AT LINDEN BEND. 3 



is over. Too often these symbols of peace are lost in 

 the drifts of an April snow-storm. Many very large 

 dog-woods are growing in a near-by swamp, and now, 

 late in July, are sombre, unsuggestive trees, their size, 

 shape, and sparse foliage alike rendering them quite in- 

 conspicuous. It is true, they prove convenient perches 

 for the song-thrushes, and I judge are favorite trees with 

 these birds ; but once out of bloom, they count for 

 nothing with the rambler, and would never be missed 

 did the farmer cut them all down. Not so in early 

 spring ; then they are richer in blossoms than in leaves, 

 and, for a time, the most conspicuous feature of many a 

 sprout-land and of the creek's shore here. 



There are several large shrubs the white bloom of 

 which, in April and later, compete with the dog-wood 

 in floral display ; and particularly true is this of certain 

 reaches of the creek's bank, beyond the bend. A pretty 

 arrow-wood blooms profusely early in May, and often, 

 at its side, a vigorous thorn quite eclipses its more mod- 

 est neighbor. 



A curious growth is the crooked hornbeam. Even 

 the youngest sapling has a jaded, care-worn look. Many 

 of them have more the appearance of mossy elk-horn 

 than of wood. It may be said to grow without a plan,, 

 and for general uncertainty outranks the average white 

 man. It springs from the ground, closely to the water's 

 edge, and leans over it. That is about the only law of 

 its growth. Often, where the main stem meets with 

 that of another tree, or a projecting branch, it will twine 

 about it as closely as a vine, and so, before reaching any 

 considerable size except length, has probably turned many 



