JEWELS OF MOTHER EARTH. 41 



Quaint "darkey-heads," or black-eyed susans, 8 

 members of the great Compositse or sunflower 

 family, flourish in numbers in the rich alluvial 

 soil of the valley before me and are now in the 

 full prime of their blossoming period. They 

 represent one of many of nature's hardy bi- 

 ennials which spring up anywhere by the way- 

 side and reach maturity in spite of many a mis- 

 hap. Far different are they from your culti- 

 vated pot-plants, which need attention every 

 day of their lives in order to keep their puny 

 forms in some sort of green livery. Such wild 

 flowers are the jewels with which mother earth 

 the vain old creature bedecks herself, in 

 order to hide her age and the furrows in her 

 countenance. 



X. 



Aug. 19, '00. Whither fate leadeth us we 

 drift. To-day we are here to-morrow yonder 

 the next day far beyond. With the pure blue 

 of heaven above, the bright green of earth below 

 with elbow room on every side I would 

 wander on and on. 



B Budbeckia hirta L. 



