| Trees By Richard St. Barbe Baker Excerpt from Summer #19
When I was looking for a home in Hampshire, as a Man of the Trees I was attracted to the address Oakhurst, Woodlands, New Forest. When I went to see the house, which was for sale at that time, I found that it was situated on low-lying ground in a part of the New Forest where there was much heavy, boggy land, and for these reasons it failed to appeal to me. But as I walked in the woods just opposite the house I found a family of unemployed, destitute yet happy people, who had been camping there for the summer. I was attracted by the slopes of the tent among the boles of old beech trees, with oaks in the distance, and this has always been one of my favourite pictures taken in the New Forest. ***** Excerpt from Author's Note First Edition [September, 1940] Lord Avebury once said, “Trees are sometimes compared with human beings, not always to the advantage of the latter.” However much we may enjoy the society of other human beings there are times when we prefer to leave even our best friend and commune with nature. Of all living things trees are the most companionable. Every breath of air animates them and they tune themselves sympathetically to the mood of the listener. If he is sorrowful they seem to share his sadness; if joyful, they partake of his mirth. When his mind soars to spiritual realms he feels that the trees aspire with him. There is a sympathy in their silence, and in their presence the tree lover is never lonely. To the trees we owe the beauty of our landscape, whether in the spring when the tender green leaves spray the branches, or in the summer when the full-grown foliage is massed against a blue sky. In autumn the glory of the trees surpasses everything in their entrancing loveliness, while winter enables us to study more closely the intricate anatomy of their marvelous structure, their wonderful witchery at times being enhanced by snow and hoar frost. When we are alone with the trees we feel an indescribable sense of freedom and a happy exhilaration. Through them we may find a new life and fresh pleasure in living, limited only by our capacity for receiving it. RICHARD ST. BARBE BAKER The Gate Farm ***** Author's Note Third Impression [November 1941] Mr. Drummond had asked me to write a note to the third impression of this book. I am glad to have this opportunity of expressing my thanks for the generous appreciation I have had from so many who have found “Trees” a solace in days of stress and strain. Friends have told me how they have kept it by their bedside and turned its pages during raids when bombs have been dropping around. I was particularly thankful when one family claimed that it had literally saved the lives of all of them. The Book of the Seasons had just arrived during the blitz on London and they took it into their basement shelter and were looking over each other’s shoulders at the pictures when a bomb dropped a few feet away, blasting the building to ground level. I hope the book will not only provide a means of escape from the sordid side of war through its pictures and poetry of trees, but will remind people of the necessity of keeping our country beautiful and the importance of replacing our battled-scarred woodlands now. Half the royalties derived from this book will be given to the Men of the Trees Planting Fund, and everyone who buys one is also planting a tree and helping to create beauty in our land. Who does his duty is a question RICHARD ST. BARBE BAKER
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