136 IHE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



strong stirring of that primeval instinct that grips one at times 

 and hires him from the beaten path of conventional, life out 

 into the open spaces and the primitive wild. It was a wonder- 

 ful day — one of those rare, ephemeral days that come all to 

 sudden and go all too soon. The call was irresistable. 

 Dropping all things and donning old clothes, with field glas.ses 

 and note-book, I "cut stick" and escaped the shackles of 

 civilization. Soon 1 was out in the fields, then up over the 

 hill and down by the river's edge. 



On every side glowed thousands of burning bushes, oaks 

 and sumachs and maples. Like Moses at Sinai, one felt like 

 "taking his shoes from off his feet" for the place whereon 

 he was standing w^as "holy ground." Clothed in cloth-of-gold 

 were the poplar and birches. Many shrubs had on their crim- 

 S(jn dresses — blackberry, raspberry, blueberry and dogwood. 

 Touched with rich russet hues, the sweet ferns shed their ex- 

 cjuisite perfume upon the air. Only the pines, hemlocks, and 

 alders retained their garments of green. Most of the wild- 

 flowers were faded and gone, but the seeds were there ready 

 for distribution. Some of them, like the asters and golden- 

 rods, were beginning lo s[)rcad their sails and float off on the 

 wind; others, like the beggar ticks and trefoils, were "laying 

 for" the unwarv passer-bv, their barbs all ready to "hook on" 

 and catch a ride. Sprawled over the bushes were the iUdty 

 filaments of the clematis and the woody stems of the bitter- 

 sweet, the latter with thc-ir orange fruits. 



( )ut from under a high bank gushed a little spring, crystal 

 clear, and here a few belated (lowers still l)loonied. There was 

 a great mailed bed of forget-me-nots, a few ])urple asters and 

 goldenrods and a sprav or iwo of l)edstraw. Above from a 

 san(1\- hank, sprang a number of late blossoming harel)ells. 

 Here the south sun lay warm and pleasant, delaying the nip 

 of Jack Frost for a few days or perhaps weeks. Beyond the 



