HA WTHORN. 



zephyr !" ** Be it so," was the reply; "I shall live only for a 

 day, but in that day I shall announce the coming Spring!" 



We are not told in what way the flower was allowed to 

 change the season of blooming from winter to summer. 



HAWTHORN [Cratcegtis oxyacanthd).—\{OYY.. 



" Hope in the Hawthorn lay." — TWAMLEY. 



There is no tree or shrub which we observe more closely 

 in the early spring than the Hawthorn. We notice its 

 swelling buds enlarging daily until the leaves unfold them- 

 selves. Here and there along the hedgerows patches of 

 foliage are in advance of the rest. In sheltered places, some 

 several feet in an enclosure may be quite verdant, while scarce 

 a leaf has opened out elsewhere. Then come the bunches of 

 flower buds, followed in due time by the sweet-scented 

 flowers. While this change is taking place in the Hawthorn, 

 from its foliation to its blooming, all Nature has been rousing 

 herself into active life. An abundance of flowers cheer our 

 hearts. Sweet concerts of birds ring in our ears. The red- 

 breast, the finches, the blackbird, and thrush, have charmed 

 us with their various notes, and we remember how they 

 destroy many enemies to our fruits. Then the swallow, and 

 the martin, and the cuckoo foretell us of sunny days, of 

 verdant meads, of golden corn, of glorious fruits, which are to 

 be showered into our lap. We welcome with delight, though 

 not in so demonstrative a manner as our forefathers, th 



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