NATURE'S BENEFICENCE 
7i 
own home. Almost within the street car and pave- 
ment radius, the whole growing year, from the first 
revival of spring life till the white coverlet is spread 
over the sleeping earth, may be enlivened by the 
beauty in which the great world renews her youth. 
The flowers remain, and, while the boldest bedeck 
the fields and roadsides, the timid look eagerly for 
recognition from every secluded nook and shady 
corner. They seem to find protection in the shadow 
of the city, for while the thrifty farmer prides 
himself on the devastation of every square foot of 
his broad acres, there is a respite in the neglected 
suburbs, and the mystery of growth is spontaneously 
unfolded. 
A suburban ramble will always disclose, in the 
margin of forest life which seems to have escaped 
between the builder on the one side and the farmer 
on the other, enticing little spots where the proximity 
of a great aggregation of struggling humanity can be 
forgotten, and a few hours of real life can be enjoyed 
in peace. In these places the wild flowers seem to call 
the stroller away from the cities and summer resorts. 
They have new attractions to present daily. The 
delicate blossoms of early spring, the Hepaticas and 
Dog-tooth Violets, the Squirrel-corn, Blood-root, 
Spring-beauty, and that whole train of early debu- 
tantes have disappeared, but a more vigorous and 
more aggressively handsome company have taken 
