76 NATURE'S CALENDAR 



April 22 The land snails revive with the warmth 



of the spring sun, and become notice- 

 able this montli in accordance with the 

 weather. During these early days they 

 sometimes assemble in considerable num- 

 bers in warm and sunny situations, where 

 they pass hours in indolent enjoyment of 

 the warmth and animating influence of 

 the sunshine. " Whether these meetings 

 serve any useful purpose in the economy 

 of the animal, or are caused by the pleas- 

 urable sensation," Mr. W. G. Binney, the 

 principal authority on this subject, " is 

 uncertain ; it is probable, however, that 

 they precede the business of procreation. 

 It is certain that they last but a short 

 time, and that, after early spring, the ani- 

 mals are to be found in their usual re- 

 treats." 



" April," writes the author of Signs mid 

 Seasons, "is the time to go budding. A 

 swelling bud is food for the fancy, and 

 often food for the eye. Some buds begin 

 to glow as they begin to swell. The bud 

 scales change color and become a deli- 

 cate rose-pink. I note this especially in 

 the European maple. The bud scales 

 flush as if the effort to ' keep in "brought 

 the blood into their faces. The scales of 

 the willow do not flush, but shine like 

 ebony, and each one presses like a hand 

 on the catkin that will escape from be- 

 neath it." 



