PEPACTON 



its young from the nest when they are fully fledged, 

 except possibly in the case of some of the swallows 

 and of the eagle. The young of all our more com- 

 mon birds leave the nest of their own motion, stim- 

 ulated probably by the calls of the parents, and in 

 some cases by the withholding of food for a longer 

 period than usual. 



As an instance where Bryant warps the facts to 

 suit his purpose, take his poems of the "Yellow. 

 Violet " and " The Fringed Gentian." Of this last 

 flower he says : 



"Thou waitest late and com'st alone, 

 When woods are bare and birds are flown, 

 And frosts and shortening days portend 

 The aged year is near his end." 



The fringed gentian belongs to September, and, 

 when the severer frosts keep away, it runs over 

 into October. But it does not come alone, and 

 the woods are not bare. The closed gentian comes 

 at the same time, and the blue and purple asters 

 are in all their glory. Goldenrod, turtle-head, and 

 other fall flowers also abound. When the woods 

 are bare, which does not occur in New England till 

 in or near November, the fringed gentian has long 

 been dead. It is in fact killed by the first consid- 

 erable frost. No, if one were to go botanizing, and 

 take Bryant's poem for a guide, he would not bring 

 home any fringed gentians with him.. The only 

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