22 ©n tbe Stu&s of IHatural Scenerv. 



and flower under the most favorable conditions; columbine, 

 four-leaved silkweed, stonecrop, and saxifrage are among 

 the most common of these. Annual climbers, Virginian 

 creeper and green smilax, are often found in the company 

 of red cedar and arbor-vita?, forming garlands of bright 

 green leaves in the dark crowns of the evergreens. 



The woodland is perhaps the most interesting of all 

 landscapes, as it embraces all other scenery ; open glades 

 and vistas, broad meadows and bogs, winding streams and 

 lakes mirroring the beauty of leaf and flower. 



A body of water, whether it be a river, a spring, or lake, 

 has an infinite charm ; it lends beauty to nature in a 

 thousand ways; as sparkling pearls of dew on the grass, as 

 rhime-crystals on the frozen boughs — wonderful embroidery, 

 coming and going like a dream, — or as a mist rising over 

 the still valley of early summer mornings. 



Springs are clear, transparent bodies of water, the main 

 sources of brooks and rivers; they are found in low valleys 

 as well as in high mountain regions, but more often in 

 hilly and undulated countries, as on grassy hillsides, where 

 the overflow forms small streams and rivulets bordered 

 by forget-me-not and similar flowers. If a spring happens 

 to be on a high mountain side, it may be the source 

 of a considerable water system. In its higher course 

 the infant stream forms innumerable cascades, creeping 

 in and out among bowlders and rocks, welling forth 

 through every little opening and precipitating itself over 

 cliffs and ledges, or leaping gently from terrace to terrace, 

 forming smooth sheets of water here and there bordered by 

 velvety alpine meadows. Along its course, the mountain 



