NATURE'S BENEFICENCE 71 



own home. Almost within the street car and pave- 

 ment radius, the whole growing year, from the first 

 revival of spring life till the white coverlet is spread 

 over the sleeping earth, may be enlivened by the 

 beauty in which the great world renews her youth. 

 The flowers remain, and, while the boldest bedeck 

 the fields and roadsides, the timid look eagerly for 

 recognition from every secluded nook and shady 

 comer. They seem to find protection in the shadow 

 of the city, for while the thrifty farmer prides 

 himself on the devastation of every square foot of 

 his broad acres, there is a respite in the neglected 

 suburbs, and the mystery of growth is spontaneously 

 unfolded. 



A suburban ramble will always disclose, in the 

 margin of forest life which seems to have escaped 

 between the builder on the one side and the farmer 

 on the other, enticing little spots where the proximity 

 of a great aggregation of struggling humanity can be 

 forgotten, and a few hours of real life can be enjoyed 

 in peace. In these places the wild flowers seem to call 

 the stroller away from the cities and summer resorts. 

 They have new attractions to present daily. The 

 delicate blossoms of early spring, the Hepaticas and 

 Dog-tooth Violets, the Squirrel-corn, Blood-root, 

 Spring-beauty, and that whole train of early debu- 

 tantes have disappeared, but a more vigorous and 

 more aggressively handsome company have taken 



