March — Horse- Chestn ut. 8 1 



of the branches and trunks, and the delicate green of the 

 young leaves. Still more beautiful is it rather later, 

 when the rosy catkins come into being, as Tennyson 

 says, — 



1 When rosy plumelets tuft the larch, 

 And rarely pipes the mounted thrush ; 

 Or underneath the barren bush 

 Flits by the sea-blue bird of March.' 



About this time, too, the leaves of the horse-chestnut 

 have pushed vigorously through their varnished scales, 

 and are now visible all wrapped together in a great 

 ogive bud, in softest cotton down. The quince-trees, 

 always interesting in one way or another, are especially 

 pretty at this time, for downy little pale leaves are com- 

 ing all over the tree in little clusters, each cluster almost 

 like a flower, the effect at a short distance being that 

 of a scattering of light-green points, as if a swarm of 

 small green butterflies had alighted on the tree. The 

 ash and walnut, like the oak, show no change as yet 

 at a distance, although the work of a new creation is 

 elaborating itself within their closed buds ; but the 

 ' keys ' of the ash catch the sunshine strongly, and are 

 important and elegant from their vertical hanging — 

 a quality which never fails to add a certain grace to 

 trees whenever it occurs ; as, for example, in the flowers 

 of the acacia and many others not so beautiful or con- 

 spicuous. The elder, privet, and bird-cherry tree all 

 advance simultaneously, and amongst the shrubs the 

 wild gooseberry is in great haste to clothe itself with 

 fresh green. This unpretending little shrub has been 



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