THE OUTDOOR WORLD 



269 



the patches of crisp lichens for a mo- 

 ment glowed red, then vanished in a 

 puff of smoke and a pinch of ashes. It 

 is a pleasing memory. To repeat the 

 experience I would, if 1 could, go out 

 at this moment and chop wood. I 

 may have grumbled then. Do I grum- 

 ble now when I remember? Not when 

 I pass by "God's Acre," and remember. 

 The wood pile is the connecting link 

 between autumn and winter. It nat- 

 urally affiliates with the falling leaves, 

 the ripening of fruits and nuts, and 

 with the season's round-up of the 



partridges, foxes, squirrels and rabbits; 

 of tangled thickets, of deep recesses, of 

 struggling vines and alders. These are 

 all joy. But here is a pile that means 

 the old tree that stood in the dooryard. 

 That is not so pleasing. It tells of the 

 songs of the swingers under the tree. 

 It concentrates for winter evenings the 

 shadows of the summer and of the past 

 as well. So again here is to you, old 

 wood pile, whether of the wilderness 

 or the lingering memories or the old 

 homestead. We will in imagination 

 gather around your fire and proclaim 



'A CERTAIN PATHOS ABOUT IT WIIEX IT MEANS THE LOSS OF A LANDMARK NEAR THE 



OLD HOMESTEAD." 



farming occupations. It is a finish to 

 all as the back meadow was a finish 

 to the haying season. 



The wood pile is all joy when it 

 comes from the depths of the swamp 

 or from the hillside, but there is a cer- 

 tain pathos about it when it means 

 the loss of a landmark near the old 

 homestead. WHiether its presence is 

 to be loved or to be deplored does not 

 depend on its own intrinsic merit, but 

 on the source from which it came. 

 Here now is a wood pile that tells of 



that you were really worth while, dear 

 old wood pile. 



The Decline of the Lobster. 



In spite of the most active possible 

 hatching operations conducted by the 

 Federal Government at three stations 

 on the New England coast, and not- 

 withstanding perennial attention from 

 the State legislatures, the lobster has 

 declined to an extent that causes much 

 concern among those most interested 

 in the welfare of the fisheries. This 



