te'- 



Rising Floods and Falling Torrents. 



In the sense that every rose has its 

 thorn, the location of ArcAdiA in Tho- 

 reau's sanctum sanctorum, a swamp, 

 has at times serious drawbacks though 

 taking the year all together we much 

 prefer the lowlands to the highland-. 

 One consolation is that we evidently 

 have the sympathy of our fellow towns- 

 men, for at almost every meeting of the 

 Sound Beach Association there is a 

 deal of talk about surface drainage, 

 especially when the water over the 

 sidewalk and road requires knee boots 

 or a boat. Our nature park, Nympha- 

 lia, the garden and other parts of Ar- 

 cAdiA are at times in good navigable 

 condition. We alwavs trv to look on 

 the pleasant side of things and men- 

 tally picture the beautiful Venetian 

 scenes if we had a liberal supply of 

 gondolas. But not having gondolas, 

 we must content ourselves with rubber 

 boots ; they are needed when we must 

 shovel coal into our furnace with water 

 a foot deep in our cellars. But these 

 temporary rising floods add to the va- 

 riety of life. We try to look compla- 

 cently upon the situation, and hope 

 that sometime this talk about surface 

 drainage, clogged up gutters and about 

 other things that sound good in vehe- 

 ment oratory will materialize at the 

 end of a shovel and a crowbar. 



Serious as this situation is at times, 

 the ArcAdiAns have become so thor- 

 oughly accustomed to it, and are withal 

 of so generally cheerful a disposition 

 that they have never lost much sleep 

 on account of these floods which occur 

 on an average three times during the 

 year. So long as the torrents fell on 

 golf grounds and other near-by water 

 sheds, we have been philosophical^ tak- 

 ing the brunt of the floods of things. 

 But when Old Mother Nature with a 

 long dry spell in the summer time warp- 

 ed all the fragile clapboards on our 

 roofs (they never were shingled) and 



then with the autumn rains drenched 

 every part of the attic and consequent- 

 ly of the rooms below, we were driven, 

 not quite to desperation, but to a re- 

 quisition of all the pots, pans and kettles 

 on the premises. In one of the storms 

 in September, something like twenty- 

 five dollars worth of damage was done 

 to one part of our library, and much of 

 the scientific apparatus, papers, files, 

 etc., in various parts of the office and 

 laboratory, was seriously injured. "It 

 never rains but it pours," is literally 

 true not only in things aquatic but in 

 things financial. It was between the 

 two fires of the Second Liberty Loan 

 and the Y. M. C. A. War fund, and 

 therefore we knew it would not be 

 right to speak out in meeting with a 

 general cry for "Help, help ; it is rain- 

 ing on us," so we confidentially re- 

 vealed the situation to a few chosen 

 friends and, bless them all, they re- 

 sponded with checks even in these 

 strenuous times. 



Though we may not be high and dry 

 we are now dry on high. The work has 

 been done skillfully and efficiently by 

 our good friend, Mr. Stephen I Clason. 



Enclosed find my check for which 

 please send me The Guide to Nature 

 beginning with the November issue. 

 Thought I couldn't afford it, but think 

 now I can't afford not to take it.- — Bert 

 Carmonv, Shelbvville, Indiana. 



I felt that I could not afford the 

 magazine this year, but do not see how 

 I can do without it. The articles on 

 knowing the starry heavens are in- 

 tensely interesting. — Miss M. Inez Lee, 

 Plainfield, Iowa. 



Wherever we go, wherever we look, 

 Is Nature spread, an open book; 

 Why not study her while we may, 

 If only with a line a day? 



