THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



205 



, .-jh. — Nyssia .,/a.ni.i abundant on the 

 Cheshire sandhills, where it was dis- 

 covered by Mr. Nicholas Cooke, of 

 Liverpool, in 1832. 



16th. — Tree Pipit arrived ; a pair of Grey 

 Wagtails seen, which were probably 

 breeding in Goit Stock, Bingley. — 

 (E P. P. B.) 



2 oth. — Yellow Wagtail, Redstart, and Sand 

 Martins arrived in the neighbourhood of 

 Wilsden.— (E. P. P. B. > 



21st. — House Martins riving over the river 

 Aire at Bingley.— (J. A. Butterfiekl.) 



24th. — Swallows arrived. VVilsden. — (E. P. 



28th. — Observed at Sowerby Bridge by Mr. 

 James Varley : — Willow Warbler, plenti- 

 ful; Wood Warbler, 4; Chififchaff, z ; 

 Pied Flycatcher, 1 male ; Redstart, z ; 

 Pied Wagtail, very plentiful ; Rays Wag- 

 tiil, several pairs; Swallow, plentiful; 

 House and Sand Martens, several , Tree 

 Pipit in full song. 



Larentia multistrigaria out , hybernated 

 specimens of S. <{ithitat:\ seen. — (E. P. 

 P. B.) 



29th. — Saturniacarpini out, Rombalds Moor. - 



(B. Illingworth.,. 

 30th. — Whinchats arrived, Wilsden. — (E. P. 



P. B.) 



East winds have again prevailed during the 

 month, and all vegetation is backward. 



THE FOUR SEASONS: 



A Storv from the Book of Nature ; by 

 Lucy Fern. 



Chap XII. 

 THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 



By the bright cheerful fire ami the burning 

 log sat Winter and the happy family circle. 



"Yon promised," said John, "to tell us 

 something of your travels in Arctic regions." 



"Yes, I did," responded Father Winter. 

 " Well, when I left here last year, I travelled 



north ; T could not bear the heat of the sum- 

 mer sun, so I sought more congenial climes, 

 and if you had been with me you would have 

 seen me gradually shifting more and more to 

 the north as the heat of the sun increased." 



" First, then, suppose yourselves on the top 

 of one of the peaks in Lapland. Out on 

 all sides, as far as the eye can reach, are 

 white peaks, which stretch up like huge piles 

 ot silver, standing in bold relief against the 

 darkened sky. Below is a white landscape, 

 with here and there darker portions of pine 

 forests. A few snow-white Ptarmigan are 

 taking short flights from crag to crag ; but, 

 otherwise, the picture is one of stillness and 

 beauty,— too grand for me to describe. Put 

 a storm is coining on, and to be out in a 

 storm in these northern regions is something 



wonderful. The horizon darkens, then the 

 * 



snow begins to fall — gently at first, but faster 

 and faster by degrees, until one is notable to 

 see many yards in front. The wind increases 

 in violence, and the snow falls thicker and 

 faster, and it comes in howling gusts enough 

 ' to blind anyone : ami the wind whirls it up 

 into drifts twelve or fifteen feet deep. Then 

 night comes on, the snow-storm ceases, the 

 ) clear sky is studded with bright stars, anil 

 j the Aurora shines out again from the north, 

 rendering it nearly as light as da)-. Some- 

 times we see these Aurora, or northern lights 

 as they are called in this country, stretching 

 ! across the northern heavens, but to see them 

 ! to advantage one must visit those high 

 northern latitudes. Even in Shetland these 

 lights sometimes shine so brightly that a 

 person may read a newspaper by their aid, 

 and render cheerful their otherwise long and 

 dreary nights. 



" Then still further north, say at Spitz- 

 bergen. the scene is even more wild, one vast 

 wilderness of snow and ice, with no life but 

 a few Esquimaux clad in their thick fur 

 clothing. They live in huts made from skins, 

 and their whole life is spent in eating, and 

 obtaining food. 



Among the bays and sounds and straits of 



