Music of the Wild 



The river is a house, the bed its floor, the sur- 

 face its roof, and all the water-folk its residents. 

 AVhat a wonderful thing it would be if the water 

 were transparent, that ^we might see the turtles, 

 eels, and cattish busy witli tlie affairs of life; bass, 

 pickerel, and suckers maintaining the laws of su- 

 jjremacy, and water puppies at play! When the 

 purple tints on its ])anks fade, tree-bloom baptizes 

 it with golden pollen, and a week later showers 

 it with sno-wy petals of 'wild plum, tliorne, crab, 

 and haw. All smnmer the trees drop a loosened 

 leaf here and there, -\\ith Cxood Samaritan results; 

 for these make lifeboats on which luckless wasps, 

 bees, and Avorms fallen from blooming trees ride 

 to safety and dry their drenched coats and 

 weiglited wings. Trees are the great life-saving 

 service of the river, especially in tlie fall, when tlie 

 water is covered with crisp, dead leaves. ]Many of 

 them are needed, for the cool nights chill the in- 

 sects so that they fall easily, the winds blow with 

 unusual violence, and there are three times as many 

 victims drowning as in summer. 



Throughout the season many l)looms decorate 

 the river ])ank. l)ut two stand pre-eminent: the 

 God's redbud liorne on a small tree, the mallow on a 

 Rarest tiju.;,]), xiie tree flower is remarkable because it 

 is almost tlie first color shown, and it breaks all 

 over the branches like a severe attack of measles, 

 when not the hint of a leaf is in sight. These come 



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