IFlatuve IRotes : 
^Tbe Selborne Society’s flDaga3tne 
No. io. OCTOBER 15, 1890. Vol. I. 
OCTOBER. 
HE ever-shortening days remind us distinctly that the 
days of summer are being rapidly left behind us, and 
that winter is coming on apace. The boisterous vigour 
of March ; April smiling through its tears ; May so full 
of promise ; the glorious months of June, July, and August, the 
fruitful September — have all received at many hands due recogni- 
tion o£ their charms, while December brings with it year after year 
the joys of home life, the reunion of the family, the angels’ song 
of peace and goodwill to men. As to January and February, 
October and November, the general feeling appears to be that 
they are periods to be lived through as endurably as may be, but 
that toleration is as much as they may hope for: the lyre of 
the poet is unstrung and as effectually packed away till the 
longer days as the cricket bats and lawn tennis paraphernalia. 
This lack of appreciation springs we think, from the fact that 
so many of the writers and others who mould public opinion are 
dwellers in the town. No one who has not lived the year round far 
from the smoke, busy traffic and bustle of city life, can at all realize 
that the sky may be as blue in January as in June; while the 
snow, instead of being the foul mixture that is such an unmiti- 
gated nuisance in big towns, is spread over everything in a broad 
sheet of glittering whiteness that is almost dazzling in its purity, 
while at other times in the clear atmosphere of the country, 
when every twig of tree and bush is laden with hoar frost, it is a 
peep into veritable fairyland. 
The nature-lover finds that no season of the year is without 
its attractiveness, and the autumn days, as they merge through 
October into winter, bring with them their special charm. The 
keener “ bite ” in the air has a tonic power of exhilaration that 
makes the sharp exercise at least as pleasant as the more leisurely 
stroll beneath the burning sun of July, and on every side we 
may still encounter objects of interest. 
