155 
THE PASSING OF SUMMER 
Splashes of red, brown, and gold across the Maples, 
and the careless strewing of withered leaves that the 
trees seem still able to spare, mark the turning of the 
wheel of change. The suburban ravines have changed 
their decorative traceries in harmony with the passing 
season. The Asters and Golden-rods are coming to 
their kingdom, but nature never waits. Familiar 
nestling and shrunken leaves recall the earliest 
greetings of spring, but above them rise the tall, 
picturesque stalks of the Blue Lobelia, enriching the 
damp shades with their abundance of colour. Some- 
times a stalk for no apparent reason will shade off 
even to a pale pink, but rich blue is the popular colour, 
the blossoms crowding with greater profusion as the 
tints grow richer and deeper. The Jewel-weed is 
shoulder high in the oozy, swampy hollows, rising in 
masses out of proportion to the extreme delicacy of 
its leaves and stems. The higher branches are still 
adorned with rich orange-yellow Cornucopias that 
wither almost as they are plucked, but the older seed 
pods are ready to snap and shrivel between inquisitive 
fingers, vindicating the popular name 44 Touch-me- 
not,” The white spikes of the Ladies* Tresses rise 
