110 PEARLS AND PEBBLES. 



colored eggs on the chintz. I make a note of the bare 

 fact, and leave it to be pondered over by the experienced 

 naturalist. 



Besides the butterflies I have noticed in my old diary, 

 I might have named the Tortoise-shell and the two- ■< 

 Admirals, the red-marked one and the white. There are 

 many others, too, which resemble in color and appear- 

 ance species I was familiar with when in England. 



There are the Tiger Moths, bright, gay creatures that 

 come in at night attracted by the light of the lamp; and 

 some large beautiful grey and rose-colored varieties with 

 damasked wings, which shun the glare of the light and 

 retreat to shaded corners of the walls out of sight. 



Our beautiful oak trees are often disfigured when in 

 full leaf by branches of brown or withered leaves, as if 

 some scorching blast had fallen upon them. 



I was standing on the lawn at my friends, the Hay- 

 wards, admiring the glossy foliage of a group of hand- 

 some scarlet oaks (Rubra coccinea), one of the most 

 beautiful of our native oaks, when my attention was 

 drawn to one of the branches of a fine young tree near 

 me which was affected by a quivering motion, while all 

 the rest were quite still. 



It was an intensely hot July day, not a breath of air 

 stirring the leaves. Suddenly the branch parted from 

 the tree and fell at my feet. I took it up to examine- 



