anD 



er condition than usual, many of the most ad- 

 vanced flower-buds having been injured by the 

 late frosts. Some of the earlier rhododendrons 

 are also in flower; but the guelder-rose is very 

 late, fully a month behind last year. 



The country is beautiful in its luxuriant fresh 

 green clothing, and even the vegetation at the 

 roadside is not tarnished by dust. Many of the 

 meadows are bright golden sheets of buttercups, 

 and the abundant rain has made the f ool's-parsley 

 run riot. I find it lasts in water and looks well if 

 large bunches are grouped together in a good- 

 sized vase or jar. In a shady corner of the pad- 

 dock the plants are of enormous size and density 

 and are fully four feet high. 



Besides the forget-me-nots, the polyanthus, and 

 most of the pansies, as space is deficient, have 

 been put away; and the latter, still in vigorous 

 growth owing to the generous moisture of the 

 soil, continue flowering in a profusion of rich 

 and gay colors. These rows of plants, which do 

 not show a sign of somnolence, remind me of live- 

 ly children who have been put into bed too early 

 and can not go to sleep. 



137 



