238 NATURE'S STORY OF THE YEAR 



sermon for those 'who care to listen. It is the 

 picture-writing of the Creator ; and I question 

 whether in any other part of the world that writing 

 is more beautiful than in England. We have all 

 heard of the autumnal glories of Canada, and I 

 have seen somewhat of them, having lived a 

 summer in the Dominion, and traversed the whole 

 country in autumn when many of the trees were 

 still splendid. The clearness of the Canadian air, 

 not impaired by, say, a hundred miles' view, 

 greatly enhances the vividness of the colouring. 

 The hues are much brighter than those of our 

 trees ; but they are harder, less harmoniously 

 blended, and less varied in a small area. Grander 

 they may be ; but not prettier. There you may 

 see ten square miles of fir, ten square miles of 

 birch, the same of maple ; here you may see a 

 half-dozen different kinds of thickets or woods, all 

 within the space of one mile. Along the whole 

 course of the Canadian Pacific Railway there was 

 nothing to be seen more sweetly coloured than 

 may be found in many a hilly district in Britain, 

 where, in the valleys, are lofty elms, symmetrical, 

 glowing golden ; higher up the hills, thickets of 



