30 BUSH DAYS 



crimson rambler; and for months onward the dwarf apple 

 keeps the flag of beauty flying on that rocky hill. For Aveeks 

 the buds grow deeper and deeper, until the woolly jackets 

 burst open, and show a soft creamy flower folded snugly away 

 inside ; there is no blossom in bush or garden more enchanting 

 than the half-opened bud of the dwarf apple. Slowly the red 

 jacket gapes wider, and the creamy stamens unfold, till the 

 full-blown blossom is there a lovely ring of silky filaments. 

 One after another they come bursting out in quick succession, 

 till the tree is a thing of beauty, with bud and blossom mixed 

 together in a bewildering mass of cream and red and green. 



It is in mid-summer that the dwarf apples are at their finest, 

 and the rise is curtained with their lovely blooms. If you 

 would see them at their loveliest, you must go out in the early 

 morning ; for then you will see the treasures that lurk within 

 their silky folds the myriad insects that love their sweet 

 shelter. The slanting sun will shine upon the burnished backs 

 of tiny beetles, whose blue and brown, green and red, gleam 

 like jewels against the creamy background. Honey-heavy 

 bees drowse in the silky clusters ; green-backed ants creep 

 happily amongst them ; while bright honey-eaters dart to and 

 fro, poking their sharp beaks and long, fringed tongues into 

 the flowers' hearts. 



The dwarf apple is the happy hunting ground of the 

 entomologist ; he calls it " Angophora cordifolia," and 

 approaches it with a cyanide bottle, or some other death- 



