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Wilderness
Wood
Throughout the book, but especially in the first two sections (“A Sand County Almanac” and “The Quality of the Landscape”), Leopold looks to trees and wood in general as records of history, often comparing them…
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Woodcock
The woodcock is a game bird native to Wisconsin, but more than that it is a symbol of the utility of birds beyond their value as hunting targets. During the spring, it performs a mating…
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Silphium
To Leopold, the Silphium represents the wild prairie. An unassuming wildflower that goes unnoticed by most, to Leopold it represents the last remnants of wilderness. It only grows in patches of unmoved grass—by the…
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Tools
Leopold often turns the tools of a farmer into metaphorical tools for living a thoughtful, carefully considered life. Early in the book he describes cutting down a tree, and through its rings discovering slices…
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Round River
The round river comes from a folktale, which describes a literal round river in the middle of Wisconsin. In reality, there is no round river, but Leopold sees it as a metaphor for the environment…
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