DAYS IN MY GARDEN 

 BUDS AND Upon the heath the aged hawthorn bush has buds, 



BARKS 



mere carmine specks, amid its lichened boughs. Sweet- 

 chestnut tips are crimson-brown, the barks of lime 

 and birch boughs richly-hued, the pointed cones of 

 the larch belt golden in the sun, while just below in 

 welcome contrast is the sombre yew, and the osier 

 bed all yellow as the gorse in bloom or, sometimes, 

 flaming red. 



When the rabbit and the squirrel don therr winter 

 coats, sleek and warm, and the bullfinch and the 

 robin's breast are bright and ruddy, there is scarce 

 a colour known to art that does not deck the cock 

 pheasant in his metallic brilliance and lustre ; and the 

 sheltering woods and trees his home cannot escape 

 Nature's brush, which paints their plumage too, in 

 colours chaste and finest hues, for all must wear a 

 rainbow robe to welcome in the spring. 



