NATURE FOR ITS OWN SAKE 



no sooner exposed to the light, the air, and the 

 rain than they begin to darken and deepen in 

 hue under the pencilling of the lichens. Even 

 where the plant form is not recognizable, there 

 is a grayish or greenish spot that tells of its 

 coming. It may come slowly, for these hardy 

 growths are never in a hurry to gain maturity. 

 They know not time, yet they are never idle. 

 Suns come and go and count out human years, 

 but always with the lichens new spores are form- 

 ing, new threads are creeping, new hues are 

 gathering on stone and cliff and peak. 



It seems a menial office a humble part at 

 best to play in this beautiful world to pro- 

 tect and stain the rocks so that they shall 

 withstand the elements and harmonize with the 

 green of the trees and the blue of the sky ; but 

 how patiently the task is wrought, how faith- 

 fully the part is played ! Green moss and gray 

 lichen ! The least pretentious of nature's crea- 

 tions they are, and yet how inevitably they 

 again force a contrast with the handiwork of 

 man ! No human skill could weave such car- 

 pets ; no dyes could produce such colors ; no 

 machines could stamp such patterns ! The 

 fabric is perfect of its kind. 



Nature is above all ! Unseen the loom, un- 



