livekmork; the story OF VANISHING BROOK 355 



some "horse tail" which we haven't seen before. The stream seems 

 to be a succession of Uttle pools and rapids, once in awhile it comes 

 to some big flat stones which it ripples gaily over, and then forms 

 another pool. 



Now there is a solid rock bottom, and lovely grassy banks on 

 either side. A little farther on we see some algae growing over the 

 stones. The brook is getting wider and occasionally there is a 

 boulder in its bed. Here are the first waterfalls we have seen; 

 and now the stream bed must be twenty feet wide. There is a very 

 steep bank on one side, and many big trees on the other. These 

 trees are hickories and butternuts, also some choke cherry. In the 

 tops of these trees are some goldfinches flying from branch to branch. 

 The steep bank is very rocky now, and covered with beautiful 

 ferns, many of them the graceftil bulb-bearing species. There are 

 big trees on either side almost meeting overhead, and it is so cool 

 and shady one wants to stay right here all the rest of the day. But 

 we must go on and see what happens to the brook next, and get 

 acquainted with some more of its neighbors. 



The trees seem to grow taller and taller, and now they really 

 do meet overhead. They are full of birds, whose notes sound very 

 much like those of the oriole and the white throated sparrow. 

 And there they are, both of them ! Also in the top of one of those 

 tall trees is a big squirrel's nest, and Mr. Squirrel is just coming 

 out to see what is going on. 



Here is a big culvert, below which the valley is wide, but there 

 is little water and a good many big stones. There are piles of 

 flood wood here which shows it must be a big stream in the spring. 

 After flowing down grade for awhile there is another succession 

 of still pools, completely shaded by the trees on either side. Here 

 is a dam which some children have made, and I don't blame them 

 for choosing this place in which to play. Here are overhanging 

 banks with hawthorns and big elms with wild grapes climbing up 

 their trunks. 



Here is another culvert, and then a gorge, that must be as much 

 as forty-five feet deep. The banks are very high, and covered 

 with dead leaves and some ferns, and many big trees, making a 

 dense shade which the ferns love ; many of these trees are hemlocks. 

 And who saw this Jack-in-the-pulpit? 



Here are some fossils in this rock, which tell us that the place was 

 once the bottom of the sea. Now the brook seems lost among lots 



