Evening star., 1901-12-21
TREES IN WINTER.
Simple Rules That VIII Aid I'm Dis.
tinSuishinE ihe Varieties.


From the Old Farmers Al nanac.
Those who live constantly among the
trees learn almost unconsciously to recog-
niZe them in winter, as in summer, by their
bark and by their so-called habit
that is, by their general shape,
height, spread and mode of branch
ing. Yet these do not always suffice for
their determination, and the most observ-
ant as well as the novice may be deceived
and mistake one kind of tree for another.
OF some trees the bark is unmistakable.
The long, untidy strips that hang from the
shasbark, the thick. lozenge-shaped plates
OF the white ash, the chalky white patches
on the trunks of buttonwoods distinguish
these trees at once from all others.
On the other hand, while four of our
New England birches, the gray, the canoe,
the yellow and the black birch, have each a
strikinGly characteristic bark, the fifth is
called the cherry birch because it's bark re-
Sembes that of the cherry. The beech is
one of the few trees with smooth, unfur-
roWed bark, but this is true also of the
rarer ironwood and virgilia; and, although
poplars In general may be recognized by
their peculiar greenish bark, the different
species can hardly be distinguished from
each other.
According to situation and environment,
individual trees of the same species may
assume very different habits, while trees of
diverse species often resemble one another
in general appearance. Thus it will be seen
that bark and habit alone are not per-
fectly trustworthy guides to Identification.
Leaves, flowers and fruit are our guides to
the study of trees in the summer. The
leaf1ess tree bears equally infailible tokens,
which once known render it impossible to
mistake its identity. These are: /. Winter
buds. 2. Leaf-scars 3. General character
Of the yearling twig. T. Color and shape
of Dith.
Winter buds are quite conspicuous OBJ
jects on the branchlets during the winter.
They first appeared with the developing
leaves In the preceding spring. as small ex-
creScences just above the spot where the
leaf-Stem joins the twig They increase in
size during the summer and attain their
characteristic winter color and appearance
by the time the leaves fall. They consist
or Few or many papery or leathern scales
that 1old over and protect a group of tiny
leaves and sometimes flowers also, which
are to develop into the branch of the COM
ing season. One needs only to compare
the large, sticky, brown buds of the horse
chestnut the very small, dry buds of the
eifn the long, slender, spndle-shaped buds
OF the beech the velvety, gray buds of the
butternut and the buds Of the various spe-
cles OF maple to see how very diverse they
are In appearance and how easy it Is to
recognize each one second time.
Ihe buds Of the common locust and the
honey locust are not, however, to be seen.
as they are concealed beneath the bark,
through which they push in the warm days
or late spring. Flower buds are usually
IounoeF ana stouter than those which con-
tain only leaves. Leaf-scars are to be
found below each winter-bud; they mark
the place whence the leaf fell and CORE
spond IN shape to the base of the leaf
ends of woody fibers. Nature gradnaIlv
prepares for the fall Of the leaf, heals the
tissues even while it is breaking off and
makes clean scar, whereas If a leaf ia
wound results ~ "ei'