Oct. 6, 1906.] 
intonations as though it rung the vespers from 
some far-off country of perennial bloom. It ap¬ 
pears, moreover, that due to the absence of bird 
voices, our hearing awakes to new and fresh re¬ 
sponses. “All these sounds, the crowing of 
cocks, the baying of dogs, and the hum of insects 
at noon, are the evidence of nature’s health or 
sound state. Such is the never-failing beauty 
and accuracy of language, the most perfect art 
in the world; the chisel of a thousand years re¬ 
touches it.” 
After the middle of August the hordes of 
winged pests that swarm in the woods, and at 
times make existence there intolerable, are visibly 
decreased, and one may wander on his favorite 
paths and indulge in tranquil rumination with¬ 
out their unpleasant companionship. Hard wood 
knolls and ridges have always been especially 
agreeable to me, for the ground as a general rule 
is clear of undergrowth, and the eye is fed on 
delectable vistas, dim and Arcadian, and more 
inspiring to the sight than any sacred grove of 
the Druids. Such places are invariably fre¬ 
quented by deer, and are sought out by them as 
favorite resorts when the beech nuts lie ripe and 
sweet amid the fallen leaves. I have been told, 
moreover, that so keenly do they relish this food, 
that after the early winter snows they still con¬ 
tinue to dig for them. The tree itself reaches 
unsurpassed beauty and proportions in these dis¬ 
tricts, and the trunk of a perfect specimen often 
rises for fifty or sixty feet without flaw or 
blemish, as stately and finely moulded as a Doric 
column. On the steel-gray bark may be always 
seen the tracings of the Usnea barbata, a lichen 
of exquisite color, and in fact all the deciduous 
trees of this region appear unusually suscepti¬ 
ble to a cryptogamous growth. Next to the beech 
in structural beauty, color tints and impressive 
characteristics, I would place the yellow or gol¬ 
den birch, a tree of indispensable value, and the 
child no doubt of a golden age. Its majesty, 
however, is repeated with more force and mys¬ 
tery in the white pine. As a conifer this tree 
stands at the head of its class, and seen against 
a rich evening sky its dark, sombre and spectral 
outlines, bent by the gales of a thousand years, 
convey an unmistakable sense of veneration to 
the beholder. It is the figure-head of the wilder¬ 
ness, the staff of antiquity. Something in its 
aspect, in the power, magnitude and Titanic 
grandeur of those lineaments, appeals directly to 
the most virile portion of our natures and re¬ 
sponds to a desire for the great flawless subject 
in creation. The latter, together with spruce and 
hemlock, are frequently scattered throughout 
areas where the previously mentioned varieties 
abound, but to obtain the keynote of their in¬ 
dividuality they must be observed grouped alone. 
An entire hillside thickly stacked with spruces, 
nestling closely one upon another, is a memor¬ 
able sight, especially during the present day, 
when one is impressed almost everywhere by the 
hacked, bruised and scarred aspect of the Adi¬ 
rondack wilderness; and again on the shore of 
a lake or pond will be seen a solid grove of pines 
whose serenity fills the heart with gratitude, and 
in whose tops the elements rule an ethereal 
melody. 
Growing in the vicinity of the swamps and the 
low ground, a water-loving, mystic and de¬ 
liciously fragrant tree, the tamarack seldom fails 
to arouse a train of imaginative thoughts, as 
though its faintly spiced, aromatic breath bore 
an elixir of enchanting influences. It seems the 
connecting link which binds us to the Arctic 
zone, but here instead of the gaunt, straggly and 
starved looking specimen found on northern 
barrens, one has a type which generally dis¬ 
plays a sturdy, luxuriant character. The gum, I 
have heard, is of a very fine quality, with a deli¬ 
cate, agreeable flavor, and clearer, perhaps, than 
that of the spruce or other gum-exuding trees. 
Similar to the larch in its love of moisture, the 
white cedar holds a prominent place among the 
coniferae. Strange enough, it is often found pro- 
lifically distributed along the margins of certain 
lakes, while on others within the same district, 
none will be apparent. The trunk, as the result 
of its habitual overhanging position, is usually 
contorted into various shapes, while the roots, so 
often exposed to view, cling to the frail surface- 
soil like Herculean fingers. 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
529 
EMPEROR MAXIMILIAN SHOOTING, FISHING AND FEASTING ON THE PLAN SEE. 
prom his Fishing-Book, made 1504. 
Even as early as the last week in August, the 
leaves of the wild cherry, or pin cherry as it is 
better known in this region, commence to fall, 
and here and there a ripened maple glows with 
crimson lustre amid the surrounding verdure. 
We begin to cherish the hours more dearly and 
experience a slight vein of sadness which only 
the torrid drone of locusts, and perfume of sun¬ 
bathed briers, serve to dispel. Yet there are 
many days when our eyes thirst for wet, lushy 
things, and we would become vespertinal in our 
habits. It is deliciously grateful at the end of 
a hot drowsy afternoon to take a boat and 
leisurely paddle along some lake shore where the 
gathering shadows fall liquid and inviting. We 
come into closer touch with a fluid universe, and 
the light and shade reflected from thence flows 
through us as through a congenial medium. 
Nothing, moreover, is so expressive of the earth’s 
and heaven’s beatitude as a reflection. Thus we 
detect a material substance as a rock, tree, fern 
or grass blade reproducing itself in another dis¬ 
tinct form, ethereal and volatile. Such images 
open the gate leading to unsuspected revelations; 
the deeper we look, the more deeply do we be¬ 
come entranced. A world magical and fathomless, 
swimming with opalescent hues, serene blue 
abysses and rosy cumuli, dreams beneath and 
beyond the dynasty of realism. 
On almost all Adirondack waters, the ponte- 
deria or pickerel weed, yellow spatter-dock and 
sweet scented white pond lily, are to be found, 
and like the pellucid region from whence they 
spring, their wet, shiny pads and glistening blos¬ 
soms afford keen refreshment to the sight while 
we listen to the crisp sigh of falling birch leaves 
by some lake’s margin, and presently behold 
them floating in golden rafts on the brown-glazed 
water near shore, it appears not incongruous that 
a little further out, lifting their faces to the 
hazy midday sun, the last named plants still 
hold their virginal sovereignty. The water lily, 
moreover, above all others, is a symbol of chaste 
loveliness. Its birth is auroral, and no sooner 
has the sun slipped by the meridian than it faints 
again with closed eyelids. All three, including 
pickerel weed and spatter-dock, as well as the 
latter, are greatly sought after by deer, during 
July and August when their appetite for suc¬ 
culent food seems unusually keen. Often 
enough they will clean a pond entirely of the 
former and leave only a few remnants of the 
latter, but toward the spatter-dock they do not 
appear to extend equal favor. 
Stream fishing reaches its height just at the 
close of the season, when on warm days under 
