OCTOBER. 279 



Along the hedgerows now it is mostly light and dark green, but 

 here and there a patch of golden, brown, yellow, and reddish meets 

 the eye. The Nightshade berries still attract our attention, and the 

 indescribable beauty of some the Maple trees can only receive a 

 passing reference. One special mass to-day was a picture of yellow 

 and burnished gold such a study for an artist's brush. 



The purple leaves of the Dogwood are still so noticeable that 

 mention must be made of them; also the dark berries. The leaves 

 are fluttering through the air continuously now, and stooping to pick 

 up a finely-tinted Bramble leaf we observe a Ladybird out and about. 

 Useful creatures these 1 By the lake are many Chestnut trees. They 

 are fast shedding their Summer dresses, and the surface of the water 

 is leaf-strewn. The Chestnut leaves are curling, and are quite brown. 



One pair of Grasshoppers seen. The Mangolds look very healthy. 

 Blackberries are so plentiful that they are selling at IKd. per Ib. Thus 

 our communings with Nature again conclude. 



22nd. -Cold, but bright. Skylark singing. I was reading to-day 

 the letters of Thomas Edward Brown, the author of "Fo'c'sle Yarns," 

 and his love for Nature is admirably depicted in the following lines : 

 "And surely this sweet blue is the very life of the intellect. . . 

 That a Blackbird should pipe may be well borne, and I swear to you 

 (imagine some ethereal Bird-of-Paradise oath) that there is nothing 

 else. The sky is hung over this place by a most delicate diamond 

 boss at the zenith, and, believe mel it all swims in silent blue music. 

 . . . It is 11.45 a.m. A Rook has just flown past; as he did so, 

 he cawed. From his black wings dripped the almost clinging blue." 



23rd. Fine and bright, after opening rather misty and November- 

 like. Skylark, Hedge Sparrow, and Robin singing. 



Back in the Summer I noticed on my Apple trees and Rose 

 bushes that, besides being swarmed with Green Fly, many Ants were 

 present. I could not account for this at the time, but now I learn 

 that the wise Ants were after the thick sugary liquid which the Aphis 

 pours out, called honeydew. The Ants, it is stated, actually tap an 

 Aphis with their feelers, and if the Fly has not been " milked," there 

 immediately oozes out a drop of the liquid which the Ants so dearly love. 



24th. Dull and Scotch misty; close. Skylark singing sweetly. 



25th. Close and dull. Chaffinch noisy in the garden- 



26th. Dull: colder. Rain towards afternoon. Very starry night. 



