n tbe Stufcs of IRatural Scenery 13 



autumn. Cone flowers and coreopsis are more addicted to 

 level ground. Bluets, germander speedwell, bird-grass and 

 milkwort, lilies, harebells, field scabious, and larkspur are 

 common plants of dry, grassy fields. Open to the sun, with 

 broad prospects to all points of the compass, and perhaps 

 a few groves here and there, the fields wear a cheerful ex- 

 pression, exhilarating to the mind of the beholder. Here 

 everything combines to make a pleasing impression ; the 

 purity of air and sky, the fragrance and color of the flowers, 

 the wind moving the grass in long shining billows, and the 

 effects of light and shade, as the clouds come and go. 



The prairies of the West are, on the other hand, too ex- 

 tensive and monotonous ; one feels exceedingly small and 

 lonely in those grassy deserts, and the scanty clumps of 

 cottonwood and willows along a distant, winding river, is a 

 welcome sight indeed. Much of the charm of open fields 

 is due to the presence of birds and animals, browsing sheep 

 and cattle, or other signs of animal life. 



The fields of southern latitudes generally become infested 

 with coarse and weed-like plants, such as the large and show r y 

 sun-flowers, the giant cow parsnips, large milkweeds, poke- 

 berries, and thorn apples and in dry steppes and prairies 

 the ground is covered with grayish wormwood, prickly 

 pears, and similar plants. 



The fields of the extreme North, with their fine, tufted 

 grasses and delicate flowers, are by far the most beautiful. 

 Here the white and yellow daisies are found in thousands. 

 Scarlet poppies, blue cornflowers, and white chamomiles 

 crowd together as if conscious of the beautiful combination 

 they make, where they cluster along the side of the little 



