THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 45 



that the very birds are not deceived by the make-believe; for, 

 at first sight, many a human rambler is. 



Pleasant indeed are the ways of Mother Nature. Having 

 fashioned a blackberry, soon perishable, but luscious to the 

 palate, she makes of more enduring stuff this mock-blackberry, 

 as though for the eye to feast upon its comeliness; for of all 

 the spoil of the autumn fields, none keeps better for home 

 adornment than the dried stalks and pods of the blackberry 

 lily. When the wintry wind blows without, they are a cheer- 

 ful indoor reminder of flowery slopes and meadows warm with 

 September sun, which were and will be again. — C. F. Saunders 

 in The Churchman. 



COMPARISON OF THE SEASON AT CHICAGO 

 AND URBANA. ILLINOIS. 



BY FRANK C. GATES. 



AT Easter this year I had a chance to compare the advance- 

 ment of the season at Chicago and Urbana, Illinois. 

 Chicago is about 136 miles north of Urbana. At Urbana the 

 trees were partially leaved out, while at Chicago their buds 

 were just bursting. 



At Chicago there were comparatively few kinds of plants 

 in bloom and not very many individuals of them. Those 

 flowers that were out were not very conspicuous. At Urbana, 

 on the other hand, there was a wealth of conspicuous beauty. 

 Those plants that were out were in full bloom or had passed 

 their prime. In the woods bloodroot, spring beauty, Dutch- 

 man's breeches and squirrel-corn were everywhere. The squir- 

 rel-corn in particular filled the air with its fragrance. 



A comparison of our Urbana records with the conditions 

 in Chicago shows that the season is just about ten days later 

 there. The list which follows gives only those plants that 



