Spring in the Adirondacks. 
Northwood, N. Y., April 3. —Editor Forest 
and Stream: One of the first things one ob¬ 
serves when he goes into the woods when the 
leaves are well out of their buds is the fact that 
the lower branches of the trees have produced 
half-grown leaves, while the top of the tree 
has no leaves at all. This gives one a peculiar 
sensation, for the buds of the treetops seem to 
be no more advanced than they were in April, 
while the shrubbery and low branches have 
leaves which cast good shadows. One can thus 
climb a tree and pass from the middle of May 
to the middle of April. The explanation of this 
is apparent. The cold north winds keep the top 
of the forest canopy cool, but the sheltered 
ground and low branches of the trees are 
warmed day after day by the sun and a quick 
growth of leaves results. 
The Adirondacker looks for the breaking up 
of winter as eagerly as any citizen. When the 
first crow alights on the top of a maple during 
one of the last ten days in February and caws 
defiantly at the three feet of snow, when the 
first woodchuck digs his way up through a yard 
of snow in March and stretches his legs for a 
short run, when the chipmunk, the robin and 
the bluebird show themselves about the middle 
of March, then the woodsman says to his neigh¬ 
bor: “‘Twon’t be long ’fore we kin go fishin’.” 
The eyes of the neighbor brighten and he an¬ 
swers with a vim, “You’re right.’’ The fishing 
season, however, is a month and a half away, 
but it is something to look forward to. The 
average woodsman wishes the season would 
open the middle of April, as it used to, and 
when he speaks from the point of view of game 
preservation he says it ought to close the middle 
of July. 
It is a pleasure to walk in the woods in the 
spring. The freshness' of the air is bracing. 
The spring flowers, from the hepatica to the 
asters, are before you. You are yet to hear the 
sweet songs of the whitethroat, the hermit 
thrush and the birds of early summer. On the 
southern slopes the leaves of last year are dry 
and curled. The ground is warm. The chicka¬ 
dees, nuthatches, jays and the birds of the win¬ 
ter; the deer, porcupines, squirrels, all are par¬ 
tial to the sunny side of the ridges. The por¬ 
cupine often hugs lazily to a branch in the sun. 
The deer curls up on a southern slope, at the 
same time taking advantage of the view and the 
wind. 
The northern slopes of the hill and many of 
the dark balsam swamps present a diliferent 
aspect. The first week in May sees these places 
yet covered with two feet of granular snow, 
dirty with twigs and dust. The rains alone have 
not been sufficient to take it off. The deer tracks 
lead straight across to the southern slopes. The 
snow is so hard that it will hold the animals. 
Sometimes a bear wanders across the snow to 
some beech ridge to search under the leaves for 
the sprouting beechnuts. The track, if a day 
or two old, is thawed about the edges and has 
increased to an amazing size. The white- 
throated sparrow, that genuine Adirondack bird, 
lingers a week or two about the edge of the 
forest, waiting until the spring is more advanced 
around the old lumber camps and in the clear¬ 
ings where it builds its nest. The robin and the 
hermit thrush remain for a time at the outskirts 
of the forest. About the middle of April these 
birds gladden the heart of man along the lower 
edges of the woods, but if one goes into the 
woods he leaves them behind and finds early 
spring conditions in the woods. Perhaps he will 
come across a solitary robin in a beaver meadow, 
but it does not sing any more than it did in 
March when it first arrived at the edge of the 
woods. One year, about the middle of April, we 
saw twenty to thirty whitethroats. Two weeks 
later most of them had moved on to the clear¬ 
ings of the deeper woods. It seems, therefore, 
that the waves of migrations are halted here 
for a time at the southern side of the Adiron¬ 
dacks. 
The flowers which bloom about the first week 
in May are the spotted adder, Dutchman’s 
breeches, blood-root, bluets, white and red tril- 
liums, violets, dandelions and others. The witch- 
hopple, that shrub of which still-hunters express 
strong opinions in the autumn, blossoms about 
the second week in May. The flower when 
fresh is green, but in a few days it fades to a 
white color. The bluet is a little flower which 
carpets the pastures and waste lands at about 
this time and lends a most pleasing effect to 
the landscape. The catkins of the alders are 
now dangling—a sign that the fishing is best. 
Every evening the swailgrass swamps throb 
with the high-pitched chant of the frogs. As 
the day dies the robins, redwings, hermit 
thrushes, whitethroats, song sparrows and other 
birds sing an unharmonious chorus which is up¬ 
lifting. At twilight it ceases and for a few 
moments the anxious calls of the robins are 
heard as they seek roosting places. Then only 
the frogs are heard. 
The first bit of green is put out by the bud 
of the fetid curren about the middle of April. 
The first tree which shows a mist of greenness 
is the tamarack. The green tint of an Adiron¬ 
dack tamarack swamp is unsurpassed in deli¬ 
cacy. The leaves of the soft maple are the first 
to cast a shadow, followed about the middle of 
May by the foliage in general. This, of course, 
is a couple of weeks behind the Mohawk Valley 
and later still than the valley of the Hudson. 
In the same way the leaves of the trees of the 
deep woods come about two weeks behind those 
of the clearings thirty or forty miles away. 
Certain birds and flowers come at about the 
same time. The kingfisher arrives at about the 
time that the skunk cabbage is peeping from the 
damp ground: the yellowhammer sends forth its 
cry when the bluets are beginning to carpet the 
fields, and the white-throated sparrow sings its 
sweet song when the trillium adorns the floor 
of the second growth woods. 
On the whole there is more of interest in the 
Adirondack spring than at any other season. 
The beauty of spring has a charm of its own 
and the tints are so delicate that many may not 
observe them, yet it is there for him who will 
look. In spring one is not overwhelmed by the 
work of nature. The change is slow. It is the 
most favorable time for the sportsman whose 
interests go beyond the taking of game. And 
most sportsmen’s interests do go beyond the 
game, Eldridge A. Spears. 
For the Relief of Dr. Cook. 
Admiral W. S. Schley, President of the 
Arctic Club of America, has written the follow¬ 
ing letter: 
“One of our intrepid and resolute country¬ 
men, Dr. Frederick Albert Cook, is missing in 
the Arctic regions, where he has been lost to 
sight since July, 1907. In a communication from 
him dated Aug. 26, 1907, he gave the location 
of his permanent camp or base of supplies at 
Annotoak, in Greenland, about twenty miles 
north of Etah. From this point after explor¬ 
ing around Etah in 1907-1908, he crossed to 
Cape Sabine about March i, 1908, and laid his 
course for the pole. The last news from him 
was dated March 17, 1908, at a point forty miles 
north of Cape Thomas Hubbard on the Polar 
Sea, when he reported himself well and in good 
condition and that his progress and prospects 
for success were excellent. 
“Dr. Cook was to return to headquarters at 
Annotoak, Greenland, down Kennedy Channel 
through Smith Sound, and in case no ship ar¬ 
rived, he would move to Cape York and thence 
to Upernavik, expecting to return home not later 
than September, 1908. This resume is all that 
can be narrated of Dr. Cook’s movements, or 
what he may have accomplished. His failure 
to return as he had hoped at the time named 
brings us face to face with the fact that we 
ought to take immediate steps to effect the 
rescue, or to ascertain the fate of this heroic, 
resolute and noted American explorer. 
“The Arctic Club of America feels certain that 
our countrymen will aid in bringing about the 
rescue of this heroic and daring explorer, or 
should misadventure have overtaken him in 
bringing back his honored remains for sepulture 
in the land he loved and to whose renown his 
career has added much. It is estimated that’a 
sum not to exceed $30,000 will organize, equip 
and provision an expedition that will be pre- . 
pared to remain, if need be, fifteen months from 
July, 1909. 
“As president of the Arctic Club of America 
and in its behalf, I appeal to the generous, 
benevolent and patriotic people of our country 
for this sum to enable us to carry forward this 
humane project in behalf of our distinguished 
fellow countryman. 
“Contributions and communications may be 
addressed to the Secretary, Frederick S. Dellen- 
baugh, at the Explorers’ Club, 29 West 39th 
street. New York.” 
