four hours. Think, then, what a whole grove or forest would do, with a gentle breeze to carry this moisture into the neighboring fields. A large sunflower plant gives out three pints of water in one day. A row of these plants, not only adds beauty to the yard, but keeps the air from being dry. Every other plant, bush, and tree is doing the same thing, drinking moisture out of the ground, and pouring it into the air. If the air is very dry, and there are no trees to help the growing crop, then the crops are overworked, and shrivel and die.

Of course there are some trees that we must cut for building purposes and for fuel, and also to clear

the land for farming. In the same way we must kill some animals for food. It is the unnecessary cutting of trees, and the wanton killing of birds and animals, that should be avoided. Trees give us lumber for building our houses, and for making furniture. From trees we get fuel for our fires, pulp for making paper, cork, and bark for tanning leather. From the sap of trees we get resin, turpentine, oils, and various products for medicines. From trees we also get nuts and fruits for food.

The leaves of trees in grove or forest fall to the ground in the winter and make a thick, spongy carpet on the ground. These leaves decay and make the ground very rich in leaf-mold. This leafmold, gathered by the farmers, and put on certain crops, makes them grow abundantly. It is a fine fertilizer, as every farmer knows, and the trees furnish it free.

Let us remember that trees have some useful purpose, and are not to be destroyed without due thought. They add to the beauty of the landscape; they harbor the birds; they protect the orchards and crops; they hold back the water; they moisten the air; they furnish lumber, fuel, food, and medicine; and their leaves are rich in vegetable mold. Therefore, let us take care of the trees.

THREE TREES

The pine tree grew in the wood,
Tapering, straight, and high;
Stately and proud it stood,

Black-green against the sky.
Crowded so close, it sought the blue,
And ever upward it reached and grew.

The oak tree stood in the field,
Beneath it dozed the herds;
It gave to the mower a shield,
It gave a home to the birds.

Sturdy and broad it guarded the farms
With its brawny trunk and knotted arms.

The apple tree grew by the wall,
Ugly and crooked and black;

But it knew the gardener's call,

And the children rode on its back. It scattered its blossoms upon the air, It covered the ground with fruitage fair.

"Now, hey," said the pine, "for the wood! Come live with the forest band.

Our comrades will do you good,

And tall and straight you will stand."

And he swung his boughs to a witching sound, And flung his cones like coins around.

"O-ho!" laughed the sturdy oak;

"The life of the field for me.

I weather the lightning-stroke;

My branches are broad and free.

Grow straight and slim in the wood if you will, Give me the sun and the wind-swept hill."

And the apple-tree murmured low,

"I am neither straight nor strong; Crooked my back doth grow

With bearing my burdens long."

And it dropped its fruit as it dropped a tear,
And reddened the ground with fragrant cheer.

And the Lord of the harvest heard,

And he said: "I have use for all;

For the bough that shelters a bird,
For the beam that pillars a hall;

And grow they tall, or grow they ill,
They grow but to wait their Master's will."

So a ship of the oak was sent

Far over the ocean blue,

And the pine was the mast that bent