Music of the Wild 



with the cracks of growth, and where the tree is 

 not crowded its shape is symmetrical, and its leaves 

 are artistically cut. In the fall some species color 

 with great brilliancy, crowning the king with flam- 

 ing red. Its flowers are long, greenish-yellow tas- 

 sels, pollen-covered, and their perfume is a part 

 of that creeping, subtle odor that people struggle 

 to define and can not, because they do not dream 

 what produces it. I always find the bees, wild and 

 domesticated, extremely busy over it, and so far 

 as I can judge by my taste it is one of the kinds 

 of pollen that tempers the sickening sweetness of 

 pure flower honey so that it is edible. 



There are many attractive spring odors, but 

 there is difficulty in tracing some of them to their 

 The origin. Because they are fond of gathering cat- 

 Bloom- kins every one knows that willows bloom and has 

 Trees become familiar with the pollen. But they do not 

 realize that in early spring forest, wood, and field 

 trees are all covered with tiny flowers heavily la- 

 dened with pollen, so that to the wind harping in 

 the branches is added the music of millions of 

 honey-gathering bees. Buckeye, walnut, hickory, 

 hazel, chestnut, ash, elm, beech, oak, in fact every 

 tree that bears nut, berry or seed is weighted with 

 masses of small bloom. 



Oak flowers are not at all gaudy. They make 

 no display worth mentioning in comparison with 

 the fall coloring of the foliage. But the bursting 

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