Music of the Wild 



and finely sha2)e(l for conxentionalizing, and in 

 clnsters beneath them tlie papaAxs, that must be 

 seen to know ho■^^' beautiful they are. Five and 

 six to a cluster they hang, \vhen young the skin a 

 cold blue-green ; Avith ripeness they take on a jjale 

 yellow shading, and the "bloom" of tlie fruit be- 

 comes like frosted velvet. The pulp is bright yel- 

 low and good to eat if you are fond of rich sweets. 

 The seeds are large, black, and resemble those of 

 the melon. If not o-athered, the fruit Jiang's until 

 M'inter, turns to the ])m-]de Avine color of ri]5e Con- 

 cord graj^es, falls to the ground, and in the spring 

 the seeds sprout and produce new plants. 



Sometimes AA'hen taking pictvn-es I get more 

 than I intend. In making this study of papaAv 

 A Ray of leaA'cs and fruit a ray of sunshine crept through 

 Sunshine j^j^ interstice of the forest and fell across mj^ sub- 

 ject. So long as the picture lasts the sunbeam 

 lives. A lens loA^es bright colors and sets them on 

 a photographic plate Avith peculiar brilliancy. It 

 Avoidd be a fine thing if Ave could get a focus on 

 life's sunshine and reproduce it indelibly on our 

 hearts as stored Avarmth for gray days, just as the 

 lens caught this ray of light streaming across the 

 face of the papaAv study. The truth is avc do 

 not ajjpreciate the sunshine Ave liaA'e in our liAcs. 

 Even more, many of us ncA'cr knoAV that Ave are 

 liaAdng bright days until avc are phmged into the 

 depths of trouble and darkness ; and AA'hen Ave grope 



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