244 



NATURE'S CALENDAR 



November 14 



attack man, and more than one unfort- 

 unate person has been gored to death by 

 them. In battle they make use of- their 

 horns, and also of the fore-feet, whose 

 sharp hoofs are capable of inflicting ter- 

 rible wounds. I was once sitting quietly 

 on a log in a deer-park when a buck ap- 

 proached, and, making a sudden spring, 

 dealt me such a powerful blow on the 

 head with the hoofs of his fore-feet as to 

 render me unconscious. No sooner was 

 I thrown upon the ground than the vi- 

 cious beast sprang upon me, and would 

 doubtless have killed me outright had it 

 not been for the intervention of a man 

 who rushed at him with a club and drove 

 him back." 



Fur-bearers have acquired their winter 

 coats, and their pelts are in fine condition 

 before the end of the month. The polar 

 hare has turned white; but the ermine 

 keeps his brown coat until the arrival of 

 snow. 



Now is the time to study the earth's 

 preparation for winter. The sap which 

 has been pumped by the vigorous process 

 of growth into the extremities of herbs, 

 shrubs, and trees, carrying stems to their 

 utmost height, spreading leaves innumer- 

 able, increasing the bigness of all the 

 bushes and trees by pushing out thou- 

 sands of twigs is ceasing this work, with- 

 drawing from leaves and twigs and bark, 

 and is no longer produced by the roots. 

 Growth stops, and the green coloring mat- 



November 15 



