CHAPTER XXVIir. 

 MONTHLY CALENDAR. 



§ 1.— Aspect op the Month. 



A- 



v_ 



^ 



1536. The eighth month of the Julian 

 j-eai' received its name from Augustus 

 Cffisar, as July commemorated that of 

 the greater Julius. Less rain falls this 

 month than in July, and the mean tem- 

 perature is a little higher than in that 

 month ; — the nights are certainly hotter.. 

 The surface of the earth has been re- 

 ceiving and absorbing the sun's rays during the 

 hot months of June and July, and now it gives 

 back a portion of its heat by radiation, in pLice of 

 absorbing, as in the earlier months of the year ; 

 in fact, the tide has turned ; the leaves of the- 

 earlier deciduous trees and shrubs begin already 

 to change, their edges are tinged with yellow, and 

 others are assuming their autumnal tint of russet, 

 brown, and green : — 



■ As thou listenest, thou shalt hear • 

 Distant harvest carols clear, 

 Eustle of the reaped corn, 

 Sweet birds antheming the morn." 





But for the crop of young leaves, indeed, which still continue to present 

 themselves on the trees, mingling with those of older growth, and blending 



