A Year Among the Trees

Part 1

A YEAR AMONG THE TREES; OR, THE WOODS AND BY-WAYS OF NEW ENGLAND.

BY WILSON FLAGG,

AUTHOR OF “STUDIES IN THE FIELD AND FOREST,” “A YEAR WITH THE BIRDS,” “HALCYON DAYS,” ETC.

The temples of the gods made desolate, They leave the earth to curses born of art; Degenerate man resumes the bow and quiver, And beauty sleeps until another dawn.

BOSTON: EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING CO. 1890.

COPYRIGHT, 1881, BY ESTES AND LAURIAT. BOSTON.

COPYRIGHT, 1889, BY EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING CO., BOSTON.

INDEX.

A. Ailantus 267 Alder Alnus serrulata 265 American Elm 74 American Wayfaring-Tree Viburnum lentago 185 Andromeda 209 Animals of the Primitive Forest 12 Apple-Tree Pyrus malus 70 Arbor-Vitæ Thuya occidentalis 299 Arrow-Wood Viburnum dentatum 187 Ash Fraxinus Americana 8 Ash, Mountain 86 Aspen, large Populus tripida 257 Aspen, small Populus tremuloides 258 Autumn Woods 188 Azalea 18

B. Balsam Fir Abies balsamea 288 Barberry Berberis communis 48 Bayberry Myrica cerifera 178 Beach-Plum Prunus maritima 72 Bearberry Arbutus uva-urs 143 Beech-Tree Fagus Americanus 145 Benzoin Laurus benzoin 135 Bittersweet Celastrus scandens 151 Blackberry Rubus procumbens 152 Black Birch Betula lenta 237 Black Poplar Populus nigra 247 Black Spruce Abies nigra 291 Black Walnut Juglans nigra 164 Buckthorn Rhamnus catharticus 270 Burning-Bushes 269 Butternut Juglans cinerea 163 Button-bush Cephalanthus occidentalis 172 Buttonwood 174

C. Canada Poplar Populus candicans 246 Canadian Rhodora 19 Catalpa 41 Ceanothus 49 Checkerberry Gaultheria procumbens 143 Cherry, Black Prunus Virginiana 81 Cherry, Choke Prunus serotina 82 Chestnut Castanea vesca 154 Chokeberry Mespilus arbutifolia 85 Clethra Clethra alnifolia 173 Clipped Hedge-rows 136 Cornel 200 Cornel, Blue-berried Cornus circinata 201 Cornel, Dwarf Cornus Canadensis 202 Cornel, Florida Cornus Florida 201 Cornel, Purple-berried Cornus alternifolia 200 Cornel, White-berried Cornus alba 200 Cypress, Northern Cupressus thuyoides 293 Cypress, Southern Taxodium distichum 294

D. Dark Plains 223 Dewberry Rubus sempervirens 152 Dogwood Rhus vernix 204 Dutch Myrtle Myrica gale 178

E. Eglantine Rosa micrantha 218 Elder Sambucus Canadensis 206 Elm, American Ulmus Americanus 74 Elm, English Ulmus campestris 80 Elm, White Ulmus Americanus 74

F. Fir Picea 288 Flowering Dogwood 200 Flowering Raspberry Rubus odoratus 152 Foliage 51 Forms and Expressions of Trees 42

G. Glycine Glycine apios 150 Grapevine Vitis labrusca 152 Ground Laurel Epigea repens 142 Guelder Rose Viburnum opulus 186

H. Hardhack Spiræa tomentosa 114 Hawthorn Cratægus oxyacantha 115 Hazel, Beaked Corylus rostrata 172 Hazel, Common Corylus Americana 171 Heath Erica 208 Hemlock Abies Canadensis 279 Hickory 156 Hickory, Bitternut Carya amara 157 Hickory, Fignut Carya ficiformis 157 Hickory, Shellbark Carya squamosa 157 Hickory, White Carya alba 157 Hobblebush Viburnum lantanoides 186 Holly Ilex opaca 113 Honey Locust Gleditschia 108 Hop Hornbeam Ostrya Virginica 61 Hornbeam Carpinus Americana 60 Horse-Chestnut Æsculus 40

I. Indian Summer 240 Insecurity of our Forests 63

J. Jersey Tea Ceanothus Americana 49 Juniper Juniperus Virginiana 297

K. Kalmia 96

L. Lambkill Kalmia angustifolia 98 Larch Larix Americana 277 Laurel Laurus 134 Laurel, Low 98 Laurel, Mountain 96 Lilac Syringa 47 Lime Tilia Americana 93 Linden-Tree 93 Locust Robinia pseudacacia 106 Lombardy Poplar Populus fastigiata 254

M. Magnolia Magnolia glauca 105 Maple Acer 220 Meadow-Sweet Spiræa alba 114 Mespilus, Snowy 84 Missouri Currant Ribes aureum 49 Motions of Trees 100 Mountain Ash Sorbus Americana 86 Mountain Laurel Kalmia latifolia 96 Mountain Maple Acer montana 221 Myrtle Myrtus 177

N. Northern Cypress Cupressus thuyoides 293 Norway Spruce Abies excelsa 291

O. Oak 121 Oak, Black Quercus tinctoria 133 Oak, Red Quercus rubra 131 Oak, Scarlet Quercus coccinea 132 Oak, Scrub Quercus ilicifolia 132 Oak, Swamp Quercus bicolor 130 Oak, White Quercus alba 129 Orchard Trees 69

P. Peach-Tree Amygdalus 73 Pear-Tree Pyrus 71 Pine, Pitch Pinus rigidus 305 Pine, White Pinus strobus 301 Pine Woods 282 Plane-Tree Platanus occidentalis 174 Plum-Tree Prunus 72 Plumgranate Prunus Americana 72 Poison Ivy Rhus radicans 150 Poplar Populus 245 Primitive Forest, The 1 Privet Ligustrum vulgare 270

Q. Quince-Tree Pyrus cydonia 72

R. Red Birch Betula rubra 239 Red Maple Acer rubrum 228 Red Osier Cornus circinata 201 Relations of Trees to the Atmosphere 109 Relations of Trees to Birds and Insects 233 Relations of Trees to Poetry and Fable 260 Relations of Trees to Salubrity 212 Relations of Trees to Soil 181 Relations of Trees to Temperature 159 Relations of Trees to Water 88 Rhodora Rhodora Canadensis 19 River Maple Acer 222 River Poplar Populus rivalis 248 Rock Maple Acer saccharinum 221 Rose Rosa 217 Rotation and Distribution 25 Rustic Lane and Woodside 148

S. Sassafras Laurus sassafras 134 Snow-ball Tree 186 Snowy Mespilus Mespilus Canadensis 84 Sounds from Trees 249 Southern Cypress 294 Spindle-Tree Euonymus 269 Spiræa 114 Spruce Abies 290 Spruce, Black Abies nigra 291 Spruce, Norway Abies excelsa 291 Spruce, White Abies alba 290 Strawberry-Tree Euonymus 269 Sugar Maple Acer saccharinum 221 Sumach, Poison Rhus vernix 204 Sumach, Poison Ivy Rhus radicans 152 Sumach, Smooth Rhus glabrum 204 Sumach, Velvet Rhus typhinum 204 Summer Wood-scenery 117 Swamp Honeysuckle Azalea viscosa 18 Swamp Rose Rosa Caroliniana 218 Sweetbrier Rosa micrantha 218 Sweet-Fern Comptonia asplenifolia 179 Sweet-gale 178 Synopsis of Autumn Tints 197

T. Trees as Electric Agents 137 Trees for Shade and Salubrity 212 Trees in Assemblages 125 Tulip-Tree Liriodendron tulipifera 104 Tupelo Nyssa villosa 58

Part 2

V. Vernal Wood-scenery 35 Viburnum, Arrow-Wood V. dentatum 187 Viburnum, Hobblebush V. lantanoides 186 Viburnum, Maple-leaved V. acerifolium 186 Viburnum, Wayfaring-Tree V. lentago 185 Virginia Creeper Ampelopsis 149 Virgin’s Bower Clematis 153

W. Weeping Willow Salix Babylonica 32 Western Plane Platanus occidentalis 174 White Birch Betula alba 230 White Pine Pinus strobus 301 White Spruce Abies alba 290 Whortleberry Pasture 165 Whortleberries and Huckleberries 170 Willow 21 Willow, Swamp Salix eriocephala 22 Willow, Yellow Salix vitellina 24 Winter Wood-scenery 271 Witch-Hazel 266 Woody Nightshade Solanum dulcamara 150

Y. Yellow Birch Betula excelsa 238 Yew Taxus Canadensis 300

PREFACE.

The matter contained in this volume is taken wholly from “The Woods and By-Ways of New England,” omitting all that is published in Volume I., and which has no special reference to trees. This volume, beside the particular description of species, treats of the value and beauty of trees and forests, of their climatic influence as purifiers of the atmosphere, of their relations to water, to electricity, to temperature, to the soil, to shade and salubrity, to birds and insects, to ornament, and to poetry and fable.

A YEAR AMONG THE TREES;

OR,

THE WOODS AND BY-WAYS OF NEW ENGLAND.

THE PRIMITIVE FOREST.

When the Pilgrim first landed on the coast of America, the most remarkable feature of its scenery that drew his attention, next to the absence of towns and villages, was an almost universal forest. A few openings were to be seen near the rivers,—immense peat-meadows covered with wild bushes and gramineous plants, interspersed with little wooded islets, and bordered on all sides by a rugged, silent, and dreary desert of woods. Partial clearings had likewise been made by the Indians for their rude hamlets, and some spaces had been opened by fire. But the greater part of the country was darkened by an umbrageous mass of trees and shrubbery, in whose gloomy shades were ever present dangers and bewilderment for the traveller. In these solitudes the axe of the woodman had never been heard, and the forest for thousands of years had been subject only to the spontaneous action of natural causes. To men who had been accustomed to the open and cultivated plains of Europe, this waste of woods, those hills without prospect, that pathless wilderness, and its inhabitants as savage as the aspect of the country, must have seemed equally sublime and terrible.

But when the colonists had cut roads through this desert, planted landmarks over the country, built houses upon its clearings, opened the hill-tops to a view of the surrounding prospect, and cheered the solitude by some gleams of civilization, then came the naturalist and the man of science to survey the aspect and productions of this new world. And when they made their first excursions over its rugged hills and through its wooded vales, we can easily imagine their transports at the sight of its peculiar scenery. How must the early botanist have exulted over this grand assemblage of plants, that bore resemblance to those of Europe only as the wild Indian resembles the fair-haired Saxon! Everywhere some rare herb put forth flowers at his feet, and trees of magnificent height and slender proportions intercepted his progress by their crowded numbers. The wood was so generally uninterrupted, that it was difficult to find a summit from which he could obtain a lookout of any considerable extent; but occasional natural openings exposed floral scenes that must have seemed like the work of enchantment. In the wet meadows were deep beds of moss of the finest verdure, which had seldom been disturbed by man or brute. On the uplands were vast fields of the checkerberry plant, social, like the European heath, and loaded half the year with its spicy scarlet fruit. Every valley presented some unknown vegetation to his sight, and every tangled path led him into a new scene of beauties and wonders. It must have seemed to him, when traversing this strange wilderness, that he had entered upon a new earth, in which nature had imitated, without repeating, the productions of his native East.

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