THE ANGLER'S SOUVENIR. 



231 



and deepen into gold, and the clustered rods shine 

 brighter in the white spring sunlight than the 

 yellowest hair of blue-eyed children. 



The osier beds are great harbours of insect life, 

 and " wheresoever the carcase is, there will the 

 eagles be gathered together," and so among the 

 osiers tits, warblers, and other birds congregate 

 and nesfc. 



The dark-green fringe of the alder covers tho 

 margin of many a pool and river ; sometimes, where 

 banks are narrow, giving a gloomy look to the 

 scene, but at timas beautifying, with the richness 

 and picturesque solidity of its foliage, what would 

 otherwise be a flat and dreary plain ; but the 

 foliage is too heavy to wave much in the wind, and 

 this lack of motion gives it a sullen look at times. 

 A quiet curve and bay, with alders drooping over 

 it, and a willow in the corresponding promontory ! 

 How often have we admired a scene formed of such 

 simple elements, while our loaded pike-bait clove 

 the deep water, or our roach-float calmly glided 

 past. Many a river in our more level counties, 

 which is now picturesque and lovely, would, if 

 deprived of its willows and alders, be but a sluggish, 

 uninteresting canal. The glossy leaves of the alder 

 are not so pleasant to the touch as those of most 

 ther trees. They are harsh and sticky, and this 

 is a drawback where they are numerous and one 

 has to push through them. Alder-wood is one of 

 the best for making that " villanous saltpetre," and 



