THE FORESr 205 



"•n- 



ent on the vargaries of the wind and the irre-u 

 larities of the shelter, my forest is evenly car- 

 peted and built up with snow. When the sprin;^ 

 warmth and showers leave the fields a {)atch- 

 work of sodden and gullied earth and snowdrifts, 

 and finally remove all traces of whiteness, the 

 forest still retains its slowly melting blanket. 

 This at last sinks into the ground without a trace. 

 One of the pleasurable sounds in Nature is 

 that of falling rain. In a house one ma}' be 

 disturbed lest it rain in the windows and injure 

 the ceilings, and, in the city, the prospect out- 

 side is far from inspiring. If, however, one 

 associates with the sound of falling rain the smell 

 of the earth and the crops greedy for the refresh- 

 ing draught, the associated cooling of the air in 

 heated days, and all the glorious and awe-in- 

 spiring manifestations of a storm, the sound be- 

 comes one of the pleasurable sounds of nature. 

 To lie out in a lean-to and listen to the wind sing- 

 ing in the branches, to hear the rain on the root 

 and in the trees, to feel now and then a s{)ra} ot 

 moisture on the cheek is always an interesting 

 experience. 



