124 
RURAL -HOURS. 
joying the fragrant meadows, and the Avaving corn-fields on the 
skirts of the village. 
A meadow near at hand would seem to give more pleasm^e than 
a corn-field. Grain, to appear to full advantage, should be seen 
at a little distance, where one may note the changes in its coloring 
with the advancing season, where one may enjoy the play of liglit 
when the summer clouds throw their shadows there, or the breezes 
chase one another over the waving lawn. It is like a piece of 
shaded silk which the salesman throws off a little, that you may 
better appreciate the effect. But a meadow is a delicate embroid- 
ery in colors, which you must examine closely to understand all its 
merits ; the nearer you are, the better. One must bend over the 
grass to find the blue violet in May, the red strawberry in June ; 
one should be close at hand to mark the fir«t appearance of the 
simple field-blossoms, clover, red and white^ buttercup and daisy, 
with the later lily, and primrose, and meadow-tuft ; one should 
be nigh to breathe the sweet and fresh perfume, which increases 
daily until the mowers come with their scythes. 
The grasses which fill our meadows are very many of them 
foreign plants ; among these are the vernal-grass, which gives 
such a delightful fragrance to the new-mown hay. The timothy 
is also an imported grass ; so is the meadow-grass considered 
as the best of all for pasture ; the orchard-grass much esteemed 
also ; and the canary-grass, which yields a seed for birds. Some 
of the most troublesome weeds of this tribe are naturalized, as the 
darnel in pastures, the chess or cheat of the grain-fields ; quaking- 
grass, quitch-grass, yard-grass, and crab-grass, ako. Altogether, 
there are some thirty varieties of these imported grasses enumer- 
ated by botanists in this part of the country. 
