The Pond-Meadow. 101 



seeds fly away. Thus does the thistle have to pay a little 

 — have to give the yellow birds and the bumble-bees 

 something to help it along in the world, but it wants you, 

 to " go round." 



The tall meadow-rue, the swamp milk- weed, the cardi- 

 nal lobelia and the Canada burnet, also blossom in turn at 

 the end of the trestle where the up-land meets the meadow, 

 and a few hundred feet away, the blazing-star grows in 

 abundance. The long spikes of purple flowers, blooming 

 from the top downward, are indeed " blazing-stars " in the 

 meadow. 



There is always this narrow zone of plants and high 

 growing grass, close to the woods, and its appearance does 

 not suggest at first any such strife as we know is going on 

 there. Yet here the limits of certain species are most 

 forcibly shown, and we see, in spite of the peaceful aspect, 

 the continuous struggle among them. Occasionally there 

 is a lone tree growing further in the grass than the rest, a 

 poor stunted representative of its kind. If it be a sour-gum, 

 as is often the case, some of its leaves turn crimson by 

 mid-summer. This meadow tree is a favorite with the 

 birds ; they fly out from the edge of the woods, perch upon 

 it, and then fly back again. It is only at morning and at 

 evening, that a correct idea can be formed of their number. 



This winding, turning line, where the upland meets the 

 meadow, must ever be an interesting territory ; it is so 

 broken, opening up such unexpected views; the line is a 

 zig-zag, and it has followed the pattern of the meadow 

 creek itself. 



I made a roost on the border of the pond-meadow, in a 



