APRIL AWAKENING. 2/ 



them further apart with their claws and devour 

 the contents. 



The perch and bream feel the influence of the 

 April sun, and are having a kind of dumb carousal 

 in this little sea, by splashing, "cutting eggs," and 

 rumpling the smooth surface into a thousand rip- 

 ples. In the shallows, little schools of min- 

 nows ruffle the face of the pond, like cat-paw 

 breezes. It is curious to see how cautiously they 

 wriggle toward the shore in the warmer water. 

 They are so watchful of danger, that the least 

 movement or jarring sound sets them instantly 

 shooting off into greater depths. The blasting of 

 a ledge, half a mile away, is like a slight electric 

 shock to them. Simultaneously, they frizzle the 

 water in numerous spots and streaks, which seem 

 like the wind-puffs shooting over the pond. 



The earliest of the arum spathes advertise 

 themselves to the wild bees : " Our doors are 

 open to-day to all who want bread, and it can be 

 had, by calling on us early." The wise insects 

 read this in the air, as they peep from their winter 

 lodges and rub their antennae. So the pollen 

 gatherers lend humming wings to swell the April 

 melody. 



That low slender sedge (carex Pennsylvanicd), 

 in company with the early rock saxifrage, is now 

 in full bloom, on the dry, wooded hillsides. The 

 hairlike stems and leaves of this species would be 



