CHAPTER IX. 

 THE GRAVEL PIT. 



FROM the lawn behind the linden tree a winding eastward 

 path, thick with low underbrush and carpeted in Spring with 

 violets and liverwort, leads in and out among the big trees, across 

 the roadway, through the Iris Glade, to the Gravel Pit. Every 

 May all wood paths have to be cut, for the wild-flowers take special 

 pleasure in open spaces, and one can hardly walk without stepping 

 on some treasure of the wilderness. The paths are made by 

 swinging a scythe from side to side. The Constant Improver 

 chooses the Avay, then conies the scythe, and I as Ruth follow, 

 gleaning my precious harvest for the household vases. 



The iris glade is a feast of color, from late April through May 

 and June and July, until the early part of August. The different 

 varieties are planted side by side, so that when the earlier ones 



fade, the next to bloom straightway take their places. The Ger- 



12.5 



