AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



27 



golden cups of their companions, 

 while underneath was spread a car- 

 pet of rich green and bright yellow — 

 the Dandelions and grass. 



During the first three days in June, 

 I found a number of beautiful wild 

 Blue Flags or Iris in the swampy 

 part of the meadow, also a large 

 patch of Hawk Weed in full bloom 

 and pretty Ground Ivy by the road 

 side. The wild Phlox or Willow 

 Herb also grew in great pro- 

 fusion and the blooms were so 

 thick and so bright in color as 

 to give the whole marsh a pur- 

 plish appearance from a dis- 

 tance. All through July the 

 Primrose was conspicuous, al- 

 so Lobelia, Toadflax and Blue- 

 eyed Grass. On July 27th I 



AM. GOLDFINCH. 



came across a cluster of tall spotted Wood Lily stalks on which were 

 a large number of flowers; one stalk in particular, was the tallest I ever 

 saw, measuring nearly eight feet. The well-known spotted Touch-me- 

 not and the Monkey Flower were to be found throughout July and 

 August, and about August 5th the Golden Rod first made its appear- 

 ance and through the Autumn months certain portions of the district 

 were literally covered with beautiful waving plumes, intermingled with 

 the white and purple Aster and other late flowers. Thus the season 

 wore on, each month in turn bringing its own individual beauty and 

 changes. 



A favorite resting place 

 was beneath one of the large 

 /^ oak trees close by the brook. 

 The ground here was covered 

 ^with last year's acorns, from 

 many of which sprouts about 

 an inch long were protruding. 

 How wonderful; within each 

 tiny acorn were the possibili- 

 ties of a sturdy oak; surround 

 them by their proper environments, and the embryo will burst the con- 

 fines of its shell and push forth — perhaps into a great trunk — which 

 shall for ages cast its shadow across the plains. 



