BIRD PARADISE 13 



Our fields have worn very gracefully the gar- 

 ments of early spring. How bright the green 

 has been, and what a variety of shades appear 

 all along the hillside. Just now the dandelion 

 is changing the color rapidly. How curiously 

 the golden blossoms are distributed. In a field 

 just beyond the cemetery they appear in groups, 

 each a household by itself. Farther along on 

 the hillside they seem to have place throt^hout 

 the entire field with no particular difference 

 in the distribution. In the old pasture at the 

 swamp-side they are given a formation like the 

 well-ordered ranks of a great army. I half fancy 

 that I can easily point out the headquarters as 

 well as the other principal places in the camp of 

 the great host. Far down the Waterville road I 

 catch glimpses of the blossoms forming a broad, 

 beautiful selvage at the roadside extending to 

 the point where the hill hides the view. But 

 what a pure gold the color is — surely it is a 

 standard that lacks nothing. The texture of the 

 blossom rivals the color in beauty of shape and 

 finish. The entire disk of yellow is made up 

 of hundreds of minute flowers, each perfect after 

 its kind. I frequently put one under my glass, 

 getting a vision that always seems new. The 



