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 I860.] Among the Trees. 261 fers characteristically from most other trees. I am acquainted with no tree in the forest that equals it, when disrobed of its foliage, in the gracefulness of its spray. There is an airiness about its whole appearance, at all seasons, that gives an expression of cheerfulness to the scene it graces, whether it skirt the banks of a stream or spread out its cour- teous arms over a sunny knoll or little sequestered nook. There are some trees which are pecu- liarly American, being confined to the western continent, and unknown in other parts of the world. Among these is the Hickory, a well-known and very common tree, celebrated rather for its usefulness than its beauty. The different trees of this family make an important feature in our landscape : they are not abundant in the forest, but they are conspicuous ob- jects in the open plain, hill, and pasture. Great numbers of them have become standards; we see them following the lines of old stone walls that skirt the bounds and avenues of the farm, in com- pany with the Ash and the Maple. In these situations, where they would not " cumber the ground," they have been allowed to grow, without exciting the jealousy of the proprietor of the land. Accident, under these circumstances, has reared many a beautiful tree, which would in any other place have been cut down as a trespasser. Thus Nature is always striving to clothe with beauty those scenes which man has despoiled ; and while the farmer is hoeing and grubbing, and think- ing only of his physical wants, unseen hands are draping all his fences with lux- uriant vinery, and bordering his fields with trees that shall gladden the eyes of those who can understand their beauties. The Hickory is not a round-headed tree; it approaches a cylindrical form, somewhat flattened at the top, but seldom attaining any strict regularity of shape. It does not expand into a full and flowing head, but is often divided into distinct masses of foliage, separated by vacant spaces of considerable size, and present- ing an appearance as if a portion of the tree had been artificially removed. These gaps do not extend all round the tree; they are irregularly disposed, some trees having several of them, others none or only one ; and they seem to have been caused, when the tree was young, by the dwindling of some principal branch. The Hickory throws out its branches at first very obliquely from the shaft ; after- wards the lower ones bend down as the / i tree increases m/ ze, and acquire an ir- regular and contorted shape ; for, not- withstanding their toughness, they bend easily to the weight of their fruit and foliage. This tree is celebrated in the United States for the toughness of its wood ; and the term Hickory is used as emblematical of a sturdy and vigorous character. It possesses some of the ruggedness, without the breadth and majesty of the Oak, though it exceeds even this tree in brav- ing the force of a tempest. It is one of our most common pasture-trees, and its deep-green foliage makes amends for the general want of comeliness in its outlines. As we are journeying through the old- er settlements of New England, the mel- ancholy forms of the ill-fated Plane-trees tower above the surrounding objects, and attract our attention not only by their magnitude, but also by the marks of de- cay which are stamped upon all. This appearance is chiefly remarkable in the early part of summer : for the trees are not dead ; but their vitality is so far gone that they are tardy in putting out their leaves, and seldom before July are they fully clad in verdure. When they are not in leaf, we may observe an unnatural growth of slender twigs in tufts at the O *-> ends of their branches. This is caused by the failure of the tree in perfecting its wood before the growth of the branch- es is arrested by the autumnal frosts ; and this accident has been repeated annually ever since the trees began to be affected with their malady. The Plane was for- merly a very common way-side tree in New England, until the fatality occurred which has caused the greater number of them to perish. It is a fact worthy of