Music of the Wild 



with the cracks of growth, ami where the tree is 

 not crowded its shape is symmetrical, and its leaves 

 are artistically cut. In the fall some species color 

 M'ith great brilliancy, crowning the king with flam- 

 ing red. Its flowers are long, greenish-yellow tas- 

 sels, pollen-covered, and their ])erfume is a part 

 of that creej)ing, subtle odor that jjcople struggle 

 to define and can not, because they do not dream 

 what produces it. I always find the bees, wild and 

 domesticated, extremely busy over it, and so far 

 as I can judge by my taste it is one of the kinds 

 of pollen that tenii)ers the sickening sweetness of 

 pure flower honey so that it is edible. 



There are many attracti\'e spring odors, but 



there is difficult}- in tracing some of them to their 



The origin. Because they are fond of gathering cat- 



Bioom- ],jjjj^ everv one knows that willows bloom and has 



ing of the " . . 



Trees become familiar Avith the pollen. But they do not 

 realize that in early spring forest, wood, and field 

 trees are all covered with tiny flowers heavily la- 

 dened Avith pollen, so that to the wind harping in 

 the branches is added the music of millions of 

 honey-gathering bees. Buckeye, walnut, hickory, 

 hazel, chestnut, ash, elm, beech, oak, in fact every 

 tree that bears nut, berry or seed is weighted with 

 masses of small bloom. 



Oak flowers are not at all gaudy. They make 

 no display worth mentioning in comparison M'ith 

 the fall coloring of the foliage. But the bursting 



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