UPLAND AND MEADOW. 



CHAPTER I. 

 AT THE OUTSET. 



Better repeat the twelve labors of Hercules tlian 

 attempt to catalogue the varied forms of life found in 

 the area of an average ramble. Indeed, I have seldom 

 seen a half-acre that was not a " Zoo " which the study 

 of a lifetime would fail to exhaust; but, if this is the 

 sole incentive to take a recreative stroll in the upland 

 or meadow, it were better to stay at home. 



On the other hand, to feel that whatever creature we 

 may meet will prove companionable — that it is no stran- 

 ger, but rather an amusing and instructive friend — 

 assures us both pleasure and profit whenever we chance 

 abroad. 



He who has this interest in the life about him can 

 never be lonely, wander wheresoever he will, nor return 

 from a contemplative ramble other than a wiser and 

 happier man. 



When I talked, years ago, to the old men of the 

 neighborhood — there is not one of them left — I inva- 



