Two ATTRACTIVE ODORS. 31 



ragweed or horseweed, is exhaled readily, boun- 

 teously, and to all comers. To some persons it 

 is doubtless disagreeable, but to me it is rich, 

 strong, powerful; fit odor for the gods. 3 The 

 plant itself is one of the largest of our annuals, 

 often reaching, in rich alluvial soil the kind in 

 which it delights a height of 14 feet in a 

 single season. 



The other odor, that of prickly-ash, is known 

 only to the saunterer who has time to pause and 

 crush the leaves or fruit as I, this morn, have 

 done thus setting free from their glands a 

 charming oily fragrance, which perfumes the 

 skin for hours. 



The alarm note of the chipmunk or ground- 

 squirrel short, sharp, oft repeated comes to 

 my ears from the valley below. A rustling of 

 twigs, and the occasional dropping of a half- 

 eaten acorn betokens the presence of his cousin, 

 the larger fox-squirrel, in the oak beside me. 



The wood pewee and the red-headed wood- 

 pecker are near, the one sounding his plaintive 



8 The scientific name is Ambrosia trifida L.; the generic 

 name meaning: a food, drink or perfume which confers immor- 

 tality. 



