2 6o IN A UTUMN. 



.fossil iftan in tlje Delaware 



THE modest, peaceful valley of the Delaware 

 River, from the head of tide-water southward, 

 is as little suggestive of the Arctic Circle, for at 

 least nine months of the year, as do its low and 

 weedy banks in summer suggest the tropics. 

 On the contrary, every tree, shrub, sedge, beast, 

 bird, or fish that you see above, about, or within 

 it is a feature of a strictly temperate climate. 

 Nevertheless, a dim recollection of more stirring 

 times still clings to it, and the year not unfre- 

 quently opens with the river firmly ice-bound. 

 Over its shallows are often piled great masses of 

 up-river ice, borne hither after a storm by the 

 swollen current. Often the broad and shallow 

 channel is effectually closed, and the river be- 

 comes, for the time being, a frozen lake. 



But the ice, of late centuries, has not been 

 able to hold its own for any significant 

 length of time. The increasing warmth of the 

 sun, and the south winds with their accompany- 

 ing rains, soon start the little icebergs ocean- 

 ward, or melt them when they are securely 

 stranded. Except a few scattered masses along 

 the shady shores, the river, by April, is a quiet, 

 shallow, tide- water stream again. 



No appreciable amount of detritus is now 



