Song Birds and Water Fowl 
a higher group will often antedate a higher spe- 
cies of a lower group. ‘Thus the intricate 
‘¢composite’’ class, that finds a recognition of 
its structural elaboration in its marked ascend- 
ency in fall, and standing at the very opposite 
end of the scale from the supremely simple algz 
—this highest group is, notwithstanding, early 
in the field, in the form of the ubiquitous dan- 
delion ; which, on the first spring days sounds 
the miniature trumpet - note that heralds the 
coming of that vast kindred host in the latter 
part of summer and through autumn. 
How quickly, too, insect-life becomes reani- 
mate. Even in winter a very sun-exposed and 
wind-protected spot is populous with some of 
the lower orders of this class, enjoying the un- 
timely warmth, only to find themselves dead or 
dormant after a few genial hours; while, al- 
most at the very summit of this same class, the 
sportive butterfly is dancing about before spring 
has fairly opened. I found one large and beau- 
tiful specimen—the vanessa antiopa, or mourn- 
ing-cloak butterfly, to be precise—seeming to 
gather buoyancy from the most cheerless sur- 
roundings in the latter part of March. At this 
colorless season it was very conspicuous and at- 
tractive, being almost three inches across, of a 
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