MEADOWLARK, 



Sturnella magna Swainson. 



Plate XXIX. Pig. 5. 



Go try the charm that Nature's presence yields ; 

 Go seek the balm and fragrance of the garden, 

 And all the soothing influence of the fields. 



* 

 Haunt leafy woods, with verdurous lights and shadows ; 



By bank of gurgling brook repose awhile ; 

 Learn all the varying sweetness of the meadows, 



The nod of grass, the wild-flower's heavenly smile. 



J. K. Stayman. 



li^O THE true lover of Nature nothing has so many attractions than country Ufe, 

 especially if he is the happy owner of a few or many acres of ground. For in 

 whatever part of the country he may chance to be, he will see, understand, and love 

 every part and phase of its beauty. This does, of course, not exclude the desire to see 

 as much of the earth as possible, and to learn how many kinds of beauty it can 

 show. He may visit countries heretofore unknown to him in the s<ame way he likes to 

 make new acquaintances, but comes back as gladly to the familiar spot as to the familiar 

 face. The shrubs, the trees, and flowers, which he has planted with his own hands, and 

 the birds which are familiar to him, delight him more than those about which no memories 

 and anticipations cluster. This I found especially true while spending the month of 

 November, 1895, on my place in Florida. Indeed, these days belong to the happiest and 

 most charming of my life, and all this joy and pleasure was doubled by a similar interest 

 in which a dear friend of mine so lovingly and enthusiastically participated. The woods 

 through wljich I had to pass to and from the place, were in themselves a veritable flower 

 garden. Never before had I beheld congregations of social flowers half so extensive or half 

 so glorious. Golden and white and purple compositae covered all the ground around the 

 garden, and w^hen I entered the latter I gazed upon a bewildering splendor of color and 

 form. Most of the shrubs and trees had been raised by me from seed, and now, after a few 

 years' growth in this congenial climate, I beheld them as beautiful specimens. About a 

 dozen v£irieties of the large flowering ervergv&en. Magnolia grandiEora with their magnificent 

 glossy leaves, from different parts of the Southern States, imparted the place with a rare 

 beauty. Dense specimens of abelias^, banana shrubs^, bamboos, American and sweet olives', 

 laurel cherry and Eugenia bushes S oleanders, sweet myrtles, grevilleas or silk oaks, and a 

 host of other broad-leaved evergreen shrubs, mostly from Japan and China, which had 

 been planted four years ago, were growing singly and in groups. Fresh beauty appeared 

 at every step. The bush tecoma or yellow elder°, only three years from the seed, had 

 attained a height of fully twelve feet, the central shoots standing upright, while the 

 others were arching to all sides and even to the ground, each termina!ted by a glorious 

 cluster of trumpet-like fragrant yellow flowers. A similar species of the same genus' 



t Abelia rupestris. * Michelia fascata. a Osmantbus americanus and O. fragrans. * Eugenia aiistralis, E. Micheli, 

 B. Ugni. s Tecoma stans, e Tecoma velutina. 



