AS THEY TAKE THEIR FLIGHT 113 



solid, silent mass of blinding heat. Trees existed only 

 to be cut down, and logs were an encumbrance on the 

 ground, to be reduced to ashes. Animals lived but to 

 be shot and trapped, and devoted to a multitude of 

 uses. 



There was no study of nature in those days, for 

 the growth of knowledge was as imperceptible as the 

 expanding of the leaves. The Snowbirds, Chicka- 

 dees, Crossbills, and Grosbeaks were welcome and 

 entertaining visitors during the winter, but the grouse 

 was treated as a domestic fowl, especially when the 

 food supply was short. The silent coursing of the 

 sap was the first awakening of spring, and troughs, 

 pails, buckets, and kettles were called into requisition. 

 Then came the swelling of the buds on the Basswood, 

 the earliest fodder for the weakened cattle ; and 

 through the entire year life was a struggle toward 

 harmony with nature's inexorable routine. Every 

 sound that reached the ear had a meaning. Every 

 track, cut, and abrasion was seen and recognised. 

 The atmosphere was instinct with life and rich with 

 the blended odours of the woods. 



It would be a great mistake to say that all this world 

 of natural life was not appreciated. It was more than 

 appreciated ; it was lived. Now we must be content 

 to effect an escape from the busy haunts in the full- 

 ness of summer, and regain for a few days the blessing 

 of liberty. Nature always holds out a welcome. She 



