from each of which
+drops a smooth white nut in shape like the seed of the date. The
+shell is very hard, and within it is the fruit, which is much used
+in making sweetmeats. The stone-pine is found also in Palestine,
+and is supposed to be the cypress of the Bible. The author of
+<i>The Ride Through Palestine</i><a name="FNanchor20" id=
+"FNanchor20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20">[20]</a> speaks of passing
+through a fine grove of the stone-pine, 'tall and umbrella-topped,'
+with dry sticks rising oddly here and there from the very tops of
+the trees. These sticks were covered with birdlime, to snare the
+poor bird which might be tempted to set foot on such treacherous
+supports; and if the cones were ripe, they would be quite sure to
+do it. Here is the picture, from the book just mentioned. Italian
+pine is a prettier name than stone-pine, and this is the name by
+which it is known to artists, who put it into almost every picture
+of Italian scenery.</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_20" id="Footnote_20"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor20">[20]</a> Presbyterian Board of
+Publication.</blockquote>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/354.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>STONE-PINE--"FIR" <i>(Pinus maritima</i>).</b></p>
+<blockquote>"'Much they admire that old religious tree<br>
+With shaft above the rest upshooting free,<br>
+And shaking, when its dark locks feel the wind,<br>
+Its wealthy fruit with rough and massive rind.'"<br></blockquote>
+<p>"But how queer it sounds to call fruit <i>wealthy</i>!" said
+Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"It is odd," replied his governess, "only because the word is
+not now used in that sense; but the fruit is wealthy both because
+of its abundance and because it can be put to so many uses. Let us
+see what is said of it:</p>
+<p>"'The kernels, or seeds, from the cones of the stone-pine have
+always been esteemed as a delicacy. In the old days of Rome and
+Greece they were preserved in honey, and some of the larders of the
+ill-fated city of Pompeii were amply stored with jars of this
+agreeable conserve, which were found intact after all those years.
+The kernels are also sugared over and used as <i>bonbons</i>. They
+enter into many dishes of Italian cookery, but great care has to be
+taken not to expose them to the air. They are usually kept in the
+cones until they are wanted, and will then retain their freshness
+for some years. The squirrels eagerly seek after the fruit of this
+pine and almost subsist upon it. They take the cone in their paws
+and dash out the seeds, thus scattering many of them and helping to
+propagate the tree.</p>
+<p class="right"><img src="Images/356.png" width="30%" alt=""><br>
+<b>PINE-CONE (<i>Pinus<br>
+Sylvestris</i>.)</b></p>
+<p>"'There is a bird called the crossbill that makes its nest in
+the pine. It fixes its nest in place by means of the resin of the
+tree and coats it with the same material, so as to render it
+impervious to the rain. The seeds from the cones form its chief
+food, and it extracts them with its curious bill, the two parts of
+which cross each other. It grasps the cone with its foot, after the
+fashion of a parrot, and digs into it with the upper part of its
+bill, which is like a hook, and forces out the seed with a
+jerk.'"</p>
+<p>The children enjoyed this account very much, and they thought
+that stone-pine nuts--which they had never seen, and perhaps never
+would see--must be the most delicious nuts that ever grew.</p>
+<p>"What nice times the birds have," said Clara, "helping
+themselves to all the good things that other people can't
+reach!"</p>
+<p>"They are not exactly 'people,'" replied Miss Harson, laughing;
+"and, in spite of all these 'nice times,' you would not be quite
+willing to change with them, I think."</p>
+<p>No, on the whole, Clara was quite sure that she would not.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XX." id="CHAPTER_XX."></a>CHAPTER XX.</h2>
+<h3><i>MORE WINTER TREES: THE FIRS AND THE SPRUCES</i>.</h3>
+<br>
+<p>There were some beautiful evergreens on the lawn at Elmridge,
+and, although the foliage seemed dark in summer, it gave the place
+a very cheerful look in winter, when other trees were quite bare,
+while the birds flew in and out of them so constantly that spring
+seemed to have come long before it really did arrive.</p>
+<p class="right"><img src="Images/359.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>AMERICAN WHITE SPRUCE.</b></p>
+<p>"This balsam-fir," said Miss Harson as they stood near a tall,
+beautiful tree that tapered to a point, "has, you see, a straight,
+smooth trunk and tapers regularly and rapidly to the top. You will
+notice, too, that the leaves, which are needle-shaped and nearly
+flat, do not grow in clusters, but singly, and that their color is
+peculiar. There are faint white lines on the upper part and a
+silvery-blue tinge beneath, and this silvery look is produced by
+many lines of small, shining resinous dots. The deep-green bark,
+striped with gray, is full of balsam, or resin, known as balm of
+Gilead or Canada balsam, and highly valued as a cure for diseases
+of the lungs. The long cones are erect, or standing, and grow
+thickly near the ends of the upper branches. They have round,
+bluish-purple scales, and the soft color has a very pretty effect
+on the tree. They ripen every year, and the lively little squirrel,
+as he is called, feasts upon them, as the crossbill does on the
+cones of the stone-pine. But the mischievous little animal also
+barks the boughs and gnaws off the tops of the leading shoots, so
+that many trees are injured and defaced by his depredations."</p>
+<p>"He <i>is</i> a lively little squirrel," observed Malcolm. "How
+he does race! But he doesn't gnaw our trees, does he?"</p>
+<p>"No, I think not, for he prefers staying in the woods and
+fields; but fir-woods are his especial delight. Our balsam-fir is
+the American sister of the silver fir of Europe, both having
+bluish-green foliage with a silvery under surface, in a single row
+on either side of the branches, which curve gracefully upward at
+the ends. The tree has a peculiarly light, airy appearance until it
+is old, when there is little foliage except at the ends of the
+branches. The silver fir is one of the tallest trees on the
+continent of Europe, and it is remarkable for the beauty of its
+form and foliage and the value of its timber."</p>
+<p>"I know what this tree is," said Clara, turning to an evergreen
+of stately form and graceful, drooping branches that almost touched
+the ground: "it's Norway spruce. Papa told me this morning."</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/361.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>THE NORWAY PINE.</b></p>
+<p>"Yes," replied her governess, "and a beautiful tree it is, like
+the fir in many respects, but the bark is rougher and the cones
+droop. The branches, too, are lower and more sweeping. But the fir
+and the spruce are more alike than many sisters and brothers. The
+Scotch fir, about which there are many interesting things to be
+learned, is more rugged-looking, and the Norway spruce, which will
+bear studying too, is more grand and majestic."</p>
+<p class="left"><img src="Images/362.png" width="45%" alt=""><br>
+<b>THE HEMLOCK SPRUCE.</b></p>
+<p>"I know this one, Miss Harson," said little Edith as they came
+to a sweeping hemlock near the bay-window of the dining-room.</p>
+<p>"Yes, dear," was the reply; "Hemlock Lodge has made you feel
+very well acquainted with the tree after which it is named. It is
+one of the most beautiful of the evergreens, with its
+widely-spreading branches and their delicate, fringe-like foliage;
+but, although the branches are ornamental for church and house
+decoration, they are very perishable, and drop their small needles
+almost immediately when placed in a heated room. And now,"
+continued the young lady, "we have come back to warm piazza-days
+again, and can have our talk in the open air."</p>
+<p>So on the piazza they speedily established themselves, with Miss
+Harson in the low, comfortable chair and her audience on the
+crimson cushions that had been piled up in a corner.</p>
+<p>"We shall find a great deal about the fir tree," said Miss
+Harson, "as it is very hardy and rugged, and as common in all
+Northern regions as the white birch--quite as useful, too, as we
+shall soon see. This rugged species--which is generally called the
+Scotch fir--is not so smooth and handsome as our balsam-fir, but it
+is a tree which the people who live near the great Northern forests
+of Europe could not easily do without. It belongs to the great pine
+family and is often called a pine, but in the countries of Great
+Britain especially it is called the Scotch fir. Although well
+shaped, it is not a particularly elegant-looking tree. The branches
+are generally gnarled and broken, and the style of the tree is more
+sturdy than graceful. The Scotch fir often grows to the height of a
+hundred feet, and the bark is of a reddish tinge. 'It is one of the
+most useful of the tribe, and, like the bountiful palm, confers the
+greatest blessing on the inhabitants of the country where it grows.
+It serves the peasants of the bleak, barren parts of Sweden and
+Lapland for food: their scanty supply of meal often runs short, and
+they go to the pine to eke it out. They choose the oldest and least
+resinous of the branches and take out the inner bark. They first
+grind it in a mill, and then mix it with their store of meal; after
+this it is worked into dough and made into cakes like pancakes. The
+bark-bread is a valuable addition to their slender resources, and
+sometimes the young shoots are used as well as the bark. Indeed, so
+largely is this store of food drawn upon that many trees have been
+destroyed, and in some places the forest is actually thinned."</p>
+<p>"They're as bad as the squirrels," said Malcolm. "But how I
+should hate to eat such stuff!"</p>
+<p>"It may not be so very bad," replied his governess. "Some people
+think that only white bread is fit to eat, but I think that Kitty's
+brown bread is rather liked in this family."</p>
+<p>The children all laughed, for didn't papa declare--with
+<i>such</i> a sober face!--that they were eating him out of house
+and home in brown bread alone? Kitty, too, pretended to grumble
+because the plump loaves disappeared so fast, but she said to
+herself at the same time, "Bless their hearts! let 'em eat: it's
+better than a doctor's bill."</p>
+<p>"A great many other things besides pancakes are made from the
+tree," continued Miss Harson, "and the fresh green tops furnish
+very nice carpets."</p>
+<p>There was a faint "<i>Oh!</i>" at this, but, after all, it was
+not so surprising as the cakes had been.</p>
+<p>"They are scattered on the floors of houses as rushes used to be
+in old times in England, and thus they serve as carpet and prevent
+the mud and dirt that stick to the shoes of the peasants from
+staining the floor; and when trodden on, the leaves give out a most
+agreeable aromatic perfume."</p>
+<p>"I'd like that part," said Clara.</p>
+<p class="left"><img src="Images/366.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>THE BLUE SPRUCE.</b></p>
+<p>"But you cannot have one part without taking it all; almost
+everything, you see, has a pleasant side.-- 'The peasant finds no
+limit to the use of the pine. Of its bark he makes the little canoe
+which is to carry him along the river; it is simple in its
+construction, and as light as possible. When he comes within safe
+distance of one of those gushing, foaming cataracts that he meets
+with in his course, he pushes his canoe to land and carries it on
+his shoulders until the danger is past; then he launches it again,
+and paddles merrily onward. Not a single nail is used in his canoe:
+the planks are tightly secured together by a natural cordage made
+of the roots of the pine. He splits them of the right thickness,
+and with very little preparation they form exactly the material he
+needs.'"</p>
+<p>Malcolm evidently had some idea of making a canoe of this kind,
+but he became discouraged when his governess reminded him that he
+could not cut down trees, and that his father would prefer having
+them left standing. It did not seem necessary to speak of any
+difficulties in the way of putting the boat together.</p>
+<p>"Another use for the fir is to light up the poor hut of the
+peasant. 'He splits up the branches into laths and makes them into
+torches. If he wants a light, he takes one of the laths and kindles
+it at the fire; then he fixes it in a rude frame, which serves him
+for a candlestick. The light is very brilliant while it lasts, but
+is soon spent, and he is in darkness again. The same use is made of
+the pine. It is no unusual circumstance, in the Scotch pine-woods,
+to come upon a tree with the trunk scooped out from each side and
+carried away: the cottager has been to fetch material for his
+candles. But this somewhat rough usage does not hurt the tree, and
+it continues green and healthy.' In our Southern States pine-fat
+with resin is called lightwood, and is used for the same
+purpose."</p>
+<p>"That's an easy way of getting candles," said Clara.</p>
+<p>"Easy, perhaps, compared with the trouble of moulding them,"
+replied Miss Harson, "but I do not think we should fancy either way
+of preparing them."</p>
+<p>"Is there anything to tell about the spruce tree?" asked
+Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"It is too much like the fir," replied his governess, "to have
+any very distinct character; but there are species here, known as
+the white and black spruce, besides the hemlock."</p>
+<p>But the children thought that hemlock was hemlock: how did it
+come to be spruce?</p>
+<p>"Because it has the family features--leaves solitary and very
+short; cones pendulous, or hanging, with the scales thin at the
+edge; and the fruit ripens in a single year. The hemlock-spruce, as
+it is sometimes called, is, I think, the most beautiful of the
+family. 'It is distinguished from all the other pines by the
+softness and delicacy of its tufted foliage, from the spruce by its
+slender, tapering branchlets and the smoothness of its limbs, and
+from the balsam-fir by its small terminal cones, by the
+irregularity of its branches and the gracefulness of its whole
+appearance.' The delicate green of the young trees forms a rich
+mass of verdure, and at this season each twig has on the end a tuft
+of new leaves yellowish-green in color and making a beautiful
+contrast to the darker hue of last year's foliage. The bark of the
+trunk is reddish, and that of the smooth branches and small twigs
+is light gray. The branchlets are very small, light and slender,
+and are set irregularly on the sides of the small branches; so that
+they form a flat surface. This arrangement renders them singularly
+well adapted to the making of brooms--a use of the hemlock familiar
+to housekeepers in the country towns throughout New England. The
+leaves, which are extremely delicate and of a silvery whiteness on
+the under side, are arranged in a row on each side of the
+branchlets. The slender, thread-like stems on which they grow make
+them move easily with the slightest breath of wind, and this, with
+the silvery hue underneath, gives to the foliage a glittering look
+that is very pretty. But I think you all can tell me when the
+hemlock is prettiest?"</p>
+<p>"After a snow-storm," said Clara. "Don't we all look, almost the
+first thing, at the tree by the dining-room window?"</p>
+<p>"Yes," replied Miss Harson; "it is a beautiful sight with the
+snow lying on it in masses and the dark green of the leaves peeping
+through. 'The branches put forth irregularly from all parts of the
+trunk, and lie one above another, each bending over at its
+extremities upon the surface of those below, like the feathers upon
+the wings of a bird,' And soft, downy plumes they look, with the
+snow resting on them and making them more feathery than ever."</p>
+<p>"So they are like feathers?" said Malcolm, to whom this was a
+new idea, "I'll look for 'em the next time it snows; yet--" He was
+going to add that he wished it would snow to-morrow; but
+remembering that it was only the beginning of June, and that Miss
+Harson had shown them how each season has its pleasures, he stopped
+just in time.</p>
+<p>"The pretty little cones of the hemlock, which grow very thickly
+on the tree, have a crimson tinge at first, and turn to a light
+brown. They are found hanging on the ends of the small branches,
+and they fall during the autumn and winter. This tree is a native
+of the coldest parts of North America, where it is found in whole
+forests, and it flourishes on granite rocks on the sides of hills
+exposed to the most violent storms. The wood is firm and contains
+very little resin; it is much used for building-purposes. A great
+quantity of tannin is obtained from the bark; and when mixed with
+that of the oak, it is valuable for preparing leather.</p>
+<p>"We have taken the prettiest of the spruces first," continued
+Miss Harson, "and now we must see what are the differences between
+them. 'The two species of American spruce, the black and the
+white--or, as they are more commonly called, the double and the
+single--are distinguished from the fir and the hemlock in every
+stage of growth by the roughness of the bark on their branches,
+produced by little ridges running down from the base of each leaf,
+and by the disposition of the leaves, which are arranged in spirals
+equally on every side of the young shoots. The double is
+distinguished from the single spruce by the darker color of the
+foliage--whence its name of black spruce--by the greater thickness,
+in proportion to the length, of the cones, and by the looseness of
+its scales, which are jagged, or toothed, on the edge.' It is a
+well-proportioned tree, but stiff-looking, and the dark foliage,
+which never seems to change, gives it a gloomy aspect. The leaves
+are closely arranged in spiral lines. The black spruce is never a
+very large tree, but the wood is light, elastic and durable, and is
+valuable in shipbuilding, for making ladders and for shingles. The
+young shoots are much in demand for making spruce-beer. The white
+spruce is more slender and tapering, and the bark and leaves are
+lighter. The root is very tough, and the Canadian Indians make
+threads from the fibres, with which they sew together the
+birch-bark for their canoes. The wood is as valuable as that of the
+black spruce."</p>
+<p>"Does the Norway spruce come from Norway?" asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"Yes; that is its native land, where it presents its most grand
+and beautiful appearance. There it 'rivals the palm in stature, and
+even attains the height of one hundred and eighty feet. Its
+handsome branches spread out on every side and clothe the trunk to
+its base, while the summit of the tree ends in an arrow-like point.
+In very old trees the branches droop at the extremities, and not
+only rest upon the ground, but actually take root in it and grow.
+Thus a number of young trees are often seen clustering around the
+trunk of an old one.'"</p>
+<p>"Why, that's like the banyan tree," said Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"Only there is a difference in the manner of growth, for the
+branches of the banyan are some distance from the ground and send
+forth rootlets without touching it. The Norway spruce is also the
+great tree of the Alps, where it seems to match the majestic
+scenery. The timber is valuable for building; and when sawed into
+planks, it is called white deal, while that of the Scotch fir is
+red deal.</p>
+<p>"And now," said Miss Harson, "before we leave the firs, let us
+see what is said about them in the Bible. They were used for
+shipbuilding in the city of Tyre; for the prophet Ezekiel says,
+'They have made all thy ship boards of fir trees of Senir<a name=
+"FNanchor21" id="FNanchor21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21">[21]</a>,'
+and it is written that 'David and all the house of Israel played
+before the Lord on all manner of instruments made of
+firwood<a name="FNanchor22" id="FNanchor22"></a><a href=
+"#Footnote_22">[22]</a>.' The same wood was used then in building
+houses, as you will find, Malcolm, by turning to the Song of
+Solomon, seventh chapter, seventeenth verse."</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_21" id="Footnote_21"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor21">[21]</a> Ezek. xxvii. 5.</blockquote>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_22" id="Footnote_22"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor22">[22]</a> 2 Sam. vi. 5.</blockquote>
+<p>"'The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir,'"
+read Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"In Kings it is said, 'So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir
+trees, according to his desire<a name="FNanchor23" id=
+"FNanchor23"></a><a href="#Footnote_23">[23]</a>,' and these trees
+were to be used for the very house, or palace, of which the Jewish
+king speaks in his Song. Evergreens are often mentioned in the
+Bible, and in that beautiful Christmas chapter, the sixtieth of
+Isaiah, you will find the fir tree again.--Read the thirteenth
+verse, Clara."</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_23" id="Footnote_23"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor23">[23]</a> I Kings v. 10.</blockquote>
+<p>"'The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the
+pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my
+sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious.'--What is
+'the glory of Lebanon,' Miss Harson?"</p>
+<p>"The cedar of Lebanon, dear; and we will now turn our attention
+to that and the other cedars."</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXI." id="CHAPTER_XXI."></a>CHAPTER XXI.</h2>
+<h3><i>THE CEDARS</i>.</h3>
+<br>
+<p>"The cypress tribe," said Miss Harson, "differ from the pines,
+or Coniferae, by not having their fruit in a true cone, but in a
+roundish head which consists of a small number of scales, sometimes
+forming a sort of berry. One of the most common of this family is
+the arbor vitae, or tree of life--a tree so small as to look like a
+pointed shrub, and more used for fences than for ornament. An
+arbor-vitae hedge, you know, divides our flower garden from the
+kitchen-garden and goes all the way down to the brook."</p>
+<p>"I like the smell of it," said Clara. "Don't you, Miss
+Harson?"</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/377.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>SIBERIAN ARBOR VITAE.</b></p>
+<p>"Yes," was the reply, "there is something very fresh and
+pleasant about it; and when well kept, as John is sure to keep
+ours, it makes a beautiful hedge. As a tree it has been known to
+reach forty or fifty feet in height, with a trunk ten feet in
+circumference. The leaves are arranged in four rows, in alternately
+opposite pairs, and seem to make up the fan-like branchlets. These
+branchlets look like parts of a large compound, flat leaf. The bark
+is slightly furrowed, smooth to the touch, and very white when the
+tree stands exposed. The wood is reddish, somewhat odorous, very
+light, soft and fine-grained. In the northern part of the United
+States and in Canada it holds the first place for durability."</p>
+<p>"I thought the cypress was a flower," said Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"So one kind of cypress is," replied his governess--"the blossom
+of an airy-looking and beautiful creeper; but the name also belongs
+to a family of trees. The white cedar, or cypress, is a very
+graceful tree which generally grows in swamps. 'It is entirely free
+from the stiffness of the pines, and to the spiry top of the poplar
+it unites the airy lightness of the hemlock. The trunk is straight
+and tall, tapering very gradually, and toward the top there are
+short irregular branches, forming a small but beautiful head, above
+which the leading shoot waves like a slender plume.' The leaves are
+very small and scale-like, with sharp points, and grow in four rows
+on the ends of the branchlets, giving them the appearance of large
+compound leaves. The wood is very durable, and is used for many
+building-purposes. It is generally of a faint rose-color, and
+always keeps its aromatic odor."</p>
+<p class="right"><img src="Images/379.png" width="30%" alt=""><br>
+<b>IRISH JUNIPER.</b></p>
+<p>"Is that what our cedar-chests are made of to keep the moths
+from our winter clothes?" asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"Yes," replied Miss Harson, "but the name 'cedar' is; not
+correct, though it is one commonly given to this tree. The wood of
+the European cypress is also used for many purposes where strength
+and durability are required, for it really seems never to wear out.
+This tree is described as tapering and cone-like, with upright
+branches growing close to the trunk, and in its general appearance
+a little resembling a poplar. Its frond-like branches are closely
+covered with very small sharp-pointed leaves of a yellow-green
+color, smooth and shining, and they remain on the tree five or six
+years. The cypress is often seen in burying-grounds in Europe, and
+in Turkey it often stands at each end of a grave. The oldest tree
+in Europe is thought to be an Italian cypress said to have been
+planted in the year of our Saviour's birth; it is an object of
+great reverence in the neighborhood. This ancient tree is a hundred
+and twenty feet high and twenty-three feet around the trunk.</p>
+<p>"The juniper--or red cedar, as it is improperly called--is not a
+handsome tree, but it is a very useful one. It has a scraggy,
+stunted look, and the foliage is apt to be rusty; but it will grow
+in rocky, sandy places where no other tree would even try to hold
+up its head, and the wood, when made into timber, lasts for a great
+many years. Posts for fences are made of the juniper or red cedar,
+and the shipbuilder, boatbuilder, carpenter, cabinet-maker and
+turner are all steady customers for it. The 'cedar-apples' found on
+this tree are one phase of the life of a very curious fungus. They
+are covered with a reddish-brown bark; and when fresh, they are
+tough and fleshy, somewhat like an unripe apple. When dry they
+become of a woody nature."</p>
+<p>"They pucker up your mouth awfully," said Malcolm, who had made
+several attempts to eat them; but, do what he would, he could not
+even "make believe" they were nice.</p>
+<p>"I have no doubt of it," was the reply, "remembering the
+dreadful faces I have seen on some of our rambles. But the birds
+like them, as they do everything of the kind that is not
+poisonous."</p>
+<hr style="width: 25%;">
+<p>"Isn't it beautiful?" exclaimed the children, in delight. They
+were admiring a magnificent cedar of Lebanon in one of the pictures
+which Miss Harson had collected for their benefit, and it seemed no
+wonder that the grand spreading tree should be called "the glory of
+Lebanon."</p>
+<p>"It is indeed beautiful," replied their governess; "and think of
+seeing a whole mountain covered with such trees! A traveler speaks
+of them as the most solemnly impressive trees in the world, and
+says that their massive trunks, clothed with a scaly texture almost
+like the skin of living animals and contorted with all the
+irregularities of age, may well have suggested those ideas of
+royal, almost divine, strength and solidity which the sacred
+writers ascribe to them.--Turn to the ninety-second psalm, Clara,
+and read the twelfth verse."</p>
+<p>"'The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree; he shall grow
+like a cedar in Lebanon.'"</p>
+<p>"In the thirty-first chapter of Ezekiel," continued Miss Harson,
+"it is written, 'Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with
+fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature;
+and his top was among the thick boughs. The waters made him great,
+the deep set him up on high with her rivers running round about his
+plants, and sent out her little rivers unto all the trees of the
+field. Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the
+field and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long
+because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth. All the
+fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his
+branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young,
+and under his shadow dwelt all great nations.'"</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/383.png" width="50%" alt=""><br>
+<b>CEDAR OF LEBANON.</b></p>
+<p>"Are the leaves like those of our cedar trees?" asked Malcolm,
+who was studying the picture quite intently. "The tree doesn't look
+like 'em."</p>
+<p>"They are somewhat like them," replied his governess, "being
+slender and straight and about an inch long. They grow in tufts,
+and in the centre of some of the tufts there is a small cone which
+is very pretty and often brought to this country by travelers for
+their friends at home. In <i>The Land and the Book</i> there is a
+picture of small branches with cones, and the author says of the
+cedar: 'There is a striking peculiarity in the shape of this tree
+which I have not seen any notice of in books of travel. The
+branches are thrown out horizontally from the parent trunk. These
+again part into limbs, which preserve the same horizontal
+direction, and so on down to the minutest twigs; and even the
+arrangement of the clustered leaves has the same general tendency.
+Climb into one, and you are delighted with a succession of verdant
+floors spread around the trunk and gradually narrowing as you
+ascend. The beautiful cones seem to stand upon or rise out of this
+green flooring.' The same writer says that by examining the
+different growths of wood inside the trunk of one of the trees
+these ancient cedars of Lebanon have been proved to be three
+thousand five hundred years old."</p>
+<p>"Oh, Miss Harson!" exclaimed her audience; "could any tree be as
+old as that?"</p>
+<p>"It is possible. The circle of growing wood which is made each
+year is a pretty good method of telling the age of a tree, and
+these cedars of Lebanon are considered the oldest trees in the
+world. Travelers have always spoken of the beauty and symmetry of
+these trees, with their widespreading branches and cone-like tops.
+All through the Middle Ages a visit to the cedars of Lebanon was
+regarded by many persons in the light of a pilgrimage. Some of the
+trees were thought to have been planted by King Solomon himself,
+and were looked upon as sacred relics. Indeed, the visitors took
+away so many pieces from the bark that it was feared the trees
+would be destroyed. The cedars stand in a valley a considerable way
+up the mountain, where the snow renders it inaccessible for part of
+the year."</p>
+<p>"Are the trees just in one particular place, then?" asked
+Malcolm. "I thought they grew all over that country?"</p>
+<p>"The principal and best-known grove of very large and ancient
+cedars of Lebanon is found in one place," replied his governess,
+"but there are other groves now known to exist. The famous grove
+was fast disappearing, until there were but few of them left. The
+pilgrims who went to visit them in such numbers in olden times were
+accompanied by monks from a monastery about four miles below, who
+would beseech them not to injure a single leaf. But the greatest
+care could not preserve the trees. Some of them have been struck
+down by lightning, some broken by enormous loads of snow, and
+others torn to fragments by tempests. Some have even been cut down
+with axes like any common tree. But better care is now taken of
+them; so that we may hope that the grove will live and
+increase."</p>
+<p>"But why weren't they saved," asked Clara, "when people thought
+so much of them?"</p>
+<p>"It seems to be a part of the general desolation of the land of
+God's chosen but rebellious people. In the third chapter of the
+prophet Isaiah, verses eleven and twelve, it is said, 'For the day
+of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and
+lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be
+brought low; and upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and
+lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan.' The same prophet says,
+in the tenth chapter and nineteenth verse, 'And the rest of the
+trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them.'
+These words have been particularly applied to the stately cedars of
+Lebanon, for 'the once magnificent grove is but a speck on the
+mountain-side. Many persons have taken it in the distance for a
+wood of fir trees, but on approaching nearer and taking a closer
+view the cedars resume somewhat of their ancient majesty. The space
+they cover is not more than half a mile, but, once amidst them, the
+beautiful fan-like branches overhead, the exquisite green of the
+younger trees and the colossal size of the older ones fill the mind
+with interest and admiration. Within the grove all is hushed as in
+a land of the past. Where once the Tyrian workman plied his axe and
+the sound of many voices came upon the ear, there are now the
+silence and solitude of desertion and decay.'--Malcolm," added his
+governess, "you may read us what is written in the sixth verse of
+the fourteenth chapter of Hosea."</p>
+<p>"'His branches,'" read Malcolm, "'shall spread, and his beauty
+shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.' What does
+that mean, Miss Harson?"</p>
+<p>"It means the fragrant resin which exudes from both the trunk
+and the cones of the beautiful cedar. It is soft, and its fragrance
+is like that of the balsam of Mecca. 'Everything about this tree
+has a strong balsamic odor, and hence the whole grove is so
+pleasant and fragrant that it is delightful to walk in it. The wood
+is peculiarly adapted for building, because it is not subject to
+decay, nor is it eaten of worms. It was much used for rafters and
+for boards with which to cover houses and form the floors and
+ceilings of rooms. It was of a red color, beautiful, solid and free
+from knots. The palace of Persepolis, the temple of Jerusalem and
+Solomon's palace were all in this way built with cedar, and the
+house of the forest of Lebanon was perhaps so called from the
+quantity of this wood used in its construction.' We are told in
+First Kings that Solomon 'built also the house of the forest of
+Lebanon<a name="FNanchor24" id="FNanchor24"></a><a href=
+"#Footnote_24">[24]</a>,' and that 'he made three hundred shields
+of beaten gold' and 'put them in the house of the forest of
+Lebanon<a name="FNanchor25" id="FNanchor25"></a><a href=
+"#Footnote_25">[25]</a>.' All the drinking-vessels, too, of this
+wonderful palace, which is always spoken of as 'the house of the
+forest of Lebanon,' were of pure gold, and its magnificence shows
+how highly the beautiful cedar-wood was valued."</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_24" id="Footnote_24"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor24">[24]</a> I Kings vii. 2.</blockquote>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_25" id="Footnote_25"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor25">[25]</a> I Kings x. 17.</blockquote>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXII." id="CHAPTER_XXII."></a>CHAPTER
+XXII.</h2>
+<h3><i>THE PALMS</i>.</h3>
+<br>
+<p>"There is a wonderful evergreen," said Miss Harson, "which grows
+in tropical countries, and also in some sub-tropical countries,
+such as the Holy Land, and is said to have nearly as many uses as
+there are days in a year. You must tell me what it is when you have
+seen the picture."</p>
+<p class="left"><img src="Images/390.png" width="30%" alt=""><br>
+<b>PALM TREE.</b></p>
+<p>Malcolm and Clara both pronounced it a palm tree, and Clara
+asked if there were any such trees growing in this country.</p>
+<p>"Some of its relations are found on our Southern seacoast,"
+replied their governess; "South Carolina, you know, is called 'the
+Palmetto State.' There is a member of the family called the
+cabbage-palmetto, the unexpanded leaves of which are used as a
+table vegetable, which you may see in Florida. Its young leaves are
+all in a mass at the top, and when boiled make a dish something
+like cabbage. The leaves of the palmetto are also used, when
+perfect, in the manufacture of hats, baskets and mats, and for many
+other purposes. But its stately and majestic cousin, the date-palm
+of the East, with its tall, slender stalk and magnificent crown of
+feathery leaves, has had its praises sung in every age and clime.
+'Besides its great importance as a fruit-producer, it has a special
+beauty of its own when the clusters of dates are hanging in golden
+ripeness under its coronal of dark-green leaves. Its well-known
+fruit affords sustenance to the dwellers on the borders of the
+great African desert; it is as necessary to them as is the camel,
+and in many cases they may be said to owe their existence to it
+alone. The tree rears its column-like stem to the height of ninety
+feet, and its crown consists of fifty leaves about twelve feet in
+length and fringed at the edges like a feather. Between the leaf
+and the stem there issue several horny spathes, or sheaths, out of
+which spring clusters of panicles that bear small white flowers,'
+These flowers are followed by the dates, which grow in a dense
+bunch that hangs down several feet."</p>
+<p>"But how do people manage to climb such a tree as that," asked
+Malcolm, "to get the dates? It goes straight up in the air without
+any branches, and looks as if it would snap in two if any one tried
+it."</p>
+<p>"It does not snap, though, for it is very strong; and the
+climbing is easier than you imagine, even when the tree is a
+hundred feet high, as it sometimes is. The trunk, you see, is full
+of rugged knots. These projections are the remains of decayed
+leaves which have dropped off when their work was done. As the
+older leaves decay the stalk advances in height. It has not true
+wood, like most trees, but the stem has bundles of fibres that are
+closely pressed together on the outer part. Toward the root these
+are so entwined that they become as hard as iron and are very
+difficult to cut. The tree grows very slowly, but it lives for
+centuries. I have a Persian fable in rhyme for you, called</p>
+<blockquote>"'THE GOURD AND THE PALM.<br>
+<br>
+"'"How old art thou?" said the garrulous gourd<br>
+As o'er the palm tree's crest it poured<br>
+Its spreading leaves and tendrils fine,<br>
+And hung a-bloom in the morning shine.<br>
+"A hundred years," the palm tree sighed.--<br>
+"And I," the saucy gourd replied,<br>
+"Am at the most a hundred hours,<br>
+And overtop thee in the bowers."<br>
+<br>
+"'Through all the palm tree's leaves there went<br>
+A tremor as of self-content.<br>
+"I live my life," it whispering said,<br>
+"See what I see, and count the dead;<br>
+And every year of all I've known<br>
+A gourd above my head has grown<br>
+And made a boast like thine to-day,<br>
+Yet here I stand; but where are they?"'"<br></blockquote>
+<p>The children were very much pleased with the fable, and they
+began to feel quite an affection for the venerable and useful palm
+tree.</p>
+<p>"The date tree," continued their governess, "as this species of
+palm is often called, blossoms in April, and the fruit ripens in
+October. Each tree produces from ten to twelve bunches, and the
+usual weight of a bunch is about fifteen pounds. It is esteemed a
+crime to fell a date tree or to supply an axe intended for that
+purpose, even though the tree may belong to an enemy. The
+date-harvest is expected with as much anxiety by the Arab in the
+oasis as the gathering in of the wheat and corn in temperate
+regions. If it were to fail, the Arabs would be in danger of
+famine. The blessings of the date-palm are without limit to the
+Arab. Its leaves give a refreshing shade in a region where the
+beams of the sun are almost insupportable; men, and also camels,
+feed upon the fruit; the wood of the tree is used for fuel and for
+building the native huts; and ropes, mats, baskets, beds, and all
+kinds of articles, are manufactured from the fibres of the leaves.
+The Arab cannot imagine how a nation can exist without date-palms,
+and he may well regard it as the greatest injury that he can
+inflict upon his enemy to cut down his trees."</p>
+<p>"Miss Harson," asked Edith, very earnestly, "isn't the palm tree
+in the Bible?"</p>
+<p class="ctr"><a href="Images/395.png"><img src="Images/395.png"
+width="40%" alt=""></a><br>
+<b>DATE-PALM AT JERICHO.</b></p>
+<p>"It certainly is, dear," replied her governess, "and it is one
+of the trees most frequently mentioned. In Deuteronomy,
+thirty-fourth chapter, third verse, Jericho is called the 'city of
+palm trees.' Travelers still speak of these trees as yet growing in
+Palestine, but they are not nearly so abundant as they once were;
+near Jericho only one or two can be found. There are many allusions
+to the palm in the Scriptures. King David, in the ninety-second
+psalm, says that the righteous shall flourish like the palm tree:
+'Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in
+the courts of our God. They shall bring forth fruit in old age.'
+The palm is always upright, in spite of rain or wind. 'There it
+stands, looking calmly down upon the world below, and patiently
+yielding its large clusters of golden fruit from generation to
+generation. It brings forth fruit in old age.' The allusion to
+being planted in the house of the Lord is probably drawn from the
+custom of planting beautiful and long-lived trees in the courts of
+temples and palaces. Solomon covered all the walls of the holy of
+holies round about with golden palm trees.--You will find this,
+Clara, in First Kings."</p>
+<p>Clara read:</p>
+<p>"'And he carved all the walls of the house round about with
+carved figures of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, within
+and without<a name="FNanchor26" id="FNanchor26"></a><a href=
+"#Footnote_26">[26]</a>.'"</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_26" id="Footnote_26"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor26">[26]</a> I Kings vi. 29.</blockquote>
+<p>"In the thirty-second verse," continued Miss Harson, "it is
+written that he overlaid them with gold, 'and spread gold upon the
+cherubim, and upon the palm trees.' 'They were thus planted, as it
+were, within the very house of the Lord; and their presence there
+was not only ornamental, but appropriate and highly suggestive--the
+very best emblem not only of patience in well-doing, but of the
+rewards of the righteous, a fat and flourishing old age, a peaceful
+end, a glorious immortality.'"</p>
+<p>"What does a 'palmer' mean, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm. "Is it
+a man who has palm trees or who sells dates? I saw the word in a
+book I was reading, but I couldn't understand what it meant."</p>
+<p>"In olden times," replied his governess, "when people made so
+many pilgrimages, some of the pilgrims went to the Holy Land and
+some to Rome and other places; but those who went to Palestine were
+thought to be the most devout, both because it was so much farther
+off and because there were so many sacred spots to visit there.
+These pilgrims always brought home with them branches of palm, to
+show that they had really been to the land where the tree grew; and
+so they were called <i>palmers</i>. To say that such-a-one was a
+palmer was far more than to say that he was a pilgrim."</p>
+<p>"Miss Harson," said Clara, holding up one of the books, "here is
+a picture called 'the cocoanut-palm,' but I didn't know that
+cocoanuts grew on palm trees. Will you tell us something about
+it?"</p>
+<p class="ctr"><a href="Images/399.png"><img src="Images/399.png"
+width="60%" alt=""></a><br>
+<b>COCOANUT-PALM TREES IN SOUTH-EASTERN AFRICA.</b></p>
+<p>"Certainly I will, dear," was the reply. "I fully intended to do
+so, for the cocoanut-palm is too valuable a member of the family to
+be passed over. This species does not grow in Palestine, and it is
+not one of the trees of the Bible; its home is in the warmest
+countries, and it grows most luxuriantly in the islands of the
+tropics or near the seacoast on the main-lands. Although its
+general form is similar to that of the date-palm, the foliage and
+fruit are quite different. The leaves are very much broader, and
+they have not the light, airy look of the foliage of the date-palm.
+But 'the cocoanut-palm is the most valuable of Nature's gifts to
+the inhabitants of those parts of the tropics where it grows, and
+its hundred uses, as they are not inaptly called, extend beyond the
+tropics over the civilized world. The beautiful islands of the
+southern seas are fringed with cocoanut-palms that encircle them as
+with a green and feathery belt. The ripe nuts drop into the sea,
+but, protected by their husks, they float away until the tide
+washes them on to the shore of some neighboring island, where they
+can take root and grow.'"</p>
+<p>"Wouldn't it be nice," said Edith, "if some would float
+here?"</p>
+<p>"A great many cocoanuts float here in ships," replied Miss
+Harson, "but they would not take root and grow, because the climate
+is not suited to them; it is too cold for them. We cannot have
+tropical fruit without tropical heat, and I am sure that none of us
+would want such a change as that. You may sometimes see small
+cocoanut trees in hothouses or horticultural gardens, where they
+are shielded from our cold air. The island of Ceylon, in the East
+Indies, is full of cocoanut-palm trees, for they are carefully
+cultivated by the inhabitants, and the feathery groves stretch mile
+after mile. The tree shoots up a column-like stem to the height of
+a hundred feet, and is crowned with a tuft of broad leaves about
+twelve feet long. The flowers are yellowish white and grow in
+clusters, and the seed ripens into a hard nut which in its fibrous
+husk is about the size of an infant's head."</p>
+<p>"I've seen the nut in its husk," said Malcolm, "when papa took
+me down to the wharf where the ships come in. There were lots of
+cocoanuts, and some of 'em had their coats on."</p>
+<p>"This brown husk," continued his governess, "is a valuable part
+of the nut, for the toughest ropes and cables are made of its
+fibres, as well as the useful brown matting so generally used to
+cover offices and passages. Brushes, nets and other domestic
+articles are also manufactured from the husk. Scarcely any other
+tree in the world is so useful to man or contributes so much to his
+comfort as the cocoanut-palm. Food and drink are alike obtained
+from it. The kernel of the nut is an article of diet, and can be
+prepared in many ways. The native is almost sustained by it, and in
+Ceylon it forms a part of nearly every dish. The spathe that
+encloses the yet-unopened flowers is made to yield a favorite
+beverage called palm-wine, or, more familiarly, 'toddy.' When the
+fresh juice is used, it is an innocent and refreshing drink; but
+when left to ferment, it intoxicates, and is the one evil result
+from the bountiful gifts of the tree. Oil is prepared in great
+quantities from the nuts and used for various purposes."</p>
+<p>"Are there any more kinds of palm trees?" asked the
+children.</p>
+<p>"Yes," was the reply; "there are a great many members of this
+most useful family, but the one that will interest you most, after
+the date-and cocoanut-palm, is, I think, the sago-palm."</p>
+<p class="ctr"><a href="Images/403.png"><img src="Images/403.png"
+width="40%" alt=""></a><br>
+<b>YOUNG COCOANUT TREE IN POT (<i>Cocos nucifera</i>).</b></p>
+<p>"Why, Miss Harson!" exclaimed Clara, in surprise; "does sago
+really grow on a tree?"</p>
+<p>"It really grows <i>in</i> a tree--for it is a kind of starch
+secreted by the tree for the use of its flowers and fruit--and in
+order to obtain it the tree has to be cut down. The pith is then
+taken out and cut in slices, soaked in water and roasted; and when
+it assumes the shape of the small globules in which we see it, it
+is ready for exportation."</p>
+<p>"Well!" said Malcolm; "I never knew <i>that</i> before. We've
+learned ever so many things, Miss Harson."</p>
+<p>"There is one thing about the palm," said Miss Harson, "which I
+have purposely left for the last--especially as it is the last also
+of our trees for the present--and that is the sacred associations
+which its branches have for both Jews and Christians. The Jews were
+commanded on the first day of the feast of tabernacles to 'take the
+boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of
+thick trees, and willows of the brook, to rejoice before the Lord
+their God.' The palm was a symbol of victory, and branches of it
+were strewn in the path of conquerors, more especially of those who
+had fought for religious truth. It is the emblem of the martyr, as
+a conqueror through Christ. The Sunday before Easter is called Palm
+Sunday because in the ancient churches leaves of palm were carried
+that day by worshipers in memory of those strewn in the way on the
+triumphal entry of the King of Zion into Jerusalem. You will find
+it, Malcolm, in John."</p>
+<p>Malcolm read very reverently:</p>
+<p>"'On the next day, much people that were come to the feast, when
+they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of
+palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna; Blessed
+is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord<a name=
+"FNanchor27" id="FNanchor27"></a><a href=
+"#Footnote_27">[27]</a>.'"</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_27" id="Footnote_27"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor27">[27]</a> John xii. 12, 13.</blockquote>
+<p>"Here," said Miss Harson, "is a little hymn written on these
+very verses:</p>
+<blockquote>"'See a small procession slowly<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;Toward the temple wind its way;<br>
+In the midst rides, meek and lowly,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;One whom angel-hosts obey.<br>
+<br>
+"'How the shouting crowd adore him,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;Now, for once, they know their King;<br>
+Some their garments cast before him,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;Green palm-branches others bring.<br>
+<br>
+"'Calmly, yet with holy sorrow,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;Christ permits the sacrifice.<br>
+Knowing well that on the morrow<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;Changed will be those fickle cries.<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 25%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+"'Children, when in prayers and praises<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;Loudly we with lips adore,<br>
+While the heart no anthem raises,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;Are not we like those of yore?<br>
+<br>
+"'O Lord Jesus, let us never<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;Lift the voice in heartless songs;<br>
+Help us to remember ever<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;All that to thy name belongs.'"<br></blockquote>
+<br>
+
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr class="full" noshade>
+<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AMONG THE TREES AT ELMRIDGE***</p>
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@@ -0,0 +1,7421 @@
+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Among the Trees at Elmridge, by Ella Rodman
+Church
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Among the Trees at Elmridge
+
+Author: Ella Rodman Church
+
+Release Date: March 26, 2004  [eBook #11723]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: US-ASCII
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AMONG THE TREES AT ELMRIDGE***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Charlie Kirschner, and the Project
+Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team
+
+
+
+Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
+      file which includes the original illustrations.
+      See 11723-h.htm or 11723-h.zip:
+      (http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/1/1/7/2/11723/11723-h/11723-h.htm)
+      or
+      (http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/1/1/7/2/11723/11723-h.zip)
+
+
+
+
+
+AMONG THE TREES AT ELMRIDGE
+
+BY
+
+ELLA RODMAN CHURCH
+
+1886
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+CHAPTER     I. A SPRING OPENING.
+CHAPTER    II. THE MAPLES.
+CHAPTER   III. OLD ACQUAINTANCES: THE ELMS.
+CHAPTER    IV. MAJESTY AND STRENGTH: THE OAK.
+CHAPTER     V. BEAUTY AND GRACE: THE ASH.
+CHAPTER    VI. THE OLIVE TREE.
+CHAPTER   VII. THE USEFUL BIRCH.
+CHAPTER  VIII. THE POPLARS.
+CHAPTER    IX. ALL A-BLOW: THE APPLE TREE.
+CHAPTER     X. A FRUITFUL FAMILY: THE PEACH, ALMOND, PLUM AND CHERRY.
+CHAPTER    XI. THE CHERRY-STORY.
+CHAPTER   XII. THE MULBERRY FAMILY.
+CHAPTER  XIII. QUEER RELATIONS: THE CAOUTCHOUC AND THE MILK TREE.
+CHAPTER   XIV. HOME AND ABROAD: LINDEN, CAMPHOR, BEECH.
+CHAPTER    XV. THE TENT AND THE LOCUSTS.
+CHAPTER   XVI. THE WALNUT FAMILY AND THE AILANTHUS.
+CHAPTER  XVII. SOME BEAUTIFUL TREES: THE CHESTNUT AND HORSE-CHESTNUT.
+CHAPTER XVIII. AMONG THE PINES.
+CHAPTER   XIX. GIANT AND NUT PINES.
+CHAPTER    XX. MORE WINTER TREES: THE FIRS AND THE SPRUCES.
+CHAPTER   XXI. THE CEDARS.
+CHAPTER  XXII. THE PALMS.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+_A SPRING OPENING._
+
+On that bright spring afternoon when three happy, interested children
+went off to the woods with their governess to take their first lesson in
+the study of wild flowers, they saw also some other things which made a
+fresh series of "Elmridge Talks," and these things were found among the
+trees of the roadside and forest.
+
+"What makes it look so _yellow_ over there, Miss Harson?" asked Clara,
+who was peering curiously at a clump of trees that seemed to have been
+touched with gold or sunlight. "And just look over here," she continued,
+"at these pink ones!"
+
+Malcolm shouted at the idea:
+
+"Yellow and pink trees! That sounds like a Japanese fan. Where are they,
+I should like to know?"
+
+"Here, you perverse boy!" said his governess as she laughingly turned
+him around. "Are you looking up into the sky for them? There is a clump
+of golden willows right before you, with some rosy maples on one side.
+What other colors can you call them?"
+
+Malcolm had to confess that "yellow and pink trees" were not so wide of
+the mark, after all, and that they were very pretty. Little Edith was
+particularly delighted with them, and wanted to "pick the flowers"
+immediately.
+
+"They are too high for that, dear," was the reply, "and these
+blossoms--for that is what they really are, although nothing more than
+fringes and catkins--are much prettier massed on the trees than they
+would be if gathered. The still-bare twigs and branches seem, as you
+see, to be draped with golden and rose-colored veils, but there will be
+no leaves until these queer flowers have dropped. If we look closely at
+the twigs and branches, we shall see that they are glossy and polished,
+as though they had been varnished and then brightened with color by the
+painter's brush. It is the flowing of the sap that does this. The
+swelling of the bark occasioned by the flow of sap gives the whole mass
+a livelier hue; hence the ashen green of the poplar, the golden green of
+the willow and the dark crimson of the peach tree, the wild rose and the
+red osier are perceptibly heightened by the first warm days of spring."
+
+[Illustration: MALE CATKIN OF WILLOW.]
+
+"Miss Harson," asked Clara, with a perplexed face, "what are catkins?"
+
+"Here," said her governess, reaching from the top bar of the road-fence
+for the lowest branch of a willow tree; "examine this catkin for
+yourself, and I will tell you what my _Botany_ says of it: 'An ament, or
+catkin, is an assemblage of flowers composed of scales and stamens or
+pistils arranged along a common thread-like receptacle, as in the
+chestnut and willow. It is a kind of calyx, by some classed as a mode of
+inflorescence (or flowering), and each chaffy scale protects one or more
+of the stamens or pistils, the whole forming one aggregate flower. The
+ament is common to forest-trees, as the oak and chestnut, and is also
+found upon the willow and poplar.'"
+
+"It's funny-looking," said Malcolm, when he had made himself thoroughly
+acquainted with the appearance of the catkin, "but it doesn't look much
+like a flower: it looks more like a pussy's tail."
+
+"Yes, and that is the origin of its name. 'Catkin' is diminutive for
+'cat;' so this collection of flowers is called 'catkin,' or
+'little cat.'"
+
+"I think I'll call them 'pussy-tails,'" said Edith.
+
+"There is a great deal to be learned about trees," said Miss Harson,
+when all were comfortably seated in the pleasant schoolroom; "and,
+besides the natural history of their species, some old trees have
+wonderful stories connected with them, while many in tropical countries
+are so wonderful in themselves that they do not need stories to make
+them interesting. The common trees around us will be our subjects at
+first; for I suppose that you can scarcely tell a willow from a poplar,
+or a chestnut tree from either, can you?"
+
+"I can tell a chestnut tree," said Malcolm, confidently.
+
+"When it is not the season for nuts?" asked his governess, smiling.
+
+There was not a very positive reply to this; and Miss Harson continued:
+
+"I do not think that any of us know as much as we ought to know of the
+trees which we see every day, and of the uses to which many of them are
+put, to say nothing of many familiar trees that we read about, and even
+depend upon for some of the necessaries of life."
+
+"Like the cocoanut tree," suggested Clara.
+
+"That is not exactly necessary to our comfort, dear," was the reply,
+"for people can manage to live without cocoanuts, although in many forms
+they are very agreeable to the taste, and it is only the inhabitants of
+the countries where they grow who look upon these trees as necessaries;
+but we will take them up in their turn. And first let us find out what
+we can about the willow, because it is the first tree, with us, to
+become green in the spring, and, of that large class which is called
+_deciduous_, the last one to lose its leaves."
+
+"And why are they called _deciduous?_" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Because they shed their leaves every autumn and are furnished with a
+new set in the spring: 'deciduous' is Latin for 'falling off.' And this
+is the case with nearly all our native trees and plants. _Persistent_,
+or permanent, leaves remain on the stem and branches all through the
+changes of season, like the leaves of the pine and box, while
+_evergreens_ look fresh through the entire year and are generally
+cone-bearing and resinous trees. 'These change their leaves annually,
+but, the young leaves appearing before the old ones decay, the tree is
+always green.'"
+
+"Miss Harson," said Clara, "when people talk about _weeping_ willows,
+what do they mean? Do the trees really cry? I sometimes read about 'em
+in stories, and I never knew what they did."
+
+"They cry dreadfully," said Malcolm, "when it rains."
+
+"But only as you do when you are out in it," replied his governess--"by
+having the water drip from your clothes.--No, Clara, the tree is called
+'weeping' because it seems to 'assume the attitude of a person in tears,
+who bends over and appears to droop.' The sprays of this tree are
+particularly beautiful, and 'willowy' is often used for 'graceful,' as
+meaning the same thing. Its language is 'sorrow,' and it is often seen
+in burial-grounds and in mourning-pictures. 'We remember it in sacred
+history, associating it with the rivers of Babylon, and with the tears
+of the children of Israel, who sat down under the shade of this tree and
+hung their harps upon its branches. It is distinguished by the graceful
+beauty of its outlines, its light-green, delicate foliage, its sorrowing
+attitude and its flowing drapery.'"
+
+"Were those weeping willows that we saw to-day?" asked Clara.
+
+"No," replied her brother, quickly; "they just stuck up straight and
+didn't weep a bit."
+
+"They are called _water_ willows," said Miss Harson, "because they are
+never found in dry places. They are more common than the weeping willow.
+The water willow has the same delicate foliage and the same habit, under
+an April sky, of gleaming with a drapery of golden verdure among the
+still-naked trees of the forest or orchard. 'When Spring has closed her
+delicate flowers,' says a bright writer, 'and the multitudes that crowd
+around the footsteps of May have yielded their places to the brighter
+host of June, the willow scatters the golden aments that adorned it,
+and appears in the deeper garniture of its own green foliage.' A group
+of these golden willows, seen in a rainstorm, will have so bright an
+appearance as to make it seem as if the sun were actually shining."
+
+[Illustration: THE WHITE WILLOW (_Salix alba_).]
+
+"I wish we had them all around here, then," said Edith; "I like to see
+the sun shining when it rains."
+
+"But the sun is _not_ shining, dear," replied her governess: "it is only
+the reflection from the willows that makes it look so; and we can make
+just such sunshine ourselves when it rains, or when there is dullness of
+any sort, by being all the more cheerful and striving to make others
+happy. Who loves to be called 'Little Sunshine'?"
+
+"I do," said the child, caressing the hand that had patted her rosy
+cheek.
+
+"Let's all be golden willows," said Malcolm, in a comical way that made
+them laugh.
+
+Miss Harson told him that he could not make a better attempt than to be
+one of those home-brighteners who bring the sunshine with them, but she
+added that such people are always considerate for others. Malcolm
+wondered a little if this meant that _he_ was not, but he soon forgot it
+in hearing the many things that were to be said of the willow.
+
+"The family-name of this tree is _Salix_, from a word that means 'to
+spring,' because a willow-branch, if planted, will take root and grow so
+quickly that it seems almost like magic. 'And they shall _spring up_ as
+among the grass, as willows by the watercourses,' says the prophet
+Isaiah, speaking of the children of the people of God. The flowers of
+the willow are of two kinds--one bearing stamens, and the other
+pistils--and each grows upon a separate plant. When the ovary, at the
+base of the pistil, is ripe, it opens by two valves and lets out, as
+through a door, multitudes of small seeds covered with a fine down, like
+the seeds of the cotton-plant. This downy substance is greedily sought
+after by the birds as a lining for their nests, and they may be seen
+carrying it away in their bills. And in some parts of Germany people
+take the trouble to collect it and use it as a wadding to their winter
+dresses, and even manufacture it into a coarse kind of paper."
+
+"What queer people!" exclaimed Clara. "And how funny they must look in
+their wadded dresses!"
+
+"They are not graceful people," was the reply, "but they live in a cold
+climate and show their good sense by dressing as warmly as possible. It
+was quite a surprise, though, to me to find that the willow was of use
+in clothing people. The more we learn of the works of God, the better we
+shall understand that last verse of the first chapter of the Bible: 'And
+God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.' The
+bees, too, are attracted by the willow catkins, but they do not want the
+down. On mild days whole swarms of them may be seen reveling in the
+sweets of the fresh blossoms. 'Cold days will come long after the willow
+catkins appear, and the bees will find but few flowers venturesome
+enough to open their petals. They have, however, thoroughly enjoyed
+their feast, and the short season of plenty will often be the means of
+saving a hive from famine.'"
+
+"Are willow baskets made of willow trees?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Yes," said Miss Harson. "Basket-making has been a great industry in
+England from the earliest times; the ancient Britons were particularly
+skillful in weaving the supple wands of the willow. They even made of
+these slender stems little boats called 'coracles,' in which they could
+paddle down the small rivers, and the boats could be carried on their
+shoulders when they were walking on dry land."
+
+"Just like our Indians' birch-bark canoes," said Malcolm, who was
+reading about the North American Indians. "But isn't it strange, Miss
+Harson, that the Indians and the Britons didn't get drowned going out in
+such little light boats?"
+
+"Their very lightness buoyed them up upon the waves," was the reply;
+"but it does seem wonderful that they could bear the weight of men. The
+willow, however, was also used by the Romans in making their
+battle-shields, and even for the manufacture of ropes as well as
+baskets. The rims of cart-wheels, too, used to be made of willow, as now
+they are hooped with iron; so, you see, it is a strong wood as well as a
+pliant one. The kind used for basket-making is the _Salix viminalis_,
+and the rods of this species are called 'osiers.' Let us see now what
+this English book says of the process of basket-making:
+
+"'The quick and vigorous growth of the willow renders it easy to provide
+materials for this branch of industry. Osier-beds are planted in every
+suitable place, and here the willow-cutter comes as to an ample store.
+Autumn is the season for him to ply his trade, and he cuts the willow
+rods down and ties them in bundles. He then sets them up on end in
+standing water to the depth of a few inches. Here they remain during the
+winter, until the shoots, in the following spring, begin to sprout, when
+they are in a fit state to be peeled. A machine is used in some places
+to compress the greatest number of rods into a bundle.
+
+[Illustration: THE POLLARD WILLOW IN WINTER.]
+
+"'Aged or infirm people and women and children can earn money by peeling
+willows at so much per bundle. The operation is very simple, and so is
+the necessary apparatus. Sometimes a wooden bench with holes in it is
+used, the willow-twigs being drawn through the holes. Another way is
+to draw the rod through two pieces of iron joined together, and with one
+end thrust into the ground to make it stand upright. The willow-peeler
+sits down before his instrument and merely thrusts the rod between the
+two pieces of iron and draws it out again. This proceeding scrapes the
+bark off one end, and then he turns it and fits it in the other way; so
+that by a simple process the whole rod is peeled. When the rods are
+quite prepared, they are again tied up in bundles and sold to the
+basket-makers.'"
+
+"But how do they make the baskets?" asked Clara and Edith. "That is the
+nicest part."
+
+"There is little to tell about it, though," said their governess,
+"because it is such easy work that any one can learn to do it. You saw
+the Indian women making baskets when papa took us to Maine last summer,
+and you noticed how very quickly they did it, beginning with the flat
+bottom and working rapidly up. It is a favorite occupation for the
+blind, and one of the things which are taught them in asylums."
+
+"I wonder," said Malcolm, "if there is anything else that can be done
+with the willow?"
+
+"Oh yes," replied Miss Harson; "we have not yet come to the end of its
+resources. It makes the best quality of charcoal, and in many parts of
+England the tree is raised for this express purpose. 'The abode of the
+charcoal-burner,' says an English writer, 'may be known from a distance
+by the cloud of smoke that hovers over it, and that must make it rather
+unhealthy. It is sometimes a small dome-shaped hut made of green turf,
+and, except for the difference of the material, might remind us of the
+hut of the Esquimaux. Beside it stands a caravan like those which make
+their appearance at fairs, and that contains the family goods and
+chattels. A string of clothes hung out to dry, a water-tub and a rough,
+shaggy dog usually complete the picture.'"
+
+"But how can people live in the hut," asked Malcolm, "if the charcoal is
+burned in it? Ugh! I should think they'd choke."
+
+"They certainly would," said his governess; "for the charcoal-smoke is
+death when inhaled for any length of time. But the charcoal-burner knows
+this quite as well as does any one else, and he makes his fire outside
+of the house, puts a rude fence around it and lets it smoke away like a
+huge pipe. The hut is more or less enveloped in smoke, but this is not
+so bad as letting it rise from the inside would be. A great deal of
+willow charcoal is made in Germany and other parts of Europe."
+
+"But, Miss Harson," said Clara, in a puzzled tone, "I don't see what
+they do with it all. It doesn't take much to clean people's teeth."
+
+"No, dear," was the smiling reply, "and I am afraid that the people who
+make it are rather careless about their teeth.--You need not laugh,
+Malcolm, because it is 'just like a girl,' for it is quite as much like
+a boy not to know things which he has never been taught, and you must
+remember that you have two years the start of your sister in getting
+acquainted with the world. Perhaps you will kindly tell us of some of
+the uses to which charcoal is applied?"
+
+"Well," said the young gentleman, after an awkward silence, "it takes
+lots of it to kindle fires."
+
+"I do not think that Kitty ever uses it in the kitchen," said Miss
+Harson, "for she is supplied with kindling-wood for that purpose. You
+will have to think of something else."
+
+But Malcolm could not think, and his governess finally told him that a
+great deal of charcoal is used for making gun-powder, and still more for
+fuel in France and the South of Europe, where a brass vessel supplies
+the place of a grate or stove. Quantities of it are consumed in
+steel-and iron-works, in preserving meat and other food, and in many
+similar ways. The children listened with great interest, and Malcolm
+felt sure that the next time he was asked about charcoal he would have a
+sensible answer.
+
+"Our insect friends the aphides, or plant-lice, are very fond of the
+willow," continued Miss Harson, "and in hot, dry weather great masses of
+them gather on the leaves and drop a sugary juice, which the
+country-people call 'honey-dew,' and in some remote places, where
+knowledge is limited, it has been thought to come from the clouds. But
+we, who have learned something about these aphides[1], know that it
+comes from their little green bodies, and that the ants often carry the
+insects off to their nests, where they feed and 'tend them for the sake
+of this very juice. The aphis that infests the willow is the largest of
+the tribe, and the branches and stems of the tree are often blackened by
+the honey-dew that falls upon them."
+
+[1] See _Flyers and Crawlers_, by the author. Presbyterian Board of
+Publication.
+
+"Do willow trees grow everywhere?" asked Clara.
+
+"They are certainly found in a great many different places," was the
+reply, "and even in the warmest countries. In one of the missionary
+settlements in Africa there is a solitary willow that has a story
+attached to it. It was the only tree in the settlement--think what a
+place that must have been!--except those the missionary had planted in
+his own garden, and it would never have existed but for the laziness of
+its owner. Nothing would have induced any of the natives to take the
+trouble to plant a tree, and therefore the willow had not been planted.
+But it happened, a long-time ago, that a native had fetched a log of
+wood from a distance, to make into a bowl when he should feel in the
+humor to do so. He threw the log into a pool of water, and soon forgot
+all about it. Weeks and months passed, and he never felt in the humor to
+work. But the log of wood set to work of its own accord. It had been cut
+from a willow, and it took root at the bottom of the pool and began to
+grow. In the end it became a handsome and flourishing tree."
+
+This story was approved by the young audience, except that it was too
+short; but their governess laughingly said that, as there was nothing
+more to tell, it could not very well be any longer.
+
+[Illustration: THE WEEPING WILLOW (_Salix Babylonica_).]
+
+"The weeping willow," continued Miss Harson, "was first planted in
+England in not so lazy a way, but almost as accidentally. Many years ago
+a basket of figs was sent from Turkey to the poet Pope, and the basket
+was made of willow. Willows and their cousins the poplars are natives of
+the East; you remember that the one hundred and thirty-seventh psalm
+says of the captive Jews, 'By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down,
+yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the
+willows in the midst thereof.' 'The poet valued highly the small slender
+twigs, as associated with so much that was interesting, and he untwisted
+the basket and planted one of the branches in the ground. It had some
+tiny buds upon it, and he hoped he might be able to rear it, as none of
+this species of willow was known in England. Happily, the willow is very
+quick to take root and grow. The little branch soon became a tree, and
+drooped gracefully over the river in the same manner that its race had
+done over the waters of Babylon. From that one branch all the weeping
+willows in England are descended.'"
+
+"And then they were brought over here," said Malcolm. "But what odd
+leaves they have, Miss Harson!--so narrow and long. They don't look like
+the leaves of other trees."
+
+"The leaf is somewhat like that of the olive, only that of the olive is
+broader. The willow is a native of Babylon, and the weeping willow is
+called _Salix Babylonica_. It was considered one of the handsomest
+trees of the East, and is particularly mentioned among those which God
+commanded the Israelites to select for branches to bear in their hands
+at the feast of tabernacles. Read the verse, Malcolm--the fortieth of
+the twenty-third chapter of Leviticus."
+
+Malcolm read:
+
+"'And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees,
+branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and _willows of
+the brook;_ and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days.'"
+
+[Illustration: LEAF OF WEEPING WILLOW.]
+
+"A place called the 'brook of the willows,'" added his governess, "is
+mentioned in Isaiah xv. 7, and this brook, according to travelers in
+Palestine, flows into the south-eastern extremity of the Dead Sea. The
+willow has always been considered by the poets as an emblem of woe and
+desertion, and this idea probably came from the weeping of the captive
+Jews under the willows of Babylon. The branches of the _Salix
+Babylonica_ often droop so low as to touch the ground, and because of
+this sweeping habit, and of its association with watercourses in the
+Bible, it has been considered a very suitable tree to plant beside ponds
+and fountains in ornamental grounds, as well as in cemeteries as an
+emblem of mourning."
+
+"How much there is to remember about the willow!" said Clara,
+thoughtfully. "I wonder if all the trees will be so interesting?"
+
+"They are not all _Bible_ trees," replied Miss Harson. "But the wise
+king of Israel found them interesting, for he 'spake of trees, from the
+cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of
+the wall.'"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+_THE MAPLES._
+
+"The pink trees next, I suppose," said Malcolm, "since we have had the
+yellow ones?"
+
+"_Real_ pink trees?" asked Edith, with very wide-open eyes.
+
+"No, dear;" replied her governess; "there are no pink trees, except when
+they are covered with bloom like the peach trees. Malcolm only means the
+maples that we saw in blossom yesterday and thought of such a pretty
+color. There are many varieties of the maple, which is always a
+beautiful and useful tree, but the red, or scarlet, maple is the very
+queen of the family. It is not so large as are most of the others; but
+when a very young tree, its grace and beauty are noticeable among its
+companions. It is often found in low, moist places, but it thrives just
+as well in high, dry ground; and it is therefore a most convenient
+tree. Here is a very pretty description, Malcolm, in one of papa's large
+books, that you can read to us."
+
+Malcolm read remarkably well for a boy of his age, and he always enjoyed
+being called upon in this way.
+
+[Illustration: THE RED MAPLE.]
+
+Miss Harson pointed to these lines:
+
+"Coming forth in the spring, like morning in the east, arrayed in
+crimson and purple; bearing itself, not proudly but gracefully in
+modest green, among the more stately trees in summer; and ere it bids
+adieu to the season stepping forth in robes of gold, vermilion, crimson
+and variegated scarlet,--stands the queen of the American forest, the
+pride of all eyes and the delight of every picturesque observer of
+nature, the red maple."
+
+"Why, I never saw such a tree as that!" exclaimed Clara, in great
+surprise.
+
+"Yes, dear," replied her governess; "you have seen it, but you never
+thought of describing it to yourself in just this way. When you saw it
+yesterday, it was coming forth in the spring, like morning in the east,
+arrayed in crimson and purple,' but you just called it a pink tree. It
+is much nearer red, however, than it is pink."
+
+"I've seen all the rest of the colors, too," said Malcolm, "when we went
+out after nuts."
+
+"That is its autumn dress," said Miss Harson, "although a small tree is
+often seen with no color on it but brilliant red. But first we must see
+what it is like in spring and summer. It is also called the scarlet,
+the white, the soft and the swamp maple, and the flowers, as you see
+from this specimen, are in whorls, or pairs, of bright crimson, in
+crowded bunches on the purple branches. The leaves are in three or five
+lobes, with deep notches between, and some of them are very broad, while
+others are long and narrow. The trunk of the red maple is a clear ashy
+gray, often mottled with patches of white lichens; and when the tree is
+old, the bark cracks and can be peeled off in long, narrow strips."
+
+"Is anything done with the bark?" asked Clara.
+
+"Yes, it is used, with other substances, for dyeing, and also for making
+ink. The sap, too, can be boiled down to sugar, but it is not nearly so
+rich as that of the proper sugar-maple. The wood, which is very
+light-colored with a tinge of rose in it, is often made into common
+furniture, as it takes a fine polish and is easy to work with. It is
+used, too, for building-purposes. The early-summer foliage of the red
+maple is of a beautiful yellow green, and the young leaves are very
+delicate and airy-looking; but the graceful tree is in such a hurry to
+display her gay autumn colors that she will often put on a scarlet or
+crimson streamer in July or August. One brilliantly-colored branch will
+be seen on a green tree, or the leaves of an entire tree will turn red
+while all the other trees around it are clothed in summer greenness."
+
+"Don't you remember, Miss Harson," said Edith, "the little tree that I
+thought was on fire and how frightened I was?"
+
+"Yes, dear, I remember it very well--an innocent little red maple that
+_would_ put on its flame-colored dress when it should have been all in
+green, like its sisters; but it was too green at heart to be in a blaze.
+This tree is often used for fuel, but it has to be cut down and dried
+first. The reddening of the leaf generally begins at the veins and
+spreads out from them until the whole is tinted. Sometimes it appears in
+spots, almost like drops of blood, on the green surface; but, come as it
+will, it is always beautiful. It is said of the red maple that 'it
+stands among the occupants of the forest like Venus among the
+planets--the brightest in the midst of brightness and the most beautiful
+in a constellation of beauty,'"
+
+"Is there such a thing as a silver tree?" asked Clara.
+
+[Illustration: THE SILVER-LEAF MAPLE.]
+
+"There is a tree called 'the silver maple,'" was the reply, "and there
+is also the silver poplar. The silver maple is considered the most
+graceful of the large and handsome maple family. I have not told you, I
+think, that the name of the family is _Acer_, which means 'sharp' or
+'hard,' and it was supposed to have been given in old English times
+when the wood of the maple was used for javelins. The silver maple gets
+its name from the whitish under-surface of its leaves, and it is a
+favorite shade-tree; it has a slender trunk and long, drooping branches.
+The foliage is light and rather dull-looking, and it is not a very
+bright tree in autumn. The leaves are so deeply notched that they have a
+fringe-like appearance, and this, with its slender form and bending,
+swaying habit, gives it a very graceful look."
+
+Little Edith wished to know "if the wood was like silver," and Malcolm
+asked her how she expected it to grow if it was.
+
+But Miss Harson replied kindly,
+
+"The silver, dear, is all in the leaves, and there is not much of it
+there. The wood is white and of little use, as it is soft and
+perishable; but the beauty of the finely-cut foliage, the contrast
+between the green of the upper surface of the leaves and the silver
+color of the lower, and the magnificent spread of the limbs of the white
+maple, recommend it as an ornamental tree; and this is the purpose for
+which it is intended. It is used very largely in the cities for shade
+and beauty. It is often called the 'river maple,' because it is so
+frequently seen on the banks of streams."
+
+"And now," said Malcolm, "I hope there is ever so much about the
+maple-sugar tree. Can't we get some this spring, Miss Harson, before
+it's all gone?"
+
+"We can certainly buy the sugar in town, Malcolm, if that is what you
+mean; but it does not grow on the trees in cakes, and we shall scarcely
+be able to tap the trunks and go through with the process of preparing
+the sap, even if it were not too late for that. We will do what we can,
+though, to become acquainted with the rock maple, that we may be able to
+recognize it when we see it. When young, it is a beautiful, neat and
+shapely tree with a rich, full leafy head of a great variety of forms.
+It is the largest and strongest of the maples, and gives the best shade.
+It can be distinguished from the other members of the family by its
+leaves, in which the notch between the lobes is round instead of being
+sharp, and also by their appearing at the same time with the blossoms,
+which are of a yellowish-green color. The green tint of the leaves is
+darker on some trees than it is on others, and in autumn they become,
+often before the first touch of the frost, of a splendid orange or gold,
+sometimes of a bright scarlet or crimson, color, each tree commonly
+retaining from year to year the same color or colors, and differing
+somewhat from every other. The most beautiful and valuable maple-wood is
+taken from this tree. It is known as 'curled maple' and 'bird's-eye
+maple,' and the common variety looks like satin-wood. In the curled
+maple the fibres are in waves instead of in straight lines, and the
+surface seems to change with alternate light and shade; in the
+bird's-eye, irregular snarls of fibres look like roundish projections
+rising from hollow places, each one resembling the eye of a bird.
+Buckets, tubs and many useful things are made of the straight variety,
+and for lasts it is considered better than any other kind of wood. The
+curled and the bird's-eye are largely used for furniture."
+
+"But isn't it a shame," said Clara, "to spoil the maple-sugar by making
+the trees into chairs and things?"
+
+"You would not think so," replied her governess, "if you needed the
+'chairs and things' more than you need the sugar. But the supply of
+trees seems to be sufficient for both purposes."
+
+"Does the sugar come right out of the tree when people tap on it with a
+hammer?" asked Edith, whose ideas of sugar-making were rather crude.
+
+"You blessed baby!" cried Malcolm, with a shout of laughter. Let's take
+our hammers and go after some maple-sugar right away."
+
+"No, Edie," said Miss Harson as she took her much-loved little pupil on
+her lap; "we'll stay at home and learn just how the sugar is made. To
+_tap_ a tree, dear, means to make cuts in the trunk for the sap to flow
+out, and in the sugar-maple this sap is more like water than sugar. From
+the middle of February to the second week in March, according to the
+warmth or the coldness of the locality, is the time for tapping the
+trees; and when the holes are bored, spouts of elder or sumac from which
+the pith has been taken are put into them at one end, while the other
+goes down to the bucket which receives the sap. 'Several holes are so
+bored that their spouts shall lead to the same bucket, and high enough
+to allow the bucket to hang two or three feet from the ground, to
+prevent leaves and dirt from being blown in.' The next thing is to boil
+the sap, and this is done in great iron kettles, over immense
+wood-fires, out there among the trees, with plenty of snow on the
+ground, and only two or three rude little cabins for the men and boys to
+sleep in. This is called 'the sugar-camp,' and the sap-season lasts five
+or six weeks."
+
+"And why is it boiled?"
+
+"Boiling drives the water off in vapor, and leaves the sugar behind in
+the pot."
+
+"And do they stay in the woods there all the time?" asked Malcolm, with
+great interest. "What lots of fun they must have, with the big fires and
+the snow and as much maple-sugar as ever they want to eat! _I'd_ like
+to stay in a sugar-camp in the woods."
+
+[Illustration: MAKING MAPLE SUGAR.]
+
+"Perhaps not, after trying it and finding how much hard work there is in
+sugar-making," replied his governess. "'The kettles must be carefully
+watched and plenty of wood brought to keep them boiling, and during the
+process the sap, or syrup, is strained; lime or salaeratus is added, to
+neutralize the free acid; and the white of egg, isinglass or milk, to
+cause foreign substances to rise in a scum to the surface. When it has
+been sufficiently boiled, the syrup is poured into moulds or casks to
+harden.' The sugar with which the most pains have been taken is very
+light-colored, and I have seen it almost white."
+
+"Have you ever been to a sugar-camp, Miss Harson?" asked Clara, who was
+wishing, like Malcolm, that she could go to one herself.
+
+"Yes," said Miss Harson; "I did go once, in Vermont, when the family
+with whom I was staying took me to see the 'sugaring off.' This is
+putting it into the pans and buckets to harden after it has been
+sufficiently boiled and clarified; and we younger ones, by way of
+amusement, were allowed to make jack-wax."
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed three voices at once; "what is that? Is it good to eat?"
+
+"I thought it particularly good," was the reply, "and I am quite sure
+that you would agree with me. To make it, we poured a small quantity of
+hot syrup on the snow to cool; and when it was fit to eat, it was just
+like wax, instead of being hard like the cakes in moulds. It took only a
+few minutes, too, to make it, and it seemed a great deal nicer because
+we did it ourselves. I remember that it was the last of March and very
+cold, but there were big fires to get warmed at, and we had a
+delightful time."
+
+"Were there any Indians there, Miss Harson?" asked little Edith, after
+being quiet for some time. Vermont was such a long way off on the map,
+besides being up almost at the top, that Indians and bears and all sorts
+of wild things seemed to have a right to live there.
+
+"No," said her governess, smiling at the question; "I did not see one,
+even at the sugar-camp. Yet the Indians made maple-sugar long before we
+knew anything about it, and from them the white people learned how to
+do it."
+
+"Well, that's the funniest thing!" exclaimed Malcolm. "I thought that
+Indians were always scalping people instead of making maple-sugar."
+
+"They did a great many other things, though, besides fighting, and their
+life was spent so much out of doors that they studied the nature of
+every plant and living thing about them. The healing-properties of some
+of our most valuable herbs were first discovered by the Indians, and, as
+they never had any grocery-stores, the presence of trees that would
+supply them with sugar was a blessing not likely to be neglected. The
+devoted missionary John Brainerd first heard of this tree-sugar from
+them, and it is said that he used to preach to them when they were thus
+peacefully employed, and obtained a better hearing than at other times."
+
+"Have we any maple-sugar trees?" asked Clara.
+
+"No," replied Miss Harson; "there are none at Elmridge, and I have seen
+none anywhere near here. They seem to flourish best in the Northern and
+North-eastern States, while in Western Canada the tree is found in
+groves of from five to twenty acres. These are called 'sugar-bushes,'
+and few farmers in that part of America are without them. In England the
+maple trees are called 'sycamores,' and the sap is used as a sweet
+drink. I will read to you from a little English book called _Voices from
+the Woodlands_ a simple account of a country festival where maple sap
+was the choicest refreshment:
+
+"'"Take care of that young tree," said Farmer Robinson to his laborer,
+who was diligently employed in clearing away a rambling company of
+brambles which had grown unmolested during the time of the last tenant;
+"the soil is good, and in a very few years we shall have pasturage for
+our bees, and plenty of maple-wine."
+
+"'The farmer spoke true; before his young laborer had attained middle
+age the sapling had grown into a fine tree. Its branches spread wide and
+high, and bees came from all parts to gather their honey-harvests among
+the flowers; beneath its shade lambkins were wont in spring to sleep
+beside their dams; and when the time of shearing came, and the sheep
+were disburdened of their fleeces, you might see them hastening to the
+sycamore tree for shelter.
+
+"'A kind of rustic festival was held about the same time in honor of the
+maple-wine. Hither came the farmer and his dame, with their children and
+young neighbors, each carrying bunches of flowers. Older people came in
+their holiday dresses, some with baskets containing cakes, others tea
+and sugar, with which the farmer and his wife had plentifully supplied
+them; and joyfully did they rest a while on the green sward while young
+men gathered sticks, and, a bright fire having been kindled, the kettle
+sent up its bubbling steam.
+
+"'When this was ended, and few of the piled-up cakes remained--when,
+also, the young children had emptied their cans and rinsed them at the
+old stone trough into which rushed a full stream--tiny hands joyfully
+held up the small cans and bright eyes looked anxiously to the stem of
+the tall tree while the farmer warily cut an incision in the bark.
+
+"'What joy when a sweet watery juice began to trickle! and the farmer
+filled one small cup, then another, till all were satisfied and a
+portion sent to the older people, who were contentedly looking on from
+the grassy slope where they had seated themselves. The farmer's wife
+knew naught concerning the process for obtaining sugar, or else she
+might have sweetened her children's puddings from the watery liquid
+yielded by the sycamore, or greater maple--an art well known to the
+aboriginal tribes of North America.'"
+
+"Does that mean Indians, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm, with a wry face at
+the long word.
+
+"Yes," was the reply; "and I hope that you will feel properly grateful
+to these aborigines whenever you eat maple-sugar."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+_OLD ACQUAINTANCES: THE ELMS._
+
+Miss Harson had admonished her little flock that they must use their own
+eyes and be able to tell her things instead of depending altogether on
+her to tell them; so now they were all peering curiously among the trees
+to see which were putting on their new spring suits. The yellow trees
+and the pink trees had been readily distinguished, but, although the
+others had not been idle, it was not so easy for little people to
+discern their leaf-buds.
+
+Clara soon made a discovery, however, of what her governess had noticed
+for a day or two, and the wonder was found on their own home-elms, those
+stately trees which had shaded the house ever since it was built, and
+from which the place got its pretty name--Elmridge.
+
+"Well, dear," said Miss Harson, coming to the upper window from which an
+eager head was thrust, "what is it that you wish me to see?"
+
+"Those funny flowers on the bare elm trees," was the reply. "Look, Miss
+Harson! Didn't I see them first?"
+
+"You have certainly spoken of them first, for neither Malcolm nor Edith
+has said anything about them. But they must both come up here now, where
+they can see them, and Malcolm and I can manage to reach some of the
+blossoms by getting out of the broad window on to the little balcony."
+
+Up came the two children kangaroo-fashion in a series of jumps, and
+presently Miss Harson was holding a cluster of dark maroon-colored
+flowers in her hand.
+
+"How queer and dark they make the trees look!" said Malcolm; "and
+they're so thick that they 'most cover up the branches. They're
+like fringe."
+
+"A very good description," replied his governess. "And now I wish you
+all to examine the trees very thoroughly and tell me afterward what you
+have noticed about them; then we will go down to the schoolroom and see
+what the books will tell us in our talk about the American elm and its
+cousin of England."
+
+The books had a great deal to tell about them, but Miss Harson preferred
+to hear the children first.
+
+"What did my little Edith see when she looked out of the window?" she
+asked.
+
+"Stems of trees," was the reply, "with flowers on 'em."
+
+"A very good general idea," continued Miss Harson, "but perhaps Clara
+can tell us something more particular about the elms?"
+
+"They are very tall," said Clara, hesitatingly, "and they make it nice
+and shady in summer; and some of the branches bend over in such a lovely
+way! Papa calls one of them 'the plume.'"
+
+"And now Malcolm?"
+
+"The trunk--or big 'stem,' as Edie would call it--is very thick, and the
+branches begin low down, near the ground."
+
+"Some of them do," said his governess, "but many of the elms on your
+father's grounds are seventy feet high before the branches begin.
+Sometimes two or three trunks shoot up together and spread out at the
+top in light, feathery plumes like palm trees. The elm has a great
+variety of shapes; sometimes it is a parasol, when a number of branches
+rise together to a great height and spread out suddenly in the shape of
+an umbrella. This makes a very regular-looking and beautiful tree. For
+about three-quarters of the way up, the 'plume' of which Clara speaks
+has one straight trunk, which then bends over droopingly. Small twigs
+cluster around the trunk all the way from bottom to top and give the
+tree the appearance of having a vine twining about it. I think that the
+plume-shape is the prettiest and most odd-looking of all the elms.
+Another strange shape is the vase, which seems to rest on the roots that
+stand out above the ground. 'The straight trunk is the neck of the vase,
+and the middle consists of the lower part of the branches as they swell
+outward with a graceful curve, then gradually diverge until they bend
+over at their extremities and form the lip of the vase by a circle of
+terminal sprays.'"
+
+"Have we any trees that look like vases, Miss Harson?" asked Clara.
+
+"Yes," was the reply; "not far from Hemlock Lodge there is one which we
+will look at when the leaves are all out. But you must not expect to
+find a perfect vase-shape, for it is only an approach to it. The
+dome-shaped elm has a broad, round head, which is formed by the shooting
+forth of branches of nearly equal length from the same part of the
+trunk, which gradually spread outward with a graceful curve into the
+roof or dome that crowns the tree."
+
+"I know something else about our elms," said Malcolm: "some of the roots
+are on top of the ground. Isn't that very queer, Miss Harson?"
+
+[Illustration: WYCH-ELM LEAVES.]
+
+"Not for old elm trees, as this is quite a habit with them. Indeed, in
+many ways, the elm is so entirely different from other trees that it can
+be recognized at a great distance. It is both graceful and majestic,
+and is the most drooping of the drooping trees, except the willow, which
+it greatly surpasses in grandeur and in the variety of its forms. The
+green leaves are broad, ovate, heart-shaped, from two to four or five
+inches long. You can see their exact shape in this illustration. Their
+summer tint is very bright and vivid, but it turns in autumn to a sober
+brown, sometimes touched with a bright golden yellow, And now,"
+continued Miss Harson, "we will examine the flowers which we have here,
+and we see that each blossom is on a green, slender thread less than
+half an inch long, and that it consists of a brown cup parted into
+seven or eight divisions, rounded at the border and containing about
+eight brown stamens and a long compressed ovary surmounted by two short
+styles. This ripens into a flattened seed-vessel before the leaves are
+fully out, and the seeds, being small and chaffy, are wafted in all
+directions and carried to great distances by the wind."
+
+"Where does slippery elm come from?" asked Clara.
+
+"From another American species, dear, which is very much like the white
+elm that we have been considering. The slippery elm is a smaller tree,
+does not droop so much, and the trunk is smoother and darker. The leaves
+are thicker and very rough on the upper side. The inner bark contains a
+great deal of mucilage--that, I suppose, is the reason for its being
+called 'slippery'--and it has been extensively used as a medicine. The
+wood is very strong and preferred to that of the white elm for
+building-purposes, although the latter is considered the best native
+wood for hubs of wheels. There is a great elm tree on Boston Common
+which is over two hundred years old, and another in Cambridge called the
+'Washington Elm,' because near it or beneath its shade General
+Washington is said to have first drawn his sword on taking command of
+the American army. In 1744 the celebrated George Whitefield preached
+beneath this tree."
+
+"I'm glad we have elm trees here," said Malcolm, "though I s'pose nobody
+ever did anything in particular under ours."
+
+"You mean," replied his governess, laughing, "that they are not
+_historical_ trees; but they are certainly very fine ones. There is
+another species of elm, the English, which is often seen in this country
+too. It is a very large and stately tree, but not so graceful as our own
+elm. It is distinguished from the American elm by its bark, which is
+darker and much more broken; by having one principal stem, which soars
+upward to a great height; and by its branches, which are thrown out more
+boldly and abruptly and at a larger angle. Its limbs stretch out
+horizontally or tend upward with an appearance of strength to the very
+extremity; in the American elm they are almost universally drooping at
+the end. Its leaves are closer, smaller, more numerous and of a darker
+color. In England this tree is a great favorite with those black and
+solemn birds the rooks. The poet Hood writes of it as
+
+     "'The tall, abounding elm that grows
+       In hedgerows up and down,
+     In field and forest, copse and park,
+       And in the peopled town,
+     With colonies of noisy rooks
+       That nestle on its crown.'
+
+"Some of these English elms are very ancient and of an immense size; one
+of them, known as the 'Chequer Elm,' measures thirty-one feet around the
+trunk, of which only the shell is left. It was planted seven hundred
+years ago. The Chipstead Elm is fifteen feet around; the Crawley Elm,
+thirty-five. A writer says, 'The ample branches of the Crawley Elm
+shelter Mayday gambols while troops of rustics celebrate the opening of
+green leaves and flowers. Yet not alone beneath its shade, but within
+the capacious hollow which time has wrought in the old tree, young
+children with their posies and weak and aged people find shelter during
+the rustic _fetes_.'"
+
+"Does that mean that people can sit inside the tree?" asked Clara. "I
+wish we had one to play house in where Hemlock Lodge is."
+
+"That is one of the things, Clara," replied Miss Harson, "that people
+can have only in the place where they grow. In the South of England
+there is another great elm tree with a hollow trunk which has fitted
+into it a door fastened by a lock and key. A dozen people can be
+comfortably accommodated inside, and there is a story told of a woman
+and her infant who lived there for a time."
+
+"What a funny house!" said Malcolm. "Just like a woodpecker's."
+
+"Another great elm, near London, has a winding staircase cut within it,
+and a turret at the top where at least twenty persons can stand. One
+species of this tree, called the _wych-_, or _witch-_, elm, was believed
+by ignorant people to possess magical powers and to defend from the
+malice of witches the place on which it grew. Even now it is said that
+in remote parts of England the dairymaid flies to it as a resource on
+the days when she churns her butter. She gathers a twig from the tree
+and puts it into a little hole in the churn. If this practice were
+neglected, she confidently believes that she might go on churning all
+day without getting any butter."
+
+"Isn't that silly?" exclaimed Clara.
+
+"Very silly indeed," replied her governess; "but we must remember that
+the poor ignorant girl knows no better. The wood of the European elm is
+stronger than ours; it is hard and fine-grained, and brownish in color,
+and is much used in the building of ships, for hubs of wheels, axletrees
+and many other purposes. In France the leaves and shoots are used to
+feed cattle. In Russia the leaves of one variety are made into tea. The
+inner bark is in some places made into mats, and in Norway they
+kiln-dry it and grind it with corn as an ingredient in bread. So that
+the elm tree is almost as useful as it is beautiful."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+_MAJESTY AND STRENGTH: THE OAK_.
+
+"Here," said Miss Harson, "is a small branch from an oak tree containing
+the young leaves and the catkins, which come out together; for the oak
+belongs, like the willow and the maple, to the division of
+_amentaceous_ plants."
+
+"Oh dear!" sighed Clara at the hard name.
+
+But Malcolm repeated:
+
+"_Amentaceous_--_ament_. I know, Miss Harson: it's _catkins_"
+
+"Yes, it means trees which produce their flowers in catkins, or looking
+as if strung on long drooping stems; and the oak is the monarch of this
+family, and in Great Britain of all the forest-trees. It is especially
+an English tree, although our woods contain several varieties. But they
+do not hold the pre-eminence in our forests that the oaks do in those
+of England. The oak ordinarily runs more to breadth than to height, and
+spreads itself out to a vast distance with an air of strength and
+grandeur. This is its striking character and what gives it its peculiar
+appearance. Oaks do not always go straight out, but crook and bend to
+right and left, upward and downward, abruptly or with a gentle sweep.
+
+[Illustration: MALE CATKIN OF THE OAK.]
+
+[Illustration: THE OAK]
+
+"The white oak is the handsomest species, and takes its name from the
+very light color of the bark on the trunk, by which it is easily known.
+The leaves are long in proportion to the width and deeply divided into
+lobes, of which there are three or four on each side. There is a great
+variety in the shape of oak-leaves, those of our white oak being long
+and slender, while the red oak has very broad ones, and the foliage of
+the scarlet oak is almost skeleton-like. The chestnut oak has leaves
+almost exactly like those of the chestnut. The acorns of the different
+varieties, too, differ in size and shape.
+
+[Illustration: WHITE-OAK LEAF.]
+
+"There is so much to be said of the oak," continued Miss Harson, "it is
+such an ancient and venerable tree and has so many stories attached to
+it, that it is not easy to begin an account of it. The blossoms,
+perhaps, will be the best starting-point: and I should like to have you
+examine this branch and tell me if you see any difference in the
+blossoms."
+
+"They are nearly all alike," said Malcolm, "but here at the ends of the
+twigs are one or two that look like buds."'
+
+"That is just what I wanted you to notice," replied his governess, "for
+the flowers are of two kinds, one bearing the stamens, and the other the
+pistils. The flowers that bear the stamens grow on loose scaly catkins,
+as you may see in this branch. Those with the pistils are also in
+catkins, but very small, like a bud. The bud spreads into a little
+branchlet and bears the flowers at the tip. The calyx is not seen at
+first; it is a mere membrane covering the ovary. By degrees the ovary
+swells into the acorn and the membrane becomes part of the shell."
+
+"I like acorns," said little Edith, "they're so nice to play with."
+
+"But they're not nice to eat," said Clara.
+
+[Illustration: SQUIRREL AND ACORN]
+
+"Some animals think they are," continued Miss Harson. "If you should
+come here in October, you would find the squirrels feasting on them. In
+old times in England the oaks were valued highly on account of their
+acorns, and great herds of swine were driven into the forests to feed
+upon them. In the time of the Saxons a crop of acorns often formed a
+part of the dowry bestowed upon the Saxon queens, and the king himself
+would be glad to accept a gift or grant of acorns; and the failure of
+the crop would be considered as a kind of famine. In those days laws
+were made to protect the oaks from being felled or injured, and a man
+who cut down a tree under the shadow of which thirty hogs could stand
+was fined three pounds. The herds of swine were placed under the care of
+a swineherd, whose sole employment was to keep them together, and they
+formed a staple part of the riches of the country. But when the Norman
+kings began to rule, they brought with them a passionate love of hunting
+and took possession of the forests as preserves for their favorite
+sport. The herds of swine were forbidden to roam about as heretofore,
+and their owners were reduced to poverty in consequence."
+
+"Wasn't that wicked, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Yes; it was both unjust and cruel, and it was one of the great
+grievances of the nation. Even at this day the laws for the protection
+of game are one of the grounds of ill-feeling on the part of the poor
+toward the nobles. In Spain the acorns have the taste of nuts, and are
+sold in the markets as an article of food. They grow abundantly in the
+woods and forests. Once, in time of war, a foreign army subsisted almost
+entirely on them. Herds of swine range the forests in Spain and feed
+luxuriously upon acorns, and the salted meats of Malaga, that are famous
+for their delicate flavor, are thought to owe it to this cause. Some of
+our American Indians depend upon acorns and fish for their winter food;
+and when the acorns drop from the tree, they are buried in sand and
+soaked in water to draw out the bitter taste."
+
+"I shouldn't like them," said Clara, with a wry face at the thought of
+such food.
+
+"Well, dear," replied her governess, laughing, "as you are not an
+Indian, you will probably not be called upon to like them; but it would
+be better to eat acorns than to starve. You may have noticed the trunk
+and branches of the oak are often gnarled and knotted, and this helps to
+give the tree its appearance of great strength. It is just as strong as
+it looks, and for building-purposes it lasts longer than any other
+wood. Beams and rafters of oak are found in old English houses, showing
+among the brick-work, and many of these half-timbered houses, as they
+are called, were built hundreds of years ago.
+
+"Bedsteads and other articles of furniture, too, were 'built' in those
+days, rather than made, for they were not expected to be moved about;
+and a heavy oak bedstead is still in existence which is said to have
+belonged to King Richard III. It is curiously carved, and the king
+rested upon it the night before the battle of Bosworth Field, where he
+was killed. Clumsy as the bedstead was, he took it about with him from
+place to place; but after the fatal battle it passed into the hands of
+various owners, and nothing remarkable was discovered about it until the
+king had been dead a hundred years. By that time the bedstead had come
+into the possession of a woman who found a fortune in it. One morning,
+says the story, as she was making the bed, she heard a chinking sound,
+and saw, to her great delight, a piece of money drop on the floor. Of
+course she at once set about examining the bedstead, and found that the
+lower part of it was hollow and contained a treasure. Three hundred
+pounds--a fortune in those days--was brought to light, having remained
+hidden all those years. As King Richard was not there to claim his gold,
+the woman quickly possessed herself of it. But, as it happened, she had
+better have remained in ignorance and poverty. As soon as the matter
+became known one of her servants robbed her of the gold, and even caused
+her death. Thus it was said in the neighborhood that 'King Richard's
+gold' did nobody any good."
+
+The children were very much pleased with this story, and Malcolm said
+that he always liked to hear about people who found gold and things.
+
+"I think that I do, myself," replied Miss Harson, "although, as in this
+poor woman's case and in many others, gold is not the best thing to
+find. It often brings with it so much sorrow and sin as to be a curse to
+its owner. The only safe treasure is that laid up in heaven, where
+'neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break
+through nor steal,'
+
+"From the very earliest times the oak has been used for shipbuilding.
+The Saxons, we are told, kept a formidable fleet of vessels with curved
+bottoms and the prow and poop adorned with representations of the head
+and tail of some grotesque and fabulous creature. King Alfred had many
+vessels that carried sixty oars and were entirely of oak. A vessel
+supposed to be of his time has been discovered in the bed of a river in
+Kent, and after the lapse of so many centuries it is as sound as ever
+and as hard as iron."
+
+"Do oak trees ever have apples on 'em?" asked Clara. "In a story that I
+read there was something about 'oak-apples.'"
+
+[Illustration: THE OAK-GALL INSECT (_Cynips_).]
+
+"They are not apples such as we eat, or fruit in any sense," said her
+governess. "They are the work of a species of fly called _Cynips_, which
+is very apt to attack the oak. 'The female insect is armed with a sharp
+weapon called an _ovipositor_, which she plunges into a leaf and makes
+a wound. Here she lays her eggs; and when she has done so, she flies
+away and we hear no more of her. But the wound she has made disturbs the
+circulation of the sap. It flows round and round the eggs as though it
+had met with some foreign body it would fain remove. Very soon the eggs
+are in the midst of a ball-like and fleshy chamber--the most suitable
+provision for them, and one which the parent-insect had provided by
+means of puncturing the leaf. As the eggs are hatched the grubs will
+find themselves safely housed and in the midst of an abundance
+of food.'"
+
+[Illustration: OAK-APPLES.]
+
+"Well," exclaimed Malcolm, in great disgust, "_apple_ is a queer name
+for a ball full of little flies!"
+
+"It's a very pretty ball, though," said Miss Harson, "with a smooth skin
+and tinged with red or yellow, like a ripe apple. If it is cut open, a
+number of granules are seen, each containing a grub embedded in a
+fruit-like substance. The grub undergoes its transformation, and in due
+course emerges a perfect insect. These pretty pink-and-white apples used
+to be gathered by English boys on the twenty-ninth of May, which was
+called 'Oak-Apple Day.'"
+
+"Did they eat 'em?" asked Edith.
+
+"I do not see how they could, dear," was the reply; "they were probably
+gathered just to look at. Yet 'May-apples,' which grow, you will
+remember, on the wild azalea and the swamp honeysuckle, are often eaten,
+and they are formed in the same way; so we will not be too positive
+about the oak-apples."
+
+"What are oak-_galls_, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm. "Are they the same
+as oak-apples?"
+
+"Not quite the same," was the reply, although both are produced by the
+same insect. This is what one of our English books says of them: 'When
+the acorn itself is wounded, it becomes a kind of monstrosity, and
+remains on the stalk like an irregularly-shaped ball. It is called a
+"nut-gall," and is found principally on a small oak, a native of the
+southern and central parts of Europe. All these oak-apples and nut-galls
+are of importance, but the latter more especially, and they form an
+important article of commerce. A substance called "gallic acid" resides
+in the oak; and when the puncture is made by the cynips, it flows in
+great abundance to the wound. Gallic acid is one of the ingredients used
+in dyeing stuffs and cloths, and therefore the supply yielded by the
+nut-gall is highly welcome. The nut-galls are carefully collected from
+the small oak on which they are found, the Pyreneean oak. It is easily
+known by the dense covering of down on the young leaves, that appear
+some weeks later than the leaves of the common oak. The galls are
+pounded and boiled, and into the infusion thus made the stuffs about to
+be dyed are dipped,'"
+
+"I should think," said Clara, "that people would plant oak trees
+everywhere, when they are so useful. Is anything done with the bark?"
+
+"Yes," said her governess; "the bark, which is very rough, is valuable
+for tanning leather and for medicine. The element which has the effect
+of turning raw hide or skin into leather is called _tannin_; it is also
+found in the bark of some other trees and in tropical plants."
+
+"Didn't people use to worship oak trees," asked Malcolm--"people who
+lived ever so long ago?"
+
+"You are thinking of the Druids, who lived in old times in Britain and
+Gaul," replied Miss Harson, "and whose strange heathen rites were
+practiced in oak-groves; and they really did consider the tree sacred.
+These Druids have left their traces in some parts of England and France
+in rows of huge stones set upright; and wherever an immense stone was
+found lying on two others, in the shape of a table, there had been a
+Druid altar, where the priest offered sacrifices, often of human beings.
+So horrible may be a so-called religion that men themselves devise,
+and that has not come from the true God.
+
+[Illustration: DRUIDIC SACRIFICE.]
+
+"It was an article in the Druids' creed, and one to which they strictly
+adhered, that no temple with a covered roof was to be built in honor of
+the gods. All the places appointed for public worship were in the open
+air, and generally on some eminence from which the moon and stars might
+be observed; for to the heavenly bodies much adoration was offered. But
+to afford shelter from wind or rain, and also to ensure privacy and shut
+out all external objects, the place fixed upon, either for teaching
+their disciples or for carrying out the rites of their idolatrous
+worship, was in the recess of some grove or wood. An oak-grove was
+supposed to be the favorite of the gods whom they ignorantly worshiped,
+and therefore the Druids declared the oak to be a sacred tree. The Druid
+priest always bound a wreath of oak-leaves on his forehead before he
+would perform any religious ceremony. One of these ceremonies was to go
+in search of the mistletoe, which sometimes grows on the oak and was
+considered as sacred as the tree itself, being much used in their
+worship. One priest would climb to the branch on which the misletoe was
+growing and cut it with a golden knife, while another priest stood below
+and held out his white robe to receive it.
+
+"These sacred groves were all cut down by the Romans, who waged fierce
+war against the Druids, and nothing is left of them now but the circles
+of stones that formed their temples. At a place called Stonehenge,
+'cromlechs,' or altar-tables, are still standing, and very ancient oaks
+stood in a circle round these stones for many centuries after the Druids
+were swept away."
+
+"Miss Harson," said Clara when all had expressed their horror of the
+Druids and rejoiced that they _were_ swept away, "are there any oak
+trees in the Bible?"
+
+"Look and see," was the reply; "and first you may find Genesis xxxv. 4."
+
+Clara read:
+
+"'And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their
+hands, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid
+them under the _oak_ which was by Shechem.'"
+
+"In the eighth verse of the same chapter," said Miss Harson, "we read
+that Rebekah's nurse was buried under an oak at Bethel. We are told in
+the book of Joshua[2] that 'Joshua took a great stone and set it up
+there under an _oak_, that was by the sanctuary of the Lord;' and in
+Judges[3], 'There came an angel of the Lord and sat under an _oak_ which
+was in Ophrah.'--Malcolm, you may read Second Samuel, eighteenth
+chapter, ninth verse."
+
+[2] Josh. xxiv. 26.
+
+[3] Judg. vi. II.
+
+Malcolm read:
+
+"'And Absalom met the servants of David. And Absalom rode upon a mule,
+and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great _oak_, and his head
+caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the
+earth; and the mule that was under him went away.'"
+
+"Poor Absalom!" said Edith, softly. "Wasn't that dreadful?"
+
+"Yes, dear," replied her governess, "it _was_ dreadful; but it is still
+more dreadful that Absalom was such a wicked man. In Isaiah[4] we read
+of the oaks of Bashan, that, like the cedars of Lebanon, were 'high and
+lifted up,' and the oaks of Bashan are mentioned again in Zechariah[5].
+Several varieties of the oak are found in Palestine.
+
+[4] Isa. ii. 13.
+
+[5] Zech. xi. 2.
+
+[Illustration: ABRAHAM'S OAK, NEAR HEBRON.]
+
+"In his _Ride Through Palestine_, Dr. Dulles tells of a great oak near
+Hebron known as 'Abraham's oak,' supposed to occupy the ground where the
+patriarch pitched his tent under the oaks of Mamre. It is an aged tree,
+and a grand one. Here is a picture of it, from the _Ride_[6]. The crests
+and sides of the hills beyond the Jordan are still clothed, as in
+ancient times, with magnificent oaks.
+
+[6] See page 85
+
+"We get a good idea of the strength and durability of this wood from the
+fact that there is an old wooden church near Ongar, in Essex, the nave
+of which is composed of half logs of oak roughly fastened by wooden
+pegs. The ancient fabric dates back to the time of King Edmund, who was
+slain by the robber Leolf in the year A.D. 946. The oaken church was
+hurriedly put together--according to report--in order to make a
+temporary receptacle for the body of the murdered prince on its way to
+burial. Be that as it may, it was afterward used as a parish church,
+and, though the oaken logs are corroded by the weather, they are still
+sound, and, having been beaten by the storms of a thousand winters, bid
+fair to defy those of a thousand more."
+
+"I should think, then," said Malcolm, "that people would always build
+their houses with oak if it lasts so long."
+
+"Yet they do not do this even in England," was the reply, "where the
+trees grow to such an immense size and the ancient buildings still in
+existence prove the great endurance of the oak. Now brick and stone and
+iron are used, which outlast any wood. And now," continued Miss Harson,
+"I am going to tell you something about a foreign species of this tree
+which I am sure will surprise you. It is found in the South of Europe
+and in Algeria, and is called the _cork oak_."
+
+"'The _cork_ oak'!" exclaimed Clara, quite as much surprised as she was
+expected to be. "Do the corks that come in bottles grow on it?"
+
+"Not just in that shape, dear, but they are made from its bark. The
+outside bark, or _epidermis_, consists of a thin, transparent,
+tissue-like substance, which covers not only the bark, but the whole of
+the tree, stem, leaves and branches, and beneath the epidermis is found
+a layer of cellular tissue, generally green. It covers the trunk and
+branches, fills up the spaces between the veins of the leaves and
+contains the sap, which flows in canals arranged for it in the most
+beautiful and wonderful manner. In one species of oak this layer--which
+is called the _suber_--assumes a peculiar character and is of remarkable
+thickness. When the tree is some five years old, its whole energy is
+directed toward the increase of the suber. A mass of cells is formed
+with great rapidity, and layer upon layer is added, until that part of
+the trunk grows so unwieldy that it would crack and split of its own
+accord. But such a thing is rarely allowed to happen: the suber is of
+too much value to man. After it is taken from the tree and has undergone
+due preparation, it appears in our shops and houses under the name
+of _cork_"
+
+"I should like to see how they get it," said Malcolm.
+
+"The trunk is regularly marked around in deep cuts, which begin close
+to the branches and go down almost to the roots. A ladder is used to
+mount to the upper part of the trunk, and the cuts, or incisions, are
+made with a long knife or with an axe. Then they strip off the sheets of
+cork between the circles. This operation is a very delicate one, and
+requires much care and skill lest the inner part should be injured. If
+the operation is carried out successfully, the cork-like substance will
+grow again and become as abundant as ever.
+
+"The next thing to be done to the pieces of bark is partially to burn,
+or char, them, and also to make them quite flat, as they come from the
+trunk in a rounded shape. The burning makes the pores close up, so that
+the liquid in a vessel for which it is used as a stopper cannot come
+through; and this is done over a brisk fire, in what is called a
+_burning-yard_. Another process, called _rounding_, removes every trace
+of the fire, unless the cork has been too much burned, and then, having
+already been flattened by the pressure of heavy stones, it is ready for
+the cork-maker, who cuts the material first into strips and then into
+squares according to the size of corks wanted.
+
+"Cork is very light and elastic, and can be used successfully in
+contrivances for the rescue of men from the perils of the deep. The cork
+jacket and the lifeboat have been the means of saving many lives, for
+cork will float on the surface of the water and bear up the person
+wearing the jacket and the shipwrecked people in the lifeboat. 'The
+shallowness of the boat and the bulk of cork within allow but little
+room for water; so that even when filled it is in no danger of
+overturning or sinking, like other crafts. Also, the lifeboat can move
+across the waves with perfect safety, and can make its way from one
+object to another in a broken sea as easily as an ordinary boat can pass
+from one ship to another.'"
+
+The children declared that the cork-oak was the best tree of all, but
+they agreed with their governess that the entire oak family was made up
+of grand and useful trees.
+
+"Our American oaks," said Miss Harson, "are very handsome in autumn
+because of their brilliant foliage; the _scarlet oak_, which turns to a
+deep crimson and keeps its leaves longer than any of the other forest
+trees, is the most showy of the species. But we have no cork oaks, and
+no oaks that we know to be a thousand years old. There was once a famous
+oak in this country, called the 'Charter Oak,' which fell to the ground
+in August, 1856, before any of us were born. I wonder if you would like
+to hear the story about it?"
+
+This question was thought extremely funny by three such devourers of
+stories as the little Kyles, and they eagerly assured their governess
+that they would like it.
+
+"If that is really the case," continued Miss Harson, smiling at the
+excited faces, "I must tell you the history of
+
+"THE CHARTER OAK.
+
+"This tree grew in Hartford, Connecticut, and it is said that before the
+English governor Wyllis went there to live his steward, whom he had
+sent on before to get a house ready for him, came near cutting down this
+very oak. He was clearing away the trees around it on the hillside when
+a party of Indians appeared and begged him to leave that particular
+tree, because, they said, 'it had been the guide of their ancestors for
+centuries.' So the oak was spared; even then it was old and hollow.
+
+"King Charles II. granted the people of Connecticut a very liberal
+charter of rights, which was publicly read in the Assembly at Hartford
+and declared to belong for ever to them and their successors. A
+committee was appointed to take charge of it, under a solemn oath that
+they would preserve this palladium of the rights of the people.
+
+"When James II., the tyrannical brother of Charles II., came to the
+throne, he changed the government of New England and ordered the people
+of Connecticut to give up their charter. This they refused to do; and
+when a third command from the king had been sent to them, they called a
+special meeting of the Assembly, under their own governor, Treat, and
+resolved to hold on to the charter which had been given them.
+
+"On the 31st of October, 1687, Sir Edmund Andros, attended by members of
+his council and a bodyguard of sixty soldiers, entered Hartford to take
+the charter by force. The General Assembly was in session; he was
+received with courtesy, but with coldness. He entered the assembly-room
+and publicly demanded the charter. Remonstrances were made, and the
+session was protracted till evening. The governor and his associates
+appeared to yield. The charter was brought in and laid upon the table.
+Sir Edmund thought that he had succeeded, when suddenly the lights were
+all put out, and total darkness followed. There was no noise, no
+conflict, but all was quiet. When the candles were again lighted, _the
+charter was gone_! Sir Edmund was disconcerted. He declared the
+government of Connecticut to be in his own hands, and that the colony
+was annexed to Massachusetts and the other New England colonies, and
+proceeded to appoint officers. Captain Jeremiah Wadsworth, a patriot of
+those times, had hidden the charter in the hollow of Wyllis's oak,
+whence it was afterward known as the Charter Oak."
+
+"Then the English governor couldn't get it!" exclaimed Malcolm,
+delightedly. "Wasn't that splendid?"
+
+"It was a grand hiding-place, certainly, for no one would think of
+looking inside a tree for such a thing as that, and they were grand men
+who preserved their country's liberties in those trying times. But more
+peaceful years were at hand. About eighteen months after the charter had
+disappeared so mysteriously, the tyrant James II. was compelled to give
+up his throne to his daughter and son-in-law, the prince and princess of
+Orange, and Governor Treat and his associates again took the government
+of Connecticut under the old charter, which the hollow oak had
+faithfully kept from harm. No tree in our whole country has received
+more attention than this historic Hartford oak; and when, at last, its
+mere shell of a trunk was laid low by a storm, it seemed as if a large
+part of the city had been swept away.
+
+"Ancient oaks are apt to be almost entirely without branches; the huge
+trunk, with an opening at the top, and often with one also at the
+bottom, stands like a maimed giant, just tottering, perhaps, to its
+fall, because of the decay going on within, while outside all seems fair
+and sound. It was so with the Charter Oak; and when this monarch of the
+forest was unexpectedly laid low, rich and poor, great and small, were
+gathered to mourn its loss. A dirge was played and all the bells in the
+city were tolled at sundown, for this monument of the past was a link
+gone that could not be replaced."
+
+"Thank you, Miss Harson," said Clara; "_true_ stories are so nice! But I
+wish I had seen the Charter Oak before it was blown down."
+
+"You could not have done that, dear," was the reply, "unless you had
+been born about thirty years sooner."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+_BEAUTY AND GRACE: THE ASH_.
+
+"What tree comes next, Miss Harson?" asked Clara, on an April day that
+was mild enough for the piazza. "You told us so many interesting things
+about the oak that I suppose we needn't expect to hear of another tree
+like that."
+
+"No," was the reply; "not just like that, perhaps, for the oak is grand
+and venerable above all our familiar trees, but the ash, which is more
+especially an American tree, belongs to a large and interesting family,
+and I am quite sure that you will very much like to hear something about
+it. I have put it next to the oak because there is a sort of rivalry
+between the two as to which can get on its spring dress the soonest, and
+an old English rhyme says,
+
+     "'If the oak's before the ash,
+     Then you may expect a splash;
+     But if the ash is 'fore the oak,
+     Then you must beware a soak.'"
+
+"That must mean," said Malcolm, after considering this rather puzzling
+verse, "that it'll rain any way."
+
+"I think it does," replied Miss Harson, with a smile at Malcolm's air of
+deep thought, "and it is quite safe to say that in England. But, as 'a
+soak' sounds more serious than 'a splash,' it is to be hoped that the
+ash will not get ahead of the oak. I do not know what they are doing in
+England this year, but here the oak is a day or two ahead. The foliage
+of the ash is entirely different, as it has _pinnate_ leaves, which
+means leaves arranged in two rows, one on each side of a common stem, or
+_petiole_, like--What, Clara?"
+
+"Rose-leaves," was the prompt reply.
+
+"And leaves of the locust trees on the other side of the road," added
+Malcolm.
+
+[Illustration: THE COMMON ASH.]
+
+"And the sumac," said their governess, "and a number of others that
+might be mentioned. This kind of foliage is always graceful, and the
+ash is one of our largest and handsomest trees. It is said to be more
+common in America than in any other part of the globe. In Europe,
+because of its beauty, it is called the painter's tree. It is a
+particularly neat and regular-looking tree, and its smooth gray trunk
+is higher than that of most trees before any branches appear. Where is
+there a tree on the grounds answering this description, Malcolm?"
+
+"Down at the end of the vegetable-garden," was the reply, "and close
+beside the laundry."
+
+[Illustration: AMERICAN WHITE ASH.]
+
+"Yes; you are really learning to distinguish trees very well. There are
+several species--the white, red, black and mountain ash. The white ash
+is a graceful tree, rising in the forest to the height of seventy or
+eighty feet, with a straight trunk and a diameter of three feet or more
+at the base. On an open plain it throws out its branches, with a gentle
+double curvature, to a distance on every side, and forms a broad, round
+head of great beauty. The flowers of the ash are greenish white in color
+and appear with the leaves in loose clusters. 'The trunk of our largest
+American ash is covered with a whitish bark which in very young trees is
+nearly smooth; on older trees it is broken by deep furrows into
+irregular plates, and on very old stems it becomes smooth again, from
+the rough plates scaling off. The branches are grayish green dotted with
+gray or white.' Now who can tell _me_ something about this tree?"
+
+"I know that furniture is made of the wood," said Clara, "because that
+pretty set in the large spare-room is ash. And it is very
+light-colored."
+
+"The wood is used for a great many things," replied Miss Harson, "and
+the ash has been called the husbandman's tree because the timber is so
+much in demand for farming-implements, and for articles that need to be
+both strong and light. It does not last so long as the oak, but it is
+more elastic and can better resist sudden shocks and jerks; it is
+therefore particularly desirable for the spokes of wheels and ladders
+and the beams of floors. Staircases were made of it in olden times, and
+they may still be found in some English halls and abbeys. The forest ash
+makes better oars than any other wood, and the tree has so many good
+qualities that an old English poet spoke of it as
+
+     "'The ash for nothing ill.'
+
+"But Malcolm looks as if he had something to say, and I shall be very
+happy to hear it."
+
+"It is only about the red berries that they bear in autumn, Miss Harson;
+it looks queer to see berries growing on a tree."
+
+"The mountain ash is the only one that has berries," replied his
+governess, "and the bloom is in clusters of white flowers. The berries
+are sometimes dark red and often of a bright scarlet, and they remain on
+the tree during the winter, to the great delight of the birds. We should
+find them very sour, although pretty to look at; but the little
+feathered wanderers eat them with great relish when the snows of winter
+make bird-food scarce and the bright-red berries gleam out most
+invitingly. In some parts of Europe the berries are dried and ground
+into flour. The rowan, or roan, tree is the English name of the mountain
+ash, and in some parts of Great Britain it is called _witchen_, because
+of its supposed power against witches and evil spirits and all their
+spells. In old times branches of it were hung about houses and stables
+and cow-sheds, for it was thought that
+
+             "'witches have no power
+     Where there is roan-tree wood.'"
+
+"But that isn't true, is it?" asked Edith.
+
+"No, dear, not true of either the witches or the wood. But ignorant
+people believe a great many foolish things, and the leaves and twigs of
+the ash tree were thought to have peculiar virtue. In some places it was
+once the practice to pluck an ash-leaf in every case where the leaflets
+were of even number, and to say,
+
+     "'Even ash, I do thee pluck,
+     Hoping thus to meet good luck;
+     If no luck I get from thee,
+     Better far be on the tree.'"
+
+"It sounds like what children say on finding a four-leafed clover," said
+Clara.
+
+"It is on the same principle," was the reply, "for clover-leaves grow
+naturally in threes and ash-leaves in sevens. Both rhymes are equally
+silly where luck is concerned, and those who believe God's words--that
+even 'the hairs of our head are all numbered'--will have no faith in
+'luck.' In old times the ash was believed to perform wonderful cures of
+various kinds, and in remote parts of England a little mouse called the
+shrew-mouse bore a very bad character. If a horse or cow had pains in
+its limbs, they were said to be caused by a shrew-mouse running over it.
+Our forefathers provided themselves with what they called a shrew-ash,
+in order to meet the case. The shrew-ash was nothing more than an ash
+tree in the trunk of which a hole had been bored and a poor little
+shrew-mouse put in, with many charms and incantations happily long since
+forgotten."
+
+"And couldn't the poor little mouse get out again?" asked Edith.
+
+"I am afraid not, dear; and we can only rejoice that we did not live in
+those dark days. Among other beliefs in its virtues, the leaves and
+wood of the ash were regarded throughout Northern Europe as a protection
+from all manner of snakes, and in harvest-time children were suspended
+in their cradles from the branches of tall ash trees while their mothers
+were working in the harvest-field below. Even now serpents are said to
+dislike the tree so much that they will not come near it, and the leaf
+is considered a cure for the bite of a poisonous snake. I have been told
+that an ash-leaf rubbed on a mosquito-bite will at once take out the
+sting and itching, and no better remedy can be found for the sting of a
+bee or a wasp."
+
+"It's ever so much nicer than mud," said Clara, who had rather a talent
+for getting into hornets' nests.
+
+"But the mud, you see, is always to be had," replied Miss Harson, "while
+ash-leaves do not grow everywhere; and I do not know that they have any
+power to cure the sting.
+
+"The other species of ash found in this country are not so important as
+the white, but the black ash is remarkable as the slenderest deciduous
+tree of its height to be found in the forest. It is often seventy or
+eighty feet tall, with a trunk not more than a foot around. The color of
+the trunk is a dark granite-gray and the bark is rough. The wood is
+remarkable for its toughness, and for making baskets the Indians prefer
+it to any other, except the trunk of a young white oak.
+
+"The red ash is very much like the white, but the wood is less valuable.
+It is a spreading, broad-headed tree, and the trunk is erect and
+branching. It is not so tall as the black ash, yet its trunk is three
+times as thick.
+
+"A species of ash grows in Sicily that yields a substance called _manna_
+which used to be valuable as a medicine, and this manna is obtained in
+the same way as maple-sap--by making holes or incisions in the bark of
+the tree. At the proper season the persons whose business it is to
+collect manna begin to make incisions, one after the other, up the stem.
+The manna flows out like clear water, but it soon congeals and becomes
+a solid substance. It has a sweet taste, and while in a liquid state
+runs into a leaf of the tree that has been inserted in the wound.
+Afterward it flows into a vessel placed below, from which it is carried
+away and shipped off to other countries."
+
+"Is there any story about the ash?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Not much of a story, dear," was the reply--"only a little legend of the
+manna trees; but, such as it is, you shall have it:
+
+"The king of Naples, it is said, fenced a number of trees round and
+forbade any to collect the store they yielded unless they paid a
+tribute. By this means the royal revenue would be largely increased.
+But, according to the story, the manna trees, as if they disapproved of
+this ungenerous arrangement, refused to yield any manna, and suddenly
+became bare and barren. Upon this the king, finding his scheme a
+failure, revoked the tax and took away the fence. Then the trees poured
+out their manna, as usual, in the greatest abundance; so that it was
+said, 'When the king found he could not make a gain of what Providence
+had freely bestowed, he gave up the attempt and left the manna as free
+as God had given it.'
+
+[Illustration: THE SWING.]
+
+"There, now!" said Miss Harson; "after this long talk, you had better
+run off and see if there is not a tree somewhere on the grounds, with
+two ropes attached to it, that will bear better fruit than any tree we
+have studied yet."
+
+The trio laughed and raced for the swing, which was first reached by
+Clara, who seated herself all ready for the push which Malcolm would not
+grudge, for he pronounced his sister sweeter than apple or peach; and
+so she was.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+_THE OLIVE TREE_.
+
+"The ash," said Miss Harson, "has some relations of which, I think, you
+will be rather surprised to hear. These relations are both trees and
+shrubs, and the lilac, for instance, is one of them."
+
+"Why, they don't look a bit alike," exclaimed Clara.
+
+"No, they certainly do not; for, although this fragrant shrub often
+grows as large as a tree, it is quite different from the ash tree. Yet
+both belong to the olive family."
+
+"The kind of olives that papa likes to eat at dinner, and that you and I
+_don't_ like, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"The very same," replied his governess; "only that we are speaking now
+of the tree on which the olives grow. It is well said that the very name
+of 'olive' suggests the idea of Palestine and the sunny lands of the
+East. The olive tree is one of the most prominent trees of the Bible. It
+is mentioned in the very earliest part of the Scriptures, in the book of
+Genesis. I wonder if some one can tell me about it?"
+
+"I remember: a dove found a leaf when it was raining and brought it to
+Noah in the ark," said little Edith, quickly.
+
+"The rain had stopped falling, dear, after the deluge, and the waters
+were receding, or falling, when Noah sent forth the dove a second time
+to see what it would find. Here is the verse: 'And the dove came in to
+him in the evening; and lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off;
+so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth[7].' For
+this reason the olive-branch is a common emblem of peace. The olive tree
+is often mentioned in other parts of the Bible, and was considered one
+of the most valuable trees of Palestine, which is described as 'a land
+of oil-olive and honey.' It is not nearly so handsome as some other
+trees of the Holy Land, nor is it grand-looking or graceful. The
+leaves, which are long for the width, and smooth, are dark green on the
+upper side and silvery beneath; they generally grow in pairs. The fruit
+is shaped like a plum; it is green when first formed, then paler in
+color; and when quite ripe, it is black."
+
+[7] Gen. viii. 9.
+
+"But those that papa eats are olive-color," said Clara.
+
+"Yes," replied Miss Harson, smiling, "but all these hues I have
+mentioned are olive-color in some stage of the fruit; and it is in the
+green stage, before it is quite ripe, that it is gathered for
+preserving."
+
+"But that isn't _preserves_, is it?" asked Malcolm, drawing up his mouth
+at the recollection of an olive he had once tried to eat. "I thought
+preserves were always sweet."
+
+"That is the shape in which you are accustomed to them, Malcolm; but to
+preserve a thing means to keep it from decay, and salt and vinegar will
+do this as well as sugar. Preserves of this kind are what _you_ call
+'puckery.'--As to the color, Clara, 'olive-green' is a color by itself,
+because of its peculiar tint. It is a gray green instead of a blue or
+yellow green, and it has a very dull effect. The fruit is produced only
+once in two years, and in bearing-season the tree is loaded with white
+blossoms that drop to the ground like flakes of snow. It is said that
+not one in a hundred of these numerous flowers becomes an olive. Here,"
+continued Miss Harson, pointing to a page of a book in her hand, "is a
+representation of an olive-branch with some of the plum-shaped fruit.
+The branch, you see, is hard and stiff-looking."
+
+[Illustration: OLIVE-BRANCH WITH FRUIT.]
+
+"I should think the tree would be prettier when all those white flowers
+are on it," said little Edith.
+
+"It is--much prettier," replied her governess--"but not so useful. The
+fruit of the olive is so valuable that numbers of people depend upon it
+for their support. The wood, too, is very hard and durable, and, as it
+takes a fine polish, it is used for making many ornamental articles."
+
+"And where does the olive-oil come from?" asked Clara. "Do they make
+holes in the tree for it, as they do for maple-sap?"
+
+Malcolm was about to exclaim at this idea, but he remembered just in
+time that, should Miss Harson happen to question him, he himself could
+not tell where the oil came from.
+
+"The oil is pressed from the olives," was the reply; "a large, vigorous
+tree is said to yield a thousand pounds of it. It is such an important
+article of commerce in the regions where it is prepared that every one
+desires to get as much as he can out of his olive trees, but those who
+are too greedy of gain will spoil the quality of the oil to make a
+larger quantity. The small olive of Syria is considered the most
+delicate, and Italian olives also are very fine; those of Spain are
+larger and coarser. The best olive-oil comes from the south-eastern
+portion of France and is a clear, pure liquid; it is obtained from the
+first pressing of the fruit. This must be only a gentle squeeze, to get
+the purest oil: the quality usually sold is made by a heavier pressure;
+and then, when the olives are worked over again, come the dregs, which
+are not fit for table-use."
+
+"Do they mash 'em, like making apples into cider?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Something like that; and the olive-farmers take the most anxious care
+of their orchards, for they know that the more olives the more oil.
+This with the Italians means a living, and one of their proverbs says,
+'If you wish to leave a competency to your grandchildren, plant an
+olive.' The poorest of the fruit is eaten in their own families, 'to
+save it,' and, as it does not taste so well, it will go much farther.
+They do not eat olives, though, as we see them eaten--one or two as a
+relish; but a respectable dishful is provided for each person, instead
+of the bread and potatoes which they do not have."
+
+"I'd rather have the bread and potatoes," said Clara, "and I'm glad that
+I don't have to eat a whole plate of olives."
+
+"If you had always been accustomed to having olives, as the Italians
+are," replied Miss Harson, "you would think them very nice. I do not
+suppose that their children ever think how much more inviting are the
+olives that are kept for sale. Olives intended for exportation are
+gathered while still green, usually in the month of October. They are
+soaked for some hours in the strongest lye, to get rid of their
+bitterness, and are afterward allowed to stand for a fortnight in
+frequently-changed fresh water, in order to be perfectly purified of the
+lye. It only then remains to preserve them in common salt and water,
+when they are ready for export."
+
+"That's what they taste of," exclaimed Malcolm--"salt; and I don't like
+salt things."
+
+"I think," said his governess, with a smile, "that I have seen a boy
+whom I know enjoying sliced ham and tongue very much indeed."
+
+"So I do, Miss Harson," was the eager reply; "but ham and tongue, you
+know, don't taste like olives."
+
+"No, because they are ham and tongue. But they certainly taste salty,
+and that is what you object to. It is generally found that sweeping
+assertions are not very safe ones. But to come back to our olive tree:
+it is an evergreen, and it grows very easily. The readiness with which a
+twig will take root reminds us of the willow. A fine grove of olive
+trees at Messa, in Morocco, was accidentally planted. It is said that
+one of the kings of the dynasty of Saddia, being on a military
+expedition, encamped here with his army. The pegs with which the cavalry
+picketed their horses were cut from olive trees in the neighborhood,
+and, some sudden cause of alarm leading to the abandonment of the
+position, the pegs were left in the ground. Making the best of the
+situation, the pegs developed into the handsomest group of olive trees
+in the district."
+
+The children wondered if any trees had ever been planted in such a
+strange way before, and little Edith said thoughtfully,
+
+"But, Miss Harson, why don't good people go around and plant trees
+wherever there aren't any? It would be so nice!"
+
+"Some good people do plant trees, dear, wherever they can," replied her
+governess, "thinking, as they say, of those who are to come after them;
+a great many roadside trees have grown in this way. But no one is
+allowed to meddle with other people's property; waste-places might
+easily be beautified with trees if the owners cared for anything but for
+their own present interests. But here is something you will like to
+hear about the olives of Palestine: 'They are all planted together in
+the grove like the trees in a forest, and it would seem scarcely
+possible for the owners to distinguish their own property. But when the
+fruit is getting ripe, watchmen are appointed to guard the grove and
+prevent a single olive from being touched even by the person who has a
+right to the tree.'--You do not look as if you would like
+that, Malcolm."
+
+[Illustration: OLIVE TREE.--GATHERING THE FRUIT.]
+
+"Indeed I wouldn't!" replied the boy. "I rather think I'd take my own
+olives whenever I wanted 'em."
+
+"Not if you lived where all were agreed on this point, as they seem to
+be in Palestine.--'Days pass on, and the autumn is at hand before the
+governor of the district issues the wished-for proclamation; then the
+watchmen are removed. Immediately the scene becomes a most animated one.
+The grove is alive with an eager throng of men, women and children
+shaking down the precious fruit. It is, however, scarcely possible to
+bring every berry down, nor would it seem desirable, since after this
+great harvest comes the gleaning-time, when the poor, who have no olive
+trees, are permitted to come into the grove and shake down what
+is left.'"
+
+"Isn't there something about that in the Bible, Miss Harson?" asked
+Clara.
+
+"Yes; it is in the book of the prophet Isaiah, 'Yet gleaning grapes
+shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three
+berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost
+fruitful branches thereof, saith the Lord God of Israel[8].' This is a
+prophecy about God's people, but the Jews were told by God to leave
+something, when they were harvesting, for the poor to glean. Does it not
+seem wonderful that the mighty Ruler of the universe should condescend
+to such small things? But nothing is small with him, and we see that his
+loving care extends to the poorest and the meanest."
+
+[8] Isa. xvii. 6.
+
+"Miss Harson," asked Edith, with great earnestness, "has each of our
+hairs got a number on it? I couldn't find any."
+
+The young lady could scarcely keep from smiling, but she was obliged to
+call Malcolm to order, and even Clara seemed amused at her little
+sister's queer interpretation of the loving words, "The very hairs of
+your head are all numbered."
+
+Miss Harson took her youngest pupil on her knee and explained to her the
+meaning of our Saviour's words in Luke xii. 7, where it is added, "Fear
+not,", because the heavenly Father's loving care is always around us.
+
+"It was a natural mistake," she continued, "for a very little girl to
+make; but we must not try to find amusement in mistakes about God's
+word. Many grown people are irreverent in this way without knowing it:
+perhaps they were not properly taught when they were children. But _my_
+children must not have this excuse, and I want them all to promise me
+that they will never utter nor listen to words from the Bible in any
+other but a reverent manner."
+
+All promised, Malcolm with a flushed face and subdued tone; and Edith
+felt that one of the great puzzles of her small existence had
+been solved.
+
+"Oil is the most important product of the olive tree," said Miss Harson,
+"and it has well been called its richness and fatness. The great demand
+for it in Europe and Asia prevents the best quality from being sent
+abroad, and it is said that even the most wealthy foreigners seldom get
+it pure. It is a most important article of food, taking the place held
+by butter and lard with us. Innumerable lamps, too, are kept burning by
+means of this oil, and so varied are its uses in the East that it was a
+greater thing than we can understand for the prophet Habakkuk to say,
+'Although the labor of the olive shall fail, ... yet will I rejoice in
+the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.' Job says, 'The rock
+poured me out rivers of oil[9];' this means the oil of the olive, which
+will thrive on the sides and tops of rocky hills where there is scarcely
+any earth. It is a very long-lived tree, as well as an evergreen; the
+Psalmist says, 'I am like a green olive tree in the house of God.'"
+
+[9] Job xxiii. 6.
+
+"What does a _wild_ olive tree mean, Miss Harson?" asked Clara.
+
+"It means, dear, one that has grown without being cultivated, like our
+wild cherry and plum trees. The wild olive is smaller than the other,
+and inferior to it in every way. There are a great many olive trees in
+Palestine, and a place where they must have been very plentiful is
+called by a name which we often see in the Bible.--What is it, Malcolm?"
+
+"Is it 'the Mount of Olives'?" said Malcolm.
+
+"Yes, and it is sometimes called 'Olivet.' It is mentioned in the Old
+Testament as well as in the New. In Second Samuel it is written: 'And
+David went up by the ascent of Mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and
+had his head covered, and he went barefoot: and all the people that was
+with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they
+went up[10].'"
+
+[10] 2 Sam. xv. 30.
+
+"What was the matter?" asked Edith.
+
+"King David's wicked son Absalom had risen up against his father because
+he wished to be king in his stead. You remember how he was caught by the
+head in the boughs of an oak during the very battle that he was fighting
+for this purpose; so we know that he did not succeed in his wicked plan,
+but lost his life instead.--The Mount of Olives is described as 'a
+ridge running north and south on the east side of Jerusalem, its summit
+about half a mile from the city wall and separated from it by the valley
+of the Kidron. It is composed of a chalky limestone, the rocks
+everywhere showing themselves. The olive trees that formerly covered it
+and gave it its name are now represented by a few trees and clumps of
+trees. There are three prominent summits on the ridge; of these, the
+southernmost, which is lower than the other two, is now known as 'the
+Mount of Offence,' originally 'the Mount of Corruption,' because Solomon
+defiled it with idolatrous worship. Over this ridge passes the road to
+Bethany, the most frequented route to Jericho and the Jordan. The side
+of the Mount of Olives toward the west contains many tombs cut in the
+rock. The central summit rises two hundred feet above Jerusalem and
+presents a fine view of the city, and, indeed, of the whole region,
+including the mountains of Ephraim on the north, the valley of the
+Jordan on the east, a part of the Dead Sea on the south-east, and beyond
+it Kerak, in the mountains of Moab. Perhaps no spot on earth unites so
+fine a view with so many memorials of the most solemn and important
+events. Over this hill the Saviour often climbed in his journeys to and
+from the Holy City. Gethsemane lay at its foot on the west, and Bethany
+on its eastern slope.'"
+
+During the reading of this description of the Mount of Olives, Miss
+Harson showed the children pictures of the different spots mentioned,
+and thus they were not likely soon to forget what had been told them.
+
+"Who can repeat some words from the New Testament about this mountain?"
+asked Miss Harson.
+
+"'Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives,'" said Clara, who had learned
+this verse in her Sunday lesson, "and it is the first verse of the
+eighth chapter of St. John."
+
+"And the verse just before it, at the end of the seventh chapter,"
+replied her governess, "says that 'every man went unto his own house,'
+but 'Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives.' In another place it is said
+that 'at night he went out and abode in the Mount of Olives,' and in
+still another that he 'continued all night in prayer to God,' probably
+on the same mountain."
+
+"And can people really go and see the very same Mount of Olives now?"
+asked Malcolm, eagerly.
+
+"The very same," was the reply, "except, as I just read to you, many of
+the olive trees that gave it its name are no longer there. The Garden of
+Gethsemane, too, the most sacred spot near the mountain, is much
+changed, and a traveler who saw it lately says:
+
+"'At the foot of the Mount of Olives is a garden enclosed by a wall.
+There are paths and there are plots of flowers, the work of loving hands
+in recent years. The flowers speak of to-day, but there are olive trees
+in the garden that testify of the history of far-away years. Their
+venerable trunks, gnarled and rugged, are like the rough, marred binding
+of old books, shutting in a history going back to a far-off date.
+
+"'On one side of this garden slope upward the terraces of the Mount of
+Olives--terraces that are cultivated to-day even as the slopes of Olivet
+have been cultivated for generations and centuries. The other side of
+the garden looks toward the eastern wall of Jerusalem. Deep down in its
+shadowy bed, between the wall and the garden, lies the ravine of
+the Kedron.
+
+[Illustration: GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE.]
+
+"'If you visit that garden and look upon its old olive trees, the
+keeper of the place will tell you that you are in Gethsemane, the spot
+of our Saviour's betrayal. He will point out the "Grotto of the Agony,"
+the place where the disciples slumbered, and that where Judas, before
+his brethren, ceased publicly to be a follower and became the betrayer
+of Jesus. Some things you very naturally may question as the guardian of
+the enclosure tells his story. Whether any one of the venerable olive
+trees ever threw its shadow across the prostrate form of Jesus is more
+than doubtful, but that these trees are burdened with the history of
+centuries all must concede. "Gethsemane" means "oil-press," and olive
+trees long ago gave Olivet its name. That somewhere in this neighborhood
+the Saviour suffered cannot be doubted, and within that closed wall may
+have been the very spot where he bowed in his agony, and where he heard
+the tongue of Judas utter his treacherous "Rabbi!" and where he felt the
+serpent-breath of the traitor as that traitor kissed him.'"
+
+Miss Harson read of this solemn spot in a low, reverent tone; and the
+little audience were very quiet, until at last Clara said,
+
+"Whenever we see an ash tree or olives, how much there will be to think
+of!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+_THE USEFUL BIRCH_.
+
+"Oh, Miss Harson!" called out Clara, in great excitement, as she caught
+up with her governess on a run; "hasn't Edie poisoned herself? She has
+been eating this twig."
+
+Edith, of course, at once began to cry.
+
+"You are not poisoned, dear," said Miss Harson, very quickly, after
+trying the twig herself; "for this is birch-wood, and it cannot possibly
+hurt you. But remember, Edie, that this must not happen again; _never_
+put anything to your mouth unless you know it to be harmless. The birds
+and squirrels and other animals that are obliged to pick up their own
+living as soon as they are able to use their limbs have the faculty
+given them of knowing what is good for them to eat, but little girls are
+not intended to live in the woods, and they cannot tell whether or not
+the things they find there are fit to eat."
+
+"I took only a little bit," sobbed Edith; "Clara snatched it away as
+soon as it tasted good."
+
+Malcolm laughingly tossed his little sister into a sort of evergreen
+cradle where the branches grew low--for they were enjoying an afternoon
+in the woods--and held her there securely, while their governess
+replied,
+
+"'A little bit' is too much of a thing that might be harmful. You must
+remember to 'touch not, taste not, handle not,' until you have asked
+permission. But I am going to let you all chew as many birch-shoots as
+you want, and I too shall chew some; for when I was a little girl, I
+used to think they were 'puffickly d'licious.'"
+
+The children were much amazed to think that Miss Harson had ever talked
+like Edith--indeed, the two older ones could scarcely believe that they
+once did so themselves; but all soon had their hands full of
+birch-twigs, and they began gnawing like so many squirrels. All approved
+of the "birchskin," as Edith called it, and Malcolm declared that "it
+would be grand fun to live in the woods all the time."
+
+"Couldn't we have a tent, Miss Harson," asked Clara, "and try it?"
+
+"I have no doubt," was the reply, "that your indulgent papa would have a
+tent put up here for you if he thought it would make you happier, but I
+have my doubts as to whether it would do so. In the first place, I
+should object very much to living in the tent with you, and how could
+you possibly live there alone?"
+
+Clara and Edith were quite sure that they could not get along without
+their friend and governess, but Malcolm thought he would like to try
+being a hermit or an Indian, he was not quite ready to say which.
+
+"While you are deciding," said Miss Harson, with a smile, "it may be as
+well for us to go on as usual; but I think that a little tent could be
+put up here somewhere, which we might enjoy for an hour or so on
+pleasant days. I will see about it."
+
+The little girls were delighted, and Malcolm finally condescended to be
+pleased with the idea.
+
+"This is a very young birch," continued their governess, "and you see
+how slender and graceful it is; also that the bark, or 'skin,' is very
+dark. For this reason it is called the black, or cherry, birch, and also
+because the tree is very much like the black cherry. It is also called
+sweet birch and mahogany birch; the _sweet_ part you can probably
+understand, and it gets its other name from the color of the wood, which
+often resembles mahogany and at one time was much used for furniture.
+There are larger trees of the same kind all around us, and I should like
+to know if anything else has been noticed besides the twigs of this
+little one."
+
+"_I_ see something," replied Malcolm: "there are flowers--purple and
+yellow."
+
+"And what is the particular name for these tree-blossoms?" asked Miss
+Harson.
+
+"Isn't it _catkins_?" inquired Clara, timidly.
+
+"Yes, catkins, or aments. They hang, as you see, like long tassels of
+purple and gold, and are as fragrant as the bark. Bryant's line,
+
+     "'The fragrant birch above him hung her tassels in the sky,'
+
+"was written of this same black birch. Some of these trees are sixty or
+seventy feet high, and all are very graceful, this species being
+considered the most beautiful of the numerous birch family. The leaves,
+which are just coming out, are two or three inches long and about half
+as wide; they taper to a point and have serrate, or sawlike, edges. The
+wood is firm and durable, and is much used for cattle-yokes as well as
+for bedsteads and chairs. The large trees yield a great quantity of
+sweetish sap, which makes a pleasant drink. The trees are tapped just as
+the sugar-maples are, and in some parts of the country gathering this
+sap, which is sometimes used to make vinegar, is quite an
+important event."
+
+"Oh! oh! _oh_!" screamed Edith, and began to run.
+
+"Oh! oh! oh!" echoed Clara; and Malcolm declared that she was just like
+"Jill," who "came tumbling after."
+
+"What is the matter, children?" asked their governess, in dismay; but
+she stood perfectly still.
+
+"Only a poor little garter-snake," said Malcolm, "putting his head out
+to see if it's warm enough for him yet. But he has gone back into his
+hole frightened to death at such dreadful noises. Hello! what's the
+matter with Edie now?"
+
+The little sister had fallen, tripped up by some rough roots, and,
+expecting the poor startled garter-snake to come and make a meal off
+her, she was calling loudly for help.
+
+Miss Harson had her in her arms in a moment, and it was soon found that
+one foot had quite a bad bruise.
+
+"If only you had not run away!" said her governess. "He was such an
+innocent little snake to make all this fuss about, and very pretty too,
+if you had stopped to look at him."
+
+"Are snakes ever pretty?" asked Edith, in great surprise.
+
+"Certainly they are, dear, and this one had lovely stripes. I wish you
+could have seen him."
+
+The little girl began to wish so too, it was so funny to think of a
+snake being pretty, and she felt quite ashamed that she had scampered
+away in such a silly fashion.
+
+"What a goose I was!" said Clara, doing her thinking aloud. "But I
+thought it must be something dreadful, when Edie screamed so."
+
+"How much better it would have been to have found out before you
+screamed!" replied Miss Harson.--"But come, Edith; see what a nice cane
+Malcolm has just cut to help your lame foot with. He is offering you his
+arm, too, on the other side, and between the two I think you will get
+along finely."
+
+Edith thought the same thing, and enjoyed being helped home in this
+fashion. Her foot was quite painful, though, and considerably swollen;
+and Clara bathed it with arnica when the little girl had been
+comfortably established on the schoolroom sofa.
+
+"Perhaps," said Miss Harson, "our little invalid will not care to hear
+about trees this evening?"
+
+But the little invalid did care, and it was decided to take a further
+ramble among the birches.
+
+"I want to hear about birch-bark," said Malcolm--"not the kind we've
+been eating, but the kind that canoes and things are made of."
+
+[Illustration: THE CUT-LEAVED WHITE BIRCH.]
+
+"You have already heard about the black birch," replied his governess,
+"and, besides this, we have the white, or gray, birch, the bark of which
+is white, chalky and dotted with black; the red birch, with bark of a
+reddish or chocolate color; the yellow birch, bark yellowish, with a
+silvery lustre; and the canoe birch, which has a white bark with a
+pearly lustre. There is also a dwarf, or shrub, birch. The list, you
+see, is quite a long one."
+
+"What kind grow in _our_ woods?" asked Clara.
+
+"You certainly know of one kind," was the reply--"the black, or sweet,
+birch, which we have all tried and like so well. Besides this, there is
+the white, or little gray, birch, which is seldom over twenty-five or
+thirty feet high. It is, however, a graceful and beautiful object,
+enjoying to an eminent decree the lightness and airiness of the birch
+family, and spreading out its glistening leaves on the ends of a very
+slender and often pensile spray with an indescribable softness. An
+English poet has called this tree the
+
+                           "'most beautiful
+     Of forest-trees, the lady of the woods.'"
+
+The children laughed at the idea of calling a tree a _lady_, it seemed
+so comical; but Miss Harson said that she thought this was a very good
+description of a slender, graceful tree.
+
+[Illustration: WHITE-BIRCH LEAF.]
+
+"Four or five inches," she continued, "will span its waist, or trunk,
+and this seems a very good reason for calling it _little_. Another name
+for this tree is poplar birch, because the triangular-shaped leaves,
+which taper to a very long, slender point, have a habit of trembling
+like those of the poplars. The branches are of a dark chocolate color
+which contrasts very prettily with the grayish-white trunk, and their
+extreme slenderness causes them to droop somewhat like those of the
+willow. The white birch will spring up in the poorest kind of soil, and
+it is found in the highest latitude in which any tree can live. Its leaf
+is 'deltoid' in shape and indented at the edge. The bark of this species
+is said to be more durable than any other vegetable substance, and a
+piece of birch-wood was once found changed into stone, while the outer
+bark, white and shining, remained in its natural state,"
+
+"I don't see how it could," said Malcolm. "What kept it from turning
+into stone too?"
+
+"Its peculiar nature," was the reply, "which is a thing that we cannot
+explain, and we shall have to take the story just as it is. We certainly
+know that the wood has been proved to be very strong, and it is much
+used for timber."
+
+"Is the red birch really red, Miss Harson?" asked Clara, who thought
+that this promised to be the prettiest member of the family.
+
+"The bark has a reddish tinge, and it is so loose and ragged-looking
+that it has been said to roll up its bark in coarse ringlets, which are
+whitish with a stain of crimson. The red birch, which is more rare than
+any of the other kinds, is a much larger tree than the white birch, but,
+like all its relations, it is very graceful. The wood is white and hard
+and makes very good fuel, while the twigs are made into brooms for
+sweeping streets and courtyards."
+
+"But there isn't very much red about it, after all," said Malcolm.
+
+"It wasn't red," murmured Edith; "it was green;" and the next moment
+"the baby" was fast asleep, but Miss Harson was afraid that she had
+taken the snake with her to the land of Nod, so restless was her sleep.
+
+"I hope the yellow birch is yellow," said Clara again.
+
+"We will see what is said of its color," replied her governess, "and
+here it is: 'Distinguished by its yellowish bark, of a soft silken
+texture and silvery or pearly lustre,' It is a large tree, and has been
+named _excelsa_--'lofty'--because of its height. The slender, flowing
+branches are very graceful, and the tree is often as symmetrical as a
+fine elm, but droops less. The roots of the yellow birch seem to enjoy
+getting above the ground and twisting themselves in a very fantastic
+manner, and, taken altogether, it is a strikingly handsome and
+ornamental tree. The wood was at one time much liked for fuel, and many
+of the logs were of immense size."
+
+"Now," said Malcolm, gleefully, "the canoe birch has _got_ to come next,
+because there isn't anything else to come."
+
+"That is an excellent reason," replied Miss Harson, "and the canoe birch
+it shall be. There is more to be said of it than of any of the others,
+and it also grows in greater quantities. Thick woods of it are found in
+Maine and New Hampshire--for it loves a cold climate--and in other
+Northern portions of the country. The tall trunks of the trees resemble
+pillars of polished marble supporting a canopy of bright-green foliage.
+The leaves are something of a heart-shape, and their vivid summer green
+turns to golden tints in autumn. The bark of the canoe birch is almost
+snowy white on the outside, and very prettily marked with fine brown
+stripes two or three inches long, which go around the trunk. This bark
+is very smooth and soft, and it is easily separated into very thin
+sheets. For this reason the tree is often called the paper birch, and
+the smooth, thin layers of bark make very good writing-paper when none
+other can be had."
+
+"Oh, Miss Harson!" exclaimed Clara; "did you ever see any that was
+written on?"
+
+"Yes," was the reply; "I once wrote a letter on some myself."
+
+"Did you _really_?" cried two eager voices. "How _could_ you? Oh, do
+tell us about it!"
+
+"I was making a visit at a village in Maine," said their governess,
+"where the beautiful trees are to be seen in all their perfection, and I
+thought it would be appropriate to write a letter from there on birch
+bark. So I split my bark very thin and got a respectable sheet of it
+ready; then I cut another piece, to form an envelope, and gummed it
+together. I had quite a struggle to write on it decently with a steel
+pen, because the pen would go through the paper; but I persevered, and
+finally I accomplished my letter. It seemed odd to put a postage-stamp
+on birch bark, and I smiled to think how surprised the home-people
+would be to get such a letter. They _were_ surprised, and they told me
+afterward that the postman laughed when he delivered it."
+
+The children thought this very interesting, and they wished that there
+were canoe-birch trees growing at Elmridge, that they might be enabled
+to try the experiment for themselves.
+
+"Now," continued Miss Harson, "I am going to read you an account of
+canoe-making, and of some other uses to which the bark is put:
+
+"'In Canada and in the district of Maine the country-people place large
+pieces of the bark immediately below the shingles of the roof, to form a
+more impenetrable covering for their houses. Baskets, boxes and
+portfolios are made of it, which are sometimes embroidered with silk of
+different colors. Divided into very thin sheets, it forms a substitute
+for paper, and placed between the soles of the shoes and in the crown of
+the hat it is a defence against dampness. But the most important purpose
+to which it is applied, and one in which it is replaced by the bark of
+no other tree, is in the construction of canoes. To procure proper
+pieces, the largest and smoothest trunks are selected. In the spring two
+circular incisions are made, several feet apart, and two longitudinal
+ones on opposite sides of the tree; after which, by introducing a wooden
+wedge, the bark is easily detached. These plates are usually ten or
+twelve feet long and two feet nine inches broad. To form the canoe, they
+are stitched together with fibrous roots of the white spruce about the
+size of a quill, which are deprived of the bark, split and suppled in
+water. The seams are coated with resin of the balm of Gilead.
+
+"'Great use is made of these canoes by the savages and by the French
+Canadians in their long journeys into the interior of the country; they
+are very light, and are easily transported on the shoulders from one
+lake or river to another, which is called the _portage_. A canoe
+calculated for four persons, with their baggage, weighs from forty to
+fifty pounds; some of them are made to carry fifteen passengers.'
+
+"And now let me show you a picture of the Kentucky pioneer in a
+birch-bark canoe."
+
+"Why, Miss Harson, the Indians are trying to kill him!" exclaimed
+Malcolm.
+
+"Yes," she replied; "when you read the history of the United States, you
+will find that not only Daniel Boone, but the most of the early settlers
+of these Western lands, had trouble with the Indians. Nor is this
+strange. These pioneers were often rough men, and were looked upon by
+the natives as invaders of their country and treated as enemies. But to
+come back to the uses of the bark of the birch:
+
+"'In the settlements of the Hudson Bay Company tents are made of the
+bark of this tree, which for that purpose is cut into pieces twelve feet
+long and four feet wide. These are sewed together by threads made of the
+white-spruce roots; and so rapidly is a tent put up that a circular one
+twenty feet in diameter and ten feet high does not occupy more than half
+an hour in pitching. Every traveler and hunter in Canada enjoys these
+"rind-tents," as they are called, which are used only during the hot
+summer months, when they are found particularly comfortable.'"
+
+[Illustration: IN THE BIRCH-BARK CANOE]
+
+"Well, that's the funniest thing yet!" exclaimed Malcolm. "'Rind-tents'!
+I wish I could see one. Did they have any in Maine where you were,
+Miss Harson?"
+
+"No," was the reply, "I did not even hear of such a thing there, and to
+see it you would probably have to go far to the north. The English
+birch, which is found also in many parts of Europe, is put to a great
+many uses; the leaves produce a yellow dye, and the wood, when mixed
+with copperas, will color red, black and brown. An old birch tree that
+is supposed to be giving an account of itself says,
+
+"'How many are the uses of my bark! Thrifty men who sit beside the
+blazing hearth when my branches throw up a clear bright flame, and
+follow the example of their fathers in making their own shoes and those
+of their families, tan the hides with my bark. Kamschadales construct
+from it both hats and vessels for holding milk, and the Swedish
+fisherman his shoes. The Norwegian covers with it his low-roofed hut
+and spreads upon the surface layers of moss at least three or four
+inches thick, and, having twisted long strips together, he obtains
+excellent torches with which to cheer the darkness of his long nights.
+Fishermen, in like manner, make great use of them in alluring their
+finny prey. For this purpose they fit a portion of blazing birch in a
+cleft stick and spear the fish when attracted by its flickering light.'"
+
+The children exclaimed at this queer way of fishing, but Malcolm was
+very much taken with the idea of doing it by night with blazing torches,
+and he thought that he would like to be a Norwegian fisherman even
+better than a hermit or an Indian.
+
+"The old tree goes on to say," continued Miss Harson, "that 'Finland
+mothers form of the dried leaves soft, elastic beds for their children,
+and from me is prepared the _mona_, their sole medicine in all diseases.
+My buds in spring exhale a delicious fragrance after showers, and the
+bark, when burnt, seems to purify the air in confined dwellings.'
+
+"In Lapland the twigs of the birch, covered with reindeer-skins, are
+used for beds, but they cannot be so comfortable, I should think, as the
+leaves. The fragrant wood of the tree makes the fires which have to be
+kept up inside the huts even in summer to drive away the mosquitoes, and
+the people of those Northern regions would find it hard to get along
+without the useful birch."
+
+"I like to hear about it," said Clara. "Can you tell us something more
+that is done with it, Miss Harson?"
+
+"There is just one thing more," replied her governess, with a smile,
+"which I will read out of an old book; and I desire you all to pay
+particular attention to it."
+
+Little Edith was wide awake again by this time, and her great blue eyes
+looked as if she were ready to devour every word.
+
+"Birch rods," continued Miss Harson, "are quite different from birch
+_twigs_, and the uses to which they were put were not altogether
+agreeable to the boys who ran away from school or did not get their
+lessons. 'My branches,' says the birch, 'gently waving in the wind,
+awakened in those days no feelings of dread with truant urchins--for
+_all_ might be truants then, if so it pleased them--but at length a
+scribe arose who thus wrote concerning my ductile twigs: "The civil uses
+whereunto the birch serveth are many, as for the punishment of children
+both at home and abroad; for it hath an admirable influence upon them to
+quiet them when they wax unruly, and therefore some call the tree
+_make-peace_"'" Malcolm and Clara both laughed, and asked their young
+governess when the birch rods were coming; but Edith did not feel quite
+so easy, and, with her bruised foot and all, it took a great deal of
+petting that night to get her comfortably to bed.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+_THE POPLARS_.
+
+The bruised foot was not comfortable to walk on for two or three days,
+and Edith was settled in the great easy arm-chair with dolls and toys
+and picture-books in a pile that seemed as if it would not stop growing
+until every article belonging to herself and Clara had been gathered
+there. "We can go on with our trees," said Miss Harson, "even if we do
+not see them just yet; and this evening I should like to tell you
+something about the poplar, a large tree with alternate leaves which is
+often found in dusty towns, where it seems to flourish as well as in its
+favorite situation by a running stream. An old English writer calls the
+poplars 'hospitable trees, for anything thrives under their shade.' They
+are not handsomely-shaped trees, but the foliage is thick and pretty. In
+the latter part of this month--April--the trees are so covered with
+their olive-green catkins that large portions of the forests seem to be
+colored by them."
+
+[Illustration: IN THE EASY CHAIR]
+
+"Are there any poplars at Elmridge?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Not nearer than the woods," was the reply, "where we must go and look
+for them when Edith's foot is quite well again, though there are a good
+many in the city. The poplar is often planted by the roadside because it
+grows so rapidly and makes a good shade. The _Abele_, or silver poplar,
+is an especial favorite for this purpose.
+
+"The balm of Gilead, or Canada poplar, is the largest of the species,
+and really a handsome tree, often growing to the height of fifty or
+sixty feet, with a trunk of proportionate size. It has large leaves of a
+bright, glossy green, which grow loosely on long branches, A peculiarity
+of this tree is that before the leaves begin to expand the buds are
+covered with a yellow, glutinous balsam that diffuses a penetrating but
+very agreeable odor unlike any other. The balsam is gathered as a
+healing anodyne, and for many ailments it is a favorite remedy in
+domestic medicine. All the poplars produce more or less of this
+substance.
+
+"The river poplaris found on the banks of rivers and brooks and in wet
+places, and is a noble and graceful tree. The trunk is light gray in
+color, and the young trees have a smooth, leather-like bark. The broad
+leaves, of a very rich green, grow on stems nearly as long as
+themselves, and the flowering aments are of a light-red color. The
+leaf-stalks and young branches are also brightly tinted. Another of
+these trees has a very singular name: it is called the necklace poplar."
+
+[Illustration: LOMBARDY POPLAR.]
+
+"Do the flowers grow like real necklaces?" asked Clara.
+
+"Not quite," replied her governess, "but the reason given is something
+like it. The tree is so called from the resemblance of the long ament,
+before opening, to the beads of a necklace. In Europe it is known as the
+Swiss poplar and the black Italian poplar. Its timber is much valued
+there for building. There are also the black poplar and that queer,
+stiff-looking tree the Lombardy poplar. Cannot one of you tell me where
+there are some tall, narrow trees that look almost as if they had been
+cut out of wood and stuck there?"
+
+"I know where there are some," said Malcolm: "right in front of Mrs.
+Bush's old house; and I think they're miserable-looking trees."
+
+"When old and rusty, they are not in the least cheerful," replied Miss
+Harson; "and it is so long since Lombardy poplars were admired that few
+are found except about old places. The tree is shaped like a tall spire,
+and in hot, calm weather drops of clear water trickle from its leaves
+like a slight shower of rain. It was once a favorite shade-tree, and a
+century ago great numbers of Lombardy poplars were planted by village
+waysides, in front of dwelling-houses, on the borders of public
+grounds, and particularly in avenues leading to houses that stand at
+some distance from the high-road.
+
+[Illustration: A GROUP OF POPLARS IN CASHMERE]
+
+"The poplar is found in many lands. The Lombardy poplar, as its name
+indicates, was brought from Italy, where it grows luxuriantly beside the
+orange and the myrtle; but after one of our cold winters many of its
+small branches will decay, and this gives it a forlorn appearance. When
+fresh and green, the Lombardy poplar is quite handsome. Some one wrote
+of it long ago: 'There is no other tree that so pleasantly adorns the
+sides of narrow lanes and avenues, and so neatly accommodates itself to
+limited enclosures. Its foliage is dense and of the liveliest verdure,
+making delicate music to the soft touch of every breeze. Its
+terebinthine odors scent the vernal gales that enter our open windows
+with the morning sun. Its branches, always turning upward and closely
+gathered together, afford a harbor to the singing-birds that make them a
+favorite resort, and its long, tapering spire that points to heaven
+gives an air of cheerfulness and religious tranquillity to village
+scenery.'"
+
+"I wish we had some," said Edith, "with singing-birds in 'em."
+
+"Why, my dear child," replied her governess, "have we not the beautiful
+elms, in which the birds build their nests and where they fly in and out
+continually? They are the very same birds that build in the
+Lombardy poplars."
+
+"I thought that singing-birds always lived in cages," said the little
+queen in the easy-chair.
+
+"And did you think they were hung all over the Lombardy poplars?" asked
+Malcolm, in a broad grin.
+
+Edith laughed too, and Miss Harson said smilingly.
+
+"I thought that the birds about Elmridge did a great deal of singing,
+and the blue-birds and robins kept it up all day. But I should not like
+to see the old Lombardy poplars hung with gilded cages, and the birds
+which should happen to be prisoners in the cages would like it
+still less."
+
+"Well," said Edith, contentedly, as she settled herself again to
+listen.
+
+"The poplar," continued Miss Harson, "has a great many insect enemies,
+and the Lombardy is not often seen now, because a great many of these
+trees were destroyed on account of a worm, or caterpillar, by which they
+were infested. Poplar-wood is soft, light and generally of a pale-yellow
+color; it is much used for toy-making and for boarded floors, 'for which
+last purpose it is well adapted from its whiteness and the facility with
+which it is scoured, and also from the difficulty with which it catches
+fire and the slowness with which it burns. A red-hot poker falling on a
+board of poplar would burn its way without causing more combustion than
+the hole through which it passed.'"
+
+"I should think, then," said Malcolm, "that all wooden things would be
+made of poplar."
+
+"It is generally thought not to be durable," was the reply, "but it is
+said that if kept dry the wood will last as long as that of any tree.
+Says the poplar plank,
+
+     "'Though heart of oak be ne'er so stout,
+     Keep me dry and I'll see him out.'
+
+"The poplar has been highly praised, for every part of this tree answers
+some good purpose. The bark, being light, like cork, serves to support
+the nets of fishermen; the inner bark is used by the Kamschadales as a
+material for bread; brooms are made from the twigs, and paper from the
+cottony down of the seeds. Horses, cows and sheep browse upon it.
+
+"And now," said Miss Harson, when the children were wondering if that
+were the end, "we have come to the most interesting tree of the whole
+species--the aspen, or trembling poplar. It is a small, graceful tree
+with rounded leaves having a wavy, toothed border, covered with soft
+silk when young, which remains only as a fringe on the edge at maturity,
+supported by a very slender footstalk about as long as the leaf, and
+compressed laterally from near the base. They are thus agitated by the
+slightest breath of wind with that quivering, restless motion
+characteristic of all the poplars, but in none so striking as this. 'To
+quiver like an aspen-leaf has become a proverb. The foliage appears
+lighter than that of most other trees, from continually displaying the
+under side of the leaves.
+
+"The aspen has been called a very poetical tree, because it is the only
+one whose leaves tremble when the wind is apparently calm. It is said,
+however, to suggest fickleness and caprice, levity and irresolution--a
+bad character for any tree. The small American aspen, which is quite
+common, has a smooth, pale-green bark, which gets whitish and rough as
+the tree grows old. The foliage is thin, but a single leaf will be
+found, when examined, uncommonly beautiful. A spray of the small aspen,
+when in leaf, is very light and airy-looking, and the leaves produce a
+constant rustling sound. 'Legends of no ordinary interest linger around
+this tree. Ask the Italian peasant who pastures his sheep beside a grove
+of _Abele_ why the leaves of these trees are always trembling in even
+the hottest weather when not a breeze is stirring, and he will tell you
+that the wood of the trembling-poplar formed the cross on which our
+Saviour suffered.'"
+
+"Oh, Miss Harson!" said Clara, in a low tone. "Is that _true_?"
+
+"We do not know that it is, dear, nor do we know that it is not. Here
+are some verses about it which I like very much:
+
+     "'The tremulousness began, as legends tell,
+       When he, the meek One, bowed his head to death
+     E'en on an aspen cross, when some near dell
+       Was visited by men whose every breath
+     That Sufferer gave them. Hastening to the wood--
+       The wood of aspens--they with ruffian power
+     Did hew the fair, pale tree, which trembling stood
+       As if awestruck; and from that fearful hour
+     Aspens have quivered as with conscious dread
+     Of that foul crime which bowed the meek Redeemer's head.
+
+     "'Far distant from those days, oh let not man,
+       Boastful of reason, check with scornful speech
+     Those legends pure; for who the heart may scan
+       Or say what hallowed thoughts such legends teach
+     To those who may perchance their scant flocks keep
+       On hill or plain, to whom the quivering tree
+     Hinteth a thought which, holy, solemn, deep,
+       Sinks in the heart, bidding their spirits flee
+     All thoughts of vice, that dread and hateful thing
+     Which troubleth of each joy the pure and gushing spring?'"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+_ALL A-BLOW: THE APPLE TREE_.
+
+It certainly was a beautiful sight, and the children exclaimed over it
+in ectasy. It was now past the middle of April, and Miss Harson had
+taken her little flock to visit an apple-orchard at some distance from
+Elmridge, and the whole place seemed to be one mass of pink-and-white
+bloom.
+
+"And how deliciously _sweet_ it is!" said Malcolm as he sniffed the
+fragrant air.
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed Edith, turning up her funny little nose to get the full
+benefit of all this fragrance; "I can't breathe half enough at once."
+
+"That is just my case," said her governess, laughing, "but I did not
+think to say it in that way. Get all you can of this deliciousness,
+children; I wish that we could carry some of it away with us."
+
+"And so you shall," replied a hearty voice as Mr. Grove, the owner of
+the orchard, came up with a knife in his hand and began cutting off
+small branches of apple--blossoms. "I like to see folks enjoy things."
+
+"I hope you don't mind our trespassing on your grounds?" said Miss
+Harson. "I can engage that my little friends will do no injury, and I
+particularly wished them to see your beautiful orchard in bloom; it is
+almost equal to a field of roses."
+
+"Don't mind it at all, miss," was the reply--"quite the contrary; and I
+think, myself, it's a pretty sight. Smells good, too. Now, here's a
+nosegay big enough for you three young ladies, and Bub there can
+carry it."
+
+Malcolm, who was quite proud of his name, felt so indignant at being
+called "Bub" that he almost forgot the farmer's generosity; but his
+governess acknowledged it, very much to the worthy man's satisfaction.
+
+Edith, however, was rather shocked.
+
+"I thought it was wicked," said she, "to cut off flowers from fruit
+trees? Won't these make apples?"
+
+"Not them particular ones, Sis," replied Mr. Grove, with a laugh;
+"they're done for now. But it ain't wicked to cut off your own apple
+blows when there's too many on the tree to make good apples, and there's
+plenty to spare yet." He was very much amused at the little girl's
+serious face over this wholesale destruction of infant apples, and he
+invited them all to come to the house and get a drink of fresh milk. The
+children thought this a very pleasant invitation, and Miss Harson was
+quite willing to gratify them.
+
+The farmer led his guests into a very cheerful and wonderfully clean
+kitchen, where Mrs. Groves was busy with her baking, and the loaves of
+fresh bread looked very inviting. She was as pleasant and hospitable as
+her husband, and after shaking up a funny-looking patchwork cushion in a
+rocking-chair for the young lady to sit down on she told the little
+girls that she would get them a couple of crickets if they would wait a
+minute, and disappeared into the next room.
+
+The two little sisters looked at each other in dismay and wondered what
+they could do with these insects, but before they could consult Miss
+Harson good Mrs. Grove had returned carrying in each hand a small flat
+footstool. The girls sat down very carefully, for they were not
+accustomed to such low seats; but the whole party were tired with their
+walk and glad to rest for a short time. Malcolm, being a boy, was
+expected to sit where he could, and he speedily established himself in
+the corner of a wooden settle.
+
+In spite of the apple-blossoms, the kitchen fire was very comfortable;
+and, as the baking was just coming to an end, Mrs.
+
+Grove said that "she would be ready to visit with them in a minute:" she
+did not seem to allow herself more than a "minute" for anything. Besides
+the milk, some very nice seed-cakes in the shape of hearts were
+produced, and Edith thought them the most delightful little cakes she
+had ever tasted. Clara and Malcolm, too, were quite hungry, and Miss
+Harson enjoyed her glass of milk and seed-cake as well as did the young
+people. The farmer and his wife seemed really sorry to part with their
+guests when they rose to go, but Miss Harson said that it was time for
+them to be at home, and the children were obedient on the instant.
+
+"Well," said the worthy couple, "you know now where to come when you
+want more apple-blows and a drink of milk."
+
+Malcolm was quite laden with the mass of rosy flowers which Mr. Grove
+piled up in his arms, and he enjoyed the delicious scent all the
+way home.
+
+"I must get out the big jar," said Miss Harson as she surveyed their
+treasures, "and there are so many buds that I think we may be able to
+keep them for some days.--What would you say, Edith, if I told you that
+people cut off not only the blossoms, but even the fruit itself, while
+it is green, to make what is left on the tree handsomer and better?"
+
+Edith looked her surprise, and the other children could not understand
+why all the fruit that formed should not be left on the tree to ripen.
+
+"It is very often left," replied their governess, "but, although the
+crop is a large one, it will be of inferior quality; and those who
+understand fruit-raising thin it out, so that the tree may not have more
+fruit than it can well nourish. But now it is time for papa to come, and
+after dinner we will have a regular apple-talk."
+
+"How nice it was at Mrs. Grove's to-day!" said Clara, when they were
+gathered for the talk. "I think that kitchens are pleasanter to sit in
+than parlors and school-rooms."
+
+"So do I," chimed in Edith; "but I was afraid about the crickets at
+first. I thought we'd have to hold 'em in our hands, and I didn't
+like that."
+
+Why _would_ people always laugh when there was nothing to laugh at? The
+little girl thought she had a very funny brother and sister, and Miss
+Harson, too, was funny sometimes.
+
+"Have you so soon forgotten about the real insect-crickets, dear?" asked
+her governess, kindly. "Why, it will be months yet before we see one.
+Besides, I thought I told you that in some places a little bench is
+called a 'cricket'?--Do you know, Clara, why you thought Mrs. Grove's
+kitchen so pleasant? It is larger and better furnished than kitchens
+usually are, there were pleasant people in it, and you were tired and
+hungry and ready to enjoy rest and refreshments; but I am quite sure
+that, on the whole, you would like your own quarters best, because you
+are better fitted for them, as Mrs. Grove is for hers. We had a very
+pleasant visit, though, and some day we may repeat it--perhaps when the
+apples are ripe."
+
+"Good! good!" cried the children, clapping their hands; and Malcolm
+added that he "would like to be let loose in that apple-orchard."
+
+"Perhaps you would like it better than Farmer Grove would," was the
+reply. "But we haven't got to the apples yet; we must first find out a
+little about the tree. We learn in the beginning that it was one of the
+very earliest trees planted in this country by the settlers, because it
+is both hardy and useful. There is a wild species called the Virginia
+crab-apple, which bears beautiful pink flowers as fragrant as roses, but
+its small apples are intensely sour. The blossoms of the cultivated
+apple tree are more beautiful than those of any other fruit; they are
+delicious to both sight and scent."
+
+"And do look, Miss Harson," said Clara, "at these lovely half-open buds!
+They are just like tiny roses, and _so_ sweet!"
+
+Down went Clara's head among the clustered blossoms, and then Edith had
+to come too; and Malcolm declared that between the two they would smell
+them to death.
+
+"It seems," continued Miss Harson, "that the apple tree grows wild in
+every part of Europe except in the frigid zone and in Western Asia,
+China and Japan. It is thought to have been planted in Britain by the
+Romans; and when it was brought here, it seemed to do better than it had
+done anywhere else. It is said that 'not only the Indians, but many
+indigenous insects, birds and quadrupeds, welcomed the apple tree to
+these shores. The butterfly of the tent-caterpillar saddled her eggs on
+the very first twig that was formed, and it has since shared her
+affections with the wild cherry; and the canker-worm also, in a measure,
+abandoned the elm to feed on it. As it grew apace the bluebird, robin,
+cherry-bird, king-bird, and many more, came with haste and built their
+nests and warbled in its boughs, and so became orchard-birds and
+multiplied more than ever. It was an era in the history of their race in
+America. The downy woodpecker found such a savory morsel under its bark
+that he perforated it in a ring quite round the tree before he left it.
+It did not take the partridge long to find out how sweet its buds were,
+and every winter eve she flew, and still flies, from the wood to pluck
+them, much to the farmer's sorrow. The rabbit, too, was not slow to
+learn the taste of its twigs and bark; and when the fruit was ripe, the
+squirrel half rolled, half carried, it to his hole. Even the musquash
+crept up the bank from the brook at evening, and greedily devoured it,
+until he had worn a path in the grass there; and when it was frozen and
+thawed, the crow and the jay were glad to taste it occasionally. The owl
+crept into the first apple tree that became hollow, and fairly hooted
+with delight, finding it just the place for him; so, settling down into
+it, he has remained there ever since.'
+
+"Speaking of these buds, Clara," said her governess, "I think I forgot
+to tell you that the apple tree belongs to the family Rosaceae, and
+therefore the half-opened blossoms have a right to look like roses. The
+tree is not a handsome one, being a small edition of the oak in its
+sturdy outline, but it is less graceful or picturesque-looking, being
+often broader than it is high and resembling in shape a half globe. The
+leaves are not pretty except when first unfolded, and their color is
+then a beautiful light tint known as apple-green. But the foliage soon
+becomes dusty and shabby-looking. An old apple tree, with its gnarled,
+and often hollow, trunk, is generally handsomer than a young one, unless
+in the time of blossoms; for only a young apple-orchard is covered with
+such a profusion of bloom as that we saw to-day."
+
+"I am glad," said Clara, "that it belongs to the rose family, for now
+the dear little buds seem prettier than ever."
+
+"The apples are prettier yet," observed
+
+Malcolm; "if there's anything I like, it's apples."
+
+"I am afraid that you eat too many of them for your good," replied his
+governess; "I shall have to limit you to so many a day."
+
+"I have eaten only six to-day," was the modest reply, "and they were
+little russets, too."
+
+"Oh, Malcolm, Malcolm!" said Miss Harson, laughing; "what shall I do
+with you? Why, you would soon make an apple-famine in most places. Three
+apples a day must be your allowance for the present; and if at any time
+we go to live in an orchard, you may have six."
+
+"Why, _we_ have only one," exclaimed little Edith, "and we don't want
+any more.--Do we, Clara?"
+
+[Illustration: Apple Blossoms.]
+
+"If you don't want 'em," said Malcolm, "there's no sense in eating
+'em.--But I'll remember, Miss Harson. I suppose three at one time ought
+to be enough."
+
+Malcolm's expression, as he said this, was so doleful that every one
+laughed at him; and his governess continued:
+
+"The apple tree is said to produce a greater variety of beautiful fruit
+than any other tree that is known, and apples are liked by almost every
+one. They are a very wholesome fruit and nearly as valuable as bread and
+potatoes for food, because they can be used in so many different ways,
+and the poorer qualities make very nourishing food for nearly
+all animals."
+
+"Rex fairly snatches the apple out of my hand when I go to give him
+one," said Malcolm.
+
+"So does Regina," added Clara, who trembled in her shoes whenever she
+offered these dainties to the handsome carriage-horses.
+
+Edith had not dared to venture on such a feat yet, and therefore she had
+nothing to say.
+
+"All horses are fond of apples," said Miss Harson, "and the fruit is
+very thoroughly appreciated. Ancient Britain was celebrated for her
+apple-orchards, and the tree was reverenced by the Druids because the
+mistletoe grew abundantly on it. In Saxon times, when England became a
+Christian country, the rite of coronation, or crowning of a king, was in
+such words as these: 'May the almighty Lord give thee, O king, from the
+dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth, abundance of corn and wine
+and oil! Be thou the lord of thy brothers, and let the sons of thy
+mother bow down before thee. Let the people serve thee and the tribes
+adore thee. May the Almighty bless thee with the blessings of heaven
+above, and the mountains and the valleys with the blessings of the deep
+below, with the blessings of grapes and _apples_! Bless, O Lord, the
+courage of this prince, and prosper the work of his hands; and by thy
+blessing may his land be filled with _apples_, with the fruit and dew of
+heaven from the top of the ancient mountains, from the _apples_ of the
+eternal hills, from the fruit of the earth and its fullness!' You will
+see from this how highly apples were valued in England in those
+ancient times."
+
+"I should like to pick them up when they are ripe," said Clara, and
+Malcolm expressed a desire to hire himself out by the day to Mr. Grove
+when that time arrived.
+
+"An apple-orchard in autumn," continued their governess, "is often a
+merry scene. Ladders are put against the trees, and the finest apples
+are carefully picked off, but such as are to be used for cider-making
+are shaken to the ground. Men and boys are at work, and even women and
+children are there with baskets and aprons spread out to catch the
+fruit; and they run back and forth wherever the apples fall thickest,
+with much laughter at the unexpected showers that come down upon their
+heads and necks. Large baskets filled with these apples are carried to
+the mill, where, after being laid in heaps a while to mellow, they are
+crushed and pressed till their juice is extracted; and this, being
+fermented, becomes cider. From this cider, by a second fermentation, the
+best vinegar is made."
+
+[Illustration: THE APPLE-HARVEST.]
+
+"Miss Harson," asked Edith, as the talk seemed to have come to an end,
+"isn't there any more about apple trees? I like 'em."
+
+"Yes, dear," was the reply; "there is more. I was just looking over, in
+this little book, some queer superstitions about apple trees in England,
+and here is a strange performance which is said to take place in some
+very retired parts of the country:
+
+"'Scarcely have the merry bells ushered in the morning of Christmas than
+a troop of people may be seen entering the apple-orchard, often when the
+trees are powdered with hoarfrost and snow lies deep upon the ground.
+One of the company carries a large flask filled with cider and
+tastefully decorated with holly-branches; and when every one has
+advanced about ten paces from the choicest tree, rustic pipes made from
+the hollow boughs of elder are played upon by young men, while Echo
+repeats the strain, and it seems as if fairy-musicians responded in low,
+sweet tones from some neighboring wood or hill. Then bursts forth a
+chorus of loud and sonorous voices while the cider-flask is being
+emptied of its contents around the tree, and all sing some such words
+as these:
+
+              "'"Here's to thee, old apple tree!
+                 Long mayest thou grow.
+     And long mayest thou blow, and ripen the apples that hang on
+     thy bough!
+
+               "'"This full can of apple wine,
+                  Old tree, be thine:
+     It will cheer thee and warm thee amid the deep snow;
+
+               "'"Till the goldfinch--fond bird!--
+                  In the orchard is heard
+     Singing blithe 'mid the blossoms that whiten thy bough."'"
+
+"But what did they do it for?" asked Malcolm, who enjoyed the account as
+much as the others. "There doesn't seem to be any sense in it."
+
+"There _is_ no sense in it," replied his governess, "but these ignorant
+people had inherited the custom from their fathers and grandfathers, and
+they really believed--and perhaps still believe--that this attention
+would be sure to bring a fine crop of apples. We are distinctly told,
+though, that 'it is God that giveth the increase;' and to him alone
+belong the fruits of the earth. Sometimes the crop is so great that the
+trees fairly bend over with the weight of the fruit, and there is an old
+English saying: 'The more apples the tree bears, the more she bows to
+the folk.'"
+
+"How funny!" laughed Edith. "Does the apple tree move its head, Miss
+Harson?"
+
+"It cannot go quite so far as that," was the reply; "it just stays bent
+over like a person carrying a heavy burden. The branches of overladen
+fruit trees are sometimes propped up with long poles to keep them from
+breaking. There is another strange custom, which used to be practiced on
+New Year's eve. It was called 'Apple-Howling,' and a troop of boys
+visited the different orchards--which would scarcely have been desirable
+when the apples were ripe--and, forming a ring around the trees,
+repeated these words:
+
+     "'Stand fast, root! bear well, top!
+       Pray God send us a good howling crop--
+         Every twig, apples big;
+         Every bough, apples enow.'
+
+"All then shouted in chorus, while one of the party played on a cow's
+horn, and the trees were well rapped with the sticks which they carried.
+This ceremony is thought to have been a relic of some heathen sacrifice,
+and it is quite absurd enough to be that."
+
+"What is 'a howling crop,' Miss Harson?" asked Clara. "That name sounds
+so queer!"
+
+"I don't know what it can be," replied her governess, "unless it refers
+to the strange expression sometimes used, 'howling with delight.' We
+hear more commonly of 'howling with pain,' but 'a howling crop' must be
+one that makes the owner scream, as well as dance for joy."
+
+"Why, _I_ scream only when I'm frightened," said Edith, who began to
+think that there were much sillier people in the world than herself.
+
+"At garter-snakes," added Malcolm, giving his sister a sly pinch; but
+Edith did not mind his pinches, because he always took good care not
+to hurt her.
+
+Miss Harson said that the best way was not to scream at all, as it was
+both a silly and a troublesome habit, and the sooner her charges broke
+themselves of it the better she should like it. Clara and Edith both
+promised to try--just as they had promised before, when the ants were so
+troublesome; but they were nine months older now, and seemed to be
+getting a little ashamed of the habit.
+
+"Are apples mentioned anywhere in the Bible?" asked Miss Harson,
+presently.
+
+Clara and Malcolm were busy thinking, but nothing came of it, until
+their governess said,
+
+"Turn to the book of Proverbs, Clara, and find the twenty-fifth chapter
+and the eleventh verse."
+
+Clara read very carefully:
+
+"'A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.' But
+what does it mean?" she asked.
+
+"It probably means 'framed in silver' or 'in silver frames[11],'" was
+the reply; "and then it is easy to understand how important our words
+are, and that 'fitly-spoken' ones are as valuable and lasting as golden
+apples framed in silver. The apple tree is mentioned in Joel, where it
+is said that 'all the trees of the field are withered[12],' and both
+apple trees and apples are mentioned in several places of the Old
+Testament. But, to tell the whole truth, scholars are not agreed as to
+whether the Hebrew word denotes the apple or some other fruit that grew
+in the land of Israel."
+
+[11] The Revised Version renders the phrase "in baskets of silver."
+
+[12] Joel i. 12.
+
+The children had all enjoyed the "apple-talk," and they felt that the
+fruit which they were so accustomed to seeing would now have a new
+meaning for them.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+_A FRUITFUL FAMILY: THE PEACH, ALMOND, PLUM AND CHERRY_.
+
+Snowdrops, crocuses, hyacinths and tulips were blooming out of doors and
+in-doors; the grass looked green and velvety, and the fruit trees were,
+as John expressed it, "all a-blow." The peach trees, without a sign of a
+leaf, looked, as every one said of them, like immense bouquets of pink
+flowers, while pear, cherry and plum trees seemed as if they were
+dressed in white.
+
+One cloudy, windy day, when the petals fell off in showers and strewed
+the ground, Edith declared that it was snowing; but she soon saw her
+mistake, and then began to worry because there would be no blossoms left
+for fruit.
+
+"If the flowers stayed on, there would be no fruit," said Miss Harson.
+"Let me show you just where the little green germ is."
+
+"Why, of course!" said Malcolm; "it's in the part that stays on the
+tree."
+
+Edith listened intently while her governess showed her the ovary of a
+blossom safe on the twig where it grew, and explained to her that it was
+this which, nourished by the sap of the tree, with the aid of the sun
+and air, would ripen into fruit, while the petals were merely a fringe
+or ornament to the true blossom.
+
+At Elmridge, scattered here and there through garden and grounds, as Mr.
+Kyle liked to have them, there were some fruit trees of every kind that
+would flourish in that part of the country, but there was no orchard;
+and for this reason Miss Harson had taken the children to see the grand
+apple-blossoming at Farmer Grove's. Two very large pear trees stood one
+on either side of the lawn, and there were dwarf pear trees in
+the garden.
+
+"I think pears are nicer than apples," said Clara as they stood looking
+at the fine trees, now perfectly covered with their snowy blossoms.
+
+But Malcolm, who found it hard work to be happy on three apples a day,
+stoutly disagreed with his sister on this point, and declared that
+nothing was so good as apples.
+
+"How about ice-cream?" asked his governess, when she heard this sweeping
+assertion.
+
+The young gentleman was silent, for his exploits with this frozen luxury
+were a constant subject of wonder to his friends and relatives.
+
+"You will notice," said Miss Harson, "that the shape of these trees is
+much more graceful than that of the apple tree. They are tall and
+slender, forming what is called an imperfect pyramid. Standard pear
+trees, like these, give a good shade, and the long, slender branches are
+well clothed with leaves of a bright, glossy green. This rich color
+lasts late into the autumn, and it is then varied with yellow, and often
+with red and black, spots; so that pear-leaves are not to be despised in
+gathering autumn-leaf treasures. The pear is not so useful a fruit as
+the apple, nor so showy in color; but it has a more delicate and spicy
+flavor, and often is of an immense size."
+
+"Yes, indeed!" said Clara. "Don't you remember, Miss Harson, that
+sometimes Edith and I can have only one pear divided between us at
+dessert because they are so large?"
+
+"Yes, dear; and I think that half a duchess pear is as much as can be
+comfortably managed at once."
+
+"Well," observed Malcolm, "I don't want half an apple.--But, Miss
+Harson, do they ever have 'pear-howlings' in England?"
+
+"I have never read of any," was the reply, "and I think that strange
+custom is confined to apple trees. And there is no mention made of
+either pears or pear trees in the Scriptures."
+
+"What are prickly-pears?" asked Clara. "Do they have thorns on 'em?"
+
+"There is a plant by this name," replied her governess, "with large
+yellow flowers, and the fruit is full of small seeds and has a crimson
+pulp. It grows in sandy places near the salt water; it is abundant in
+North Africa and Syria, and is considered quite good to eat; but neither
+plant nor fruit bears any resemblance to our pear trees: it is
+a cactus."
+
+"Won't you have a story for us this evening, Miss Harson?" asked Edith,
+rather wistfully.
+
+"Perhaps so, dear--I have been thinking of it--but it will not be about
+pear trees."
+
+"Oh, I don't care," with a very bright face; "I'd as soon have it about
+cherry trees, or--'Most anything!"
+
+Miss Harson laughed, and said,
+
+"Well, then, I think it will be about cherries; so you must rest on
+that. This morning we will go around among the fruit trees and see what
+we can learn from seeing them."
+
+Of course it was Saturday morning and there were no lessons, or they
+would not have been roaming around "promiscuous," as Jane called it; for
+the young governess was very careful not to let the getting of one kind
+of knowledge interfere with the getting of another.
+
+"How do you like these pretty quince trees?" asked Miss Harson as they
+came to some large bushes with great pinkish flowers.
+
+"I like 'em," replied Edith, "because they're so little. And oh what
+pretty flowers!"
+
+"Some more relations of the rose," said her governess. "And do you
+notice how fragrant they are? The tree is always low and crooked, just
+as you see it, and the branches straggle not very gracefully. The under
+part of the dark-green leaves is whitish and downy-looking, and the
+flowers are handsome enough to warrant the cultivation of the tree just
+for their sake, but the large golden fruit is much prized for preserves,
+and in the autumn a small tree laden down with it is quite an ornamental
+object. The quince is more like a pear than an apple. As the book says,
+'it has the same tender and mucilaginous core; the seeds are not
+enclosed in a dry hull, like those of the apple; and the pulp of the
+quince, like that of the pear, is granulated, while that of the apple
+displays in its texture a firmer and finer organization.' The fruit,
+however, is so hard, even when ripe, that it cannot be eaten without
+cooking. It is said to be a native of hedges and rocky places in the
+South of Europe."
+
+[Illustration: PEACH-BLOSSOM.]
+
+"These peach trees," said Clara, "look like sticks with pink flowers all
+over 'em." "They are remarkably bare of leaves when in bloom," was the
+reply: "the leaves burst forth from their envelopes as the blossoms pass
+away; but how beautiful the blossoms are! from the deepest pink to that
+delicate tint which is called peach-color. But do you know that we have
+left the apple and rose family now, and have come to the almond family?"
+
+The children were very much surprised to hear this, and they looked at
+the peach trees with fresh interest.
+
+"Yes," continued Miss Harson, "the family consists of the almond tree,
+the peach tree, the apricot tree, the plum tree and the cherry tree; and
+one thing that distinguishes them from the other families is the gum
+which is found on their trunks.--Look around, Malcolm, at the peach,
+plum and cherry trees, which are the only members of the family that we
+have at Elmridge, and you will find gum oozing from the bark, especially
+where there are knotholes."
+
+Malcolm not only found the gum, but succeeded in helping himself to some
+of it, which he shared with his sisters. It had a rather sweet taste,
+and the children seemed to like it, having first obtained permission of
+their governess to eat it.
+
+"That is another of the things that I thought 'puffickly d'licious' when
+I was a child," said the young lady, laughing. "But there is another
+peculiarity of this family of trees which is not so innocent, and that
+is that in the fruit-kernel, and also in the leaves, there is a deadly
+poison called prussic acid."
+
+"O--h!" exclaimed the children, drawing back from the trees as though
+they expected to be poisoned on the spot.
+
+"But, as we do not eat either the kernels or the leaves," continued
+their governess, "we need not feel uneasy, for the fruit never yet
+poisoned any one. Here are the cherry trees, so covered with blossoms
+that they look like masses of snow; and the smaller plum trees are also
+attired in white. We will begin this evening with the almond tree, and
+see what we can find out about the family."
+
+"Do almond trees and peach trees look alike?" asked Clara, when they
+were fairly settled by the schoolroom fire; for the evenings were too
+cool yet for the piazza.
+
+"Very much alike," was the reply; "only the almond tree is larger and it
+has white instead of pink blossoms. Then it is the _fruit_ of the peach
+we eat, but of the almond we eat the kernel of the stem. I will read you
+a little account of it:
+
+"'The common almond is a native of Barbary, but has long been
+cultivated in the South of Europe and the temperate parts of Asia. The
+fruit is produced in very large quantities and exported in to northern
+countries; it is also pressed for oil and used for various domestic
+purposes. There are numerous varieties of this species, but the two
+chief kinds are the bitter almond and the sweet almond. The sweet almond
+affords a favorite article for dessert, but it contains little
+nourishment, and of all nuts is the most difficult of digestion. The
+tree has been cultivated in England for about three centuries for the
+sake of its beautiful foliage, as the fruit will not ripen without a
+greater degree of heat than is found in that climate. The distilled
+water of the bitter almond is highly injurious to the human species,
+and, taken in a large dose, produces almost instant death.' The prussic
+acid which can be obtained from the kernel of the peach is found also in
+the bitter almond."
+
+[Illustration: THE ALMOND.--BRANCH AND FRUIT.]
+
+"But what do they want to find it for," asked Malcolm, "when it kills
+people?"
+
+"Because," replied his governess, "like some other noxious things, it
+can be made valuable when used moderately and in the right way. But it
+is often employed to give a flavor to intoxicating liquors, and this is
+_not_ a right way, as it makes them even more dangerous than before. But
+we will leave the prussic acid and return to our almond tree. It
+flourishes in Palestine, where it blooms in January, and in March the
+ripe fruit can be gathered."
+
+This seemed wonderfully strange to the children--flowers in January and
+fruit in March; and Miss Harson explained to them that in that part of
+the world they do not often have our bitter cold weather with its ice
+and snow to kill the tender buds.
+
+"This tree," continued Miss Harson, "is occasionally mentioned in the
+Old Testament. In Jeremiah the prophet says, 'I see a rod of an almond
+tree[13];' also in Ecclesiastes it is said that 'the almond tree shall
+flourish[14].'"
+
+[13] Jer. i. II.
+
+[14] Eccl. xii. 5.
+
+"Are there ever many peach trees growing in one place," asked Clara,
+"like the apple trees in Mr. Grove's orchard?"
+
+"Yes," was the reply, "for in some places there are immense
+peach-orchards, covering many acres of ground; and when the trees in
+these are in blossom, the spring landscape seems to be pink with them.
+These great peach-fields are found in Delaware and Maryland, where the
+fruit grows in such perfection, and also in some of the Western States.
+We all know how delicious it is, but, unfortunately, so does a certain
+green worm, who curls up in the leaves which he gnaws in spite of the
+prussic acid. This insect will often attack the finest peaches and lay
+its eggs in them when the fruit is but half grown. In this way the young
+grubs find food and lodging provided for them all in one, and they
+thrive, while the peach decays."
+
+"What a shame it is," exclaimed Malcolm, in great indignation, "to have
+our best peaches eaten by wretched little worms who might just as well
+eat grass and leave the peaches for us!"
+
+"Perhaps they think it a shame that they are so often shaken to the
+ground or washed off the trees," replied Miss Harson; "and, as to their
+eating grass, they evidently prefer peaches. 'Insects as well as human
+beings have discriminating tastes, and the poor plum tree suffers even
+more than the peach from their attentions. In some parts of the country
+it has been entirely given up to their depredations, and farmers will
+not try to raise this fruit because of these active enemies. The whole
+almond family are liable to the attacks of insects. Canker-worms of one
+or of several species often strip them of their leaves; the
+tent-caterpillars pitch their tents among the branches and carry on
+their dangerous depredations; the slug-worms, the offspring of a fly
+called _Selandria cerasi_, reduce the leaves to skeletons, and thus
+destroy them; the cherry-weevils penetrate their bark, cover their
+branches with warts and cause them to decay; and borers gnaw galleries
+in their trunks and devour the inner bark and sap-wood.' So you see
+that, with such an army of destroyers, we may be thankful to get any
+fruit at all."
+
+"I'm glad to know the name of that fly," said Malcolm, who considered it
+an additional grievance that it should have such a long name, "but I
+won't try to call him by it if I meet him anywhere."
+
+"I think it's pretty," said Clara, beginning to repeat it, and making a
+decided failure.
+
+"Fortunately," continued their governess, after reading it again for
+them, "there are other things much more important for you to remember
+just now, and I could not have said it myself without the book. And now
+let us see what else we can learn about the plum. It is a native, it
+seems, of North America, Europe and Asia, and many of the wild species
+are thorny. The cultivated plums, damsons and gages are varieties of
+the _Prunus domestica_, the cultivated plum tree. These have no thorns;
+the leaves are oval in shape, and the flowers grow singly. The most
+highly-valued cultivated plum trees came originally from the East, where
+they have been known from time immemorial. In many countries of Eastern
+Europe domestic animals are fattened on their fruits, and an alcoholic
+liquor is obtained from them; they also yield a white, crystallizable
+sugar. The prunes which we import from France are the dried fruit of
+varieties of the plum which contain a sufficient quantity of sugar to
+preserve the fruit from decay."
+
+"Do prunes really grow on trees, Miss Harson?" asked Edith, who was
+rather disposed to think that they grew in pretty boxes.
+
+"Yes, dear," was the reply; "they grow just as our plums do, only they
+are dried and packed in layers before they reach this country. We have
+two species of wild plum in North America--the beach-plum, a low shrub
+found in New England, the fruit of which is dark blue and about the
+size of damsons; while the other is quite a large tree, and very showy
+when covered with its scarlet fruit. In Maine it is called plum-granate,
+probably from its red color," "I know what's coming next," said
+Clara--"cherries; because all the rest have been used up. And then we're
+to have the story."
+
+"But they're all interesting," replied Malcolm, gallantly, "because Miss
+Harson makes them so."
+
+"I hope that is not the only reason," said his governess, laughing, "for
+trees are always beautiful and interesting and it is a privilege to be
+able to learn something of their habits and history.--Like most fruit
+trees, the cherry has many varieties, but it is always a handsome tree,
+and less spoiled by insects than others of the almond family. The black
+cherry is the most common species in the United States, and is both wild
+and cultivated. The garden cherry has broad, ovate, rough and serrate
+leaves, growing thickly on the branches, and this, with the height of
+the tree, makes a fine shade. Some old cherry trees have huge trunks,
+and their thick branches spread to a great distance. The branches of the
+wild cherry are too straggling to make a beautiful tree, and the leaves
+are small and narrow. The blossoms of the cultivated cherry are in
+umbels, while those of the wild cherry are borne in racemes."
+
+"I remember that, Miss Harson," said Clara, pleased with her knowledge.
+"'Umbel' means 'like an umbrella,' and 'raceme' means 'growing along
+a stem.'"
+
+"Very well indeed!" was the reply; "I am glad you have not forgotten
+it.--Of our cultivated cherries, we have here at Elmridge, besides the
+large black ones, which are so very sweet about the first of July, the
+great ox-hearts, which look like painted wax and ripen in June, and
+those very acid red ones, often called pie-cherries, which are used for
+pies and preserves. The cherry is a beautiful fruit, and one that is
+popular with birds as well as with boys. The great northern cherry of
+Europe, which was named by Linnaeus the 'bird-cherry,' is encouraged in
+Great Britain and on the Continent for the benefit of the birds, which
+are regarded as the most important checks to the over-multiplication of
+insects. The fact not yet properly understood in America--that the birds
+which are the most mischievous consumers of fruit are the most useful as
+destroyers of insects--is well known by all farmers in Europe; and while
+we destroy the birds to save the fruit, and sometimes cut down the
+fruit-trees to starve the birds, the Europeans more wisely plant them
+for the food and accommodation of the birds."
+
+"Isn't it wicked to kill the poor little birds?" asked Edith.
+
+"Yes, dear; it is cruel to kill them just for sport, as is often done,
+and very foolish, as we have just seen, to destroy them for the sake of
+the fruit, which the insects make way with in much greater quantities
+than the birds do."
+
+"Miss Harson," asked Clara, "do people cut down real cherry trees to
+make the pretty red furniture like that in your room?"
+
+"It is the wood of the wild cherry," replied her governess, "that is
+used for this purpose. It is of a light-red or fresh mahogany color,
+growing darker and richer with age. It is very close-grained, compact,
+takes a good polish, and when perfectly seasoned is not liable to shrink
+or warp. It is therefore particularly suitable, and much employed, for
+tables, chests of drawers, and other cabinet-work, and when polished and
+varnished is not less beautiful for such articles than are inferior
+kinds of mahogany."
+
+"'Cherry' sounds pretty to say," continued Clara. "I wonder how the tree
+got that name?"
+
+"That wonder is easily explained," said Miss Harson, "for I have been
+reading about it, and I was just going to tell you. 'Cherry comes from
+'Cerasus,' the name of a town on the Black Sea from whence the tree is
+supposed to have been introduced into Italy, and it designates a genus
+of about forty species, natives of all the temperate regions of the
+northern hemisphere. They are trees or shrubs with smooth serrated
+leaves, which are folded together when young, and white or reddish
+flowers growing in bunches, like umbels, and preceding the leaves or in
+terminal racemes accompanying or following the leaves. A few species,
+with numerous varieties, produce valuable fruits; nearly all are
+remarkable for the abundance of their early flowers, sometimes rendered
+double by cultivation. And now," added the young lady, "we have arrived
+at the story, which is translated from the German; and in Germany the
+cherries are particularly fine. A plateful of this beautiful fruit was,
+as you will see, the cause of some remarkable changes."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+_THE CHERRY-STORY._
+
+On the banks of the Rhine, in the pleasant little village of Rebenheim,
+lived Ehrenberg, the village mayor. He was much respected for his
+virtues, and his wife was greatly beloved for her charity to the poor.
+They had an only daughter--the little Caroline--who gave early promise
+of a superior mind and a benevolent heart. She was the idol of her
+parents, who devoted their whole care to giving her a sound religious
+education.
+
+Not far from the house, and close to the orchard and kitchen-garden,
+there was another little garden, planted exclusively with flowers. The
+day that Caroline was born her father planted a cherry tree in the
+middle of the flower-garden. He had chosen a tree with a short trunk, in
+order that his little daughter could more easily admire the blossoms
+and pluck the cherries when they were ripe.
+
+When the tree bloomed for the first time and was so covered with
+blossoms that it looked like a single bunch of white flowers, the father
+and mother came out one morning to enjoy the sight. Little Caroline was
+in her mother's arms. The infant smiled, and, stretching out her little
+hands for the blossoms, endeavored at the same time to speak her joy,
+but in such a way as no one but a mother could understand:
+
+"Flowers! flowers! Pretty! pretty!"
+
+The child engaged more of the parents' thoughts than all the
+cherry-blossoms and gardens and orchards, and all they were worth. They
+resolved to educate her well; they prayed to God to bless their care and
+attention by making Caroline worthy of him and the joy and consolation
+of her parents. As soon as the little girl was old enough to understand,
+her mother told her lovingly of that kind Father in heaven who makes the
+flowers bloom and the trees bud and the cherries and apples grow ruddy
+and ripe; she told her also of the blessed Son of God, once an infant
+like herself, who died for all the world.
+
+The cherry tree in the middle of the garden was given to Caroline for
+her own, and it was a greater treasure to her than were all the flowers.
+She watched and admired it every day, from the moment the first bud
+appeared until the cherries were ripe. She grieved when she saw the
+white blossoms turn yellow and drop to the earth, but her grief was
+changed into joy when the cherries appeared, green at first and smaller
+than peas, and then daily growing larger and larger, until the rich red
+skin of the ripe cherry at last blushed among the interstices of the
+green leaves.
+
+"Thus it is," said her father; "youth and beauty fade like the blossoms,
+but virtue is the fruit which we expect from the tree. This whole world
+is, as it were, a large garden, in which God has appointed to every man
+a place, that he may bring forth abundant and good fruit. As God sends
+rain and sunshine on the trees, so does he send down grace on men to
+make them grow in virtue, if they will but do their part."
+
+In the course of time war approached the quiet village which had
+hitherto been the abode of peace and domestic bliss, and the battle
+raged fearfully. Balls and shells whizzed about, and several houses
+caught fire. As soon as the danger would permit, the mayor tried to
+extinguish the flames, while his wife and little daughter were praying
+earnestly for themselves and for their neighbors.
+
+In the afternoon a ring was heard at the door, and, looking out of the
+window, Madame Ehrenberg saw an officer of hussars standing before her.
+Fortunately, he was a German, and mother and daughter ran to open
+the door.
+
+"Do not be alarmed," said the officer, in a friendly tone, when he saw
+the frightened faces; "the danger is over, and you are quite safe. The
+fire in the village, too, is almost quenched, and the mayor will soon be
+here. I beg you for some refreshment, if it is only a morsel of bread
+and a drink of water. It was sharp work," he added, wiping the
+perspiration from his brow, "but, thank God, we have conquered,"
+Provisions were scarce, for the village had been plundered by the enemy,
+but the good lady brought forth a flask of wine and some rye bread, with
+many regrets that she had nothing better to offer. But the visitor, as
+he ate the bread with a hearty relish, declared that it was enough, for
+it was the first morsel he had tasted that day.
+
+Caroline ran and brought in on a porcelain plate some of the ripest
+cherries from her own tree.
+
+"Cherries!" exclaimed the officer. "They are a rarity in this district.
+How did they escape the enemy? All the trees in the country around are
+stripped."
+
+"The cherries," said the mother, "are from a little tree which was
+planted in Caroline's flower-garden on her birthday. It is but a few
+days since they became ripe; the enemy, perhaps, did not notice the
+little tree."
+
+"And is it for me you intend the cherries, my dear child?" asked the
+officer. "Oh no; you must keep them. It were a pity to take one of them
+from you."
+
+"How could we refuse a few cherries," said Caroline, "to the man that
+sheds his blood in our defence? You must eat them all," said she, while
+the tears streamed down her cheeks. "Do, I entreat you! Eat them all."
+
+He took some of the cherries and laid them on the table, near his
+wine-glass; but he had scarcely placed the glass to his lips when the
+trumpet sounded. He sprang up and girded on his sword.
+
+"That is the signal to march," said he. "I cannot wait one instant."
+
+Caroline wrapped the cherries in a roll of white paper and insisted that
+he should put them in his pocket.
+
+"The weather is very warm," said she, "and even cherries will be some
+refreshment."
+
+"Oh," said the officer, with emotion, "what a happiness it is for a
+soldier, who is often obliged to snatch each morsel from unwilling
+hands, to meet with a generous and benevolent family! I wish it were in
+my power, my dear child, to give you some pledge of my gratitude, but I
+have nothing--not so much as a single groat. You must be content with my
+simple thanks." With these words, and once more bidding Caroline and her
+mother an affectionate farewell, he took his departure, and walked
+rapidly out of sight.
+
+The joy of the good family for their happy deliverance was, alas! of
+short continuance. Some weeks after, a dreadful battle was fought near
+the village, which was reduced to a heap of ruins. The mayor's house was
+burned to the ground and all his property destroyed. Alas for the
+horrors of cruel war! Father, mother and daughter fled away on foot, and
+wept bitterly when they looked back on their once happy village, now but
+a mass of blazing ruins.
+
+The family retired to a distant town, and lived there in very great
+distress. The mayor endeavored to obtain a livelihood as a scrivener, or
+clerk; his wife worked at dressmaking and millinery, and Caroline, who
+soon became skillful in such matters, faithfully assisted her.
+
+A lady in town--the Countess von Buchenhaim--gave them much employment,
+and one day Caroline went to this lady's house to carry home a bonnet.
+She was taken to the garden, where the countess was sitting in the
+summer-house with her sister and nieces, who had come to visit her. The
+young ladies were delighted with the bonnet, and their mother gave
+orders for three more, particularly praising the blue flowers, which
+were the work of Caroline's own hands.
+
+The Countess von Buchenhaim spoke very kindly of the young girl to her
+sister, and related the sad story of the worthy family's misfortunes.
+The count was standing with his brother-in-law, the colonel, at some
+little distance from the door of the summer-house, and the colonel, a
+fine-looking man in a hussar's uniform and with a star on his breast,
+overheard the conversation. Coming up, he looked closely at Caroline.
+
+"Is it possible," said he, "that you are the daughter of the mayor of
+Rebenheim? How tall you have grown! I should scarcely have recognized
+you, though we are old acquaintances."
+
+Caroline stood there abashed, looking full in the face of the stranger,
+her cheeks covered with blushes. Taking her by the hand, the colonel
+conducted her to his wife, who was sitting near the countess.
+
+"See, Amelia," said he; "this is the young lady who saved my life ten
+years ago, when she was only a child."
+
+"How can that be possible?" asked Caroline, in amazement.
+
+"It must indeed appear incomprehensible to you," answered the colonel,
+"but do you remember the hussar-officer that one day, after a battle,
+stood knocking at the door of your father's house in Rebenheim? Do you
+remember the cherries which you so kindly gave him?"
+
+"Oh, was it you?" exclaimed Caroline, while her face beamed with a smile
+of recognition. "Thank God you are alive! But how I could have done
+anything toward saving your life I cannot understand."
+
+"In truth, it would be impossible for you to guess the great service
+you did me," said he, "but my wife and daughters know it well; I wrote
+to them of it at once. And I look upon it as one of the most remarkable
+occurrences of my life."
+
+"And one that I ought to remember better than any other event of the
+war," said his lady, rising and affectionately embracing Caroline.
+
+"Well," said the countess, "neither I nor my husband ever heard the
+story. Please give us a full account of it."
+
+"Oh, it is easily told," said the colonel. "Hungry and thirsty, I
+entered the house in which Caroline and her parents dwelt, and, to tell
+the plain truth, I begged for some bread and water. They gave me a share
+of the best they had, and did not hesitate to do so, though their
+village and themselves were in the greatest distress. Caroline robbed
+every bough on her cherry tree to refresh me. Fine cherries they
+were--the only ones, probably, in the whole country. But the enemy did
+not give me time to eat them; I was obliged to depart in a hurry.
+Caroline insisted, with the kindest hospitality, that I should take them
+with me, but that was no easy matter: my horse had been shot under me
+the day before. I took from my knapsack whatever articles I could in a
+hurry, and, thrusting them into my pockets, I fought on foot until a
+hussar gave me his horse. All that I was worth was in my pockets, so
+that to make room for the cherries I was obliged to take the pocket-book
+out of my pocket and place it here beneath my vest. The enemy, who had
+been driven back, made a feint of advancing on us, and I led down my
+hussars in gallant style. But suddenly we found ourselves in front of a
+body of infantry concealed behind a hedge. One of them fired at me, and
+the fellow had taken good aim, for the ball struck me here on the
+breast. But it rebounded from the pocket-book; otherwise, I should have
+been shot through the body and fallen dead on the spot. Tell me," said
+he, in a tone of deep emotion; "was not that little child an instrument
+in the hand of God to save me from death? Am I right or not when I give
+Caroline the credit, under God, of having saved my life? Her must I
+thank that my Amelia is not a widow and my daughters orphans."
+
+All agreed with him. His wife, who had Caroline's hand locked in her own
+during the whole narrative, now pressed it affectionately and with tears
+in her eyes.
+
+"You, then," said she, "were the good angel that averted such a terrible
+misfortune from our family?"
+
+Her two daughters also gazed with pleasure at Caroline.
+
+"Every time we ate cherries," said the younger, "we spoke of you without
+knowing you."
+
+All had kind and grateful words for the young girl, but the colonel soon
+bade her farewell for the present, and said that he had some business to
+attend to with his brother-in-law. This business was to urge the count
+to appoint Ehrenberg his steward in place of the one who had died a few
+months before. A better man, he said, could not be found; for when he
+had visited Rebenheim to make inquiries for the family, although none
+could tell where they had gone, all were loud in their praise, and the
+mayor was pronounced a pattern of justice, honor and charity.
+
+The count drew out the order, signed it, and gave it to his
+brother-in-law, who wished himself to take it to Mr. Ehrenberg; and he
+went at once to the house and saluted him as "master-steward of
+Buchenhaim."
+
+"Read that," he said to the astonished man as he handed him the paper in
+which he was duly appointed steward of Buchenhaim, with a good salary of
+a thousand thalers and several valuable perquisites.
+
+"And you," said the colonel to Caroline and her mother, "must prepare to
+remove at once. Your lodgings are so confined! But you will find it very
+different in the house which you are to occupy in Buchenhaim. The
+dwelling is large and commodious, with a fine garden attached, well
+stocked with cherry trees. Next Monday you will be there, and this very
+day you must start. What a happy feast we shall have there!--not like
+the hasty meal you gave the hussar-officer amid the thunder of cannon
+and the blazing roofs of Rebenheim. Do not forget to have cherries, dear
+Caroline, for dessert; I think they will be fully ripe by that time."
+
+With these words the colonel hurried away to escape the thanks of this
+good family, and, in truth, to conceal his own tears. So rapidly did he
+disappear that Ehrenberg could scarcely accompany him down the steps.
+
+"Oh, Caroline," said the happy father when he returned, "who could have
+imagined that the little cherry tree I planted in the flower-garden the
+day you were born would ever produce such good fruit?"
+
+"It was the providence of God," exclaimed the mother, clasping her
+hands. "I remember distinctly the first time the blossoms appeared on
+that tree, when you and I went out to look at it, and little Caroline,
+then an infant in my arms, was so much delighted with the white flowers.
+We resolved then to educate our daughter piously, and prayed fervently
+to God that she, who was then as full of promise as the blossoms on the
+tree, might by his grace one day be the prop of our old age. That prayer
+is now fulfilled beyond our fondest anticipations. Praise for ever be to
+the name of God!"
+
+Edith declared that this was one of the very sweetest stories Miss
+Harson had ever told them, and Clara and Malcolm were equally well
+pleased with it.
+
+"Were those cherries like ours?" asked Clara.
+
+"They were larger and finer than ours generally are, I think," was the
+reply, "being the great northern cherry, or bird-cherry, of Europe,
+which grows in Germany to great perfection. And the little German girl's
+plate of cherries, which she so generously urged upon a stranger when
+food of any kind was so scarce, is a beautiful illustration of the first
+verse of the eleventh chapter of Proverbs: 'Cast thy bread upon the
+waters; for thou shalt find it after many days.'"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+_THE MULBERRY FAMILY_.
+
+"There is a fruit tree," said Miss Harson, "belonging to an entirely
+different family, which we have not considered yet; and, although it is
+not a common tree with us, one specimen of it is to be found in Mrs.
+Bush's garden, where you have all enjoyed the fruit very much. What
+is it?"
+
+"Mulberry," said Clara, promptly, while Malcolm was wondering what it
+could be.
+
+"Oh yes," said Edith, very innocently; "I like to go and see Mrs. Bush
+when there are mulberries."
+
+Mrs. Bush was not a cheerful person to visit, as she was quite old and
+rather hard of hearing, and she lived alone in the gloomy old house with
+the Lombardy poplars in front, where everything looked dark and shut up.
+A queer woman in a sunbonnet, nearly as old as Mrs. Bush, lived close
+by, and "kept an eye on her," as she said.
+
+Mrs. Bush's great enjoyment was to have visitors of all ages, to whom
+she talked a great deal, and cried as she talked, about a daughter who
+had died a few years ago. The little Kyles did not care to go there
+except when, as Edith said, there were ripe mulberries; but Mrs. Bush
+liked very much to have them, and Miss Harson took her little charges
+there occasionally, because, as she explained to them, it gave pleasure
+to a lonely old woman, and such visits were just as much charity, though
+of a different kind, as giving food and clothes to those who need them.
+The children delighted in the mulberries just because they did not have
+them at home, although they had fruit that was very much nicer; but Miss
+Harson never wished even to taste them, although she too had liked them
+when a little girl.
+
+"The mulberry tree," continued their governess, "belongs to the
+bread-fruit family, but the other members of this remarkable family,
+except the Osage orange, are found only in foreign countries. The
+bread-fruit tree itself, the fig, the Indian fig, or banyan tree, and
+the deadly upas tree, are all relations of the mulberry."
+
+"Well, trees are queer things," exclaimed Malcolm, "to belong to
+families that are not a bit alike."
+
+"They are alike in important points, when we examine them carefully,"
+was the reply. "The bread-fruit genus consists, with a single exception,
+of trees and shrubs with alternate, toothed or lobed or entire leaves
+and milky juice. This reminds me that the famous cow tree of South
+America, which yields a large supply of rich and wholesome milk, is one
+of the members; and you see what a number of famous trees we have on
+hand now. There are several kinds of mulberries--the red, black, white
+and paper mulberry, which are all occasionally found in this country,
+and they were once quite popular here for their shade. The fruit is
+unusually small for tree-fruit, and very soft when ripe, as you all
+know; it is not unlike a long, narrow blackberry, and forms, like it, a
+compound fruit, as though many small berries had grown together. The
+tree in Mrs. Bush's garden is the black mulberry, as any one might know
+by the stained lips and hands that sometimes come from there; and it has
+been cultivated from ancient times for its fine appearance and shade. It
+is found wild in the forests of Persia, and is thought to have been
+taken from there to Europe. The tree is more beautiful than useful, for
+the silkworms do not thrive well on the leaves and the wood is neither
+strong nor durable."
+
+"Why, I thought," said Clara, "that silkworms always lived on
+mulberry-leaves?"
+
+"The white mulberry is their favorite food; and another species, called
+the _Morus multicaulis_--for _Morus_ is the scientific name of the
+family--has more delicate leaves than any other, and produces a finer
+quality of silk. These trees are natives of China, and the white
+mulberry grows very rapidly to the height of thirty or forty feet. The
+paper mulberry is so called because in China and Japan--of which it is a
+native--its bark is manufactured into paper. In the South-Sea Islands,
+where it is also found, the bark is made into the curious dresses which
+we sometimes see imported thence. It is a low, thick-branched tree with
+large light-colored downy leaves and dark-scarlet fruit."
+
+"I wonder," said Malcolm, "if the bark is like birch-bark?"
+
+"It does not look like it," replied Miss Harson, "but it seems to be
+very much of the same nature. The red mulberry and black mulberry are
+the most hardy of these trees, and the red mulberry will thrive farther
+north than any of the family. The wood is valuable for many purposes for
+which timber is used, and especially in boat-building. And now, as we
+learned something about silkworms and their cocoons in our talks about
+insects[15], there is little more to be said of the mulberry tree which
+any but learned people would care to know."
+
+[15] See _Flyers and Crawlers_. Presbyterian Board of Publication.
+
+"I want to hear about the bread tree," said little Edith, "and how the
+loaves of bread grow on it."
+
+"Do they, Miss Harson?" asked Clara, not exactly seeing how this could
+be.
+
+"I don't believe they're very hot," remarked Malcolm, who was puzzled
+over the bread-fruit tree himself, but who laughed at his little
+sister's idea in a very knowing way. It was not an ill-natured laugh,
+though, and a glance from his governess always quieted him.
+
+"No, dear," replied Miss Harson, answering Clara; "loaves of bread do
+not grow on any tree. But I will tell you about the bread-fruit
+presently; let us finish the _Morus_ family and their kindred in our own
+country before we go to their foreign relations. The Osage orange is so
+much used in the United States, and in this part of it, for hedges, on
+account of its rapid growth and ornamental appearance, that we really
+ought to know something about it. 'It is a beautiful low, spreading,
+round-headed tree with the port and splendor of an orange tree. Its
+oval, entire, polished leaves have the shining green of natives of
+warmer regions, and its curiously-tesselated, succulent compound fruit
+the size and golden color of an orange. It was first found in the
+country of the Osage Indians, from whom it gets its name, and it has
+since been cultivated in many parts of this country and in Europe. The
+Osages belonged to the Sioux, or Dacotah, tribe of Indians, and their
+home was in the south-western part of the old United States. The Osage
+orange--a tree from thirty to forty feet high with leaves even more
+bright and glossy than those of the ordinary orange--was first found
+growing wild near one of their villages."
+
+"But what a very high hedge it would make!" said Malcolm.
+
+"Yes, if left to its natural growth, it would be a very absurd fence
+indeed. But this is not the case; the branches spread out very widely,
+and by cutting off the tops and trimming the remainder twice in a season
+a very handsome thickset hedge is produced, with lustrous leaves and
+sharp, straight thorns. Another name for this tree is yellow-wood, or
+bow-wood, because the wood is of a bright-yellow color, and the grain is
+so fine and elastic that the Southern Indians have been in the habit of
+using it to make their bows. The experiment of feeding silkworms upon
+the leaves has been tried, but it was not very successful."
+
+"I suppose the worms didn't know that it belonged to the mulberry
+family," said Clara, "and I don't see now why it does."
+
+For reply, her governess read:
+
+"'The sap of the young wood and of the leaves is _milky_ and contains a
+large proportion of caoutchouc.'"
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed Malcolm; "that sounds just like sneezing. What is it,
+Miss Harson?"
+
+"Something that you wear on your feet and over your shoulders in wet
+weather; so now guess."
+
+"Overshoes!" replied Clara, in a great hurry.
+
+"How many of them do you wear over your shoulders at once?" asked her
+brother. "And it must be a queer kind of sap that has overshoes in it.
+Why couldn't you say 'India-rubber'?"
+
+"And why couldn't _you_ say it before Clara put it into your head by
+saying 'Overshoes?" asked Miss Harson. "Clara has the right idea, only
+she did not express it in the clearest way. The sap of the caoutchouc,
+or India-rubber, tree is the most valuable yet discovered, and, as it is
+of a milky nature, it can very properly be brought into the present
+class of trees."
+
+"Is _that_ a mulberry too?" asked Clara, who thought that the size of
+the family was getting beyond all bounds.
+
+"It is not really set down as belonging to the bread-fruit family," was
+the reply, "but it certainly has the peculiarity of their milky sap.
+However, as I know that you are all eager to hear about the bread-fruit
+tree, we will take that next. This tree is found in various tropical
+regions, but principally in the South-Sea Islands, where it is about
+forty feet high. The immense leaves are half a yard long and over a
+quarter wide, and are deeply divided into sharp lobes. The fruit looks
+like a very large green berry, being about the size of a cocoanut or
+melon, and the proper time for gathering it is about a week before it is
+ripe. When baked, it is not very unlike bread. It is cooked by being
+cut into several pieces, which are baked in an oven in the ground. It is
+often eaten with orange-juice and cocoanut-milk. Some of the South-Sea
+islanders depend very much upon it for their food. The large seeds, when
+roasted, are said to taste like the best chestnuts. The pulp, which is
+the bread-part, is said to resemble a baked potato and is very white and
+tender, but, unless eaten soon after the fruit is gathered, it grows
+hard and choky."
+
+[Illustration: THE BREAD-FRUIT.]
+
+"So Edie's 'loaves of bread' are green?" said Malcolm, rather
+teasingly.
+
+"That's because they grow on a tree," replied Clara. "Our loaves of
+bread are raw dough before they're baked, and they are grains of wheat
+before they are dough."
+
+"That is quite true, dear," replied her governess, laughing, "and we
+must teach Malcolm not to be quite so critical.--The bread-fruit is a
+wonderful tree, and it certainly does bear uncooked loaves of bread, at
+least, for they require no kneading to be ready for the oven. The fruit
+is to be found on the tree for eight months of the year--which is very
+different from any of our fruits--and two or three bread-fruit trees
+will supply one man with food all the year round."
+
+"Put what does he do when there is no fresh fruit on them?" asked
+Malcolm. "You told us that it was not good to eat unless it was fresh."
+
+"We should not think it good, but the native makes it into a sour paste
+called _mahe_, and the people of the islands eat this during the four
+months when the fresh fruit is not to be had. The bread-fruit is said
+to be very nourishing, and it can be prepared in various ways. The
+timber of this tree, though soft, is found useful in building houses and
+boats; the flowers, when dried, serve for tinder; the viscid, milky
+juice answers for birdlime and glue; the leaves, for towels and packing;
+and the inner bark, beaten together, makes one species of the
+South-Sea cloth."
+
+"What a very useful tree!" exclaimed Clara.
+
+"It is indeed," replied Miss Harson; "and this is the case with many of
+the trees found in these warm countries, where the inhabitants know
+little of the arts and manufactures, and would almost starve rather than
+exert themselves very greatly. There is another species of bread-fruit,
+called the jaca, or jack, tree, found on the mainland of Asia, which
+produces its fruit on different parts of the tree, according to its age.
+When the tree is young, the fruit grows from the twigs; in middle age it
+grows from the trunk; and when the tree gets old, it grows from
+the roots."
+
+[Illustration: JACK-FRUIT TREE.]
+
+There was a picture of the jack tree with fruit growing out of the
+trunk and great branches like melons, and the children crowded eagerly
+around to look at it. All agreed that it was the very queerest tree they
+had yet heard of.
+
+"The fruit is even larger than that of the island bread-fruit,"
+continued their governess, "but it is not so pleasant to our taste, nor
+is it so nourishing. It often weighs over thirty pounds and has two or
+three hundred seeds, each of which is four times as large as an almond
+and is surrounded by a pulp which is greatly relished by the natives of
+India. The seeds, or nuts, are roasted, like those of smaller fruit, and
+make very good chestnuts. The fruit has a strong odor not very agreeable
+to noses not educated to it."
+
+"Miss Harson," said Malcolm, "what is the upas tree like, and why is it
+called _deadly_?"
+
+"It is a tree eighty feet high, with white and slightly-furrowed bark;
+the branches, which are very thick, grow nearly at the top, dividing
+into smaller ones, which form an irregular sort of crown to the tall,
+straight trunk. There is no reason for calling it _deadly_ except a
+foolish notion and the fact that a very strong poison is prepared from
+the milky sap. The tree grows in the island of Java, and for a long time
+many fabulous stories were told of its dangerous nature. Travelers in
+that region would send home the wildest and most improbable stories of
+the poison tree, until the very name of the upas was enough to make
+people shudder. It is said that a Dutch surgeon stationed on the island
+did much to keep up the impression. He wrote an account of the valley in
+which the upas was said to be growing alone, for no tree nor shrub was
+to be found near it. And he declared that neither animal nor bird could
+breathe the noxious effluvia from the tree without instant death. In
+fact, he called this fatal spot 'The Valley of Death.'"
+
+"And wasn't it true, Miss Harson?"
+
+"Not all true, Clara; some one who had spent many years in Java proved
+these stories to be entirely false. Instead of growing in a dismal
+valley by itself, the graceful-looking upas tree is found in the most
+fertile spots, among other trees, and very often climbing plants are
+twisted round its trunk, while birds nestle in the branches. It can be
+handled, too, like any other tree; and all this is as unlike the Dutch
+surgeon's account as possible. One of his stories was that the criminals
+on the island were employed to collect the poison from the trunk of the
+tree; that they were permitted to choose whether to die by the hand of
+the executioner or to go to the upas for a box of its fatal juice; and
+that the ground all about the tree was strewed with the dead bodies of
+those who had perished on this errand."
+
+"Oh," exclaimed Edith, "wasn't that dreadful?"
+
+"The story was dreadful, dear, but it was only a story, you know: the
+upas tree did not kill people at all; and to turn the milky juice into a
+dangerous poison took a great deal of time and trouble. It was mixed
+with various spices and fermented; when ready for use, it was poured
+into the hollow joints of bamboo and carefully kept from the air. Both
+for war and for the chase arrows are dipped in this fatal preparation,
+and the effect has been witnessed by naturalists on animals, and also on
+man. The instant it touches the blood it is carried through the whole
+system, so that it may be felt in all the veins and causes a burning
+sensation, especially in the head, which is followed by sickness
+and death."
+
+"Well," said Clara, drawing a long breath, "I'm glad that I don't live
+in Java."
+
+"The poisoned arrows are not constantly flying about in Java, dear,"
+replied her governess, with a smile, "and I do not think you would be in
+any danger from them; but there are a great many other reasons why it is
+not pleasant, except for natives, to live in Java. There are a number of
+Dutch settlers there, because the island was conquered by the Dutch
+nation, but while war with the natives was going on they suffered
+terribly from these poisoned arrows; so that the very name of upas
+caused them to tremble. The word 'upas,' in the language of the natives,
+means poison, and there is in the island a valley called the upas, or
+poison, valley. It has nothing, however, to do with the tree, which does
+not grow anywhere in the neighborhood. That valley may literally be
+called 'The Valley of Death.' We are told that it came to exist in this
+way: The largest mountain in Java was once partly buried in a very
+dreadful manner. In the middle of a summer night the people in the
+neighborhood perceived a luminous cloud that seemed wholly to envelop
+the mountain. They were extremely alarmed and took to flight, but ere
+they could escape a terrific noise was heard, like the discharge of
+cannon, and part of the mountain fell in and disappeared. At the same
+moment quantities of stones and lava were thrown to the distance of
+several miles. Fifteen miles of ground covered with villages and
+plantations were swallowed up or buried under the lava from the
+mountain; and when all was over and people tried to visit the scene of
+the disaster, they could not approach it on account of the heat of the
+stones and other substances piled upon one another. And yet as much as
+six weeks had elapsed since the catastrophe. This upas valley is about
+half a mile in circumference, and the vapor that escapes through the
+cracks and fissures is fatal to every living thing. Here, indeed, are to
+be seen the bones of animals and birds, and even the skeletons of human
+beings who were unfortunate enough to enter and were overpowered by the
+deadly vapor. And now," added Miss Harson, "I have given you this
+account to make you understand that the famous upas valley of Java is
+not a valley of upas trees, but one of poisonous vapors."
+
+"And the deadly upas," said Malcolm, "is not deadly, after all! I think
+I shall remember that."
+
+"And I too," said Clara and Edith, who had listened with great interest
+to the description.
+
+"Shall we have some figs now, by way of variety?" was a question that
+caused three pairs of eyes to turn rather expectantly on the speaker;
+for figs were very popular with the small people of Elmridge.
+
+[Illustration: THE BANYAN TREE.]
+
+"Not in the way of refreshments, just at present," continued their
+governess, "but only as belonging to the mulberry family; and we will
+begin with that curious tree the banyan, or Indian fig. This stately and
+beautiful tree is found on the banks of the river Ganges and in many
+parts of India, and is a tree much valued and venerated by the Hindu. He
+plants it near the temple of his idol; and if the village in which he
+resides does not possess any such edifice, he uses the banyan for a
+temple and places the idol beneath it. Here, every morning and evening,
+he performs the rites of his heathen worship. And, more than this, he
+considers the tree, with its out-stretched and far-sheltering arms, an
+emblem of the creator of all things."
+
+"Is that only one tree?" asked Malcolm as Miss Harson displayed a
+picture that was more like a small grove. "Why, it looks like two or
+three trees together."
+
+"Does it grow up from the ground or down from the air?" asked Clara.
+"Just look at these queer branches with one end fast to the tree and the
+other end fast to the ground!"
+
+Edith thought that the branches which had not reached the ground looked
+like snakes, but, for all that, it was certainly a grand tree.
+
+"The peculiar growth of the banyan," continued Miss Harson, "renders it
+an object of beauty and produces those column-like stems that cause it
+to become a grove in itself. It may be said to grow, not from the seed,
+but from the branches. They spread out horizontally, and each branch
+sends out a number of rootlets that at first hang from it like slender
+cords and wave about in the wind.--Those are your 'snakes,' Edith.--But
+by degrees they reach the ground and root themselves into it; then the
+cord tightens and thickens and becomes a stem, acting like a prop to the
+widespreading branch of the parent plant. Indeed, column on column is
+added in this manner, the books tell us, so long as the mother-tree can
+support its numerous progeny."
+
+"How very strange!" said Clara. "The mulberry seems to have some very
+funny relations."
+
+"Such a great tree ought to bear very large figs," added Malcolm.
+
+"On the contrary," replied his governess, "it bears uncommonly small
+ones--no larger than a hazel-nut, and of a red color. They are not
+considered eatable by the natives, but birds and animals feed upon them,
+and in the leafy bower of the banyan are found the peacock, the monkey
+and the squirrel. Here, too, are a myriad of pigeons as green as the
+leaf and with eyes and feet of a brilliant red. They are so like the
+foliage in color that they can be seen only by the practiced eye of the
+hunter, and even he would fail to detect them were it not for their
+restless movements. As they flutter about from branch to branch they are
+apt to fall victims to his skill in shooting his arrows."
+
+"If they would only keep still!" exclaimed Edith, who felt a strong
+sympathy for the green pigeons. "Poor pretty things! Why don't they,
+Miss Harson, instead of getting killed?"
+
+"They do not know their danger until it is too late, and it is quite as
+hard for them to keep still as it is for little girls."
+
+Edith wondered if that meant her; she was a little girl, but she did not
+think she was so very restless. However, Miss Harson didn't tell her,
+and she soon forgot it in listening to what was said of the queer tree
+with branches like snakes.
+
+"The leaves of the banyan tree are large and soft and of a very bright
+green, and the deep shade and pillared walks are so welcome to the Hindu
+that he even tries to improve on Nature and coax the shoots to grow just
+where he wishes them. He binds wet clay and moss on the branch to make
+the rootlet sprout."
+
+"Will it grow then?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Yes, just as a cutting planted in the earth will grow, although it
+seems a very odd style of gardening.--The sacred fig tree of
+India--_Ficus religiosa_--is a near relative of the banyan, and very
+much like it in general appearance; but the leaves are on such slender
+stalks that they tremble like those of the aspen. It is known as the bo
+tree of Ceylon, and is said to have been placed in charge of the priests
+long before the present race of inhabitants had appeared in the island."
+
+"Where do the real figs grow?" asked Clara.
+
+"In a great many moderately warm or sub-tropical countries," was the
+reply, "but Smyrna figs are the most celebrated. Immense quantities of
+the fruit are dried and packed in Asiatic Turkey for exportation from
+this city, and it is said that in the fig season nothing else is talked
+about there."
+
+"I didn't know that they were dried," said Malcolm, in great surprise;
+"I thought they were just packed tight in boxes and then sent off."
+
+[Illustration: LEAF AND FRUIT OF THE FIG TREE.]
+
+"'In its native country,'" read Miss Harson, "'and when growing on the
+tree, the fig presents a different appearance from the dried and packed
+specimens we see in this country. It is a firm and fleshy fruit, and
+has a delicious honey-drop hanging from the point.' And here," she
+added, "is a small branch from the fig tree, with fruit growing on it."
+
+"Why, it's shaped like a pear!" exclaimed Malcolm.
+
+"And what large, pretty leaves it has!" said Clara.
+
+"'The fig tree is common in Palestine and the East,'" Miss Harson
+continued to read, "'and flourishes with the greatest luxuriance in
+those barren and stony situations, where little else will grow. Its
+large size and its abundance of five-lobed leaves render it a pleasant
+shade-tree, and its fruit furnishes a wholesome food very much used in
+all the lands of the Bible.' Figs were among the fruits mentioned in the
+'land that flowed with milk and honey,' and it was a symbol of peace and
+plenty, as you will find, Malcolm, by reading to us from First Kings,
+fourth chapter, twenty-fifth verse."
+
+"'And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under
+his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of
+Solomon.'--That's what it means, then!" said Malcolm, when he had
+finished reading the verse. "I've heard people say, 'Under your own vine
+and fig tree,' and I couldn't tell what they meant."
+
+"Yes," replied his governess, "some persons make very free with the
+words of Holy Scripture and twist them to suit meanings for which they
+were not intended. Having a house of one's own is usually meant by this
+quotation, and almost the same words are repeated in other parts of the
+Old Testament. The fig is often mentioned in the Bible, and two kinds
+are spoken of--the very early fig, and the one that ripens late in the
+summer. The early fig was considered the best; and I think that Clara
+will tell us what is said of it by the prophet Jeremiah."
+
+Clara read slowly:
+
+"'One basket had very good figs, _even like the figs that are first
+ripe_; and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be
+eaten, they were so bad[16].'"
+
+[16] Jer. xxiv. 2.
+
+"But can figs be naughty, Miss Harson?" asked Edith, with very
+wide-open eyes. "I thought that only children were naughty,"
+
+"There are 'naughty' grown people as well as naughty children," was the
+reply, "and inanimate things like figs in old times were called naughty
+too, in the sense of being bad.--The fruit of the fig tree appears not
+only before the leaves, but without any sign of blossoms, the flowers
+being small and hidden in the little buttons which first shoot out from
+the points of the sterns, and around which the outer and firm part of
+the fig grows. The leaves come out so late in the season that our
+Saviour said, 'Now learn a parable of the fig tree; when his branch is
+yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh[17].'
+Did not our Lord say something else about a fig tree?"
+
+[17] Matt. xxiv. 32.
+
+"Yes," replied Clara; "the one that was withered away because it had no
+figs on it."
+
+"The barren fig tree which was withered at our Saviour's word, as an
+awful warning to unfruitful professors of religion, seems to have spent
+itself in leaves. It stood by the wayside, free to all, and, as the time
+for stripping the trees of their fruit had not come--for in Mark we are
+told that 'the time of figs was not yet[18]'--it was reasonable to
+expect to find it covered with figs in various stages of growth. Yet
+there was 'nothing thereon, but leaves only.' Find the nineteenth verse
+of the twenty-first chapter of Matthew, Malcolm, and read what is
+said there."
+
+[18] Mark xi. 13.
+
+"'And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found
+nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on
+thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.'"
+
+"A fig tree having leaves," said Miss Harson, "should also have figs,
+for these, as I have already told you, appear before the leaves, and
+both are on the tree at the same time; so that, although unripe figs are
+seen without leaves, leaves should not be seen without figs; and if it
+was not yet the season for figs, it was not the season for leaves
+either. The barren fig tree has often been compared to people who make a
+show of goodness in words, but leave the doing of good works to others;
+and when anything is expected of them, there is sure to be
+disappointment. 'Nothing but leaves' has become a proverb; and when it
+can be used to express the barren condition of those who profess to
+follow the teachings of our Lord, it is sad indeed."
+
+"Do fig trees grow wild?" asked Clara, presently.
+
+"Yes," was the reply, "and very curious-looking things they are. 'Their
+roots twist into all kinds of whimsical contortions, so as to look more
+like a mass of snakes than the roots of a tree. They unite themselves so
+closely to the substances that come in their way, such as the face of
+rocks, or even the stems of other trees, that nothing can pull them
+away. And in some parts of India these strong, tough roots are made to
+serve the purpose of bridges and twisted over some stream or cataract.
+The wild fig is often a dangerous parasite, and does not attain
+perfection without completing some work of destruction among its
+neighbors in the forest. A slender rootlet may sometimes be seen hanging
+from the crown of a palm. The seed was carried there by some bird that
+had fed upon the fruit of a wild fig, and it rooted itself with
+surprising facility. The rootlet, as it descends, envelops the
+column-like stem of the palm with a woody network, and at length reaches
+the ground. Meanwhile, the true stem of the parasite shoots upward from
+the crown of the palm. It sends out numberless rootlets, each of which,
+as soon as it reaches the ground, takes root; and between them the palm
+is stifled and perishes, leaving the fig in undisturbed possession. The
+parasite does not, however, long survive the decline; for, no longer fed
+by the juices of the palm, it also, in process of time, begins to
+languish and decline.'"
+
+"What a mean thing it is!" exclaimed Malcolm--"as mean as the cuckoo,
+that lays its eggs in other birds' nests. And I'm glad it dies when it
+has killed the palm tree; it just serves it right. But don't figs ever
+grow in this country, Miss Harson?"
+
+"Yes," replied his governess; "they are cultivated in the Southern
+States and in California, like many other semi-tropical fruits, and are
+principally eaten fresh, but for drying they are not equal to the
+imported ones. No doubt the cultivation of figs in California will
+become a prosperous trade, for the climate and circumstances there are
+much like those of Syria."
+
+[Illustration: DWARF FIG TREE IN A POT.]
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+_QUEER RELATIONS: THE CAOUTCHOUC AND THE MILK TREE_.
+
+"What dark, strange-looking trees!" exclaimed the children while looking
+at an illustration of caoutchouc trees in Brazil. "How thick and strong
+they are! And what funny tops!--like pointed umbrellas."
+
+"The India-rubber tree is not likely to be mistaken for any other," said
+their governess, "and it does not look very dark and gloomy in that
+forest, where everything seems to be crowded close and in a tangle,
+because South American vegetation grows so thickly and rapidly. This is
+the country which supplies the largest quantity of India-rubber. Immense
+cargoes are shipped from the town of Para, on the river Amazon, and
+obtained from the _Siphonia elastica_."
+
+"Are the stems all made of India-rubber?" asked Edith, who thought that
+was exactly what they looked like.
+
+"Are the stems of the maple trees made of maple-sugar?" replied Miss
+Harson. "The India-rubber is got from its tree as the sugar is from the
+maple tree. It is taken from the trunk in the shape of a very thick
+milky fluid, and it is said that no other vital fluid, whether in animal
+or in plant, contains so much solid material within it; and it is a
+matter of surprise that the sap, thus encumbered, can circulate through
+all the delicate vessels of the tree. Tropical heat is required to form
+the caoutchouc; for when the tree is cultivated in hothouses, the
+substance of the sap is quite different. The full-grown trees are very
+handsome, with round column-like trunks about sixty feet high, and the
+crown of foliage is said to resemble that of the ash."
+
+"Did people always know about India-rubber?" asked Clara.
+
+"No indeed! It is not more than a hundred and fifty years--perhaps not
+so long--since it was a great curiosity; so that a piece half an inch
+square would sell in London for nearly a dollar of our money, but now it
+comes in shiploads, and a pound of it costs less than quarter of that
+sum. It is used for so many purposes that it seems as if the world could
+never have gone on without it. All sorts of outside garments to keep out
+the rain are made of it. Waterproof cloaks are called macintoshes in
+England because this was the name of the person who invented them.
+India-rubber is also used for tents and many other things, and, as water
+cannot get through it, there is a great saving of trouble and expense."
+
+"It must be splendid for tents," said Malcolm; "no one need care, when
+snug under cover, whether or not it rained in the woods."
+
+"People do care, though," was the reply, "for they expect, when in the
+woods, to live out of doors; but the India-rubber is certainly a great
+improvement on tents that get soaked through."
+
+"I like it," said Edith, "because it rubs things out. When I draw a
+house and it's all wrong, my piece of India-rubber will take it away,
+and then I can make another one on the paper."
+
+"That is the very smallest of its uses," replied Miss Harson, smiling at
+the little girl's earnestness, "and yet we find it a great convenience.
+An English writer, speaking of it when it was first known in England,
+said that he had seen a substance that would efface from paper the marks
+of a black-lead pencil, and he thought it must be of use to those who
+practiced drawing."
+
+"How funny that sounds!" exclaimed Malcolm. "Why, I couldn't get along
+without my India-rubber when I make mistakes,"
+
+"You might," said his governess, "if you had some stale bread to rub
+with; for people _have_ gotten along without a great many things which
+they now think necessary."
+
+"Miss Harson," said Clara, "won't you tell us, please, how they get the
+caoutch--whatever it is--and make it into India-rubber?"
+
+"I will," was the laughing reply, "when you can say the word properly.
+C-a-o-u-t-c-h-o-u-c--koochook."
+
+As Clara said, Miss Harson made things so easy to understand! and in a
+very short time the hard word was mastered.
+
+"As I have never seen the sap gathered," continued the young lady, "I
+shall have to read you an account of it, instead of telling you from my
+own experience; but the description is so plain that I think we shall
+all be able to understand it very well: 'At certain seasons of the year
+the natives visit some islands in the river Amazon that for many months
+are covered with water. As soon as the water subsides and a footing can
+be obtained the Indians arrive in parties, to seek for the trees. The
+Indian who comes every morning to collect the juice from the trunk has a
+number of trees allotted to him, and goes the round of the whole. The
+previous night he has made a long, deep cut in the bark of each and hung
+an earthen vessel beneath, to receive the thick, creamlike substance
+that trickles down. The vessel is filled by morning, and he pours the
+contents into one much larger and carries it to his hut. He is provided
+with a number of moulds of different shapes and sizes, and he dips them
+into the juice and puts them aside to dry. They are then dipped again,
+and the process is continued until the coat of India-rubber on the mould
+is of sufficient thickness. It is made black by passing it through the
+smoke of burning palm-nuts. The moulds are broken and taken out, leaving
+the India-rubber ready for sale, and pretty much as we used to see it in
+the shops before the people of this country had learned how to
+work it.'"
+
+"That seems easy enough," said Malcolm, "but how do they make it into
+gutta-percha?"
+
+"Gutta-percha is not made," replied his governess, "and it is taken from
+an entirely different tree, the _Icosandra gutta_, which grows in
+Southern Asia. The milky fluid is procured in the same way, but it is
+placed in vessels to evaporate, and the solid substance left at the
+bottom is the gutta-percha. It is not elastic, like India-rubber, and
+is called 'vegetable leather' because of its toughness and leathery
+appearance. It was discovered by an English traveler a long time before
+it was supposed to have any useful properties, but now it is considered
+a very valuable material. The wonderful submarine telegraph could not
+convey its messages between the Old World and the New were not its wires
+protected from injury by a coating of gutta-percha. Its unyielding
+nature and its not being elastic render it the very material needed. The
+long straps used in working machines are also made of gutta-percha, and
+this is another instance where its non-elasticity gives it the
+preference over India-rubber."
+
+"And what is vulcanite?" asked Clara.
+
+"It is caoutchouc mixed with sulphur. Unless a small quantity of
+brimstone is added in the manufacture of overshoes, they become soft
+when exposed to heat and hardened when exposed to cold; but it was
+discovered that the sulphur will keep them from being affected by
+changes in temperature. When a large amount of sulphur is used, the
+India-rubber, becomes as hard as horn or wood, and this is the substance
+called vulcanite. Now the gum is imported in masses, to be wrought over
+by our skillful mechanics."
+
+The children were very much pleased to find that they had learned the
+nature of three important articles--India-rubber, gutta-percha and
+vulcanite--and they thought it would be quite easy to remember the
+differences between them.
+
+"And now," said Miss Harson, "the last of these useful trees--the cow
+tree, or milk tree--is the most curious one of all. Like the caoutchouc,
+it is a native of South America; but the sap is a rich fluid that
+answers for food, like milk. It is a fine-looking tree with oblong,
+pointed leaves about ten inches in length and a fleshy fruit containing
+one or two nuts. The sap is the most valuable part; and when incisions
+are made in the trunk of the tree, there is an abundant flow of thick
+milk-like sap, which is described as having an agreeable and balmv
+smell. The German traveler Humboldt drank it from the shell of a
+calabash, and the natives dip their bread of maize or cassava in it.
+This milk is said to be very fattening; and when exposed to the air, it
+thickens into a substance which the people call cheese."
+
+"Milk and cheese from a tree!" exclaimed Malcolm. "Do you think we'd
+like them as well as ours, Miss Harson?"
+
+"No," was the reply, "I do not think we should; but if we had never
+known any other kind, it would be quite a different matter, and the
+traveler says that both smell and taste are agreeable. The sap, it
+seems, is like curdled milk, and the natives say that they can tell,
+from the thickness and color of the foliage, the trunks that yield the
+most juice. This wonderful tree will be found growing on the side of a
+barren rock, and its large, woody roots can scarcely penetrate into the
+stone. For several months of the year not a single shower moistens its
+foliage. Its branches then appear dead and dried; but when the trunk is
+pierced, there flows from it a sweet and nourishing milk. It is at the
+rising of the sun that this vegetable fountain is most abundant. The
+negroes and natives are then seen hastening from all quarters, furnished
+with large bowls to receive the milk, which grows yellow and thickens at
+its surface. Some empty their bowls while under the tree itself; others
+carry the juice home to their children."
+
+"Isn't it funny," said Edith, laughing, "to go and get their breakfasts
+from a _tree_? I wish we had some milk trees here."
+
+"But you would not find it pleasant," replied their governess, "to have
+some other things that are always found where the milk tree grows. The
+intense heat and the swarms of mosquitoes and biting flies, the serpents
+and jaguars and other disagreeable and dangerous creatures, make life in
+that region anything but pleasant, and the curious vegetation and
+delicious fruits are not worth the suffering inflicted by all these
+torments."
+
+On hearing of these drawbacks the children soon decided that their own
+dear home was the best, and no longer envied the possessors even of
+the cow tree.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+_HOME AND ABROAD: LINDEN, CAMPHOR, BEECH_.
+
+"Now," said Miss Harson to her expectant flock, "it is to be hoped that
+our foreign wanderings among such wonderful trees have not spoiled you
+for home trees, as there are still a number of them which we have not
+yet examined."
+
+"No indeed!" they assured her; "they liked to hear about them all, and
+they were going to try and remember everything she told them about
+the trees."
+
+Their governess said that would be too much to expect, and if they
+remembered the most important things she would be quite satisfied,
+
+"We will take the linden, lime, or basswood, tree--for it has all three
+of these names--this evening," she continued, "and there are nine or ten
+species of the tree, which are found in America, Europe and Western
+Asia. It is a very handsome, regular-looking tree with rich, thick
+masses of foliage that make a deep shade. The leaves are heart-shaped
+and very finely veined, have sharply-serrated edges and are four or five
+inches long. The leaf-stalk is half the length of the leaf. It blooms
+in July and August, and the flowers are yellowish white and very
+fragrant; when an avenue of limes is in blossom, the whole atmosphere is
+filled with a delightful perfume which can hardly be described."
+
+[Illustration: THE LINDEN OR LIME TREE (_Tilia_).]
+
+"There are no lime trees here, are there?" asked Clara.
+
+"No," was the reply, "I do not think there are any in this neighborhood;
+but they grow abundantly not many miles away. Our native trees are not
+so pretty as the English lime, which, clothed with softer foliage, has a
+smaller leaf and a neater and more elegant spray. Ours bears larger and
+more conspicuous flowers, in heavier clusters, but of inferior
+sweetness. Both species are remarkable for their size and longevity. The
+young leaves of the lime are of a bright fresh tint that contrasts
+strongly with the very dark color of the branches; and these branches
+are so finely divided that their beauty is seen to the greatest
+advantage when winter has stripped them bare of leaves.
+
+"'The linden has in all ages been celebrated for the fragrance of its
+flowers and the excellence of the honey made from them. The famous
+Mount Hybla was covered with lime trees. The aroma from its flowers is
+like that of mignonette; it perfumes the whole atmosphere, and is
+perceptible to the inhabitants of all the beehives within a circuit of a
+mile. The real linden honey is of a greenish color and delicious taste
+when taken from the hive immediately after the trees have been in
+blossom, and is often sold for more than the ordinary kind. There is a
+forest in Lithuania that abounds in lime trees, and here swarms of wild
+bees live in the hollow trunks and collect their honey from the lime.'"
+
+[Illustration: LEAF AND FLOWER OF LIME TREE _(Tilia)._]
+
+"What fun it would be, if we were there, to go and get it!" exclaimed
+Malcolm. "But don't bees make honey from the lime trees that grow in
+this country, too, Miss Harson?"
+
+"Certainly they do; and the beekeepers look anxiously forward to the
+blossoming of the trees, because they provide such abundant supplies for
+the busy swarms. The flowers have other uses, too, besides the making of
+honey: the Swiss are said to obtain a favorite beverage from them, and
+in the South of France an infusion of the blossoms is taken for colds
+and hoarseness, and also for fever. 'Active boys climb to the topmost
+branches and gather the fragrant flowers, which their mothers catch in
+their aprons for that purpose. An avenue of limes has been ravaged and
+torn in pieces by the eagerness of the people to gather the blossoms,
+and they are often made into tea which is a soft sugary beverage in
+taste a little like licorice.'"
+
+"How queer," said Clara, "to make tea from flowers!"
+
+"Is it any queerer," asked her governess, "than to make it from leaves?
+I should think that the flowers might even be better, and yet I should
+scarcely like lime-tea that tastes like licorice."
+
+The children, though, seemed to think that they would like it, and Miss
+Harson had very little doubt that such would be the case.
+
+"Both the bark and the wood of the lime tree are valuable," she
+continued. "The fibres of the bark are strong and firm, and make
+excellent ropes and cordage. In Sweden and Russia they are made into a
+kind of matting that is very useful for packing-purposes and in
+protecting delicate plants from the frost. 'The manufacture of this
+useful material is carried on in the summer, close by the woods and
+forests where the lime trees grow in abundance. As soon as the sap
+begins to ascend freely the bark parts from the wood and can be taken
+away with ease. Great strips are then peeled off and steeped in water
+until they separate into layers; the layers are still further divided
+into smaller strips or ribbons, and are hung up in the shade of the
+wood, generally on the very tree itself from which they have been taken.
+After a time they are woven into the matting and sent to market for
+sale. The Swedish fishermen also manufacture it into a coarse thread for
+fishing-nets, and from the fibres of the young shoots the Russian
+peasant makes the strong shoes he wears, using the outer bark for the
+soles. In Italy the garments of the poorer people are often made of
+cloth woven from this material."
+
+"Why, people can fairly _live_ on trees," said Malcolm. "I didn't know
+that they were good for anything but shade--except the trees that have
+fruit and nuts on 'em."
+
+"There is a great deal for us all to learn of the works of the Creator,"
+replied Miss Harson, "and the blessing of trees is not half known. The
+wood of the lime is said never to be worm-eaten; it is very soft and
+smooth and of a pale-yellow color. It is used for the famous Tunbridge
+ware, and is called the carver's tree, because, as the poet says,
+
+     "'Smooth linden best obeys
+     The carver's chisel--best his curious work
+     Displays in nicest touches.'
+
+"The fruits and flowers carved for the choir of St. Paul's cathedral in
+London are done in lime-wood.
+
+"So numerous are the purposes to which the bark, wood, leaves and
+blossoms of the lime, or linden, tree can be applied that centuries ago
+it was called the tree of a thousand uses. Linden is the name by which
+it is always known on the continent of Europe, and there it is indeed a
+magnificent tree, forming the most delightful avenues and branching
+colonnades. One of the principal streets in Berlin is called 'Unter den
+Linden.' In the Middle Ages, when the Swiss and the Flemings were always
+struggling for liberty, it was their custom to plant a lime tree on the
+field of battle, and many of these old trees still remain and have been
+the subject of ballads and poetical effusions:
+
+     "'The stately lime, smooth, gentle, straight and fair.'"
+
+"Is there any story about it, Miss Harson?"
+
+"No," was the reply, "not much of a story; only descriptions of some
+very large and very ancient trees. One of these, the old linden tree of
+Soleure, in Switzerland, was spoken of by an English traveler two
+hundred years ago as 'right noble and wondrous to behold. A bower
+composed of its branches is capable of holding three hundred persons
+sitting at ease; it has also a fountain set about with many tables
+formed solely of the boughs, to which men ascend by steps; and all is
+kept so accurately and thick that the sun never looks into it.'"
+
+"It is just like a tent," said Malcolm, "it must be pleasant to sit by
+the fountain. Wouldn't you like it, Miss Harson?"
+
+"I am sure I should," replied his governess; "and I should also like to
+see the famous lime tree of Zurich, the boughs of which will shelter
+five hundred persons. At Augsburg, in Germany, feasts and weddings have
+often been celebrated under the shade of some venerable limes that
+branch out to an immense distance. In early times divine honors were
+paid to them as emblems of immortality. And now," said Miss Harson, "the
+last of these famous trees is a noble lime tree which grew on the farm
+belonging to the ancestors of Linnaeus, the great naturalist, beneath
+the shade of which he played in childhood, and from which his ancestors
+derived their surname. That noble tree still blossoms from year to year,
+beautiful in every change of seasons."
+
+"Lime, linden and basswood," said Clara--"three names to remember for
+one tree. But didn't you say, Miss Harson, that it's always called
+basswood in our country?"
+
+"Often, but not always. The name linden is quite common with us, and it
+will be well for you to remember that it is also called lime, so that
+when you go to Europe you will know what is meant by _lime_ and
+_linden_."
+
+The children laughed at this idea, for it seemed very funny to think of
+a little girl like Clara going to Europe, but, as their governess told
+them, little girls did go constantly; besides, this was the time to
+learn what would be of use to them when they were grown.
+
+"The fragrant lime," said Miss Harson, "has a relative in Asia whose
+acquaintance I wish you to make, and you know it already in one of its
+products, which is common in every household. It is also very
+fragrant--or rather, I should say, it has a strong aromatic odor which
+is very reviving in cases of faintness or illness, although it has quite
+a contrary effect on insects, particularly on mosquitoes. I should like
+to have some one tell me what this white, powerful substance is."
+
+This was quite a conundrum, and for a little while the children were
+extremely puzzled over its solution; but presently Clara asked,
+
+"Do the moths hate it too, Miss Harson? And isn't it camphor?"
+
+"Camphor doesn't grow on a _tree_," said Malcolm, in a superior tone;
+"it is dug out of the earth."
+
+"I have never read of any camphor-mines," replied his governess,
+laughing, "and I think you will find that camphor--which is just what I
+meant--is obtained from the trunk of a tree."
+
+"Like India-rubber?" asked Edith.
+
+"No, dear, not like India-rubber, for it grows in even a more curious
+way than that, masses of it being found in the trunk of the camphor
+tree--not in the form of sap, but in lumps, as we use it."
+
+"I thought it was like water," said Edith, in a puzzled tone.
+
+"So it is when dissolved in alcohol, as we generally have it; but it is
+also used in lumps to drive away moths and for various other purposes.
+But I will tell you all about the tree, which grows in the islands of
+Sumatra and Borneo and bears the botanical name _Dryobalanops camphora_.
+The camphor is also called _barus_ camphor, to distinguish it from the
+_laurus_, of which I will tell you afterward, and it is of a better
+quality and more easily obtained. The tree grows in the forests of
+these East Indian islands and is remarkable for its majestic size, dense
+foliage and magnolia-like flowers. The trunk rises as high as ninety
+feet without a single branch, and within it are cavities, sometimes a
+foot and a half long, which cannot be perceived until the bark is split
+open. These cavities contain the camphor in clear crystalline masses,
+and with it an oil known as camphor oil, that is thought by some to be
+camphor in an immature form. But the oil, even when crystallized by
+artificial means, does not produce such good camphor as that already
+solidified in the tree."
+
+"To think," exclaimed Clara, "of camphor growing in that way! But how do
+they get it out, Miss Harson? Do they cut great holes in the trunk of
+the tree?"
+
+"No, dear; I have just read to you that the camphor cannot be seen until
+the bark is split open, and the grand trees have to be cut down. But to
+do this is no easy matter. The hard, close-grained timber requires days
+of hewing and sawing to get it severed. The masses of roots are as
+unyielding as iron, and run twisting through the soil to the distance
+of sixty yards. Even at their farthest extremity they are as thick as a
+man's thigh."
+
+"I shouldn't think the camphor was worth all that trouble," said
+Malcolm; "it don't seem to amount to much, any wary."
+
+"It is more valuable than you suppose," replied Miss Harson; "for,
+besides preserving furs and woolen fabrics from the devouring moth, it
+protects the contents of cabinets and museums from the attacks of the
+minute creatures that prey upon the dried specimens of the naturalist.
+Not any of the insect tribe can endure the powerful scent of the
+camphor, and they either retreat before it or are killed by it. But its
+principal value is in medicine. It is used both internally and
+externally. It acts as a nervous stimulant, and is a favorite domestic
+remedy.--So you see, Malcolm, that camphor really amounts to a great
+deal, and we could not very well do without it."
+
+"How can people tell when there is any camphor inside the tree?" asked
+Clara.
+
+"They cannot tell," was the reply, "until the trunk is split open,
+although a tribe of men in Sumatra say that they know before-hand, by a
+kind of magic, which is the right tree to cut down. But the beautiful,
+stately tree is often wasted in vain, and after all their hard work the
+camphor-seekers find the cavities of the split-up trunk filled with a
+thick black substance like pitch instead of the pure white camphor."
+
+"Poor things!" said Edith, pityingly; "that's too bad."
+
+"Camphor is found in many trees and shrubs," continued her governess,
+"but in all others except the camphor tree of Sumatra and Borneo it has
+to be distilled from the wood and roots. The camphor-laurel, which is
+about the size of an English oak, is the most important of these trees.
+It grows abundantly in the Chinese island of Formosa, and 'camphor
+mandarin' is the title of a rich Chinaman who pays the government for
+the privilege of extracting all the camphor, which he sends to other
+countries at a large profit. Every part of this tree is full of camphor,
+and the tree gives out, when bruised, a strong perfume.
+
+"The European bay tree, which is more like an immense shrub, is also a
+member of this singular tribe, and its leaves have the strong family
+flavor. They were used in medicine, as well as the berries, before the
+camphor-laurel became known in Europe; in the time of Queen Elizabeth
+the floors of the better sort of houses were strewed with bay-leaves
+instead of being carpeted as now. The bay was an emblem of victory in
+old Roman times, and victorious generals were crowned with it. A wreath
+of this laurel, with the berries on, was placed on the head of a
+favorite poet in the Middle Ages, and in this way came the title
+'poet-laureate'--_laureatus_,' crowned with laurel.'
+
+"Do you remember," continued Miss Harson, "the tall, straight tree that
+I showed you yesterday when we were out in the woods--the one with a
+fluted trunk? What was its name?"
+
+"I know!" said Malcolm, quite excited. "Think of the seashore! Beach!
+That's what I told myself to remember."
+
+[Illustration: AMERICAN BEECH.]
+
+"A very good idea," replied his governess, laughing; "only you must not
+spell it with an _a_, like the seashore, for it is _b-e-e-c-h._--The
+fluted, or ribbed, shaft of this grand-looking tree is often sixty or
+seventy feet high, and, although it is found in its greatest perfection
+in England, it is a common tree in most of the woods in this country.
+For depth of shade no tree is equal to the beech, and its long beautiful
+leaves, with their close ridges and serrated edges, are very much like
+those of the chestnut. The leaves are of a light, fresh green and very
+neat and perfect, because they are so seldom attacked by insects; they
+remain longer on the branches than those of any deciduous tree, and
+give a cheerful air to the wood in winter. In the autumn they change to
+a light yellow-brown, which makes a pretty contrast to the reds and
+greens and purples of other trees. The branches start out almost
+straight from the tree, but they very soon curve and turn regularly
+upward. Every small twig turns in the same direction, making the long
+leaf-buds at the end look like so many little spears. I showed you these
+'stuck-up' buds when we were looking at the tree, and you noticed how
+different they were from the other trees."
+
+Yes, the children remembered it; and it always seemed to them
+particularly nice to have part of the talk out of doors and the rest in
+the house.
+
+"Doesn't the beech tree have nuts?" asked Malcolm. "John says it does."
+
+"Yes," replied Miss Harson; "it has tiny three-cornered nuts which seem
+particularly small for so large a tree. But these nuts are eagerly
+devoured by pigeons, partridges and squirrels. Bears are said to be very
+fond of them, and swine fatten very rapidly upon them. Most varieties
+are so small as not to repay the trouble of gathering, drying and
+opening them. Fortunately, this is not the case with all, as it is a
+delicious nut. In France the beech-nut is much used for making oil,
+which is highly valued for burning in lamps and for cooking. In parts of
+the same country the nuts, roasted, serve as a substitute for coffee."
+
+"I'd like to find some when they're ripe," said Clara, "if they _are_
+little."
+
+"We will have a search for them, then," was the reply, "when the time
+comes.--The flowers which produce these little nuts are very showy and
+grow in roundish tassels, or heads, which hang by thread-like, silky
+stalks, one or two inches long, from the midst of the young leaves of a
+newly-opened bud. A traveler says of these leaves, 'We used always to
+think that the most luxurious and refreshing bed was that which prevails
+universally in Italy, and which consists entirely of a pile of
+mattresses filled with the luxuriant spathe of the Indian corn; which
+beds have the advantage of being soft as well as elastic, and we have
+always found the sleep enjoyed on them to be particularly sound and
+restorative. But the beds made of beech-leaves are really no whit behind
+them in these qualities, whilst the fragrant smell of green tea, which
+the leaves retain, is most gratifying. The objection to them is the
+slight crackling noise which the leaves occasion as the individual turns
+in bed, but this is no inconvenience at all; or if so in any degree, it
+is an inconvenience which is overbalanced by the advantages of this most
+luxurious couch."
+
+"But how funny," said Malcolm, "to sleep on leaves! That's what the
+Babes in the Wood did."
+
+"No," replied Clara, very earnestly, "they didn't sleep _on_ leaves, you
+know; but when they had laid down and gone to sleep, the robins came and
+covered them with leaves."
+
+"Yes," chimed in little Edith; "I like that way best, because they'd be
+so cold in the woods."
+
+"And that really was the case," said Miss Harson, after listening with a
+smile to this discussion, "although there were probably leaves on the
+ground for the children to lie upon. A bed of leaves is not a bad thing
+where there are no mattresses, and such a bed is often used as a matter
+of course. You will remember my reading to you about the beds which the
+Finland mothers make for their children of the leaves of the
+canoe-birch. 'Leafy beds' are no strange thing--not mere poetry."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+_THE TENT AND THE LOCUSTS_.
+
+There came a bright balmy day in May when the children found a
+delightful surprise awaiting them. The tent in the woods, which had been
+proposed on the day when birch-twigs were found to be eatable, was
+almost forgotten--or if thought of, it was as a thing that could not
+possibly be--when, on the day in question, Miss Harson took her charges
+out as usual, and led them to a very pretty cleared space with a fringe
+of rocks and trees all around it. But on this spot, which hitherto had
+been quite bare, there now stood some sort of a little house different
+from other houses and quite pretty.
+
+"It's a tent!" exclaimed Malcolm. "Who put it there, I should like to
+know, on _our_ land?"
+
+"Are there gypsies here, Miss Harson?" whispered Clara, rather
+fearfully.
+
+But the young lady walked deliberately up to the entrance of the tent
+and invited her little flock to come inside.
+
+"I know the gentleman who had it put here," she said, "and he is quite
+willing that we should use it; but he will not give any one else
+this liberty."
+
+"I think I know him too," said Malcolm as he walked in after Miss
+Harson.
+
+"And I!"--"And I!" exclaimed the little girls. "It is our own papa. How
+very kind of him!"
+
+"Yes," replied their governess; "he said, when I spoke of a tent, that
+it would be a good thing for the wood-ramblers to have a place of
+shelter when they were over-taken by a sudden shower, and also a place
+in which to rest comfortably when they were tired; and this pretty tent,
+you see, is all ready for us at any time."
+
+It was a very nice tent indeed, having a long cushioned seat inside, two
+little rocking-chairs that were at once appropriated, a small table, and
+a bracket with books on it. On the table there was a round basket of
+oranges, which made every one thirsty at once.
+
+"I do believe," said Malcolm, suddenly, "that it's made of
+India-rubber."
+
+"Not the orange, I hope?" replied Miss Harson, while the little sisters
+looked up in surprise.
+
+An India-rubber orange was a thing to be laughed at, though not to be
+eaten, and the children were in such a state of glee over this pleasant
+surprise that they were ready to laugh almost at nothing.
+
+Presently their governess said,
+
+"Malcolm means the tent, of course; and he is quite right, for the
+covering is India-rubber cloth."
+
+"But why isn't it dark and ugly, like the waterproofs?" was the next
+question.
+
+"Simply because it need not be so, and it is prettier to have it white
+or of this pale gray. But these shades are too conspicuous for overshoes
+or waterproof cloaks, so the latter are made as dark as possible. The
+caoutchoue, you know, is naturally white or very light colored."
+
+"How do they make the cloth?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"It is first made as cloth," was the reply; "then a thin coating of
+India-rubber is spread over two layers of it. The cloth is then put
+together and pressed between rollers, so that the two pieces firmly
+adhere, with the caoutchoue between them. No rain can penetrate such a
+screen as this,"
+
+It was delightful to know that they would be safe and dry in case of a
+shower, and the children thought it must be just the prettiest tent that
+ever was made. The cushioned seat was covered with scarlet, and so were
+the little chairs, which Clara and Edith knew were meant for them; the
+edges of the cloth were scalloped with the same bright color, and there
+was even a rug to match spread in front of the "divan," as Miss Harson
+laughingly said the cushioned seat must be called.
+
+"Haven't we 'most come to the end of the trees?" asked Clara. "I never
+thought that there were so many different kinds,"
+
+"Look around and see if you feel acquainted with them all," replied her
+governess.
+
+They had left the tent after quite a long "sitting," and were now on
+their way to the house.
+
+Clara's first glance, on doing as she had been directed, fell on three
+trees by the side of a fence, that were different from any they had
+yet studied.
+
+"What do you notice about them?" continued Miss Harson; "for I wish you
+to use your own eyes and thoughts as much as possible."
+
+"Why, the trunk is dark gray, and it isn't smooth, but it looks as if
+some one had dug out long, thin pieces of bark."
+
+"We will call it 'deeply furrowed,'" said her governess, "as that is a
+better expression; but your description is very good indeed."
+
+"The leaves are ever so pretty," said Malcolm--"so many of 'em on one
+stem!--and the green looks as if it was just made."
+
+"You mean by that, I suppose," replied Miss Harson, "that it is a very
+fresh tint; and we are seeing it in its first beauty now. This is the
+locust tree, and May is its time for leafing out in the tenderest of
+greens. The pinnate--from _pinna_, Latin for feather'--leaves are
+composed of from nine to twenty-five leaflets, which are egg-shaped,
+with a short point, very smooth, light green above and still lighter
+beneath. These leaves are much liked by cattle, and they are said to be
+very nutritious to them."
+
+[Illustration: FOLIAGE OF HONEY-LOCUST.]
+
+"How can you remember everything so, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm, lost
+in wonder, as the young lady, looking up at the trees, said these things
+as if they had been written there. John had declared that she talked
+like a book, and this seemed more like it than ever.
+
+"Oh no," was the laughing reply; "I do not remember _everything_,
+Malcolm, and perhaps it is just as well that I do not. But I will not
+tax my memory any more about the locust just now; we can take it up
+again this evening."
+
+"I should like to know," exclaimed Clara, after some thought, "why a
+tree is called _locust_, when a locust is such a disagreeable insect?"
+
+"I am afraid that I cannot tell you," replied Miss Harson, "unless the
+color of the leaves is similar to that of the 'disagreeable insect,'
+which is really very handsome, or unless the insects are very partial to
+the tree; I have seen no explanation of it. But the tree itself is very
+much admired, with its profusion of pinnate leaves and racemes of
+flowers that fill the air with the most agreeable odors."
+
+"What color are the flowers, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"This description will tell you," was the reply. "The tree is not pretty
+in winter, and has no promise of beauty until 'May hangs on these
+withered boughs a green drapery that hides all their deformity; she
+infuses into their foliage a perfection of verdure that no other tree
+can rival, and a beauty in the forms of its leaves that renders it one
+of the chief ornaments of the groves and waysides. June weaves into this
+green foliage pendent clusters of flowers of mingled brown and white,
+filling the air with fragrance and enticing the bee with odors as sweet
+as from groves of citron and myrtle.'"
+
+"That sounds pretty," said Clara, who liked imposing sentences, "but
+brown and white are not very handsome colors for flowers."
+
+"The white is certainly prettier without the mixture of brown," replied
+her governess, "but we have to take our flowers ready-made, and can
+hardly expect them to be beautiful and fragrant too. The separate
+blossoms are shaped like those of the pea and bean; they hang in long
+clusters somewhat resembling bunches of grapes. The leaves--or, rather,
+leaflets--are very sensitive and have a habit of folding over one
+another in wet and dull weather, and also in the night--a habit that is
+peculiar to all the members of the acacia family, to which the
+locust belongs."
+
+"I should think it ought to belong to the pea family," said Malcolm, "if
+the flowers are shaped like pea-blossoms."
+
+"So it does," replied Miss Harson--"or, rather, to the bean family, of
+which the pea is a member, on account of its blossoms; but the acacia,
+like many others, is a brother, or sister, on account of its leaves as
+well as its blossoms. The peculiar distinction of this family is that
+its flowers are butterfly-shaped or its fruit in pods, and it often
+possesses both these characters. By one or the other all the plants of
+the family are known, and the butterfly-shaped flowers are of a
+character not to be mistaken, as they are found in no other family. It
+includes herbs, shrubs and trees--an immense and perfectly natural
+family, distributed throughout almost every part of the globe. There are
+at present in all not less than thirty-seven hundred species. So you see
+that the locust tree is certainly rich in relations."
+
+The children thought that it must have some family claim on almost
+every plant in the world.
+
+[Illustration: CAROB TREE AND FRUIT.]
+
+"Do you remember that in the story of the Prodigal Son, told by our
+Lord, it is said that the bad son became so poor that he wanted to eat
+the 'husks' that the swine ate? Those 'husks' were the fruit of a Syrian
+member of this family. The tree is the carob tree, of which you have
+here a picture--a fine large tree bearing a sweet pod containing the
+seeds. I have seen these pods for sale in this country, and foolishly
+called St. John's bread, as if the 'locusts' eaten by John the Baptist
+were pods of a locust tree, and not insect locusts."
+
+"Yes," said Malcolm, "I have tasted those pods, and they are real sweet;
+but I wouldn't care to make a breakfast from them."
+
+"I like calling the flowers 'butterfly-shaped,'" said Clara, "because
+that is just what the pea and bean-blossoms look like; though Kitty
+calls 'em 'little ladies in hoods.' Isn't that funny, Miss Harson?"
+
+"It is very quaint, I think, but I do not dislike it: it is like seeing
+faces in pansies; and some people are full of these odd imaginations.
+There is a kind of locust, called the clammy-barked, found in the
+Southern parts of the United States, which is a smaller tree than the
+common locust and has large pale-pink flowers, while the rose acacia is
+a very beautiful flowering shrub. The sweet, or honey, locust is
+another variety, which is also called the three-thorned acacia, because
+the thorns consist of one long spine with two shorter ones projecting
+out of it, like little branches, near its base. This is said to display
+much of the elegance of the tropical acacia in the minute division and
+symmetry of its compound leaves. These are of a light and brilliant
+green and lie flat upon the branches, giving them a fan-like appearance
+such as we observe in the hemlock."
+
+"But why is it called honey-locust?" asked Malcolm. "Do the bees make
+honey in the trunk?"
+
+"No," replied his governess; "the name comes from the sweetness of the
+pulp around the seeds, which ripen in large flat pods, and of which boys
+and girls are fond. But the flowers of this species are only small
+greenish aments. Locust-wood is very durable, and, as it will bear
+exposure to all kinds of weather, it is much used in shipbuilding and as
+posts for gates. It is thought that the shittah and shittim wood of the
+Bible, of which Moses made the greater part of the tables, altars and
+planks of the tabernacle, was the same as the black acacia found in the
+deserts of Arabia and about Mount Sinai and the mountains which border
+on the Red Sea, and is so hard and solid as to be almost incorruptible.
+
+"And now," added Miss Harson, "reading of the numerous relations of the
+locust, considering that 'the acacia, not less valued for its airy
+foliage and elegant blossoms than for its hard and durable wood; the
+braziletto, logwood and rosewoods of commerce; the laburnum; the furze
+and the broom, both the pride of the otherwise dreary heaths of Europe;
+the bean, the pea, the vetch, the clover, the trefoil, the lucerne--all
+staple articles of culture by the farmer--are so many species of
+Leguminosae, and that the gums Arabic and Senegal, kino and various
+precious medicinal drugs, not to mention indigo, the most useful of all
+dyes, are products of other species,--it will be perceived that it would
+be difficult to point out an order with greater claims upon the
+attention.'"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+_THE WALNUT FAMILY AND THE AILANTHUS_.
+
+"The walnut family," said Miss Harson, "with the ugly name
+_Juglandaceae_, are distinguished by pinnate, or compound, leaves, which
+have an aromatic odor when crushed, and by blossoms in catkins. Of these
+trees, the black walnut is one of the handsomest and most
+highly prized."
+
+"Are there any of them here?" asked Malcolm.
+
+[Illustration: THE WALNUT TREE.]
+
+"No," was the reply; "I do not think you have ever seen one. They are
+more common in the western part of the Middle States and in the Western
+States; in Ohio particularly they grow to a very large size. Solitary
+trees are sometimes seen in this part of the country, and the branches,
+extending themselves horizontally to a great distance, spread out into a
+spacious head, which gives them a very majestic appearance. The trunk
+is rough and furrowed, and the leaves have from six to ten pairs of
+leaflets and an odd one. They are smooth, strongly serrated and rather
+pointed; the color is a light, bright green. The catkins are green, from
+four to seven inches long, and hang from the axils of the last year's
+leaves. The leaves are much longer than those of the locust, and the
+leaf-stalk is downy. The nut, which is very oily, is shaped like an
+English walnut, but resembles it in no other way, as the shell is very
+thick and dark-colored. When thoroughly dried, the black walnut is very
+much liked--as I think some witnesses here could testify--and is used in
+making candy."
+
+"And just the nicest kind of candy, too," said the children, with one
+voice.
+
+Their governess smiled, for this was very much her own opinion.
+
+"You do not know," she continued, "how strangely these nuts grow. They
+have an outer husk, or rind, which when green is hard and has a very
+pleasant smell; the tree then seems to be covered with green balls. As
+the nuts ripen this outer part becomes so dark that it is almost black
+and grows soft and spongy. A rich brown dye is made from it.
+Black-walnut wood has long been famous for its beauty, and it grows
+deeper and darker with age. It is handsomely shaded and takes a fine
+polish, and this, with its durability, makes it very valuable for
+furniture. Posts made of it will last a long time, and it can be put to
+almost any use for which hard-wood is available.
+
+"The walnut tree has a great variety of good qualities in addition to
+its fine appearance and generous shade. From the kernel a valuable oil
+may be obtained for use in cookery and in lamps. Bread has also been
+made from the kernels. The spongy husk of the nuts is used as dyestuff.
+It thus unites almost all the qualities desirable in a tree--beauty,
+gracefulness and richness of foliage in every period of its growth; bark
+and husks which may be employed in an important art; fruit valuable as
+food; wood unsurpassed in durability and in elegance."
+
+"I like English walnuts," said Clara, "they have such thin, pretty
+shells; and papa, you know, can open them in just two halves with
+a knife."
+
+"Once," said Miss Harson, "I had a little bag sent to me made of two
+very large walnut shells with blue silk between, and in this bag there
+was a pair of kid gloves rolled up very tight."
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed the children. It sounded like a fairy-tale, but they
+knew that it was true, because Miss Harson said that it had really
+happened. They were very much surprised, though, that a bag could be
+made of nutshells, and that a pair of gloves could be crowded into so
+small a compass.
+
+"Did it come from England?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"No," replied his governess; "it was sent to me from the island of
+Madeira, where these nuts grow so abundantly that they have often been
+called Madeira-nuts. It also grows abundantly in Europe, and the nuts
+are used for dessert, pickling, and many other purposes, while the
+poorer classes often depend largely on them for food."
+
+"Do they eat 'em instead of bread?" asked Edith. "I'd like that; they're
+ever so much nicer!"
+
+"Perhaps you would not think so if you had hardly anything else to eat;
+you would get tired of them then. In many places on the continent of
+Europe the roads are lined with walnut trees for miles together, and in
+the proper season the people may feast upon the fruit as much as they
+like. A person, it is said, once traveled from Florence to Geneva and
+ate nothing by the way but walnuts; but I must say that I should not
+like to do it. One species bears a nut as large as an egg; but if kept
+any time, it will shrink to half its natural size. The shell of this
+great walnut, we are told, is sometimes used for making little
+ornamental boxes to hold gloves and small fancy-articles; so you see
+that mine was not the only glove-bag made of two walnut-shells."
+
+"How pretty they must be!" said Clara. "I should like to see one."
+
+"I think that I can make one when I get a large nut, and I shall be glad
+to show you how it is done."
+
+This was a delightful prospect, and the children volunteered to save for
+that especial purpose all the large nuts they could find.
+
+"The English walnut tree," continued Miss Harson, "is a native of
+Persia or the North of China, and the long pinnated leaves seem to mark
+its Oriental origin; but it has taken very kindly to its European home.
+In some parts of Germany the walnut trees were considered to be such a
+valuable possession that no young man was allowed to marry until he
+owned a certain number; and if one tree was cut down, another was
+always planted."
+
+"Don't they grow in this country?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Not very often in our more northern States," was the reply, "for the
+climate here is too cold for them; but at a house where I visited there
+was an English walnut tree in the garden, and it seemed to do very well.
+The nuts were always gathered while they were green, and made
+into pickles."
+
+This was considered quite dreadful, for ripe nuts were certainly a great
+deal better than pickles.
+
+"But there was a great deal of uncertainty about having the ripe nuts,
+for there were bad boys all around who would not have hesitated to rob
+the tree. Besides, pickled walnuts are considered a great delicacy by
+those who eat such things. There are some other ways, too, of using the
+nuts, which you would not like any better. One of these is to make them
+into oil, as the people do in the South of Europe; this oil is used to
+burn in their lamps and as an article of food. 'In Piedmont, among the
+light-hearted peasantry, cracking the walnuts and taking them from the
+shell is a holiday proceeding. The peasants, with their wives and
+children, assemble in the evening, after their day's work is over, in
+the kitchen of some chateau where the walnuts have been gathered, and
+where their services are required. They sit round a table, and at each
+end is a man with a small mallet, who cracks the walnuts and passes them
+on; the rest of the party take them out of their shells. At supper-time
+the table is cleared, and a repast of dried fruit, vegetables and wine
+is set out. The remainder of the evening is spent in singing and
+dancing. The crushing and pressing of the nuts, for oil, take place
+when the whole harvest is in.'"
+
+"But don't walnuts come from California? Our grocer said he had
+California nuts," remarked Malcolm.
+
+"Yes; that wonderful country is beginning to supply us with English
+walnuts."
+
+"Are you going to tell us a story, Miss Harson?" asked Edith, hopefully.
+
+"I have no story, dear," was the reply, "but there is something here
+which you may like about birds stealing the nuts."
+
+Of course they would like this; for if there was to be no story, birds
+and stealing promised to furnish a good substitute.
+
+"'Birds are as fond of walnuts as we are,'" read Miss Harson, "'and rob
+the trees without any mercy. Not only the little titmouse, but the grave
+and solemn rook'--a kind of crow, you remember--'is not above paying a
+visit to the walnut tree and stealing all he can find. There is a walnut
+tree growing in a garden the owner of which may be said to have planted
+it for the benefit of the rooks. Not that he had any such purpose, but,
+as it happens, he cannot help himself. The rooks begin a series of
+robberies as soon as the fruit is ripe, and carry them on with an
+adroitness that would be amusing but for the result. As many as fifty
+rooks come, one after the other, and each will carry off a walnut. The
+old ones are the most at home in the process, and the most daring. The
+bird approaches the tree and floats for a second in the air, as if
+occupied in finding out which of the walnuts will be the easiest to
+obtain; then, with a bold stroke, he darts at the one selected, and
+rarely misses his aim.
+
+"'The young rooks are much more timid and not so successful. They settle
+on the branch and knock down a great many walnuts in their clumsy
+attempts to secure one. Even when the walnut has been obtained, the
+young rook is not sure of his prize: one of his older and stronger
+brethren is very likely to attack him and knock the walnut out of his
+bill. Then, by a dextrous swoop, the robber catches it up before it
+reaches the ground, and carries it off in triumph. The feasting ground
+of the rooks is the next field, and here they come to eat their walnuts.
+They crack the shell with their beaks and devour the kernel with great
+relish. Then, when one walnut is finished, they fly back to the tree for
+another. There is no chance for the owner of the garden, who does not
+think it worth while even to shake his tree: he knows there will not be
+a single walnut left.'"
+
+"I should think not, with those greedy creatures," exclaimed Malcolm.
+"Why doesn't the man shoot 'em?"
+
+"He probably thinks it would be of little use, when there are such
+numbers of the birds; besides, he may prefer losing his walnuts to
+disturbing them, for rooks are treated with great consideration in
+England, and there is no such wholesale destruction of birds as is
+seen here."
+
+The rooks were certainly very comical, and the children thought this
+little account of their antics over the walnut tree the next best thing
+to a story.
+
+"Another fine shade-tree," continued Miss Harson, "and one very much
+like the black walnut, is the butternut, or oil-nut, tree. It is low
+and broad-headed, spreading into several large branches; the leaves are
+pinnate, like those of the walnut, but have not so many leaflets. The
+nut has an entirely different taste, and is even more oily. To many
+persons it is not at all agreeable. It is a great favorite, though, with
+country-boys, and in October, when the kernel is ripe, they may be seen
+with deeply-stained hands and faces, as the thin, leathery husks when
+handled leave plentiful traces. The butternut is not round like the
+walnut, but oblong, and pointed at the end; it is about two inches in
+length and marked by deep furrows and sharp irregular ridges. It is very
+pretty when sawn across in slices, and looks like scroll-saw work.--We
+shall have to get some, Malcolm, for you to practice on with your saw."
+
+[Illustration: THE BUTTERNUT TREE.]
+
+As his scroll-saw was just then the delight of Malcolm's heart, he felt
+particularly interested in butternuts, and immediately mapped out in his
+mind something very beautiful to be wrought with them for his governess.
+
+"The bark and the nutshells have long been used to give a brown color to
+wool, and the Shakers dye a rich purple with it. The bark of the trunk
+will give a black and that of the root a fawn-colored dye, while an
+inferior sugar has been made from the sap. The young half-grown nuts are
+much used for pickles. Butternut-wood is exceedingly handsome, of a
+pale, reddish tint, and durable when exposed to heat and moisture. It
+makes beautiful fronts for drawers and excellent light, tough and
+durable wooden bowls. It is also used for the panels of carriages, as
+well as for posts and rails. It is a more common tree than the walnut in
+our part of the country; there is a large one in front of a house a few
+miles from here which I will show you on our next drive."
+
+"I am glad of it," said Clara, "for I can remember about the trees so
+much better when I have seen them. I wish we could see every one of the
+trees you have told us of, Miss Harson."
+
+"Perhaps you will some day," replied her governess, "and you will then
+find that a little knowledge of them before-hand is a great help."
+
+"Are there any more of the walnut family?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Yes, the hickory belongs to it; and this is a tree which is peculiar to
+America. The European walnut is more like it than any other. It is
+always a stately and elegant tree and very valuable for its timber.
+There are several varieties, which are much alike, the principal
+difference being in the nuts. You have all seen most of the trees and
+gathered the nuts. They are:
+
+"1. The shellbark, with five large leaflets, a large nut, of which the
+husk is deeply grooved at the seams, and a rough, scaly trunk.
+
+"2. The mocker-nut, with seven or nine leaflets, a hard, thick-shelled
+nut, and leaflets and twigs very downy when young, and strongly odorous.
+
+"3. The pignut, with three, five or seven narrow leaflets, small,
+thin-shelled fruit and a pretty hard nut.
+
+"4. The bitternut, with seven, nine or eleven small, narrow, serrated
+leaves, small fruit with long, prominent seams, bitter and thin-shelled
+nuts and very yellow buds.
+
+"The shellbark is often called 'shagbark,' and it is the finest of the
+hickories and one that is seldom mistaken for any of the others. It may
+readily be distinguished by the shaggy bark of its trunk, the excellence
+of its globular fruit, its leaves, which are large and have five
+leaflets, and by its ovate, half-covered buds. It is a tall, slender
+tree with irregular branches, and the foliage seems to lie in masses of
+dense, dark green. But in October, when the nuts ripen, the leaves turn
+to orange-brown, and finally to the color of a russet apple; so that
+they do not add greatly to the beauty of the forest."
+
+"But the nuts are good," said Malcolm. "Didn't we have fine times
+picking 'em up?"
+
+"We did indeed," replied Miss Harson, "and I hope we shall again."
+
+"How long will it be before they are ripe?" asked the little girls.
+
+"Just about five months, I think."
+
+"Oh dear!" was the reply; "that's _so_ long to wait!"
+
+"But you needn't wait," said their governess; "you can enjoy each season
+as it comes, and all the good things that our heavenly Father sends with
+it. Remember that, as you cannot expect ripe nuts in May or June,
+neither can you look for strawberries and roses in October. Tents are of
+very little use then, too."
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed the children, to whom the tent was still a delightful
+novelty; and they decided not to wish just yet for nutting-time to come.
+
+"The nut, as you have so often seen, is covered with a brown husk that
+is very thick and marked with four furrows, by which it separates into
+as many distinct pieces, one being larger than the rest. The nuts
+differ very much in size and shape, and also in hardness, but the best
+kinds have thin shells and soft kernels; they are also rounder and
+fuller than the poorer sorts. There is a peculiar sweetness in the taste
+of this nut when in its best condition, and it is quite equal to the
+European walnut. The wood of this tree is particularly valuable for
+fuel, and in old times, when wood-fires were the only kind known, a good
+hickory back-log was sure to be found on every hearth. It is the
+heaviest of our native woods, and the wise men say that it yields, pound
+for pound or cord for cord, more heat than any other, in any shape in
+which it may be consumed."
+
+"But what a pity," said Clara, "to burn up trees that bear nuts! Why
+can't they take those that don't?"
+
+"They are not so desirable for fuel," was the reply; "and when people
+own trees which they are willing to turn into money, they generally
+consider in what way they can get the most for them. Nuts which grow in
+the woods and fields are a very uncertain crop, of which every one
+seems to gather more than the owner, and it is therefore more profitable
+for him to cut his trees down and sell them for their wood, which the
+people in the cities and towns are so glad to get."
+
+"What's the use," asked Malcolm, "of calling a tree such a name as
+_mocker-nut_? What does it mean?"
+
+"That is just what I have not been able to find out," replied Miss
+Harson, "but it has an Indian sound, and it seems that the Indians used
+to make a black dye from the bark; so we will give them the credit for
+it. The name is not often used, for the tree is generally known as the
+white walnut. The nut is the largest of the hickories, being often from
+four to six inches around, and it is shaped somewhat like a pear. One
+variety, however, is known as the square nut. The shell is very thick
+and hard, but the kernel is sweet when once it is gotten out. This tree
+is as stately and finely-shaped as the shagbark. It varies from the
+other hickories in the number of its leaflets, which are seven or nine,
+the down on its leaves and recent shoots, the hardness of the husk and
+thickness of the nut, the roundness of its large covered buds, and the
+strong resinous odor in leaves, buds and husks. In its general
+appearance it resembles the shellbark, as well as in the fullness of its
+foliage and the size of its leaves. 'White-heart hickory' is a name
+often given to this species, because the wood is supposed, when young,
+to be whiter than that of any of the others,"
+
+"_Pignut_ is another beautiful name," said Malcolm, who was disposed to
+be critical. "Do pigs ever eat the nuts, Miss Harson?"
+
+"I dare say that they do when they have the chance," was the reply, "as
+they delight in nuts; but that is said not to be the proper name for the
+species. Some of the nuts are shaped like a fresh fig, and 'fig-nut'
+seems to be the name originally intended. But there is a great variety
+in the shape of the nuts, as some are nearly round and others very
+irregular. They are alike, however, in having very hard, tough shells,
+and the kernel is not pleasant enough to repay the trouble of getting
+at it. These nuts are very apt to grow in pairs, and several bushels of
+them can be gathered from one tree."
+
+"Aren't they good to eat?" asked Clara.
+
+"Not at all good," replied her governess, "except to those who are not
+particular about what they eat; and this may be the reason for calling
+them 'pignuts,'"
+
+"_Bitternut_ doesn't sound much better," said Malcolm, again. "I wonder
+what that species has to say for itself?"
+
+"Not very much, I am afraid, for it is sometimes called the bitter
+pignut, and even boys will not eat it, while squirrels refuse to feed on
+it when any other nut can be found. The shell of this nut is so thin
+that it can be broken in the fingers, but, as no one cares to break it,
+it is safer than many a thicker shell. It is intensely bitter, and well
+deserves its name. The tree, however, is handsome and the most graceful
+of all the hickories; the small, slender leaves give it the look of an
+ash, and the trunk is smoother than that of most large trees. In summer
+the finely-cut foliage is of a bright green, and in autumn it changes
+to a rich orange, which lasts after the other species have become russet
+and brown."
+
+"Is there anything more about hickory trees?" said Clara.
+
+"Only to speak of the great value of the wood," replied Miss Harson.
+"Its uses are almost endless. Great numbers of walking-sticks are made
+of it, as for this purpose no other native wood equals it in beauty and
+strength. It is next in value to white oak for making hoops; it makes
+the best screws, the smoothest and most durable handles for chisels,
+augurs, gimlets, axes, and many other common tools. As fuel, hickory is
+preferred to every other wood, burning freely, making a pleasant,
+brilliant fire and throwing out great heat. Charcoal made from it is
+heavier than that made from any other wood, but it is not considered
+more valuable than that of birch or alder. The ashes of hickories abound
+in alkali, and are considered better for the purpose of making soap than
+any other of the native woods, being next to those of the apple tree."
+
+"There, Clara!" said Malcolm; "you see now why people cut down hickory
+trees. The nuts are nowhere, with all these other things."
+
+"We have finished the walnut family," said Miss Harson, "but there is a
+tree that I wish to speak of here because of its long pinnate leaves,
+which appear to connect it with the walnuts and hickories. This is the
+ailanthus, a large tree which you have often seen in the village, and
+which used to be popular as a shade-tree. It is very clean-looking, for
+the only insect that will eat its leaves is the silkworm."
+
+"Oh, Miss Harson!" exclaimed the children. "Are there real silkworms on
+'em? and can we see 'em?"
+
+"Why, do you not remember our talk about silkworms?" replied their
+governess. "I am sure I told you that they would not live here in the
+open air, but they do in China; and the ailanthus is a Chinese tree. It
+was planted in Great Britain over a hundred years ago for the express
+purpose of feeding silkworms, because a species of silkworm which was
+known to be hardy and capable of forming its cocoons in the English
+climate is attached to this tree and feeds upon its leaves. It was not
+successful, however, for silkworms, but as a stately and ornamental tree
+with tropical-looking foliage it was much admired. The ailanthus is
+quite common in this country as a wayside tree. It possesses a good deal
+of beauty, from the size and graceful sweep of its large compound
+leaves, that retain their brightness and verdure after midsummer, when
+our native trees have become dull. These leaves have nine or ten
+leaflets as large as a beech-leaf."
+
+"Isn't that the tree that smells so in summer?" asked Clara, with a
+disgusted face.
+
+"Yes; the greenish flowers have a particularly disagreeable odor, which
+is very strong and penetrating, and this is probably the reason why the
+tree has lost favor in so many places. But this is only during the
+season of blossoming, and for several months it is a beautiful
+Oriental-looking tree with every leaf perfect, while nearly all other
+foliage is more or less ravaged by insects."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+_SOME BEAUTIFUL TREES: THE CHESTNUT AND HORSE-CHESTNUT._
+
+The nearest trees to the tent, and standing just back of it, were two
+magnificent chestnuts, now in full leaf-beauty; and Miss Harson and her
+little flock stood admiring their majestic size and beautiful color.
+
+"These are the handsomest trees yet," said Malcolm.
+
+"I almost think so myself," replied his governess, gazing up into the
+rich green depths, "and I wish you particularly to notice these
+radiated--or star-like--tufts of foliage. The leaves, you see, are long,
+lengthened to a tapering point, serrated--or notched like a saw--at the
+edge, and of a bright and nearly pure green. Though arranged
+alternately, like those of the beech, on the recent branches, they are
+clustered in stars containing from five to seven leaves on the fruitful
+branches that grow out from the perfected wood. Now stand off a little
+and see how the foliage seems to be all in tufts, each composed of
+several long, pointed leaves drooping from the centre. The aments, too,
+with their light silvery-green tint, glisten beautifully on the
+darker leaves."
+
+"How high do you think these trees are, Miss Harson?" asked Clara. "It
+makes me dizzy to look up to the top."
+
+[Illustration: LEAF OF THE CHESTNUT.]
+
+"They can be scarcely less than ninety feet," was the reply, "and they
+are very fine specimens of the family; but the great chestnut which is
+the only tree in the field on the left of the house is broader. It
+spreads out like an apple tree, because it has abundance of room, and it
+is nearly as broad as it is high."
+
+"And aren't its chestnuts just splendid?" exclaimed Malcolm--"the
+biggest we find anywhere."
+
+[Illustration: THE CHESTNUT TREE.]
+
+"The bark, you see," continued his governess, "is very dark-colored,
+hard and rugged, with long, deep clefts. In smaller and younger trees it
+is smooth. I suppose I need not tell you that the fruit is within a burr
+covered with sharp, stiff bristles which are not handled with impunity.
+It opens by four valves more than halfway down when ripe, and contains
+the nuts, from one to three in number, in a downy cup. These green burrs
+are very ornamental to the tree; and when they are ripe, the green takes
+on a yellow tinge."
+
+"You didn't say anything about the cunning little tails of the nuts,
+Miss Harson," said Edith, in a disappointed tone. "I think they're the
+prettiest part, and they stick up in the burr like little mice-tails."
+
+"Well, dear," was the smiling reply, "_you_ have told us about them, and
+I think you have given a very good description. That is just what they
+always reminded me of when I was about your age--little mice-tails."
+
+Edith looked pleased and shy, and she did not mind Malcolm's laughing at
+her "little tails," because Miss Harson used to think the same as she
+did about them.
+
+"This beautiful tree came from Asia, and it belongs to the _Castanea_
+family, the Greeks having given it that name from a town in Pontus where
+they obtained it. It was transplanted into the North and West, and is
+now found in most temperate regions. The wood of the chestnut is very
+valuable, as it is strong, elastic and durable, and is often used as a
+substitute for oak and pine. It makes very beautiful furniture."
+
+"What kind of chestnuts," asked Clara, "are those great big ones, like
+horse-chestnuts, that they have in some of the stores? Are they good
+to eat?"
+
+"Yes," replied Miss Harson; "they are particularly good, and many people
+in the southern countries of Europe almost live on them. They are three
+or four times larger than our nuts, these Spanish and Italian chestnuts,
+and they are eaten instead of bread and potatoes by the peasantry of
+Spain and Italy. The Spanish chestnut is one of the most stately of
+European trees, and sometimes it is found growing in our own country,
+but never in the woods. It is carefully planted and cultivated as an
+ornamental tree for private grounds. And now," added the young lady, "as
+we have sufficiently examined our American chestnut trees and it is
+rather damp and cool to-day for tent-life, suppose we return to the
+house and get better acquainted with the foreign chestnuts?"
+
+Edith asked if there was to be a story, but she did not complain when
+Miss Harson thought not, only an account of a very large tree; for the
+children always felt quite sure that there would be something which they
+would like to hear.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The evening was damp, and Clara said that, the schoolroom looked like a
+mixture of summer and winter. The fire was both pleasant and
+comfortable, but there were lilacs and tulips and hyacinths and plenty
+of wild flowers in vases and baskets; the leaves were all out on the
+trees by the windows, and the grass was like velvet.
+
+"One of the largest trees in the world, if not the largest," said Miss
+Harson, "is a chestnut tree on the side of Mount Etna, in Sicily, which
+abounds with chestnut trees of giant proportions and remarkable beauty.
+It is called 'The Chestnut Tree of a Hundred Horses,' and this title is
+said to have originated in a report that a queen of Aragon once took
+shelter under its branches attended by her principal nobility, all of
+whom found refuge from a violent storm under the spreading boughs of the
+tree. At one time it was supposed that the tree really consisted of a
+clump of several united, but this is not the case; for on digging away
+the earth the root was found entire, and at no great depth. Five
+enormous branches rise from the trunk, the outside surface of each being
+covered with bark, while on the inside is none. The verdure and the
+support of the tree thus depend on the outer bark alone. The intervals
+between the branches are of various extent, one of them being sufficient
+to allow two carriages to drive abreast. In the middle cavity--or what
+is called the hollow--of the tree a hut has been built for the use of
+persons employed in collecting and preserving the fruit. They dry the
+chestnuts in an oven, and then make them into various conserves for
+sale. A whole caravan of men and animals were once accommodated in the
+enclosure, and also a flock of sheep folded there. The age of this
+prodigious tree must be very great indeed. It belongs to the tribe
+which bears sweet, or edible, chestnuts, that form an agreeable article
+of food. The foliage is rich, shadowy and beautiful.
+
+"The wood of the chestnut is much used in England for hop-poles, and old
+houses in London are floored or wainscoted with it. The beautiful roof
+of Westminster Abbey is made of chestnut wood.
+
+"There are magnificent forests of Spanish chestnuts in the Apennines,
+and it was the favorite tree of the great painter Salvator Rosa, who
+spent much time studying the beautiful play of light and shade on its
+foliage. The peasants make a gala-time of gathering and preparing the
+nuts. A traveler, having penetrated the extensive forest which covers
+the Vallombrosan Apennines for nearly five miles, came unexpectedly upon
+those festive scenes, which are not unfrequent among the chestnut-range.
+It was a holiday, and a group of peasants dressed in the gay and
+picturesque attire of the neighborhood of the Arno were dancing in an
+open and level space covered with smooth turf and surrounded with
+magnificent chestnuts, while the inmost recesses of the forest resounded
+with their mirth and minstrelsy. Some beat down the chestnuts with
+sticks and filled baskets with them, which they emptied from time to
+time; others, stretched listlessly upon the turf, picked out the
+contents of the bristling capsules in which the kernels were entrenched,
+for these, when newly gathered, are sweet and nutritious; others again,
+and especially young peasant-girls, pelted their companions with
+the fruit."
+
+"Like snowballing," said Malcolm; "only the prickers must have stung.
+What grand times they had with their chestnuting!"
+
+"These gay, thoughtless people," replied his governess, "almost live in
+the open air and enjoy the present moment. It is not easy to tell what
+they would do without these bountiful chestnut-harvests, for their
+principal article of food is a thick porridge called _polenta_, which
+they make from the ground nuts. In France a kind of cake is made from
+the same material, and the chestnuts are prepared by drying them in
+smoke. Another dish is like mashed potatoes, and large quantities are
+exported in the shape of sweetmeats, made by dipping them, after
+boiling, into clarified sugar and drying them."
+
+"Miss Harson," asked Clara, "why are horse-chestnuts _called_
+'horse-chestnuts '? Do horses like 'em?"
+
+"Not usually," was the reply. "The nuts are sometimes ground and given
+to horses, but, as sheep, deer and other cattle eat them in their
+natural state, it would seem more reasonable to name them after some of
+those animals, if that was the reason. It is likely that because they
+look like chestnuts, but are much larger, they were called
+'horse-chestnuts,' The tree is not in any respect a chestnut; and when
+it was first planted in England, some centuries ago, it was called 'a
+rare foreign tree,' and was much admired. It is supposed to have come
+from India. The large nuts are like chestnuts in appearance.--Except,
+Edith, that they have no 'cunning little tails.'--In the month of May
+there is not a more beautiful tree to be found than the horse-chestnut,
+with its large, deeply-cut leaves of a bright-green color and its long,
+tapering spikes of variegated flowers, which turn upward from the dense
+foliage. The tree at this time has been compared to a huge chandelier,
+and the erect blossoms to so many wax lights. The bitter nuts ripen
+early in the autumn and fall from the tree, but long before this the
+beautiful foliage has turned rusty in our Northern States, and is no
+longer ornamental. The overshadowing branches, which give such a
+pleasant shade in summer, early in autumn begin to show the ravages of
+the insects or the natural decay of the leaves."
+
+"Then," said Malcolm, "it isn't a nice tree to have, and I'm glad that
+there are elms here instead."
+
+"I should like to have some of all the trees," replied Clara, "because
+then we could study about them better.--Wouldn't you, Miss Harson?"
+
+"I think so," said her governess, "if they were not undesirable to have,
+as some trees are. If it were always May, I should want horse-chestnut
+trees; for I think there is scarcely anything so pretty as those fresh
+leaves and blossoms. The branches, too, begin low down, and that gives
+the tree a generous spreading look which is very attractive in the way
+of shade. In more southern States they have a longer season of beauty
+than those in the North."
+
+"Do people ever eat the horse-chestnut?" asked Edith.
+
+"Not often, dear--it is too bitter; but an old writer who lived in the
+days when it was first seen in England says that he planted it in his
+orchard as a fruit tree, between his mulberry and his walnut, and that
+he roasted the chestnuts and ate them. It is like the bitternut-hickory,
+which even boys will not eat."
+
+"I should think that somebody or something ought to eat it," said Clara,
+thoughtfully; "it seems like such a waste."
+
+Everyone laughed at her wise air, and she was asked if she intended to
+set the example. She was not quite ready, though, to do that; and Miss
+Harson continued:
+
+"A naturalist once took from the tree a tiny flower-bud and proceeded to
+dissect it. After the external covering, which consisted of seventeen
+scales, he came upon the down which protects the flower. On removing
+this he could perceive four branchlets surrounding the spike of flowers,
+and the flowers themselves, though so minute, were as distinct as
+possible, and he could not only count their number, but discern the
+stamens, and even the pollen."
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed the children; "how very curious!"
+
+"Yes," replied their governess; "it shows how perfect and wonderful,
+from the beginning, are all the works of God."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+_AMONG THE PINES_.
+
+"How good it smells here!" exclaimed Edith, with her small nose in the
+air to inhale what she called "a good sniff" in the fragrant pine-woods.
+
+Miss Harson had taken the children in the carriage to a pine-grove some
+miles from Elmridge, and Thomas and the horses waited by the roadside
+while the little party walked about or stood gazing up at the tall
+slender trees that seemed to tower to the very skies. Thomas was not
+fond of waiting, but he thought that he had the best of it in this case:
+it was more cheerful to sit in the carriage and "flick" the flies from
+Rex and Regina than to go poking about in the gloomy pine-woods. Yet,
+notwithstanding the darkness of its interior and the sombre character of
+its dense masses of evergreen foliage as seen from without--whence the
+name of "black timber," which has been applied to it--the shade and
+shelter it affords and the sentiment of grandeur it inspires cause it to
+become allied with the most profound and agreeable sensations; and it
+was something of this feeling, though they could not express it in
+words, which possessed the young tree-hunters as they stood in the
+pine-grove.
+
+"It's nice to breathe here," said Clara.
+
+"It is delicious," replied her governess, enthusiastically, her eyes
+kindling as she repeated the lines:
+
+     "'His praise, ye winds, that from four quarter blow,
+     Breathe soft and loud; and wave your tops, ye pines,
+     With every plant, in sign of worship. Wave!'"
+
+"What a queer brown color--almost like red--the ground is!" said
+Malcolm. "And look, Miss Harson! it's made of lots of little
+sharp sticks."
+
+"The sharp sticks are pine-needles," was the reply--"the dead
+pine-leaves of last year; and when the new growth of leaves have been
+put forth, they cover the ground with a smooth brown matting as
+comfortable as a gravel-walk, and yet a carpet of Nature's making. 'The
+foliage of the pine is so hard and durable that in summer we always find
+the last year's crop lying upon the ground in a state of perfect
+soundness, and under it that of the preceding year only partially
+decayed.'"
+
+"It's kind of slippery in some places," continued Malcolm, taking a
+slide as he spoke. "And see those queer-looking roots sprouting out of
+the ground!"
+
+"I see the roots," said Miss Harson, "but no sprouts. That is the white
+pine, the roots of which are often seen above the ground, spreading to
+some distance from the trunk. Generally the roots of pine trees are
+small, compared with the size of the trunks, and spread horizontally
+instead of descending far into the ground. For this reason pines are
+often uprooted by high winds, which break off the deciduous trees near
+the ground. But I wish you particularly to notice the trunks of these
+trees and tell me if you can see any difference in them."
+
+Those particular trees had probably never been stared at so hard
+before, and the three children exclaimed almost together:
+
+"Some are rough, and some are smooth, and the rough ones have little
+bunches of leaves on 'em."
+
+"These are the pitch-pines," replied their governess. "They are the
+roughest of all our forest-trees, and they have a rounder head than any
+of the other American evergreens. The branches, you see, turn in various
+directions and are curved downward at the ends. This tree has also the
+peculiar habit of sending out little branchlets full of leaves along the
+stem from the root upward, and this has a very pretty effect, like that
+of some elm trees. It is the pitch-pine that produces the fragrance we
+are all enjoying so much. What do you notice about the smoother trees?"
+
+"They are very tall and big," replied Clara--"ever so much handsomer
+than the rough ones."
+
+[Illustration: THE WHITE PINE.]
+
+"The white pine," said Miss Harson, "is one of the loftiest and most
+valuable of North American trees. Its top can be seen at a great
+distance, looking like a spire as it towers above the heads of the trees
+around it. You see that it has widespread branches and silken-looking,
+tufted foliage. The leaves are in fives and not so stiff as those of the
+other pines, and you will notice that the branches are in whorls, like a
+series of stages one above another. The foliage has a tasseled effect
+with those long silky tufts at the ends of the branches, and the whole
+outline of the tree is very pleasing."
+
+"This isn't a pine tree, is it?" asked Malcolm, touching a small tree
+with very slender branches, some of them as slight as willow-withes and
+covered with grayish-red bark, while that on the main stem was
+bluish gray.
+
+[Illustration: THE LARCH.]
+
+"It is a species of pine," was the reply, "because it belongs to the
+Coniferae, or cone-producing, family; but it is not an evergreen,
+although it ranks as such. This is the larch--generally called in New
+England by its Indian name of _hacmatack_--and it differs from the other
+pines in its crowded tufts of leaves, which, after turning to a soft
+leather-color, fall, in New England, early in November. The cones, too,
+are very small."
+
+"What's the use of cones, any way?" asked Malcolm as he picked up some
+very large ones under the white and pitch pines.
+
+"Their principal use," replied his governess, "is to contain the seeds
+of future trees: they are the fruit of the pine; but they have a number
+of uses besides, which you shall hear about this evening."
+
+"The little cones at Hemlock Lodge are pretty," said Edith, "and Clara
+and me play with 'em. We play they're a orphan-'sylum."
+
+[Illustration: FOLIAGE OF THE LARCH (_Larix Americana_).]
+
+"'Clara and I,' dear," corrected Miss Harson, smiling at the
+"orphan-'sylum," while Malcolm said he had never thought of that before,
+and it must be what they were meant for. Edith could not quite
+understand whether this was fun or earnest, but Miss Harson shook her
+head at Malcolm and called him "naughty boy."
+
+"The spruce and hemlock," continued their governess, "and many of the
+other evergreens, we have at Elmridge, but I brought you here to-day for
+our drive that you might examine these magnificent pine trees, and so be
+better able to understand whatever we can find out about them this
+evening. Thomas is probably tired of waiting by this time; so we will
+leave the fragrant pine-woods for the present, and promise ourselves
+some future visits."
+
+Every green thing was now in full summer beauty, and daisies and
+buttercups gemmed the fields, while the garden at Elmridge was all aglow
+with blossoms, The children remembered their flower-studies of last
+year, and took fresh pleasure in the woods because of them; but the
+trees now seemed quite as interesting as the flowers had been.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"The trees known as evergreens," said Miss Harson, "are not so bright
+and cheerful-looking as those which are deciduous, or leaf-shedding, but
+they have the advantage of being clothed with foliage, although of a
+sober hue, all the year round. They consist of pines, firs, junipers,
+cypresses, spruces, larches, yews and hemlocks, with some foreign trees,
+and form a distinct and striking natural group. 'This family has claims
+to our particular attention from the importance of its products in
+naval, and especially in civil and domestic, architecture, and in many
+other arts, and, in some instances, in medicine. Some of the species in
+this country are of more rapid growth, attain to a larger size and rise
+to a loftier height than any other trees known. The white pine is much
+the tallest of our native trees.'"
+
+"How high does it grow, Miss Harson?" asked Clara.
+
+"From one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet," was replied, "and on
+the north-west coast of America one called the 'Douglas's pine' is the
+loftiest tree known; it is said to measure over three hundred feet.
+'From the pines are obtained the best masts and much of the most
+valuable ship-timber, and in the building and finishing of houses they
+are of almost indispensable utility. The bark of some of them, as the
+hemlock and larch, is of great value in tanning, and from others are
+obtained the various kinds of pitch, tar, turpentine, resin and
+balsams,' The pines and firs have circles of branches in imperfect
+whorls around the trunk, and, as one of these whorls is formed each
+year, it is easy to calculate the age of young trees. In thick woods the
+lower whorls of branches soon decay for want of light and air, and this
+leaves a smooth trunk, which rises without a branch, like a beautiful
+shaft, for a hundred feet or more.
+
+"These trees are found everywhere except in the hot regions around the
+equator. The white pine is the most common, but in the evergreen woods
+of our own country it is mixed with pitch-pine and fir trees. In our
+Southern States there are thin forests, called pine-barrens, through
+which one can travel for miles on horseback. The white pine is easily
+distinguished by its leaves being in fives, by its very long cones,
+composed of loosely-arranged scales, and when young by the smoothness
+and delicate light-green color of the bark. It is known throughout New
+England by the name 'white pine,' which is given it on account of the
+whiteness of the wood. In England it is called the Weymouth pine.
+
+"Many very large trees are found in Maine, on the Penobscot River, but
+most of the largest and most valuable timber trees have been cut down.
+The lumberers, as they are called, are constantly hewing down the grand
+old trees for timber, white pine being the principal timber of New
+England and Canada."
+
+"And they float it down the rivers on rafts, don't they?" said Malcolm.
+"Won't you tell us about that, Miss Harson?"
+
+"Yes," was the reply.--"But do not look so expectant, Edie; it is not a
+story, dear, only a description of pine-cutting in the forests of Maine
+and Canada. But I should like you to know how these great trees are
+turned into timber, and you will see that, like many other necessary
+things, it is neither easy nor pleasant. We do not get much without hard
+work on the part of somebody: remember that. Now I will read:
+
+"'The business of procuring trees suitable for masts of ships is
+difficult and fatiguing. The pines which grew in the neighborhood of the
+rivers and in the most accessible places have all been cut down. Paths
+have now to be cleared with immense labor to the recesses of the forest,
+in order to obtain a fresh supply. This arduous employment is called
+"lumbering," and those who engage in it are "lumberers." The word
+"lumber," in its general sense, applies to all kinds of timber. But
+though many different trees, such as oak, ash and maple, are cut down,
+yet the main business is with the pines. And when a suitable plot of
+ground has been chosen for erecting a saw-mill,' to prepare the boards,
+'it is called "pine-land," or a spot where the pine trees predominate.
+
+"'A body of wood-cutters unite to form what is called a
+"lumbering-party," and they are in the employ of a master-lumberman, who
+pays them wages and finds them in provisions. The provisions are
+obtained on credit and under promise of payment when the timber has been
+cut down and sold. If the timber meets with any accident in its passage
+down the river, the master-lumberman cannot make good the loss, and the
+shopkeeper loses his money.
+
+"'When the lumbering-party are ready to start, they take with them a
+supply of necessaries, and also what tools they will require, and
+proceed up the river to the heart of the forest. When they reach a
+suitable spot where the giant trees which are to serve for masts grow
+thick and dark, they get all their supplies on shore--their axes, their
+cooking-utensils and the casks of molasses'--and too often of whisky or
+rum, too, I am sorry to say--'that will be used lavishly. The molasses
+is used instead of sugar to sweeten the great draughts of tea--made, not
+from the product of China, but from the tops of the hemlock.
+
+"'The first thing to be done is to build some kind of shelter, for they
+must remain in the forest until spring, and the cold of those Northern
+winters is terrible. Their cabin--for it cannot be called by any better
+name--is built of logs of wood cut down on purpose and put together as
+rudely as possible. It is only five feet high, and the roof is covered
+with boards. There is a great blazing fire kept up day and night, for
+the frost is intense, and the provisions have to be kept in a deep place
+made in the ground under the cabin. The smoke of the fire goes out
+through a hole in the roof, and the floor is strewn with branches of
+fir, the only couch the poor hardworking lumberers have to rest upon.
+When night comes, they turn into the cabin to sleep, and lie with their
+feet to the fire. If a man chances to awaken, he instantly jumps up and
+throws fresh logs on the fire; for it is of the utmost importance not to
+let it go out. One of the men is the cook for the whole party, and his
+duty is to have breakfast ready before it is light in the morning. He
+prepares a meal of boiled meat and the hemlock tea sweetened with
+molasses, and the rest of the party partake heartily of both, and in
+some camps also of rum, under the mistaken notion that it helps them to
+bear the severe toil. When breakfast is over, they divide into several
+gangs. One gang cuts down the trees, another saws them in pieces, and
+the third gang is occupied in conveying them, by means of oxen, to the
+bank of the nearest stream, which is now frozen over.
+
+"'It is a hard winter for the lumbermen. The snow covers the ground
+until the middle of May, and the frost is often intense. But they toil
+through it, felling, sawing and conveying until a quantity of trees have
+been laid prostrate and made available for the market. Then, at last,
+the weather changes; the snow begins to melt and the streams and rills
+are set at liberty. The rivers flow briskly on and are much swollen with
+the melting snow, and the men say that the freshets have come down.
+
+"'Hard as their toil has been, the most difficult and fatiguing has yet
+to be encountered. The timber is collected on the banks of the river,
+and has now to be thrown into the water and made into rafts, so that it
+can be floated down to the nearest market-town. The water, filled with
+melting snow, is deadly cold and can scarcely be endured, but the men
+are in it from morning till night constructing the rafts, which are put
+together as simply as possible, and the smallest outlay made to suffice.
+The rafts are of different sizes, according to the breadth of the
+stream; and when all is ready, they are launched, and the convoy fairly
+sets out on its voyage.
+
+"'The great ugly masses of floating timber move slowly along under the
+care of a pilot, and the lumberers ride upon the rafts, often without
+shelter or protection from the weather. They guide themselves by long
+and powerful poles fixed on pivots, and which act as rudders. As they
+journey down the stream they sing and shout and make the utmost noise
+and riot. If there comes a storm or a change of weather, the pilot
+steers his convoy into some safe creek for the night, and secures it as
+best he can.
+
+"'Thus by degrees the raft reaches the place of destination,
+occasionally with some loss and damage to the timber. In this case the
+master-lumberer bears the loss, and is obliged to refund the expenses
+incurred as best he can. At any rate, the men are now paid off, and set
+out on foot for their homes.'"
+
+Malcolm was particularly delighted with this narrative of stirring
+activity, and even the little girls seemed very much interested in it.
+They were so sorry for the poor lumbermen who had such dreary winters
+off there in the Northern woods, and Clara wondered if they couldn't
+have warm comforters and mittens.
+
+"They probably have those things when they go into camp," said Miss
+Harson, "but they are likely to find them in the way of working, and to
+cast them aside.--Great ships are not built for nothing: even to get the
+timber in readiness costs heavy labor, but, after all, no doubt, the men
+get interested in it and enjoy its excitement. Fortunately for the many
+uses to which its timber is put, the white pine grows very rapidly,
+gaining from fifteen inches to three feet every year. In deep and damp
+old woods it is slower of growth; it is then almost without sap-wood and
+has a yellowish color like the flesh of the pumpkin. For this reason it
+is called 'pumpkin-pine.' The bark of young trees of the white-pine
+species is very smooth and of a reddish, bottle-green color. It is
+covered in summer with a pearly gloss. On old trunks the bark is less
+rough than that of any other pine. This tree has the spreading habit of
+the cedar of Lebanon. In addition to its grand and picturesque
+character, the white pine, says a lover of trees, may be 'regarded as a
+true symbol of benevolence. Under its outspread roof numerous small
+animals, nestling in the bed of dry leaves that cover the ground, find
+shelter and repose. The squirrel feeds upon the kernels obtained from
+its cones; the hare browses upon the trefoil'--clover--'and the spicy
+foliage of the _hypericum_'--St. John's wort--'which are protected in
+its shade; and the fawn reposes on its brown couch of leaves unmolested
+by the outer tempest. From its green arbors the quails are often roused
+in midwinter, where they feed upon the berries of the _Mitchella_ and
+the spicy wintergreen. Nature, indeed, seems to have specially designed
+this tree to protect her living creatures both in summer and
+in winter.'"
+
+"Hurrah for the white pine," said Malcolm, with great energy, "the grand
+old _American_ tree!"
+
+"I'm glad that the little birds and animals have such a nice home under
+it in winter," said Clara.
+
+"I'm glad too," added Edith, "but I wish we could find some and see how
+they look in their soft bed. Don't they ever put their heads out the
+least bit, Miss Harson?"
+
+"Not when they suspect that there is any one around, dear, and the
+little creatures are very sharp to find this out. Our heavenly Father,
+you know, takes thought for sparrows and all such helpless things, and
+they are fed and cared for without any thought of their own.--The white
+pine," she continued, "is truly a magnificent tree, but I think we shall
+find that the pitch-pine is also very useful."
+
+"That's the rough one," said Malcolm; "I remember how it looks, with
+little tufts sticking out along the trunk."
+
+"Yes," replied his governess, "and out authority says this tree is
+distinguished by its leaves being in threes--the white pine, you know,
+has them in _fives_--by the rigidity and sharpness of the scales of its
+cones, by the roughness of its bark, and by the denseness of the brushes
+of its stiff, crowded leaves. Its usual height is from forty to fifty
+feet, but it is sometimes much taller. The trunk is not only rough, but
+very dark in color; and from this circumstance the species is frequently
+called black pine. The wood is very hard and firm, and contains a
+quantity of resin. This is much more abundant in the branches than in
+the trunk, and the boards and other lumber of this wood are usually full
+of pitch-knots."
+
+"What are pitch-knots?" asked Clara.
+
+"'When a growing branch,'" read Miss Harson, "'is broken off, the
+remaining portion becomes charged with resin,' which is deposited by the
+resin-bearing sap of the tree, 'forming what is called a pitch-knot,
+extending sometimes to the heart. The same thing takes place through the
+whole heart of a tree when, full of juice, its life is suddenly
+destroyed.' 'Resin' is another name for turpentine, but is used of it
+commonly when hardened into a solid form. The tar is obtained by slowly
+burning splintered pine, both trunk and root, with a smothered flame,
+and collecting the black liquid, which is expelled by the heat and
+caught in cavities beneath the burning pile. Pitch is thickened tar, and
+is used in calking ships and for like purposes."
+
+"I am going to remember that," said Malcolm; "I could never make out
+what all those different things meant."
+
+"What are you thinking about so seriously, Clara?" asked her governess.
+"If it is a puzzle, let me see if I cannot solve it for you."
+
+"Well, Miss Harson, I was thinking of those brown leaves, or 'needles,'
+in the pine-woods, and it seems strange to say that the leaves of
+evergreens never fall off."
+
+"It would not only be strange, dear, but quite untrue, to say that; for
+the same leaves do not, of course, remain for ever on the tree. The
+deciduous trees lose their leaves in the autumn and are entirely bare
+until the next spring, but the evergreens, although they renew their
+leaves, too, are never left without verdure of some sort. Late in
+October you may see the yellow or brown foliage of the pines, then ready
+to fall, surrounding the branches of the previous year's growth, forming
+a whorl of brown fringe surmounted by a tuft of green leaves of the
+present year's growth. Their leaves always turn yellow before the fall."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+_GIANT AND NUT PINES_.
+
+Great was the surprise of Edith when Miss Harson gave the little sleeper
+a gentle shake and told her that it was time to be up. But the birds
+without the window told the same story, and the little maiden was soon
+at the breakfast-table and ready for the day's duties and enjoyments,
+including their "tree-talk."
+
+"Are there any more kinds of pine trees?" asked Malcolm.
+
+[Illustration: "AWAKE, LITTLE ONE!"]
+
+"Yes, indeed!--more than we can take up this summer," replied Miss
+Harson. "There is the Norway pine, or red pine, which in Maine and New
+Hampshire is often seen in forests of white and pitch pine. It has a
+tall trunk of eighty feet or so, and a smooth reddish bark. The leaves
+are in twos, six or eight inches long, and form large tufts or brushes
+at the end of the branchlets. The wood is strong and resembles that of
+the pitch-pine, but it contains no resin. The giant pines of California
+belong to a different species from any that we have been considering,
+and the genus, or order, in which they have been arranged is called
+_Sequoia_[19]. They are generally known, however, as the 'Big Trees.' In
+one grove there are a hundred and three of them, which cover a space of
+fifty acres, called 'Mammoth-Tree Grove.' One of the giants has been
+felled--a task which occupied twenty-two days. It was impossible to cut
+it down, in the ordinary sense of the term, and the men had to bore into
+it with augers until it was at last severed in twain. Even then the
+amazing bulk of the tree prevented it from falling, and it still kept
+its upright position. Two more days were employed in driving wedges into
+the severed part on one side, thus to compel the giant to totter and
+fall. The trunk was no less than three hundred and two feet in height
+and ninety-six in circumference. The stump, which was left standing,
+presented such a large surface that a party of thirty couples have
+danced with ease upon it and still left abundant room for lookers-on."
+
+[19] _Sequoia gigantea_.
+
+When the children had sufficiently exclaimed over the size of this huge
+tree, their governess continued:
+
+"It is thought that these trees must have been growing for more than two
+thousand years, which would make them probably two hundred years old at
+the birth of our Saviour. Does it not seem wonderful to think of? There
+are other groups of giant pines scattered on the mountains and in the
+forests, and some youthful giants about five hundred years old."
+
+"I suppose they are the babies of the family," said Clara; and this idea
+amused Edith very much.
+
+"There is still another kind of pine," said Miss Harson--"the Italian,
+or stone, pine. It is shaped almost exactly like an umbrella with a very
+long handle. The _Pinus pinea_ bears large cones, the seed of which is
+not only eatable, but considered a delicious nut. The cone is three
+years in ripening; it is then about four inches long and three wide, and
+has a reddish hue. Each scale of which the cone is formed is hollow at
+the base and contains a seed much larger than that of any other species.
+When the cone is ripe, it is gathered by the owners of the forest; and
+when thoroughly dried on the roof or thrown for a few minutes into the
+fire, it separates into many compartments, from each of which drops a
+smooth white nut in shape like the seed of the date. The shell is very
+hard, and within it is the fruit, which is much used in making
+sweetmeats. The stone-pine is found also in Palestine, and is supposed
+to be the cypress of the Bible. The author of _The Ride Through
+Palestine_[20] speaks of passing through a fine grove of the stone-pine,
+'tall and umbrella-topped,' with dry sticks rising oddly here and there
+from the very tops of the trees. These sticks were covered with
+birdlime, to snare the poor bird which might be tempted to set foot on
+such treacherous supports; and if the cones were ripe, they would be
+quite sure to do it. Here is the picture, from the book just mentioned.
+Italian pine is a prettier name than stone-pine, and this is the name by
+which it is known to artists, who put it into almost every picture of
+Italian scenery.
+
+     "'Much they admire that old religious tree
+     With shaft above the rest upshooting free,
+     And shaking, when its dark locks feel the wind,
+     Its wealthy fruit with rough and massive rind.'"
+
+[20] Presbyterian Board of Publication.
+
+[Illustration: STONE-PINE--"FIR" _(Pinus maritima_)].
+
+"But how queer it sounds to call fruit _wealthy_!" said Malcolm.
+
+"It is odd," replied his governess, "only because the word is not now
+used in that sense; but the fruit is wealthy both because of its
+abundance and because it can be put to so many uses. Let us see what is
+said of it:
+
+"'The kernels, or seeds, from the cones of the stone-pine have always
+been esteemed as a delicacy. In the old days of Rome and Greece they
+were preserved in honey, and some of the larders of the ill-fated city
+of Pompeii were amply stored with jars of this agreeable conserve, which
+were found intact after all those years. The kernels are also sugared
+over and used as _bonbons_. They enter into many dishes of Italian
+cookery, but great care has to be taken not to expose them to the air.
+They are usually kept in the cones until they are wanted, and will then
+retain their freshness for some years. The squirrels eagerly seek after
+the fruit of this pine and almost subsist upon it. They take the cone in
+their paws and dash out the seeds, thus scattering many of them and
+helping to propagate the tree.
+
+"'There is a bird called the crossbill that makes its nest in the pine.
+It fixes its nest in place by means of the resin of the tree and coats
+it with the same material, so as to render it impervious to the rain.
+The seeds from the cones form its chief food, and it extracts them with
+its curious bill, the two parts of which cross each other. It grasps the
+cone with its foot, after the fashion of a parrot, and digs into it with
+the upper part of its bill, which is like a hook, and forces out the
+seed with a jerk.'"
+
+[Illustration: PINE-CONE (_Pinus Sylvestris_.)]
+
+The children enjoyed this account very much, and they thought that
+stone-pine nuts--which they had never seen, and perhaps never would
+see--must be the most delicious nuts that ever grew.
+
+"What nice times the birds have," said Clara, "helping themselves to all
+the good things that other people can't reach!"
+
+"They are not exactly 'people,'" replied Miss Harson, laughing; "and, in
+spite of all these 'nice times,' you would not be quite willing to
+change with them, I think."
+
+No, on the whole, Clara was quite sure that she would not.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+_MORE WINTER TREES: THE FIRS AND THE SPRUCES_.
+
+There were some beautiful evergreens on the lawn at Elmridge, and,
+although the foliage seemed dark in summer, it gave the place a very
+cheerful look in winter, when other trees were quite bare, while the
+birds flew in and out of them so constantly that spring seemed to have
+come long before it really did arrive.
+
+"This balsam-fir," said Miss Harson as they stood near a tall, beautiful
+tree that tapered to a point, "has, you see, a straight, smooth trunk
+and tapers regularly and rapidly to the top. You will notice, too, that
+the leaves, which are needle-shaped and nearly flat, do not grow in
+clusters, but singly, and that their color is peculiar. There are faint
+white lines on the upper part and a silvery-blue tinge beneath, and
+this silvery look is produced by many lines of small, shining resinous
+dots. The deep-green bark, striped with gray, is full of balsam, or
+resin, known as balm of Gilead or Canada balsam, and highly valued as a
+cure for diseases of the lungs. The long cones are erect, or standing,
+and grow thickly near the ends of the upper branches. They have round,
+bluish-purple scales, and the soft color has a very pretty effect on the
+tree. They ripen every year, and the lively little squirrel, as he is
+called, feasts upon them, as the crossbill does on the cones of the
+stone-pine. But the mischievous little animal also barks the boughs and
+gnaws off the tops of the leading shoots, so that many trees are injured
+and defaced by his depredations."
+
+[Illustration: AMERICAN WHITE SPRUCE.]
+
+"He _is_ a lively little squirrel," observed Malcolm. "How he does race!
+But he doesn't gnaw our trees, does he?"
+
+"No, I think not, for he prefers staying in the woods and fields; but
+fir-woods are his especial delight. Our balsam-fir is the American
+sister of the silver fir of Europe, both having bluish-green foliage
+with a silvery under surface, in a single row on either side of the
+branches, which curve gracefully upward at the ends. The tree has a
+peculiarly light, airy appearance until it is old, when there is little
+foliage except at the ends of the branches. The silver fir is one of the
+tallest trees on the continent of Europe, and it is remarkable for the
+beauty of its form and foliage and the value of its timber."
+
+"I know what this tree is," said Clara, turning to an evergreen of
+stately form and graceful, drooping branches that almost touched the
+ground: "it's Norway spruce. Papa told me this morning."
+
+[Illustration: THE NORWAY PINE.]
+
+"Yes," replied her governess, "and a beautiful tree it is, like the fir
+in many respects, but the bark is rougher and the cones droop. The
+branches, too, are lower and more sweeping. But the fir and the spruce
+are more alike than many sisters and brothers. The Scotch fir, about
+which there are many interesting things to be learned, is more
+rugged-looking, and the Norway spruce, which will bear studying too, is
+more grand and majestic."
+
+[Illustration: THE HEMLOCK SPRUCE.]
+
+"I know this one, Miss Harson," said little Edith as they came to a
+sweeping hemlock near the bay-window of the dining-room.
+
+"Yes, dear," was the reply; "Hemlock Lodge has made you feel very well
+acquainted with the tree after which it is named. It is one of the most
+beautiful of the evergreens, with its widely-spreading branches and
+their delicate, fringe-like foliage; but, although the branches are
+ornamental for church and house decoration, they are very perishable,
+and drop their small needles almost immediately when placed in a heated
+room. And now," continued the young lady, "we have come back to warm
+piazza-days again, and can have our talk in the open air."
+
+So on the piazza they speedily established themselves, with Miss Harson
+in the low, comfortable chair and her audience on the crimson cushions
+that had been piled up in a corner.
+
+"We shall find a great deal about the fir tree," said Miss Harson, "as
+it is very hardy and rugged, and as common in all Northern regions as
+the white birch--quite as useful, too, as we shall soon see. This rugged
+species--which is generally called the Scotch fir--is not so smooth and
+handsome as our balsam-fir, but it is a tree which the people who live
+near the great Northern forests of Europe could not easily do without.
+It belongs to the great pine family and is often called a pine, but in
+the countries of Great Britain especially it is called the Scotch fir.
+Although well shaped, it is not a particularly elegant-looking tree. The
+branches are generally gnarled and broken, and the style of the tree is
+more sturdy than graceful. The Scotch fir often grows to the height of a
+hundred feet, and the bark is of a reddish tinge. 'It is one of the most
+useful of the tribe, and, like the bountiful palm, confers the greatest
+blessing on the inhabitants of the country where it grows. It serves the
+peasants of the bleak, barren parts of Sweden and Lapland for food:
+their scanty supply of meal often runs short, and they go to the pine to
+eke it out. They choose the oldest and least resinous of the branches
+and take out the inner bark. They first grind it in a mill, and then mix
+it with their store of meal; after this it is worked into dough and made
+into cakes like pancakes. The bark-bread is a valuable addition to
+their slender resources, and sometimes the young shoots are used as
+well as the bark. Indeed, so largely is this store of food drawn upon
+that many trees have been destroyed, and in some places the forest is
+actually thinned."
+
+"They're as bad as the squirrels," said Malcolm. "But how I should hate
+to eat such stuff!"
+
+"It may not be so very bad," replied his governess. "Some people think
+that only white bread is fit to eat, but I think that Kitty's brown
+bread is rather liked in this family."
+
+The children all laughed, for didn't papa declare--with _such_ a sober
+face!--that they were eating him out of house and home in brown bread
+alone? Kitty, too, pretended to grumble because the plump loaves
+disappeared so fast, but she said to herself at the same time, "Bless
+their hearts! let 'em eat: it's better than a doctor's bill."
+
+"A great many other things besides pancakes are made from the tree,"
+continued Miss Harson, "and the fresh green tops furnish very
+nice carpets."
+
+There was a faint "_Oh!_" at this, but, after all, it was not so
+surprising as the cakes had been.
+
+"They are scattered on the floors of houses as rushes used to be in old
+times in England, and thus they serve as carpet and prevent the mud and
+dirt that stick to the shoes of the peasants from staining the floor;
+and when trodden on, the leaves give out a most agreeable
+aromatic perfume."
+
+"I'd like that part," said Clara.
+
+[Illustration: THE BLUE SPRUCE.]
+
+"But you cannot have one part without taking it all; almost everything,
+you see, has a pleasant side.--'The peasant finds no limit to the use
+of the pine. Of its bark he makes the little canoe which is to carry him
+along the river; it is simple in its construction, and as light as
+possible. When he comes within safe distance of one of those gushing,
+foaming cataracts that he meets with in his course, he pushes his canoe
+to land and carries it on his shoulders until the danger is past; then
+he launches it again, and paddles merrily onward. Not a single nail is
+used in his canoe: the planks are tightly secured together by a natural
+cordage made of the roots of the pine. He splits them of the right
+thickness, and with very little preparation they form exactly the
+material he needs.'"
+
+Malcolm evidently had some idea of making a canoe of this kind, but he
+became discouraged when his governess reminded him that he could not cut
+down trees, and that his father would prefer having them left standing.
+It did not seem necessary to speak of any difficulties in the way of
+putting the boat together.
+
+"Another use for the fir is to light up the poor hut of the peasant. 'He
+splits up the branches into laths and makes them into torches. If he
+wants a light, he takes one of the laths and kindles it at the fire;
+then he fixes it in a rude frame, which serves him for a candlestick.
+The light is very brilliant while it lasts, but is soon spent, and he
+is in darkness again. The same use is made of the pine. It is no unusual
+circumstance, in the Scotch pine-woods, to come upon a tree with the
+trunk scooped out from each side and carried away: the cottager has been
+to fetch material for his candles. But this somewhat rough usage does
+not hurt the tree, and it continues green and healthy.' In our Southern
+States pine-fat with resin is called lightwood, and is used for the
+same purpose."
+
+"That's an easy way of getting candles," said Clara.
+
+"Easy, perhaps, compared with the trouble of moulding them," replied
+Miss Harson, "but I do not think we should fancy either way of
+preparing them."
+
+"Is there anything to tell about the spruce tree?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"It is too much like the fir," replied his governess, "to have any very
+distinct character; but there are species here, known as the white and
+black spruce, besides the hemlock."
+
+But the children thought that hemlock was hemlock: how did it come to
+be spruce?
+
+"Because it has the family features--leaves solitary and very short;
+cones pendulous, or hanging, with the scales thin at the edge; and the
+fruit ripens in a single year. The hemlock-spruce, as it is sometimes
+called, is, I think, the most beautiful of the family. 'It is
+distinguished from all the other pines by the softness and delicacy of
+its tufted foliage, from the spruce by its slender, tapering branchlets
+and the smoothness of its limbs, and from the balsam-fir by its small
+terminal cones, by the irregularity of its branches and the gracefulness
+of its whole appearance.' The delicate green of the young trees forms a
+rich mass of verdure, and at this season each twig has on the end a tuft
+of new leaves yellowish-green in color and making a beautiful contrast
+to the darker hue of last year's foliage. The bark of the trunk is
+reddish, and that of the smooth branches and small twigs is light gray.
+The branchlets are very small, light and slender, and are set
+irregularly on the sides of the small branches; so that they form a
+flat surface. This arrangement renders them singularly well adapted to
+the making of brooms--a use of the hemlock familiar to housekeepers in
+the country towns throughout New England. The leaves, which are
+extremely delicate and of a silvery whiteness on the under side, are
+arranged in a row on each side of the branchlets. The slender,
+thread-like stems on which they grow make them move easily with the
+slightest breath of wind, and this, with the silvery hue underneath,
+gives to the foliage a glittering look that is very pretty. But I think
+you all can tell me when the hemlock is prettiest?"
+
+"After a snow-storm," said Clara. "Don't we all look, almost the first
+thing, at the tree by the dining-room window?"
+
+"Yes," replied Miss Harson; "it is a beautiful sight with the snow lying
+on it in masses and the dark green of the leaves peeping through. 'The
+branches put forth irregularly from all parts of the trunk, and lie one
+above another, each bending over at its extremities upon the surface of
+those below, like the feathers upon the wings of a bird,' And soft,
+downy plumes they look, with the snow resting on them and making them
+more feathery than ever."
+
+"So they are like feathers?" said Malcolm, to whom this was a new idea,
+"I'll look for 'em the next time it snows; yet--" He was going to add
+that he wished it would snow to-morrow; but remembering that it was only
+the beginning of June, and that Miss Harson had shown them how each
+season has its pleasures, he stopped just in time.
+
+"The pretty little cones of the hemlock, which grow very thickly on the
+tree, have a crimson tinge at first, and turn to a light brown. They are
+found hanging on the ends of the small branches, and they fall during
+the autumn and winter. This tree is a native of the coldest parts of
+North America, where it is found in whole forests, and it flourishes on
+granite rocks on the sides of hills exposed to the most violent storms.
+The wood is firm and contains very little resin; it is much used for
+building-purposes. A great quantity of tannin is obtained from the
+bark; and when mixed with that of the oak, it is valuable for
+preparing leather.
+
+"We have taken the prettiest of the spruces first," continued Miss
+Harson, "and now we must see what are the differences between them. 'The
+two species of American spruce, the black and the white--or, as they are
+more commonly called, the double and the single--are distinguished from
+the fir and the hemlock in every stage of growth by the roughness of the
+bark on their branches, produced by little ridges running down from the
+base of each leaf, and by the disposition of the leaves, which are
+arranged in spirals equally on every side of the young shoots. The
+double is distinguished from the single spruce by the darker color of
+the foliage--whence its name of black spruce--by the greater thickness,
+in proportion to the length, of the cones, and by the looseness of its
+scales, which are jagged, or toothed, on the edge.' It is a
+well-proportioned tree, but stiff-looking, and the dark foliage, which
+never seems to change, gives it a gloomy aspect. The leaves are closely
+arranged in spiral lines. The black spruce is never a very large tree,
+but the wood is light, elastic and durable, and is valuable in
+shipbuilding, for making ladders and for shingles. The young shoots are
+much in demand for making spruce-beer. The white spruce is more slender
+and tapering, and the bark and leaves are lighter. The root is very
+tough, and the Canadian Indians make threads from the fibres, with which
+they sew together the birch-bark for their canoes. The wood is as
+valuable as that of the black spruce."
+
+"Does the Norway spruce come from Norway?" asked Clara.
+
+"Yes; that is its native land, where it presents its most grand and
+beautiful appearance. There it 'rivals the palm in stature, and even
+attains the height of one hundred and eighty feet. Its handsome branches
+spread out on every side and clothe the trunk to its base, while the
+summit of the tree ends in an arrow-like point. In very old trees the
+branches droop at the extremities, and not only rest upon the ground,
+but actually take root in it and grow. Thus a number of young trees are
+often seen clustering around the trunk of an old one.'"
+
+"Why, that's like the banyan tree," said Malcolm.
+
+"Only there is a difference in the manner of growth, for the branches of
+the banyan are some distance from the ground and send forth rootlets
+without touching it. The Norway spruce is also the great tree of the
+Alps, where it seems to match the majestic scenery. The timber is
+valuable for building; and when sawed into planks, it is called white
+deal, while that of the Scotch fir is red deal.
+
+"And now," said Miss Harson, "before we leave the firs, let us see what
+is said about them in the Bible. They were used for shipbuilding in the
+city of Tyre; for the prophet Ezekiel says, 'They have made all thy ship
+boards of fir trees of Senir[21],' and it is written that 'David and all
+the house of Israel played before the Lord on all manner of instruments
+made of firwood[22].' The same wood was used then in building houses,
+as you will find, Malcolm, by turning to the Song of Solomon, seventh
+chapter, seventeenth verse."
+
+[21] Ezek. xxvii. 5.
+
+[22] 2 Sam. vi. 5.
+
+"'The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir,'" read
+Malcolm.
+
+"In Kings it is said, 'So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees,
+according to his desire[23],' and these trees were to be used for the
+very house, or palace, of which the Jewish king speaks in his Song.
+Evergreens are often mentioned in the Bible, and in that beautiful
+Christmas chapter, the sixtieth of Isaiah, you will find the fir tree
+again.--Read the thirteenth verse, Clara."
+
+[23] I Kings v. 10.
+
+"'The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine
+tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I
+will make the place of my feet glorious.'--What is 'the glory of
+Lebanon,' Miss Harson?"
+
+"The cedar of Lebanon, dear; and we will now turn our attention to that
+and the other cedars."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+_THE CEDARS_.
+
+"The cypress tribe," said Miss Harson, "differ from the pines, or
+Coniferae, by not having their fruit in a true cone, but in a roundish
+head which consists of a small number of scales, sometimes forming a
+sort of berry. One of the most common of this family is the arbor vitae,
+or tree of life--a tree so small as to look like a pointed shrub, and
+more used for fences than for ornament. An arbor-vitae hedge, you know,
+divides our flower garden from the kitchen-garden and goes all the way
+down to the brook."
+
+"I like the smell of it," said Clara. "Don't you, Miss Harson?"
+
+[Illustration: SIBERIAN ARBOR VITAE]
+
+"Yes," was the reply, "there is something very fresh and pleasant about
+it; and when well kept, as John is sure to keep ours, it makes a
+beautiful hedge. As a tree it has been known to reach forty or fifty
+feet in height, with a trunk ten feet in circumference. The leaves are
+arranged in four rows, in alternately opposite pairs, and seem to make
+up the fan-like branchlets. These branchlets look like parts of a large
+compound, flat leaf. The bark is slightly furrowed, smooth to the touch,
+and very white when the tree stands exposed. The wood is reddish,
+somewhat odorous, very light, soft and fine-grained. In the northern
+part of the United States and in Canada it holds the first place for
+durability."
+
+"I thought the cypress was a flower," said Malcolm.
+
+"So one kind of cypress is," replied his governess--"the blossom of an
+airy-looking and beautiful creeper; but the name also belongs to a
+family of trees. The white cedar, or cypress, is a very graceful tree
+which generally grows in swamps. 'It is entirely free from the stiffness
+of the pines, and to the spiry top of the poplar it unites the airy
+lightness of the hemlock. The trunk is straight and tall, tapering very
+gradually, and toward the top there are short irregular branches,
+forming a small but beautiful head, above which the leading shoot waves
+like a slender plume.' The leaves are very small and scale-like, with
+sharp points, and grow in four rows on the ends of the branchlets,
+giving them the appearance of large compound leaves. The wood is very
+durable, and is used for many building-purposes. It is generally of a
+faint rose-color, and always keeps its aromatic odor."
+
+[Illustration: IRISH JUNIPER.]
+
+"Is that what our cedar-chests are made of to keep the moths from our
+winter clothes?" asked Clara.
+
+"Yes," replied Miss Harson, "but the name 'cedar' is; not correct,
+though it is one commonly given to this tree. The wood of the European
+cypress is also used for many purposes where strength and durability are
+required, for it really seems never to wear out. This tree is described
+as tapering and cone-like, with upright branches growing close to the
+trunk, and in its general appearance a little resembling a poplar. Its
+frond-like branches are closely covered with very small sharp-pointed
+leaves of a yellow-green color, smooth and shining, and they remain on
+the tree five or six years. The cypress is often seen in burying-grounds
+in Europe, and in Turkey it often stands at each end of a grave. The
+oldest tree in Europe is thought to be an Italian cypress said to have
+been planted in the year of our Saviour's birth; it is an object of
+great reverence in the neighborhood. This ancient tree is a hundred and
+twenty feet high and twenty-three feet around the trunk.
+
+"The juniper--or red cedar, as it is improperly called--is not a
+handsome tree, but it is a very useful one. It has a scraggy, stunted
+look, and the foliage is apt to be rusty; but it will grow in rocky,
+sandy places where no other tree would even try to hold up its head, and
+the wood, when made into timber, lasts for a great many years. Posts for
+fences are made of the juniper or red cedar, and the shipbuilder,
+boatbuilder, carpenter, cabinet-maker and turner are all steady
+customers for it. The 'cedar-apples' found on this tree are one phase
+of the life of a very curious fungus. They are covered with a
+reddish-brown bark; and when fresh, they are tough and fleshy, somewhat
+like an unripe apple. When dry they become of a woody nature."
+
+"They pucker up your mouth awfully," said Malcolm, who had made several
+attempts to eat them; but, do what he would, he could not even "make
+believe" they were nice.
+
+"I have no doubt of it," was the reply, "remembering the dreadful faces
+I have seen on some of our rambles. But the birds like them, as they do
+everything of the kind that is not poisonous."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Isn't it beautiful?" exclaimed the children, in delight. They were
+admiring a magnificent cedar of Lebanon in one of the pictures which
+Miss Harson had collected for their benefit, and it seemed no wonder
+that the grand spreading tree should be called "the glory of Lebanon."
+
+"It is indeed beautiful," replied their governess; "and think of seeing
+a whole mountain covered with such trees! A traveler speaks of them as
+the most solemnly impressive trees in the world, and says that their
+massive trunks, clothed with a scaly texture almost like the skin of
+living animals and contorted with all the irregularities of age, may
+well have suggested those ideas of royal, almost divine, strength and
+solidity which the sacred writers ascribe to them.--Turn to the
+ninety-second psalm, Clara, and read the twelfth verse."
+
+"'The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree; he shall grow like a
+cedar in Lebanon.'"
+
+"In the thirty-first chapter of Ezekiel," continued Miss Harson, "it is
+written, 'Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair
+branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his
+top was among the thick boughs. The waters made him great, the deep set
+him up on high with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent
+out her little rivers unto all the trees of the field. Therefore his
+height was exalted above all the trees of the field and his boughs were
+multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of
+waters, when he shot forth. All the fowls of heaven made their nests in
+his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring
+forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations.'"
+
+[Illustration: CEDAR OF LEBANON.]
+
+"Are the leaves like those of our cedar trees?" asked Malcolm, who was
+studying the picture quite intently. "The tree doesn't look like 'em."
+
+"They are somewhat like them," replied his governess, "being slender and
+straight and about an inch long. They grow in tufts, and in the centre
+of some of the tufts there is a small cone which is very pretty and
+often brought to this country by travelers for their friends at home. In
+_The Land and the Book_ there is a picture of small branches with cones,
+and the author says of the cedar: 'There is a striking peculiarity in
+the shape of this tree which I have not seen any notice of in books of
+travel. The branches are thrown out horizontally from the parent trunk.
+These again part into limbs, which preserve the same horizontal
+direction, and so on down to the minutest twigs; and even the
+arrangement of the clustered leaves has the same general tendency. Climb
+into one, and you are delighted with a succession of verdant floors
+spread around the trunk and gradually narrowing as you ascend. The
+beautiful cones seem to stand upon or rise out of this green flooring.'
+The same writer says that by examining the different growths of wood
+inside the trunk of one of the trees these ancient cedars of Lebanon
+have been proved to be three thousand five hundred years old."
+
+"Oh, Miss Harson!" exclaimed her audience; "could any tree be as old as
+that?"
+
+"It is possible. The circle of growing wood which is made each year is a
+pretty good method of telling the age of a tree, and these cedars of
+Lebanon are considered the oldest trees in the world. Travelers have
+always spoken of the beauty and symmetry of these trees, with their
+widespreading branches and cone-like tops. All through the Middle Ages a
+visit to the cedars of Lebanon was regarded by many persons in the light
+of a pilgrimage. Some of the trees were thought to have been planted by
+King Solomon himself, and were looked upon as sacred relics. Indeed, the
+visitors took away so many pieces from the bark that it was feared the
+trees would be destroyed. The cedars stand in a valley a considerable
+way up the mountain, where the snow renders it inaccessible for part of
+the year."
+
+"Are the trees just in one particular place, then?" asked Malcolm. "I
+thought they grew all over that country?"
+
+"The principal and best-known grove of very large and ancient cedars of
+Lebanon is found in one place," replied his governess, "but there are
+other groves now known to exist. The famous grove was fast disappearing,
+until there were but few of them left. The pilgrims who went to visit
+them in such numbers in olden times were accompanied by monks from a
+monastery about four miles below, who would beseech them not to injure a
+single leaf. But the greatest care could not preserve the trees. Some of
+them have been struck down by lightning, some broken by enormous loads
+of snow, and others torn to fragments by tempests. Some have even been
+cut down with axes like any common tree. But better care is now taken of
+them; so that we may hope that the grove will live and increase."
+
+"But why weren't they saved," asked Clara, "when people thought so much
+of them?"
+
+"It seems to be a part of the general desolation of the land of God's
+chosen but rebellious people. In the third chapter of the prophet
+Isaiah, verses eleven and twelve, it is said, 'For the day of the Lord
+of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every
+one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low; and upon all the
+cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of
+Bashan.' The same prophet says, in the tenth chapter and nineteenth
+verse, 'And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a
+child may write them.' These words have been particularly applied to the
+stately cedars of Lebanon, for 'the once magnificent grove is but a
+speck on the mountain-side. Many persons have taken it in the distance
+for a wood of fir trees, but on approaching nearer and taking a closer
+view the cedars resume somewhat of their ancient majesty. The space they
+cover is not more than half a mile, but, once amidst them, the beautiful
+fan-like branches overhead, the exquisite green of the younger trees and
+the colossal size of the older ones fill the mind with interest and
+admiration. Within the grove all is hushed as in a land of the past.
+Where once the Tyrian workman plied his axe and the sound of many
+voices came upon the ear, there are now the silence and solitude of
+desertion and decay.'--Malcolm," added his governess, "you may read us
+what is written in the sixth verse of the fourteenth chapter of Hosea."
+
+"'His branches,'" read Malcolm, "'shall spread, and his beauty shall be
+as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.' What does that mean,
+Miss Harson?"
+
+"It means the fragrant resin which exudes from both the trunk and the
+cones of the beautiful cedar. It is soft, and its fragrance is like that
+of the balsam of Mecca. 'Everything about this tree has a strong
+balsamic odor, and hence the whole grove is so pleasant and fragrant
+that it is delightful to walk in it. The wood is peculiarly adapted for
+building, because it is not subject to decay, nor is it eaten of worms.
+It was much used for rafters and for boards with which to cover houses
+and form the floors and ceilings of rooms. It was of a red color,
+beautiful, solid and free from knots. The palace of Persepolis, the
+temple of Jerusalem and Solomon's palace were all in this way built with
+cedar, and the house of the forest of Lebanon was perhaps so called from
+the quantity of this wood used in its construction.' We are told in
+First Kings that Solomon 'built also the house of the forest of
+Lebanon[24],' and that 'he made three hundred shields of beaten gold'
+and 'put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon[25].' All the
+drinking-vessels, too, of this wonderful palace, which is always spoken
+of as 'the house of the forest of Lebanon,' were of pure gold, and its
+magnificence shows how highly the beautiful cedar-wood was valued."
+
+[24] I Kings vii. 2.
+
+[25] I Kings x. 17.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+_THE PALMS_.
+
+"There is a wonderful evergreen," said Miss Harson, "which grows in
+tropical countries, and also in some sub-tropical countries, such as the
+Holy Land, and is said to have nearly as many uses as there are days in
+a year. You must tell me what it is when you have seen the picture."
+
+[Illustration: PALM TREE.]
+
+Malcolm and Clara both pronounced it a palm tree, and Clara asked if
+there were any such trees growing in this country.
+
+"Some of its relations are found on our Southern seacoast," replied
+their governess; "South Carolina, you know, is called 'the Palmetto
+State.' There is a member of the family called the cabbage-palmetto,
+the unexpanded leaves of which are used as a table vegetable, which you
+may see in Florida. Its young leaves are all in a mass at the top, and
+when boiled make a dish something like cabbage. The leaves of the
+palmetto are also used, when perfect, in the manufacture of hats,
+baskets and mats, and for many other purposes. But its stately and
+majestic cousin, the date-palm of the East, with its tall, slender stalk
+and magnificent crown of feathery leaves, has had its praises sung in
+every age and clime. 'Besides its great importance as a fruit-producer,
+it has a special beauty of its own when the clusters of dates are
+hanging in golden ripeness under its coronal of dark-green leaves. Its
+well-known fruit affords sustenance to the dwellers on the borders of
+the great African desert; it is as necessary to them as is the camel,
+and in many cases they may be said to owe their existence to it alone.
+The tree rears its column-like stem to the height of ninety feet, and
+its crown consists of fifty leaves about twelve feet in length and
+fringed at the edges like a feather. Between the leaf and the stem there
+issue several horny spathes, or sheaths, out of which spring clusters of
+panicles that bear small white flowers,' These flowers are followed by
+the dates, which grow in a dense bunch that hangs down several feet."
+
+"But how do people manage to climb such a tree as that," asked Malcolm,
+"to get the dates? It goes straight up in the air without any branches,
+and looks as if it would snap in two if any one tried it."
+
+"It does not snap, though, for it is very strong; and the climbing is
+easier than you imagine, even when the tree is a hundred feet high, as
+it sometimes is. The trunk, you see, is full of rugged knots. These
+projections are the remains of decayed leaves which have dropped off
+when their work was done. As the older leaves decay the stalk advances
+in height. It has not true wood, like most trees, but the stem has
+bundles of fibres that are closely pressed together on the outer part.
+Toward the root these are so entwined that they become as hard as iron
+and are very difficult to cut. The tree grows very slowly, but it lives
+for centuries. I have a Persian fable in rhyme for you, called
+
+     "'THE GOURD AND THE PALM.
+
+     "'"How old art thou?" said the garrulous gourd
+     As o'er the palm tree's crest it poured
+     Its spreading leaves and tendrils fine,
+     And hung a-bloom in the morning shine.
+     "A hundred years," the palm tree sighed.--
+     "And I," the saucy gourd replied,
+     "Am at the most a hundred hours,
+     And overtop thee in the bowers."
+
+     "'Through all the palm tree's leaves there went
+     A tremor as of self-content.
+     "I live my life," it whispering said,
+     "See what I see, and count the dead;
+     And every year of all I've known
+     A gourd above my head has grown
+     And made a boast like thine to-day,
+     Yet here I stand; but where are they?"'"
+
+The children were very much pleased with the fable, and they began to
+feel quite an affection for the venerable and useful palm tree.
+
+"The date tree," continued their governess, "as this species of palm is
+often called, blossoms in April, and the fruit ripens in October. Each
+tree produces from ten to twelve bunches, and the usual weight of a
+bunch is about fifteen pounds. It is esteemed a crime to fell a date
+tree or to supply an axe intended for that purpose, even though the tree
+may belong to an enemy. The date-harvest is expected with as much
+anxiety by the Arab in the oasis as the gathering in of the wheat and
+corn in temperate regions. If it were to fail, the Arabs would be in
+danger of famine. The blessings of the date-palm are without limit to
+the Arab. Its leaves give a refreshing shade in a region where the beams
+of the sun are almost insupportable; men, and also camels, feed upon the
+fruit; the wood of the tree is used for fuel and for building the native
+huts; and ropes, mats, baskets, beds, and all kinds of articles, are
+manufactured from the fibres of the leaves. The Arab cannot imagine how
+a nation can exist without date-palms, and he may well regard it as the
+greatest injury that he can inflict upon his enemy to cut down
+his trees."
+
+"Miss Harson," asked Edith, very earnestly, "isn't the palm tree in the
+Bible?"
+
+[Illustration: DATE-PALM AT JERICHO.]
+
+"It certainly is, dear," replied her governess, "and it is one of the
+trees most frequently mentioned. In Deuteronomy, thirty-fourth chapter,
+third verse, Jericho is called the 'city of palm trees.' Travelers still
+speak of these trees as yet growing in Palestine, but they are not
+nearly so abundant as they once were; near Jericho only one or two can
+be found. There are many allusions to the palm in the Scriptures. King
+David, in the ninety-second psalm, says that the righteous shall
+flourish like the palm tree: 'Those that be planted in the house of the
+Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall bring forth
+fruit in old age.' The palm is always upright, in spite of rain or wind.
+'There it stands, looking calmly down upon the world below, and
+patiently yielding its large clusters of golden fruit from generation to
+generation. It brings forth fruit in old age.' The allusion to being
+planted in the house of the Lord is probably drawn from the custom of
+planting beautiful and long-lived trees in the courts of temples and
+palaces. Solomon covered all the walls of the holy of holies round
+about with golden palm trees.--You will find this, Clara, in
+First Kings."
+
+Clara read:
+
+"'And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved
+figures of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, within and
+without[26].'"
+
+[26] I Kings vi. 29.
+
+"In the thirty-second verse," continued Miss Harson, "it is written that
+he overlaid them with gold, 'and spread gold upon the cherubim, and upon
+the palm trees.' 'They were thus planted, as it were, within the very
+house of the Lord; and their presence there was not only ornamental, but
+appropriate and highly suggestive--the very best emblem not only of
+patience in well-doing, but of the rewards of the righteous, a fat and
+flourishing old age, a peaceful end, a glorious immortality.'"
+
+"What does a 'palmer' mean, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm. "Is it a man
+who has palm trees or who sells dates? I saw the word in a book I was
+reading, but I couldn't understand what it meant."
+
+"In olden times," replied his governess, "when people made so many
+pilgrimages, some of the pilgrims went to the Holy Land and some to Rome
+and other places; but those who went to Palestine were thought to be the
+most devout, both because it was so much farther off and because there
+were so many sacred spots to visit there. These pilgrims always brought
+home with them branches of palm, to show that they had really been to
+the land where the tree grew; and so they were called _palmers_. To say
+that such-a-one was a palmer was far more than to say that he was
+a pilgrim."
+
+"Miss Harson," said Clara, holding up one of the books, "here is a
+picture called 'the cocoanut-palm,' but I didn't know that cocoanuts
+grew on palm trees. Will you tell us something about it?"
+
+[Illustration: COCOANUT-PALM TREES IN SOUTH-EASTERN AFRICA.]
+
+"Certainly I will, dear," was the reply. "I fully intended to do so, for
+the cocoanut-palm is too valuable a member of the family to be passed
+over. This species does not grow in Palestine, and it is not one of the
+trees of the Bible; its home is in the warmest countries, and it grows
+most luxuriantly in the islands of the tropics or near the seacoast on
+the main-lands. Although its general form is similar to that of the
+date-palm, the foliage and fruit are quite different. The leaves are
+very much broader, and they have not the light, airy look of the foliage
+of the date-palm. But 'the cocoanut-palm is the most valuable of
+Nature's gifts to the inhabitants of those parts of the tropics where it
+grows, and its hundred uses, as they are not inaptly called, extend
+beyond the tropics over the civilized world. The beautiful islands of
+the southern seas are fringed with cocoanut-palms that encircle them as
+with a green and feathery belt. The ripe nuts drop into the sea, but,
+protected by their husks, they float away until the tide washes them on
+to the shore of some neighboring island, where they can take root
+and grow.'"
+
+"Wouldn't it be nice," said Edith, "if some would float here?"
+
+"A great many cocoanuts float here in ships," replied Miss Harson, "but
+they would not take root and grow, because the climate is not suited to
+them; it is too cold for them. We cannot have tropical fruit without
+tropical heat, and I am sure that none of us would want such a change as
+that. You may sometimes see small cocoanut trees in hothouses or
+horticultural gardens, where they are shielded from our cold air. The
+island of Ceylon, in the East Indies, is full of cocoanut-palm trees,
+for they are carefully cultivated by the inhabitants, and the feathery
+groves stretch mile after mile. The tree shoots up a column-like stem to
+the height of a hundred feet, and is crowned with a tuft of broad leaves
+about twelve feet long. The flowers are yellowish white and grow in
+clusters, and the seed ripens into a hard nut which in its fibrous husk
+is about the size of an infant's head."
+
+"I've seen the nut in its husk," said Malcolm, "when papa took me down
+to the wharf where the ships come in. There were lots of cocoanuts, and
+some of 'em had their coats on."
+
+"This brown husk," continued his governess, "is a valuable part of the
+nut, for the toughest ropes and cables are made of its fibres, as well
+as the useful brown matting so generally used to cover offices and
+passages. Brushes, nets and other domestic articles are also
+manufactured from the husk. Scarcely any other tree in the world is so
+useful to man or contributes so much to his comfort as the
+cocoanut-palm. Food and drink are alike obtained from it. The kernel of
+the nut is an article of diet, and can be prepared in many ways. The
+native is almost sustained by it, and in Ceylon it forms a part of
+nearly every dish. The spathe that encloses the yet-unopened flowers is
+made to yield a favorite beverage called palm-wine, or, more familiarly,
+'toddy.' When the fresh juice is used, it is an innocent and refreshing
+drink; but when left to ferment, it intoxicates, and is the one evil
+result from the bountiful gifts of the tree. Oil is prepared in great
+quantities from the nuts and used for various purposes."
+
+"Are there any more kinds of palm trees?" asked the children.
+
+"Yes," was the reply; "there are a great many members of this most
+useful family, but the one that will interest you most, after the
+date-and cocoanut-palm, is, I think, the sago-palm."
+
+[Illustration: YOUNG COCOANUT TREE IN POT (_Cocos nucifera_).]
+
+"Why, Miss Harson!" exclaimed Clara, in surprise; "does sago really grow
+on a tree?"
+
+"It really grows _in_ a tree--for it is a kind of starch secreted by the
+tree for the use of its flowers and fruit--and in order to obtain it the
+tree has to be cut down. The pith is then taken out and cut in slices,
+soaked in water and roasted; and when it assumes the shape of the small
+globules in which we see it, it is ready for exportation."
+
+"Well!" said Malcolm; "I never knew _that_ before. We've learned ever so
+many things, Miss Harson."
+
+"There is one thing about the palm," said Miss Harson, "which I have
+purposely left for the last--especially as it is the last also of our
+trees for the present--and that is the sacred associations which its
+branches have for both Jews and Christians. The Jews were commanded on
+the first day of the feast of tabernacles to 'take the boughs of goodly
+trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and
+willows of the brook, to rejoice before the Lord their God.' The palm
+was a symbol of victory, and branches of it were strewn in the path of
+conquerors, more especially of those who had fought for religious truth.
+It is the emblem of the martyr, as a conqueror through Christ. The
+Sunday before Easter is called Palm Sunday because in the ancient
+churches leaves of palm were carried that day by worshipers in memory of
+those strewn in the way on the triumphal entry of the King of Zion into
+Jerusalem. You will find it, Malcolm, in John."
+
+Malcolm read very reverently:
+
+"'On the next day, much people that were come to the feast, when they
+heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees,
+and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna; Blessed is the King of
+Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord[27].'"
+
+[27] John xii. 12, 13.
+
+"Here," said Miss Harson, "is a little hymn written on these very
+verses:
+
+     "'See a small procession slowly
+       Toward the temple wind its way;
+     In the midst rides, meek and lowly,
+       One whom angel-hosts obey.
+
+     "'How the shouting crowd adore him,
+       Now, for once, they know their King;
+     Some their garments cast before him,
+       Green palm-branches others bring.
+
+     "'Calmly, yet with holy sorrow,
+       Christ permits the sacrifice.
+     Knowing well that on the morrow
+       Changed will be those fickle cries.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+     "'Children, when in prayers and praises
+       Loudly we with lips adore,
+     While the heart no anthem raises,
+       Are not we like those of yore?
+
+     "'O Lord Jesus, let us never
+       Lift the voice in heartless songs;
+     Help us to remember ever
+       All that to thy name belongs.'"
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AMONG THE TREES AT ELMRIDGE***
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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Among the Trees at Elmridge, by Ella Rodman
+Church
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Among the Trees at Elmridge
+
+Author: Ella Rodman Church
+
+Release Date: March 26, 2004  [eBook #11723]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: iso-8859-1
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AMONG THE TREES AT ELMRIDGE***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Charlie Kirschner, and the Project
+Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team
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+Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
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+
+
+
+
+AMONG THE TREES AT ELMRIDGE
+
+BY
+
+ELLA RODMAN CHURCH
+
+1886
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+CHAPTER     I. A SPRING OPENING.
+CHAPTER    II. THE MAPLES.
+CHAPTER   III. OLD ACQUAINTANCES: THE ELMS.
+CHAPTER    IV. MAJESTY AND STRENGTH: THE OAK.
+CHAPTER     V. BEAUTY AND GRACE: THE ASH.
+CHAPTER    VI. THE OLIVE TREE.
+CHAPTER   VII. THE USEFUL BIRCH.
+CHAPTER  VIII. THE POPLARS.
+CHAPTER    IX. ALL A-BLOW: THE APPLE TREE.
+CHAPTER     X. A FRUITFUL FAMILY: THE PEACH, ALMOND, PLUM AND CHERRY.
+CHAPTER    XI. THE CHERRY-STORY.
+CHAPTER   XII. THE MULBERRY FAMILY.
+CHAPTER  XIII. QUEER RELATIONS: THE CAOUTCHOUC AND THE MILK TREE.
+CHAPTER   XIV. HOME AND ABROAD: LINDEN, CAMPHOR, BEECH.
+CHAPTER    XV. THE TENT AND THE LOCUSTS.
+CHAPTER   XVI. THE WALNUT FAMILY AND THE AILANTHUS.
+CHAPTER  XVII. SOME BEAUTIFUL TREES: THE CHESTNUT AND HORSE-CHESTNUT.
+CHAPTER XVIII. AMONG THE PINES.
+CHAPTER   XIX. GIANT AND NUT PINES.
+CHAPTER    XX. MORE WINTER TREES: THE FIRS AND THE SPRUCES.
+CHAPTER   XXI. THE CEDARS.
+CHAPTER  XXII. THE PALMS.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+_A SPRING OPENING._
+
+On that bright spring afternoon when three happy, interested children
+went off to the woods with their governess to take their first lesson in
+the study of wild flowers, they saw also some other things which made a
+fresh series of "Elmridge Talks," and these things were found among the
+trees of the roadside and forest.
+
+"What makes it look so _yellow_ over there, Miss Harson?" asked Clara,
+who was peering curiously at a clump of trees that seemed to have been
+touched with gold or sunlight. "And just look over here," she continued,
+"at these pink ones!"
+
+Malcolm shouted at the idea:
+
+"Yellow and pink trees! That sounds like a Japanese fan. Where are they,
+I should like to know?"
+
+"Here, you perverse boy!" said his governess as she laughingly turned
+him around. "Are you looking up into the sky for them? There is a clump
+of golden willows right before you, with some rosy maples on one side.
+What other colors can you call them?"
+
+Malcolm had to confess that "yellow and pink trees" were not so wide of
+the mark, after all, and that they were very pretty. Little Edith was
+particularly delighted with them, and wanted to "pick the flowers"
+immediately.
+
+"They are too high for that, dear," was the reply, "and these
+blossoms--for that is what they really are, although nothing more than
+fringes and catkins--are much prettier massed on the trees than they
+would be if gathered. The still-bare twigs and branches seem, as you
+see, to be draped with golden and rose-colored veils, but there will be
+no leaves until these queer flowers have dropped. If we look closely at
+the twigs and branches, we shall see that they are glossy and polished,
+as though they had been varnished and then brightened with color by the
+painter's brush. It is the flowing of the sap that does this. The
+swelling of the bark occasioned by the flow of sap gives the whole mass
+a livelier hue; hence the ashen green of the poplar, the golden green of
+the willow and the dark crimson of the peach tree, the wild rose and the
+red osier are perceptibly heightened by the first warm days of spring."
+
+[Illustration: MALE CATKIN OF WILLOW.]
+
+"Miss Harson," asked Clara, with a perplexed face, "what are catkins?"
+
+"Here," said her governess, reaching from the top bar of the road-fence
+for the lowest branch of a willow tree; "examine this catkin for
+yourself, and I will tell you what my _Botany_ says of it: 'An ament, or
+catkin, is an assemblage of flowers composed of scales and stamens or
+pistils arranged along a common thread-like receptacle, as in the
+chestnut and willow. It is a kind of calyx, by some classed as a mode of
+inflorescence (or flowering), and each chaffy scale protects one or more
+of the stamens or pistils, the whole forming one aggregate flower. The
+ament is common to forest-trees, as the oak and chestnut, and is also
+found upon the willow and poplar.'"
+
+"It's funny-looking," said Malcolm, when he had made himself thoroughly
+acquainted with the appearance of the catkin, "but it doesn't look much
+like a flower: it looks more like a pussy's tail."
+
+"Yes, and that is the origin of its name. 'Catkin' is diminutive for
+'cat;' so this collection of flowers is called 'catkin,' or
+'little cat.'"
+
+"I think I'll call them 'pussy-tails,'" said Edith.
+
+"There is a great deal to be learned about trees," said Miss Harson,
+when all were comfortably seated in the pleasant schoolroom; "and,
+besides the natural history of their species, some old trees have
+wonderful stories connected with them, while many in tropical countries
+are so wonderful in themselves that they do not need stories to make
+them interesting. The common trees around us will be our subjects at
+first; for I suppose that you can scarcely tell a willow from a poplar,
+or a chestnut tree from either, can you?"
+
+"I can tell a chestnut tree," said Malcolm, confidently.
+
+"When it is not the season for nuts?" asked his governess, smiling.
+
+There was not a very positive reply to this; and Miss Harson continued:
+
+"I do not think that any of us know as much as we ought to know of the
+trees which we see every day, and of the uses to which many of them are
+put, to say nothing of many familiar trees that we read about, and even
+depend upon for some of the necessaries of life."
+
+"Like the cocoanut tree," suggested Clara.
+
+"That is not exactly necessary to our comfort, dear," was the reply,
+"for people can manage to live without cocoanuts, although in many forms
+they are very agreeable to the taste, and it is only the inhabitants of
+the countries where they grow who look upon these trees as necessaries;
+but we will take them up in their turn. And first let us find out what
+we can about the willow, because it is the first tree, with us, to
+become green in the spring, and, of that large class which is called
+_deciduous_, the last one to lose its leaves."
+
+"And why are they called _deciduous?_" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Because they shed their leaves every autumn and are furnished with a
+new set in the spring: 'deciduous' is Latin for 'falling off.' And this
+is the case with nearly all our native trees and plants. _Persistent_,
+or permanent, leaves remain on the stem and branches all through the
+changes of season, like the leaves of the pine and box, while
+_evergreens_ look fresh through the entire year and are generally
+cone-bearing and resinous trees. 'These change their leaves annually,
+but, the young leaves appearing before the old ones decay, the tree is
+always green.'"
+
+"Miss Harson," said Clara, "when people talk about _weeping_ willows,
+what do they mean? Do the trees really cry? I sometimes read about 'em
+in stories, and I never knew what they did."
+
+"They cry dreadfully," said Malcolm, "when it rains."
+
+"But only as you do when you are out in it," replied his governess--"by
+having the water drip from your clothes.--No, Clara, the tree is called
+'weeping' because it seems to 'assume the attitude of a person in tears,
+who bends over and appears to droop.' The sprays of this tree are
+particularly beautiful, and 'willowy' is often used for 'graceful,' as
+meaning the same thing. Its language is 'sorrow,' and it is often seen
+in burial-grounds and in mourning-pictures. 'We remember it in sacred
+history, associating it with the rivers of Babylon, and with the tears
+of the children of Israel, who sat down under the shade of this tree and
+hung their harps upon its branches. It is distinguished by the graceful
+beauty of its outlines, its light-green, delicate foliage, its sorrowing
+attitude and its flowing drapery.'"
+
+"Were those weeping willows that we saw to-day?" asked Clara.
+
+"No," replied her brother, quickly; "they just stuck up straight and
+didn't weep a bit."
+
+"They are called _water_ willows," said Miss Harson, "because they are
+never found in dry places. They are more common than the weeping willow.
+The water willow has the same delicate foliage and the same habit, under
+an April sky, of gleaming with a drapery of golden verdure among the
+still-naked trees of the forest or orchard. 'When Spring has closed her
+delicate flowers,' says a bright writer, 'and the multitudes that crowd
+around the footsteps of May have yielded their places to the brighter
+host of June, the willow scatters the golden aments that adorned it,
+and appears in the deeper garniture of its own green foliage.' A group
+of these golden willows, seen in a rainstorm, will have so bright an
+appearance as to make it seem as if the sun were actually shining."
+
+[Illustration: THE WHITE WILLOW (_Salix alba_).]
+
+"I wish we had them all around here, then," said Edith; "I like to see
+the sun shining when it rains."
+
+"But the sun is _not_ shining, dear," replied her governess: "it is only
+the reflection from the willows that makes it look so; and we can make
+just such sunshine ourselves when it rains, or when there is dullness of
+any sort, by being all the more cheerful and striving to make others
+happy. Who loves to be called 'Little Sunshine'?"
+
+"I do," said the child, caressing the hand that had patted her rosy
+cheek.
+
+"Let's all be golden willows," said Malcolm, in a comical way that made
+them laugh.
+
+Miss Harson told him that he could not make a better attempt than to be
+one of those home-brighteners who bring the sunshine with them, but she
+added that such people are always considerate for others. Malcolm
+wondered a little if this meant that _he_ was not, but he soon forgot it
+in hearing the many things that were to be said of the willow.
+
+"The family-name of this tree is _Salix_, from a word that means 'to
+spring,' because a willow-branch, if planted, will take root and grow so
+quickly that it seems almost like magic. 'And they shall _spring up_ as
+among the grass, as willows by the watercourses,' says the prophet
+Isaiah, speaking of the children of the people of God. The flowers of
+the willow are of two kinds--one bearing stamens, and the other
+pistils--and each grows upon a separate plant. When the ovary, at the
+base of the pistil, is ripe, it opens by two valves and lets out, as
+through a door, multitudes of small seeds covered with a fine down, like
+the seeds of the cotton-plant. This downy substance is greedily sought
+after by the birds as a lining for their nests, and they may be seen
+carrying it away in their bills. And in some parts of Germany people
+take the trouble to collect it and use it as a wadding to their winter
+dresses, and even manufacture it into a coarse kind of paper."
+
+"What queer people!" exclaimed Clara. "And how funny they must look in
+their wadded dresses!"
+
+"They are not graceful people," was the reply, "but they live in a cold
+climate and show their good sense by dressing as warmly as possible. It
+was quite a surprise, though, to me to find that the willow was of use
+in clothing people. The more we learn of the works of God, the better we
+shall understand that last verse of the first chapter of the Bible: 'And
+God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.' The
+bees, too, are attracted by the willow catkins, but they do not want the
+down. On mild days whole swarms of them may be seen reveling in the
+sweets of the fresh blossoms. 'Cold days will come long after the willow
+catkins appear, and the bees will find but few flowers venturesome
+enough to open their petals. They have, however, thoroughly enjoyed
+their feast, and the short season of plenty will often be the means of
+saving a hive from famine.'"
+
+"Are willow baskets made of willow trees?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Yes," said Miss Harson. "Basket-making has been a great industry in
+England from the earliest times; the ancient Britons were particularly
+skillful in weaving the supple wands of the willow. They even made of
+these slender stems little boats called 'coracles,' in which they could
+paddle down the small rivers, and the boats could be carried on their
+shoulders when they were walking on dry land."
+
+"Just like our Indians' birch-bark canoes," said Malcolm, who was
+reading about the North American Indians. "But isn't it strange, Miss
+Harson, that the Indians and the Britons didn't get drowned going out in
+such little light boats?"
+
+"Their very lightness buoyed them up upon the waves," was the reply;
+"but it does seem wonderful that they could bear the weight of men. The
+willow, however, was also used by the Romans in making their
+battle-shields, and even for the manufacture of ropes as well as
+baskets. The rims of cart-wheels, too, used to be made of willow, as now
+they are hooped with iron; so, you see, it is a strong wood as well as a
+pliant one. The kind used for basket-making is the _Salix viminalis_,
+and the rods of this species are called 'osiers.' Let us see now what
+this English book says of the process of basket-making:
+
+"'The quick and vigorous growth of the willow renders it easy to provide
+materials for this branch of industry. Osier-beds are planted in every
+suitable place, and here the willow-cutter comes as to an ample store.
+Autumn is the season for him to ply his trade, and he cuts the willow
+rods down and ties them in bundles. He then sets them up on end in
+standing water to the depth of a few inches. Here they remain during the
+winter, until the shoots, in the following spring, begin to sprout, when
+they are in a fit state to be peeled. A machine is used in some places
+to compress the greatest number of rods into a bundle.
+
+[Illustration: THE POLLARD WILLOW IN WINTER.]
+
+"'Aged or infirm people and women and children can earn money by peeling
+willows at so much per bundle. The operation is very simple, and so is
+the necessary apparatus. Sometimes a wooden bench with holes in it is
+used, the willow-twigs being drawn through the holes. Another way is
+to draw the rod through two pieces of iron joined together, and with one
+end thrust into the ground to make it stand upright. The willow-peeler
+sits down before his instrument and merely thrusts the rod between the
+two pieces of iron and draws it out again. This proceeding scrapes the
+bark off one end, and then he turns it and fits it in the other way; so
+that by a simple process the whole rod is peeled. When the rods are
+quite prepared, they are again tied up in bundles and sold to the
+basket-makers.'"
+
+"But how do they make the baskets?" asked Clara and Edith. "That is the
+nicest part."
+
+"There is little to tell about it, though," said their governess,
+"because it is such easy work that any one can learn to do it. You saw
+the Indian women making baskets when papa took us to Maine last summer,
+and you noticed how very quickly they did it, beginning with the flat
+bottom and working rapidly up. It is a favorite occupation for the
+blind, and one of the things which are taught them in asylums."
+
+"I wonder," said Malcolm, "if there is anything else that can be done
+with the willow?"
+
+"Oh yes," replied Miss Harson; "we have not yet come to the end of its
+resources. It makes the best quality of charcoal, and in many parts of
+England the tree is raised for this express purpose. 'The abode of the
+charcoal-burner,' says an English writer, 'may be known from a distance
+by the cloud of smoke that hovers over it, and that must make it rather
+unhealthy. It is sometimes a small dome-shaped hut made of green turf,
+and, except for the difference of the material, might remind us of the
+hut of the Esquimaux. Beside it stands a caravan like those which make
+their appearance at fairs, and that contains the family goods and
+chattels. A string of clothes hung out to dry, a water-tub and a rough,
+shaggy dog usually complete the picture.'"
+
+"But how can people live in the hut," asked Malcolm, "if the charcoal is
+burned in it? Ugh! I should think they'd choke."
+
+"They certainly would," said his governess; "for the charcoal-smoke is
+death when inhaled for any length of time. But the charcoal-burner knows
+this quite as well as does any one else, and he makes his fire outside
+of the house, puts a rude fence around it and lets it smoke away like a
+huge pipe. The hut is more or less enveloped in smoke, but this is not
+so bad as letting it rise from the inside would be. A great deal of
+willow charcoal is made in Germany and other parts of Europe."
+
+"But, Miss Harson," said Clara, in a puzzled tone, "I don't see what
+they do with it all. It doesn't take much to clean people's teeth."
+
+"No, dear," was the smiling reply, "and I am afraid that the people who
+make it are rather careless about their teeth.--You need not laugh,
+Malcolm, because it is 'just like a girl,' for it is quite as much like
+a boy not to know things which he has never been taught, and you must
+remember that you have two years the start of your sister in getting
+acquainted with the world. Perhaps you will kindly tell us of some of
+the uses to which charcoal is applied?"
+
+"Well," said the young gentleman, after an awkward silence, "it takes
+lots of it to kindle fires."
+
+"I do not think that Kitty ever uses it in the kitchen," said Miss
+Harson, "for she is supplied with kindling-wood for that purpose. You
+will have to think of something else."
+
+But Malcolm could not think, and his governess finally told him that a
+great deal of charcoal is used for making gun-powder, and still more for
+fuel in France and the South of Europe, where a brass vessel supplies
+the place of a grate or stove. Quantities of it are consumed in
+steel-and iron-works, in preserving meat and other food, and in many
+similar ways. The children listened with great interest, and Malcolm
+felt sure that the next time he was asked about charcoal he would have a
+sensible answer.
+
+"Our insect friends the aphides, or plant-lice, are very fond of the
+willow," continued Miss Harson, "and in hot, dry weather great masses of
+them gather on the leaves and drop a sugary juice, which the
+country-people call 'honey-dew,' and in some remote places, where
+knowledge is limited, it has been thought to come from the clouds. But
+we, who have learned something about these aphides[1], know that it
+comes from their little green bodies, and that the ants often carry the
+insects off to their nests, where they feed and 'tend them for the sake
+of this very juice. The aphis that infests the willow is the largest of
+the tribe, and the branches and stems of the tree are often blackened by
+the honey-dew that falls upon them."
+
+[1] See _Flyers and Crawlers_, by the author. Presbyterian Board of
+Publication.
+
+"Do willow trees grow everywhere?" asked Clara.
+
+"They are certainly found in a great many different places," was the
+reply, "and even in the warmest countries. In one of the missionary
+settlements in Africa there is a solitary willow that has a story
+attached to it. It was the only tree in the settlement--think what a
+place that must have been!--except those the missionary had planted in
+his own garden, and it would never have existed but for the laziness of
+its owner. Nothing would have induced any of the natives to take the
+trouble to plant a tree, and therefore the willow had not been planted.
+But it happened, a long-time ago, that a native had fetched a log of
+wood from a distance, to make into a bowl when he should feel in the
+humor to do so. He threw the log into a pool of water, and soon forgot
+all about it. Weeks and months passed, and he never felt in the humor to
+work. But the log of wood set to work of its own accord. It had been cut
+from a willow, and it took root at the bottom of the pool and began to
+grow. In the end it became a handsome and flourishing tree."
+
+This story was approved by the young audience, except that it was too
+short; but their governess laughingly said that, as there was nothing
+more to tell, it could not very well be any longer.
+
+[Illustration: THE WEEPING WILLOW (_Salix Babylonica_).]
+
+"The weeping willow," continued Miss Harson, "was first planted in
+England in not so lazy a way, but almost as accidentally. Many years ago
+a basket of figs was sent from Turkey to the poet Pope, and the basket
+was made of willow. Willows and their cousins the poplars are natives of
+the East; you remember that the one hundred and thirty-seventh psalm
+says of the captive Jews, 'By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down,
+yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the
+willows in the midst thereof.' 'The poet valued highly the small slender
+twigs, as associated with so much that was interesting, and he untwisted
+the basket and planted one of the branches in the ground. It had some
+tiny buds upon it, and he hoped he might be able to rear it, as none of
+this species of willow was known in England. Happily, the willow is very
+quick to take root and grow. The little branch soon became a tree, and
+drooped gracefully over the river in the same manner that its race had
+done over the waters of Babylon. From that one branch all the weeping
+willows in England are descended.'"
+
+"And then they were brought over here," said Malcolm. "But what odd
+leaves they have, Miss Harson!--so narrow and long. They don't look like
+the leaves of other trees."
+
+"The leaf is somewhat like that of the olive, only that of the olive is
+broader. The willow is a native of Babylon, and the weeping willow is
+called _Salix Babylonica_. It was considered one of the handsomest
+trees of the East, and is particularly mentioned among those which God
+commanded the Israelites to select for branches to bear in their hands
+at the feast of tabernacles. Read the verse, Malcolm--the fortieth of
+the twenty-third chapter of Leviticus."
+
+Malcolm read:
+
+"'And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees,
+branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and _willows of
+the brook;_ and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days.'"
+
+[Illustration: LEAF OF WEEPING WILLOW.]
+
+"A place called the 'brook of the willows,'" added his governess, "is
+mentioned in Isaiah xv. 7, and this brook, according to travelers in
+Palestine, flows into the south-eastern extremity of the Dead Sea. The
+willow has always been considered by the poets as an emblem of woe and
+desertion, and this idea probably came from the weeping of the captive
+Jews under the willows of Babylon. The branches of the _Salix
+Babylonica_ often droop so low as to touch the ground, and because of
+this sweeping habit, and of its association with watercourses in the
+Bible, it has been considered a very suitable tree to plant beside ponds
+and fountains in ornamental grounds, as well as in cemeteries as an
+emblem of mourning."
+
+"How much there is to remember about the willow!" said Clara,
+thoughtfully. "I wonder if all the trees will be so interesting?"
+
+"They are not all _Bible_ trees," replied Miss Harson. "But the wise
+king of Israel found them interesting, for he 'spake of trees, from the
+cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of
+the wall.'"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+_THE MAPLES._
+
+"The pink trees next, I suppose," said Malcolm, "since we have had the
+yellow ones?"
+
+"_Real_ pink trees?" asked Edith, with very wide-open eyes.
+
+"No, dear;" replied her governess; "there are no pink trees, except when
+they are covered with bloom like the peach trees. Malcolm only means the
+maples that we saw in blossom yesterday and thought of such a pretty
+color. There are many varieties of the maple, which is always a
+beautiful and useful tree, but the red, or scarlet, maple is the very
+queen of the family. It is not so large as are most of the others; but
+when a very young tree, its grace and beauty are noticeable among its
+companions. It is often found in low, moist places, but it thrives just
+as well in high, dry ground; and it is therefore a most convenient
+tree. Here is a very pretty description, Malcolm, in one of papa's large
+books, that you can read to us."
+
+Malcolm read remarkably well for a boy of his age, and he always enjoyed
+being called upon in this way.
+
+[Illustration: THE RED MAPLE.]
+
+Miss Harson pointed to these lines:
+
+"Coming forth in the spring, like morning in the east, arrayed in
+crimson and purple; bearing itself, not proudly but gracefully in
+modest green, among the more stately trees in summer; and ere it bids
+adieu to the season stepping forth in robes of gold, vermilion, crimson
+and variegated scarlet,--stands the queen of the American forest, the
+pride of all eyes and the delight of every picturesque observer of
+nature, the red maple."
+
+"Why, I never saw such a tree as that!" exclaimed Clara, in great
+surprise.
+
+"Yes, dear," replied her governess; "you have seen it, but you never
+thought of describing it to yourself in just this way. When you saw it
+yesterday, it was coming forth in the spring, like morning in the east,
+arrayed in crimson and purple,' but you just called it a pink tree. It
+is much nearer red, however, than it is pink."
+
+"I've seen all the rest of the colors, too," said Malcolm, "when we went
+out after nuts."
+
+"That is its autumn dress," said Miss Harson, "although a small tree is
+often seen with no color on it but brilliant red. But first we must see
+what it is like in spring and summer. It is also called the scarlet,
+the white, the soft and the swamp maple, and the flowers, as you see
+from this specimen, are in whorls, or pairs, of bright crimson, in
+crowded bunches on the purple branches. The leaves are in three or five
+lobes, with deep notches between, and some of them are very broad, while
+others are long and narrow. The trunk of the red maple is a clear ashy
+gray, often mottled with patches of white lichens; and when the tree is
+old, the bark cracks and can be peeled off in long, narrow strips."
+
+"Is anything done with the bark?" asked Clara.
+
+"Yes, it is used, with other substances, for dyeing, and also for making
+ink. The sap, too, can be boiled down to sugar, but it is not nearly so
+rich as that of the proper sugar-maple. The wood, which is very
+light-colored with a tinge of rose in it, is often made into common
+furniture, as it takes a fine polish and is easy to work with. It is
+used, too, for building-purposes. The early-summer foliage of the red
+maple is of a beautiful yellow green, and the young leaves are very
+delicate and airy-looking; but the graceful tree is in such a hurry to
+display her gay autumn colors that she will often put on a scarlet or
+crimson streamer in July or August. One brilliantly-colored branch will
+be seen on a green tree, or the leaves of an entire tree will turn red
+while all the other trees around it are clothed in summer greenness."
+
+"Don't you remember, Miss Harson," said Edith, "the little tree that I
+thought was on fire and how frightened I was?"
+
+"Yes, dear, I remember it very well--an innocent little red maple that
+_would_ put on its flame-colored dress when it should have been all in
+green, like its sisters; but it was too green at heart to be in a blaze.
+This tree is often used for fuel, but it has to be cut down and dried
+first. The reddening of the leaf generally begins at the veins and
+spreads out from them until the whole is tinted. Sometimes it appears in
+spots, almost like drops of blood, on the green surface; but, come as it
+will, it is always beautiful. It is said of the red maple that 'it
+stands among the occupants of the forest like Venus among the
+planets--the brightest in the midst of brightness and the most beautiful
+in a constellation of beauty,'"
+
+"Is there such a thing as a silver tree?" asked Clara.
+
+[Illustration: THE SILVER-LEAF MAPLE.]
+
+"There is a tree called 'the silver maple,'" was the reply, "and there
+is also the silver poplar. The silver maple is considered the most
+graceful of the large and handsome maple family. I have not told you, I
+think, that the name of the family is _Acer_, which means 'sharp' or
+'hard,' and it was supposed to have been given in old English times
+when the wood of the maple was used for javelins. The silver maple gets
+its name from the whitish under-surface of its leaves, and it is a
+favorite shade-tree; it has a slender trunk and long, drooping branches.
+The foliage is light and rather dull-looking, and it is not a very
+bright tree in autumn. The leaves are so deeply notched that they have a
+fringe-like appearance, and this, with its slender form and bending,
+swaying habit, gives it a very graceful look."
+
+Little Edith wished to know "if the wood was like silver," and Malcolm
+asked her how she expected it to grow if it was.
+
+But Miss Harson replied kindly,
+
+"The silver, dear, is all in the leaves, and there is not much of it
+there. The wood is white and of little use, as it is soft and
+perishable; but the beauty of the finely-cut foliage, the contrast
+between the green of the upper surface of the leaves and the silver
+color of the lower, and the magnificent spread of the limbs of the white
+maple, recommend it as an ornamental tree; and this is the purpose for
+which it is intended. It is used very largely in the cities for shade
+and beauty. It is often called the 'river maple,' because it is so
+frequently seen on the banks of streams."
+
+"And now," said Malcolm, "I hope there is ever so much about the
+maple-sugar tree. Can't we get some this spring, Miss Harson, before
+it's all gone?"
+
+"We can certainly buy the sugar in town, Malcolm, if that is what you
+mean; but it does not grow on the trees in cakes, and we shall scarcely
+be able to tap the trunks and go through with the process of preparing
+the sap, even if it were not too late for that. We will do what we can,
+though, to become acquainted with the rock maple, that we may be able to
+recognize it when we see it. When young, it is a beautiful, neat and
+shapely tree with a rich, full leafy head of a great variety of forms.
+It is the largest and strongest of the maples, and gives the best shade.
+It can be distinguished from the other members of the family by its
+leaves, in which the notch between the lobes is round instead of being
+sharp, and also by their appearing at the same time with the blossoms,
+which are of a yellowish-green color. The green tint of the leaves is
+darker on some trees than it is on others, and in autumn they become,
+often before the first touch of the frost, of a splendid orange or gold,
+sometimes of a bright scarlet or crimson, color, each tree commonly
+retaining from year to year the same color or colors, and differing
+somewhat from every other. The most beautiful and valuable maple-wood is
+taken from this tree. It is known as 'curled maple' and 'bird's-eye
+maple,' and the common variety looks like satin-wood. In the curled
+maple the fibres are in waves instead of in straight lines, and the
+surface seems to change with alternate light and shade; in the
+bird's-eye, irregular snarls of fibres look like roundish projections
+rising from hollow places, each one resembling the eye of a bird.
+Buckets, tubs and many useful things are made of the straight variety,
+and for lasts it is considered better than any other kind of wood. The
+curled and the bird's-eye are largely used for furniture."
+
+"But isn't it a shame," said Clara, "to spoil the maple-sugar by making
+the trees into chairs and things?"
+
+"You would not think so," replied her governess, "if you needed the
+'chairs and things' more than you need the sugar. But the supply of
+trees seems to be sufficient for both purposes."
+
+"Does the sugar come right out of the tree when people tap on it with a
+hammer?" asked Edith, whose ideas of sugar-making were rather crude.
+
+"You blessed baby!" cried Malcolm, with a shout of laughter. Let's take
+our hammers and go after some maple-sugar right away."
+
+"No, Edie," said Miss Harson as she took her much-loved little pupil on
+her lap; "we'll stay at home and learn just how the sugar is made. To
+_tap_ a tree, dear, means to make cuts in the trunk for the sap to flow
+out, and in the sugar-maple this sap is more like water than sugar. From
+the middle of February to the second week in March, according to the
+warmth or the coldness of the locality, is the time for tapping the
+trees; and when the holes are bored, spouts of elder or sumac from which
+the pith has been taken are put into them at one end, while the other
+goes down to the bucket which receives the sap. 'Several holes are so
+bored that their spouts shall lead to the same bucket, and high enough
+to allow the bucket to hang two or three feet from the ground, to
+prevent leaves and dirt from being blown in.' The next thing is to boil
+the sap, and this is done in great iron kettles, over immense
+wood-fires, out there among the trees, with plenty of snow on the
+ground, and only two or three rude little cabins for the men and boys to
+sleep in. This is called 'the sugar-camp,' and the sap-season lasts five
+or six weeks."
+
+"And why is it boiled?"
+
+"Boiling drives the water off in vapor, and leaves the sugar behind in
+the pot."
+
+"And do they stay in the woods there all the time?" asked Malcolm, with
+great interest. "What lots of fun they must have, with the big fires and
+the snow and as much maple-sugar as ever they want to eat! _I'd_ like
+to stay in a sugar-camp in the woods."
+
+[Illustration: MAKING MAPLE SUGAR.]
+
+"Perhaps not, after trying it and finding how much hard work there is in
+sugar-making," replied his governess. "'The kettles must be carefully
+watched and plenty of wood brought to keep them boiling, and during the
+process the sap, or syrup, is strained; lime or salaeratus is added, to
+neutralize the free acid; and the white of egg, isinglass or milk, to
+cause foreign substances to rise in a scum to the surface. When it has
+been sufficiently boiled, the syrup is poured into moulds or casks to
+harden.' The sugar with which the most pains have been taken is very
+light-colored, and I have seen it almost white."
+
+"Have you ever been to a sugar-camp, Miss Harson?" asked Clara, who was
+wishing, like Malcolm, that she could go to one herself.
+
+"Yes," said Miss Harson; "I did go once, in Vermont, when the family
+with whom I was staying took me to see the 'sugaring off.' This is
+putting it into the pans and buckets to harden after it has been
+sufficiently boiled and clarified; and we younger ones, by way of
+amusement, were allowed to make jack-wax."
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed three voices at once; "what is that? Is it good to eat?"
+
+"I thought it particularly good," was the reply, "and I am quite sure
+that you would agree with me. To make it, we poured a small quantity of
+hot syrup on the snow to cool; and when it was fit to eat, it was just
+like wax, instead of being hard like the cakes in moulds. It took only a
+few minutes, too, to make it, and it seemed a great deal nicer because
+we did it ourselves. I remember that it was the last of March and very
+cold, but there were big fires to get warmed at, and we had a
+delightful time."
+
+"Were there any Indians there, Miss Harson?" asked little Edith, after
+being quiet for some time. Vermont was such a long way off on the map,
+besides being up almost at the top, that Indians and bears and all sorts
+of wild things seemed to have a right to live there.
+
+"No," said her governess, smiling at the question; "I did not see one,
+even at the sugar-camp. Yet the Indians made maple-sugar long before we
+knew anything about it, and from them the white people learned how to
+do it."
+
+"Well, that's the funniest thing!" exclaimed Malcolm. "I thought that
+Indians were always scalping people instead of making maple-sugar."
+
+"They did a great many other things, though, besides fighting, and their
+life was spent so much out of doors that they studied the nature of
+every plant and living thing about them. The healing-properties of some
+of our most valuable herbs were first discovered by the Indians, and, as
+they never had any grocery-stores, the presence of trees that would
+supply them with sugar was a blessing not likely to be neglected. The
+devoted missionary John Brainerd first heard of this tree-sugar from
+them, and it is said that he used to preach to them when they were thus
+peacefully employed, and obtained a better hearing than at other times."
+
+"Have we any maple-sugar trees?" asked Clara.
+
+"No," replied Miss Harson; "there are none at Elmridge, and I have seen
+none anywhere near here. They seem to flourish best in the Northern and
+North-eastern States, while in Western Canada the tree is found in
+groves of from five to twenty acres. These are called 'sugar-bushes,'
+and few farmers in that part of America are without them. In England the
+maple trees are called 'sycamores,' and the sap is used as a sweet
+drink. I will read to you from a little English book called _Voices from
+the Woodlands_ a simple account of a country festival where maple sap
+was the choicest refreshment:
+
+"'"Take care of that young tree," said Farmer Robinson to his laborer,
+who was diligently employed in clearing away a rambling company of
+brambles which had grown unmolested during the time of the last tenant;
+"the soil is good, and in a very few years we shall have pasturage for
+our bees, and plenty of maple-wine."
+
+"'The farmer spoke true; before his young laborer had attained middle
+age the sapling had grown into a fine tree. Its branches spread wide and
+high, and bees came from all parts to gather their honey-harvests among
+the flowers; beneath its shade lambkins were wont in spring to sleep
+beside their dams; and when the time of shearing came, and the sheep
+were disburdened of their fleeces, you might see them hastening to the
+sycamore tree for shelter.
+
+"'A kind of rustic festival was held about the same time in honor of the
+maple-wine. Hither came the farmer and his dame, with their children and
+young neighbors, each carrying bunches of flowers. Older people came in
+their holiday dresses, some with baskets containing cakes, others tea
+and sugar, with which the farmer and his wife had plentifully supplied
+them; and joyfully did they rest a while on the green sward while young
+men gathered sticks, and, a bright fire having been kindled, the kettle
+sent up its bubbling steam.
+
+"'When this was ended, and few of the piled-up cakes remained--when,
+also, the young children had emptied their cans and rinsed them at the
+old stone trough into which rushed a full stream--tiny hands joyfully
+held up the small cans and bright eyes looked anxiously to the stem of
+the tall tree while the farmer warily cut an incision in the bark.
+
+"'What joy when a sweet watery juice began to trickle! and the farmer
+filled one small cup, then another, till all were satisfied and a
+portion sent to the older people, who were contentedly looking on from
+the grassy slope where they had seated themselves. The farmer's wife
+knew naught concerning the process for obtaining sugar, or else she
+might have sweetened her children's puddings from the watery liquid
+yielded by the sycamore, or greater maple--an art well known to the
+aboriginal tribes of North America.'"
+
+"Does that mean Indians, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm, with a wry face at
+the long word.
+
+"Yes," was the reply; "and I hope that you will feel properly grateful
+to these aborigines whenever you eat maple-sugar."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+_OLD ACQUAINTANCES: THE ELMS._
+
+Miss Harson had admonished her little flock that they must use their own
+eyes and be able to tell her things instead of depending altogether on
+her to tell them; so now they were all peering curiously among the trees
+to see which were putting on their new spring suits. The yellow trees
+and the pink trees had been readily distinguished, but, although the
+others had not been idle, it was not so easy for little people to
+discern their leaf-buds.
+
+Clara soon made a discovery, however, of what her governess had noticed
+for a day or two, and the wonder was found on their own home-elms, those
+stately trees which had shaded the house ever since it was built, and
+from which the place got its pretty name--Elmridge.
+
+"Well, dear," said Miss Harson, coming to the upper window from which an
+eager head was thrust, "what is it that you wish me to see?"
+
+"Those funny flowers on the bare elm trees," was the reply. "Look, Miss
+Harson! Didn't I see them first?"
+
+"You have certainly spoken of them first, for neither Malcolm nor Edith
+has said anything about them. But they must both come up here now, where
+they can see them, and Malcolm and I can manage to reach some of the
+blossoms by getting out of the broad window on to the little balcony."
+
+Up came the two children kangaroo-fashion in a series of jumps, and
+presently Miss Harson was holding a cluster of dark maroon-colored
+flowers in her hand.
+
+"How queer and dark they make the trees look!" said Malcolm; "and
+they're so thick that they 'most cover up the branches. They're
+like fringe."
+
+"A very good description," replied his governess. "And now I wish you
+all to examine the trees very thoroughly and tell me afterward what you
+have noticed about them; then we will go down to the schoolroom and see
+what the books will tell us in our talk about the American elm and its
+cousin of England."
+
+The books had a great deal to tell about them, but Miss Harson preferred
+to hear the children first.
+
+"What did my little Edith see when she looked out of the window?" she
+asked.
+
+"Stems of trees," was the reply, "with flowers on 'em."
+
+"A very good general idea," continued Miss Harson, "but perhaps Clara
+can tell us something more particular about the elms?"
+
+"They are very tall," said Clara, hesitatingly, "and they make it nice
+and shady in summer; and some of the branches bend over in such a lovely
+way! Papa calls one of them 'the plume.'"
+
+"And now Malcolm?"
+
+"The trunk--or big 'stem,' as Edie would call it--is very thick, and the
+branches begin low down, near the ground."
+
+"Some of them do," said his governess, "but many of the elms on your
+father's grounds are seventy feet high before the branches begin.
+Sometimes two or three trunks shoot up together and spread out at the
+top in light, feathery plumes like palm trees. The elm has a great
+variety of shapes; sometimes it is a parasol, when a number of branches
+rise together to a great height and spread out suddenly in the shape of
+an umbrella. This makes a very regular-looking and beautiful tree. For
+about three-quarters of the way up, the 'plume' of which Clara speaks
+has one straight trunk, which then bends over droopingly. Small twigs
+cluster around the trunk all the way from bottom to top and give the
+tree the appearance of having a vine twining about it. I think that the
+plume-shape is the prettiest and most odd-looking of all the elms.
+Another strange shape is the vase, which seems to rest on the roots that
+stand out above the ground. 'The straight trunk is the neck of the vase,
+and the middle consists of the lower part of the branches as they swell
+outward with a graceful curve, then gradually diverge until they bend
+over at their extremities and form the lip of the vase by a circle of
+terminal sprays.'"
+
+"Have we any trees that look like vases, Miss Harson?" asked Clara.
+
+"Yes," was the reply; "not far from Hemlock Lodge there is one which we
+will look at when the leaves are all out. But you must not expect to
+find a perfect vase-shape, for it is only an approach to it. The
+dome-shaped elm has a broad, round head, which is formed by the shooting
+forth of branches of nearly equal length from the same part of the
+trunk, which gradually spread outward with a graceful curve into the
+roof or dome that crowns the tree."
+
+"I know something else about our elms," said Malcolm: "some of the roots
+are on top of the ground. Isn't that very queer, Miss Harson?"
+
+[Illustration: WYCH-ELM LEAVES.]
+
+"Not for old elm trees, as this is quite a habit with them. Indeed, in
+many ways, the elm is so entirely different from other trees that it can
+be recognized at a great distance. It is both graceful and majestic,
+and is the most drooping of the drooping trees, except the willow, which
+it greatly surpasses in grandeur and in the variety of its forms. The
+green leaves are broad, ovate, heart-shaped, from two to four or five
+inches long. You can see their exact shape in this illustration. Their
+summer tint is very bright and vivid, but it turns in autumn to a sober
+brown, sometimes touched with a bright golden yellow, And now,"
+continued Miss Harson, "we will examine the flowers which we have here,
+and we see that each blossom is on a green, slender thread less than
+half an inch long, and that it consists of a brown cup parted into
+seven or eight divisions, rounded at the border and containing about
+eight brown stamens and a long compressed ovary surmounted by two short
+styles. This ripens into a flattened seed-vessel before the leaves are
+fully out, and the seeds, being small and chaffy, are wafted in all
+directions and carried to great distances by the wind."
+
+"Where does slippery elm come from?" asked Clara.
+
+"From another American species, dear, which is very much like the white
+elm that we have been considering. The slippery elm is a smaller tree,
+does not droop so much, and the trunk is smoother and darker. The leaves
+are thicker and very rough on the upper side. The inner bark contains a
+great deal of mucilage--that, I suppose, is the reason for its being
+called 'slippery'--and it has been extensively used as a medicine. The
+wood is very strong and preferred to that of the white elm for
+building-purposes, although the latter is considered the best native
+wood for hubs of wheels. There is a great elm tree on Boston Common
+which is over two hundred years old, and another in Cambridge called the
+'Washington Elm,' because near it or beneath its shade General
+Washington is said to have first drawn his sword on taking command of
+the American army. In 1744 the celebrated George Whitefield preached
+beneath this tree."
+
+"I'm glad we have elm trees here," said Malcolm, "though I s'pose nobody
+ever did anything in particular under ours."
+
+"You mean," replied his governess, laughing, "that they are not
+_historical_ trees; but they are certainly very fine ones. There is
+another species of elm, the English, which is often seen in this country
+too. It is a very large and stately tree, but not so graceful as our own
+elm. It is distinguished from the American elm by its bark, which is
+darker and much more broken; by having one principal stem, which soars
+upward to a great height; and by its branches, which are thrown out more
+boldly and abruptly and at a larger angle. Its limbs stretch out
+horizontally or tend upward with an appearance of strength to the very
+extremity; in the American elm they are almost universally drooping at
+the end. Its leaves are closer, smaller, more numerous and of a darker
+color. In England this tree is a great favorite with those black and
+solemn birds the rooks. The poet Hood writes of it as
+
+     "'The tall, abounding elm that grows
+       In hedgerows up and down,
+     In field and forest, copse and park,
+       And in the peopled town,
+     With colonies of noisy rooks
+       That nestle on its crown.'
+
+"Some of these English elms are very ancient and of an immense size; one
+of them, known as the 'Chequer Elm,' measures thirty-one feet around the
+trunk, of which only the shell is left. It was planted seven hundred
+years ago. The Chipstead Elm is fifteen feet around; the Crawley Elm,
+thirty-five. A writer says, 'The ample branches of the Crawley Elm
+shelter Mayday gambols while troops of rustics celebrate the opening of
+green leaves and flowers. Yet not alone beneath its shade, but within
+the capacious hollow which time has wrought in the old tree, young
+children with their posies and weak and aged people find shelter during
+the rustic _fêtes_.'"
+
+"Does that mean that people can sit inside the tree?" asked Clara. "I
+wish we had one to play house in where Hemlock Lodge is."
+
+"That is one of the things, Clara," replied Miss Harson, "that people
+can have only in the place where they grow. In the South of England
+there is another great elm tree with a hollow trunk which has fitted
+into it a door fastened by a lock and key. A dozen people can be
+comfortably accommodated inside, and there is a story told of a woman
+and her infant who lived there for a time."
+
+"What a funny house!" said Malcolm. "Just like a woodpecker's."
+
+"Another great elm, near London, has a winding staircase cut within it,
+and a turret at the top where at least twenty persons can stand. One
+species of this tree, called the _wych-_, or _witch-_, elm, was believed
+by ignorant people to possess magical powers and to defend from the
+malice of witches the place on which it grew. Even now it is said that
+in remote parts of England the dairymaid flies to it as a resource on
+the days when she churns her butter. She gathers a twig from the tree
+and puts it into a little hole in the churn. If this practice were
+neglected, she confidently believes that she might go on churning all
+day without getting any butter."
+
+"Isn't that silly?" exclaimed Clara.
+
+"Very silly indeed," replied her governess; "but we must remember that
+the poor ignorant girl knows no better. The wood of the European elm is
+stronger than ours; it is hard and fine-grained, and brownish in color,
+and is much used in the building of ships, for hubs of wheels, axletrees
+and many other purposes. In France the leaves and shoots are used to
+feed cattle. In Russia the leaves of one variety are made into tea. The
+inner bark is in some places made into mats, and in Norway they
+kiln-dry it and grind it with corn as an ingredient in bread. So that
+the elm tree is almost as useful as it is beautiful."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+_MAJESTY AND STRENGTH: THE OAK_.
+
+"Here," said Miss Harson, "is a small branch from an oak tree containing
+the young leaves and the catkins, which come out together; for the oak
+belongs, like the willow and the maple, to the division of
+_amentaceous_ plants."
+
+"Oh dear!" sighed Clara at the hard name.
+
+But Malcolm repeated:
+
+"_Amentaceous_--_ament_. I know, Miss Harson: it's _catkins_"
+
+"Yes, it means trees which produce their flowers in catkins, or looking
+as if strung on long drooping stems; and the oak is the monarch of this
+family, and in Great Britain of all the forest-trees. It is especially
+an English tree, although our woods contain several varieties. But they
+do not hold the pre-eminence in our forests that the oaks do in those
+of England. The oak ordinarily runs more to breadth than to height, and
+spreads itself out to a vast distance with an air of strength and
+grandeur. This is its striking character and what gives it its peculiar
+appearance. Oaks do not always go straight out, but crook and bend to
+right and left, upward and downward, abruptly or with a gentle sweep.
+
+[Illustration: MALE CATKIN OF THE OAK.]
+
+[Illustration: THE OAK]
+
+"The white oak is the handsomest species, and takes its name from the
+very light color of the bark on the trunk, by which it is easily known.
+The leaves are long in proportion to the width and deeply divided into
+lobes, of which there are three or four on each side. There is a great
+variety in the shape of oak-leaves, those of our white oak being long
+and slender, while the red oak has very broad ones, and the foliage of
+the scarlet oak is almost skeleton-like. The chestnut oak has leaves
+almost exactly like those of the chestnut. The acorns of the different
+varieties, too, differ in size and shape.
+
+[Illustration: WHITE-OAK LEAF.]
+
+"There is so much to be said of the oak," continued Miss Harson, "it is
+such an ancient and venerable tree and has so many stories attached to
+it, that it is not easy to begin an account of it. The blossoms,
+perhaps, will be the best starting-point: and I should like to have you
+examine this branch and tell me if you see any difference in the
+blossoms."
+
+"They are nearly all alike," said Malcolm, "but here at the ends of the
+twigs are one or two that look like buds."'
+
+"That is just what I wanted you to notice," replied his governess, "for
+the flowers are of two kinds, one bearing the stamens, and the other the
+pistils. The flowers that bear the stamens grow on loose scaly catkins,
+as you may see in this branch. Those with the pistils are also in
+catkins, but very small, like a bud. The bud spreads into a little
+branchlet and bears the flowers at the tip. The calyx is not seen at
+first; it is a mere membrane covering the ovary. By degrees the ovary
+swells into the acorn and the membrane becomes part of the shell."
+
+"I like acorns," said little Edith, "they're so nice to play with."
+
+"But they're not nice to eat," said Clara.
+
+[Illustration: SQUIRREL AND ACORN]
+
+"Some animals think they are," continued Miss Harson. "If you should
+come here in October, you would find the squirrels feasting on them. In
+old times in England the oaks were valued highly on account of their
+acorns, and great herds of swine were driven into the forests to feed
+upon them. In the time of the Saxons a crop of acorns often formed a
+part of the dowry bestowed upon the Saxon queens, and the king himself
+would be glad to accept a gift or grant of acorns; and the failure of
+the crop would be considered as a kind of famine. In those days laws
+were made to protect the oaks from being felled or injured, and a man
+who cut down a tree under the shadow of which thirty hogs could stand
+was fined three pounds. The herds of swine were placed under the care of
+a swineherd, whose sole employment was to keep them together, and they
+formed a staple part of the riches of the country. But when the Norman
+kings began to rule, they brought with them a passionate love of hunting
+and took possession of the forests as preserves for their favorite
+sport. The herds of swine were forbidden to roam about as heretofore,
+and their owners were reduced to poverty in consequence."
+
+"Wasn't that wicked, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Yes; it was both unjust and cruel, and it was one of the great
+grievances of the nation. Even at this day the laws for the protection
+of game are one of the grounds of ill-feeling on the part of the poor
+toward the nobles. In Spain the acorns have the taste of nuts, and are
+sold in the markets as an article of food. They grow abundantly in the
+woods and forests. Once, in time of war, a foreign army subsisted almost
+entirely on them. Herds of swine range the forests in Spain and feed
+luxuriously upon acorns, and the salted meats of Malaga, that are famous
+for their delicate flavor, are thought to owe it to this cause. Some of
+our American Indians depend upon acorns and fish for their winter food;
+and when the acorns drop from the tree, they are buried in sand and
+soaked in water to draw out the bitter taste."
+
+"I shouldn't like them," said Clara, with a wry face at the thought of
+such food.
+
+"Well, dear," replied her governess, laughing, "as you are not an
+Indian, you will probably not be called upon to like them; but it would
+be better to eat acorns than to starve. You may have noticed the trunk
+and branches of the oak are often gnarled and knotted, and this helps to
+give the tree its appearance of great strength. It is just as strong as
+it looks, and for building-purposes it lasts longer than any other
+wood. Beams and rafters of oak are found in old English houses, showing
+among the brick-work, and many of these half-timbered houses, as they
+are called, were built hundreds of years ago.
+
+"Bedsteads and other articles of furniture, too, were 'built' in those
+days, rather than made, for they were not expected to be moved about;
+and a heavy oak bedstead is still in existence which is said to have
+belonged to King Richard III. It is curiously carved, and the king
+rested upon it the night before the battle of Bosworth Field, where he
+was killed. Clumsy as the bedstead was, he took it about with him from
+place to place; but after the fatal battle it passed into the hands of
+various owners, and nothing remarkable was discovered about it until the
+king had been dead a hundred years. By that time the bedstead had come
+into the possession of a woman who found a fortune in it. One morning,
+says the story, as she was making the bed, she heard a chinking sound,
+and saw, to her great delight, a piece of money drop on the floor. Of
+course she at once set about examining the bedstead, and found that the
+lower part of it was hollow and contained a treasure. Three hundred
+pounds--a fortune in those days--was brought to light, having remained
+hidden all those years. As King Richard was not there to claim his gold,
+the woman quickly possessed herself of it. But, as it happened, she had
+better have remained in ignorance and poverty. As soon as the matter
+became known one of her servants robbed her of the gold, and even caused
+her death. Thus it was said in the neighborhood that 'King Richard's
+gold' did nobody any good."
+
+The children were very much pleased with this story, and Malcolm said
+that he always liked to hear about people who found gold and things.
+
+"I think that I do, myself," replied Miss Harson, "although, as in this
+poor woman's case and in many others, gold is not the best thing to
+find. It often brings with it so much sorrow and sin as to be a curse to
+its owner. The only safe treasure is that laid up in heaven, where
+'neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break
+through nor steal,'
+
+"From the very earliest times the oak has been used for shipbuilding.
+The Saxons, we are told, kept a formidable fleet of vessels with curved
+bottoms and the prow and poop adorned with representations of the head
+and tail of some grotesque and fabulous creature. King Alfred had many
+vessels that carried sixty oars and were entirely of oak. A vessel
+supposed to be of his time has been discovered in the bed of a river in
+Kent, and after the lapse of so many centuries it is as sound as ever
+and as hard as iron."
+
+"Do oak trees ever have apples on 'em?" asked Clara. "In a story that I
+read there was something about 'oak-apples.'"
+
+[Illustration: THE OAK-GALL INSECT (_Cynips_).]
+
+"They are not apples such as we eat, or fruit in any sense," said her
+governess. "They are the work of a species of fly called _Cynips_, which
+is very apt to attack the oak. 'The female insect is armed with a sharp
+weapon called an _ovipositor_, which she plunges into a leaf and makes
+a wound. Here she lays her eggs; and when she has done so, she flies
+away and we hear no more of her. But the wound she has made disturbs the
+circulation of the sap. It flows round and round the eggs as though it
+had met with some foreign body it would fain remove. Very soon the eggs
+are in the midst of a ball-like and fleshy chamber--the most suitable
+provision for them, and one which the parent-insect had provided by
+means of puncturing the leaf. As the eggs are hatched the grubs will
+find themselves safely housed and in the midst of an abundance
+of food.'"
+
+[Illustration: OAK-APPLES.]
+
+"Well," exclaimed Malcolm, in great disgust, "_apple_ is a queer name
+for a ball full of little flies!"
+
+"It's a very pretty ball, though," said Miss Harson, "with a smooth skin
+and tinged with red or yellow, like a ripe apple. If it is cut open, a
+number of granules are seen, each containing a grub embedded in a
+fruit-like substance. The grub undergoes its transformation, and in due
+course emerges a perfect insect. These pretty pink-and-white apples used
+to be gathered by English boys on the twenty-ninth of May, which was
+called 'Oak-Apple Day.'"
+
+"Did they eat 'em?" asked Edith.
+
+"I do not see how they could, dear," was the reply; "they were probably
+gathered just to look at. Yet 'May-apples,' which grow, you will
+remember, on the wild azalea and the swamp honeysuckle, are often eaten,
+and they are formed in the same way; so we will not be too positive
+about the oak-apples."
+
+"What are oak-_galls_, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm. "Are they the same
+as oak-apples?"
+
+"Not quite the same," was the reply, although both are produced by the
+same insect. This is what one of our English books says of them: 'When
+the acorn itself is wounded, it becomes a kind of monstrosity, and
+remains on the stalk like an irregularly-shaped ball. It is called a
+"nut-gall," and is found principally on a small oak, a native of the
+southern and central parts of Europe. All these oak-apples and nut-galls
+are of importance, but the latter more especially, and they form an
+important article of commerce. A substance called "gallic acid" resides
+in the oak; and when the puncture is made by the cynips, it flows in
+great abundance to the wound. Gallic acid is one of the ingredients used
+in dyeing stuffs and cloths, and therefore the supply yielded by the
+nut-gall is highly welcome. The nut-galls are carefully collected from
+the small oak on which they are found, the Pyreneean oak. It is easily
+known by the dense covering of down on the young leaves, that appear
+some weeks later than the leaves of the common oak. The galls are
+pounded and boiled, and into the infusion thus made the stuffs about to
+be dyed are dipped,'"
+
+"I should think," said Clara, "that people would plant oak trees
+everywhere, when they are so useful. Is anything done with the bark?"
+
+"Yes," said her governess; "the bark, which is very rough, is valuable
+for tanning leather and for medicine. The element which has the effect
+of turning raw hide or skin into leather is called _tannin_; it is also
+found in the bark of some other trees and in tropical plants."
+
+"Didn't people use to worship oak trees," asked Malcolm--"people who
+lived ever so long ago?"
+
+"You are thinking of the Druids, who lived in old times in Britain and
+Gaul," replied Miss Harson, "and whose strange heathen rites were
+practiced in oak-groves; and they really did consider the tree sacred.
+These Druids have left their traces in some parts of England and France
+in rows of huge stones set upright; and wherever an immense stone was
+found lying on two others, in the shape of a table, there had been a
+Druid altar, where the priest offered sacrifices, often of human beings.
+So horrible may be a so-called religion that men themselves devise,
+and that has not come from the true God.
+
+[Illustration: DRUIDIC SACRIFICE.]
+
+"It was an article in the Druids' creed, and one to which they strictly
+adhered, that no temple with a covered roof was to be built in honor of
+the gods. All the places appointed for public worship were in the open
+air, and generally on some eminence from which the moon and stars might
+be observed; for to the heavenly bodies much adoration was offered. But
+to afford shelter from wind or rain, and also to ensure privacy and shut
+out all external objects, the place fixed upon, either for teaching
+their disciples or for carrying out the rites of their idolatrous
+worship, was in the recess of some grove or wood. An oak-grove was
+supposed to be the favorite of the gods whom they ignorantly worshiped,
+and therefore the Druids declared the oak to be a sacred tree. The Druid
+priest always bound a wreath of oak-leaves on his forehead before he
+would perform any religious ceremony. One of these ceremonies was to go
+in search of the mistletoe, which sometimes grows on the oak and was
+considered as sacred as the tree itself, being much used in their
+worship. One priest would climb to the branch on which the misletoe was
+growing and cut it with a golden knife, while another priest stood below
+and held out his white robe to receive it.
+
+"These sacred groves were all cut down by the Romans, who waged fierce
+war against the Druids, and nothing is left of them now but the circles
+of stones that formed their temples. At a place called Stonehenge,
+'cromlechs,' or altar-tables, are still standing, and very ancient oaks
+stood in a circle round these stones for many centuries after the Druids
+were swept away."
+
+"Miss Harson," said Clara when all had expressed their horror of the
+Druids and rejoiced that they _were_ swept away, "are there any oak
+trees in the Bible?"
+
+"Look and see," was the reply; "and first you may find Genesis xxxv. 4."
+
+Clara read:
+
+"'And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their
+hands, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid
+them under the _oak_ which was by Shechem.'"
+
+"In the eighth verse of the same chapter," said Miss Harson, "we read
+that Rebekah's nurse was buried under an oak at Bethel. We are told in
+the book of Joshua[2] that 'Joshua took a great stone and set it up
+there under an _oak_, that was by the sanctuary of the Lord;' and in
+Judges[3], 'There came an angel of the Lord and sat under an _oak_ which
+was in Ophrah.'--Malcolm, you may read Second Samuel, eighteenth
+chapter, ninth verse."
+
+[2] Josh. xxiv. 26.
+
+[3] Judg. vi. II.
+
+Malcolm read:
+
+"'And Absalom met the servants of David. And Absalom rode upon a mule,
+and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great _oak_, and his head
+caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the
+earth; and the mule that was under him went away.'"
+
+"Poor Absalom!" said Edith, softly. "Wasn't that dreadful?"
+
+"Yes, dear," replied her governess, "it _was_ dreadful; but it is still
+more dreadful that Absalom was such a wicked man. In Isaiah[4] we read
+of the oaks of Bashan, that, like the cedars of Lebanon, were 'high and
+lifted up,' and the oaks of Bashan are mentioned again in Zechariah[5].
+Several varieties of the oak are found in Palestine.
+
+[4] Isa. ii. 13.
+
+[5] Zech. xi. 2.
+
+[Illustration: ABRAHAM'S OAK, NEAR HEBRON.]
+
+"In his _Ride Through Palestine_, Dr. Dulles tells of a great oak near
+Hebron known as 'Abraham's oak,' supposed to occupy the ground where the
+patriarch pitched his tent under the oaks of Mamre. It is an aged tree,
+and a grand one. Here is a picture of it, from the _Ride_[6]. The crests
+and sides of the hills beyond the Jordan are still clothed, as in
+ancient times, with magnificent oaks.
+
+[6] See page 85
+
+"We get a good idea of the strength and durability of this wood from the
+fact that there is an old wooden church near Ongar, in Essex, the nave
+of which is composed of half logs of oak roughly fastened by wooden
+pegs. The ancient fabric dates back to the time of King Edmund, who was
+slain by the robber Leolf in the year A.D. 946. The oaken church was
+hurriedly put together--according to report--in order to make a
+temporary receptacle for the body of the murdered prince on its way to
+burial. Be that as it may, it was afterward used as a parish church,
+and, though the oaken logs are corroded by the weather, they are still
+sound, and, having been beaten by the storms of a thousand winters, bid
+fair to defy those of a thousand more."
+
+"I should think, then," said Malcolm, "that people would always build
+their houses with oak if it lasts so long."
+
+"Yet they do not do this even in England," was the reply, "where the
+trees grow to such an immense size and the ancient buildings still in
+existence prove the great endurance of the oak. Now brick and stone and
+iron are used, which outlast any wood. And now," continued Miss Harson,
+"I am going to tell you something about a foreign species of this tree
+which I am sure will surprise you. It is found in the South of Europe
+and in Algeria, and is called the _cork oak_."
+
+"'The _cork_ oak'!" exclaimed Clara, quite as much surprised as she was
+expected to be. "Do the corks that come in bottles grow on it?"
+
+"Not just in that shape, dear, but they are made from its bark. The
+outside bark, or _epidermis_, consists of a thin, transparent,
+tissue-like substance, which covers not only the bark, but the whole of
+the tree, stem, leaves and branches, and beneath the epidermis is found
+a layer of cellular tissue, generally green. It covers the trunk and
+branches, fills up the spaces between the veins of the leaves and
+contains the sap, which flows in canals arranged for it in the most
+beautiful and wonderful manner. In one species of oak this layer--which
+is called the _suber_--assumes a peculiar character and is of remarkable
+thickness. When the tree is some five years old, its whole energy is
+directed toward the increase of the suber. A mass of cells is formed
+with great rapidity, and layer upon layer is added, until that part of
+the trunk grows so unwieldy that it would crack and split of its own
+accord. But such a thing is rarely allowed to happen: the suber is of
+too much value to man. After it is taken from the tree and has undergone
+due preparation, it appears in our shops and houses under the name
+of _cork_"
+
+"I should like to see how they get it," said Malcolm.
+
+"The trunk is regularly marked around in deep cuts, which begin close
+to the branches and go down almost to the roots. A ladder is used to
+mount to the upper part of the trunk, and the cuts, or incisions, are
+made with a long knife or with an axe. Then they strip off the sheets of
+cork between the circles. This operation is a very delicate one, and
+requires much care and skill lest the inner part should be injured. If
+the operation is carried out successfully, the cork-like substance will
+grow again and become as abundant as ever.
+
+"The next thing to be done to the pieces of bark is partially to burn,
+or char, them, and also to make them quite flat, as they come from the
+trunk in a rounded shape. The burning makes the pores close up, so that
+the liquid in a vessel for which it is used as a stopper cannot come
+through; and this is done over a brisk fire, in what is called a
+_burning-yard_. Another process, called _rounding_, removes every trace
+of the fire, unless the cork has been too much burned, and then, having
+already been flattened by the pressure of heavy stones, it is ready for
+the cork-maker, who cuts the material first into strips and then into
+squares according to the size of corks wanted.
+
+"Cork is very light and elastic, and can be used successfully in
+contrivances for the rescue of men from the perils of the deep. The cork
+jacket and the lifeboat have been the means of saving many lives, for
+cork will float on the surface of the water and bear up the person
+wearing the jacket and the shipwrecked people in the lifeboat. 'The
+shallowness of the boat and the bulk of cork within allow but little
+room for water; so that even when filled it is in no danger of
+overturning or sinking, like other crafts. Also, the lifeboat can move
+across the waves with perfect safety, and can make its way from one
+object to another in a broken sea as easily as an ordinary boat can pass
+from one ship to another.'"
+
+The children declared that the cork-oak was the best tree of all, but
+they agreed with their governess that the entire oak family was made up
+of grand and useful trees.
+
+"Our American oaks," said Miss Harson, "are very handsome in autumn
+because of their brilliant foliage; the _scarlet oak_, which turns to a
+deep crimson and keeps its leaves longer than any of the other forest
+trees, is the most showy of the species. But we have no cork oaks, and
+no oaks that we know to be a thousand years old. There was once a famous
+oak in this country, called the 'Charter Oak,' which fell to the ground
+in August, 1856, before any of us were born. I wonder if you would like
+to hear the story about it?"
+
+This question was thought extremely funny by three such devourers of
+stories as the little Kyles, and they eagerly assured their governess
+that they would like it.
+
+"If that is really the case," continued Miss Harson, smiling at the
+excited faces, "I must tell you the history of
+
+"THE CHARTER OAK.
+
+"This tree grew in Hartford, Connecticut, and it is said that before the
+English governor Wyllis went there to live his steward, whom he had
+sent on before to get a house ready for him, came near cutting down this
+very oak. He was clearing away the trees around it on the hillside when
+a party of Indians appeared and begged him to leave that particular
+tree, because, they said, 'it had been the guide of their ancestors for
+centuries.' So the oak was spared; even then it was old and hollow.
+
+"King Charles II. granted the people of Connecticut a very liberal
+charter of rights, which was publicly read in the Assembly at Hartford
+and declared to belong for ever to them and their successors. A
+committee was appointed to take charge of it, under a solemn oath that
+they would preserve this palladium of the rights of the people.
+
+"When James II., the tyrannical brother of Charles II., came to the
+throne, he changed the government of New England and ordered the people
+of Connecticut to give up their charter. This they refused to do; and
+when a third command from the king had been sent to them, they called a
+special meeting of the Assembly, under their own governor, Treat, and
+resolved to hold on to the charter which had been given them.
+
+"On the 31st of October, 1687, Sir Edmund Andros, attended by members of
+his council and a bodyguard of sixty soldiers, entered Hartford to take
+the charter by force. The General Assembly was in session; he was
+received with courtesy, but with coldness. He entered the assembly-room
+and publicly demanded the charter. Remonstrances were made, and the
+session was protracted till evening. The governor and his associates
+appeared to yield. The charter was brought in and laid upon the table.
+Sir Edmund thought that he had succeeded, when suddenly the lights were
+all put out, and total darkness followed. There was no noise, no
+conflict, but all was quiet. When the candles were again lighted, _the
+charter was gone_! Sir Edmund was disconcerted. He declared the
+government of Connecticut to be in his own hands, and that the colony
+was annexed to Massachusetts and the other New England colonies, and
+proceeded to appoint officers. Captain Jeremiah Wadsworth, a patriot of
+those times, had hidden the charter in the hollow of Wyllis's oak,
+whence it was afterward known as the Charter Oak."
+
+"Then the English governor couldn't get it!" exclaimed Malcolm,
+delightedly. "Wasn't that splendid?"
+
+"It was a grand hiding-place, certainly, for no one would think of
+looking inside a tree for such a thing as that, and they were grand men
+who preserved their country's liberties in those trying times. But more
+peaceful years were at hand. About eighteen months after the charter had
+disappeared so mysteriously, the tyrant James II. was compelled to give
+up his throne to his daughter and son-in-law, the prince and princess of
+Orange, and Governor Treat and his associates again took the government
+of Connecticut under the old charter, which the hollow oak had
+faithfully kept from harm. No tree in our whole country has received
+more attention than this historic Hartford oak; and when, at last, its
+mere shell of a trunk was laid low by a storm, it seemed as if a large
+part of the city had been swept away.
+
+"Ancient oaks are apt to be almost entirely without branches; the huge
+trunk, with an opening at the top, and often with one also at the
+bottom, stands like a maimed giant, just tottering, perhaps, to its
+fall, because of the decay going on within, while outside all seems fair
+and sound. It was so with the Charter Oak; and when this monarch of the
+forest was unexpectedly laid low, rich and poor, great and small, were
+gathered to mourn its loss. A dirge was played and all the bells in the
+city were tolled at sundown, for this monument of the past was a link
+gone that could not be replaced."
+
+"Thank you, Miss Harson," said Clara; "_true_ stories are so nice! But I
+wish I had seen the Charter Oak before it was blown down."
+
+"You could not have done that, dear," was the reply, "unless you had
+been born about thirty years sooner."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+_BEAUTY AND GRACE: THE ASH_.
+
+"What tree comes next, Miss Harson?" asked Clara, on an April day that
+was mild enough for the piazza. "You told us so many interesting things
+about the oak that I suppose we needn't expect to hear of another tree
+like that."
+
+"No," was the reply; "not just like that, perhaps, for the oak is grand
+and venerable above all our familiar trees, but the ash, which is more
+especially an American tree, belongs to a large and interesting family,
+and I am quite sure that you will very much like to hear something about
+it. I have put it next to the oak because there is a sort of rivalry
+between the two as to which can get on its spring dress the soonest, and
+an old English rhyme says,
+
+     "'If the oak's before the ash,
+     Then you may expect a splash;
+     But if the ash is 'fore the oak,
+     Then you must beware a soak.'"
+
+"That must mean," said Malcolm, after considering this rather puzzling
+verse, "that it'll rain any way."
+
+"I think it does," replied Miss Harson, with a smile at Malcolm's air of
+deep thought, "and it is quite safe to say that in England. But, as 'a
+soak' sounds more serious than 'a splash,' it is to be hoped that the
+ash will not get ahead of the oak. I do not know what they are doing in
+England this year, but here the oak is a day or two ahead. The foliage
+of the ash is entirely different, as it has _pinnate_ leaves, which
+means leaves arranged in two rows, one on each side of a common stem, or
+_petiole_, like--What, Clara?"
+
+"Rose-leaves," was the prompt reply.
+
+"And leaves of the locust trees on the other side of the road," added
+Malcolm.
+
+[Illustration: THE COMMON ASH.]
+
+"And the sumac," said their governess, "and a number of others that
+might be mentioned. This kind of foliage is always graceful, and the
+ash is one of our largest and handsomest trees. It is said to be more
+common in America than in any other part of the globe. In Europe,
+because of its beauty, it is called the painter's tree. It is a
+particularly neat and regular-looking tree, and its smooth gray trunk
+is higher than that of most trees before any branches appear. Where is
+there a tree on the grounds answering this description, Malcolm?"
+
+"Down at the end of the vegetable-garden," was the reply, "and close
+beside the laundry."
+
+[Illustration: AMERICAN WHITE ASH.]
+
+"Yes; you are really learning to distinguish trees very well. There are
+several species--the white, red, black and mountain ash. The white ash
+is a graceful tree, rising in the forest to the height of seventy or
+eighty feet, with a straight trunk and a diameter of three feet or more
+at the base. On an open plain it throws out its branches, with a gentle
+double curvature, to a distance on every side, and forms a broad, round
+head of great beauty. The flowers of the ash are greenish white in color
+and appear with the leaves in loose clusters. 'The trunk of our largest
+American ash is covered with a whitish bark which in very young trees is
+nearly smooth; on older trees it is broken by deep furrows into
+irregular plates, and on very old stems it becomes smooth again, from
+the rough plates scaling off. The branches are grayish green dotted with
+gray or white.' Now who can tell _me_ something about this tree?"
+
+"I know that furniture is made of the wood," said Clara, "because that
+pretty set in the large spare-room is ash. And it is very
+light-colored."
+
+"The wood is used for a great many things," replied Miss Harson, "and
+the ash has been called the husbandman's tree because the timber is so
+much in demand for farming-implements, and for articles that need to be
+both strong and light. It does not last so long as the oak, but it is
+more elastic and can better resist sudden shocks and jerks; it is
+therefore particularly desirable for the spokes of wheels and ladders
+and the beams of floors. Staircases were made of it in olden times, and
+they may still be found in some English halls and abbeys. The forest ash
+makes better oars than any other wood, and the tree has so many good
+qualities that an old English poet spoke of it as
+
+     "'The ash for nothing ill.'
+
+"But Malcolm looks as if he had something to say, and I shall be very
+happy to hear it."
+
+"It is only about the red berries that they bear in autumn, Miss Harson;
+it looks queer to see berries growing on a tree."
+
+"The mountain ash is the only one that has berries," replied his
+governess, "and the bloom is in clusters of white flowers. The berries
+are sometimes dark red and often of a bright scarlet, and they remain on
+the tree during the winter, to the great delight of the birds. We should
+find them very sour, although pretty to look at; but the little
+feathered wanderers eat them with great relish when the snows of winter
+make bird-food scarce and the bright-red berries gleam out most
+invitingly. In some parts of Europe the berries are dried and ground
+into flour. The rowan, or roan, tree is the English name of the mountain
+ash, and in some parts of Great Britain it is called _witchen_, because
+of its supposed power against witches and evil spirits and all their
+spells. In old times branches of it were hung about houses and stables
+and cow-sheds, for it was thought that
+
+             "'witches have no power
+     Where there is roan-tree wood.'"
+
+"But that isn't true, is it?" asked Edith.
+
+"No, dear, not true of either the witches or the wood. But ignorant
+people believe a great many foolish things, and the leaves and twigs of
+the ash tree were thought to have peculiar virtue. In some places it was
+once the practice to pluck an ash-leaf in every case where the leaflets
+were of even number, and to say,
+
+     "'Even ash, I do thee pluck,
+     Hoping thus to meet good luck;
+     If no luck I get from thee,
+     Better far be on the tree.'"
+
+"It sounds like what children say on finding a four-leafed clover," said
+Clara.
+
+"It is on the same principle," was the reply, "for clover-leaves grow
+naturally in threes and ash-leaves in sevens. Both rhymes are equally
+silly where luck is concerned, and those who believe God's words--that
+even 'the hairs of our head are all numbered'--will have no faith in
+'luck.' In old times the ash was believed to perform wonderful cures of
+various kinds, and in remote parts of England a little mouse called the
+shrew-mouse bore a very bad character. If a horse or cow had pains in
+its limbs, they were said to be caused by a shrew-mouse running over it.
+Our forefathers provided themselves with what they called a shrew-ash,
+in order to meet the case. The shrew-ash was nothing more than an ash
+tree in the trunk of which a hole had been bored and a poor little
+shrew-mouse put in, with many charms and incantations happily long since
+forgotten."
+
+"And couldn't the poor little mouse get out again?" asked Edith.
+
+"I am afraid not, dear; and we can only rejoice that we did not live in
+those dark days. Among other beliefs in its virtues, the leaves and
+wood of the ash were regarded throughout Northern Europe as a protection
+from all manner of snakes, and in harvest-time children were suspended
+in their cradles from the branches of tall ash trees while their mothers
+were working in the harvest-field below. Even now serpents are said to
+dislike the tree so much that they will not come near it, and the leaf
+is considered a cure for the bite of a poisonous snake. I have been told
+that an ash-leaf rubbed on a mosquito-bite will at once take out the
+sting and itching, and no better remedy can be found for the sting of a
+bee or a wasp."
+
+"It's ever so much nicer than mud," said Clara, who had rather a talent
+for getting into hornets' nests.
+
+"But the mud, you see, is always to be had," replied Miss Harson, "while
+ash-leaves do not grow everywhere; and I do not know that they have any
+power to cure the sting.
+
+"The other species of ash found in this country are not so important as
+the white, but the black ash is remarkable as the slenderest deciduous
+tree of its height to be found in the forest. It is often seventy or
+eighty feet tall, with a trunk not more than a foot around. The color of
+the trunk is a dark granite-gray and the bark is rough. The wood is
+remarkable for its toughness, and for making baskets the Indians prefer
+it to any other, except the trunk of a young white oak.
+
+"The red ash is very much like the white, but the wood is less valuable.
+It is a spreading, broad-headed tree, and the trunk is erect and
+branching. It is not so tall as the black ash, yet its trunk is three
+times as thick.
+
+"A species of ash grows in Sicily that yields a substance called _manna_
+which used to be valuable as a medicine, and this manna is obtained in
+the same way as maple-sap--by making holes or incisions in the bark of
+the tree. At the proper season the persons whose business it is to
+collect manna begin to make incisions, one after the other, up the stem.
+The manna flows out like clear water, but it soon congeals and becomes
+a solid substance. It has a sweet taste, and while in a liquid state
+runs into a leaf of the tree that has been inserted in the wound.
+Afterward it flows into a vessel placed below, from which it is carried
+away and shipped off to other countries."
+
+"Is there any story about the ash?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Not much of a story, dear," was the reply--"only a little legend of the
+manna trees; but, such as it is, you shall have it:
+
+"The king of Naples, it is said, fenced a number of trees round and
+forbade any to collect the store they yielded unless they paid a
+tribute. By this means the royal revenue would be largely increased.
+But, according to the story, the manna trees, as if they disapproved of
+this ungenerous arrangement, refused to yield any manna, and suddenly
+became bare and barren. Upon this the king, finding his scheme a
+failure, revoked the tax and took away the fence. Then the trees poured
+out their manna, as usual, in the greatest abundance; so that it was
+said, 'When the king found he could not make a gain of what Providence
+had freely bestowed, he gave up the attempt and left the manna as free
+as God had given it.'
+
+[Illustration: THE SWING.]
+
+"There, now!" said Miss Harson; "after this long talk, you had better
+run off and see if there is not a tree somewhere on the grounds, with
+two ropes attached to it, that will bear better fruit than any tree we
+have studied yet."
+
+The trio laughed and raced for the swing, which was first reached by
+Clara, who seated herself all ready for the push which Malcolm would not
+grudge, for he pronounced his sister sweeter than apple or peach; and
+so she was.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+_THE OLIVE TREE_.
+
+"The ash," said Miss Harson, "has some relations of which, I think, you
+will be rather surprised to hear. These relations are both trees and
+shrubs, and the lilac, for instance, is one of them."
+
+"Why, they don't look a bit alike," exclaimed Clara.
+
+"No, they certainly do not; for, although this fragrant shrub often
+grows as large as a tree, it is quite different from the ash tree. Yet
+both belong to the olive family."
+
+"The kind of olives that papa likes to eat at dinner, and that you and I
+_don't_ like, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"The very same," replied his governess; "only that we are speaking now
+of the tree on which the olives grow. It is well said that the very name
+of 'olive' suggests the idea of Palestine and the sunny lands of the
+East. The olive tree is one of the most prominent trees of the Bible. It
+is mentioned in the very earliest part of the Scriptures, in the book of
+Genesis. I wonder if some one can tell me about it?"
+
+"I remember: a dove found a leaf when it was raining and brought it to
+Noah in the ark," said little Edith, quickly.
+
+"The rain had stopped falling, dear, after the deluge, and the waters
+were receding, or falling, when Noah sent forth the dove a second time
+to see what it would find. Here is the verse: 'And the dove came in to
+him in the evening; and lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off;
+so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth[7].' For
+this reason the olive-branch is a common emblem of peace. The olive tree
+is often mentioned in other parts of the Bible, and was considered one
+of the most valuable trees of Palestine, which is described as 'a land
+of oil-olive and honey.' It is not nearly so handsome as some other
+trees of the Holy Land, nor is it grand-looking or graceful. The
+leaves, which are long for the width, and smooth, are dark green on the
+upper side and silvery beneath; they generally grow in pairs. The fruit
+is shaped like a plum; it is green when first formed, then paler in
+color; and when quite ripe, it is black."
+
+[7] Gen. viii. 9.
+
+"But those that papa eats are olive-color," said Clara.
+
+"Yes," replied Miss Harson, smiling, "but all these hues I have
+mentioned are olive-color in some stage of the fruit; and it is in the
+green stage, before it is quite ripe, that it is gathered for
+preserving."
+
+"But that isn't _preserves_, is it?" asked Malcolm, drawing up his mouth
+at the recollection of an olive he had once tried to eat. "I thought
+preserves were always sweet."
+
+"That is the shape in which you are accustomed to them, Malcolm; but to
+preserve a thing means to keep it from decay, and salt and vinegar will
+do this as well as sugar. Preserves of this kind are what _you_ call
+'puckery.'--As to the color, Clara, 'olive-green' is a color by itself,
+because of its peculiar tint. It is a gray green instead of a blue or
+yellow green, and it has a very dull effect. The fruit is produced only
+once in two years, and in bearing-season the tree is loaded with white
+blossoms that drop to the ground like flakes of snow. It is said that
+not one in a hundred of these numerous flowers becomes an olive. Here,"
+continued Miss Harson, pointing to a page of a book in her hand, "is a
+representation of an olive-branch with some of the plum-shaped fruit.
+The branch, you see, is hard and stiff-looking."
+
+[Illustration: OLIVE-BRANCH WITH FRUIT.]
+
+"I should think the tree would be prettier when all those white flowers
+are on it," said little Edith.
+
+"It is--much prettier," replied her governess--"but not so useful. The
+fruit of the olive is so valuable that numbers of people depend upon it
+for their support. The wood, too, is very hard and durable, and, as it
+takes a fine polish, it is used for making many ornamental articles."
+
+"And where does the olive-oil come from?" asked Clara. "Do they make
+holes in the tree for it, as they do for maple-sap?"
+
+Malcolm was about to exclaim at this idea, but he remembered just in
+time that, should Miss Harson happen to question him, he himself could
+not tell where the oil came from.
+
+"The oil is pressed from the olives," was the reply; "a large, vigorous
+tree is said to yield a thousand pounds of it. It is such an important
+article of commerce in the regions where it is prepared that every one
+desires to get as much as he can out of his olive trees, but those who
+are too greedy of gain will spoil the quality of the oil to make a
+larger quantity. The small olive of Syria is considered the most
+delicate, and Italian olives also are very fine; those of Spain are
+larger and coarser. The best olive-oil comes from the south-eastern
+portion of France and is a clear, pure liquid; it is obtained from the
+first pressing of the fruit. This must be only a gentle squeeze, to get
+the purest oil: the quality usually sold is made by a heavier pressure;
+and then, when the olives are worked over again, come the dregs, which
+are not fit for table-use."
+
+"Do they mash 'em, like making apples into cider?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Something like that; and the olive-farmers take the most anxious care
+of their orchards, for they know that the more olives the more oil.
+This with the Italians means a living, and one of their proverbs says,
+'If you wish to leave a competency to your grandchildren, plant an
+olive.' The poorest of the fruit is eaten in their own families, 'to
+save it,' and, as it does not taste so well, it will go much farther.
+They do not eat olives, though, as we see them eaten--one or two as a
+relish; but a respectable dishful is provided for each person, instead
+of the bread and potatoes which they do not have."
+
+"I'd rather have the bread and potatoes," said Clara, "and I'm glad that
+I don't have to eat a whole plate of olives."
+
+"If you had always been accustomed to having olives, as the Italians
+are," replied Miss Harson, "you would think them very nice. I do not
+suppose that their children ever think how much more inviting are the
+olives that are kept for sale. Olives intended for exportation are
+gathered while still green, usually in the month of October. They are
+soaked for some hours in the strongest lye, to get rid of their
+bitterness, and are afterward allowed to stand for a fortnight in
+frequently-changed fresh water, in order to be perfectly purified of the
+lye. It only then remains to preserve them in common salt and water,
+when they are ready for export."
+
+"That's what they taste of," exclaimed Malcolm--"salt; and I don't like
+salt things."
+
+"I think," said his governess, with a smile, "that I have seen a boy
+whom I know enjoying sliced ham and tongue very much indeed."
+
+"So I do, Miss Harson," was the eager reply; "but ham and tongue, you
+know, don't taste like olives."
+
+"No, because they are ham and tongue. But they certainly taste salty,
+and that is what you object to. It is generally found that sweeping
+assertions are not very safe ones. But to come back to our olive tree:
+it is an evergreen, and it grows very easily. The readiness with which a
+twig will take root reminds us of the willow. A fine grove of olive
+trees at Messa, in Morocco, was accidentally planted. It is said that
+one of the kings of the dynasty of Saddia, being on a military
+expedition, encamped here with his army. The pegs with which the cavalry
+picketed their horses were cut from olive trees in the neighborhood,
+and, some sudden cause of alarm leading to the abandonment of the
+position, the pegs were left in the ground. Making the best of the
+situation, the pegs developed into the handsomest group of olive trees
+in the district."
+
+The children wondered if any trees had ever been planted in such a
+strange way before, and little Edith said thoughtfully,
+
+"But, Miss Harson, why don't good people go around and plant trees
+wherever there aren't any? It would be so nice!"
+
+"Some good people do plant trees, dear, wherever they can," replied her
+governess, "thinking, as they say, of those who are to come after them;
+a great many roadside trees have grown in this way. But no one is
+allowed to meddle with other people's property; waste-places might
+easily be beautified with trees if the owners cared for anything but for
+their own present interests. But here is something you will like to
+hear about the olives of Palestine: 'They are all planted together in
+the grove like the trees in a forest, and it would seem scarcely
+possible for the owners to distinguish their own property. But when the
+fruit is getting ripe, watchmen are appointed to guard the grove and
+prevent a single olive from being touched even by the person who has a
+right to the tree.'--You do not look as if you would like
+that, Malcolm."
+
+[Illustration: OLIVE TREE.--GATHERING THE FRUIT.]
+
+"Indeed I wouldn't!" replied the boy. "I rather think I'd take my own
+olives whenever I wanted 'em."
+
+"Not if you lived where all were agreed on this point, as they seem to
+be in Palestine.--'Days pass on, and the autumn is at hand before the
+governor of the district issues the wished-for proclamation; then the
+watchmen are removed. Immediately the scene becomes a most animated one.
+The grove is alive with an eager throng of men, women and children
+shaking down the precious fruit. It is, however, scarcely possible to
+bring every berry down, nor would it seem desirable, since after this
+great harvest comes the gleaning-time, when the poor, who have no olive
+trees, are permitted to come into the grove and shake down what
+is left.'"
+
+"Isn't there something about that in the Bible, Miss Harson?" asked
+Clara.
+
+"Yes; it is in the book of the prophet Isaiah, 'Yet gleaning grapes
+shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three
+berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost
+fruitful branches thereof, saith the Lord God of Israel[8].' This is a
+prophecy about God's people, but the Jews were told by God to leave
+something, when they were harvesting, for the poor to glean. Does it not
+seem wonderful that the mighty Ruler of the universe should condescend
+to such small things? But nothing is small with him, and we see that his
+loving care extends to the poorest and the meanest."
+
+[8] Isa. xvii. 6.
+
+"Miss Harson," asked Edith, with great earnestness, "has each of our
+hairs got a number on it? I couldn't find any."
+
+The young lady could scarcely keep from smiling, but she was obliged to
+call Malcolm to order, and even Clara seemed amused at her little
+sister's queer interpretation of the loving words, "The very hairs of
+your head are all numbered."
+
+Miss Harson took her youngest pupil on her knee and explained to her the
+meaning of our Saviour's words in Luke xii. 7, where it is added, "Fear
+not,", because the heavenly Father's loving care is always around us.
+
+"It was a natural mistake," she continued, "for a very little girl to
+make; but we must not try to find amusement in mistakes about God's
+word. Many grown people are irreverent in this way without knowing it:
+perhaps they were not properly taught when they were children. But _my_
+children must not have this excuse, and I want them all to promise me
+that they will never utter nor listen to words from the Bible in any
+other but a reverent manner."
+
+All promised, Malcolm with a flushed face and subdued tone; and Edith
+felt that one of the great puzzles of her small existence had
+been solved.
+
+"Oil is the most important product of the olive tree," said Miss Harson,
+"and it has well been called its richness and fatness. The great demand
+for it in Europe and Asia prevents the best quality from being sent
+abroad, and it is said that even the most wealthy foreigners seldom get
+it pure. It is a most important article of food, taking the place held
+by butter and lard with us. Innumerable lamps, too, are kept burning by
+means of this oil, and so varied are its uses in the East that it was a
+greater thing than we can understand for the prophet Habakkuk to say,
+'Although the labor of the olive shall fail, ... yet will I rejoice in
+the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.' Job says, 'The rock
+poured me out rivers of oil[9];' this means the oil of the olive, which
+will thrive on the sides and tops of rocky hills where there is scarcely
+any earth. It is a very long-lived tree, as well as an evergreen; the
+Psalmist says, 'I am like a green olive tree in the house of God.'"
+
+[9] Job xxiii. 6.
+
+"What does a _wild_ olive tree mean, Miss Harson?" asked Clara.
+
+"It means, dear, one that has grown without being cultivated, like our
+wild cherry and plum trees. The wild olive is smaller than the other,
+and inferior to it in every way. There are a great many olive trees in
+Palestine, and a place where they must have been very plentiful is
+called by a name which we often see in the Bible.--What is it, Malcolm?"
+
+"Is it 'the Mount of Olives'?" said Malcolm.
+
+"Yes, and it is sometimes called 'Olivet.' It is mentioned in the Old
+Testament as well as in the New. In Second Samuel it is written: 'And
+David went up by the ascent of Mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and
+had his head covered, and he went barefoot: and all the people that was
+with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they
+went up[10].'"
+
+[10] 2 Sam. xv. 30.
+
+"What was the matter?" asked Edith.
+
+"King David's wicked son Absalom had risen up against his father because
+he wished to be king in his stead. You remember how he was caught by the
+head in the boughs of an oak during the very battle that he was fighting
+for this purpose; so we know that he did not succeed in his wicked plan,
+but lost his life instead.--The Mount of Olives is described as 'a
+ridge running north and south on the east side of Jerusalem, its summit
+about half a mile from the city wall and separated from it by the valley
+of the Kidron. It is composed of a chalky limestone, the rocks
+everywhere showing themselves. The olive trees that formerly covered it
+and gave it its name are now represented by a few trees and clumps of
+trees. There are three prominent summits on the ridge; of these, the
+southernmost, which is lower than the other two, is now known as 'the
+Mount of Offence,' originally 'the Mount of Corruption,' because Solomon
+defiled it with idolatrous worship. Over this ridge passes the road to
+Bethany, the most frequented route to Jericho and the Jordan. The side
+of the Mount of Olives toward the west contains many tombs cut in the
+rock. The central summit rises two hundred feet above Jerusalem and
+presents a fine view of the city, and, indeed, of the whole region,
+including the mountains of Ephraim on the north, the valley of the
+Jordan on the east, a part of the Dead Sea on the south-east, and beyond
+it Kerak, in the mountains of Moab. Perhaps no spot on earth unites so
+fine a view with so many memorials of the most solemn and important
+events. Over this hill the Saviour often climbed in his journeys to and
+from the Holy City. Gethsemane lay at its foot on the west, and Bethany
+on its eastern slope.'"
+
+During the reading of this description of the Mount of Olives, Miss
+Harson showed the children pictures of the different spots mentioned,
+and thus they were not likely soon to forget what had been told them.
+
+"Who can repeat some words from the New Testament about this mountain?"
+asked Miss Harson.
+
+"'Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives,'" said Clara, who had learned
+this verse in her Sunday lesson, "and it is the first verse of the
+eighth chapter of St. John."
+
+"And the verse just before it, at the end of the seventh chapter,"
+replied her governess, "says that 'every man went unto his own house,'
+but 'Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives.' In another place it is said
+that 'at night he went out and abode in the Mount of Olives,' and in
+still another that he 'continued all night in prayer to God,' probably
+on the same mountain."
+
+"And can people really go and see the very same Mount of Olives now?"
+asked Malcolm, eagerly.
+
+"The very same," was the reply, "except, as I just read to you, many of
+the olive trees that gave it its name are no longer there. The Garden of
+Gethsemane, too, the most sacred spot near the mountain, is much
+changed, and a traveler who saw it lately says:
+
+"'At the foot of the Mount of Olives is a garden enclosed by a wall.
+There are paths and there are plots of flowers, the work of loving hands
+in recent years. The flowers speak of to-day, but there are olive trees
+in the garden that testify of the history of far-away years. Their
+venerable trunks, gnarled and rugged, are like the rough, marred binding
+of old books, shutting in a history going back to a far-off date.
+
+"'On one side of this garden slope upward the terraces of the Mount of
+Olives--terraces that are cultivated to-day even as the slopes of Olivet
+have been cultivated for generations and centuries. The other side of
+the garden looks toward the eastern wall of Jerusalem. Deep down in its
+shadowy bed, between the wall and the garden, lies the ravine of
+the Kedron.
+
+[Illustration: GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE.]
+
+"'If you visit that garden and look upon its old olive trees, the
+keeper of the place will tell you that you are in Gethsemane, the spot
+of our Saviour's betrayal. He will point out the "Grotto of the Agony,"
+the place where the disciples slumbered, and that where Judas, before
+his brethren, ceased publicly to be a follower and became the betrayer
+of Jesus. Some things you very naturally may question as the guardian of
+the enclosure tells his story. Whether any one of the venerable olive
+trees ever threw its shadow across the prostrate form of Jesus is more
+than doubtful, but that these trees are burdened with the history of
+centuries all must concede. "Gethsemane" means "oil-press," and olive
+trees long ago gave Olivet its name. That somewhere in this neighborhood
+the Saviour suffered cannot be doubted, and within that closed wall may
+have been the very spot where he bowed in his agony, and where he heard
+the tongue of Judas utter his treacherous "Rabbi!" and where he felt the
+serpent-breath of the traitor as that traitor kissed him.'"
+
+Miss Harson read of this solemn spot in a low, reverent tone; and the
+little audience were very quiet, until at last Clara said,
+
+"Whenever we see an ash tree or olives, how much there will be to think
+of!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+_THE USEFUL BIRCH_.
+
+"Oh, Miss Harson!" called out Clara, in great excitement, as she caught
+up with her governess on a run; "hasn't Edie poisoned herself? She has
+been eating this twig."
+
+Edith, of course, at once began to cry.
+
+"You are not poisoned, dear," said Miss Harson, very quickly, after
+trying the twig herself; "for this is birch-wood, and it cannot possibly
+hurt you. But remember, Edie, that this must not happen again; _never_
+put anything to your mouth unless you know it to be harmless. The birds
+and squirrels and other animals that are obliged to pick up their own
+living as soon as they are able to use their limbs have the faculty
+given them of knowing what is good for them to eat, but little girls are
+not intended to live in the woods, and they cannot tell whether or not
+the things they find there are fit to eat."
+
+"I took only a little bit," sobbed Edith; "Clara snatched it away as
+soon as it tasted good."
+
+Malcolm laughingly tossed his little sister into a sort of evergreen
+cradle where the branches grew low--for they were enjoying an afternoon
+in the woods--and held her there securely, while their governess
+replied,
+
+"'A little bit' is too much of a thing that might be harmful. You must
+remember to 'touch not, taste not, handle not,' until you have asked
+permission. But I am going to let you all chew as many birch-shoots as
+you want, and I too shall chew some; for when I was a little girl, I
+used to think they were 'puffickly d'licious.'"
+
+The children were much amazed to think that Miss Harson had ever talked
+like Edith--indeed, the two older ones could scarcely believe that they
+once did so themselves; but all soon had their hands full of
+birch-twigs, and they began gnawing like so many squirrels. All approved
+of the "birchskin," as Edith called it, and Malcolm declared that "it
+would be grand fun to live in the woods all the time."
+
+"Couldn't we have a tent, Miss Harson," asked Clara, "and try it?"
+
+"I have no doubt," was the reply, "that your indulgent papa would have a
+tent put up here for you if he thought it would make you happier, but I
+have my doubts as to whether it would do so. In the first place, I
+should object very much to living in the tent with you, and how could
+you possibly live there alone?"
+
+Clara and Edith were quite sure that they could not get along without
+their friend and governess, but Malcolm thought he would like to try
+being a hermit or an Indian, he was not quite ready to say which.
+
+"While you are deciding," said Miss Harson, with a smile, "it may be as
+well for us to go on as usual; but I think that a little tent could be
+put up here somewhere, which we might enjoy for an hour or so on
+pleasant days. I will see about it."
+
+The little girls were delighted, and Malcolm finally condescended to be
+pleased with the idea.
+
+"This is a very young birch," continued their governess, "and you see
+how slender and graceful it is; also that the bark, or 'skin,' is very
+dark. For this reason it is called the black, or cherry, birch, and also
+because the tree is very much like the black cherry. It is also called
+sweet birch and mahogany birch; the _sweet_ part you can probably
+understand, and it gets its other name from the color of the wood, which
+often resembles mahogany and at one time was much used for furniture.
+There are larger trees of the same kind all around us, and I should like
+to know if anything else has been noticed besides the twigs of this
+little one."
+
+"_I_ see something," replied Malcolm: "there are flowers--purple and
+yellow."
+
+"And what is the particular name for these tree-blossoms?" asked Miss
+Harson.
+
+"Isn't it _catkins_?" inquired Clara, timidly.
+
+"Yes, catkins, or aments. They hang, as you see, like long tassels of
+purple and gold, and are as fragrant as the bark. Bryant's line,
+
+     "'The fragrant birch above him hung her tassels in the sky,'
+
+"was written of this same black birch. Some of these trees are sixty or
+seventy feet high, and all are very graceful, this species being
+considered the most beautiful of the numerous birch family. The leaves,
+which are just coming out, are two or three inches long and about half
+as wide; they taper to a point and have serrate, or sawlike, edges. The
+wood is firm and durable, and is much used for cattle-yokes as well as
+for bedsteads and chairs. The large trees yield a great quantity of
+sweetish sap, which makes a pleasant drink. The trees are tapped just as
+the sugar-maples are, and in some parts of the country gathering this
+sap, which is sometimes used to make vinegar, is quite an
+important event."
+
+"Oh! oh! _oh_!" screamed Edith, and began to run.
+
+"Oh! oh! oh!" echoed Clara; and Malcolm declared that she was just like
+"Jill," who "came tumbling after."
+
+"What is the matter, children?" asked their governess, in dismay; but
+she stood perfectly still.
+
+"Only a poor little garter-snake," said Malcolm, "putting his head out
+to see if it's warm enough for him yet. But he has gone back into his
+hole frightened to death at such dreadful noises. Hello! what's the
+matter with Edie now?"
+
+The little sister had fallen, tripped up by some rough roots, and,
+expecting the poor startled garter-snake to come and make a meal off
+her, she was calling loudly for help.
+
+Miss Harson had her in her arms in a moment, and it was soon found that
+one foot had quite a bad bruise.
+
+"If only you had not run away!" said her governess. "He was such an
+innocent little snake to make all this fuss about, and very pretty too,
+if you had stopped to look at him."
+
+"Are snakes ever pretty?" asked Edith, in great surprise.
+
+"Certainly they are, dear, and this one had lovely stripes. I wish you
+could have seen him."
+
+The little girl began to wish so too, it was so funny to think of a
+snake being pretty, and she felt quite ashamed that she had scampered
+away in such a silly fashion.
+
+"What a goose I was!" said Clara, doing her thinking aloud. "But I
+thought it must be something dreadful, when Edie screamed so."
+
+"How much better it would have been to have found out before you
+screamed!" replied Miss Harson.--"But come, Edith; see what a nice cane
+Malcolm has just cut to help your lame foot with. He is offering you his
+arm, too, on the other side, and between the two I think you will get
+along finely."
+
+Edith thought the same thing, and enjoyed being helped home in this
+fashion. Her foot was quite painful, though, and considerably swollen;
+and Clara bathed it with arnica when the little girl had been
+comfortably established on the schoolroom sofa.
+
+"Perhaps," said Miss Harson, "our little invalid will not care to hear
+about trees this evening?"
+
+But the little invalid did care, and it was decided to take a further
+ramble among the birches.
+
+"I want to hear about birch-bark," said Malcolm--"not the kind we've
+been eating, but the kind that canoes and things are made of."
+
+[Illustration: THE CUT-LEAVED WHITE BIRCH.]
+
+"You have already heard about the black birch," replied his governess,
+"and, besides this, we have the white, or gray, birch, the bark of which
+is white, chalky and dotted with black; the red birch, with bark of a
+reddish or chocolate color; the yellow birch, bark yellowish, with a
+silvery lustre; and the canoe birch, which has a white bark with a
+pearly lustre. There is also a dwarf, or shrub, birch. The list, you
+see, is quite a long one."
+
+"What kind grow in _our_ woods?" asked Clara.
+
+"You certainly know of one kind," was the reply--"the black, or sweet,
+birch, which we have all tried and like so well. Besides this, there is
+the white, or little gray, birch, which is seldom over twenty-five or
+thirty feet high. It is, however, a graceful and beautiful object,
+enjoying to an eminent decree the lightness and airiness of the birch
+family, and spreading out its glistening leaves on the ends of a very
+slender and often pensile spray with an indescribable softness. An
+English poet has called this tree the
+
+                           "'most beautiful
+     Of forest-trees, the lady of the woods.'"
+
+The children laughed at the idea of calling a tree a _lady_, it seemed
+so comical; but Miss Harson said that she thought this was a very good
+description of a slender, graceful tree.
+
+[Illustration: WHITE-BIRCH LEAF.]
+
+"Four or five inches," she continued, "will span its waist, or trunk,
+and this seems a very good reason for calling it _little_. Another name
+for this tree is poplar birch, because the triangular-shaped leaves,
+which taper to a very long, slender point, have a habit of trembling
+like those of the poplars. The branches are of a dark chocolate color
+which contrasts very prettily with the grayish-white trunk, and their
+extreme slenderness causes them to droop somewhat like those of the
+willow. The white birch will spring up in the poorest kind of soil, and
+it is found in the highest latitude in which any tree can live. Its leaf
+is 'deltoid' in shape and indented at the edge. The bark of this species
+is said to be more durable than any other vegetable substance, and a
+piece of birch-wood was once found changed into stone, while the outer
+bark, white and shining, remained in its natural state,"
+
+"I don't see how it could," said Malcolm. "What kept it from turning
+into stone too?"
+
+"Its peculiar nature," was the reply, "which is a thing that we cannot
+explain, and we shall have to take the story just as it is. We certainly
+know that the wood has been proved to be very strong, and it is much
+used for timber."
+
+"Is the red birch really red, Miss Harson?" asked Clara, who thought
+that this promised to be the prettiest member of the family.
+
+"The bark has a reddish tinge, and it is so loose and ragged-looking
+that it has been said to roll up its bark in coarse ringlets, which are
+whitish with a stain of crimson. The red birch, which is more rare than
+any of the other kinds, is a much larger tree than the white birch, but,
+like all its relations, it is very graceful. The wood is white and hard
+and makes very good fuel, while the twigs are made into brooms for
+sweeping streets and courtyards."
+
+"But there isn't very much red about it, after all," said Malcolm.
+
+"It wasn't red," murmured Edith; "it was green;" and the next moment
+"the baby" was fast asleep, but Miss Harson was afraid that she had
+taken the snake with her to the land of Nod, so restless was her sleep.
+
+"I hope the yellow birch is yellow," said Clara again.
+
+"We will see what is said of its color," replied her governess, "and
+here it is: 'Distinguished by its yellowish bark, of a soft silken
+texture and silvery or pearly lustre,' It is a large tree, and has been
+named _excelsa_--'lofty'--because of its height. The slender, flowing
+branches are very graceful, and the tree is often as symmetrical as a
+fine elm, but droops less. The roots of the yellow birch seem to enjoy
+getting above the ground and twisting themselves in a very fantastic
+manner, and, taken altogether, it is a strikingly handsome and
+ornamental tree. The wood was at one time much liked for fuel, and many
+of the logs were of immense size."
+
+"Now," said Malcolm, gleefully, "the canoe birch has _got_ to come next,
+because there isn't anything else to come."
+
+"That is an excellent reason," replied Miss Harson, "and the canoe birch
+it shall be. There is more to be said of it than of any of the others,
+and it also grows in greater quantities. Thick woods of it are found in
+Maine and New Hampshire--for it loves a cold climate--and in other
+Northern portions of the country. The tall trunks of the trees resemble
+pillars of polished marble supporting a canopy of bright-green foliage.
+The leaves are something of a heart-shape, and their vivid summer green
+turns to golden tints in autumn. The bark of the canoe birch is almost
+snowy white on the outside, and very prettily marked with fine brown
+stripes two or three inches long, which go around the trunk. This bark
+is very smooth and soft, and it is easily separated into very thin
+sheets. For this reason the tree is often called the paper birch, and
+the smooth, thin layers of bark make very good writing-paper when none
+other can be had."
+
+"Oh, Miss Harson!" exclaimed Clara; "did you ever see any that was
+written on?"
+
+"Yes," was the reply; "I once wrote a letter on some myself."
+
+"Did you _really_?" cried two eager voices. "How _could_ you? Oh, do
+tell us about it!"
+
+"I was making a visit at a village in Maine," said their governess,
+"where the beautiful trees are to be seen in all their perfection, and I
+thought it would be appropriate to write a letter from there on birch
+bark. So I split my bark very thin and got a respectable sheet of it
+ready; then I cut another piece, to form an envelope, and gummed it
+together. I had quite a struggle to write on it decently with a steel
+pen, because the pen would go through the paper; but I persevered, and
+finally I accomplished my letter. It seemed odd to put a postage-stamp
+on birch bark, and I smiled to think how surprised the home-people
+would be to get such a letter. They _were_ surprised, and they told me
+afterward that the postman laughed when he delivered it."
+
+The children thought this very interesting, and they wished that there
+were canoe-birch trees growing at Elmridge, that they might be enabled
+to try the experiment for themselves.
+
+"Now," continued Miss Harson, "I am going to read you an account of
+canoe-making, and of some other uses to which the bark is put:
+
+"'In Canada and in the district of Maine the country-people place large
+pieces of the bark immediately below the shingles of the roof, to form a
+more impenetrable covering for their houses. Baskets, boxes and
+portfolios are made of it, which are sometimes embroidered with silk of
+different colors. Divided into very thin sheets, it forms a substitute
+for paper, and placed between the soles of the shoes and in the crown of
+the hat it is a defence against dampness. But the most important purpose
+to which it is applied, and one in which it is replaced by the bark of
+no other tree, is in the construction of canoes. To procure proper
+pieces, the largest and smoothest trunks are selected. In the spring two
+circular incisions are made, several feet apart, and two longitudinal
+ones on opposite sides of the tree; after which, by introducing a wooden
+wedge, the bark is easily detached. These plates are usually ten or
+twelve feet long and two feet nine inches broad. To form the canoe, they
+are stitched together with fibrous roots of the white spruce about the
+size of a quill, which are deprived of the bark, split and suppled in
+water. The seams are coated with resin of the balm of Gilead.
+
+"'Great use is made of these canoes by the savages and by the French
+Canadians in their long journeys into the interior of the country; they
+are very light, and are easily transported on the shoulders from one
+lake or river to another, which is called the _portage_. A canoe
+calculated for four persons, with their baggage, weighs from forty to
+fifty pounds; some of them are made to carry fifteen passengers.'
+
+"And now let me show you a picture of the Kentucky pioneer in a
+birch-bark canoe."
+
+"Why, Miss Harson, the Indians are trying to kill him!" exclaimed
+Malcolm.
+
+"Yes," she replied; "when you read the history of the United States, you
+will find that not only Daniel Boone, but the most of the early settlers
+of these Western lands, had trouble with the Indians. Nor is this
+strange. These pioneers were often rough men, and were looked upon by
+the natives as invaders of their country and treated as enemies. But to
+come back to the uses of the bark of the birch:
+
+"'In the settlements of the Hudson Bay Company tents are made of the
+bark of this tree, which for that purpose is cut into pieces twelve feet
+long and four feet wide. These are sewed together by threads made of the
+white-spruce roots; and so rapidly is a tent put up that a circular one
+twenty feet in diameter and ten feet high does not occupy more than half
+an hour in pitching. Every traveler and hunter in Canada enjoys these
+"rind-tents," as they are called, which are used only during the hot
+summer months, when they are found particularly comfortable.'"
+
+[Illustration: IN THE BIRCH-BARK CANOE]
+
+"Well, that's the funniest thing yet!" exclaimed Malcolm. "'Rind-tents'!
+I wish I could see one. Did they have any in Maine where you were,
+Miss Harson?"
+
+"No," was the reply, "I did not even hear of such a thing there, and to
+see it you would probably have to go far to the north. The English
+birch, which is found also in many parts of Europe, is put to a great
+many uses; the leaves produce a yellow dye, and the wood, when mixed
+with copperas, will color red, black and brown. An old birch tree that
+is supposed to be giving an account of itself says,
+
+"'How many are the uses of my bark! Thrifty men who sit beside the
+blazing hearth when my branches throw up a clear bright flame, and
+follow the example of their fathers in making their own shoes and those
+of their families, tan the hides with my bark. Kamschadales construct
+from it both hats and vessels for holding milk, and the Swedish
+fisherman his shoes. The Norwegian covers with it his low-roofed hut
+and spreads upon the surface layers of moss at least three or four
+inches thick, and, having twisted long strips together, he obtains
+excellent torches with which to cheer the darkness of his long nights.
+Fishermen, in like manner, make great use of them in alluring their
+finny prey. For this purpose they fit a portion of blazing birch in a
+cleft stick and spear the fish when attracted by its flickering light.'"
+
+The children exclaimed at this queer way of fishing, but Malcolm was
+very much taken with the idea of doing it by night with blazing torches,
+and he thought that he would like to be a Norwegian fisherman even
+better than a hermit or an Indian.
+
+"The old tree goes on to say," continued Miss Harson, "that 'Finland
+mothers form of the dried leaves soft, elastic beds for their children,
+and from me is prepared the _mona_, their sole medicine in all diseases.
+My buds in spring exhale a delicious fragrance after showers, and the
+bark, when burnt, seems to purify the air in confined dwellings.'
+
+"In Lapland the twigs of the birch, covered with reindeer-skins, are
+used for beds, but they cannot be so comfortable, I should think, as the
+leaves. The fragrant wood of the tree makes the fires which have to be
+kept up inside the huts even in summer to drive away the mosquitoes, and
+the people of those Northern regions would find it hard to get along
+without the useful birch."
+
+"I like to hear about it," said Clara. "Can you tell us something more
+that is done with it, Miss Harson?"
+
+"There is just one thing more," replied her governess, with a smile,
+"which I will read out of an old book; and I desire you all to pay
+particular attention to it."
+
+Little Edith was wide awake again by this time, and her great blue eyes
+looked as if she were ready to devour every word.
+
+"Birch rods," continued Miss Harson, "are quite different from birch
+_twigs_, and the uses to which they were put were not altogether
+agreeable to the boys who ran away from school or did not get their
+lessons. 'My branches,' says the birch, 'gently waving in the wind,
+awakened in those days no feelings of dread with truant urchins--for
+_all_ might be truants then, if so it pleased them--but at length a
+scribe arose who thus wrote concerning my ductile twigs: "The civil uses
+whereunto the birch serveth are many, as for the punishment of children
+both at home and abroad; for it hath an admirable influence upon them to
+quiet them when they wax unruly, and therefore some call the tree
+_make-peace_"'" Malcolm and Clara both laughed, and asked their young
+governess when the birch rods were coming; but Edith did not feel quite
+so easy, and, with her bruised foot and all, it took a great deal of
+petting that night to get her comfortably to bed.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+_THE POPLARS_.
+
+The bruised foot was not comfortable to walk on for two or three days,
+and Edith was settled in the great easy arm-chair with dolls and toys
+and picture-books in a pile that seemed as if it would not stop growing
+until every article belonging to herself and Clara had been gathered
+there. "We can go on with our trees," said Miss Harson, "even if we do
+not see them just yet; and this evening I should like to tell you
+something about the poplar, a large tree with alternate leaves which is
+often found in dusty towns, where it seems to flourish as well as in its
+favorite situation by a running stream. An old English writer calls the
+poplars 'hospitable trees, for anything thrives under their shade.' They
+are not handsomely-shaped trees, but the foliage is thick and pretty. In
+the latter part of this month--April--the trees are so covered with
+their olive-green catkins that large portions of the forests seem to be
+colored by them."
+
+[Illustration: IN THE EASY CHAIR]
+
+"Are there any poplars at Elmridge?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Not nearer than the woods," was the reply, "where we must go and look
+for them when Edith's foot is quite well again, though there are a good
+many in the city. The poplar is often planted by the roadside because it
+grows so rapidly and makes a good shade. The _Abele_, or silver poplar,
+is an especial favorite for this purpose.
+
+"The balm of Gilead, or Canada poplar, is the largest of the species,
+and really a handsome tree, often growing to the height of fifty or
+sixty feet, with a trunk of proportionate size. It has large leaves of a
+bright, glossy green, which grow loosely on long branches, A peculiarity
+of this tree is that before the leaves begin to expand the buds are
+covered with a yellow, glutinous balsam that diffuses a penetrating but
+very agreeable odor unlike any other. The balsam is gathered as a
+healing anodyne, and for many ailments it is a favorite remedy in
+domestic medicine. All the poplars produce more or less of this
+substance.
+
+"The river poplaris found on the banks of rivers and brooks and in wet
+places, and is a noble and graceful tree. The trunk is light gray in
+color, and the young trees have a smooth, leather-like bark. The broad
+leaves, of a very rich green, grow on stems nearly as long as
+themselves, and the flowering aments are of a light-red color. The
+leaf-stalks and young branches are also brightly tinted. Another of
+these trees has a very singular name: it is called the necklace poplar."
+
+[Illustration: LOMBARDY POPLAR.]
+
+"Do the flowers grow like real necklaces?" asked Clara.
+
+"Not quite," replied her governess, "but the reason given is something
+like it. The tree is so called from the resemblance of the long ament,
+before opening, to the beads of a necklace. In Europe it is known as the
+Swiss poplar and the black Italian poplar. Its timber is much valued
+there for building. There are also the black poplar and that queer,
+stiff-looking tree the Lombardy poplar. Cannot one of you tell me where
+there are some tall, narrow trees that look almost as if they had been
+cut out of wood and stuck there?"
+
+"I know where there are some," said Malcolm: "right in front of Mrs.
+Bush's old house; and I think they're miserable-looking trees."
+
+"When old and rusty, they are not in the least cheerful," replied Miss
+Harson; "and it is so long since Lombardy poplars were admired that few
+are found except about old places. The tree is shaped like a tall spire,
+and in hot, calm weather drops of clear water trickle from its leaves
+like a slight shower of rain. It was once a favorite shade-tree, and a
+century ago great numbers of Lombardy poplars were planted by village
+waysides, in front of dwelling-houses, on the borders of public
+grounds, and particularly in avenues leading to houses that stand at
+some distance from the high-road.
+
+[Illustration: A GROUP OF POPLARS IN CASHMERE]
+
+"The poplar is found in many lands. The Lombardy poplar, as its name
+indicates, was brought from Italy, where it grows luxuriantly beside the
+orange and the myrtle; but after one of our cold winters many of its
+small branches will decay, and this gives it a forlorn appearance. When
+fresh and green, the Lombardy poplar is quite handsome. Some one wrote
+of it long ago: 'There is no other tree that so pleasantly adorns the
+sides of narrow lanes and avenues, and so neatly accommodates itself to
+limited enclosures. Its foliage is dense and of the liveliest verdure,
+making delicate music to the soft touch of every breeze. Its
+terebinthine odors scent the vernal gales that enter our open windows
+with the morning sun. Its branches, always turning upward and closely
+gathered together, afford a harbor to the singing-birds that make them a
+favorite resort, and its long, tapering spire that points to heaven
+gives an air of cheerfulness and religious tranquillity to village
+scenery.'"
+
+"I wish we had some," said Edith, "with singing-birds in 'em."
+
+"Why, my dear child," replied her governess, "have we not the beautiful
+elms, in which the birds build their nests and where they fly in and out
+continually? They are the very same birds that build in the
+Lombardy poplars."
+
+"I thought that singing-birds always lived in cages," said the little
+queen in the easy-chair.
+
+"And did you think they were hung all over the Lombardy poplars?" asked
+Malcolm, in a broad grin.
+
+Edith laughed too, and Miss Harson said smilingly.
+
+"I thought that the birds about Elmridge did a great deal of singing,
+and the blue-birds and robins kept it up all day. But I should not like
+to see the old Lombardy poplars hung with gilded cages, and the birds
+which should happen to be prisoners in the cages would like it
+still less."
+
+"Well," said Edith, contentedly, as she settled herself again to
+listen.
+
+"The poplar," continued Miss Harson, "has a great many insect enemies,
+and the Lombardy is not often seen now, because a great many of these
+trees were destroyed on account of a worm, or caterpillar, by which they
+were infested. Poplar-wood is soft, light and generally of a pale-yellow
+color; it is much used for toy-making and for boarded floors, 'for which
+last purpose it is well adapted from its whiteness and the facility with
+which it is scoured, and also from the difficulty with which it catches
+fire and the slowness with which it burns. A red-hot poker falling on a
+board of poplar would burn its way without causing more combustion than
+the hole through which it passed.'"
+
+"I should think, then," said Malcolm, "that all wooden things would be
+made of poplar."
+
+"It is generally thought not to be durable," was the reply, "but it is
+said that if kept dry the wood will last as long as that of any tree.
+Says the poplar plank,
+
+     "'Though heart of oak be ne'er so stout,
+     Keep me dry and I'll see him out.'
+
+"The poplar has been highly praised, for every part of this tree answers
+some good purpose. The bark, being light, like cork, serves to support
+the nets of fishermen; the inner bark is used by the Kamschadales as a
+material for bread; brooms are made from the twigs, and paper from the
+cottony down of the seeds. Horses, cows and sheep browse upon it.
+
+"And now," said Miss Harson, when the children were wondering if that
+were the end, "we have come to the most interesting tree of the whole
+species--the aspen, or trembling poplar. It is a small, graceful tree
+with rounded leaves having a wavy, toothed border, covered with soft
+silk when young, which remains only as a fringe on the edge at maturity,
+supported by a very slender footstalk about as long as the leaf, and
+compressed laterally from near the base. They are thus agitated by the
+slightest breath of wind with that quivering, restless motion
+characteristic of all the poplars, but in none so striking as this. 'To
+quiver like an aspen-leaf has become a proverb. The foliage appears
+lighter than that of most other trees, from continually displaying the
+under side of the leaves.
+
+"The aspen has been called a very poetical tree, because it is the only
+one whose leaves tremble when the wind is apparently calm. It is said,
+however, to suggest fickleness and caprice, levity and irresolution--a
+bad character for any tree. The small American aspen, which is quite
+common, has a smooth, pale-green bark, which gets whitish and rough as
+the tree grows old. The foliage is thin, but a single leaf will be
+found, when examined, uncommonly beautiful. A spray of the small aspen,
+when in leaf, is very light and airy-looking, and the leaves produce a
+constant rustling sound. 'Legends of no ordinary interest linger around
+this tree. Ask the Italian peasant who pastures his sheep beside a grove
+of _Abele_ why the leaves of these trees are always trembling in even
+the hottest weather when not a breeze is stirring, and he will tell you
+that the wood of the trembling-poplar formed the cross on which our
+Saviour suffered.'"
+
+"Oh, Miss Harson!" said Clara, in a low tone. "Is that _true_?"
+
+"We do not know that it is, dear, nor do we know that it is not. Here
+are some verses about it which I like very much:
+
+     "'The tremulousness began, as legends tell,
+       When he, the meek One, bowed his head to death
+     E'en on an aspen cross, when some near dell
+       Was visited by men whose every breath
+     That Sufferer gave them. Hastening to the wood--
+       The wood of aspens--they with ruffian power
+     Did hew the fair, pale tree, which trembling stood
+       As if awestruck; and from that fearful hour
+     Aspens have quivered as with conscious dread
+     Of that foul crime which bowed the meek Redeemer's head.
+
+     "'Far distant from those days, oh let not man,
+       Boastful of reason, check with scornful speech
+     Those legends pure; for who the heart may scan
+       Or say what hallowed thoughts such legends teach
+     To those who may perchance their scant flocks keep
+       On hill or plain, to whom the quivering tree
+     Hinteth a thought which, holy, solemn, deep,
+       Sinks in the heart, bidding their spirits flee
+     All thoughts of vice, that dread and hateful thing
+     Which troubleth of each joy the pure and gushing spring?'"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+_ALL A-BLOW: THE APPLE TREE_.
+
+It certainly was a beautiful sight, and the children exclaimed over it
+in ectasy. It was now past the middle of April, and Miss Harson had
+taken her little flock to visit an apple-orchard at some distance from
+Elmridge, and the whole place seemed to be one mass of pink-and-white
+bloom.
+
+"And how deliciously _sweet_ it is!" said Malcolm as he sniffed the
+fragrant air.
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed Edith, turning up her funny little nose to get the full
+benefit of all this fragrance; "I can't breathe half enough at once."
+
+"That is just my case," said her governess, laughing, "but I did not
+think to say it in that way. Get all you can of this deliciousness,
+children; I wish that we could carry some of it away with us."
+
+"And so you shall," replied a hearty voice as Mr. Grove, the owner of
+the orchard, came up with a knife in his hand and began cutting off
+small branches of apple--blossoms. "I like to see folks enjoy things."
+
+"I hope you don't mind our trespassing on your grounds?" said Miss
+Harson. "I can engage that my little friends will do no injury, and I
+particularly wished them to see your beautiful orchard in bloom; it is
+almost equal to a field of roses."
+
+"Don't mind it at all, miss," was the reply--"quite the contrary; and I
+think, myself, it's a pretty sight. Smells good, too. Now, here's a
+nosegay big enough for you three young ladies, and Bub there can
+carry it."
+
+Malcolm, who was quite proud of his name, felt so indignant at being
+called "Bub" that he almost forgot the farmer's generosity; but his
+governess acknowledged it, very much to the worthy man's satisfaction.
+
+Edith, however, was rather shocked.
+
+"I thought it was wicked," said she, "to cut off flowers from fruit
+trees? Won't these make apples?"
+
+"Not them particular ones, Sis," replied Mr. Grove, with a laugh;
+"they're done for now. But it ain't wicked to cut off your own apple
+blows when there's too many on the tree to make good apples, and there's
+plenty to spare yet." He was very much amused at the little girl's
+serious face over this wholesale destruction of infant apples, and he
+invited them all to come to the house and get a drink of fresh milk. The
+children thought this a very pleasant invitation, and Miss Harson was
+quite willing to gratify them.
+
+The farmer led his guests into a very cheerful and wonderfully clean
+kitchen, where Mrs. Groves was busy with her baking, and the loaves of
+fresh bread looked very inviting. She was as pleasant and hospitable as
+her husband, and after shaking up a funny-looking patchwork cushion in a
+rocking-chair for the young lady to sit down on she told the little
+girls that she would get them a couple of crickets if they would wait a
+minute, and disappeared into the next room.
+
+The two little sisters looked at each other in dismay and wondered what
+they could do with these insects, but before they could consult Miss
+Harson good Mrs. Grove had returned carrying in each hand a small flat
+footstool. The girls sat down very carefully, for they were not
+accustomed to such low seats; but the whole party were tired with their
+walk and glad to rest for a short time. Malcolm, being a boy, was
+expected to sit where he could, and he speedily established himself in
+the corner of a wooden settle.
+
+In spite of the apple-blossoms, the kitchen fire was very comfortable;
+and, as the baking was just coming to an end, Mrs.
+
+Grove said that "she would be ready to visit with them in a minute:" she
+did not seem to allow herself more than a "minute" for anything. Besides
+the milk, some very nice seed-cakes in the shape of hearts were
+produced, and Edith thought them the most delightful little cakes she
+had ever tasted. Clara and Malcolm, too, were quite hungry, and Miss
+Harson enjoyed her glass of milk and seed-cake as well as did the young
+people. The farmer and his wife seemed really sorry to part with their
+guests when they rose to go, but Miss Harson said that it was time for
+them to be at home, and the children were obedient on the instant.
+
+"Well," said the worthy couple, "you know now where to come when you
+want more apple-blows and a drink of milk."
+
+Malcolm was quite laden with the mass of rosy flowers which Mr. Grove
+piled up in his arms, and he enjoyed the delicious scent all the
+way home.
+
+"I must get out the big jar," said Miss Harson as she surveyed their
+treasures, "and there are so many buds that I think we may be able to
+keep them for some days.--What would you say, Edith, if I told you that
+people cut off not only the blossoms, but even the fruit itself, while
+it is green, to make what is left on the tree handsomer and better?"
+
+Edith looked her surprise, and the other children could not understand
+why all the fruit that formed should not be left on the tree to ripen.
+
+"It is very often left," replied their governess, "but, although the
+crop is a large one, it will be of inferior quality; and those who
+understand fruit-raising thin it out, so that the tree may not have more
+fruit than it can well nourish. But now it is time for papa to come, and
+after dinner we will have a regular apple-talk."
+
+"How nice it was at Mrs. Grove's to-day!" said Clara, when they were
+gathered for the talk. "I think that kitchens are pleasanter to sit in
+than parlors and school-rooms."
+
+"So do I," chimed in Edith; "but I was afraid about the crickets at
+first. I thought we'd have to hold 'em in our hands, and I didn't
+like that."
+
+Why _would_ people always laugh when there was nothing to laugh at? The
+little girl thought she had a very funny brother and sister, and Miss
+Harson, too, was funny sometimes.
+
+"Have you so soon forgotten about the real insect-crickets, dear?" asked
+her governess, kindly. "Why, it will be months yet before we see one.
+Besides, I thought I told you that in some places a little bench is
+called a 'cricket'?--Do you know, Clara, why you thought Mrs. Grove's
+kitchen so pleasant? It is larger and better furnished than kitchens
+usually are, there were pleasant people in it, and you were tired and
+hungry and ready to enjoy rest and refreshments; but I am quite sure
+that, on the whole, you would like your own quarters best, because you
+are better fitted for them, as Mrs. Grove is for hers. We had a very
+pleasant visit, though, and some day we may repeat it--perhaps when the
+apples are ripe."
+
+"Good! good!" cried the children, clapping their hands; and Malcolm
+added that he "would like to be let loose in that apple-orchard."
+
+"Perhaps you would like it better than Farmer Grove would," was the
+reply. "But we haven't got to the apples yet; we must first find out a
+little about the tree. We learn in the beginning that it was one of the
+very earliest trees planted in this country by the settlers, because it
+is both hardy and useful. There is a wild species called the Virginia
+crab-apple, which bears beautiful pink flowers as fragrant as roses, but
+its small apples are intensely sour. The blossoms of the cultivated
+apple tree are more beautiful than those of any other fruit; they are
+delicious to both sight and scent."
+
+"And do look, Miss Harson," said Clara, "at these lovely half-open buds!
+They are just like tiny roses, and _so_ sweet!"
+
+Down went Clara's head among the clustered blossoms, and then Edith had
+to come too; and Malcolm declared that between the two they would smell
+them to death.
+
+"It seems," continued Miss Harson, "that the apple tree grows wild in
+every part of Europe except in the frigid zone and in Western Asia,
+China and Japan. It is thought to have been planted in Britain by the
+Romans; and when it was brought here, it seemed to do better than it had
+done anywhere else. It is said that 'not only the Indians, but many
+indigenous insects, birds and quadrupeds, welcomed the apple tree to
+these shores. The butterfly of the tent-caterpillar saddled her eggs on
+the very first twig that was formed, and it has since shared her
+affections with the wild cherry; and the canker-worm also, in a measure,
+abandoned the elm to feed on it. As it grew apace the bluebird, robin,
+cherry-bird, king-bird, and many more, came with haste and built their
+nests and warbled in its boughs, and so became orchard-birds and
+multiplied more than ever. It was an era in the history of their race in
+America. The downy woodpecker found such a savory morsel under its bark
+that he perforated it in a ring quite round the tree before he left it.
+It did not take the partridge long to find out how sweet its buds were,
+and every winter eve she flew, and still flies, from the wood to pluck
+them, much to the farmer's sorrow. The rabbit, too, was not slow to
+learn the taste of its twigs and bark; and when the fruit was ripe, the
+squirrel half rolled, half carried, it to his hole. Even the musquash
+crept up the bank from the brook at evening, and greedily devoured it,
+until he had worn a path in the grass there; and when it was frozen and
+thawed, the crow and the jay were glad to taste it occasionally. The owl
+crept into the first apple tree that became hollow, and fairly hooted
+with delight, finding it just the place for him; so, settling down into
+it, he has remained there ever since.'
+
+"Speaking of these buds, Clara," said her governess, "I think I forgot
+to tell you that the apple tree belongs to the family Rosaceae, and
+therefore the half-opened blossoms have a right to look like roses. The
+tree is not a handsome one, being a small edition of the oak in its
+sturdy outline, but it is less graceful or picturesque-looking, being
+often broader than it is high and resembling in shape a half globe. The
+leaves are not pretty except when first unfolded, and their color is
+then a beautiful light tint known as apple-green. But the foliage soon
+becomes dusty and shabby-looking. An old apple tree, with its gnarled,
+and often hollow, trunk, is generally handsomer than a young one, unless
+in the time of blossoms; for only a young apple-orchard is covered with
+such a profusion of bloom as that we saw to-day."
+
+"I am glad," said Clara, "that it belongs to the rose family, for now
+the dear little buds seem prettier than ever."
+
+"The apples are prettier yet," observed
+
+Malcolm; "if there's anything I like, it's apples."
+
+"I am afraid that you eat too many of them for your good," replied his
+governess; "I shall have to limit you to so many a day."
+
+"I have eaten only six to-day," was the modest reply, "and they were
+little russets, too."
+
+"Oh, Malcolm, Malcolm!" said Miss Harson, laughing; "what shall I do
+with you? Why, you would soon make an apple-famine in most places. Three
+apples a day must be your allowance for the present; and if at any time
+we go to live in an orchard, you may have six."
+
+"Why, _we_ have only one," exclaimed little Edith, "and we don't want
+any more.--Do we, Clara?"
+
+[Illustration: Apple Blossoms.]
+
+"If you don't want 'em," said Malcolm, "there's no sense in eating
+'em.--But I'll remember, Miss Harson. I suppose three at one time ought
+to be enough."
+
+Malcolm's expression, as he said this, was so doleful that every one
+laughed at him; and his governess continued:
+
+"The apple tree is said to produce a greater variety of beautiful fruit
+than any other tree that is known, and apples are liked by almost every
+one. They are a very wholesome fruit and nearly as valuable as bread and
+potatoes for food, because they can be used in so many different ways,
+and the poorer qualities make very nourishing food for nearly
+all animals."
+
+"Rex fairly snatches the apple out of my hand when I go to give him
+one," said Malcolm.
+
+"So does Regina," added Clara, who trembled in her shoes whenever she
+offered these dainties to the handsome carriage-horses.
+
+Edith had not dared to venture on such a feat yet, and therefore she had
+nothing to say.
+
+"All horses are fond of apples," said Miss Harson, "and the fruit is
+very thoroughly appreciated. Ancient Britain was celebrated for her
+apple-orchards, and the tree was reverenced by the Druids because the
+mistletoe grew abundantly on it. In Saxon times, when England became a
+Christian country, the rite of coronation, or crowning of a king, was in
+such words as these: 'May the almighty Lord give thee, O king, from the
+dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth, abundance of corn and wine
+and oil! Be thou the lord of thy brothers, and let the sons of thy
+mother bow down before thee. Let the people serve thee and the tribes
+adore thee. May the Almighty bless thee with the blessings of heaven
+above, and the mountains and the valleys with the blessings of the deep
+below, with the blessings of grapes and _apples_! Bless, O Lord, the
+courage of this prince, and prosper the work of his hands; and by thy
+blessing may his land be filled with _apples_, with the fruit and dew of
+heaven from the top of the ancient mountains, from the _apples_ of the
+eternal hills, from the fruit of the earth and its fullness!' You will
+see from this how highly apples were valued in England in those
+ancient times."
+
+"I should like to pick them up when they are ripe," said Clara, and
+Malcolm expressed a desire to hire himself out by the day to Mr. Grove
+when that time arrived.
+
+"An apple-orchard in autumn," continued their governess, "is often a
+merry scene. Ladders are put against the trees, and the finest apples
+are carefully picked off, but such as are to be used for cider-making
+are shaken to the ground. Men and boys are at work, and even women and
+children are there with baskets and aprons spread out to catch the
+fruit; and they run back and forth wherever the apples fall thickest,
+with much laughter at the unexpected showers that come down upon their
+heads and necks. Large baskets filled with these apples are carried to
+the mill, where, after being laid in heaps a while to mellow, they are
+crushed and pressed till their juice is extracted; and this, being
+fermented, becomes cider. From this cider, by a second fermentation, the
+best vinegar is made."
+
+[Illustration: THE APPLE-HARVEST.]
+
+"Miss Harson," asked Edith, as the talk seemed to have come to an end,
+"isn't there any more about apple trees? I like 'em."
+
+"Yes, dear," was the reply; "there is more. I was just looking over, in
+this little book, some queer superstitions about apple trees in England,
+and here is a strange performance which is said to take place in some
+very retired parts of the country:
+
+"'Scarcely have the merry bells ushered in the morning of Christmas than
+a troop of people may be seen entering the apple-orchard, often when the
+trees are powdered with hoarfrost and snow lies deep upon the ground.
+One of the company carries a large flask filled with cider and
+tastefully decorated with holly-branches; and when every one has
+advanced about ten paces from the choicest tree, rustic pipes made from
+the hollow boughs of elder are played upon by young men, while Echo
+repeats the strain, and it seems as if fairy-musicians responded in low,
+sweet tones from some neighboring wood or hill. Then bursts forth a
+chorus of loud and sonorous voices while the cider-flask is being
+emptied of its contents around the tree, and all sing some such words
+as these:
+
+              "'"Here's to thee, old apple tree!
+                 Long mayest thou grow.
+     And long mayest thou blow, and ripen the apples that hang on
+     thy bough!
+
+               "'"This full can of apple wine,
+                  Old tree, be thine:
+     It will cheer thee and warm thee amid the deep snow;
+
+               "'"Till the goldfinch--fond bird!--
+                  In the orchard is heard
+     Singing blithe 'mid the blossoms that whiten thy bough."'"
+
+"But what did they do it for?" asked Malcolm, who enjoyed the account as
+much as the others. "There doesn't seem to be any sense in it."
+
+"There _is_ no sense in it," replied his governess, "but these ignorant
+people had inherited the custom from their fathers and grandfathers, and
+they really believed--and perhaps still believe--that this attention
+would be sure to bring a fine crop of apples. We are distinctly told,
+though, that 'it is God that giveth the increase;' and to him alone
+belong the fruits of the earth. Sometimes the crop is so great that the
+trees fairly bend over with the weight of the fruit, and there is an old
+English saying: 'The more apples the tree bears, the more she bows to
+the folk.'"
+
+"How funny!" laughed Edith. "Does the apple tree move its head, Miss
+Harson?"
+
+"It cannot go quite so far as that," was the reply; "it just stays bent
+over like a person carrying a heavy burden. The branches of overladen
+fruit trees are sometimes propped up with long poles to keep them from
+breaking. There is another strange custom, which used to be practiced on
+New Year's eve. It was called 'Apple-Howling,' and a troop of boys
+visited the different orchards--which would scarcely have been desirable
+when the apples were ripe--and, forming a ring around the trees,
+repeated these words:
+
+     "'Stand fast, root! bear well, top!
+       Pray God send us a good howling crop--
+         Every twig, apples big;
+         Every bough, apples enow.'
+
+"All then shouted in chorus, while one of the party played on a cow's
+horn, and the trees were well rapped with the sticks which they carried.
+This ceremony is thought to have been a relic of some heathen sacrifice,
+and it is quite absurd enough to be that."
+
+"What is 'a howling crop,' Miss Harson?" asked Clara. "That name sounds
+so queer!"
+
+"I don't know what it can be," replied her governess, "unless it refers
+to the strange expression sometimes used, 'howling with delight.' We
+hear more commonly of 'howling with pain,' but 'a howling crop' must be
+one that makes the owner scream, as well as dance for joy."
+
+"Why, _I_ scream only when I'm frightened," said Edith, who began to
+think that there were much sillier people in the world than herself.
+
+"At garter-snakes," added Malcolm, giving his sister a sly pinch; but
+Edith did not mind his pinches, because he always took good care not
+to hurt her.
+
+Miss Harson said that the best way was not to scream at all, as it was
+both a silly and a troublesome habit, and the sooner her charges broke
+themselves of it the better she should like it. Clara and Edith both
+promised to try--just as they had promised before, when the ants were so
+troublesome; but they were nine months older now, and seemed to be
+getting a little ashamed of the habit.
+
+"Are apples mentioned anywhere in the Bible?" asked Miss Harson,
+presently.
+
+Clara and Malcolm were busy thinking, but nothing came of it, until
+their governess said,
+
+"Turn to the book of Proverbs, Clara, and find the twenty-fifth chapter
+and the eleventh verse."
+
+Clara read very carefully:
+
+"'A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.' But
+what does it mean?" she asked.
+
+"It probably means 'framed in silver' or 'in silver frames[11],'" was
+the reply; "and then it is easy to understand how important our words
+are, and that 'fitly-spoken' ones are as valuable and lasting as golden
+apples framed in silver. The apple tree is mentioned in Joel, where it
+is said that 'all the trees of the field are withered[12],' and both
+apple trees and apples are mentioned in several places of the Old
+Testament. But, to tell the whole truth, scholars are not agreed as to
+whether the Hebrew word denotes the apple or some other fruit that grew
+in the land of Israel."
+
+[11] The Revised Version renders the phrase "in baskets of silver."
+
+[12] Joel i. 12.
+
+The children had all enjoyed the "apple-talk," and they felt that the
+fruit which they were so accustomed to seeing would now have a new
+meaning for them.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+_A FRUITFUL FAMILY: THE PEACH, ALMOND, PLUM AND CHERRY_.
+
+Snowdrops, crocuses, hyacinths and tulips were blooming out of doors and
+in-doors; the grass looked green and velvety, and the fruit trees were,
+as John expressed it, "all a-blow." The peach trees, without a sign of a
+leaf, looked, as every one said of them, like immense bouquets of pink
+flowers, while pear, cherry and plum trees seemed as if they were
+dressed in white.
+
+One cloudy, windy day, when the petals fell off in showers and strewed
+the ground, Edith declared that it was snowing; but she soon saw her
+mistake, and then began to worry because there would be no blossoms left
+for fruit.
+
+"If the flowers stayed on, there would be no fruit," said Miss Harson.
+"Let me show you just where the little green germ is."
+
+"Why, of course!" said Malcolm; "it's in the part that stays on the
+tree."
+
+Edith listened intently while her governess showed her the ovary of a
+blossom safe on the twig where it grew, and explained to her that it was
+this which, nourished by the sap of the tree, with the aid of the sun
+and air, would ripen into fruit, while the petals were merely a fringe
+or ornament to the true blossom.
+
+At Elmridge, scattered here and there through garden and grounds, as Mr.
+Kyle liked to have them, there were some fruit trees of every kind that
+would flourish in that part of the country, but there was no orchard;
+and for this reason Miss Harson had taken the children to see the grand
+apple-blossoming at Farmer Grove's. Two very large pear trees stood one
+on either side of the lawn, and there were dwarf pear trees in
+the garden.
+
+"I think pears are nicer than apples," said Clara as they stood looking
+at the fine trees, now perfectly covered with their snowy blossoms.
+
+But Malcolm, who found it hard work to be happy on three apples a day,
+stoutly disagreed with his sister on this point, and declared that
+nothing was so good as apples.
+
+"How about ice-cream?" asked his governess, when she heard this sweeping
+assertion.
+
+The young gentleman was silent, for his exploits with this frozen luxury
+were a constant subject of wonder to his friends and relatives.
+
+"You will notice," said Miss Harson, "that the shape of these trees is
+much more graceful than that of the apple tree. They are tall and
+slender, forming what is called an imperfect pyramid. Standard pear
+trees, like these, give a good shade, and the long, slender branches are
+well clothed with leaves of a bright, glossy green. This rich color
+lasts late into the autumn, and it is then varied with yellow, and often
+with red and black, spots; so that pear-leaves are not to be despised in
+gathering autumn-leaf treasures. The pear is not so useful a fruit as
+the apple, nor so showy in color; but it has a more delicate and spicy
+flavor, and often is of an immense size."
+
+"Yes, indeed!" said Clara. "Don't you remember, Miss Harson, that
+sometimes Edith and I can have only one pear divided between us at
+dessert because they are so large?"
+
+"Yes, dear; and I think that half a duchess pear is as much as can be
+comfortably managed at once."
+
+"Well," observed Malcolm, "I don't want half an apple.--But, Miss
+Harson, do they ever have 'pear-howlings' in England?"
+
+"I have never read of any," was the reply, "and I think that strange
+custom is confined to apple trees. And there is no mention made of
+either pears or pear trees in the Scriptures."
+
+"What are prickly-pears?" asked Clara. "Do they have thorns on 'em?"
+
+"There is a plant by this name," replied her governess, "with large
+yellow flowers, and the fruit is full of small seeds and has a crimson
+pulp. It grows in sandy places near the salt water; it is abundant in
+North Africa and Syria, and is considered quite good to eat; but neither
+plant nor fruit bears any resemblance to our pear trees: it is
+a cactus."
+
+"Won't you have a story for us this evening, Miss Harson?" asked Edith,
+rather wistfully.
+
+"Perhaps so, dear--I have been thinking of it--but it will not be about
+pear trees."
+
+"Oh, I don't care," with a very bright face; "I'd as soon have it about
+cherry trees, or--'Most anything!"
+
+Miss Harson laughed, and said,
+
+"Well, then, I think it will be about cherries; so you must rest on
+that. This morning we will go around among the fruit trees and see what
+we can learn from seeing them."
+
+Of course it was Saturday morning and there were no lessons, or they
+would not have been roaming around "promiscuous," as Jane called it; for
+the young governess was very careful not to let the getting of one kind
+of knowledge interfere with the getting of another.
+
+"How do you like these pretty quince trees?" asked Miss Harson as they
+came to some large bushes with great pinkish flowers.
+
+"I like 'em," replied Edith, "because they're so little. And oh what
+pretty flowers!"
+
+"Some more relations of the rose," said her governess. "And do you
+notice how fragrant they are? The tree is always low and crooked, just
+as you see it, and the branches straggle not very gracefully. The under
+part of the dark-green leaves is whitish and downy-looking, and the
+flowers are handsome enough to warrant the cultivation of the tree just
+for their sake, but the large golden fruit is much prized for preserves,
+and in the autumn a small tree laden down with it is quite an ornamental
+object. The quince is more like a pear than an apple. As the book says,
+'it has the same tender and mucilaginous core; the seeds are not
+enclosed in a dry hull, like those of the apple; and the pulp of the
+quince, like that of the pear, is granulated, while that of the apple
+displays in its texture a firmer and finer organization.' The fruit,
+however, is so hard, even when ripe, that it cannot be eaten without
+cooking. It is said to be a native of hedges and rocky places in the
+South of Europe."
+
+[Illustration: PEACH-BLOSSOM.]
+
+"These peach trees," said Clara, "look like sticks with pink flowers all
+over 'em." "They are remarkably bare of leaves when in bloom," was the
+reply: "the leaves burst forth from their envelopes as the blossoms pass
+away; but how beautiful the blossoms are! from the deepest pink to that
+delicate tint which is called peach-color. But do you know that we have
+left the apple and rose family now, and have come to the almond family?"
+
+The children were very much surprised to hear this, and they looked at
+the peach trees with fresh interest.
+
+"Yes," continued Miss Harson, "the family consists of the almond tree,
+the peach tree, the apricot tree, the plum tree and the cherry tree; and
+one thing that distinguishes them from the other families is the gum
+which is found on their trunks.--Look around, Malcolm, at the peach,
+plum and cherry trees, which are the only members of the family that we
+have at Elmridge, and you will find gum oozing from the bark, especially
+where there are knotholes."
+
+Malcolm not only found the gum, but succeeded in helping himself to some
+of it, which he shared with his sisters. It had a rather sweet taste,
+and the children seemed to like it, having first obtained permission of
+their governess to eat it.
+
+"That is another of the things that I thought 'puffickly d'licious' when
+I was a child," said the young lady, laughing. "But there is another
+peculiarity of this family of trees which is not so innocent, and that
+is that in the fruit-kernel, and also in the leaves, there is a deadly
+poison called prussic acid."
+
+"O--h!" exclaimed the children, drawing back from the trees as though
+they expected to be poisoned on the spot.
+
+"But, as we do not eat either the kernels or the leaves," continued
+their governess, "we need not feel uneasy, for the fruit never yet
+poisoned any one. Here are the cherry trees, so covered with blossoms
+that they look like masses of snow; and the smaller plum trees are also
+attired in white. We will begin this evening with the almond tree, and
+see what we can find out about the family."
+
+"Do almond trees and peach trees look alike?" asked Clara, when they
+were fairly settled by the schoolroom fire; for the evenings were too
+cool yet for the piazza.
+
+"Very much alike," was the reply; "only the almond tree is larger and it
+has white instead of pink blossoms. Then it is the _fruit_ of the peach
+we eat, but of the almond we eat the kernel of the stem. I will read you
+a little account of it:
+
+"'The common almond is a native of Barbary, but has long been
+cultivated in the South of Europe and the temperate parts of Asia. The
+fruit is produced in very large quantities and exported in to northern
+countries; it is also pressed for oil and used for various domestic
+purposes. There are numerous varieties of this species, but the two
+chief kinds are the bitter almond and the sweet almond. The sweet almond
+affords a favorite article for dessert, but it contains little
+nourishment, and of all nuts is the most difficult of digestion. The
+tree has been cultivated in England for about three centuries for the
+sake of its beautiful foliage, as the fruit will not ripen without a
+greater degree of heat than is found in that climate. The distilled
+water of the bitter almond is highly injurious to the human species,
+and, taken in a large dose, produces almost instant death.' The prussic
+acid which can be obtained from the kernel of the peach is found also in
+the bitter almond."
+
+[Illustration: THE ALMOND.--BRANCH AND FRUIT.]
+
+"But what do they want to find it for," asked Malcolm, "when it kills
+people?"
+
+"Because," replied his governess, "like some other noxious things, it
+can be made valuable when used moderately and in the right way. But it
+is often employed to give a flavor to intoxicating liquors, and this is
+_not_ a right way, as it makes them even more dangerous than before. But
+we will leave the prussic acid and return to our almond tree. It
+flourishes in Palestine, where it blooms in January, and in March the
+ripe fruit can be gathered."
+
+This seemed wonderfully strange to the children--flowers in January and
+fruit in March; and Miss Harson explained to them that in that part of
+the world they do not often have our bitter cold weather with its ice
+and snow to kill the tender buds.
+
+"This tree," continued Miss Harson, "is occasionally mentioned in the
+Old Testament. In Jeremiah the prophet says, 'I see a rod of an almond
+tree[13];' also in Ecclesiastes it is said that 'the almond tree shall
+flourish[14].'"
+
+[13] Jer. i. II.
+
+[14] Eccl. xii. 5.
+
+"Are there ever many peach trees growing in one place," asked Clara,
+"like the apple trees in Mr. Grove's orchard?"
+
+"Yes," was the reply, "for in some places there are immense
+peach-orchards, covering many acres of ground; and when the trees in
+these are in blossom, the spring landscape seems to be pink with them.
+These great peach-fields are found in Delaware and Maryland, where the
+fruit grows in such perfection, and also in some of the Western States.
+We all know how delicious it is, but, unfortunately, so does a certain
+green worm, who curls up in the leaves which he gnaws in spite of the
+prussic acid. This insect will often attack the finest peaches and lay
+its eggs in them when the fruit is but half grown. In this way the young
+grubs find food and lodging provided for them all in one, and they
+thrive, while the peach decays."
+
+"What a shame it is," exclaimed Malcolm, in great indignation, "to have
+our best peaches eaten by wretched little worms who might just as well
+eat grass and leave the peaches for us!"
+
+"Perhaps they think it a shame that they are so often shaken to the
+ground or washed off the trees," replied Miss Harson; "and, as to their
+eating grass, they evidently prefer peaches. 'Insects as well as human
+beings have discriminating tastes, and the poor plum tree suffers even
+more than the peach from their attentions. In some parts of the country
+it has been entirely given up to their depredations, and farmers will
+not try to raise this fruit because of these active enemies. The whole
+almond family are liable to the attacks of insects. Canker-worms of one
+or of several species often strip them of their leaves; the
+tent-caterpillars pitch their tents among the branches and carry on
+their dangerous depredations; the slug-worms, the offspring of a fly
+called _Selandria cerasi_, reduce the leaves to skeletons, and thus
+destroy them; the cherry-weevils penetrate their bark, cover their
+branches with warts and cause them to decay; and borers gnaw galleries
+in their trunks and devour the inner bark and sap-wood.' So you see
+that, with such an army of destroyers, we may be thankful to get any
+fruit at all."
+
+"I'm glad to know the name of that fly," said Malcolm, who considered it
+an additional grievance that it should have such a long name, "but I
+won't try to call him by it if I meet him anywhere."
+
+"I think it's pretty," said Clara, beginning to repeat it, and making a
+decided failure.
+
+"Fortunately," continued their governess, after reading it again for
+them, "there are other things much more important for you to remember
+just now, and I could not have said it myself without the book. And now
+let us see what else we can learn about the plum. It is a native, it
+seems, of North America, Europe and Asia, and many of the wild species
+are thorny. The cultivated plums, damsons and gages are varieties of
+the _Prunus domestica_, the cultivated plum tree. These have no thorns;
+the leaves are oval in shape, and the flowers grow singly. The most
+highly-valued cultivated plum trees came originally from the East, where
+they have been known from time immemorial. In many countries of Eastern
+Europe domestic animals are fattened on their fruits, and an alcoholic
+liquor is obtained from them; they also yield a white, crystallizable
+sugar. The prunes which we import from France are the dried fruit of
+varieties of the plum which contain a sufficient quantity of sugar to
+preserve the fruit from decay."
+
+"Do prunes really grow on trees, Miss Harson?" asked Edith, who was
+rather disposed to think that they grew in pretty boxes.
+
+"Yes, dear," was the reply; "they grow just as our plums do, only they
+are dried and packed in layers before they reach this country. We have
+two species of wild plum in North America--the beach-plum, a low shrub
+found in New England, the fruit of which is dark blue and about the
+size of damsons; while the other is quite a large tree, and very showy
+when covered with its scarlet fruit. In Maine it is called plum-granate,
+probably from its red color," "I know what's coming next," said
+Clara--"cherries; because all the rest have been used up. And then we're
+to have the story."
+
+"But they're all interesting," replied Malcolm, gallantly, "because Miss
+Harson makes them so."
+
+"I hope that is not the only reason," said his governess, laughing, "for
+trees are always beautiful and interesting and it is a privilege to be
+able to learn something of their habits and history.--Like most fruit
+trees, the cherry has many varieties, but it is always a handsome tree,
+and less spoiled by insects than others of the almond family. The black
+cherry is the most common species in the United States, and is both wild
+and cultivated. The garden cherry has broad, ovate, rough and serrate
+leaves, growing thickly on the branches, and this, with the height of
+the tree, makes a fine shade. Some old cherry trees have huge trunks,
+and their thick branches spread to a great distance. The branches of the
+wild cherry are too straggling to make a beautiful tree, and the leaves
+are small and narrow. The blossoms of the cultivated cherry are in
+umbels, while those of the wild cherry are borne in racemes."
+
+"I remember that, Miss Harson," said Clara, pleased with her knowledge.
+"'Umbel' means 'like an umbrella,' and 'raceme' means 'growing along
+a stem.'"
+
+"Very well indeed!" was the reply; "I am glad you have not forgotten
+it.--Of our cultivated cherries, we have here at Elmridge, besides the
+large black ones, which are so very sweet about the first of July, the
+great ox-hearts, which look like painted wax and ripen in June, and
+those very acid red ones, often called pie-cherries, which are used for
+pies and preserves. The cherry is a beautiful fruit, and one that is
+popular with birds as well as with boys. The great northern cherry of
+Europe, which was named by Linnaeus the 'bird-cherry,' is encouraged in
+Great Britain and on the Continent for the benefit of the birds, which
+are regarded as the most important checks to the over-multiplication of
+insects. The fact not yet properly understood in America--that the birds
+which are the most mischievous consumers of fruit are the most useful as
+destroyers of insects--is well known by all farmers in Europe; and while
+we destroy the birds to save the fruit, and sometimes cut down the
+fruit-trees to starve the birds, the Europeans more wisely plant them
+for the food and accommodation of the birds."
+
+"Isn't it wicked to kill the poor little birds?" asked Edith.
+
+"Yes, dear; it is cruel to kill them just for sport, as is often done,
+and very foolish, as we have just seen, to destroy them for the sake of
+the fruit, which the insects make way with in much greater quantities
+than the birds do."
+
+"Miss Harson," asked Clara, "do people cut down real cherry trees to
+make the pretty red furniture like that in your room?"
+
+"It is the wood of the wild cherry," replied her governess, "that is
+used for this purpose. It is of a light-red or fresh mahogany color,
+growing darker and richer with age. It is very close-grained, compact,
+takes a good polish, and when perfectly seasoned is not liable to shrink
+or warp. It is therefore particularly suitable, and much employed, for
+tables, chests of drawers, and other cabinet-work, and when polished and
+varnished is not less beautiful for such articles than are inferior
+kinds of mahogany."
+
+"'Cherry' sounds pretty to say," continued Clara. "I wonder how the tree
+got that name?"
+
+"That wonder is easily explained," said Miss Harson, "for I have been
+reading about it, and I was just going to tell you. 'Cherry comes from
+'Cerasus,' the name of a town on the Black Sea from whence the tree is
+supposed to have been introduced into Italy, and it designates a genus
+of about forty species, natives of all the temperate regions of the
+northern hemisphere. They are trees or shrubs with smooth serrated
+leaves, which are folded together when young, and white or reddish
+flowers growing in bunches, like umbels, and preceding the leaves or in
+terminal racemes accompanying or following the leaves. A few species,
+with numerous varieties, produce valuable fruits; nearly all are
+remarkable for the abundance of their early flowers, sometimes rendered
+double by cultivation. And now," added the young lady, "we have arrived
+at the story, which is translated from the German; and in Germany the
+cherries are particularly fine. A plateful of this beautiful fruit was,
+as you will see, the cause of some remarkable changes."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+_THE CHERRY-STORY._
+
+On the banks of the Rhine, in the pleasant little village of Rebenheim,
+lived Ehrenberg, the village mayor. He was much respected for his
+virtues, and his wife was greatly beloved for her charity to the poor.
+They had an only daughter--the little Caroline--who gave early promise
+of a superior mind and a benevolent heart. She was the idol of her
+parents, who devoted their whole care to giving her a sound religious
+education.
+
+Not far from the house, and close to the orchard and kitchen-garden,
+there was another little garden, planted exclusively with flowers. The
+day that Caroline was born her father planted a cherry tree in the
+middle of the flower-garden. He had chosen a tree with a short trunk, in
+order that his little daughter could more easily admire the blossoms
+and pluck the cherries when they were ripe.
+
+When the tree bloomed for the first time and was so covered with
+blossoms that it looked like a single bunch of white flowers, the father
+and mother came out one morning to enjoy the sight. Little Caroline was
+in her mother's arms. The infant smiled, and, stretching out her little
+hands for the blossoms, endeavored at the same time to speak her joy,
+but in such a way as no one but a mother could understand:
+
+"Flowers! flowers! Pretty! pretty!"
+
+The child engaged more of the parents' thoughts than all the
+cherry-blossoms and gardens and orchards, and all they were worth. They
+resolved to educate her well; they prayed to God to bless their care and
+attention by making Caroline worthy of him and the joy and consolation
+of her parents. As soon as the little girl was old enough to understand,
+her mother told her lovingly of that kind Father in heaven who makes the
+flowers bloom and the trees bud and the cherries and apples grow ruddy
+and ripe; she told her also of the blessed Son of God, once an infant
+like herself, who died for all the world.
+
+The cherry tree in the middle of the garden was given to Caroline for
+her own, and it was a greater treasure to her than were all the flowers.
+She watched and admired it every day, from the moment the first bud
+appeared until the cherries were ripe. She grieved when she saw the
+white blossoms turn yellow and drop to the earth, but her grief was
+changed into joy when the cherries appeared, green at first and smaller
+than peas, and then daily growing larger and larger, until the rich red
+skin of the ripe cherry at last blushed among the interstices of the
+green leaves.
+
+"Thus it is," said her father; "youth and beauty fade like the blossoms,
+but virtue is the fruit which we expect from the tree. This whole world
+is, as it were, a large garden, in which God has appointed to every man
+a place, that he may bring forth abundant and good fruit. As God sends
+rain and sunshine on the trees, so does he send down grace on men to
+make them grow in virtue, if they will but do their part."
+
+In the course of time war approached the quiet village which had
+hitherto been the abode of peace and domestic bliss, and the battle
+raged fearfully. Balls and shells whizzed about, and several houses
+caught fire. As soon as the danger would permit, the mayor tried to
+extinguish the flames, while his wife and little daughter were praying
+earnestly for themselves and for their neighbors.
+
+In the afternoon a ring was heard at the door, and, looking out of the
+window, Madame Ehrenberg saw an officer of hussars standing before her.
+Fortunately, he was a German, and mother and daughter ran to open
+the door.
+
+"Do not be alarmed," said the officer, in a friendly tone, when he saw
+the frightened faces; "the danger is over, and you are quite safe. The
+fire in the village, too, is almost quenched, and the mayor will soon be
+here. I beg you for some refreshment, if it is only a morsel of bread
+and a drink of water. It was sharp work," he added, wiping the
+perspiration from his brow, "but, thank God, we have conquered,"
+Provisions were scarce, for the village had been plundered by the enemy,
+but the good lady brought forth a flask of wine and some rye bread, with
+many regrets that she had nothing better to offer. But the visitor, as
+he ate the bread with a hearty relish, declared that it was enough, for
+it was the first morsel he had tasted that day.
+
+Caroline ran and brought in on a porcelain plate some of the ripest
+cherries from her own tree.
+
+"Cherries!" exclaimed the officer. "They are a rarity in this district.
+How did they escape the enemy? All the trees in the country around are
+stripped."
+
+"The cherries," said the mother, "are from a little tree which was
+planted in Caroline's flower-garden on her birthday. It is but a few
+days since they became ripe; the enemy, perhaps, did not notice the
+little tree."
+
+"And is it for me you intend the cherries, my dear child?" asked the
+officer. "Oh no; you must keep them. It were a pity to take one of them
+from you."
+
+"How could we refuse a few cherries," said Caroline, "to the man that
+sheds his blood in our defence? You must eat them all," said she, while
+the tears streamed down her cheeks. "Do, I entreat you! Eat them all."
+
+He took some of the cherries and laid them on the table, near his
+wine-glass; but he had scarcely placed the glass to his lips when the
+trumpet sounded. He sprang up and girded on his sword.
+
+"That is the signal to march," said he. "I cannot wait one instant."
+
+Caroline wrapped the cherries in a roll of white paper and insisted that
+he should put them in his pocket.
+
+"The weather is very warm," said she, "and even cherries will be some
+refreshment."
+
+"Oh," said the officer, with emotion, "what a happiness it is for a
+soldier, who is often obliged to snatch each morsel from unwilling
+hands, to meet with a generous and benevolent family! I wish it were in
+my power, my dear child, to give you some pledge of my gratitude, but I
+have nothing--not so much as a single groat. You must be content with my
+simple thanks." With these words, and once more bidding Caroline and her
+mother an affectionate farewell, he took his departure, and walked
+rapidly out of sight.
+
+The joy of the good family for their happy deliverance was, alas! of
+short continuance. Some weeks after, a dreadful battle was fought near
+the village, which was reduced to a heap of ruins. The mayor's house was
+burned to the ground and all his property destroyed. Alas for the
+horrors of cruel war! Father, mother and daughter fled away on foot, and
+wept bitterly when they looked back on their once happy village, now but
+a mass of blazing ruins.
+
+The family retired to a distant town, and lived there in very great
+distress. The mayor endeavored to obtain a livelihood as a scrivener, or
+clerk; his wife worked at dressmaking and millinery, and Caroline, who
+soon became skillful in such matters, faithfully assisted her.
+
+A lady in town--the Countess von Buchenhaim--gave them much employment,
+and one day Caroline went to this lady's house to carry home a bonnet.
+She was taken to the garden, where the countess was sitting in the
+summer-house with her sister and nieces, who had come to visit her. The
+young ladies were delighted with the bonnet, and their mother gave
+orders for three more, particularly praising the blue flowers, which
+were the work of Caroline's own hands.
+
+The Countess von Buchenhaim spoke very kindly of the young girl to her
+sister, and related the sad story of the worthy family's misfortunes.
+The count was standing with his brother-in-law, the colonel, at some
+little distance from the door of the summer-house, and the colonel, a
+fine-looking man in a hussar's uniform and with a star on his breast,
+overheard the conversation. Coming up, he looked closely at Caroline.
+
+"Is it possible," said he, "that you are the daughter of the mayor of
+Rebenheim? How tall you have grown! I should scarcely have recognized
+you, though we are old acquaintances."
+
+Caroline stood there abashed, looking full in the face of the stranger,
+her cheeks covered with blushes. Taking her by the hand, the colonel
+conducted her to his wife, who was sitting near the countess.
+
+"See, Amelia," said he; "this is the young lady who saved my life ten
+years ago, when she was only a child."
+
+"How can that be possible?" asked Caroline, in amazement.
+
+"It must indeed appear incomprehensible to you," answered the colonel,
+"but do you remember the hussar-officer that one day, after a battle,
+stood knocking at the door of your father's house in Rebenheim? Do you
+remember the cherries which you so kindly gave him?"
+
+"Oh, was it you?" exclaimed Caroline, while her face beamed with a smile
+of recognition. "Thank God you are alive! But how I could have done
+anything toward saving your life I cannot understand."
+
+"In truth, it would be impossible for you to guess the great service
+you did me," said he, "but my wife and daughters know it well; I wrote
+to them of it at once. And I look upon it as one of the most remarkable
+occurrences of my life."
+
+"And one that I ought to remember better than any other event of the
+war," said his lady, rising and affectionately embracing Caroline.
+
+"Well," said the countess, "neither I nor my husband ever heard the
+story. Please give us a full account of it."
+
+"Oh, it is easily told," said the colonel. "Hungry and thirsty, I
+entered the house in which Caroline and her parents dwelt, and, to tell
+the plain truth, I begged for some bread and water. They gave me a share
+of the best they had, and did not hesitate to do so, though their
+village and themselves were in the greatest distress. Caroline robbed
+every bough on her cherry tree to refresh me. Fine cherries they
+were--the only ones, probably, in the whole country. But the enemy did
+not give me time to eat them; I was obliged to depart in a hurry.
+Caroline insisted, with the kindest hospitality, that I should take them
+with me, but that was no easy matter: my horse had been shot under me
+the day before. I took from my knapsack whatever articles I could in a
+hurry, and, thrusting them into my pockets, I fought on foot until a
+hussar gave me his horse. All that I was worth was in my pockets, so
+that to make room for the cherries I was obliged to take the pocket-book
+out of my pocket and place it here beneath my vest. The enemy, who had
+been driven back, made a feint of advancing on us, and I led down my
+hussars in gallant style. But suddenly we found ourselves in front of a
+body of infantry concealed behind a hedge. One of them fired at me, and
+the fellow had taken good aim, for the ball struck me here on the
+breast. But it rebounded from the pocket-book; otherwise, I should have
+been shot through the body and fallen dead on the spot. Tell me," said
+he, in a tone of deep emotion; "was not that little child an instrument
+in the hand of God to save me from death? Am I right or not when I give
+Caroline the credit, under God, of having saved my life? Her must I
+thank that my Amelia is not a widow and my daughters orphans."
+
+All agreed with him. His wife, who had Caroline's hand locked in her own
+during the whole narrative, now pressed it affectionately and with tears
+in her eyes.
+
+"You, then," said she, "were the good angel that averted such a terrible
+misfortune from our family?"
+
+Her two daughters also gazed with pleasure at Caroline.
+
+"Every time we ate cherries," said the younger, "we spoke of you without
+knowing you."
+
+All had kind and grateful words for the young girl, but the colonel soon
+bade her farewell for the present, and said that he had some business to
+attend to with his brother-in-law. This business was to urge the count
+to appoint Ehrenberg his steward in place of the one who had died a few
+months before. A better man, he said, could not be found; for when he
+had visited Rebenheim to make inquiries for the family, although none
+could tell where they had gone, all were loud in their praise, and the
+mayor was pronounced a pattern of justice, honor and charity.
+
+The count drew out the order, signed it, and gave it to his
+brother-in-law, who wished himself to take it to Mr. Ehrenberg; and he
+went at once to the house and saluted him as "master-steward of
+Buchenhaim."
+
+"Read that," he said to the astonished man as he handed him the paper in
+which he was duly appointed steward of Buchenhaim, with a good salary of
+a thousand thalers and several valuable perquisites.
+
+"And you," said the colonel to Caroline and her mother, "must prepare to
+remove at once. Your lodgings are so confined! But you will find it very
+different in the house which you are to occupy in Buchenhaim. The
+dwelling is large and commodious, with a fine garden attached, well
+stocked with cherry trees. Next Monday you will be there, and this very
+day you must start. What a happy feast we shall have there!--not like
+the hasty meal you gave the hussar-officer amid the thunder of cannon
+and the blazing roofs of Rebenheim. Do not forget to have cherries, dear
+Caroline, for dessert; I think they will be fully ripe by that time."
+
+With these words the colonel hurried away to escape the thanks of this
+good family, and, in truth, to conceal his own tears. So rapidly did he
+disappear that Ehrenberg could scarcely accompany him down the steps.
+
+"Oh, Caroline," said the happy father when he returned, "who could have
+imagined that the little cherry tree I planted in the flower-garden the
+day you were born would ever produce such good fruit?"
+
+"It was the providence of God," exclaimed the mother, clasping her
+hands. "I remember distinctly the first time the blossoms appeared on
+that tree, when you and I went out to look at it, and little Caroline,
+then an infant in my arms, was so much delighted with the white flowers.
+We resolved then to educate our daughter piously, and prayed fervently
+to God that she, who was then as full of promise as the blossoms on the
+tree, might by his grace one day be the prop of our old age. That prayer
+is now fulfilled beyond our fondest anticipations. Praise for ever be to
+the name of God!"
+
+Edith declared that this was one of the very sweetest stories Miss
+Harson had ever told them, and Clara and Malcolm were equally well
+pleased with it.
+
+"Were those cherries like ours?" asked Clara.
+
+"They were larger and finer than ours generally are, I think," was the
+reply, "being the great northern cherry, or bird-cherry, of Europe,
+which grows in Germany to great perfection. And the little German girl's
+plate of cherries, which she so generously urged upon a stranger when
+food of any kind was so scarce, is a beautiful illustration of the first
+verse of the eleventh chapter of Proverbs: 'Cast thy bread upon the
+waters; for thou shalt find it after many days.'"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+_THE MULBERRY FAMILY_.
+
+"There is a fruit tree," said Miss Harson, "belonging to an entirely
+different family, which we have not considered yet; and, although it is
+not a common tree with us, one specimen of it is to be found in Mrs.
+Bush's garden, where you have all enjoyed the fruit very much. What
+is it?"
+
+"Mulberry," said Clara, promptly, while Malcolm was wondering what it
+could be.
+
+"Oh yes," said Edith, very innocently; "I like to go and see Mrs. Bush
+when there are mulberries."
+
+Mrs. Bush was not a cheerful person to visit, as she was quite old and
+rather hard of hearing, and she lived alone in the gloomy old house with
+the Lombardy poplars in front, where everything looked dark and shut up.
+A queer woman in a sunbonnet, nearly as old as Mrs. Bush, lived close
+by, and "kept an eye on her," as she said.
+
+Mrs. Bush's great enjoyment was to have visitors of all ages, to whom
+she talked a great deal, and cried as she talked, about a daughter who
+had died a few years ago. The little Kyles did not care to go there
+except when, as Edith said, there were ripe mulberries; but Mrs. Bush
+liked very much to have them, and Miss Harson took her little charges
+there occasionally, because, as she explained to them, it gave pleasure
+to a lonely old woman, and such visits were just as much charity, though
+of a different kind, as giving food and clothes to those who need them.
+The children delighted in the mulberries just because they did not have
+them at home, although they had fruit that was very much nicer; but Miss
+Harson never wished even to taste them, although she too had liked them
+when a little girl.
+
+"The mulberry tree," continued their governess, "belongs to the
+bread-fruit family, but the other members of this remarkable family,
+except the Osage orange, are found only in foreign countries. The
+bread-fruit tree itself, the fig, the Indian fig, or banyan tree, and
+the deadly upas tree, are all relations of the mulberry."
+
+"Well, trees are queer things," exclaimed Malcolm, "to belong to
+families that are not a bit alike."
+
+"They are alike in important points, when we examine them carefully,"
+was the reply. "The bread-fruit genus consists, with a single exception,
+of trees and shrubs with alternate, toothed or lobed or entire leaves
+and milky juice. This reminds me that the famous cow tree of South
+America, which yields a large supply of rich and wholesome milk, is one
+of the members; and you see what a number of famous trees we have on
+hand now. There are several kinds of mulberries--the red, black, white
+and paper mulberry, which are all occasionally found in this country,
+and they were once quite popular here for their shade. The fruit is
+unusually small for tree-fruit, and very soft when ripe, as you all
+know; it is not unlike a long, narrow blackberry, and forms, like it, a
+compound fruit, as though many small berries had grown together. The
+tree in Mrs. Bush's garden is the black mulberry, as any one might know
+by the stained lips and hands that sometimes come from there; and it has
+been cultivated from ancient times for its fine appearance and shade. It
+is found wild in the forests of Persia, and is thought to have been
+taken from there to Europe. The tree is more beautiful than useful, for
+the silkworms do not thrive well on the leaves and the wood is neither
+strong nor durable."
+
+"Why, I thought," said Clara, "that silkworms always lived on
+mulberry-leaves?"
+
+"The white mulberry is their favorite food; and another species, called
+the _Morus multicaulis_--for _Morus_ is the scientific name of the
+family--has more delicate leaves than any other, and produces a finer
+quality of silk. These trees are natives of China, and the white
+mulberry grows very rapidly to the height of thirty or forty feet. The
+paper mulberry is so called because in China and Japan--of which it is a
+native--its bark is manufactured into paper. In the South-Sea Islands,
+where it is also found, the bark is made into the curious dresses which
+we sometimes see imported thence. It is a low, thick-branched tree with
+large light-colored downy leaves and dark-scarlet fruit."
+
+"I wonder," said Malcolm, "if the bark is like birch-bark?"
+
+"It does not look like it," replied Miss Harson, "but it seems to be
+very much of the same nature. The red mulberry and black mulberry are
+the most hardy of these trees, and the red mulberry will thrive farther
+north than any of the family. The wood is valuable for many purposes for
+which timber is used, and especially in boat-building. And now, as we
+learned something about silkworms and their cocoons in our talks about
+insects[15], there is little more to be said of the mulberry tree which
+any but learned people would care to know."
+
+[15] See _Flyers and Crawlers_. Presbyterian Board of Publication.
+
+"I want to hear about the bread tree," said little Edith, "and how the
+loaves of bread grow on it."
+
+"Do they, Miss Harson?" asked Clara, not exactly seeing how this could
+be.
+
+"I don't believe they're very hot," remarked Malcolm, who was puzzled
+over the bread-fruit tree himself, but who laughed at his little
+sister's idea in a very knowing way. It was not an ill-natured laugh,
+though, and a glance from his governess always quieted him.
+
+"No, dear," replied Miss Harson, answering Clara; "loaves of bread do
+not grow on any tree. But I will tell you about the bread-fruit
+presently; let us finish the _Morus_ family and their kindred in our own
+country before we go to their foreign relations. The Osage orange is so
+much used in the United States, and in this part of it, for hedges, on
+account of its rapid growth and ornamental appearance, that we really
+ought to know something about it. 'It is a beautiful low, spreading,
+round-headed tree with the port and splendor of an orange tree. Its
+oval, entire, polished leaves have the shining green of natives of
+warmer regions, and its curiously-tesselated, succulent compound fruit
+the size and golden color of an orange. It was first found in the
+country of the Osage Indians, from whom it gets its name, and it has
+since been cultivated in many parts of this country and in Europe. The
+Osages belonged to the Sioux, or Dacotah, tribe of Indians, and their
+home was in the south-western part of the old United States. The Osage
+orange--a tree from thirty to forty feet high with leaves even more
+bright and glossy than those of the ordinary orange--was first found
+growing wild near one of their villages."
+
+"But what a very high hedge it would make!" said Malcolm.
+
+"Yes, if left to its natural growth, it would be a very absurd fence
+indeed. But this is not the case; the branches spread out very widely,
+and by cutting off the tops and trimming the remainder twice in a season
+a very handsome thickset hedge is produced, with lustrous leaves and
+sharp, straight thorns. Another name for this tree is yellow-wood, or
+bow-wood, because the wood is of a bright-yellow color, and the grain is
+so fine and elastic that the Southern Indians have been in the habit of
+using it to make their bows. The experiment of feeding silkworms upon
+the leaves has been tried, but it was not very successful."
+
+"I suppose the worms didn't know that it belonged to the mulberry
+family," said Clara, "and I don't see now why it does."
+
+For reply, her governess read:
+
+"'The sap of the young wood and of the leaves is _milky_ and contains a
+large proportion of caoutchouc.'"
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed Malcolm; "that sounds just like sneezing. What is it,
+Miss Harson?"
+
+"Something that you wear on your feet and over your shoulders in wet
+weather; so now guess."
+
+"Overshoes!" replied Clara, in a great hurry.
+
+"How many of them do you wear over your shoulders at once?" asked her
+brother. "And it must be a queer kind of sap that has overshoes in it.
+Why couldn't you say 'India-rubber'?"
+
+"And why couldn't _you_ say it before Clara put it into your head by
+saying 'Overshoes?" asked Miss Harson. "Clara has the right idea, only
+she did not express it in the clearest way. The sap of the caoutchouc,
+or India-rubber, tree is the most valuable yet discovered, and, as it is
+of a milky nature, it can very properly be brought into the present
+class of trees."
+
+"Is _that_ a mulberry too?" asked Clara, who thought that the size of
+the family was getting beyond all bounds.
+
+"It is not really set down as belonging to the bread-fruit family," was
+the reply, "but it certainly has the peculiarity of their milky sap.
+However, as I know that you are all eager to hear about the bread-fruit
+tree, we will take that next. This tree is found in various tropical
+regions, but principally in the South-Sea Islands, where it is about
+forty feet high. The immense leaves are half a yard long and over a
+quarter wide, and are deeply divided into sharp lobes. The fruit looks
+like a very large green berry, being about the size of a cocoanut or
+melon, and the proper time for gathering it is about a week before it is
+ripe. When baked, it is not very unlike bread. It is cooked by being
+cut into several pieces, which are baked in an oven in the ground. It is
+often eaten with orange-juice and cocoanut-milk. Some of the South-Sea
+islanders depend very much upon it for their food. The large seeds, when
+roasted, are said to taste like the best chestnuts. The pulp, which is
+the bread-part, is said to resemble a baked potato and is very white and
+tender, but, unless eaten soon after the fruit is gathered, it grows
+hard and choky."
+
+[Illustration: THE BREAD-FRUIT.]
+
+"So Edie's 'loaves of bread' are green?" said Malcolm, rather
+teasingly.
+
+"That's because they grow on a tree," replied Clara. "Our loaves of
+bread are raw dough before they're baked, and they are grains of wheat
+before they are dough."
+
+"That is quite true, dear," replied her governess, laughing, "and we
+must teach Malcolm not to be quite so critical.--The bread-fruit is a
+wonderful tree, and it certainly does bear uncooked loaves of bread, at
+least, for they require no kneading to be ready for the oven. The fruit
+is to be found on the tree for eight months of the year--which is very
+different from any of our fruits--and two or three bread-fruit trees
+will supply one man with food all the year round."
+
+"Put what does he do when there is no fresh fruit on them?" asked
+Malcolm. "You told us that it was not good to eat unless it was fresh."
+
+"We should not think it good, but the native makes it into a sour paste
+called _mahé_, and the people of the islands eat this during the four
+months when the fresh fruit is not to be had. The bread-fruit is said
+to be very nourishing, and it can be prepared in various ways. The
+timber of this tree, though soft, is found useful in building houses and
+boats; the flowers, when dried, serve for tinder; the viscid, milky
+juice answers for birdlime and glue; the leaves, for towels and packing;
+and the inner bark, beaten together, makes one species of the
+South-Sea cloth."
+
+"What a very useful tree!" exclaimed Clara.
+
+"It is indeed," replied Miss Harson; "and this is the case with many of
+the trees found in these warm countries, where the inhabitants know
+little of the arts and manufactures, and would almost starve rather than
+exert themselves very greatly. There is another species of bread-fruit,
+called the jaca, or jack, tree, found on the mainland of Asia, which
+produces its fruit on different parts of the tree, according to its age.
+When the tree is young, the fruit grows from the twigs; in middle age it
+grows from the trunk; and when the tree gets old, it grows from
+the roots."
+
+[Illustration: JACK-FRUIT TREE.]
+
+There was a picture of the jack tree with fruit growing out of the
+trunk and great branches like melons, and the children crowded eagerly
+around to look at it. All agreed that it was the very queerest tree they
+had yet heard of.
+
+"The fruit is even larger than that of the island bread-fruit,"
+continued their governess, "but it is not so pleasant to our taste, nor
+is it so nourishing. It often weighs over thirty pounds and has two or
+three hundred seeds, each of which is four times as large as an almond
+and is surrounded by a pulp which is greatly relished by the natives of
+India. The seeds, or nuts, are roasted, like those of smaller fruit, and
+make very good chestnuts. The fruit has a strong odor not very agreeable
+to noses not educated to it."
+
+"Miss Harson," said Malcolm, "what is the upas tree like, and why is it
+called _deadly_?"
+
+"It is a tree eighty feet high, with white and slightly-furrowed bark;
+the branches, which are very thick, grow nearly at the top, dividing
+into smaller ones, which form an irregular sort of crown to the tall,
+straight trunk. There is no reason for calling it _deadly_ except a
+foolish notion and the fact that a very strong poison is prepared from
+the milky sap. The tree grows in the island of Java, and for a long time
+many fabulous stories were told of its dangerous nature. Travelers in
+that region would send home the wildest and most improbable stories of
+the poison tree, until the very name of the upas was enough to make
+people shudder. It is said that a Dutch surgeon stationed on the island
+did much to keep up the impression. He wrote an account of the valley in
+which the upas was said to be growing alone, for no tree nor shrub was
+to be found near it. And he declared that neither animal nor bird could
+breathe the noxious effluvia from the tree without instant death. In
+fact, he called this fatal spot 'The Valley of Death.'"
+
+"And wasn't it true, Miss Harson?"
+
+"Not all true, Clara; some one who had spent many years in Java proved
+these stories to be entirely false. Instead of growing in a dismal
+valley by itself, the graceful-looking upas tree is found in the most
+fertile spots, among other trees, and very often climbing plants are
+twisted round its trunk, while birds nestle in the branches. It can be
+handled, too, like any other tree; and all this is as unlike the Dutch
+surgeon's account as possible. One of his stories was that the criminals
+on the island were employed to collect the poison from the trunk of the
+tree; that they were permitted to choose whether to die by the hand of
+the executioner or to go to the upas for a box of its fatal juice; and
+that the ground all about the tree was strewed with the dead bodies of
+those who had perished on this errand."
+
+"Oh," exclaimed Edith, "wasn't that dreadful?"
+
+"The story was dreadful, dear, but it was only a story, you know: the
+upas tree did not kill people at all; and to turn the milky juice into a
+dangerous poison took a great deal of time and trouble. It was mixed
+with various spices and fermented; when ready for use, it was poured
+into the hollow joints of bamboo and carefully kept from the air. Both
+for war and for the chase arrows are dipped in this fatal preparation,
+and the effect has been witnessed by naturalists on animals, and also on
+man. The instant it touches the blood it is carried through the whole
+system, so that it may be felt in all the veins and causes a burning
+sensation, especially in the head, which is followed by sickness
+and death."
+
+"Well," said Clara, drawing a long breath, "I'm glad that I don't live
+in Java."
+
+"The poisoned arrows are not constantly flying about in Java, dear,"
+replied her governess, with a smile, "and I do not think you would be in
+any danger from them; but there are a great many other reasons why it is
+not pleasant, except for natives, to live in Java. There are a number of
+Dutch settlers there, because the island was conquered by the Dutch
+nation, but while war with the natives was going on they suffered
+terribly from these poisoned arrows; so that the very name of upas
+caused them to tremble. The word 'upas,' in the language of the natives,
+means poison, and there is in the island a valley called the upas, or
+poison, valley. It has nothing, however, to do with the tree, which does
+not grow anywhere in the neighborhood. That valley may literally be
+called 'The Valley of Death.' We are told that it came to exist in this
+way: The largest mountain in Java was once partly buried in a very
+dreadful manner. In the middle of a summer night the people in the
+neighborhood perceived a luminous cloud that seemed wholly to envelop
+the mountain. They were extremely alarmed and took to flight, but ere
+they could escape a terrific noise was heard, like the discharge of
+cannon, and part of the mountain fell in and disappeared. At the same
+moment quantities of stones and lava were thrown to the distance of
+several miles. Fifteen miles of ground covered with villages and
+plantations were swallowed up or buried under the lava from the
+mountain; and when all was over and people tried to visit the scene of
+the disaster, they could not approach it on account of the heat of the
+stones and other substances piled upon one another. And yet as much as
+six weeks had elapsed since the catastrophe. This upas valley is about
+half a mile in circumference, and the vapor that escapes through the
+cracks and fissures is fatal to every living thing. Here, indeed, are to
+be seen the bones of animals and birds, and even the skeletons of human
+beings who were unfortunate enough to enter and were overpowered by the
+deadly vapor. And now," added Miss Harson, "I have given you this
+account to make you understand that the famous upas valley of Java is
+not a valley of upas trees, but one of poisonous vapors."
+
+"And the deadly upas," said Malcolm, "is not deadly, after all! I think
+I shall remember that."
+
+"And I too," said Clara and Edith, who had listened with great interest
+to the description.
+
+"Shall we have some figs now, by way of variety?" was a question that
+caused three pairs of eyes to turn rather expectantly on the speaker;
+for figs were very popular with the small people of Elmridge.
+
+[Illustration: THE BANYAN TREE.]
+
+"Not in the way of refreshments, just at present," continued their
+governess, "but only as belonging to the mulberry family; and we will
+begin with that curious tree the banyan, or Indian fig. This stately and
+beautiful tree is found on the banks of the river Ganges and in many
+parts of India, and is a tree much valued and venerated by the Hindu. He
+plants it near the temple of his idol; and if the village in which he
+resides does not possess any such edifice, he uses the banyan for a
+temple and places the idol beneath it. Here, every morning and evening,
+he performs the rites of his heathen worship. And, more than this, he
+considers the tree, with its out-stretched and far-sheltering arms, an
+emblem of the creator of all things."
+
+"Is that only one tree?" asked Malcolm as Miss Harson displayed a
+picture that was more like a small grove. "Why, it looks like two or
+three trees together."
+
+"Does it grow up from the ground or down from the air?" asked Clara.
+"Just look at these queer branches with one end fast to the tree and the
+other end fast to the ground!"
+
+Edith thought that the branches which had not reached the ground looked
+like snakes, but, for all that, it was certainly a grand tree.
+
+"The peculiar growth of the banyan," continued Miss Harson, "renders it
+an object of beauty and produces those column-like stems that cause it
+to become a grove in itself. It may be said to grow, not from the seed,
+but from the branches. They spread out horizontally, and each branch
+sends out a number of rootlets that at first hang from it like slender
+cords and wave about in the wind.--Those are your 'snakes,' Edith.--But
+by degrees they reach the ground and root themselves into it; then the
+cord tightens and thickens and becomes a stem, acting like a prop to the
+widespreading branch of the parent plant. Indeed, column on column is
+added in this manner, the books tell us, so long as the mother-tree can
+support its numerous progeny."
+
+"How very strange!" said Clara. "The mulberry seems to have some very
+funny relations."
+
+"Such a great tree ought to bear very large figs," added Malcolm.
+
+"On the contrary," replied his governess, "it bears uncommonly small
+ones--no larger than a hazel-nut, and of a red color. They are not
+considered eatable by the natives, but birds and animals feed upon them,
+and in the leafy bower of the banyan are found the peacock, the monkey
+and the squirrel. Here, too, are a myriad of pigeons as green as the
+leaf and with eyes and feet of a brilliant red. They are so like the
+foliage in color that they can be seen only by the practiced eye of the
+hunter, and even he would fail to detect them were it not for their
+restless movements. As they flutter about from branch to branch they are
+apt to fall victims to his skill in shooting his arrows."
+
+"If they would only keep still!" exclaimed Edith, who felt a strong
+sympathy for the green pigeons. "Poor pretty things! Why don't they,
+Miss Harson, instead of getting killed?"
+
+"They do not know their danger until it is too late, and it is quite as
+hard for them to keep still as it is for little girls."
+
+Edith wondered if that meant her; she was a little girl, but she did not
+think she was so very restless. However, Miss Harson didn't tell her,
+and she soon forgot it in listening to what was said of the queer tree
+with branches like snakes.
+
+"The leaves of the banyan tree are large and soft and of a very bright
+green, and the deep shade and pillared walks are so welcome to the Hindu
+that he even tries to improve on Nature and coax the shoots to grow just
+where he wishes them. He binds wet clay and moss on the branch to make
+the rootlet sprout."
+
+"Will it grow then?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Yes, just as a cutting planted in the earth will grow, although it
+seems a very odd style of gardening.--The sacred fig tree of
+India--_Ficus religiosa_--is a near relative of the banyan, and very
+much like it in general appearance; but the leaves are on such slender
+stalks that they tremble like those of the aspen. It is known as the bo
+tree of Ceylon, and is said to have been placed in charge of the priests
+long before the present race of inhabitants had appeared in the island."
+
+"Where do the real figs grow?" asked Clara.
+
+"In a great many moderately warm or sub-tropical countries," was the
+reply, "but Smyrna figs are the most celebrated. Immense quantities of
+the fruit are dried and packed in Asiatic Turkey for exportation from
+this city, and it is said that in the fig season nothing else is talked
+about there."
+
+"I didn't know that they were dried," said Malcolm, in great surprise;
+"I thought they were just packed tight in boxes and then sent off."
+
+[Illustration: LEAF AND FRUIT OF THE FIG TREE.]
+
+"'In its native country,'" read Miss Harson, "'and when growing on the
+tree, the fig presents a different appearance from the dried and packed
+specimens we see in this country. It is a firm and fleshy fruit, and
+has a delicious honey-drop hanging from the point.' And here," she
+added, "is a small branch from the fig tree, with fruit growing on it."
+
+"Why, it's shaped like a pear!" exclaimed Malcolm.
+
+"And what large, pretty leaves it has!" said Clara.
+
+"'The fig tree is common in Palestine and the East,'" Miss Harson
+continued to read, "'and flourishes with the greatest luxuriance in
+those barren and stony situations, where little else will grow. Its
+large size and its abundance of five-lobed leaves render it a pleasant
+shade-tree, and its fruit furnishes a wholesome food very much used in
+all the lands of the Bible.' Figs were among the fruits mentioned in the
+'land that flowed with milk and honey,' and it was a symbol of peace and
+plenty, as you will find, Malcolm, by reading to us from First Kings,
+fourth chapter, twenty-fifth verse."
+
+"'And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under
+his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of
+Solomon.'--That's what it means, then!" said Malcolm, when he had
+finished reading the verse. "I've heard people say, 'Under your own vine
+and fig tree,' and I couldn't tell what they meant."
+
+"Yes," replied his governess, "some persons make very free with the
+words of Holy Scripture and twist them to suit meanings for which they
+were not intended. Having a house of one's own is usually meant by this
+quotation, and almost the same words are repeated in other parts of the
+Old Testament. The fig is often mentioned in the Bible, and two kinds
+are spoken of--the very early fig, and the one that ripens late in the
+summer. The early fig was considered the best; and I think that Clara
+will tell us what is said of it by the prophet Jeremiah."
+
+Clara read slowly:
+
+"'One basket had very good figs, _even like the figs that are first
+ripe_; and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be
+eaten, they were so bad[16].'"
+
+[16] Jer. xxiv. 2.
+
+"But can figs be naughty, Miss Harson?" asked Edith, with very
+wide-open eyes. "I thought that only children were naughty,"
+
+"There are 'naughty' grown people as well as naughty children," was the
+reply, "and inanimate things like figs in old times were called naughty
+too, in the sense of being bad.--The fruit of the fig tree appears not
+only before the leaves, but without any sign of blossoms, the flowers
+being small and hidden in the little buttons which first shoot out from
+the points of the sterns, and around which the outer and firm part of
+the fig grows. The leaves come out so late in the season that our
+Saviour said, 'Now learn a parable of the fig tree; when his branch is
+yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh[17].'
+Did not our Lord say something else about a fig tree?"
+
+[17] Matt. xxiv. 32.
+
+"Yes," replied Clara; "the one that was withered away because it had no
+figs on it."
+
+"The barren fig tree which was withered at our Saviour's word, as an
+awful warning to unfruitful professors of religion, seems to have spent
+itself in leaves. It stood by the wayside, free to all, and, as the time
+for stripping the trees of their fruit had not come--for in Mark we are
+told that 'the time of figs was not yet[18]'--it was reasonable to
+expect to find it covered with figs in various stages of growth. Yet
+there was 'nothing thereon, but leaves only.' Find the nineteenth verse
+of the twenty-first chapter of Matthew, Malcolm, and read what is
+said there."
+
+[18] Mark xi. 13.
+
+"'And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found
+nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on
+thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.'"
+
+"A fig tree having leaves," said Miss Harson, "should also have figs,
+for these, as I have already told you, appear before the leaves, and
+both are on the tree at the same time; so that, although unripe figs are
+seen without leaves, leaves should not be seen without figs; and if it
+was not yet the season for figs, it was not the season for leaves
+either. The barren fig tree has often been compared to people who make a
+show of goodness in words, but leave the doing of good works to others;
+and when anything is expected of them, there is sure to be
+disappointment. 'Nothing but leaves' has become a proverb; and when it
+can be used to express the barren condition of those who profess to
+follow the teachings of our Lord, it is sad indeed."
+
+"Do fig trees grow wild?" asked Clara, presently.
+
+"Yes," was the reply, "and very curious-looking things they are. 'Their
+roots twist into all kinds of whimsical contortions, so as to look more
+like a mass of snakes than the roots of a tree. They unite themselves so
+closely to the substances that come in their way, such as the face of
+rocks, or even the stems of other trees, that nothing can pull them
+away. And in some parts of India these strong, tough roots are made to
+serve the purpose of bridges and twisted over some stream or cataract.
+The wild fig is often a dangerous parasite, and does not attain
+perfection without completing some work of destruction among its
+neighbors in the forest. A slender rootlet may sometimes be seen hanging
+from the crown of a palm. The seed was carried there by some bird that
+had fed upon the fruit of a wild fig, and it rooted itself with
+surprising facility. The rootlet, as it descends, envelops the
+column-like stem of the palm with a woody network, and at length reaches
+the ground. Meanwhile, the true stem of the parasite shoots upward from
+the crown of the palm. It sends out numberless rootlets, each of which,
+as soon as it reaches the ground, takes root; and between them the palm
+is stifled and perishes, leaving the fig in undisturbed possession. The
+parasite does not, however, long survive the decline; for, no longer fed
+by the juices of the palm, it also, in process of time, begins to
+languish and decline.'"
+
+"What a mean thing it is!" exclaimed Malcolm--"as mean as the cuckoo,
+that lays its eggs in other birds' nests. And I'm glad it dies when it
+has killed the palm tree; it just serves it right. But don't figs ever
+grow in this country, Miss Harson?"
+
+"Yes," replied his governess; "they are cultivated in the Southern
+States and in California, like many other semi-tropical fruits, and are
+principally eaten fresh, but for drying they are not equal to the
+imported ones. No doubt the cultivation of figs in California will
+become a prosperous trade, for the climate and circumstances there are
+much like those of Syria."
+
+[Illustration: DWARF FIG TREE IN A POT.]
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+_QUEER RELATIONS: THE CAOUTCHOUC AND THE MILK TREE_.
+
+"What dark, strange-looking trees!" exclaimed the children while looking
+at an illustration of caoutchouc trees in Brazil. "How thick and strong
+they are! And what funny tops!--like pointed umbrellas."
+
+"The India-rubber tree is not likely to be mistaken for any other," said
+their governess, "and it does not look very dark and gloomy in that
+forest, where everything seems to be crowded close and in a tangle,
+because South American vegetation grows so thickly and rapidly. This is
+the country which supplies the largest quantity of India-rubber. Immense
+cargoes are shipped from the town of Para, on the river Amazon, and
+obtained from the _Siphonia elastica_."
+
+"Are the stems all made of India-rubber?" asked Edith, who thought that
+was exactly what they looked like.
+
+"Are the stems of the maple trees made of maple-sugar?" replied Miss
+Harson. "The India-rubber is got from its tree as the sugar is from the
+maple tree. It is taken from the trunk in the shape of a very thick
+milky fluid, and it is said that no other vital fluid, whether in animal
+or in plant, contains so much solid material within it; and it is a
+matter of surprise that the sap, thus encumbered, can circulate through
+all the delicate vessels of the tree. Tropical heat is required to form
+the caoutchouc; for when the tree is cultivated in hothouses, the
+substance of the sap is quite different. The full-grown trees are very
+handsome, with round column-like trunks about sixty feet high, and the
+crown of foliage is said to resemble that of the ash."
+
+"Did people always know about India-rubber?" asked Clara.
+
+"No indeed! It is not more than a hundred and fifty years--perhaps not
+so long--since it was a great curiosity; so that a piece half an inch
+square would sell in London for nearly a dollar of our money, but now it
+comes in shiploads, and a pound of it costs less than quarter of that
+sum. It is used for so many purposes that it seems as if the world could
+never have gone on without it. All sorts of outside garments to keep out
+the rain are made of it. Waterproof cloaks are called macintoshes in
+England because this was the name of the person who invented them.
+India-rubber is also used for tents and many other things, and, as water
+cannot get through it, there is a great saving of trouble and expense."
+
+"It must be splendid for tents," said Malcolm; "no one need care, when
+snug under cover, whether or not it rained in the woods."
+
+"People do care, though," was the reply, "for they expect, when in the
+woods, to live out of doors; but the India-rubber is certainly a great
+improvement on tents that get soaked through."
+
+"I like it," said Edith, "because it rubs things out. When I draw a
+house and it's all wrong, my piece of India-rubber will take it away,
+and then I can make another one on the paper."
+
+"That is the very smallest of its uses," replied Miss Harson, smiling at
+the little girl's earnestness, "and yet we find it a great convenience.
+An English writer, speaking of it when it was first known in England,
+said that he had seen a substance that would efface from paper the marks
+of a black-lead pencil, and he thought it must be of use to those who
+practiced drawing."
+
+"How funny that sounds!" exclaimed Malcolm. "Why, I couldn't get along
+without my India-rubber when I make mistakes,"
+
+"You might," said his governess, "if you had some stale bread to rub
+with; for people _have_ gotten along without a great many things which
+they now think necessary."
+
+"Miss Harson," said Clara, "won't you tell us, please, how they get the
+caoutch--whatever it is--and make it into India-rubber?"
+
+"I will," was the laughing reply, "when you can say the word properly.
+C-a-o-u-t-c-h-o-u-c--koochook."
+
+As Clara said, Miss Harson made things so easy to understand! and in a
+very short time the hard word was mastered.
+
+"As I have never seen the sap gathered," continued the young lady, "I
+shall have to read you an account of it, instead of telling you from my
+own experience; but the description is so plain that I think we shall
+all be able to understand it very well: 'At certain seasons of the year
+the natives visit some islands in the river Amazon that for many months
+are covered with water. As soon as the water subsides and a footing can
+be obtained the Indians arrive in parties, to seek for the trees. The
+Indian who comes every morning to collect the juice from the trunk has a
+number of trees allotted to him, and goes the round of the whole. The
+previous night he has made a long, deep cut in the bark of each and hung
+an earthen vessel beneath, to receive the thick, creamlike substance
+that trickles down. The vessel is filled by morning, and he pours the
+contents into one much larger and carries it to his hut. He is provided
+with a number of moulds of different shapes and sizes, and he dips them
+into the juice and puts them aside to dry. They are then dipped again,
+and the process is continued until the coat of India-rubber on the mould
+is of sufficient thickness. It is made black by passing it through the
+smoke of burning palm-nuts. The moulds are broken and taken out, leaving
+the India-rubber ready for sale, and pretty much as we used to see it in
+the shops before the people of this country had learned how to
+work it.'"
+
+"That seems easy enough," said Malcolm, "but how do they make it into
+gutta-percha?"
+
+"Gutta-percha is not made," replied his governess, "and it is taken from
+an entirely different tree, the _Icosandra gutta_, which grows in
+Southern Asia. The milky fluid is procured in the same way, but it is
+placed in vessels to evaporate, and the solid substance left at the
+bottom is the gutta-percha. It is not elastic, like India-rubber, and
+is called 'vegetable leather' because of its toughness and leathery
+appearance. It was discovered by an English traveler a long time before
+it was supposed to have any useful properties, but now it is considered
+a very valuable material. The wonderful submarine telegraph could not
+convey its messages between the Old World and the New were not its wires
+protected from injury by a coating of gutta-percha. Its unyielding
+nature and its not being elastic render it the very material needed. The
+long straps used in working machines are also made of gutta-percha, and
+this is another instance where its non-elasticity gives it the
+preference over India-rubber."
+
+"And what is vulcanite?" asked Clara.
+
+"It is caoutchouc mixed with sulphur. Unless a small quantity of
+brimstone is added in the manufacture of overshoes, they become soft
+when exposed to heat and hardened when exposed to cold; but it was
+discovered that the sulphur will keep them from being affected by
+changes in temperature. When a large amount of sulphur is used, the
+India-rubber, becomes as hard as horn or wood, and this is the substance
+called vulcanite. Now the gum is imported in masses, to be wrought over
+by our skillful mechanics."
+
+The children were very much pleased to find that they had learned the
+nature of three important articles--India-rubber, gutta-percha and
+vulcanite--and they thought it would be quite easy to remember the
+differences between them.
+
+"And now," said Miss Harson, "the last of these useful trees--the cow
+tree, or milk tree--is the most curious one of all. Like the caoutchouc,
+it is a native of South America; but the sap is a rich fluid that
+answers for food, like milk. It is a fine-looking tree with oblong,
+pointed leaves about ten inches in length and a fleshy fruit containing
+one or two nuts. The sap is the most valuable part; and when incisions
+are made in the trunk of the tree, there is an abundant flow of thick
+milk-like sap, which is described as having an agreeable and balmv
+smell. The German traveler Humboldt drank it from the shell of a
+calabash, and the natives dip their bread of maize or cassava in it.
+This milk is said to be very fattening; and when exposed to the air, it
+thickens into a substance which the people call cheese."
+
+"Milk and cheese from a tree!" exclaimed Malcolm. "Do you think we'd
+like them as well as ours, Miss Harson?"
+
+"No," was the reply, "I do not think we should; but if we had never
+known any other kind, it would be quite a different matter, and the
+traveler says that both smell and taste are agreeable. The sap, it
+seems, is like curdled milk, and the natives say that they can tell,
+from the thickness and color of the foliage, the trunks that yield the
+most juice. This wonderful tree will be found growing on the side of a
+barren rock, and its large, woody roots can scarcely penetrate into the
+stone. For several months of the year not a single shower moistens its
+foliage. Its branches then appear dead and dried; but when the trunk is
+pierced, there flows from it a sweet and nourishing milk. It is at the
+rising of the sun that this vegetable fountain is most abundant. The
+negroes and natives are then seen hastening from all quarters, furnished
+with large bowls to receive the milk, which grows yellow and thickens at
+its surface. Some empty their bowls while under the tree itself; others
+carry the juice home to their children."
+
+"Isn't it funny," said Edith, laughing, "to go and get their breakfasts
+from a _tree_? I wish we had some milk trees here."
+
+"But you would not find it pleasant," replied their governess, "to have
+some other things that are always found where the milk tree grows. The
+intense heat and the swarms of mosquitoes and biting flies, the serpents
+and jaguars and other disagreeable and dangerous creatures, make life in
+that region anything but pleasant, and the curious vegetation and
+delicious fruits are not worth the suffering inflicted by all these
+torments."
+
+On hearing of these drawbacks the children soon decided that their own
+dear home was the best, and no longer envied the possessors even of
+the cow tree.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+_HOME AND ABROAD: LINDEN, CAMPHOR, BEECH_.
+
+"Now," said Miss Harson to her expectant flock, "it is to be hoped that
+our foreign wanderings among such wonderful trees have not spoiled you
+for home trees, as there are still a number of them which we have not
+yet examined."
+
+"No indeed!" they assured her; "they liked to hear about them all, and
+they were going to try and remember everything she told them about
+the trees."
+
+Their governess said that would be too much to expect, and if they
+remembered the most important things she would be quite satisfied,
+
+"We will take the linden, lime, or basswood, tree--for it has all three
+of these names--this evening," she continued, "and there are nine or ten
+species of the tree, which are found in America, Europe and Western
+Asia. It is a very handsome, regular-looking tree with rich, thick
+masses of foliage that make a deep shade. The leaves are heart-shaped
+and very finely veined, have sharply-serrated edges and are four or five
+inches long. The leaf-stalk is half the length of the leaf. It blooms
+in July and August, and the flowers are yellowish white and very
+fragrant; when an avenue of limes is in blossom, the whole atmosphere is
+filled with a delightful perfume which can hardly be described."
+
+[Illustration: THE LINDEN OR LIME TREE (_Tilia_).]
+
+"There are no lime trees here, are there?" asked Clara.
+
+"No," was the reply, "I do not think there are any in this neighborhood;
+but they grow abundantly not many miles away. Our native trees are not
+so pretty as the English lime, which, clothed with softer foliage, has a
+smaller leaf and a neater and more elegant spray. Ours bears larger and
+more conspicuous flowers, in heavier clusters, but of inferior
+sweetness. Both species are remarkable for their size and longevity. The
+young leaves of the lime are of a bright fresh tint that contrasts
+strongly with the very dark color of the branches; and these branches
+are so finely divided that their beauty is seen to the greatest
+advantage when winter has stripped them bare of leaves.
+
+"'The linden has in all ages been celebrated for the fragrance of its
+flowers and the excellence of the honey made from them. The famous
+Mount Hybla was covered with lime trees. The aroma from its flowers is
+like that of mignonette; it perfumes the whole atmosphere, and is
+perceptible to the inhabitants of all the beehives within a circuit of a
+mile. The real linden honey is of a greenish color and delicious taste
+when taken from the hive immediately after the trees have been in
+blossom, and is often sold for more than the ordinary kind. There is a
+forest in Lithuania that abounds in lime trees, and here swarms of wild
+bees live in the hollow trunks and collect their honey from the lime.'"
+
+[Illustration: LEAF AND FLOWER OF LIME TREE _(Tilia)._]
+
+"What fun it would be, if we were there, to go and get it!" exclaimed
+Malcolm. "But don't bees make honey from the lime trees that grow in
+this country, too, Miss Harson?"
+
+"Certainly they do; and the beekeepers look anxiously forward to the
+blossoming of the trees, because they provide such abundant supplies for
+the busy swarms. The flowers have other uses, too, besides the making of
+honey: the Swiss are said to obtain a favorite beverage from them, and
+in the South of France an infusion of the blossoms is taken for colds
+and hoarseness, and also for fever. 'Active boys climb to the topmost
+branches and gather the fragrant flowers, which their mothers catch in
+their aprons for that purpose. An avenue of limes has been ravaged and
+torn in pieces by the eagerness of the people to gather the blossoms,
+and they are often made into tea which is a soft sugary beverage in
+taste a little like licorice.'"
+
+"How queer," said Clara, "to make tea from flowers!"
+
+"Is it any queerer," asked her governess, "than to make it from leaves?
+I should think that the flowers might even be better, and yet I should
+scarcely like lime-tea that tastes like licorice."
+
+The children, though, seemed to think that they would like it, and Miss
+Harson had very little doubt that such would be the case.
+
+"Both the bark and the wood of the lime tree are valuable," she
+continued. "The fibres of the bark are strong and firm, and make
+excellent ropes and cordage. In Sweden and Russia they are made into a
+kind of matting that is very useful for packing-purposes and in
+protecting delicate plants from the frost. 'The manufacture of this
+useful material is carried on in the summer, close by the woods and
+forests where the lime trees grow in abundance. As soon as the sap
+begins to ascend freely the bark parts from the wood and can be taken
+away with ease. Great strips are then peeled off and steeped in water
+until they separate into layers; the layers are still further divided
+into smaller strips or ribbons, and are hung up in the shade of the
+wood, generally on the very tree itself from which they have been taken.
+After a time they are woven into the matting and sent to market for
+sale. The Swedish fishermen also manufacture it into a coarse thread for
+fishing-nets, and from the fibres of the young shoots the Russian
+peasant makes the strong shoes he wears, using the outer bark for the
+soles. In Italy the garments of the poorer people are often made of
+cloth woven from this material."
+
+"Why, people can fairly _live_ on trees," said Malcolm. "I didn't know
+that they were good for anything but shade--except the trees that have
+fruit and nuts on 'em."
+
+"There is a great deal for us all to learn of the works of the Creator,"
+replied Miss Harson, "and the blessing of trees is not half known. The
+wood of the lime is said never to be worm-eaten; it is very soft and
+smooth and of a pale-yellow color. It is used for the famous Tunbridge
+ware, and is called the carver's tree, because, as the poet says,
+
+     "'Smooth linden best obeys
+     The carver's chisel--best his curious work
+     Displays in nicest touches.'
+
+"The fruits and flowers carved for the choir of St. Paul's cathedral in
+London are done in lime-wood.
+
+"So numerous are the purposes to which the bark, wood, leaves and
+blossoms of the lime, or linden, tree can be applied that centuries ago
+it was called the tree of a thousand uses. Linden is the name by which
+it is always known on the continent of Europe, and there it is indeed a
+magnificent tree, forming the most delightful avenues and branching
+colonnades. One of the principal streets in Berlin is called 'Unter den
+Linden.' In the Middle Ages, when the Swiss and the Flemings were always
+struggling for liberty, it was their custom to plant a lime tree on the
+field of battle, and many of these old trees still remain and have been
+the subject of ballads and poetical effusions:
+
+     "'The stately lime, smooth, gentle, straight and fair.'"
+
+"Is there any story about it, Miss Harson?"
+
+"No," was the reply, "not much of a story; only descriptions of some
+very large and very ancient trees. One of these, the old linden tree of
+Soleure, in Switzerland, was spoken of by an English traveler two
+hundred years ago as 'right noble and wondrous to behold. A bower
+composed of its branches is capable of holding three hundred persons
+sitting at ease; it has also a fountain set about with many tables
+formed solely of the boughs, to which men ascend by steps; and all is
+kept so accurately and thick that the sun never looks into it.'"
+
+"It is just like a tent," said Malcolm, "it must be pleasant to sit by
+the fountain. Wouldn't you like it, Miss Harson?"
+
+"I am sure I should," replied his governess; "and I should also like to
+see the famous lime tree of Zurich, the boughs of which will shelter
+five hundred persons. At Augsburg, in Germany, feasts and weddings have
+often been celebrated under the shade of some venerable limes that
+branch out to an immense distance. In early times divine honors were
+paid to them as emblems of immortality. And now," said Miss Harson, "the
+last of these famous trees is a noble lime tree which grew on the farm
+belonging to the ancestors of Linnaeus, the great naturalist, beneath
+the shade of which he played in childhood, and from which his ancestors
+derived their surname. That noble tree still blossoms from year to year,
+beautiful in every change of seasons."
+
+"Lime, linden and basswood," said Clara--"three names to remember for
+one tree. But didn't you say, Miss Harson, that it's always called
+basswood in our country?"
+
+"Often, but not always. The name linden is quite common with us, and it
+will be well for you to remember that it is also called lime, so that
+when you go to Europe you will know what is meant by _lime_ and
+_linden_."
+
+The children laughed at this idea, for it seemed very funny to think of
+a little girl like Clara going to Europe, but, as their governess told
+them, little girls did go constantly; besides, this was the time to
+learn what would be of use to them when they were grown.
+
+"The fragrant lime," said Miss Harson, "has a relative in Asia whose
+acquaintance I wish you to make, and you know it already in one of its
+products, which is common in every household. It is also very
+fragrant--or rather, I should say, it has a strong aromatic odor which
+is very reviving in cases of faintness or illness, although it has quite
+a contrary effect on insects, particularly on mosquitoes. I should like
+to have some one tell me what this white, powerful substance is."
+
+This was quite a conundrum, and for a little while the children were
+extremely puzzled over its solution; but presently Clara asked,
+
+"Do the moths hate it too, Miss Harson? And isn't it camphor?"
+
+"Camphor doesn't grow on a _tree_," said Malcolm, in a superior tone;
+"it is dug out of the earth."
+
+"I have never read of any camphor-mines," replied his governess,
+laughing, "and I think you will find that camphor--which is just what I
+meant--is obtained from the trunk of a tree."
+
+"Like India-rubber?" asked Edith.
+
+"No, dear, not like India-rubber, for it grows in even a more curious
+way than that, masses of it being found in the trunk of the camphor
+tree--not in the form of sap, but in lumps, as we use it."
+
+"I thought it was like water," said Edith, in a puzzled tone.
+
+"So it is when dissolved in alcohol, as we generally have it; but it is
+also used in lumps to drive away moths and for various other purposes.
+But I will tell you all about the tree, which grows in the islands of
+Sumatra and Borneo and bears the botanical name _Dryobalanops camphora_.
+The camphor is also called _barus_ camphor, to distinguish it from the
+_laurus_, of which I will tell you afterward, and it is of a better
+quality and more easily obtained. The tree grows in the forests of
+these East Indian islands and is remarkable for its majestic size, dense
+foliage and magnolia-like flowers. The trunk rises as high as ninety
+feet without a single branch, and within it are cavities, sometimes a
+foot and a half long, which cannot be perceived until the bark is split
+open. These cavities contain the camphor in clear crystalline masses,
+and with it an oil known as camphor oil, that is thought by some to be
+camphor in an immature form. But the oil, even when crystallized by
+artificial means, does not produce such good camphor as that already
+solidified in the tree."
+
+"To think," exclaimed Clara, "of camphor growing in that way! But how do
+they get it out, Miss Harson? Do they cut great holes in the trunk of
+the tree?"
+
+"No, dear; I have just read to you that the camphor cannot be seen until
+the bark is split open, and the grand trees have to be cut down. But to
+do this is no easy matter. The hard, close-grained timber requires days
+of hewing and sawing to get it severed. The masses of roots are as
+unyielding as iron, and run twisting through the soil to the distance
+of sixty yards. Even at their farthest extremity they are as thick as a
+man's thigh."
+
+"I shouldn't think the camphor was worth all that trouble," said
+Malcolm; "it don't seem to amount to much, any wary."
+
+"It is more valuable than you suppose," replied Miss Harson; "for,
+besides preserving furs and woolen fabrics from the devouring moth, it
+protects the contents of cabinets and museums from the attacks of the
+minute creatures that prey upon the dried specimens of the naturalist.
+Not any of the insect tribe can endure the powerful scent of the
+camphor, and they either retreat before it or are killed by it. But its
+principal value is in medicine. It is used both internally and
+externally. It acts as a nervous stimulant, and is a favorite domestic
+remedy.--So you see, Malcolm, that camphor really amounts to a great
+deal, and we could not very well do without it."
+
+"How can people tell when there is any camphor inside the tree?" asked
+Clara.
+
+"They cannot tell," was the reply, "until the trunk is split open,
+although a tribe of men in Sumatra say that they know before-hand, by a
+kind of magic, which is the right tree to cut down. But the beautiful,
+stately tree is often wasted in vain, and after all their hard work the
+camphor-seekers find the cavities of the split-up trunk filled with a
+thick black substance like pitch instead of the pure white camphor."
+
+"Poor things!" said Edith, pityingly; "that's too bad."
+
+"Camphor is found in many trees and shrubs," continued her governess,
+"but in all others except the camphor tree of Sumatra and Borneo it has
+to be distilled from the wood and roots. The camphor-laurel, which is
+about the size of an English oak, is the most important of these trees.
+It grows abundantly in the Chinese island of Formosa, and 'camphor
+mandarin' is the title of a rich Chinaman who pays the government for
+the privilege of extracting all the camphor, which he sends to other
+countries at a large profit. Every part of this tree is full of camphor,
+and the tree gives out, when bruised, a strong perfume.
+
+"The European bay tree, which is more like an immense shrub, is also a
+member of this singular tribe, and its leaves have the strong family
+flavor. They were used in medicine, as well as the berries, before the
+camphor-laurel became known in Europe; in the time of Queen Elizabeth
+the floors of the better sort of houses were strewed with bay-leaves
+instead of being carpeted as now. The bay was an emblem of victory in
+old Roman times, and victorious generals were crowned with it. A wreath
+of this laurel, with the berries on, was placed on the head of a
+favorite poet in the Middle Ages, and in this way came the title
+'poet-laureate'--_laureatus_,' crowned with laurel.'
+
+"Do you remember," continued Miss Harson, "the tall, straight tree that
+I showed you yesterday when we were out in the woods--the one with a
+fluted trunk? What was its name?"
+
+"I know!" said Malcolm, quite excited. "Think of the seashore! Beach!
+That's what I told myself to remember."
+
+[Illustration: AMERICAN BEECH.]
+
+"A very good idea," replied his governess, laughing; "only you must not
+spell it with an _a_, like the seashore, for it is _b-e-e-c-h._--The
+fluted, or ribbed, shaft of this grand-looking tree is often sixty or
+seventy feet high, and, although it is found in its greatest perfection
+in England, it is a common tree in most of the woods in this country.
+For depth of shade no tree is equal to the beech, and its long beautiful
+leaves, with their close ridges and serrated edges, are very much like
+those of the chestnut. The leaves are of a light, fresh green and very
+neat and perfect, because they are so seldom attacked by insects; they
+remain longer on the branches than those of any deciduous tree, and
+give a cheerful air to the wood in winter. In the autumn they change to
+a light yellow-brown, which makes a pretty contrast to the reds and
+greens and purples of other trees. The branches start out almost
+straight from the tree, but they very soon curve and turn regularly
+upward. Every small twig turns in the same direction, making the long
+leaf-buds at the end look like so many little spears. I showed you these
+'stuck-up' buds when we were looking at the tree, and you noticed how
+different they were from the other trees."
+
+Yes, the children remembered it; and it always seemed to them
+particularly nice to have part of the talk out of doors and the rest in
+the house.
+
+"Doesn't the beech tree have nuts?" asked Malcolm. "John says it does."
+
+"Yes," replied Miss Harson; "it has tiny three-cornered nuts which seem
+particularly small for so large a tree. But these nuts are eagerly
+devoured by pigeons, partridges and squirrels. Bears are said to be very
+fond of them, and swine fatten very rapidly upon them. Most varieties
+are so small as not to repay the trouble of gathering, drying and
+opening them. Fortunately, this is not the case with all, as it is a
+delicious nut. In France the beech-nut is much used for making oil,
+which is highly valued for burning in lamps and for cooking. In parts of
+the same country the nuts, roasted, serve as a substitute for coffee."
+
+"I'd like to find some when they're ripe," said Clara, "if they _are_
+little."
+
+"We will have a search for them, then," was the reply, "when the time
+comes.--The flowers which produce these little nuts are very showy and
+grow in roundish tassels, or heads, which hang by thread-like, silky
+stalks, one or two inches long, from the midst of the young leaves of a
+newly-opened bud. A traveler says of these leaves, 'We used always to
+think that the most luxurious and refreshing bed was that which prevails
+universally in Italy, and which consists entirely of a pile of
+mattresses filled with the luxuriant spathe of the Indian corn; which
+beds have the advantage of being soft as well as elastic, and we have
+always found the sleep enjoyed on them to be particularly sound and
+restorative. But the beds made of beech-leaves are really no whit behind
+them in these qualities, whilst the fragrant smell of green tea, which
+the leaves retain, is most gratifying. The objection to them is the
+slight crackling noise which the leaves occasion as the individual turns
+in bed, but this is no inconvenience at all; or if so in any degree, it
+is an inconvenience which is overbalanced by the advantages of this most
+luxurious couch."
+
+"But how funny," said Malcolm, "to sleep on leaves! That's what the
+Babes in the Wood did."
+
+"No," replied Clara, very earnestly, "they didn't sleep _on_ leaves, you
+know; but when they had laid down and gone to sleep, the robins came and
+covered them with leaves."
+
+"Yes," chimed in little Edith; "I like that way best, because they'd be
+so cold in the woods."
+
+"And that really was the case," said Miss Harson, after listening with a
+smile to this discussion, "although there were probably leaves on the
+ground for the children to lie upon. A bed of leaves is not a bad thing
+where there are no mattresses, and such a bed is often used as a matter
+of course. You will remember my reading to you about the beds which the
+Finland mothers make for their children of the leaves of the
+canoe-birch. 'Leafy beds' are no strange thing--not mere poetry."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+_THE TENT AND THE LOCUSTS_.
+
+There came a bright balmy day in May when the children found a
+delightful surprise awaiting them. The tent in the woods, which had been
+proposed on the day when birch-twigs were found to be eatable, was
+almost forgotten--or if thought of, it was as a thing that could not
+possibly be--when, on the day in question, Miss Harson took her charges
+out as usual, and led them to a very pretty cleared space with a fringe
+of rocks and trees all around it. But on this spot, which hitherto had
+been quite bare, there now stood some sort of a little house different
+from other houses and quite pretty.
+
+"It's a tent!" exclaimed Malcolm. "Who put it there, I should like to
+know, on _our_ land?"
+
+"Are there gypsies here, Miss Harson?" whispered Clara, rather
+fearfully.
+
+But the young lady walked deliberately up to the entrance of the tent
+and invited her little flock to come inside.
+
+"I know the gentleman who had it put here," she said, "and he is quite
+willing that we should use it; but he will not give any one else
+this liberty."
+
+"I think I know him too," said Malcolm as he walked in after Miss
+Harson.
+
+"And I!"--"And I!" exclaimed the little girls. "It is our own papa. How
+very kind of him!"
+
+"Yes," replied their governess; "he said, when I spoke of a tent, that
+it would be a good thing for the wood-ramblers to have a place of
+shelter when they were over-taken by a sudden shower, and also a place
+in which to rest comfortably when they were tired; and this pretty tent,
+you see, is all ready for us at any time."
+
+It was a very nice tent indeed, having a long cushioned seat inside, two
+little rocking-chairs that were at once appropriated, a small table, and
+a bracket with books on it. On the table there was a round basket of
+oranges, which made every one thirsty at once.
+
+"I do believe," said Malcolm, suddenly, "that it's made of
+India-rubber."
+
+"Not the orange, I hope?" replied Miss Harson, while the little sisters
+looked up in surprise.
+
+An India-rubber orange was a thing to be laughed at, though not to be
+eaten, and the children were in such a state of glee over this pleasant
+surprise that they were ready to laugh almost at nothing.
+
+Presently their governess said,
+
+"Malcolm means the tent, of course; and he is quite right, for the
+covering is India-rubber cloth."
+
+"But why isn't it dark and ugly, like the waterproofs?" was the next
+question.
+
+"Simply because it need not be so, and it is prettier to have it white
+or of this pale gray. But these shades are too conspicuous for overshoes
+or waterproof cloaks, so the latter are made as dark as possible. The
+caoutchoue, you know, is naturally white or very light colored."
+
+"How do they make the cloth?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"It is first made as cloth," was the reply; "then a thin coating of
+India-rubber is spread over two layers of it. The cloth is then put
+together and pressed between rollers, so that the two pieces firmly
+adhere, with the caoutchoue between them. No rain can penetrate such a
+screen as this,"
+
+It was delightful to know that they would be safe and dry in case of a
+shower, and the children thought it must be just the prettiest tent that
+ever was made. The cushioned seat was covered with scarlet, and so were
+the little chairs, which Clara and Edith knew were meant for them; the
+edges of the cloth were scalloped with the same bright color, and there
+was even a rug to match spread in front of the "divan," as Miss Harson
+laughingly said the cushioned seat must be called.
+
+"Haven't we 'most come to the end of the trees?" asked Clara. "I never
+thought that there were so many different kinds,"
+
+"Look around and see if you feel acquainted with them all," replied her
+governess.
+
+They had left the tent after quite a long "sitting," and were now on
+their way to the house.
+
+Clara's first glance, on doing as she had been directed, fell on three
+trees by the side of a fence, that were different from any they had
+yet studied.
+
+"What do you notice about them?" continued Miss Harson; "for I wish you
+to use your own eyes and thoughts as much as possible."
+
+"Why, the trunk is dark gray, and it isn't smooth, but it looks as if
+some one had dug out long, thin pieces of bark."
+
+"We will call it 'deeply furrowed,'" said her governess, "as that is a
+better expression; but your description is very good indeed."
+
+"The leaves are ever so pretty," said Malcolm--"so many of 'em on one
+stem!--and the green looks as if it was just made."
+
+"You mean by that, I suppose," replied Miss Harson, "that it is a very
+fresh tint; and we are seeing it in its first beauty now. This is the
+locust tree, and May is its time for leafing out in the tenderest of
+greens. The pinnate--from _pinna_, Latin for feather'--leaves are
+composed of from nine to twenty-five leaflets, which are egg-shaped,
+with a short point, very smooth, light green above and still lighter
+beneath. These leaves are much liked by cattle, and they are said to be
+very nutritious to them."
+
+[Illustration: FOLIAGE OF HONEY-LOCUST.]
+
+"How can you remember everything so, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm, lost
+in wonder, as the young lady, looking up at the trees, said these things
+as if they had been written there. John had declared that she talked
+like a book, and this seemed more like it than ever.
+
+"Oh no," was the laughing reply; "I do not remember _everything_,
+Malcolm, and perhaps it is just as well that I do not. But I will not
+tax my memory any more about the locust just now; we can take it up
+again this evening."
+
+"I should like to know," exclaimed Clara, after some thought, "why a
+tree is called _locust_, when a locust is such a disagreeable insect?"
+
+"I am afraid that I cannot tell you," replied Miss Harson, "unless the
+color of the leaves is similar to that of the 'disagreeable insect,'
+which is really very handsome, or unless the insects are very partial to
+the tree; I have seen no explanation of it. But the tree itself is very
+much admired, with its profusion of pinnate leaves and racemes of
+flowers that fill the air with the most agreeable odors."
+
+"What color are the flowers, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"This description will tell you," was the reply. "The tree is not pretty
+in winter, and has no promise of beauty until 'May hangs on these
+withered boughs a green drapery that hides all their deformity; she
+infuses into their foliage a perfection of verdure that no other tree
+can rival, and a beauty in the forms of its leaves that renders it one
+of the chief ornaments of the groves and waysides. June weaves into this
+green foliage pendent clusters of flowers of mingled brown and white,
+filling the air with fragrance and enticing the bee with odors as sweet
+as from groves of citron and myrtle.'"
+
+"That sounds pretty," said Clara, who liked imposing sentences, "but
+brown and white are not very handsome colors for flowers."
+
+"The white is certainly prettier without the mixture of brown," replied
+her governess, "but we have to take our flowers ready-made, and can
+hardly expect them to be beautiful and fragrant too. The separate
+blossoms are shaped like those of the pea and bean; they hang in long
+clusters somewhat resembling bunches of grapes. The leaves--or, rather,
+leaflets--are very sensitive and have a habit of folding over one
+another in wet and dull weather, and also in the night--a habit that is
+peculiar to all the members of the acacia family, to which the
+locust belongs."
+
+"I should think it ought to belong to the pea family," said Malcolm, "if
+the flowers are shaped like pea-blossoms."
+
+"So it does," replied Miss Harson--"or, rather, to the bean family, of
+which the pea is a member, on account of its blossoms; but the acacia,
+like many others, is a brother, or sister, on account of its leaves as
+well as its blossoms. The peculiar distinction of this family is that
+its flowers are butterfly-shaped or its fruit in pods, and it often
+possesses both these characters. By one or the other all the plants of
+the family are known, and the butterfly-shaped flowers are of a
+character not to be mistaken, as they are found in no other family. It
+includes herbs, shrubs and trees--an immense and perfectly natural
+family, distributed throughout almost every part of the globe. There are
+at present in all not less than thirty-seven hundred species. So you see
+that the locust tree is certainly rich in relations."
+
+The children thought that it must have some family claim on almost
+every plant in the world.
+
+[Illustration: CAROB TREE AND FRUIT.]
+
+"Do you remember that in the story of the Prodigal Son, told by our
+Lord, it is said that the bad son became so poor that he wanted to eat
+the 'husks' that the swine ate? Those 'husks' were the fruit of a Syrian
+member of this family. The tree is the carob tree, of which you have
+here a picture--a fine large tree bearing a sweet pod containing the
+seeds. I have seen these pods for sale in this country, and foolishly
+called St. John's bread, as if the 'locusts' eaten by John the Baptist
+were pods of a locust tree, and not insect locusts."
+
+"Yes," said Malcolm, "I have tasted those pods, and they are real sweet;
+but I wouldn't care to make a breakfast from them."
+
+"I like calling the flowers 'butterfly-shaped,'" said Clara, "because
+that is just what the pea and bean-blossoms look like; though Kitty
+calls 'em 'little ladies in hoods.' Isn't that funny, Miss Harson?"
+
+"It is very quaint, I think, but I do not dislike it: it is like seeing
+faces in pansies; and some people are full of these odd imaginations.
+There is a kind of locust, called the clammy-barked, found in the
+Southern parts of the United States, which is a smaller tree than the
+common locust and has large pale-pink flowers, while the rose acacia is
+a very beautiful flowering shrub. The sweet, or honey, locust is
+another variety, which is also called the three-thorned acacia, because
+the thorns consist of one long spine with two shorter ones projecting
+out of it, like little branches, near its base. This is said to display
+much of the elegance of the tropical acacia in the minute division and
+symmetry of its compound leaves. These are of a light and brilliant
+green and lie flat upon the branches, giving them a fan-like appearance
+such as we observe in the hemlock."
+
+"But why is it called honey-locust?" asked Malcolm. "Do the bees make
+honey in the trunk?"
+
+"No," replied his governess; "the name comes from the sweetness of the
+pulp around the seeds, which ripen in large flat pods, and of which boys
+and girls are fond. But the flowers of this species are only small
+greenish aments. Locust-wood is very durable, and, as it will bear
+exposure to all kinds of weather, it is much used in shipbuilding and as
+posts for gates. It is thought that the shittah and shittim wood of the
+Bible, of which Moses made the greater part of the tables, altars and
+planks of the tabernacle, was the same as the black acacia found in the
+deserts of Arabia and about Mount Sinai and the mountains which border
+on the Red Sea, and is so hard and solid as to be almost incorruptible.
+
+"And now," added Miss Harson, "reading of the numerous relations of the
+locust, considering that 'the acacia, not less valued for its airy
+foliage and elegant blossoms than for its hard and durable wood; the
+braziletto, logwood and rosewoods of commerce; the laburnum; the furze
+and the broom, both the pride of the otherwise dreary heaths of Europe;
+the bean, the pea, the vetch, the clover, the trefoil, the lucerne--all
+staple articles of culture by the farmer--are so many species of
+Leguminosae, and that the gums Arabic and Senegal, kino and various
+precious medicinal drugs, not to mention indigo, the most useful of all
+dyes, are products of other species,--it will be perceived that it would
+be difficult to point out an order with greater claims upon the
+attention.'"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+_THE WALNUT FAMILY AND THE AILANTHUS_.
+
+"The walnut family," said Miss Harson, "with the ugly name
+_Juglandaceae_, are distinguished by pinnate, or compound, leaves, which
+have an aromatic odor when crushed, and by blossoms in catkins. Of these
+trees, the black walnut is one of the handsomest and most
+highly prized."
+
+"Are there any of them here?" asked Malcolm.
+
+[Illustration: THE WALNUT TREE.]
+
+"No," was the reply; "I do not think you have ever seen one. They are
+more common in the western part of the Middle States and in the Western
+States; in Ohio particularly they grow to a very large size. Solitary
+trees are sometimes seen in this part of the country, and the branches,
+extending themselves horizontally to a great distance, spread out into a
+spacious head, which gives them a very majestic appearance. The trunk
+is rough and furrowed, and the leaves have from six to ten pairs of
+leaflets and an odd one. They are smooth, strongly serrated and rather
+pointed; the color is a light, bright green. The catkins are green, from
+four to seven inches long, and hang from the axils of the last year's
+leaves. The leaves are much longer than those of the locust, and the
+leaf-stalk is downy. The nut, which is very oily, is shaped like an
+English walnut, but resembles it in no other way, as the shell is very
+thick and dark-colored. When thoroughly dried, the black walnut is very
+much liked--as I think some witnesses here could testify--and is used in
+making candy."
+
+"And just the nicest kind of candy, too," said the children, with one
+voice.
+
+Their governess smiled, for this was very much her own opinion.
+
+"You do not know," she continued, "how strangely these nuts grow. They
+have an outer husk, or rind, which when green is hard and has a very
+pleasant smell; the tree then seems to be covered with green balls. As
+the nuts ripen this outer part becomes so dark that it is almost black
+and grows soft and spongy. A rich brown dye is made from it.
+Black-walnut wood has long been famous for its beauty, and it grows
+deeper and darker with age. It is handsomely shaded and takes a fine
+polish, and this, with its durability, makes it very valuable for
+furniture. Posts made of it will last a long time, and it can be put to
+almost any use for which hard-wood is available.
+
+"The walnut tree has a great variety of good qualities in addition to
+its fine appearance and generous shade. From the kernel a valuable oil
+may be obtained for use in cookery and in lamps. Bread has also been
+made from the kernels. The spongy husk of the nuts is used as dyestuff.
+It thus unites almost all the qualities desirable in a tree--beauty,
+gracefulness and richness of foliage in every period of its growth; bark
+and husks which may be employed in an important art; fruit valuable as
+food; wood unsurpassed in durability and in elegance."
+
+"I like English walnuts," said Clara, "they have such thin, pretty
+shells; and papa, you know, can open them in just two halves with
+a knife."
+
+"Once," said Miss Harson, "I had a little bag sent to me made of two
+very large walnut shells with blue silk between, and in this bag there
+was a pair of kid gloves rolled up very tight."
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed the children. It sounded like a fairy-tale, but they
+knew that it was true, because Miss Harson said that it had really
+happened. They were very much surprised, though, that a bag could be
+made of nutshells, and that a pair of gloves could be crowded into so
+small a compass.
+
+"Did it come from England?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"No," replied his governess; "it was sent to me from the island of
+Madeira, where these nuts grow so abundantly that they have often been
+called Madeira-nuts. It also grows abundantly in Europe, and the nuts
+are used for dessert, pickling, and many other purposes, while the
+poorer classes often depend largely on them for food."
+
+"Do they eat 'em instead of bread?" asked Edith. "I'd like that; they're
+ever so much nicer!"
+
+"Perhaps you would not think so if you had hardly anything else to eat;
+you would get tired of them then. In many places on the continent of
+Europe the roads are lined with walnut trees for miles together, and in
+the proper season the people may feast upon the fruit as much as they
+like. A person, it is said, once traveled from Florence to Geneva and
+ate nothing by the way but walnuts; but I must say that I should not
+like to do it. One species bears a nut as large as an egg; but if kept
+any time, it will shrink to half its natural size. The shell of this
+great walnut, we are told, is sometimes used for making little
+ornamental boxes to hold gloves and small fancy-articles; so you see
+that mine was not the only glove-bag made of two walnut-shells."
+
+"How pretty they must be!" said Clara. "I should like to see one."
+
+"I think that I can make one when I get a large nut, and I shall be glad
+to show you how it is done."
+
+This was a delightful prospect, and the children volunteered to save for
+that especial purpose all the large nuts they could find.
+
+"The English walnut tree," continued Miss Harson, "is a native of
+Persia or the North of China, and the long pinnated leaves seem to mark
+its Oriental origin; but it has taken very kindly to its European home.
+In some parts of Germany the walnut trees were considered to be such a
+valuable possession that no young man was allowed to marry until he
+owned a certain number; and if one tree was cut down, another was
+always planted."
+
+"Don't they grow in this country?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Not very often in our more northern States," was the reply, "for the
+climate here is too cold for them; but at a house where I visited there
+was an English walnut tree in the garden, and it seemed to do very well.
+The nuts were always gathered while they were green, and made
+into pickles."
+
+This was considered quite dreadful, for ripe nuts were certainly a great
+deal better than pickles.
+
+"But there was a great deal of uncertainty about having the ripe nuts,
+for there were bad boys all around who would not have hesitated to rob
+the tree. Besides, pickled walnuts are considered a great delicacy by
+those who eat such things. There are some other ways, too, of using the
+nuts, which you would not like any better. One of these is to make them
+into oil, as the people do in the South of Europe; this oil is used to
+burn in their lamps and as an article of food. 'In Piedmont, among the
+light-hearted peasantry, cracking the walnuts and taking them from the
+shell is a holiday proceeding. The peasants, with their wives and
+children, assemble in the evening, after their day's work is over, in
+the kitchen of some château where the walnuts have been gathered, and
+where their services are required. They sit round a table, and at each
+end is a man with a small mallet, who cracks the walnuts and passes them
+on; the rest of the party take them out of their shells. At supper-time
+the table is cleared, and a repast of dried fruit, vegetables and wine
+is set out. The remainder of the evening is spent in singing and
+dancing. The crushing and pressing of the nuts, for oil, take place
+when the whole harvest is in.'"
+
+"But don't walnuts come from California? Our grocer said he had
+California nuts," remarked Malcolm.
+
+"Yes; that wonderful country is beginning to supply us with English
+walnuts."
+
+"Are you going to tell us a story, Miss Harson?" asked Edith, hopefully.
+
+"I have no story, dear," was the reply, "but there is something here
+which you may like about birds stealing the nuts."
+
+Of course they would like this; for if there was to be no story, birds
+and stealing promised to furnish a good substitute.
+
+"'Birds are as fond of walnuts as we are,'" read Miss Harson, "'and rob
+the trees without any mercy. Not only the little titmouse, but the grave
+and solemn rook'--a kind of crow, you remember--'is not above paying a
+visit to the walnut tree and stealing all he can find. There is a walnut
+tree growing in a garden the owner of which may be said to have planted
+it for the benefit of the rooks. Not that he had any such purpose, but,
+as it happens, he cannot help himself. The rooks begin a series of
+robberies as soon as the fruit is ripe, and carry them on with an
+adroitness that would be amusing but for the result. As many as fifty
+rooks come, one after the other, and each will carry off a walnut. The
+old ones are the most at home in the process, and the most daring. The
+bird approaches the tree and floats for a second in the air, as if
+occupied in finding out which of the walnuts will be the easiest to
+obtain; then, with a bold stroke, he darts at the one selected, and
+rarely misses his aim.
+
+"'The young rooks are much more timid and not so successful. They settle
+on the branch and knock down a great many walnuts in their clumsy
+attempts to secure one. Even when the walnut has been obtained, the
+young rook is not sure of his prize: one of his older and stronger
+brethren is very likely to attack him and knock the walnut out of his
+bill. Then, by a dextrous swoop, the robber catches it up before it
+reaches the ground, and carries it off in triumph. The feasting ground
+of the rooks is the next field, and here they come to eat their walnuts.
+They crack the shell with their beaks and devour the kernel with great
+relish. Then, when one walnut is finished, they fly back to the tree for
+another. There is no chance for the owner of the garden, who does not
+think it worth while even to shake his tree: he knows there will not be
+a single walnut left.'"
+
+"I should think not, with those greedy creatures," exclaimed Malcolm.
+"Why doesn't the man shoot 'em?"
+
+"He probably thinks it would be of little use, when there are such
+numbers of the birds; besides, he may prefer losing his walnuts to
+disturbing them, for rooks are treated with great consideration in
+England, and there is no such wholesale destruction of birds as is
+seen here."
+
+The rooks were certainly very comical, and the children thought this
+little account of their antics over the walnut tree the next best thing
+to a story.
+
+"Another fine shade-tree," continued Miss Harson, "and one very much
+like the black walnut, is the butternut, or oil-nut, tree. It is low
+and broad-headed, spreading into several large branches; the leaves are
+pinnate, like those of the walnut, but have not so many leaflets. The
+nut has an entirely different taste, and is even more oily. To many
+persons it is not at all agreeable. It is a great favorite, though, with
+country-boys, and in October, when the kernel is ripe, they may be seen
+with deeply-stained hands and faces, as the thin, leathery husks when
+handled leave plentiful traces. The butternut is not round like the
+walnut, but oblong, and pointed at the end; it is about two inches in
+length and marked by deep furrows and sharp irregular ridges. It is very
+pretty when sawn across in slices, and looks like scroll-saw work.--We
+shall have to get some, Malcolm, for you to practice on with your saw."
+
+[Illustration: THE BUTTERNUT TREE.]
+
+As his scroll-saw was just then the delight of Malcolm's heart, he felt
+particularly interested in butternuts, and immediately mapped out in his
+mind something very beautiful to be wrought with them for his governess.
+
+"The bark and the nutshells have long been used to give a brown color to
+wool, and the Shakers dye a rich purple with it. The bark of the trunk
+will give a black and that of the root a fawn-colored dye, while an
+inferior sugar has been made from the sap. The young half-grown nuts are
+much used for pickles. Butternut-wood is exceedingly handsome, of a
+pale, reddish tint, and durable when exposed to heat and moisture. It
+makes beautiful fronts for drawers and excellent light, tough and
+durable wooden bowls. It is also used for the panels of carriages, as
+well as for posts and rails. It is a more common tree than the walnut in
+our part of the country; there is a large one in front of a house a few
+miles from here which I will show you on our next drive."
+
+"I am glad of it," said Clara, "for I can remember about the trees so
+much better when I have seen them. I wish we could see every one of the
+trees you have told us of, Miss Harson."
+
+"Perhaps you will some day," replied her governess, "and you will then
+find that a little knowledge of them before-hand is a great help."
+
+"Are there any more of the walnut family?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Yes, the hickory belongs to it; and this is a tree which is peculiar to
+America. The European walnut is more like it than any other. It is
+always a stately and elegant tree and very valuable for its timber.
+There are several varieties, which are much alike, the principal
+difference being in the nuts. You have all seen most of the trees and
+gathered the nuts. They are:
+
+"1. The shellbark, with five large leaflets, a large nut, of which the
+husk is deeply grooved at the seams, and a rough, scaly trunk.
+
+"2. The mocker-nut, with seven or nine leaflets, a hard, thick-shelled
+nut, and leaflets and twigs very downy when young, and strongly odorous.
+
+"3. The pignut, with three, five or seven narrow leaflets, small,
+thin-shelled fruit and a pretty hard nut.
+
+"4. The bitternut, with seven, nine or eleven small, narrow, serrated
+leaves, small fruit with long, prominent seams, bitter and thin-shelled
+nuts and very yellow buds.
+
+"The shellbark is often called 'shagbark,' and it is the finest of the
+hickories and one that is seldom mistaken for any of the others. It may
+readily be distinguished by the shaggy bark of its trunk, the excellence
+of its globular fruit, its leaves, which are large and have five
+leaflets, and by its ovate, half-covered buds. It is a tall, slender
+tree with irregular branches, and the foliage seems to lie in masses of
+dense, dark green. But in October, when the nuts ripen, the leaves turn
+to orange-brown, and finally to the color of a russet apple; so that
+they do not add greatly to the beauty of the forest."
+
+"But the nuts are good," said Malcolm. "Didn't we have fine times
+picking 'em up?"
+
+"We did indeed," replied Miss Harson, "and I hope we shall again."
+
+"How long will it be before they are ripe?" asked the little girls.
+
+"Just about five months, I think."
+
+"Oh dear!" was the reply; "that's _so_ long to wait!"
+
+"But you needn't wait," said their governess; "you can enjoy each season
+as it comes, and all the good things that our heavenly Father sends with
+it. Remember that, as you cannot expect ripe nuts in May or June,
+neither can you look for strawberries and roses in October. Tents are of
+very little use then, too."
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed the children, to whom the tent was still a delightful
+novelty; and they decided not to wish just yet for nutting-time to come.
+
+"The nut, as you have so often seen, is covered with a brown husk that
+is very thick and marked with four furrows, by which it separates into
+as many distinct pieces, one being larger than the rest. The nuts
+differ very much in size and shape, and also in hardness, but the best
+kinds have thin shells and soft kernels; they are also rounder and
+fuller than the poorer sorts. There is a peculiar sweetness in the taste
+of this nut when in its best condition, and it is quite equal to the
+European walnut. The wood of this tree is particularly valuable for
+fuel, and in old times, when wood-fires were the only kind known, a good
+hickory back-log was sure to be found on every hearth. It is the
+heaviest of our native woods, and the wise men say that it yields, pound
+for pound or cord for cord, more heat than any other, in any shape in
+which it may be consumed."
+
+"But what a pity," said Clara, "to burn up trees that bear nuts! Why
+can't they take those that don't?"
+
+"They are not so desirable for fuel," was the reply; "and when people
+own trees which they are willing to turn into money, they generally
+consider in what way they can get the most for them. Nuts which grow in
+the woods and fields are a very uncertain crop, of which every one
+seems to gather more than the owner, and it is therefore more profitable
+for him to cut his trees down and sell them for their wood, which the
+people in the cities and towns are so glad to get."
+
+"What's the use," asked Malcolm, "of calling a tree such a name as
+_mocker-nut_? What does it mean?"
+
+"That is just what I have not been able to find out," replied Miss
+Harson, "but it has an Indian sound, and it seems that the Indians used
+to make a black dye from the bark; so we will give them the credit for
+it. The name is not often used, for the tree is generally known as the
+white walnut. The nut is the largest of the hickories, being often from
+four to six inches around, and it is shaped somewhat like a pear. One
+variety, however, is known as the square nut. The shell is very thick
+and hard, but the kernel is sweet when once it is gotten out. This tree
+is as stately and finely-shaped as the shagbark. It varies from the
+other hickories in the number of its leaflets, which are seven or nine,
+the down on its leaves and recent shoots, the hardness of the husk and
+thickness of the nut, the roundness of its large covered buds, and the
+strong resinous odor in leaves, buds and husks. In its general
+appearance it resembles the shellbark, as well as in the fullness of its
+foliage and the size of its leaves. 'White-heart hickory' is a name
+often given to this species, because the wood is supposed, when young,
+to be whiter than that of any of the others,"
+
+"_Pignut_ is another beautiful name," said Malcolm, who was disposed to
+be critical. "Do pigs ever eat the nuts, Miss Harson?"
+
+"I dare say that they do when they have the chance," was the reply, "as
+they delight in nuts; but that is said not to be the proper name for the
+species. Some of the nuts are shaped like a fresh fig, and 'fig-nut'
+seems to be the name originally intended. But there is a great variety
+in the shape of the nuts, as some are nearly round and others very
+irregular. They are alike, however, in having very hard, tough shells,
+and the kernel is not pleasant enough to repay the trouble of getting
+at it. These nuts are very apt to grow in pairs, and several bushels of
+them can be gathered from one tree."
+
+"Aren't they good to eat?" asked Clara.
+
+"Not at all good," replied her governess, "except to those who are not
+particular about what they eat; and this may be the reason for calling
+them 'pignuts,'"
+
+"_Bitternut_ doesn't sound much better," said Malcolm, again. "I wonder
+what that species has to say for itself?"
+
+"Not very much, I am afraid, for it is sometimes called the bitter
+pignut, and even boys will not eat it, while squirrels refuse to feed on
+it when any other nut can be found. The shell of this nut is so thin
+that it can be broken in the fingers, but, as no one cares to break it,
+it is safer than many a thicker shell. It is intensely bitter, and well
+deserves its name. The tree, however, is handsome and the most graceful
+of all the hickories; the small, slender leaves give it the look of an
+ash, and the trunk is smoother than that of most large trees. In summer
+the finely-cut foliage is of a bright green, and in autumn it changes
+to a rich orange, which lasts after the other species have become russet
+and brown."
+
+"Is there anything more about hickory trees?" said Clara.
+
+"Only to speak of the great value of the wood," replied Miss Harson.
+"Its uses are almost endless. Great numbers of walking-sticks are made
+of it, as for this purpose no other native wood equals it in beauty and
+strength. It is next in value to white oak for making hoops; it makes
+the best screws, the smoothest and most durable handles for chisels,
+augurs, gimlets, axes, and many other common tools. As fuel, hickory is
+preferred to every other wood, burning freely, making a pleasant,
+brilliant fire and throwing out great heat. Charcoal made from it is
+heavier than that made from any other wood, but it is not considered
+more valuable than that of birch or alder. The ashes of hickories abound
+in alkali, and are considered better for the purpose of making soap than
+any other of the native woods, being next to those of the apple tree."
+
+"There, Clara!" said Malcolm; "you see now why people cut down hickory
+trees. The nuts are nowhere, with all these other things."
+
+"We have finished the walnut family," said Miss Harson, "but there is a
+tree that I wish to speak of here because of its long pinnate leaves,
+which appear to connect it with the walnuts and hickories. This is the
+ailanthus, a large tree which you have often seen in the village, and
+which used to be popular as a shade-tree. It is very clean-looking, for
+the only insect that will eat its leaves is the silkworm."
+
+"Oh, Miss Harson!" exclaimed the children. "Are there real silkworms on
+'em? and can we see 'em?"
+
+"Why, do you not remember our talk about silkworms?" replied their
+governess. "I am sure I told you that they would not live here in the
+open air, but they do in China; and the ailanthus is a Chinese tree. It
+was planted in Great Britain over a hundred years ago for the express
+purpose of feeding silkworms, because a species of silkworm which was
+known to be hardy and capable of forming its cocoons in the English
+climate is attached to this tree and feeds upon its leaves. It was not
+successful, however, for silkworms, but as a stately and ornamental tree
+with tropical-looking foliage it was much admired. The ailanthus is
+quite common in this country as a wayside tree. It possesses a good deal
+of beauty, from the size and graceful sweep of its large compound
+leaves, that retain their brightness and verdure after midsummer, when
+our native trees have become dull. These leaves have nine or ten
+leaflets as large as a beech-leaf."
+
+"Isn't that the tree that smells so in summer?" asked Clara, with a
+disgusted face.
+
+"Yes; the greenish flowers have a particularly disagreeable odor, which
+is very strong and penetrating, and this is probably the reason why the
+tree has lost favor in so many places. But this is only during the
+season of blossoming, and for several months it is a beautiful
+Oriental-looking tree with every leaf perfect, while nearly all other
+foliage is more or less ravaged by insects."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+_SOME BEAUTIFUL TREES: THE CHESTNUT AND HORSE-CHESTNUT._
+
+The nearest trees to the tent, and standing just back of it, were two
+magnificent chestnuts, now in full leaf-beauty; and Miss Harson and her
+little flock stood admiring their majestic size and beautiful color.
+
+"These are the handsomest trees yet," said Malcolm.
+
+"I almost think so myself," replied his governess, gazing up into the
+rich green depths, "and I wish you particularly to notice these
+radiated--or star-like--tufts of foliage. The leaves, you see, are long,
+lengthened to a tapering point, serrated--or notched like a saw--at the
+edge, and of a bright and nearly pure green. Though arranged
+alternately, like those of the beech, on the recent branches, they are
+clustered in stars containing from five to seven leaves on the fruitful
+branches that grow out from the perfected wood. Now stand off a little
+and see how the foliage seems to be all in tufts, each composed of
+several long, pointed leaves drooping from the centre. The aments, too,
+with their light silvery-green tint, glisten beautifully on the
+darker leaves."
+
+"How high do you think these trees are, Miss Harson?" asked Clara. "It
+makes me dizzy to look up to the top."
+
+[Illustration: LEAF OF THE CHESTNUT.]
+
+"They can be scarcely less than ninety feet," was the reply, "and they
+are very fine specimens of the family; but the great chestnut which is
+the only tree in the field on the left of the house is broader. It
+spreads out like an apple tree, because it has abundance of room, and it
+is nearly as broad as it is high."
+
+"And aren't its chestnuts just splendid?" exclaimed Malcolm--"the
+biggest we find anywhere."
+
+[Illustration: THE CHESTNUT TREE.]
+
+"The bark, you see," continued his governess, "is very dark-colored,
+hard and rugged, with long, deep clefts. In smaller and younger trees it
+is smooth. I suppose I need not tell you that the fruit is within a burr
+covered with sharp, stiff bristles which are not handled with impunity.
+It opens by four valves more than halfway down when ripe, and contains
+the nuts, from one to three in number, in a downy cup. These green burrs
+are very ornamental to the tree; and when they are ripe, the green takes
+on a yellow tinge."
+
+"You didn't say anything about the cunning little tails of the nuts,
+Miss Harson," said Edith, in a disappointed tone. "I think they're the
+prettiest part, and they stick up in the burr like little mice-tails."
+
+"Well, dear," was the smiling reply, "_you_ have told us about them, and
+I think you have given a very good description. That is just what they
+always reminded me of when I was about your age--little mice-tails."
+
+Edith looked pleased and shy, and she did not mind Malcolm's laughing at
+her "little tails," because Miss Harson used to think the same as she
+did about them.
+
+"This beautiful tree came from Asia, and it belongs to the _Castanea_
+family, the Greeks having given it that name from a town in Pontus where
+they obtained it. It was transplanted into the North and West, and is
+now found in most temperate regions. The wood of the chestnut is very
+valuable, as it is strong, elastic and durable, and is often used as a
+substitute for oak and pine. It makes very beautiful furniture."
+
+"What kind of chestnuts," asked Clara, "are those great big ones, like
+horse-chestnuts, that they have in some of the stores? Are they good
+to eat?"
+
+"Yes," replied Miss Harson; "they are particularly good, and many people
+in the southern countries of Europe almost live on them. They are three
+or four times larger than our nuts, these Spanish and Italian chestnuts,
+and they are eaten instead of bread and potatoes by the peasantry of
+Spain and Italy. The Spanish chestnut is one of the most stately of
+European trees, and sometimes it is found growing in our own country,
+but never in the woods. It is carefully planted and cultivated as an
+ornamental tree for private grounds. And now," added the young lady, "as
+we have sufficiently examined our American chestnut trees and it is
+rather damp and cool to-day for tent-life, suppose we return to the
+house and get better acquainted with the foreign chestnuts?"
+
+Edith asked if there was to be a story, but she did not complain when
+Miss Harson thought not, only an account of a very large tree; for the
+children always felt quite sure that there would be something which they
+would like to hear.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The evening was damp, and Clara said that, the schoolroom looked like a
+mixture of summer and winter. The fire was both pleasant and
+comfortable, but there were lilacs and tulips and hyacinths and plenty
+of wild flowers in vases and baskets; the leaves were all out on the
+trees by the windows, and the grass was like velvet.
+
+"One of the largest trees in the world, if not the largest," said Miss
+Harson, "is a chestnut tree on the side of Mount Etna, in Sicily, which
+abounds with chestnut trees of giant proportions and remarkable beauty.
+It is called 'The Chestnut Tree of a Hundred Horses,' and this title is
+said to have originated in a report that a queen of Aragon once took
+shelter under its branches attended by her principal nobility, all of
+whom found refuge from a violent storm under the spreading boughs of the
+tree. At one time it was supposed that the tree really consisted of a
+clump of several united, but this is not the case; for on digging away
+the earth the root was found entire, and at no great depth. Five
+enormous branches rise from the trunk, the outside surface of each being
+covered with bark, while on the inside is none. The verdure and the
+support of the tree thus depend on the outer bark alone. The intervals
+between the branches are of various extent, one of them being sufficient
+to allow two carriages to drive abreast. In the middle cavity--or what
+is called the hollow--of the tree a hut has been built for the use of
+persons employed in collecting and preserving the fruit. They dry the
+chestnuts in an oven, and then make them into various conserves for
+sale. A whole caravan of men and animals were once accommodated in the
+enclosure, and also a flock of sheep folded there. The age of this
+prodigious tree must be very great indeed. It belongs to the tribe
+which bears sweet, or edible, chestnuts, that form an agreeable article
+of food. The foliage is rich, shadowy and beautiful.
+
+"The wood of the chestnut is much used in England for hop-poles, and old
+houses in London are floored or wainscoted with it. The beautiful roof
+of Westminster Abbey is made of chestnut wood.
+
+"There are magnificent forests of Spanish chestnuts in the Apennines,
+and it was the favorite tree of the great painter Salvator Rosa, who
+spent much time studying the beautiful play of light and shade on its
+foliage. The peasants make a gala-time of gathering and preparing the
+nuts. A traveler, having penetrated the extensive forest which covers
+the Vallombrosan Apennines for nearly five miles, came unexpectedly upon
+those festive scenes, which are not unfrequent among the chestnut-range.
+It was a holiday, and a group of peasants dressed in the gay and
+picturesque attire of the neighborhood of the Arno were dancing in an
+open and level space covered with smooth turf and surrounded with
+magnificent chestnuts, while the inmost recesses of the forest resounded
+with their mirth and minstrelsy. Some beat down the chestnuts with
+sticks and filled baskets with them, which they emptied from time to
+time; others, stretched listlessly upon the turf, picked out the
+contents of the bristling capsules in which the kernels were entrenched,
+for these, when newly gathered, are sweet and nutritious; others again,
+and especially young peasant-girls, pelted their companions with
+the fruit."
+
+"Like snowballing," said Malcolm; "only the prickers must have stung.
+What grand times they had with their chestnuting!"
+
+"These gay, thoughtless people," replied his governess, "almost live in
+the open air and enjoy the present moment. It is not easy to tell what
+they would do without these bountiful chestnut-harvests, for their
+principal article of food is a thick porridge called _polenta_, which
+they make from the ground nuts. In France a kind of cake is made from
+the same material, and the chestnuts are prepared by drying them in
+smoke. Another dish is like mashed potatoes, and large quantities are
+exported in the shape of sweetmeats, made by dipping them, after
+boiling, into clarified sugar and drying them."
+
+"Miss Harson," asked Clara, "why are horse-chestnuts _called_
+'horse-chestnuts '? Do horses like 'em?"
+
+"Not usually," was the reply. "The nuts are sometimes ground and given
+to horses, but, as sheep, deer and other cattle eat them in their
+natural state, it would seem more reasonable to name them after some of
+those animals, if that was the reason. It is likely that because they
+look like chestnuts, but are much larger, they were called
+'horse-chestnuts,' The tree is not in any respect a chestnut; and when
+it was first planted in England, some centuries ago, it was called 'a
+rare foreign tree,' and was much admired. It is supposed to have come
+from India. The large nuts are like chestnuts in appearance.--Except,
+Edith, that they have no 'cunning little tails.'--In the month of May
+there is not a more beautiful tree to be found than the horse-chestnut,
+with its large, deeply-cut leaves of a bright-green color and its long,
+tapering spikes of variegated flowers, which turn upward from the dense
+foliage. The tree at this time has been compared to a huge chandelier,
+and the erect blossoms to so many wax lights. The bitter nuts ripen
+early in the autumn and fall from the tree, but long before this the
+beautiful foliage has turned rusty in our Northern States, and is no
+longer ornamental. The overshadowing branches, which give such a
+pleasant shade in summer, early in autumn begin to show the ravages of
+the insects or the natural decay of the leaves."
+
+"Then," said Malcolm, "it isn't a nice tree to have, and I'm glad that
+there are elms here instead."
+
+"I should like to have some of all the trees," replied Clara, "because
+then we could study about them better.--Wouldn't you, Miss Harson?"
+
+"I think so," said her governess, "if they were not undesirable to have,
+as some trees are. If it were always May, I should want horse-chestnut
+trees; for I think there is scarcely anything so pretty as those fresh
+leaves and blossoms. The branches, too, begin low down, and that gives
+the tree a generous spreading look which is very attractive in the way
+of shade. In more southern States they have a longer season of beauty
+than those in the North."
+
+"Do people ever eat the horse-chestnut?" asked Edith.
+
+"Not often, dear--it is too bitter; but an old writer who lived in the
+days when it was first seen in England says that he planted it in his
+orchard as a fruit tree, between his mulberry and his walnut, and that
+he roasted the chestnuts and ate them. It is like the bitternut-hickory,
+which even boys will not eat."
+
+"I should think that somebody or something ought to eat it," said Clara,
+thoughtfully; "it seems like such a waste."
+
+Everyone laughed at her wise air, and she was asked if she intended to
+set the example. She was not quite ready, though, to do that; and Miss
+Harson continued:
+
+"A naturalist once took from the tree a tiny flower-bud and proceeded to
+dissect it. After the external covering, which consisted of seventeen
+scales, he came upon the down which protects the flower. On removing
+this he could perceive four branchlets surrounding the spike of flowers,
+and the flowers themselves, though so minute, were as distinct as
+possible, and he could not only count their number, but discern the
+stamens, and even the pollen."
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed the children; "how very curious!"
+
+"Yes," replied their governess; "it shows how perfect and wonderful,
+from the beginning, are all the works of God."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+_AMONG THE PINES_.
+
+"How good it smells here!" exclaimed Edith, with her small nose in the
+air to inhale what she called "a good sniff" in the fragrant pine-woods.
+
+Miss Harson had taken the children in the carriage to a pine-grove some
+miles from Elmridge, and Thomas and the horses waited by the roadside
+while the little party walked about or stood gazing up at the tall
+slender trees that seemed to tower to the very skies. Thomas was not
+fond of waiting, but he thought that he had the best of it in this case:
+it was more cheerful to sit in the carriage and "flick" the flies from
+Rex and Regina than to go poking about in the gloomy pine-woods. Yet,
+notwithstanding the darkness of its interior and the sombre character of
+its dense masses of evergreen foliage as seen from without--whence the
+name of "black timber," which has been applied to it--the shade and
+shelter it affords and the sentiment of grandeur it inspires cause it to
+become allied with the most profound and agreeable sensations; and it
+was something of this feeling, though they could not express it in
+words, which possessed the young tree-hunters as they stood in the
+pine-grove.
+
+"It's nice to breathe here," said Clara.
+
+"It is delicious," replied her governess, enthusiastically, her eyes
+kindling as she repeated the lines:
+
+     "'His praise, ye winds, that from four quarter blow,
+     Breathe soft and loud; and wave your tops, ye pines,
+     With every plant, in sign of worship. Wave!'"
+
+"What a queer brown color--almost like red--the ground is!" said
+Malcolm. "And look, Miss Harson! it's made of lots of little
+sharp sticks."
+
+"The sharp sticks are pine-needles," was the reply--"the dead
+pine-leaves of last year; and when the new growth of leaves have been
+put forth, they cover the ground with a smooth brown matting as
+comfortable as a gravel-walk, and yet a carpet of Nature's making. 'The
+foliage of the pine is so hard and durable that in summer we always find
+the last year's crop lying upon the ground in a state of perfect
+soundness, and under it that of the preceding year only partially
+decayed.'"
+
+"It's kind of slippery in some places," continued Malcolm, taking a
+slide as he spoke. "And see those queer-looking roots sprouting out of
+the ground!"
+
+"I see the roots," said Miss Harson, "but no sprouts. That is the white
+pine, the roots of which are often seen above the ground, spreading to
+some distance from the trunk. Generally the roots of pine trees are
+small, compared with the size of the trunks, and spread horizontally
+instead of descending far into the ground. For this reason pines are
+often uprooted by high winds, which break off the deciduous trees near
+the ground. But I wish you particularly to notice the trunks of these
+trees and tell me if you can see any difference in them."
+
+Those particular trees had probably never been stared at so hard
+before, and the three children exclaimed almost together:
+
+"Some are rough, and some are smooth, and the rough ones have little
+bunches of leaves on 'em."
+
+"These are the pitch-pines," replied their governess. "They are the
+roughest of all our forest-trees, and they have a rounder head than any
+of the other American evergreens. The branches, you see, turn in various
+directions and are curved downward at the ends. This tree has also the
+peculiar habit of sending out little branchlets full of leaves along the
+stem from the root upward, and this has a very pretty effect, like that
+of some elm trees. It is the pitch-pine that produces the fragrance we
+are all enjoying so much. What do you notice about the smoother trees?"
+
+"They are very tall and big," replied Clara--"ever so much handsomer
+than the rough ones."
+
+[Illustration: THE WHITE PINE.]
+
+"The white pine," said Miss Harson, "is one of the loftiest and most
+valuable of North American trees. Its top can be seen at a great
+distance, looking like a spire as it towers above the heads of the trees
+around it. You see that it has widespread branches and silken-looking,
+tufted foliage. The leaves are in fives and not so stiff as those of the
+other pines, and you will notice that the branches are in whorls, like a
+series of stages one above another. The foliage has a tasseled effect
+with those long silky tufts at the ends of the branches, and the whole
+outline of the tree is very pleasing."
+
+"This isn't a pine tree, is it?" asked Malcolm, touching a small tree
+with very slender branches, some of them as slight as willow-withes and
+covered with grayish-red bark, while that on the main stem was
+bluish gray.
+
+[Illustration: THE LARCH.]
+
+"It is a species of pine," was the reply, "because it belongs to the
+Coniferae, or cone-producing, family; but it is not an evergreen,
+although it ranks as such. This is the larch--generally called in New
+England by its Indian name of _hacmatack_--and it differs from the other
+pines in its crowded tufts of leaves, which, after turning to a soft
+leather-color, fall, in New England, early in November. The cones, too,
+are very small."
+
+"What's the use of cones, any way?" asked Malcolm as he picked up some
+very large ones under the white and pitch pines.
+
+"Their principal use," replied his governess, "is to contain the seeds
+of future trees: they are the fruit of the pine; but they have a number
+of uses besides, which you shall hear about this evening."
+
+"The little cones at Hemlock Lodge are pretty," said Edith, "and Clara
+and me play with 'em. We play they're a orphan-'sylum."
+
+[Illustration: FOLIAGE OF THE LARCH (_Larix Americana_).]
+
+"'Clara and I,' dear," corrected Miss Harson, smiling at the
+"orphan-'sylum," while Malcolm said he had never thought of that before,
+and it must be what they were meant for. Edith could not quite
+understand whether this was fun or earnest, but Miss Harson shook her
+head at Malcolm and called him "naughty boy."
+
+"The spruce and hemlock," continued their governess, "and many of the
+other evergreens, we have at Elmridge, but I brought you here to-day for
+our drive that you might examine these magnificent pine trees, and so be
+better able to understand whatever we can find out about them this
+evening. Thomas is probably tired of waiting by this time; so we will
+leave the fragrant pine-woods for the present, and promise ourselves
+some future visits."
+
+Every green thing was now in full summer beauty, and daisies and
+buttercups gemmed the fields, while the garden at Elmridge was all aglow
+with blossoms, The children remembered their flower-studies of last
+year, and took fresh pleasure in the woods because of them; but the
+trees now seemed quite as interesting as the flowers had been.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"The trees known as evergreens," said Miss Harson, "are not so bright
+and cheerful-looking as those which are deciduous, or leaf-shedding, but
+they have the advantage of being clothed with foliage, although of a
+sober hue, all the year round. They consist of pines, firs, junipers,
+cypresses, spruces, larches, yews and hemlocks, with some foreign trees,
+and form a distinct and striking natural group. 'This family has claims
+to our particular attention from the importance of its products in
+naval, and especially in civil and domestic, architecture, and in many
+other arts, and, in some instances, in medicine. Some of the species in
+this country are of more rapid growth, attain to a larger size and rise
+to a loftier height than any other trees known. The white pine is much
+the tallest of our native trees.'"
+
+"How high does it grow, Miss Harson?" asked Clara.
+
+"From one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet," was replied, "and on
+the north-west coast of America one called the 'Douglas's pine' is the
+loftiest tree known; it is said to measure over three hundred feet.
+'From the pines are obtained the best masts and much of the most
+valuable ship-timber, and in the building and finishing of houses they
+are of almost indispensable utility. The bark of some of them, as the
+hemlock and larch, is of great value in tanning, and from others are
+obtained the various kinds of pitch, tar, turpentine, resin and
+balsams,' The pines and firs have circles of branches in imperfect
+whorls around the trunk, and, as one of these whorls is formed each
+year, it is easy to calculate the age of young trees. In thick woods the
+lower whorls of branches soon decay for want of light and air, and this
+leaves a smooth trunk, which rises without a branch, like a beautiful
+shaft, for a hundred feet or more.
+
+"These trees are found everywhere except in the hot regions around the
+equator. The white pine is the most common, but in the evergreen woods
+of our own country it is mixed with pitch-pine and fir trees. In our
+Southern States there are thin forests, called pine-barrens, through
+which one can travel for miles on horseback. The white pine is easily
+distinguished by its leaves being in fives, by its very long cones,
+composed of loosely-arranged scales, and when young by the smoothness
+and delicate light-green color of the bark. It is known throughout New
+England by the name 'white pine,' which is given it on account of the
+whiteness of the wood. In England it is called the Weymouth pine.
+
+"Many very large trees are found in Maine, on the Penobscot River, but
+most of the largest and most valuable timber trees have been cut down.
+The lumberers, as they are called, are constantly hewing down the grand
+old trees for timber, white pine being the principal timber of New
+England and Canada."
+
+"And they float it down the rivers on rafts, don't they?" said Malcolm.
+"Won't you tell us about that, Miss Harson?"
+
+"Yes," was the reply.--"But do not look so expectant, Edie; it is not a
+story, dear, only a description of pine-cutting in the forests of Maine
+and Canada. But I should like you to know how these great trees are
+turned into timber, and you will see that, like many other necessary
+things, it is neither easy nor pleasant. We do not get much without hard
+work on the part of somebody: remember that. Now I will read:
+
+"'The business of procuring trees suitable for masts of ships is
+difficult and fatiguing. The pines which grew in the neighborhood of the
+rivers and in the most accessible places have all been cut down. Paths
+have now to be cleared with immense labor to the recesses of the forest,
+in order to obtain a fresh supply. This arduous employment is called
+"lumbering," and those who engage in it are "lumberers." The word
+"lumber," in its general sense, applies to all kinds of timber. But
+though many different trees, such as oak, ash and maple, are cut down,
+yet the main business is with the pines. And when a suitable plot of
+ground has been chosen for erecting a saw-mill,' to prepare the boards,
+'it is called "pine-land," or a spot where the pine trees predominate.
+
+"'A body of wood-cutters unite to form what is called a
+"lumbering-party," and they are in the employ of a master-lumberman, who
+pays them wages and finds them in provisions. The provisions are
+obtained on credit and under promise of payment when the timber has been
+cut down and sold. If the timber meets with any accident in its passage
+down the river, the master-lumberman cannot make good the loss, and the
+shopkeeper loses his money.
+
+"'When the lumbering-party are ready to start, they take with them a
+supply of necessaries, and also what tools they will require, and
+proceed up the river to the heart of the forest. When they reach a
+suitable spot where the giant trees which are to serve for masts grow
+thick and dark, they get all their supplies on shore--their axes, their
+cooking-utensils and the casks of molasses'--and too often of whisky or
+rum, too, I am sorry to say--'that will be used lavishly. The molasses
+is used instead of sugar to sweeten the great draughts of tea--made, not
+from the product of China, but from the tops of the hemlock.
+
+"'The first thing to be done is to build some kind of shelter, for they
+must remain in the forest until spring, and the cold of those Northern
+winters is terrible. Their cabin--for it cannot be called by any better
+name--is built of logs of wood cut down on purpose and put together as
+rudely as possible. It is only five feet high, and the roof is covered
+with boards. There is a great blazing fire kept up day and night, for
+the frost is intense, and the provisions have to be kept in a deep place
+made in the ground under the cabin. The smoke of the fire goes out
+through a hole in the roof, and the floor is strewn with branches of
+fir, the only couch the poor hardworking lumberers have to rest upon.
+When night comes, they turn into the cabin to sleep, and lie with their
+feet to the fire. If a man chances to awaken, he instantly jumps up and
+throws fresh logs on the fire; for it is of the utmost importance not to
+let it go out. One of the men is the cook for the whole party, and his
+duty is to have breakfast ready before it is light in the morning. He
+prepares a meal of boiled meat and the hemlock tea sweetened with
+molasses, and the rest of the party partake heartily of both, and in
+some camps also of rum, under the mistaken notion that it helps them to
+bear the severe toil. When breakfast is over, they divide into several
+gangs. One gang cuts down the trees, another saws them in pieces, and
+the third gang is occupied in conveying them, by means of oxen, to the
+bank of the nearest stream, which is now frozen over.
+
+"'It is a hard winter for the lumbermen. The snow covers the ground
+until the middle of May, and the frost is often intense. But they toil
+through it, felling, sawing and conveying until a quantity of trees have
+been laid prostrate and made available for the market. Then, at last,
+the weather changes; the snow begins to melt and the streams and rills
+are set at liberty. The rivers flow briskly on and are much swollen with
+the melting snow, and the men say that the freshets have come down.
+
+"'Hard as their toil has been, the most difficult and fatiguing has yet
+to be encountered. The timber is collected on the banks of the river,
+and has now to be thrown into the water and made into rafts, so that it
+can be floated down to the nearest market-town. The water, filled with
+melting snow, is deadly cold and can scarcely be endured, but the men
+are in it from morning till night constructing the rafts, which are put
+together as simply as possible, and the smallest outlay made to suffice.
+The rafts are of different sizes, according to the breadth of the
+stream; and when all is ready, they are launched, and the convoy fairly
+sets out on its voyage.
+
+"'The great ugly masses of floating timber move slowly along under the
+care of a pilot, and the lumberers ride upon the rafts, often without
+shelter or protection from the weather. They guide themselves by long
+and powerful poles fixed on pivots, and which act as rudders. As they
+journey down the stream they sing and shout and make the utmost noise
+and riot. If there comes a storm or a change of weather, the pilot
+steers his convoy into some safe creek for the night, and secures it as
+best he can.
+
+"'Thus by degrees the raft reaches the place of destination,
+occasionally with some loss and damage to the timber. In this case the
+master-lumberer bears the loss, and is obliged to refund the expenses
+incurred as best he can. At any rate, the men are now paid off, and set
+out on foot for their homes.'"
+
+Malcolm was particularly delighted with this narrative of stirring
+activity, and even the little girls seemed very much interested in it.
+They were so sorry for the poor lumbermen who had such dreary winters
+off there in the Northern woods, and Clara wondered if they couldn't
+have warm comforters and mittens.
+
+"They probably have those things when they go into camp," said Miss
+Harson, "but they are likely to find them in the way of working, and to
+cast them aside.--Great ships are not built for nothing: even to get the
+timber in readiness costs heavy labor, but, after all, no doubt, the men
+get interested in it and enjoy its excitement. Fortunately for the many
+uses to which its timber is put, the white pine grows very rapidly,
+gaining from fifteen inches to three feet every year. In deep and damp
+old woods it is slower of growth; it is then almost without sap-wood and
+has a yellowish color like the flesh of the pumpkin. For this reason it
+is called 'pumpkin-pine.' The bark of young trees of the white-pine
+species is very smooth and of a reddish, bottle-green color. It is
+covered in summer with a pearly gloss. On old trunks the bark is less
+rough than that of any other pine. This tree has the spreading habit of
+the cedar of Lebanon. In addition to its grand and picturesque
+character, the white pine, says a lover of trees, may be 'regarded as a
+true symbol of benevolence. Under its outspread roof numerous small
+animals, nestling in the bed of dry leaves that cover the ground, find
+shelter and repose. The squirrel feeds upon the kernels obtained from
+its cones; the hare browses upon the trefoil'--clover--'and the spicy
+foliage of the _hypericum_'--St. John's wort--'which are protected in
+its shade; and the fawn reposes on its brown couch of leaves unmolested
+by the outer tempest. From its green arbors the quails are often roused
+in midwinter, where they feed upon the berries of the _Mitchella_ and
+the spicy wintergreen. Nature, indeed, seems to have specially designed
+this tree to protect her living creatures both in summer and
+in winter.'"
+
+"Hurrah for the white pine," said Malcolm, with great energy, "the grand
+old _American_ tree!"
+
+"I'm glad that the little birds and animals have such a nice home under
+it in winter," said Clara.
+
+"I'm glad too," added Edith, "but I wish we could find some and see how
+they look in their soft bed. Don't they ever put their heads out the
+least bit, Miss Harson?"
+
+"Not when they suspect that there is any one around, dear, and the
+little creatures are very sharp to find this out. Our heavenly Father,
+you know, takes thought for sparrows and all such helpless things, and
+they are fed and cared for without any thought of their own.--The white
+pine," she continued, "is truly a magnificent tree, but I think we shall
+find that the pitch-pine is also very useful."
+
+"That's the rough one," said Malcolm; "I remember how it looks, with
+little tufts sticking out along the trunk."
+
+"Yes," replied his governess, "and out authority says this tree is
+distinguished by its leaves being in threes--the white pine, you know,
+has them in _fives_--by the rigidity and sharpness of the scales of its
+cones, by the roughness of its bark, and by the denseness of the brushes
+of its stiff, crowded leaves. Its usual height is from forty to fifty
+feet, but it is sometimes much taller. The trunk is not only rough, but
+very dark in color; and from this circumstance the species is frequently
+called black pine. The wood is very hard and firm, and contains a
+quantity of resin. This is much more abundant in the branches than in
+the trunk, and the boards and other lumber of this wood are usually full
+of pitch-knots."
+
+"What are pitch-knots?" asked Clara.
+
+"'When a growing branch,'" read Miss Harson, "'is broken off, the
+remaining portion becomes charged with resin,' which is deposited by the
+resin-bearing sap of the tree, 'forming what is called a pitch-knot,
+extending sometimes to the heart. The same thing takes place through the
+whole heart of a tree when, full of juice, its life is suddenly
+destroyed.' 'Resin' is another name for turpentine, but is used of it
+commonly when hardened into a solid form. The tar is obtained by slowly
+burning splintered pine, both trunk and root, with a smothered flame,
+and collecting the black liquid, which is expelled by the heat and
+caught in cavities beneath the burning pile. Pitch is thickened tar, and
+is used in calking ships and for like purposes."
+
+"I am going to remember that," said Malcolm; "I could never make out
+what all those different things meant."
+
+"What are you thinking about so seriously, Clara?" asked her governess.
+"If it is a puzzle, let me see if I cannot solve it for you."
+
+"Well, Miss Harson, I was thinking of those brown leaves, or 'needles,'
+in the pine-woods, and it seems strange to say that the leaves of
+evergreens never fall off."
+
+"It would not only be strange, dear, but quite untrue, to say that; for
+the same leaves do not, of course, remain for ever on the tree. The
+deciduous trees lose their leaves in the autumn and are entirely bare
+until the next spring, but the evergreens, although they renew their
+leaves, too, are never left without verdure of some sort. Late in
+October you may see the yellow or brown foliage of the pines, then ready
+to fall, surrounding the branches of the previous year's growth, forming
+a whorl of brown fringe surmounted by a tuft of green leaves of the
+present year's growth. Their leaves always turn yellow before the fall."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+_GIANT AND NUT PINES_.
+
+Great was the surprise of Edith when Miss Harson gave the little sleeper
+a gentle shake and told her that it was time to be up. But the birds
+without the window told the same story, and the little maiden was soon
+at the breakfast-table and ready for the day's duties and enjoyments,
+including their "tree-talk."
+
+"Are there any more kinds of pine trees?" asked Malcolm.
+
+[Illustration: "AWAKE, LITTLE ONE!"]
+
+"Yes, indeed!--more than we can take up this summer," replied Miss
+Harson. "There is the Norway pine, or red pine, which in Maine and New
+Hampshire is often seen in forests of white and pitch pine. It has a
+tall trunk of eighty feet or so, and a smooth reddish bark. The leaves
+are in twos, six or eight inches long, and form large tufts or brushes
+at the end of the branchlets. The wood is strong and resembles that of
+the pitch-pine, but it contains no resin. The giant pines of California
+belong to a different species from any that we have been considering,
+and the genus, or order, in which they have been arranged is called
+_Sequoia_[19]. They are generally known, however, as the 'Big Trees.' In
+one grove there are a hundred and three of them, which cover a space of
+fifty acres, called 'Mammoth-Tree Grove.' One of the giants has been
+felled--a task which occupied twenty-two days. It was impossible to cut
+it down, in the ordinary sense of the term, and the men had to bore into
+it with augers until it was at last severed in twain. Even then the
+amazing bulk of the tree prevented it from falling, and it still kept
+its upright position. Two more days were employed in driving wedges into
+the severed part on one side, thus to compel the giant to totter and
+fall. The trunk was no less than three hundred and two feet in height
+and ninety-six in circumference. The stump, which was left standing,
+presented such a large surface that a party of thirty couples have
+danced with ease upon it and still left abundant room for lookers-on."
+
+[19] _Sequoia gigantea_.
+
+When the children had sufficiently exclaimed over the size of this huge
+tree, their governess continued:
+
+"It is thought that these trees must have been growing for more than two
+thousand years, which would make them probably two hundred years old at
+the birth of our Saviour. Does it not seem wonderful to think of? There
+are other groups of giant pines scattered on the mountains and in the
+forests, and some youthful giants about five hundred years old."
+
+"I suppose they are the babies of the family," said Clara; and this idea
+amused Edith very much.
+
+"There is still another kind of pine," said Miss Harson--"the Italian,
+or stone, pine. It is shaped almost exactly like an umbrella with a very
+long handle. The _Pinus pinea_ bears large cones, the seed of which is
+not only eatable, but considered a delicious nut. The cone is three
+years in ripening; it is then about four inches long and three wide, and
+has a reddish hue. Each scale of which the cone is formed is hollow at
+the base and contains a seed much larger than that of any other species.
+When the cone is ripe, it is gathered by the owners of the forest; and
+when thoroughly dried on the roof or thrown for a few minutes into the
+fire, it separates into many compartments, from each of which drops a
+smooth white nut in shape like the seed of the date. The shell is very
+hard, and within it is the fruit, which is much used in making
+sweetmeats. The stone-pine is found also in Palestine, and is supposed
+to be the cypress of the Bible. The author of _The Ride Through
+Palestine_[20] speaks of passing through a fine grove of the stone-pine,
+'tall and umbrella-topped,' with dry sticks rising oddly here and there
+from the very tops of the trees. These sticks were covered with
+birdlime, to snare the poor bird which might be tempted to set foot on
+such treacherous supports; and if the cones were ripe, they would be
+quite sure to do it. Here is the picture, from the book just mentioned.
+Italian pine is a prettier name than stone-pine, and this is the name by
+which it is known to artists, who put it into almost every picture of
+Italian scenery.
+
+     "'Much they admire that old religious tree
+     With shaft above the rest upshooting free,
+     And shaking, when its dark locks feel the wind,
+     Its wealthy fruit with rough and massive rind.'"
+
+[20] Presbyterian Board of Publication.
+
+[Illustration: STONE-PINE--"FIR" _(Pinus maritima_)].
+
+"But how queer it sounds to call fruit _wealthy_!" said Malcolm.
+
+"It is odd," replied his governess, "only because the word is not now
+used in that sense; but the fruit is wealthy both because of its
+abundance and because it can be put to so many uses. Let us see what is
+said of it:
+
+"'The kernels, or seeds, from the cones of the stone-pine have always
+been esteemed as a delicacy. In the old days of Rome and Greece they
+were preserved in honey, and some of the larders of the ill-fated city
+of Pompeii were amply stored with jars of this agreeable conserve, which
+were found intact after all those years. The kernels are also sugared
+over and used as _bonbons_. They enter into many dishes of Italian
+cookery, but great care has to be taken not to expose them to the air.
+They are usually kept in the cones until they are wanted, and will then
+retain their freshness for some years. The squirrels eagerly seek after
+the fruit of this pine and almost subsist upon it. They take the cone in
+their paws and dash out the seeds, thus scattering many of them and
+helping to propagate the tree.
+
+"'There is a bird called the crossbill that makes its nest in the pine.
+It fixes its nest in place by means of the resin of the tree and coats
+it with the same material, so as to render it impervious to the rain.
+The seeds from the cones form its chief food, and it extracts them with
+its curious bill, the two parts of which cross each other. It grasps the
+cone with its foot, after the fashion of a parrot, and digs into it with
+the upper part of its bill, which is like a hook, and forces out the
+seed with a jerk.'"
+
+[Illustration: PINE-CONE (_Pinus Sylvestris_.)]
+
+The children enjoyed this account very much, and they thought that
+stone-pine nuts--which they had never seen, and perhaps never would
+see--must be the most delicious nuts that ever grew.
+
+"What nice times the birds have," said Clara, "helping themselves to all
+the good things that other people can't reach!"
+
+"They are not exactly 'people,'" replied Miss Harson, laughing; "and, in
+spite of all these 'nice times,' you would not be quite willing to
+change with them, I think."
+
+No, on the whole, Clara was quite sure that she would not.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+_MORE WINTER TREES: THE FIRS AND THE SPRUCES_.
+
+There were some beautiful evergreens on the lawn at Elmridge, and,
+although the foliage seemed dark in summer, it gave the place a very
+cheerful look in winter, when other trees were quite bare, while the
+birds flew in and out of them so constantly that spring seemed to have
+come long before it really did arrive.
+
+"This balsam-fir," said Miss Harson as they stood near a tall, beautiful
+tree that tapered to a point, "has, you see, a straight, smooth trunk
+and tapers regularly and rapidly to the top. You will notice, too, that
+the leaves, which are needle-shaped and nearly flat, do not grow in
+clusters, but singly, and that their color is peculiar. There are faint
+white lines on the upper part and a silvery-blue tinge beneath, and
+this silvery look is produced by many lines of small, shining resinous
+dots. The deep-green bark, striped with gray, is full of balsam, or
+resin, known as balm of Gilead or Canada balsam, and highly valued as a
+cure for diseases of the lungs. The long cones are erect, or standing,
+and grow thickly near the ends of the upper branches. They have round,
+bluish-purple scales, and the soft color has a very pretty effect on the
+tree. They ripen every year, and the lively little squirrel, as he is
+called, feasts upon them, as the crossbill does on the cones of the
+stone-pine. But the mischievous little animal also barks the boughs and
+gnaws off the tops of the leading shoots, so that many trees are injured
+and defaced by his depredations."
+
+[Illustration: AMERICAN WHITE SPRUCE.]
+
+"He _is_ a lively little squirrel," observed Malcolm. "How he does race!
+But he doesn't gnaw our trees, does he?"
+
+"No, I think not, for he prefers staying in the woods and fields; but
+fir-woods are his especial delight. Our balsam-fir is the American
+sister of the silver fir of Europe, both having bluish-green foliage
+with a silvery under surface, in a single row on either side of the
+branches, which curve gracefully upward at the ends. The tree has a
+peculiarly light, airy appearance until it is old, when there is little
+foliage except at the ends of the branches. The silver fir is one of the
+tallest trees on the continent of Europe, and it is remarkable for the
+beauty of its form and foliage and the value of its timber."
+
+"I know what this tree is," said Clara, turning to an evergreen of
+stately form and graceful, drooping branches that almost touched the
+ground: "it's Norway spruce. Papa told me this morning."
+
+[Illustration: THE NORWAY PINE.]
+
+"Yes," replied her governess, "and a beautiful tree it is, like the fir
+in many respects, but the bark is rougher and the cones droop. The
+branches, too, are lower and more sweeping. But the fir and the spruce
+are more alike than many sisters and brothers. The Scotch fir, about
+which there are many interesting things to be learned, is more
+rugged-looking, and the Norway spruce, which will bear studying too, is
+more grand and majestic."
+
+[Illustration: THE HEMLOCK SPRUCE.]
+
+"I know this one, Miss Harson," said little Edith as they came to a
+sweeping hemlock near the bay-window of the dining-room.
+
+"Yes, dear," was the reply; "Hemlock Lodge has made you feel very well
+acquainted with the tree after which it is named. It is one of the most
+beautiful of the evergreens, with its widely-spreading branches and
+their delicate, fringe-like foliage; but, although the branches are
+ornamental for church and house decoration, they are very perishable,
+and drop their small needles almost immediately when placed in a heated
+room. And now," continued the young lady, "we have come back to warm
+piazza-days again, and can have our talk in the open air."
+
+So on the piazza they speedily established themselves, with Miss Harson
+in the low, comfortable chair and her audience on the crimson cushions
+that had been piled up in a corner.
+
+"We shall find a great deal about the fir tree," said Miss Harson, "as
+it is very hardy and rugged, and as common in all Northern regions as
+the white birch--quite as useful, too, as we shall soon see. This rugged
+species--which is generally called the Scotch fir--is not so smooth and
+handsome as our balsam-fir, but it is a tree which the people who live
+near the great Northern forests of Europe could not easily do without.
+It belongs to the great pine family and is often called a pine, but in
+the countries of Great Britain especially it is called the Scotch fir.
+Although well shaped, it is not a particularly elegant-looking tree. The
+branches are generally gnarled and broken, and the style of the tree is
+more sturdy than graceful. The Scotch fir often grows to the height of a
+hundred feet, and the bark is of a reddish tinge. 'It is one of the most
+useful of the tribe, and, like the bountiful palm, confers the greatest
+blessing on the inhabitants of the country where it grows. It serves the
+peasants of the bleak, barren parts of Sweden and Lapland for food:
+their scanty supply of meal often runs short, and they go to the pine to
+eke it out. They choose the oldest and least resinous of the branches
+and take out the inner bark. They first grind it in a mill, and then mix
+it with their store of meal; after this it is worked into dough and made
+into cakes like pancakes. The bark-bread is a valuable addition to
+their slender resources, and sometimes the young shoots are used as
+well as the bark. Indeed, so largely is this store of food drawn upon
+that many trees have been destroyed, and in some places the forest is
+actually thinned."
+
+"They're as bad as the squirrels," said Malcolm. "But how I should hate
+to eat such stuff!"
+
+"It may not be so very bad," replied his governess. "Some people think
+that only white bread is fit to eat, but I think that Kitty's brown
+bread is rather liked in this family."
+
+The children all laughed, for didn't papa declare--with _such_ a sober
+face!--that they were eating him out of house and home in brown bread
+alone? Kitty, too, pretended to grumble because the plump loaves
+disappeared so fast, but she said to herself at the same time, "Bless
+their hearts! let 'em eat: it's better than a doctor's bill."
+
+"A great many other things besides pancakes are made from the tree,"
+continued Miss Harson, "and the fresh green tops furnish very
+nice carpets."
+
+There was a faint "_Oh!_" at this, but, after all, it was not so
+surprising as the cakes had been.
+
+"They are scattered on the floors of houses as rushes used to be in old
+times in England, and thus they serve as carpet and prevent the mud and
+dirt that stick to the shoes of the peasants from staining the floor;
+and when trodden on, the leaves give out a most agreeable
+aromatic perfume."
+
+"I'd like that part," said Clara.
+
+[Illustration: THE BLUE SPRUCE.]
+
+"But you cannot have one part without taking it all; almost everything,
+you see, has a pleasant side.--'The peasant finds no limit to the use
+of the pine. Of its bark he makes the little canoe which is to carry him
+along the river; it is simple in its construction, and as light as
+possible. When he comes within safe distance of one of those gushing,
+foaming cataracts that he meets with in his course, he pushes his canoe
+to land and carries it on his shoulders until the danger is past; then
+he launches it again, and paddles merrily onward. Not a single nail is
+used in his canoe: the planks are tightly secured together by a natural
+cordage made of the roots of the pine. He splits them of the right
+thickness, and with very little preparation they form exactly the
+material he needs.'"
+
+Malcolm evidently had some idea of making a canoe of this kind, but he
+became discouraged when his governess reminded him that he could not cut
+down trees, and that his father would prefer having them left standing.
+It did not seem necessary to speak of any difficulties in the way of
+putting the boat together.
+
+"Another use for the fir is to light up the poor hut of the peasant. 'He
+splits up the branches into laths and makes them into torches. If he
+wants a light, he takes one of the laths and kindles it at the fire;
+then he fixes it in a rude frame, which serves him for a candlestick.
+The light is very brilliant while it lasts, but is soon spent, and he
+is in darkness again. The same use is made of the pine. It is no unusual
+circumstance, in the Scotch pine-woods, to come upon a tree with the
+trunk scooped out from each side and carried away: the cottager has been
+to fetch material for his candles. But this somewhat rough usage does
+not hurt the tree, and it continues green and healthy.' In our Southern
+States pine-fat with resin is called lightwood, and is used for the
+same purpose."
+
+"That's an easy way of getting candles," said Clara.
+
+"Easy, perhaps, compared with the trouble of moulding them," replied
+Miss Harson, "but I do not think we should fancy either way of
+preparing them."
+
+"Is there anything to tell about the spruce tree?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"It is too much like the fir," replied his governess, "to have any very
+distinct character; but there are species here, known as the white and
+black spruce, besides the hemlock."
+
+But the children thought that hemlock was hemlock: how did it come to
+be spruce?
+
+"Because it has the family features--leaves solitary and very short;
+cones pendulous, or hanging, with the scales thin at the edge; and the
+fruit ripens in a single year. The hemlock-spruce, as it is sometimes
+called, is, I think, the most beautiful of the family. 'It is
+distinguished from all the other pines by the softness and delicacy of
+its tufted foliage, from the spruce by its slender, tapering branchlets
+and the smoothness of its limbs, and from the balsam-fir by its small
+terminal cones, by the irregularity of its branches and the gracefulness
+of its whole appearance.' The delicate green of the young trees forms a
+rich mass of verdure, and at this season each twig has on the end a tuft
+of new leaves yellowish-green in color and making a beautiful contrast
+to the darker hue of last year's foliage. The bark of the trunk is
+reddish, and that of the smooth branches and small twigs is light gray.
+The branchlets are very small, light and slender, and are set
+irregularly on the sides of the small branches; so that they form a
+flat surface. This arrangement renders them singularly well adapted to
+the making of brooms--a use of the hemlock familiar to housekeepers in
+the country towns throughout New England. The leaves, which are
+extremely delicate and of a silvery whiteness on the under side, are
+arranged in a row on each side of the branchlets. The slender,
+thread-like stems on which they grow make them move easily with the
+slightest breath of wind, and this, with the silvery hue underneath,
+gives to the foliage a glittering look that is very pretty. But I think
+you all can tell me when the hemlock is prettiest?"
+
+"After a snow-storm," said Clara. "Don't we all look, almost the first
+thing, at the tree by the dining-room window?"
+
+"Yes," replied Miss Harson; "it is a beautiful sight with the snow lying
+on it in masses and the dark green of the leaves peeping through. 'The
+branches put forth irregularly from all parts of the trunk, and lie one
+above another, each bending over at its extremities upon the surface of
+those below, like the feathers upon the wings of a bird,' And soft,
+downy plumes they look, with the snow resting on them and making them
+more feathery than ever."
+
+"So they are like feathers?" said Malcolm, to whom this was a new idea,
+"I'll look for 'em the next time it snows; yet--" He was going to add
+that he wished it would snow to-morrow; but remembering that it was only
+the beginning of June, and that Miss Harson had shown them how each
+season has its pleasures, he stopped just in time.
+
+"The pretty little cones of the hemlock, which grow very thickly on the
+tree, have a crimson tinge at first, and turn to a light brown. They are
+found hanging on the ends of the small branches, and they fall during
+the autumn and winter. This tree is a native of the coldest parts of
+North America, where it is found in whole forests, and it flourishes on
+granite rocks on the sides of hills exposed to the most violent storms.
+The wood is firm and contains very little resin; it is much used for
+building-purposes. A great quantity of tannin is obtained from the
+bark; and when mixed with that of the oak, it is valuable for
+preparing leather.
+
+"We have taken the prettiest of the spruces first," continued Miss
+Harson, "and now we must see what are the differences between them. 'The
+two species of American spruce, the black and the white--or, as they are
+more commonly called, the double and the single--are distinguished from
+the fir and the hemlock in every stage of growth by the roughness of the
+bark on their branches, produced by little ridges running down from the
+base of each leaf, and by the disposition of the leaves, which are
+arranged in spirals equally on every side of the young shoots. The
+double is distinguished from the single spruce by the darker color of
+the foliage--whence its name of black spruce--by the greater thickness,
+in proportion to the length, of the cones, and by the looseness of its
+scales, which are jagged, or toothed, on the edge.' It is a
+well-proportioned tree, but stiff-looking, and the dark foliage, which
+never seems to change, gives it a gloomy aspect. The leaves are closely
+arranged in spiral lines. The black spruce is never a very large tree,
+but the wood is light, elastic and durable, and is valuable in
+shipbuilding, for making ladders and for shingles. The young shoots are
+much in demand for making spruce-beer. The white spruce is more slender
+and tapering, and the bark and leaves are lighter. The root is very
+tough, and the Canadian Indians make threads from the fibres, with which
+they sew together the birch-bark for their canoes. The wood is as
+valuable as that of the black spruce."
+
+"Does the Norway spruce come from Norway?" asked Clara.
+
+"Yes; that is its native land, where it presents its most grand and
+beautiful appearance. There it 'rivals the palm in stature, and even
+attains the height of one hundred and eighty feet. Its handsome branches
+spread out on every side and clothe the trunk to its base, while the
+summit of the tree ends in an arrow-like point. In very old trees the
+branches droop at the extremities, and not only rest upon the ground,
+but actually take root in it and grow. Thus a number of young trees are
+often seen clustering around the trunk of an old one.'"
+
+"Why, that's like the banyan tree," said Malcolm.
+
+"Only there is a difference in the manner of growth, for the branches of
+the banyan are some distance from the ground and send forth rootlets
+without touching it. The Norway spruce is also the great tree of the
+Alps, where it seems to match the majestic scenery. The timber is
+valuable for building; and when sawed into planks, it is called white
+deal, while that of the Scotch fir is red deal.
+
+"And now," said Miss Harson, "before we leave the firs, let us see what
+is said about them in the Bible. They were used for shipbuilding in the
+city of Tyre; for the prophet Ezekiel says, 'They have made all thy ship
+boards of fir trees of Senir[21],' and it is written that 'David and all
+the house of Israel played before the Lord on all manner of instruments
+made of firwood[22].' The same wood was used then in building houses,
+as you will find, Malcolm, by turning to the Song of Solomon, seventh
+chapter, seventeenth verse."
+
+[21] Ezek. xxvii. 5.
+
+[22] 2 Sam. vi. 5.
+
+"'The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir,'" read
+Malcolm.
+
+"In Kings it is said, 'So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees,
+according to his desire[23],' and these trees were to be used for the
+very house, or palace, of which the Jewish king speaks in his Song.
+Evergreens are often mentioned in the Bible, and in that beautiful
+Christmas chapter, the sixtieth of Isaiah, you will find the fir tree
+again.--Read the thirteenth verse, Clara."
+
+[23] I Kings v. 10.
+
+"'The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine
+tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I
+will make the place of my feet glorious.'--What is 'the glory of
+Lebanon,' Miss Harson?"
+
+"The cedar of Lebanon, dear; and we will now turn our attention to that
+and the other cedars."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+_THE CEDARS_.
+
+"The cypress tribe," said Miss Harson, "differ from the pines, or
+Coniferae, by not having their fruit in a true cone, but in a roundish
+head which consists of a small number of scales, sometimes forming a
+sort of berry. One of the most common of this family is the arbor vitae,
+or tree of life--a tree so small as to look like a pointed shrub, and
+more used for fences than for ornament. An arbor-vitae hedge, you know,
+divides our flower garden from the kitchen-garden and goes all the way
+down to the brook."
+
+"I like the smell of it," said Clara. "Don't you, Miss Harson?"
+
+[Illustration: SIBERIAN ARBOR VITAE]
+
+"Yes," was the reply, "there is something very fresh and pleasant about
+it; and when well kept, as John is sure to keep ours, it makes a
+beautiful hedge. As a tree it has been known to reach forty or fifty
+feet in height, with a trunk ten feet in circumference. The leaves are
+arranged in four rows, in alternately opposite pairs, and seem to make
+up the fan-like branchlets. These branchlets look like parts of a large
+compound, flat leaf. The bark is slightly furrowed, smooth to the touch,
+and very white when the tree stands exposed. The wood is reddish,
+somewhat odorous, very light, soft and fine-grained. In the northern
+part of the United States and in Canada it holds the first place for
+durability."
+
+"I thought the cypress was a flower," said Malcolm.
+
+"So one kind of cypress is," replied his governess--"the blossom of an
+airy-looking and beautiful creeper; but the name also belongs to a
+family of trees. The white cedar, or cypress, is a very graceful tree
+which generally grows in swamps. 'It is entirely free from the stiffness
+of the pines, and to the spiry top of the poplar it unites the airy
+lightness of the hemlock. The trunk is straight and tall, tapering very
+gradually, and toward the top there are short irregular branches,
+forming a small but beautiful head, above which the leading shoot waves
+like a slender plume.' The leaves are very small and scale-like, with
+sharp points, and grow in four rows on the ends of the branchlets,
+giving them the appearance of large compound leaves. The wood is very
+durable, and is used for many building-purposes. It is generally of a
+faint rose-color, and always keeps its aromatic odor."
+
+[Illustration: IRISH JUNIPER.]
+
+"Is that what our cedar-chests are made of to keep the moths from our
+winter clothes?" asked Clara.
+
+"Yes," replied Miss Harson, "but the name 'cedar' is; not correct,
+though it is one commonly given to this tree. The wood of the European
+cypress is also used for many purposes where strength and durability are
+required, for it really seems never to wear out. This tree is described
+as tapering and cone-like, with upright branches growing close to the
+trunk, and in its general appearance a little resembling a poplar. Its
+frond-like branches are closely covered with very small sharp-pointed
+leaves of a yellow-green color, smooth and shining, and they remain on
+the tree five or six years. The cypress is often seen in burying-grounds
+in Europe, and in Turkey it often stands at each end of a grave. The
+oldest tree in Europe is thought to be an Italian cypress said to have
+been planted in the year of our Saviour's birth; it is an object of
+great reverence in the neighborhood. This ancient tree is a hundred and
+twenty feet high and twenty-three feet around the trunk.
+
+"The juniper--or red cedar, as it is improperly called--is not a
+handsome tree, but it is a very useful one. It has a scraggy, stunted
+look, and the foliage is apt to be rusty; but it will grow in rocky,
+sandy places where no other tree would even try to hold up its head, and
+the wood, when made into timber, lasts for a great many years. Posts for
+fences are made of the juniper or red cedar, and the shipbuilder,
+boatbuilder, carpenter, cabinet-maker and turner are all steady
+customers for it. The 'cedar-apples' found on this tree are one phase
+of the life of a very curious fungus. They are covered with a
+reddish-brown bark; and when fresh, they are tough and fleshy, somewhat
+like an unripe apple. When dry they become of a woody nature."
+
+"They pucker up your mouth awfully," said Malcolm, who had made several
+attempts to eat them; but, do what he would, he could not even "make
+believe" they were nice.
+
+"I have no doubt of it," was the reply, "remembering the dreadful faces
+I have seen on some of our rambles. But the birds like them, as they do
+everything of the kind that is not poisonous."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Isn't it beautiful?" exclaimed the children, in delight. They were
+admiring a magnificent cedar of Lebanon in one of the pictures which
+Miss Harson had collected for their benefit, and it seemed no wonder
+that the grand spreading tree should be called "the glory of Lebanon."
+
+"It is indeed beautiful," replied their governess; "and think of seeing
+a whole mountain covered with such trees! A traveler speaks of them as
+the most solemnly impressive trees in the world, and says that their
+massive trunks, clothed with a scaly texture almost like the skin of
+living animals and contorted with all the irregularities of age, may
+well have suggested those ideas of royal, almost divine, strength and
+solidity which the sacred writers ascribe to them.--Turn to the
+ninety-second psalm, Clara, and read the twelfth verse."
+
+"'The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree; he shall grow like a
+cedar in Lebanon.'"
+
+"In the thirty-first chapter of Ezekiel," continued Miss Harson, "it is
+written, 'Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair
+branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his
+top was among the thick boughs. The waters made him great, the deep set
+him up on high with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent
+out her little rivers unto all the trees of the field. Therefore his
+height was exalted above all the trees of the field and his boughs were
+multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of
+waters, when he shot forth. All the fowls of heaven made their nests in
+his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring
+forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations.'"
+
+[Illustration: CEDAR OF LEBANON.]
+
+"Are the leaves like those of our cedar trees?" asked Malcolm, who was
+studying the picture quite intently. "The tree doesn't look like 'em."
+
+"They are somewhat like them," replied his governess, "being slender and
+straight and about an inch long. They grow in tufts, and in the centre
+of some of the tufts there is a small cone which is very pretty and
+often brought to this country by travelers for their friends at home. In
+_The Land and the Book_ there is a picture of small branches with cones,
+and the author says of the cedar: 'There is a striking peculiarity in
+the shape of this tree which I have not seen any notice of in books of
+travel. The branches are thrown out horizontally from the parent trunk.
+These again part into limbs, which preserve the same horizontal
+direction, and so on down to the minutest twigs; and even the
+arrangement of the clustered leaves has the same general tendency. Climb
+into one, and you are delighted with a succession of verdant floors
+spread around the trunk and gradually narrowing as you ascend. The
+beautiful cones seem to stand upon or rise out of this green flooring.'
+The same writer says that by examining the different growths of wood
+inside the trunk of one of the trees these ancient cedars of Lebanon
+have been proved to be three thousand five hundred years old."
+
+"Oh, Miss Harson!" exclaimed her audience; "could any tree be as old as
+that?"
+
+"It is possible. The circle of growing wood which is made each year is a
+pretty good method of telling the age of a tree, and these cedars of
+Lebanon are considered the oldest trees in the world. Travelers have
+always spoken of the beauty and symmetry of these trees, with their
+widespreading branches and cone-like tops. All through the Middle Ages a
+visit to the cedars of Lebanon was regarded by many persons in the light
+of a pilgrimage. Some of the trees were thought to have been planted by
+King Solomon himself, and were looked upon as sacred relics. Indeed, the
+visitors took away so many pieces from the bark that it was feared the
+trees would be destroyed. The cedars stand in a valley a considerable
+way up the mountain, where the snow renders it inaccessible for part of
+the year."
+
+"Are the trees just in one particular place, then?" asked Malcolm. "I
+thought they grew all over that country?"
+
+"The principal and best-known grove of very large and ancient cedars of
+Lebanon is found in one place," replied his governess, "but there are
+other groves now known to exist. The famous grove was fast disappearing,
+until there were but few of them left. The pilgrims who went to visit
+them in such numbers in olden times were accompanied by monks from a
+monastery about four miles below, who would beseech them not to injure a
+single leaf. But the greatest care could not preserve the trees. Some of
+them have been struck down by lightning, some broken by enormous loads
+of snow, and others torn to fragments by tempests. Some have even been
+cut down with axes like any common tree. But better care is now taken of
+them; so that we may hope that the grove will live and increase."
+
+"But why weren't they saved," asked Clara, "when people thought so much
+of them?"
+
+"It seems to be a part of the general desolation of the land of God's
+chosen but rebellious people. In the third chapter of the prophet
+Isaiah, verses eleven and twelve, it is said, 'For the day of the Lord
+of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every
+one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low; and upon all the
+cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of
+Bashan.' The same prophet says, in the tenth chapter and nineteenth
+verse, 'And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a
+child may write them.' These words have been particularly applied to the
+stately cedars of Lebanon, for 'the once magnificent grove is but a
+speck on the mountain-side. Many persons have taken it in the distance
+for a wood of fir trees, but on approaching nearer and taking a closer
+view the cedars resume somewhat of their ancient majesty. The space they
+cover is not more than half a mile, but, once amidst them, the beautiful
+fan-like branches overhead, the exquisite green of the younger trees and
+the colossal size of the older ones fill the mind with interest and
+admiration. Within the grove all is hushed as in a land of the past.
+Where once the Tyrian workman plied his axe and the sound of many
+voices came upon the ear, there are now the silence and solitude of
+desertion and decay.'--Malcolm," added his governess, "you may read us
+what is written in the sixth verse of the fourteenth chapter of Hosea."
+
+"'His branches,'" read Malcolm, "'shall spread, and his beauty shall be
+as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.' What does that mean,
+Miss Harson?"
+
+"It means the fragrant resin which exudes from both the trunk and the
+cones of the beautiful cedar. It is soft, and its fragrance is like that
+of the balsam of Mecca. 'Everything about this tree has a strong
+balsamic odor, and hence the whole grove is so pleasant and fragrant
+that it is delightful to walk in it. The wood is peculiarly adapted for
+building, because it is not subject to decay, nor is it eaten of worms.
+It was much used for rafters and for boards with which to cover houses
+and form the floors and ceilings of rooms. It was of a red color,
+beautiful, solid and free from knots. The palace of Persepolis, the
+temple of Jerusalem and Solomon's palace were all in this way built with
+cedar, and the house of the forest of Lebanon was perhaps so called from
+the quantity of this wood used in its construction.' We are told in
+First Kings that Solomon 'built also the house of the forest of
+Lebanon[24],' and that 'he made three hundred shields of beaten gold'
+and 'put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon[25].' All the
+drinking-vessels, too, of this wonderful palace, which is always spoken
+of as 'the house of the forest of Lebanon,' were of pure gold, and its
+magnificence shows how highly the beautiful cedar-wood was valued."
+
+[24] I Kings vii. 2.
+
+[25] I Kings x. 17.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+_THE PALMS_.
+
+"There is a wonderful evergreen," said Miss Harson, "which grows in
+tropical countries, and also in some sub-tropical countries, such as the
+Holy Land, and is said to have nearly as many uses as there are days in
+a year. You must tell me what it is when you have seen the picture."
+
+[Illustration: PALM TREE.]
+
+Malcolm and Clara both pronounced it a palm tree, and Clara asked if
+there were any such trees growing in this country.
+
+"Some of its relations are found on our Southern seacoast," replied
+their governess; "South Carolina, you know, is called 'the Palmetto
+State.' There is a member of the family called the cabbage-palmetto,
+the unexpanded leaves of which are used as a table vegetable, which you
+may see in Florida. Its young leaves are all in a mass at the top, and
+when boiled make a dish something like cabbage. The leaves of the
+palmetto are also used, when perfect, in the manufacture of hats,
+baskets and mats, and for many other purposes. But its stately and
+majestic cousin, the date-palm of the East, with its tall, slender stalk
+and magnificent crown of feathery leaves, has had its praises sung in
+every age and clime. 'Besides its great importance as a fruit-producer,
+it has a special beauty of its own when the clusters of dates are
+hanging in golden ripeness under its coronal of dark-green leaves. Its
+well-known fruit affords sustenance to the dwellers on the borders of
+the great African desert; it is as necessary to them as is the camel,
+and in many cases they may be said to owe their existence to it alone.
+The tree rears its column-like stem to the height of ninety feet, and
+its crown consists of fifty leaves about twelve feet in length and
+fringed at the edges like a feather. Between the leaf and the stem there
+issue several horny spathes, or sheaths, out of which spring clusters of
+panicles that bear small white flowers,' These flowers are followed by
+the dates, which grow in a dense bunch that hangs down several feet."
+
+"But how do people manage to climb such a tree as that," asked Malcolm,
+"to get the dates? It goes straight up in the air without any branches,
+and looks as if it would snap in two if any one tried it."
+
+"It does not snap, though, for it is very strong; and the climbing is
+easier than you imagine, even when the tree is a hundred feet high, as
+it sometimes is. The trunk, you see, is full of rugged knots. These
+projections are the remains of decayed leaves which have dropped off
+when their work was done. As the older leaves decay the stalk advances
+in height. It has not true wood, like most trees, but the stem has
+bundles of fibres that are closely pressed together on the outer part.
+Toward the root these are so entwined that they become as hard as iron
+and are very difficult to cut. The tree grows very slowly, but it lives
+for centuries. I have a Persian fable in rhyme for you, called
+
+     "'THE GOURD AND THE PALM.
+
+     "'"How old art thou?" said the garrulous gourd
+     As o'er the palm tree's crest it poured
+     Its spreading leaves and tendrils fine,
+     And hung a-bloom in the morning shine.
+     "A hundred years," the palm tree sighed.--
+     "And I," the saucy gourd replied,
+     "Am at the most a hundred hours,
+     And overtop thee in the bowers."
+
+     "'Through all the palm tree's leaves there went
+     A tremor as of self-content.
+     "I live my life," it whispering said,
+     "See what I see, and count the dead;
+     And every year of all I've known
+     A gourd above my head has grown
+     And made a boast like thine to-day,
+     Yet here I stand; but where are they?"'"
+
+The children were very much pleased with the fable, and they began to
+feel quite an affection for the venerable and useful palm tree.
+
+"The date tree," continued their governess, "as this species of palm is
+often called, blossoms in April, and the fruit ripens in October. Each
+tree produces from ten to twelve bunches, and the usual weight of a
+bunch is about fifteen pounds. It is esteemed a crime to fell a date
+tree or to supply an axe intended for that purpose, even though the tree
+may belong to an enemy. The date-harvest is expected with as much
+anxiety by the Arab in the oasis as the gathering in of the wheat and
+corn in temperate regions. If it were to fail, the Arabs would be in
+danger of famine. The blessings of the date-palm are without limit to
+the Arab. Its leaves give a refreshing shade in a region where the beams
+of the sun are almost insupportable; men, and also camels, feed upon the
+fruit; the wood of the tree is used for fuel and for building the native
+huts; and ropes, mats, baskets, beds, and all kinds of articles, are
+manufactured from the fibres of the leaves. The Arab cannot imagine how
+a nation can exist without date-palms, and he may well regard it as the
+greatest injury that he can inflict upon his enemy to cut down
+his trees."
+
+"Miss Harson," asked Edith, very earnestly, "isn't the palm tree in the
+Bible?"
+
+[Illustration: DATE-PALM AT JERICHO.]
+
+"It certainly is, dear," replied her governess, "and it is one of the
+trees most frequently mentioned. In Deuteronomy, thirty-fourth chapter,
+third verse, Jericho is called the 'city of palm trees.' Travelers still
+speak of these trees as yet growing in Palestine, but they are not
+nearly so abundant as they once were; near Jericho only one or two can
+be found. There are many allusions to the palm in the Scriptures. King
+David, in the ninety-second psalm, says that the righteous shall
+flourish like the palm tree: 'Those that be planted in the house of the
+Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall bring forth
+fruit in old age.' The palm is always upright, in spite of rain or wind.
+'There it stands, looking calmly down upon the world below, and
+patiently yielding its large clusters of golden fruit from generation to
+generation. It brings forth fruit in old age.' The allusion to being
+planted in the house of the Lord is probably drawn from the custom of
+planting beautiful and long-lived trees in the courts of temples and
+palaces. Solomon covered all the walls of the holy of holies round
+about with golden palm trees.--You will find this, Clara, in
+First Kings."
+
+Clara read:
+
+"'And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved
+figures of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, within and
+without[26].'"
+
+[26] I Kings vi. 29.
+
+"In the thirty-second verse," continued Miss Harson, "it is written that
+he overlaid them with gold, 'and spread gold upon the cherubim, and upon
+the palm trees.' 'They were thus planted, as it were, within the very
+house of the Lord; and their presence there was not only ornamental, but
+appropriate and highly suggestive--the very best emblem not only of
+patience in well-doing, but of the rewards of the righteous, a fat and
+flourishing old age, a peaceful end, a glorious immortality.'"
+
+"What does a 'palmer' mean, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm. "Is it a man
+who has palm trees or who sells dates? I saw the word in a book I was
+reading, but I couldn't understand what it meant."
+
+"In olden times," replied his governess, "when people made so many
+pilgrimages, some of the pilgrims went to the Holy Land and some to Rome
+and other places; but those who went to Palestine were thought to be the
+most devout, both because it was so much farther off and because there
+were so many sacred spots to visit there. These pilgrims always brought
+home with them branches of palm, to show that they had really been to
+the land where the tree grew; and so they were called _palmers_. To say
+that such-a-one was a palmer was far more than to say that he was
+a pilgrim."
+
+"Miss Harson," said Clara, holding up one of the books, "here is a
+picture called 'the cocoanut-palm,' but I didn't know that cocoanuts
+grew on palm trees. Will you tell us something about it?"
+
+[Illustration: COCOANUT-PALM TREES IN SOUTH-EASTERN AFRICA.]
+
+"Certainly I will, dear," was the reply. "I fully intended to do so, for
+the cocoanut-palm is too valuable a member of the family to be passed
+over. This species does not grow in Palestine, and it is not one of the
+trees of the Bible; its home is in the warmest countries, and it grows
+most luxuriantly in the islands of the tropics or near the seacoast on
+the main-lands. Although its general form is similar to that of the
+date-palm, the foliage and fruit are quite different. The leaves are
+very much broader, and they have not the light, airy look of the foliage
+of the date-palm. But 'the cocoanut-palm is the most valuable of
+Nature's gifts to the inhabitants of those parts of the tropics where it
+grows, and its hundred uses, as they are not inaptly called, extend
+beyond the tropics over the civilized world. The beautiful islands of
+the southern seas are fringed with cocoanut-palms that encircle them as
+with a green and feathery belt. The ripe nuts drop into the sea, but,
+protected by their husks, they float away until the tide washes them on
+to the shore of some neighboring island, where they can take root
+and grow.'"
+
+"Wouldn't it be nice," said Edith, "if some would float here?"
+
+"A great many cocoanuts float here in ships," replied Miss Harson, "but
+they would not take root and grow, because the climate is not suited to
+them; it is too cold for them. We cannot have tropical fruit without
+tropical heat, and I am sure that none of us would want such a change as
+that. You may sometimes see small cocoanut trees in hothouses or
+horticultural gardens, where they are shielded from our cold air. The
+island of Ceylon, in the East Indies, is full of cocoanut-palm trees,
+for they are carefully cultivated by the inhabitants, and the feathery
+groves stretch mile after mile. The tree shoots up a column-like stem to
+the height of a hundred feet, and is crowned with a tuft of broad leaves
+about twelve feet long. The flowers are yellowish white and grow in
+clusters, and the seed ripens into a hard nut which in its fibrous husk
+is about the size of an infant's head."
+
+"I've seen the nut in its husk," said Malcolm, "when papa took me down
+to the wharf where the ships come in. There were lots of cocoanuts, and
+some of 'em had their coats on."
+
+"This brown husk," continued his governess, "is a valuable part of the
+nut, for the toughest ropes and cables are made of its fibres, as well
+as the useful brown matting so generally used to cover offices and
+passages. Brushes, nets and other domestic articles are also
+manufactured from the husk. Scarcely any other tree in the world is so
+useful to man or contributes so much to his comfort as the
+cocoanut-palm. Food and drink are alike obtained from it. The kernel of
+the nut is an article of diet, and can be prepared in many ways. The
+native is almost sustained by it, and in Ceylon it forms a part of
+nearly every dish. The spathe that encloses the yet-unopened flowers is
+made to yield a favorite beverage called palm-wine, or, more familiarly,
+'toddy.' When the fresh juice is used, it is an innocent and refreshing
+drink; but when left to ferment, it intoxicates, and is the one evil
+result from the bountiful gifts of the tree. Oil is prepared in great
+quantities from the nuts and used for various purposes."
+
+"Are there any more kinds of palm trees?" asked the children.
+
+"Yes," was the reply; "there are a great many members of this most
+useful family, but the one that will interest you most, after the
+date-and cocoanut-palm, is, I think, the sago-palm."
+
+[Illustration: YOUNG COCOANUT TREE IN POT (_Cocos nucifera_).]
+
+"Why, Miss Harson!" exclaimed Clara, in surprise; "does sago really grow
+on a tree?"
+
+"It really grows _in_ a tree--for it is a kind of starch secreted by the
+tree for the use of its flowers and fruit--and in order to obtain it the
+tree has to be cut down. The pith is then taken out and cut in slices,
+soaked in water and roasted; and when it assumes the shape of the small
+globules in which we see it, it is ready for exportation."
+
+"Well!" said Malcolm; "I never knew _that_ before. We've learned ever so
+many things, Miss Harson."
+
+"There is one thing about the palm," said Miss Harson, "which I have
+purposely left for the last--especially as it is the last also of our
+trees for the present--and that is the sacred associations which its
+branches have for both Jews and Christians. The Jews were commanded on
+the first day of the feast of tabernacles to 'take the boughs of goodly
+trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and
+willows of the brook, to rejoice before the Lord their God.' The palm
+was a symbol of victory, and branches of it were strewn in the path of
+conquerors, more especially of those who had fought for religious truth.
+It is the emblem of the martyr, as a conqueror through Christ. The
+Sunday before Easter is called Palm Sunday because in the ancient
+churches leaves of palm were carried that day by worshipers in memory of
+those strewn in the way on the triumphal entry of the King of Zion into
+Jerusalem. You will find it, Malcolm, in John."
+
+Malcolm read very reverently:
+
+"'On the next day, much people that were come to the feast, when they
+heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees,
+and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna; Blessed is the King of
+Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord[27].'"
+
+[27] John xii. 12, 13.
+
+"Here," said Miss Harson, "is a little hymn written on these very
+verses:
+
+     "'See a small procession slowly
+       Toward the temple wind its way;
+     In the midst rides, meek and lowly,
+       One whom angel-hosts obey.
+
+     "'How the shouting crowd adore him,
+       Now, for once, they know their King;
+     Some their garments cast before him,
+       Green palm-branches others bring.
+
+     "'Calmly, yet with holy sorrow,
+       Christ permits the sacrifice.
+     Knowing well that on the morrow
+       Changed will be those fickle cries.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+     "'Children, when in prayers and praises
+       Loudly we with lips adore,
+     While the heart no anthem raises,
+       Are not we like those of yore?
+
+     "'O Lord Jesus, let us never
+       Lift the voice in heartless songs;
+     Help us to remember ever
+       All that to thy name belongs.'"
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AMONG THE TREES AT ELMRIDGE***
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+<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, Among the Trees at Elmridge, by Ella Rodman
+Church</h1>
+<pre>
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at <a href = "https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>
+
+Title: Among the Trees at Elmridge
+
+Author: Ella Rodman Church
+
+Release Date: March 26, 2004  [eBook #11723]
+[HTML version only corrected January 5, 2009]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: iso-8859-1
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AMONG THE TREES AT ELMRIDGE***
+</pre>
+<br>
+<br>
+<center><h3>E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Charlie Kirschner,<br>
+            and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team</h3></center>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr class="full" noshade>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h1>AMONG THE TREES</h1>
+<h3>AT</h3>
+<h2>ELMRIDGE</h2>
+<h4>BY</h4>
+<h3>ELLA RODMAN CHURCH</h3>
+<h4>1886</h4>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2>CONTENTS.</h2>
+<center><a href="#CHAPTER_I.">CHAPTER I.<br>
+A SPRING OPENING.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_II.">CHAPTER II.<br>
+THE MAPLES.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_III.">CHAPTER III.<br>
+OLD ACQUAINTANCES: THE ELMS.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_IV.">CHAPTER IV.<br>
+MAJESTY AND STRENGTH: THE OAK.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_V.">CHAPTER V.<br>
+BEAUTY AND GRACE: THE ASH.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_VI.">CHAPTER VI.<br>
+THE OLIVE TREE.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_VII.">CHAPTER VII.<br>
+THE USEFUL BIRCH.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_VIII.">CHAPTER VIII.<br>
+THE POPLARS.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_IX.">CHAPTER IX.<br>
+ALL A-BLOW: THE APPLE TREE.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_X.">CHAPTER X.<br>
+A FRUITFUL FAMILY: THE PEACH, ALMOND, PLUM AND CHERRY.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XI.">CHAPTER XI.<br>
+THE CHERRY-STORY.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XII.">CHAPTER XII.<br>
+THE MULBERRY FAMILY.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XIII.">CHAPTER XIII.<br>
+QUEER RELATIONS: THE CAOUTCHOUC AND THE MILK TREE.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XIV.">CHAPTER XIV.<br>
+HOME AND ABROAD: LINDEN, CAMPHOR, BEECH.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XV.">CHAPTER XV.<br>
+THE TENT AND THE LOCUSTS.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XVI.">CHAPTER XVI.<br>
+THE WALNUT FAMILY AND THE AILANTHUS.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XVII.">CHAPTER XVII.<br>
+SOME BEAUTIFUL TREES: THE CHESTNUT AND HORSE-CHESTNUT.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII.">CHAPTER XVIII.<br>
+AMONG THE PINES.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XIX.">CHAPTER XIX.<br>
+GIANT AND NUT PINES.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XX.">CHAPTER XX.<br>
+MORE WINTER TREES: THE FIRS AND THE SPRUCES.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XXI.">CHAPTER XXI.<br>
+THE CEDARS.</a><br>
+<br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XXII.">CHAPTER XXII.<br>
+THE PALMS.</a><br>
+<br></center>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/005.png" width="50%" alt=
+""><br></p>
+<h2>AMONG THE TREES AT ELMRIDGE.</h2>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I." id="CHAPTER_I."></a>CHAPTER I.</h2>
+<br>
+<h3><i>A SPRING OPENING.</i></h3>
+<p>On that bright spring afternoon when three happy, interested
+children went off to the woods with their governess to take their
+first lesson in the study of wild flowers, they saw also some other
+things which made a fresh series of "Elmridge Talks," and these
+things were found among the trees of the roadside and forest.</p>
+<p>"What makes it look so <i>yellow</i> over there, Miss Harson?"
+asked Clara, who was peering curiously at a clump of trees that
+seemed to have been touched with gold or sunlight. "And just look
+over here," she continued, "at these pink ones!"</p>
+<p>Malcolm shouted at the idea:</p>
+<p>"Yellow and pink trees! That sounds like a Japanese fan. Where
+are they, I should like to know?"</p>
+<p>"Here, you perverse boy!" said his governess as she laughingly
+turned him around. "Are you looking up into the sky for them? There
+is a clump of golden willows right before you, with some rosy
+maples on one side. What other colors can you call them?"</p>
+<p>Malcolm had to confess that "yellow and pink trees" were not so
+wide of the mark, after all, and that they were very pretty. Little
+Edith was particularly delighted with them, and wanted to "pick the
+flowers" immediately.</p>
+<p class="right"><img src="Images/007.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>MALE CATKIN OF WILLOW</b></p>
+<p>"They are too high for that, dear," was the reply, "and these
+blossoms--for that is what they really are, although nothing more
+than fringes and catkins--are much prettier massed on the trees
+than they would be if gathered. The still-bare twigs and branches
+seem, as you see, to be draped with golden and rose-colored veils,
+but there will be no leaves until these queer flowers have dropped.
+If we look closely at the twigs and branches, we shall see that
+they are glossy and polished, as though they had been varnished and
+then brightened with color by the painter's brush. It is the
+flowing of the sap that does this. The swelling of the bark
+occasioned by the flow of sap gives the whole mass a livelier hue;
+hence the ashen green of the poplar, the golden green of the willow
+and the dark crimson of the peach tree, the wild rose and the red
+osier are perceptibly heightened by the first warm days of
+spring."</p>
+<p>"Miss Harson," asked Clara, with a perplexed face, "what are
+catkins?"</p>
+<p>"Here," said her governess, reaching from the top bar of the
+road-fence for the lowest branch of a willow tree; "examine this
+catkin for yourself, and I will tell you what my <i>Botany</i> says
+of it: 'An ament, or catkin, is an assemblage of flowers composed
+of scales and stamens or pistils arranged along a common
+thread-like receptacle, as in the chestnut and willow. It is a kind
+of calyx, by some classed as a mode of inflorescence (or
+flowering), and each chaffy scale protects one or more of the
+stamens or pistils, the whole forming one aggregate flower. The
+ament is common to forest-trees, as the oak and chestnut, and is
+also found upon the willow and poplar.'"</p>
+<p>"It's funny-looking," said Malcolm, when he had made himself
+thoroughly acquainted with the appearance of the catkin, "but it
+doesn't look much like a flower: it looks more like a pussy's
+tail."</p>
+<p>"Yes, and that is the origin of its name. 'Catkin' is diminutive
+for 'cat;' so this collection of flowers is called 'catkin,' or
+'little cat.'"</p>
+<p>"I think I'll call them 'pussy-tails,'" said Edith.</p>
+<p>"There is a great deal to be learned about trees," said Miss
+Harson, when all were comfortably seated in the pleasant
+schoolroom; "and, besides the natural history of their species,
+some old trees have wonderful stories connected with them, while
+many in tropical countries are so wonderful in themselves that they
+do not need stories to make them interesting. The common trees
+around us will be our subjects at first; for I suppose that you can
+scarcely tell a willow from a poplar, or a chestnut tree from
+either, can you?"</p>
+<p>"I can tell a chestnut tree," said Malcolm, confidently.</p>
+<p>"When it is not the season for nuts?" asked his governess,
+smiling.</p>
+<p>There was not a very positive reply to this; and Miss Harson
+continued:</p>
+<p>"I do not think that any of us know as much as we ought to know
+of the trees which we see every day, and of the uses to which many
+of them are put, to say nothing of many familiar trees that we read
+about, and even depend upon for some of the necessaries of
+life."</p>
+<p>"Like the cocoanut tree," suggested Clara.</p>
+<p>"That is not exactly necessary to our comfort, dear," was the
+reply, "for people can manage to live without cocoanuts, although
+in many forms they are very agreeable to the taste, and it is only
+the inhabitants of the countries where they grow who look upon
+these trees as necessaries; but we will take them up in their turn.
+And first let us find out what we can about the willow, because it
+is the first tree, with us, to become green in the spring, and, of
+that large class which is called <i>deciduous</i>, the last one to
+lose its leaves."</p>
+<p>"And why are they called <i>deciduous?</i>" asked Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"Because they shed their leaves every autumn and are furnished
+with a new set in the spring: 'deciduous' is Latin for 'falling
+off.' And this is the case with nearly all our native trees and
+plants. <i>Persistent</i>, or permanent, leaves remain on the stem
+and branches all through the changes of season, like the leaves of
+the pine and box, while <i>evergreens</i> look fresh through the
+entire year and are generally cone-bearing and resinous trees.
+'These change their leaves annually, but, the young leaves
+appearing before the old ones decay, the tree is always
+green.'"</p>
+<p>"Miss Harson," said Clara, "when people talk about
+<i>weeping</i> willows, what do they mean? Do the trees really cry?
+I sometimes read about 'em in stories, and I never knew what they
+did."</p>
+<p>"They cry dreadfully," said Malcolm, "when it rains."</p>
+<p>"But only as you do when you are out in it," replied his
+governess--"by having the water drip from your clothes.--No, Clara,
+the tree is called 'weeping' because it seems to 'assume the
+attitude of a person in tears, who bends over and appears to
+droop.' The sprays of this tree are particularly beautiful, and
+'willowy' is often used for 'graceful,' as meaning the same thing.
+Its language is 'sorrow,' and it is often seen in burial-grounds
+and in mourning-pictures. 'We remember it in sacred history,
+associating it with the rivers of Babylon, and with the tears of
+the children of Israel, who sat down under the shade of this tree
+and hung their harps upon its branches. It is distinguished by the
+graceful beauty of its outlines, its light-green, delicate foliage,
+its sorrowing attitude and its flowing drapery.'"</p>
+<p>"Were those weeping willows that we saw to-day?" asked
+Clara.</p>
+<p>"No," replied her brother, quickly; "they just stuck up straight
+and didn't weep a bit."</p>
+<p>"They are called <i>water</i> willows," said Miss Harson,
+"because they are never found in dry places. They are more common
+than the weeping willow. The water willow has the same delicate
+foliage and the same habit, under an April sky, of gleaming with a
+drapery of golden verdure among the still-naked trees of the forest
+or orchard. 'When Spring has closed her delicate flowers,' says a
+bright writer, 'and the multitudes that crowd around the footsteps
+of May have yielded their places to the brighter host of June, the
+willow scatters the golden aments that adorned it, and appears in
+the deeper garniture of its own green foliage.' A group of these
+golden willows, seen in a rainstorm, will have so bright an
+appearance as to make it seem as if the sun were actually
+shining."</p>
+<p class="ctr"><a href="Images/013.png"><img src="Images/013.png"
+width="40%" alt=""></a><br>
+<b>THE WHITE WILLOW (<i>Salix alba</i>)</b></p>
+<p>"I wish we had them all around here, then," said Edith; "I like
+to see the sun shining when it rains."</p>
+<p>"But the sun is <i>not</i> shining, dear," replied her
+governess: "it is only the reflection from the willows that makes
+it look so; and we can make just such sunshine ourselves when it
+rains, or when there is dullness of any sort, by being all the more
+cheerful and striving to make others happy. Who loves to be called
+'Little Sunshine'?"</p>
+<p>"I do," said the child, caressing the hand that had patted her
+rosy cheek.</p>
+<p>"Let's all be golden willows," said Malcolm, in a comical way
+that made them laugh.</p>
+<p>Miss Harson told him that he could not make a better attempt
+than to be one of those home-brighteners who bring the sunshine
+with them, but she added that such people are always considerate
+for others. Malcolm wondered a little if this meant that <i>he</i>
+was not, but he soon forgot it in hearing the many things that were
+to be said of the willow.</p>
+<p>"The family-name of this tree is <i>Salix</i>, from a word that
+means 'to spring,' because a willow-branch, if planted, will take
+root and grow so quickly that it seems almost like magic. 'And they
+shall <i>spring up</i> as among the grass, as willows by the
+watercourses,' says the prophet Isaiah, speaking of the children of
+the people of God. The flowers of the willow are of two kinds--one
+bearing stamens, and the other pistils--and each grows upon a
+separate plant. When the ovary, at the base of the pistil, is ripe,
+it opens by two valves and lets out, as through a door, multitudes
+of small seeds covered with a fine down, like the seeds of the
+cotton-plant. This downy substance is greedily sought after by the
+birds as a lining for their nests, and they may be seen carrying it
+away in their bills. And in some parts of Germany people take the
+trouble to collect it and use it as a wadding to their winter
+dresses, and even manufacture it into a coarse kind of paper."</p>
+<p>"What queer people!" exclaimed Clara. "And how funny they must
+look in their wadded dresses!"</p>
+<p>"They are not graceful people," was the reply, "but they live in
+a cold climate and show their good sense by dressing as warmly as
+possible. It was quite a surprise, though, to me to find that the
+willow was of use in clothing people. The more we learn of the
+works of God, the better we shall understand that last verse of the
+first chapter of the Bible: 'And God saw everything that he had
+made, and behold, it was very good.' The bees, too, are attracted
+by the willow catkins, but they do not want the down. On mild days
+whole swarms of them may be seen reveling in the sweets of the
+fresh blossoms. 'Cold days will come long after the willow catkins
+appear, and the bees will find but few flowers venturesome enough
+to open their petals. They have, however, thoroughly enjoyed their
+feast, and the short season of plenty will often be the means of
+saving a hive from famine.'"</p>
+<p>"Are willow baskets made of willow trees?" asked Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"Yes," said Miss Harson. "Basket-making has been a great
+industry in England from the earliest times; the ancient Britons
+were particularly skillful in weaving the supple wands of the
+willow. They even made of these slender stems little boats called
+'coracles,' in which they could paddle down the small rivers, and
+the boats could be carried on their shoulders when they were
+walking on dry land."</p>
+<p>"Just like our Indians' birch-bark canoes," said Malcolm, who
+was reading about the North American Indians. "But isn't it
+strange, Miss Harson, that the Indians and the Britons didn't get
+drowned going out in such little light boats?"</p>
+<p>"Their very lightness buoyed them up upon the waves," was the
+reply; "but it does seem wonderful that they could bear the weight
+of men. The willow, however, was also used by the Romans in making
+their battle-shields, and even for the manufacture of ropes as well
+as baskets. The rims of cart-wheels, too, used to be made of
+willow, as now they are hooped with iron; so, you see, it is a
+strong wood as well as a pliant one. The kind used for
+basket-making is the <i>Salix viminalis</i>, and the rods of this
+species are called 'osiers.' Let us see now what this English book
+says of the process of basket-making:</p>
+<p>"'The quick and vigorous growth of the willow renders it easy to
+provide materials for this branch of industry. Osier-beds are
+planted in every suitable place, and here the willow-cutter comes
+as to an ample store. Autumn is the season for him to ply his
+trade, and he cuts the willow rods down and ties them in bundles.
+He then sets them up on end in standing water to the depth of a few
+inches. Here they remain during the winter, until the shoots, in
+the following spring, begin to sprout, when they are in a fit state
+to be peeled. A machine is used in some places to compress the
+greatest number of rods into a bundle.</p>
+<p class="ctr"><a href="Images/019.png"><img src="Images/019.png"
+width="40%" alt=""></a><br>
+<b>THE POLLARD WILLOW IN WINTER.</b></p>
+<p>"'Aged or infirm people and women and children can earn money by
+peeling willows at so much per bundle. The operation is very
+simple, and so is the necessary apparatus. Sometimes a wooden bench
+with holes in it is used, the willow-twigs being drawn through the
+holes. Another way is to draw the rod through two pieces of iron
+joined together, and with one end thrust into the ground to make it
+stand upright. The willow-peeler sits down before his instrument
+and merely thrusts the rod between the two pieces of iron and draws
+it out again. This proceeding scrapes the bark off one end, and
+then he turns it and fits it in the other way; so that by a simple
+process the whole rod is peeled. When the rods are quite prepared,
+they are again tied up in bundles and sold to the
+basket-makers.'"</p>
+<p>"But how do they make the baskets?" asked Clara and Edith. "That
+is the nicest part."</p>
+<p>"There is little to tell about it, though," said their
+governess, "because it is such easy work that any one can learn to
+do it. You saw the Indian women making baskets when papa took us to
+Maine last summer, and you noticed how very quickly they did it,
+beginning with the flat bottom and working rapidly up. It is a
+favorite occupation for the blind, and one of the things which are
+taught them in asylums."</p>
+<p>"I wonder," said Malcolm, "if there is anything else that can be
+done with the willow?"</p>
+<p>"Oh yes," replied Miss Harson; "we have not yet come to the end
+of its resources. It makes the best quality of charcoal, and in
+many parts of England the tree is raised for this express purpose.
+'The abode of the charcoal-burner,' says an English writer, 'may be
+known from a distance by the cloud of smoke that hovers over it,
+and that must make it rather unhealthy. It is sometimes a small
+dome-shaped hut made of green turf, and, except for the difference
+of the material, might remind us of the hut of the Esquimaux.
+Beside it stands a caravan like those which make their appearance
+at fairs, and that contains the family goods and chattels. A string
+of clothes hung out to dry, a water-tub and a rough, shaggy dog
+usually complete the picture.'"</p>
+<p>"But how can people live in the hut," asked Malcolm, "if the
+charcoal is burned in it? Ugh! I should think they'd choke."</p>
+<p>"They certainly would," said his governess; "for the
+charcoal-smoke is death when inhaled for any length of time. But
+the charcoal-burner knows this quite as well as does any one else,
+and he makes his fire outside of the house, puts a rude fence
+around it and lets it smoke away like a huge pipe. The hut is more
+or less enveloped in smoke, but this is not so bad as letting it
+rise from the inside would be. A great deal of willow charcoal is
+made in Germany and other parts of Europe."</p>
+<p>"But, Miss Harson," said Clara, in a puzzled tone, "I don't see
+what they do with it all. It doesn't take much to clean people's
+teeth."</p>
+<p>"No, dear," was the smiling reply, "and I am afraid that the
+people who make it are rather careless about their teeth.--You need
+not laugh, Malcolm, because it is 'just like a girl,' for it is
+quite as much like a boy not to know things which he has never been
+taught, and you must remember that you have two years the start of
+your sister in getting acquainted with the world. Perhaps you will
+kindly tell us of some of the uses to which charcoal is
+applied?"</p>
+<p>"Well," said the young gentleman, after an awkward silence, "it
+takes lots of it to kindle fires."</p>
+<p>"I do not think that Kitty ever uses it in the kitchen," said
+Miss Harson, "for she is supplied with kindling-wood for that
+purpose. You will have to think of something else."</p>
+<p>But Malcolm could not think, and his governess finally told him
+that a great deal of charcoal is used for making gun-powder, and
+still more for fuel in France and the South of Europe, where a
+brass vessel supplies the place of a grate or stove. Quantities of
+it are consumed in steel-and iron-works, in preserving meat and
+other food, and in many similar ways. The children listened with
+great interest, and Malcolm felt sure that the next time he was
+asked about charcoal he would have a sensible answer.</p>
+<p>"Our insect friends the aphides, or plant-lice, are very fond of
+the willow," continued Miss Harson, "and in hot, dry weather great
+masses of them gather on the leaves and drop a sugary juice, which
+the country-people call 'honey-dew,' and in some remote places,
+where knowledge is limited, it has been thought to come from the
+clouds. But we, who have learned something about these
+aphides<a name="FNanchor1" id="FNanchor1"></a><a href=
+"#Footnote_1">[1]</a>, know that it comes from their little green
+bodies, and that the ants often carry the insects off to their
+nests, where they feed and 'tend them for the sake of this very
+juice. The aphis that infests the willow is the largest of the
+tribe, and the branches and stems of the tree are often blackened
+by the honey-dew that falls upon them."</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_1" id="Footnote_1"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor1">[1]</a> See <i>Flyers and Crawlers</i>, by the author.
+Presbyterian Board of Publication.</blockquote>
+<p>"Do willow trees grow everywhere?" asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"They are certainly found in a great many different places," was
+the reply, "and even in the warmest countries. In one of the
+missionary settlements in Africa there is a solitary willow that
+has a story attached to it. It was the only tree in the
+settlement--think what a place that must have been!--except those
+the missionary had planted in his own garden, and it would never
+have existed but for the laziness of its owner. Nothing would have
+induced any of the natives to take the trouble to plant a tree, and
+therefore the willow had not been planted. But it happened, a
+long-time ago, that a native had fetched a log of wood from a
+distance, to make into a bowl when he should feel in the humor to
+do so. He threw the log into a pool of water, and soon forgot all
+about it. Weeks and months passed, and he never felt in the humor
+to work. But the log of wood set to work of its own accord. It had
+been cut from a willow, and it took root at the bottom of the pool
+and began to grow. In the end it became a handsome and flourishing
+tree."</p>
+<p>This story was approved by the young audience, except that it
+was too short; but their governess laughingly said that, as there
+was nothing more to tell, it could not very well be any longer.</p>
+<p class="ctr"><a href="Images/026.png"><img src="Images/026.png"
+width="40%" alt=""></a><br>
+<b>THE WEEPING WILLOW (<i>Salix Babylonica</i>).</b></p>
+<p>"The weeping willow," continued Miss Harson, "was first planted
+in England in not so lazy a way, but almost as accidentally. Many
+years ago a basket of figs was sent from Turkey to the poet Pope,
+and the basket was made of willow. Willows and their cousins the
+poplars are natives of the East; you remember that the one hundred
+and thirty-seventh psalm says of the captive Jews, 'By the rivers
+of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered
+Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.'
+'The poet valued highly the small slender twigs, as associated with
+so much that was interesting, and he untwisted the basket and
+planted one of the branches in the ground. It had some tiny buds
+upon it, and he hoped he might be able to rear it, as none of this
+species of willow was known in England. Happily, the willow is very
+quick to take root and grow. The little branch soon became a tree,
+and drooped gracefully over the river in the same manner that its
+race had done over the waters of Babylon. From that one branch all
+the weeping willows in England are descended.'"</p>
+<p>"And then they were brought over here," said Malcolm. "But what
+odd leaves they have, Miss Harson!--so narrow and long. They don't
+look like the leaves of other trees."</p>
+<p>"The leaf is somewhat like that of the olive, only that of the
+olive is broader. The willow is a native of Babylon, and the
+weeping willow is called <i>Salix Babylonica</i>. It was considered
+one of the handsomest trees of the East, and is particularly
+mentioned among those which God commanded the Israelites to select
+for branches to bear in their hands at the feast of tabernacles.
+Read the verse, Malcolm--the fortieth of the twenty-third chapter
+of Leviticus."</p>
+<p class="left"><a href="Images/028.png"><img src="Images/028.png"
+width="20%" alt=""></a><br>
+<b>LEAF OF WEEPING WILLOW.</b></p>
+<p>Malcolm read:</p>
+<p>"'And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly
+trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and
+<i>willows of the brook;</i> and ye shall rejoice before the Lord
+your God seven days.'"</p>
+<p>"A place called the 'brook of the willows,'" added his
+governess, "is mentioned in Isaiah xv. 7, and this brook, according
+to travelers in Palestine, flows into the south-eastern extremity
+of the Dead Sea. The willow has always been considered by the poets
+as an emblem of woe and desertion, and this idea probably came from
+the weeping of the captive Jews under the willows of Babylon. The
+branches of the <i>Salix Babylonica</i> often droop so low as to
+touch the ground, and because of this sweeping habit, and of its
+association with watercourses in the Bible, it has been considered
+a very suitable tree to plant beside ponds and fountains in
+ornamental grounds, as well as in cemeteries as an emblem of
+mourning."</p>
+<p>"How much there is to remember about the willow!" said Clara,
+thoughtfully. "I wonder if all the trees will be so
+interesting?"</p>
+<p>"They are not all <i>Bible</i> trees," replied Miss Harson. "But
+the wise king of Israel found them interesting, for he 'spake of
+trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop
+that springeth out of the wall.'"</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II." id="CHAPTER_II."></a>CHAPTER II.</h2>
+<h3><i>THE MAPLES.</i></h3>
+<br>
+<p>"The pink trees next, I suppose," said Malcolm, "since we have
+had the yellow ones?"</p>
+<p>"<i>Real</i> pink trees?" asked Edith, with very wide-open
+eyes.</p>
+<p>"No, dear;" replied her governess; "there are no pink trees,
+except when they are covered with bloom like the peach trees.
+Malcolm only means the maples that we saw in blossom yesterday and
+thought of such a pretty color. There are many varieties of the
+maple, which is always a beautiful and useful tree, but the red, or
+scarlet, maple is the very queen of the family. It is not so large
+as are most of the others; but when a very young tree, its grace
+and beauty are noticeable among its companions. It is often found
+in low, moist places, but it thrives just as well in high, dry
+ground; and it is therefore a most convenient tree. Here is a very
+pretty description, Malcolm, in one of papa's large books, that you
+can read to us."</p>
+<p>Malcolm read remarkably well for a boy of his age, and he always
+enjoyed being called upon in this way.</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/031.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>THE RED MAPLE.</b></p>
+<p>Miss Harson pointed to these lines:</p>
+<p>"Coming forth in the spring, like morning in the east, arrayed
+in crimson and purple; bearing itself, not proudly but gracefully
+in modest green, among the more stately trees in summer; and ere it
+bids adieu to the season stepping forth in robes of gold,
+vermilion, crimson and variegated scarlet,--stands the queen of the
+American forest, the pride of all eyes and the delight of every
+picturesque observer of nature, the red maple."</p>
+<p>"Why, I never saw such a tree as that!" exclaimed Clara, in
+great surprise.</p>
+<p>"Yes, dear," replied her governess; "you have seen it, but you
+never thought of describing it to yourself in just this way. When
+you saw it yesterday, it was coming forth in the spring, like
+morning in the east, arrayed in crimson and purple,' but you just
+called it a pink tree. It is much nearer red, however, than it is
+pink."</p>
+<p>"I've seen all the rest of the colors, too," said Malcolm, "when
+we went out after nuts."</p>
+<p>"That is its autumn dress," said Miss Harson, "although a small
+tree is often seen with no color on it but brilliant red. But first
+we must see what it is like in spring and summer. It is also called
+the scarlet, the white, the soft and the swamp maple, and the
+flowers, as you see from this specimen, are in whorls, or pairs, of
+bright crimson, in crowded bunches on the purple branches. The
+leaves are in three or five lobes, with deep notches between, and
+some of them are very broad, while others are long and narrow. The
+trunk of the red maple is a clear ashy gray, often mottled with
+patches of white lichens; and when the tree is old, the bark cracks
+and can be peeled off in long, narrow strips."</p>
+<p>"Is anything done with the bark?" asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"Yes, it is used, with other substances, for dyeing, and also
+for making ink. The sap, too, can be boiled down to sugar, but it
+is not nearly so rich as that of the proper sugar-maple. The wood,
+which is very light-colored with a tinge of rose in it, is often
+made into common furniture, as it takes a fine polish and is easy
+to work with. It is used, too, for building-purposes. The
+early-summer foliage of the red maple is of a beautiful yellow
+green, and the young leaves are very delicate and airy-looking; but
+the graceful tree is in such a hurry to display her gay autumn
+colors that she will often put on a scarlet or crimson streamer in
+July or August. One brilliantly-colored branch will be seen on a
+green tree, or the leaves of an entire tree will turn red while all
+the other trees around it are clothed in summer greenness."</p>
+<p>"Don't you remember, Miss Harson," said Edith, "the little tree
+that I thought was on fire and how frightened I was?"</p>
+<p>"Yes, dear, I remember it very well--an innocent little red
+maple that <i>would</i> put on its flame-colored dress when it
+should have been all in green, like its sisters; but it was too
+green at heart to be in a blaze. This tree is often used for fuel,
+but it has to be cut down and dried first. The reddening of the
+leaf generally begins at the veins and spreads out from them until
+the whole is tinted. Sometimes it appears in spots, almost like
+drops of blood, on the green surface; but, come as it will, it is
+always beautiful. It is said of the red maple that 'it stands among
+the occupants of the forest like Venus among the planets--the
+brightest in the midst of brightness and the most beautiful in a
+constellation of beauty,'"</p>
+<p class="right"><img src="Images/035.png" width="50%" alt=""><br>
+<b>THE SILVER-LEAF MAPLE.</b></p>
+<p>"Is there such a thing as a silver tree?" asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"There is a tree called 'the silver maple,'" was the reply, "and
+there is also the silver poplar. The silver maple is considered the
+most graceful of the large and handsome maple family. I have not
+told you, I think, that the name of the family is <i>Acer</i>,
+which means 'sharp' or 'hard,' and it was supposed to have been
+given in old English times when the wood of the maple was used for
+javelins. The silver maple gets its name from the whitish
+under-surface of its leaves, and it is a favorite shade-tree; it
+has a slender trunk and long, drooping branches. The foliage is
+light and rather dull-looking, and it is not a very bright tree in
+autumn. The leaves are so deeply notched that they have a
+fringe-like appearance, and this, with its slender form and
+bending, swaying habit, gives it a very graceful look."</p>
+<p>Little Edith wished to know "if the wood was like silver," and
+Malcolm asked her how she expected it to grow if it was.</p>
+<p>But Miss Harson replied kindly,</p>
+<p>"The silver, dear, is all in the leaves, and there is not much
+of it there. The wood is white and of little use, as it is soft and
+perishable; but the beauty of the finely-cut foliage, the contrast
+between the green of the upper surface of the leaves and the silver
+color of the lower, and the magnificent spread of the limbs of the
+white maple, recommend it as an ornamental tree; and this is the
+purpose for which it is intended. It is used very largely in the
+cities for shade and beauty. It is often called the 'river maple,'
+because it is so frequently seen on the banks of streams."</p>
+<p>"And now," said Malcolm, "I hope there is ever so much about the
+maple-sugar tree. Can't we get some this spring, Miss Harson,
+before it's all gone?"</p>
+<p>"We can certainly buy the sugar in town, Malcolm, if that is
+what you mean; but it does not grow on the trees in cakes, and we
+shall scarcely be able to tap the trunks and go through with the
+process of preparing the sap, even if it were not too late for
+that. We will do what we can, though, to become acquainted with the
+rock maple, that we may be able to recognize it when we see it.
+When young, it is a beautiful, neat and shapely tree with a rich,
+full leafy head of a great variety of forms. It is the largest and
+strongest of the maples, and gives the best shade. It can be
+distinguished from the other members of the family by its leaves,
+in which the notch between the lobes is round instead of being
+sharp, and also by their appearing at the same time with the
+blossoms, which are of a yellowish-green color. The green tint of
+the leaves is darker on some trees than it is on others, and in
+autumn they become, often before the first touch of the frost, of a
+splendid orange or gold, sometimes of a bright scarlet or crimson,
+color, each tree commonly retaining from year to year the same
+color or colors, and differing somewhat from every other. The most
+beautiful and valuable maple-wood is taken from this tree. It is
+known as 'curled maple' and 'bird's-eye maple,' and the common
+variety looks like satin-wood. In the curled maple the fibres are
+in waves instead of in straight lines, and the surface seems to
+change with alternate light and shade; in the bird's-eye, irregular
+snarls of fibres look like roundish projections rising from hollow
+places, each one resembling the eye of a bird. Buckets, tubs and
+many useful things are made of the straight variety, and for lasts
+it is considered better than any other kind of wood. The curled and
+the bird's-eye are largely used for furniture."</p>
+<p>"But isn't it a shame," said Clara, "to spoil the maple-sugar by
+making the trees into chairs and things?"</p>
+<p>"You would not think so," replied her governess, "if you needed
+the 'chairs and things' more than you need the sugar. But the
+supply of trees seems to be sufficient for both purposes."</p>
+<p>"Does the sugar come right out of the tree when people tap on it
+with a hammer?" asked Edith, whose ideas of sugar-making were
+rather crude.</p>
+<p>"You blessed baby!" cried Malcolm, with a shout of laughter.
+Let's take our hammers and go after some maple-sugar right
+away."</p>
+<p>"No, Edie," said Miss Harson as she took her much-loved little
+pupil on her lap; "we'll stay at home and learn just how the sugar
+is made. To <i>tap</i> a tree, dear, means to make cuts in the
+trunk for the sap to flow out, and in the sugar-maple this sap is
+more like water than sugar. From the middle of February to the
+second week in March, according to the warmth or the coldness of
+the locality, is the time for tapping the trees; and when the holes
+are bored, spouts of elder or sumac from which the pith has been
+taken are put into them at one end, while the other goes down to
+the bucket which receives the sap. 'Several holes are so bored that
+their spouts shall lead to the same bucket, and high enough to
+allow the bucket to hang two or three feet from the ground, to
+prevent leaves and dirt from being blown in.' The next thing is to
+boil the sap, and this is done in great iron kettles, over immense
+wood-fires, out there among the trees, with plenty of snow on the
+ground, and only two or three rude little cabins for the men and
+boys to sleep in. This is called 'the sugar-camp,' and the
+sap-season lasts five or six weeks."</p>
+<p>"And why is it boiled?"</p>
+<p>"Boiling drives the water off in vapor, and leaves the sugar
+behind in the pot."</p>
+<p>"And do they stay in the woods there all the time?" asked
+Malcolm, with great interest. "What lots of fun they must have,
+with the big fires and the snow and as much maple-sugar as ever
+they want to eat! <i>I'd</i> like to stay in a sugar-camp in the
+woods."</p>
+<p class="ctr"><a href="Images/041.png"><img src="Images/041.png"
+width="40%" alt=""></a><br>
+<b>MAKING MAPLE SUGAR.</b></p>
+<p>"Perhaps not, after trying it and finding how much hard work
+there is in sugar-making," replied his governess. "'The kettles
+must be carefully watched and plenty of wood brought to keep them
+boiling, and during the process the sap, or syrup, is strained;
+lime or salaeratus is added, to neutralize the free acid; and the
+white of egg, isinglass or milk, to cause foreign substances to
+rise in a scum to the surface. When it has been sufficiently
+boiled, the syrup is poured into moulds or casks to harden.' The
+sugar with which the most pains have been taken is very
+light-colored, and I have seen it almost white."</p>
+<p>"Have you ever been to a sugar-camp, Miss Harson?" asked Clara,
+who was wishing, like Malcolm, that she could go to one
+herself.</p>
+<p>"Yes," said Miss Harson; "I did go once, in Vermont, when the
+family with whom I was staying took me to see the 'sugaring off.'
+This is putting it into the pans and buckets to harden after it has
+been sufficiently boiled and clarified; and we younger ones, by way
+of amusement, were allowed to make jack-wax."</p>
+<p>"Oh!" exclaimed three voices at once; "what is that? Is it good
+to eat?"</p>
+<p>"I thought it particularly good," was the reply, "and I am quite
+sure that you would agree with me. To make it, we poured a small
+quantity of hot syrup on the snow to cool; and when it was fit to
+eat, it was just like wax, instead of being hard like the cakes in
+moulds. It took only a few minutes, too, to make it, and it seemed
+a great deal nicer because we did it ourselves. I remember that it
+was the last of March and very cold, but there were big fires to
+get warmed at, and we had a delightful time."</p>
+<p>"Were there any Indians there, Miss Harson?" asked little Edith,
+after being quiet for some time. Vermont was such a long way off on
+the map, besides being up almost at the top, that Indians and bears
+and all sorts of wild things seemed to have a right to live
+there.</p>
+<p>"No," said her governess, smiling at the question; "I did not
+see one, even at the sugar-camp. Yet the Indians made maple-sugar
+long before we knew anything about it, and from them the white
+people learned how to do it."</p>
+<p>"Well, that's the funniest thing!" exclaimed Malcolm. "I thought
+that Indians were always scalping people instead of making
+maple-sugar."</p>
+<p>"They did a great many other things, though, besides fighting,
+and their life was spent so much out of doors that they studied the
+nature of every plant and living thing about them. The
+healing-properties of some of our most valuable herbs were first
+discovered by the Indians, and, as they never had any
+grocery-stores, the presence of trees that would supply them with
+sugar was a blessing not likely to be neglected. The devoted
+missionary John Brainerd first heard of this tree-sugar from them,
+and it is said that he used to preach to them when they were thus
+peacefully employed, and obtained a better hearing than at other
+times."</p>
+<p>"Have we any maple-sugar trees?" asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"No," replied Miss Harson; "there are none at Elmridge, and I
+have seen none anywhere near here. They seem to flourish best in
+the Northern and North-eastern States, while in Western Canada the
+tree is found in groves of from five to twenty acres. These are
+called 'sugar-bushes,' and few farmers in that part of America are
+without them. In England the maple trees are called 'sycamores,'
+and the sap is used as a sweet drink. I will read to you from a
+little English book called <i>Voices from the Woodlands</i> a
+simple account of a country festival where maple sap was the
+choicest refreshment:</p>
+<p>"'"Take care of that young tree," said Farmer Robinson to his
+laborer, who was diligently employed in clearing away a rambling
+company of brambles which had grown unmolested during the time of
+the last tenant; "the soil is good, and in a very few years we
+shall have pasturage for our bees, and plenty of maple-wine."</p>
+<p>"'The farmer spoke true; before his young laborer had attained
+middle age the sapling had grown into a fine tree. Its branches
+spread wide and high, and bees came from all parts to gather their
+honey-harvests among the flowers; beneath its shade lambkins were
+wont in spring to sleep beside their dams; and when the time of
+shearing came, and the sheep were disburdened of their fleeces, you
+might see them hastening to the sycamore tree for shelter.</p>
+<p>"'A kind of rustic festival was held about the same time in
+honor of the maple-wine. Hither came the farmer and his dame, with
+their children and young neighbors, each carrying bunches of
+flowers. Older people came in their holiday dresses, some with
+baskets containing cakes, others tea and sugar, with which the
+farmer and his wife had plentifully supplied them; and joyfully did
+they rest a while on the green sward while young men gathered
+sticks, and, a bright fire having been kindled, the kettle sent up
+its bubbling steam.</p>
+<p>"'When this was ended, and few of the piled-up cakes
+remained--when, also, the young children had emptied their cans and
+rinsed them at the old stone trough into which rushed a full
+stream--tiny hands joyfully held up the small cans and bright eyes
+looked anxiously to the stem of the tall tree while the farmer
+warily cut an incision in the bark.</p>
+<p>"'What joy when a sweet watery juice began to trickle! and the
+farmer filled one small cup, then another, till all were satisfied
+and a portion sent to the older people, who were contentedly
+looking on from the grassy slope where they had seated themselves.
+The farmer's wife knew naught concerning the process for obtaining
+sugar, or else she might have sweetened her children's puddings
+from the watery liquid yielded by the sycamore, or greater
+maple--an art well known to the aboriginal tribes of North
+America.'"</p>
+<p>"Does that mean Indians, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm, with a wry
+face at the long word.</p>
+<p>"Yes," was the reply; "and I hope that you will feel properly
+grateful to these aborigines whenever you eat maple-sugar."</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III." id="CHAPTER_III."></a>CHAPTER III.</h2>
+<h3><i>OLD ACQUAINTANCES: THE ELMS.</i></h3>
+<br>
+<p>Miss Harson had admonished her little flock that they must use
+their own eyes and be able to tell her things instead of depending
+altogether on her to tell them; so now they were all peering
+curiously among the trees to see which were putting on their new
+spring suits. The yellow trees and the pink trees had been readily
+distinguished, but, although the others had not been idle, it was
+not so easy for little people to discern their leaf-buds.</p>
+<p>Clara soon made a discovery, however, of what her governess had
+noticed for a day or two, and the wonder was found on their own
+home-elms, those stately trees which had shaded the house ever
+since it was built, and from which the place got its pretty
+name--Elmridge.</p>
+<p>"Well, dear," said Miss Harson, coming to the upper window from
+which an eager head was thrust, "what is it that you wish me to
+see?"</p>
+<br>
+<p>"Those funny flowers on the bare elm trees," was the reply.
+"Look, Miss Harson! Didn't I see them first?"</p>
+<p>"You have certainly spoken of them first, for neither Malcolm
+nor Edith has said anything about them. But they must both come up
+here now, where they can see them, and Malcolm and I can manage to
+reach some of the blossoms by getting out of the broad window on to
+the little balcony."</p>
+<p>Up came the two children kangaroo-fashion in a series of jumps,
+and presently Miss Harson was holding a cluster of dark
+maroon-colored flowers in her hand.</p>
+<p>"How queer and dark they make the trees look!" said Malcolm;
+"and they're so thick that they 'most cover up the branches.
+They're like fringe."</p>
+<p>"A very good description," replied his governess. "And now I
+wish you all to examine the trees very thoroughly and tell me
+afterward what you have noticed about them; then we will go down to
+the schoolroom and see what the books will tell us in our talk
+about the American elm and its cousin of England."</p>
+<p>The books had a great deal to tell about them, but Miss Harson
+preferred to hear the children first.</p>
+<p>"What did my little Edith see when she looked out of the
+window?" she asked.</p>
+<p>"Stems of trees," was the reply, "with flowers on 'em."</p>
+<p>"A very good general idea," continued Miss Harson, "but perhaps
+Clara can tell us something more particular about the elms?"</p>
+<p>"They are very tall," said Clara, hesitatingly, "and they make
+it nice and shady in summer; and some of the branches bend over in
+such a lovely way! Papa calls one of them 'the plume.'"</p>
+<p>"And now Malcolm?"</p>
+<p>"The trunk--or big 'stem,' as Edie would call it--is very thick,
+and the branches begin low down, near the ground."</p>
+<p>"Some of them do," said his governess, "but many of the elms on
+your father's grounds are seventy feet high before the branches
+begin. Sometimes two or three trunks shoot up together and spread
+out at the top in light, feathery plumes like palm trees. The elm
+has a great variety of shapes; sometimes it is a parasol, when a
+number of branches rise together to a great height and spread out
+suddenly in the shape of an umbrella. This makes a very
+regular-looking and beautiful tree. For about three-quarters of the
+way up, the 'plume' of which Clara speaks has one straight trunk,
+which then bends over droopingly. Small twigs cluster around the
+trunk all the way from bottom to top and give the tree the
+appearance of having a vine twining about it. I think that the
+plume-shape is the prettiest and most odd-looking of all the elms.
+Another strange shape is the vase, which seems to rest on the roots
+that stand out above the ground. 'The straight trunk is the neck of
+the vase, and the middle consists of the lower part of the branches
+as they swell outward with a graceful curve, then gradually diverge
+until they bend over at their extremities and form the lip of the
+vase by a circle of terminal sprays.'"</p>
+<p>"Have we any trees that look like vases, Miss Harson?" asked
+Clara.</p>
+<p>"Yes," was the reply; "not far from Hemlock Lodge there is one
+which we will look at when the leaves are all out. But you must not
+expect to find a perfect vase-shape, for it is only an approach to
+it. The dome-shaped elm has a broad, round head, which is formed by
+the shooting forth of branches of nearly equal length from the same
+part of the trunk, which gradually spread outward with a graceful
+curve into the roof or dome that crowns the tree."</p>
+<p>"I know something else about our elms," said Malcolm: "some of
+the roots are on top of the ground. Isn't that very queer, Miss
+Harson?"</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/053.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>WYCH-ELM LEAVES.</b></p>
+<p>"Not for old elm trees, as this is quite a habit with them.
+Indeed, in many ways, the elm is so entirely different from other
+trees that it can be recognized at a great distance. It is both
+graceful and majestic, and is the most drooping of the drooping
+trees, except the willow, which it greatly surpasses in grandeur
+and in the variety of its forms. The green leaves are broad, ovate,
+heart-shaped, from two to four or five inches long. You can see
+their exact shape in this illustration. Their summer tint is very
+bright and vivid, but it turns in autumn to a sober brown,
+sometimes touched with a bright golden yellow, And now," continued
+Miss Harson, "we will examine the flowers which we have here, and
+we see that each blossom is on a green, slender thread less than
+half an inch long, and that it consists of a brown cup parted into
+seven or eight divisions, rounded at the border and containing
+about eight brown stamens and a long compressed ovary surmounted by
+two short styles. This ripens into a flattened seed-vessel before
+the leaves are fully out, and the seeds, being small and chaffy,
+are wafted in all directions and carried to great distances by the
+wind."</p>
+<p>"Where does slippery elm come from?" asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"From another American species, dear, which is very much like
+the white elm that we have been considering. The slippery elm is a
+smaller tree, does not droop so much, and the trunk is smoother and
+darker. The leaves are thicker and very rough on the upper side.
+The inner bark contains a great deal of mucilage--that, I suppose,
+is the reason for its being called 'slippery'--and it has been
+extensively used as a medicine. The wood is very strong and
+preferred to that of the white elm for building-purposes, although
+the latter is considered the best native wood for hubs of wheels.
+There is a great elm tree on Boston Common which is over two
+hundred years old, and another in Cambridge called the 'Washington
+Elm,' because near it or beneath its shade General Washington is
+said to have first drawn his sword on taking command of the
+American army. In 1744 the celebrated George Whitefield preached
+beneath this tree."</p>
+<p>"I'm glad we have elm trees here," said Malcolm, "though I
+s'pose nobody ever did anything in particular under ours."</p>
+<p>"You mean," replied his governess, laughing, "that they are not
+<i>historical</i> trees; but they are certainly very fine ones.
+There is another species of elm, the English, which is often seen
+in this country too. It is a very large and stately tree, but not
+so graceful as our own elm. It is distinguished from the American
+elm by its bark, which is darker and much more broken; by having
+one principal stem, which soars upward to a great height; and by
+its branches, which are thrown out more boldly and abruptly and at
+a larger angle. Its limbs stretch out horizontally or tend upward
+with an appearance of strength to the very extremity; in the
+American elm they are almost universally drooping at the end. Its
+leaves are closer, smaller, more numerous and of a darker color. In
+England this tree is a great favorite with those black and solemn
+birds the rooks. The poet Hood writes of it as</p>
+<blockquote>"'The tall, abounding elm that grows<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;In hedgerows up and down,<br>
+In field and forest, copse and park,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;And in the peopled town,<br>
+With colonies of noisy rooks<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;That nestle on its crown.'<br></blockquote>
+<p>"Some of these English elms are very ancient and of an immense
+size; one of them, known as the 'Chequer Elm,' measures thirty-one
+feet around the trunk, of which only the shell is left. It was
+planted seven hundred years ago. The Chipstead Elm is fifteen feet
+around; the Crawley Elm, thirty-five. A writer says, 'The ample
+branches of the Crawley Elm shelter Mayday gambols while troops of
+rustics celebrate the opening of green leaves and flowers. Yet not
+alone beneath its shade, but within the capacious hollow which time
+has wrought in the old tree, young children with their posies and
+weak and aged people find shelter during the rustic
+<i>f&ecirc;tes</i>.'"</p>
+<p>"Does that mean that people can sit inside the tree?" asked
+Clara. "I wish we had one to play house in where Hemlock Lodge
+is."</p>
+<p>"That is one of the things, Clara," replied Miss Harson, "that
+people can have only in the place where they grow. In the South of
+England there is another great elm tree with a hollow trunk which
+has fitted into it a door fastened by a lock and key. A dozen
+people can be comfortably accommodated inside, and there is a story
+told of a woman and her infant who lived there for a time."</p>
+<p>"What a funny house!" said Malcolm. "Just like a
+woodpecker's."</p>
+<p>"Another great elm, near London, has a winding staircase cut
+within it, and a turret at the top where at least twenty persons
+can stand. One species of this tree, called the <i>wych-</i>, or
+<i>witch-</i>, elm, was believed by ignorant people to possess
+magical powers and to defend from the malice of witches the place
+on which it grew. Even now it is said that in remote parts of
+England the dairymaid flies to it as a resource on the days when
+she churns her butter. She gathers a twig from the tree and puts it
+into a little hole in the churn. If this practice were neglected,
+she confidently believes that she might go on churning all day
+without getting any butter."</p>
+<p>"Isn't that silly?" exclaimed Clara.</p>
+<p>"Very silly indeed," replied her governess; "but we must
+remember that the poor ignorant girl knows no better. The wood of
+the European elm is stronger than ours; it is hard and
+fine-grained, and brownish in color, and is much used in the
+building of ships, for hubs of wheels, axletrees and many other
+purposes. In France the leaves and shoots are used to feed cattle.
+In Russia the leaves of one variety are made into tea. The inner
+bark is in some places made into mats, and in Norway they kiln-dry
+it and grind it with corn as an ingredient in bread. So that the
+elm tree is almost as useful as it is beautiful."</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/059.png" width="40%" alt=
+""><br></p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV." id="CHAPTER_IV."></a>CHAPTER IV.</h2>
+<h3><i>MAJESTY AND STRENGTH: THE OAK</i>.</h3>
+<br>
+<p>"Here," said Miss Harson, "is a small branch from an oak tree
+containing the young leaves and the catkins, which come out
+together; for the oak belongs, like the willow and the maple, to
+the division of <i>amentaceous</i> plants."</p>
+<p>"Oh dear!" sighed Clara at the hard name.</p>
+<p>But Malcolm repeated:</p>
+<p>"<i>Amentaceous</i>--<i>ament</i>. I know, Miss Harson: it's
+<i>catkins</i>"</p>
+<p>"Yes, it means trees which produce their flowers in catkins, or
+looking as if strung on long drooping stems; and the oak is the
+monarch of this family, and in Great Britain of all the
+forest-trees. It is especially an English tree, although our woods
+contain several varieties. But they do not hold the pre-eminence in
+our forests that the oaks do in those of England. The oak
+ordinarily runs more to breadth than to height, and spreads itself
+out to a vast distance with an air of strength and grandeur. This
+is its striking character and what gives it its peculiar
+appearance. Oaks do not always go straight out, but crook and bend
+to right and left, upward and downward, abruptly or with a gentle
+sweep.</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/061.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>MALE CATKIN OF THE OAK.</b></p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/062.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>THE OAK.</b></p>
+<p class="right"><img src="Images/063.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>WHITE-OAK LEAF.</b></p>
+<p>"The white oak is the handsomest species, and takes its name
+from the very light color of the bark on the trunk, by which it is
+easily known. The leaves are long in proportion to the width and
+deeply divided into lobes, of which there are three or four on each
+side. There is a great variety in the shape of oak-leaves, those of
+our white oak being long and slender, while the red oak has very
+broad ones, and the foliage of the scarlet oak is almost
+skeleton-like. The chestnut oak has leaves almost exactly like
+those of the chestnut. The acorns of the different varieties, too,
+differ in size and shape.</p>
+<p>"There is so much to be said of the oak," continued Miss Harson,
+"it is such an ancient and venerable tree and has so many stories
+attached to it, that it is not easy to begin an account of it. The
+blossoms, perhaps, will be the best starting-point: and I should
+like to have you examine this branch and tell me if you see any
+difference in the blossoms."</p>
+<p>"They are nearly all alike," said Malcolm, "but here at the ends
+of the twigs are one or two that look like buds."'</p>
+<p>"That is just what I wanted you to notice," replied his
+governess, "for the flowers are of two kinds, one bearing the
+stamens, and the other the pistils. The flowers that bear the
+stamens grow on loose scaly catkins, as you may see in this branch.
+Those with the pistils are also in catkins, but very small, like a
+bud. The bud spreads into a little branchlet and bears the flowers
+at the tip. The calyx is not seen at first; it is a mere membrane
+covering the ovary. By degrees the ovary swells into the acorn and
+the membrane becomes part of the shell."</p>
+<p>"I like acorns," said little Edith, "they're so nice to play
+with."</p>
+<p>"But they're not nice to eat," said Clara.</p>
+<p class="ctr"><a href="Images/065.png"><img src="Images/065.png"
+width="40%" alt=""></a><br>
+<b>SQUIRREL AND ACORN.</b></p>
+<p>"Some animals think they are," continued Miss Harson. "If you
+should come here in October, you would find the squirrels feasting
+on them. In old times in England the oaks were valued highly on
+account of their acorns, and great herds of swine were driven into
+the forests to feed upon them. In the time of the Saxons a crop of
+acorns often formed a part of the dowry bestowed upon the Saxon
+queens, and the king himself would be glad to accept a gift or
+grant of acorns; and the failure of the crop would be considered as
+a kind of famine. In those days laws were made to protect the oaks
+from being felled or injured, and a man who cut down a tree under
+the shadow of which thirty hogs could stand was fined three pounds.
+The herds of swine were placed under the care of a swineherd, whose
+sole employment was to keep them together, and they formed a staple
+part of the riches of the country. But when the Norman kings began
+to rule, they brought with them a passionate love of hunting and
+took possession of the forests as preserves for their favorite
+sport. The herds of swine were forbidden to roam about as
+heretofore, and their owners were reduced to poverty in
+consequence."</p>
+<p>"Wasn't that wicked, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"Yes; it was both unjust and cruel, and it was one of the great
+grievances of the nation. Even at this day the laws for the
+protection of game are one of the grounds of ill-feeling on the
+part of the poor toward the nobles. In Spain the acorns have the
+taste of nuts, and are sold in the markets as an article of food.
+They grow abundantly in the woods and forests. Once, in time of
+war, a foreign army subsisted almost entirely on them. Herds of
+swine range the forests in Spain and feed luxuriously upon acorns,
+and the salted meats of Malaga, that are famous for their delicate
+flavor, are thought to owe it to this cause. Some of our American
+Indians depend upon acorns and fish for their winter food; and when
+the acorns drop from the tree, they are buried in sand and soaked
+in water to draw out the bitter taste."</p>
+<p>"I shouldn't like them," said Clara, with a wry face at the
+thought of such food.</p>
+<p>"Well, dear," replied her governess, laughing, "as you are not
+an Indian, you will probably not be called upon to like them; but
+it would be better to eat acorns than to starve. You may have
+noticed the trunk and branches of the oak are often gnarled and
+knotted, and this helps to give the tree its appearance of great
+strength. It is just as strong as it looks, and for
+building-purposes it lasts longer than any other wood. Beams and
+rafters of oak are found in old English houses, showing among the
+brick-work, and many of these half-timbered houses, as they are
+called, were built hundreds of years ago.</p>
+<p>"Bedsteads and other articles of furniture, too, were 'built' in
+those days, rather than made, for they were not expected to be
+moved about; and a heavy oak bedstead is still in existence which
+is said to have belonged to King Richard III. It is curiously
+carved, and the king rested upon it the night before the battle of
+Bosworth Field, where he was killed. Clumsy as the bedstead was, he
+took it about with him from place to place; but after the fatal
+battle it passed into the hands of various owners, and nothing
+remarkable was discovered about it until the king had been dead a
+hundred years. By that time the bedstead had come into the
+possession of a woman who found a fortune in it. One morning, says
+the story, as she was making the bed, she heard a chinking sound,
+and saw, to her great delight, a piece of money drop on the floor.
+Of course she at once set about examining the bedstead, and found
+that the lower part of it was hollow and contained a treasure.
+Three hundred pounds--a fortune in those days--was brought to
+light, having remained hidden all those years. As King Richard was
+not there to claim his gold, the woman quickly possessed herself of
+it. But, as it happened, she had better have remained in ignorance
+and poverty. As soon as the matter became known one of her servants
+robbed her of the gold, and even caused her death. Thus it was said
+in the neighborhood that 'King Richard's gold' did nobody any
+good."</p>
+<p>The children were very much pleased with this story, and Malcolm
+said that he always liked to hear about people who found gold and
+things.</p>
+<p>"I think that I do, myself," replied Miss Harson, "although, as
+in this poor woman's case and in many others, gold is not the best
+thing to find. It often brings with it so much sorrow and sin as to
+be a curse to its owner. The only safe treasure is that laid up in
+heaven, where 'neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where
+thieves do not break through nor steal,'</p>
+<p>"From the very earliest times the oak has been used for
+shipbuilding. The Saxons, we are told, kept a formidable fleet of
+vessels with curved bottoms and the prow and poop adorned with
+representations of the head and tail of some grotesque and fabulous
+creature. King Alfred had many vessels that carried sixty oars and
+were entirely of oak. A vessel supposed to be of his time has been
+discovered in the bed of a river in Kent, and after the lapse of so
+many centuries it is as sound as ever and as hard as iron."</p>
+<p>"Do oak trees ever have apples on 'em?" asked Clara. "In a story
+that I read there was something about 'oak-apples.'"</p>
+<p class="left"><img src="Images/070.png" width="30%" alt=""><br>
+<b>THE OAK-GALL INSECT<br>
+(<i>Cynips</i>).</b></p>
+<p>"They are not apples such as we eat, or fruit in any sense,"
+said her governess. "They are the work of a species of fly called
+<i>Cynips</i>, which is very apt to attack the oak. 'The female
+insect is armed with a sharp weapon called an <i>ovipositor</i>,
+which she plunges into a leaf and makes a wound. Here she lays her
+eggs; and when she has done so, she flies away and we hear no more
+of her. But the wound she has made disturbs the circulation of the
+sap. It flows round and round the eggs as though it had met with
+some foreign body it would fain remove. Very soon the eggs are in
+the midst of a ball-like and fleshy chamber--the most suitable
+provision for them, and one which the parent-insect had provided by
+means of puncturing the leaf. As the eggs are hatched the grubs
+will find themselves safely housed and in the midst of an abundance
+of food.'"</p>
+<p class="right"><img src="Images/071.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>OAK-APPLES.</b></p>
+<p>"Well," exclaimed Malcolm, in great disgust, "<i>apple</i> is a
+queer name for a ball full of little flies!"</p>
+<p>"It's a very pretty ball, though," said Miss Harson, "with a
+smooth skin and tinged with red or yellow, like a ripe apple. If it
+is cut open, a number of granules are seen, each containing a grub
+embedded in a fruit-like substance. The grub undergoes its
+transformation, and in due course emerges a perfect insect. These
+pretty pink-and-white apples used to be gathered by English boys on
+the twenty-ninth of May, which was called 'Oak-Apple Day.'"</p>
+<p>"Did they eat 'em?" asked Edith.</p>
+<p>"I do not see how they could, dear," was the reply; "they were
+probably gathered just to look at. Yet 'May-apples,' which grow,
+you will remember, on the wild azalea and the swamp honeysuckle,
+are often eaten, and they are formed in the same way; so we will
+not be too positive about the oak-apples."</p>
+<p>"What are oak-<i>galls</i>, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm. "Are
+they the same as oak-apples?"</p>
+<p>"Not quite the same," was the reply, although both are produced
+by the same insect. This is what one of our English books says of
+them: 'When the acorn itself is wounded, it becomes a kind of
+monstrosity, and remains on the stalk like an irregularly-shaped
+ball. It is called a "nut-gall," and is found principally on a
+small oak, a native of the southern and central parts of Europe.
+All these oak-apples and nut-galls are of importance, but the
+latter more especially, and they form an important article of
+commerce. A substance called "gallic acid" resides in the oak; and
+when the puncture is made by the cynips, it flows in great
+abundance to the wound. Gallic acid is one of the ingredients used
+in dyeing stuffs and cloths, and therefore the supply yielded by
+the nut-gall is highly welcome. The nut-galls are carefully
+collected from the small oak on which they are found, the Pyreneean
+oak. It is easily known by the dense covering of down on the young
+leaves, that appear some weeks later than the leaves of the common
+oak. The galls are pounded and boiled, and into the infusion thus
+made the stuffs about to be dyed are dipped,'"</p>
+<p>"I should think," said Clara, "that people would plant oak trees
+everywhere, when they are so useful. Is anything done with the
+bark?"</p>
+<p>"Yes," said her governess; "the bark, which is very rough, is
+valuable for tanning leather and for medicine. The element which
+has the effect of turning raw hide or skin into leather is called
+<i>tannin</i>; it is also found in the bark of some other trees and
+in tropical plants."</p>
+<p>"Didn't people use to worship oak trees," asked Malcolm--"people
+who lived ever so long ago?"</p>
+<p>"You are thinking of the Druids, who lived in old times in
+Britain and Gaul," replied Miss Harson, "and whose strange heathen
+rites were practiced in oak-groves; and they really did consider
+the tree sacred. These Druids have left their traces in some parts
+of England and France in rows of huge stones set upright; and
+wherever an immense stone was found lying on two others, in the
+shape of a table, there had been a Druid altar, where the priest
+offered sacrifices, often of human beings. So horrible may be a
+so-called religion that men themselves devise, and that has not
+come from the true God.</p>
+<p class="ctr"><a href="Images/075.png"><img src="Images/075.png"
+width="40%" alt=""></a><br>
+<b>DRUIDIC SACRIFICE.</b></p>
+<p>"It was an article in the Druids' creed, and one to which they
+strictly adhered, that no temple with a covered roof was to be
+built in honor of the gods. All the places appointed for public
+worship were in the open air, and generally on some eminence from
+which the moon and stars might be observed; for to the heavenly
+bodies much adoration was offered. But to afford shelter from wind
+or rain, and also to ensure privacy and shut out all external
+objects, the place fixed upon, either for teaching their disciples
+or for carrying out the rites of their idolatrous worship, was in
+the recess of some grove or wood. An oak-grove was supposed to be
+the favorite of the gods whom they ignorantly worshiped, and
+therefore the Druids declared the oak to be a sacred tree. The
+Druid priest always bound a wreath of oak-leaves on his forehead
+before he would perform any religious ceremony. One of these
+ceremonies was to go in search of the mistletoe, which sometimes
+grows on the oak and was considered as sacred as the tree itself,
+being much used in their worship. One priest would climb to the
+branch on which the misletoe was growing and cut it with a golden
+knife, while another priest stood below and held out his white robe
+to receive it.</p>
+<p>"These sacred groves were all cut down by the Romans, who waged
+fierce war against the Druids, and nothing is left of them now but
+the circles of stones that formed their temples. At a place called
+Stonehenge, 'cromlechs,' or altar-tables, are still standing, and
+very ancient oaks stood in a circle round these stones for many
+centuries after the Druids were swept away."</p>
+<p>"Miss Harson," said Clara when all had expressed their horror of
+the Druids and rejoiced that they <i>were</i> swept away, "are
+there any oak trees in the Bible?"</p>
+<p>"Look and see," was the reply; "and first you may find Genesis
+xxxv. 4."</p>
+<p>Clara read:</p>
+<p>"'And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in
+their hands, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and
+Jacob hid them under the <i>oak</i> which was by Shechem.'"</p>
+<p>"In the eighth verse of the same chapter," said Miss Harson, "we
+read that Rebekah's nurse was buried under an oak at Bethel. We are
+told in the book of Joshua<a name="FNanchor2" id=
+"FNanchor2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2">[2]</a> that 'Joshua took a
+great stone and set it up there under an <i>oak</i>, that was by
+the sanctuary of the Lord;' and in Judges<a name="FNanchor3" id=
+"FNanchor3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3">[3]</a>, 'There came an angel
+of the Lord and sat under an <i>oak</i> which was in
+Ophrah.'--Malcolm, you may read Second Samuel, eighteenth chapter,
+ninth verse."</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_2" id="Footnote_2"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor2">[2]</a> Josh. xxiv. 26.</blockquote>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_3" id="Footnote_3"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor3">[3]</a> Judg. vi. II.</blockquote>
+<p>Malcolm read:</p>
+<p>"'And Absalom met the servants of David. And Absalom rode upon a
+mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great
+<i>oak</i>, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken
+up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under
+him went away.'"</p>
+<p>"Poor Absalom!" said Edith, softly. "Wasn't that dreadful?"</p>
+<p>"Yes, dear," replied her governess, "it <i>was</i> dreadful; but
+it is still more dreadful that Absalom was such a wicked man. In
+Isaiah<a name="FNanchor4" id="FNanchor4"></a><a href=
+"#Footnote_4">[4]</a> we read of the oaks of Bashan, that, like the
+cedars of Lebanon, were 'high and lifted up,' and the oaks of
+Bashan are mentioned again in Zechariah<a name="FNanchor5" id=
+"FNanchor5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5">[5]</a>. Several varieties of
+the oak are found in Palestine.</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_4" id="Footnote_4"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor4">[4]</a> Isa. ii. 13.</blockquote>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_5" id="Footnote_5"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor5">[5]</a> Zech. xi. 2.</blockquote>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/079.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>ABRAHAM'S OAK, NEAR HEBRON.</b></p>
+<p>"In his <i>Ride Through Palestine</i>, Dr. Dulles tells of a
+great oak near Hebron known as 'Abraham's oak,' supposed to occupy
+the ground where the patriarch pitched his tent under the oaks of
+Mamre. It is an aged tree, and a grand one. Here is a picture of
+it, from the <i>Ride</i><a name="FNanchor6" id=
+"FNanchor6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6">[6]</a>. The crests and sides
+of the hills beyond the Jordan are still clothed, as in ancient
+times, with magnificent oaks.</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_6" id="Footnote_6"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor6">[6]</a> See page 85.(link to 079.PNG)</blockquote>
+<p>"We get a good idea of the strength and durability of this wood
+from the fact that there is an old wooden church near Ongar, in
+Essex, the nave of which is composed of half logs of oak roughly
+fastened by wooden pegs. The ancient fabric dates back to the time
+of King Edmund, who was slain by the robber Leolf in the year A.D.
+946. The oaken church was hurriedly put together--according to
+report--in order to make a temporary receptacle for the body of the
+murdered prince on its way to burial. Be that as it may, it was
+afterward used as a parish church, and, though the oaken logs are
+corroded by the weather, they are still sound, and, having been
+beaten by the storms of a thousand winters, bid fair to defy those
+of a thousand more."</p>
+<p>"I should think, then," said Malcolm, "that people would always
+build their houses with oak if it lasts so long."</p>
+<p>"Yet they do not do this even in England," was the reply, "where
+the trees grow to such an immense size and the ancient buildings
+still in existence prove the great endurance of the oak. Now brick
+and stone and iron are used, which outlast any wood. And now,"
+continued Miss Harson, "I am going to tell you something about a
+foreign species of this tree which I am sure will surprise you. It
+is found in the South of Europe and in Algeria, and is called the
+<i>cork oak</i>."</p>
+<p>"'The <i>cork</i> oak'!" exclaimed Clara, quite as much
+surprised as she was expected to be. "Do the corks that come in
+bottles grow on it?"</p>
+<p>"Not just in that shape, dear, but they are made from its bark.
+The outside bark, or <i>epidermis</i>, consists of a thin,
+transparent, tissue-like substance, which covers not only the bark,
+but the whole of the tree, stem, leaves and branches, and beneath
+the epidermis is found a layer of cellular tissue, generally green.
+It covers the trunk and branches, fills up the spaces between the
+veins of the leaves and contains the sap, which flows in canals
+arranged for it in the most beautiful and wonderful manner. In one
+species of oak this layer--which is called the
+<i>suber</i>--assumes a peculiar character and is of remarkable
+thickness. When the tree is some five years old, its whole energy
+is directed toward the increase of the suber. A mass of cells is
+formed with great rapidity, and layer upon layer is added, until
+that part of the trunk grows so unwieldy that it would crack and
+split of its own accord. But such a thing is rarely allowed to
+happen: the suber is of too much value to man. After it is taken
+from the tree and has undergone due preparation, it appears in our
+shops and houses under the name of <i>cork</i>"</p>
+<p>"I should like to see how they get it," said Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"The trunk is regularly marked around in deep cuts, which begin
+close to the branches and go down almost to the roots. A ladder is
+used to mount to the upper part of the trunk, and the cuts, or
+incisions, are made with a long knife or with an axe. Then they
+strip off the sheets of cork between the circles. This operation is
+a very delicate one, and requires much care and skill lest the
+inner part should be injured. If the operation is carried out
+successfully, the cork-like substance will grow again and become as
+abundant as ever.</p>
+<p>"The next thing to be done to the pieces of bark is partially to
+burn, or char, them, and also to make them quite flat, as they come
+from the trunk in a rounded shape. The burning makes the pores
+close up, so that the liquid in a vessel for which it is used as a
+stopper cannot come through; and this is done over a brisk fire, in
+what is called a <i>burning-yard</i>. Another process, called
+<i>rounding</i>, removes every trace of the fire, unless the cork
+has been too much burned, and then, having already been flattened
+by the pressure of heavy stones, it is ready for the cork-maker,
+who cuts the material first into strips and then into squares
+according to the size of corks wanted.</p>
+<p>"Cork is very light and elastic, and can be used successfully in
+contrivances for the rescue of men from the perils of the deep. The
+cork jacket and the lifeboat have been the means of saving many
+lives, for cork will float on the surface of the water and bear up
+the person wearing the jacket and the shipwrecked people in the
+lifeboat. 'The shallowness of the boat and the bulk of cork within
+allow but little room for water; so that even when filled it is in
+no danger of overturning or sinking, like other crafts. Also, the
+lifeboat can move across the waves with perfect safety, and can
+make its way from one object to another in a broken sea as easily
+as an ordinary boat can pass from one ship to another.'"</p>
+<p>The children declared that the cork-oak was the best tree of
+all, but they agreed with their governess that the entire oak
+family was made up of grand and useful trees.</p>
+<p>"Our American oaks," said Miss Harson, "are very handsome in
+autumn because of their brilliant foliage; the <i>scarlet oak</i>,
+which turns to a deep crimson and keeps its leaves longer than any
+of the other forest trees, is the most showy of the species. But we
+have no cork oaks, and no oaks that we know to be a thousand years
+old. There was once a famous oak in this country, called the
+'Charter Oak,' which fell to the ground in August, 1856, before any
+of us were born. I wonder if you would like to hear the story about
+it?"</p>
+<p>This question was thought extremely funny by three such
+devourers of stories as the little Kyles, and they eagerly assured
+their governess that they would like it.</p>
+<p>"If that is really the case," continued Miss Harson, smiling at
+the excited faces, "I must tell you the history of</p>
+<p>"THE CHARTER OAK.</p>
+<p>"This tree grew in Hartford, Connecticut, and it is said that
+before the English governor Wyllis went there to live his steward,
+whom he had sent on before to get a house ready for him, came near
+cutting down this very oak. He was clearing away the trees around
+it on the hillside when a party of Indians appeared and begged him
+to leave that particular tree, because, they said, 'it had been the
+guide of their ancestors for centuries.' So the oak was spared;
+even then it was old and hollow.</p>
+<p>"King Charles II. granted the people of Connecticut a very
+liberal charter of rights, which was publicly read in the Assembly
+at Hartford and declared to belong for ever to them and their
+successors. A committee was appointed to take charge of it, under a
+solemn oath that they would preserve this palladium of the rights
+of the people.</p>
+<p>"When James II., the tyrannical brother of Charles II., came to
+the throne, he changed the government of New England and ordered
+the people of Connecticut to give up their charter. This they
+refused to do; and when a third command from the king had been sent
+to them, they called a special meeting of the Assembly, under their
+own governor, Treat, and resolved to hold on to the charter which
+had been given them.</p>
+<p>"On the 31st of October, 1687, Sir Edmund Andros, attended by
+members of his council and a bodyguard of sixty soldiers, entered
+Hartford to take the charter by force. The General Assembly was in
+session; he was received with courtesy, but with coldness. He
+entered the assembly-room and publicly demanded the charter.
+Remonstrances were made, and the session was protracted till
+evening. The governor and his associates appeared to yield. The
+charter was brought in and laid upon the table. Sir Edmund thought
+that he had succeeded, when suddenly the lights were all put out,
+and total darkness followed. There was no noise, no conflict, but
+all was quiet. When the candles were again lighted, <i>the charter
+was gone</i>! Sir Edmund was disconcerted. He declared the
+government of Connecticut to be in his own hands, and that the
+colony was annexed to Massachusetts and the other New England
+colonies, and proceeded to appoint officers. Captain Jeremiah
+Wadsworth, a patriot of those times, had hidden the charter in the
+hollow of Wyllis's oak, whence it was afterward known as the
+Charter Oak."</p>
+<p>"Then the English governor couldn't get it!" exclaimed Malcolm,
+delightedly. "Wasn't that splendid?"</p>
+<p>"It was a grand hiding-place, certainly, for no one would think
+of looking inside a tree for such a thing as that, and they were
+grand men who preserved their country's liberties in those trying
+times. But more peaceful years were at hand. About eighteen months
+after the charter had disappeared so mysteriously, the tyrant James
+II. was compelled to give up his throne to his daughter and
+son-in-law, the prince and princess of Orange, and Governor Treat
+and his associates again took the government of Connecticut under
+the old charter, which the hollow oak had faithfully kept from
+harm. No tree in our whole country has received more attention than
+this historic Hartford oak; and when, at last, its mere shell of a
+trunk was laid low by a storm, it seemed as if a large part of the
+city had been swept away.</p>
+<p>"Ancient oaks are apt to be almost entirely without branches;
+the huge trunk, with an opening at the top, and often with one also
+at the bottom, stands like a maimed giant, just tottering, perhaps,
+to its fall, because of the decay going on within, while outside
+all seems fair and sound. It was so with the Charter Oak; and when
+this monarch of the forest was unexpectedly laid low, rich and
+poor, great and small, were gathered to mourn its loss. A dirge was
+played and all the bells in the city were tolled at sundown, for
+this monument of the past was a link gone that could not be
+replaced."</p>
+<p>"Thank you, Miss Harson," said Clara; "<i>true</i> stories are
+so nice! But I wish I had seen the Charter Oak before it was blown
+down."</p>
+<p>"You could not have done that, dear," was the reply, "unless you
+had been born about thirty years sooner."</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V." id="CHAPTER_V."></a>CHAPTER V.</h2>
+<h3><i>BEAUTY AND GRACE: THE ASH</i>.</h3>
+<br>
+<p>"What tree comes next, Miss Harson?" asked Clara, on an April
+day that was mild enough for the piazza. "You told us so many
+interesting things about the oak that I suppose we needn't expect
+to hear of another tree like that."</p>
+<p>"No," was the reply; "not just like that, perhaps, for the oak
+is grand and venerable above all our familiar trees, but the ash,
+which is more especially an American tree, belongs to a large and
+interesting family, and I am quite sure that you will very much
+like to hear something about it. I have put it next to the oak
+because there is a sort of rivalry between the two as to which can
+get on its spring dress the soonest, and an old English rhyme
+says,</p>
+<blockquote>"'If the oak's before the ash,<br>
+Then you may expect a splash;<br>
+But if the ash is 'fore the oak,<br>
+Then you must beware a soak.'"<br></blockquote>
+<p>"That must mean," said Malcolm, after considering this rather
+puzzling verse, "that it'll rain any way."</p>
+<p>"I think it does," replied Miss Harson, with a smile at
+Malcolm's air of deep thought, "and it is quite safe to say that in
+England. But, as 'a soak' sounds more serious than 'a splash,' it
+is to be hoped that the ash will not get ahead of the oak. I do not
+know what they are doing in England this year, but here the oak is
+a day or two ahead. The foliage of the ash is entirely different,
+as it has <i>pinnate</i> leaves, which means leaves arranged in two
+rows, one on each side of a common stem, or <i>petiole</i>,
+like--What, Clara?"</p>
+<p>"Rose-leaves," was the prompt reply.</p>
+<p>"And leaves of the locust trees on the other side of the road,"
+added Malcolm.</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/092.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>THE COMMON ASH.</b></p>
+<p>"And the sumac," said their governess, "and a number of others
+that might be mentioned. This kind of foliage is always graceful,
+and the ash is one of our largest and handsomest trees. It is said
+to be more common in America than in any other part of the globe.
+In Europe, because of its beauty, it is called the painter's tree.
+It is a particularly neat and regular-looking tree, and its smooth
+gray trunk is higher than that of most trees before any branches
+appear. Where is there a tree on the grounds answering this
+description, Malcolm?"</p>
+<p class="right"><img src="Images/093.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>AMERICAN WHITE ASH.</b></p>
+<p>"Down at the end of the vegetable-garden," was the reply, "and
+close beside the laundry."</p>
+<p>"Yes; you are really learning to distinguish trees very well.
+There are several species--the white, red, black and mountain ash.
+The white ash is a graceful tree, rising in the forest to the
+height of seventy or eighty feet, with a straight trunk and a
+diameter of three feet or more at the base. On an open plain it
+throws out its branches, with a gentle double curvature, to a
+distance on every side, and forms a broad, round head of great
+beauty. The flowers of the ash are greenish white in color and
+appear with the leaves in loose clusters. 'The trunk of our largest
+American ash is covered with a whitish bark which in very young
+trees is nearly smooth; on older trees it is broken by deep furrows
+into irregular plates, and on very old stems it becomes smooth
+again, from the rough plates scaling off. The branches are grayish
+green dotted with gray or white.' Now who can tell <i>me</i>
+something about this tree?"</p>
+<p>"I know that furniture is made of the wood," said Clara,
+"because that pretty set in the large spare-room is ash. And it is
+very light-colored."</p>
+<p>"The wood is used for a great many things," replied Miss Harson,
+"and the ash has been called the husbandman's tree because the
+timber is so much in demand for farming-implements, and for
+articles that need to be both strong and light. It does not last so
+long as the oak, but it is more elastic and can better resist
+sudden shocks and jerks; it is therefore particularly desirable for
+the spokes of wheels and ladders and the beams of floors.
+Staircases were made of it in olden times, and they may still be
+found in some English halls and abbeys. The forest ash makes better
+oars than any other wood, and the tree has so many good qualities
+that an old English poet spoke of it as</p>
+<blockquote>"'The ash for nothing ill.'<br></blockquote>
+<p>"But Malcolm looks as if he had something to say, and I shall be
+very happy to hear it."</p>
+<p>"It is only about the red berries that they bear in autumn, Miss
+Harson; it looks queer to see berries growing on a tree."</p>
+<br>
+<p>"The mountain ash is the only one that has berries," replied his
+governess, "and the bloom is in clusters of white flowers. The
+berries are sometimes dark red and often of a bright scarlet, and
+they remain on the tree during the winter, to the great delight of
+the birds. We should find them very sour, although pretty to look
+at; but the little feathered wanderers eat them with great relish
+when the snows of winter make bird-food scarce and the bright-red
+berries gleam out most invitingly. In some parts of Europe the
+berries are dried and ground into flour. The rowan, or roan, tree
+is the English name of the mountain ash, and in some parts of Great
+Britain it is called <i>witchen</i>, because of its supposed power
+against witches and evil spirits and all their spells. In old times
+branches of it were hung about houses and stables and cow-sheds,
+for it was thought that</p>
+<blockquote>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "'witches
+have no power<br>
+Where there is roan-tree wood.'"<br></blockquote>
+<p>"But that isn't true, is it?" asked Edith.</p>
+<p>"No, dear, not true of either the witches or the wood. But
+ignorant people believe a great many foolish things, and the leaves
+and twigs of the ash tree were thought to have peculiar virtue. In
+some places it was once the practice to pluck an ash-leaf in every
+case where the leaflets were of even number, and to say,</p>
+<blockquote>"'Even ash, I do thee pluck,<br>
+Hoping thus to meet good luck;<br>
+If no luck I get from thee,<br>
+Better far be on the tree.'"<br></blockquote>
+<p>"It sounds like what children say on finding a four-leafed
+clover," said Clara.</p>
+<p>"It is on the same principle," was the reply, "for clover-leaves
+grow naturally in threes and ash-leaves in sevens. Both rhymes are
+equally silly where luck is concerned, and those who believe God's
+words--that even 'the hairs of our head are all numbered'--will
+have no faith in 'luck.' In old times the ash was believed to
+perform wonderful cures of various kinds, and in remote parts of
+England a little mouse called the shrew-mouse bore a very bad
+character. If a horse or cow had pains in its limbs, they were said
+to be caused by a shrew-mouse running over it. Our forefathers
+provided themselves with what they called a shrew-ash, in order to
+meet the case. The shrew-ash was nothing more than an ash tree in
+the trunk of which a hole had been bored and a poor little
+shrew-mouse put in, with many charms and incantations happily long
+since forgotten."</p>
+<p>"And couldn't the poor little mouse get out again?" asked
+Edith.</p>
+<p>"I am afraid not, dear; and we can only rejoice that we did not
+live in those dark days. Among other beliefs in its virtues, the
+leaves and wood of the ash were regarded throughout Northern Europe
+as a protection from all manner of snakes, and in harvest-time
+children were suspended in their cradles from the branches of tall
+ash trees while their mothers were working in the harvest-field
+below. Even now serpents are said to dislike the tree so much that
+they will not come near it, and the leaf is considered a cure for
+the bite of a poisonous snake. I have been told that an ash-leaf
+rubbed on a mosquito-bite will at once take out the sting and
+itching, and no better remedy can be found for the sting of a bee
+or a wasp."</p>
+<p>"It's ever so much nicer than mud," said Clara, who had rather a
+talent for getting into hornets' nests.</p>
+<br>
+<p>"But the mud, you see, is always to be had," replied Miss
+Harson, "while ash-leaves do not grow everywhere; and I do not know
+that they have any power to cure the sting.</p>
+<p>"The other species of ash found in this country are not so
+important as the white, but the black ash is remarkable as the
+slenderest deciduous tree of its height to be found in the forest.
+It is often seventy or eighty feet tall, with a trunk not more than
+a foot around. The color of the trunk is a dark granite-gray and
+the bark is rough. The wood is remarkable for its toughness, and
+for making baskets the Indians prefer it to any other, except the
+trunk of a young white oak.</p>
+<p>"The red ash is very much like the white, but the wood is less
+valuable. It is a spreading, broad-headed tree, and the trunk is
+erect and branching. It is not so tall as the black ash, yet its
+trunk is three times as thick.</p>
+<p>"A species of ash grows in Sicily that yields a substance called
+<i>manna</i> which used to be valuable as a medicine, and this
+manna is obtained in the same way as maple-sap--by making holes or
+incisions in the bark of the tree. At the proper season the persons
+whose business it is to collect manna begin to make incisions, one
+after the other, up the stem. The manna flows out like clear water,
+but it soon congeals and becomes a solid substance. It has a sweet
+taste, and while in a liquid state runs into a leaf of the tree
+that has been inserted in the wound. Afterward it flows into a
+vessel placed below, from which it is carried away and shipped off
+to other countries."</p>
+<p>"Is there any story about the ash?" asked Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"Not much of a story, dear," was the reply--"only a little
+legend of the manna trees; but, such as it is, you shall have
+it:</p>
+<p>"The king of Naples, it is said, fenced a number of trees round
+and forbade any to collect the store they yielded unless they paid
+a tribute. By this means the royal revenue would be largely
+increased. But, according to the story, the manna trees, as if they
+disapproved of this ungenerous arrangement, refused to yield any
+manna, and suddenly became bare and barren. Upon this the king,
+finding his scheme a failure, revoked the tax and took away the
+fence. Then the trees poured out their manna, as usual, in the
+greatest abundance; so that it was said, 'When the king found he
+could not make a gain of what Providence had freely bestowed, he
+gave up the attempt and left the manna as free as God had given
+it.'</p>
+<p class="ctr"><a href="Images/101.png"><img src="Images/101.png"
+width="40%" alt=""></a><br>
+<b>THE SWING.</b></p>
+<p>"There, now!" said Miss Harson; "after this long talk, you had
+better run off and see if there is not a tree somewhere on the
+grounds, with two ropes attached to it, that will bear better fruit
+than any tree we have studied yet."</p>
+<p>The trio laughed and raced for the swing, which was first
+reached by Clara, who seated herself all ready for the push which
+Malcolm would not grudge, for he pronounced his sister sweeter than
+apple or peach; and so she was.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI." id="CHAPTER_VI."></a>CHAPTER VI.</h2>
+<h3><i>THE OLIVE TREE</i>.</h3>
+<br>
+<p>"The ash," said Miss Harson, "has some relations of which, I
+think, you will be rather surprised to hear. These relations are
+both trees and shrubs, and the lilac, for instance, is one of
+them."</p>
+<p>"Why, they don't look a bit alike," exclaimed Clara.</p>
+<p>"No, they certainly do not; for, although this fragrant shrub
+often grows as large as a tree, it is quite different from the ash
+tree. Yet both belong to the olive family."</p>
+<p>"The kind of olives that papa likes to eat at dinner, and that
+you and I <i>don't</i> like, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"The very same," replied his governess; "only that we are
+speaking now of the tree on which the olives grow. It is well said
+that the very name of 'olive' suggests the idea of Palestine and
+the sunny lands of the East. The olive tree is one of the most
+prominent trees of the Bible. It is mentioned in the very earliest
+part of the Scriptures, in the book of Genesis. I wonder if some
+one can tell me about it?"</p>
+<p>"I remember: a dove found a leaf when it was raining and brought
+it to Noah in the ark," said little Edith, quickly.</p>
+<p>"The rain had stopped falling, dear, after the deluge, and the
+waters were receding, or falling, when Noah sent forth the dove a
+second time to see what it would find. Here is the verse: 'And the
+dove came in to him in the evening; and lo, in her mouth was an
+olive leaf pluckt off; so Noah knew that the waters were abated
+from off the earth<a name="FNanchor7" id="FNanchor7"></a><a href=
+"#Footnote_7">[7]</a>.' For this reason the olive-branch is a
+common emblem of peace. The olive tree is often mentioned in other
+parts of the Bible, and was considered one of the most valuable
+trees of Palestine, which is described as 'a land of oil-olive and
+honey.' It is not nearly so handsome as some other trees of the
+Holy Land, nor is it grand-looking or graceful. The leaves, which
+are long for the width, and smooth, are dark green on the upper
+side and silvery beneath; they generally grow in pairs. The fruit
+is shaped like a plum; it is green when first formed, then paler in
+color; and when quite ripe, it is black."</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_7" id="Footnote_7"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor7">[7]</a> Gen. viii. 9.</blockquote>
+<p>"But those that papa eats are olive-color," said Clara.</p>
+<p>"Yes," replied Miss Harson, smiling, "but all these hues I have
+mentioned are olive-color in some stage of the fruit; and it is in
+the green stage, before it is quite ripe, that it is gathered for
+preserving."</p>
+<p>"But that isn't <i>preserves</i>, is it?" asked Malcolm, drawing
+up his mouth at the recollection of an olive he had once tried to
+eat. "I thought preserves were always sweet."</p>
+<p>"That is the shape in which you are accustomed to them, Malcolm;
+but to preserve a thing means to keep it from decay, and salt and
+vinegar will do this as well as sugar. Preserves of this kind are
+what <i>you</i> call 'puckery.'--As to the color, Clara,
+'olive-green' is a color by itself, because of its peculiar tint.
+It is a gray green instead of a blue or yellow green, and it has a
+very dull effect. The fruit is produced only once in two years, and
+in bearing-season the tree is loaded with white blossoms that drop
+to the ground like flakes of snow. It is said that not one in a
+hundred of these numerous flowers becomes an olive. Here,"
+continued Miss Harson, pointing to a page of a book in her hand,
+"is a representation of an olive-branch with some of the
+plum-shaped fruit. The branch, you see, is hard and
+stiff-looking."</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/106.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>OLIVE-BRANCH WITH FRUIT.</b></p>
+<p>"I should think the tree would be prettier when all those white
+flowers are on it," said little Edith.</p>
+<p>"It is--much prettier," replied her governess--"but not so
+useful. The fruit of the olive is so valuable that numbers of
+people depend upon it for their support. The wood, too, is very
+hard and durable, and, as it takes a fine polish, it is used for
+making many ornamental articles."</p>
+<p>"And where does the olive-oil come from?" asked Clara. "Do they
+make holes in the tree for it, as they do for maple-sap?"</p>
+<p>Malcolm was about to exclaim at this idea, but he remembered
+just in time that, should Miss Harson happen to question him, he
+himself could not tell where the oil came from.</p>
+<p>"The oil is pressed from the olives," was the reply; "a large,
+vigorous tree is said to yield a thousand pounds of it. It is such
+an important article of commerce in the regions where it is
+prepared that every one desires to get as much as he can out of his
+olive trees, but those who are too greedy of gain will spoil the
+quality of the oil to make a larger quantity. The small olive of
+Syria is considered the most delicate, and Italian olives also are
+very fine; those of Spain are larger and coarser. The best
+olive-oil comes from the south-eastern portion of France and is a
+clear, pure liquid; it is obtained from the first pressing of the
+fruit. This must be only a gentle squeeze, to get the purest oil:
+the quality usually sold is made by a heavier pressure; and then,
+when the olives are worked over again, come the dregs, which are
+not fit for table-use."</p>
+<p>"Do they mash 'em, like making apples into cider?" asked
+Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"Something like that; and the olive-farmers take the most
+anxious care of their orchards, for they know that the more olives
+the more oil. This with the Italians means a living, and one of
+their proverbs says, 'If you wish to leave a competency to your
+grandchildren, plant an olive.' The poorest of the fruit is eaten
+in their own families, 'to save it,' and, as it does not taste so
+well, it will go much farther. They do not eat olives, though, as
+we see them eaten--one or two as a relish; but a respectable
+dishful is provided for each person, instead of the bread and
+potatoes which they do not have."</p>
+<p>"I'd rather have the bread and potatoes," said Clara, "and I'm
+glad that I don't have to eat a whole plate of olives."</p>
+<p>"If you had always been accustomed to having olives, as the
+Italians are," replied Miss Harson, "you would think them very
+nice. I do not suppose that their children ever think how much more
+inviting are the olives that are kept for sale. Olives intended for
+exportation are gathered while still green, usually in the month of
+October. They are soaked for some hours in the strongest lye, to
+get rid of their bitterness, and are afterward allowed to stand for
+a fortnight in frequently-changed fresh water, in order to be
+perfectly purified of the lye. It only then remains to preserve
+them in common salt and water, when they are ready for export."</p>
+<p>"That's what they taste of," exclaimed Malcolm--"salt; and I
+don't like salt things."</p>
+<p>"I think," said his governess, with a smile, "that I have seen a
+boy whom I know enjoying sliced ham and tongue very much
+indeed."</p>
+<p>"So I do, Miss Harson," was the eager reply; "but ham and
+tongue, you know, don't taste like olives."</p>
+<p>"No, because they are ham and tongue. But they certainly taste
+salty, and that is what you object to. It is generally found that
+sweeping assertions are not very safe ones. But to come back to our
+olive tree: it is an evergreen, and it grows very easily. The
+readiness with which a twig will take root reminds us of the
+willow. A fine grove of olive trees at Messa, in Morocco, was
+accidentally planted. It is said that one of the kings of the
+dynasty of Saddia, being on a military expedition, encamped here
+with his army. The pegs with which the cavalry picketed their
+horses were cut from olive trees in the neighborhood, and, some
+sudden cause of alarm leading to the abandonment of the position,
+the pegs were left in the ground. Making the best of the situation,
+the pegs developed into the handsomest group of olive trees in the
+district."</p>
+<p>The children wondered if any trees had ever been planted in such
+a strange way before, and little Edith said thoughtfully,</p>
+<p>"But, Miss Harson, why don't good people go around and plant
+trees wherever there aren't any? It would be so nice!"</p>
+<p>"Some good people do plant trees, dear, wherever they can,"
+replied her governess, "thinking, as they say, of those who are to
+come after them; a great many roadside trees have grown in this
+way. But no one is allowed to meddle with other people's property;
+waste-places might easily be beautified with trees if the owners
+cared for anything but for their own present interests. But here is
+something you will like to hear about the olives of Palestine:
+'They are all planted together in the grove like the trees in a
+forest, and it would seem scarcely possible for the owners to
+distinguish their own property. But when the fruit is getting ripe,
+watchmen are appointed to guard the grove and prevent a single
+olive from being touched even by the person who has a right to the
+tree.'--You do not look as if you would like that, Malcolm."</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/112.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>OLIVE TREE.--GATHERING THE FRUIT.</b></p>
+<p>"Indeed I wouldn't!" replied the boy. "I rather think I'd take
+my own olives whenever I wanted 'em."</p>
+<p>"Not if you lived where all were agreed on this point, as they
+seem to be in Palestine.--'Days pass on, and the autumn is at hand
+before the governor of the district issues the wished-for
+proclamation; then the watchmen are removed. Immediately the scene
+becomes a most animated one. The grove is alive with an eager
+throng of men, women and children shaking down the precious fruit.
+It is, however, scarcely possible to bring every berry down, nor
+would it seem desirable, since after this great harvest comes the
+gleaning-time, when the poor, who have no olive trees, are
+permitted to come into the grove and shake down what is left.'"</p>
+<p>"Isn't there something about that in the Bible, Miss Harson?"
+asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"Yes; it is in the book of the prophet Isaiah, 'Yet gleaning
+grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or
+three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in
+the outmost fruitful branches thereof, saith the Lord God of
+Israel<a name="FNanchor8" id="FNanchor8"></a><a href=
+"#Footnote_8">[8]</a>.' This is a prophecy about God's people, but
+the Jews were told by God to leave something, when they were
+harvesting, for the poor to glean. Does it not seem wonderful that
+the mighty Ruler of the universe should condescend to such small
+things? But nothing is small with him, and we see that his loving
+care extends to the poorest and the meanest."</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_8" id="Footnote_8"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor8">[8]</a> Isa. xvii. 6.</blockquote>
+<p>"Miss Harson," asked Edith, with great earnestness, "has each of
+our hairs got a number on it? I couldn't find any."</p>
+<p>The young lady could scarcely keep from smiling, but she was
+obliged to call Malcolm to order, and even Clara seemed amused at
+her little sister's queer interpretation of the loving words, "The
+very hairs of your head are all numbered."</p>
+<p>Miss Harson took her youngest pupil on her knee and explained to
+her the meaning of our Saviour's words in Luke xii. 7, where it is
+added, "Fear not,", because the heavenly Father's loving care is
+always around us.</p>
+<p>"It was a natural mistake," she continued, "for a very little
+girl to make; but we must not try to find amusement in mistakes
+about God's word. Many grown people are irreverent in this way
+without knowing it: perhaps they were not properly taught when they
+were children. But <i>my</i> children must not have this excuse,
+and I want them all to promise me that they will never utter nor
+listen to words from the Bible in any other but a reverent
+manner."</p>
+<p>All promised, Malcolm with a flushed face and subdued tone; and
+Edith felt that one of the great puzzles of her small existence had
+been solved.</p>
+<p>"Oil is the most important product of the olive tree," said Miss
+Harson, "and it has well been called its richness and fatness. The
+great demand for it in Europe and Asia prevents the best quality
+from being sent abroad, and it is said that even the most wealthy
+foreigners seldom get it pure. It is a most important article of
+food, taking the place held by butter and lard with us. Innumerable
+lamps, too, are kept burning by means of this oil, and so varied
+are its uses in the East that it was a greater thing than we can
+understand for the prophet Habakkuk to say, 'Although the labor of
+the olive shall fail, ... yet will I rejoice in the Lord, I will
+joy in the God of my salvation.' Job says, 'The rock poured me out
+rivers of oil<a name="FNanchor9" id="FNanchor9"></a><a href=
+"#Footnote_9">[9]</a>;' this means the oil of the olive, which will
+thrive on the sides and tops of rocky hills where there is scarcely
+any earth. It is a very long-lived tree, as well as an evergreen;
+the Psalmist says, 'I am like a green olive tree in the house of
+God.'"</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_9" id="Footnote_9"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor9">[9]</a> Job xxiii. 6.</blockquote>
+<p>"What does a <i>wild</i> olive tree mean, Miss Harson?" asked
+Clara.</p>
+<p>"It means, dear, one that has grown without being cultivated,
+like our wild cherry and plum trees. The wild olive is smaller than
+the other, and inferior to it in every way. There are a great many
+olive trees in Palestine, and a place where they must have been
+very plentiful is called by a name which we often see in the
+Bible.--What is it, Malcolm?"</p>
+<p>"Is it 'the Mount of Olives'?" said Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"Yes, and it is sometimes called 'Olivet.' It is mentioned in
+the Old Testament as well as in the New. In Second Samuel it is
+written: 'And David went up by the ascent of Mount Olivet, and wept
+as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot: and
+all the people that was with him covered every man his head, and
+they went up, weeping as they went up<a name="FNanchor10" id=
+"FNanchor10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10">[10]</a>.'"</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_10" id="Footnote_10"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor10">[10]</a> 2 Sam. xv. 30.</blockquote>
+<p>"What was the matter?" asked Edith.</p>
+<p>"King David's wicked son Absalom had risen up against his father
+because he wished to be king in his stead. You remember how he was
+caught by the head in the boughs of an oak during the very battle
+that he was fighting for this purpose; so we know that he did not
+succeed in his wicked plan, but lost his life instead.--The Mount
+of Olives is described as 'a ridge running north and south on the
+east side of Jerusalem, its summit about half a mile from the city
+wall and separated from it by the valley of the Kidron. It is
+composed of a chalky limestone, the rocks everywhere showing
+themselves. The olive trees that formerly covered it and gave it
+its name are now represented by a few trees and clumps of trees.
+There are three prominent summits on the ridge; of these, the
+southernmost, which is lower than the other two, is now known as
+'the Mount of Offence,' originally 'the Mount of Corruption,'
+because Solomon defiled it with idolatrous worship. Over this ridge
+passes the road to Bethany, the most frequented route to Jericho
+and the Jordan. The side of the Mount of Olives toward the west
+contains many tombs cut in the rock. The central summit rises two
+hundred feet above Jerusalem and presents a fine view of the city,
+and, indeed, of the whole region, including the mountains of
+Ephraim on the north, the valley of the Jordan on the east, a part
+of the Dead Sea on the south-east, and beyond it Kerak, in the
+mountains of Moab. Perhaps no spot on earth unites so fine a view
+with so many memorials of the most solemn and important events.
+Over this hill the Saviour often climbed in his journeys to and
+from the Holy City. Gethsemane lay at its foot on the west, and
+Bethany on its eastern slope.'"</p>
+<p>During the reading of this description of the Mount of Olives,
+Miss Harson showed the children pictures of the different spots
+mentioned, and thus they were not likely soon to forget what had
+been told them.</p>
+<p>"Who can repeat some words from the New Testament about this
+mountain?" asked Miss Harson.</p>
+<p>"'Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives,'" said Clara, who had
+learned this verse in her Sunday lesson, "and it is the first verse
+of the eighth chapter of St. John."</p>
+<p>"And the verse just before it, at the end of the seventh
+chapter," replied her governess, "says that 'every man went unto
+his own house,' but 'Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives.' In
+another place it is said that 'at night he went out and abode in
+the Mount of Olives,' and in still another that he 'continued all
+night in prayer to God,' probably on the same mountain."</p>
+<p>"And can people really go and see the very same Mount of Olives
+now?" asked Malcolm, eagerly.</p>
+<p>"The very same," was the reply, "except, as I just read to you,
+many of the olive trees that gave it its name are no longer there.
+The Garden of Gethsemane, too, the most sacred spot near the
+mountain, is much changed, and a traveler who saw it lately
+says:</p>
+<p>"'At the foot of the Mount of Olives is a garden enclosed by a
+wall. There are paths and there are plots of flowers, the work of
+loving hands in recent years. The flowers speak of to-day, but
+there are olive trees in the garden that testify of the history of
+far-away years. Their venerable trunks, gnarled and rugged, are
+like the rough, marred binding of old books, shutting in a history
+going back to a far-off date.</p>
+<p>"'On one side of this garden slope upward the terraces of the
+Mount of Olives--terraces that are cultivated to-day even as the
+slopes of Olivet have been cultivated for generations and
+centuries. The other side of the garden looks toward the eastern
+wall of Jerusalem. Deep down in its shadowy bed, between the wall
+and the garden, lies the ravine of the Kedron.</p>
+<p class="ctr"><a href="Images/121.png"><img src="Images/121.png"
+width="40%" alt=""></a><br>
+<b>GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE.</b></p>
+<p>"'If you visit that garden and look upon its old olive trees,
+the keeper of the place will tell you that you are in Gethsemane,
+the spot of our Saviour's betrayal. He will point out the "Grotto
+of the Agony," the place where the disciples slumbered, and that
+where Judas, before his brethren, ceased publicly to be a follower
+and became the betrayer of Jesus. Some things you very naturally
+may question as the guardian of the enclosure tells his story.
+Whether any one of the venerable olive trees ever threw its shadow
+across the prostrate form of Jesus is more than doubtful, but that
+these trees are burdened with the history of centuries all must
+concede. "Gethsemane" means "oil-press," and olive trees long ago
+gave Olivet its name. That somewhere in this neighborhood the
+Saviour suffered cannot be doubted, and within that closed wall may
+have been the very spot where he bowed in his agony, and where he
+heard the tongue of Judas utter his treacherous "Rabbi!" and where
+he felt the serpent-breath of the traitor as that traitor kissed
+him.'"</p>
+<p>Miss Harson read of this solemn spot in a low, reverent tone;
+and the little audience were very quiet, until at last Clara
+said,</p>
+<p>"Whenever we see an ash tree or olives, how much there will be
+to think of!"</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII." id="CHAPTER_VII."></a>CHAPTER VII.</h2>
+<h3><i>THE USEFUL BIRCH</i>.</h3>
+<br>
+<p>"Oh, Miss Harson!" called out Clara, in great excitement, as she
+caught up with her governess on a run; "hasn't Edie poisoned
+herself? She has been eating this twig."</p>
+<p>Edith, of course, at once began to cry.</p>
+<p>"You are not poisoned, dear," said Miss Harson, very quickly,
+after trying the twig herself; "for this is birch-wood, and it
+cannot possibly hurt you. But remember, Edie, that this must not
+happen again; <i>never</i> put anything to your mouth unless you
+know it to be harmless. The birds and squirrels and other animals
+that are obliged to pick up their own living as soon as they are
+able to use their limbs have the faculty given them of knowing what
+is good for them to eat, but little girls are not intended to live
+in the woods, and they cannot tell whether or not the things they
+find there are fit to eat."</p>
+<p>"I took only a little bit," sobbed Edith; "Clara snatched it
+away as soon as it tasted good."</p>
+<p>Malcolm laughingly tossed his little sister into a sort of
+evergreen cradle where the branches grew low--for they were
+enjoying an afternoon in the woods--and held her there securely,
+while their governess replied,</p>
+<p>"'A little bit' is too much of a thing that might be harmful.
+You must remember to 'touch not, taste not, handle not,' until you
+have asked permission. But I am going to let you all chew as many
+birch-shoots as you want, and I too shall chew some; for when I was
+a little girl, I used to think they were 'puffickly
+d'licious.'"</p>
+<p>The children were much amazed to think that Miss Harson had ever
+talked like Edith--indeed, the two older ones could scarcely
+believe that they once did so themselves; but all soon had their
+hands full of birch-twigs, and they began gnawing like so many
+squirrels. All approved of the "birchskin," as Edith called it, and
+Malcolm declared that "it would be grand fun to live in the woods
+all the time."</p>
+<p>"Couldn't we have a tent, Miss Harson," asked Clara, "and try
+it?"</p>
+<p>"I have no doubt," was the reply, "that your indulgent papa
+would have a tent put up here for you if he thought it would make
+you happier, but I have my doubts as to whether it would do so. In
+the first place, I should object very much to living in the tent
+with you, and how could you possibly live there alone?"</p>
+<p>Clara and Edith were quite sure that they could not get along
+without their friend and governess, but Malcolm thought he would
+like to try being a hermit or an Indian, he was not quite ready to
+say which.</p>
+<p>"While you are deciding," said Miss Harson, with a smile, "it
+may be as well for us to go on as usual; but I think that a little
+tent could be put up here somewhere, which we might enjoy for an
+hour or so on pleasant days. I will see about it."</p>
+<p>The little girls were delighted, and Malcolm finally
+condescended to be pleased with the idea.</p>
+<p>"This is a very young birch," continued their governess, "and
+you see how slender and graceful it is; also that the bark, or
+'skin,' is very dark. For this reason it is called the black, or
+cherry, birch, and also because the tree is very much like the
+black cherry. It is also called sweet birch and mahogany birch; the
+<i>sweet</i> part you can probably understand, and it gets its
+other name from the color of the wood, which often resembles
+mahogany and at one time was much used for furniture. There are
+larger trees of the same kind all around us, and I should like to
+know if anything else has been noticed besides the twigs of this
+little one."</p>
+<p>"<i>I</i> see something," replied Malcolm: "there are
+flowers--purple and yellow."</p>
+<p>"And what is the particular name for these tree-blossoms?" asked
+Miss Harson.</p>
+<p>"Isn't it <i>catkins</i>?" inquired Clara, timidly.</p>
+<p>"Yes, catkins, or aments. They hang, as you see, like long
+tassels of purple and gold, and are as fragrant as the bark.
+Bryant's line,</p>
+<blockquote>"'The fragrant birch above him hung her tassels in the
+sky,'<br></blockquote>
+<p>"was written of this same black birch. Some of these trees are
+sixty or seventy feet high, and all are very graceful, this species
+being considered the most beautiful of the numerous birch family.
+The leaves, which are just coming out, are two or three inches long
+and about half as wide; they taper to a point and have serrate, or
+sawlike, edges. The wood is firm and durable, and is much used for
+cattle-yokes as well as for bedsteads and chairs. The large trees
+yield a great quantity of sweetish sap, which makes a pleasant
+drink. The trees are tapped just as the sugar-maples are, and in
+some parts of the country gathering this sap, which is sometimes
+used to make vinegar, is quite an important event."</p>
+<p>"Oh! oh! <i>oh</i>!" screamed Edith, and began to run.</p>
+<p>"Oh! oh! oh!" echoed Clara; and Malcolm declared that she was
+just like "Jill," who "came tumbling after."</p>
+<br>
+<p>"What is the matter, children?" asked their governess, in
+dismay; but she stood perfectly still.</p>
+<p>"Only a poor little garter-snake," said Malcolm, "putting his
+head out to see if it's warm enough for him yet. But he has gone
+back into his hole frightened to death at such dreadful noises.
+Hello! what's the matter with Edie now?"</p>
+<p>The little sister had fallen, tripped up by some rough roots,
+and, expecting the poor startled garter-snake to come and make a
+meal off her, she was calling loudly for help.</p>
+<p>Miss Harson had her in her arms in a moment, and it was soon
+found that one foot had quite a bad bruise.</p>
+<p>"If only you had not run away!" said her governess. "He was such
+an innocent little snake to make all this fuss about, and very
+pretty too, if you had stopped to look at him."</p>
+<p>"Are snakes ever pretty?" asked Edith, in great surprise.</p>
+<p>"Certainly they are, dear, and this one had lovely stripes. I
+wish you could have seen him."</p>
+<p>The little girl began to wish so too, it was so funny to think
+of a snake being pretty, and she felt quite ashamed that she had
+scampered away in such a silly fashion.</p>
+<p>"What a goose I was!" said Clara, doing her thinking aloud. "But
+I thought it must be something dreadful, when Edie screamed
+so."</p>
+<p>"How much better it would have been to have found out before you
+screamed!" replied Miss Harson.--"But come, Edith; see what a nice
+cane Malcolm has just cut to help your lame foot with. He is
+offering you his arm, too, on the other side, and between the two I
+think you will get along finely."</p>
+<p>Edith thought the same thing, and enjoyed being helped home in
+this fashion. Her foot was quite painful, though, and considerably
+swollen; and Clara bathed it with arnica when the little girl had
+been comfortably established on the schoolroom sofa.</p>
+<p>"Perhaps," said Miss Harson, "our little invalid will not care
+to hear about trees this evening?"</p>
+<p class="right"><img src="Images/131.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>THE CUT-LEAVED WHITE BIRCH.</b></p>
+<p>But the little invalid did care, and it was decided to take a
+further ramble among the birches.</p>
+<p>"I want to hear about birch-bark," said Malcolm--"not the kind
+we've been eating, but the kind that canoes and things are made
+of."</p>
+<p>"You have already heard about the black birch," replied his
+governess, "and, besides this, we have the white, or gray, birch,
+the bark of which is white, chalky and dotted with black; the red
+birch, with bark of a reddish or chocolate color; the yellow birch,
+bark yellowish, with a silvery lustre; and the canoe birch, which
+has a white bark with a pearly lustre. There is also a dwarf, or
+shrub, birch. The list, you see, is quite a long one."</p>
+<p>"What kind grow in <i>our</i> woods?" asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"You certainly know of one kind," was the reply--"the black, or
+sweet, birch, which we have all tried and like so well. Besides
+this, there is the white, or little gray, birch, which is seldom
+over twenty-five or thirty feet high. It is, however, a graceful
+and beautiful object, enjoying to an eminent decree the lightness
+and airiness of the birch family, and spreading out its glistening
+leaves on the ends of a very slender and often pensile spray with
+an indescribable softness. An English poet has called this tree
+the</p>
+<blockquote>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+"'most beautiful<br>
+Of forest-trees, the lady of the woods.'"<br></blockquote>
+<p>The children laughed at the idea of calling a tree a
+<i>lady</i>, it seemed so comical; but Miss Harson said that she
+thought this was a very good description of a slender, graceful
+tree.</p>
+<p class="right"><img src="Images/133.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>WHITE-BIRCH LEAF.</b></p>
+<p>"Four or five inches," she continued, "will span its waist, or
+trunk, and this seems a very good reason for calling it
+<i>little</i>. Another name for this tree is poplar birch, because
+the triangular-shaped leaves, which taper to a very long, slender
+point, have a habit of trembling like those of the poplars. The
+branches are of a dark chocolate color which contrasts very
+prettily with the grayish-white trunk, and their extreme
+slenderness causes them to droop somewhat like those of the willow.
+The white birch will spring up in the poorest kind of soil, and it
+is found in the highest latitude in which any tree can live. Its
+leaf is 'deltoid' in shape and indented at the edge. The bark of
+this species is said to be more durable than any other vegetable
+substance, and a piece of birch-wood was once found changed into
+stone, while the outer bark, white and shining, remained in its
+natural state,"</p>
+<p>"I don't see how it could," said Malcolm. "What kept it from
+turning into stone too?"</p>
+<p>"Its peculiar nature," was the reply, "which is a thing that we
+cannot explain, and we shall have to take the story just as it is.
+We certainly know that the wood has been proved to be very strong,
+and it is much used for timber."</p>
+<p>"Is the red birch really red, Miss Harson?" asked Clara, who
+thought that this promised to be the prettiest member of the
+family.</p>
+<p>"The bark has a reddish tinge, and it is so loose and
+ragged-looking that it has been said to roll up its bark in coarse
+ringlets, which are whitish with a stain of crimson. The red birch,
+which is more rare than any of the other kinds, is a much larger
+tree than the white birch, but, like all its relations, it is very
+graceful. The wood is white and hard and makes very good fuel,
+while the twigs are made into brooms for sweeping streets and
+courtyards."</p>
+<p>"But there isn't very much red about it, after all," said
+Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"It wasn't red," murmured Edith; "it was green;" and the next
+moment "the baby" was fast asleep, but Miss Harson was afraid that
+she had taken the snake with her to the land of Nod, so restless
+was her sleep.</p>
+<p>"I hope the yellow birch is yellow," said Clara again.</p>
+<p>"We will see what is said of its color," replied her governess,
+"and here it is: 'Distinguished by its yellowish bark, of a soft
+silken texture and silvery or pearly lustre,' It is a large tree,
+and has been named <i>excelsa</i>--'lofty'--because of its height.
+The slender, flowing branches are very graceful, and the tree is
+often as symmetrical as a fine elm, but droops less. The roots of
+the yellow birch seem to enjoy getting above the ground and
+twisting themselves in a very fantastic manner, and, taken
+altogether, it is a strikingly handsome and ornamental tree. The
+wood was at one time much liked for fuel, and many of the logs were
+of immense size."</p>
+<p>"Now," said Malcolm, gleefully, "the canoe birch has <i>got</i>
+to come next, because there isn't anything else to come."</p>
+<p>"That is an excellent reason," replied Miss Harson, "and the
+canoe birch it shall be. There is more to be said of it than of any
+of the others, and it also grows in greater quantities. Thick woods
+of it are found in Maine and New Hampshire--for it loves a cold
+climate--and in other Northern portions of the country. The tall
+trunks of the trees resemble pillars of polished marble supporting
+a canopy of bright-green foliage. The leaves are something of a
+heart-shape, and their vivid summer green turns to golden tints in
+autumn. The bark of the canoe birch is almost snowy white on the
+outside, and very prettily marked with fine brown stripes two or
+three inches long, which go around the trunk. This bark is very
+smooth and soft, and it is easily separated into very thin sheets.
+For this reason the tree is often called the paper birch, and the
+smooth, thin layers of bark make very good writing-paper when none
+other can be had."</p>
+<p>"Oh, Miss Harson!" exclaimed Clara; "did you ever see any that
+was written on?"</p>
+<p>"Yes," was the reply; "I once wrote a letter on some
+myself."</p>
+<p>"Did you <i>really</i>?" cried two eager voices. "How
+<i>could</i> you? Oh, do tell us about it!"</p>
+<p>"I was making a visit at a village in Maine," said their
+governess, "where the beautiful trees are to be seen in all their
+perfection, and I thought it would be appropriate to write a letter
+from there on birch bark. So I split my bark very thin and got a
+respectable sheet of it ready; then I cut another piece, to form an
+envelope, and gummed it together. I had quite a struggle to write
+on it decently with a steel pen, because the pen would go through
+the paper; but I persevered, and finally I accomplished my letter.
+It seemed odd to put a postage-stamp on birch bark, and I smiled to
+think how surprised the home-people would be to get such a letter.
+They <i>were</i> surprised, and they told me afterward that the
+postman laughed when he delivered it."</p>
+<p>The children thought this very interesting, and they wished that
+there were canoe-birch trees growing at Elmridge, that they might
+be enabled to try the experiment for themselves.</p>
+<p>"Now," continued Miss Harson, "I am going to read you an account
+of canoe-making, and of some other uses to which the bark is
+put:</p>
+<p>"'In Canada and in the district of Maine the country-people
+place large pieces of the bark immediately below the shingles of
+the roof, to form a more impenetrable covering for their houses.
+Baskets, boxes and portfolios are made of it, which are sometimes
+embroidered with silk of different colors. Divided into very thin
+sheets, it forms a substitute for paper, and placed between the
+soles of the shoes and in the crown of the hat it is a defence
+against dampness. But the most important purpose to which it is
+applied, and one in which it is replaced by the bark of no other
+tree, is in the construction of canoes. To procure proper pieces,
+the largest and smoothest trunks are selected. In the spring two
+circular incisions are made, several feet apart, and two
+longitudinal ones on opposite sides of the tree; after which, by
+introducing a wooden wedge, the bark is easily detached. These
+plates are usually ten or twelve feet long and two feet nine inches
+broad. To form the canoe, they are stitched together with fibrous
+roots of the white spruce about the size of a quill, which are
+deprived of the bark, split and suppled in water. The seams are
+coated with resin of the balm of Gilead.</p>
+<p>"'Great use is made of these canoes by the savages and by the
+French Canadians in their long journeys into the interior of the
+country; they are very light, and are easily transported on the
+shoulders from one lake or river to another, which is called the
+<i>portage</i>. A canoe calculated for four persons, with their
+baggage, weighs from forty to fifty pounds; some of them are made
+to carry fifteen passengers.'</p>
+<p>"And now let me show you a picture of the Kentucky pioneer in a
+birch-bark canoe."</p>
+<p>"Why, Miss Harson, the Indians are trying to kill him!"
+exclaimed Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"Yes," she replied; "when you read the history of the United
+States, you will find that not only Daniel Boone, but the most of
+the early settlers of these Western lands, had trouble with the
+Indians. Nor is this strange. These pioneers were often rough men,
+and were looked upon by the natives as invaders of their country
+and treated as enemies. But to come back to the uses of the bark of
+the birch:</p>
+<p>"'In the settlements of the Hudson Bay Company tents are made of
+the bark of this tree, which for that purpose is cut into pieces
+twelve feet long and four feet wide. These are sewed together by
+threads made of the white-spruce roots; and so rapidly is a tent
+put up that a circular one twenty feet in diameter and ten feet
+high does not occupy more than half an hour in pitching. Every
+traveler and hunter in Canada enjoys these "rind-tents," as they
+are called, which are used only during the hot summer months, when
+they are found particularly comfortable.'"</p>
+<p class="ctr"><a href="Images/141.png"><img src="Images/141.png"
+width="40%" alt=""></a><br>
+<b>IN THE BIRCH-BARK CANOE.</b></p>
+<p>"Well, that's the funniest thing yet!" exclaimed Malcolm.
+"'Rind-tents'! I wish I could see one. Did they have any in Maine
+where you were, Miss Harson?"</p>
+<p>"No," was the reply, "I did not even hear of such a thing there,
+and to see it you would probably have to go far to the north. The
+English birch, which is found also in many parts of Europe, is put
+to a great many uses; the leaves produce a yellow dye, and the
+wood, when mixed with copperas, will color red, black and brown. An
+old birch tree that is supposed to be giving an account of itself
+says,</p>
+<p>"'How many are the uses of my bark! Thrifty men who sit beside
+the blazing hearth when my branches throw up a clear bright flame,
+and follow the example of their fathers in making their own shoes
+and those of their families, tan the hides with my bark.
+Kamschadales construct from it both hats and vessels for holding
+milk, and the Swedish fisherman his shoes. The Norwegian covers
+with it his low-roofed hut and spreads upon the surface layers of
+moss at least three or four inches thick, and, having twisted long
+strips together, he obtains excellent torches with which to cheer
+the darkness of his long nights. Fishermen, in like manner, make
+great use of them in alluring their finny prey. For this purpose
+they fit a portion of blazing birch in a cleft stick and spear the
+fish when attracted by its flickering light.'"</p>
+<p>The children exclaimed at this queer way of fishing, but Malcolm
+was very much taken with the idea of doing it by night with blazing
+torches, and he thought that he would like to be a Norwegian
+fisherman even better than a hermit or an Indian.</p>
+<p>"The old tree goes on to say," continued Miss Harson, "that
+'Finland mothers form of the dried leaves soft, elastic beds for
+their children, and from me is prepared the <i>mona</i>, their sole
+medicine in all diseases. My buds in spring exhale a delicious
+fragrance after showers, and the bark, when burnt, seems to purify
+the air in confined dwellings.'</p>
+<p>"In Lapland the twigs of the birch, covered with reindeer-skins,
+are used for beds, but they cannot be so comfortable, I should
+think, as the leaves. The fragrant wood of the tree makes the fires
+which have to be kept up inside the huts even in summer to drive
+away the mosquitoes, and the people of those Northern regions would
+find it hard to get along without the useful birch."</p>
+<p>"I like to hear about it," said Clara. "Can you tell us
+something more that is done with it, Miss Harson?"</p>
+<p>"There is just one thing more," replied her governess, with a
+smile, "which I will read out of an old book; and I desire you all
+to pay particular attention to it."</p>
+<p>Little Edith was wide awake again by this time, and her great
+blue eyes looked as if she were ready to devour every word.</p>
+<p>"Birch rods," continued Miss Harson, "are quite different from
+birch <i>twigs</i>, and the uses to which they were put were not
+altogether agreeable to the boys who ran away from school or did
+not get their lessons. 'My branches,' says the birch, 'gently
+waving in the wind, awakened in those days no feelings of dread
+with truant urchins--for <i>all</i> might be truants then, if so it
+pleased them--but at length a scribe arose who thus wrote
+concerning my ductile twigs: "The civil uses whereunto the birch
+serveth are many, as for the punishment of children both at home
+and abroad; for it hath an admirable influence upon them to quiet
+them when they wax unruly, and therefore some call the tree
+<i>make-peace</i>"'" Malcolm and Clara both laughed, and asked
+their young governess when the birch rods were coming; but Edith
+did not feel quite so easy, and, with her bruised foot and all, it
+took a great deal of petting that night to get her comfortably to
+bed.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII." id="CHAPTER_VIII."></a>CHAPTER
+VIII.</h2>
+<h3><i>THE POPLARS</i>.</h3>
+<br>
+<p>The bruised foot was not comfortable to walk on for two or three
+days, and Edith was settled in the great easy arm-chair with dolls
+and toys and picture-books in a pile that seemed as if it would not
+stop growing until every article belonging to herself and Clara had
+been gathered there. "We can go on with our trees," said Miss
+Harson, "even if we do not see them just yet; and this evening I
+should like to tell you something about the poplar, a large tree
+with alternate leaves which is often found in dusty towns, where it
+seems to flourish as well as in its favorite situation by a running
+stream. An old English writer calls the poplars 'hospitable trees,
+for anything thrives under their shade.' They are not
+handsomely-shaped trees, but the foliage is thick and pretty. In
+the latter part of this month--April--the trees are so covered with
+their olive-green catkins that large portions of the forests seem
+to be colored by them."</p>
+<p class="ctr"><a href="Images/147.png"><img src="Images/147.png"
+width="40%" alt=""></a><br>
+<b>IN THE EASY CHAIR.</b></p>
+<p>"Are there any poplars at Elmridge?" asked Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"Not nearer than the woods," was the reply, "where we must go
+and look for them when Edith's foot is quite well again, though
+there are a good many in the city. The poplar is often planted by
+the roadside because it grows so rapidly and makes a good shade.
+The <i>Abele</i>, or silver poplar, is an especial favorite for
+this purpose.</p>
+<p>"The balm of Gilead, or Canada poplar, is the largest of the
+species, and really a handsome tree, often growing to the height of
+fifty or sixty feet, with a trunk of proportionate size. It has
+large leaves of a bright, glossy green, which grow loosely on long
+branches, A peculiarity of this tree is that before the leaves
+begin to expand the buds are covered with a yellow, glutinous
+balsam that diffuses a penetrating but very agreeable odor unlike
+any other. The balsam is gathered as a healing anodyne, and for
+many ailments it is a favorite remedy in domestic medicine. All the
+poplars produce more or less of this substance.</p>
+<p class="right"><img src="Images/149.png" width="35%" alt=""><br>
+<b>LOMBARDY POPLAR.</b></p>
+<p>"The river poplaris found on the banks of rivers and brooks and
+in wet places, and is a noble and graceful tree. The trunk is light
+gray in color, and the young trees have a smooth, leather-like
+bark. The broad leaves, of a very rich green, grow on stems nearly
+as long as themselves, and the flowering aments are of a light-red
+color. The leaf-stalks and young branches are also brightly tinted.
+Another of these trees has a very singular name: it is called the
+necklace poplar."</p>
+<p>"Do the flowers grow like real necklaces?" asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"Not quite," replied her governess, "but the reason given is
+something like it. The tree is so called from the resemblance of
+the long ament, before opening, to the beads of a necklace. In
+Europe it is known as the Swiss poplar and the black Italian
+poplar. Its timber is much valued there for building. There are
+also the black poplar and that queer, stiff-looking tree the
+Lombardy poplar. Cannot one of you tell me where there are some
+tall, narrow trees that look almost as if they had been cut out of
+wood and stuck there?"</p>
+<p>"I know where there are some," said Malcolm: "right in front of
+Mrs. Bush's old house; and I think they're miserable-looking
+trees."</p>
+<p>"When old and rusty, they are not in the least cheerful,"
+replied Miss Harson; "and it is so long since Lombardy poplars were
+admired that few are found except about old places. The tree is
+shaped like a tall spire, and in hot, calm weather drops of clear
+water trickle from its leaves like a slight shower of rain. It was
+once a favorite shade-tree, and a century ago great numbers of
+Lombardy poplars were planted by village waysides, in front of
+dwelling-houses, on the borders of public grounds, and particularly
+in avenues leading to houses that stand at some distance from the
+high-road.</p>
+<p class="ctr"><a href="Images/151.png"><img src="Images/151.png"
+width="40%" alt=""></a><br>
+<b>A GROUP OF POPLARS IN CASHMERE.</b></p>
+<p>"The poplar is found in many lands. The Lombardy poplar, as its
+name indicates, was brought from Italy, where it grows luxuriantly
+beside the orange and the myrtle; but after one of our cold winters
+many of its small branches will decay, and this gives it a forlorn
+appearance. When fresh and green, the Lombardy poplar is quite
+handsome. Some one wrote of it long ago: 'There is no other tree
+that so pleasantly adorns the sides of narrow lanes and avenues,
+and so neatly accommodates itself to limited enclosures. Its
+foliage is dense and of the liveliest verdure, making delicate
+music to the soft touch of every breeze. Its terebinthine odors
+scent the vernal gales that enter our open windows with the morning
+sun. Its branches, always turning upward and closely gathered
+together, afford a harbor to the singing-birds that make them a
+favorite resort, and its long, tapering spire that points to heaven
+gives an air of cheerfulness and religious tranquillity to village
+scenery.'"</p>
+<p>"I wish we had some," said Edith, "with singing-birds in
+'em."</p>
+<p>"Why, my dear child," replied her governess, "have we not the
+beautiful elms, in which the birds build their nests and where they
+fly in and out continually? They are the very same birds that build
+in the Lombardy poplars."</p>
+<p>"I thought that singing-birds always lived in cages," said the
+little queen in the easy-chair.</p>
+<p>"And did you think they were hung all over the Lombardy
+poplars?" asked Malcolm, in a broad grin.</p>
+<p>Edith laughed too, and Miss Harson said smilingly.</p>
+<p>"I thought that the birds about Elmridge did a great deal of
+singing, and the blue-birds and robins kept it up all day. But I
+should not like to see the old Lombardy poplars hung with gilded
+cages, and the birds which should happen to be prisoners in the
+cages would like it still less."</p>
+<p>"Well," said Edith, contentedly, as she settled herself again to
+listen.</p>
+<p>"The poplar," continued Miss Harson, "has a great many insect
+enemies, and the Lombardy is not often seen now, because a great
+many of these trees were destroyed on account of a worm, or
+caterpillar, by which they were infested. Poplar-wood is soft,
+light and generally of a pale-yellow color; it is much used for
+toy-making and for boarded floors, 'for which last purpose it is
+well adapted from its whiteness and the facility with which it is
+scoured, and also from the difficulty with which it catches fire
+and the slowness with which it burns. A red-hot poker falling on a
+board of poplar would burn its way without causing more combustion
+than the hole through which it passed.'"</p>
+<p>"I should think, then," said Malcolm, "that all wooden things
+would be made of poplar."</p>
+<p>"It is generally thought not to be durable," was the reply, "but
+it is said that if kept dry the wood will last as long as that of
+any tree. Says the poplar plank,</p>
+<blockquote>"'Though heart of oak be ne'er so stout,<br>
+Keep me dry and I'll see him out.'<br></blockquote>
+<p>"The poplar has been highly praised, for every part of this tree
+answers some good purpose. The bark, being light, like cork, serves
+to support the nets of fishermen; the inner bark is used by the
+Kamschadales as a material for bread; brooms are made from the
+twigs, and paper from the cottony down of the seeds. Horses, cows
+and sheep browse upon it.</p>
+<p>"And now," said Miss Harson, when the children were wondering if
+that were the end, "we have come to the most interesting tree of
+the whole species--the aspen, or trembling poplar. It is a small,
+graceful tree with rounded leaves having a wavy, toothed border,
+covered with soft silk when young, which remains only as a fringe
+on the edge at maturity, supported by a very slender footstalk
+about as long as the leaf, and compressed laterally from near the
+base. They are thus agitated by the slightest breath of wind with
+that quivering, restless motion characteristic of all the poplars,
+but in none so striking as this. 'To quiver like an aspen-leaf has
+become a proverb. The foliage appears lighter than that of most
+other trees, from continually displaying the under side of the
+leaves.</p>
+<p>"The aspen has been called a very poetical tree, because it is
+the only one whose leaves tremble when the wind is apparently calm.
+It is said, however, to suggest fickleness and caprice, levity and
+irresolution--a bad character for any tree. The small American
+aspen, which is quite common, has a smooth, pale-green bark, which
+gets whitish and rough as the tree grows old. The foliage is thin,
+but a single leaf will be found, when examined, uncommonly
+beautiful. A spray of the small aspen, when in leaf, is very light
+and airy-looking, and the leaves produce a constant rustling sound.
+'Legends of no ordinary interest linger around this tree. Ask the
+Italian peasant who pastures his sheep beside a grove of
+<i>Abele</i> why the leaves of these trees are always trembling in
+even the hottest weather when not a breeze is stirring, and he will
+tell you that the wood of the trembling-poplar formed the cross on
+which our Saviour suffered.'"</p>
+<p>"Oh, Miss Harson!" said Clara, in a low tone. "Is that
+<i>true</i>?"</p>
+<p>"We do not know that it is, dear, nor do we know that it is not.
+Here are some verses about it which I like very much:</p>
+<blockquote>"'The tremulousness began, as legends tell,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;When he, the meek One, bowed his head to death<br>
+E'en on an aspen cross, when some near dell<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;Was visited by men whose every breath<br>
+That Sufferer gave them. Hastening to the wood--<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;The wood of aspens--they with ruffian power<br>
+Did hew the fair, pale tree, which trembling stood<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;As if awestruck; and from that fearful hour<br>
+Aspens have quivered as with conscious dread<br>
+Of that foul crime which bowed the meek Redeemer's head.<br>
+<br>
+"'Far distant from those days, oh let not man,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;Boastful of reason, check with scornful speech<br>
+Those legends pure; for who the heart may scan<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;Or say what hallowed thoughts such legends teach<br>
+To those who may perchance their scant flocks keep<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;On hill or plain, to whom the quivering tree<br>
+Hinteth a thought which, holy, solemn, deep,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;Sinks in the heart, bidding their spirits flee<br>
+All thoughts of vice, that dread and hateful thing<br>
+Which troubleth of each joy the pure and gushing
+spring?'"<br></blockquote>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX." id="CHAPTER_IX."></a>CHAPTER IX.</h2>
+<h3><i>ALL A-BLOW: THE APPLE TREE</i>.</h3>
+<br>
+<p>It certainly was a beautiful sight, and the children exclaimed
+over it in ectasy. It was now past the middle of April, and Miss
+Harson had taken her little flock to visit an apple-orchard at some
+distance from Elmridge, and the whole place seemed to be one mass
+of pink-and-white bloom.</p>
+<p>"And how deliciously <i>sweet</i> it is!" said Malcolm as he
+sniffed the fragrant air.</p>
+<p>"Oh!" exclaimed Edith, turning up her funny little nose to get
+the full benefit of all this fragrance; "I can't breathe half
+enough at once."</p>
+<p>"That is just my case," said her governess, laughing, "but I did
+not think to say it in that way. Get all you can of this
+deliciousness, children; I wish that we could carry some of it away
+with us."</p>
+<p>"And so you shall," replied a hearty voice as Mr. Grove, the
+owner of the orchard, came up with a knife in his hand and began
+cutting off small branches of apple--blossoms. "I like to see folks
+enjoy things."</p>
+<p>"I hope you don't mind our trespassing on your grounds?" said
+Miss Harson. "I can engage that my little friends will do no
+injury, and I particularly wished them to see your beautiful
+orchard in bloom; it is almost equal to a field of roses."</p>
+<p>"Don't mind it at all, miss," was the reply--"quite the
+contrary; and I think, myself, it's a pretty sight. Smells good,
+too. Now, here's a nosegay big enough for you three young ladies,
+and Bub there can carry it."</p>
+<p>Malcolm, who was quite proud of his name, felt so indignant at
+being called "Bub" that he almost forgot the farmer's generosity;
+but his governess acknowledged it, very much to the worthy man's
+satisfaction.</p>
+<p>Edith, however, was rather shocked.</p>
+<p>"I thought it was wicked," said she, "to cut off flowers from
+fruit trees? Won't these make apples?"</p>
+<p>"Not them particular ones, Sis," replied Mr. Grove, with a
+laugh; "they're done for now. But it ain't wicked to cut off your
+own apple blows when there's too many on the tree to make good
+apples, and there's plenty to spare yet." He was very much amused
+at the little girl's serious face over this wholesale destruction
+of infant apples, and he invited them all to come to the house and
+get a drink of fresh milk. The children thought this a very
+pleasant invitation, and Miss Harson was quite willing to gratify
+them.</p>
+<p>The farmer led his guests into a very cheerful and wonderfully
+clean kitchen, where Mrs. Groves was busy with her baking, and the
+loaves of fresh bread looked very inviting. She was as pleasant and
+hospitable as her husband, and after shaking up a funny-looking
+patchwork cushion in a rocking-chair for the young lady to sit down
+on she told the little girls that she would get them a couple of
+crickets if they would wait a minute, and disappeared into the next
+room.</p>
+<p>The two little sisters looked at each other in dismay and
+wondered what they could do with these insects, but before they
+could consult Miss Harson good Mrs. Grove had returned carrying in
+each hand a small flat footstool. The girls sat down very
+carefully, for they were not accustomed to such low seats; but the
+whole party were tired with their walk and glad to rest for a short
+time. Malcolm, being a boy, was expected to sit where he could, and
+he speedily established himself in the corner of a wooden
+settle.</p>
+<p>In spite of the apple-blossoms, the kitchen fire was very
+comfortable; and, as the baking was just coming to an end, Mrs.</p>
+<p>Grove said that "she would be ready to visit with them in a
+minute:" she did not seem to allow herself more than a "minute" for
+anything. Besides the milk, some very nice seed-cakes in the shape
+of hearts were produced, and Edith thought them the most delightful
+little cakes she had ever tasted. Clara and Malcolm, too, were
+quite hungry, and Miss Harson enjoyed her glass of milk and
+seed-cake as well as did the young people. The farmer and his wife
+seemed really sorry to part with their guests when they rose to go,
+but Miss Harson said that it was time for them to be at home, and
+the children were obedient on the instant.</p>
+<p>"Well," said the worthy couple, "you know now where to come when
+you want more apple-blows and a drink of milk."</p>
+<p>Malcolm was quite laden with the mass of rosy flowers which Mr.
+Grove piled up in his arms, and he enjoyed the delicious scent all
+the way home.</p>
+<p>"I must get out the big jar," said Miss Harson as she surveyed
+their treasures, "and there are so many buds that I think we may be
+able to keep them for some days.--What would you say, Edith, if I
+told you that people cut off not only the blossoms, but even the
+fruit itself, while it is green, to make what is left on the tree
+handsomer and better?"</p>
+<p>Edith looked her surprise, and the other children could not
+understand why all the fruit that formed should not be left on the
+tree to ripen.</p>
+<p>"It is very often left," replied their governess, "but, although
+the crop is a large one, it will be of inferior quality; and those
+who understand fruit-raising thin it out, so that the tree may not
+have more fruit than it can well nourish. But now it is time for
+papa to come, and after dinner we will have a regular
+apple-talk."</p>
+<br>
+<p>"How nice it was at Mrs. Grove's to-day!" said Clara, when they
+were gathered for the talk. "I think that kitchens are pleasanter
+to sit in than parlors and school-rooms."</p>
+<p>"So do I," chimed in Edith; "but I was afraid about the crickets
+at first. I thought we'd have to hold 'em in our hands, and I
+didn't like that."</p>
+<p>Why <i>would</i> people always laugh when there was nothing to
+laugh at? The little girl thought she had a very funny brother and
+sister, and Miss Harson, too, was funny sometimes.</p>
+<p>"Have you so soon forgotten about the real insect-crickets,
+dear?" asked her governess, kindly. "Why, it will be months yet
+before we see one. Besides, I thought I told you that in some
+places a little bench is called a 'cricket'?--Do you know, Clara,
+why you thought Mrs. Grove's kitchen so pleasant? It is larger and
+better furnished than kitchens usually are, there were pleasant
+people in it, and you were tired and hungry and ready to enjoy rest
+and refreshments; but I am quite sure that, on the whole, you would
+like your own quarters best, because you are better fitted for
+them, as Mrs. Grove is for hers. We had a very pleasant visit,
+though, and some day we may repeat it--perhaps when the apples are
+ripe."</p>
+<p>"Good! good!" cried the children, clapping their hands; and
+Malcolm added that he "would like to be let loose in that
+apple-orchard."</p>
+<p>"Perhaps you would like it better than Farmer Grove would," was
+the reply. "But we haven't got to the apples yet; we must first
+find out a little about the tree. We learn in the beginning that it
+was one of the very earliest trees planted in this country by the
+settlers, because it is both hardy and useful. There is a wild
+species called the Virginia crab-apple, which bears beautiful pink
+flowers as fragrant as roses, but its small apples are intensely
+sour. The blossoms of the cultivated apple tree are more beautiful
+than those of any other fruit; they are delicious to both sight and
+scent."</p>
+<p>"And do look, Miss Harson," said Clara, "at these lovely
+half-open buds! They are just like tiny roses, and <i>so</i>
+sweet!"</p>
+<p>Down went Clara's head among the clustered blossoms, and then
+Edith had to come too; and Malcolm declared that between the two
+they would smell them to death.</p>
+<p>"It seems," continued Miss Harson, "that the apple tree grows
+wild in every part of Europe except in the frigid zone and in
+Western Asia, China and Japan. It is thought to have been planted
+in Britain by the Romans; and when it was brought here, it seemed
+to do better than it had done anywhere else. It is said that 'not
+only the Indians, but many indigenous insects, birds and
+quadrupeds, welcomed the apple tree to these shores. The butterfly
+of the tent-caterpillar saddled her eggs on the very first twig
+that was formed, and it has since shared her affections with the
+wild cherry; and the canker-worm also, in a measure, abandoned the
+elm to feed on it. As it grew apace the bluebird, robin,
+cherry-bird, king-bird, and many more, came with haste and built
+their nests and warbled in its boughs, and so became orchard-birds
+and multiplied more than ever. It was an era in the history of
+their race in America. The downy woodpecker found such a savory
+morsel under its bark that he perforated it in a ring quite round
+the tree before he left it. It did not take the partridge long to
+find out how sweet its buds were, and every winter eve she flew,
+and still flies, from the wood to pluck them, much to the farmer's
+sorrow. The rabbit, too, was not slow to learn the taste of its
+twigs and bark; and when the fruit was ripe, the squirrel half
+rolled, half carried, it to his hole. Even the musquash crept up
+the bank from the brook at evening, and greedily devoured it, until
+he had worn a path in the grass there; and when it was frozen and
+thawed, the crow and the jay were glad to taste it occasionally.
+The owl crept into the first apple tree that became hollow, and
+fairly hooted with delight, finding it just the place for him; so,
+settling down into it, he has remained there ever since.'</p>
+<p>"Speaking of these buds, Clara," said her governess, "I think I
+forgot to tell you that the apple tree belongs to the family
+Rosaceae, and therefore the half-opened blossoms have a right to
+look like roses. The tree is not a handsome one, being a small
+edition of the oak in its sturdy outline, but it is less graceful
+or picturesque-looking, being often broader than it is high and
+resembling in shape a half globe. The leaves are not pretty except
+when first unfolded, and their color is then a beautiful light tint
+known as apple-green. But the foliage soon becomes dusty and
+shabby-looking. An old apple tree, with its gnarled, and often
+hollow, trunk, is generally handsomer than a young one, unless in
+the time of blossoms; for only a young apple-orchard is covered
+with such a profusion of bloom as that we saw to-day."</p>
+<p>"I am glad," said Clara, "that it belongs to the rose family,
+for now the dear little buds seem prettier than ever."</p>
+<p>"The apples are prettier yet," observed</p>
+<p>Malcolm; "if there's anything I like, it's apples."</p>
+<p>"I am afraid that you eat too many of them for your good,"
+replied his governess; "I shall have to limit you to so many a
+day."</p>
+<p>"I have eaten only six to-day," was the modest reply, "and they
+were little russets, too."</p>
+<p>"Oh, Malcolm, Malcolm!" said Miss Harson, laughing; "what shall
+I do with you? Why, you would soon make an apple-famine in most
+places. Three apples a day must be your allowance for the present;
+and if at any time we go to live in an orchard, you may have
+six."</p>
+<p>"Why, <i>we</i> have only one," exclaimed little Edith, "and we
+don't want any more.--Do we, Clara?"</p>
+<p class="ctr"><a href="Images/169.png"><img src="Images/169.png"
+width="40%" alt=""></a><br>
+<b>Apple Blossoms.</b></p>
+<p>"If you don't want 'em," said Malcolm, "there's no sense in
+eating 'em.--But I'll remember, Miss Harson. I suppose three at one
+time ought to be enough."</p>
+<p>Malcolm's expression, as he said this, was so doleful that every
+one laughed at him; and his governess continued:</p>
+<p>"The apple tree is said to produce a greater variety of
+beautiful fruit than any other tree that is known, and apples are
+liked by almost every one. They are a very wholesome fruit and
+nearly as valuable as bread and potatoes for food, because they can
+be used in so many different ways, and the poorer qualities make
+very nourishing food for nearly all animals."</p>
+<p>"Rex fairly snatches the apple out of my hand when I go to give
+him one," said Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"So does Regina," added Clara, who trembled in her shoes
+whenever she offered these dainties to the handsome
+carriage-horses.</p>
+<p>Edith had not dared to venture on such a feat yet, and therefore
+she had nothing to say.</p>
+<p>"All horses are fond of apples," said Miss Harson, "and the
+fruit is very thoroughly appreciated. Ancient Britain was
+celebrated for her apple-orchards, and the tree was reverenced by
+the Druids because the mistletoe grew abundantly on it. In Saxon
+times, when England became a Christian country, the rite of
+coronation, or crowning of a king, was in such words as these: 'May
+the almighty Lord give thee, O king, from the dew of heaven and the
+fatness of the earth, abundance of corn and wine and oil! Be thou
+the lord of thy brothers, and let the sons of thy mother bow down
+before thee. Let the people serve thee and the tribes adore thee.
+May the Almighty bless thee with the blessings of heaven above, and
+the mountains and the valleys with the blessings of the deep below,
+with the blessings of grapes and <i>apples</i>! Bless, O Lord, the
+courage of this prince, and prosper the work of his hands; and by
+thy blessing may his land be filled with <i>apples</i>, with the
+fruit and dew of heaven from the top of the ancient mountains, from
+the <i>apples</i> of the eternal hills, from the fruit of the earth
+and its fullness!' You will see from this how highly apples were
+valued in England in those ancient times."</p>
+<p>"I should like to pick them up when they are ripe," said Clara,
+and Malcolm expressed a desire to hire himself out by the day to
+Mr. Grove when that time arrived.</p>
+<br>
+<p>"An apple-orchard in autumn," continued their governess, "is
+often a merry scene. Ladders are put against the trees, and the
+finest apples are carefully picked off, but such as are to be used
+for cider-making are shaken to the ground. Men and boys are at
+work, and even women and children are there with baskets and aprons
+spread out to catch the fruit; and they run back and forth wherever
+the apples fall thickest, with much laughter at the unexpected
+showers that come down upon their heads and necks. Large baskets
+filled with these apples are carried to the mill, where, after
+being laid in heaps a while to mellow, they are crushed and pressed
+till their juice is extracted; and this, being fermented, becomes
+cider. From this cider, by a second fermentation, the best vinegar
+is made."</p>
+<p class="ctr"><a href="Images/173.png"><img src="Images/173.png"
+width="40%" alt=""></a><br>
+<b>THE APPLE-HARVEST.</b></p>
+<p>"Miss Harson," asked Edith, as the talk seemed to have come to
+an end, "isn't there any more about apple trees? I like 'em."</p>
+<p>"Yes, dear," was the reply; "there is more. I was just looking
+over, in this little book, some queer superstitions about apple
+trees in England, and here is a strange performance which is said
+to take place in some very retired parts of the country:</p>
+<p>"'Scarcely have the merry bells ushered in the morning of
+Christmas than a troop of people may be seen entering the
+apple-orchard, often when the trees are powdered with hoarfrost and
+snow lies deep upon the ground. One of the company carries a large
+flask filled with cider and tastefully decorated with
+holly-branches; and when every one has advanced about ten paces
+from the choicest tree, rustic pipes made from the hollow boughs of
+elder are played upon by young men, while Echo repeats the strain,
+and it seems as if fairy-musicians responded in low, sweet tones
+from some neighboring wood or hill. Then bursts forth a chorus of
+loud and sonorous voices while the cider-flask is being emptied of
+its contents around the tree, and all sing some such words as
+these:</p>
+<blockquote>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"'"Here's to
+thee, old apple tree!<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+Long mayest thou grow.<br>
+And long mayest thou blow, and ripen the apples that hang on<br>
+thy bough!<br>
+<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "'"This full
+can of apple wine,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Old
+tree, be thine:<br>
+It will cheer thee and warm thee amid the deep snow;<br>
+<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "'"Till the
+goldfinch--fond bird!--<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In
+the orchard is heard<br>
+Singing blithe 'mid the blossoms that whiten thy
+bough."'"<br></blockquote>
+<p>"But what did they do it for?" asked Malcolm, who enjoyed the
+account as much as the others. "There doesn't seem to be any sense
+in it."</p>
+<p>"There <i>is</i> no sense in it," replied his governess, "but
+these ignorant people had inherited the custom from their fathers
+and grandfathers, and they really believed--and perhaps still
+believe--that this attention would be sure to bring a fine crop of
+apples. We are distinctly told, though, that 'it is God that giveth
+the increase;' and to him alone belong the fruits of the earth.
+Sometimes the crop is so great that the trees fairly bend over with
+the weight of the fruit, and there is an old English saying: 'The
+more apples the tree bears, the more she bows to the folk.'"</p>
+<p>"How funny!" laughed Edith. "Does the apple tree move its head,
+Miss Harson?"</p>
+<p>"It cannot go quite so far as that," was the reply; "it just
+stays bent over like a person carrying a heavy burden. The branches
+of overladen fruit trees are sometimes propped up with long poles
+to keep them from breaking. There is another strange custom, which
+used to be practiced on New Year's eve. It was called
+'Apple-Howling,' and a troop of boys visited the different
+orchards--which would scarcely have been desirable when the apples
+were ripe--and, forming a ring around the trees, repeated these
+words:</p>
+<blockquote>"'Stand fast, root! bear well, top!<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;Pray God send us a good howling crop--<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Every twig, apples big;<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Every bough, apples enow.'<br></blockquote>
+<p>"All then shouted in chorus, while one of the party played on a
+cow's horn, and the trees were well rapped with the sticks which
+they carried. This ceremony is thought to have been a relic of some
+heathen sacrifice, and it is quite absurd enough to be that."</p>
+<p>"What is 'a howling crop,' Miss Harson?" asked Clara. "That name
+sounds so queer!"</p>
+<p>"I don't know what it can be," replied her governess, "unless it
+refers to the strange expression sometimes used, 'howling with
+delight.' We hear more commonly of 'howling with pain,' but 'a
+howling crop' must be one that makes the owner scream, as well as
+dance for joy."</p>
+<p>"Why, <i>I</i> scream only when I'm frightened," said Edith, who
+began to think that there were much sillier people in the world
+than herself.</p>
+<p>"At garter-snakes," added Malcolm, giving his sister a sly
+pinch; but Edith did not mind his pinches, because he always took
+good care not to hurt her.</p>
+<p>Miss Harson said that the best way was not to scream at all, as
+it was both a silly and a troublesome habit, and the sooner her
+charges broke themselves of it the better she should like it. Clara
+and Edith both promised to try--just as they had promised before,
+when the ants were so troublesome; but they were nine months older
+now, and seemed to be getting a little ashamed of the habit.</p>
+<p>"Are apples mentioned anywhere in the Bible?" asked Miss Harson,
+presently.</p>
+<p>Clara and Malcolm were busy thinking, but nothing came of it,
+until their governess said,</p>
+<p>"Turn to the book of Proverbs, Clara, and find the twenty-fifth
+chapter and the eleventh verse."</p>
+<p>Clara read very carefully:</p>
+<p>"'A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of
+silver.' But what does it mean?" she asked.</p>
+<p>"It probably means 'framed in silver' or 'in silver
+frames<a name="FNanchor11" id="FNanchor11"></a><a href=
+"#Footnote_11">[11]</a>,'" was the reply; "and then it is easy to
+understand how important our words are, and that 'fitly-spoken'
+ones are as valuable and lasting as golden apples framed in silver.
+The apple tree is mentioned in Joel, where it is said that 'all the
+trees of the field are withered<a name="FNanchor12" id=
+"FNanchor12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12">[12]</a>,' and both apple
+trees and apples are mentioned in several places of the Old
+Testament. But, to tell the whole truth, scholars are not agreed as
+to whether the Hebrew word denotes the apple or some other fruit
+that grew in the land of Israel."</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_11" id="Footnote_11"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor11">[11]</a> The Revised Version renders the phrase "in
+baskets of silver."</blockquote>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_12" id="Footnote_12"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor12">[12]</a> Joel i. 12.</blockquote>
+<p>The children had all enjoyed the "apple-talk," and they felt
+that the fruit which they were so accustomed to seeing would now
+have a new meaning for them.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X." id="CHAPTER_X."></a>CHAPTER X.</h2>
+<h3><i>A FRUITFUL FAMILY: THE PEACH, ALMOND, PLUM AND
+CHERRY</i>.</h3>
+<br>
+<p>Snowdrops, crocuses, hyacinths and tulips were blooming out of
+doors and in-doors; the grass looked green and velvety, and the
+fruit trees were, as John expressed it, "all a-blow." The peach
+trees, without a sign of a leaf, looked, as every one said of them,
+like immense bouquets of pink flowers, while pear, cherry and plum
+trees seemed as if they were dressed in white.</p>
+<p>One cloudy, windy day, when the petals fell off in showers and
+strewed the ground, Edith declared that it was snowing; but she
+soon saw her mistake, and then began to worry because there would
+be no blossoms left for fruit.</p>
+<p>"If the flowers stayed on, there would be no fruit," said Miss
+Harson. "Let me show you just where the little green germ is."</p>
+<p>"Why, of course!" said Malcolm; "it's in the part that stays on
+the tree."</p>
+<p>Edith listened intently while her governess showed her the ovary
+of a blossom safe on the twig where it grew, and explained to her
+that it was this which, nourished by the sap of the tree, with the
+aid of the sun and air, would ripen into fruit, while the petals
+were merely a fringe or ornament to the true blossom.</p>
+<p>At Elmridge, scattered here and there through garden and
+grounds, as Mr. Kyle liked to have them, there were some fruit
+trees of every kind that would flourish in that part of the
+country, but there was no orchard; and for this reason Miss Harson
+had taken the children to see the grand apple-blossoming at Farmer
+Grove's. Two very large pear trees stood one on either side of the
+lawn, and there were dwarf pear trees in the garden.</p>
+<p>"I think pears are nicer than apples," said Clara as they stood
+looking at the fine trees, now perfectly covered with their snowy
+blossoms.</p>
+<p>But Malcolm, who found it hard work to be happy on three apples
+a day, stoutly disagreed with his sister on this point, and
+declared that nothing was so good as apples.</p>
+<p>"How about ice-cream?" asked his governess, when she heard this
+sweeping assertion.</p>
+<p>The young gentleman was silent, for his exploits with this
+frozen luxury were a constant subject of wonder to his friends and
+relatives.</p>
+<p>"You will notice," said Miss Harson, "that the shape of these
+trees is much more graceful than that of the apple tree. They are
+tall and slender, forming what is called an imperfect pyramid.
+Standard pear trees, like these, give a good shade, and the long,
+slender branches are well clothed with leaves of a bright, glossy
+green. This rich color lasts late into the autumn, and it is then
+varied with yellow, and often with red and black, spots; so that
+pear-leaves are not to be despised in gathering autumn-leaf
+treasures. The pear is not so useful a fruit as the apple, nor so
+showy in color; but it has a more delicate and spicy flavor, and
+often is of an immense size."</p>
+<p>"Yes, indeed!" said Clara. "Don't you remember, Miss Harson,
+that sometimes Edith and I can have only one pear divided between
+us at dessert because they are so large?"</p>
+<p>"Yes, dear; and I think that half a duchess pear is as much as
+can be comfortably managed at once."</p>
+<p>"Well," observed Malcolm, "I don't want half an apple.--But,
+Miss Harson, do they ever have 'pear-howlings' in England?"</p>
+<p>"I have never read of any," was the reply, "and I think that
+strange custom is confined to apple trees. And there is no mention
+made of either pears or pear trees in the Scriptures."</p>
+<p>"What are prickly-pears?" asked Clara. "Do they have thorns on
+'em?"</p>
+<p>"There is a plant by this name," replied her governess, "with
+large yellow flowers, and the fruit is full of small seeds and has
+a crimson pulp. It grows in sandy places near the salt water; it is
+abundant in North Africa and Syria, and is considered quite good to
+eat; but neither plant nor fruit bears any resemblance to our pear
+trees: it is a cactus."</p>
+<p>"Won't you have a story for us this evening, Miss Harson?" asked
+Edith, rather wistfully.</p>
+<p>"Perhaps so, dear--I have been thinking of it--but it will not
+be about pear trees."</p>
+<p>"Oh, I don't care," with a very bright face; "I'd as soon have
+it about cherry trees, or--'Most anything!"</p>
+<p>Miss Harson laughed, and said,</p>
+<p>"Well, then, I think it will be about cherries; so you must rest
+on that. This morning we will go around among the fruit trees and
+see what we can learn from seeing them."</p>
+<p>Of course it was Saturday morning and there were no lessons, or
+they would not have been roaming around "promiscuous," as Jane
+called it; for the young governess was very careful not to let the
+getting of one kind of knowledge interfere with the getting of
+another.</p>
+<p>"How do you like these pretty quince trees?" asked Miss Harson
+as they came to some large bushes with great pinkish flowers.</p>
+<p>"I like 'em," replied Edith, "because they're so little. And oh
+what pretty flowers!"</p>
+<p>"Some more relations of the rose," said her governess. "And do
+you notice how fragrant they are? The tree is always low and
+crooked, just as you see it, and the branches straggle not very
+gracefully. The under part of the dark-green leaves is whitish and
+downy-looking, and the flowers are handsome enough to warrant the
+cultivation of the tree just for their sake, but the large golden
+fruit is much prized for preserves, and in the autumn a small tree
+laden down with it is quite an ornamental object. The quince is
+more like a pear than an apple. As the book says, 'it has the same
+tender and mucilaginous core; the seeds are not enclosed in a dry
+hull, like those of the apple; and the pulp of the quince, like
+that of the pear, is granulated, while that of the apple displays
+in its texture a firmer and finer organization.' The fruit,
+however, is so hard, even when ripe, that it cannot be eaten
+without cooking. It is said to be a native of hedges and rocky
+places in the South of Europe."</p>
+<p class="left"><img src="Images/186.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>PEACH-BLOSSOM.</b></p>
+<p>"These peach trees," said Clara, "look like sticks with pink
+flowers all over 'em." "They are remarkably bare of leaves when in
+bloom," was the reply: "the leaves burst forth from their envelopes
+as the blossoms pass away; but how beautiful the blossoms are! from
+the deepest pink to that delicate tint which is called peach-color.
+But do you know that we have left the apple and rose family now,
+and have come to the almond family?"</p>
+<p>The children were very much surprised to hear this, and they
+looked at the peach trees with fresh interest.</p>
+<p>"Yes," continued Miss Harson, "the family consists of the almond
+tree, the peach tree, the apricot tree, the plum tree and the
+cherry tree; and one thing that distinguishes them from the other
+families is the gum which is found on their trunks.--Look around,
+Malcolm, at the peach, plum and cherry trees, which are the only
+members of the family that we have at Elmridge, and you will find
+gum oozing from the bark, especially where there are
+knotholes."</p>
+<p>Malcolm not only found the gum, but succeeded in helping himself
+to some of it, which he shared with his sisters. It had a rather
+sweet taste, and the children seemed to like it, having first
+obtained permission of their governess to eat it.</p>
+<p>"That is another of the things that I thought 'puffickly
+d'licious' when I was a child," said the young lady, laughing. "But
+there is another peculiarity of this family of trees which is not
+so innocent, and that is that in the fruit-kernel, and also in the
+leaves, there is a deadly poison called prussic acid."</p>
+<p>"O--h!" exclaimed the children, drawing back from the trees as
+though they expected to be poisoned on the spot.</p>
+<p>"But, as we do not eat either the kernels or the leaves,"
+continued their governess, "we need not feel uneasy, for the fruit
+never yet poisoned any one. Here are the cherry trees, so covered
+with blossoms that they look like masses of snow; and the smaller
+plum trees are also attired in white. We will begin this evening
+with the almond tree, and see what we can find out about the
+family."</p>
+<p>"Do almond trees and peach trees look alike?" asked Clara, when
+they were fairly settled by the schoolroom fire; for the evenings
+were too cool yet for the piazza.</p>
+<p>"Very much alike," was the reply; "only the almond tree is
+larger and it has white instead of pink blossoms. Then it is the
+<i>fruit</i> of the peach we eat, but of the almond we eat the
+kernel of the stem. I will read you a little account of it:</p>
+<p class="right"><img src="Images/189.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>THE ALMOND.--BRANCH AND FRUIT.</b></p>
+<p>"'The common almond is a native of Barbary, but has long been
+cultivated in the South of Europe and the temperate parts of Asia.
+The fruit is produced in very large quantities and exported in to
+northern countries; it is also pressed for oil and used for various
+domestic purposes. There are numerous varieties of this species,
+but the two chief kinds are the bitter almond and the sweet almond.
+The sweet almond affords a favorite article for dessert, but it
+contains little nourishment, and of all nuts is the most difficult
+of digestion. The tree has been cultivated in England for about
+three centuries for the sake of its beautiful foliage, as the fruit
+will not ripen without a greater degree of heat than is found in
+that climate. The distilled water of the bitter almond is highly
+injurious to the human species, and, taken in a large dose,
+produces almost instant death.' The prussic acid which can be
+obtained from the kernel of the peach is found also in the bitter
+almond."</p>
+<p>"But what do they want to find it for," asked Malcolm, "when it
+kills people?"</p>
+<p>"Because," replied his governess, "like some other noxious
+things, it can be made valuable when used moderately and in the
+right way. But it is often employed to give a flavor to
+intoxicating liquors, and this is <i>not</i> a right way, as it
+makes them even more dangerous than before. But we will leave the
+prussic acid and return to our almond tree. It flourishes in
+Palestine, where it blooms in January, and in March the ripe fruit
+can be gathered."</p>
+<p>This seemed wonderfully strange to the children--flowers in
+January and fruit in March; and Miss Harson explained to them that
+in that part of the world they do not often have our bitter cold
+weather with its ice and snow to kill the tender buds.</p>
+<p>"This tree," continued Miss Harson, "is occasionally mentioned
+in the Old Testament. In Jeremiah the prophet says, 'I see a rod of
+an almond tree<a name="FNanchor13" id="FNanchor13"></a><a href=
+"#Footnote_13">[13]</a>;' also in Ecclesiastes it is said that 'the
+almond tree shall flourish<a name="FNanchor14" id=
+"FNanchor14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14">[14]</a>.'"</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_13" id="Footnote_13"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor13">[13]</a> Jer. i. II.</blockquote>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_14" id="Footnote_14"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor14">[14]</a> Eccl. xii. 5.</blockquote>
+<p>"Are there ever many peach trees growing in one place," asked
+Clara, "like the apple trees in Mr. Grove's orchard?"</p>
+<p>"Yes," was the reply, "for in some places there are immense
+peach-orchards, covering many acres of ground; and when the trees
+in these are in blossom, the spring landscape seems to be pink with
+them. These great peach-fields are found in Delaware and Maryland,
+where the fruit grows in such perfection, and also in some of the
+Western States. We all know how delicious it is, but,
+unfortunately, so does a certain green worm, who curls up in the
+leaves which he gnaws in spite of the prussic acid. This insect
+will often attack the finest peaches and lay its eggs in them when
+the fruit is but half grown. In this way the young grubs find food
+and lodging provided for them all in one, and they thrive, while
+the peach decays."</p>
+<p>"What a shame it is," exclaimed Malcolm, in great indignation,
+"to have our best peaches eaten by wretched little worms who might
+just as well eat grass and leave the peaches for us!"</p>
+<p>"Perhaps they think it a shame that they are so often shaken to
+the ground or washed off the trees," replied Miss Harson; "and, as
+to their eating grass, they evidently prefer peaches. 'Insects as
+well as human beings have discriminating tastes, and the poor plum
+tree suffers even more than the peach from their attentions. In
+some parts of the country it has been entirely given up to their
+depredations, and farmers will not try to raise this fruit because
+of these active enemies. The whole almond family are liable to the
+attacks of insects. Canker-worms of one or of several species often
+strip them of their leaves; the tent-caterpillars pitch their tents
+among the branches and carry on their dangerous depredations; the
+slug-worms, the offspring of a fly called <i>Selandria cerasi</i>,
+reduce the leaves to skeletons, and thus destroy them; the
+cherry-weevils penetrate their bark, cover their branches with
+warts and cause them to decay; and borers gnaw galleries in their
+trunks and devour the inner bark and sap-wood.' So you see that,
+with such an army of destroyers, we may be thankful to get any
+fruit at all."</p>
+<p>"I'm glad to know the name of that fly," said Malcolm, who
+considered it an additional grievance that it should have such a
+long name, "but I won't try to call him by it if I meet him
+anywhere."</p>
+<p>"I think it's pretty," said Clara, beginning to repeat it, and
+making a decided failure.</p>
+<p>"Fortunately," continued their governess, after reading it again
+for them, "there are other things much more important for you to
+remember just now, and I could not have said it myself without the
+book. And now let us see what else we can learn about the plum. It
+is a native, it seems, of North America, Europe and Asia, and many
+of the wild species are thorny. The cultivated plums, damsons and
+gages are varieties of the <i>Prunus domestica</i>, the cultivated
+plum tree. These have no thorns; the leaves are oval in shape, and
+the flowers grow singly. The most highly-valued cultivated plum
+trees came originally from the East, where they have been known
+from time immemorial. In many countries of Eastern Europe domestic
+animals are fattened on their fruits, and an alcoholic liquor is
+obtained from them; they also yield a white, crystallizable sugar.
+The prunes which we import from France are the dried fruit of
+varieties of the plum which contain a sufficient quantity of sugar
+to preserve the fruit from decay."</p>
+<p>"Do prunes really grow on trees, Miss Harson?" asked Edith, who
+was rather disposed to think that they grew in pretty boxes.</p>
+<p>"Yes, dear," was the reply; "they grow just as our plums do,
+only they are dried and packed in layers before they reach this
+country. We have two species of wild plum in North America--the
+beach-plum, a low shrub found in New England, the fruit of which is
+dark blue and about the size of damsons; while the other is quite a
+large tree, and very showy when covered with its scarlet fruit. In
+Maine it is called plum-granate, probably from its red color," "I
+know what's coming next," said Clara--"cherries; because all the
+rest have been used up. And then we're to have the story."</p>
+<p>"But they're all interesting," replied Malcolm, gallantly,
+"because Miss Harson makes them so."</p>
+<p>"I hope that is not the only reason," said his governess,
+laughing, "for trees are always beautiful and interesting and it is
+a privilege to be able to learn something of their habits and
+history.--Like most fruit trees, the cherry has many varieties, but
+it is always a handsome tree, and less spoiled by insects than
+others of the almond family. The black cherry is the most common
+species in the United States, and is both wild and cultivated. The
+garden cherry has broad, ovate, rough and serrate leaves, growing
+thickly on the branches, and this, with the height of the tree,
+makes a fine shade. Some old cherry trees have huge trunks, and
+their thick branches spread to a great distance. The branches of
+the wild cherry are too straggling to make a beautiful tree, and
+the leaves are small and narrow. The blossoms of the cultivated
+cherry are in umbels, while those of the wild cherry are borne in
+racemes."</p>
+<p>"I remember that, Miss Harson," said Clara, pleased with her
+knowledge. "'Umbel' means 'like an umbrella,' and 'raceme' means
+'growing along a stem.'"</p>
+<p>"Very well indeed!" was the reply; "I am glad you have not
+forgotten it.--Of our cultivated cherries, we have here at
+Elmridge, besides the large black ones, which are so very sweet
+about the first of July, the great ox-hearts, which look like
+painted wax and ripen in June, and those very acid red ones, often
+called pie-cherries, which are used for pies and preserves. The
+cherry is a beautiful fruit, and one that is popular with birds as
+well as with boys. The great northern cherry of Europe, which was
+named by Linnaeus the 'bird-cherry,' is encouraged in Great Britain
+and on the Continent for the benefit of the birds, which are
+regarded as the most important checks to the over-multiplication of
+insects. The fact not yet properly understood in America--that the
+birds which are the most mischievous consumers of fruit are the
+most useful as destroyers of insects--is well known by all farmers
+in Europe; and while we destroy the birds to save the fruit, and
+sometimes cut down the fruit-trees to starve the birds, the
+Europeans more wisely plant them for the food and accommodation of
+the birds."</p>
+<p>"Isn't it wicked to kill the poor little birds?" asked
+Edith.</p>
+<p>"Yes, dear; it is cruel to kill them just for sport, as is often
+done, and very foolish, as we have just seen, to destroy them for
+the sake of the fruit, which the insects make way with in much
+greater quantities than the birds do."</p>
+<p>"Miss Harson," asked Clara, "do people cut down real cherry
+trees to make the pretty red furniture like that in your room?"</p>
+<p>"It is the wood of the wild cherry," replied her governess,
+"that is used for this purpose. It is of a light-red or fresh
+mahogany color, growing darker and richer with age. It is very
+close-grained, compact, takes a good polish, and when perfectly
+seasoned is not liable to shrink or warp. It is therefore
+particularly suitable, and much employed, for tables, chests of
+drawers, and other cabinet-work, and when polished and varnished is
+not less beautiful for such articles than are inferior kinds of
+mahogany."</p>
+<p>"'Cherry' sounds pretty to say," continued Clara. "I wonder how
+the tree got that name?"</p>
+<p>"That wonder is easily explained," said Miss Harson, "for I have
+been reading about it, and I was just going to tell you. 'Cherry
+comes from 'Cerasus,' the name of a town on the Black Sea from
+whence the tree is supposed to have been introduced into Italy, and
+it designates a genus of about forty species, natives of all the
+temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. They are trees or
+shrubs with smooth serrated leaves, which are folded together when
+young, and white or reddish flowers growing in bunches, like
+umbels, and preceding the leaves or in terminal racemes
+accompanying or following the leaves. A few species, with numerous
+varieties, produce valuable fruits; nearly all are remarkable for
+the abundance of their early flowers, sometimes rendered double by
+cultivation. And now," added the young lady, "we have arrived at
+the story, which is translated from the German; and in Germany the
+cherries are particularly fine. A plateful of this beautiful fruit
+was, as you will see, the cause of some remarkable changes."</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI." id="CHAPTER_XI."></a>CHAPTER XI.</h2>
+<h3><i>THE CHERRY-STORY.</i></h3>
+<br>
+<p>On the banks of the Rhine, in the pleasant little village of
+Rebenheim, lived Ehrenberg, the village mayor. He was much
+respected for his virtues, and his wife was greatly beloved for her
+charity to the poor. They had an only daughter--the little
+Caroline--who gave early promise of a superior mind and a
+benevolent heart. She was the idol of her parents, who devoted
+their whole care to giving her a sound religious education.</p>
+<p>Not far from the house, and close to the orchard and
+kitchen-garden, there was another little garden, planted
+exclusively with flowers. The day that Caroline was born her father
+planted a cherry tree in the middle of the flower-garden. He had
+chosen a tree with a short trunk, in order that his little daughter
+could more easily admire the blossoms and pluck the cherries when
+they were ripe.</p>
+<p>When the tree bloomed for the first time and was so covered with
+blossoms that it looked like a single bunch of white flowers, the
+father and mother came out one morning to enjoy the sight. Little
+Caroline was in her mother's arms. The infant smiled, and,
+stretching out her little hands for the blossoms, endeavored at the
+same time to speak her joy, but in such a way as no one but a
+mother could understand:</p>
+<p>"Flowers! flowers! Pretty! pretty!"</p>
+<p>The child engaged more of the parents' thoughts than all the
+cherry-blossoms and gardens and orchards, and all they were worth.
+They resolved to educate her well; they prayed to God to bless
+their care and attention by making Caroline worthy of him and the
+joy and consolation of her parents. As soon as the little girl was
+old enough to understand, her mother told her lovingly of that kind
+Father in heaven who makes the flowers bloom and the trees bud and
+the cherries and apples grow ruddy and ripe; she told her also of
+the blessed Son of God, once an infant like herself, who died for
+all the world.</p>
+<p>The cherry tree in the middle of the garden was given to
+Caroline for her own, and it was a greater treasure to her than
+were all the flowers. She watched and admired it every day, from
+the moment the first bud appeared until the cherries were ripe. She
+grieved when she saw the white blossoms turn yellow and drop to the
+earth, but her grief was changed into joy when the cherries
+appeared, green at first and smaller than peas, and then daily
+growing larger and larger, until the rich red skin of the ripe
+cherry at last blushed among the interstices of the green
+leaves.</p>
+<p>"Thus it is," said her father; "youth and beauty fade like the
+blossoms, but virtue is the fruit which we expect from the tree.
+This whole world is, as it were, a large garden, in which God has
+appointed to every man a place, that he may bring forth abundant
+and good fruit. As God sends rain and sunshine on the trees, so
+does he send down grace on men to make them grow in virtue, if they
+will but do their part."</p>
+<p>In the course of time war approached the quiet village which had
+hitherto been the abode of peace and domestic bliss, and the battle
+raged fearfully. Balls and shells whizzed about, and several houses
+caught fire. As soon as the danger would permit, the mayor tried to
+extinguish the flames, while his wife and little daughter were
+praying earnestly for themselves and for their neighbors.</p>
+<p>In the afternoon a ring was heard at the door, and, looking out
+of the window, Madame Ehrenberg saw an officer of hussars standing
+before her. Fortunately, he was a German, and mother and daughter
+ran to open the door.</p>
+<p>"Do not be alarmed," said the officer, in a friendly tone, when
+he saw the frightened faces; "the danger is over, and you are quite
+safe. The fire in the village, too, is almost quenched, and the
+mayor will soon be here. I beg you for some refreshment, if it is
+only a morsel of bread and a drink of water. It was sharp work," he
+added, wiping the perspiration from his brow, "but, thank God, we
+have conquered," Provisions were scarce, for the village had been
+plundered by the enemy, but the good lady brought forth a flask of
+wine and some rye bread, with many regrets that she had nothing
+better to offer. But the visitor, as he ate the bread with a hearty
+relish, declared that it was enough, for it was the first morsel he
+had tasted that day.</p>
+<p>Caroline ran and brought in on a porcelain plate some of the
+ripest cherries from her own tree.</p>
+<p>"Cherries!" exclaimed the officer. "They are a rarity in this
+district. How did they escape the enemy? All the trees in the
+country around are stripped."</p>
+<p>"The cherries," said the mother, "are from a little tree which
+was planted in Caroline's flower-garden on her birthday. It is but
+a few days since they became ripe; the enemy, perhaps, did not
+notice the little tree."</p>
+<p>"And is it for me you intend the cherries, my dear child?" asked
+the officer. "Oh no; you must keep them. It were a pity to take one
+of them from you."</p>
+<p>"How could we refuse a few cherries," said Caroline, "to the man
+that sheds his blood in our defence? You must eat them all," said
+she, while the tears streamed down her cheeks. "Do, I entreat you!
+Eat them all."</p>
+<p>He took some of the cherries and laid them on the table, near
+his wine-glass; but he had scarcely placed the glass to his lips
+when the trumpet sounded. He sprang up and girded on his sword.</p>
+<p>"That is the signal to march," said he. "I cannot wait one
+instant."</p>
+<p>Caroline wrapped the cherries in a roll of white paper and
+insisted that he should put them in his pocket.</p>
+<p>"The weather is very warm," said she, "and even cherries will be
+some refreshment."</p>
+<p>"Oh," said the officer, with emotion, "what a happiness it is
+for a soldier, who is often obliged to snatch each morsel from
+unwilling hands, to meet with a generous and benevolent family! I
+wish it were in my power, my dear child, to give you some pledge of
+my gratitude, but I have nothing--not so much as a single groat.
+You must be content with my simple thanks." With these words, and
+once more bidding Caroline and her mother an affectionate farewell,
+he took his departure, and walked rapidly out of sight.</p>
+<p>The joy of the good family for their happy deliverance was,
+alas! of short continuance. Some weeks after, a dreadful battle was
+fought near the village, which was reduced to a heap of ruins. The
+mayor's house was burned to the ground and all his property
+destroyed. Alas for the horrors of cruel war! Father, mother and
+daughter fled away on foot, and wept bitterly when they looked back
+on their once happy village, now but a mass of blazing ruins.</p>
+<p>The family retired to a distant town, and lived there in very
+great distress. The mayor endeavored to obtain a livelihood as a
+scrivener, or clerk; his wife worked at dressmaking and millinery,
+and Caroline, who soon became skillful in such matters, faithfully
+assisted her.</p>
+<p>A lady in town--the Countess von Buchenhaim--gave them much
+employment, and one day Caroline went to this lady's house to carry
+home a bonnet. She was taken to the garden, where the countess was
+sitting in the summer-house with her sister and nieces, who had
+come to visit her. The young ladies were delighted with the bonnet,
+and their mother gave orders for three more, particularly praising
+the blue flowers, which were the work of Caroline's own hands.</p>
+<p>The Countess von Buchenhaim spoke very kindly of the young girl
+to her sister, and related the sad story of the worthy family's
+misfortunes. The count was standing with his brother-in-law, the
+colonel, at some little distance from the door of the summer-house,
+and the colonel, a fine-looking man in a hussar's uniform and with
+a star on his breast, overheard the conversation. Coming up, he
+looked closely at Caroline.</p>
+<p>"Is it possible," said he, "that you are the daughter of the
+mayor of Rebenheim? How tall you have grown! I should scarcely have
+recognized you, though we are old acquaintances."</p>
+<p>Caroline stood there abashed, looking full in the face of the
+stranger, her cheeks covered with blushes. Taking her by the hand,
+the colonel conducted her to his wife, who was sitting near the
+countess.</p>
+<p>"See, Amelia," said he; "this is the young lady who saved my
+life ten years ago, when she was only a child."</p>
+<p>"How can that be possible?" asked Caroline, in amazement.</p>
+<p>"It must indeed appear incomprehensible to you," answered the
+colonel, "but do you remember the hussar-officer that one day,
+after a battle, stood knocking at the door of your father's house
+in Rebenheim? Do you remember the cherries which you so kindly gave
+him?"</p>
+<p>"Oh, was it you?" exclaimed Caroline, while her face beamed with
+a smile of recognition. "Thank God you are alive! But how I could
+have done anything toward saving your life I cannot
+understand."</p>
+<p>"In truth, it would be impossible for you to guess the great
+service you did me," said he, "but my wife and daughters know it
+well; I wrote to them of it at once. And I look upon it as one of
+the most remarkable occurrences of my life."</p>
+<p>"And one that I ought to remember better than any other event of
+the war," said his lady, rising and affectionately embracing
+Caroline.</p>
+<p>"Well," said the countess, "neither I nor my husband ever heard
+the story. Please give us a full account of it."</p>
+<p>"Oh, it is easily told," said the colonel. "Hungry and thirsty,
+I entered the house in which Caroline and her parents dwelt, and,
+to tell the plain truth, I begged for some bread and water. They
+gave me a share of the best they had, and did not hesitate to do
+so, though their village and themselves were in the greatest
+distress. Caroline robbed every bough on her cherry tree to refresh
+me. Fine cherries they were--the only ones, probably, in the whole
+country. But the enemy did not give me time to eat them; I was
+obliged to depart in a hurry. Caroline insisted, with the kindest
+hospitality, that I should take them with me, but that was no easy
+matter: my horse had been shot under me the day before. I took from
+my knapsack whatever articles I could in a hurry, and, thrusting
+them into my pockets, I fought on foot until a hussar gave me his
+horse. All that I was worth was in my pockets, so that to make room
+for the cherries I was obliged to take the pocket-book out of my
+pocket and place it here beneath my vest. The enemy, who had been
+driven back, made a feint of advancing on us, and I led down my
+hussars in gallant style. But suddenly we found ourselves in front
+of a body of infantry concealed behind a hedge. One of them fired
+at me, and the fellow had taken good aim, for the ball struck me
+here on the breast. But it rebounded from the pocket-book;
+otherwise, I should have been shot through the body and fallen dead
+on the spot. Tell me," said he, in a tone of deep emotion; "was not
+that little child an instrument in the hand of God to save me from
+death? Am I right or not when I give Caroline the credit, under
+God, of having saved my life? Her must I thank that my Amelia is
+not a widow and my daughters orphans."</p>
+<p>All agreed with him. His wife, who had Caroline's hand locked in
+her own during the whole narrative, now pressed it affectionately
+and with tears in her eyes.</p>
+<p>"You, then," said she, "were the good angel that averted such a
+terrible misfortune from our family?"</p>
+<p>Her two daughters also gazed with pleasure at Caroline.</p>
+<p>"Every time we ate cherries," said the younger, "we spoke of you
+without knowing you."</p>
+<p>All had kind and grateful words for the young girl, but the
+colonel soon bade her farewell for the present, and said that he
+had some business to attend to with his brother-in-law. This
+business was to urge the count to appoint Ehrenberg his steward in
+place of the one who had died a few months before. A better man, he
+said, could not be found; for when he had visited Rebenheim to make
+inquiries for the family, although none could tell where they had
+gone, all were loud in their praise, and the mayor was pronounced a
+pattern of justice, honor and charity.</p>
+<p>The count drew out the order, signed it, and gave it to his
+brother-in-law, who wished himself to take it to Mr. Ehrenberg; and
+he went at once to the house and saluted him as "master-steward of
+Buchenhaim."</p>
+<p>"Read that," he said to the astonished man as he handed him the
+paper in which he was duly appointed steward of Buchenhaim, with a
+good salary of a thousand thalers and several valuable
+perquisites.</p>
+<p>"And you," said the colonel to Caroline and her mother, "must
+prepare to remove at once. Your lodgings are so confined! But you
+will find it very different in the house which you are to occupy in
+Buchenhaim. The dwelling is large and commodious, with a fine
+garden attached, well stocked with cherry trees. Next Monday you
+will be there, and this very day you must start. What a happy feast
+we shall have there!--not like the hasty meal you gave the
+hussar-officer amid the thunder of cannon and the blazing roofs of
+Rebenheim. Do not forget to have cherries, dear Caroline, for
+dessert; I think they will be fully ripe by that time."</p>
+<p>With these words the colonel hurried away to escape the thanks
+of this good family, and, in truth, to conceal his own tears. So
+rapidly did he disappear that Ehrenberg could scarcely accompany
+him down the steps.</p>
+<p>"Oh, Caroline," said the happy father when he returned, "who
+could have imagined that the little cherry tree I planted in the
+flower-garden the day you were born would ever produce such good
+fruit?"</p>
+<p>"It was the providence of God," exclaimed the mother, clasping
+her hands. "I remember distinctly the first time the blossoms
+appeared on that tree, when you and I went out to look at it, and
+little Caroline, then an infant in my arms, was so much delighted
+with the white flowers. We resolved then to educate our daughter
+piously, and prayed fervently to God that she, who was then as full
+of promise as the blossoms on the tree, might by his grace one day
+be the prop of our old age. That prayer is now fulfilled beyond our
+fondest anticipations. Praise for ever be to the name of God!"</p>
+<p>Edith declared that this was one of the very sweetest stories
+Miss Harson had ever told them, and Clara and Malcolm were equally
+well pleased with it.</p>
+<p>"Were those cherries like ours?" asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"They were larger and finer than ours generally are, I think,"
+was the reply, "being the great northern cherry, or bird-cherry, of
+Europe, which grows in Germany to great perfection. And the little
+German girl's plate of cherries, which she so generously urged upon
+a stranger when food of any kind was so scarce, is a beautiful
+illustration of the first verse of the eleventh chapter of
+Proverbs: 'Cast thy bread upon the waters; for thou shalt find it
+after many days.'"</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII." id="CHAPTER_XII."></a>CHAPTER XII.</h2>
+<h3><i>THE MULBERRY FAMILY</i>.</h3>
+<br>
+<p>"There is a fruit tree," said Miss Harson, "belonging to an
+entirely different family, which we have not considered yet; and,
+although it is not a common tree with us, one specimen of it is to
+be found in Mrs. Bush's garden, where you have all enjoyed the
+fruit very much. What is it?"</p>
+<p>"Mulberry," said Clara, promptly, while Malcolm was wondering
+what it could be.</p>
+<p>"Oh yes," said Edith, very innocently; "I like to go and see
+Mrs. Bush when there are mulberries."</p>
+<p>Mrs. Bush was not a cheerful person to visit, as she was quite
+old and rather hard of hearing, and she lived alone in the gloomy
+old house with the Lombardy poplars in front, where everything
+looked dark and shut up. A queer woman in a sunbonnet, nearly as
+old as Mrs. Bush, lived close by, and "kept an eye on her," as she
+said.</p>
+<p>Mrs. Bush's great enjoyment was to have visitors of all ages, to
+whom she talked a great deal, and cried as she talked, about a
+daughter who had died a few years ago. The little Kyles did not
+care to go there except when, as Edith said, there were ripe
+mulberries; but Mrs. Bush liked very much to have them, and Miss
+Harson took her little charges there occasionally, because, as she
+explained to them, it gave pleasure to a lonely old woman, and such
+visits were just as much charity, though of a different kind, as
+giving food and clothes to those who need them. The children
+delighted in the mulberries just because they did not have them at
+home, although they had fruit that was very much nicer; but Miss
+Harson never wished even to taste them, although she too had liked
+them when a little girl.</p>
+<p>"The mulberry tree," continued their governess, "belongs to the
+bread-fruit family, but the other members of this remarkable
+family, except the Osage orange, are found only in foreign
+countries. The bread-fruit tree itself, the fig, the Indian fig, or
+banyan tree, and the deadly upas tree, are all relations of the
+mulberry."</p>
+<p>"Well, trees are queer things," exclaimed Malcolm, "to belong to
+families that are not a bit alike."</p>
+<p>"They are alike in important points, when we examine them
+carefully," was the reply. "The bread-fruit genus consists, with a
+single exception, of trees and shrubs with alternate, toothed or
+lobed or entire leaves and milky juice. This reminds me that the
+famous cow tree of South America, which yields a large supply of
+rich and wholesome milk, is one of the members; and you see what a
+number of famous trees we have on hand now. There are several kinds
+of mulberries--the red, black, white and paper mulberry, which are
+all occasionally found in this country, and they were once quite
+popular here for their shade. The fruit is unusually small for
+tree-fruit, and very soft when ripe, as you all know; it is not
+unlike a long, narrow blackberry, and forms, like it, a compound
+fruit, as though many small berries had grown together. The tree in
+Mrs. Bush's garden is the black mulberry, as any one might know by
+the stained lips and hands that sometimes come from there; and it
+has been cultivated from ancient times for its fine appearance and
+shade. It is found wild in the forests of Persia, and is thought to
+have been taken from there to Europe. The tree is more beautiful
+than useful, for the silkworms do not thrive well on the leaves and
+the wood is neither strong nor durable."</p>
+<p>"Why, I thought," said Clara, "that silkworms always lived on
+mulberry-leaves?"</p>
+<p>"The white mulberry is their favorite food; and another species,
+called the <i>Morus multicaulis</i>--for <i>Morus</i> is the
+scientific name of the family--has more delicate leaves than any
+other, and produces a finer quality of silk. These trees are
+natives of China, and the white mulberry grows very rapidly to the
+height of thirty or forty feet. The paper mulberry is so called
+because in China and Japan--of which it is a native--its bark is
+manufactured into paper. In the South-Sea Islands, where it is also
+found, the bark is made into the curious dresses which we sometimes
+see imported thence. It is a low, thick-branched tree with large
+light-colored downy leaves and dark-scarlet fruit."</p>
+<p>"I wonder," said Malcolm, "if the bark is like birch-bark?"</p>
+<p>"It does not look like it," replied Miss Harson, "but it seems
+to be very much of the same nature. The red mulberry and black
+mulberry are the most hardy of these trees, and the red mulberry
+will thrive farther north than any of the family. The wood is
+valuable for many purposes for which timber is used, and especially
+in boat-building. And now, as we learned something about silkworms
+and their cocoons in our talks about insects<a name="FNanchor15"
+id="FNanchor15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15">[15]</a>, there is
+little more to be said of the mulberry tree which any but learned
+people would care to know."</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_15" id="Footnote_15"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor15">[15]</a> See <i>Flyers and Crawlers</i>. Presbyterian
+Board of Publication.</blockquote>
+<p>"I want to hear about the bread tree," said little Edith, "and
+how the loaves of bread grow on it."</p>
+<p>"Do they, Miss Harson?" asked Clara, not exactly seeing how this
+could be.</p>
+<p>"I don't believe they're very hot," remarked Malcolm, who was
+puzzled over the bread-fruit tree himself, but who laughed at his
+little sister's idea in a very knowing way. It was not an
+ill-natured laugh, though, and a glance from his governess always
+quieted him.</p>
+<p>"No, dear," replied Miss Harson, answering Clara; "loaves of
+bread do not grow on any tree. But I will tell you about the
+bread-fruit presently; let us finish the <i>Morus</i> family and
+their kindred in our own country before we go to their foreign
+relations. The Osage orange is so much used in the United States,
+and in this part of it, for hedges, on account of its rapid growth
+and ornamental appearance, that we really ought to know something
+about it. 'It is a beautiful low, spreading, round-headed tree with
+the port and splendor of an orange tree. Its oval, entire, polished
+leaves have the shining green of natives of warmer regions, and its
+curiously-tesselated, succulent compound fruit the size and golden
+color of an orange. It was first found in the country of the Osage
+Indians, from whom it gets its name, and it has since been
+cultivated in many parts of this country and in Europe. The Osages
+belonged to the Sioux, or Dacotah, tribe of Indians, and their home
+was in the south-western part of the old United States. The Osage
+orange--a tree from thirty to forty feet high with leaves even more
+bright and glossy than those of the ordinary orange--was first
+found growing wild near one of their villages."</p>
+<p>"But what a very high hedge it would make!" said Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"Yes, if left to its natural growth, it would be a very absurd
+fence indeed. But this is not the case; the branches spread out
+very widely, and by cutting off the tops and trimming the remainder
+twice in a season a very handsome thickset hedge is produced, with
+lustrous leaves and sharp, straight thorns. Another name for this
+tree is yellow-wood, or bow-wood, because the wood is of a
+bright-yellow color, and the grain is so fine and elastic that the
+Southern Indians have been in the habit of using it to make their
+bows. The experiment of feeding silkworms upon the leaves has been
+tried, but it was not very successful."</p>
+<p>"I suppose the worms didn't know that it belonged to the
+mulberry family," said Clara, "and I don't see now why it
+does."</p>
+<p>For reply, her governess read:</p>
+<p>"'The sap of the young wood and of the leaves is <i>milky</i>
+and contains a large proportion of caoutchouc.'"</p>
+<p>"Oh!" exclaimed Malcolm; "that sounds just like sneezing. What
+is it, Miss Harson?"</p>
+<p>"Something that you wear on your feet and over your shoulders in
+wet weather; so now guess."</p>
+<p>"Overshoes!" replied Clara, in a great hurry.</p>
+<p>"How many of them do you wear over your shoulders at once?"
+asked her brother. "And it must be a queer kind of sap that has
+overshoes in it. Why couldn't you say 'India-rubber'?"</p>
+<p>"And why couldn't <i>you</i> say it before Clara put it into
+your head by saying 'Overshoes?" asked Miss Harson. "Clara has the
+right idea, only she did not express it in the clearest way. The
+sap of the caoutchouc, or India-rubber, tree is the most valuable
+yet discovered, and, as it is of a milky nature, it can very
+properly be brought into the present class of trees."</p>
+<p>"Is <i>that</i> a mulberry too?" asked Clara, who thought that
+the size of the family was getting beyond all bounds.</p>
+<p>"It is not really set down as belonging to the bread-fruit
+family," was the reply, "but it certainly has the peculiarity of
+their milky sap. However, as I know that you are all eager to hear
+about the bread-fruit tree, we will take that next. This tree is
+found in various tropical regions, but principally in the South-Sea
+Islands, where it is about forty feet high. The immense leaves are
+half a yard long and over a quarter wide, and are deeply divided
+into sharp lobes. The fruit looks like a very large green berry,
+being about the size of a cocoanut or melon, and the proper time
+for gathering it is about a week before it is ripe. When baked, it
+is not very unlike bread. It is cooked by being cut into several
+pieces, which are baked in an oven in the ground. It is often eaten
+with orange-juice and cocoanut-milk. Some of the South-Sea
+islanders depend very much upon it for their food. The large seeds,
+when roasted, are said to taste like the best chestnuts. The pulp,
+which is the bread-part, is said to resemble a baked potato and is
+very white and tender, but, unless eaten soon after the fruit is
+gathered, it grows hard and choky."</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/224.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>THE BREAD-FRUIT.</b></p>
+<p>"So Edie's 'loaves of bread' are green?" said Malcolm, rather
+teasingly.</p>
+<p>"That's because they grow on a tree," replied Clara. "Our loaves
+of bread are raw dough before they're baked, and they are grains of
+wheat before they are dough."</p>
+<p>"That is quite true, dear," replied her governess, laughing,
+"and we must teach Malcolm not to be quite so critical.--The
+bread-fruit is a wonderful tree, and it certainly does bear
+uncooked loaves of bread, at least, for they require no kneading to
+be ready for the oven. The fruit is to be found on the tree for
+eight months of the year--which is very different from any of our
+fruits--and two or three bread-fruit trees will supply one man with
+food all the year round."</p>
+<p>"Put what does he do when there is no fresh fruit on them?"
+asked Malcolm. "You told us that it was not good to eat unless it
+was fresh."</p>
+<p>"We should not think it good, but the native makes it into a
+sour paste called <i>mah&eacute;</i>, and the people of the islands
+eat this during the four months when the fresh fruit is not to be
+had. The bread-fruit is said to be very nourishing, and it can be
+prepared in various ways. The timber of this tree, though soft, is
+found useful in building houses and boats; the flowers, when dried,
+serve for tinder; the viscid, milky juice answers for birdlime and
+glue; the leaves, for towels and packing; and the inner bark,
+beaten together, makes one species of the South-Sea cloth."</p>
+<p>"What a very useful tree!" exclaimed Clara.</p>
+<p>"It is indeed," replied Miss Harson; "and this is the case with
+many of the trees found in these warm countries, where the
+inhabitants know little of the arts and manufactures, and would
+almost starve rather than exert themselves very greatly. There is
+another species of bread-fruit, called the jaca, or jack, tree,
+found on the mainland of Asia, which produces its fruit on
+different parts of the tree, according to its age. When the tree is
+young, the fruit grows from the twigs; in middle age it grows from
+the trunk; and when the tree gets old, it grows from the
+roots."</p>
+<p class="ctr"><a href="Images/227.png"><img src="Images/227.png"
+width="40%" alt=""></a><br>
+<b>JACK-FRUIT TREE.</b></p>
+<p>There was a picture of the jack tree with fruit growing out of
+the trunk and great branches like melons, and the children crowded
+eagerly around to look at it. All agreed that it was the very
+queerest tree they had yet heard of.</p>
+<p>"The fruit is even larger than that of the island bread-fruit,"
+continued their governess, "but it is not so pleasant to our taste,
+nor is it so nourishing. It often weighs over thirty pounds and has
+two or three hundred seeds, each of which is four times as large as
+an almond and is surrounded by a pulp which is greatly relished by
+the natives of India. The seeds, or nuts, are roasted, like those
+of smaller fruit, and make very good chestnuts. The fruit has a
+strong odor not very agreeable to noses not educated to it."</p>
+<p>"Miss Harson," said Malcolm, "what is the upas tree like, and
+why is it called <i>deadly</i>?"</p>
+<p>"It is a tree eighty feet high, with white and slightly-furrowed
+bark; the branches, which are very thick, grow nearly at the top,
+dividing into smaller ones, which form an irregular sort of crown
+to the tall, straight trunk. There is no reason for calling it
+<i>deadly</i> except a foolish notion and the fact that a very
+strong poison is prepared from the milky sap. The tree grows in the
+island of Java, and for a long time many fabulous stories were told
+of its dangerous nature. Travelers in that region would send home
+the wildest and most improbable stories of the poison tree, until
+the very name of the upas was enough to make people shudder. It is
+said that a Dutch surgeon stationed on the island did much to keep
+up the impression. He wrote an account of the valley in which the
+upas was said to be growing alone, for no tree nor shrub was to be
+found near it. And he declared that neither animal nor bird could
+breathe the noxious effluvia from the tree without instant death.
+In fact, he called this fatal spot 'The Valley of Death.'"</p>
+<p>"And wasn't it true, Miss Harson?"</p>
+<p>"Not all true, Clara; some one who had spent many years in Java
+proved these stories to be entirely false. Instead of growing in a
+dismal valley by itself, the graceful-looking upas tree is found in
+the most fertile spots, among other trees, and very often climbing
+plants are twisted round its trunk, while birds nestle in the
+branches. It can be handled, too, like any other tree; and all this
+is as unlike the Dutch surgeon's account as possible. One of his
+stories was that the criminals on the island were employed to
+collect the poison from the trunk of the tree; that they were
+permitted to choose whether to die by the hand of the executioner
+or to go to the upas for a box of its fatal juice; and that the
+ground all about the tree was strewed with the dead bodies of those
+who had perished on this errand."</p>
+<p>"Oh," exclaimed Edith, "wasn't that dreadful?"</p>
+<p>"The story was dreadful, dear, but it was only a story, you
+know: the upas tree did not kill people at all; and to turn the
+milky juice into a dangerous poison took a great deal of time and
+trouble. It was mixed with various spices and fermented; when ready
+for use, it was poured into the hollow joints of bamboo and
+carefully kept from the air. Both for war and for the chase arrows
+are dipped in this fatal preparation, and the effect has been
+witnessed by naturalists on animals, and also on man. The instant
+it touches the blood it is carried through the whole system, so
+that it may be felt in all the veins and causes a burning
+sensation, especially in the head, which is followed by sickness
+and death."</p>
+<p>"Well," said Clara, drawing a long breath, "I'm glad that I
+don't live in Java."</p>
+<p>"The poisoned arrows are not constantly flying about in Java,
+dear," replied her governess, with a smile, "and I do not think you
+would be in any danger from them; but there are a great many other
+reasons why it is not pleasant, except for natives, to live in
+Java. There are a number of Dutch settlers there, because the
+island was conquered by the Dutch nation, but while war with the
+natives was going on they suffered terribly from these poisoned
+arrows; so that the very name of upas caused them to tremble. The
+word 'upas,' in the language of the natives, means poison, and
+there is in the island a valley called the upas, or poison, valley.
+It has nothing, however, to do with the tree, which does not grow
+anywhere in the neighborhood. That valley may literally be called
+'The Valley of Death.' We are told that it came to exist in this
+way: The largest mountain in Java was once partly buried in a very
+dreadful manner. In the middle of a summer night the people in the
+neighborhood perceived a luminous cloud that seemed wholly to
+envelop the mountain. They were extremely alarmed and took to
+flight, but ere they could escape a terrific noise was heard, like
+the discharge of cannon, and part of the mountain fell in and
+disappeared. At the same moment quantities of stones and lava were
+thrown to the distance of several miles. Fifteen miles of ground
+covered with villages and plantations were swallowed up or buried
+under the lava from the mountain; and when all was over and people
+tried to visit the scene of the disaster, they could not approach
+it on account of the heat of the stones and other substances piled
+upon one another. And yet as much as six weeks had elapsed since
+the catastrophe. This upas valley is about half a mile in
+circumference, and the vapor that escapes through the cracks and
+fissures is fatal to every living thing. Here, indeed, are to be
+seen the bones of animals and birds, and even the skeletons of
+human beings who were unfortunate enough to enter and were
+overpowered by the deadly vapor. And now," added Miss Harson, "I
+have given you this account to make you understand that the famous
+upas valley of Java is not a valley of upas trees, but one of
+poisonous vapors."</p>
+<p>"And the deadly upas," said Malcolm, "is not deadly, after all!
+I think I shall remember that."</p>
+<p>"And I too," said Clara and Edith, who had listened with great
+interest to the description.</p>
+<p>"Shall we have some figs now, by way of variety?" was a question
+that caused three pairs of eyes to turn rather expectantly on the
+speaker; for figs were very popular with the small people of
+Elmridge.</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/234.png" width="60%" alt=""><br>
+<b>THE BANYAN TREE.</b></p>
+<p>"Not in the way of refreshments, just at present," continued
+their governess, "but only as belonging to the mulberry family; and
+we will begin with that curious tree the banyan, or Indian fig.
+This stately and beautiful tree is found on the banks of the river
+Ganges and in many parts of India, and is a tree much valued and
+venerated by the Hindu. He plants it near the temple of his idol;
+and if the village in which he resides does not possess any such
+edifice, he uses the banyan for a temple and places the idol
+beneath it. Here, every morning and evening, he performs the rites
+of his heathen worship. And, more than this, he considers the tree,
+with its out-stretched and far-sheltering arms, an emblem of the
+creator of all things."</p>
+<p>"Is that only one tree?" asked Malcolm as Miss Harson displayed
+a picture that was more like a small grove. "Why, it looks like two
+or three trees together."</p>
+<p>"Does it grow up from the ground or down from the air?" asked
+Clara. "Just look at these queer branches with one end fast to the
+tree and the other end fast to the ground!"</p>
+<p>Edith thought that the branches which had not reached the ground
+looked like snakes, but, for all that, it was certainly a grand
+tree.</p>
+<p>"The peculiar growth of the banyan," continued Miss Harson,
+"renders it an object of beauty and produces those column-like
+stems that cause it to become a grove in itself. It may be said to
+grow, not from the seed, but from the branches. They spread out
+horizontally, and each branch sends out a number of rootlets that
+at first hang from it like slender cords and wave about in the
+wind.--Those are your 'snakes,' Edith.--But by degrees they reach
+the ground and root themselves into it; then the cord tightens and
+thickens and becomes a stem, acting like a prop to the
+widespreading branch of the parent plant. Indeed, column on column
+is added in this manner, the books tell us, so long as the
+mother-tree can support its numerous progeny."</p>
+<p>"How very strange!" said Clara. "The mulberry seems to have some
+very funny relations."</p>
+<p>"Such a great tree ought to bear very large figs," added
+Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"On the contrary," replied his governess, "it bears uncommonly
+small ones--no larger than a hazel-nut, and of a red color. They
+are not considered eatable by the natives, but birds and animals
+feed upon them, and in the leafy bower of the banyan are found the
+peacock, the monkey and the squirrel. Here, too, are a myriad of
+pigeons as green as the leaf and with eyes and feet of a brilliant
+red. They are so like the foliage in color that they can be seen
+only by the practiced eye of the hunter, and even he would fail to
+detect them were it not for their restless movements. As they
+flutter about from branch to branch they are apt to fall victims to
+his skill in shooting his arrows."</p>
+<p>"If they would only keep still!" exclaimed Edith, who felt a
+strong sympathy for the green pigeons. "Poor pretty things! Why
+don't they, Miss Harson, instead of getting killed?"</p>
+<p>"They do not know their danger until it is too late, and it is
+quite as hard for them to keep still as it is for little
+girls."</p>
+<p>Edith wondered if that meant her; she was a little girl, but she
+did not think she was so very restless. However, Miss Harson didn't
+tell her, and she soon forgot it in listening to what was said of
+the queer tree with branches like snakes.</p>
+<p>"The leaves of the banyan tree are large and soft and of a very
+bright green, and the deep shade and pillared walks are so welcome
+to the Hindu that he even tries to improve on Nature and coax the
+shoots to grow just where he wishes them. He binds wet clay and
+moss on the branch to make the rootlet sprout."</p>
+<p>"Will it grow then?" asked Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"Yes, just as a cutting planted in the earth will grow, although
+it seems a very odd style of gardening.--The sacred fig tree of
+India--<i>Ficus religiosa</i>--is a near relative of the banyan,
+and very much like it in general appearance; but the leaves are on
+such slender stalks that they tremble like those of the aspen. It
+is known as the bo tree of Ceylon, and is said to have been placed
+in charge of the priests long before the present race of
+inhabitants had appeared in the island."</p>
+<p>"Where do the real figs grow?" asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"In a great many moderately warm or sub-tropical countries," was
+the reply, "but Smyrna figs are the most celebrated. Immense
+quantities of the fruit are dried and packed in Asiatic Turkey for
+exportation from this city, and it is said that in the fig season
+nothing else is talked about there."</p>
+<p>"I didn't know that they were dried," said Malcolm, in great
+surprise; "I thought they were just packed tight in boxes and then
+sent off."</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/239.png" width="35%" alt=""><br>
+<b>LEAF AND FRUIT OF THE FIG TREE.</b></p>
+<p>"'In its native country,'" read Miss Harson, "'and when growing
+on the tree, the fig presents a different appearance from the dried
+and packed specimens we see in this country. It is a firm and
+fleshy fruit, and has a delicious honey-drop hanging from the
+point.' And here," she added, "is a small branch from the fig tree,
+with fruit growing on it."</p>
+<p>"Why, it's shaped like a pear!" exclaimed Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"And what large, pretty leaves it has!" said Clara.</p>
+<p>"'The fig tree is common in Palestine and the East,'" Miss
+Harson continued to read, "'and flourishes with the greatest
+luxuriance in those barren and stony situations, where little else
+will grow. Its large size and its abundance of five-lobed leaves
+render it a pleasant shade-tree, and its fruit furnishes a
+wholesome food very much used in all the lands of the Bible.' Figs
+were among the fruits mentioned in the 'land that flowed with milk
+and honey,' and it was a symbol of peace and plenty, as you will
+find, Malcolm, by reading to us from First Kings, fourth chapter,
+twenty-fifth verse."</p>
+<p>"'And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine
+and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of
+Solomon.'--That's what it means, then!" said Malcolm, when he had
+finished reading the verse. "I've heard people say, 'Under your own
+vine and fig tree,' and I couldn't tell what they meant."</p>
+<p>"Yes," replied his governess, "some persons make very free with
+the words of Holy Scripture and twist them to suit meanings for
+which they were not intended. Having a house of one's own is
+usually meant by this quotation, and almost the same words are
+repeated in other parts of the Old Testament. The fig is often
+mentioned in the Bible, and two kinds are spoken of--the very early
+fig, and the one that ripens late in the summer. The early fig was
+considered the best; and I think that Clara will tell us what is
+said of it by the prophet Jeremiah."</p>
+<p>Clara read slowly:</p>
+<p>"'One basket had very good figs, <i>even like the figs that are
+first ripe</i>; and the other basket had very naughty figs, which
+could not be eaten, they were so bad<a name="FNanchor16" id=
+"FNanchor16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16">[16]</a>.'"</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_16" id="Footnote_16"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor16">[16]</a> Jer. xxiv. 2.</blockquote>
+<p>"But can figs be naughty, Miss Harson?" asked Edith, with very
+wide-open eyes. "I thought that only children were naughty,"</p>
+<p>"There are 'naughty' grown people as well as naughty children,"
+was the reply, "and inanimate things like figs in old times were
+called naughty too, in the sense of being bad.--The fruit of the
+fig tree appears not only before the leaves, but without any sign
+of blossoms, the flowers being small and hidden in the little
+buttons which first shoot out from the points of the sterns, and
+around which the outer and firm part of the fig grows. The leaves
+come out so late in the season that our Saviour said, 'Now learn a
+parable of the fig tree; when his branch is yet tender, and putteth
+forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh<a name="FNanchor17" id=
+"FNanchor17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17">[17]</a>.' Did not our Lord
+say something else about a fig tree?"</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_17" id="Footnote_17"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor17">[17]</a> Matt. xxiv. 32.</blockquote>
+<p>"Yes," replied Clara; "the one that was withered away because it
+had no figs on it."</p>
+<p>"The barren fig tree which was withered at our Saviour's word,
+as an awful warning to unfruitful professors of religion, seems to
+have spent itself in leaves. It stood by the wayside, free to all,
+and, as the time for stripping the trees of their fruit had not
+come--for in Mark we are told that 'the time of figs was not
+yet<a name="FNanchor18" id="FNanchor18"></a><a href=
+"#Footnote_18">[18]</a>'--it was reasonable to expect to find it
+covered with figs in various stages of growth. Yet there was
+'nothing thereon, but leaves only.' Find the nineteenth verse of
+the twenty-first chapter of Matthew, Malcolm, and read what is said
+there."</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_18" id="Footnote_18"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor18">[18]</a> Mark xi. 13.</blockquote>
+<p>"'And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and
+found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no
+fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig
+tree withered away.'"</p>
+<p>"A fig tree having leaves," said Miss Harson, "should also have
+figs, for these, as I have already told you, appear before the
+leaves, and both are on the tree at the same time; so that,
+although unripe figs are seen without leaves, leaves should not be
+seen without figs; and if it was not yet the season for figs, it
+was not the season for leaves either. The barren fig tree has often
+been compared to people who make a show of goodness in words, but
+leave the doing of good works to others; and when anything is
+expected of them, there is sure to be disappointment. 'Nothing but
+leaves' has become a proverb; and when it can be used to express
+the barren condition of those who profess to follow the teachings
+of our Lord, it is sad indeed."</p>
+<p>"Do fig trees grow wild?" asked Clara, presently.</p>
+<p>"Yes," was the reply, "and very curious-looking things they are.
+'Their roots twist into all kinds of whimsical contortions, so as
+to look more like a mass of snakes than the roots of a tree. They
+unite themselves so closely to the substances that come in their
+way, such as the face of rocks, or even the stems of other trees,
+that nothing can pull them away. And in some parts of India these
+strong, tough roots are made to serve the purpose of bridges and
+twisted over some stream or cataract. The wild fig is often a
+dangerous parasite, and does not attain perfection without
+completing some work of destruction among its neighbors in the
+forest. A slender rootlet may sometimes be seen hanging from the
+crown of a palm. The seed was carried there by some bird that had
+fed upon the fruit of a wild fig, and it rooted itself with
+surprising facility. The rootlet, as it descends, envelops the
+column-like stem of the palm with a woody network, and at length
+reaches the ground. Meanwhile, the true stem of the parasite shoots
+upward from the crown of the palm. It sends out numberless
+rootlets, each of which, as soon as it reaches the ground, takes
+root; and between them the palm is stifled and perishes, leaving
+the fig in undisturbed possession. The parasite does not, however,
+long survive the decline; for, no longer fed by the juices of the
+palm, it also, in process of time, begins to languish and
+decline.'"</p>
+<p>"What a mean thing it is!" exclaimed Malcolm--"as mean as the
+cuckoo, that lays its eggs in other birds' nests. And I'm glad it
+dies when it has killed the palm tree; it just serves it right. But
+don't figs ever grow in this country, Miss Harson?"</p>
+<p>"Yes," replied his governess; "they are cultivated in the
+Southern States and in California, like many other semi-tropical
+fruits, and are principally eaten fresh, but for drying they are
+not equal to the imported ones. No doubt the cultivation of figs in
+California will become a prosperous trade, for the climate and
+circumstances there are much like those of Syria."</p>
+<br>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/246.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>DWARF FIG TREE IN A POT.</b></p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII." id="CHAPTER_XIII."></a>CHAPTER
+XIII.</h2>
+<h3><i>QUEER RELATIONS: THE CAOUTCHOUC AND THE MILK TREE</i>.</h3>
+<br>
+<p>"What dark, strange-looking trees!" exclaimed the children while
+looking at an illustration of caoutchouc trees in Brazil. "How
+thick and strong they are! And what funny tops!--like pointed
+umbrellas."</p>
+<p>"The India-rubber tree is not likely to be mistaken for any
+other," said their governess, "and it does not look very dark and
+gloomy in that forest, where everything seems to be crowded close
+and in a tangle, because South American vegetation grows so thickly
+and rapidly. This is the country which supplies the largest
+quantity of India-rubber. Immense cargoes are shipped from the town
+of Para, on the river Amazon, and obtained from the <i>Siphonia
+elastica</i>."</p>
+<p>"Are the stems all made of India-rubber?" asked Edith, who
+thought that was exactly what they looked like.</p>
+<p>"Are the stems of the maple trees made of maple-sugar?" replied
+Miss Harson. "The India-rubber is got from its tree as the sugar is
+from the maple tree. It is taken from the trunk in the shape of a
+very thick milky fluid, and it is said that no other vital fluid,
+whether in animal or in plant, contains so much solid material
+within it; and it is a matter of surprise that the sap, thus
+encumbered, can circulate through all the delicate vessels of the
+tree. Tropical heat is required to form the caoutchouc; for when
+the tree is cultivated in hothouses, the substance of the sap is
+quite different. The full-grown trees are very handsome, with round
+column-like trunks about sixty feet high, and the crown of foliage
+is said to resemble that of the ash."</p>
+<p>"Did people always know about India-rubber?" asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"No indeed! It is not more than a hundred and fifty
+years--perhaps not so long--since it was a great curiosity; so that
+a piece half an inch square would sell in London for nearly a
+dollar of our money, but now it comes in shiploads, and a pound of
+it costs less than quarter of that sum. It is used for so many
+purposes that it seems as if the world could never have gone on
+without it. All sorts of outside garments to keep out the rain are
+made of it. Waterproof cloaks are called macintoshes in England
+because this was the name of the person who invented them.
+India-rubber is also used for tents and many other things, and, as
+water cannot get through it, there is a great saving of trouble and
+expense."</p>
+<p>"It must be splendid for tents," said Malcolm; "no one need
+care, when snug under cover, whether or not it rained in the
+woods."</p>
+<p>"People do care, though," was the reply, "for they expect, when
+in the woods, to live out of doors; but the India-rubber is
+certainly a great improvement on tents that get soaked
+through."</p>
+<p>"I like it," said Edith, "because it rubs things out. When I
+draw a house and it's all wrong, my piece of India-rubber will take
+it away, and then I can make another one on the paper."</p>
+<p>"That is the very smallest of its uses," replied Miss Harson,
+smiling at the little girl's earnestness, "and yet we find it a
+great convenience. An English writer, speaking of it when it was
+first known in England, said that he had seen a substance that
+would efface from paper the marks of a black-lead pencil, and he
+thought it must be of use to those who practiced drawing."</p>
+<p>"How funny that sounds!" exclaimed Malcolm. "Why, I couldn't get
+along without my India-rubber when I make mistakes,"</p>
+<p>"You might," said his governess, "if you had some stale bread to
+rub with; for people <i>have</i> gotten along without a great many
+things which they now think necessary."</p>
+<p>"Miss Harson," said Clara, "won't you tell us, please, how they
+get the caoutch--whatever it is--and make it into
+India-rubber?"</p>
+<p>"I will," was the laughing reply, "when you can say the word
+properly. C-a-o-u-t-c-h-o-u-c--koochook."</p>
+<p>As Clara said, Miss Harson made things so easy to understand!
+and in a very short time the hard word was mastered.</p>
+<p>"As I have never seen the sap gathered," continued the young
+lady, "I shall have to read you an account of it, instead of
+telling you from my own experience; but the description is so plain
+that I think we shall all be able to understand it very well: 'At
+certain seasons of the year the natives visit some islands in the
+river Amazon that for many months are covered with water. As soon
+as the water subsides and a footing can be obtained the Indians
+arrive in parties, to seek for the trees. The Indian who comes
+every morning to collect the juice from the trunk has a number of
+trees allotted to him, and goes the round of the whole. The
+previous night he has made a long, deep cut in the bark of each and
+hung an earthen vessel beneath, to receive the thick, creamlike
+substance that trickles down. The vessel is filled by morning, and
+he pours the contents into one much larger and carries it to his
+hut. He is provided with a number of moulds of different shapes and
+sizes, and he dips them into the juice and puts them aside to dry.
+They are then dipped again, and the process is continued until the
+coat of India-rubber on the mould is of sufficient thickness. It is
+made black by passing it through the smoke of burning palm-nuts.
+The moulds are broken and taken out, leaving the India-rubber ready
+for sale, and pretty much as we used to see it in the shops before
+the people of this country had learned how to work it.'"</p>
+<p>"That seems easy enough," said Malcolm, "but how do they make it
+into gutta-percha?"</p>
+<p>"Gutta-percha is not made," replied his governess, "and it is
+taken from an entirely different tree, the <i>Icosandra gutta</i>,
+which grows in Southern Asia. The milky fluid is procured in the
+same way, but it is placed in vessels to evaporate, and the solid
+substance left at the bottom is the gutta-percha. It is not
+elastic, like India-rubber, and is called 'vegetable leather'
+because of its toughness and leathery appearance. It was discovered
+by an English traveler a long time before it was supposed to have
+any useful properties, but now it is considered a very valuable
+material. The wonderful submarine telegraph could not convey its
+messages between the Old World and the New were not its wires
+protected from injury by a coating of gutta-percha. Its unyielding
+nature and its not being elastic render it the very material
+needed. The long straps used in working machines are also made of
+gutta-percha, and this is another instance where its non-elasticity
+gives it the preference over India-rubber."</p>
+<p>"And what is vulcanite?" asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"It is caoutchouc mixed with sulphur. Unless a small quantity of
+brimstone is added in the manufacture of overshoes, they become
+soft when exposed to heat and hardened when exposed to cold; but it
+was discovered that the sulphur will keep them from being affected
+by changes in temperature. When a large amount of sulphur is used,
+the India-rubber, becomes as hard as horn or wood, and this is the
+substance called vulcanite. Now the gum is imported in masses, to
+be wrought over by our skillful mechanics."</p>
+<p>The children were very much pleased to find that they had
+learned the nature of three important articles--India-rubber,
+gutta-percha and vulcanite--and they thought it would be quite easy
+to remember the differences between them.</p>
+<p>"And now," said Miss Harson, "the last of these useful
+trees--the cow tree, or milk tree--is the most curious one of all.
+Like the caoutchouc, it is a native of South America; but the sap
+is a rich fluid that answers for food, like milk. It is a
+fine-looking tree with oblong, pointed leaves about ten inches in
+length and a fleshy fruit containing one or two nuts. The sap is
+the most valuable part; and when incisions are made in the trunk of
+the tree, there is an abundant flow of thick milk-like sap, which
+is described as having an agreeable and balmv smell. The German
+traveler Humboldt drank it from the shell of a calabash, and the
+natives dip their bread of maize or cassava in it. This milk is
+said to be very fattening; and when exposed to the air, it thickens
+into a substance which the people call cheese."</p>
+<p>"Milk and cheese from a tree!" exclaimed Malcolm. "Do you think
+we'd like them as well as ours, Miss Harson?"</p>
+<p>"No," was the reply, "I do not think we should; but if we had
+never known any other kind, it would be quite a different matter,
+and the traveler says that both smell and taste are agreeable. The
+sap, it seems, is like curdled milk, and the natives say that they
+can tell, from the thickness and color of the foliage, the trunks
+that yield the most juice. This wonderful tree will be found
+growing on the side of a barren rock, and its large, woody roots
+can scarcely penetrate into the stone. For several months of the
+year not a single shower moistens its foliage. Its branches then
+appear dead and dried; but when the trunk is pierced, there flows
+from it a sweet and nourishing milk. It is at the rising of the sun
+that this vegetable fountain is most abundant. The negroes and
+natives are then seen hastening from all quarters, furnished with
+large bowls to receive the milk, which grows yellow and thickens at
+its surface. Some empty their bowls while under the tree itself;
+others carry the juice home to their children."</p>
+<p>"Isn't it funny," said Edith, laughing, "to go and get their
+breakfasts from a <i>tree</i>? I wish we had some milk trees
+here."</p>
+<p>"But you would not find it pleasant," replied their governess,
+"to have some other things that are always found where the milk
+tree grows. The intense heat and the swarms of mosquitoes and
+biting flies, the serpents and jaguars and other disagreeable and
+dangerous creatures, make life in that region anything but
+pleasant, and the curious vegetation and delicious fruits are not
+worth the suffering inflicted by all these torments."</p>
+<p>On hearing of these drawbacks the children soon decided that
+their own dear home was the best, and no longer envied the
+possessors even of the cow tree.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV." id="CHAPTER_XIV."></a>CHAPTER XIV.</h2>
+<h3><i>HOME AND ABROAD: LINDEN, CAMPHOR, BEECH</i>.</h3>
+<br>
+<p>"Now," said Miss Harson to her expectant flock, "it is to be
+hoped that our foreign wanderings among such wonderful trees have
+not spoiled you for home trees, as there are still a number of them
+which we have not yet examined."</p>
+<p>"No indeed!" they assured her; "they liked to hear about them
+all, and they were going to try and remember everything she told
+them about the trees."</p>
+<p>Their governess said that would be too much to expect, and if
+they remembered the most important things she would be quite
+satisfied,</p>
+<p>"We will take the linden, lime, or basswood, tree--for it has
+all three of these names--this evening," she continued, "and there
+are nine or ten species of the tree, which are found in America,
+Europe and Western Asia. It is a very handsome, regular-looking
+tree with rich, thick masses of foliage that make a deep shade. The
+leaves are heart-shaped and very finely veined, have
+sharply-serrated edges and are four or five inches long. The
+leaf-stalk is half the length of the leaf. It blooms in July and
+August, and the flowers are yellowish white and very fragrant; when
+an avenue of limes is in blossom, the whole atmosphere is filled
+with a delightful perfume which can hardly be described."</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/258.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>THE LINDEN OR LIME TREE (<i>Tilia</i>).</b></p>
+<p>"There are no lime trees here, are there?" asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"No," was the reply, "I do not think there are any in this
+neighborhood; but they grow abundantly not many miles away. Our
+native trees are not so pretty as the English lime, which, clothed
+with softer foliage, has a smaller leaf and a neater and more
+elegant spray. Ours bears larger and more conspicuous flowers, in
+heavier clusters, but of inferior sweetness. Both species are
+remarkable for their size and longevity. The young leaves of the
+lime are of a bright fresh tint that contrasts strongly with the
+very dark color of the branches; and these branches are so finely
+divided that their beauty is seen to the greatest advantage when
+winter has stripped them bare of leaves.</p>
+<p>"'The linden has in all ages been celebrated for the fragrance
+of its flowers and the excellence of the honey made from them. The
+famous Mount Hybla was covered with lime trees. The aroma from its
+flowers is like that of mignonette; it perfumes the whole
+atmosphere, and is perceptible to the inhabitants of all the
+beehives within a circuit of a mile. The real linden honey is of a
+greenish color and delicious taste when taken from the hive
+immediately after the trees have been in blossom, and is often sold
+for more than the ordinary kind. There is a forest in Lithuania
+that abounds in lime trees, and here swarms of wild bees live in
+the hollow trunks and collect their honey from the lime.'"</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/260.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>LEAF AND FLOWER OF LIME TREE <i>(Tilia)</i>.</b></p>
+<p>"What fun it would be, if we were there, to go and get it!"
+exclaimed Malcolm. "But don't bees make honey from the lime trees
+that grow in this country, too, Miss Harson?"</p>
+<p>"Certainly they do; and the beekeepers look anxiously forward to
+the blossoming of the trees, because they provide such abundant
+supplies for the busy swarms. The flowers have other uses, too,
+besides the making of honey: the Swiss are said to obtain a
+favorite beverage from them, and in the South of France an infusion
+of the blossoms is taken for colds and hoarseness, and also for
+fever. 'Active boys climb to the topmost branches and gather the
+fragrant flowers, which their mothers catch in their aprons for
+that purpose. An avenue of limes has been ravaged and torn in
+pieces by the eagerness of the people to gather the blossoms, and
+they are often made into tea which is a soft sugary beverage in
+taste a little like licorice.'"</p>
+<p>"How queer," said Clara, "to make tea from flowers!"</p>
+<p>"Is it any queerer," asked her governess, "than to make it from
+leaves? I should think that the flowers might even be better, and
+yet I should scarcely like lime-tea that tastes like licorice."</p>
+<p>The children, though, seemed to think that they would like it,
+and Miss Harson had very little doubt that such would be the
+case.</p>
+<p>"Both the bark and the wood of the lime tree are valuable," she
+continued. "The fibres of the bark are strong and firm, and make
+excellent ropes and cordage. In Sweden and Russia they are made
+into a kind of matting that is very useful for packing-purposes and
+in protecting delicate plants from the frost. 'The manufacture of
+this useful material is carried on in the summer, close by the
+woods and forests where the lime trees grow in abundance. As soon
+as the sap begins to ascend freely the bark parts from the wood and
+can be taken away with ease. Great strips are then peeled off and
+steeped in water until they separate into layers; the layers are
+still further divided into smaller strips or ribbons, and are hung
+up in the shade of the wood, generally on the very tree itself from
+which they have been taken. After a time they are woven into the
+matting and sent to market for sale. The Swedish fishermen also
+manufacture it into a coarse thread for fishing-nets, and from the
+fibres of the young shoots the Russian peasant makes the strong
+shoes he wears, using the outer bark for the soles. In Italy the
+garments of the poorer people are often made of cloth woven from
+this material."</p>
+<p>"Why, people can fairly <i>live</i> on trees," said Malcolm. "I
+didn't know that they were good for anything but shade--except the
+trees that have fruit and nuts on 'em."</p>
+<p>"There is a great deal for us all to learn of the works of the
+Creator," replied Miss Harson, "and the blessing of trees is not
+half known. The wood of the lime is said never to be worm-eaten; it
+is very soft and smooth and of a pale-yellow color. It is used for
+the famous Tunbridge ware, and is called the carver's tree,
+because, as the poet says,</p>
+<blockquote>"'Smooth linden best obeys<br>
+The carver's chisel--best his curious work<br>
+Displays in nicest touches.'<br></blockquote>
+<p>"The fruits and flowers carved for the choir of St. Paul's
+cathedral in London are done in lime-wood.</p>
+<p>"So numerous are the purposes to which the bark, wood, leaves
+and blossoms of the lime, or linden, tree can be applied that
+centuries ago it was called the tree of a thousand uses. Linden is
+the name by which it is always known on the continent of Europe,
+and there it is indeed a magnificent tree, forming the most
+delightful avenues and branching colonnades. One of the principal
+streets in Berlin is called 'Unter den Linden.' In the Middle Ages,
+when the Swiss and the Flemings were always struggling for liberty,
+it was their custom to plant a lime tree on the field of battle,
+and many of these old trees still remain and have been the subject
+of ballads and poetical effusions:</p>
+<blockquote>"'The stately lime, smooth, gentle, straight and
+fair.'"<br></blockquote>
+<p>"Is there any story about it, Miss Harson?"</p>
+<p>"No," was the reply, "not much of a story; only descriptions of
+some very large and very ancient trees. One of these, the old
+linden tree of Soleure, in Switzerland, was spoken of by an English
+traveler two hundred years ago as 'right noble and wondrous to
+behold. A bower composed of its branches is capable of holding
+three hundred persons sitting at ease; it has also a fountain set
+about with many tables formed solely of the boughs, to which men
+ascend by steps; and all is kept so accurately and thick that the
+sun never looks into it.'"</p>
+<p>"It is just like a tent," said Malcolm, "it must be pleasant to
+sit by the fountain. Wouldn't you like it, Miss Harson?"</p>
+<p>"I am sure I should," replied his governess; "and I should also
+like to see the famous lime tree of Zurich, the boughs of which
+will shelter five hundred persons. At Augsburg, in Germany, feasts
+and weddings have often been celebrated under the shade of some
+venerable limes that branch out to an immense distance. In early
+times divine honors were paid to them as emblems of immortality.
+And now," said Miss Harson, "the last of these famous trees is a
+noble lime tree which grew on the farm belonging to the ancestors
+of Linnaeus, the great naturalist, beneath the shade of which he
+played in childhood, and from which his ancestors derived their
+surname. That noble tree still blossoms from year to year,
+beautiful in every change of seasons."</p>
+<p>"Lime, linden and basswood," said Clara--"three names to
+remember for one tree. But didn't you say, Miss Harson, that it's
+always called basswood in our country?"</p>
+<p>"Often, but not always. The name linden is quite common with us,
+and it will be well for you to remember that it is also called
+lime, so that when you go to Europe you will know what is meant by
+<i>lime</i> and <i>linden</i>."</p>
+<p>The children laughed at this idea, for it seemed very funny to
+think of a little girl like Clara going to Europe, but, as their
+governess told them, little girls did go constantly; besides, this
+was the time to learn what would be of use to them when they were
+grown.</p>
+<p>"The fragrant lime," said Miss Harson, "has a relative in Asia
+whose acquaintance I wish you to make, and you know it already in
+one of its products, which is common in every household. It is also
+very fragrant--or rather, I should say, it has a strong aromatic
+odor which is very reviving in cases of faintness or illness,
+although it has quite a contrary effect on insects, particularly on
+mosquitoes. I should like to have some one tell me what this white,
+powerful substance is."</p>
+<p>This was quite a conundrum, and for a little while the children
+were extremely puzzled over its solution; but presently Clara
+asked,</p>
+<p>"Do the moths hate it too, Miss Harson? And isn't it
+camphor?"</p>
+<p>"Camphor doesn't grow on a <i>tree</i>," said Malcolm, in a
+superior tone; "it is dug out of the earth."</p>
+<p>"I have never read of any camphor-mines," replied his governess,
+laughing, "and I think you will find that camphor--which is just
+what I meant--is obtained from the trunk of a tree."</p>
+<p>"Like India-rubber?" asked Edith.</p>
+<p>"No, dear, not like India-rubber, for it grows in even a more
+curious way than that, masses of it being found in the trunk of the
+camphor tree--not in the form of sap, but in lumps, as we use
+it."</p>
+<p>"I thought it was like water," said Edith, in a puzzled
+tone.</p>
+<p>"So it is when dissolved in alcohol, as we generally have it;
+but it is also used in lumps to drive away moths and for various
+other purposes. But I will tell you all about the tree, which grows
+in the islands of Sumatra and Borneo and bears the botanical name
+<i>Dryobalanops camphora</i>. The camphor is also called
+<i>barus</i> camphor, to distinguish it from the <i>laurus</i>, of
+which I will tell you afterward, and it is of a better quality and
+more easily obtained. The tree grows in the forests of these East
+Indian islands and is remarkable for its majestic size, dense
+foliage and magnolia-like flowers. The trunk rises as high as
+ninety feet without a single branch, and within it are cavities,
+sometimes a foot and a half long, which cannot be perceived until
+the bark is split open. These cavities contain the camphor in clear
+crystalline masses, and with it an oil known as camphor oil, that
+is thought by some to be camphor in an immature form. But the oil,
+even when crystallized by artificial means, does not produce such
+good camphor as that already solidified in the tree."</p>
+<p>"To think," exclaimed Clara, "of camphor growing in that way!
+But how do they get it out, Miss Harson? Do they cut great holes in
+the trunk of the tree?"</p>
+<p>"No, dear; I have just read to you that the camphor cannot be
+seen until the bark is split open, and the grand trees have to be
+cut down. But to do this is no easy matter. The hard, close-grained
+timber requires days of hewing and sawing to get it severed. The
+masses of roots are as unyielding as iron, and run twisting through
+the soil to the distance of sixty yards. Even at their farthest
+extremity they are as thick as a man's thigh."</p>
+<p>"I shouldn't think the camphor was worth all that trouble," said
+Malcolm; "it don't seem to amount to much, any wary."</p>
+<p>"It is more valuable than you suppose," replied Miss Harson;
+"for, besides preserving furs and woolen fabrics from the devouring
+moth, it protects the contents of cabinets and museums from the
+attacks of the minute creatures that prey upon the dried specimens
+of the naturalist. Not any of the insect tribe can endure the
+powerful scent of the camphor, and they either retreat before it or
+are killed by it. But its principal value is in medicine. It is
+used both internally and externally. It acts as a nervous
+stimulant, and is a favorite domestic remedy.--So you see, Malcolm,
+that camphor really amounts to a great deal, and we could not very
+well do without it."</p>
+<p>"How can people tell when there is any camphor inside the tree?"
+asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"They cannot tell," was the reply, "until the trunk is split
+open, although a tribe of men in Sumatra say that they know
+before-hand, by a kind of magic, which is the right tree to cut
+down. But the beautiful, stately tree is often wasted in vain, and
+after all their hard work the camphor-seekers find the cavities of
+the split-up trunk filled with a thick black substance like pitch
+instead of the pure white camphor."</p>
+<p>"Poor things!" said Edith, pityingly; "that's too bad."</p>
+<p>"Camphor is found in many trees and shrubs," continued her
+governess, "but in all others except the camphor tree of Sumatra
+and Borneo it has to be distilled from the wood and roots. The
+camphor-laurel, which is about the size of an English oak, is the
+most important of these trees. It grows abundantly in the Chinese
+island of Formosa, and 'camphor mandarin' is the title of a rich
+Chinaman who pays the government for the privilege of extracting
+all the camphor, which he sends to other countries at a large
+profit. Every part of this tree is full of camphor, and the tree
+gives out, when bruised, a strong perfume.</p>
+<p>"The European bay tree, which is more like an immense shrub, is
+also a member of this singular tribe, and its leaves have the
+strong family flavor. They were used in medicine, as well as the
+berries, before the camphor-laurel became known in Europe; in the
+time of Queen Elizabeth the floors of the better sort of houses
+were strewed with bay-leaves instead of being carpeted as now. The
+bay was an emblem of victory in old Roman times, and victorious
+generals were crowned with it. A wreath of this laurel, with the
+berries on, was placed on the head of a favorite poet in the Middle
+Ages, and in this way came the title
+'poet-laureate'--<i>laureatus</i>,' crowned with laurel.'</p>
+<p>"Do you remember," continued Miss Harson, "the tall, straight
+tree that I showed you yesterday when we were out in the woods--the
+one with a fluted trunk? What was its name?"</p>
+<p>"I know!" said Malcolm, quite excited. "Think of the seashore!
+Beach! That's what I told myself to remember."</p>
+<p class="right"><img src="Images/273.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>AMERICAN BEECH.</b></p>
+<p>"A very good idea," replied his governess, laughing; "only you
+must not spell it with an <i>a</i>, like the seashore, for it is
+<i>b-e-e-c-h.</i>--The fluted, or ribbed, shaft of this
+grand-looking tree is often sixty or seventy feet high, and,
+although it is found in its greatest perfection in England, it is a
+common tree in most of the woods in this country. For depth of
+shade no tree is equal to the beech, and its long beautiful leaves,
+with their close ridges and serrated edges, are very much like
+those of the chestnut. The leaves are of a light, fresh green and
+very neat and perfect, because they are so seldom attacked by
+insects; they remain longer on the branches than those of any
+deciduous tree, and give a cheerful air to the wood in winter. In
+the autumn they change to a light yellow-brown, which makes a
+pretty contrast to the reds and greens and purples of other trees.
+The branches start out almost straight from the tree, but they very
+soon curve and turn regularly upward. Every small twig turns in the
+same direction, making the long leaf-buds at the end look like so
+many little spears. I showed you these 'stuck-up' buds when we were
+looking at the tree, and you noticed how different they were from
+the other trees."</p>
+<p>Yes, the children remembered it; and it always seemed to them
+particularly nice to have part of the talk out of doors and the
+rest in the house.</p>
+<p>"Doesn't the beech tree have nuts?" asked Malcolm. "John says it
+does."</p>
+<p>"Yes," replied Miss Harson; "it has tiny three-cornered nuts
+which seem particularly small for so large a tree. But these nuts
+are eagerly devoured by pigeons, partridges and squirrels. Bears
+are said to be very fond of them, and swine fatten very rapidly
+upon them. Most varieties are so small as not to repay the trouble
+of gathering, drying and opening them. Fortunately, this is not the
+case with all, as it is a delicious nut. In France the beech-nut is
+much used for making oil, which is highly valued for burning in
+lamps and for cooking. In parts of the same country the nuts,
+roasted, serve as a substitute for coffee."</p>
+<p>"I'd like to find some when they're ripe," said Clara, "if they
+<i>are</i> little."</p>
+<p>"We will have a search for them, then," was the reply, "when the
+time comes.--The flowers which produce these little nuts are very
+showy and grow in roundish tassels, or heads, which hang by
+thread-like, silky stalks, one or two inches long, from the midst
+of the young leaves of a newly-opened bud. A traveler says of these
+leaves, 'We used always to think that the most luxurious and
+refreshing bed was that which prevails universally in Italy, and
+which consists entirely of a pile of mattresses filled with the
+luxuriant spathe of the Indian corn; which beds have the advantage
+of being soft as well as elastic, and we have always found the
+sleep enjoyed on them to be particularly sound and restorative. But
+the beds made of beech-leaves are really no whit behind them in
+these qualities, whilst the fragrant smell of green tea, which the
+leaves retain, is most gratifying. The objection to them is the
+slight crackling noise which the leaves occasion as the individual
+turns in bed, but this is no inconvenience at all; or if so in any
+degree, it is an inconvenience which is overbalanced by the
+advantages of this most luxurious couch."</p>
+<p>"But how funny," said Malcolm, "to sleep on leaves! That's what
+the Babes in the Wood did."</p>
+<p>"No," replied Clara, very earnestly, "they didn't sleep
+<i>on</i> leaves, you know; but when they had laid down and gone to
+sleep, the robins came and covered them with leaves."</p>
+<p>"Yes," chimed in little Edith; "I like that way best, because
+they'd be so cold in the woods."</p>
+<p>"And that really was the case," said Miss Harson, after
+listening with a smile to this discussion, "although there were
+probably leaves on the ground for the children to lie upon. A bed
+of leaves is not a bad thing where there are no mattresses, and
+such a bed is often used as a matter of course. You will remember
+my reading to you about the beds which the Finland mothers make for
+their children of the leaves of the canoe-birch. 'Leafy beds' are
+no strange thing--not mere poetry."</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV." id="CHAPTER_XV."></a>CHAPTER XV.</h2>
+<h3><i>THE TENT AND THE LOCUSTS</i>.</h3>
+<br>
+<p>There came a bright balmy day in May when the children found a
+delightful surprise awaiting them. The tent in the woods, which had
+been proposed on the day when birch-twigs were found to be eatable,
+was almost forgotten--or if thought of, it was as a thing that
+could not possibly be--when, on the day in question, Miss Harson
+took her charges out as usual, and led them to a very pretty
+cleared space with a fringe of rocks and trees all around it. But
+on this spot, which hitherto had been quite bare, there now stood
+some sort of a little house different from other houses and quite
+pretty.</p>
+<p>"It's a tent!" exclaimed Malcolm. "Who put it there, I should
+like to know, on <i>our</i> land?"</p>
+<p>"Are there gypsies here, Miss Harson?" whispered Clara, rather
+fearfully.</p>
+<p>But the young lady walked deliberately up to the entrance of the
+tent and invited her little flock to come inside.</p>
+<p>"I know the gentleman who had it put here," she said, "and he is
+quite willing that we should use it; but he will not give any one
+else this liberty."</p>
+<p>"I think I know him too," said Malcolm as he walked in after
+Miss Harson.</p>
+<p>"And I!"--"And I!" exclaimed the little girls. "It is our own
+papa. How very kind of him!"</p>
+<p>"Yes," replied their governess; "he said, when I spoke of a
+tent, that it would be a good thing for the wood-ramblers to have a
+place of shelter when they were over-taken by a sudden shower, and
+also a place in which to rest comfortably when they were tired; and
+this pretty tent, you see, is all ready for us at any time."</p>
+<p>It was a very nice tent indeed, having a long cushioned seat
+inside, two little rocking-chairs that were at once appropriated, a
+small table, and a bracket with books on it. On the table there was
+a round basket of oranges, which made every one thirsty at
+once.</p>
+<p>"I do believe," said Malcolm, suddenly, "that it's made of
+India-rubber."</p>
+<p>"Not the orange, I hope?" replied Miss Harson, while the little
+sisters looked up in surprise.</p>
+<p>An India-rubber orange was a thing to be laughed at, though not
+to be eaten, and the children were in such a state of glee over
+this pleasant surprise that they were ready to laugh almost at
+nothing.</p>
+<p>Presently their governess said,</p>
+<p>"Malcolm means the tent, of course; and he is quite right, for
+the covering is India-rubber cloth."</p>
+<p>"But why isn't it dark and ugly, like the waterproofs?" was the
+next question.</p>
+<p>"Simply because it need not be so, and it is prettier to have it
+white or of this pale gray. But these shades are too conspicuous
+for overshoes or waterproof cloaks, so the latter are made as dark
+as possible. The caoutchoue, you know, is naturally white or very
+light colored."</p>
+<p>"How do they make the cloth?" asked Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"It is first made as cloth," was the reply; "then a thin coating
+of India-rubber is spread over two layers of it. The cloth is then
+put together and pressed between rollers, so that the two pieces
+firmly adhere, with the caoutchoue between them. No rain can
+penetrate such a screen as this,"</p>
+<p>It was delightful to know that they would be safe and dry in
+case of a shower, and the children thought it must be just the
+prettiest tent that ever was made. The cushioned seat was covered
+with scarlet, and so were the little chairs, which Clara and Edith
+knew were meant for them; the edges of the cloth were scalloped
+with the same bright color, and there was even a rug to match
+spread in front of the "divan," as Miss Harson laughingly said the
+cushioned seat must be called.</p>
+<p>"Haven't we 'most come to the end of the trees?" asked Clara. "I
+never thought that there were so many different kinds,"</p>
+<p>"Look around and see if you feel acquainted with them all,"
+replied her governess.</p>
+<p>They had left the tent after quite a long "sitting," and were
+now on their way to the house.</p>
+<p>Clara's first glance, on doing as she had been directed, fell on
+three trees by the side of a fence, that were different from any
+they had yet studied.</p>
+<p>"What do you notice about them?" continued Miss Harson; "for I
+wish you to use your own eyes and thoughts as much as
+possible."</p>
+<p>"Why, the trunk is dark gray, and it isn't smooth, but it looks
+as if some one had dug out long, thin pieces of bark."</p>
+<p>"We will call it 'deeply furrowed,'" said her governess, "as
+that is a better expression; but your description is very good
+indeed."</p>
+<p>"The leaves are ever so pretty," said Malcolm--"so many of 'em
+on one stem!-- and the green looks as if it was just made."</p>
+<p>"You mean by that, I suppose," replied Miss Harson, "that it is
+a very fresh tint; and we are seeing it in its first beauty now.
+This is the locust tree, and May is its time for leafing out in the
+tenderest of greens. The pinnate--from <i>pinna</i>, Latin for
+feather' --leaves are composed of from nine to twenty-five
+leaflets, which are egg-shaped, with a short point, very smooth,
+light green above and still lighter beneath. These leaves are much
+liked by cattle, and they are said to be very nutritious to
+them."</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/283.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>FOLIAGE OF HONEY-LOCUST.</b></p>
+<p>"How can you remember everything so, Miss Harson?" asked
+Malcolm, lost in wonder, as the young lady, looking up at the
+trees, said these things as if they had been written there. John
+had declared that she talked like a book, and this seemed more like
+it than ever.</p>
+<p>"Oh no," was the laughing reply; "I do not remember
+<i>everything</i>, Malcolm, and perhaps it is just as well that I
+do not. But I will not tax my memory any more about the locust just
+now; we can take it up again this evening."</p>
+<p>"I should like to know," exclaimed Clara, after some thought,
+"why a tree is called <i>locust</i>, when a locust is such a
+disagreeable insect?"</p>
+<p>"I am afraid that I cannot tell you," replied Miss Harson,
+"unless the color of the leaves is similar to that of the
+'disagreeable insect,' which is really very handsome, or unless the
+insects are very partial to the tree; I have seen no explanation of
+it. But the tree itself is very much admired, with its profusion of
+pinnate leaves and racemes of flowers that fill the air with the
+most agreeable odors."</p>
+<p>"What color are the flowers, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"This description will tell you," was the reply. "The tree is
+not pretty in winter, and has no promise of beauty until 'May hangs
+on these withered boughs a green drapery that hides all their
+deformity; she infuses into their foliage a perfection of verdure
+that no other tree can rival, and a beauty in the forms of its
+leaves that renders it one of the chief ornaments of the groves and
+waysides. June weaves into this green foliage pendent clusters of
+flowers of mingled brown and white, filling the air with fragrance
+and enticing the bee with odors as sweet as from groves of citron
+and myrtle.'"</p>
+<p>"That sounds pretty," said Clara, who liked imposing sentences,
+"but brown and white are not very handsome colors for flowers."</p>
+<p>"The white is certainly prettier without the mixture of brown,"
+replied her governess, "but we have to take our flowers ready-made,
+and can hardly expect them to be beautiful and fragrant too. The
+separate blossoms are shaped like those of the pea and bean; they
+hang in long clusters somewhat resembling bunches of grapes. The
+leaves--or, rather, leaflets--are very sensitive and have a habit
+of folding over one another in wet and dull weather, and also in
+the night--a habit that is peculiar to all the members of the
+acacia family, to which the locust belongs."</p>
+<p>"I should think it ought to belong to the pea family," said
+Malcolm, "if the flowers are shaped like pea-blossoms."</p>
+<p>"So it does," replied Miss Harson--"or, rather, to the bean
+family, of which the pea is a member, on account of its blossoms;
+but the acacia, like many others, is a brother, or sister, on
+account of its leaves as well as its blossoms. The peculiar
+distinction of this family is that its flowers are butterfly-shaped
+or its fruit in pods, and it often possesses both these characters.
+By one or the other all the plants of the family are known, and the
+butterfly-shaped flowers are of a character not to be mistaken, as
+they are found in no other family. It includes herbs, shrubs and
+trees--an immense and perfectly natural family, distributed
+throughout almost every part of the globe. There are at present in
+all not less than thirty-seven hundred species. So you see that the
+locust tree is certainly rich in relations."</p>
+<p>The children thought that it must have some family claim on
+almost every plant in the world.</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/287.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>CAROB TREE AND FRUIT.</b></p>
+<p>"Do you remember that in the story of the Prodigal Son, told by
+our Lord, it is said that the bad son became so poor that he wanted
+to eat the 'husks' that the swine ate? Those 'husks' were the fruit
+of a Syrian member of this family. The tree is the carob tree, of
+which you have here a picture--a fine large tree bearing a sweet
+pod containing the seeds. I have seen these pods for sale in this
+country, and foolishly called St. John's bread, as if the 'locusts'
+eaten by John the Baptist were pods of a locust tree, and not
+insect locusts."</p>
+<p>"Yes," said Malcolm, "I have tasted those pods, and they are
+real sweet; but I wouldn't care to make a breakfast from them."</p>
+<p>"I like calling the flowers 'butterfly-shaped,'" said Clara,
+"because that is just what the pea and bean-blossoms look like;
+though Kitty calls 'em 'little ladies in hoods.' Isn't that funny,
+Miss Harson?"</p>
+<p>"It is very quaint, I think, but I do not dislike it: it is like
+seeing faces in pansies; and some people are full of these odd
+imaginations. There is a kind of locust, called the clammy-barked,
+found in the Southern parts of the United States, which is a
+smaller tree than the common locust and has large pale-pink
+flowers, while the rose acacia is a very beautiful flowering shrub.
+The sweet, or honey, locust is another variety, which is also
+called the three-thorned acacia, because the thorns consist of one
+long spine with two shorter ones projecting out of it, like little
+branches, near its base. This is said to display much of the
+elegance of the tropical acacia in the minute division and symmetry
+of its compound leaves. These are of a light and brilliant green
+and lie flat upon the branches, giving them a fan-like appearance
+such as we observe in the hemlock."</p>
+<p>"But why is it called honey-locust?" asked Malcolm. "Do the bees
+make honey in the trunk?"</p>
+<p>"No," replied his governess; "the name comes from the sweetness
+of the pulp around the seeds, which ripen in large flat pods, and
+of which boys and girls are fond. But the flowers of this species
+are only small greenish aments. Locust-wood is very durable, and,
+as it will bear exposure to all kinds of weather, it is much used
+in shipbuilding and as posts for gates. It is thought that the
+shittah and shittim wood of the Bible, of which Moses made the
+greater part of the tables, altars and planks of the tabernacle,
+was the same as the black acacia found in the deserts of Arabia and
+about Mount Sinai and the mountains which border on the Red Sea,
+and is so hard and solid as to be almost incorruptible.</p>
+<p>"And now," added Miss Harson, "reading of the numerous relations
+of the locust, considering that 'the acacia, not less valued for
+its airy foliage and elegant blossoms than for its hard and durable
+wood; the braziletto, logwood and rosewoods of commerce; the
+laburnum; the furze and the broom, both the pride of the otherwise
+dreary heaths of Europe; the bean, the pea, the vetch, the clover,
+the trefoil, the lucerne--all staple articles of culture by the
+farmer--are so many species of Leguminosae, and that the gums
+Arabic and Senegal, kino and various precious medicinal drugs, not
+to mention indigo, the most useful of all dyes, are products of
+other species,--it will be perceived that it would be difficult to
+point out an order with greater claims upon the attention.'"</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI." id="CHAPTER_XVI."></a>CHAPTER XVI.</h2>
+<h3><i>THE WALNUT FAMILY AND THE AILANTHUS</i>.</h3>
+<br>
+<p>"The walnut family," said Miss Harson, "with the ugly name
+<i>Juglandaceae</i>, are distinguished by pinnate, or compound,
+leaves, which have an aromatic odor when crushed, and by blossoms
+in catkins. Of these trees, the black walnut is one of the
+handsomest and most highly prized."</p>
+<p>"Are there any of them here?" asked Malcolm.</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/292.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>THE WALNUT TREE.</b></p>
+<p>"No," was the reply; "I do not think you have ever seen one.
+They are more common in the western part of the Middle States and
+in the Western States; in Ohio particularly they grow to a very
+large size. Solitary trees are sometimes seen in this part of the
+country, and the branches, extending themselves horizontally to a
+great distance, spread out into a spacious head, which gives them a
+very majestic appearance. The trunk is rough and furrowed, and the
+leaves have from six to ten pairs of leaflets and an odd one. They
+are smooth, strongly serrated and rather pointed; the color is a
+light, bright green. The catkins are green, from four to seven
+inches long, and hang from the axils of the last year's leaves. The
+leaves are much longer than those of the locust, and the leaf-stalk
+is downy. The nut, which is very oily, is shaped like an English
+walnut, but resembles it in no other way, as the shell is very
+thick and dark-colored. When thoroughly dried, the black walnut is
+very much liked--as I think some witnesses here could testify--and
+is used in making candy."</p>
+<p>"And just the nicest kind of candy, too," said the children,
+with one voice.</p>
+<p>Their governess smiled, for this was very much her own
+opinion.</p>
+<p>"You do not know," she continued, "how strangely these nuts
+grow. They have an outer husk, or rind, which when green is hard
+and has a very pleasant smell; the tree then seems to be covered
+with green balls. As the nuts ripen this outer part becomes so dark
+that it is almost black and grows soft and spongy. A rich brown dye
+is made from it. Black-walnut wood has long been famous for its
+beauty, and it grows deeper and darker with age. It is handsomely
+shaded and takes a fine polish, and this, with its durability,
+makes it very valuable for furniture. Posts made of it will last a
+long time, and it can be put to almost any use for which hard-wood
+is available.</p>
+<p>"The walnut tree has a great variety of good qualities in
+addition to its fine appearance and generous shade. From the kernel
+a valuable oil may be obtained for use in cookery and in lamps.
+Bread has also been made from the kernels. The spongy husk of the
+nuts is used as dyestuff. It thus unites almost all the qualities
+desirable in a tree--beauty, gracefulness and richness of foliage
+in every period of its growth; bark and husks which may be employed
+in an important art; fruit valuable as food; wood unsurpassed in
+durability and in elegance."</p>
+<p>"I like English walnuts," said Clara, "they have such thin,
+pretty shells; and papa, you know, can open them in just two halves
+with a knife."</p>
+<p>"Once," said Miss Harson, "I had a little bag sent to me made of
+two very large walnut shells with blue silk between, and in this
+bag there was a pair of kid gloves rolled up very tight."</p>
+<p>"Oh!" exclaimed the children. It sounded like a fairy-tale, but
+they knew that it was true, because Miss Harson said that it had
+really happened. They were very much surprised, though, that a bag
+could be made of nutshells, and that a pair of gloves could be
+crowded into so small a compass.</p>
+<p>"Did it come from England?" asked Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"No," replied his governess; "it was sent to me from the island
+of Madeira, where these nuts grow so abundantly that they have
+often been called Madeira-nuts. It also grows abundantly in Europe,
+and the nuts are used for dessert, pickling, and many other
+purposes, while the poorer classes often depend largely on them for
+food."</p>
+<p>"Do they eat 'em instead of bread?" asked Edith. "I'd like that;
+they're ever so much nicer!"</p>
+<p>"Perhaps you would not think so if you had hardly anything else
+to eat; you would get tired of them then. In many places on the
+continent of Europe the roads are lined with walnut trees for miles
+together, and in the proper season the people may feast upon the
+fruit as much as they like. A person, it is said, once traveled
+from Florence to Geneva and ate nothing by the way but walnuts; but
+I must say that I should not like to do it. One species bears a nut
+as large as an egg; but if kept any time, it will shrink to half
+its natural size. The shell of this great walnut, we are told, is
+sometimes used for making little ornamental boxes to hold gloves
+and small fancy-articles; so you see that mine was not the only
+glove-bag made of two walnut-shells."</p>
+<p>"How pretty they must be!" said Clara. "I should like to see
+one."</p>
+<p>"I think that I can make one when I get a large nut, and I shall
+be glad to show you how it is done."</p>
+<p>This was a delightful prospect, and the children volunteered to
+save for that especial purpose all the large nuts they could
+find.</p>
+<p>"The English walnut tree," continued Miss Harson, "is a native
+of Persia or the North of China, and the long pinnated leaves seem
+to mark its Oriental origin; but it has taken very kindly to its
+European home. In some parts of Germany the walnut trees were
+considered to be such a valuable possession that no young man was
+allowed to marry until he owned a certain number; and if one tree
+was cut down, another was always planted."</p>
+<p>"Don't they grow in this country?" asked Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"Not very often in our more northern States," was the reply,
+"for the climate here is too cold for them; but at a house where I
+visited there was an English walnut tree in the garden, and it
+seemed to do very well. The nuts were always gathered while they
+were green, and made into pickles."</p>
+<p>This was considered quite dreadful, for ripe nuts were certainly
+a great deal better than pickles.</p>
+<p>"But there was a great deal of uncertainty about having the ripe
+nuts, for there were bad boys all around who would not have
+hesitated to rob the tree. Besides, pickled walnuts are considered
+a great delicacy by those who eat such things. There are some other
+ways, too, of using the nuts, which you would not like any better.
+One of these is to make them into oil, as the people do in the
+South of Europe; this oil is used to burn in their lamps and as an
+article of food. 'In Piedmont, among the light-hearted peasantry,
+cracking the walnuts and taking them from the shell is a holiday
+proceeding. The peasants, with their wives and children, assemble
+in the evening, after their day's work is over, in the kitchen of
+some ch&acirc;teau where the walnuts have been gathered, and where
+their services are required. They sit round a table, and at each
+end is a man with a small mallet, who cracks the walnuts and passes
+them on; the rest of the party take them out of their shells. At
+supper-time the table is cleared, and a repast of dried fruit,
+vegetables and wine is set out. The remainder of the evening is
+spent in singing and dancing. The crushing and pressing of the
+nuts, for oil, take place when the whole harvest is in.'"</p>
+<p>"But don't walnuts come from California? Our grocer said he had
+California nuts," remarked Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"Yes; that wonderful country is beginning to supply us with
+English walnuts."</p>
+<p>"Are you going to tell us a story, Miss Harson?" asked Edith,
+hopefully.</p>
+<p>"I have no story, dear," was the reply, "but there is something
+here which you may like about birds stealing the nuts."</p>
+<p>Of course they would like this; for if there was to be no story,
+birds and stealing promised to furnish a good substitute.</p>
+<p>"'Birds are as fond of walnuts as we are,'" read Miss Harson,
+"'and rob the trees without any mercy. Not only the little
+titmouse, but the grave and solemn rook'--a kind of crow, you
+remember--'is not above paying a visit to the walnut tree and
+stealing all he can find. There is a walnut tree growing in a
+garden the owner of which may be said to have planted it for the
+benefit of the rooks. Not that he had any such purpose, but, as it
+happens, he cannot help himself. The rooks begin a series of
+robberies as soon as the fruit is ripe, and carry them on with an
+adroitness that would be amusing but for the result. As many as
+fifty rooks come, one after the other, and each will carry off a
+walnut. The old ones are the most at home in the process, and the
+most daring. The bird approaches the tree and floats for a second
+in the air, as if occupied in finding out which of the walnuts will
+be the easiest to obtain; then, with a bold stroke, he darts at the
+one selected, and rarely misses his aim.</p>
+<p>"'The young rooks are much more timid and not so successful.
+They settle on the branch and knock down a great many walnuts in
+their clumsy attempts to secure one. Even when the walnut has been
+obtained, the young rook is not sure of his prize: one of his older
+and stronger brethren is very likely to attack him and knock the
+walnut out of his bill. Then, by a dextrous swoop, the robber
+catches it up before it reaches the ground, and carries it off in
+triumph. The feasting ground of the rooks is the next field, and
+here they come to eat their walnuts. They crack the shell with
+their beaks and devour the kernel with great relish. Then, when one
+walnut is finished, they fly back to the tree for another. There is
+no chance for the owner of the garden, who does not think it worth
+while even to shake his tree: he knows there will not be a single
+walnut left.'"</p>
+<p>"I should think not, with those greedy creatures," exclaimed
+Malcolm. "Why doesn't the man shoot 'em?"</p>
+<p>"He probably thinks it would be of little use, when there are
+such numbers of the birds; besides, he may prefer losing his
+walnuts to disturbing them, for rooks are treated with great
+consideration in England, and there is no such wholesale
+destruction of birds as is seen here."</p>
+<p>The rooks were certainly very comical, and the children thought
+this little account of their antics over the walnut tree the next
+best thing to a story.</p>
+<p class="left"><img src="Images/302.png" width="50%" alt=""><br>
+<b>THE BUTTERNUT TREE.</b></p>
+<p>"Another fine shade-tree," continued Miss Harson, "and one very
+much like the black walnut, is the butternut, or oil-nut, tree. It
+is low and broad-headed, spreading into several large branches; the
+leaves are pinnate, like those of the walnut, but have not so many
+leaflets. The nut has an entirely different taste, and is even more
+oily. To many persons it is not at all agreeable. It is a great
+favorite, though, with country-boys, and in October, when the
+kernel is ripe, they may be seen with deeply-stained hands and
+faces, as the thin, leathery husks when handled leave plentiful
+traces. The butternut is not round like the walnut, but oblong, and
+pointed at the end; it is about two inches in length and marked by
+deep furrows and sharp irregular ridges. It is very pretty when
+sawn across in slices, and looks like scroll-saw work.--We shall
+have to get some, Malcolm, for you to practice on with your
+saw."</p>
+<p>As his scroll-saw was just then the delight of Malcolm's heart,
+he felt particularly interested in butternuts, and immediately
+mapped out in his mind something very beautiful to be wrought with
+them for his governess.</p>
+<p>"The bark and the nutshells have long been used to give a brown
+color to wool, and the Shakers dye a rich purple with it. The bark
+of the trunk will give a black and that of the root a fawn-colored
+dye, while an inferior sugar has been made from the sap. The young
+half-grown nuts are much used for pickles. Butternut-wood is
+exceedingly handsome, of a pale, reddish tint, and durable when
+exposed to heat and moisture. It makes beautiful fronts for drawers
+and excellent light, tough and durable wooden bowls. It is also
+used for the panels of carriages, as well as for posts and rails.
+It is a more common tree than the walnut in our part of the
+country; there is a large one in front of a house a few miles from
+here which I will show you on our next drive."</p>
+<p>"I am glad of it," said Clara, "for I can remember about the
+trees so much better when I have seen them. I wish we could see
+every one of the trees you have told us of, Miss Harson."</p>
+<p>"Perhaps you will some day," replied her governess, "and you
+will then find that a little knowledge of them before-hand is a
+great help."</p>
+<p>"Are there any more of the walnut family?" asked Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"Yes, the hickory belongs to it; and this is a tree which is
+peculiar to America. The European walnut is more like it than any
+other. It is always a stately and elegant tree and very valuable
+for its timber. There are several varieties, which are much alike,
+the principal difference being in the nuts. You have all seen most
+of the trees and gathered the nuts. They are:</p>
+<p>"1. The shellbark, with five large leaflets, a large nut, of
+which the husk is deeply grooved at the seams, and a rough, scaly
+trunk.</p>
+<p>"2. The mocker-nut, with seven or nine leaflets, a hard,
+thick-shelled nut, and leaflets and twigs very downy when young,
+and strongly odorous.</p>
+<p>"3. The pignut, with three, five or seven narrow leaflets,
+small, thin-shelled fruit and a pretty hard nut.</p>
+<p>"4. The bitternut, with seven, nine or eleven small, narrow,
+serrated leaves, small fruit with long, prominent seams, bitter and
+thin-shelled nuts and very yellow buds.</p>
+<p>"The shellbark is often called 'shagbark,' and it is the finest
+of the hickories and one that is seldom mistaken for any of the
+others. It may readily be distinguished by the shaggy bark of its
+trunk, the excellence of its globular fruit, its leaves, which are
+large and have five leaflets, and by its ovate, half-covered buds.
+It is a tall, slender tree with irregular branches, and the foliage
+seems to lie in masses of dense, dark green. But in October, when
+the nuts ripen, the leaves turn to orange-brown, and finally to the
+color of a russet apple; so that they do not add greatly to the
+beauty of the forest."</p>
+<p>"But the nuts are good," said Malcolm. "Didn't we have fine
+times picking 'em up?"</p>
+<p>"We did indeed," replied Miss Harson, "and I hope we shall
+again."</p>
+<p>"How long will it be before they are ripe?" asked the little
+girls.</p>
+<p>"Just about five months, I think."</p>
+<p>"Oh dear!" was the reply; "that's <i>so</i> long to wait!"</p>
+<p>"But you needn't wait," said their governess; "you can enjoy
+each season as it comes, and all the good things that our heavenly
+Father sends with it. Remember that, as you cannot expect ripe nuts
+in May or June, neither can you look for strawberries and roses in
+October. Tents are of very little use then, too."</p>
+<p>"Oh!" exclaimed the children, to whom the tent was still a
+delightful novelty; and they decided not to wish just yet for
+nutting-time to come.</p>
+<p>"The nut, as you have so often seen, is covered with a brown
+husk that is very thick and marked with four furrows, by which it
+separates into as many distinct pieces, one being larger than the
+rest. The nuts differ very much in size and shape, and also in
+hardness, but the best kinds have thin shells and soft kernels;
+they are also rounder and fuller than the poorer sorts. There is a
+peculiar sweetness in the taste of this nut when in its best
+condition, and it is quite equal to the European walnut. The wood
+of this tree is particularly valuable for fuel, and in old times,
+when wood-fires were the only kind known, a good hickory back-log
+was sure to be found on every hearth. It is the heaviest of our
+native woods, and the wise men say that it yields, pound for pound
+or cord for cord, more heat than any other, in any shape in which
+it may be consumed."</p>
+<p>"But what a pity," said Clara, "to burn up trees that bear nuts!
+Why can't they take those that don't?"</p>
+<p>"They are not so desirable for fuel," was the reply; "and when
+people own trees which they are willing to turn into money, they
+generally consider in what way they can get the most for them. Nuts
+which grow in the woods and fields are a very uncertain crop, of
+which every one seems to gather more than the owner, and it is
+therefore more profitable for him to cut his trees down and sell
+them for their wood, which the people in the cities and towns are
+so glad to get."</p>
+<p>"What's the use," asked Malcolm, "of calling a tree such a name
+as <i>mocker-nut</i>? What does it mean?"</p>
+<p>"That is just what I have not been able to find out," replied
+Miss Harson, "but it has an Indian sound, and it seems that the
+Indians used to make a black dye from the bark; so we will give
+them the credit for it. The name is not often used, for the tree is
+generally known as the white walnut. The nut is the largest of the
+hickories, being often from four to six inches around, and it is
+shaped somewhat like a pear. One variety, however, is known as the
+square nut. The shell is very thick and hard, but the kernel is
+sweet when once it is gotten out. This tree is as stately and
+finely-shaped as the shagbark. It varies from the other hickories
+in the number of its leaflets, which are seven or nine, the down on
+its leaves and recent shoots, the hardness of the husk and
+thickness of the nut, the roundness of its large covered buds, and
+the strong resinous odor in leaves, buds and husks. In its general
+appearance it resembles the shellbark, as well as in the fullness
+of its foliage and the size of its leaves. 'White-heart hickory' is
+a name often given to this species, because the wood is supposed,
+when young, to be whiter than that of any of the others,"</p>
+<p>"<i>Pignut</i> is another beautiful name," said Malcolm, who was
+disposed to be critical. "Do pigs ever eat the nuts, Miss
+Harson?"</p>
+<p>"I dare say that they do when they have the chance," was the
+reply, "as they delight in nuts; but that is said not to be the
+proper name for the species. Some of the nuts are shaped like a
+fresh fig, and 'fig-nut' seems to be the name originally intended.
+But there is a great variety in the shape of the nuts, as some are
+nearly round and others very irregular. They are alike, however, in
+having very hard, tough shells, and the kernel is not pleasant
+enough to repay the trouble of getting at it. These nuts are very
+apt to grow in pairs, and several bushels of them can be gathered
+from one tree."</p>
+<p>"Aren't they good to eat?" asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"Not at all good," replied her governess, "except to those who
+are not particular about what they eat; and this may be the reason
+for calling them 'pignuts,'"</p>
+<p>"<i>Bitternut</i> doesn't sound much better," said Malcolm,
+again. "I wonder what that species has to say for itself?"</p>
+<p>"Not very much, I am afraid, for it is sometimes called the
+bitter pignut, and even boys will not eat it, while squirrels
+refuse to feed on it when any other nut can be found. The shell of
+this nut is so thin that it can be broken in the fingers, but, as
+no one cares to break it, it is safer than many a thicker shell. It
+is intensely bitter, and well deserves its name. The tree, however,
+is handsome and the most graceful of all the hickories; the small,
+slender leaves give it the look of an ash, and the trunk is
+smoother than that of most large trees. In summer the finely-cut
+foliage is of a bright green, and in autumn it changes to a rich
+orange, which lasts after the other species have become russet and
+brown."</p>
+<p>"Is there anything more about hickory trees?" said Clara.</p>
+<p>"Only to speak of the great value of the wood," replied Miss
+Harson. "Its uses are almost endless. Great numbers of
+walking-sticks are made of it, as for this purpose no other native
+wood equals it in beauty and strength. It is next in value to white
+oak for making hoops; it makes the best screws, the smoothest and
+most durable handles for chisels, augurs, gimlets, axes, and many
+other common tools. As fuel, hickory is preferred to every other
+wood, burning freely, making a pleasant, brilliant fire and
+throwing out great heat. Charcoal made from it is heavier than that
+made from any other wood, but it is not considered more valuable
+than that of birch or alder. The ashes of hickories abound in
+alkali, and are considered better for the purpose of making soap
+than any other of the native woods, being next to those of the
+apple tree."</p>
+<p>"There, Clara!" said Malcolm; "you see now why people cut down
+hickory trees. The nuts are nowhere, with all these other
+things."</p>
+<p>"We have finished the walnut family," said Miss Harson, "but
+there is a tree that I wish to speak of here because of its long
+pinnate leaves, which appear to connect it with the walnuts and
+hickories. This is the ailanthus, a large tree which you have often
+seen in the village, and which used to be popular as a shade-tree.
+It is very clean-looking, for the only insect that will eat its
+leaves is the silkworm."</p>
+<p>"Oh, Miss Harson!" exclaimed the children. "Are there real
+silkworms on 'em? and can we see 'em?"</p>
+<p>"Why, do you not remember our talk about silkworms?" replied
+their governess. "I am sure I told you that they would not live
+here in the open air, but they do in China; and the ailanthus is a
+Chinese tree. It was planted in Great Britain over a hundred years
+ago for the express purpose of feeding silkworms, because a species
+of silkworm which was known to be hardy and capable of forming its
+cocoons in the English climate is attached to this tree and feeds
+upon its leaves. It was not successful, however, for silkworms, but
+as a stately and ornamental tree with tropical-looking foliage it
+was much admired. The ailanthus is quite common in this country as
+a wayside tree. It possesses a good deal of beauty, from the size
+and graceful sweep of its large compound leaves, that retain their
+brightness and verdure after midsummer, when our native trees have
+become dull. These leaves have nine or ten leaflets as large as a
+beech-leaf."</p>
+<p>"Isn't that the tree that smells so in summer?" asked Clara,
+with a disgusted face.</p>
+<p>"Yes; the greenish flowers have a particularly disagreeable
+odor, which is very strong and penetrating, and this is probably
+the reason why the tree has lost favor in so many places. But this
+is only during the season of blossoming, and for several months it
+is a beautiful Oriental-looking tree with every leaf perfect, while
+nearly all other foliage is more or less ravaged by insects."</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII." id="CHAPTER_XVII."></a>CHAPTER
+XVII.</h2>
+<h3><i>SOME BEAUTIFUL TREES: THE CHESTNUT AND
+HORSE-CHESTNUT.</i></h3>
+<p>The nearest trees to the tent, and standing just back of it,
+were two magnificent chestnuts, now in full leaf-beauty; and Miss
+Harson and her little flock stood admiring their majestic size and
+beautiful color.</p>
+<p>"These are the handsomest trees yet," said Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"I almost think so myself," replied his governess, gazing up
+into the rich green depths, "and I wish you particularly to notice
+these radiated--or star-like--tufts of foliage. The leaves, you
+see, are long, lengthened to a tapering point, serrated--or notched
+like a saw--at the edge, and of a bright and nearly pure green.
+Though arranged alternately, like those of the beech, on the recent
+branches, they are clustered in stars containing from five to seven
+leaves on the fruitful branches that grow out from the perfected
+wood. Now stand off a little and see how the foliage seems to be
+all in tufts, each composed of several long, pointed leaves
+drooping from the centre. The aments, too, with their light
+silvery-green tint, glisten beautifully on the darker leaves."</p>
+<p class="right"><img src="Images/315.png" width="30%" alt=""><br>
+<b>LEAF OF THE CHESTNUT.</b></p>
+<p>"How high do you think these trees are, Miss Harson?" asked
+Clara. "It makes me dizzy to look up to the top."</p>
+<p>"They can be scarcely less than ninety feet," was the reply,
+"and they are very fine specimens of the family; but the great
+chestnut which is the only tree in the field on the left of the
+house is broader. It spreads out like an apple tree, because it has
+abundance of room, and it is nearly as broad as it is high."</p>
+<p>"And aren't its chestnuts just splendid?" exclaimed
+Malcolm--"the biggest we find anywhere."</p>
+<p>"The bark, you see," continued his governess, "is very
+dark-colored, hard and rugged, with long, deep clefts. In smaller
+and younger trees it is smooth. I suppose I need not tell you that
+the fruit is within a burr covered with sharp, stiff bristles which
+are not handled with impunity. It opens by four valves more than
+halfway down when ripe, and contains the nuts, from one to three in
+number, in a downy cup. These green burrs are very ornamental to
+the tree; and when they are ripe, the green takes on a yellow
+tinge."</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/316.png" width="50%" alt=""><br>
+<b>THE CHESTNUT TREE.</b></p>
+<p>"You didn't say anything about the cunning little tails of the
+nuts, Miss Harson," said Edith, in a disappointed tone. "I think
+they're the prettiest part, and they stick up in the burr like
+little mice-tails."</p>
+<p>"Well, dear," was the smiling reply, "<i>you</i> have told us
+about them, and I think you have given a very good description.
+That is just what they always reminded me of when I was about your
+age--little mice-tails."</p>
+<p>Edith looked pleased and shy, and she did not mind Malcolm's
+laughing at her "little tails," because Miss Harson used to think
+the same as she did about them.</p>
+<p>"This beautiful tree came from Asia, and it belongs to the
+<i>Castanea</i> family, the Greeks having given it that name from a
+town in Pontus where they obtained it. It was transplanted into the
+North and West, and is now found in most temperate regions. The
+wood of the chestnut is very valuable, as it is strong, elastic and
+durable, and is often used as a substitute for oak and pine. It
+makes very beautiful furniture."</p>
+<p>"What kind of chestnuts," asked Clara, "are those great big
+ones, like horse-chestnuts, that they have in some of the stores?
+Are they good to eat?"</p>
+<p>"Yes," replied Miss Harson; "they are particularly good, and
+many people in the southern countries of Europe almost live on
+them. They are three or four times larger than our nuts, these
+Spanish and Italian chestnuts, and they are eaten instead of bread
+and potatoes by the peasantry of Spain and Italy. The Spanish
+chestnut is one of the most stately of European trees, and
+sometimes it is found growing in our own country, but never in the
+woods. It is carefully planted and cultivated as an ornamental tree
+for private grounds. And now," added the young lady, "as we have
+sufficiently examined our American chestnut trees and it is rather
+damp and cool to-day for tent-life, suppose we return to the house
+and get better acquainted with the foreign chestnuts?"</p>
+<p>Edith asked if there was to be a story, but she did not complain
+when Miss Harson thought not, only an account of a very large tree;
+for the children always felt quite sure that there would be
+something which they would like to hear.</p>
+<hr style="width: 25%;">
+<p>The evening was damp, and Clara said that, the schoolroom looked
+like a mixture of summer and winter. The fire was both pleasant and
+comfortable, but there were lilacs and tulips and hyacinths and
+plenty of wild flowers in vases and baskets; the leaves were all
+out on the trees by the windows, and the grass was like velvet.</p>
+<p>"One of the largest trees in the world, if not the largest,"
+said Miss Harson, "is a chestnut tree on the side of Mount Etna, in
+Sicily, which abounds with chestnut trees of giant proportions and
+remarkable beauty. It is called 'The Chestnut Tree of a Hundred
+Horses,' and this title is said to have originated in a report that
+a queen of Aragon once took shelter under its branches attended by
+her principal nobility, all of whom found refuge from a violent
+storm under the spreading boughs of the tree. At one time it was
+supposed that the tree really consisted of a clump of several
+united, but this is not the case; for on digging away the earth the
+root was found entire, and at no great depth. Five enormous
+branches rise from the trunk, the outside surface of each being
+covered with bark, while on the inside is none. The verdure and the
+support of the tree thus depend on the outer bark alone. The
+intervals between the branches are of various extent, one of them
+being sufficient to allow two carriages to drive abreast. In the
+middle cavity--or what is called the hollow--of the tree a hut has
+been built for the use of persons employed in collecting and
+preserving the fruit. They dry the chestnuts in an oven, and then
+make them into various conserves for sale. A whole caravan of men
+and animals were once accommodated in the enclosure, and also a
+flock of sheep folded there. The age of this prodigious tree must
+be very great indeed. It belongs to the tribe which bears sweet, or
+edible, chestnuts, that form an agreeable article of food. The
+foliage is rich, shadowy and beautiful.</p>
+<p>"The wood of the chestnut is much used in England for hop-poles,
+and old houses in London are floored or wainscoted with it. The
+beautiful roof of Westminster Abbey is made of chestnut wood.</p>
+<p>"There are magnificent forests of Spanish chestnuts in the
+Apennines, and it was the favorite tree of the great painter
+Salvator Rosa, who spent much time studying the beautiful play of
+light and shade on its foliage. The peasants make a gala-time of
+gathering and preparing the nuts. A traveler, having penetrated the
+extensive forest which covers the Vallombrosan Apennines for nearly
+five miles, came unexpectedly upon those festive scenes, which are
+not unfrequent among the chestnut-range. It was a holiday, and a
+group of peasants dressed in the gay and picturesque attire of the
+neighborhood of the Arno were dancing in an open and level space
+covered with smooth turf and surrounded with magnificent chestnuts,
+while the inmost recesses of the forest resounded with their mirth
+and minstrelsy. Some beat down the chestnuts with sticks and filled
+baskets with them, which they emptied from time to time; others,
+stretched listlessly upon the turf, picked out the contents of the
+bristling capsules in which the kernels were entrenched, for these,
+when newly gathered, are sweet and nutritious; others again, and
+especially young peasant-girls, pelted their companions with the
+fruit."</p>
+<p>"Like snowballing," said Malcolm; "only the prickers must have
+stung. What grand times they had with their chestnuting!"</p>
+<p>"These gay, thoughtless people," replied his governess, "almost
+live in the open air and enjoy the present moment. It is not easy
+to tell what they would do without these bountiful
+chestnut-harvests, for their principal article of food is a thick
+porridge called <i>polenta</i>, which they make from the ground
+nuts. In France a kind of cake is made from the same material, and
+the chestnuts are prepared by drying them in smoke. Another dish is
+like mashed potatoes, and large quantities are exported in the
+shape of sweetmeats, made by dipping them, after boiling, into
+clarified sugar and drying them."</p>
+<p>"Miss Harson," asked Clara, "why are horse-chestnuts
+<i>called</i> 'horse-chestnuts '? Do horses like 'em?"</p>
+<p>"Not usually," was the reply. "The nuts are sometimes ground and
+given to horses, but, as sheep, deer and other cattle eat them in
+their natural state, it would seem more reasonable to name them
+after some of those animals, if that was the reason. It is likely
+that because they look like chestnuts, but are much larger, they
+were called 'horse-chestnuts,' The tree is not in any respect a
+chestnut; and when it was first planted in England, some centuries
+ago, it was called 'a rare foreign tree,' and was much admired. It
+is supposed to have come from India. The large nuts are like
+chestnuts in appearance.--Except, Edith, that they have no 'cunning
+little tails.'--In the month of May there is not a more beautiful
+tree to be found than the horse-chestnut, with its large,
+deeply-cut leaves of a bright-green color and its long, tapering
+spikes of variegated flowers, which turn upward from the dense
+foliage. The tree at this time has been compared to a huge
+chandelier, and the erect blossoms to so many wax lights. The
+bitter nuts ripen early in the autumn and fall from the tree, but
+long before this the beautiful foliage has turned rusty in our
+Northern States, and is no longer ornamental. The overshadowing
+branches, which give such a pleasant shade in summer, early in
+autumn begin to show the ravages of the insects or the natural
+decay of the leaves."</p>
+<p>"Then," said Malcolm, "it isn't a nice tree to have, and I'm
+glad that there are elms here instead."</p>
+<p>"I should like to have some of all the trees," replied Clara,
+"because then we could study about them better.--Wouldn't you, Miss
+Harson?"</p>
+<p>"I think so," said her governess, "if they were not undesirable
+to have, as some trees are. If it were always May, I should want
+horse-chestnut trees; for I think there is scarcely anything so
+pretty as those fresh leaves and blossoms. The branches, too, begin
+low down, and that gives the tree a generous spreading look which
+is very attractive in the way of shade. In more southern States
+they have a longer season of beauty than those in the North."</p>
+<p>"Do people ever eat the horse-chestnut?" asked Edith.</p>
+<p>"Not often, dear--it is too bitter; but an old writer who lived
+in the days when it was first seen in England says that he planted
+it in his orchard as a fruit tree, between his mulberry and his
+walnut, and that he roasted the chestnuts and ate them. It is like
+the bitternut-hickory, which even boys will not eat."</p>
+<p>"I should think that somebody or something ought to eat it,"
+said Clara, thoughtfully; "it seems like such a waste."</p>
+<p>Everyone laughed at her wise air, and she was asked if she
+intended to set the example. She was not quite ready, though, to do
+that; and Miss Harson continued:</p>
+<p>"A naturalist once took from the tree a tiny flower-bud and
+proceeded to dissect it. After the external covering, which
+consisted of seventeen scales, he came upon the down which protects
+the flower. On removing this he could perceive four branchlets
+surrounding the spike of flowers, and the flowers themselves,
+though so minute, were as distinct as possible, and he could not
+only count their number, but discern the stamens, and even the
+pollen."</p>
+<p>"Oh!" exclaimed the children; "how very curious!"</p>
+<p>"Yes," replied their governess; "it shows how perfect and
+wonderful, from the beginning, are all the works of God."</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII." id="CHAPTER_XVIII."></a>CHAPTER
+XVIII.</h2>
+<h3><i>AMONG THE PINES</i>.</h3>
+<br>
+<p>"How good it smells here!" exclaimed Edith, with her small nose
+in the air to inhale what she called "a good sniff" in the fragrant
+pine-woods.</p>
+<p>Miss Harson had taken the children in the carriage to a
+pine-grove some miles from Elmridge, and Thomas and the horses
+waited by the roadside while the little party walked about or stood
+gazing up at the tall slender trees that seemed to tower to the
+very skies. Thomas was not fond of waiting, but he thought that he
+had the best of it in this case: it was more cheerful to sit in the
+carriage and "flick" the flies from Rex and Regina than to go
+poking about in the gloomy pine-woods. Yet, notwithstanding the
+darkness of its interior and the sombre character of its dense
+masses of evergreen foliage as seen from without--whence the name
+of "black timber," which has been applied to it--the shade and
+shelter it affords and the sentiment of grandeur it inspires cause
+it to become allied with the most profound and agreeable
+sensations; and it was something of this feeling, though they could
+not express it in words, which possessed the young tree-hunters as
+they stood in the pine-grove.</p>
+<p>"It's nice to breathe here," said Clara.</p>
+<p>"It is delicious," replied her governess, enthusiastically, her
+eyes kindling as she repeated the lines:</p>
+<blockquote>"'His praise, ye winds, that from four quarter
+blow,<br>
+Breathe soft and loud; and wave your tops, ye pines,<br>
+With every plant, in sign of worship. Wave!'"<br></blockquote>
+<p>"What a queer brown color--almost like red--the ground is!" said
+Malcolm. "And look, Miss Harson! it's made of lots of little sharp
+sticks."</p>
+<p>"The sharp sticks are pine-needles," was the reply--"the dead
+pine-leaves of last year; and when the new growth of leaves have
+been put forth, they cover the ground with a smooth brown matting
+as comfortable as a gravel-walk, and yet a carpet of Nature's
+making. 'The foliage of the pine is so hard and durable that in
+summer we always find the last year's crop lying upon the ground in
+a state of perfect soundness, and under it that of the preceding
+year only partially decayed.'"</p>
+<p>"It's kind of slippery in some places," continued Malcolm,
+taking a slide as he spoke. "And see those queer-looking roots
+sprouting out of the ground!"</p>
+<p>"I see the roots," said Miss Harson, "but no sprouts. That is
+the white pine, the roots of which are often seen above the ground,
+spreading to some distance from the trunk. Generally the roots of
+pine trees are small, compared with the size of the trunks, and
+spread horizontally instead of descending far into the ground. For
+this reason pines are often uprooted by high winds, which break off
+the deciduous trees near the ground. But I wish you particularly to
+notice the trunks of these trees and tell me if you can see any
+difference in them."</p>
+<p>Those particular trees had probably never been stared at so hard
+before, and the three children exclaimed almost together:</p>
+<p>"Some are rough, and some are smooth, and the rough ones have
+little bunches of leaves on 'em."</p>
+<p>"These are the pitch-pines," replied their governess. "They are
+the roughest of all our forest-trees, and they have a rounder head
+than any of the other American evergreens. The branches, you see,
+turn in various directions and are curved downward at the ends.
+This tree has also the peculiar habit of sending out little
+branchlets full of leaves along the stem from the root upward, and
+this has a very pretty effect, like that of some elm trees. It is
+the pitch-pine that produces the fragrance we are all enjoying so
+much. What do you notice about the smoother trees?"</p>
+<p class="right"><img src="Images/331.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>THE WHITE PINE.</b></p>
+<p>"They are very tall and big," replied Clara--"ever so much
+handsomer than the rough ones."</p>
+<p>"The white pine," said Miss Harson, "is one of the loftiest and
+most valuable of North American trees. Its top can be seen at a
+great distance, looking like a spire as it towers above the heads
+of the trees around it. You see that it has widespread branches and
+silken-looking, tufted foliage. The leaves are in fives and not so
+stiff as those of the other pines, and you will notice that the
+branches are in whorls, like a series of stages one above another.
+The foliage has a tasseled effect with those long silky tufts at
+the ends of the branches, and the whole outline of the tree is very
+pleasing."</p>
+<p>"This isn't a pine tree, is it?" asked Malcolm, touching a small
+tree with very slender branches, some of them as slight as
+willow-withes and covered with grayish-red bark, while that on the
+main stem was bluish gray.</p>
+<p class="left"><img src="Images/332.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>THE LARCH.</b></p>
+<p>"It is a species of pine," was the reply, "because it belongs to
+the Coniferae, or cone-producing, family; but it is not an
+evergreen, although it ranks as such. This is the larch--generally
+called in New England by its Indian name of <i>hacmatack</i>--and
+it differs from the other pines in its crowded tufts of leaves,
+which, after turning to a soft leather-color, fall, in New England,
+early in November. The cones, too, are very small."</p>
+<p>"What's the use of cones, any way?" asked Malcolm as he picked
+up some very large ones under the white and pitch pines.</p>
+<p class="right"><img src="Images/333.png" width="30%" alt=""><br>
+<b>FOLIAGE OF THE<br>
+LARCH (<i>Larix<br>
+Americana</i>).</b></p>
+<p>"Their principal use," replied his governess, "is to contain the
+seeds of future trees: they are the fruit of the pine; but they
+have a number of uses besides, which you shall hear about this
+evening."</p>
+<p>"The little cones at Hemlock Lodge are pretty," said Edith, "and
+Clara and me play with 'em. We play they're a orphan-'sylum."</p>
+<p>"'Clara and I,' dear," corrected Miss Harson, smiling at the
+"orphan-'sylum," while Malcolm said he had never thought of that
+before, and it must be what they were meant for. Edith could not
+quite understand whether this was fun or earnest, but Miss Harson
+shook her head at Malcolm and called him "naughty boy."</p>
+<p>"The spruce and hemlock," continued their governess, "and many
+of the other evergreens, we have at Elmridge, but I brought you
+here to-day for our drive that you might examine these magnificent
+pine trees, and so be better able to understand whatever we can
+find out about them this evening. Thomas is probably tired of
+waiting by this time; so we will leave the fragrant pine-woods for
+the present, and promise ourselves some future visits."</p>
+<p>Every green thing was now in full summer beauty, and daisies and
+buttercups gemmed the fields, while the garden at Elmridge was all
+aglow with blossoms, The children remembered their flower-studies
+of last year, and took fresh pleasure in the woods because of them;
+but the trees now seemed quite as interesting as the flowers had
+been.</p>
+<hr style="width: 25%;">
+<p>"The trees known as evergreens," said Miss Harson, "are not so
+bright and cheerful-looking as those which are deciduous, or
+leaf-shedding, but they have the advantage of being clothed with
+foliage, although of a sober hue, all the year round. They consist
+of pines, firs, junipers, cypresses, spruces, larches, yews and
+hemlocks, with some foreign trees, and form a distinct and striking
+natural group. 'This family has claims to our particular attention
+from the importance of its products in naval, and especially in
+civil and domestic, architecture, and in many other arts, and, in
+some instances, in medicine. Some of the species in this country
+are of more rapid growth, attain to a larger size and rise to a
+loftier height than any other trees known. The white pine is much
+the tallest of our native trees.'"</p>
+<p>"How high does it grow, Miss Harson?" asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"From one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet," was replied,
+"and on the north-west coast of America one called the 'Douglas's
+pine' is the loftiest tree known; it is said to measure over three
+hundred feet. 'From the pines are obtained the best masts and much
+of the most valuable ship-timber, and in the building and finishing
+of houses they are of almost indispensable utility. The bark of
+some of them, as the hemlock and larch, is of great value in
+tanning, and from others are obtained the various kinds of pitch,
+tar, turpentine, resin and balsams,' The pines and firs have
+circles of branches in imperfect whorls around the trunk, and, as
+one of these whorls is formed each year, it is easy to calculate
+the age of young trees. In thick woods the lower whorls of branches
+soon decay for want of light and air, and this leaves a smooth
+trunk, which rises without a branch, like a beautiful shaft, for a
+hundred feet or more.</p>
+<p>"These trees are found everywhere except in the hot regions
+around the equator. The white pine is the most common, but in the
+evergreen woods of our own country it is mixed with pitch-pine and
+fir trees. In our Southern States there are thin forests, called
+pine-barrens, through which one can travel for miles on horseback.
+The white pine is easily distinguished by its leaves being in
+fives, by its very long cones, composed of loosely-arranged scales,
+and when young by the smoothness and delicate light-green color of
+the bark. It is known throughout New England by the name 'white
+pine,' which is given it on account of the whiteness of the wood.
+In England it is called the Weymouth pine.</p>
+<p>"Many very large trees are found in Maine, on the Penobscot
+River, but most of the largest and most valuable timber trees have
+been cut down. The lumberers, as they are called, are constantly
+hewing down the grand old trees for timber, white pine being the
+principal timber of New England and Canada."</p>
+<p>"And they float it down the rivers on rafts, don't they?" said
+Malcolm. "Won't you tell us about that, Miss Harson?"</p>
+<p>"Yes," was the reply.--"But do not look so expectant, Edie; it
+is not a story, dear, only a description of pine-cutting in the
+forests of Maine and Canada. But I should like you to know how
+these great trees are turned into timber, and you will see that,
+like many other necessary things, it is neither easy nor pleasant.
+We do not get much without hard work on the part of somebody:
+remember that. Now I will read:</p>
+<p>"'The business of procuring trees suitable for masts of ships is
+difficult and fatiguing. The pines which grew in the neighborhood
+of the rivers and in the most accessible places have all been cut
+down. Paths have now to be cleared with immense labor to the
+recesses of the forest, in order to obtain a fresh supply. This
+arduous employment is called "lumbering," and those who engage in
+it are "lumberers." The word "lumber," in its general sense,
+applies to all kinds of timber. But though many different trees,
+such as oak, ash and maple, are cut down, yet the main business is
+with the pines. And when a suitable plot of ground has been chosen
+for erecting a saw-mill,' to prepare the boards, 'it is called
+"pine-land," or a spot where the pine trees predominate.</p>
+<p>"'A body of wood-cutters unite to form what is called a
+"lumbering-party," and they are in the employ of a
+master-lumberman, who pays them wages and finds them in provisions.
+The provisions are obtained on credit and under promise of payment
+when the timber has been cut down and sold. If the timber meets
+with any accident in its passage down the river, the
+master-lumberman cannot make good the loss, and the shopkeeper
+loses his money.</p>
+<p>"'When the lumbering-party are ready to start, they take with
+them a supply of necessaries, and also what tools they will
+require, and proceed up the river to the heart of the forest. When
+they reach a suitable spot where the giant trees which are to serve
+for masts grow thick and dark, they get all their supplies on
+shore--their axes, their cooking-utensils and the casks of
+molasses'--and too often of whisky or rum, too, I am sorry to
+say--'that will be used lavishly. The molasses is used instead of
+sugar to sweeten the great draughts of tea--made, not from the
+product of China, but from the tops of the hemlock.</p>
+<p>"'The first thing to be done is to build some kind of shelter,
+for they must remain in the forest until spring, and the cold of
+those Northern winters is terrible. Their cabin--for it cannot be
+called by any better name--is built of logs of wood cut down on
+purpose and put together as rudely as possible. It is only five
+feet high, and the roof is covered with boards. There is a great
+blazing fire kept up day and night, for the frost is intense, and
+the provisions have to be kept in a deep place made in the ground
+under the cabin. The smoke of the fire goes out through a hole in
+the roof, and the floor is strewn with branches of fir, the only
+couch the poor hardworking lumberers have to rest upon. When night
+comes, they turn into the cabin to sleep, and lie with their feet
+to the fire. If a man chances to awaken, he instantly jumps up and
+throws fresh logs on the fire; for it is of the utmost importance
+not to let it go out. One of the men is the cook for the whole
+party, and his duty is to have breakfast ready before it is light
+in the morning. He prepares a meal of boiled meat and the hemlock
+tea sweetened with molasses, and the rest of the party partake
+heartily of both, and in some camps also of rum, under the mistaken
+notion that it helps them to bear the severe toil. When breakfast
+is over, they divide into several gangs. One gang cuts down the
+trees, another saws them in pieces, and the third gang is occupied
+in conveying them, by means of oxen, to the bank of the nearest
+stream, which is now frozen over.</p>
+<p>"'It is a hard winter for the lumbermen. The snow covers the
+ground until the middle of May, and the frost is often intense. But
+they toil through it, felling, sawing and conveying until a
+quantity of trees have been laid prostrate and made available for
+the market. Then, at last, the weather changes; the snow begins to
+melt and the streams and rills are set at liberty. The rivers flow
+briskly on and are much swollen with the melting snow, and the men
+say that the freshets have come down.</p>
+<p>"'Hard as their toil has been, the most difficult and fatiguing
+has yet to be encountered. The timber is collected on the banks of
+the river, and has now to be thrown into the water and made into
+rafts, so that it can be floated down to the nearest market-town.
+The water, filled with melting snow, is deadly cold and can
+scarcely be endured, but the men are in it from morning till night
+constructing the rafts, which are put together as simply as
+possible, and the smallest outlay made to suffice. The rafts are of
+different sizes, according to the breadth of the stream; and when
+all is ready, they are launched, and the convoy fairly sets out on
+its voyage.</p>
+<p>"'The great ugly masses of floating timber move slowly along
+under the care of a pilot, and the lumberers ride upon the rafts,
+often without shelter or protection from the weather. They guide
+themselves by long and powerful poles fixed on pivots, and which
+act as rudders. As they journey down the stream they sing and shout
+and make the utmost noise and riot. If there comes a storm or a
+change of weather, the pilot steers his convoy into some safe creek
+for the night, and secures it as best he can.</p>
+<p>"'Thus by degrees the raft reaches the place of destination,
+occasionally with some loss and damage to the timber. In this case
+the master-lumberer bears the loss, and is obliged to refund the
+expenses incurred as best he can. At any rate, the men are now paid
+off, and set out on foot for their homes.'"</p>
+<p>Malcolm was particularly delighted with this narrative of
+stirring activity, and even the little girls seemed very much
+interested in it. They were so sorry for the poor lumbermen who had
+such dreary winters off there in the Northern woods, and Clara
+wondered if they couldn't have warm comforters and mittens.</p>
+<p>"They probably have those things when they go into camp," said
+Miss Harson, "but they are likely to find them in the way of
+working, and to cast them aside.--Great ships are not built for
+nothing: even to get the timber in readiness costs heavy labor,
+but, after all, no doubt, the men get interested in it and enjoy
+its excitement. Fortunately for the many uses to which its timber
+is put, the white pine grows very rapidly, gaining from fifteen
+inches to three feet every year. In deep and damp old woods it is
+slower of growth; it is then almost without sap-wood and has a
+yellowish color like the flesh of the pumpkin. For this reason it
+is called 'pumpkin-pine.' The bark of young trees of the white-pine
+species is very smooth and of a reddish, bottle-green color. It is
+covered in summer with a pearly gloss. On old trunks the bark is
+less rough than that of any other pine. This tree has the spreading
+habit of the cedar of Lebanon. In addition to its grand and
+picturesque character, the white pine, says a lover of trees, may
+be 'regarded as a true symbol of benevolence. Under its outspread
+roof numerous small animals, nestling in the bed of dry leaves that
+cover the ground, find shelter and repose. The squirrel feeds upon
+the kernels obtained from its cones; the hare browses upon the
+trefoil'--clover--'and the spicy foliage of the
+<i>hypericum</i>'--St. John's wort--'which are protected in its
+shade; and the fawn reposes on its brown couch of leaves unmolested
+by the outer tempest. From its green arbors the quails are often
+roused in midwinter, where they feed upon the berries of the
+<i>Mitchella</i> and the spicy wintergreen. Nature, indeed, seems
+to have specially designed this tree to protect her living
+creatures both in summer and in winter.'"</p>
+<p>"Hurrah for the white pine," said Malcolm, with great energy,
+"the grand old <i>American</i> tree!"</p>
+<p>"I'm glad that the little birds and animals have such a nice
+home under it in winter," said Clara.</p>
+<p>"I'm glad too," added Edith, "but I wish we could find some and
+see how they look in their soft bed. Don't they ever put their
+heads out the least bit, Miss Harson?"</p>
+<p>"Not when they suspect that there is any one around, dear, and
+the little creatures are very sharp to find this out. Our heavenly
+Father, you know, takes thought for sparrows and all such helpless
+things, and they are fed and cared for without any thought of their
+own.--The white pine," she continued, "is truly a magnificent tree,
+but I think we shall find that the pitch-pine is also very
+useful."</p>
+<p>"That's the rough one," said Malcolm; "I remember how it looks,
+with little tufts sticking out along the trunk."</p>
+<p>"Yes," replied his governess, "and out authority says this tree
+is distinguished by its leaves being in threes--the white pine, you
+know, has them in <i>fives</i>--by the rigidity and sharpness of
+the scales of its cones, by the roughness of its bark, and by the
+denseness of the brushes of its stiff, crowded leaves. Its usual
+height is from forty to fifty feet, but it is sometimes much
+taller. The trunk is not only rough, but very dark in color; and
+from this circumstance the species is frequently called black pine.
+The wood is very hard and firm, and contains a quantity of resin.
+This is much more abundant in the branches than in the trunk, and
+the boards and other lumber of this wood are usually full of
+pitch-knots."</p>
+<p>"What are pitch-knots?" asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"'When a growing branch,'" read Miss Harson, "'is broken off,
+the remaining portion becomes charged with resin,' which is
+deposited by the resin-bearing sap of the tree, 'forming what is
+called a pitch-knot, extending sometimes to the heart. The same
+thing takes place through the whole heart of a tree when, full of
+juice, its life is suddenly destroyed.' 'Resin' is another name for
+turpentine, but is used of it commonly when hardened into a solid
+form. The tar is obtained by slowly burning splintered pine, both
+trunk and root, with a smothered flame, and collecting the black
+liquid, which is expelled by the heat and caught in cavities
+beneath the burning pile. Pitch is thickened tar, and is used in
+calking ships and for like purposes."</p>
+<p>"I am going to remember that," said Malcolm; "I could never make
+out what all those different things meant."</p>
+<p>"What are you thinking about so seriously, Clara?" asked her
+governess. "If it is a puzzle, let me see if I cannot solve it for
+you."</p>
+<p>"Well, Miss Harson, I was thinking of those brown leaves, or
+'needles,' in the pine-woods, and it seems strange to say that the
+leaves of evergreens never fall off."</p>
+<p>"It would not only be strange, dear, but quite untrue, to say
+that; for the same leaves do not, of course, remain for ever on the
+tree. The deciduous trees lose their leaves in the autumn and are
+entirely bare until the next spring, but the evergreens, although
+they renew their leaves, too, are never left without verdure of
+some sort. Late in October you may see the yellow or brown foliage
+of the pines, then ready to fall, surrounding the branches of the
+previous year's growth, forming a whorl of brown fringe surmounted
+by a tuft of green leaves of the present year's growth. Their
+leaves always turn yellow before the fall."</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX." id="CHAPTER_XIX."></a>CHAPTER XIX.</h2>
+<h3><i>GIANT AND NUT PINES</i>.</h3>
+<br>
+<p>Great was the surprise of Edith when Miss Harson gave the little
+sleeper a gentle shake and told her that it was time to be up. But
+the birds without the window told the same story, and the little
+maiden was soon at the breakfast-table and ready for the day's
+duties and enjoyments, including their "tree-talk."</p>
+<p>"Are there any more kinds of pine trees?" asked Malcolm.</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/350.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>"AWAKE, LITTLE ONE!".</b></p>
+<p>"Yes, indeed!--more than we can take up this summer," replied
+Miss Harson. "There is the Norway pine, or red pine, which in Maine
+and New Hampshire is often seen in forests of white and pitch pine.
+It has a tall trunk of eighty feet or so, and a smooth reddish
+bark. The leaves are in twos, six or eight inches long, and form
+large tufts or brushes at the end of the branchlets. The wood is
+strong and resembles that of the pitch-pine, but it contains no
+resin. The giant pines of California belong to a different species
+from any that we have been considering, and the genus, or order, in
+which they have been arranged is called <i>Sequoia</i><a name=
+"FNanchor19" id="FNanchor19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19">[19]</a>.
+They are generally known, however, as the 'Big Trees.' In one grove
+there are a hundred and three of them, which cover a space of fifty
+acres, called 'Mammoth-Tree Grove.' One of the giants has been
+felled--a task which occupied twenty-two days. It was impossible to
+cut it down, in the ordinary sense of the term, and the men had to
+bore into it with augers until it was at last severed in twain.
+Even then the amazing bulk of the tree prevented it from falling,
+and it still kept its upright position. Two more days were employed
+in driving wedges into the severed part on one side, thus to compel
+the giant to totter and fall. The trunk was no less than three
+hundred and two feet in height and ninety-six in circumference. The
+stump, which was left standing, presented such a large surface that
+a party of thirty couples have danced with ease upon it and still
+left abundant room for lookers-on."</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_19" id="Footnote_19"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor19">[19]</a> <i>Sequoia gigantea</i>.</blockquote>
+<p>When the children had sufficiently exclaimed over the size of
+this huge tree, their governess continued:</p>
+<p>"It is thought that these trees must have been growing for more
+than two thousand years, which would make them probably two hundred
+years old at the birth of our Saviour. Does it not seem wonderful
+to think of? There are other groups of giant pines scattered on the
+mountains and in the forests, and some youthful giants about five
+hundred years old."</p>
+<p>"I suppose they are the babies of the family," said Clara; and
+this idea amused Edith very much.</p>
+<p>"There is still another kind of pine," said Miss Harson--"the
+Italian, or stone, pine. It is shaped almost exactly like an
+umbrella with a very long handle. The <i>Pinus pinea</i> bears
+large cones, the seed of which is not only eatable, but considered
+a delicious nut. The cone is three years in ripening; it is then
+about four inches long and three wide, and has a reddish hue. Each
+scale of which the cone is formed is hollow at the base and
+contains a seed much larger than that of any other species. When
+the cone is ripe, it is gathered by the owners of the forest; and
+when thoroughly dried on the roof or thrown for a few minutes into
+the fire, it separates into many compartments, from each of which
+drops a smooth white nut in shape like the seed of the date. The
+shell is very hard, and within it is the fruit, which is much used
+in making sweetmeats. The stone-pine is found also in Palestine,
+and is supposed to be the cypress of the Bible. The author of
+<i>The Ride Through Palestine</i><a name="FNanchor20" id=
+"FNanchor20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20">[20]</a> speaks of passing
+through a fine grove of the stone-pine, 'tall and umbrella-topped,'
+with dry sticks rising oddly here and there from the very tops of
+the trees. These sticks were covered with birdlime, to snare the
+poor bird which might be tempted to set foot on such treacherous
+supports; and if the cones were ripe, they would be quite sure to
+do it. Here is the picture, from the book just mentioned. Italian
+pine is a prettier name than stone-pine, and this is the name by
+which it is known to artists, who put it into almost every picture
+of Italian scenery.</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_20" id="Footnote_20"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor20">[20]</a> Presbyterian Board of
+Publication.</blockquote>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/354.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>STONE-PINE--"FIR" <i>(Pinus maritima</i>).</b></p>
+<blockquote>"'Much they admire that old religious tree<br>
+With shaft above the rest upshooting free,<br>
+And shaking, when its dark locks feel the wind,<br>
+Its wealthy fruit with rough and massive rind.'"<br></blockquote>
+<p>"But how queer it sounds to call fruit <i>wealthy</i>!" said
+Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"It is odd," replied his governess, "only because the word is
+not now used in that sense; but the fruit is wealthy both because
+of its abundance and because it can be put to so many uses. Let us
+see what is said of it:</p>
+<p>"'The kernels, or seeds, from the cones of the stone-pine have
+always been esteemed as a delicacy. In the old days of Rome and
+Greece they were preserved in honey, and some of the larders of the
+ill-fated city of Pompeii were amply stored with jars of this
+agreeable conserve, which were found intact after all those years.
+The kernels are also sugared over and used as <i>bonbons</i>. They
+enter into many dishes of Italian cookery, but great care has to be
+taken not to expose them to the air. They are usually kept in the
+cones until they are wanted, and will then retain their freshness
+for some years. The squirrels eagerly seek after the fruit of this
+pine and almost subsist upon it. They take the cone in their paws
+and dash out the seeds, thus scattering many of them and helping to
+propagate the tree.</p>
+<p class="right"><img src="Images/356.png" width="30%" alt=""><br>
+<b>PINE-CONE (<i>Pinus<br>
+Sylvestris</i>.)</b></p>
+<p>"'There is a bird called the crossbill that makes its nest in
+the pine. It fixes its nest in place by means of the resin of the
+tree and coats it with the same material, so as to render it
+impervious to the rain. The seeds from the cones form its chief
+food, and it extracts them with its curious bill, the two parts of
+which cross each other. It grasps the cone with its foot, after the
+fashion of a parrot, and digs into it with the upper part of its
+bill, which is like a hook, and forces out the seed with a
+jerk.'"</p>
+<p>The children enjoyed this account very much, and they thought
+that stone-pine nuts--which they had never seen, and perhaps never
+would see--must be the most delicious nuts that ever grew.</p>
+<p>"What nice times the birds have," said Clara, "helping
+themselves to all the good things that other people can't
+reach!"</p>
+<p>"They are not exactly 'people,'" replied Miss Harson, laughing;
+"and, in spite of all these 'nice times,' you would not be quite
+willing to change with them, I think."</p>
+<p>No, on the whole, Clara was quite sure that she would not.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XX." id="CHAPTER_XX."></a>CHAPTER XX.</h2>
+<h3><i>MORE WINTER TREES: THE FIRS AND THE SPRUCES</i>.</h3>
+<br>
+<p>There were some beautiful evergreens on the lawn at Elmridge,
+and, although the foliage seemed dark in summer, it gave the place
+a very cheerful look in winter, when other trees were quite bare,
+while the birds flew in and out of them so constantly that spring
+seemed to have come long before it really did arrive.</p>
+<p class="right"><img src="Images/359.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>AMERICAN WHITE SPRUCE.</b></p>
+<p>"This balsam-fir," said Miss Harson as they stood near a tall,
+beautiful tree that tapered to a point, "has, you see, a straight,
+smooth trunk and tapers regularly and rapidly to the top. You will
+notice, too, that the leaves, which are needle-shaped and nearly
+flat, do not grow in clusters, but singly, and that their color is
+peculiar. There are faint white lines on the upper part and a
+silvery-blue tinge beneath, and this silvery look is produced by
+many lines of small, shining resinous dots. The deep-green bark,
+striped with gray, is full of balsam, or resin, known as balm of
+Gilead or Canada balsam, and highly valued as a cure for diseases
+of the lungs. The long cones are erect, or standing, and grow
+thickly near the ends of the upper branches. They have round,
+bluish-purple scales, and the soft color has a very pretty effect
+on the tree. They ripen every year, and the lively little squirrel,
+as he is called, feasts upon them, as the crossbill does on the
+cones of the stone-pine. But the mischievous little animal also
+barks the boughs and gnaws off the tops of the leading shoots, so
+that many trees are injured and defaced by his depredations."</p>
+<p>"He <i>is</i> a lively little squirrel," observed Malcolm. "How
+he does race! But he doesn't gnaw our trees, does he?"</p>
+<p>"No, I think not, for he prefers staying in the woods and
+fields; but fir-woods are his especial delight. Our balsam-fir is
+the American sister of the silver fir of Europe, both having
+bluish-green foliage with a silvery under surface, in a single row
+on either side of the branches, which curve gracefully upward at
+the ends. The tree has a peculiarly light, airy appearance until it
+is old, when there is little foliage except at the ends of the
+branches. The silver fir is one of the tallest trees on the
+continent of Europe, and it is remarkable for the beauty of its
+form and foliage and the value of its timber."</p>
+<p>"I know what this tree is," said Clara, turning to an evergreen
+of stately form and graceful, drooping branches that almost touched
+the ground: "it's Norway spruce. Papa told me this morning."</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/361.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>THE NORWAY PINE.</b></p>
+<p>"Yes," replied her governess, "and a beautiful tree it is, like
+the fir in many respects, but the bark is rougher and the cones
+droop. The branches, too, are lower and more sweeping. But the fir
+and the spruce are more alike than many sisters and brothers. The
+Scotch fir, about which there are many interesting things to be
+learned, is more rugged-looking, and the Norway spruce, which will
+bear studying too, is more grand and majestic."</p>
+<p class="left"><img src="Images/362.png" width="45%" alt=""><br>
+<b>THE HEMLOCK SPRUCE.</b></p>
+<p>"I know this one, Miss Harson," said little Edith as they came
+to a sweeping hemlock near the bay-window of the dining-room.</p>
+<p>"Yes, dear," was the reply; "Hemlock Lodge has made you feel
+very well acquainted with the tree after which it is named. It is
+one of the most beautiful of the evergreens, with its
+widely-spreading branches and their delicate, fringe-like foliage;
+but, although the branches are ornamental for church and house
+decoration, they are very perishable, and drop their small needles
+almost immediately when placed in a heated room. And now,"
+continued the young lady, "we have come back to warm piazza-days
+again, and can have our talk in the open air."</p>
+<p>So on the piazza they speedily established themselves, with Miss
+Harson in the low, comfortable chair and her audience on the
+crimson cushions that had been piled up in a corner.</p>
+<p>"We shall find a great deal about the fir tree," said Miss
+Harson, "as it is very hardy and rugged, and as common in all
+Northern regions as the white birch--quite as useful, too, as we
+shall soon see. This rugged species--which is generally called the
+Scotch fir--is not so smooth and handsome as our balsam-fir, but it
+is a tree which the people who live near the great Northern forests
+of Europe could not easily do without. It belongs to the great pine
+family and is often called a pine, but in the countries of Great
+Britain especially it is called the Scotch fir. Although well
+shaped, it is not a particularly elegant-looking tree. The branches
+are generally gnarled and broken, and the style of the tree is more
+sturdy than graceful. The Scotch fir often grows to the height of a
+hundred feet, and the bark is of a reddish tinge. 'It is one of the
+most useful of the tribe, and, like the bountiful palm, confers the
+greatest blessing on the inhabitants of the country where it grows.
+It serves the peasants of the bleak, barren parts of Sweden and
+Lapland for food: their scanty supply of meal often runs short, and
+they go to the pine to eke it out. They choose the oldest and least
+resinous of the branches and take out the inner bark. They first
+grind it in a mill, and then mix it with their store of meal; after
+this it is worked into dough and made into cakes like pancakes. The
+bark-bread is a valuable addition to their slender resources, and
+sometimes the young shoots are used as well as the bark. Indeed, so
+largely is this store of food drawn upon that many trees have been
+destroyed, and in some places the forest is actually thinned."</p>
+<p>"They're as bad as the squirrels," said Malcolm. "But how I
+should hate to eat such stuff!"</p>
+<p>"It may not be so very bad," replied his governess. "Some people
+think that only white bread is fit to eat, but I think that Kitty's
+brown bread is rather liked in this family."</p>
+<p>The children all laughed, for didn't papa declare--with
+<i>such</i> a sober face!--that they were eating him out of house
+and home in brown bread alone? Kitty, too, pretended to grumble
+because the plump loaves disappeared so fast, but she said to
+herself at the same time, "Bless their hearts! let 'em eat: it's
+better than a doctor's bill."</p>
+<p>"A great many other things besides pancakes are made from the
+tree," continued Miss Harson, "and the fresh green tops furnish
+very nice carpets."</p>
+<p>There was a faint "<i>Oh!</i>" at this, but, after all, it was
+not so surprising as the cakes had been.</p>
+<p>"They are scattered on the floors of houses as rushes used to be
+in old times in England, and thus they serve as carpet and prevent
+the mud and dirt that stick to the shoes of the peasants from
+staining the floor; and when trodden on, the leaves give out a most
+agreeable aromatic perfume."</p>
+<p>"I'd like that part," said Clara.</p>
+<p class="left"><img src="Images/366.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>THE BLUE SPRUCE.</b></p>
+<p>"But you cannot have one part without taking it all; almost
+everything, you see, has a pleasant side.-- 'The peasant finds no
+limit to the use of the pine. Of its bark he makes the little canoe
+which is to carry him along the river; it is simple in its
+construction, and as light as possible. When he comes within safe
+distance of one of those gushing, foaming cataracts that he meets
+with in his course, he pushes his canoe to land and carries it on
+his shoulders until the danger is past; then he launches it again,
+and paddles merrily onward. Not a single nail is used in his canoe:
+the planks are tightly secured together by a natural cordage made
+of the roots of the pine. He splits them of the right thickness,
+and with very little preparation they form exactly the material he
+needs.'"</p>
+<p>Malcolm evidently had some idea of making a canoe of this kind,
+but he became discouraged when his governess reminded him that he
+could not cut down trees, and that his father would prefer having
+them left standing. It did not seem necessary to speak of any
+difficulties in the way of putting the boat together.</p>
+<p>"Another use for the fir is to light up the poor hut of the
+peasant. 'He splits up the branches into laths and makes them into
+torches. If he wants a light, he takes one of the laths and kindles
+it at the fire; then he fixes it in a rude frame, which serves him
+for a candlestick. The light is very brilliant while it lasts, but
+is soon spent, and he is in darkness again. The same use is made of
+the pine. It is no unusual circumstance, in the Scotch pine-woods,
+to come upon a tree with the trunk scooped out from each side and
+carried away: the cottager has been to fetch material for his
+candles. But this somewhat rough usage does not hurt the tree, and
+it continues green and healthy.' In our Southern States pine-fat
+with resin is called lightwood, and is used for the same
+purpose."</p>
+<p>"That's an easy way of getting candles," said Clara.</p>
+<p>"Easy, perhaps, compared with the trouble of moulding them,"
+replied Miss Harson, "but I do not think we should fancy either way
+of preparing them."</p>
+<p>"Is there anything to tell about the spruce tree?" asked
+Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"It is too much like the fir," replied his governess, "to have
+any very distinct character; but there are species here, known as
+the white and black spruce, besides the hemlock."</p>
+<p>But the children thought that hemlock was hemlock: how did it
+come to be spruce?</p>
+<p>"Because it has the family features--leaves solitary and very
+short; cones pendulous, or hanging, with the scales thin at the
+edge; and the fruit ripens in a single year. The hemlock-spruce, as
+it is sometimes called, is, I think, the most beautiful of the
+family. 'It is distinguished from all the other pines by the
+softness and delicacy of its tufted foliage, from the spruce by its
+slender, tapering branchlets and the smoothness of its limbs, and
+from the balsam-fir by its small terminal cones, by the
+irregularity of its branches and the gracefulness of its whole
+appearance.' The delicate green of the young trees forms a rich
+mass of verdure, and at this season each twig has on the end a tuft
+of new leaves yellowish-green in color and making a beautiful
+contrast to the darker hue of last year's foliage. The bark of the
+trunk is reddish, and that of the smooth branches and small twigs
+is light gray. The branchlets are very small, light and slender,
+and are set irregularly on the sides of the small branches; so that
+they form a flat surface. This arrangement renders them singularly
+well adapted to the making of brooms--a use of the hemlock familiar
+to housekeepers in the country towns throughout New England. The
+leaves, which are extremely delicate and of a silvery whiteness on
+the under side, are arranged in a row on each side of the
+branchlets. The slender, thread-like stems on which they grow make
+them move easily with the slightest breath of wind, and this, with
+the silvery hue underneath, gives to the foliage a glittering look
+that is very pretty. But I think you all can tell me when the
+hemlock is prettiest?"</p>
+<p>"After a snow-storm," said Clara. "Don't we all look, almost the
+first thing, at the tree by the dining-room window?"</p>
+<p>"Yes," replied Miss Harson; "it is a beautiful sight with the
+snow lying on it in masses and the dark green of the leaves peeping
+through. 'The branches put forth irregularly from all parts of the
+trunk, and lie one above another, each bending over at its
+extremities upon the surface of those below, like the feathers upon
+the wings of a bird,' And soft, downy plumes they look, with the
+snow resting on them and making them more feathery than ever."</p>
+<p>"So they are like feathers?" said Malcolm, to whom this was a
+new idea, "I'll look for 'em the next time it snows; yet--" He was
+going to add that he wished it would snow to-morrow; but
+remembering that it was only the beginning of June, and that Miss
+Harson had shown them how each season has its pleasures, he stopped
+just in time.</p>
+<p>"The pretty little cones of the hemlock, which grow very thickly
+on the tree, have a crimson tinge at first, and turn to a light
+brown. They are found hanging on the ends of the small branches,
+and they fall during the autumn and winter. This tree is a native
+of the coldest parts of North America, where it is found in whole
+forests, and it flourishes on granite rocks on the sides of hills
+exposed to the most violent storms. The wood is firm and contains
+very little resin; it is much used for building-purposes. A great
+quantity of tannin is obtained from the bark; and when mixed with
+that of the oak, it is valuable for preparing leather.</p>
+<p>"We have taken the prettiest of the spruces first," continued
+Miss Harson, "and now we must see what are the differences between
+them. 'The two species of American spruce, the black and the
+white--or, as they are more commonly called, the double and the
+single--are distinguished from the fir and the hemlock in every
+stage of growth by the roughness of the bark on their branches,
+produced by little ridges running down from the base of each leaf,
+and by the disposition of the leaves, which are arranged in spirals
+equally on every side of the young shoots. The double is
+distinguished from the single spruce by the darker color of the
+foliage--whence its name of black spruce--by the greater thickness,
+in proportion to the length, of the cones, and by the looseness of
+its scales, which are jagged, or toothed, on the edge.' It is a
+well-proportioned tree, but stiff-looking, and the dark foliage,
+which never seems to change, gives it a gloomy aspect. The leaves
+are closely arranged in spiral lines. The black spruce is never a
+very large tree, but the wood is light, elastic and durable, and is
+valuable in shipbuilding, for making ladders and for shingles. The
+young shoots are much in demand for making spruce-beer. The white
+spruce is more slender and tapering, and the bark and leaves are
+lighter. The root is very tough, and the Canadian Indians make
+threads from the fibres, with which they sew together the
+birch-bark for their canoes. The wood is as valuable as that of the
+black spruce."</p>
+<p>"Does the Norway spruce come from Norway?" asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"Yes; that is its native land, where it presents its most grand
+and beautiful appearance. There it 'rivals the palm in stature, and
+even attains the height of one hundred and eighty feet. Its
+handsome branches spread out on every side and clothe the trunk to
+its base, while the summit of the tree ends in an arrow-like point.
+In very old trees the branches droop at the extremities, and not
+only rest upon the ground, but actually take root in it and grow.
+Thus a number of young trees are often seen clustering around the
+trunk of an old one.'"</p>
+<p>"Why, that's like the banyan tree," said Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"Only there is a difference in the manner of growth, for the
+branches of the banyan are some distance from the ground and send
+forth rootlets without touching it. The Norway spruce is also the
+great tree of the Alps, where it seems to match the majestic
+scenery. The timber is valuable for building; and when sawed into
+planks, it is called white deal, while that of the Scotch fir is
+red deal.</p>
+<p>"And now," said Miss Harson, "before we leave the firs, let us
+see what is said about them in the Bible. They were used for
+shipbuilding in the city of Tyre; for the prophet Ezekiel says,
+'They have made all thy ship boards of fir trees of Senir<a name=
+"FNanchor21" id="FNanchor21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21">[21]</a>,'
+and it is written that 'David and all the house of Israel played
+before the Lord on all manner of instruments made of
+firwood<a name="FNanchor22" id="FNanchor22"></a><a href=
+"#Footnote_22">[22]</a>.' The same wood was used then in building
+houses, as you will find, Malcolm, by turning to the Song of
+Solomon, seventh chapter, seventeenth verse."</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_21" id="Footnote_21"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor21">[21]</a> Ezek. xxvii. 5.</blockquote>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_22" id="Footnote_22"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor22">[22]</a> 2 Sam. vi. 5.</blockquote>
+<p>"'The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir,'"
+read Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"In Kings it is said, 'So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir
+trees, according to his desire<a name="FNanchor23" id=
+"FNanchor23"></a><a href="#Footnote_23">[23]</a>,' and these trees
+were to be used for the very house, or palace, of which the Jewish
+king speaks in his Song. Evergreens are often mentioned in the
+Bible, and in that beautiful Christmas chapter, the sixtieth of
+Isaiah, you will find the fir tree again.--Read the thirteenth
+verse, Clara."</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_23" id="Footnote_23"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor23">[23]</a> I Kings v. 10.</blockquote>
+<p>"'The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the
+pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my
+sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious.'--What is
+'the glory of Lebanon,' Miss Harson?"</p>
+<p>"The cedar of Lebanon, dear; and we will now turn our attention
+to that and the other cedars."</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXI." id="CHAPTER_XXI."></a>CHAPTER XXI.</h2>
+<h3><i>THE CEDARS</i>.</h3>
+<br>
+<p>"The cypress tribe," said Miss Harson, "differ from the pines,
+or Coniferae, by not having their fruit in a true cone, but in a
+roundish head which consists of a small number of scales, sometimes
+forming a sort of berry. One of the most common of this family is
+the arbor vitae, or tree of life--a tree so small as to look like a
+pointed shrub, and more used for fences than for ornament. An
+arbor-vitae hedge, you know, divides our flower garden from the
+kitchen-garden and goes all the way down to the brook."</p>
+<p>"I like the smell of it," said Clara. "Don't you, Miss
+Harson?"</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/377.png" width="40%" alt=""><br>
+<b>SIBERIAN ARBOR VITAE.</b></p>
+<p>"Yes," was the reply, "there is something very fresh and
+pleasant about it; and when well kept, as John is sure to keep
+ours, it makes a beautiful hedge. As a tree it has been known to
+reach forty or fifty feet in height, with a trunk ten feet in
+circumference. The leaves are arranged in four rows, in alternately
+opposite pairs, and seem to make up the fan-like branchlets. These
+branchlets look like parts of a large compound, flat leaf. The bark
+is slightly furrowed, smooth to the touch, and very white when the
+tree stands exposed. The wood is reddish, somewhat odorous, very
+light, soft and fine-grained. In the northern part of the United
+States and in Canada it holds the first place for durability."</p>
+<p>"I thought the cypress was a flower," said Malcolm.</p>
+<p>"So one kind of cypress is," replied his governess--"the blossom
+of an airy-looking and beautiful creeper; but the name also belongs
+to a family of trees. The white cedar, or cypress, is a very
+graceful tree which generally grows in swamps. 'It is entirely free
+from the stiffness of the pines, and to the spiry top of the poplar
+it unites the airy lightness of the hemlock. The trunk is straight
+and tall, tapering very gradually, and toward the top there are
+short irregular branches, forming a small but beautiful head, above
+which the leading shoot waves like a slender plume.' The leaves are
+very small and scale-like, with sharp points, and grow in four rows
+on the ends of the branchlets, giving them the appearance of large
+compound leaves. The wood is very durable, and is used for many
+building-purposes. It is generally of a faint rose-color, and
+always keeps its aromatic odor."</p>
+<p class="right"><img src="Images/379.png" width="30%" alt=""><br>
+<b>IRISH JUNIPER.</b></p>
+<p>"Is that what our cedar-chests are made of to keep the moths
+from our winter clothes?" asked Clara.</p>
+<p>"Yes," replied Miss Harson, "but the name 'cedar' is; not
+correct, though it is one commonly given to this tree. The wood of
+the European cypress is also used for many purposes where strength
+and durability are required, for it really seems never to wear out.
+This tree is described as tapering and cone-like, with upright
+branches growing close to the trunk, and in its general appearance
+a little resembling a poplar. Its frond-like branches are closely
+covered with very small sharp-pointed leaves of a yellow-green
+color, smooth and shining, and they remain on the tree five or six
+years. The cypress is often seen in burying-grounds in Europe, and
+in Turkey it often stands at each end of a grave. The oldest tree
+in Europe is thought to be an Italian cypress said to have been
+planted in the year of our Saviour's birth; it is an object of
+great reverence in the neighborhood. This ancient tree is a hundred
+and twenty feet high and twenty-three feet around the trunk.</p>
+<p>"The juniper--or red cedar, as it is improperly called--is not a
+handsome tree, but it is a very useful one. It has a scraggy,
+stunted look, and the foliage is apt to be rusty; but it will grow
+in rocky, sandy places where no other tree would even try to hold
+up its head, and the wood, when made into timber, lasts for a great
+many years. Posts for fences are made of the juniper or red cedar,
+and the shipbuilder, boatbuilder, carpenter, cabinet-maker and
+turner are all steady customers for it. The 'cedar-apples' found on
+this tree are one phase of the life of a very curious fungus. They
+are covered with a reddish-brown bark; and when fresh, they are
+tough and fleshy, somewhat like an unripe apple. When dry they
+become of a woody nature."</p>
+<p>"They pucker up your mouth awfully," said Malcolm, who had made
+several attempts to eat them; but, do what he would, he could not
+even "make believe" they were nice.</p>
+<p>"I have no doubt of it," was the reply, "remembering the
+dreadful faces I have seen on some of our rambles. But the birds
+like them, as they do everything of the kind that is not
+poisonous."</p>
+<hr style="width: 25%;">
+<p>"Isn't it beautiful?" exclaimed the children, in delight. They
+were admiring a magnificent cedar of Lebanon in one of the pictures
+which Miss Harson had collected for their benefit, and it seemed no
+wonder that the grand spreading tree should be called "the glory of
+Lebanon."</p>
+<p>"It is indeed beautiful," replied their governess; "and think of
+seeing a whole mountain covered with such trees! A traveler speaks
+of them as the most solemnly impressive trees in the world, and
+says that their massive trunks, clothed with a scaly texture almost
+like the skin of living animals and contorted with all the
+irregularities of age, may well have suggested those ideas of
+royal, almost divine, strength and solidity which the sacred
+writers ascribe to them.--Turn to the ninety-second psalm, Clara,
+and read the twelfth verse."</p>
+<p>"'The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree; he shall grow
+like a cedar in Lebanon.'"</p>
+<p>"In the thirty-first chapter of Ezekiel," continued Miss Harson,
+"it is written, 'Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with
+fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature;
+and his top was among the thick boughs. The waters made him great,
+the deep set him up on high with her rivers running round about his
+plants, and sent out her little rivers unto all the trees of the
+field. Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the
+field and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long
+because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth. All the
+fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his
+branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young,
+and under his shadow dwelt all great nations.'"</p>
+<p class="ctr"><img src="Images/383.png" width="50%" alt=""><br>
+<b>CEDAR OF LEBANON.</b></p>
+<p>"Are the leaves like those of our cedar trees?" asked Malcolm,
+who was studying the picture quite intently. "The tree doesn't look
+like 'em."</p>
+<p>"They are somewhat like them," replied his governess, "being
+slender and straight and about an inch long. They grow in tufts,
+and in the centre of some of the tufts there is a small cone which
+is very pretty and often brought to this country by travelers for
+their friends at home. In <i>The Land and the Book</i> there is a
+picture of small branches with cones, and the author says of the
+cedar: 'There is a striking peculiarity in the shape of this tree
+which I have not seen any notice of in books of travel. The
+branches are thrown out horizontally from the parent trunk. These
+again part into limbs, which preserve the same horizontal
+direction, and so on down to the minutest twigs; and even the
+arrangement of the clustered leaves has the same general tendency.
+Climb into one, and you are delighted with a succession of verdant
+floors spread around the trunk and gradually narrowing as you
+ascend. The beautiful cones seem to stand upon or rise out of this
+green flooring.' The same writer says that by examining the
+different growths of wood inside the trunk of one of the trees
+these ancient cedars of Lebanon have been proved to be three
+thousand five hundred years old."</p>
+<p>"Oh, Miss Harson!" exclaimed her audience; "could any tree be as
+old as that?"</p>
+<p>"It is possible. The circle of growing wood which is made each
+year is a pretty good method of telling the age of a tree, and
+these cedars of Lebanon are considered the oldest trees in the
+world. Travelers have always spoken of the beauty and symmetry of
+these trees, with their widespreading branches and cone-like tops.
+All through the Middle Ages a visit to the cedars of Lebanon was
+regarded by many persons in the light of a pilgrimage. Some of the
+trees were thought to have been planted by King Solomon himself,
+and were looked upon as sacred relics. Indeed, the visitors took
+away so many pieces from the bark that it was feared the trees
+would be destroyed. The cedars stand in a valley a considerable way
+up the mountain, where the snow renders it inaccessible for part of
+the year."</p>
+<p>"Are the trees just in one particular place, then?" asked
+Malcolm. "I thought they grew all over that country?"</p>
+<p>"The principal and best-known grove of very large and ancient
+cedars of Lebanon is found in one place," replied his governess,
+"but there are other groves now known to exist. The famous grove
+was fast disappearing, until there were but few of them left. The
+pilgrims who went to visit them in such numbers in olden times were
+accompanied by monks from a monastery about four miles below, who
+would beseech them not to injure a single leaf. But the greatest
+care could not preserve the trees. Some of them have been struck
+down by lightning, some broken by enormous loads of snow, and
+others torn to fragments by tempests. Some have even been cut down
+with axes like any common tree. But better care is now taken of
+them; so that we may hope that the grove will live and
+increase."</p>
+<p>"But why weren't they saved," asked Clara, "when people thought
+so much of them?"</p>
+<p>"It seems to be a part of the general desolation of the land of
+God's chosen but rebellious people. In the third chapter of the
+prophet Isaiah, verses eleven and twelve, it is said, 'For the day
+of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and
+lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be
+brought low; and upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and
+lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan.' The same prophet says,
+in the tenth chapter and nineteenth verse, 'And the rest of the
+trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them.'
+These words have been particularly applied to the stately cedars of
+Lebanon, for 'the once magnificent grove is but a speck on the
+mountain-side. Many persons have taken it in the distance for a
+wood of fir trees, but on approaching nearer and taking a closer
+view the cedars resume somewhat of their ancient majesty. The space
+they cover is not more than half a mile, but, once amidst them, the
+beautiful fan-like branches overhead, the exquisite green of the
+younger trees and the colossal size of the older ones fill the mind
+with interest and admiration. Within the grove all is hushed as in
+a land of the past. Where once the Tyrian workman plied his axe and
+the sound of many voices came upon the ear, there are now the
+silence and solitude of desertion and decay.'--Malcolm," added his
+governess, "you may read us what is written in the sixth verse of
+the fourteenth chapter of Hosea."</p>
+<p>"'His branches,'" read Malcolm, "'shall spread, and his beauty
+shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.' What does
+that mean, Miss Harson?"</p>
+<p>"It means the fragrant resin which exudes from both the trunk
+and the cones of the beautiful cedar. It is soft, and its fragrance
+is like that of the balsam of Mecca. 'Everything about this tree
+has a strong balsamic odor, and hence the whole grove is so
+pleasant and fragrant that it is delightful to walk in it. The wood
+is peculiarly adapted for building, because it is not subject to
+decay, nor is it eaten of worms. It was much used for rafters and
+for boards with which to cover houses and form the floors and
+ceilings of rooms. It was of a red color, beautiful, solid and free
+from knots. The palace of Persepolis, the temple of Jerusalem and
+Solomon's palace were all in this way built with cedar, and the
+house of the forest of Lebanon was perhaps so called from the
+quantity of this wood used in its construction.' We are told in
+First Kings that Solomon 'built also the house of the forest of
+Lebanon<a name="FNanchor24" id="FNanchor24"></a><a href=
+"#Footnote_24">[24]</a>,' and that 'he made three hundred shields
+of beaten gold' and 'put them in the house of the forest of
+Lebanon<a name="FNanchor25" id="FNanchor25"></a><a href=
+"#Footnote_25">[25]</a>.' All the drinking-vessels, too, of this
+wonderful palace, which is always spoken of as 'the house of the
+forest of Lebanon,' were of pure gold, and its magnificence shows
+how highly the beautiful cedar-wood was valued."</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_24" id="Footnote_24"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor24">[24]</a> I Kings vii. 2.</blockquote>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_25" id="Footnote_25"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor25">[25]</a> I Kings x. 17.</blockquote>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 35%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXII." id="CHAPTER_XXII."></a>CHAPTER
+XXII.</h2>
+<h3><i>THE PALMS</i>.</h3>
+<br>
+<p>"There is a wonderful evergreen," said Miss Harson, "which grows
+in tropical countries, and also in some sub-tropical countries,
+such as the Holy Land, and is said to have nearly as many uses as
+there are days in a year. You must tell me what it is when you have
+seen the picture."</p>
+<p class="left"><img src="Images/390.png" width="30%" alt=""><br>
+<b>PALM TREE.</b></p>
+<p>Malcolm and Clara both pronounced it a palm tree, and Clara
+asked if there were any such trees growing in this country.</p>
+<p>"Some of its relations are found on our Southern seacoast,"
+replied their governess; "South Carolina, you know, is called 'the
+Palmetto State.' There is a member of the family called the
+cabbage-palmetto, the unexpanded leaves of which are used as a
+table vegetable, which you may see in Florida. Its young leaves are
+all in a mass at the top, and when boiled make a dish something
+like cabbage. The leaves of the palmetto are also used, when
+perfect, in the manufacture of hats, baskets and mats, and for many
+other purposes. But its stately and majestic cousin, the date-palm
+of the East, with its tall, slender stalk and magnificent crown of
+feathery leaves, has had its praises sung in every age and clime.
+'Besides its great importance as a fruit-producer, it has a special
+beauty of its own when the clusters of dates are hanging in golden
+ripeness under its coronal of dark-green leaves. Its well-known
+fruit affords sustenance to the dwellers on the borders of the
+great African desert; it is as necessary to them as is the camel,
+and in many cases they may be said to owe their existence to it
+alone. The tree rears its column-like stem to the height of ninety
+feet, and its crown consists of fifty leaves about twelve feet in
+length and fringed at the edges like a feather. Between the leaf
+and the stem there issue several horny spathes, or sheaths, out of
+which spring clusters of panicles that bear small white flowers,'
+These flowers are followed by the dates, which grow in a dense
+bunch that hangs down several feet."</p>
+<p>"But how do people manage to climb such a tree as that," asked
+Malcolm, "to get the dates? It goes straight up in the air without
+any branches, and looks as if it would snap in two if any one tried
+it."</p>
+<p>"It does not snap, though, for it is very strong; and the
+climbing is easier than you imagine, even when the tree is a
+hundred feet high, as it sometimes is. The trunk, you see, is full
+of rugged knots. These projections are the remains of decayed
+leaves which have dropped off when their work was done. As the
+older leaves decay the stalk advances in height. It has not true
+wood, like most trees, but the stem has bundles of fibres that are
+closely pressed together on the outer part. Toward the root these
+are so entwined that they become as hard as iron and are very
+difficult to cut. The tree grows very slowly, but it lives for
+centuries. I have a Persian fable in rhyme for you, called</p>
+<blockquote>"'THE GOURD AND THE PALM.<br>
+<br>
+"'"How old art thou?" said the garrulous gourd<br>
+As o'er the palm tree's crest it poured<br>
+Its spreading leaves and tendrils fine,<br>
+And hung a-bloom in the morning shine.<br>
+"A hundred years," the palm tree sighed.--<br>
+"And I," the saucy gourd replied,<br>
+"Am at the most a hundred hours,<br>
+And overtop thee in the bowers."<br>
+<br>
+"'Through all the palm tree's leaves there went<br>
+A tremor as of self-content.<br>
+"I live my life," it whispering said,<br>
+"See what I see, and count the dead;<br>
+And every year of all I've known<br>
+A gourd above my head has grown<br>
+And made a boast like thine to-day,<br>
+Yet here I stand; but where are they?"'"<br></blockquote>
+<p>The children were very much pleased with the fable, and they
+began to feel quite an affection for the venerable and useful palm
+tree.</p>
+<p>"The date tree," continued their governess, "as this species of
+palm is often called, blossoms in April, and the fruit ripens in
+October. Each tree produces from ten to twelve bunches, and the
+usual weight of a bunch is about fifteen pounds. It is esteemed a
+crime to fell a date tree or to supply an axe intended for that
+purpose, even though the tree may belong to an enemy. The
+date-harvest is expected with as much anxiety by the Arab in the
+oasis as the gathering in of the wheat and corn in temperate
+regions. If it were to fail, the Arabs would be in danger of
+famine. The blessings of the date-palm are without limit to the
+Arab. Its leaves give a refreshing shade in a region where the
+beams of the sun are almost insupportable; men, and also camels,
+feed upon the fruit; the wood of the tree is used for fuel and for
+building the native huts; and ropes, mats, baskets, beds, and all
+kinds of articles, are manufactured from the fibres of the leaves.
+The Arab cannot imagine how a nation can exist without date-palms,
+and he may well regard it as the greatest injury that he can
+inflict upon his enemy to cut down his trees."</p>
+<p>"Miss Harson," asked Edith, very earnestly, "isn't the palm tree
+in the Bible?"</p>
+<p class="ctr"><a href="Images/395.png"><img src="Images/395.png"
+width="40%" alt=""></a><br>
+<b>DATE-PALM AT JERICHO.</b></p>
+<p>"It certainly is, dear," replied her governess, "and it is one
+of the trees most frequently mentioned. In Deuteronomy,
+thirty-fourth chapter, third verse, Jericho is called the 'city of
+palm trees.' Travelers still speak of these trees as yet growing in
+Palestine, but they are not nearly so abundant as they once were;
+near Jericho only one or two can be found. There are many allusions
+to the palm in the Scriptures. King David, in the ninety-second
+psalm, says that the righteous shall flourish like the palm tree:
+'Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in
+the courts of our God. They shall bring forth fruit in old age.'
+The palm is always upright, in spite of rain or wind. 'There it
+stands, looking calmly down upon the world below, and patiently
+yielding its large clusters of golden fruit from generation to
+generation. It brings forth fruit in old age.' The allusion to
+being planted in the house of the Lord is probably drawn from the
+custom of planting beautiful and long-lived trees in the courts of
+temples and palaces. Solomon covered all the walls of the holy of
+holies round about with golden palm trees.--You will find this,
+Clara, in First Kings."</p>
+<p>Clara read:</p>
+<p>"'And he carved all the walls of the house round about with
+carved figures of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, within
+and without<a name="FNanchor26" id="FNanchor26"></a><a href=
+"#Footnote_26">[26]</a>.'"</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_26" id="Footnote_26"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor26">[26]</a> I Kings vi. 29.</blockquote>
+<p>"In the thirty-second verse," continued Miss Harson, "it is
+written that he overlaid them with gold, 'and spread gold upon the
+cherubim, and upon the palm trees.' 'They were thus planted, as it
+were, within the very house of the Lord; and their presence there
+was not only ornamental, but appropriate and highly suggestive--the
+very best emblem not only of patience in well-doing, but of the
+rewards of the righteous, a fat and flourishing old age, a peaceful
+end, a glorious immortality.'"</p>
+<p>"What does a 'palmer' mean, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm. "Is it
+a man who has palm trees or who sells dates? I saw the word in a
+book I was reading, but I couldn't understand what it meant."</p>
+<p>"In olden times," replied his governess, "when people made so
+many pilgrimages, some of the pilgrims went to the Holy Land and
+some to Rome and other places; but those who went to Palestine were
+thought to be the most devout, both because it was so much farther
+off and because there were so many sacred spots to visit there.
+These pilgrims always brought home with them branches of palm, to
+show that they had really been to the land where the tree grew; and
+so they were called <i>palmers</i>. To say that such-a-one was a
+palmer was far more than to say that he was a pilgrim."</p>
+<p>"Miss Harson," said Clara, holding up one of the books, "here is
+a picture called 'the cocoanut-palm,' but I didn't know that
+cocoanuts grew on palm trees. Will you tell us something about
+it?"</p>
+<p class="ctr"><a href="Images/399.png"><img src="Images/399.png"
+width="60%" alt=""></a><br>
+<b>COCOANUT-PALM TREES IN SOUTH-EASTERN AFRICA.</b></p>
+<p>"Certainly I will, dear," was the reply. "I fully intended to do
+so, for the cocoanut-palm is too valuable a member of the family to
+be passed over. This species does not grow in Palestine, and it is
+not one of the trees of the Bible; its home is in the warmest
+countries, and it grows most luxuriantly in the islands of the
+tropics or near the seacoast on the main-lands. Although its
+general form is similar to that of the date-palm, the foliage and
+fruit are quite different. The leaves are very much broader, and
+they have not the light, airy look of the foliage of the date-palm.
+But 'the cocoanut-palm is the most valuable of Nature's gifts to
+the inhabitants of those parts of the tropics where it grows, and
+its hundred uses, as they are not inaptly called, extend beyond the
+tropics over the civilized world. The beautiful islands of the
+southern seas are fringed with cocoanut-palms that encircle them as
+with a green and feathery belt. The ripe nuts drop into the sea,
+but, protected by their husks, they float away until the tide
+washes them on to the shore of some neighboring island, where they
+can take root and grow.'"</p>
+<p>"Wouldn't it be nice," said Edith, "if some would float
+here?"</p>
+<p>"A great many cocoanuts float here in ships," replied Miss
+Harson, "but they would not take root and grow, because the climate
+is not suited to them; it is too cold for them. We cannot have
+tropical fruit without tropical heat, and I am sure that none of us
+would want such a change as that. You may sometimes see small
+cocoanut trees in hothouses or horticultural gardens, where they
+are shielded from our cold air. The island of Ceylon, in the East
+Indies, is full of cocoanut-palm trees, for they are carefully
+cultivated by the inhabitants, and the feathery groves stretch mile
+after mile. The tree shoots up a column-like stem to the height of
+a hundred feet, and is crowned with a tuft of broad leaves about
+twelve feet long. The flowers are yellowish white and grow in
+clusters, and the seed ripens into a hard nut which in its fibrous
+husk is about the size of an infant's head."</p>
+<p>"I've seen the nut in its husk," said Malcolm, "when papa took
+me down to the wharf where the ships come in. There were lots of
+cocoanuts, and some of 'em had their coats on."</p>
+<p>"This brown husk," continued his governess, "is a valuable part
+of the nut, for the toughest ropes and cables are made of its
+fibres, as well as the useful brown matting so generally used to
+cover offices and passages. Brushes, nets and other domestic
+articles are also manufactured from the husk. Scarcely any other
+tree in the world is so useful to man or contributes so much to his
+comfort as the cocoanut-palm. Food and drink are alike obtained
+from it. The kernel of the nut is an article of diet, and can be
+prepared in many ways. The native is almost sustained by it, and in
+Ceylon it forms a part of nearly every dish. The spathe that
+encloses the yet-unopened flowers is made to yield a favorite
+beverage called palm-wine, or, more familiarly, 'toddy.' When the
+fresh juice is used, it is an innocent and refreshing drink; but
+when left to ferment, it intoxicates, and is the one evil result
+from the bountiful gifts of the tree. Oil is prepared in great
+quantities from the nuts and used for various purposes."</p>
+<p>"Are there any more kinds of palm trees?" asked the
+children.</p>
+<p>"Yes," was the reply; "there are a great many members of this
+most useful family, but the one that will interest you most, after
+the date-and cocoanut-palm, is, I think, the sago-palm."</p>
+<p class="ctr"><a href="Images/403.png"><img src="Images/403.png"
+width="40%" alt=""></a><br>
+<b>YOUNG COCOANUT TREE IN POT (<i>Cocos nucifera</i>).</b></p>
+<p>"Why, Miss Harson!" exclaimed Clara, in surprise; "does sago
+really grow on a tree?"</p>
+<p>"It really grows <i>in</i> a tree--for it is a kind of starch
+secreted by the tree for the use of its flowers and fruit--and in
+order to obtain it the tree has to be cut down. The pith is then
+taken out and cut in slices, soaked in water and roasted; and when
+it assumes the shape of the small globules in which we see it, it
+is ready for exportation."</p>
+<p>"Well!" said Malcolm; "I never knew <i>that</i> before. We've
+learned ever so many things, Miss Harson."</p>
+<p>"There is one thing about the palm," said Miss Harson, "which I
+have purposely left for the last--especially as it is the last also
+of our trees for the present--and that is the sacred associations
+which its branches have for both Jews and Christians. The Jews were
+commanded on the first day of the feast of tabernacles to 'take the
+boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of
+thick trees, and willows of the brook, to rejoice before the Lord
+their God.' The palm was a symbol of victory, and branches of it
+were strewn in the path of conquerors, more especially of those who
+had fought for religious truth. It is the emblem of the martyr, as
+a conqueror through Christ. The Sunday before Easter is called Palm
+Sunday because in the ancient churches leaves of palm were carried
+that day by worshipers in memory of those strewn in the way on the
+triumphal entry of the King of Zion into Jerusalem. You will find
+it, Malcolm, in John."</p>
+<p>Malcolm read very reverently:</p>
+<p>"'On the next day, much people that were come to the feast, when
+they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of
+palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna; Blessed
+is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord<a name=
+"FNanchor27" id="FNanchor27"></a><a href=
+"#Footnote_27">[27]</a>.'"</p>
+<blockquote><a name="Footnote_27" id="Footnote_27"></a><a href=
+"#FNanchor27">[27]</a> John xii. 12, 13.</blockquote>
+<p>"Here," said Miss Harson, "is a little hymn written on these
+very verses:</p>
+<blockquote>"'See a small procession slowly<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;Toward the temple wind its way;<br>
+In the midst rides, meek and lowly,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;One whom angel-hosts obey.<br>
+<br>
+"'How the shouting crowd adore him,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;Now, for once, they know their King;<br>
+Some their garments cast before him,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;Green palm-branches others bring.<br>
+<br>
+"'Calmly, yet with holy sorrow,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;Christ permits the sacrifice.<br>
+Knowing well that on the morrow<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;Changed will be those fickle cries.<br>
+<br>
+<hr style="width: 25%;">
+<br>
+<br>
+"'Children, when in prayers and praises<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;Loudly we with lips adore,<br>
+While the heart no anthem raises,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;Are not we like those of yore?<br>
+<br>
+"'O Lord Jesus, let us never<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;Lift the voice in heartless songs;<br>
+Help us to remember ever<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;All that to thy name belongs.'"<br></blockquote>
+<br>
+
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr class="full" noshade>
+<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AMONG THE TREES AT ELMRIDGE***</p>
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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Among the Trees at Elmridge, by Ella Rodman
+Church
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Among the Trees at Elmridge
+
+Author: Ella Rodman Church
+
+Release Date: March 26, 2004  [eBook #11723]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: US-ASCII
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AMONG THE TREES AT ELMRIDGE***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Charlie Kirschner, and the Project
+Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team
+
+
+
+Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
+      file which includes the original illustrations.
+      See 11723-h.htm or 11723-h.zip:
+      (http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/1/1/7/2/11723/11723-h/11723-h.htm)
+      or
+      (http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/1/1/7/2/11723/11723-h.zip)
+
+
+
+
+
+AMONG THE TREES AT ELMRIDGE
+
+BY
+
+ELLA RODMAN CHURCH
+
+1886
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+CHAPTER     I. A SPRING OPENING.
+CHAPTER    II. THE MAPLES.
+CHAPTER   III. OLD ACQUAINTANCES: THE ELMS.
+CHAPTER    IV. MAJESTY AND STRENGTH: THE OAK.
+CHAPTER     V. BEAUTY AND GRACE: THE ASH.
+CHAPTER    VI. THE OLIVE TREE.
+CHAPTER   VII. THE USEFUL BIRCH.
+CHAPTER  VIII. THE POPLARS.
+CHAPTER    IX. ALL A-BLOW: THE APPLE TREE.
+CHAPTER     X. A FRUITFUL FAMILY: THE PEACH, ALMOND, PLUM AND CHERRY.
+CHAPTER    XI. THE CHERRY-STORY.
+CHAPTER   XII. THE MULBERRY FAMILY.
+CHAPTER  XIII. QUEER RELATIONS: THE CAOUTCHOUC AND THE MILK TREE.
+CHAPTER   XIV. HOME AND ABROAD: LINDEN, CAMPHOR, BEECH.
+CHAPTER    XV. THE TENT AND THE LOCUSTS.
+CHAPTER   XVI. THE WALNUT FAMILY AND THE AILANTHUS.
+CHAPTER  XVII. SOME BEAUTIFUL TREES: THE CHESTNUT AND HORSE-CHESTNUT.
+CHAPTER XVIII. AMONG THE PINES.
+CHAPTER   XIX. GIANT AND NUT PINES.
+CHAPTER    XX. MORE WINTER TREES: THE FIRS AND THE SPRUCES.
+CHAPTER   XXI. THE CEDARS.
+CHAPTER  XXII. THE PALMS.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+_A SPRING OPENING._
+
+On that bright spring afternoon when three happy, interested children
+went off to the woods with their governess to take their first lesson in
+the study of wild flowers, they saw also some other things which made a
+fresh series of "Elmridge Talks," and these things were found among the
+trees of the roadside and forest.
+
+"What makes it look so _yellow_ over there, Miss Harson?" asked Clara,
+who was peering curiously at a clump of trees that seemed to have been
+touched with gold or sunlight. "And just look over here," she continued,
+"at these pink ones!"
+
+Malcolm shouted at the idea:
+
+"Yellow and pink trees! That sounds like a Japanese fan. Where are they,
+I should like to know?"
+
+"Here, you perverse boy!" said his governess as she laughingly turned
+him around. "Are you looking up into the sky for them? There is a clump
+of golden willows right before you, with some rosy maples on one side.
+What other colors can you call them?"
+
+Malcolm had to confess that "yellow and pink trees" were not so wide of
+the mark, after all, and that they were very pretty. Little Edith was
+particularly delighted with them, and wanted to "pick the flowers"
+immediately.
+
+"They are too high for that, dear," was the reply, "and these
+blossoms--for that is what they really are, although nothing more than
+fringes and catkins--are much prettier massed on the trees than they
+would be if gathered. The still-bare twigs and branches seem, as you
+see, to be draped with golden and rose-colored veils, but there will be
+no leaves until these queer flowers have dropped. If we look closely at
+the twigs and branches, we shall see that they are glossy and polished,
+as though they had been varnished and then brightened with color by the
+painter's brush. It is the flowing of the sap that does this. The
+swelling of the bark occasioned by the flow of sap gives the whole mass
+a livelier hue; hence the ashen green of the poplar, the golden green of
+the willow and the dark crimson of the peach tree, the wild rose and the
+red osier are perceptibly heightened by the first warm days of spring."
+
+[Illustration: MALE CATKIN OF WILLOW.]
+
+"Miss Harson," asked Clara, with a perplexed face, "what are catkins?"
+
+"Here," said her governess, reaching from the top bar of the road-fence
+for the lowest branch of a willow tree; "examine this catkin for
+yourself, and I will tell you what my _Botany_ says of it: 'An ament, or
+catkin, is an assemblage of flowers composed of scales and stamens or
+pistils arranged along a common thread-like receptacle, as in the
+chestnut and willow. It is a kind of calyx, by some classed as a mode of
+inflorescence (or flowering), and each chaffy scale protects one or more
+of the stamens or pistils, the whole forming one aggregate flower. The
+ament is common to forest-trees, as the oak and chestnut, and is also
+found upon the willow and poplar.'"
+
+"It's funny-looking," said Malcolm, when he had made himself thoroughly
+acquainted with the appearance of the catkin, "but it doesn't look much
+like a flower: it looks more like a pussy's tail."
+
+"Yes, and that is the origin of its name. 'Catkin' is diminutive for
+'cat;' so this collection of flowers is called 'catkin,' or
+'little cat.'"
+
+"I think I'll call them 'pussy-tails,'" said Edith.
+
+"There is a great deal to be learned about trees," said Miss Harson,
+when all were comfortably seated in the pleasant schoolroom; "and,
+besides the natural history of their species, some old trees have
+wonderful stories connected with them, while many in tropical countries
+are so wonderful in themselves that they do not need stories to make
+them interesting. The common trees around us will be our subjects at
+first; for I suppose that you can scarcely tell a willow from a poplar,
+or a chestnut tree from either, can you?"
+
+"I can tell a chestnut tree," said Malcolm, confidently.
+
+"When it is not the season for nuts?" asked his governess, smiling.
+
+There was not a very positive reply to this; and Miss Harson continued:
+
+"I do not think that any of us know as much as we ought to know of the
+trees which we see every day, and of the uses to which many of them are
+put, to say nothing of many familiar trees that we read about, and even
+depend upon for some of the necessaries of life."
+
+"Like the cocoanut tree," suggested Clara.
+
+"That is not exactly necessary to our comfort, dear," was the reply,
+"for people can manage to live without cocoanuts, although in many forms
+they are very agreeable to the taste, and it is only the inhabitants of
+the countries where they grow who look upon these trees as necessaries;
+but we will take them up in their turn. And first let us find out what
+we can about the willow, because it is the first tree, with us, to
+become green in the spring, and, of that large class which is called
+_deciduous_, the last one to lose its leaves."
+
+"And why are they called _deciduous?_" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Because they shed their leaves every autumn and are furnished with a
+new set in the spring: 'deciduous' is Latin for 'falling off.' And this
+is the case with nearly all our native trees and plants. _Persistent_,
+or permanent, leaves remain on the stem and branches all through the
+changes of season, like the leaves of the pine and box, while
+_evergreens_ look fresh through the entire year and are generally
+cone-bearing and resinous trees. 'These change their leaves annually,
+but, the young leaves appearing before the old ones decay, the tree is
+always green.'"
+
+"Miss Harson," said Clara, "when people talk about _weeping_ willows,
+what do they mean? Do the trees really cry? I sometimes read about 'em
+in stories, and I never knew what they did."
+
+"They cry dreadfully," said Malcolm, "when it rains."
+
+"But only as you do when you are out in it," replied his governess--"by
+having the water drip from your clothes.--No, Clara, the tree is called
+'weeping' because it seems to 'assume the attitude of a person in tears,
+who bends over and appears to droop.' The sprays of this tree are
+particularly beautiful, and 'willowy' is often used for 'graceful,' as
+meaning the same thing. Its language is 'sorrow,' and it is often seen
+in burial-grounds and in mourning-pictures. 'We remember it in sacred
+history, associating it with the rivers of Babylon, and with the tears
+of the children of Israel, who sat down under the shade of this tree and
+hung their harps upon its branches. It is distinguished by the graceful
+beauty of its outlines, its light-green, delicate foliage, its sorrowing
+attitude and its flowing drapery.'"
+
+"Were those weeping willows that we saw to-day?" asked Clara.
+
+"No," replied her brother, quickly; "they just stuck up straight and
+didn't weep a bit."
+
+"They are called _water_ willows," said Miss Harson, "because they are
+never found in dry places. They are more common than the weeping willow.
+The water willow has the same delicate foliage and the same habit, under
+an April sky, of gleaming with a drapery of golden verdure among the
+still-naked trees of the forest or orchard. 'When Spring has closed her
+delicate flowers,' says a bright writer, 'and the multitudes that crowd
+around the footsteps of May have yielded their places to the brighter
+host of June, the willow scatters the golden aments that adorned it,
+and appears in the deeper garniture of its own green foliage.' A group
+of these golden willows, seen in a rainstorm, will have so bright an
+appearance as to make it seem as if the sun were actually shining."
+
+[Illustration: THE WHITE WILLOW (_Salix alba_).]
+
+"I wish we had them all around here, then," said Edith; "I like to see
+the sun shining when it rains."
+
+"But the sun is _not_ shining, dear," replied her governess: "it is only
+the reflection from the willows that makes it look so; and we can make
+just such sunshine ourselves when it rains, or when there is dullness of
+any sort, by being all the more cheerful and striving to make others
+happy. Who loves to be called 'Little Sunshine'?"
+
+"I do," said the child, caressing the hand that had patted her rosy
+cheek.
+
+"Let's all be golden willows," said Malcolm, in a comical way that made
+them laugh.
+
+Miss Harson told him that he could not make a better attempt than to be
+one of those home-brighteners who bring the sunshine with them, but she
+added that such people are always considerate for others. Malcolm
+wondered a little if this meant that _he_ was not, but he soon forgot it
+in hearing the many things that were to be said of the willow.
+
+"The family-name of this tree is _Salix_, from a word that means 'to
+spring,' because a willow-branch, if planted, will take root and grow so
+quickly that it seems almost like magic. 'And they shall _spring up_ as
+among the grass, as willows by the watercourses,' says the prophet
+Isaiah, speaking of the children of the people of God. The flowers of
+the willow are of two kinds--one bearing stamens, and the other
+pistils--and each grows upon a separate plant. When the ovary, at the
+base of the pistil, is ripe, it opens by two valves and lets out, as
+through a door, multitudes of small seeds covered with a fine down, like
+the seeds of the cotton-plant. This downy substance is greedily sought
+after by the birds as a lining for their nests, and they may be seen
+carrying it away in their bills. And in some parts of Germany people
+take the trouble to collect it and use it as a wadding to their winter
+dresses, and even manufacture it into a coarse kind of paper."
+
+"What queer people!" exclaimed Clara. "And how funny they must look in
+their wadded dresses!"
+
+"They are not graceful people," was the reply, "but they live in a cold
+climate and show their good sense by dressing as warmly as possible. It
+was quite a surprise, though, to me to find that the willow was of use
+in clothing people. The more we learn of the works of God, the better we
+shall understand that last verse of the first chapter of the Bible: 'And
+God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.' The
+bees, too, are attracted by the willow catkins, but they do not want the
+down. On mild days whole swarms of them may be seen reveling in the
+sweets of the fresh blossoms. 'Cold days will come long after the willow
+catkins appear, and the bees will find but few flowers venturesome
+enough to open their petals. They have, however, thoroughly enjoyed
+their feast, and the short season of plenty will often be the means of
+saving a hive from famine.'"
+
+"Are willow baskets made of willow trees?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Yes," said Miss Harson. "Basket-making has been a great industry in
+England from the earliest times; the ancient Britons were particularly
+skillful in weaving the supple wands of the willow. They even made of
+these slender stems little boats called 'coracles,' in which they could
+paddle down the small rivers, and the boats could be carried on their
+shoulders when they were walking on dry land."
+
+"Just like our Indians' birch-bark canoes," said Malcolm, who was
+reading about the North American Indians. "But isn't it strange, Miss
+Harson, that the Indians and the Britons didn't get drowned going out in
+such little light boats?"
+
+"Their very lightness buoyed them up upon the waves," was the reply;
+"but it does seem wonderful that they could bear the weight of men. The
+willow, however, was also used by the Romans in making their
+battle-shields, and even for the manufacture of ropes as well as
+baskets. The rims of cart-wheels, too, used to be made of willow, as now
+they are hooped with iron; so, you see, it is a strong wood as well as a
+pliant one. The kind used for basket-making is the _Salix viminalis_,
+and the rods of this species are called 'osiers.' Let us see now what
+this English book says of the process of basket-making:
+
+"'The quick and vigorous growth of the willow renders it easy to provide
+materials for this branch of industry. Osier-beds are planted in every
+suitable place, and here the willow-cutter comes as to an ample store.
+Autumn is the season for him to ply his trade, and he cuts the willow
+rods down and ties them in bundles. He then sets them up on end in
+standing water to the depth of a few inches. Here they remain during the
+winter, until the shoots, in the following spring, begin to sprout, when
+they are in a fit state to be peeled. A machine is used in some places
+to compress the greatest number of rods into a bundle.
+
+[Illustration: THE POLLARD WILLOW IN WINTER.]
+
+"'Aged or infirm people and women and children can earn money by peeling
+willows at so much per bundle. The operation is very simple, and so is
+the necessary apparatus. Sometimes a wooden bench with holes in it is
+used, the willow-twigs being drawn through the holes. Another way is
+to draw the rod through two pieces of iron joined together, and with one
+end thrust into the ground to make it stand upright. The willow-peeler
+sits down before his instrument and merely thrusts the rod between the
+two pieces of iron and draws it out again. This proceeding scrapes the
+bark off one end, and then he turns it and fits it in the other way; so
+that by a simple process the whole rod is peeled. When the rods are
+quite prepared, they are again tied up in bundles and sold to the
+basket-makers.'"
+
+"But how do they make the baskets?" asked Clara and Edith. "That is the
+nicest part."
+
+"There is little to tell about it, though," said their governess,
+"because it is such easy work that any one can learn to do it. You saw
+the Indian women making baskets when papa took us to Maine last summer,
+and you noticed how very quickly they did it, beginning with the flat
+bottom and working rapidly up. It is a favorite occupation for the
+blind, and one of the things which are taught them in asylums."
+
+"I wonder," said Malcolm, "if there is anything else that can be done
+with the willow?"
+
+"Oh yes," replied Miss Harson; "we have not yet come to the end of its
+resources. It makes the best quality of charcoal, and in many parts of
+England the tree is raised for this express purpose. 'The abode of the
+charcoal-burner,' says an English writer, 'may be known from a distance
+by the cloud of smoke that hovers over it, and that must make it rather
+unhealthy. It is sometimes a small dome-shaped hut made of green turf,
+and, except for the difference of the material, might remind us of the
+hut of the Esquimaux. Beside it stands a caravan like those which make
+their appearance at fairs, and that contains the family goods and
+chattels. A string of clothes hung out to dry, a water-tub and a rough,
+shaggy dog usually complete the picture.'"
+
+"But how can people live in the hut," asked Malcolm, "if the charcoal is
+burned in it? Ugh! I should think they'd choke."
+
+"They certainly would," said his governess; "for the charcoal-smoke is
+death when inhaled for any length of time. But the charcoal-burner knows
+this quite as well as does any one else, and he makes his fire outside
+of the house, puts a rude fence around it and lets it smoke away like a
+huge pipe. The hut is more or less enveloped in smoke, but this is not
+so bad as letting it rise from the inside would be. A great deal of
+willow charcoal is made in Germany and other parts of Europe."
+
+"But, Miss Harson," said Clara, in a puzzled tone, "I don't see what
+they do with it all. It doesn't take much to clean people's teeth."
+
+"No, dear," was the smiling reply, "and I am afraid that the people who
+make it are rather careless about their teeth.--You need not laugh,
+Malcolm, because it is 'just like a girl,' for it is quite as much like
+a boy not to know things which he has never been taught, and you must
+remember that you have two years the start of your sister in getting
+acquainted with the world. Perhaps you will kindly tell us of some of
+the uses to which charcoal is applied?"
+
+"Well," said the young gentleman, after an awkward silence, "it takes
+lots of it to kindle fires."
+
+"I do not think that Kitty ever uses it in the kitchen," said Miss
+Harson, "for she is supplied with kindling-wood for that purpose. You
+will have to think of something else."
+
+But Malcolm could not think, and his governess finally told him that a
+great deal of charcoal is used for making gun-powder, and still more for
+fuel in France and the South of Europe, where a brass vessel supplies
+the place of a grate or stove. Quantities of it are consumed in
+steel-and iron-works, in preserving meat and other food, and in many
+similar ways. The children listened with great interest, and Malcolm
+felt sure that the next time he was asked about charcoal he would have a
+sensible answer.
+
+"Our insect friends the aphides, or plant-lice, are very fond of the
+willow," continued Miss Harson, "and in hot, dry weather great masses of
+them gather on the leaves and drop a sugary juice, which the
+country-people call 'honey-dew,' and in some remote places, where
+knowledge is limited, it has been thought to come from the clouds. But
+we, who have learned something about these aphides[1], know that it
+comes from their little green bodies, and that the ants often carry the
+insects off to their nests, where they feed and 'tend them for the sake
+of this very juice. The aphis that infests the willow is the largest of
+the tribe, and the branches and stems of the tree are often blackened by
+the honey-dew that falls upon them."
+
+[1] See _Flyers and Crawlers_, by the author. Presbyterian Board of
+Publication.
+
+"Do willow trees grow everywhere?" asked Clara.
+
+"They are certainly found in a great many different places," was the
+reply, "and even in the warmest countries. In one of the missionary
+settlements in Africa there is a solitary willow that has a story
+attached to it. It was the only tree in the settlement--think what a
+place that must have been!--except those the missionary had planted in
+his own garden, and it would never have existed but for the laziness of
+its owner. Nothing would have induced any of the natives to take the
+trouble to plant a tree, and therefore the willow had not been planted.
+But it happened, a long-time ago, that a native had fetched a log of
+wood from a distance, to make into a bowl when he should feel in the
+humor to do so. He threw the log into a pool of water, and soon forgot
+all about it. Weeks and months passed, and he never felt in the humor to
+work. But the log of wood set to work of its own accord. It had been cut
+from a willow, and it took root at the bottom of the pool and began to
+grow. In the end it became a handsome and flourishing tree."
+
+This story was approved by the young audience, except that it was too
+short; but their governess laughingly said that, as there was nothing
+more to tell, it could not very well be any longer.
+
+[Illustration: THE WEEPING WILLOW (_Salix Babylonica_).]
+
+"The weeping willow," continued Miss Harson, "was first planted in
+England in not so lazy a way, but almost as accidentally. Many years ago
+a basket of figs was sent from Turkey to the poet Pope, and the basket
+was made of willow. Willows and their cousins the poplars are natives of
+the East; you remember that the one hundred and thirty-seventh psalm
+says of the captive Jews, 'By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down,
+yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the
+willows in the midst thereof.' 'The poet valued highly the small slender
+twigs, as associated with so much that was interesting, and he untwisted
+the basket and planted one of the branches in the ground. It had some
+tiny buds upon it, and he hoped he might be able to rear it, as none of
+this species of willow was known in England. Happily, the willow is very
+quick to take root and grow. The little branch soon became a tree, and
+drooped gracefully over the river in the same manner that its race had
+done over the waters of Babylon. From that one branch all the weeping
+willows in England are descended.'"
+
+"And then they were brought over here," said Malcolm. "But what odd
+leaves they have, Miss Harson!--so narrow and long. They don't look like
+the leaves of other trees."
+
+"The leaf is somewhat like that of the olive, only that of the olive is
+broader. The willow is a native of Babylon, and the weeping willow is
+called _Salix Babylonica_. It was considered one of the handsomest
+trees of the East, and is particularly mentioned among those which God
+commanded the Israelites to select for branches to bear in their hands
+at the feast of tabernacles. Read the verse, Malcolm--the fortieth of
+the twenty-third chapter of Leviticus."
+
+Malcolm read:
+
+"'And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees,
+branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and _willows of
+the brook;_ and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days.'"
+
+[Illustration: LEAF OF WEEPING WILLOW.]
+
+"A place called the 'brook of the willows,'" added his governess, "is
+mentioned in Isaiah xv. 7, and this brook, according to travelers in
+Palestine, flows into the south-eastern extremity of the Dead Sea. The
+willow has always been considered by the poets as an emblem of woe and
+desertion, and this idea probably came from the weeping of the captive
+Jews under the willows of Babylon. The branches of the _Salix
+Babylonica_ often droop so low as to touch the ground, and because of
+this sweeping habit, and of its association with watercourses in the
+Bible, it has been considered a very suitable tree to plant beside ponds
+and fountains in ornamental grounds, as well as in cemeteries as an
+emblem of mourning."
+
+"How much there is to remember about the willow!" said Clara,
+thoughtfully. "I wonder if all the trees will be so interesting?"
+
+"They are not all _Bible_ trees," replied Miss Harson. "But the wise
+king of Israel found them interesting, for he 'spake of trees, from the
+cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of
+the wall.'"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+_THE MAPLES._
+
+"The pink trees next, I suppose," said Malcolm, "since we have had the
+yellow ones?"
+
+"_Real_ pink trees?" asked Edith, with very wide-open eyes.
+
+"No, dear;" replied her governess; "there are no pink trees, except when
+they are covered with bloom like the peach trees. Malcolm only means the
+maples that we saw in blossom yesterday and thought of such a pretty
+color. There are many varieties of the maple, which is always a
+beautiful and useful tree, but the red, or scarlet, maple is the very
+queen of the family. It is not so large as are most of the others; but
+when a very young tree, its grace and beauty are noticeable among its
+companions. It is often found in low, moist places, but it thrives just
+as well in high, dry ground; and it is therefore a most convenient
+tree. Here is a very pretty description, Malcolm, in one of papa's large
+books, that you can read to us."
+
+Malcolm read remarkably well for a boy of his age, and he always enjoyed
+being called upon in this way.
+
+[Illustration: THE RED MAPLE.]
+
+Miss Harson pointed to these lines:
+
+"Coming forth in the spring, like morning in the east, arrayed in
+crimson and purple; bearing itself, not proudly but gracefully in
+modest green, among the more stately trees in summer; and ere it bids
+adieu to the season stepping forth in robes of gold, vermilion, crimson
+and variegated scarlet,--stands the queen of the American forest, the
+pride of all eyes and the delight of every picturesque observer of
+nature, the red maple."
+
+"Why, I never saw such a tree as that!" exclaimed Clara, in great
+surprise.
+
+"Yes, dear," replied her governess; "you have seen it, but you never
+thought of describing it to yourself in just this way. When you saw it
+yesterday, it was coming forth in the spring, like morning in the east,
+arrayed in crimson and purple,' but you just called it a pink tree. It
+is much nearer red, however, than it is pink."
+
+"I've seen all the rest of the colors, too," said Malcolm, "when we went
+out after nuts."
+
+"That is its autumn dress," said Miss Harson, "although a small tree is
+often seen with no color on it but brilliant red. But first we must see
+what it is like in spring and summer. It is also called the scarlet,
+the white, the soft and the swamp maple, and the flowers, as you see
+from this specimen, are in whorls, or pairs, of bright crimson, in
+crowded bunches on the purple branches. The leaves are in three or five
+lobes, with deep notches between, and some of them are very broad, while
+others are long and narrow. The trunk of the red maple is a clear ashy
+gray, often mottled with patches of white lichens; and when the tree is
+old, the bark cracks and can be peeled off in long, narrow strips."
+
+"Is anything done with the bark?" asked Clara.
+
+"Yes, it is used, with other substances, for dyeing, and also for making
+ink. The sap, too, can be boiled down to sugar, but it is not nearly so
+rich as that of the proper sugar-maple. The wood, which is very
+light-colored with a tinge of rose in it, is often made into common
+furniture, as it takes a fine polish and is easy to work with. It is
+used, too, for building-purposes. The early-summer foliage of the red
+maple is of a beautiful yellow green, and the young leaves are very
+delicate and airy-looking; but the graceful tree is in such a hurry to
+display her gay autumn colors that she will often put on a scarlet or
+crimson streamer in July or August. One brilliantly-colored branch will
+be seen on a green tree, or the leaves of an entire tree will turn red
+while all the other trees around it are clothed in summer greenness."
+
+"Don't you remember, Miss Harson," said Edith, "the little tree that I
+thought was on fire and how frightened I was?"
+
+"Yes, dear, I remember it very well--an innocent little red maple that
+_would_ put on its flame-colored dress when it should have been all in
+green, like its sisters; but it was too green at heart to be in a blaze.
+This tree is often used for fuel, but it has to be cut down and dried
+first. The reddening of the leaf generally begins at the veins and
+spreads out from them until the whole is tinted. Sometimes it appears in
+spots, almost like drops of blood, on the green surface; but, come as it
+will, it is always beautiful. It is said of the red maple that 'it
+stands among the occupants of the forest like Venus among the
+planets--the brightest in the midst of brightness and the most beautiful
+in a constellation of beauty,'"
+
+"Is there such a thing as a silver tree?" asked Clara.
+
+[Illustration: THE SILVER-LEAF MAPLE.]
+
+"There is a tree called 'the silver maple,'" was the reply, "and there
+is also the silver poplar. The silver maple is considered the most
+graceful of the large and handsome maple family. I have not told you, I
+think, that the name of the family is _Acer_, which means 'sharp' or
+'hard,' and it was supposed to have been given in old English times
+when the wood of the maple was used for javelins. The silver maple gets
+its name from the whitish under-surface of its leaves, and it is a
+favorite shade-tree; it has a slender trunk and long, drooping branches.
+The foliage is light and rather dull-looking, and it is not a very
+bright tree in autumn. The leaves are so deeply notched that they have a
+fringe-like appearance, and this, with its slender form and bending,
+swaying habit, gives it a very graceful look."
+
+Little Edith wished to know "if the wood was like silver," and Malcolm
+asked her how she expected it to grow if it was.
+
+But Miss Harson replied kindly,
+
+"The silver, dear, is all in the leaves, and there is not much of it
+there. The wood is white and of little use, as it is soft and
+perishable; but the beauty of the finely-cut foliage, the contrast
+between the green of the upper surface of the leaves and the silver
+color of the lower, and the magnificent spread of the limbs of the white
+maple, recommend it as an ornamental tree; and this is the purpose for
+which it is intended. It is used very largely in the cities for shade
+and beauty. It is often called the 'river maple,' because it is so
+frequently seen on the banks of streams."
+
+"And now," said Malcolm, "I hope there is ever so much about the
+maple-sugar tree. Can't we get some this spring, Miss Harson, before
+it's all gone?"
+
+"We can certainly buy the sugar in town, Malcolm, if that is what you
+mean; but it does not grow on the trees in cakes, and we shall scarcely
+be able to tap the trunks and go through with the process of preparing
+the sap, even if it were not too late for that. We will do what we can,
+though, to become acquainted with the rock maple, that we may be able to
+recognize it when we see it. When young, it is a beautiful, neat and
+shapely tree with a rich, full leafy head of a great variety of forms.
+It is the largest and strongest of the maples, and gives the best shade.
+It can be distinguished from the other members of the family by its
+leaves, in which the notch between the lobes is round instead of being
+sharp, and also by their appearing at the same time with the blossoms,
+which are of a yellowish-green color. The green tint of the leaves is
+darker on some trees than it is on others, and in autumn they become,
+often before the first touch of the frost, of a splendid orange or gold,
+sometimes of a bright scarlet or crimson, color, each tree commonly
+retaining from year to year the same color or colors, and differing
+somewhat from every other. The most beautiful and valuable maple-wood is
+taken from this tree. It is known as 'curled maple' and 'bird's-eye
+maple,' and the common variety looks like satin-wood. In the curled
+maple the fibres are in waves instead of in straight lines, and the
+surface seems to change with alternate light and shade; in the
+bird's-eye, irregular snarls of fibres look like roundish projections
+rising from hollow places, each one resembling the eye of a bird.
+Buckets, tubs and many useful things are made of the straight variety,
+and for lasts it is considered better than any other kind of wood. The
+curled and the bird's-eye are largely used for furniture."
+
+"But isn't it a shame," said Clara, "to spoil the maple-sugar by making
+the trees into chairs and things?"
+
+"You would not think so," replied her governess, "if you needed the
+'chairs and things' more than you need the sugar. But the supply of
+trees seems to be sufficient for both purposes."
+
+"Does the sugar come right out of the tree when people tap on it with a
+hammer?" asked Edith, whose ideas of sugar-making were rather crude.
+
+"You blessed baby!" cried Malcolm, with a shout of laughter. Let's take
+our hammers and go after some maple-sugar right away."
+
+"No, Edie," said Miss Harson as she took her much-loved little pupil on
+her lap; "we'll stay at home and learn just how the sugar is made. To
+_tap_ a tree, dear, means to make cuts in the trunk for the sap to flow
+out, and in the sugar-maple this sap is more like water than sugar. From
+the middle of February to the second week in March, according to the
+warmth or the coldness of the locality, is the time for tapping the
+trees; and when the holes are bored, spouts of elder or sumac from which
+the pith has been taken are put into them at one end, while the other
+goes down to the bucket which receives the sap. 'Several holes are so
+bored that their spouts shall lead to the same bucket, and high enough
+to allow the bucket to hang two or three feet from the ground, to
+prevent leaves and dirt from being blown in.' The next thing is to boil
+the sap, and this is done in great iron kettles, over immense
+wood-fires, out there among the trees, with plenty of snow on the
+ground, and only two or three rude little cabins for the men and boys to
+sleep in. This is called 'the sugar-camp,' and the sap-season lasts five
+or six weeks."
+
+"And why is it boiled?"
+
+"Boiling drives the water off in vapor, and leaves the sugar behind in
+the pot."
+
+"And do they stay in the woods there all the time?" asked Malcolm, with
+great interest. "What lots of fun they must have, with the big fires and
+the snow and as much maple-sugar as ever they want to eat! _I'd_ like
+to stay in a sugar-camp in the woods."
+
+[Illustration: MAKING MAPLE SUGAR.]
+
+"Perhaps not, after trying it and finding how much hard work there is in
+sugar-making," replied his governess. "'The kettles must be carefully
+watched and plenty of wood brought to keep them boiling, and during the
+process the sap, or syrup, is strained; lime or salaeratus is added, to
+neutralize the free acid; and the white of egg, isinglass or milk, to
+cause foreign substances to rise in a scum to the surface. When it has
+been sufficiently boiled, the syrup is poured into moulds or casks to
+harden.' The sugar with which the most pains have been taken is very
+light-colored, and I have seen it almost white."
+
+"Have you ever been to a sugar-camp, Miss Harson?" asked Clara, who was
+wishing, like Malcolm, that she could go to one herself.
+
+"Yes," said Miss Harson; "I did go once, in Vermont, when the family
+with whom I was staying took me to see the 'sugaring off.' This is
+putting it into the pans and buckets to harden after it has been
+sufficiently boiled and clarified; and we younger ones, by way of
+amusement, were allowed to make jack-wax."
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed three voices at once; "what is that? Is it good to eat?"
+
+"I thought it particularly good," was the reply, "and I am quite sure
+that you would agree with me. To make it, we poured a small quantity of
+hot syrup on the snow to cool; and when it was fit to eat, it was just
+like wax, instead of being hard like the cakes in moulds. It took only a
+few minutes, too, to make it, and it seemed a great deal nicer because
+we did it ourselves. I remember that it was the last of March and very
+cold, but there were big fires to get warmed at, and we had a
+delightful time."
+
+"Were there any Indians there, Miss Harson?" asked little Edith, after
+being quiet for some time. Vermont was such a long way off on the map,
+besides being up almost at the top, that Indians and bears and all sorts
+of wild things seemed to have a right to live there.
+
+"No," said her governess, smiling at the question; "I did not see one,
+even at the sugar-camp. Yet the Indians made maple-sugar long before we
+knew anything about it, and from them the white people learned how to
+do it."
+
+"Well, that's the funniest thing!" exclaimed Malcolm. "I thought that
+Indians were always scalping people instead of making maple-sugar."
+
+"They did a great many other things, though, besides fighting, and their
+life was spent so much out of doors that they studied the nature of
+every plant and living thing about them. The healing-properties of some
+of our most valuable herbs were first discovered by the Indians, and, as
+they never had any grocery-stores, the presence of trees that would
+supply them with sugar was a blessing not likely to be neglected. The
+devoted missionary John Brainerd first heard of this tree-sugar from
+them, and it is said that he used to preach to them when they were thus
+peacefully employed, and obtained a better hearing than at other times."
+
+"Have we any maple-sugar trees?" asked Clara.
+
+"No," replied Miss Harson; "there are none at Elmridge, and I have seen
+none anywhere near here. They seem to flourish best in the Northern and
+North-eastern States, while in Western Canada the tree is found in
+groves of from five to twenty acres. These are called 'sugar-bushes,'
+and few farmers in that part of America are without them. In England the
+maple trees are called 'sycamores,' and the sap is used as a sweet
+drink. I will read to you from a little English book called _Voices from
+the Woodlands_ a simple account of a country festival where maple sap
+was the choicest refreshment:
+
+"'"Take care of that young tree," said Farmer Robinson to his laborer,
+who was diligently employed in clearing away a rambling company of
+brambles which had grown unmolested during the time of the last tenant;
+"the soil is good, and in a very few years we shall have pasturage for
+our bees, and plenty of maple-wine."
+
+"'The farmer spoke true; before his young laborer had attained middle
+age the sapling had grown into a fine tree. Its branches spread wide and
+high, and bees came from all parts to gather their honey-harvests among
+the flowers; beneath its shade lambkins were wont in spring to sleep
+beside their dams; and when the time of shearing came, and the sheep
+were disburdened of their fleeces, you might see them hastening to the
+sycamore tree for shelter.
+
+"'A kind of rustic festival was held about the same time in honor of the
+maple-wine. Hither came the farmer and his dame, with their children and
+young neighbors, each carrying bunches of flowers. Older people came in
+their holiday dresses, some with baskets containing cakes, others tea
+and sugar, with which the farmer and his wife had plentifully supplied
+them; and joyfully did they rest a while on the green sward while young
+men gathered sticks, and, a bright fire having been kindled, the kettle
+sent up its bubbling steam.
+
+"'When this was ended, and few of the piled-up cakes remained--when,
+also, the young children had emptied their cans and rinsed them at the
+old stone trough into which rushed a full stream--tiny hands joyfully
+held up the small cans and bright eyes looked anxiously to the stem of
+the tall tree while the farmer warily cut an incision in the bark.
+
+"'What joy when a sweet watery juice began to trickle! and the farmer
+filled one small cup, then another, till all were satisfied and a
+portion sent to the older people, who were contentedly looking on from
+the grassy slope where they had seated themselves. The farmer's wife
+knew naught concerning the process for obtaining sugar, or else she
+might have sweetened her children's puddings from the watery liquid
+yielded by the sycamore, or greater maple--an art well known to the
+aboriginal tribes of North America.'"
+
+"Does that mean Indians, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm, with a wry face at
+the long word.
+
+"Yes," was the reply; "and I hope that you will feel properly grateful
+to these aborigines whenever you eat maple-sugar."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+_OLD ACQUAINTANCES: THE ELMS._
+
+Miss Harson had admonished her little flock that they must use their own
+eyes and be able to tell her things instead of depending altogether on
+her to tell them; so now they were all peering curiously among the trees
+to see which were putting on their new spring suits. The yellow trees
+and the pink trees had been readily distinguished, but, although the
+others had not been idle, it was not so easy for little people to
+discern their leaf-buds.
+
+Clara soon made a discovery, however, of what her governess had noticed
+for a day or two, and the wonder was found on their own home-elms, those
+stately trees which had shaded the house ever since it was built, and
+from which the place got its pretty name--Elmridge.
+
+"Well, dear," said Miss Harson, coming to the upper window from which an
+eager head was thrust, "what is it that you wish me to see?"
+
+"Those funny flowers on the bare elm trees," was the reply. "Look, Miss
+Harson! Didn't I see them first?"
+
+"You have certainly spoken of them first, for neither Malcolm nor Edith
+has said anything about them. But they must both come up here now, where
+they can see them, and Malcolm and I can manage to reach some of the
+blossoms by getting out of the broad window on to the little balcony."
+
+Up came the two children kangaroo-fashion in a series of jumps, and
+presently Miss Harson was holding a cluster of dark maroon-colored
+flowers in her hand.
+
+"How queer and dark they make the trees look!" said Malcolm; "and
+they're so thick that they 'most cover up the branches. They're
+like fringe."
+
+"A very good description," replied his governess. "And now I wish you
+all to examine the trees very thoroughly and tell me afterward what you
+have noticed about them; then we will go down to the schoolroom and see
+what the books will tell us in our talk about the American elm and its
+cousin of England."
+
+The books had a great deal to tell about them, but Miss Harson preferred
+to hear the children first.
+
+"What did my little Edith see when she looked out of the window?" she
+asked.
+
+"Stems of trees," was the reply, "with flowers on 'em."
+
+"A very good general idea," continued Miss Harson, "but perhaps Clara
+can tell us something more particular about the elms?"
+
+"They are very tall," said Clara, hesitatingly, "and they make it nice
+and shady in summer; and some of the branches bend over in such a lovely
+way! Papa calls one of them 'the plume.'"
+
+"And now Malcolm?"
+
+"The trunk--or big 'stem,' as Edie would call it--is very thick, and the
+branches begin low down, near the ground."
+
+"Some of them do," said his governess, "but many of the elms on your
+father's grounds are seventy feet high before the branches begin.
+Sometimes two or three trunks shoot up together and spread out at the
+top in light, feathery plumes like palm trees. The elm has a great
+variety of shapes; sometimes it is a parasol, when a number of branches
+rise together to a great height and spread out suddenly in the shape of
+an umbrella. This makes a very regular-looking and beautiful tree. For
+about three-quarters of the way up, the 'plume' of which Clara speaks
+has one straight trunk, which then bends over droopingly. Small twigs
+cluster around the trunk all the way from bottom to top and give the
+tree the appearance of having a vine twining about it. I think that the
+plume-shape is the prettiest and most odd-looking of all the elms.
+Another strange shape is the vase, which seems to rest on the roots that
+stand out above the ground. 'The straight trunk is the neck of the vase,
+and the middle consists of the lower part of the branches as they swell
+outward with a graceful curve, then gradually diverge until they bend
+over at their extremities and form the lip of the vase by a circle of
+terminal sprays.'"
+
+"Have we any trees that look like vases, Miss Harson?" asked Clara.
+
+"Yes," was the reply; "not far from Hemlock Lodge there is one which we
+will look at when the leaves are all out. But you must not expect to
+find a perfect vase-shape, for it is only an approach to it. The
+dome-shaped elm has a broad, round head, which is formed by the shooting
+forth of branches of nearly equal length from the same part of the
+trunk, which gradually spread outward with a graceful curve into the
+roof or dome that crowns the tree."
+
+"I know something else about our elms," said Malcolm: "some of the roots
+are on top of the ground. Isn't that very queer, Miss Harson?"
+
+[Illustration: WYCH-ELM LEAVES.]
+
+"Not for old elm trees, as this is quite a habit with them. Indeed, in
+many ways, the elm is so entirely different from other trees that it can
+be recognized at a great distance. It is both graceful and majestic,
+and is the most drooping of the drooping trees, except the willow, which
+it greatly surpasses in grandeur and in the variety of its forms. The
+green leaves are broad, ovate, heart-shaped, from two to four or five
+inches long. You can see their exact shape in this illustration. Their
+summer tint is very bright and vivid, but it turns in autumn to a sober
+brown, sometimes touched with a bright golden yellow, And now,"
+continued Miss Harson, "we will examine the flowers which we have here,
+and we see that each blossom is on a green, slender thread less than
+half an inch long, and that it consists of a brown cup parted into
+seven or eight divisions, rounded at the border and containing about
+eight brown stamens and a long compressed ovary surmounted by two short
+styles. This ripens into a flattened seed-vessel before the leaves are
+fully out, and the seeds, being small and chaffy, are wafted in all
+directions and carried to great distances by the wind."
+
+"Where does slippery elm come from?" asked Clara.
+
+"From another American species, dear, which is very much like the white
+elm that we have been considering. The slippery elm is a smaller tree,
+does not droop so much, and the trunk is smoother and darker. The leaves
+are thicker and very rough on the upper side. The inner bark contains a
+great deal of mucilage--that, I suppose, is the reason for its being
+called 'slippery'--and it has been extensively used as a medicine. The
+wood is very strong and preferred to that of the white elm for
+building-purposes, although the latter is considered the best native
+wood for hubs of wheels. There is a great elm tree on Boston Common
+which is over two hundred years old, and another in Cambridge called the
+'Washington Elm,' because near it or beneath its shade General
+Washington is said to have first drawn his sword on taking command of
+the American army. In 1744 the celebrated George Whitefield preached
+beneath this tree."
+
+"I'm glad we have elm trees here," said Malcolm, "though I s'pose nobody
+ever did anything in particular under ours."
+
+"You mean," replied his governess, laughing, "that they are not
+_historical_ trees; but they are certainly very fine ones. There is
+another species of elm, the English, which is often seen in this country
+too. It is a very large and stately tree, but not so graceful as our own
+elm. It is distinguished from the American elm by its bark, which is
+darker and much more broken; by having one principal stem, which soars
+upward to a great height; and by its branches, which are thrown out more
+boldly and abruptly and at a larger angle. Its limbs stretch out
+horizontally or tend upward with an appearance of strength to the very
+extremity; in the American elm they are almost universally drooping at
+the end. Its leaves are closer, smaller, more numerous and of a darker
+color. In England this tree is a great favorite with those black and
+solemn birds the rooks. The poet Hood writes of it as
+
+     "'The tall, abounding elm that grows
+       In hedgerows up and down,
+     In field and forest, copse and park,
+       And in the peopled town,
+     With colonies of noisy rooks
+       That nestle on its crown.'
+
+"Some of these English elms are very ancient and of an immense size; one
+of them, known as the 'Chequer Elm,' measures thirty-one feet around the
+trunk, of which only the shell is left. It was planted seven hundred
+years ago. The Chipstead Elm is fifteen feet around; the Crawley Elm,
+thirty-five. A writer says, 'The ample branches of the Crawley Elm
+shelter Mayday gambols while troops of rustics celebrate the opening of
+green leaves and flowers. Yet not alone beneath its shade, but within
+the capacious hollow which time has wrought in the old tree, young
+children with their posies and weak and aged people find shelter during
+the rustic _fetes_.'"
+
+"Does that mean that people can sit inside the tree?" asked Clara. "I
+wish we had one to play house in where Hemlock Lodge is."
+
+"That is one of the things, Clara," replied Miss Harson, "that people
+can have only in the place where they grow. In the South of England
+there is another great elm tree with a hollow trunk which has fitted
+into it a door fastened by a lock and key. A dozen people can be
+comfortably accommodated inside, and there is a story told of a woman
+and her infant who lived there for a time."
+
+"What a funny house!" said Malcolm. "Just like a woodpecker's."
+
+"Another great elm, near London, has a winding staircase cut within it,
+and a turret at the top where at least twenty persons can stand. One
+species of this tree, called the _wych-_, or _witch-_, elm, was believed
+by ignorant people to possess magical powers and to defend from the
+malice of witches the place on which it grew. Even now it is said that
+in remote parts of England the dairymaid flies to it as a resource on
+the days when she churns her butter. She gathers a twig from the tree
+and puts it into a little hole in the churn. If this practice were
+neglected, she confidently believes that she might go on churning all
+day without getting any butter."
+
+"Isn't that silly?" exclaimed Clara.
+
+"Very silly indeed," replied her governess; "but we must remember that
+the poor ignorant girl knows no better. The wood of the European elm is
+stronger than ours; it is hard and fine-grained, and brownish in color,
+and is much used in the building of ships, for hubs of wheels, axletrees
+and many other purposes. In France the leaves and shoots are used to
+feed cattle. In Russia the leaves of one variety are made into tea. The
+inner bark is in some places made into mats, and in Norway they
+kiln-dry it and grind it with corn as an ingredient in bread. So that
+the elm tree is almost as useful as it is beautiful."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+_MAJESTY AND STRENGTH: THE OAK_.
+
+"Here," said Miss Harson, "is a small branch from an oak tree containing
+the young leaves and the catkins, which come out together; for the oak
+belongs, like the willow and the maple, to the division of
+_amentaceous_ plants."
+
+"Oh dear!" sighed Clara at the hard name.
+
+But Malcolm repeated:
+
+"_Amentaceous_--_ament_. I know, Miss Harson: it's _catkins_"
+
+"Yes, it means trees which produce their flowers in catkins, or looking
+as if strung on long drooping stems; and the oak is the monarch of this
+family, and in Great Britain of all the forest-trees. It is especially
+an English tree, although our woods contain several varieties. But they
+do not hold the pre-eminence in our forests that the oaks do in those
+of England. The oak ordinarily runs more to breadth than to height, and
+spreads itself out to a vast distance with an air of strength and
+grandeur. This is its striking character and what gives it its peculiar
+appearance. Oaks do not always go straight out, but crook and bend to
+right and left, upward and downward, abruptly or with a gentle sweep.
+
+[Illustration: MALE CATKIN OF THE OAK.]
+
+[Illustration: THE OAK]
+
+"The white oak is the handsomest species, and takes its name from the
+very light color of the bark on the trunk, by which it is easily known.
+The leaves are long in proportion to the width and deeply divided into
+lobes, of which there are three or four on each side. There is a great
+variety in the shape of oak-leaves, those of our white oak being long
+and slender, while the red oak has very broad ones, and the foliage of
+the scarlet oak is almost skeleton-like. The chestnut oak has leaves
+almost exactly like those of the chestnut. The acorns of the different
+varieties, too, differ in size and shape.
+
+[Illustration: WHITE-OAK LEAF.]
+
+"There is so much to be said of the oak," continued Miss Harson, "it is
+such an ancient and venerable tree and has so many stories attached to
+it, that it is not easy to begin an account of it. The blossoms,
+perhaps, will be the best starting-point: and I should like to have you
+examine this branch and tell me if you see any difference in the
+blossoms."
+
+"They are nearly all alike," said Malcolm, "but here at the ends of the
+twigs are one or two that look like buds."'
+
+"That is just what I wanted you to notice," replied his governess, "for
+the flowers are of two kinds, one bearing the stamens, and the other the
+pistils. The flowers that bear the stamens grow on loose scaly catkins,
+as you may see in this branch. Those with the pistils are also in
+catkins, but very small, like a bud. The bud spreads into a little
+branchlet and bears the flowers at the tip. The calyx is not seen at
+first; it is a mere membrane covering the ovary. By degrees the ovary
+swells into the acorn and the membrane becomes part of the shell."
+
+"I like acorns," said little Edith, "they're so nice to play with."
+
+"But they're not nice to eat," said Clara.
+
+[Illustration: SQUIRREL AND ACORN]
+
+"Some animals think they are," continued Miss Harson. "If you should
+come here in October, you would find the squirrels feasting on them. In
+old times in England the oaks were valued highly on account of their
+acorns, and great herds of swine were driven into the forests to feed
+upon them. In the time of the Saxons a crop of acorns often formed a
+part of the dowry bestowed upon the Saxon queens, and the king himself
+would be glad to accept a gift or grant of acorns; and the failure of
+the crop would be considered as a kind of famine. In those days laws
+were made to protect the oaks from being felled or injured, and a man
+who cut down a tree under the shadow of which thirty hogs could stand
+was fined three pounds. The herds of swine were placed under the care of
+a swineherd, whose sole employment was to keep them together, and they
+formed a staple part of the riches of the country. But when the Norman
+kings began to rule, they brought with them a passionate love of hunting
+and took possession of the forests as preserves for their favorite
+sport. The herds of swine were forbidden to roam about as heretofore,
+and their owners were reduced to poverty in consequence."
+
+"Wasn't that wicked, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Yes; it was both unjust and cruel, and it was one of the great
+grievances of the nation. Even at this day the laws for the protection
+of game are one of the grounds of ill-feeling on the part of the poor
+toward the nobles. In Spain the acorns have the taste of nuts, and are
+sold in the markets as an article of food. They grow abundantly in the
+woods and forests. Once, in time of war, a foreign army subsisted almost
+entirely on them. Herds of swine range the forests in Spain and feed
+luxuriously upon acorns, and the salted meats of Malaga, that are famous
+for their delicate flavor, are thought to owe it to this cause. Some of
+our American Indians depend upon acorns and fish for their winter food;
+and when the acorns drop from the tree, they are buried in sand and
+soaked in water to draw out the bitter taste."
+
+"I shouldn't like them," said Clara, with a wry face at the thought of
+such food.
+
+"Well, dear," replied her governess, laughing, "as you are not an
+Indian, you will probably not be called upon to like them; but it would
+be better to eat acorns than to starve. You may have noticed the trunk
+and branches of the oak are often gnarled and knotted, and this helps to
+give the tree its appearance of great strength. It is just as strong as
+it looks, and for building-purposes it lasts longer than any other
+wood. Beams and rafters of oak are found in old English houses, showing
+among the brick-work, and many of these half-timbered houses, as they
+are called, were built hundreds of years ago.
+
+"Bedsteads and other articles of furniture, too, were 'built' in those
+days, rather than made, for they were not expected to be moved about;
+and a heavy oak bedstead is still in existence which is said to have
+belonged to King Richard III. It is curiously carved, and the king
+rested upon it the night before the battle of Bosworth Field, where he
+was killed. Clumsy as the bedstead was, he took it about with him from
+place to place; but after the fatal battle it passed into the hands of
+various owners, and nothing remarkable was discovered about it until the
+king had been dead a hundred years. By that time the bedstead had come
+into the possession of a woman who found a fortune in it. One morning,
+says the story, as she was making the bed, she heard a chinking sound,
+and saw, to her great delight, a piece of money drop on the floor. Of
+course she at once set about examining the bedstead, and found that the
+lower part of it was hollow and contained a treasure. Three hundred
+pounds--a fortune in those days--was brought to light, having remained
+hidden all those years. As King Richard was not there to claim his gold,
+the woman quickly possessed herself of it. But, as it happened, she had
+better have remained in ignorance and poverty. As soon as the matter
+became known one of her servants robbed her of the gold, and even caused
+her death. Thus it was said in the neighborhood that 'King Richard's
+gold' did nobody any good."
+
+The children were very much pleased with this story, and Malcolm said
+that he always liked to hear about people who found gold and things.
+
+"I think that I do, myself," replied Miss Harson, "although, as in this
+poor woman's case and in many others, gold is not the best thing to
+find. It often brings with it so much sorrow and sin as to be a curse to
+its owner. The only safe treasure is that laid up in heaven, where
+'neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break
+through nor steal,'
+
+"From the very earliest times the oak has been used for shipbuilding.
+The Saxons, we are told, kept a formidable fleet of vessels with curved
+bottoms and the prow and poop adorned with representations of the head
+and tail of some grotesque and fabulous creature. King Alfred had many
+vessels that carried sixty oars and were entirely of oak. A vessel
+supposed to be of his time has been discovered in the bed of a river in
+Kent, and after the lapse of so many centuries it is as sound as ever
+and as hard as iron."
+
+"Do oak trees ever have apples on 'em?" asked Clara. "In a story that I
+read there was something about 'oak-apples.'"
+
+[Illustration: THE OAK-GALL INSECT (_Cynips_).]
+
+"They are not apples such as we eat, or fruit in any sense," said her
+governess. "They are the work of a species of fly called _Cynips_, which
+is very apt to attack the oak. 'The female insect is armed with a sharp
+weapon called an _ovipositor_, which she plunges into a leaf and makes
+a wound. Here she lays her eggs; and when she has done so, she flies
+away and we hear no more of her. But the wound she has made disturbs the
+circulation of the sap. It flows round and round the eggs as though it
+had met with some foreign body it would fain remove. Very soon the eggs
+are in the midst of a ball-like and fleshy chamber--the most suitable
+provision for them, and one which the parent-insect had provided by
+means of puncturing the leaf. As the eggs are hatched the grubs will
+find themselves safely housed and in the midst of an abundance
+of food.'"
+
+[Illustration: OAK-APPLES.]
+
+"Well," exclaimed Malcolm, in great disgust, "_apple_ is a queer name
+for a ball full of little flies!"
+
+"It's a very pretty ball, though," said Miss Harson, "with a smooth skin
+and tinged with red or yellow, like a ripe apple. If it is cut open, a
+number of granules are seen, each containing a grub embedded in a
+fruit-like substance. The grub undergoes its transformation, and in due
+course emerges a perfect insect. These pretty pink-and-white apples used
+to be gathered by English boys on the twenty-ninth of May, which was
+called 'Oak-Apple Day.'"
+
+"Did they eat 'em?" asked Edith.
+
+"I do not see how they could, dear," was the reply; "they were probably
+gathered just to look at. Yet 'May-apples,' which grow, you will
+remember, on the wild azalea and the swamp honeysuckle, are often eaten,
+and they are formed in the same way; so we will not be too positive
+about the oak-apples."
+
+"What are oak-_galls_, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm. "Are they the same
+as oak-apples?"
+
+"Not quite the same," was the reply, although both are produced by the
+same insect. This is what one of our English books says of them: 'When
+the acorn itself is wounded, it becomes a kind of monstrosity, and
+remains on the stalk like an irregularly-shaped ball. It is called a
+"nut-gall," and is found principally on a small oak, a native of the
+southern and central parts of Europe. All these oak-apples and nut-galls
+are of importance, but the latter more especially, and they form an
+important article of commerce. A substance called "gallic acid" resides
+in the oak; and when the puncture is made by the cynips, it flows in
+great abundance to the wound. Gallic acid is one of the ingredients used
+in dyeing stuffs and cloths, and therefore the supply yielded by the
+nut-gall is highly welcome. The nut-galls are carefully collected from
+the small oak on which they are found, the Pyreneean oak. It is easily
+known by the dense covering of down on the young leaves, that appear
+some weeks later than the leaves of the common oak. The galls are
+pounded and boiled, and into the infusion thus made the stuffs about to
+be dyed are dipped,'"
+
+"I should think," said Clara, "that people would plant oak trees
+everywhere, when they are so useful. Is anything done with the bark?"
+
+"Yes," said her governess; "the bark, which is very rough, is valuable
+for tanning leather and for medicine. The element which has the effect
+of turning raw hide or skin into leather is called _tannin_; it is also
+found in the bark of some other trees and in tropical plants."
+
+"Didn't people use to worship oak trees," asked Malcolm--"people who
+lived ever so long ago?"
+
+"You are thinking of the Druids, who lived in old times in Britain and
+Gaul," replied Miss Harson, "and whose strange heathen rites were
+practiced in oak-groves; and they really did consider the tree sacred.
+These Druids have left their traces in some parts of England and France
+in rows of huge stones set upright; and wherever an immense stone was
+found lying on two others, in the shape of a table, there had been a
+Druid altar, where the priest offered sacrifices, often of human beings.
+So horrible may be a so-called religion that men themselves devise,
+and that has not come from the true God.
+
+[Illustration: DRUIDIC SACRIFICE.]
+
+"It was an article in the Druids' creed, and one to which they strictly
+adhered, that no temple with a covered roof was to be built in honor of
+the gods. All the places appointed for public worship were in the open
+air, and generally on some eminence from which the moon and stars might
+be observed; for to the heavenly bodies much adoration was offered. But
+to afford shelter from wind or rain, and also to ensure privacy and shut
+out all external objects, the place fixed upon, either for teaching
+their disciples or for carrying out the rites of their idolatrous
+worship, was in the recess of some grove or wood. An oak-grove was
+supposed to be the favorite of the gods whom they ignorantly worshiped,
+and therefore the Druids declared the oak to be a sacred tree. The Druid
+priest always bound a wreath of oak-leaves on his forehead before he
+would perform any religious ceremony. One of these ceremonies was to go
+in search of the mistletoe, which sometimes grows on the oak and was
+considered as sacred as the tree itself, being much used in their
+worship. One priest would climb to the branch on which the misletoe was
+growing and cut it with a golden knife, while another priest stood below
+and held out his white robe to receive it.
+
+"These sacred groves were all cut down by the Romans, who waged fierce
+war against the Druids, and nothing is left of them now but the circles
+of stones that formed their temples. At a place called Stonehenge,
+'cromlechs,' or altar-tables, are still standing, and very ancient oaks
+stood in a circle round these stones for many centuries after the Druids
+were swept away."
+
+"Miss Harson," said Clara when all had expressed their horror of the
+Druids and rejoiced that they _were_ swept away, "are there any oak
+trees in the Bible?"
+
+"Look and see," was the reply; "and first you may find Genesis xxxv. 4."
+
+Clara read:
+
+"'And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their
+hands, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid
+them under the _oak_ which was by Shechem.'"
+
+"In the eighth verse of the same chapter," said Miss Harson, "we read
+that Rebekah's nurse was buried under an oak at Bethel. We are told in
+the book of Joshua[2] that 'Joshua took a great stone and set it up
+there under an _oak_, that was by the sanctuary of the Lord;' and in
+Judges[3], 'There came an angel of the Lord and sat under an _oak_ which
+was in Ophrah.'--Malcolm, you may read Second Samuel, eighteenth
+chapter, ninth verse."
+
+[2] Josh. xxiv. 26.
+
+[3] Judg. vi. II.
+
+Malcolm read:
+
+"'And Absalom met the servants of David. And Absalom rode upon a mule,
+and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great _oak_, and his head
+caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the
+earth; and the mule that was under him went away.'"
+
+"Poor Absalom!" said Edith, softly. "Wasn't that dreadful?"
+
+"Yes, dear," replied her governess, "it _was_ dreadful; but it is still
+more dreadful that Absalom was such a wicked man. In Isaiah[4] we read
+of the oaks of Bashan, that, like the cedars of Lebanon, were 'high and
+lifted up,' and the oaks of Bashan are mentioned again in Zechariah[5].
+Several varieties of the oak are found in Palestine.
+
+[4] Isa. ii. 13.
+
+[5] Zech. xi. 2.
+
+[Illustration: ABRAHAM'S OAK, NEAR HEBRON.]
+
+"In his _Ride Through Palestine_, Dr. Dulles tells of a great oak near
+Hebron known as 'Abraham's oak,' supposed to occupy the ground where the
+patriarch pitched his tent under the oaks of Mamre. It is an aged tree,
+and a grand one. Here is a picture of it, from the _Ride_[6]. The crests
+and sides of the hills beyond the Jordan are still clothed, as in
+ancient times, with magnificent oaks.
+
+[6] See page 85
+
+"We get a good idea of the strength and durability of this wood from the
+fact that there is an old wooden church near Ongar, in Essex, the nave
+of which is composed of half logs of oak roughly fastened by wooden
+pegs. The ancient fabric dates back to the time of King Edmund, who was
+slain by the robber Leolf in the year A.D. 946. The oaken church was
+hurriedly put together--according to report--in order to make a
+temporary receptacle for the body of the murdered prince on its way to
+burial. Be that as it may, it was afterward used as a parish church,
+and, though the oaken logs are corroded by the weather, they are still
+sound, and, having been beaten by the storms of a thousand winters, bid
+fair to defy those of a thousand more."
+
+"I should think, then," said Malcolm, "that people would always build
+their houses with oak if it lasts so long."
+
+"Yet they do not do this even in England," was the reply, "where the
+trees grow to such an immense size and the ancient buildings still in
+existence prove the great endurance of the oak. Now brick and stone and
+iron are used, which outlast any wood. And now," continued Miss Harson,
+"I am going to tell you something about a foreign species of this tree
+which I am sure will surprise you. It is found in the South of Europe
+and in Algeria, and is called the _cork oak_."
+
+"'The _cork_ oak'!" exclaimed Clara, quite as much surprised as she was
+expected to be. "Do the corks that come in bottles grow on it?"
+
+"Not just in that shape, dear, but they are made from its bark. The
+outside bark, or _epidermis_, consists of a thin, transparent,
+tissue-like substance, which covers not only the bark, but the whole of
+the tree, stem, leaves and branches, and beneath the epidermis is found
+a layer of cellular tissue, generally green. It covers the trunk and
+branches, fills up the spaces between the veins of the leaves and
+contains the sap, which flows in canals arranged for it in the most
+beautiful and wonderful manner. In one species of oak this layer--which
+is called the _suber_--assumes a peculiar character and is of remarkable
+thickness. When the tree is some five years old, its whole energy is
+directed toward the increase of the suber. A mass of cells is formed
+with great rapidity, and layer upon layer is added, until that part of
+the trunk grows so unwieldy that it would crack and split of its own
+accord. But such a thing is rarely allowed to happen: the suber is of
+too much value to man. After it is taken from the tree and has undergone
+due preparation, it appears in our shops and houses under the name
+of _cork_"
+
+"I should like to see how they get it," said Malcolm.
+
+"The trunk is regularly marked around in deep cuts, which begin close
+to the branches and go down almost to the roots. A ladder is used to
+mount to the upper part of the trunk, and the cuts, or incisions, are
+made with a long knife or with an axe. Then they strip off the sheets of
+cork between the circles. This operation is a very delicate one, and
+requires much care and skill lest the inner part should be injured. If
+the operation is carried out successfully, the cork-like substance will
+grow again and become as abundant as ever.
+
+"The next thing to be done to the pieces of bark is partially to burn,
+or char, them, and also to make them quite flat, as they come from the
+trunk in a rounded shape. The burning makes the pores close up, so that
+the liquid in a vessel for which it is used as a stopper cannot come
+through; and this is done over a brisk fire, in what is called a
+_burning-yard_. Another process, called _rounding_, removes every trace
+of the fire, unless the cork has been too much burned, and then, having
+already been flattened by the pressure of heavy stones, it is ready for
+the cork-maker, who cuts the material first into strips and then into
+squares according to the size of corks wanted.
+
+"Cork is very light and elastic, and can be used successfully in
+contrivances for the rescue of men from the perils of the deep. The cork
+jacket and the lifeboat have been the means of saving many lives, for
+cork will float on the surface of the water and bear up the person
+wearing the jacket and the shipwrecked people in the lifeboat. 'The
+shallowness of the boat and the bulk of cork within allow but little
+room for water; so that even when filled it is in no danger of
+overturning or sinking, like other crafts. Also, the lifeboat can move
+across the waves with perfect safety, and can make its way from one
+object to another in a broken sea as easily as an ordinary boat can pass
+from one ship to another.'"
+
+The children declared that the cork-oak was the best tree of all, but
+they agreed with their governess that the entire oak family was made up
+of grand and useful trees.
+
+"Our American oaks," said Miss Harson, "are very handsome in autumn
+because of their brilliant foliage; the _scarlet oak_, which turns to a
+deep crimson and keeps its leaves longer than any of the other forest
+trees, is the most showy of the species. But we have no cork oaks, and
+no oaks that we know to be a thousand years old. There was once a famous
+oak in this country, called the 'Charter Oak,' which fell to the ground
+in August, 1856, before any of us were born. I wonder if you would like
+to hear the story about it?"
+
+This question was thought extremely funny by three such devourers of
+stories as the little Kyles, and they eagerly assured their governess
+that they would like it.
+
+"If that is really the case," continued Miss Harson, smiling at the
+excited faces, "I must tell you the history of
+
+"THE CHARTER OAK.
+
+"This tree grew in Hartford, Connecticut, and it is said that before the
+English governor Wyllis went there to live his steward, whom he had
+sent on before to get a house ready for him, came near cutting down this
+very oak. He was clearing away the trees around it on the hillside when
+a party of Indians appeared and begged him to leave that particular
+tree, because, they said, 'it had been the guide of their ancestors for
+centuries.' So the oak was spared; even then it was old and hollow.
+
+"King Charles II. granted the people of Connecticut a very liberal
+charter of rights, which was publicly read in the Assembly at Hartford
+and declared to belong for ever to them and their successors. A
+committee was appointed to take charge of it, under a solemn oath that
+they would preserve this palladium of the rights of the people.
+
+"When James II., the tyrannical brother of Charles II., came to the
+throne, he changed the government of New England and ordered the people
+of Connecticut to give up their charter. This they refused to do; and
+when a third command from the king had been sent to them, they called a
+special meeting of the Assembly, under their own governor, Treat, and
+resolved to hold on to the charter which had been given them.
+
+"On the 31st of October, 1687, Sir Edmund Andros, attended by members of
+his council and a bodyguard of sixty soldiers, entered Hartford to take
+the charter by force. The General Assembly was in session; he was
+received with courtesy, but with coldness. He entered the assembly-room
+and publicly demanded the charter. Remonstrances were made, and the
+session was protracted till evening. The governor and his associates
+appeared to yield. The charter was brought in and laid upon the table.
+Sir Edmund thought that he had succeeded, when suddenly the lights were
+all put out, and total darkness followed. There was no noise, no
+conflict, but all was quiet. When the candles were again lighted, _the
+charter was gone_! Sir Edmund was disconcerted. He declared the
+government of Connecticut to be in his own hands, and that the colony
+was annexed to Massachusetts and the other New England colonies, and
+proceeded to appoint officers. Captain Jeremiah Wadsworth, a patriot of
+those times, had hidden the charter in the hollow of Wyllis's oak,
+whence it was afterward known as the Charter Oak."
+
+"Then the English governor couldn't get it!" exclaimed Malcolm,
+delightedly. "Wasn't that splendid?"
+
+"It was a grand hiding-place, certainly, for no one would think of
+looking inside a tree for such a thing as that, and they were grand men
+who preserved their country's liberties in those trying times. But more
+peaceful years were at hand. About eighteen months after the charter had
+disappeared so mysteriously, the tyrant James II. was compelled to give
+up his throne to his daughter and son-in-law, the prince and princess of
+Orange, and Governor Treat and his associates again took the government
+of Connecticut under the old charter, which the hollow oak had
+faithfully kept from harm. No tree in our whole country has received
+more attention than this historic Hartford oak; and when, at last, its
+mere shell of a trunk was laid low by a storm, it seemed as if a large
+part of the city had been swept away.
+
+"Ancient oaks are apt to be almost entirely without branches; the huge
+trunk, with an opening at the top, and often with one also at the
+bottom, stands like a maimed giant, just tottering, perhaps, to its
+fall, because of the decay going on within, while outside all seems fair
+and sound. It was so with the Charter Oak; and when this monarch of the
+forest was unexpectedly laid low, rich and poor, great and small, were
+gathered to mourn its loss. A dirge was played and all the bells in the
+city were tolled at sundown, for this monument of the past was a link
+gone that could not be replaced."
+
+"Thank you, Miss Harson," said Clara; "_true_ stories are so nice! But I
+wish I had seen the Charter Oak before it was blown down."
+
+"You could not have done that, dear," was the reply, "unless you had
+been born about thirty years sooner."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+_BEAUTY AND GRACE: THE ASH_.
+
+"What tree comes next, Miss Harson?" asked Clara, on an April day that
+was mild enough for the piazza. "You told us so many interesting things
+about the oak that I suppose we needn't expect to hear of another tree
+like that."
+
+"No," was the reply; "not just like that, perhaps, for the oak is grand
+and venerable above all our familiar trees, but the ash, which is more
+especially an American tree, belongs to a large and interesting family,
+and I am quite sure that you will very much like to hear something about
+it. I have put it next to the oak because there is a sort of rivalry
+between the two as to which can get on its spring dress the soonest, and
+an old English rhyme says,
+
+     "'If the oak's before the ash,
+     Then you may expect a splash;
+     But if the ash is 'fore the oak,
+     Then you must beware a soak.'"
+
+"That must mean," said Malcolm, after considering this rather puzzling
+verse, "that it'll rain any way."
+
+"I think it does," replied Miss Harson, with a smile at Malcolm's air of
+deep thought, "and it is quite safe to say that in England. But, as 'a
+soak' sounds more serious than 'a splash,' it is to be hoped that the
+ash will not get ahead of the oak. I do not know what they are doing in
+England this year, but here the oak is a day or two ahead. The foliage
+of the ash is entirely different, as it has _pinnate_ leaves, which
+means leaves arranged in two rows, one on each side of a common stem, or
+_petiole_, like--What, Clara?"
+
+"Rose-leaves," was the prompt reply.
+
+"And leaves of the locust trees on the other side of the road," added
+Malcolm.
+
+[Illustration: THE COMMON ASH.]
+
+"And the sumac," said their governess, "and a number of others that
+might be mentioned. This kind of foliage is always graceful, and the
+ash is one of our largest and handsomest trees. It is said to be more
+common in America than in any other part of the globe. In Europe,
+because of its beauty, it is called the painter's tree. It is a
+particularly neat and regular-looking tree, and its smooth gray trunk
+is higher than that of most trees before any branches appear. Where is
+there a tree on the grounds answering this description, Malcolm?"
+
+"Down at the end of the vegetable-garden," was the reply, "and close
+beside the laundry."
+
+[Illustration: AMERICAN WHITE ASH.]
+
+"Yes; you are really learning to distinguish trees very well. There are
+several species--the white, red, black and mountain ash. The white ash
+is a graceful tree, rising in the forest to the height of seventy or
+eighty feet, with a straight trunk and a diameter of three feet or more
+at the base. On an open plain it throws out its branches, with a gentle
+double curvature, to a distance on every side, and forms a broad, round
+head of great beauty. The flowers of the ash are greenish white in color
+and appear with the leaves in loose clusters. 'The trunk of our largest
+American ash is covered with a whitish bark which in very young trees is
+nearly smooth; on older trees it is broken by deep furrows into
+irregular plates, and on very old stems it becomes smooth again, from
+the rough plates scaling off. The branches are grayish green dotted with
+gray or white.' Now who can tell _me_ something about this tree?"
+
+"I know that furniture is made of the wood," said Clara, "because that
+pretty set in the large spare-room is ash. And it is very
+light-colored."
+
+"The wood is used for a great many things," replied Miss Harson, "and
+the ash has been called the husbandman's tree because the timber is so
+much in demand for farming-implements, and for articles that need to be
+both strong and light. It does not last so long as the oak, but it is
+more elastic and can better resist sudden shocks and jerks; it is
+therefore particularly desirable for the spokes of wheels and ladders
+and the beams of floors. Staircases were made of it in olden times, and
+they may still be found in some English halls and abbeys. The forest ash
+makes better oars than any other wood, and the tree has so many good
+qualities that an old English poet spoke of it as
+
+     "'The ash for nothing ill.'
+
+"But Malcolm looks as if he had something to say, and I shall be very
+happy to hear it."
+
+"It is only about the red berries that they bear in autumn, Miss Harson;
+it looks queer to see berries growing on a tree."
+
+"The mountain ash is the only one that has berries," replied his
+governess, "and the bloom is in clusters of white flowers. The berries
+are sometimes dark red and often of a bright scarlet, and they remain on
+the tree during the winter, to the great delight of the birds. We should
+find them very sour, although pretty to look at; but the little
+feathered wanderers eat them with great relish when the snows of winter
+make bird-food scarce and the bright-red berries gleam out most
+invitingly. In some parts of Europe the berries are dried and ground
+into flour. The rowan, or roan, tree is the English name of the mountain
+ash, and in some parts of Great Britain it is called _witchen_, because
+of its supposed power against witches and evil spirits and all their
+spells. In old times branches of it were hung about houses and stables
+and cow-sheds, for it was thought that
+
+             "'witches have no power
+     Where there is roan-tree wood.'"
+
+"But that isn't true, is it?" asked Edith.
+
+"No, dear, not true of either the witches or the wood. But ignorant
+people believe a great many foolish things, and the leaves and twigs of
+the ash tree were thought to have peculiar virtue. In some places it was
+once the practice to pluck an ash-leaf in every case where the leaflets
+were of even number, and to say,
+
+     "'Even ash, I do thee pluck,
+     Hoping thus to meet good luck;
+     If no luck I get from thee,
+     Better far be on the tree.'"
+
+"It sounds like what children say on finding a four-leafed clover," said
+Clara.
+
+"It is on the same principle," was the reply, "for clover-leaves grow
+naturally in threes and ash-leaves in sevens. Both rhymes are equally
+silly where luck is concerned, and those who believe God's words--that
+even 'the hairs of our head are all numbered'--will have no faith in
+'luck.' In old times the ash was believed to perform wonderful cures of
+various kinds, and in remote parts of England a little mouse called the
+shrew-mouse bore a very bad character. If a horse or cow had pains in
+its limbs, they were said to be caused by a shrew-mouse running over it.
+Our forefathers provided themselves with what they called a shrew-ash,
+in order to meet the case. The shrew-ash was nothing more than an ash
+tree in the trunk of which a hole had been bored and a poor little
+shrew-mouse put in, with many charms and incantations happily long since
+forgotten."
+
+"And couldn't the poor little mouse get out again?" asked Edith.
+
+"I am afraid not, dear; and we can only rejoice that we did not live in
+those dark days. Among other beliefs in its virtues, the leaves and
+wood of the ash were regarded throughout Northern Europe as a protection
+from all manner of snakes, and in harvest-time children were suspended
+in their cradles from the branches of tall ash trees while their mothers
+were working in the harvest-field below. Even now serpents are said to
+dislike the tree so much that they will not come near it, and the leaf
+is considered a cure for the bite of a poisonous snake. I have been told
+that an ash-leaf rubbed on a mosquito-bite will at once take out the
+sting and itching, and no better remedy can be found for the sting of a
+bee or a wasp."
+
+"It's ever so much nicer than mud," said Clara, who had rather a talent
+for getting into hornets' nests.
+
+"But the mud, you see, is always to be had," replied Miss Harson, "while
+ash-leaves do not grow everywhere; and I do not know that they have any
+power to cure the sting.
+
+"The other species of ash found in this country are not so important as
+the white, but the black ash is remarkable as the slenderest deciduous
+tree of its height to be found in the forest. It is often seventy or
+eighty feet tall, with a trunk not more than a foot around. The color of
+the trunk is a dark granite-gray and the bark is rough. The wood is
+remarkable for its toughness, and for making baskets the Indians prefer
+it to any other, except the trunk of a young white oak.
+
+"The red ash is very much like the white, but the wood is less valuable.
+It is a spreading, broad-headed tree, and the trunk is erect and
+branching. It is not so tall as the black ash, yet its trunk is three
+times as thick.
+
+"A species of ash grows in Sicily that yields a substance called _manna_
+which used to be valuable as a medicine, and this manna is obtained in
+the same way as maple-sap--by making holes or incisions in the bark of
+the tree. At the proper season the persons whose business it is to
+collect manna begin to make incisions, one after the other, up the stem.
+The manna flows out like clear water, but it soon congeals and becomes
+a solid substance. It has a sweet taste, and while in a liquid state
+runs into a leaf of the tree that has been inserted in the wound.
+Afterward it flows into a vessel placed below, from which it is carried
+away and shipped off to other countries."
+
+"Is there any story about the ash?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Not much of a story, dear," was the reply--"only a little legend of the
+manna trees; but, such as it is, you shall have it:
+
+"The king of Naples, it is said, fenced a number of trees round and
+forbade any to collect the store they yielded unless they paid a
+tribute. By this means the royal revenue would be largely increased.
+But, according to the story, the manna trees, as if they disapproved of
+this ungenerous arrangement, refused to yield any manna, and suddenly
+became bare and barren. Upon this the king, finding his scheme a
+failure, revoked the tax and took away the fence. Then the trees poured
+out their manna, as usual, in the greatest abundance; so that it was
+said, 'When the king found he could not make a gain of what Providence
+had freely bestowed, he gave up the attempt and left the manna as free
+as God had given it.'
+
+[Illustration: THE SWING.]
+
+"There, now!" said Miss Harson; "after this long talk, you had better
+run off and see if there is not a tree somewhere on the grounds, with
+two ropes attached to it, that will bear better fruit than any tree we
+have studied yet."
+
+The trio laughed and raced for the swing, which was first reached by
+Clara, who seated herself all ready for the push which Malcolm would not
+grudge, for he pronounced his sister sweeter than apple or peach; and
+so she was.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+_THE OLIVE TREE_.
+
+"The ash," said Miss Harson, "has some relations of which, I think, you
+will be rather surprised to hear. These relations are both trees and
+shrubs, and the lilac, for instance, is one of them."
+
+"Why, they don't look a bit alike," exclaimed Clara.
+
+"No, they certainly do not; for, although this fragrant shrub often
+grows as large as a tree, it is quite different from the ash tree. Yet
+both belong to the olive family."
+
+"The kind of olives that papa likes to eat at dinner, and that you and I
+_don't_ like, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"The very same," replied his governess; "only that we are speaking now
+of the tree on which the olives grow. It is well said that the very name
+of 'olive' suggests the idea of Palestine and the sunny lands of the
+East. The olive tree is one of the most prominent trees of the Bible. It
+is mentioned in the very earliest part of the Scriptures, in the book of
+Genesis. I wonder if some one can tell me about it?"
+
+"I remember: a dove found a leaf when it was raining and brought it to
+Noah in the ark," said little Edith, quickly.
+
+"The rain had stopped falling, dear, after the deluge, and the waters
+were receding, or falling, when Noah sent forth the dove a second time
+to see what it would find. Here is the verse: 'And the dove came in to
+him in the evening; and lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off;
+so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth[7].' For
+this reason the olive-branch is a common emblem of peace. The olive tree
+is often mentioned in other parts of the Bible, and was considered one
+of the most valuable trees of Palestine, which is described as 'a land
+of oil-olive and honey.' It is not nearly so handsome as some other
+trees of the Holy Land, nor is it grand-looking or graceful. The
+leaves, which are long for the width, and smooth, are dark green on the
+upper side and silvery beneath; they generally grow in pairs. The fruit
+is shaped like a plum; it is green when first formed, then paler in
+color; and when quite ripe, it is black."
+
+[7] Gen. viii. 9.
+
+"But those that papa eats are olive-color," said Clara.
+
+"Yes," replied Miss Harson, smiling, "but all these hues I have
+mentioned are olive-color in some stage of the fruit; and it is in the
+green stage, before it is quite ripe, that it is gathered for
+preserving."
+
+"But that isn't _preserves_, is it?" asked Malcolm, drawing up his mouth
+at the recollection of an olive he had once tried to eat. "I thought
+preserves were always sweet."
+
+"That is the shape in which you are accustomed to them, Malcolm; but to
+preserve a thing means to keep it from decay, and salt and vinegar will
+do this as well as sugar. Preserves of this kind are what _you_ call
+'puckery.'--As to the color, Clara, 'olive-green' is a color by itself,
+because of its peculiar tint. It is a gray green instead of a blue or
+yellow green, and it has a very dull effect. The fruit is produced only
+once in two years, and in bearing-season the tree is loaded with white
+blossoms that drop to the ground like flakes of snow. It is said that
+not one in a hundred of these numerous flowers becomes an olive. Here,"
+continued Miss Harson, pointing to a page of a book in her hand, "is a
+representation of an olive-branch with some of the plum-shaped fruit.
+The branch, you see, is hard and stiff-looking."
+
+[Illustration: OLIVE-BRANCH WITH FRUIT.]
+
+"I should think the tree would be prettier when all those white flowers
+are on it," said little Edith.
+
+"It is--much prettier," replied her governess--"but not so useful. The
+fruit of the olive is so valuable that numbers of people depend upon it
+for their support. The wood, too, is very hard and durable, and, as it
+takes a fine polish, it is used for making many ornamental articles."
+
+"And where does the olive-oil come from?" asked Clara. "Do they make
+holes in the tree for it, as they do for maple-sap?"
+
+Malcolm was about to exclaim at this idea, but he remembered just in
+time that, should Miss Harson happen to question him, he himself could
+not tell where the oil came from.
+
+"The oil is pressed from the olives," was the reply; "a large, vigorous
+tree is said to yield a thousand pounds of it. It is such an important
+article of commerce in the regions where it is prepared that every one
+desires to get as much as he can out of his olive trees, but those who
+are too greedy of gain will spoil the quality of the oil to make a
+larger quantity. The small olive of Syria is considered the most
+delicate, and Italian olives also are very fine; those of Spain are
+larger and coarser. The best olive-oil comes from the south-eastern
+portion of France and is a clear, pure liquid; it is obtained from the
+first pressing of the fruit. This must be only a gentle squeeze, to get
+the purest oil: the quality usually sold is made by a heavier pressure;
+and then, when the olives are worked over again, come the dregs, which
+are not fit for table-use."
+
+"Do they mash 'em, like making apples into cider?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Something like that; and the olive-farmers take the most anxious care
+of their orchards, for they know that the more olives the more oil.
+This with the Italians means a living, and one of their proverbs says,
+'If you wish to leave a competency to your grandchildren, plant an
+olive.' The poorest of the fruit is eaten in their own families, 'to
+save it,' and, as it does not taste so well, it will go much farther.
+They do not eat olives, though, as we see them eaten--one or two as a
+relish; but a respectable dishful is provided for each person, instead
+of the bread and potatoes which they do not have."
+
+"I'd rather have the bread and potatoes," said Clara, "and I'm glad that
+I don't have to eat a whole plate of olives."
+
+"If you had always been accustomed to having olives, as the Italians
+are," replied Miss Harson, "you would think them very nice. I do not
+suppose that their children ever think how much more inviting are the
+olives that are kept for sale. Olives intended for exportation are
+gathered while still green, usually in the month of October. They are
+soaked for some hours in the strongest lye, to get rid of their
+bitterness, and are afterward allowed to stand for a fortnight in
+frequently-changed fresh water, in order to be perfectly purified of the
+lye. It only then remains to preserve them in common salt and water,
+when they are ready for export."
+
+"That's what they taste of," exclaimed Malcolm--"salt; and I don't like
+salt things."
+
+"I think," said his governess, with a smile, "that I have seen a boy
+whom I know enjoying sliced ham and tongue very much indeed."
+
+"So I do, Miss Harson," was the eager reply; "but ham and tongue, you
+know, don't taste like olives."
+
+"No, because they are ham and tongue. But they certainly taste salty,
+and that is what you object to. It is generally found that sweeping
+assertions are not very safe ones. But to come back to our olive tree:
+it is an evergreen, and it grows very easily. The readiness with which a
+twig will take root reminds us of the willow. A fine grove of olive
+trees at Messa, in Morocco, was accidentally planted. It is said that
+one of the kings of the dynasty of Saddia, being on a military
+expedition, encamped here with his army. The pegs with which the cavalry
+picketed their horses were cut from olive trees in the neighborhood,
+and, some sudden cause of alarm leading to the abandonment of the
+position, the pegs were left in the ground. Making the best of the
+situation, the pegs developed into the handsomest group of olive trees
+in the district."
+
+The children wondered if any trees had ever been planted in such a
+strange way before, and little Edith said thoughtfully,
+
+"But, Miss Harson, why don't good people go around and plant trees
+wherever there aren't any? It would be so nice!"
+
+"Some good people do plant trees, dear, wherever they can," replied her
+governess, "thinking, as they say, of those who are to come after them;
+a great many roadside trees have grown in this way. But no one is
+allowed to meddle with other people's property; waste-places might
+easily be beautified with trees if the owners cared for anything but for
+their own present interests. But here is something you will like to
+hear about the olives of Palestine: 'They are all planted together in
+the grove like the trees in a forest, and it would seem scarcely
+possible for the owners to distinguish their own property. But when the
+fruit is getting ripe, watchmen are appointed to guard the grove and
+prevent a single olive from being touched even by the person who has a
+right to the tree.'--You do not look as if you would like
+that, Malcolm."
+
+[Illustration: OLIVE TREE.--GATHERING THE FRUIT.]
+
+"Indeed I wouldn't!" replied the boy. "I rather think I'd take my own
+olives whenever I wanted 'em."
+
+"Not if you lived where all were agreed on this point, as they seem to
+be in Palestine.--'Days pass on, and the autumn is at hand before the
+governor of the district issues the wished-for proclamation; then the
+watchmen are removed. Immediately the scene becomes a most animated one.
+The grove is alive with an eager throng of men, women and children
+shaking down the precious fruit. It is, however, scarcely possible to
+bring every berry down, nor would it seem desirable, since after this
+great harvest comes the gleaning-time, when the poor, who have no olive
+trees, are permitted to come into the grove and shake down what
+is left.'"
+
+"Isn't there something about that in the Bible, Miss Harson?" asked
+Clara.
+
+"Yes; it is in the book of the prophet Isaiah, 'Yet gleaning grapes
+shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three
+berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost
+fruitful branches thereof, saith the Lord God of Israel[8].' This is a
+prophecy about God's people, but the Jews were told by God to leave
+something, when they were harvesting, for the poor to glean. Does it not
+seem wonderful that the mighty Ruler of the universe should condescend
+to such small things? But nothing is small with him, and we see that his
+loving care extends to the poorest and the meanest."
+
+[8] Isa. xvii. 6.
+
+"Miss Harson," asked Edith, with great earnestness, "has each of our
+hairs got a number on it? I couldn't find any."
+
+The young lady could scarcely keep from smiling, but she was obliged to
+call Malcolm to order, and even Clara seemed amused at her little
+sister's queer interpretation of the loving words, "The very hairs of
+your head are all numbered."
+
+Miss Harson took her youngest pupil on her knee and explained to her the
+meaning of our Saviour's words in Luke xii. 7, where it is added, "Fear
+not,", because the heavenly Father's loving care is always around us.
+
+"It was a natural mistake," she continued, "for a very little girl to
+make; but we must not try to find amusement in mistakes about God's
+word. Many grown people are irreverent in this way without knowing it:
+perhaps they were not properly taught when they were children. But _my_
+children must not have this excuse, and I want them all to promise me
+that they will never utter nor listen to words from the Bible in any
+other but a reverent manner."
+
+All promised, Malcolm with a flushed face and subdued tone; and Edith
+felt that one of the great puzzles of her small existence had
+been solved.
+
+"Oil is the most important product of the olive tree," said Miss Harson,
+"and it has well been called its richness and fatness. The great demand
+for it in Europe and Asia prevents the best quality from being sent
+abroad, and it is said that even the most wealthy foreigners seldom get
+it pure. It is a most important article of food, taking the place held
+by butter and lard with us. Innumerable lamps, too, are kept burning by
+means of this oil, and so varied are its uses in the East that it was a
+greater thing than we can understand for the prophet Habakkuk to say,
+'Although the labor of the olive shall fail, ... yet will I rejoice in
+the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.' Job says, 'The rock
+poured me out rivers of oil[9];' this means the oil of the olive, which
+will thrive on the sides and tops of rocky hills where there is scarcely
+any earth. It is a very long-lived tree, as well as an evergreen; the
+Psalmist says, 'I am like a green olive tree in the house of God.'"
+
+[9] Job xxiii. 6.
+
+"What does a _wild_ olive tree mean, Miss Harson?" asked Clara.
+
+"It means, dear, one that has grown without being cultivated, like our
+wild cherry and plum trees. The wild olive is smaller than the other,
+and inferior to it in every way. There are a great many olive trees in
+Palestine, and a place where they must have been very plentiful is
+called by a name which we often see in the Bible.--What is it, Malcolm?"
+
+"Is it 'the Mount of Olives'?" said Malcolm.
+
+"Yes, and it is sometimes called 'Olivet.' It is mentioned in the Old
+Testament as well as in the New. In Second Samuel it is written: 'And
+David went up by the ascent of Mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and
+had his head covered, and he went barefoot: and all the people that was
+with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they
+went up[10].'"
+
+[10] 2 Sam. xv. 30.
+
+"What was the matter?" asked Edith.
+
+"King David's wicked son Absalom had risen up against his father because
+he wished to be king in his stead. You remember how he was caught by the
+head in the boughs of an oak during the very battle that he was fighting
+for this purpose; so we know that he did not succeed in his wicked plan,
+but lost his life instead.--The Mount of Olives is described as 'a
+ridge running north and south on the east side of Jerusalem, its summit
+about half a mile from the city wall and separated from it by the valley
+of the Kidron. It is composed of a chalky limestone, the rocks
+everywhere showing themselves. The olive trees that formerly covered it
+and gave it its name are now represented by a few trees and clumps of
+trees. There are three prominent summits on the ridge; of these, the
+southernmost, which is lower than the other two, is now known as 'the
+Mount of Offence,' originally 'the Mount of Corruption,' because Solomon
+defiled it with idolatrous worship. Over this ridge passes the road to
+Bethany, the most frequented route to Jericho and the Jordan. The side
+of the Mount of Olives toward the west contains many tombs cut in the
+rock. The central summit rises two hundred feet above Jerusalem and
+presents a fine view of the city, and, indeed, of the whole region,
+including the mountains of Ephraim on the north, the valley of the
+Jordan on the east, a part of the Dead Sea on the south-east, and beyond
+it Kerak, in the mountains of Moab. Perhaps no spot on earth unites so
+fine a view with so many memorials of the most solemn and important
+events. Over this hill the Saviour often climbed in his journeys to and
+from the Holy City. Gethsemane lay at its foot on the west, and Bethany
+on its eastern slope.'"
+
+During the reading of this description of the Mount of Olives, Miss
+Harson showed the children pictures of the different spots mentioned,
+and thus they were not likely soon to forget what had been told them.
+
+"Who can repeat some words from the New Testament about this mountain?"
+asked Miss Harson.
+
+"'Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives,'" said Clara, who had learned
+this verse in her Sunday lesson, "and it is the first verse of the
+eighth chapter of St. John."
+
+"And the verse just before it, at the end of the seventh chapter,"
+replied her governess, "says that 'every man went unto his own house,'
+but 'Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives.' In another place it is said
+that 'at night he went out and abode in the Mount of Olives,' and in
+still another that he 'continued all night in prayer to God,' probably
+on the same mountain."
+
+"And can people really go and see the very same Mount of Olives now?"
+asked Malcolm, eagerly.
+
+"The very same," was the reply, "except, as I just read to you, many of
+the olive trees that gave it its name are no longer there. The Garden of
+Gethsemane, too, the most sacred spot near the mountain, is much
+changed, and a traveler who saw it lately says:
+
+"'At the foot of the Mount of Olives is a garden enclosed by a wall.
+There are paths and there are plots of flowers, the work of loving hands
+in recent years. The flowers speak of to-day, but there are olive trees
+in the garden that testify of the history of far-away years. Their
+venerable trunks, gnarled and rugged, are like the rough, marred binding
+of old books, shutting in a history going back to a far-off date.
+
+"'On one side of this garden slope upward the terraces of the Mount of
+Olives--terraces that are cultivated to-day even as the slopes of Olivet
+have been cultivated for generations and centuries. The other side of
+the garden looks toward the eastern wall of Jerusalem. Deep down in its
+shadowy bed, between the wall and the garden, lies the ravine of
+the Kedron.
+
+[Illustration: GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE.]
+
+"'If you visit that garden and look upon its old olive trees, the
+keeper of the place will tell you that you are in Gethsemane, the spot
+of our Saviour's betrayal. He will point out the "Grotto of the Agony,"
+the place where the disciples slumbered, and that where Judas, before
+his brethren, ceased publicly to be a follower and became the betrayer
+of Jesus. Some things you very naturally may question as the guardian of
+the enclosure tells his story. Whether any one of the venerable olive
+trees ever threw its shadow across the prostrate form of Jesus is more
+than doubtful, but that these trees are burdened with the history of
+centuries all must concede. "Gethsemane" means "oil-press," and olive
+trees long ago gave Olivet its name. That somewhere in this neighborhood
+the Saviour suffered cannot be doubted, and within that closed wall may
+have been the very spot where he bowed in his agony, and where he heard
+the tongue of Judas utter his treacherous "Rabbi!" and where he felt the
+serpent-breath of the traitor as that traitor kissed him.'"
+
+Miss Harson read of this solemn spot in a low, reverent tone; and the
+little audience were very quiet, until at last Clara said,
+
+"Whenever we see an ash tree or olives, how much there will be to think
+of!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+_THE USEFUL BIRCH_.
+
+"Oh, Miss Harson!" called out Clara, in great excitement, as she caught
+up with her governess on a run; "hasn't Edie poisoned herself? She has
+been eating this twig."
+
+Edith, of course, at once began to cry.
+
+"You are not poisoned, dear," said Miss Harson, very quickly, after
+trying the twig herself; "for this is birch-wood, and it cannot possibly
+hurt you. But remember, Edie, that this must not happen again; _never_
+put anything to your mouth unless you know it to be harmless. The birds
+and squirrels and other animals that are obliged to pick up their own
+living as soon as they are able to use their limbs have the faculty
+given them of knowing what is good for them to eat, but little girls are
+not intended to live in the woods, and they cannot tell whether or not
+the things they find there are fit to eat."
+
+"I took only a little bit," sobbed Edith; "Clara snatched it away as
+soon as it tasted good."
+
+Malcolm laughingly tossed his little sister into a sort of evergreen
+cradle where the branches grew low--for they were enjoying an afternoon
+in the woods--and held her there securely, while their governess
+replied,
+
+"'A little bit' is too much of a thing that might be harmful. You must
+remember to 'touch not, taste not, handle not,' until you have asked
+permission. But I am going to let you all chew as many birch-shoots as
+you want, and I too shall chew some; for when I was a little girl, I
+used to think they were 'puffickly d'licious.'"
+
+The children were much amazed to think that Miss Harson had ever talked
+like Edith--indeed, the two older ones could scarcely believe that they
+once did so themselves; but all soon had their hands full of
+birch-twigs, and they began gnawing like so many squirrels. All approved
+of the "birchskin," as Edith called it, and Malcolm declared that "it
+would be grand fun to live in the woods all the time."
+
+"Couldn't we have a tent, Miss Harson," asked Clara, "and try it?"
+
+"I have no doubt," was the reply, "that your indulgent papa would have a
+tent put up here for you if he thought it would make you happier, but I
+have my doubts as to whether it would do so. In the first place, I
+should object very much to living in the tent with you, and how could
+you possibly live there alone?"
+
+Clara and Edith were quite sure that they could not get along without
+their friend and governess, but Malcolm thought he would like to try
+being a hermit or an Indian, he was not quite ready to say which.
+
+"While you are deciding," said Miss Harson, with a smile, "it may be as
+well for us to go on as usual; but I think that a little tent could be
+put up here somewhere, which we might enjoy for an hour or so on
+pleasant days. I will see about it."
+
+The little girls were delighted, and Malcolm finally condescended to be
+pleased with the idea.
+
+"This is a very young birch," continued their governess, "and you see
+how slender and graceful it is; also that the bark, or 'skin,' is very
+dark. For this reason it is called the black, or cherry, birch, and also
+because the tree is very much like the black cherry. It is also called
+sweet birch and mahogany birch; the _sweet_ part you can probably
+understand, and it gets its other name from the color of the wood, which
+often resembles mahogany and at one time was much used for furniture.
+There are larger trees of the same kind all around us, and I should like
+to know if anything else has been noticed besides the twigs of this
+little one."
+
+"_I_ see something," replied Malcolm: "there are flowers--purple and
+yellow."
+
+"And what is the particular name for these tree-blossoms?" asked Miss
+Harson.
+
+"Isn't it _catkins_?" inquired Clara, timidly.
+
+"Yes, catkins, or aments. They hang, as you see, like long tassels of
+purple and gold, and are as fragrant as the bark. Bryant's line,
+
+     "'The fragrant birch above him hung her tassels in the sky,'
+
+"was written of this same black birch. Some of these trees are sixty or
+seventy feet high, and all are very graceful, this species being
+considered the most beautiful of the numerous birch family. The leaves,
+which are just coming out, are two or three inches long and about half
+as wide; they taper to a point and have serrate, or sawlike, edges. The
+wood is firm and durable, and is much used for cattle-yokes as well as
+for bedsteads and chairs. The large trees yield a great quantity of
+sweetish sap, which makes a pleasant drink. The trees are tapped just as
+the sugar-maples are, and in some parts of the country gathering this
+sap, which is sometimes used to make vinegar, is quite an
+important event."
+
+"Oh! oh! _oh_!" screamed Edith, and began to run.
+
+"Oh! oh! oh!" echoed Clara; and Malcolm declared that she was just like
+"Jill," who "came tumbling after."
+
+"What is the matter, children?" asked their governess, in dismay; but
+she stood perfectly still.
+
+"Only a poor little garter-snake," said Malcolm, "putting his head out
+to see if it's warm enough for him yet. But he has gone back into his
+hole frightened to death at such dreadful noises. Hello! what's the
+matter with Edie now?"
+
+The little sister had fallen, tripped up by some rough roots, and,
+expecting the poor startled garter-snake to come and make a meal off
+her, she was calling loudly for help.
+
+Miss Harson had her in her arms in a moment, and it was soon found that
+one foot had quite a bad bruise.
+
+"If only you had not run away!" said her governess. "He was such an
+innocent little snake to make all this fuss about, and very pretty too,
+if you had stopped to look at him."
+
+"Are snakes ever pretty?" asked Edith, in great surprise.
+
+"Certainly they are, dear, and this one had lovely stripes. I wish you
+could have seen him."
+
+The little girl began to wish so too, it was so funny to think of a
+snake being pretty, and she felt quite ashamed that she had scampered
+away in such a silly fashion.
+
+"What a goose I was!" said Clara, doing her thinking aloud. "But I
+thought it must be something dreadful, when Edie screamed so."
+
+"How much better it would have been to have found out before you
+screamed!" replied Miss Harson.--"But come, Edith; see what a nice cane
+Malcolm has just cut to help your lame foot with. He is offering you his
+arm, too, on the other side, and between the two I think you will get
+along finely."
+
+Edith thought the same thing, and enjoyed being helped home in this
+fashion. Her foot was quite painful, though, and considerably swollen;
+and Clara bathed it with arnica when the little girl had been
+comfortably established on the schoolroom sofa.
+
+"Perhaps," said Miss Harson, "our little invalid will not care to hear
+about trees this evening?"
+
+But the little invalid did care, and it was decided to take a further
+ramble among the birches.
+
+"I want to hear about birch-bark," said Malcolm--"not the kind we've
+been eating, but the kind that canoes and things are made of."
+
+[Illustration: THE CUT-LEAVED WHITE BIRCH.]
+
+"You have already heard about the black birch," replied his governess,
+"and, besides this, we have the white, or gray, birch, the bark of which
+is white, chalky and dotted with black; the red birch, with bark of a
+reddish or chocolate color; the yellow birch, bark yellowish, with a
+silvery lustre; and the canoe birch, which has a white bark with a
+pearly lustre. There is also a dwarf, or shrub, birch. The list, you
+see, is quite a long one."
+
+"What kind grow in _our_ woods?" asked Clara.
+
+"You certainly know of one kind," was the reply--"the black, or sweet,
+birch, which we have all tried and like so well. Besides this, there is
+the white, or little gray, birch, which is seldom over twenty-five or
+thirty feet high. It is, however, a graceful and beautiful object,
+enjoying to an eminent decree the lightness and airiness of the birch
+family, and spreading out its glistening leaves on the ends of a very
+slender and often pensile spray with an indescribable softness. An
+English poet has called this tree the
+
+                           "'most beautiful
+     Of forest-trees, the lady of the woods.'"
+
+The children laughed at the idea of calling a tree a _lady_, it seemed
+so comical; but Miss Harson said that she thought this was a very good
+description of a slender, graceful tree.
+
+[Illustration: WHITE-BIRCH LEAF.]
+
+"Four or five inches," she continued, "will span its waist, or trunk,
+and this seems a very good reason for calling it _little_. Another name
+for this tree is poplar birch, because the triangular-shaped leaves,
+which taper to a very long, slender point, have a habit of trembling
+like those of the poplars. The branches are of a dark chocolate color
+which contrasts very prettily with the grayish-white trunk, and their
+extreme slenderness causes them to droop somewhat like those of the
+willow. The white birch will spring up in the poorest kind of soil, and
+it is found in the highest latitude in which any tree can live. Its leaf
+is 'deltoid' in shape and indented at the edge. The bark of this species
+is said to be more durable than any other vegetable substance, and a
+piece of birch-wood was once found changed into stone, while the outer
+bark, white and shining, remained in its natural state,"
+
+"I don't see how it could," said Malcolm. "What kept it from turning
+into stone too?"
+
+"Its peculiar nature," was the reply, "which is a thing that we cannot
+explain, and we shall have to take the story just as it is. We certainly
+know that the wood has been proved to be very strong, and it is much
+used for timber."
+
+"Is the red birch really red, Miss Harson?" asked Clara, who thought
+that this promised to be the prettiest member of the family.
+
+"The bark has a reddish tinge, and it is so loose and ragged-looking
+that it has been said to roll up its bark in coarse ringlets, which are
+whitish with a stain of crimson. The red birch, which is more rare than
+any of the other kinds, is a much larger tree than the white birch, but,
+like all its relations, it is very graceful. The wood is white and hard
+and makes very good fuel, while the twigs are made into brooms for
+sweeping streets and courtyards."
+
+"But there isn't very much red about it, after all," said Malcolm.
+
+"It wasn't red," murmured Edith; "it was green;" and the next moment
+"the baby" was fast asleep, but Miss Harson was afraid that she had
+taken the snake with her to the land of Nod, so restless was her sleep.
+
+"I hope the yellow birch is yellow," said Clara again.
+
+"We will see what is said of its color," replied her governess, "and
+here it is: 'Distinguished by its yellowish bark, of a soft silken
+texture and silvery or pearly lustre,' It is a large tree, and has been
+named _excelsa_--'lofty'--because of its height. The slender, flowing
+branches are very graceful, and the tree is often as symmetrical as a
+fine elm, but droops less. The roots of the yellow birch seem to enjoy
+getting above the ground and twisting themselves in a very fantastic
+manner, and, taken altogether, it is a strikingly handsome and
+ornamental tree. The wood was at one time much liked for fuel, and many
+of the logs were of immense size."
+
+"Now," said Malcolm, gleefully, "the canoe birch has _got_ to come next,
+because there isn't anything else to come."
+
+"That is an excellent reason," replied Miss Harson, "and the canoe birch
+it shall be. There is more to be said of it than of any of the others,
+and it also grows in greater quantities. Thick woods of it are found in
+Maine and New Hampshire--for it loves a cold climate--and in other
+Northern portions of the country. The tall trunks of the trees resemble
+pillars of polished marble supporting a canopy of bright-green foliage.
+The leaves are something of a heart-shape, and their vivid summer green
+turns to golden tints in autumn. The bark of the canoe birch is almost
+snowy white on the outside, and very prettily marked with fine brown
+stripes two or three inches long, which go around the trunk. This bark
+is very smooth and soft, and it is easily separated into very thin
+sheets. For this reason the tree is often called the paper birch, and
+the smooth, thin layers of bark make very good writing-paper when none
+other can be had."
+
+"Oh, Miss Harson!" exclaimed Clara; "did you ever see any that was
+written on?"
+
+"Yes," was the reply; "I once wrote a letter on some myself."
+
+"Did you _really_?" cried two eager voices. "How _could_ you? Oh, do
+tell us about it!"
+
+"I was making a visit at a village in Maine," said their governess,
+"where the beautiful trees are to be seen in all their perfection, and I
+thought it would be appropriate to write a letter from there on birch
+bark. So I split my bark very thin and got a respectable sheet of it
+ready; then I cut another piece, to form an envelope, and gummed it
+together. I had quite a struggle to write on it decently with a steel
+pen, because the pen would go through the paper; but I persevered, and
+finally I accomplished my letter. It seemed odd to put a postage-stamp
+on birch bark, and I smiled to think how surprised the home-people
+would be to get such a letter. They _were_ surprised, and they told me
+afterward that the postman laughed when he delivered it."
+
+The children thought this very interesting, and they wished that there
+were canoe-birch trees growing at Elmridge, that they might be enabled
+to try the experiment for themselves.
+
+"Now," continued Miss Harson, "I am going to read you an account of
+canoe-making, and of some other uses to which the bark is put:
+
+"'In Canada and in the district of Maine the country-people place large
+pieces of the bark immediately below the shingles of the roof, to form a
+more impenetrable covering for their houses. Baskets, boxes and
+portfolios are made of it, which are sometimes embroidered with silk of
+different colors. Divided into very thin sheets, it forms a substitute
+for paper, and placed between the soles of the shoes and in the crown of
+the hat it is a defence against dampness. But the most important purpose
+to which it is applied, and one in which it is replaced by the bark of
+no other tree, is in the construction of canoes. To procure proper
+pieces, the largest and smoothest trunks are selected. In the spring two
+circular incisions are made, several feet apart, and two longitudinal
+ones on opposite sides of the tree; after which, by introducing a wooden
+wedge, the bark is easily detached. These plates are usually ten or
+twelve feet long and two feet nine inches broad. To form the canoe, they
+are stitched together with fibrous roots of the white spruce about the
+size of a quill, which are deprived of the bark, split and suppled in
+water. The seams are coated with resin of the balm of Gilead.
+
+"'Great use is made of these canoes by the savages and by the French
+Canadians in their long journeys into the interior of the country; they
+are very light, and are easily transported on the shoulders from one
+lake or river to another, which is called the _portage_. A canoe
+calculated for four persons, with their baggage, weighs from forty to
+fifty pounds; some of them are made to carry fifteen passengers.'
+
+"And now let me show you a picture of the Kentucky pioneer in a
+birch-bark canoe."
+
+"Why, Miss Harson, the Indians are trying to kill him!" exclaimed
+Malcolm.
+
+"Yes," she replied; "when you read the history of the United States, you
+will find that not only Daniel Boone, but the most of the early settlers
+of these Western lands, had trouble with the Indians. Nor is this
+strange. These pioneers were often rough men, and were looked upon by
+the natives as invaders of their country and treated as enemies. But to
+come back to the uses of the bark of the birch:
+
+"'In the settlements of the Hudson Bay Company tents are made of the
+bark of this tree, which for that purpose is cut into pieces twelve feet
+long and four feet wide. These are sewed together by threads made of the
+white-spruce roots; and so rapidly is a tent put up that a circular one
+twenty feet in diameter and ten feet high does not occupy more than half
+an hour in pitching. Every traveler and hunter in Canada enjoys these
+"rind-tents," as they are called, which are used only during the hot
+summer months, when they are found particularly comfortable.'"
+
+[Illustration: IN THE BIRCH-BARK CANOE]
+
+"Well, that's the funniest thing yet!" exclaimed Malcolm. "'Rind-tents'!
+I wish I could see one. Did they have any in Maine where you were,
+Miss Harson?"
+
+"No," was the reply, "I did not even hear of such a thing there, and to
+see it you would probably have to go far to the north. The English
+birch, which is found also in many parts of Europe, is put to a great
+many uses; the leaves produce a yellow dye, and the wood, when mixed
+with copperas, will color red, black and brown. An old birch tree that
+is supposed to be giving an account of itself says,
+
+"'How many are the uses of my bark! Thrifty men who sit beside the
+blazing hearth when my branches throw up a clear bright flame, and
+follow the example of their fathers in making their own shoes and those
+of their families, tan the hides with my bark. Kamschadales construct
+from it both hats and vessels for holding milk, and the Swedish
+fisherman his shoes. The Norwegian covers with it his low-roofed hut
+and spreads upon the surface layers of moss at least three or four
+inches thick, and, having twisted long strips together, he obtains
+excellent torches with which to cheer the darkness of his long nights.
+Fishermen, in like manner, make great use of them in alluring their
+finny prey. For this purpose they fit a portion of blazing birch in a
+cleft stick and spear the fish when attracted by its flickering light.'"
+
+The children exclaimed at this queer way of fishing, but Malcolm was
+very much taken with the idea of doing it by night with blazing torches,
+and he thought that he would like to be a Norwegian fisherman even
+better than a hermit or an Indian.
+
+"The old tree goes on to say," continued Miss Harson, "that 'Finland
+mothers form of the dried leaves soft, elastic beds for their children,
+and from me is prepared the _mona_, their sole medicine in all diseases.
+My buds in spring exhale a delicious fragrance after showers, and the
+bark, when burnt, seems to purify the air in confined dwellings.'
+
+"In Lapland the twigs of the birch, covered with reindeer-skins, are
+used for beds, but they cannot be so comfortable, I should think, as the
+leaves. The fragrant wood of the tree makes the fires which have to be
+kept up inside the huts even in summer to drive away the mosquitoes, and
+the people of those Northern regions would find it hard to get along
+without the useful birch."
+
+"I like to hear about it," said Clara. "Can you tell us something more
+that is done with it, Miss Harson?"
+
+"There is just one thing more," replied her governess, with a smile,
+"which I will read out of an old book; and I desire you all to pay
+particular attention to it."
+
+Little Edith was wide awake again by this time, and her great blue eyes
+looked as if she were ready to devour every word.
+
+"Birch rods," continued Miss Harson, "are quite different from birch
+_twigs_, and the uses to which they were put were not altogether
+agreeable to the boys who ran away from school or did not get their
+lessons. 'My branches,' says the birch, 'gently waving in the wind,
+awakened in those days no feelings of dread with truant urchins--for
+_all_ might be truants then, if so it pleased them--but at length a
+scribe arose who thus wrote concerning my ductile twigs: "The civil uses
+whereunto the birch serveth are many, as for the punishment of children
+both at home and abroad; for it hath an admirable influence upon them to
+quiet them when they wax unruly, and therefore some call the tree
+_make-peace_"'" Malcolm and Clara both laughed, and asked their young
+governess when the birch rods were coming; but Edith did not feel quite
+so easy, and, with her bruised foot and all, it took a great deal of
+petting that night to get her comfortably to bed.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+_THE POPLARS_.
+
+The bruised foot was not comfortable to walk on for two or three days,
+and Edith was settled in the great easy arm-chair with dolls and toys
+and picture-books in a pile that seemed as if it would not stop growing
+until every article belonging to herself and Clara had been gathered
+there. "We can go on with our trees," said Miss Harson, "even if we do
+not see them just yet; and this evening I should like to tell you
+something about the poplar, a large tree with alternate leaves which is
+often found in dusty towns, where it seems to flourish as well as in its
+favorite situation by a running stream. An old English writer calls the
+poplars 'hospitable trees, for anything thrives under their shade.' They
+are not handsomely-shaped trees, but the foliage is thick and pretty. In
+the latter part of this month--April--the trees are so covered with
+their olive-green catkins that large portions of the forests seem to be
+colored by them."
+
+[Illustration: IN THE EASY CHAIR]
+
+"Are there any poplars at Elmridge?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Not nearer than the woods," was the reply, "where we must go and look
+for them when Edith's foot is quite well again, though there are a good
+many in the city. The poplar is often planted by the roadside because it
+grows so rapidly and makes a good shade. The _Abele_, or silver poplar,
+is an especial favorite for this purpose.
+
+"The balm of Gilead, or Canada poplar, is the largest of the species,
+and really a handsome tree, often growing to the height of fifty or
+sixty feet, with a trunk of proportionate size. It has large leaves of a
+bright, glossy green, which grow loosely on long branches, A peculiarity
+of this tree is that before the leaves begin to expand the buds are
+covered with a yellow, glutinous balsam that diffuses a penetrating but
+very agreeable odor unlike any other. The balsam is gathered as a
+healing anodyne, and for many ailments it is a favorite remedy in
+domestic medicine. All the poplars produce more or less of this
+substance.
+
+"The river poplaris found on the banks of rivers and brooks and in wet
+places, and is a noble and graceful tree. The trunk is light gray in
+color, and the young trees have a smooth, leather-like bark. The broad
+leaves, of a very rich green, grow on stems nearly as long as
+themselves, and the flowering aments are of a light-red color. The
+leaf-stalks and young branches are also brightly tinted. Another of
+these trees has a very singular name: it is called the necklace poplar."
+
+[Illustration: LOMBARDY POPLAR.]
+
+"Do the flowers grow like real necklaces?" asked Clara.
+
+"Not quite," replied her governess, "but the reason given is something
+like it. The tree is so called from the resemblance of the long ament,
+before opening, to the beads of a necklace. In Europe it is known as the
+Swiss poplar and the black Italian poplar. Its timber is much valued
+there for building. There are also the black poplar and that queer,
+stiff-looking tree the Lombardy poplar. Cannot one of you tell me where
+there are some tall, narrow trees that look almost as if they had been
+cut out of wood and stuck there?"
+
+"I know where there are some," said Malcolm: "right in front of Mrs.
+Bush's old house; and I think they're miserable-looking trees."
+
+"When old and rusty, they are not in the least cheerful," replied Miss
+Harson; "and it is so long since Lombardy poplars were admired that few
+are found except about old places. The tree is shaped like a tall spire,
+and in hot, calm weather drops of clear water trickle from its leaves
+like a slight shower of rain. It was once a favorite shade-tree, and a
+century ago great numbers of Lombardy poplars were planted by village
+waysides, in front of dwelling-houses, on the borders of public
+grounds, and particularly in avenues leading to houses that stand at
+some distance from the high-road.
+
+[Illustration: A GROUP OF POPLARS IN CASHMERE]
+
+"The poplar is found in many lands. The Lombardy poplar, as its name
+indicates, was brought from Italy, where it grows luxuriantly beside the
+orange and the myrtle; but after one of our cold winters many of its
+small branches will decay, and this gives it a forlorn appearance. When
+fresh and green, the Lombardy poplar is quite handsome. Some one wrote
+of it long ago: 'There is no other tree that so pleasantly adorns the
+sides of narrow lanes and avenues, and so neatly accommodates itself to
+limited enclosures. Its foliage is dense and of the liveliest verdure,
+making delicate music to the soft touch of every breeze. Its
+terebinthine odors scent the vernal gales that enter our open windows
+with the morning sun. Its branches, always turning upward and closely
+gathered together, afford a harbor to the singing-birds that make them a
+favorite resort, and its long, tapering spire that points to heaven
+gives an air of cheerfulness and religious tranquillity to village
+scenery.'"
+
+"I wish we had some," said Edith, "with singing-birds in 'em."
+
+"Why, my dear child," replied her governess, "have we not the beautiful
+elms, in which the birds build their nests and where they fly in and out
+continually? They are the very same birds that build in the
+Lombardy poplars."
+
+"I thought that singing-birds always lived in cages," said the little
+queen in the easy-chair.
+
+"And did you think they were hung all over the Lombardy poplars?" asked
+Malcolm, in a broad grin.
+
+Edith laughed too, and Miss Harson said smilingly.
+
+"I thought that the birds about Elmridge did a great deal of singing,
+and the blue-birds and robins kept it up all day. But I should not like
+to see the old Lombardy poplars hung with gilded cages, and the birds
+which should happen to be prisoners in the cages would like it
+still less."
+
+"Well," said Edith, contentedly, as she settled herself again to
+listen.
+
+"The poplar," continued Miss Harson, "has a great many insect enemies,
+and the Lombardy is not often seen now, because a great many of these
+trees were destroyed on account of a worm, or caterpillar, by which they
+were infested. Poplar-wood is soft, light and generally of a pale-yellow
+color; it is much used for toy-making and for boarded floors, 'for which
+last purpose it is well adapted from its whiteness and the facility with
+which it is scoured, and also from the difficulty with which it catches
+fire and the slowness with which it burns. A red-hot poker falling on a
+board of poplar would burn its way without causing more combustion than
+the hole through which it passed.'"
+
+"I should think, then," said Malcolm, "that all wooden things would be
+made of poplar."
+
+"It is generally thought not to be durable," was the reply, "but it is
+said that if kept dry the wood will last as long as that of any tree.
+Says the poplar plank,
+
+     "'Though heart of oak be ne'er so stout,
+     Keep me dry and I'll see him out.'
+
+"The poplar has been highly praised, for every part of this tree answers
+some good purpose. The bark, being light, like cork, serves to support
+the nets of fishermen; the inner bark is used by the Kamschadales as a
+material for bread; brooms are made from the twigs, and paper from the
+cottony down of the seeds. Horses, cows and sheep browse upon it.
+
+"And now," said Miss Harson, when the children were wondering if that
+were the end, "we have come to the most interesting tree of the whole
+species--the aspen, or trembling poplar. It is a small, graceful tree
+with rounded leaves having a wavy, toothed border, covered with soft
+silk when young, which remains only as a fringe on the edge at maturity,
+supported by a very slender footstalk about as long as the leaf, and
+compressed laterally from near the base. They are thus agitated by the
+slightest breath of wind with that quivering, restless motion
+characteristic of all the poplars, but in none so striking as this. 'To
+quiver like an aspen-leaf has become a proverb. The foliage appears
+lighter than that of most other trees, from continually displaying the
+under side of the leaves.
+
+"The aspen has been called a very poetical tree, because it is the only
+one whose leaves tremble when the wind is apparently calm. It is said,
+however, to suggest fickleness and caprice, levity and irresolution--a
+bad character for any tree. The small American aspen, which is quite
+common, has a smooth, pale-green bark, which gets whitish and rough as
+the tree grows old. The foliage is thin, but a single leaf will be
+found, when examined, uncommonly beautiful. A spray of the small aspen,
+when in leaf, is very light and airy-looking, and the leaves produce a
+constant rustling sound. 'Legends of no ordinary interest linger around
+this tree. Ask the Italian peasant who pastures his sheep beside a grove
+of _Abele_ why the leaves of these trees are always trembling in even
+the hottest weather when not a breeze is stirring, and he will tell you
+that the wood of the trembling-poplar formed the cross on which our
+Saviour suffered.'"
+
+"Oh, Miss Harson!" said Clara, in a low tone. "Is that _true_?"
+
+"We do not know that it is, dear, nor do we know that it is not. Here
+are some verses about it which I like very much:
+
+     "'The tremulousness began, as legends tell,
+       When he, the meek One, bowed his head to death
+     E'en on an aspen cross, when some near dell
+       Was visited by men whose every breath
+     That Sufferer gave them. Hastening to the wood--
+       The wood of aspens--they with ruffian power
+     Did hew the fair, pale tree, which trembling stood
+       As if awestruck; and from that fearful hour
+     Aspens have quivered as with conscious dread
+     Of that foul crime which bowed the meek Redeemer's head.
+
+     "'Far distant from those days, oh let not man,
+       Boastful of reason, check with scornful speech
+     Those legends pure; for who the heart may scan
+       Or say what hallowed thoughts such legends teach
+     To those who may perchance their scant flocks keep
+       On hill or plain, to whom the quivering tree
+     Hinteth a thought which, holy, solemn, deep,
+       Sinks in the heart, bidding their spirits flee
+     All thoughts of vice, that dread and hateful thing
+     Which troubleth of each joy the pure and gushing spring?'"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+_ALL A-BLOW: THE APPLE TREE_.
+
+It certainly was a beautiful sight, and the children exclaimed over it
+in ectasy. It was now past the middle of April, and Miss Harson had
+taken her little flock to visit an apple-orchard at some distance from
+Elmridge, and the whole place seemed to be one mass of pink-and-white
+bloom.
+
+"And how deliciously _sweet_ it is!" said Malcolm as he sniffed the
+fragrant air.
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed Edith, turning up her funny little nose to get the full
+benefit of all this fragrance; "I can't breathe half enough at once."
+
+"That is just my case," said her governess, laughing, "but I did not
+think to say it in that way. Get all you can of this deliciousness,
+children; I wish that we could carry some of it away with us."
+
+"And so you shall," replied a hearty voice as Mr. Grove, the owner of
+the orchard, came up with a knife in his hand and began cutting off
+small branches of apple--blossoms. "I like to see folks enjoy things."
+
+"I hope you don't mind our trespassing on your grounds?" said Miss
+Harson. "I can engage that my little friends will do no injury, and I
+particularly wished them to see your beautiful orchard in bloom; it is
+almost equal to a field of roses."
+
+"Don't mind it at all, miss," was the reply--"quite the contrary; and I
+think, myself, it's a pretty sight. Smells good, too. Now, here's a
+nosegay big enough for you three young ladies, and Bub there can
+carry it."
+
+Malcolm, who was quite proud of his name, felt so indignant at being
+called "Bub" that he almost forgot the farmer's generosity; but his
+governess acknowledged it, very much to the worthy man's satisfaction.
+
+Edith, however, was rather shocked.
+
+"I thought it was wicked," said she, "to cut off flowers from fruit
+trees? Won't these make apples?"
+
+"Not them particular ones, Sis," replied Mr. Grove, with a laugh;
+"they're done for now. But it ain't wicked to cut off your own apple
+blows when there's too many on the tree to make good apples, and there's
+plenty to spare yet." He was very much amused at the little girl's
+serious face over this wholesale destruction of infant apples, and he
+invited them all to come to the house and get a drink of fresh milk. The
+children thought this a very pleasant invitation, and Miss Harson was
+quite willing to gratify them.
+
+The farmer led his guests into a very cheerful and wonderfully clean
+kitchen, where Mrs. Groves was busy with her baking, and the loaves of
+fresh bread looked very inviting. She was as pleasant and hospitable as
+her husband, and after shaking up a funny-looking patchwork cushion in a
+rocking-chair for the young lady to sit down on she told the little
+girls that she would get them a couple of crickets if they would wait a
+minute, and disappeared into the next room.
+
+The two little sisters looked at each other in dismay and wondered what
+they could do with these insects, but before they could consult Miss
+Harson good Mrs. Grove had returned carrying in each hand a small flat
+footstool. The girls sat down very carefully, for they were not
+accustomed to such low seats; but the whole party were tired with their
+walk and glad to rest for a short time. Malcolm, being a boy, was
+expected to sit where he could, and he speedily established himself in
+the corner of a wooden settle.
+
+In spite of the apple-blossoms, the kitchen fire was very comfortable;
+and, as the baking was just coming to an end, Mrs.
+
+Grove said that "she would be ready to visit with them in a minute:" she
+did not seem to allow herself more than a "minute" for anything. Besides
+the milk, some very nice seed-cakes in the shape of hearts were
+produced, and Edith thought them the most delightful little cakes she
+had ever tasted. Clara and Malcolm, too, were quite hungry, and Miss
+Harson enjoyed her glass of milk and seed-cake as well as did the young
+people. The farmer and his wife seemed really sorry to part with their
+guests when they rose to go, but Miss Harson said that it was time for
+them to be at home, and the children were obedient on the instant.
+
+"Well," said the worthy couple, "you know now where to come when you
+want more apple-blows and a drink of milk."
+
+Malcolm was quite laden with the mass of rosy flowers which Mr. Grove
+piled up in his arms, and he enjoyed the delicious scent all the
+way home.
+
+"I must get out the big jar," said Miss Harson as she surveyed their
+treasures, "and there are so many buds that I think we may be able to
+keep them for some days.--What would you say, Edith, if I told you that
+people cut off not only the blossoms, but even the fruit itself, while
+it is green, to make what is left on the tree handsomer and better?"
+
+Edith looked her surprise, and the other children could not understand
+why all the fruit that formed should not be left on the tree to ripen.
+
+"It is very often left," replied their governess, "but, although the
+crop is a large one, it will be of inferior quality; and those who
+understand fruit-raising thin it out, so that the tree may not have more
+fruit than it can well nourish. But now it is time for papa to come, and
+after dinner we will have a regular apple-talk."
+
+"How nice it was at Mrs. Grove's to-day!" said Clara, when they were
+gathered for the talk. "I think that kitchens are pleasanter to sit in
+than parlors and school-rooms."
+
+"So do I," chimed in Edith; "but I was afraid about the crickets at
+first. I thought we'd have to hold 'em in our hands, and I didn't
+like that."
+
+Why _would_ people always laugh when there was nothing to laugh at? The
+little girl thought she had a very funny brother and sister, and Miss
+Harson, too, was funny sometimes.
+
+"Have you so soon forgotten about the real insect-crickets, dear?" asked
+her governess, kindly. "Why, it will be months yet before we see one.
+Besides, I thought I told you that in some places a little bench is
+called a 'cricket'?--Do you know, Clara, why you thought Mrs. Grove's
+kitchen so pleasant? It is larger and better furnished than kitchens
+usually are, there were pleasant people in it, and you were tired and
+hungry and ready to enjoy rest and refreshments; but I am quite sure
+that, on the whole, you would like your own quarters best, because you
+are better fitted for them, as Mrs. Grove is for hers. We had a very
+pleasant visit, though, and some day we may repeat it--perhaps when the
+apples are ripe."
+
+"Good! good!" cried the children, clapping their hands; and Malcolm
+added that he "would like to be let loose in that apple-orchard."
+
+"Perhaps you would like it better than Farmer Grove would," was the
+reply. "But we haven't got to the apples yet; we must first find out a
+little about the tree. We learn in the beginning that it was one of the
+very earliest trees planted in this country by the settlers, because it
+is both hardy and useful. There is a wild species called the Virginia
+crab-apple, which bears beautiful pink flowers as fragrant as roses, but
+its small apples are intensely sour. The blossoms of the cultivated
+apple tree are more beautiful than those of any other fruit; they are
+delicious to both sight and scent."
+
+"And do look, Miss Harson," said Clara, "at these lovely half-open buds!
+They are just like tiny roses, and _so_ sweet!"
+
+Down went Clara's head among the clustered blossoms, and then Edith had
+to come too; and Malcolm declared that between the two they would smell
+them to death.
+
+"It seems," continued Miss Harson, "that the apple tree grows wild in
+every part of Europe except in the frigid zone and in Western Asia,
+China and Japan. It is thought to have been planted in Britain by the
+Romans; and when it was brought here, it seemed to do better than it had
+done anywhere else. It is said that 'not only the Indians, but many
+indigenous insects, birds and quadrupeds, welcomed the apple tree to
+these shores. The butterfly of the tent-caterpillar saddled her eggs on
+the very first twig that was formed, and it has since shared her
+affections with the wild cherry; and the canker-worm also, in a measure,
+abandoned the elm to feed on it. As it grew apace the bluebird, robin,
+cherry-bird, king-bird, and many more, came with haste and built their
+nests and warbled in its boughs, and so became orchard-birds and
+multiplied more than ever. It was an era in the history of their race in
+America. The downy woodpecker found such a savory morsel under its bark
+that he perforated it in a ring quite round the tree before he left it.
+It did not take the partridge long to find out how sweet its buds were,
+and every winter eve she flew, and still flies, from the wood to pluck
+them, much to the farmer's sorrow. The rabbit, too, was not slow to
+learn the taste of its twigs and bark; and when the fruit was ripe, the
+squirrel half rolled, half carried, it to his hole. Even the musquash
+crept up the bank from the brook at evening, and greedily devoured it,
+until he had worn a path in the grass there; and when it was frozen and
+thawed, the crow and the jay were glad to taste it occasionally. The owl
+crept into the first apple tree that became hollow, and fairly hooted
+with delight, finding it just the place for him; so, settling down into
+it, he has remained there ever since.'
+
+"Speaking of these buds, Clara," said her governess, "I think I forgot
+to tell you that the apple tree belongs to the family Rosaceae, and
+therefore the half-opened blossoms have a right to look like roses. The
+tree is not a handsome one, being a small edition of the oak in its
+sturdy outline, but it is less graceful or picturesque-looking, being
+often broader than it is high and resembling in shape a half globe. The
+leaves are not pretty except when first unfolded, and their color is
+then a beautiful light tint known as apple-green. But the foliage soon
+becomes dusty and shabby-looking. An old apple tree, with its gnarled,
+and often hollow, trunk, is generally handsomer than a young one, unless
+in the time of blossoms; for only a young apple-orchard is covered with
+such a profusion of bloom as that we saw to-day."
+
+"I am glad," said Clara, "that it belongs to the rose family, for now
+the dear little buds seem prettier than ever."
+
+"The apples are prettier yet," observed
+
+Malcolm; "if there's anything I like, it's apples."
+
+"I am afraid that you eat too many of them for your good," replied his
+governess; "I shall have to limit you to so many a day."
+
+"I have eaten only six to-day," was the modest reply, "and they were
+little russets, too."
+
+"Oh, Malcolm, Malcolm!" said Miss Harson, laughing; "what shall I do
+with you? Why, you would soon make an apple-famine in most places. Three
+apples a day must be your allowance for the present; and if at any time
+we go to live in an orchard, you may have six."
+
+"Why, _we_ have only one," exclaimed little Edith, "and we don't want
+any more.--Do we, Clara?"
+
+[Illustration: Apple Blossoms.]
+
+"If you don't want 'em," said Malcolm, "there's no sense in eating
+'em.--But I'll remember, Miss Harson. I suppose three at one time ought
+to be enough."
+
+Malcolm's expression, as he said this, was so doleful that every one
+laughed at him; and his governess continued:
+
+"The apple tree is said to produce a greater variety of beautiful fruit
+than any other tree that is known, and apples are liked by almost every
+one. They are a very wholesome fruit and nearly as valuable as bread and
+potatoes for food, because they can be used in so many different ways,
+and the poorer qualities make very nourishing food for nearly
+all animals."
+
+"Rex fairly snatches the apple out of my hand when I go to give him
+one," said Malcolm.
+
+"So does Regina," added Clara, who trembled in her shoes whenever she
+offered these dainties to the handsome carriage-horses.
+
+Edith had not dared to venture on such a feat yet, and therefore she had
+nothing to say.
+
+"All horses are fond of apples," said Miss Harson, "and the fruit is
+very thoroughly appreciated. Ancient Britain was celebrated for her
+apple-orchards, and the tree was reverenced by the Druids because the
+mistletoe grew abundantly on it. In Saxon times, when England became a
+Christian country, the rite of coronation, or crowning of a king, was in
+such words as these: 'May the almighty Lord give thee, O king, from the
+dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth, abundance of corn and wine
+and oil! Be thou the lord of thy brothers, and let the sons of thy
+mother bow down before thee. Let the people serve thee and the tribes
+adore thee. May the Almighty bless thee with the blessings of heaven
+above, and the mountains and the valleys with the blessings of the deep
+below, with the blessings of grapes and _apples_! Bless, O Lord, the
+courage of this prince, and prosper the work of his hands; and by thy
+blessing may his land be filled with _apples_, with the fruit and dew of
+heaven from the top of the ancient mountains, from the _apples_ of the
+eternal hills, from the fruit of the earth and its fullness!' You will
+see from this how highly apples were valued in England in those
+ancient times."
+
+"I should like to pick them up when they are ripe," said Clara, and
+Malcolm expressed a desire to hire himself out by the day to Mr. Grove
+when that time arrived.
+
+"An apple-orchard in autumn," continued their governess, "is often a
+merry scene. Ladders are put against the trees, and the finest apples
+are carefully picked off, but such as are to be used for cider-making
+are shaken to the ground. Men and boys are at work, and even women and
+children are there with baskets and aprons spread out to catch the
+fruit; and they run back and forth wherever the apples fall thickest,
+with much laughter at the unexpected showers that come down upon their
+heads and necks. Large baskets filled with these apples are carried to
+the mill, where, after being laid in heaps a while to mellow, they are
+crushed and pressed till their juice is extracted; and this, being
+fermented, becomes cider. From this cider, by a second fermentation, the
+best vinegar is made."
+
+[Illustration: THE APPLE-HARVEST.]
+
+"Miss Harson," asked Edith, as the talk seemed to have come to an end,
+"isn't there any more about apple trees? I like 'em."
+
+"Yes, dear," was the reply; "there is more. I was just looking over, in
+this little book, some queer superstitions about apple trees in England,
+and here is a strange performance which is said to take place in some
+very retired parts of the country:
+
+"'Scarcely have the merry bells ushered in the morning of Christmas than
+a troop of people may be seen entering the apple-orchard, often when the
+trees are powdered with hoarfrost and snow lies deep upon the ground.
+One of the company carries a large flask filled with cider and
+tastefully decorated with holly-branches; and when every one has
+advanced about ten paces from the choicest tree, rustic pipes made from
+the hollow boughs of elder are played upon by young men, while Echo
+repeats the strain, and it seems as if fairy-musicians responded in low,
+sweet tones from some neighboring wood or hill. Then bursts forth a
+chorus of loud and sonorous voices while the cider-flask is being
+emptied of its contents around the tree, and all sing some such words
+as these:
+
+              "'"Here's to thee, old apple tree!
+                 Long mayest thou grow.
+     And long mayest thou blow, and ripen the apples that hang on
+     thy bough!
+
+               "'"This full can of apple wine,
+                  Old tree, be thine:
+     It will cheer thee and warm thee amid the deep snow;
+
+               "'"Till the goldfinch--fond bird!--
+                  In the orchard is heard
+     Singing blithe 'mid the blossoms that whiten thy bough."'"
+
+"But what did they do it for?" asked Malcolm, who enjoyed the account as
+much as the others. "There doesn't seem to be any sense in it."
+
+"There _is_ no sense in it," replied his governess, "but these ignorant
+people had inherited the custom from their fathers and grandfathers, and
+they really believed--and perhaps still believe--that this attention
+would be sure to bring a fine crop of apples. We are distinctly told,
+though, that 'it is God that giveth the increase;' and to him alone
+belong the fruits of the earth. Sometimes the crop is so great that the
+trees fairly bend over with the weight of the fruit, and there is an old
+English saying: 'The more apples the tree bears, the more she bows to
+the folk.'"
+
+"How funny!" laughed Edith. "Does the apple tree move its head, Miss
+Harson?"
+
+"It cannot go quite so far as that," was the reply; "it just stays bent
+over like a person carrying a heavy burden. The branches of overladen
+fruit trees are sometimes propped up with long poles to keep them from
+breaking. There is another strange custom, which used to be practiced on
+New Year's eve. It was called 'Apple-Howling,' and a troop of boys
+visited the different orchards--which would scarcely have been desirable
+when the apples were ripe--and, forming a ring around the trees,
+repeated these words:
+
+     "'Stand fast, root! bear well, top!
+       Pray God send us a good howling crop--
+         Every twig, apples big;
+         Every bough, apples enow.'
+
+"All then shouted in chorus, while one of the party played on a cow's
+horn, and the trees were well rapped with the sticks which they carried.
+This ceremony is thought to have been a relic of some heathen sacrifice,
+and it is quite absurd enough to be that."
+
+"What is 'a howling crop,' Miss Harson?" asked Clara. "That name sounds
+so queer!"
+
+"I don't know what it can be," replied her governess, "unless it refers
+to the strange expression sometimes used, 'howling with delight.' We
+hear more commonly of 'howling with pain,' but 'a howling crop' must be
+one that makes the owner scream, as well as dance for joy."
+
+"Why, _I_ scream only when I'm frightened," said Edith, who began to
+think that there were much sillier people in the world than herself.
+
+"At garter-snakes," added Malcolm, giving his sister a sly pinch; but
+Edith did not mind his pinches, because he always took good care not
+to hurt her.
+
+Miss Harson said that the best way was not to scream at all, as it was
+both a silly and a troublesome habit, and the sooner her charges broke
+themselves of it the better she should like it. Clara and Edith both
+promised to try--just as they had promised before, when the ants were so
+troublesome; but they were nine months older now, and seemed to be
+getting a little ashamed of the habit.
+
+"Are apples mentioned anywhere in the Bible?" asked Miss Harson,
+presently.
+
+Clara and Malcolm were busy thinking, but nothing came of it, until
+their governess said,
+
+"Turn to the book of Proverbs, Clara, and find the twenty-fifth chapter
+and the eleventh verse."
+
+Clara read very carefully:
+
+"'A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.' But
+what does it mean?" she asked.
+
+"It probably means 'framed in silver' or 'in silver frames[11],'" was
+the reply; "and then it is easy to understand how important our words
+are, and that 'fitly-spoken' ones are as valuable and lasting as golden
+apples framed in silver. The apple tree is mentioned in Joel, where it
+is said that 'all the trees of the field are withered[12],' and both
+apple trees and apples are mentioned in several places of the Old
+Testament. But, to tell the whole truth, scholars are not agreed as to
+whether the Hebrew word denotes the apple or some other fruit that grew
+in the land of Israel."
+
+[11] The Revised Version renders the phrase "in baskets of silver."
+
+[12] Joel i. 12.
+
+The children had all enjoyed the "apple-talk," and they felt that the
+fruit which they were so accustomed to seeing would now have a new
+meaning for them.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+_A FRUITFUL FAMILY: THE PEACH, ALMOND, PLUM AND CHERRY_.
+
+Snowdrops, crocuses, hyacinths and tulips were blooming out of doors and
+in-doors; the grass looked green and velvety, and the fruit trees were,
+as John expressed it, "all a-blow." The peach trees, without a sign of a
+leaf, looked, as every one said of them, like immense bouquets of pink
+flowers, while pear, cherry and plum trees seemed as if they were
+dressed in white.
+
+One cloudy, windy day, when the petals fell off in showers and strewed
+the ground, Edith declared that it was snowing; but she soon saw her
+mistake, and then began to worry because there would be no blossoms left
+for fruit.
+
+"If the flowers stayed on, there would be no fruit," said Miss Harson.
+"Let me show you just where the little green germ is."
+
+"Why, of course!" said Malcolm; "it's in the part that stays on the
+tree."
+
+Edith listened intently while her governess showed her the ovary of a
+blossom safe on the twig where it grew, and explained to her that it was
+this which, nourished by the sap of the tree, with the aid of the sun
+and air, would ripen into fruit, while the petals were merely a fringe
+or ornament to the true blossom.
+
+At Elmridge, scattered here and there through garden and grounds, as Mr.
+Kyle liked to have them, there were some fruit trees of every kind that
+would flourish in that part of the country, but there was no orchard;
+and for this reason Miss Harson had taken the children to see the grand
+apple-blossoming at Farmer Grove's. Two very large pear trees stood one
+on either side of the lawn, and there were dwarf pear trees in
+the garden.
+
+"I think pears are nicer than apples," said Clara as they stood looking
+at the fine trees, now perfectly covered with their snowy blossoms.
+
+But Malcolm, who found it hard work to be happy on three apples a day,
+stoutly disagreed with his sister on this point, and declared that
+nothing was so good as apples.
+
+"How about ice-cream?" asked his governess, when she heard this sweeping
+assertion.
+
+The young gentleman was silent, for his exploits with this frozen luxury
+were a constant subject of wonder to his friends and relatives.
+
+"You will notice," said Miss Harson, "that the shape of these trees is
+much more graceful than that of the apple tree. They are tall and
+slender, forming what is called an imperfect pyramid. Standard pear
+trees, like these, give a good shade, and the long, slender branches are
+well clothed with leaves of a bright, glossy green. This rich color
+lasts late into the autumn, and it is then varied with yellow, and often
+with red and black, spots; so that pear-leaves are not to be despised in
+gathering autumn-leaf treasures. The pear is not so useful a fruit as
+the apple, nor so showy in color; but it has a more delicate and spicy
+flavor, and often is of an immense size."
+
+"Yes, indeed!" said Clara. "Don't you remember, Miss Harson, that
+sometimes Edith and I can have only one pear divided between us at
+dessert because they are so large?"
+
+"Yes, dear; and I think that half a duchess pear is as much as can be
+comfortably managed at once."
+
+"Well," observed Malcolm, "I don't want half an apple.--But, Miss
+Harson, do they ever have 'pear-howlings' in England?"
+
+"I have never read of any," was the reply, "and I think that strange
+custom is confined to apple trees. And there is no mention made of
+either pears or pear trees in the Scriptures."
+
+"What are prickly-pears?" asked Clara. "Do they have thorns on 'em?"
+
+"There is a plant by this name," replied her governess, "with large
+yellow flowers, and the fruit is full of small seeds and has a crimson
+pulp. It grows in sandy places near the salt water; it is abundant in
+North Africa and Syria, and is considered quite good to eat; but neither
+plant nor fruit bears any resemblance to our pear trees: it is
+a cactus."
+
+"Won't you have a story for us this evening, Miss Harson?" asked Edith,
+rather wistfully.
+
+"Perhaps so, dear--I have been thinking of it--but it will not be about
+pear trees."
+
+"Oh, I don't care," with a very bright face; "I'd as soon have it about
+cherry trees, or--'Most anything!"
+
+Miss Harson laughed, and said,
+
+"Well, then, I think it will be about cherries; so you must rest on
+that. This morning we will go around among the fruit trees and see what
+we can learn from seeing them."
+
+Of course it was Saturday morning and there were no lessons, or they
+would not have been roaming around "promiscuous," as Jane called it; for
+the young governess was very careful not to let the getting of one kind
+of knowledge interfere with the getting of another.
+
+"How do you like these pretty quince trees?" asked Miss Harson as they
+came to some large bushes with great pinkish flowers.
+
+"I like 'em," replied Edith, "because they're so little. And oh what
+pretty flowers!"
+
+"Some more relations of the rose," said her governess. "And do you
+notice how fragrant they are? The tree is always low and crooked, just
+as you see it, and the branches straggle not very gracefully. The under
+part of the dark-green leaves is whitish and downy-looking, and the
+flowers are handsome enough to warrant the cultivation of the tree just
+for their sake, but the large golden fruit is much prized for preserves,
+and in the autumn a small tree laden down with it is quite an ornamental
+object. The quince is more like a pear than an apple. As the book says,
+'it has the same tender and mucilaginous core; the seeds are not
+enclosed in a dry hull, like those of the apple; and the pulp of the
+quince, like that of the pear, is granulated, while that of the apple
+displays in its texture a firmer and finer organization.' The fruit,
+however, is so hard, even when ripe, that it cannot be eaten without
+cooking. It is said to be a native of hedges and rocky places in the
+South of Europe."
+
+[Illustration: PEACH-BLOSSOM.]
+
+"These peach trees," said Clara, "look like sticks with pink flowers all
+over 'em." "They are remarkably bare of leaves when in bloom," was the
+reply: "the leaves burst forth from their envelopes as the blossoms pass
+away; but how beautiful the blossoms are! from the deepest pink to that
+delicate tint which is called peach-color. But do you know that we have
+left the apple and rose family now, and have come to the almond family?"
+
+The children were very much surprised to hear this, and they looked at
+the peach trees with fresh interest.
+
+"Yes," continued Miss Harson, "the family consists of the almond tree,
+the peach tree, the apricot tree, the plum tree and the cherry tree; and
+one thing that distinguishes them from the other families is the gum
+which is found on their trunks.--Look around, Malcolm, at the peach,
+plum and cherry trees, which are the only members of the family that we
+have at Elmridge, and you will find gum oozing from the bark, especially
+where there are knotholes."
+
+Malcolm not only found the gum, but succeeded in helping himself to some
+of it, which he shared with his sisters. It had a rather sweet taste,
+and the children seemed to like it, having first obtained permission of
+their governess to eat it.
+
+"That is another of the things that I thought 'puffickly d'licious' when
+I was a child," said the young lady, laughing. "But there is another
+peculiarity of this family of trees which is not so innocent, and that
+is that in the fruit-kernel, and also in the leaves, there is a deadly
+poison called prussic acid."
+
+"O--h!" exclaimed the children, drawing back from the trees as though
+they expected to be poisoned on the spot.
+
+"But, as we do not eat either the kernels or the leaves," continued
+their governess, "we need not feel uneasy, for the fruit never yet
+poisoned any one. Here are the cherry trees, so covered with blossoms
+that they look like masses of snow; and the smaller plum trees are also
+attired in white. We will begin this evening with the almond tree, and
+see what we can find out about the family."
+
+"Do almond trees and peach trees look alike?" asked Clara, when they
+were fairly settled by the schoolroom fire; for the evenings were too
+cool yet for the piazza.
+
+"Very much alike," was the reply; "only the almond tree is larger and it
+has white instead of pink blossoms. Then it is the _fruit_ of the peach
+we eat, but of the almond we eat the kernel of the stem. I will read you
+a little account of it:
+
+"'The common almond is a native of Barbary, but has long been
+cultivated in the South of Europe and the temperate parts of Asia. The
+fruit is produced in very large quantities and exported in to northern
+countries; it is also pressed for oil and used for various domestic
+purposes. There are numerous varieties of this species, but the two
+chief kinds are the bitter almond and the sweet almond. The sweet almond
+affords a favorite article for dessert, but it contains little
+nourishment, and of all nuts is the most difficult of digestion. The
+tree has been cultivated in England for about three centuries for the
+sake of its beautiful foliage, as the fruit will not ripen without a
+greater degree of heat than is found in that climate. The distilled
+water of the bitter almond is highly injurious to the human species,
+and, taken in a large dose, produces almost instant death.' The prussic
+acid which can be obtained from the kernel of the peach is found also in
+the bitter almond."
+
+[Illustration: THE ALMOND.--BRANCH AND FRUIT.]
+
+"But what do they want to find it for," asked Malcolm, "when it kills
+people?"
+
+"Because," replied his governess, "like some other noxious things, it
+can be made valuable when used moderately and in the right way. But it
+is often employed to give a flavor to intoxicating liquors, and this is
+_not_ a right way, as it makes them even more dangerous than before. But
+we will leave the prussic acid and return to our almond tree. It
+flourishes in Palestine, where it blooms in January, and in March the
+ripe fruit can be gathered."
+
+This seemed wonderfully strange to the children--flowers in January and
+fruit in March; and Miss Harson explained to them that in that part of
+the world they do not often have our bitter cold weather with its ice
+and snow to kill the tender buds.
+
+"This tree," continued Miss Harson, "is occasionally mentioned in the
+Old Testament. In Jeremiah the prophet says, 'I see a rod of an almond
+tree[13];' also in Ecclesiastes it is said that 'the almond tree shall
+flourish[14].'"
+
+[13] Jer. i. II.
+
+[14] Eccl. xii. 5.
+
+"Are there ever many peach trees growing in one place," asked Clara,
+"like the apple trees in Mr. Grove's orchard?"
+
+"Yes," was the reply, "for in some places there are immense
+peach-orchards, covering many acres of ground; and when the trees in
+these are in blossom, the spring landscape seems to be pink with them.
+These great peach-fields are found in Delaware and Maryland, where the
+fruit grows in such perfection, and also in some of the Western States.
+We all know how delicious it is, but, unfortunately, so does a certain
+green worm, who curls up in the leaves which he gnaws in spite of the
+prussic acid. This insect will often attack the finest peaches and lay
+its eggs in them when the fruit is but half grown. In this way the young
+grubs find food and lodging provided for them all in one, and they
+thrive, while the peach decays."
+
+"What a shame it is," exclaimed Malcolm, in great indignation, "to have
+our best peaches eaten by wretched little worms who might just as well
+eat grass and leave the peaches for us!"
+
+"Perhaps they think it a shame that they are so often shaken to the
+ground or washed off the trees," replied Miss Harson; "and, as to their
+eating grass, they evidently prefer peaches. 'Insects as well as human
+beings have discriminating tastes, and the poor plum tree suffers even
+more than the peach from their attentions. In some parts of the country
+it has been entirely given up to their depredations, and farmers will
+not try to raise this fruit because of these active enemies. The whole
+almond family are liable to the attacks of insects. Canker-worms of one
+or of several species often strip them of their leaves; the
+tent-caterpillars pitch their tents among the branches and carry on
+their dangerous depredations; the slug-worms, the offspring of a fly
+called _Selandria cerasi_, reduce the leaves to skeletons, and thus
+destroy them; the cherry-weevils penetrate their bark, cover their
+branches with warts and cause them to decay; and borers gnaw galleries
+in their trunks and devour the inner bark and sap-wood.' So you see
+that, with such an army of destroyers, we may be thankful to get any
+fruit at all."
+
+"I'm glad to know the name of that fly," said Malcolm, who considered it
+an additional grievance that it should have such a long name, "but I
+won't try to call him by it if I meet him anywhere."
+
+"I think it's pretty," said Clara, beginning to repeat it, and making a
+decided failure.
+
+"Fortunately," continued their governess, after reading it again for
+them, "there are other things much more important for you to remember
+just now, and I could not have said it myself without the book. And now
+let us see what else we can learn about the plum. It is a native, it
+seems, of North America, Europe and Asia, and many of the wild species
+are thorny. The cultivated plums, damsons and gages are varieties of
+the _Prunus domestica_, the cultivated plum tree. These have no thorns;
+the leaves are oval in shape, and the flowers grow singly. The most
+highly-valued cultivated plum trees came originally from the East, where
+they have been known from time immemorial. In many countries of Eastern
+Europe domestic animals are fattened on their fruits, and an alcoholic
+liquor is obtained from them; they also yield a white, crystallizable
+sugar. The prunes which we import from France are the dried fruit of
+varieties of the plum which contain a sufficient quantity of sugar to
+preserve the fruit from decay."
+
+"Do prunes really grow on trees, Miss Harson?" asked Edith, who was
+rather disposed to think that they grew in pretty boxes.
+
+"Yes, dear," was the reply; "they grow just as our plums do, only they
+are dried and packed in layers before they reach this country. We have
+two species of wild plum in North America--the beach-plum, a low shrub
+found in New England, the fruit of which is dark blue and about the
+size of damsons; while the other is quite a large tree, and very showy
+when covered with its scarlet fruit. In Maine it is called plum-granate,
+probably from its red color," "I know what's coming next," said
+Clara--"cherries; because all the rest have been used up. And then we're
+to have the story."
+
+"But they're all interesting," replied Malcolm, gallantly, "because Miss
+Harson makes them so."
+
+"I hope that is not the only reason," said his governess, laughing, "for
+trees are always beautiful and interesting and it is a privilege to be
+able to learn something of their habits and history.--Like most fruit
+trees, the cherry has many varieties, but it is always a handsome tree,
+and less spoiled by insects than others of the almond family. The black
+cherry is the most common species in the United States, and is both wild
+and cultivated. The garden cherry has broad, ovate, rough and serrate
+leaves, growing thickly on the branches, and this, with the height of
+the tree, makes a fine shade. Some old cherry trees have huge trunks,
+and their thick branches spread to a great distance. The branches of the
+wild cherry are too straggling to make a beautiful tree, and the leaves
+are small and narrow. The blossoms of the cultivated cherry are in
+umbels, while those of the wild cherry are borne in racemes."
+
+"I remember that, Miss Harson," said Clara, pleased with her knowledge.
+"'Umbel' means 'like an umbrella,' and 'raceme' means 'growing along
+a stem.'"
+
+"Very well indeed!" was the reply; "I am glad you have not forgotten
+it.--Of our cultivated cherries, we have here at Elmridge, besides the
+large black ones, which are so very sweet about the first of July, the
+great ox-hearts, which look like painted wax and ripen in June, and
+those very acid red ones, often called pie-cherries, which are used for
+pies and preserves. The cherry is a beautiful fruit, and one that is
+popular with birds as well as with boys. The great northern cherry of
+Europe, which was named by Linnaeus the 'bird-cherry,' is encouraged in
+Great Britain and on the Continent for the benefit of the birds, which
+are regarded as the most important checks to the over-multiplication of
+insects. The fact not yet properly understood in America--that the birds
+which are the most mischievous consumers of fruit are the most useful as
+destroyers of insects--is well known by all farmers in Europe; and while
+we destroy the birds to save the fruit, and sometimes cut down the
+fruit-trees to starve the birds, the Europeans more wisely plant them
+for the food and accommodation of the birds."
+
+"Isn't it wicked to kill the poor little birds?" asked Edith.
+
+"Yes, dear; it is cruel to kill them just for sport, as is often done,
+and very foolish, as we have just seen, to destroy them for the sake of
+the fruit, which the insects make way with in much greater quantities
+than the birds do."
+
+"Miss Harson," asked Clara, "do people cut down real cherry trees to
+make the pretty red furniture like that in your room?"
+
+"It is the wood of the wild cherry," replied her governess, "that is
+used for this purpose. It is of a light-red or fresh mahogany color,
+growing darker and richer with age. It is very close-grained, compact,
+takes a good polish, and when perfectly seasoned is not liable to shrink
+or warp. It is therefore particularly suitable, and much employed, for
+tables, chests of drawers, and other cabinet-work, and when polished and
+varnished is not less beautiful for such articles than are inferior
+kinds of mahogany."
+
+"'Cherry' sounds pretty to say," continued Clara. "I wonder how the tree
+got that name?"
+
+"That wonder is easily explained," said Miss Harson, "for I have been
+reading about it, and I was just going to tell you. 'Cherry comes from
+'Cerasus,' the name of a town on the Black Sea from whence the tree is
+supposed to have been introduced into Italy, and it designates a genus
+of about forty species, natives of all the temperate regions of the
+northern hemisphere. They are trees or shrubs with smooth serrated
+leaves, which are folded together when young, and white or reddish
+flowers growing in bunches, like umbels, and preceding the leaves or in
+terminal racemes accompanying or following the leaves. A few species,
+with numerous varieties, produce valuable fruits; nearly all are
+remarkable for the abundance of their early flowers, sometimes rendered
+double by cultivation. And now," added the young lady, "we have arrived
+at the story, which is translated from the German; and in Germany the
+cherries are particularly fine. A plateful of this beautiful fruit was,
+as you will see, the cause of some remarkable changes."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+_THE CHERRY-STORY._
+
+On the banks of the Rhine, in the pleasant little village of Rebenheim,
+lived Ehrenberg, the village mayor. He was much respected for his
+virtues, and his wife was greatly beloved for her charity to the poor.
+They had an only daughter--the little Caroline--who gave early promise
+of a superior mind and a benevolent heart. She was the idol of her
+parents, who devoted their whole care to giving her a sound religious
+education.
+
+Not far from the house, and close to the orchard and kitchen-garden,
+there was another little garden, planted exclusively with flowers. The
+day that Caroline was born her father planted a cherry tree in the
+middle of the flower-garden. He had chosen a tree with a short trunk, in
+order that his little daughter could more easily admire the blossoms
+and pluck the cherries when they were ripe.
+
+When the tree bloomed for the first time and was so covered with
+blossoms that it looked like a single bunch of white flowers, the father
+and mother came out one morning to enjoy the sight. Little Caroline was
+in her mother's arms. The infant smiled, and, stretching out her little
+hands for the blossoms, endeavored at the same time to speak her joy,
+but in such a way as no one but a mother could understand:
+
+"Flowers! flowers! Pretty! pretty!"
+
+The child engaged more of the parents' thoughts than all the
+cherry-blossoms and gardens and orchards, and all they were worth. They
+resolved to educate her well; they prayed to God to bless their care and
+attention by making Caroline worthy of him and the joy and consolation
+of her parents. As soon as the little girl was old enough to understand,
+her mother told her lovingly of that kind Father in heaven who makes the
+flowers bloom and the trees bud and the cherries and apples grow ruddy
+and ripe; she told her also of the blessed Son of God, once an infant
+like herself, who died for all the world.
+
+The cherry tree in the middle of the garden was given to Caroline for
+her own, and it was a greater treasure to her than were all the flowers.
+She watched and admired it every day, from the moment the first bud
+appeared until the cherries were ripe. She grieved when she saw the
+white blossoms turn yellow and drop to the earth, but her grief was
+changed into joy when the cherries appeared, green at first and smaller
+than peas, and then daily growing larger and larger, until the rich red
+skin of the ripe cherry at last blushed among the interstices of the
+green leaves.
+
+"Thus it is," said her father; "youth and beauty fade like the blossoms,
+but virtue is the fruit which we expect from the tree. This whole world
+is, as it were, a large garden, in which God has appointed to every man
+a place, that he may bring forth abundant and good fruit. As God sends
+rain and sunshine on the trees, so does he send down grace on men to
+make them grow in virtue, if they will but do their part."
+
+In the course of time war approached the quiet village which had
+hitherto been the abode of peace and domestic bliss, and the battle
+raged fearfully. Balls and shells whizzed about, and several houses
+caught fire. As soon as the danger would permit, the mayor tried to
+extinguish the flames, while his wife and little daughter were praying
+earnestly for themselves and for their neighbors.
+
+In the afternoon a ring was heard at the door, and, looking out of the
+window, Madame Ehrenberg saw an officer of hussars standing before her.
+Fortunately, he was a German, and mother and daughter ran to open
+the door.
+
+"Do not be alarmed," said the officer, in a friendly tone, when he saw
+the frightened faces; "the danger is over, and you are quite safe. The
+fire in the village, too, is almost quenched, and the mayor will soon be
+here. I beg you for some refreshment, if it is only a morsel of bread
+and a drink of water. It was sharp work," he added, wiping the
+perspiration from his brow, "but, thank God, we have conquered,"
+Provisions were scarce, for the village had been plundered by the enemy,
+but the good lady brought forth a flask of wine and some rye bread, with
+many regrets that she had nothing better to offer. But the visitor, as
+he ate the bread with a hearty relish, declared that it was enough, for
+it was the first morsel he had tasted that day.
+
+Caroline ran and brought in on a porcelain plate some of the ripest
+cherries from her own tree.
+
+"Cherries!" exclaimed the officer. "They are a rarity in this district.
+How did they escape the enemy? All the trees in the country around are
+stripped."
+
+"The cherries," said the mother, "are from a little tree which was
+planted in Caroline's flower-garden on her birthday. It is but a few
+days since they became ripe; the enemy, perhaps, did not notice the
+little tree."
+
+"And is it for me you intend the cherries, my dear child?" asked the
+officer. "Oh no; you must keep them. It were a pity to take one of them
+from you."
+
+"How could we refuse a few cherries," said Caroline, "to the man that
+sheds his blood in our defence? You must eat them all," said she, while
+the tears streamed down her cheeks. "Do, I entreat you! Eat them all."
+
+He took some of the cherries and laid them on the table, near his
+wine-glass; but he had scarcely placed the glass to his lips when the
+trumpet sounded. He sprang up and girded on his sword.
+
+"That is the signal to march," said he. "I cannot wait one instant."
+
+Caroline wrapped the cherries in a roll of white paper and insisted that
+he should put them in his pocket.
+
+"The weather is very warm," said she, "and even cherries will be some
+refreshment."
+
+"Oh," said the officer, with emotion, "what a happiness it is for a
+soldier, who is often obliged to snatch each morsel from unwilling
+hands, to meet with a generous and benevolent family! I wish it were in
+my power, my dear child, to give you some pledge of my gratitude, but I
+have nothing--not so much as a single groat. You must be content with my
+simple thanks." With these words, and once more bidding Caroline and her
+mother an affectionate farewell, he took his departure, and walked
+rapidly out of sight.
+
+The joy of the good family for their happy deliverance was, alas! of
+short continuance. Some weeks after, a dreadful battle was fought near
+the village, which was reduced to a heap of ruins. The mayor's house was
+burned to the ground and all his property destroyed. Alas for the
+horrors of cruel war! Father, mother and daughter fled away on foot, and
+wept bitterly when they looked back on their once happy village, now but
+a mass of blazing ruins.
+
+The family retired to a distant town, and lived there in very great
+distress. The mayor endeavored to obtain a livelihood as a scrivener, or
+clerk; his wife worked at dressmaking and millinery, and Caroline, who
+soon became skillful in such matters, faithfully assisted her.
+
+A lady in town--the Countess von Buchenhaim--gave them much employment,
+and one day Caroline went to this lady's house to carry home a bonnet.
+She was taken to the garden, where the countess was sitting in the
+summer-house with her sister and nieces, who had come to visit her. The
+young ladies were delighted with the bonnet, and their mother gave
+orders for three more, particularly praising the blue flowers, which
+were the work of Caroline's own hands.
+
+The Countess von Buchenhaim spoke very kindly of the young girl to her
+sister, and related the sad story of the worthy family's misfortunes.
+The count was standing with his brother-in-law, the colonel, at some
+little distance from the door of the summer-house, and the colonel, a
+fine-looking man in a hussar's uniform and with a star on his breast,
+overheard the conversation. Coming up, he looked closely at Caroline.
+
+"Is it possible," said he, "that you are the daughter of the mayor of
+Rebenheim? How tall you have grown! I should scarcely have recognized
+you, though we are old acquaintances."
+
+Caroline stood there abashed, looking full in the face of the stranger,
+her cheeks covered with blushes. Taking her by the hand, the colonel
+conducted her to his wife, who was sitting near the countess.
+
+"See, Amelia," said he; "this is the young lady who saved my life ten
+years ago, when she was only a child."
+
+"How can that be possible?" asked Caroline, in amazement.
+
+"It must indeed appear incomprehensible to you," answered the colonel,
+"but do you remember the hussar-officer that one day, after a battle,
+stood knocking at the door of your father's house in Rebenheim? Do you
+remember the cherries which you so kindly gave him?"
+
+"Oh, was it you?" exclaimed Caroline, while her face beamed with a smile
+of recognition. "Thank God you are alive! But how I could have done
+anything toward saving your life I cannot understand."
+
+"In truth, it would be impossible for you to guess the great service
+you did me," said he, "but my wife and daughters know it well; I wrote
+to them of it at once. And I look upon it as one of the most remarkable
+occurrences of my life."
+
+"And one that I ought to remember better than any other event of the
+war," said his lady, rising and affectionately embracing Caroline.
+
+"Well," said the countess, "neither I nor my husband ever heard the
+story. Please give us a full account of it."
+
+"Oh, it is easily told," said the colonel. "Hungry and thirsty, I
+entered the house in which Caroline and her parents dwelt, and, to tell
+the plain truth, I begged for some bread and water. They gave me a share
+of the best they had, and did not hesitate to do so, though their
+village and themselves were in the greatest distress. Caroline robbed
+every bough on her cherry tree to refresh me. Fine cherries they
+were--the only ones, probably, in the whole country. But the enemy did
+not give me time to eat them; I was obliged to depart in a hurry.
+Caroline insisted, with the kindest hospitality, that I should take them
+with me, but that was no easy matter: my horse had been shot under me
+the day before. I took from my knapsack whatever articles I could in a
+hurry, and, thrusting them into my pockets, I fought on foot until a
+hussar gave me his horse. All that I was worth was in my pockets, so
+that to make room for the cherries I was obliged to take the pocket-book
+out of my pocket and place it here beneath my vest. The enemy, who had
+been driven back, made a feint of advancing on us, and I led down my
+hussars in gallant style. But suddenly we found ourselves in front of a
+body of infantry concealed behind a hedge. One of them fired at me, and
+the fellow had taken good aim, for the ball struck me here on the
+breast. But it rebounded from the pocket-book; otherwise, I should have
+been shot through the body and fallen dead on the spot. Tell me," said
+he, in a tone of deep emotion; "was not that little child an instrument
+in the hand of God to save me from death? Am I right or not when I give
+Caroline the credit, under God, of having saved my life? Her must I
+thank that my Amelia is not a widow and my daughters orphans."
+
+All agreed with him. His wife, who had Caroline's hand locked in her own
+during the whole narrative, now pressed it affectionately and with tears
+in her eyes.
+
+"You, then," said she, "were the good angel that averted such a terrible
+misfortune from our family?"
+
+Her two daughters also gazed with pleasure at Caroline.
+
+"Every time we ate cherries," said the younger, "we spoke of you without
+knowing you."
+
+All had kind and grateful words for the young girl, but the colonel soon
+bade her farewell for the present, and said that he had some business to
+attend to with his brother-in-law. This business was to urge the count
+to appoint Ehrenberg his steward in place of the one who had died a few
+months before. A better man, he said, could not be found; for when he
+had visited Rebenheim to make inquiries for the family, although none
+could tell where they had gone, all were loud in their praise, and the
+mayor was pronounced a pattern of justice, honor and charity.
+
+The count drew out the order, signed it, and gave it to his
+brother-in-law, who wished himself to take it to Mr. Ehrenberg; and he
+went at once to the house and saluted him as "master-steward of
+Buchenhaim."
+
+"Read that," he said to the astonished man as he handed him the paper in
+which he was duly appointed steward of Buchenhaim, with a good salary of
+a thousand thalers and several valuable perquisites.
+
+"And you," said the colonel to Caroline and her mother, "must prepare to
+remove at once. Your lodgings are so confined! But you will find it very
+different in the house which you are to occupy in Buchenhaim. The
+dwelling is large and commodious, with a fine garden attached, well
+stocked with cherry trees. Next Monday you will be there, and this very
+day you must start. What a happy feast we shall have there!--not like
+the hasty meal you gave the hussar-officer amid the thunder of cannon
+and the blazing roofs of Rebenheim. Do not forget to have cherries, dear
+Caroline, for dessert; I think they will be fully ripe by that time."
+
+With these words the colonel hurried away to escape the thanks of this
+good family, and, in truth, to conceal his own tears. So rapidly did he
+disappear that Ehrenberg could scarcely accompany him down the steps.
+
+"Oh, Caroline," said the happy father when he returned, "who could have
+imagined that the little cherry tree I planted in the flower-garden the
+day you were born would ever produce such good fruit?"
+
+"It was the providence of God," exclaimed the mother, clasping her
+hands. "I remember distinctly the first time the blossoms appeared on
+that tree, when you and I went out to look at it, and little Caroline,
+then an infant in my arms, was so much delighted with the white flowers.
+We resolved then to educate our daughter piously, and prayed fervently
+to God that she, who was then as full of promise as the blossoms on the
+tree, might by his grace one day be the prop of our old age. That prayer
+is now fulfilled beyond our fondest anticipations. Praise for ever be to
+the name of God!"
+
+Edith declared that this was one of the very sweetest stories Miss
+Harson had ever told them, and Clara and Malcolm were equally well
+pleased with it.
+
+"Were those cherries like ours?" asked Clara.
+
+"They were larger and finer than ours generally are, I think," was the
+reply, "being the great northern cherry, or bird-cherry, of Europe,
+which grows in Germany to great perfection. And the little German girl's
+plate of cherries, which she so generously urged upon a stranger when
+food of any kind was so scarce, is a beautiful illustration of the first
+verse of the eleventh chapter of Proverbs: 'Cast thy bread upon the
+waters; for thou shalt find it after many days.'"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+_THE MULBERRY FAMILY_.
+
+"There is a fruit tree," said Miss Harson, "belonging to an entirely
+different family, which we have not considered yet; and, although it is
+not a common tree with us, one specimen of it is to be found in Mrs.
+Bush's garden, where you have all enjoyed the fruit very much. What
+is it?"
+
+"Mulberry," said Clara, promptly, while Malcolm was wondering what it
+could be.
+
+"Oh yes," said Edith, very innocently; "I like to go and see Mrs. Bush
+when there are mulberries."
+
+Mrs. Bush was not a cheerful person to visit, as she was quite old and
+rather hard of hearing, and she lived alone in the gloomy old house with
+the Lombardy poplars in front, where everything looked dark and shut up.
+A queer woman in a sunbonnet, nearly as old as Mrs. Bush, lived close
+by, and "kept an eye on her," as she said.
+
+Mrs. Bush's great enjoyment was to have visitors of all ages, to whom
+she talked a great deal, and cried as she talked, about a daughter who
+had died a few years ago. The little Kyles did not care to go there
+except when, as Edith said, there were ripe mulberries; but Mrs. Bush
+liked very much to have them, and Miss Harson took her little charges
+there occasionally, because, as she explained to them, it gave pleasure
+to a lonely old woman, and such visits were just as much charity, though
+of a different kind, as giving food and clothes to those who need them.
+The children delighted in the mulberries just because they did not have
+them at home, although they had fruit that was very much nicer; but Miss
+Harson never wished even to taste them, although she too had liked them
+when a little girl.
+
+"The mulberry tree," continued their governess, "belongs to the
+bread-fruit family, but the other members of this remarkable family,
+except the Osage orange, are found only in foreign countries. The
+bread-fruit tree itself, the fig, the Indian fig, or banyan tree, and
+the deadly upas tree, are all relations of the mulberry."
+
+"Well, trees are queer things," exclaimed Malcolm, "to belong to
+families that are not a bit alike."
+
+"They are alike in important points, when we examine them carefully,"
+was the reply. "The bread-fruit genus consists, with a single exception,
+of trees and shrubs with alternate, toothed or lobed or entire leaves
+and milky juice. This reminds me that the famous cow tree of South
+America, which yields a large supply of rich and wholesome milk, is one
+of the members; and you see what a number of famous trees we have on
+hand now. There are several kinds of mulberries--the red, black, white
+and paper mulberry, which are all occasionally found in this country,
+and they were once quite popular here for their shade. The fruit is
+unusually small for tree-fruit, and very soft when ripe, as you all
+know; it is not unlike a long, narrow blackberry, and forms, like it, a
+compound fruit, as though many small berries had grown together. The
+tree in Mrs. Bush's garden is the black mulberry, as any one might know
+by the stained lips and hands that sometimes come from there; and it has
+been cultivated from ancient times for its fine appearance and shade. It
+is found wild in the forests of Persia, and is thought to have been
+taken from there to Europe. The tree is more beautiful than useful, for
+the silkworms do not thrive well on the leaves and the wood is neither
+strong nor durable."
+
+"Why, I thought," said Clara, "that silkworms always lived on
+mulberry-leaves?"
+
+"The white mulberry is their favorite food; and another species, called
+the _Morus multicaulis_--for _Morus_ is the scientific name of the
+family--has more delicate leaves than any other, and produces a finer
+quality of silk. These trees are natives of China, and the white
+mulberry grows very rapidly to the height of thirty or forty feet. The
+paper mulberry is so called because in China and Japan--of which it is a
+native--its bark is manufactured into paper. In the South-Sea Islands,
+where it is also found, the bark is made into the curious dresses which
+we sometimes see imported thence. It is a low, thick-branched tree with
+large light-colored downy leaves and dark-scarlet fruit."
+
+"I wonder," said Malcolm, "if the bark is like birch-bark?"
+
+"It does not look like it," replied Miss Harson, "but it seems to be
+very much of the same nature. The red mulberry and black mulberry are
+the most hardy of these trees, and the red mulberry will thrive farther
+north than any of the family. The wood is valuable for many purposes for
+which timber is used, and especially in boat-building. And now, as we
+learned something about silkworms and their cocoons in our talks about
+insects[15], there is little more to be said of the mulberry tree which
+any but learned people would care to know."
+
+[15] See _Flyers and Crawlers_. Presbyterian Board of Publication.
+
+"I want to hear about the bread tree," said little Edith, "and how the
+loaves of bread grow on it."
+
+"Do they, Miss Harson?" asked Clara, not exactly seeing how this could
+be.
+
+"I don't believe they're very hot," remarked Malcolm, who was puzzled
+over the bread-fruit tree himself, but who laughed at his little
+sister's idea in a very knowing way. It was not an ill-natured laugh,
+though, and a glance from his governess always quieted him.
+
+"No, dear," replied Miss Harson, answering Clara; "loaves of bread do
+not grow on any tree. But I will tell you about the bread-fruit
+presently; let us finish the _Morus_ family and their kindred in our own
+country before we go to their foreign relations. The Osage orange is so
+much used in the United States, and in this part of it, for hedges, on
+account of its rapid growth and ornamental appearance, that we really
+ought to know something about it. 'It is a beautiful low, spreading,
+round-headed tree with the port and splendor of an orange tree. Its
+oval, entire, polished leaves have the shining green of natives of
+warmer regions, and its curiously-tesselated, succulent compound fruit
+the size and golden color of an orange. It was first found in the
+country of the Osage Indians, from whom it gets its name, and it has
+since been cultivated in many parts of this country and in Europe. The
+Osages belonged to the Sioux, or Dacotah, tribe of Indians, and their
+home was in the south-western part of the old United States. The Osage
+orange--a tree from thirty to forty feet high with leaves even more
+bright and glossy than those of the ordinary orange--was first found
+growing wild near one of their villages."
+
+"But what a very high hedge it would make!" said Malcolm.
+
+"Yes, if left to its natural growth, it would be a very absurd fence
+indeed. But this is not the case; the branches spread out very widely,
+and by cutting off the tops and trimming the remainder twice in a season
+a very handsome thickset hedge is produced, with lustrous leaves and
+sharp, straight thorns. Another name for this tree is yellow-wood, or
+bow-wood, because the wood is of a bright-yellow color, and the grain is
+so fine and elastic that the Southern Indians have been in the habit of
+using it to make their bows. The experiment of feeding silkworms upon
+the leaves has been tried, but it was not very successful."
+
+"I suppose the worms didn't know that it belonged to the mulberry
+family," said Clara, "and I don't see now why it does."
+
+For reply, her governess read:
+
+"'The sap of the young wood and of the leaves is _milky_ and contains a
+large proportion of caoutchouc.'"
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed Malcolm; "that sounds just like sneezing. What is it,
+Miss Harson?"
+
+"Something that you wear on your feet and over your shoulders in wet
+weather; so now guess."
+
+"Overshoes!" replied Clara, in a great hurry.
+
+"How many of them do you wear over your shoulders at once?" asked her
+brother. "And it must be a queer kind of sap that has overshoes in it.
+Why couldn't you say 'India-rubber'?"
+
+"And why couldn't _you_ say it before Clara put it into your head by
+saying 'Overshoes?" asked Miss Harson. "Clara has the right idea, only
+she did not express it in the clearest way. The sap of the caoutchouc,
+or India-rubber, tree is the most valuable yet discovered, and, as it is
+of a milky nature, it can very properly be brought into the present
+class of trees."
+
+"Is _that_ a mulberry too?" asked Clara, who thought that the size of
+the family was getting beyond all bounds.
+
+"It is not really set down as belonging to the bread-fruit family," was
+the reply, "but it certainly has the peculiarity of their milky sap.
+However, as I know that you are all eager to hear about the bread-fruit
+tree, we will take that next. This tree is found in various tropical
+regions, but principally in the South-Sea Islands, where it is about
+forty feet high. The immense leaves are half a yard long and over a
+quarter wide, and are deeply divided into sharp lobes. The fruit looks
+like a very large green berry, being about the size of a cocoanut or
+melon, and the proper time for gathering it is about a week before it is
+ripe. When baked, it is not very unlike bread. It is cooked by being
+cut into several pieces, which are baked in an oven in the ground. It is
+often eaten with orange-juice and cocoanut-milk. Some of the South-Sea
+islanders depend very much upon it for their food. The large seeds, when
+roasted, are said to taste like the best chestnuts. The pulp, which is
+the bread-part, is said to resemble a baked potato and is very white and
+tender, but, unless eaten soon after the fruit is gathered, it grows
+hard and choky."
+
+[Illustration: THE BREAD-FRUIT.]
+
+"So Edie's 'loaves of bread' are green?" said Malcolm, rather
+teasingly.
+
+"That's because they grow on a tree," replied Clara. "Our loaves of
+bread are raw dough before they're baked, and they are grains of wheat
+before they are dough."
+
+"That is quite true, dear," replied her governess, laughing, "and we
+must teach Malcolm not to be quite so critical.--The bread-fruit is a
+wonderful tree, and it certainly does bear uncooked loaves of bread, at
+least, for they require no kneading to be ready for the oven. The fruit
+is to be found on the tree for eight months of the year--which is very
+different from any of our fruits--and two or three bread-fruit trees
+will supply one man with food all the year round."
+
+"Put what does he do when there is no fresh fruit on them?" asked
+Malcolm. "You told us that it was not good to eat unless it was fresh."
+
+"We should not think it good, but the native makes it into a sour paste
+called _mahe_, and the people of the islands eat this during the four
+months when the fresh fruit is not to be had. The bread-fruit is said
+to be very nourishing, and it can be prepared in various ways. The
+timber of this tree, though soft, is found useful in building houses and
+boats; the flowers, when dried, serve for tinder; the viscid, milky
+juice answers for birdlime and glue; the leaves, for towels and packing;
+and the inner bark, beaten together, makes one species of the
+South-Sea cloth."
+
+"What a very useful tree!" exclaimed Clara.
+
+"It is indeed," replied Miss Harson; "and this is the case with many of
+the trees found in these warm countries, where the inhabitants know
+little of the arts and manufactures, and would almost starve rather than
+exert themselves very greatly. There is another species of bread-fruit,
+called the jaca, or jack, tree, found on the mainland of Asia, which
+produces its fruit on different parts of the tree, according to its age.
+When the tree is young, the fruit grows from the twigs; in middle age it
+grows from the trunk; and when the tree gets old, it grows from
+the roots."
+
+[Illustration: JACK-FRUIT TREE.]
+
+There was a picture of the jack tree with fruit growing out of the
+trunk and great branches like melons, and the children crowded eagerly
+around to look at it. All agreed that it was the very queerest tree they
+had yet heard of.
+
+"The fruit is even larger than that of the island bread-fruit,"
+continued their governess, "but it is not so pleasant to our taste, nor
+is it so nourishing. It often weighs over thirty pounds and has two or
+three hundred seeds, each of which is four times as large as an almond
+and is surrounded by a pulp which is greatly relished by the natives of
+India. The seeds, or nuts, are roasted, like those of smaller fruit, and
+make very good chestnuts. The fruit has a strong odor not very agreeable
+to noses not educated to it."
+
+"Miss Harson," said Malcolm, "what is the upas tree like, and why is it
+called _deadly_?"
+
+"It is a tree eighty feet high, with white and slightly-furrowed bark;
+the branches, which are very thick, grow nearly at the top, dividing
+into smaller ones, which form an irregular sort of crown to the tall,
+straight trunk. There is no reason for calling it _deadly_ except a
+foolish notion and the fact that a very strong poison is prepared from
+the milky sap. The tree grows in the island of Java, and for a long time
+many fabulous stories were told of its dangerous nature. Travelers in
+that region would send home the wildest and most improbable stories of
+the poison tree, until the very name of the upas was enough to make
+people shudder. It is said that a Dutch surgeon stationed on the island
+did much to keep up the impression. He wrote an account of the valley in
+which the upas was said to be growing alone, for no tree nor shrub was
+to be found near it. And he declared that neither animal nor bird could
+breathe the noxious effluvia from the tree without instant death. In
+fact, he called this fatal spot 'The Valley of Death.'"
+
+"And wasn't it true, Miss Harson?"
+
+"Not all true, Clara; some one who had spent many years in Java proved
+these stories to be entirely false. Instead of growing in a dismal
+valley by itself, the graceful-looking upas tree is found in the most
+fertile spots, among other trees, and very often climbing plants are
+twisted round its trunk, while birds nestle in the branches. It can be
+handled, too, like any other tree; and all this is as unlike the Dutch
+surgeon's account as possible. One of his stories was that the criminals
+on the island were employed to collect the poison from the trunk of the
+tree; that they were permitted to choose whether to die by the hand of
+the executioner or to go to the upas for a box of its fatal juice; and
+that the ground all about the tree was strewed with the dead bodies of
+those who had perished on this errand."
+
+"Oh," exclaimed Edith, "wasn't that dreadful?"
+
+"The story was dreadful, dear, but it was only a story, you know: the
+upas tree did not kill people at all; and to turn the milky juice into a
+dangerous poison took a great deal of time and trouble. It was mixed
+with various spices and fermented; when ready for use, it was poured
+into the hollow joints of bamboo and carefully kept from the air. Both
+for war and for the chase arrows are dipped in this fatal preparation,
+and the effect has been witnessed by naturalists on animals, and also on
+man. The instant it touches the blood it is carried through the whole
+system, so that it may be felt in all the veins and causes a burning
+sensation, especially in the head, which is followed by sickness
+and death."
+
+"Well," said Clara, drawing a long breath, "I'm glad that I don't live
+in Java."
+
+"The poisoned arrows are not constantly flying about in Java, dear,"
+replied her governess, with a smile, "and I do not think you would be in
+any danger from them; but there are a great many other reasons why it is
+not pleasant, except for natives, to live in Java. There are a number of
+Dutch settlers there, because the island was conquered by the Dutch
+nation, but while war with the natives was going on they suffered
+terribly from these poisoned arrows; so that the very name of upas
+caused them to tremble. The word 'upas,' in the language of the natives,
+means poison, and there is in the island a valley called the upas, or
+poison, valley. It has nothing, however, to do with the tree, which does
+not grow anywhere in the neighborhood. That valley may literally be
+called 'The Valley of Death.' We are told that it came to exist in this
+way: The largest mountain in Java was once partly buried in a very
+dreadful manner. In the middle of a summer night the people in the
+neighborhood perceived a luminous cloud that seemed wholly to envelop
+the mountain. They were extremely alarmed and took to flight, but ere
+they could escape a terrific noise was heard, like the discharge of
+cannon, and part of the mountain fell in and disappeared. At the same
+moment quantities of stones and lava were thrown to the distance of
+several miles. Fifteen miles of ground covered with villages and
+plantations were swallowed up or buried under the lava from the
+mountain; and when all was over and people tried to visit the scene of
+the disaster, they could not approach it on account of the heat of the
+stones and other substances piled upon one another. And yet as much as
+six weeks had elapsed since the catastrophe. This upas valley is about
+half a mile in circumference, and the vapor that escapes through the
+cracks and fissures is fatal to every living thing. Here, indeed, are to
+be seen the bones of animals and birds, and even the skeletons of human
+beings who were unfortunate enough to enter and were overpowered by the
+deadly vapor. And now," added Miss Harson, "I have given you this
+account to make you understand that the famous upas valley of Java is
+not a valley of upas trees, but one of poisonous vapors."
+
+"And the deadly upas," said Malcolm, "is not deadly, after all! I think
+I shall remember that."
+
+"And I too," said Clara and Edith, who had listened with great interest
+to the description.
+
+"Shall we have some figs now, by way of variety?" was a question that
+caused three pairs of eyes to turn rather expectantly on the speaker;
+for figs were very popular with the small people of Elmridge.
+
+[Illustration: THE BANYAN TREE.]
+
+"Not in the way of refreshments, just at present," continued their
+governess, "but only as belonging to the mulberry family; and we will
+begin with that curious tree the banyan, or Indian fig. This stately and
+beautiful tree is found on the banks of the river Ganges and in many
+parts of India, and is a tree much valued and venerated by the Hindu. He
+plants it near the temple of his idol; and if the village in which he
+resides does not possess any such edifice, he uses the banyan for a
+temple and places the idol beneath it. Here, every morning and evening,
+he performs the rites of his heathen worship. And, more than this, he
+considers the tree, with its out-stretched and far-sheltering arms, an
+emblem of the creator of all things."
+
+"Is that only one tree?" asked Malcolm as Miss Harson displayed a
+picture that was more like a small grove. "Why, it looks like two or
+three trees together."
+
+"Does it grow up from the ground or down from the air?" asked Clara.
+"Just look at these queer branches with one end fast to the tree and the
+other end fast to the ground!"
+
+Edith thought that the branches which had not reached the ground looked
+like snakes, but, for all that, it was certainly a grand tree.
+
+"The peculiar growth of the banyan," continued Miss Harson, "renders it
+an object of beauty and produces those column-like stems that cause it
+to become a grove in itself. It may be said to grow, not from the seed,
+but from the branches. They spread out horizontally, and each branch
+sends out a number of rootlets that at first hang from it like slender
+cords and wave about in the wind.--Those are your 'snakes,' Edith.--But
+by degrees they reach the ground and root themselves into it; then the
+cord tightens and thickens and becomes a stem, acting like a prop to the
+widespreading branch of the parent plant. Indeed, column on column is
+added in this manner, the books tell us, so long as the mother-tree can
+support its numerous progeny."
+
+"How very strange!" said Clara. "The mulberry seems to have some very
+funny relations."
+
+"Such a great tree ought to bear very large figs," added Malcolm.
+
+"On the contrary," replied his governess, "it bears uncommonly small
+ones--no larger than a hazel-nut, and of a red color. They are not
+considered eatable by the natives, but birds and animals feed upon them,
+and in the leafy bower of the banyan are found the peacock, the monkey
+and the squirrel. Here, too, are a myriad of pigeons as green as the
+leaf and with eyes and feet of a brilliant red. They are so like the
+foliage in color that they can be seen only by the practiced eye of the
+hunter, and even he would fail to detect them were it not for their
+restless movements. As they flutter about from branch to branch they are
+apt to fall victims to his skill in shooting his arrows."
+
+"If they would only keep still!" exclaimed Edith, who felt a strong
+sympathy for the green pigeons. "Poor pretty things! Why don't they,
+Miss Harson, instead of getting killed?"
+
+"They do not know their danger until it is too late, and it is quite as
+hard for them to keep still as it is for little girls."
+
+Edith wondered if that meant her; she was a little girl, but she did not
+think she was so very restless. However, Miss Harson didn't tell her,
+and she soon forgot it in listening to what was said of the queer tree
+with branches like snakes.
+
+"The leaves of the banyan tree are large and soft and of a very bright
+green, and the deep shade and pillared walks are so welcome to the Hindu
+that he even tries to improve on Nature and coax the shoots to grow just
+where he wishes them. He binds wet clay and moss on the branch to make
+the rootlet sprout."
+
+"Will it grow then?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Yes, just as a cutting planted in the earth will grow, although it
+seems a very odd style of gardening.--The sacred fig tree of
+India--_Ficus religiosa_--is a near relative of the banyan, and very
+much like it in general appearance; but the leaves are on such slender
+stalks that they tremble like those of the aspen. It is known as the bo
+tree of Ceylon, and is said to have been placed in charge of the priests
+long before the present race of inhabitants had appeared in the island."
+
+"Where do the real figs grow?" asked Clara.
+
+"In a great many moderately warm or sub-tropical countries," was the
+reply, "but Smyrna figs are the most celebrated. Immense quantities of
+the fruit are dried and packed in Asiatic Turkey for exportation from
+this city, and it is said that in the fig season nothing else is talked
+about there."
+
+"I didn't know that they were dried," said Malcolm, in great surprise;
+"I thought they were just packed tight in boxes and then sent off."
+
+[Illustration: LEAF AND FRUIT OF THE FIG TREE.]
+
+"'In its native country,'" read Miss Harson, "'and when growing on the
+tree, the fig presents a different appearance from the dried and packed
+specimens we see in this country. It is a firm and fleshy fruit, and
+has a delicious honey-drop hanging from the point.' And here," she
+added, "is a small branch from the fig tree, with fruit growing on it."
+
+"Why, it's shaped like a pear!" exclaimed Malcolm.
+
+"And what large, pretty leaves it has!" said Clara.
+
+"'The fig tree is common in Palestine and the East,'" Miss Harson
+continued to read, "'and flourishes with the greatest luxuriance in
+those barren and stony situations, where little else will grow. Its
+large size and its abundance of five-lobed leaves render it a pleasant
+shade-tree, and its fruit furnishes a wholesome food very much used in
+all the lands of the Bible.' Figs were among the fruits mentioned in the
+'land that flowed with milk and honey,' and it was a symbol of peace and
+plenty, as you will find, Malcolm, by reading to us from First Kings,
+fourth chapter, twenty-fifth verse."
+
+"'And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under
+his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of
+Solomon.'--That's what it means, then!" said Malcolm, when he had
+finished reading the verse. "I've heard people say, 'Under your own vine
+and fig tree,' and I couldn't tell what they meant."
+
+"Yes," replied his governess, "some persons make very free with the
+words of Holy Scripture and twist them to suit meanings for which they
+were not intended. Having a house of one's own is usually meant by this
+quotation, and almost the same words are repeated in other parts of the
+Old Testament. The fig is often mentioned in the Bible, and two kinds
+are spoken of--the very early fig, and the one that ripens late in the
+summer. The early fig was considered the best; and I think that Clara
+will tell us what is said of it by the prophet Jeremiah."
+
+Clara read slowly:
+
+"'One basket had very good figs, _even like the figs that are first
+ripe_; and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be
+eaten, they were so bad[16].'"
+
+[16] Jer. xxiv. 2.
+
+"But can figs be naughty, Miss Harson?" asked Edith, with very
+wide-open eyes. "I thought that only children were naughty,"
+
+"There are 'naughty' grown people as well as naughty children," was the
+reply, "and inanimate things like figs in old times were called naughty
+too, in the sense of being bad.--The fruit of the fig tree appears not
+only before the leaves, but without any sign of blossoms, the flowers
+being small and hidden in the little buttons which first shoot out from
+the points of the sterns, and around which the outer and firm part of
+the fig grows. The leaves come out so late in the season that our
+Saviour said, 'Now learn a parable of the fig tree; when his branch is
+yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh[17].'
+Did not our Lord say something else about a fig tree?"
+
+[17] Matt. xxiv. 32.
+
+"Yes," replied Clara; "the one that was withered away because it had no
+figs on it."
+
+"The barren fig tree which was withered at our Saviour's word, as an
+awful warning to unfruitful professors of religion, seems to have spent
+itself in leaves. It stood by the wayside, free to all, and, as the time
+for stripping the trees of their fruit had not come--for in Mark we are
+told that 'the time of figs was not yet[18]'--it was reasonable to
+expect to find it covered with figs in various stages of growth. Yet
+there was 'nothing thereon, but leaves only.' Find the nineteenth verse
+of the twenty-first chapter of Matthew, Malcolm, and read what is
+said there."
+
+[18] Mark xi. 13.
+
+"'And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found
+nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on
+thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.'"
+
+"A fig tree having leaves," said Miss Harson, "should also have figs,
+for these, as I have already told you, appear before the leaves, and
+both are on the tree at the same time; so that, although unripe figs are
+seen without leaves, leaves should not be seen without figs; and if it
+was not yet the season for figs, it was not the season for leaves
+either. The barren fig tree has often been compared to people who make a
+show of goodness in words, but leave the doing of good works to others;
+and when anything is expected of them, there is sure to be
+disappointment. 'Nothing but leaves' has become a proverb; and when it
+can be used to express the barren condition of those who profess to
+follow the teachings of our Lord, it is sad indeed."
+
+"Do fig trees grow wild?" asked Clara, presently.
+
+"Yes," was the reply, "and very curious-looking things they are. 'Their
+roots twist into all kinds of whimsical contortions, so as to look more
+like a mass of snakes than the roots of a tree. They unite themselves so
+closely to the substances that come in their way, such as the face of
+rocks, or even the stems of other trees, that nothing can pull them
+away. And in some parts of India these strong, tough roots are made to
+serve the purpose of bridges and twisted over some stream or cataract.
+The wild fig is often a dangerous parasite, and does not attain
+perfection without completing some work of destruction among its
+neighbors in the forest. A slender rootlet may sometimes be seen hanging
+from the crown of a palm. The seed was carried there by some bird that
+had fed upon the fruit of a wild fig, and it rooted itself with
+surprising facility. The rootlet, as it descends, envelops the
+column-like stem of the palm with a woody network, and at length reaches
+the ground. Meanwhile, the true stem of the parasite shoots upward from
+the crown of the palm. It sends out numberless rootlets, each of which,
+as soon as it reaches the ground, takes root; and between them the palm
+is stifled and perishes, leaving the fig in undisturbed possession. The
+parasite does not, however, long survive the decline; for, no longer fed
+by the juices of the palm, it also, in process of time, begins to
+languish and decline.'"
+
+"What a mean thing it is!" exclaimed Malcolm--"as mean as the cuckoo,
+that lays its eggs in other birds' nests. And I'm glad it dies when it
+has killed the palm tree; it just serves it right. But don't figs ever
+grow in this country, Miss Harson?"
+
+"Yes," replied his governess; "they are cultivated in the Southern
+States and in California, like many other semi-tropical fruits, and are
+principally eaten fresh, but for drying they are not equal to the
+imported ones. No doubt the cultivation of figs in California will
+become a prosperous trade, for the climate and circumstances there are
+much like those of Syria."
+
+[Illustration: DWARF FIG TREE IN A POT.]
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+_QUEER RELATIONS: THE CAOUTCHOUC AND THE MILK TREE_.
+
+"What dark, strange-looking trees!" exclaimed the children while looking
+at an illustration of caoutchouc trees in Brazil. "How thick and strong
+they are! And what funny tops!--like pointed umbrellas."
+
+"The India-rubber tree is not likely to be mistaken for any other," said
+their governess, "and it does not look very dark and gloomy in that
+forest, where everything seems to be crowded close and in a tangle,
+because South American vegetation grows so thickly and rapidly. This is
+the country which supplies the largest quantity of India-rubber. Immense
+cargoes are shipped from the town of Para, on the river Amazon, and
+obtained from the _Siphonia elastica_."
+
+"Are the stems all made of India-rubber?" asked Edith, who thought that
+was exactly what they looked like.
+
+"Are the stems of the maple trees made of maple-sugar?" replied Miss
+Harson. "The India-rubber is got from its tree as the sugar is from the
+maple tree. It is taken from the trunk in the shape of a very thick
+milky fluid, and it is said that no other vital fluid, whether in animal
+or in plant, contains so much solid material within it; and it is a
+matter of surprise that the sap, thus encumbered, can circulate through
+all the delicate vessels of the tree. Tropical heat is required to form
+the caoutchouc; for when the tree is cultivated in hothouses, the
+substance of the sap is quite different. The full-grown trees are very
+handsome, with round column-like trunks about sixty feet high, and the
+crown of foliage is said to resemble that of the ash."
+
+"Did people always know about India-rubber?" asked Clara.
+
+"No indeed! It is not more than a hundred and fifty years--perhaps not
+so long--since it was a great curiosity; so that a piece half an inch
+square would sell in London for nearly a dollar of our money, but now it
+comes in shiploads, and a pound of it costs less than quarter of that
+sum. It is used for so many purposes that it seems as if the world could
+never have gone on without it. All sorts of outside garments to keep out
+the rain are made of it. Waterproof cloaks are called macintoshes in
+England because this was the name of the person who invented them.
+India-rubber is also used for tents and many other things, and, as water
+cannot get through it, there is a great saving of trouble and expense."
+
+"It must be splendid for tents," said Malcolm; "no one need care, when
+snug under cover, whether or not it rained in the woods."
+
+"People do care, though," was the reply, "for they expect, when in the
+woods, to live out of doors; but the India-rubber is certainly a great
+improvement on tents that get soaked through."
+
+"I like it," said Edith, "because it rubs things out. When I draw a
+house and it's all wrong, my piece of India-rubber will take it away,
+and then I can make another one on the paper."
+
+"That is the very smallest of its uses," replied Miss Harson, smiling at
+the little girl's earnestness, "and yet we find it a great convenience.
+An English writer, speaking of it when it was first known in England,
+said that he had seen a substance that would efface from paper the marks
+of a black-lead pencil, and he thought it must be of use to those who
+practiced drawing."
+
+"How funny that sounds!" exclaimed Malcolm. "Why, I couldn't get along
+without my India-rubber when I make mistakes,"
+
+"You might," said his governess, "if you had some stale bread to rub
+with; for people _have_ gotten along without a great many things which
+they now think necessary."
+
+"Miss Harson," said Clara, "won't you tell us, please, how they get the
+caoutch--whatever it is--and make it into India-rubber?"
+
+"I will," was the laughing reply, "when you can say the word properly.
+C-a-o-u-t-c-h-o-u-c--koochook."
+
+As Clara said, Miss Harson made things so easy to understand! and in a
+very short time the hard word was mastered.
+
+"As I have never seen the sap gathered," continued the young lady, "I
+shall have to read you an account of it, instead of telling you from my
+own experience; but the description is so plain that I think we shall
+all be able to understand it very well: 'At certain seasons of the year
+the natives visit some islands in the river Amazon that for many months
+are covered with water. As soon as the water subsides and a footing can
+be obtained the Indians arrive in parties, to seek for the trees. The
+Indian who comes every morning to collect the juice from the trunk has a
+number of trees allotted to him, and goes the round of the whole. The
+previous night he has made a long, deep cut in the bark of each and hung
+an earthen vessel beneath, to receive the thick, creamlike substance
+that trickles down. The vessel is filled by morning, and he pours the
+contents into one much larger and carries it to his hut. He is provided
+with a number of moulds of different shapes and sizes, and he dips them
+into the juice and puts them aside to dry. They are then dipped again,
+and the process is continued until the coat of India-rubber on the mould
+is of sufficient thickness. It is made black by passing it through the
+smoke of burning palm-nuts. The moulds are broken and taken out, leaving
+the India-rubber ready for sale, and pretty much as we used to see it in
+the shops before the people of this country had learned how to
+work it.'"
+
+"That seems easy enough," said Malcolm, "but how do they make it into
+gutta-percha?"
+
+"Gutta-percha is not made," replied his governess, "and it is taken from
+an entirely different tree, the _Icosandra gutta_, which grows in
+Southern Asia. The milky fluid is procured in the same way, but it is
+placed in vessels to evaporate, and the solid substance left at the
+bottom is the gutta-percha. It is not elastic, like India-rubber, and
+is called 'vegetable leather' because of its toughness and leathery
+appearance. It was discovered by an English traveler a long time before
+it was supposed to have any useful properties, but now it is considered
+a very valuable material. The wonderful submarine telegraph could not
+convey its messages between the Old World and the New were not its wires
+protected from injury by a coating of gutta-percha. Its unyielding
+nature and its not being elastic render it the very material needed. The
+long straps used in working machines are also made of gutta-percha, and
+this is another instance where its non-elasticity gives it the
+preference over India-rubber."
+
+"And what is vulcanite?" asked Clara.
+
+"It is caoutchouc mixed with sulphur. Unless a small quantity of
+brimstone is added in the manufacture of overshoes, they become soft
+when exposed to heat and hardened when exposed to cold; but it was
+discovered that the sulphur will keep them from being affected by
+changes in temperature. When a large amount of sulphur is used, the
+India-rubber, becomes as hard as horn or wood, and this is the substance
+called vulcanite. Now the gum is imported in masses, to be wrought over
+by our skillful mechanics."
+
+The children were very much pleased to find that they had learned the
+nature of three important articles--India-rubber, gutta-percha and
+vulcanite--and they thought it would be quite easy to remember the
+differences between them.
+
+"And now," said Miss Harson, "the last of these useful trees--the cow
+tree, or milk tree--is the most curious one of all. Like the caoutchouc,
+it is a native of South America; but the sap is a rich fluid that
+answers for food, like milk. It is a fine-looking tree with oblong,
+pointed leaves about ten inches in length and a fleshy fruit containing
+one or two nuts. The sap is the most valuable part; and when incisions
+are made in the trunk of the tree, there is an abundant flow of thick
+milk-like sap, which is described as having an agreeable and balmv
+smell. The German traveler Humboldt drank it from the shell of a
+calabash, and the natives dip their bread of maize or cassava in it.
+This milk is said to be very fattening; and when exposed to the air, it
+thickens into a substance which the people call cheese."
+
+"Milk and cheese from a tree!" exclaimed Malcolm. "Do you think we'd
+like them as well as ours, Miss Harson?"
+
+"No," was the reply, "I do not think we should; but if we had never
+known any other kind, it would be quite a different matter, and the
+traveler says that both smell and taste are agreeable. The sap, it
+seems, is like curdled milk, and the natives say that they can tell,
+from the thickness and color of the foliage, the trunks that yield the
+most juice. This wonderful tree will be found growing on the side of a
+barren rock, and its large, woody roots can scarcely penetrate into the
+stone. For several months of the year not a single shower moistens its
+foliage. Its branches then appear dead and dried; but when the trunk is
+pierced, there flows from it a sweet and nourishing milk. It is at the
+rising of the sun that this vegetable fountain is most abundant. The
+negroes and natives are then seen hastening from all quarters, furnished
+with large bowls to receive the milk, which grows yellow and thickens at
+its surface. Some empty their bowls while under the tree itself; others
+carry the juice home to their children."
+
+"Isn't it funny," said Edith, laughing, "to go and get their breakfasts
+from a _tree_? I wish we had some milk trees here."
+
+"But you would not find it pleasant," replied their governess, "to have
+some other things that are always found where the milk tree grows. The
+intense heat and the swarms of mosquitoes and biting flies, the serpents
+and jaguars and other disagreeable and dangerous creatures, make life in
+that region anything but pleasant, and the curious vegetation and
+delicious fruits are not worth the suffering inflicted by all these
+torments."
+
+On hearing of these drawbacks the children soon decided that their own
+dear home was the best, and no longer envied the possessors even of
+the cow tree.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+_HOME AND ABROAD: LINDEN, CAMPHOR, BEECH_.
+
+"Now," said Miss Harson to her expectant flock, "it is to be hoped that
+our foreign wanderings among such wonderful trees have not spoiled you
+for home trees, as there are still a number of them which we have not
+yet examined."
+
+"No indeed!" they assured her; "they liked to hear about them all, and
+they were going to try and remember everything she told them about
+the trees."
+
+Their governess said that would be too much to expect, and if they
+remembered the most important things she would be quite satisfied,
+
+"We will take the linden, lime, or basswood, tree--for it has all three
+of these names--this evening," she continued, "and there are nine or ten
+species of the tree, which are found in America, Europe and Western
+Asia. It is a very handsome, regular-looking tree with rich, thick
+masses of foliage that make a deep shade. The leaves are heart-shaped
+and very finely veined, have sharply-serrated edges and are four or five
+inches long. The leaf-stalk is half the length of the leaf. It blooms
+in July and August, and the flowers are yellowish white and very
+fragrant; when an avenue of limes is in blossom, the whole atmosphere is
+filled with a delightful perfume which can hardly be described."
+
+[Illustration: THE LINDEN OR LIME TREE (_Tilia_).]
+
+"There are no lime trees here, are there?" asked Clara.
+
+"No," was the reply, "I do not think there are any in this neighborhood;
+but they grow abundantly not many miles away. Our native trees are not
+so pretty as the English lime, which, clothed with softer foliage, has a
+smaller leaf and a neater and more elegant spray. Ours bears larger and
+more conspicuous flowers, in heavier clusters, but of inferior
+sweetness. Both species are remarkable for their size and longevity. The
+young leaves of the lime are of a bright fresh tint that contrasts
+strongly with the very dark color of the branches; and these branches
+are so finely divided that their beauty is seen to the greatest
+advantage when winter has stripped them bare of leaves.
+
+"'The linden has in all ages been celebrated for the fragrance of its
+flowers and the excellence of the honey made from them. The famous
+Mount Hybla was covered with lime trees. The aroma from its flowers is
+like that of mignonette; it perfumes the whole atmosphere, and is
+perceptible to the inhabitants of all the beehives within a circuit of a
+mile. The real linden honey is of a greenish color and delicious taste
+when taken from the hive immediately after the trees have been in
+blossom, and is often sold for more than the ordinary kind. There is a
+forest in Lithuania that abounds in lime trees, and here swarms of wild
+bees live in the hollow trunks and collect their honey from the lime.'"
+
+[Illustration: LEAF AND FLOWER OF LIME TREE _(Tilia)._]
+
+"What fun it would be, if we were there, to go and get it!" exclaimed
+Malcolm. "But don't bees make honey from the lime trees that grow in
+this country, too, Miss Harson?"
+
+"Certainly they do; and the beekeepers look anxiously forward to the
+blossoming of the trees, because they provide such abundant supplies for
+the busy swarms. The flowers have other uses, too, besides the making of
+honey: the Swiss are said to obtain a favorite beverage from them, and
+in the South of France an infusion of the blossoms is taken for colds
+and hoarseness, and also for fever. 'Active boys climb to the topmost
+branches and gather the fragrant flowers, which their mothers catch in
+their aprons for that purpose. An avenue of limes has been ravaged and
+torn in pieces by the eagerness of the people to gather the blossoms,
+and they are often made into tea which is a soft sugary beverage in
+taste a little like licorice.'"
+
+"How queer," said Clara, "to make tea from flowers!"
+
+"Is it any queerer," asked her governess, "than to make it from leaves?
+I should think that the flowers might even be better, and yet I should
+scarcely like lime-tea that tastes like licorice."
+
+The children, though, seemed to think that they would like it, and Miss
+Harson had very little doubt that such would be the case.
+
+"Both the bark and the wood of the lime tree are valuable," she
+continued. "The fibres of the bark are strong and firm, and make
+excellent ropes and cordage. In Sweden and Russia they are made into a
+kind of matting that is very useful for packing-purposes and in
+protecting delicate plants from the frost. 'The manufacture of this
+useful material is carried on in the summer, close by the woods and
+forests where the lime trees grow in abundance. As soon as the sap
+begins to ascend freely the bark parts from the wood and can be taken
+away with ease. Great strips are then peeled off and steeped in water
+until they separate into layers; the layers are still further divided
+into smaller strips or ribbons, and are hung up in the shade of the
+wood, generally on the very tree itself from which they have been taken.
+After a time they are woven into the matting and sent to market for
+sale. The Swedish fishermen also manufacture it into a coarse thread for
+fishing-nets, and from the fibres of the young shoots the Russian
+peasant makes the strong shoes he wears, using the outer bark for the
+soles. In Italy the garments of the poorer people are often made of
+cloth woven from this material."
+
+"Why, people can fairly _live_ on trees," said Malcolm. "I didn't know
+that they were good for anything but shade--except the trees that have
+fruit and nuts on 'em."
+
+"There is a great deal for us all to learn of the works of the Creator,"
+replied Miss Harson, "and the blessing of trees is not half known. The
+wood of the lime is said never to be worm-eaten; it is very soft and
+smooth and of a pale-yellow color. It is used for the famous Tunbridge
+ware, and is called the carver's tree, because, as the poet says,
+
+     "'Smooth linden best obeys
+     The carver's chisel--best his curious work
+     Displays in nicest touches.'
+
+"The fruits and flowers carved for the choir of St. Paul's cathedral in
+London are done in lime-wood.
+
+"So numerous are the purposes to which the bark, wood, leaves and
+blossoms of the lime, or linden, tree can be applied that centuries ago
+it was called the tree of a thousand uses. Linden is the name by which
+it is always known on the continent of Europe, and there it is indeed a
+magnificent tree, forming the most delightful avenues and branching
+colonnades. One of the principal streets in Berlin is called 'Unter den
+Linden.' In the Middle Ages, when the Swiss and the Flemings were always
+struggling for liberty, it was their custom to plant a lime tree on the
+field of battle, and many of these old trees still remain and have been
+the subject of ballads and poetical effusions:
+
+     "'The stately lime, smooth, gentle, straight and fair.'"
+
+"Is there any story about it, Miss Harson?"
+
+"No," was the reply, "not much of a story; only descriptions of some
+very large and very ancient trees. One of these, the old linden tree of
+Soleure, in Switzerland, was spoken of by an English traveler two
+hundred years ago as 'right noble and wondrous to behold. A bower
+composed of its branches is capable of holding three hundred persons
+sitting at ease; it has also a fountain set about with many tables
+formed solely of the boughs, to which men ascend by steps; and all is
+kept so accurately and thick that the sun never looks into it.'"
+
+"It is just like a tent," said Malcolm, "it must be pleasant to sit by
+the fountain. Wouldn't you like it, Miss Harson?"
+
+"I am sure I should," replied his governess; "and I should also like to
+see the famous lime tree of Zurich, the boughs of which will shelter
+five hundred persons. At Augsburg, in Germany, feasts and weddings have
+often been celebrated under the shade of some venerable limes that
+branch out to an immense distance. In early times divine honors were
+paid to them as emblems of immortality. And now," said Miss Harson, "the
+last of these famous trees is a noble lime tree which grew on the farm
+belonging to the ancestors of Linnaeus, the great naturalist, beneath
+the shade of which he played in childhood, and from which his ancestors
+derived their surname. That noble tree still blossoms from year to year,
+beautiful in every change of seasons."
+
+"Lime, linden and basswood," said Clara--"three names to remember for
+one tree. But didn't you say, Miss Harson, that it's always called
+basswood in our country?"
+
+"Often, but not always. The name linden is quite common with us, and it
+will be well for you to remember that it is also called lime, so that
+when you go to Europe you will know what is meant by _lime_ and
+_linden_."
+
+The children laughed at this idea, for it seemed very funny to think of
+a little girl like Clara going to Europe, but, as their governess told
+them, little girls did go constantly; besides, this was the time to
+learn what would be of use to them when they were grown.
+
+"The fragrant lime," said Miss Harson, "has a relative in Asia whose
+acquaintance I wish you to make, and you know it already in one of its
+products, which is common in every household. It is also very
+fragrant--or rather, I should say, it has a strong aromatic odor which
+is very reviving in cases of faintness or illness, although it has quite
+a contrary effect on insects, particularly on mosquitoes. I should like
+to have some one tell me what this white, powerful substance is."
+
+This was quite a conundrum, and for a little while the children were
+extremely puzzled over its solution; but presently Clara asked,
+
+"Do the moths hate it too, Miss Harson? And isn't it camphor?"
+
+"Camphor doesn't grow on a _tree_," said Malcolm, in a superior tone;
+"it is dug out of the earth."
+
+"I have never read of any camphor-mines," replied his governess,
+laughing, "and I think you will find that camphor--which is just what I
+meant--is obtained from the trunk of a tree."
+
+"Like India-rubber?" asked Edith.
+
+"No, dear, not like India-rubber, for it grows in even a more curious
+way than that, masses of it being found in the trunk of the camphor
+tree--not in the form of sap, but in lumps, as we use it."
+
+"I thought it was like water," said Edith, in a puzzled tone.
+
+"So it is when dissolved in alcohol, as we generally have it; but it is
+also used in lumps to drive away moths and for various other purposes.
+But I will tell you all about the tree, which grows in the islands of
+Sumatra and Borneo and bears the botanical name _Dryobalanops camphora_.
+The camphor is also called _barus_ camphor, to distinguish it from the
+_laurus_, of which I will tell you afterward, and it is of a better
+quality and more easily obtained. The tree grows in the forests of
+these East Indian islands and is remarkable for its majestic size, dense
+foliage and magnolia-like flowers. The trunk rises as high as ninety
+feet without a single branch, and within it are cavities, sometimes a
+foot and a half long, which cannot be perceived until the bark is split
+open. These cavities contain the camphor in clear crystalline masses,
+and with it an oil known as camphor oil, that is thought by some to be
+camphor in an immature form. But the oil, even when crystallized by
+artificial means, does not produce such good camphor as that already
+solidified in the tree."
+
+"To think," exclaimed Clara, "of camphor growing in that way! But how do
+they get it out, Miss Harson? Do they cut great holes in the trunk of
+the tree?"
+
+"No, dear; I have just read to you that the camphor cannot be seen until
+the bark is split open, and the grand trees have to be cut down. But to
+do this is no easy matter. The hard, close-grained timber requires days
+of hewing and sawing to get it severed. The masses of roots are as
+unyielding as iron, and run twisting through the soil to the distance
+of sixty yards. Even at their farthest extremity they are as thick as a
+man's thigh."
+
+"I shouldn't think the camphor was worth all that trouble," said
+Malcolm; "it don't seem to amount to much, any wary."
+
+"It is more valuable than you suppose," replied Miss Harson; "for,
+besides preserving furs and woolen fabrics from the devouring moth, it
+protects the contents of cabinets and museums from the attacks of the
+minute creatures that prey upon the dried specimens of the naturalist.
+Not any of the insect tribe can endure the powerful scent of the
+camphor, and they either retreat before it or are killed by it. But its
+principal value is in medicine. It is used both internally and
+externally. It acts as a nervous stimulant, and is a favorite domestic
+remedy.--So you see, Malcolm, that camphor really amounts to a great
+deal, and we could not very well do without it."
+
+"How can people tell when there is any camphor inside the tree?" asked
+Clara.
+
+"They cannot tell," was the reply, "until the trunk is split open,
+although a tribe of men in Sumatra say that they know before-hand, by a
+kind of magic, which is the right tree to cut down. But the beautiful,
+stately tree is often wasted in vain, and after all their hard work the
+camphor-seekers find the cavities of the split-up trunk filled with a
+thick black substance like pitch instead of the pure white camphor."
+
+"Poor things!" said Edith, pityingly; "that's too bad."
+
+"Camphor is found in many trees and shrubs," continued her governess,
+"but in all others except the camphor tree of Sumatra and Borneo it has
+to be distilled from the wood and roots. The camphor-laurel, which is
+about the size of an English oak, is the most important of these trees.
+It grows abundantly in the Chinese island of Formosa, and 'camphor
+mandarin' is the title of a rich Chinaman who pays the government for
+the privilege of extracting all the camphor, which he sends to other
+countries at a large profit. Every part of this tree is full of camphor,
+and the tree gives out, when bruised, a strong perfume.
+
+"The European bay tree, which is more like an immense shrub, is also a
+member of this singular tribe, and its leaves have the strong family
+flavor. They were used in medicine, as well as the berries, before the
+camphor-laurel became known in Europe; in the time of Queen Elizabeth
+the floors of the better sort of houses were strewed with bay-leaves
+instead of being carpeted as now. The bay was an emblem of victory in
+old Roman times, and victorious generals were crowned with it. A wreath
+of this laurel, with the berries on, was placed on the head of a
+favorite poet in the Middle Ages, and in this way came the title
+'poet-laureate'--_laureatus_,' crowned with laurel.'
+
+"Do you remember," continued Miss Harson, "the tall, straight tree that
+I showed you yesterday when we were out in the woods--the one with a
+fluted trunk? What was its name?"
+
+"I know!" said Malcolm, quite excited. "Think of the seashore! Beach!
+That's what I told myself to remember."
+
+[Illustration: AMERICAN BEECH.]
+
+"A very good idea," replied his governess, laughing; "only you must not
+spell it with an _a_, like the seashore, for it is _b-e-e-c-h._--The
+fluted, or ribbed, shaft of this grand-looking tree is often sixty or
+seventy feet high, and, although it is found in its greatest perfection
+in England, it is a common tree in most of the woods in this country.
+For depth of shade no tree is equal to the beech, and its long beautiful
+leaves, with their close ridges and serrated edges, are very much like
+those of the chestnut. The leaves are of a light, fresh green and very
+neat and perfect, because they are so seldom attacked by insects; they
+remain longer on the branches than those of any deciduous tree, and
+give a cheerful air to the wood in winter. In the autumn they change to
+a light yellow-brown, which makes a pretty contrast to the reds and
+greens and purples of other trees. The branches start out almost
+straight from the tree, but they very soon curve and turn regularly
+upward. Every small twig turns in the same direction, making the long
+leaf-buds at the end look like so many little spears. I showed you these
+'stuck-up' buds when we were looking at the tree, and you noticed how
+different they were from the other trees."
+
+Yes, the children remembered it; and it always seemed to them
+particularly nice to have part of the talk out of doors and the rest in
+the house.
+
+"Doesn't the beech tree have nuts?" asked Malcolm. "John says it does."
+
+"Yes," replied Miss Harson; "it has tiny three-cornered nuts which seem
+particularly small for so large a tree. But these nuts are eagerly
+devoured by pigeons, partridges and squirrels. Bears are said to be very
+fond of them, and swine fatten very rapidly upon them. Most varieties
+are so small as not to repay the trouble of gathering, drying and
+opening them. Fortunately, this is not the case with all, as it is a
+delicious nut. In France the beech-nut is much used for making oil,
+which is highly valued for burning in lamps and for cooking. In parts of
+the same country the nuts, roasted, serve as a substitute for coffee."
+
+"I'd like to find some when they're ripe," said Clara, "if they _are_
+little."
+
+"We will have a search for them, then," was the reply, "when the time
+comes.--The flowers which produce these little nuts are very showy and
+grow in roundish tassels, or heads, which hang by thread-like, silky
+stalks, one or two inches long, from the midst of the young leaves of a
+newly-opened bud. A traveler says of these leaves, 'We used always to
+think that the most luxurious and refreshing bed was that which prevails
+universally in Italy, and which consists entirely of a pile of
+mattresses filled with the luxuriant spathe of the Indian corn; which
+beds have the advantage of being soft as well as elastic, and we have
+always found the sleep enjoyed on them to be particularly sound and
+restorative. But the beds made of beech-leaves are really no whit behind
+them in these qualities, whilst the fragrant smell of green tea, which
+the leaves retain, is most gratifying. The objection to them is the
+slight crackling noise which the leaves occasion as the individual turns
+in bed, but this is no inconvenience at all; or if so in any degree, it
+is an inconvenience which is overbalanced by the advantages of this most
+luxurious couch."
+
+"But how funny," said Malcolm, "to sleep on leaves! That's what the
+Babes in the Wood did."
+
+"No," replied Clara, very earnestly, "they didn't sleep _on_ leaves, you
+know; but when they had laid down and gone to sleep, the robins came and
+covered them with leaves."
+
+"Yes," chimed in little Edith; "I like that way best, because they'd be
+so cold in the woods."
+
+"And that really was the case," said Miss Harson, after listening with a
+smile to this discussion, "although there were probably leaves on the
+ground for the children to lie upon. A bed of leaves is not a bad thing
+where there are no mattresses, and such a bed is often used as a matter
+of course. You will remember my reading to you about the beds which the
+Finland mothers make for their children of the leaves of the
+canoe-birch. 'Leafy beds' are no strange thing--not mere poetry."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+_THE TENT AND THE LOCUSTS_.
+
+There came a bright balmy day in May when the children found a
+delightful surprise awaiting them. The tent in the woods, which had been
+proposed on the day when birch-twigs were found to be eatable, was
+almost forgotten--or if thought of, it was as a thing that could not
+possibly be--when, on the day in question, Miss Harson took her charges
+out as usual, and led them to a very pretty cleared space with a fringe
+of rocks and trees all around it. But on this spot, which hitherto had
+been quite bare, there now stood some sort of a little house different
+from other houses and quite pretty.
+
+"It's a tent!" exclaimed Malcolm. "Who put it there, I should like to
+know, on _our_ land?"
+
+"Are there gypsies here, Miss Harson?" whispered Clara, rather
+fearfully.
+
+But the young lady walked deliberately up to the entrance of the tent
+and invited her little flock to come inside.
+
+"I know the gentleman who had it put here," she said, "and he is quite
+willing that we should use it; but he will not give any one else
+this liberty."
+
+"I think I know him too," said Malcolm as he walked in after Miss
+Harson.
+
+"And I!"--"And I!" exclaimed the little girls. "It is our own papa. How
+very kind of him!"
+
+"Yes," replied their governess; "he said, when I spoke of a tent, that
+it would be a good thing for the wood-ramblers to have a place of
+shelter when they were over-taken by a sudden shower, and also a place
+in which to rest comfortably when they were tired; and this pretty tent,
+you see, is all ready for us at any time."
+
+It was a very nice tent indeed, having a long cushioned seat inside, two
+little rocking-chairs that were at once appropriated, a small table, and
+a bracket with books on it. On the table there was a round basket of
+oranges, which made every one thirsty at once.
+
+"I do believe," said Malcolm, suddenly, "that it's made of
+India-rubber."
+
+"Not the orange, I hope?" replied Miss Harson, while the little sisters
+looked up in surprise.
+
+An India-rubber orange was a thing to be laughed at, though not to be
+eaten, and the children were in such a state of glee over this pleasant
+surprise that they were ready to laugh almost at nothing.
+
+Presently their governess said,
+
+"Malcolm means the tent, of course; and he is quite right, for the
+covering is India-rubber cloth."
+
+"But why isn't it dark and ugly, like the waterproofs?" was the next
+question.
+
+"Simply because it need not be so, and it is prettier to have it white
+or of this pale gray. But these shades are too conspicuous for overshoes
+or waterproof cloaks, so the latter are made as dark as possible. The
+caoutchoue, you know, is naturally white or very light colored."
+
+"How do they make the cloth?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"It is first made as cloth," was the reply; "then a thin coating of
+India-rubber is spread over two layers of it. The cloth is then put
+together and pressed between rollers, so that the two pieces firmly
+adhere, with the caoutchoue between them. No rain can penetrate such a
+screen as this,"
+
+It was delightful to know that they would be safe and dry in case of a
+shower, and the children thought it must be just the prettiest tent that
+ever was made. The cushioned seat was covered with scarlet, and so were
+the little chairs, which Clara and Edith knew were meant for them; the
+edges of the cloth were scalloped with the same bright color, and there
+was even a rug to match spread in front of the "divan," as Miss Harson
+laughingly said the cushioned seat must be called.
+
+"Haven't we 'most come to the end of the trees?" asked Clara. "I never
+thought that there were so many different kinds,"
+
+"Look around and see if you feel acquainted with them all," replied her
+governess.
+
+They had left the tent after quite a long "sitting," and were now on
+their way to the house.
+
+Clara's first glance, on doing as she had been directed, fell on three
+trees by the side of a fence, that were different from any they had
+yet studied.
+
+"What do you notice about them?" continued Miss Harson; "for I wish you
+to use your own eyes and thoughts as much as possible."
+
+"Why, the trunk is dark gray, and it isn't smooth, but it looks as if
+some one had dug out long, thin pieces of bark."
+
+"We will call it 'deeply furrowed,'" said her governess, "as that is a
+better expression; but your description is very good indeed."
+
+"The leaves are ever so pretty," said Malcolm--"so many of 'em on one
+stem!--and the green looks as if it was just made."
+
+"You mean by that, I suppose," replied Miss Harson, "that it is a very
+fresh tint; and we are seeing it in its first beauty now. This is the
+locust tree, and May is its time for leafing out in the tenderest of
+greens. The pinnate--from _pinna_, Latin for feather'--leaves are
+composed of from nine to twenty-five leaflets, which are egg-shaped,
+with a short point, very smooth, light green above and still lighter
+beneath. These leaves are much liked by cattle, and they are said to be
+very nutritious to them."
+
+[Illustration: FOLIAGE OF HONEY-LOCUST.]
+
+"How can you remember everything so, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm, lost
+in wonder, as the young lady, looking up at the trees, said these things
+as if they had been written there. John had declared that she talked
+like a book, and this seemed more like it than ever.
+
+"Oh no," was the laughing reply; "I do not remember _everything_,
+Malcolm, and perhaps it is just as well that I do not. But I will not
+tax my memory any more about the locust just now; we can take it up
+again this evening."
+
+"I should like to know," exclaimed Clara, after some thought, "why a
+tree is called _locust_, when a locust is such a disagreeable insect?"
+
+"I am afraid that I cannot tell you," replied Miss Harson, "unless the
+color of the leaves is similar to that of the 'disagreeable insect,'
+which is really very handsome, or unless the insects are very partial to
+the tree; I have seen no explanation of it. But the tree itself is very
+much admired, with its profusion of pinnate leaves and racemes of
+flowers that fill the air with the most agreeable odors."
+
+"What color are the flowers, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"This description will tell you," was the reply. "The tree is not pretty
+in winter, and has no promise of beauty until 'May hangs on these
+withered boughs a green drapery that hides all their deformity; she
+infuses into their foliage a perfection of verdure that no other tree
+can rival, and a beauty in the forms of its leaves that renders it one
+of the chief ornaments of the groves and waysides. June weaves into this
+green foliage pendent clusters of flowers of mingled brown and white,
+filling the air with fragrance and enticing the bee with odors as sweet
+as from groves of citron and myrtle.'"
+
+"That sounds pretty," said Clara, who liked imposing sentences, "but
+brown and white are not very handsome colors for flowers."
+
+"The white is certainly prettier without the mixture of brown," replied
+her governess, "but we have to take our flowers ready-made, and can
+hardly expect them to be beautiful and fragrant too. The separate
+blossoms are shaped like those of the pea and bean; they hang in long
+clusters somewhat resembling bunches of grapes. The leaves--or, rather,
+leaflets--are very sensitive and have a habit of folding over one
+another in wet and dull weather, and also in the night--a habit that is
+peculiar to all the members of the acacia family, to which the
+locust belongs."
+
+"I should think it ought to belong to the pea family," said Malcolm, "if
+the flowers are shaped like pea-blossoms."
+
+"So it does," replied Miss Harson--"or, rather, to the bean family, of
+which the pea is a member, on account of its blossoms; but the acacia,
+like many others, is a brother, or sister, on account of its leaves as
+well as its blossoms. The peculiar distinction of this family is that
+its flowers are butterfly-shaped or its fruit in pods, and it often
+possesses both these characters. By one or the other all the plants of
+the family are known, and the butterfly-shaped flowers are of a
+character not to be mistaken, as they are found in no other family. It
+includes herbs, shrubs and trees--an immense and perfectly natural
+family, distributed throughout almost every part of the globe. There are
+at present in all not less than thirty-seven hundred species. So you see
+that the locust tree is certainly rich in relations."
+
+The children thought that it must have some family claim on almost
+every plant in the world.
+
+[Illustration: CAROB TREE AND FRUIT.]
+
+"Do you remember that in the story of the Prodigal Son, told by our
+Lord, it is said that the bad son became so poor that he wanted to eat
+the 'husks' that the swine ate? Those 'husks' were the fruit of a Syrian
+member of this family. The tree is the carob tree, of which you have
+here a picture--a fine large tree bearing a sweet pod containing the
+seeds. I have seen these pods for sale in this country, and foolishly
+called St. John's bread, as if the 'locusts' eaten by John the Baptist
+were pods of a locust tree, and not insect locusts."
+
+"Yes," said Malcolm, "I have tasted those pods, and they are real sweet;
+but I wouldn't care to make a breakfast from them."
+
+"I like calling the flowers 'butterfly-shaped,'" said Clara, "because
+that is just what the pea and bean-blossoms look like; though Kitty
+calls 'em 'little ladies in hoods.' Isn't that funny, Miss Harson?"
+
+"It is very quaint, I think, but I do not dislike it: it is like seeing
+faces in pansies; and some people are full of these odd imaginations.
+There is a kind of locust, called the clammy-barked, found in the
+Southern parts of the United States, which is a smaller tree than the
+common locust and has large pale-pink flowers, while the rose acacia is
+a very beautiful flowering shrub. The sweet, or honey, locust is
+another variety, which is also called the three-thorned acacia, because
+the thorns consist of one long spine with two shorter ones projecting
+out of it, like little branches, near its base. This is said to display
+much of the elegance of the tropical acacia in the minute division and
+symmetry of its compound leaves. These are of a light and brilliant
+green and lie flat upon the branches, giving them a fan-like appearance
+such as we observe in the hemlock."
+
+"But why is it called honey-locust?" asked Malcolm. "Do the bees make
+honey in the trunk?"
+
+"No," replied his governess; "the name comes from the sweetness of the
+pulp around the seeds, which ripen in large flat pods, and of which boys
+and girls are fond. But the flowers of this species are only small
+greenish aments. Locust-wood is very durable, and, as it will bear
+exposure to all kinds of weather, it is much used in shipbuilding and as
+posts for gates. It is thought that the shittah and shittim wood of the
+Bible, of which Moses made the greater part of the tables, altars and
+planks of the tabernacle, was the same as the black acacia found in the
+deserts of Arabia and about Mount Sinai and the mountains which border
+on the Red Sea, and is so hard and solid as to be almost incorruptible.
+
+"And now," added Miss Harson, "reading of the numerous relations of the
+locust, considering that 'the acacia, not less valued for its airy
+foliage and elegant blossoms than for its hard and durable wood; the
+braziletto, logwood and rosewoods of commerce; the laburnum; the furze
+and the broom, both the pride of the otherwise dreary heaths of Europe;
+the bean, the pea, the vetch, the clover, the trefoil, the lucerne--all
+staple articles of culture by the farmer--are so many species of
+Leguminosae, and that the gums Arabic and Senegal, kino and various
+precious medicinal drugs, not to mention indigo, the most useful of all
+dyes, are products of other species,--it will be perceived that it would
+be difficult to point out an order with greater claims upon the
+attention.'"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+_THE WALNUT FAMILY AND THE AILANTHUS_.
+
+"The walnut family," said Miss Harson, "with the ugly name
+_Juglandaceae_, are distinguished by pinnate, or compound, leaves, which
+have an aromatic odor when crushed, and by blossoms in catkins. Of these
+trees, the black walnut is one of the handsomest and most
+highly prized."
+
+"Are there any of them here?" asked Malcolm.
+
+[Illustration: THE WALNUT TREE.]
+
+"No," was the reply; "I do not think you have ever seen one. They are
+more common in the western part of the Middle States and in the Western
+States; in Ohio particularly they grow to a very large size. Solitary
+trees are sometimes seen in this part of the country, and the branches,
+extending themselves horizontally to a great distance, spread out into a
+spacious head, which gives them a very majestic appearance. The trunk
+is rough and furrowed, and the leaves have from six to ten pairs of
+leaflets and an odd one. They are smooth, strongly serrated and rather
+pointed; the color is a light, bright green. The catkins are green, from
+four to seven inches long, and hang from the axils of the last year's
+leaves. The leaves are much longer than those of the locust, and the
+leaf-stalk is downy. The nut, which is very oily, is shaped like an
+English walnut, but resembles it in no other way, as the shell is very
+thick and dark-colored. When thoroughly dried, the black walnut is very
+much liked--as I think some witnesses here could testify--and is used in
+making candy."
+
+"And just the nicest kind of candy, too," said the children, with one
+voice.
+
+Their governess smiled, for this was very much her own opinion.
+
+"You do not know," she continued, "how strangely these nuts grow. They
+have an outer husk, or rind, which when green is hard and has a very
+pleasant smell; the tree then seems to be covered with green balls. As
+the nuts ripen this outer part becomes so dark that it is almost black
+and grows soft and spongy. A rich brown dye is made from it.
+Black-walnut wood has long been famous for its beauty, and it grows
+deeper and darker with age. It is handsomely shaded and takes a fine
+polish, and this, with its durability, makes it very valuable for
+furniture. Posts made of it will last a long time, and it can be put to
+almost any use for which hard-wood is available.
+
+"The walnut tree has a great variety of good qualities in addition to
+its fine appearance and generous shade. From the kernel a valuable oil
+may be obtained for use in cookery and in lamps. Bread has also been
+made from the kernels. The spongy husk of the nuts is used as dyestuff.
+It thus unites almost all the qualities desirable in a tree--beauty,
+gracefulness and richness of foliage in every period of its growth; bark
+and husks which may be employed in an important art; fruit valuable as
+food; wood unsurpassed in durability and in elegance."
+
+"I like English walnuts," said Clara, "they have such thin, pretty
+shells; and papa, you know, can open them in just two halves with
+a knife."
+
+"Once," said Miss Harson, "I had a little bag sent to me made of two
+very large walnut shells with blue silk between, and in this bag there
+was a pair of kid gloves rolled up very tight."
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed the children. It sounded like a fairy-tale, but they
+knew that it was true, because Miss Harson said that it had really
+happened. They were very much surprised, though, that a bag could be
+made of nutshells, and that a pair of gloves could be crowded into so
+small a compass.
+
+"Did it come from England?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"No," replied his governess; "it was sent to me from the island of
+Madeira, where these nuts grow so abundantly that they have often been
+called Madeira-nuts. It also grows abundantly in Europe, and the nuts
+are used for dessert, pickling, and many other purposes, while the
+poorer classes often depend largely on them for food."
+
+"Do they eat 'em instead of bread?" asked Edith. "I'd like that; they're
+ever so much nicer!"
+
+"Perhaps you would not think so if you had hardly anything else to eat;
+you would get tired of them then. In many places on the continent of
+Europe the roads are lined with walnut trees for miles together, and in
+the proper season the people may feast upon the fruit as much as they
+like. A person, it is said, once traveled from Florence to Geneva and
+ate nothing by the way but walnuts; but I must say that I should not
+like to do it. One species bears a nut as large as an egg; but if kept
+any time, it will shrink to half its natural size. The shell of this
+great walnut, we are told, is sometimes used for making little
+ornamental boxes to hold gloves and small fancy-articles; so you see
+that mine was not the only glove-bag made of two walnut-shells."
+
+"How pretty they must be!" said Clara. "I should like to see one."
+
+"I think that I can make one when I get a large nut, and I shall be glad
+to show you how it is done."
+
+This was a delightful prospect, and the children volunteered to save for
+that especial purpose all the large nuts they could find.
+
+"The English walnut tree," continued Miss Harson, "is a native of
+Persia or the North of China, and the long pinnated leaves seem to mark
+its Oriental origin; but it has taken very kindly to its European home.
+In some parts of Germany the walnut trees were considered to be such a
+valuable possession that no young man was allowed to marry until he
+owned a certain number; and if one tree was cut down, another was
+always planted."
+
+"Don't they grow in this country?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Not very often in our more northern States," was the reply, "for the
+climate here is too cold for them; but at a house where I visited there
+was an English walnut tree in the garden, and it seemed to do very well.
+The nuts were always gathered while they were green, and made
+into pickles."
+
+This was considered quite dreadful, for ripe nuts were certainly a great
+deal better than pickles.
+
+"But there was a great deal of uncertainty about having the ripe nuts,
+for there were bad boys all around who would not have hesitated to rob
+the tree. Besides, pickled walnuts are considered a great delicacy by
+those who eat such things. There are some other ways, too, of using the
+nuts, which you would not like any better. One of these is to make them
+into oil, as the people do in the South of Europe; this oil is used to
+burn in their lamps and as an article of food. 'In Piedmont, among the
+light-hearted peasantry, cracking the walnuts and taking them from the
+shell is a holiday proceeding. The peasants, with their wives and
+children, assemble in the evening, after their day's work is over, in
+the kitchen of some chateau where the walnuts have been gathered, and
+where their services are required. They sit round a table, and at each
+end is a man with a small mallet, who cracks the walnuts and passes them
+on; the rest of the party take them out of their shells. At supper-time
+the table is cleared, and a repast of dried fruit, vegetables and wine
+is set out. The remainder of the evening is spent in singing and
+dancing. The crushing and pressing of the nuts, for oil, take place
+when the whole harvest is in.'"
+
+"But don't walnuts come from California? Our grocer said he had
+California nuts," remarked Malcolm.
+
+"Yes; that wonderful country is beginning to supply us with English
+walnuts."
+
+"Are you going to tell us a story, Miss Harson?" asked Edith, hopefully.
+
+"I have no story, dear," was the reply, "but there is something here
+which you may like about birds stealing the nuts."
+
+Of course they would like this; for if there was to be no story, birds
+and stealing promised to furnish a good substitute.
+
+"'Birds are as fond of walnuts as we are,'" read Miss Harson, "'and rob
+the trees without any mercy. Not only the little titmouse, but the grave
+and solemn rook'--a kind of crow, you remember--'is not above paying a
+visit to the walnut tree and stealing all he can find. There is a walnut
+tree growing in a garden the owner of which may be said to have planted
+it for the benefit of the rooks. Not that he had any such purpose, but,
+as it happens, he cannot help himself. The rooks begin a series of
+robberies as soon as the fruit is ripe, and carry them on with an
+adroitness that would be amusing but for the result. As many as fifty
+rooks come, one after the other, and each will carry off a walnut. The
+old ones are the most at home in the process, and the most daring. The
+bird approaches the tree and floats for a second in the air, as if
+occupied in finding out which of the walnuts will be the easiest to
+obtain; then, with a bold stroke, he darts at the one selected, and
+rarely misses his aim.
+
+"'The young rooks are much more timid and not so successful. They settle
+on the branch and knock down a great many walnuts in their clumsy
+attempts to secure one. Even when the walnut has been obtained, the
+young rook is not sure of his prize: one of his older and stronger
+brethren is very likely to attack him and knock the walnut out of his
+bill. Then, by a dextrous swoop, the robber catches it up before it
+reaches the ground, and carries it off in triumph. The feasting ground
+of the rooks is the next field, and here they come to eat their walnuts.
+They crack the shell with their beaks and devour the kernel with great
+relish. Then, when one walnut is finished, they fly back to the tree for
+another. There is no chance for the owner of the garden, who does not
+think it worth while even to shake his tree: he knows there will not be
+a single walnut left.'"
+
+"I should think not, with those greedy creatures," exclaimed Malcolm.
+"Why doesn't the man shoot 'em?"
+
+"He probably thinks it would be of little use, when there are such
+numbers of the birds; besides, he may prefer losing his walnuts to
+disturbing them, for rooks are treated with great consideration in
+England, and there is no such wholesale destruction of birds as is
+seen here."
+
+The rooks were certainly very comical, and the children thought this
+little account of their antics over the walnut tree the next best thing
+to a story.
+
+"Another fine shade-tree," continued Miss Harson, "and one very much
+like the black walnut, is the butternut, or oil-nut, tree. It is low
+and broad-headed, spreading into several large branches; the leaves are
+pinnate, like those of the walnut, but have not so many leaflets. The
+nut has an entirely different taste, and is even more oily. To many
+persons it is not at all agreeable. It is a great favorite, though, with
+country-boys, and in October, when the kernel is ripe, they may be seen
+with deeply-stained hands and faces, as the thin, leathery husks when
+handled leave plentiful traces. The butternut is not round like the
+walnut, but oblong, and pointed at the end; it is about two inches in
+length and marked by deep furrows and sharp irregular ridges. It is very
+pretty when sawn across in slices, and looks like scroll-saw work.--We
+shall have to get some, Malcolm, for you to practice on with your saw."
+
+[Illustration: THE BUTTERNUT TREE.]
+
+As his scroll-saw was just then the delight of Malcolm's heart, he felt
+particularly interested in butternuts, and immediately mapped out in his
+mind something very beautiful to be wrought with them for his governess.
+
+"The bark and the nutshells have long been used to give a brown color to
+wool, and the Shakers dye a rich purple with it. The bark of the trunk
+will give a black and that of the root a fawn-colored dye, while an
+inferior sugar has been made from the sap. The young half-grown nuts are
+much used for pickles. Butternut-wood is exceedingly handsome, of a
+pale, reddish tint, and durable when exposed to heat and moisture. It
+makes beautiful fronts for drawers and excellent light, tough and
+durable wooden bowls. It is also used for the panels of carriages, as
+well as for posts and rails. It is a more common tree than the walnut in
+our part of the country; there is a large one in front of a house a few
+miles from here which I will show you on our next drive."
+
+"I am glad of it," said Clara, "for I can remember about the trees so
+much better when I have seen them. I wish we could see every one of the
+trees you have told us of, Miss Harson."
+
+"Perhaps you will some day," replied her governess, "and you will then
+find that a little knowledge of them before-hand is a great help."
+
+"Are there any more of the walnut family?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"Yes, the hickory belongs to it; and this is a tree which is peculiar to
+America. The European walnut is more like it than any other. It is
+always a stately and elegant tree and very valuable for its timber.
+There are several varieties, which are much alike, the principal
+difference being in the nuts. You have all seen most of the trees and
+gathered the nuts. They are:
+
+"1. The shellbark, with five large leaflets, a large nut, of which the
+husk is deeply grooved at the seams, and a rough, scaly trunk.
+
+"2. The mocker-nut, with seven or nine leaflets, a hard, thick-shelled
+nut, and leaflets and twigs very downy when young, and strongly odorous.
+
+"3. The pignut, with three, five or seven narrow leaflets, small,
+thin-shelled fruit and a pretty hard nut.
+
+"4. The bitternut, with seven, nine or eleven small, narrow, serrated
+leaves, small fruit with long, prominent seams, bitter and thin-shelled
+nuts and very yellow buds.
+
+"The shellbark is often called 'shagbark,' and it is the finest of the
+hickories and one that is seldom mistaken for any of the others. It may
+readily be distinguished by the shaggy bark of its trunk, the excellence
+of its globular fruit, its leaves, which are large and have five
+leaflets, and by its ovate, half-covered buds. It is a tall, slender
+tree with irregular branches, and the foliage seems to lie in masses of
+dense, dark green. But in October, when the nuts ripen, the leaves turn
+to orange-brown, and finally to the color of a russet apple; so that
+they do not add greatly to the beauty of the forest."
+
+"But the nuts are good," said Malcolm. "Didn't we have fine times
+picking 'em up?"
+
+"We did indeed," replied Miss Harson, "and I hope we shall again."
+
+"How long will it be before they are ripe?" asked the little girls.
+
+"Just about five months, I think."
+
+"Oh dear!" was the reply; "that's _so_ long to wait!"
+
+"But you needn't wait," said their governess; "you can enjoy each season
+as it comes, and all the good things that our heavenly Father sends with
+it. Remember that, as you cannot expect ripe nuts in May or June,
+neither can you look for strawberries and roses in October. Tents are of
+very little use then, too."
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed the children, to whom the tent was still a delightful
+novelty; and they decided not to wish just yet for nutting-time to come.
+
+"The nut, as you have so often seen, is covered with a brown husk that
+is very thick and marked with four furrows, by which it separates into
+as many distinct pieces, one being larger than the rest. The nuts
+differ very much in size and shape, and also in hardness, but the best
+kinds have thin shells and soft kernels; they are also rounder and
+fuller than the poorer sorts. There is a peculiar sweetness in the taste
+of this nut when in its best condition, and it is quite equal to the
+European walnut. The wood of this tree is particularly valuable for
+fuel, and in old times, when wood-fires were the only kind known, a good
+hickory back-log was sure to be found on every hearth. It is the
+heaviest of our native woods, and the wise men say that it yields, pound
+for pound or cord for cord, more heat than any other, in any shape in
+which it may be consumed."
+
+"But what a pity," said Clara, "to burn up trees that bear nuts! Why
+can't they take those that don't?"
+
+"They are not so desirable for fuel," was the reply; "and when people
+own trees which they are willing to turn into money, they generally
+consider in what way they can get the most for them. Nuts which grow in
+the woods and fields are a very uncertain crop, of which every one
+seems to gather more than the owner, and it is therefore more profitable
+for him to cut his trees down and sell them for their wood, which the
+people in the cities and towns are so glad to get."
+
+"What's the use," asked Malcolm, "of calling a tree such a name as
+_mocker-nut_? What does it mean?"
+
+"That is just what I have not been able to find out," replied Miss
+Harson, "but it has an Indian sound, and it seems that the Indians used
+to make a black dye from the bark; so we will give them the credit for
+it. The name is not often used, for the tree is generally known as the
+white walnut. The nut is the largest of the hickories, being often from
+four to six inches around, and it is shaped somewhat like a pear. One
+variety, however, is known as the square nut. The shell is very thick
+and hard, but the kernel is sweet when once it is gotten out. This tree
+is as stately and finely-shaped as the shagbark. It varies from the
+other hickories in the number of its leaflets, which are seven or nine,
+the down on its leaves and recent shoots, the hardness of the husk and
+thickness of the nut, the roundness of its large covered buds, and the
+strong resinous odor in leaves, buds and husks. In its general
+appearance it resembles the shellbark, as well as in the fullness of its
+foliage and the size of its leaves. 'White-heart hickory' is a name
+often given to this species, because the wood is supposed, when young,
+to be whiter than that of any of the others,"
+
+"_Pignut_ is another beautiful name," said Malcolm, who was disposed to
+be critical. "Do pigs ever eat the nuts, Miss Harson?"
+
+"I dare say that they do when they have the chance," was the reply, "as
+they delight in nuts; but that is said not to be the proper name for the
+species. Some of the nuts are shaped like a fresh fig, and 'fig-nut'
+seems to be the name originally intended. But there is a great variety
+in the shape of the nuts, as some are nearly round and others very
+irregular. They are alike, however, in having very hard, tough shells,
+and the kernel is not pleasant enough to repay the trouble of getting
+at it. These nuts are very apt to grow in pairs, and several bushels of
+them can be gathered from one tree."
+
+"Aren't they good to eat?" asked Clara.
+
+"Not at all good," replied her governess, "except to those who are not
+particular about what they eat; and this may be the reason for calling
+them 'pignuts,'"
+
+"_Bitternut_ doesn't sound much better," said Malcolm, again. "I wonder
+what that species has to say for itself?"
+
+"Not very much, I am afraid, for it is sometimes called the bitter
+pignut, and even boys will not eat it, while squirrels refuse to feed on
+it when any other nut can be found. The shell of this nut is so thin
+that it can be broken in the fingers, but, as no one cares to break it,
+it is safer than many a thicker shell. It is intensely bitter, and well
+deserves its name. The tree, however, is handsome and the most graceful
+of all the hickories; the small, slender leaves give it the look of an
+ash, and the trunk is smoother than that of most large trees. In summer
+the finely-cut foliage is of a bright green, and in autumn it changes
+to a rich orange, which lasts after the other species have become russet
+and brown."
+
+"Is there anything more about hickory trees?" said Clara.
+
+"Only to speak of the great value of the wood," replied Miss Harson.
+"Its uses are almost endless. Great numbers of walking-sticks are made
+of it, as for this purpose no other native wood equals it in beauty and
+strength. It is next in value to white oak for making hoops; it makes
+the best screws, the smoothest and most durable handles for chisels,
+augurs, gimlets, axes, and many other common tools. As fuel, hickory is
+preferred to every other wood, burning freely, making a pleasant,
+brilliant fire and throwing out great heat. Charcoal made from it is
+heavier than that made from any other wood, but it is not considered
+more valuable than that of birch or alder. The ashes of hickories abound
+in alkali, and are considered better for the purpose of making soap than
+any other of the native woods, being next to those of the apple tree."
+
+"There, Clara!" said Malcolm; "you see now why people cut down hickory
+trees. The nuts are nowhere, with all these other things."
+
+"We have finished the walnut family," said Miss Harson, "but there is a
+tree that I wish to speak of here because of its long pinnate leaves,
+which appear to connect it with the walnuts and hickories. This is the
+ailanthus, a large tree which you have often seen in the village, and
+which used to be popular as a shade-tree. It is very clean-looking, for
+the only insect that will eat its leaves is the silkworm."
+
+"Oh, Miss Harson!" exclaimed the children. "Are there real silkworms on
+'em? and can we see 'em?"
+
+"Why, do you not remember our talk about silkworms?" replied their
+governess. "I am sure I told you that they would not live here in the
+open air, but they do in China; and the ailanthus is a Chinese tree. It
+was planted in Great Britain over a hundred years ago for the express
+purpose of feeding silkworms, because a species of silkworm which was
+known to be hardy and capable of forming its cocoons in the English
+climate is attached to this tree and feeds upon its leaves. It was not
+successful, however, for silkworms, but as a stately and ornamental tree
+with tropical-looking foliage it was much admired. The ailanthus is
+quite common in this country as a wayside tree. It possesses a good deal
+of beauty, from the size and graceful sweep of its large compound
+leaves, that retain their brightness and verdure after midsummer, when
+our native trees have become dull. These leaves have nine or ten
+leaflets as large as a beech-leaf."
+
+"Isn't that the tree that smells so in summer?" asked Clara, with a
+disgusted face.
+
+"Yes; the greenish flowers have a particularly disagreeable odor, which
+is very strong and penetrating, and this is probably the reason why the
+tree has lost favor in so many places. But this is only during the
+season of blossoming, and for several months it is a beautiful
+Oriental-looking tree with every leaf perfect, while nearly all other
+foliage is more or less ravaged by insects."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+_SOME BEAUTIFUL TREES: THE CHESTNUT AND HORSE-CHESTNUT._
+
+The nearest trees to the tent, and standing just back of it, were two
+magnificent chestnuts, now in full leaf-beauty; and Miss Harson and her
+little flock stood admiring their majestic size and beautiful color.
+
+"These are the handsomest trees yet," said Malcolm.
+
+"I almost think so myself," replied his governess, gazing up into the
+rich green depths, "and I wish you particularly to notice these
+radiated--or star-like--tufts of foliage. The leaves, you see, are long,
+lengthened to a tapering point, serrated--or notched like a saw--at the
+edge, and of a bright and nearly pure green. Though arranged
+alternately, like those of the beech, on the recent branches, they are
+clustered in stars containing from five to seven leaves on the fruitful
+branches that grow out from the perfected wood. Now stand off a little
+and see how the foliage seems to be all in tufts, each composed of
+several long, pointed leaves drooping from the centre. The aments, too,
+with their light silvery-green tint, glisten beautifully on the
+darker leaves."
+
+"How high do you think these trees are, Miss Harson?" asked Clara. "It
+makes me dizzy to look up to the top."
+
+[Illustration: LEAF OF THE CHESTNUT.]
+
+"They can be scarcely less than ninety feet," was the reply, "and they
+are very fine specimens of the family; but the great chestnut which is
+the only tree in the field on the left of the house is broader. It
+spreads out like an apple tree, because it has abundance of room, and it
+is nearly as broad as it is high."
+
+"And aren't its chestnuts just splendid?" exclaimed Malcolm--"the
+biggest we find anywhere."
+
+[Illustration: THE CHESTNUT TREE.]
+
+"The bark, you see," continued his governess, "is very dark-colored,
+hard and rugged, with long, deep clefts. In smaller and younger trees it
+is smooth. I suppose I need not tell you that the fruit is within a burr
+covered with sharp, stiff bristles which are not handled with impunity.
+It opens by four valves more than halfway down when ripe, and contains
+the nuts, from one to three in number, in a downy cup. These green burrs
+are very ornamental to the tree; and when they are ripe, the green takes
+on a yellow tinge."
+
+"You didn't say anything about the cunning little tails of the nuts,
+Miss Harson," said Edith, in a disappointed tone. "I think they're the
+prettiest part, and they stick up in the burr like little mice-tails."
+
+"Well, dear," was the smiling reply, "_you_ have told us about them, and
+I think you have given a very good description. That is just what they
+always reminded me of when I was about your age--little mice-tails."
+
+Edith looked pleased and shy, and she did not mind Malcolm's laughing at
+her "little tails," because Miss Harson used to think the same as she
+did about them.
+
+"This beautiful tree came from Asia, and it belongs to the _Castanea_
+family, the Greeks having given it that name from a town in Pontus where
+they obtained it. It was transplanted into the North and West, and is
+now found in most temperate regions. The wood of the chestnut is very
+valuable, as it is strong, elastic and durable, and is often used as a
+substitute for oak and pine. It makes very beautiful furniture."
+
+"What kind of chestnuts," asked Clara, "are those great big ones, like
+horse-chestnuts, that they have in some of the stores? Are they good
+to eat?"
+
+"Yes," replied Miss Harson; "they are particularly good, and many people
+in the southern countries of Europe almost live on them. They are three
+or four times larger than our nuts, these Spanish and Italian chestnuts,
+and they are eaten instead of bread and potatoes by the peasantry of
+Spain and Italy. The Spanish chestnut is one of the most stately of
+European trees, and sometimes it is found growing in our own country,
+but never in the woods. It is carefully planted and cultivated as an
+ornamental tree for private grounds. And now," added the young lady, "as
+we have sufficiently examined our American chestnut trees and it is
+rather damp and cool to-day for tent-life, suppose we return to the
+house and get better acquainted with the foreign chestnuts?"
+
+Edith asked if there was to be a story, but she did not complain when
+Miss Harson thought not, only an account of a very large tree; for the
+children always felt quite sure that there would be something which they
+would like to hear.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The evening was damp, and Clara said that, the schoolroom looked like a
+mixture of summer and winter. The fire was both pleasant and
+comfortable, but there were lilacs and tulips and hyacinths and plenty
+of wild flowers in vases and baskets; the leaves were all out on the
+trees by the windows, and the grass was like velvet.
+
+"One of the largest trees in the world, if not the largest," said Miss
+Harson, "is a chestnut tree on the side of Mount Etna, in Sicily, which
+abounds with chestnut trees of giant proportions and remarkable beauty.
+It is called 'The Chestnut Tree of a Hundred Horses,' and this title is
+said to have originated in a report that a queen of Aragon once took
+shelter under its branches attended by her principal nobility, all of
+whom found refuge from a violent storm under the spreading boughs of the
+tree. At one time it was supposed that the tree really consisted of a
+clump of several united, but this is not the case; for on digging away
+the earth the root was found entire, and at no great depth. Five
+enormous branches rise from the trunk, the outside surface of each being
+covered with bark, while on the inside is none. The verdure and the
+support of the tree thus depend on the outer bark alone. The intervals
+between the branches are of various extent, one of them being sufficient
+to allow two carriages to drive abreast. In the middle cavity--or what
+is called the hollow--of the tree a hut has been built for the use of
+persons employed in collecting and preserving the fruit. They dry the
+chestnuts in an oven, and then make them into various conserves for
+sale. A whole caravan of men and animals were once accommodated in the
+enclosure, and also a flock of sheep folded there. The age of this
+prodigious tree must be very great indeed. It belongs to the tribe
+which bears sweet, or edible, chestnuts, that form an agreeable article
+of food. The foliage is rich, shadowy and beautiful.
+
+"The wood of the chestnut is much used in England for hop-poles, and old
+houses in London are floored or wainscoted with it. The beautiful roof
+of Westminster Abbey is made of chestnut wood.
+
+"There are magnificent forests of Spanish chestnuts in the Apennines,
+and it was the favorite tree of the great painter Salvator Rosa, who
+spent much time studying the beautiful play of light and shade on its
+foliage. The peasants make a gala-time of gathering and preparing the
+nuts. A traveler, having penetrated the extensive forest which covers
+the Vallombrosan Apennines for nearly five miles, came unexpectedly upon
+those festive scenes, which are not unfrequent among the chestnut-range.
+It was a holiday, and a group of peasants dressed in the gay and
+picturesque attire of the neighborhood of the Arno were dancing in an
+open and level space covered with smooth turf and surrounded with
+magnificent chestnuts, while the inmost recesses of the forest resounded
+with their mirth and minstrelsy. Some beat down the chestnuts with
+sticks and filled baskets with them, which they emptied from time to
+time; others, stretched listlessly upon the turf, picked out the
+contents of the bristling capsules in which the kernels were entrenched,
+for these, when newly gathered, are sweet and nutritious; others again,
+and especially young peasant-girls, pelted their companions with
+the fruit."
+
+"Like snowballing," said Malcolm; "only the prickers must have stung.
+What grand times they had with their chestnuting!"
+
+"These gay, thoughtless people," replied his governess, "almost live in
+the open air and enjoy the present moment. It is not easy to tell what
+they would do without these bountiful chestnut-harvests, for their
+principal article of food is a thick porridge called _polenta_, which
+they make from the ground nuts. In France a kind of cake is made from
+the same material, and the chestnuts are prepared by drying them in
+smoke. Another dish is like mashed potatoes, and large quantities are
+exported in the shape of sweetmeats, made by dipping them, after
+boiling, into clarified sugar and drying them."
+
+"Miss Harson," asked Clara, "why are horse-chestnuts _called_
+'horse-chestnuts '? Do horses like 'em?"
+
+"Not usually," was the reply. "The nuts are sometimes ground and given
+to horses, but, as sheep, deer and other cattle eat them in their
+natural state, it would seem more reasonable to name them after some of
+those animals, if that was the reason. It is likely that because they
+look like chestnuts, but are much larger, they were called
+'horse-chestnuts,' The tree is not in any respect a chestnut; and when
+it was first planted in England, some centuries ago, it was called 'a
+rare foreign tree,' and was much admired. It is supposed to have come
+from India. The large nuts are like chestnuts in appearance.--Except,
+Edith, that they have no 'cunning little tails.'--In the month of May
+there is not a more beautiful tree to be found than the horse-chestnut,
+with its large, deeply-cut leaves of a bright-green color and its long,
+tapering spikes of variegated flowers, which turn upward from the dense
+foliage. The tree at this time has been compared to a huge chandelier,
+and the erect blossoms to so many wax lights. The bitter nuts ripen
+early in the autumn and fall from the tree, but long before this the
+beautiful foliage has turned rusty in our Northern States, and is no
+longer ornamental. The overshadowing branches, which give such a
+pleasant shade in summer, early in autumn begin to show the ravages of
+the insects or the natural decay of the leaves."
+
+"Then," said Malcolm, "it isn't a nice tree to have, and I'm glad that
+there are elms here instead."
+
+"I should like to have some of all the trees," replied Clara, "because
+then we could study about them better.--Wouldn't you, Miss Harson?"
+
+"I think so," said her governess, "if they were not undesirable to have,
+as some trees are. If it were always May, I should want horse-chestnut
+trees; for I think there is scarcely anything so pretty as those fresh
+leaves and blossoms. The branches, too, begin low down, and that gives
+the tree a generous spreading look which is very attractive in the way
+of shade. In more southern States they have a longer season of beauty
+than those in the North."
+
+"Do people ever eat the horse-chestnut?" asked Edith.
+
+"Not often, dear--it is too bitter; but an old writer who lived in the
+days when it was first seen in England says that he planted it in his
+orchard as a fruit tree, between his mulberry and his walnut, and that
+he roasted the chestnuts and ate them. It is like the bitternut-hickory,
+which even boys will not eat."
+
+"I should think that somebody or something ought to eat it," said Clara,
+thoughtfully; "it seems like such a waste."
+
+Everyone laughed at her wise air, and she was asked if she intended to
+set the example. She was not quite ready, though, to do that; and Miss
+Harson continued:
+
+"A naturalist once took from the tree a tiny flower-bud and proceeded to
+dissect it. After the external covering, which consisted of seventeen
+scales, he came upon the down which protects the flower. On removing
+this he could perceive four branchlets surrounding the spike of flowers,
+and the flowers themselves, though so minute, were as distinct as
+possible, and he could not only count their number, but discern the
+stamens, and even the pollen."
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed the children; "how very curious!"
+
+"Yes," replied their governess; "it shows how perfect and wonderful,
+from the beginning, are all the works of God."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+_AMONG THE PINES_.
+
+"How good it smells here!" exclaimed Edith, with her small nose in the
+air to inhale what she called "a good sniff" in the fragrant pine-woods.
+
+Miss Harson had taken the children in the carriage to a pine-grove some
+miles from Elmridge, and Thomas and the horses waited by the roadside
+while the little party walked about or stood gazing up at the tall
+slender trees that seemed to tower to the very skies. Thomas was not
+fond of waiting, but he thought that he had the best of it in this case:
+it was more cheerful to sit in the carriage and "flick" the flies from
+Rex and Regina than to go poking about in the gloomy pine-woods. Yet,
+notwithstanding the darkness of its interior and the sombre character of
+its dense masses of evergreen foliage as seen from without--whence the
+name of "black timber," which has been applied to it--the shade and
+shelter it affords and the sentiment of grandeur it inspires cause it to
+become allied with the most profound and agreeable sensations; and it
+was something of this feeling, though they could not express it in
+words, which possessed the young tree-hunters as they stood in the
+pine-grove.
+
+"It's nice to breathe here," said Clara.
+
+"It is delicious," replied her governess, enthusiastically, her eyes
+kindling as she repeated the lines:
+
+     "'His praise, ye winds, that from four quarter blow,
+     Breathe soft and loud; and wave your tops, ye pines,
+     With every plant, in sign of worship. Wave!'"
+
+"What a queer brown color--almost like red--the ground is!" said
+Malcolm. "And look, Miss Harson! it's made of lots of little
+sharp sticks."
+
+"The sharp sticks are pine-needles," was the reply--"the dead
+pine-leaves of last year; and when the new growth of leaves have been
+put forth, they cover the ground with a smooth brown matting as
+comfortable as a gravel-walk, and yet a carpet of Nature's making. 'The
+foliage of the pine is so hard and durable that in summer we always find
+the last year's crop lying upon the ground in a state of perfect
+soundness, and under it that of the preceding year only partially
+decayed.'"
+
+"It's kind of slippery in some places," continued Malcolm, taking a
+slide as he spoke. "And see those queer-looking roots sprouting out of
+the ground!"
+
+"I see the roots," said Miss Harson, "but no sprouts. That is the white
+pine, the roots of which are often seen above the ground, spreading to
+some distance from the trunk. Generally the roots of pine trees are
+small, compared with the size of the trunks, and spread horizontally
+instead of descending far into the ground. For this reason pines are
+often uprooted by high winds, which break off the deciduous trees near
+the ground. But I wish you particularly to notice the trunks of these
+trees and tell me if you can see any difference in them."
+
+Those particular trees had probably never been stared at so hard
+before, and the three children exclaimed almost together:
+
+"Some are rough, and some are smooth, and the rough ones have little
+bunches of leaves on 'em."
+
+"These are the pitch-pines," replied their governess. "They are the
+roughest of all our forest-trees, and they have a rounder head than any
+of the other American evergreens. The branches, you see, turn in various
+directions and are curved downward at the ends. This tree has also the
+peculiar habit of sending out little branchlets full of leaves along the
+stem from the root upward, and this has a very pretty effect, like that
+of some elm trees. It is the pitch-pine that produces the fragrance we
+are all enjoying so much. What do you notice about the smoother trees?"
+
+"They are very tall and big," replied Clara--"ever so much handsomer
+than the rough ones."
+
+[Illustration: THE WHITE PINE.]
+
+"The white pine," said Miss Harson, "is one of the loftiest and most
+valuable of North American trees. Its top can be seen at a great
+distance, looking like a spire as it towers above the heads of the trees
+around it. You see that it has widespread branches and silken-looking,
+tufted foliage. The leaves are in fives and not so stiff as those of the
+other pines, and you will notice that the branches are in whorls, like a
+series of stages one above another. The foliage has a tasseled effect
+with those long silky tufts at the ends of the branches, and the whole
+outline of the tree is very pleasing."
+
+"This isn't a pine tree, is it?" asked Malcolm, touching a small tree
+with very slender branches, some of them as slight as willow-withes and
+covered with grayish-red bark, while that on the main stem was
+bluish gray.
+
+[Illustration: THE LARCH.]
+
+"It is a species of pine," was the reply, "because it belongs to the
+Coniferae, or cone-producing, family; but it is not an evergreen,
+although it ranks as such. This is the larch--generally called in New
+England by its Indian name of _hacmatack_--and it differs from the other
+pines in its crowded tufts of leaves, which, after turning to a soft
+leather-color, fall, in New England, early in November. The cones, too,
+are very small."
+
+"What's the use of cones, any way?" asked Malcolm as he picked up some
+very large ones under the white and pitch pines.
+
+"Their principal use," replied his governess, "is to contain the seeds
+of future trees: they are the fruit of the pine; but they have a number
+of uses besides, which you shall hear about this evening."
+
+"The little cones at Hemlock Lodge are pretty," said Edith, "and Clara
+and me play with 'em. We play they're a orphan-'sylum."
+
+[Illustration: FOLIAGE OF THE LARCH (_Larix Americana_).]
+
+"'Clara and I,' dear," corrected Miss Harson, smiling at the
+"orphan-'sylum," while Malcolm said he had never thought of that before,
+and it must be what they were meant for. Edith could not quite
+understand whether this was fun or earnest, but Miss Harson shook her
+head at Malcolm and called him "naughty boy."
+
+"The spruce and hemlock," continued their governess, "and many of the
+other evergreens, we have at Elmridge, but I brought you here to-day for
+our drive that you might examine these magnificent pine trees, and so be
+better able to understand whatever we can find out about them this
+evening. Thomas is probably tired of waiting by this time; so we will
+leave the fragrant pine-woods for the present, and promise ourselves
+some future visits."
+
+Every green thing was now in full summer beauty, and daisies and
+buttercups gemmed the fields, while the garden at Elmridge was all aglow
+with blossoms, The children remembered their flower-studies of last
+year, and took fresh pleasure in the woods because of them; but the
+trees now seemed quite as interesting as the flowers had been.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"The trees known as evergreens," said Miss Harson, "are not so bright
+and cheerful-looking as those which are deciduous, or leaf-shedding, but
+they have the advantage of being clothed with foliage, although of a
+sober hue, all the year round. They consist of pines, firs, junipers,
+cypresses, spruces, larches, yews and hemlocks, with some foreign trees,
+and form a distinct and striking natural group. 'This family has claims
+to our particular attention from the importance of its products in
+naval, and especially in civil and domestic, architecture, and in many
+other arts, and, in some instances, in medicine. Some of the species in
+this country are of more rapid growth, attain to a larger size and rise
+to a loftier height than any other trees known. The white pine is much
+the tallest of our native trees.'"
+
+"How high does it grow, Miss Harson?" asked Clara.
+
+"From one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet," was replied, "and on
+the north-west coast of America one called the 'Douglas's pine' is the
+loftiest tree known; it is said to measure over three hundred feet.
+'From the pines are obtained the best masts and much of the most
+valuable ship-timber, and in the building and finishing of houses they
+are of almost indispensable utility. The bark of some of them, as the
+hemlock and larch, is of great value in tanning, and from others are
+obtained the various kinds of pitch, tar, turpentine, resin and
+balsams,' The pines and firs have circles of branches in imperfect
+whorls around the trunk, and, as one of these whorls is formed each
+year, it is easy to calculate the age of young trees. In thick woods the
+lower whorls of branches soon decay for want of light and air, and this
+leaves a smooth trunk, which rises without a branch, like a beautiful
+shaft, for a hundred feet or more.
+
+"These trees are found everywhere except in the hot regions around the
+equator. The white pine is the most common, but in the evergreen woods
+of our own country it is mixed with pitch-pine and fir trees. In our
+Southern States there are thin forests, called pine-barrens, through
+which one can travel for miles on horseback. The white pine is easily
+distinguished by its leaves being in fives, by its very long cones,
+composed of loosely-arranged scales, and when young by the smoothness
+and delicate light-green color of the bark. It is known throughout New
+England by the name 'white pine,' which is given it on account of the
+whiteness of the wood. In England it is called the Weymouth pine.
+
+"Many very large trees are found in Maine, on the Penobscot River, but
+most of the largest and most valuable timber trees have been cut down.
+The lumberers, as they are called, are constantly hewing down the grand
+old trees for timber, white pine being the principal timber of New
+England and Canada."
+
+"And they float it down the rivers on rafts, don't they?" said Malcolm.
+"Won't you tell us about that, Miss Harson?"
+
+"Yes," was the reply.--"But do not look so expectant, Edie; it is not a
+story, dear, only a description of pine-cutting in the forests of Maine
+and Canada. But I should like you to know how these great trees are
+turned into timber, and you will see that, like many other necessary
+things, it is neither easy nor pleasant. We do not get much without hard
+work on the part of somebody: remember that. Now I will read:
+
+"'The business of procuring trees suitable for masts of ships is
+difficult and fatiguing. The pines which grew in the neighborhood of the
+rivers and in the most accessible places have all been cut down. Paths
+have now to be cleared with immense labor to the recesses of the forest,
+in order to obtain a fresh supply. This arduous employment is called
+"lumbering," and those who engage in it are "lumberers." The word
+"lumber," in its general sense, applies to all kinds of timber. But
+though many different trees, such as oak, ash and maple, are cut down,
+yet the main business is with the pines. And when a suitable plot of
+ground has been chosen for erecting a saw-mill,' to prepare the boards,
+'it is called "pine-land," or a spot where the pine trees predominate.
+
+"'A body of wood-cutters unite to form what is called a
+"lumbering-party," and they are in the employ of a master-lumberman, who
+pays them wages and finds them in provisions. The provisions are
+obtained on credit and under promise of payment when the timber has been
+cut down and sold. If the timber meets with any accident in its passage
+down the river, the master-lumberman cannot make good the loss, and the
+shopkeeper loses his money.
+
+"'When the lumbering-party are ready to start, they take with them a
+supply of necessaries, and also what tools they will require, and
+proceed up the river to the heart of the forest. When they reach a
+suitable spot where the giant trees which are to serve for masts grow
+thick and dark, they get all their supplies on shore--their axes, their
+cooking-utensils and the casks of molasses'--and too often of whisky or
+rum, too, I am sorry to say--'that will be used lavishly. The molasses
+is used instead of sugar to sweeten the great draughts of tea--made, not
+from the product of China, but from the tops of the hemlock.
+
+"'The first thing to be done is to build some kind of shelter, for they
+must remain in the forest until spring, and the cold of those Northern
+winters is terrible. Their cabin--for it cannot be called by any better
+name--is built of logs of wood cut down on purpose and put together as
+rudely as possible. It is only five feet high, and the roof is covered
+with boards. There is a great blazing fire kept up day and night, for
+the frost is intense, and the provisions have to be kept in a deep place
+made in the ground under the cabin. The smoke of the fire goes out
+through a hole in the roof, and the floor is strewn with branches of
+fir, the only couch the poor hardworking lumberers have to rest upon.
+When night comes, they turn into the cabin to sleep, and lie with their
+feet to the fire. If a man chances to awaken, he instantly jumps up and
+throws fresh logs on the fire; for it is of the utmost importance not to
+let it go out. One of the men is the cook for the whole party, and his
+duty is to have breakfast ready before it is light in the morning. He
+prepares a meal of boiled meat and the hemlock tea sweetened with
+molasses, and the rest of the party partake heartily of both, and in
+some camps also of rum, under the mistaken notion that it helps them to
+bear the severe toil. When breakfast is over, they divide into several
+gangs. One gang cuts down the trees, another saws them in pieces, and
+the third gang is occupied in conveying them, by means of oxen, to the
+bank of the nearest stream, which is now frozen over.
+
+"'It is a hard winter for the lumbermen. The snow covers the ground
+until the middle of May, and the frost is often intense. But they toil
+through it, felling, sawing and conveying until a quantity of trees have
+been laid prostrate and made available for the market. Then, at last,
+the weather changes; the snow begins to melt and the streams and rills
+are set at liberty. The rivers flow briskly on and are much swollen with
+the melting snow, and the men say that the freshets have come down.
+
+"'Hard as their toil has been, the most difficult and fatiguing has yet
+to be encountered. The timber is collected on the banks of the river,
+and has now to be thrown into the water and made into rafts, so that it
+can be floated down to the nearest market-town. The water, filled with
+melting snow, is deadly cold and can scarcely be endured, but the men
+are in it from morning till night constructing the rafts, which are put
+together as simply as possible, and the smallest outlay made to suffice.
+The rafts are of different sizes, according to the breadth of the
+stream; and when all is ready, they are launched, and the convoy fairly
+sets out on its voyage.
+
+"'The great ugly masses of floating timber move slowly along under the
+care of a pilot, and the lumberers ride upon the rafts, often without
+shelter or protection from the weather. They guide themselves by long
+and powerful poles fixed on pivots, and which act as rudders. As they
+journey down the stream they sing and shout and make the utmost noise
+and riot. If there comes a storm or a change of weather, the pilot
+steers his convoy into some safe creek for the night, and secures it as
+best he can.
+
+"'Thus by degrees the raft reaches the place of destination,
+occasionally with some loss and damage to the timber. In this case the
+master-lumberer bears the loss, and is obliged to refund the expenses
+incurred as best he can. At any rate, the men are now paid off, and set
+out on foot for their homes.'"
+
+Malcolm was particularly delighted with this narrative of stirring
+activity, and even the little girls seemed very much interested in it.
+They were so sorry for the poor lumbermen who had such dreary winters
+off there in the Northern woods, and Clara wondered if they couldn't
+have warm comforters and mittens.
+
+"They probably have those things when they go into camp," said Miss
+Harson, "but they are likely to find them in the way of working, and to
+cast them aside.--Great ships are not built for nothing: even to get the
+timber in readiness costs heavy labor, but, after all, no doubt, the men
+get interested in it and enjoy its excitement. Fortunately for the many
+uses to which its timber is put, the white pine grows very rapidly,
+gaining from fifteen inches to three feet every year. In deep and damp
+old woods it is slower of growth; it is then almost without sap-wood and
+has a yellowish color like the flesh of the pumpkin. For this reason it
+is called 'pumpkin-pine.' The bark of young trees of the white-pine
+species is very smooth and of a reddish, bottle-green color. It is
+covered in summer with a pearly gloss. On old trunks the bark is less
+rough than that of any other pine. This tree has the spreading habit of
+the cedar of Lebanon. In addition to its grand and picturesque
+character, the white pine, says a lover of trees, may be 'regarded as a
+true symbol of benevolence. Under its outspread roof numerous small
+animals, nestling in the bed of dry leaves that cover the ground, find
+shelter and repose. The squirrel feeds upon the kernels obtained from
+its cones; the hare browses upon the trefoil'--clover--'and the spicy
+foliage of the _hypericum_'--St. John's wort--'which are protected in
+its shade; and the fawn reposes on its brown couch of leaves unmolested
+by the outer tempest. From its green arbors the quails are often roused
+in midwinter, where they feed upon the berries of the _Mitchella_ and
+the spicy wintergreen. Nature, indeed, seems to have specially designed
+this tree to protect her living creatures both in summer and
+in winter.'"
+
+"Hurrah for the white pine," said Malcolm, with great energy, "the grand
+old _American_ tree!"
+
+"I'm glad that the little birds and animals have such a nice home under
+it in winter," said Clara.
+
+"I'm glad too," added Edith, "but I wish we could find some and see how
+they look in their soft bed. Don't they ever put their heads out the
+least bit, Miss Harson?"
+
+"Not when they suspect that there is any one around, dear, and the
+little creatures are very sharp to find this out. Our heavenly Father,
+you know, takes thought for sparrows and all such helpless things, and
+they are fed and cared for without any thought of their own.--The white
+pine," she continued, "is truly a magnificent tree, but I think we shall
+find that the pitch-pine is also very useful."
+
+"That's the rough one," said Malcolm; "I remember how it looks, with
+little tufts sticking out along the trunk."
+
+"Yes," replied his governess, "and out authority says this tree is
+distinguished by its leaves being in threes--the white pine, you know,
+has them in _fives_--by the rigidity and sharpness of the scales of its
+cones, by the roughness of its bark, and by the denseness of the brushes
+of its stiff, crowded leaves. Its usual height is from forty to fifty
+feet, but it is sometimes much taller. The trunk is not only rough, but
+very dark in color; and from this circumstance the species is frequently
+called black pine. The wood is very hard and firm, and contains a
+quantity of resin. This is much more abundant in the branches than in
+the trunk, and the boards and other lumber of this wood are usually full
+of pitch-knots."
+
+"What are pitch-knots?" asked Clara.
+
+"'When a growing branch,'" read Miss Harson, "'is broken off, the
+remaining portion becomes charged with resin,' which is deposited by the
+resin-bearing sap of the tree, 'forming what is called a pitch-knot,
+extending sometimes to the heart. The same thing takes place through the
+whole heart of a tree when, full of juice, its life is suddenly
+destroyed.' 'Resin' is another name for turpentine, but is used of it
+commonly when hardened into a solid form. The tar is obtained by slowly
+burning splintered pine, both trunk and root, with a smothered flame,
+and collecting the black liquid, which is expelled by the heat and
+caught in cavities beneath the burning pile. Pitch is thickened tar, and
+is used in calking ships and for like purposes."
+
+"I am going to remember that," said Malcolm; "I could never make out
+what all those different things meant."
+
+"What are you thinking about so seriously, Clara?" asked her governess.
+"If it is a puzzle, let me see if I cannot solve it for you."
+
+"Well, Miss Harson, I was thinking of those brown leaves, or 'needles,'
+in the pine-woods, and it seems strange to say that the leaves of
+evergreens never fall off."
+
+"It would not only be strange, dear, but quite untrue, to say that; for
+the same leaves do not, of course, remain for ever on the tree. The
+deciduous trees lose their leaves in the autumn and are entirely bare
+until the next spring, but the evergreens, although they renew their
+leaves, too, are never left without verdure of some sort. Late in
+October you may see the yellow or brown foliage of the pines, then ready
+to fall, surrounding the branches of the previous year's growth, forming
+a whorl of brown fringe surmounted by a tuft of green leaves of the
+present year's growth. Their leaves always turn yellow before the fall."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+_GIANT AND NUT PINES_.
+
+Great was the surprise of Edith when Miss Harson gave the little sleeper
+a gentle shake and told her that it was time to be up. But the birds
+without the window told the same story, and the little maiden was soon
+at the breakfast-table and ready for the day's duties and enjoyments,
+including their "tree-talk."
+
+"Are there any more kinds of pine trees?" asked Malcolm.
+
+[Illustration: "AWAKE, LITTLE ONE!"]
+
+"Yes, indeed!--more than we can take up this summer," replied Miss
+Harson. "There is the Norway pine, or red pine, which in Maine and New
+Hampshire is often seen in forests of white and pitch pine. It has a
+tall trunk of eighty feet or so, and a smooth reddish bark. The leaves
+are in twos, six or eight inches long, and form large tufts or brushes
+at the end of the branchlets. The wood is strong and resembles that of
+the pitch-pine, but it contains no resin. The giant pines of California
+belong to a different species from any that we have been considering,
+and the genus, or order, in which they have been arranged is called
+_Sequoia_[19]. They are generally known, however, as the 'Big Trees.' In
+one grove there are a hundred and three of them, which cover a space of
+fifty acres, called 'Mammoth-Tree Grove.' One of the giants has been
+felled--a task which occupied twenty-two days. It was impossible to cut
+it down, in the ordinary sense of the term, and the men had to bore into
+it with augers until it was at last severed in twain. Even then the
+amazing bulk of the tree prevented it from falling, and it still kept
+its upright position. Two more days were employed in driving wedges into
+the severed part on one side, thus to compel the giant to totter and
+fall. The trunk was no less than three hundred and two feet in height
+and ninety-six in circumference. The stump, which was left standing,
+presented such a large surface that a party of thirty couples have
+danced with ease upon it and still left abundant room for lookers-on."
+
+[19] _Sequoia gigantea_.
+
+When the children had sufficiently exclaimed over the size of this huge
+tree, their governess continued:
+
+"It is thought that these trees must have been growing for more than two
+thousand years, which would make them probably two hundred years old at
+the birth of our Saviour. Does it not seem wonderful to think of? There
+are other groups of giant pines scattered on the mountains and in the
+forests, and some youthful giants about five hundred years old."
+
+"I suppose they are the babies of the family," said Clara; and this idea
+amused Edith very much.
+
+"There is still another kind of pine," said Miss Harson--"the Italian,
+or stone, pine. It is shaped almost exactly like an umbrella with a very
+long handle. The _Pinus pinea_ bears large cones, the seed of which is
+not only eatable, but considered a delicious nut. The cone is three
+years in ripening; it is then about four inches long and three wide, and
+has a reddish hue. Each scale of which the cone is formed is hollow at
+the base and contains a seed much larger than that of any other species.
+When the cone is ripe, it is gathered by the owners of the forest; and
+when thoroughly dried on the roof or thrown for a few minutes into the
+fire, it separates into many compartments, from each of which drops a
+smooth white nut in shape like the seed of the date. The shell is very
+hard, and within it is the fruit, which is much used in making
+sweetmeats. The stone-pine is found also in Palestine, and is supposed
+to be the cypress of the Bible. The author of _The Ride Through
+Palestine_[20] speaks of passing through a fine grove of the stone-pine,
+'tall and umbrella-topped,' with dry sticks rising oddly here and there
+from the very tops of the trees. These sticks were covered with
+birdlime, to snare the poor bird which might be tempted to set foot on
+such treacherous supports; and if the cones were ripe, they would be
+quite sure to do it. Here is the picture, from the book just mentioned.
+Italian pine is a prettier name than stone-pine, and this is the name by
+which it is known to artists, who put it into almost every picture of
+Italian scenery.
+
+     "'Much they admire that old religious tree
+     With shaft above the rest upshooting free,
+     And shaking, when its dark locks feel the wind,
+     Its wealthy fruit with rough and massive rind.'"
+
+[20] Presbyterian Board of Publication.
+
+[Illustration: STONE-PINE--"FIR" _(Pinus maritima_)].
+
+"But how queer it sounds to call fruit _wealthy_!" said Malcolm.
+
+"It is odd," replied his governess, "only because the word is not now
+used in that sense; but the fruit is wealthy both because of its
+abundance and because it can be put to so many uses. Let us see what is
+said of it:
+
+"'The kernels, or seeds, from the cones of the stone-pine have always
+been esteemed as a delicacy. In the old days of Rome and Greece they
+were preserved in honey, and some of the larders of the ill-fated city
+of Pompeii were amply stored with jars of this agreeable conserve, which
+were found intact after all those years. The kernels are also sugared
+over and used as _bonbons_. They enter into many dishes of Italian
+cookery, but great care has to be taken not to expose them to the air.
+They are usually kept in the cones until they are wanted, and will then
+retain their freshness for some years. The squirrels eagerly seek after
+the fruit of this pine and almost subsist upon it. They take the cone in
+their paws and dash out the seeds, thus scattering many of them and
+helping to propagate the tree.
+
+"'There is a bird called the crossbill that makes its nest in the pine.
+It fixes its nest in place by means of the resin of the tree and coats
+it with the same material, so as to render it impervious to the rain.
+The seeds from the cones form its chief food, and it extracts them with
+its curious bill, the two parts of which cross each other. It grasps the
+cone with its foot, after the fashion of a parrot, and digs into it with
+the upper part of its bill, which is like a hook, and forces out the
+seed with a jerk.'"
+
+[Illustration: PINE-CONE (_Pinus Sylvestris_.)]
+
+The children enjoyed this account very much, and they thought that
+stone-pine nuts--which they had never seen, and perhaps never would
+see--must be the most delicious nuts that ever grew.
+
+"What nice times the birds have," said Clara, "helping themselves to all
+the good things that other people can't reach!"
+
+"They are not exactly 'people,'" replied Miss Harson, laughing; "and, in
+spite of all these 'nice times,' you would not be quite willing to
+change with them, I think."
+
+No, on the whole, Clara was quite sure that she would not.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+_MORE WINTER TREES: THE FIRS AND THE SPRUCES_.
+
+There were some beautiful evergreens on the lawn at Elmridge, and,
+although the foliage seemed dark in summer, it gave the place a very
+cheerful look in winter, when other trees were quite bare, while the
+birds flew in and out of them so constantly that spring seemed to have
+come long before it really did arrive.
+
+"This balsam-fir," said Miss Harson as they stood near a tall, beautiful
+tree that tapered to a point, "has, you see, a straight, smooth trunk
+and tapers regularly and rapidly to the top. You will notice, too, that
+the leaves, which are needle-shaped and nearly flat, do not grow in
+clusters, but singly, and that their color is peculiar. There are faint
+white lines on the upper part and a silvery-blue tinge beneath, and
+this silvery look is produced by many lines of small, shining resinous
+dots. The deep-green bark, striped with gray, is full of balsam, or
+resin, known as balm of Gilead or Canada balsam, and highly valued as a
+cure for diseases of the lungs. The long cones are erect, or standing,
+and grow thickly near the ends of the upper branches. They have round,
+bluish-purple scales, and the soft color has a very pretty effect on the
+tree. They ripen every year, and the lively little squirrel, as he is
+called, feasts upon them, as the crossbill does on the cones of the
+stone-pine. But the mischievous little animal also barks the boughs and
+gnaws off the tops of the leading shoots, so that many trees are injured
+and defaced by his depredations."
+
+[Illustration: AMERICAN WHITE SPRUCE.]
+
+"He _is_ a lively little squirrel," observed Malcolm. "How he does race!
+But he doesn't gnaw our trees, does he?"
+
+"No, I think not, for he prefers staying in the woods and fields; but
+fir-woods are his especial delight. Our balsam-fir is the American
+sister of the silver fir of Europe, both having bluish-green foliage
+with a silvery under surface, in a single row on either side of the
+branches, which curve gracefully upward at the ends. The tree has a
+peculiarly light, airy appearance until it is old, when there is little
+foliage except at the ends of the branches. The silver fir is one of the
+tallest trees on the continent of Europe, and it is remarkable for the
+beauty of its form and foliage and the value of its timber."
+
+"I know what this tree is," said Clara, turning to an evergreen of
+stately form and graceful, drooping branches that almost touched the
+ground: "it's Norway spruce. Papa told me this morning."
+
+[Illustration: THE NORWAY PINE.]
+
+"Yes," replied her governess, "and a beautiful tree it is, like the fir
+in many respects, but the bark is rougher and the cones droop. The
+branches, too, are lower and more sweeping. But the fir and the spruce
+are more alike than many sisters and brothers. The Scotch fir, about
+which there are many interesting things to be learned, is more
+rugged-looking, and the Norway spruce, which will bear studying too, is
+more grand and majestic."
+
+[Illustration: THE HEMLOCK SPRUCE.]
+
+"I know this one, Miss Harson," said little Edith as they came to a
+sweeping hemlock near the bay-window of the dining-room.
+
+"Yes, dear," was the reply; "Hemlock Lodge has made you feel very well
+acquainted with the tree after which it is named. It is one of the most
+beautiful of the evergreens, with its widely-spreading branches and
+their delicate, fringe-like foliage; but, although the branches are
+ornamental for church and house decoration, they are very perishable,
+and drop their small needles almost immediately when placed in a heated
+room. And now," continued the young lady, "we have come back to warm
+piazza-days again, and can have our talk in the open air."
+
+So on the piazza they speedily established themselves, with Miss Harson
+in the low, comfortable chair and her audience on the crimson cushions
+that had been piled up in a corner.
+
+"We shall find a great deal about the fir tree," said Miss Harson, "as
+it is very hardy and rugged, and as common in all Northern regions as
+the white birch--quite as useful, too, as we shall soon see. This rugged
+species--which is generally called the Scotch fir--is not so smooth and
+handsome as our balsam-fir, but it is a tree which the people who live
+near the great Northern forests of Europe could not easily do without.
+It belongs to the great pine family and is often called a pine, but in
+the countries of Great Britain especially it is called the Scotch fir.
+Although well shaped, it is not a particularly elegant-looking tree. The
+branches are generally gnarled and broken, and the style of the tree is
+more sturdy than graceful. The Scotch fir often grows to the height of a
+hundred feet, and the bark is of a reddish tinge. 'It is one of the most
+useful of the tribe, and, like the bountiful palm, confers the greatest
+blessing on the inhabitants of the country where it grows. It serves the
+peasants of the bleak, barren parts of Sweden and Lapland for food:
+their scanty supply of meal often runs short, and they go to the pine to
+eke it out. They choose the oldest and least resinous of the branches
+and take out the inner bark. They first grind it in a mill, and then mix
+it with their store of meal; after this it is worked into dough and made
+into cakes like pancakes. The bark-bread is a valuable addition to
+their slender resources, and sometimes the young shoots are used as
+well as the bark. Indeed, so largely is this store of food drawn upon
+that many trees have been destroyed, and in some places the forest is
+actually thinned."
+
+"They're as bad as the squirrels," said Malcolm. "But how I should hate
+to eat such stuff!"
+
+"It may not be so very bad," replied his governess. "Some people think
+that only white bread is fit to eat, but I think that Kitty's brown
+bread is rather liked in this family."
+
+The children all laughed, for didn't papa declare--with _such_ a sober
+face!--that they were eating him out of house and home in brown bread
+alone? Kitty, too, pretended to grumble because the plump loaves
+disappeared so fast, but she said to herself at the same time, "Bless
+their hearts! let 'em eat: it's better than a doctor's bill."
+
+"A great many other things besides pancakes are made from the tree,"
+continued Miss Harson, "and the fresh green tops furnish very
+nice carpets."
+
+There was a faint "_Oh!_" at this, but, after all, it was not so
+surprising as the cakes had been.
+
+"They are scattered on the floors of houses as rushes used to be in old
+times in England, and thus they serve as carpet and prevent the mud and
+dirt that stick to the shoes of the peasants from staining the floor;
+and when trodden on, the leaves give out a most agreeable
+aromatic perfume."
+
+"I'd like that part," said Clara.
+
+[Illustration: THE BLUE SPRUCE.]
+
+"But you cannot have one part without taking it all; almost everything,
+you see, has a pleasant side.--'The peasant finds no limit to the use
+of the pine. Of its bark he makes the little canoe which is to carry him
+along the river; it is simple in its construction, and as light as
+possible. When he comes within safe distance of one of those gushing,
+foaming cataracts that he meets with in his course, he pushes his canoe
+to land and carries it on his shoulders until the danger is past; then
+he launches it again, and paddles merrily onward. Not a single nail is
+used in his canoe: the planks are tightly secured together by a natural
+cordage made of the roots of the pine. He splits them of the right
+thickness, and with very little preparation they form exactly the
+material he needs.'"
+
+Malcolm evidently had some idea of making a canoe of this kind, but he
+became discouraged when his governess reminded him that he could not cut
+down trees, and that his father would prefer having them left standing.
+It did not seem necessary to speak of any difficulties in the way of
+putting the boat together.
+
+"Another use for the fir is to light up the poor hut of the peasant. 'He
+splits up the branches into laths and makes them into torches. If he
+wants a light, he takes one of the laths and kindles it at the fire;
+then he fixes it in a rude frame, which serves him for a candlestick.
+The light is very brilliant while it lasts, but is soon spent, and he
+is in darkness again. The same use is made of the pine. It is no unusual
+circumstance, in the Scotch pine-woods, to come upon a tree with the
+trunk scooped out from each side and carried away: the cottager has been
+to fetch material for his candles. But this somewhat rough usage does
+not hurt the tree, and it continues green and healthy.' In our Southern
+States pine-fat with resin is called lightwood, and is used for the
+same purpose."
+
+"That's an easy way of getting candles," said Clara.
+
+"Easy, perhaps, compared with the trouble of moulding them," replied
+Miss Harson, "but I do not think we should fancy either way of
+preparing them."
+
+"Is there anything to tell about the spruce tree?" asked Malcolm.
+
+"It is too much like the fir," replied his governess, "to have any very
+distinct character; but there are species here, known as the white and
+black spruce, besides the hemlock."
+
+But the children thought that hemlock was hemlock: how did it come to
+be spruce?
+
+"Because it has the family features--leaves solitary and very short;
+cones pendulous, or hanging, with the scales thin at the edge; and the
+fruit ripens in a single year. The hemlock-spruce, as it is sometimes
+called, is, I think, the most beautiful of the family. 'It is
+distinguished from all the other pines by the softness and delicacy of
+its tufted foliage, from the spruce by its slender, tapering branchlets
+and the smoothness of its limbs, and from the balsam-fir by its small
+terminal cones, by the irregularity of its branches and the gracefulness
+of its whole appearance.' The delicate green of the young trees forms a
+rich mass of verdure, and at this season each twig has on the end a tuft
+of new leaves yellowish-green in color and making a beautiful contrast
+to the darker hue of last year's foliage. The bark of the trunk is
+reddish, and that of the smooth branches and small twigs is light gray.
+The branchlets are very small, light and slender, and are set
+irregularly on the sides of the small branches; so that they form a
+flat surface. This arrangement renders them singularly well adapted to
+the making of brooms--a use of the hemlock familiar to housekeepers in
+the country towns throughout New England. The leaves, which are
+extremely delicate and of a silvery whiteness on the under side, are
+arranged in a row on each side of the branchlets. The slender,
+thread-like stems on which they grow make them move easily with the
+slightest breath of wind, and this, with the silvery hue underneath,
+gives to the foliage a glittering look that is very pretty. But I think
+you all can tell me when the hemlock is prettiest?"
+
+"After a snow-storm," said Clara. "Don't we all look, almost the first
+thing, at the tree by the dining-room window?"
+
+"Yes," replied Miss Harson; "it is a beautiful sight with the snow lying
+on it in masses and the dark green of the leaves peeping through. 'The
+branches put forth irregularly from all parts of the trunk, and lie one
+above another, each bending over at its extremities upon the surface of
+those below, like the feathers upon the wings of a bird,' And soft,
+downy plumes they look, with the snow resting on them and making them
+more feathery than ever."
+
+"So they are like feathers?" said Malcolm, to whom this was a new idea,
+"I'll look for 'em the next time it snows; yet--" He was going to add
+that he wished it would snow to-morrow; but remembering that it was only
+the beginning of June, and that Miss Harson had shown them how each
+season has its pleasures, he stopped just in time.
+
+"The pretty little cones of the hemlock, which grow very thickly on the
+tree, have a crimson tinge at first, and turn to a light brown. They are
+found hanging on the ends of the small branches, and they fall during
+the autumn and winter. This tree is a native of the coldest parts of
+North America, where it is found in whole forests, and it flourishes on
+granite rocks on the sides of hills exposed to the most violent storms.
+The wood is firm and contains very little resin; it is much used for
+building-purposes. A great quantity of tannin is obtained from the
+bark; and when mixed with that of the oak, it is valuable for
+preparing leather.
+
+"We have taken the prettiest of the spruces first," continued Miss
+Harson, "and now we must see what are the differences between them. 'The
+two species of American spruce, the black and the white--or, as they are
+more commonly called, the double and the single--are distinguished from
+the fir and the hemlock in every stage of growth by the roughness of the
+bark on their branches, produced by little ridges running down from the
+base of each leaf, and by the disposition of the leaves, which are
+arranged in spirals equally on every side of the young shoots. The
+double is distinguished from the single spruce by the darker color of
+the foliage--whence its name of black spruce--by the greater thickness,
+in proportion to the length, of the cones, and by the looseness of its
+scales, which are jagged, or toothed, on the edge.' It is a
+well-proportioned tree, but stiff-looking, and the dark foliage, which
+never seems to change, gives it a gloomy aspect. The leaves are closely
+arranged in spiral lines. The black spruce is never a very large tree,
+but the wood is light, elastic and durable, and is valuable in
+shipbuilding, for making ladders and for shingles. The young shoots are
+much in demand for making spruce-beer. The white spruce is more slender
+and tapering, and the bark and leaves are lighter. The root is very
+tough, and the Canadian Indians make threads from the fibres, with which
+they sew together the birch-bark for their canoes. The wood is as
+valuable as that of the black spruce."
+
+"Does the Norway spruce come from Norway?" asked Clara.
+
+"Yes; that is its native land, where it presents its most grand and
+beautiful appearance. There it 'rivals the palm in stature, and even
+attains the height of one hundred and eighty feet. Its handsome branches
+spread out on every side and clothe the trunk to its base, while the
+summit of the tree ends in an arrow-like point. In very old trees the
+branches droop at the extremities, and not only rest upon the ground,
+but actually take root in it and grow. Thus a number of young trees are
+often seen clustering around the trunk of an old one.'"
+
+"Why, that's like the banyan tree," said Malcolm.
+
+"Only there is a difference in the manner of growth, for the branches of
+the banyan are some distance from the ground and send forth rootlets
+without touching it. The Norway spruce is also the great tree of the
+Alps, where it seems to match the majestic scenery. The timber is
+valuable for building; and when sawed into planks, it is called white
+deal, while that of the Scotch fir is red deal.
+
+"And now," said Miss Harson, "before we leave the firs, let us see what
+is said about them in the Bible. They were used for shipbuilding in the
+city of Tyre; for the prophet Ezekiel says, 'They have made all thy ship
+boards of fir trees of Senir[21],' and it is written that 'David and all
+the house of Israel played before the Lord on all manner of instruments
+made of firwood[22].' The same wood was used then in building houses,
+as you will find, Malcolm, by turning to the Song of Solomon, seventh
+chapter, seventeenth verse."
+
+[21] Ezek. xxvii. 5.
+
+[22] 2 Sam. vi. 5.
+
+"'The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir,'" read
+Malcolm.
+
+"In Kings it is said, 'So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees,
+according to his desire[23],' and these trees were to be used for the
+very house, or palace, of which the Jewish king speaks in his Song.
+Evergreens are often mentioned in the Bible, and in that beautiful
+Christmas chapter, the sixtieth of Isaiah, you will find the fir tree
+again.--Read the thirteenth verse, Clara."
+
+[23] I Kings v. 10.
+
+"'The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine
+tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I
+will make the place of my feet glorious.'--What is 'the glory of
+Lebanon,' Miss Harson?"
+
+"The cedar of Lebanon, dear; and we will now turn our attention to that
+and the other cedars."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+_THE CEDARS_.
+
+"The cypress tribe," said Miss Harson, "differ from the pines, or
+Coniferae, by not having their fruit in a true cone, but in a roundish
+head which consists of a small number of scales, sometimes forming a
+sort of berry. One of the most common of this family is the arbor vitae,
+or tree of life--a tree so small as to look like a pointed shrub, and
+more used for fences than for ornament. An arbor-vitae hedge, you know,
+divides our flower garden from the kitchen-garden and goes all the way
+down to the brook."
+
+"I like the smell of it," said Clara. "Don't you, Miss Harson?"
+
+[Illustration: SIBERIAN ARBOR VITAE]
+
+"Yes," was the reply, "there is something very fresh and pleasant about
+it; and when well kept, as John is sure to keep ours, it makes a
+beautiful hedge. As a tree it has been known to reach forty or fifty
+feet in height, with a trunk ten feet in circumference. The leaves are
+arranged in four rows, in alternately opposite pairs, and seem to make
+up the fan-like branchlets. These branchlets look like parts of a large
+compound, flat leaf. The bark is slightly furrowed, smooth to the touch,
+and very white when the tree stands exposed. The wood is reddish,
+somewhat odorous, very light, soft and fine-grained. In the northern
+part of the United States and in Canada it holds the first place for
+durability."
+
+"I thought the cypress was a flower," said Malcolm.
+
+"So one kind of cypress is," replied his governess--"the blossom of an
+airy-looking and beautiful creeper; but the name also belongs to a
+family of trees. The white cedar, or cypress, is a very graceful tree
+which generally grows in swamps. 'It is entirely free from the stiffness
+of the pines, and to the spiry top of the poplar it unites the airy
+lightness of the hemlock. The trunk is straight and tall, tapering very
+gradually, and toward the top there are short irregular branches,
+forming a small but beautiful head, above which the leading shoot waves
+like a slender plume.' The leaves are very small and scale-like, with
+sharp points, and grow in four rows on the ends of the branchlets,
+giving them the appearance of large compound leaves. The wood is very
+durable, and is used for many building-purposes. It is generally of a
+faint rose-color, and always keeps its aromatic odor."
+
+[Illustration: IRISH JUNIPER.]
+
+"Is that what our cedar-chests are made of to keep the moths from our
+winter clothes?" asked Clara.
+
+"Yes," replied Miss Harson, "but the name 'cedar' is; not correct,
+though it is one commonly given to this tree. The wood of the European
+cypress is also used for many purposes where strength and durability are
+required, for it really seems never to wear out. This tree is described
+as tapering and cone-like, with upright branches growing close to the
+trunk, and in its general appearance a little resembling a poplar. Its
+frond-like branches are closely covered with very small sharp-pointed
+leaves of a yellow-green color, smooth and shining, and they remain on
+the tree five or six years. The cypress is often seen in burying-grounds
+in Europe, and in Turkey it often stands at each end of a grave. The
+oldest tree in Europe is thought to be an Italian cypress said to have
+been planted in the year of our Saviour's birth; it is an object of
+great reverence in the neighborhood. This ancient tree is a hundred and
+twenty feet high and twenty-three feet around the trunk.
+
+"The juniper--or red cedar, as it is improperly called--is not a
+handsome tree, but it is a very useful one. It has a scraggy, stunted
+look, and the foliage is apt to be rusty; but it will grow in rocky,
+sandy places where no other tree would even try to hold up its head, and
+the wood, when made into timber, lasts for a great many years. Posts for
+fences are made of the juniper or red cedar, and the shipbuilder,
+boatbuilder, carpenter, cabinet-maker and turner are all steady
+customers for it. The 'cedar-apples' found on this tree are one phase
+of the life of a very curious fungus. They are covered with a
+reddish-brown bark; and when fresh, they are tough and fleshy, somewhat
+like an unripe apple. When dry they become of a woody nature."
+
+"They pucker up your mouth awfully," said Malcolm, who had made several
+attempts to eat them; but, do what he would, he could not even "make
+believe" they were nice.
+
+"I have no doubt of it," was the reply, "remembering the dreadful faces
+I have seen on some of our rambles. But the birds like them, as they do
+everything of the kind that is not poisonous."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Isn't it beautiful?" exclaimed the children, in delight. They were
+admiring a magnificent cedar of Lebanon in one of the pictures which
+Miss Harson had collected for their benefit, and it seemed no wonder
+that the grand spreading tree should be called "the glory of Lebanon."
+
+"It is indeed beautiful," replied their governess; "and think of seeing
+a whole mountain covered with such trees! A traveler speaks of them as
+the most solemnly impressive trees in the world, and says that their
+massive trunks, clothed with a scaly texture almost like the skin of
+living animals and contorted with all the irregularities of age, may
+well have suggested those ideas of royal, almost divine, strength and
+solidity which the sacred writers ascribe to them.--Turn to the
+ninety-second psalm, Clara, and read the twelfth verse."
+
+"'The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree; he shall grow like a
+cedar in Lebanon.'"
+
+"In the thirty-first chapter of Ezekiel," continued Miss Harson, "it is
+written, 'Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair
+branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his
+top was among the thick boughs. The waters made him great, the deep set
+him up on high with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent
+out her little rivers unto all the trees of the field. Therefore his
+height was exalted above all the trees of the field and his boughs were
+multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of
+waters, when he shot forth. All the fowls of heaven made their nests in
+his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring
+forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations.'"
+
+[Illustration: CEDAR OF LEBANON.]
+
+"Are the leaves like those of our cedar trees?" asked Malcolm, who was
+studying the picture quite intently. "The tree doesn't look like 'em."
+
+"They are somewhat like them," replied his governess, "being slender and
+straight and about an inch long. They grow in tufts, and in the centre
+of some of the tufts there is a small cone which is very pretty and
+often brought to this country by travelers for their friends at home. In
+_The Land and the Book_ there is a picture of small branches with cones,
+and the author says of the cedar: 'There is a striking peculiarity in
+the shape of this tree which I have not seen any notice of in books of
+travel. The branches are thrown out horizontally from the parent trunk.
+These again part into limbs, which preserve the same horizontal
+direction, and so on down to the minutest twigs; and even the
+arrangement of the clustered leaves has the same general tendency. Climb
+into one, and you are delighted with a succession of verdant floors
+spread around the trunk and gradually narrowing as you ascend. The
+beautiful cones seem to stand upon or rise out of this green flooring.'
+The same writer says that by examining the different growths of wood
+inside the trunk of one of the trees these ancient cedars of Lebanon
+have been proved to be three thousand five hundred years old."
+
+"Oh, Miss Harson!" exclaimed her audience; "could any tree be as old as
+that?"
+
+"It is possible. The circle of growing wood which is made each year is a
+pretty good method of telling the age of a tree, and these cedars of
+Lebanon are considered the oldest trees in the world. Travelers have
+always spoken of the beauty and symmetry of these trees, with their
+widespreading branches and cone-like tops. All through the Middle Ages a
+visit to the cedars of Lebanon was regarded by many persons in the light
+of a pilgrimage. Some of the trees were thought to have been planted by
+King Solomon himself, and were looked upon as sacred relics. Indeed, the
+visitors took away so many pieces from the bark that it was feared the
+trees would be destroyed. The cedars stand in a valley a considerable
+way up the mountain, where the snow renders it inaccessible for part of
+the year."
+
+"Are the trees just in one particular place, then?" asked Malcolm. "I
+thought they grew all over that country?"
+
+"The principal and best-known grove of very large and ancient cedars of
+Lebanon is found in one place," replied his governess, "but there are
+other groves now known to exist. The famous grove was fast disappearing,
+until there were but few of them left. The pilgrims who went to visit
+them in such numbers in olden times were accompanied by monks from a
+monastery about four miles below, who would beseech them not to injure a
+single leaf. But the greatest care could not preserve the trees. Some of
+them have been struck down by lightning, some broken by enormous loads
+of snow, and others torn to fragments by tempests. Some have even been
+cut down with axes like any common tree. But better care is now taken of
+them; so that we may hope that the grove will live and increase."
+
+"But why weren't they saved," asked Clara, "when people thought so much
+of them?"
+
+"It seems to be a part of the general desolation of the land of God's
+chosen but rebellious people. In the third chapter of the prophet
+Isaiah, verses eleven and twelve, it is said, 'For the day of the Lord
+of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every
+one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low; and upon all the
+cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of
+Bashan.' The same prophet says, in the tenth chapter and nineteenth
+verse, 'And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a
+child may write them.' These words have been particularly applied to the
+stately cedars of Lebanon, for 'the once magnificent grove is but a
+speck on the mountain-side. Many persons have taken it in the distance
+for a wood of fir trees, but on approaching nearer and taking a closer
+view the cedars resume somewhat of their ancient majesty. The space they
+cover is not more than half a mile, but, once amidst them, the beautiful
+fan-like branches overhead, the exquisite green of the younger trees and
+the colossal size of the older ones fill the mind with interest and
+admiration. Within the grove all is hushed as in a land of the past.
+Where once the Tyrian workman plied his axe and the sound of many
+voices came upon the ear, there are now the silence and solitude of
+desertion and decay.'--Malcolm," added his governess, "you may read us
+what is written in the sixth verse of the fourteenth chapter of Hosea."
+
+"'His branches,'" read Malcolm, "'shall spread, and his beauty shall be
+as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.' What does that mean,
+Miss Harson?"
+
+"It means the fragrant resin which exudes from both the trunk and the
+cones of the beautiful cedar. It is soft, and its fragrance is like that
+of the balsam of Mecca. 'Everything about this tree has a strong
+balsamic odor, and hence the whole grove is so pleasant and fragrant
+that it is delightful to walk in it. The wood is peculiarly adapted for
+building, because it is not subject to decay, nor is it eaten of worms.
+It was much used for rafters and for boards with which to cover houses
+and form the floors and ceilings of rooms. It was of a red color,
+beautiful, solid and free from knots. The palace of Persepolis, the
+temple of Jerusalem and Solomon's palace were all in this way built with
+cedar, and the house of the forest of Lebanon was perhaps so called from
+the quantity of this wood used in its construction.' We are told in
+First Kings that Solomon 'built also the house of the forest of
+Lebanon[24],' and that 'he made three hundred shields of beaten gold'
+and 'put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon[25].' All the
+drinking-vessels, too, of this wonderful palace, which is always spoken
+of as 'the house of the forest of Lebanon,' were of pure gold, and its
+magnificence shows how highly the beautiful cedar-wood was valued."
+
+[24] I Kings vii. 2.
+
+[25] I Kings x. 17.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+_THE PALMS_.
+
+"There is a wonderful evergreen," said Miss Harson, "which grows in
+tropical countries, and also in some sub-tropical countries, such as the
+Holy Land, and is said to have nearly as many uses as there are days in
+a year. You must tell me what it is when you have seen the picture."
+
+[Illustration: PALM TREE.]
+
+Malcolm and Clara both pronounced it a palm tree, and Clara asked if
+there were any such trees growing in this country.
+
+"Some of its relations are found on our Southern seacoast," replied
+their governess; "South Carolina, you know, is called 'the Palmetto
+State.' There is a member of the family called the cabbage-palmetto,
+the unexpanded leaves of which are used as a table vegetable, which you
+may see in Florida. Its young leaves are all in a mass at the top, and
+when boiled make a dish something like cabbage. The leaves of the
+palmetto are also used, when perfect, in the manufacture of hats,
+baskets and mats, and for many other purposes. But its stately and
+majestic cousin, the date-palm of the East, with its tall, slender stalk
+and magnificent crown of feathery leaves, has had its praises sung in
+every age and clime. 'Besides its great importance as a fruit-producer,
+it has a special beauty of its own when the clusters of dates are
+hanging in golden ripeness under its coronal of dark-green leaves. Its
+well-known fruit affords sustenance to the dwellers on the borders of
+the great African desert; it is as necessary to them as is the camel,
+and in many cases they may be said to owe their existence to it alone.
+The tree rears its column-like stem to the height of ninety feet, and
+its crown consists of fifty leaves about twelve feet in length and
+fringed at the edges like a feather. Between the leaf and the stem there
+issue several horny spathes, or sheaths, out of which spring clusters of
+panicles that bear small white flowers,' These flowers are followed by
+the dates, which grow in a dense bunch that hangs down several feet."
+
+"But how do people manage to climb such a tree as that," asked Malcolm,
+"to get the dates? It goes straight up in the air without any branches,
+and looks as if it would snap in two if any one tried it."
+
+"It does not snap, though, for it is very strong; and the climbing is
+easier than you imagine, even when the tree is a hundred feet high, as
+it sometimes is. The trunk, you see, is full of rugged knots. These
+projections are the remains of decayed leaves which have dropped off
+when their work was done. As the older leaves decay the stalk advances
+in height. It has not true wood, like most trees, but the stem has
+bundles of fibres that are closely pressed together on the outer part.
+Toward the root these are so entwined that they become as hard as iron
+and are very difficult to cut. The tree grows very slowly, but it lives
+for centuries. I have a Persian fable in rhyme for you, called
+
+     "'THE GOURD AND THE PALM.
+
+     "'"How old art thou?" said the garrulous gourd
+     As o'er the palm tree's crest it poured
+     Its spreading leaves and tendrils fine,
+     And hung a-bloom in the morning shine.
+     "A hundred years," the palm tree sighed.--
+     "And I," the saucy gourd replied,
+     "Am at the most a hundred hours,
+     And overtop thee in the bowers."
+
+     "'Through all the palm tree's leaves there went
+     A tremor as of self-content.
+     "I live my life," it whispering said,
+     "See what I see, and count the dead;
+     And every year of all I've known
+     A gourd above my head has grown
+     And made a boast like thine to-day,
+     Yet here I stand; but where are they?"'"
+
+The children were very much pleased with the fable, and they began to
+feel quite an affection for the venerable and useful palm tree.
+
+"The date tree," continued their governess, "as this species of palm is
+often called, blossoms in April, and the fruit ripens in October. Each
+tree produces from ten to twelve bunches, and the usual weight of a
+bunch is about fifteen pounds. It is esteemed a crime to fell a date
+tree or to supply an axe intended for that purpose, even though the tree
+may belong to an enemy. The date-harvest is expected with as much
+anxiety by the Arab in the oasis as the gathering in of the wheat and
+corn in temperate regions. If it were to fail, the Arabs would be in
+danger of famine. The blessings of the date-palm are without limit to
+the Arab. Its leaves give a refreshing shade in a region where the beams
+of the sun are almost insupportable; men, and also camels, feed upon the
+fruit; the wood of the tree is used for fuel and for building the native
+huts; and ropes, mats, baskets, beds, and all kinds of articles, are
+manufactured from the fibres of the leaves. The Arab cannot imagine how
+a nation can exist without date-palms, and he may well regard it as the
+greatest injury that he can inflict upon his enemy to cut down
+his trees."
+
+"Miss Harson," asked Edith, very earnestly, "isn't the palm tree in the
+Bible?"
+
+[Illustration: DATE-PALM AT JERICHO.]
+
+"It certainly is, dear," replied her governess, "and it is one of the
+trees most frequently mentioned. In Deuteronomy, thirty-fourth chapter,
+third verse, Jericho is called the 'city of palm trees.' Travelers still
+speak of these trees as yet growing in Palestine, but they are not
+nearly so abundant as they once were; near Jericho only one or two can
+be found. There are many allusions to the palm in the Scriptures. King
+David, in the ninety-second psalm, says that the righteous shall
+flourish like the palm tree: 'Those that be planted in the house of the
+Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall bring forth
+fruit in old age.' The palm is always upright, in spite of rain or wind.
+'There it stands, looking calmly down upon the world below, and
+patiently yielding its large clusters of golden fruit from generation to
+generation. It brings forth fruit in old age.' The allusion to being
+planted in the house of the Lord is probably drawn from the custom of
+planting beautiful and long-lived trees in the courts of temples and
+palaces. Solomon covered all the walls of the holy of holies round
+about with golden palm trees.--You will find this, Clara, in
+First Kings."
+
+Clara read:
+
+"'And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved
+figures of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, within and
+without[26].'"
+
+[26] I Kings vi. 29.
+
+"In the thirty-second verse," continued Miss Harson, "it is written that
+he overlaid them with gold, 'and spread gold upon the cherubim, and upon
+the palm trees.' 'They were thus planted, as it were, within the very
+house of the Lord; and their presence there was not only ornamental, but
+appropriate and highly suggestive--the very best emblem not only of
+patience in well-doing, but of the rewards of the righteous, a fat and
+flourishing old age, a peaceful end, a glorious immortality.'"
+
+"What does a 'palmer' mean, Miss Harson?" asked Malcolm. "Is it a man
+who has palm trees or who sells dates? I saw the word in a book I was
+reading, but I couldn't understand what it meant."
+
+"In olden times," replied his governess, "when people made so many
+pilgrimages, some of the pilgrims went to the Holy Land and some to Rome
+and other places; but those who went to Palestine were thought to be the
+most devout, both because it was so much farther off and because there
+were so many sacred spots to visit there. These pilgrims always brought
+home with them branches of palm, to show that they had really been to
+the land where the tree grew; and so they were called _palmers_. To say
+that such-a-one was a palmer was far more than to say that he was
+a pilgrim."
+
+"Miss Harson," said Clara, holding up one of the books, "here is a
+picture called 'the cocoanut-palm,' but I didn't know that cocoanuts
+grew on palm trees. Will you tell us something about it?"
+
+[Illustration: COCOANUT-PALM TREES IN SOUTH-EASTERN AFRICA.]
+
+"Certainly I will, dear," was the reply. "I fully intended to do so, for
+the cocoanut-palm is too valuable a member of the family to be passed
+over. This species does not grow in Palestine, and it is not one of the
+trees of the Bible; its home is in the warmest countries, and it grows
+most luxuriantly in the islands of the tropics or near the seacoast on
+the main-lands. Although its general form is similar to that of the
+date-palm, the foliage and fruit are quite different. The leaves are
+very much broader, and they have not the light, airy look of the foliage
+of the date-palm. But 'the cocoanut-palm is the most valuable of
+Nature's gifts to the inhabitants of those parts of the tropics where it
+grows, and its hundred uses, as they are not inaptly called, extend
+beyond the tropics over the civilized world. The beautiful islands of
+the southern seas are fringed with cocoanut-palms that encircle them as
+with a green and feathery belt. The ripe nuts drop into the sea, but,
+protected by their husks, they float away until the tide washes them on
+to the shore of some neighboring island, where they can take root
+and grow.'"
+
+"Wouldn't it be nice," said Edith, "if some would float here?"
+
+"A great many cocoanuts float here in ships," replied Miss Harson, "but
+they would not take root and grow, because the climate is not suited to
+them; it is too cold for them. We cannot have tropical fruit without
+tropical heat, and I am sure that none of us would want such a change as
+that. You may sometimes see small cocoanut trees in hothouses or
+horticultural gardens, where they are shielded from our cold air. The
+island of Ceylon, in the East Indies, is full of cocoanut-palm trees,
+for they are carefully cultivated by the inhabitants, and the feathery
+groves stretch mile after mile. The tree shoots up a column-like stem to
+the height of a hundred feet, and is crowned with a tuft of broad leaves
+about twelve feet long. The flowers are yellowish white and grow in
+clusters, and the seed ripens into a hard nut which in its fibrous husk
+is about the size of an infant's head."
+
+"I've seen the nut in its husk," said Malcolm, "when papa took me down
+to the wharf where the ships come in. There were lots of cocoanuts, and
+some of 'em had their coats on."
+
+"This brown husk," continued his governess, "is a valuable part of the
+nut, for the toughest ropes and cables are made of its fibres, as well
+as the useful brown matting so generally used to cover offices and
+passages. Brushes, nets and other domestic articles are also
+manufactured from the husk. Scarcely any other tree in the world is so
+useful to man or contributes so much to his comfort as the
+cocoanut-palm. Food and drink are alike obtained from it. The kernel of
+the nut is an article of diet, and can be prepared in many ways. The
+native is almost sustained by it, and in Ceylon it forms a part of
+nearly every dish. The spathe that encloses the yet-unopened flowers is
+made to yield a favorite beverage called palm-wine, or, more familiarly,
+'toddy.' When the fresh juice is used, it is an innocent and refreshing
+drink; but when left to ferment, it intoxicates, and is the one evil
+result from the bountiful gifts of the tree. Oil is prepared in great
+quantities from the nuts and used for various purposes."
+
+"Are there any more kinds of palm trees?" asked the children.
+
+"Yes," was the reply; "there are a great many members of this most
+useful family, but the one that will interest you most, after the
+date-and cocoanut-palm, is, I think, the sago-palm."
+
+[Illustration: YOUNG COCOANUT TREE IN POT (_Cocos nucifera_).]
+
+"Why, Miss Harson!" exclaimed Clara, in surprise; "does sago really grow
+on a tree?"
+
+"It really grows _in_ a tree--for it is a kind of starch secreted by the
+tree for the use of its flowers and fruit--and in order to obtain it the
+tree has to be cut down. The pith is then taken out and cut in slices,
+soaked in water and roasted; and when it assumes the shape of the small
+globules in which we see it, it is ready for exportation."
+
+"Well!" said Malcolm; "I never knew _that_ before. We've learned ever so
+many things, Miss Harson."
+
+"There is one thing about the palm," said Miss Harson, "which I have
+purposely left for the last--especially as it is the last also of our
+trees for the present--and that is the sacred associations which its
+branches have for both Jews and Christians. The Jews were commanded on
+the first day of the feast of tabernacles to 'take the boughs of goodly
+trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and
+willows of the brook, to rejoice before the Lord their God.' The palm
+was a symbol of victory, and branches of it were strewn in the path of
+conquerors, more especially of those who had fought for religious truth.
+It is the emblem of the martyr, as a conqueror through Christ. The
+Sunday before Easter is called Palm Sunday because in the ancient
+churches leaves of palm were carried that day by worshipers in memory of
+those strewn in the way on the triumphal entry of the King of Zion into
+Jerusalem. You will find it, Malcolm, in John."
+
+Malcolm read very reverently:
+
+"'On the next day, much people that were come to the feast, when they
+heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees,
+and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna; Blessed is the King of
+Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord[27].'"
+
+[27] John xii. 12, 13.
+
+"Here," said Miss Harson, "is a little hymn written on these very
+verses:
+
+     "'See a small procession slowly
+       Toward the temple wind its way;
+     In the midst rides, meek and lowly,
+       One whom angel-hosts obey.
+
+     "'How the shouting crowd adore him,
+       Now, for once, they know their King;
+     Some their garments cast before him,
+       Green palm-branches others bring.
+
+     "'Calmly, yet with holy sorrow,
+       Christ permits the sacrifice.
+     Knowing well that on the morrow
+       Changed will be those fickle cries.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+     "'Children, when in prayers and praises
+       Loudly we with lips adore,
+     While the heart no anthem raises,
+       Are not we like those of yore?
+
+     "'O Lord Jesus, let us never
+       Lift the voice in heartless songs;
+     Help us to remember ever
+       All that to thy name belongs.'"
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AMONG THE TREES AT ELMRIDGE***
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