2l8 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



'WE FIND EVEN THE DRIED GRASSES VXD WEEDS INTERESTIM ;.' 



of the oaks, — until the new leaf devel- 

 oping in the spring pushes off the old 

 one from the twig. We note now the 

 curiously dotted bark of the speckled 

 alder which lines the banks of the 

 streams and borders of the swamps. 

 While this shrub was in foliage it was 

 not so conspicuous. The new leaf buds 

 show prominently and the rosy-pink 

 catkins at the ends of the twigs are al- 

 ready nearly two inches long, — seem- 

 ingly so far advanced as to be injured 

 by the cold and frosts ; but Nature 

 knows best, and how carefully is each 

 prepared for its period of rest. The 

 thick layers of pine needles and dead 

 leaves not only protect the roots of the 

 plants, but in the wondrous process of 

 disintegration afterward become ab- 

 sorbed into the ground as nourishment 

 for the new growth. New leaf buds on 

 many of the shrubs are cprite apparent, 

 remaining thus through the winter, 

 ready to burst open with the first warm 

 breath of spring. The silvery catkins 

 of the hazel-nut, though not as long 

 as those of the alders, are never-the- 

 less quite prominent, and the large, ar- 

 omatic buds of the balm of Gilead 

 trees along the roadside become very 

 conspicuous after the leaves have fal- 

 len. 



Yonder is a tupelo, with its queer 

 flattened top made the more impres- 

 sive by the absence of leaves on its 

 stiff, horizontal branches. One of these 

 :,trees noted at this season is not easily 

 forgotten and never becomes confused 

 with other species. The sycamores 



now present an individuality not noted 

 at other seasons, the loose, gray outer 

 bark which is shed annually having 

 mostly fallen, and the smooth, new 

 growth of creamy-white bark is very 

 beautiful. Some of them are mottled 

 with patches of the old bark and they 

 have a strange, almost spectral appear- 

 ance, standing with their scraggly, out- 

 stretched branches in the midst of \ 

 swamp, — the queer, globular seeds rat- 

 tling in the breeze. The white birches 

 seem even more attractive in the win- 

 ter landscape than when they are in 

 foliage, and clustered in groups in the 

 swamps or by the roadsides, the quan- 

 tities of their tiny, winged seeds pro- 

 vide food for the flocks of goldfinches 

 and other seed-loving birds which 

 gather to enjov them. 



Clumps of barberry make pictures- 

 que the borders of the old pastures 

 with their red, dangling clusters of 

 fruit, — even though a bit dried by the 

 frost, — still clinging to the drooping 

 branches. The red cedars in the pas- 

 ture are full of fruit, too, and their 

 blue, conical berries provide food for 

 the robins — many of which now spend 

 the winter season with us. Both song 

 sparrows and flickers are also appar- 

 entlv becoming more common through 

 the winter in favorable localities. The 

 former are sometimes heard singing in 

 the swamps on a mild November day, 

 while the flickers may frequently be 

 started up from their feeding as we 

 cross the fields or pastures. 



We find the maple-leaved viburnums 



