NATURE IN JUNE. 



II. 



RALPH Waldo Emerson has said, " There are no half hinges 

 in Nature." But what a delightful month is June, half hinges 

 or otherwise ! By now the whole land of England has become 

 a fairy garden, May has blossomed into June. Each morning 

 I walk through a corn-field, and notice the " throwing up" of 

 the ear-blades, and the hay waving ripe for the mower. Right 

 on the edge of the path four young Skylarks are seen, al- 

 most ready to fly, or soar to the skies above. The male 

 bird is still in song, he sings right through the breeding season. 



Many birds are silent at this important season, but among 

 others which are not may be mentioned the Robin, Wren, 

 Chaffinch, Willow Wren, Song Thrush, Hedge Sparrow, White- 

 throat, and Blackcap. The Nightingale ceases its song when 

 the young are hatched, but should they be taken and another 

 nest is built, he re-assumes again. 



The hundreds of Grasses must only receive a passing note. 

 We pick up a handful just laid low by the mower's scythe, 

 and remark that many grasses yield excellent corn, and that 

 it is from these that the bread we eat has been cultivated. 



This is the month of Roses, and the season being late, the 

 Hawthorn has not yet lost its snowy sheen. What a fine 

 background, too, is the light green of the corn shoots for the 

 Scarlet Poppy! The seeds on the Wych Elm are dying off, 

 but the sweet-scented Honeysuckle is coming forward apace. 

 The three varieties of Dead Nettles White, Red, and Yellow 

 make a brave show with the Hedge Stachys and the Foxgloves. 



Along the hedgerows we notice the larvae of the Froth Fly 

 or Frog Hopper, commonly called Cuckoo Spit, and taking one 

 in our hands pick out the greenish-yellow insect. Nestling right 

 at our feet almost, in a briar, is a Greater Whitethroat's nest, 



