APRIL 



13 



That long, clear, cool note, like the arc described 

 by a bright new sickle, that 's the meadowlark 1 

 I know well the springy pasture where he hunts 

 his breakfast, the wind-crisped pools where he 

 sometimes dips his bill. 



EDITH M. THOMAS: The Round Year. 



In my walks in April, I am on the lookout for 

 watercresses. It is a plant that has the pungent 

 April flavor. In many parts of the country the 

 watercress seems to have become completely nat- 

 uralized, and is essentially a wild plant. 



BURROUGHS: Signs and Seasons. 



14 



The painted wood drake swims above the sub- 

 merged tree roots ; a pair of dusky ducks splash to 

 flight, with a raucous clamor, out of a sedgy cove 

 at your approach ; the thronging blackbirds shower 

 liquid melody and hail of discord from the purple- 

 budded maples above you. All around, from the 

 drift of floating and stranded water weeds, arises 

 the dry, crackling croak of frogs, and from sunny 

 pools the vibrant trill of toads. 



EOBINSON: In New England Fields and Woods. 



