MULLEIN-SEED. 
315 
Not long since we saw a troop of these little creatures, a dozen or 
more, fluttering over a muddy spot in the road, as they often do, — 
whether to drink or not, I do not know ; there was a cottage and 
a blacksmith-shop close at hand, and a pretty white kitten had 
strayed out to sun herself. As we came to the spot puss was in 
the midst of the butterflies at quiet, gentle play with them ; they 
did not seem to mind her good-natured taps at all, avoiding them 
by flitting about, but without any signs of alarm, still hovering 
over the same spot ; we watched them a moment, and then, fear- 
ful that puss might wound some of her little play-fellows, we took 
her up and set her on the fence. 
Heard a cat-bird and jays in the woods. Heard a gun also, 
boding mischief to partridges or pigeons. 
Sat down to look at the water, and a bit of pebbly shore, many 
feet below. Counted the flowers of a tall mullein spike, which 
measured thirty-three inches in length ; it bore five hundred and 
seventy flowers, or rather seed-vessels, for it was out of blossom ; 
each of these seed-vessels was filled with tiny dark seed, proba- 
bly by the hundred, for I had not the time or patience to count 
these. No wonder that mulleins are common ; they must yield fruit 
ten thousand-fold ! The birds do not seem to like their seed ; 
they are not seen feeding on the mullein stalks, as we see them 
on the thistles every day. 
Wednesday, Sd. — Pleasant. The varied greens of yesterday 
are already gone ; light, dehcate yellows prevail to-day, and the 
groves remind us of what we read of the golden gardens of the 
Incas, in the vale of Cuzco. Scarlet and crimson are increasing 
also ; it seems singular, but the sumachs, which a few days since 
were a dark reddish purple, are now taking a bright scarlet, a 
