The Pond-Meadow. 93 



went fishing, and drew a crab gently to the shore. Either 

 through my maladroitness or the evil disposition of the 

 bait, as avowed by the little boy, the crab ran away, before 

 the net containing the now troublesome captive, could be 

 brought into action. 



So instead of crabbing we sat on one of the beams 

 from the old mill, and looked out over the meadow, which 

 at mid-summer is beautifully marbled. Nature gives then 

 a display in greens, with here and there patches of brown, 

 where the grass has gone to seed. Later comes the sam- 

 phire turned a bright red, a few asters, the sea lavender ? 

 and the salt meadow golden-rod. 



The clinking of the mower may be heard a long dis- 

 tance over the meadow, and the horses, the machine and 

 the men appear very small ; they seem lost on the ocean of 

 grass, as unimportant as a man in a row-boat on the sea. 

 The usual land perspective will not serve for the broad 

 stretch of meadows, and you are not sure how far away 

 objects really are. 



Some of the farmers believe that an abundant crop of 

 meadow grass indicates a severe winter, as if the earth 

 brought forth a thick growth to keep itself warm. Where 

 man has shorn the meadow, the crows go looking for 

 grasshoppers, for they can catch them there much more 

 easily than in the longer grass. 



The mosquitoes abound on the meadows at certain sea- 

 sons, and often drive away the crab catchers, whom I have 

 seen sitting with their heads drawn down in their coats, the 

 collars of which were turned up in order to leave the least 

 possible area open to attack. Though there are mosqui- 



