30 
RURAL HOURS. 
probably we shall not be very far from the tmth ; we are inclined 
to believe this calculation rather below than above the mark. 
From being almost entirely consumed on the ground where it is 
made, this sugar, however, attracts public attention much less 
than it would do if it were an article of commerce to the same 
extent. 
Monday, 2>d . — Delightful day; first walk in the woods, and 
what a pleasure it is to be in the forest once more ! The earlier 
buds are swelling perceptibly — those of the scarlet maple and 
elm flowers on the hills, with the sallows and alders near the 
streams. We were struck more than usual with the mosses and 
lichens, and the coloring of the bark of the different trees ; some of 
the chestnuts, and birches, and maples show twenty different 
shades, through grays and greens, from a dull white to blackish 
brown. These can scarcely vary much Avith the seasons, but they 
attract the eye more just noAV from the fact that in winter we 
are seldom in the woods ; and at this moment, before the leaves 
are out, there is more light falling on the limbs and trunks than 
in summer. The ground mosses are not yet entirely revived; 
some of the prettiest varieties feel the frost sensibly, and have 
not yet regained all their coloring. 
The little evergreen plants throAv a faint tinge of A^erdure OAer 
the dead leaves Avhich streAV the forest ; in some spots, there is 
quite a patch of them, but in other places they scarcely shoAV at 
all. We have many in our Avoods, all pleasant little plants; 
their glossy leaves have generally a healthy character, and most 
of them bear pretty and fragrant blossoms at different seasons. 
Some fenis have been preserA'cd, as usual, under the snoAV ; though 
they are sensitiA-e to th.e frost, yet in favorable spots they seem 
