INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 



WITH the exception of Miss Elizabeth Sewall Hill's paper 

 on the Flora and Fauna of the town, and of a very few others 

 that were first printed in newspapers, these several articles 

 have already appeared in the Groton Historical Series. In 

 the present form the opportunity has been taken to make 

 certain changes in the text of such articles. 



Miss Hill, by her knowledge and love of nature, is remark- 

 ably well fitted to describe the Flora and Fauna. The hills 

 and valleys of the town, with all their shrubbery and other 

 vegetation, and the brooks and meadows with their moats 

 and swamps, are well-known to her ; and the various animals 

 that live on the land or in the water are equally familiar. The 

 birds even seem to know that she is a lover of their species, 

 and they are always ready to answer her calls when she imi- 

 tates their notes. As a labor of love on her part, she has 

 written this description, and, by her courtesy and kindness 

 in the matter, she has placed me under special obligations. 



I like to think of the hills and woods as animate objects 

 who know their friends ; and I never go into the fields and 

 meadows without listening to their call. They have their own 

 peculiar speech, and by close observation one can learn their 

 dialect. I never stroll at random without heeding their words. 

 Even the birds and the squirrels send messages which can be 

 translated into our tongue. The running brooks and the 

 stone walls all help us to learn these lessons, for they, too, 

 take part in the drama 



