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THE PASSING OF SUMMER 



Splashes of red, brown, and gold across the Maples, 

 and the careless strewing of withered leaves that the 

 trees seem still able to spare, mark the turning of the 

 wheel of change. The suburban ravines have changed 

 their decorative traceries in harmony with the passing 

 season. The Asters and Golden-rods are coming to 

 their kingdom, but nature never waits. Familiar 

 nestling and shrunken leaves recall the earliest 

 greetings of spring, but above them rise the tall, 

 picturesque stalks of the Blue Lobelia, enriching the 

 damp shades with their abundance of colour. Some- 

 times a stalk for no apparent reason will shade off 

 even to a pale pink, but rich blue is the popular colour, 

 the blossoms crowding with greater profusion as the 

 tints grow richer and deeper. The Jewel-weed is 

 shoulder high in the oozy, swampy hollows, rising in 

 masses out of proportion to the extreme delicacy of 

 its leaves and stems. The higher branches are still 

 adorned with rich orange-yellow Cornucopias that 

 wither almost as they are plucked, but the older seed 

 pods are ready to snap and shrivel between inquisitive 

 fingers, vindicating the popular name " Touch-me- 

 not." The white spikes of the Ladies' Tresses rise 



