CHAPTER IV. 



POND LIFE. 



F all delightful fields for Nature study 

 none can surpass in interest a well- 

 stocked pond, for there is a pecul- 

 iar fascination in the study of pond 

 life. Even to one who knows lit- 

 tle about Nature, a pretty pond, 

 partly shaded by trees and fringed 

 with water-plants, is a source of de- 

 light. What pleasure when one is 

 tired to lie on a grassy bank and watch 

 the ripples chase each other over the 

 v/ater, or to thread one's way through a rank growth 

 of sedges and rushes to where the cat-tail flags rear 

 their tall spikes, and the sweet-scented water-lilies 

 lift themselves above their shield-shaped leaves, or to 

 float in a boat and watch the clouds above and their 

 doubles in the mirror below ! 



Such experiences bring rest and a feeling of har- 

 mony with Nature. But a keener enjoyment comes 

 with a more intimate acquaintance with the forms of 

 life that abound in these places, when one can look 

 upon each kind of water-plant as an old friend, and 

 know something of the ways of the creatures that 

 glide over the surface or swim beneath. 



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