VII 



of 



THE shad-bush is open ! My bees have seen the 

 sign. They are dropping down upon the alighting- 

 boards of their hives and running with little bags of 

 gold into the still half-closed entrances. During the 

 sunny hours of the last three weeks there has been 

 a quiet buzzing about the hives : the bees have been 

 visiting the early alders, the soft maples, and the 

 dusty-catkined willows ; but not before to-day, the 

 first day of the blowing shad-bush, have things been 

 busy at the hives, have they hummed. 



Off along the meadows I can see large patches of 

 garnet against the purple of the sky, the bloom 

 of the red maples. As I approach, a soft murmur 

 around and through the misty garnet fills the air, 

 like the murmur of a million tiny tongues. Nearer 



105 



