152 MY LIFE AS A NATURALIST 



have already written, emerges, so as to add her quota to the 

 life cycle of this familiar object. It is an apt example of par- 

 thenogenesis, or alternation of generation, in the world of insect 

 life, and one of the most entrancing stories with which I am 

 acquainted. 



FIG. 70. OAK APPLES. 



And thus, the seasons come and go, with unfailing regularity, 

 and alarming rapidity. But there is magic all the time, whether 

 it be early .or late in the year, when, for example, the Cowslips 

 are studding the green meadows with sheets of gold, or the coy 

 Anemones are gracefully curtseying to one another in the nearest 

 woodland glade. Or, maybe, the fields are in stubble, and coveys 

 of whirring Partridges rise in front of us. Stray Poppies, and 

 Corn Bluebottles, and gay-clad Marigolds, peep out here and 

 there, having acquired a new lease of life. Or, perhaps, it is a 

 Winter's day, when the berry -laden hedgerows are besieged with 

 hordes of hungry Fieldfares and Redwings from the far North, 

 or Golden Plover are disporting themselves in the damp meadows. 



To know and appreciate Nature we must seek her in all her 

 phases, at all seasons, and learn from her in all her moods. As 

 I have written elsewhere, and may here repeat, " Spring will 

 summon her from her long wintry sleep ; Summer will clothe 

 her in all the colours of the rainbow ; Autumn will herald the 

 season of seed and harvest ; Winter, eager to repay her for the 

 loss of leaf and blossom, will softly spread over her a mantle of 

 white, fleecy snow, and bid Jack Frost prepare a glittering crown 

 to adorn her brow." 



