Page:The Atlantic Monthly Volume 6.djvu/270

 2G2 Among the Trees. [September, notice, that all the trees of this species below the latitude of Long Island have escaped the malady. The Chenar-tree, or Oriental Plane, is celebrated in history, having had a place in all the public and private grounds of the Greeks and Romans, as well as of the Eastern nations. The American, or West- ern Plane, called in New England the Buttonwood, is not less remarkable for its size and grandeur. It is one of the loftiest trees, and its lateral branches, be- ing of great length, give it extraordinary breadth. It also runs up to an unusual height, compared with other trees, before it forms a head, so that its lower branches are sometimes elevated above the roofs of the houses of common height. Hence it would be a valuable tree for road-sides, if it were healthy, as it would allow the largest vehicles to pass freely under its boughs. A far more beautiful tree, gracing equally the forest and the way-side, is the Ash, charming our sight with the gracefulness of its proportions in winter, with. its flowing drapery of verdure in summer, and its variety of glowing tints in autumn. The Ash has been styled in Europe "the painter's tree," a fact which is worthy of notice, inasmuch as those writers who have theorized con- cerning the nature of beauty have gen- erally regarded trees of broken and ir- regular shapes, like the Hickory, as more picturesque than those of prim and sym- metrical habit, like the Ash. The prac- tice of the great masters in painting seems adverse to this idea, since they have in- troduced the Ash more frequently than other trees into their pictures ; and it shows the futility of the attempt to draw a distinction between picturesque and beautiful trees. All trees, indeed, of ev- ery natural shape, may be considered picturesque, as, in one situation or an- other, every species may be introduced to heighten the character of a picture or a landscape. The Ash never fails to attract atten- tion by the peculiar beauty of its out- lines, the regular subdivision of its branch- es, its fair proportions and equal balance without any disagreeable formality. Noth- ing can exceed the gracefulness of its pinnate foliage, hanging loosely from its equally divergent spray, easy of motion, but not fluttering, and always harmoniz- ing in its tints with the season of the year. Notwithstanding the different char- acter, in regard to symmetry, of the Ash and the Hickory, the two trees are often mistaken for each other, and, when the latter is evenly formed, it is sometimes difficult at first sight to distinguish it. They differ, however, in all cases, in the opposite arrangement of the leaves and small branches of the Ash, and their al- ternate arrangement in the Hickory. One of these branches invariably be- comes abortive, as the tree increases in size, so that their opposite character is apparent only in the spray. In wet places which have never been subjected to the plough, in grounds part- ly inundated a great portion of the year, luxuriating in company with the North- ern Cypress, over an undergrowth of Dutch Myrtles and Button-bushes, we find the singular Tupelo-tree. This tree is the opposite of the Ash in all its char- acteristics. There is no regularity in any part of its growth, and no tree in the for- est sports in such a variety of grotesque and fantastic shapes. Sometimes it spreads out its branches horizontally, forming a perfectly flat top, as if it had grown un- der a platform ; again it forms an irreg- ular pyramid, most commonly leaning from an upright position. It has usually no definable shape, often sending out one or two branches greatly beyond the rest, some directed obliquely downwards, others twisted and horizontal. This tree, if it had no other merit, would be prized for its eccentricities ; but it is not with- out beauty. It possesses a fine glossy fo- liage, unrivalled in its verdure, and every branch is fully clothed with it ; and, what- ever may be the age of the tree, it never shows the marks of decrepitude. The pyramidal trees are included chiefly among the coniferous evergreens, embracing the Pine, the Fir, the Spruce,