144 AUTUMN NOTES IN IOWA 



three days ago others in Nebraska and South Da- 

 kota. Heav}^ snows are reported from northern 

 Michigan, but according to newspaper correspon- 

 dence violets were in bloom a few days ago near 

 Cottonwood Falls, Kansas. During part of the 

 month, pear trees in Lawrence have been in mag- 

 nificent coppery or wine-red foliage, the flicker has 

 shouted his piercing cries, and the red-bellied 

 woodpecker has been busily gleaning from the 

 boles or branches of the street maples. 



It is somewhat colder here than two hundred 

 miles south; but there are no signs of snow. The 

 Des Moines Eiver is mainly open, though some 

 small flat disks of ice appear here and there. The 

 river banks between the principal streets have 

 been much improved during the past few years, 

 answering, surely, the expressed or unexpressed 

 hopes of many citizens all over Iowa. Stately pub- 

 lic buildings now adorn both sides of the river, 

 and spacious parkings have been laid out, which in 

 time will become attractive, dignified grounds. In 

 too many of our western towns the shores of a 

 considerable stream are degraded by a formless 

 mixture of railway tracks, mills, hovels, and refuse 

 heaps. 



The impressive Blashfield jjainting in the cap- 

 itol is probably the most important mural decora- 

 tion in this state. One could spend many hours in 

 studying its details, and in forming abiding im- 



