IN THE CANADIAN WOODS. 



pleasant or is it the sweet scent of those lovely pyrolas 

 that some of the country folks misname " lilies of the 

 valley," but which the more learned botanist classes 

 with the Heath family, although the affinity to the 

 heather is not apparent to the unlearned lover of wild 

 flowers of the forest ? 



Among the less important forest trees, the bloom of 

 the horn-beam attracts the eye, and truly no flower can 

 hang more gracefully from its pendent spray than do 

 these pretty greenish white sacs, resembling strongly the 

 hop which one sees twining its tendrils about the lattice 

 of many a poor settler's veranda in the backwoods, 

 where it is cultivated alike for ornament and use. 



The rough furry cases of the beechnuts are now 

 giving an olive hue to the branches, and a darker, more 

 sombre color to the light green foliage which so charmed 

 us in the first flush of spring. There is on their laden 

 branches the promise of an abundant supply for many 

 of God's pensioners, the squirrel, the field-mouse, the 

 groundhog, the porcupine, and others of the roving 

 denizens of the woods and wilds. These creatures know 

 well the time of the dropping of the glossy three-sided 

 nuts, and hasten diligently to gather up their stores. 

 They gather that they did not toil for or sow, but their 

 bountiful Father openeth His hand and filleth all things 

 living with plenteousness. 



How deep is the silence of the forest ! A strange 

 sweet sense of restful stillness seems to come down upon 

 10 



