Babglonica. Natural Order: Salicacecc — Willow Family. 
?>OT unlike a mass of fringe, it might be fancied, is a clump 
\‘ of Willows as seen against the sky, the small pointed foliage 
agP' and slender twigs producing that hazy, indistinct effect. It is 
, f i/u a pleasing tree either when single or in groups, often indulg- 
ing in strange and grotesque contortions in its trunk and 
branches, which are most agreeable to an artist’s eye, espe¬ 
cially when surrounded by trees of more prim and dignified bearing. 
Nearly all the varieties have an affinity for locations near streams 
and ponds, or for low, wet meadow-lands, where they flourish in 
the abundant moisture. They do not disdain, however, to grow in 
other and dryer localities, as the many promising shade trees will 
testify. Being easily propagated, it is probably one of the most 
desirable trees for speedy growth. The Weeping Willow differs from 
P |^ the common species merely in having long, pendulous branches, from 
" which it receives its name, and in memory of the Israelitish assemblage 
mentioned in Psalm cxxxvii., that hung their harps upon the Willows and wept 
by the waters of Babylon. 
ffhlinu 1ml.,. 
AS the drain’d fountain, fill’d with autumn leaves, 
The field swept naked of its garner’d sheaves; 
So wastes at noon the promise of our dawn, 
The springs all choking, and the harvest gone. 
-— O. W. Holmes. 
POME, rouse thee, dearest! ’tis not well 
^ To let the spirit brood 
Thus darkly o’er the cares that swell 
Life’s current to a flood. 
As brooks and torrents, rivers, all 
T)UT hail! thou goddess, sage and holy! 
Hail! divinest melancholy! 
Whose saintly visage is too bright 
Increase the gulf in w’hich thev fall, 
Such thoughts, by gathering up the rills 
Of lesser griefs, spread real ills; 
And with their gloomy shades conceal 
The landmarks Hope would else reveal. 
— Mrs. Dinnies. 
To hit the sense of human sight, 
And therefore to our weaker view, 
• O’erlaid with black, staid wisdom’s hue. 
— Milton. 
3 X 7 
