SPRING IN THE CITY 



favorite plants which belong to the same heath 

 family. 



Upon our avenues every sunny morning in 

 early spring is found another season-mark which 

 should not be overlooked. You could almost 

 fancy that the floral decorations had not been Flower- 

 confined to the squares, and to the grass-plots f aces 

 and vases that lie within the railings. All along 

 the sidewalks, as far as the eye can reach, are 

 patches of bright color. These bright patches 

 are made by innumerable baby-carriages, whose 

 gorgeous decorations harmonize in gay coloring 

 with the pansies and daisies of the parks and win- 

 dow-boxes. And lovelier than either pansies or 

 daisies are the little flower-faces that beam from 

 the dainty equipages. 



Another sign of the season is the call of " straw- "Straw- 

 berries" from the street-venders. It is as full of 

 suggestion as the first note of the bluebird. My 

 journal last year records that I heard this call for 

 the first time on the twenty-first ; this year, I did 

 not notice it till the fifth, about two weeks later ; 

 just as the birds and flowers are a fortnight later 

 this year than last. 



The English sparrows do their share in cele- 

 brating the return of spring. If in no other way, 

 the intensified colors of the plumage of the males 

 would signify that the period of courtship was at 



35 



