to study Pine trees in the
mountains of Idaho. There was a small one that had to be cut down, so I
made careful drawings of it. It was fourteen years old, and across the
stump it showed one ring of wood for each year of growth, and a circle
of branches on the trunk for each year. Notice that between the
branches, the trunk did _not_ taper; it was an even cylinder, but got
suddenly smaller at each knot by the same amount of wood as was needed
by those branches for their wood.

If we begin in the centre of the stump, and at the bottom of the trunk,
we find that the little tree tells us its own story of its life and
troubles. Its first year, judging by the bottom section of the trunk
(No. 1) and by the inmost ring, was just ordinary. Next year according
to section 2 and ring 2, it had a fine season and grew nearly twice as
much as the first year. The third year the baby Pine had a very hard
time, and nearly died. Maybe it was a dry summer, so the little tree
grew only 2-1/2 inches higher while the ring of wood it added was no
thicker than a sheet of paper. Next year, the fourth, it did better. And
the next was about its best year, for it grew 7-1/2 inches higher, and
put on a fine fat ring of wood, as you see.

In its eleventh year, it had some new troubles; either the season was
dry, or the trees about too shady, or maybe disease attacked it. For it
grew but a poor shoot on the top, and the ring of wood on the stump is
about the thinnest of all.

Of course, a saw-cut along the second joint showed but thirteen rings,
and the third but twelve while one through the top joint, the one which
grew this year, showed but a single ring.

Thus the Pine tree has in itself a record of its whole life; and this is
easy to read when the tree is small; but in later life the lower limbs
disappear, and the only complete record is in the rings of growth that
show on the stump. These never fail to tell the truth.

Of course, you are not to go around cutting down trees merely to count
their rings and read their history, but you should look at the rings
whenever a new stump gives you a good chance. Then Hardwoods as well as
Pines will spread before you the chapters of their life; one ring for
each year that they have lived.

TALE 61

Blazes

All hunters and Indians have signs to let their people know the way.
Some of these signs are on trees, and are called "Blazes." One of those
much used is a little piece of bark chipped off to