APEIL — LETTER FROM OAK HILL. 



120 



CONDUCTED BY MKS. C. P. T., BICE LAKE, C. W. 



APRIL. 



!^E month of April in Canada is with us but the 

 t dawning of spring. It bears no resemblance to 

 month of rainbow showers and fitful sunshine, of 

 swee.t violet, the cowslip, and primrose, — the April 

 bursting buds and bulbs. 



Ve never feel the real homesickness now, except- 

 in the month of April, when our heart yearns 

 1 an indescribable restless longing for the mead- 

 with " opening daisies powdered o'er," the green, 

 y banks starred with fresh primroses, and the 

 ded lanes where we used to roam in our happy 

 dhood and listen to the songs of the birds, and 

 ch the quaint shadows of the April clouds as 



passed over the landscape. 

 tne must not feel surprised that the heart of the 

 grant grows sad in the lingering Canadian spring. 

 akes long years to attach her to the flowerless 

 on of an April like ours. PJven March has its 

 e of buds and blossoms, its early violets, and 

 crocuses, in whose golden cups the bees make 

 lie on sunny days beneath our windows, with 

 nps of snow-drops and daffodils, and many flow- 

 as fair and sweet to look upon. 

 'he Canadian April has a season peculiarly its 

 1 — a mingling of winter and spring; she is no 

 r, her task is an arduous one; it is hers to loose 

 iron bands of winter, to absorb and evaporate 

 snows that have been accumulating during the 

 vious months, to unlock the ice chain from the 

 ;3 and streams, to vivify the dormant tribes of 

 th, and air, and water. 



There is a silent spirit stirring in the leafless 

 jds, a swelling of buds within their wintery shades, 

 Qoving of the sap upward through the rugged 

 nk and branches, a laboring of roots and root- 

 1 to push up the newly aroused energies of buds 

 1 herbaceous plants, a perfecting of buds where 

 embryo blossom has lain closely hidden in dark- 

 a and sleep. 



The early birds begin now to return to us. The 

 ig sparrow, the robin, the blue vested jay, the 

 Uow, sonorous drumming of the ruffed grouse is 

 ard in the forest summoning his distant mate — a 

 re sign of coming spring. 

 The opened pools on the lakes are noisy with flocks 



of wild fowls screaming and splashing in undisturbed 

 enjoyment of the freshly opened waters. 



The long days, with sometimes a soft and sunny 

 one, acts on the surface of the snow which disap- 

 pears beneath the influence of the sun and milder 

 air in a thousand tiny rills, in mimic cascades, now 

 falling over stones, now winding among roots, or 

 forming httle pools, following the law that greater 

 floods obey. As the softened snow disappears in the 

 woods, some green leaves become visible, — ever- 

 greens that have retained their freshness beneath 

 the covering of snow — among these are the charm- 

 ing wintergreen, and the festoon pine. Of these 

 plants (the wintergreens) we will give some account 

 in our next paper. 



Toward the middle and latter end of April, some 

 flowers appear at the edge'of the forest, and in sunny 

 spots about the clearing. Among these we will only 

 take time to name the Hepatka or snowflower, the 

 Eryihronium or dogtooth violet, (which is a lily in all 

 respects but the name,) the Sanguinaria or blood- 

 root, Claytonia or spring beauty, the early life- 

 everlasting, (two kinds), the Creeping Ramincnlus, 

 and small white violets in wet places. The heather 

 moosewood is now in bloom on its leafless branches. 

 Many other plants and shrubs, such as currant, 

 gooseberry, and twin-honeysuckle, are showing their 

 leaves in a partially unfolded state, ready for the first 

 warm days of May to expand them fully. This is 

 the month for grafting; and the hot-bed should be 

 prepared, and the flower borders dug, if the ground 

 is dry enough to admit of the spade; lady gardeners 

 may now look to their rose bushes and small shrubs 

 both in trimming and planting; but the earth is yet 

 too cold and damp to admit of seeds being sown — 

 they will be apt to rot and never come up. 



LEITEE FROM OAK HILL. 



Mrs. Editress': — I must tell you that 1 take the 

 Farmer, for I think works of that sort ought to be 

 encouraged; and I am very glad to hear that a quiet, 

 sober-minded old lady (as I take you to be from your 

 works, some of which I have read) has taken upon 

 herself to conduct the female department ; and I hope 

 you will give our young folks some good advice that 

 they may profit by. For there are many of them 

 who would refuse to listen to home truths from fath- 

 ers and mothers, who will read, mark, learn, and in- 

 wardly digest what they read in a book — especially/ 

 if written in a pleasant way — as dainty invalids re-J 

 ject plain food with disdain, while they will relish the 

 same material if nicely seasoned, and dished up in a 



