Music of the Wild 



■with the cracks of growth, and where the tree is 

 not crowded its shape is symmetrical, and its leaves 

 are artistically cut. In the fall some species color 

 with great brilliancy, crowning the king with flam- 

 ing red. Its Ho^Ncrs are long, greenish-j'ellow tas- 

 sels, 2>ollen-covered, and their ])erfume is a part 

 of that creeping, subtle odor that people struggle 

 to define and can not, because they do not dream 

 Avhat ])roduces it. I always find the bees, wild and 

 domesticated, extremely busy o^'er it, and so far 

 as I can judge by my taste it is one of the kinds 

 of pollen that tempers the sickening sweetness of 

 jjure flower honey so that it is edible. 



There are many attractive spring odors, but 

 there is difficulty in tracing some of them to their 

 The origin. Because they are fond of gathering cat- 

 Bloom- j.jjjj, evei-y one knows that willows bloom and has 



ing of the ,^ •!• • i i n t> i i 



Trees l>ecoziie lamdiar with the pollen. I5ut they do not 

 realize that in early spring forest, wood, and field 

 trees are all covered ^vith tiny flowers heavily la- 

 dened ^vith pollen, so that to the wind harping in 

 the branches is added the music of millions of 

 honey-gathering bees. Buckeye, walnut, hickory, 

 hazel, chestnut, ash, elm, beech, oak, in fact every 

 tree that bears nut, l)erry or seed is weighted with 

 masses of small bloom. 



Oak flo\\'ers are not at all gaudy. They make 

 no display '^^'orth mentioning in comparison ^\ith 

 the fall coloring of the foliage. But the bursting 



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