SEPTEMBER 37 



rich color. '^Violet-purple," Gray's Mamial calls 

 the corolla of this species. Low in a dry old bor- 

 row-pit near Mason City a prairie gentian in fine 

 bloom suggested coming days of frost on this 

 *'warni" day. It was probably the abundance of 

 flaring golden composites that led Flagg to write, 

 in 1838, that the autumnal bloom of the prairies 

 is of yellow character. The statement remains 

 true in part, at least for the rapid traveler over 

 dry open country, but one must not forget the lib- 

 eral display of purplish tints, and certain pro- 

 nounced effects of white, particularly in the woods 

 or in low, damp soils. 



It was a hot, dusty ride, in a train of common 

 coaches only, down the familiar road from Mason 

 City to Marshalltown today. Men shuffled un- 

 easily in their seats, some of them in their shirt- 

 sleeves, and weary mothers murmured to peevish 

 babies. The conductor exclaimed, ''This is the 

 Avorst possible sort of day," and consoled himself 

 for his hard present duties by planning an early 

 fishing trip, with a friend aboard. The cars were 

 crowded with young folks on their way to colleges 

 and universities, and with "just folks" returning 

 from the Minnesota State Fair — a portion of that 

 exodus which annually creates a bedlam for a few 

 days at the St. Paul Union Station. 



This railroad has had a rather varied history 

 for the fortv vears or so of its existence. The 



