AS THEY TAKE THEIR FLIGHT 113 
solid, silent mass of blinding heat* Trees existed only 
to be cut down, and logs were an encumbrance on the 
ground, to be reduced to ashes* Animals lived but to 
be shot and trapped, and devoted to a multitude of 
uses. 
There was no study of nature in those days, for 
the growth of knowledge was as imperceptible as the 
expanding of the leaves. The Snowbirds, Chicka- 
dees, Crossbills, and Grosbeaks were welcome and 
entertaining visitors during the winter, but the grouse 
was treated as a domestic fowl, especially when the 
food supply was short. The silent coursing of the 
sap was the first awakening of spring, and troughs, 
pails, buckets, and kettles were called into requisition. 
Then came the swelling of the buds on the Basswood, 
the earliest fodder for the weakened cattle ; and 
through the entire year life was a struggle toward 
harmony with nature's inexorable routine. Every 
sound that reached the ear had a meaning. Every 
track, cut, and abrasion was seen and recognised. 
The atmosphere was instinct with life and rich with 
the blended odours of the woods. 
It would be a great mistake to say that all this world 
of natural life was not appreciated. It was more than 
appreciated ; it was lived. Now we must be content 
to effect an escape from the busy haunts in the full- 
ness of summer, and regain for a few days the blessing 
of liberty. Nature always holds out a welcome. She 
