July 1 



LREADY " the hounds of spring are on 

 winter's traces." Although it is only the 

 first week of July, the resting time is 

 over, and millions upon millions of little 

 buds are just waiting the signal to burst 

 into flower. In the suburbs the gardens 

 are gorgeous with the golden 

 splendour of the Cootamundra wattle, 

 which is out in its full glory, and the 

 moonlit air at night is heavy with its 

 fragrance. The still finer, though less 

 generally cultivated, Queensland wattle 

 is also coming on well, and another 

 week or so will find it out-rivalling the 

 southern beauty. As you walk along the high- 

 road your eye is caught on every side by 

 great heaps of gold massed against the blue 

 sky, and the ear catches the drone of myriads of bees feeding 

 amongst the blossoms. 



But, fascinating though a walk along the high-road is this 

 crisp cold weather, the bush is still more alluring. The days 

 of rain have washed and sweetened the whole world, the soft 

 drops have coaxed the buds to open just enough to let loose 



SPIDER-FLOWER 



