BLOSSOM-TIME 43 



of bud and leaf development. On a tree close 

 •at hand the blossoms are just peeping forth, on 

 anothei; the seeds are set, still another has hosts 

 of "keys" fluttering here and there, a fourth 

 is in the full glory of leaf foliage, with blos- 

 som-time and seed-sowing all but forgotten. 

 We say that the sap has risen earlier in some 

 of these trees than in others. True. But did 

 not Nature so design it? 



The same rule holds good all through blos- 

 som-time. From the pussy willows in March, 

 one tree follows closely upon another, till the 



"Tulip tree, high up 

 Opens in airs of June her multitude 

 Of golden chalices to humming-birds 

 And silken-winged insects of the sun." 



Such a wealth of beautiful blossoms! Im- 

 agine a gigantic tree all decked out with garden 

 tulips, of a clear lovely green, flecked and 

 dashed with orange ! It is a sight never to be 

 forgotten. The seeds are hidden under the 

 scales of curious little cones, which dry in the 

 winds and frosts, forming a lily-like cup, the 

 very ghost of its flowery glory. 



A little later, "in the fervor of July," the 

 linden spreads her feast of greenish-yellow, 

 pendulous blossoms. How the bees love them ! 



