Under the Maples

by John Burroughs

Our two eyes serve us well because our footsteps are numbered and must go in a particular direction, but the goal of all-seeing Nature is everywhere, and she arrives before she starts. She has no plan and no method, and she is not governed.

These conceptions express too little, not too much. Nature's movements are circular; her definite ends are enclosed in universal ends. The rains fall because the vapors rise. The rain is no more an end than is the rising vapor. Each is a part of the great circuit of beneficent and malevolent forces upon which our life (and all life) depends, upon which the making of the soil of the earth and the shaping of the landscape depend; all vegetable and animal life, all the bloom and perfume of the world, all the glory of cloud and sky, all the hazards of flood and storm, all the terror of torrents and inundations, are in this circuit of the waters from the sea to the sky, and back again through the rivers to the sea. In our geologic time there is, in this circuit of the waters, more that favors life than hinders it, else, as I so often say, we should not be here. The enormous destruction of human life, of all life, which has taken place and will continue to take place, in this beneficent circuit, is only an incident in the history of the globe; the physical forces are neither for nor against it; they are neutral; life to be here at all has to run these risks; has to run the gantlet of these forces, and to get many a lash and gash in the running. Against the suffering and death incident thereto there is no insurance save in the wit of man himself. All this wit has been developed and sharpened by much waste and suffering. We learn to deal with difficulties through the discipline of the difficulties themselves. If man were finally to learn to control the rains and the floods, it would be through the experience which they themselves bring him. The demons that destroy him are on his side when he strikes with the strength which they give him. Gravity, which so often crushes and overthrows him, is yet the source of all his might. The fire that consumes his towns and cities is yet the same fire that warms him and drives his engines across the continent.

There is no god that pities us or weeps over our sufferings, save the god in our own breasts. We have life on heroic terms. Nature does not baby us nor withhold from us the bitter cup. We take our chances with all other forms of life. Our special good fortune is that we are capable of a higher development, capable of profiting to a greater extent by experience, than are the lower forms of life. And here is the mystery that has no solution: we came out of the burning nebulæ just as our horse and dog, but why we are men and they are still horse and dog we owe to some Power, or, shall I say, to the chance working of a multitude of powers, that are beyond our ken. That some Being willed it, designed it, no; yet it was in some way provided for in the constitution of the world.

THE END

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INDEX

• Agassiz, Louis, [168], [169].
• Air, light and heavy, [72], [73].
• Albatross, [38].
• Animal life, abundance, [11], [12].
• Antlers, [201].
• Ants, [11].
• Army trucks, [110], [111].
• Arum, [196].
• Automobile trip, [109]-26.
• Bacon, Francis, [186].
• Barton, W. Va., [119].
• Bee, honey, spirit of the hive, [152], [158]-62;
• • intelligence, [156], [157];
  • communication, [159], [160];
  • their world, [161];
  • sting, [165].
• Bee, leaf-cutter, [14], [15].
• Beech, autumn color, [3].
• Birds, living with, [31];
  • flight, [32]-38;
  • and cats, [56];
  • nesting near houses, [54]-59;
  • home sense, [59];
  • nests of most species built by the females, [64], [65];
  • and dead trees, [84], [85];
  • song, [86];
  • at Pine Knot, Va., [102]-05;
  • of southern California, [129]-32;
  • community of mind in flocks, [153], [154].
• Birds' nests, finding, [79]-81.
• Bluebird, endearing qualities, [43];
  • nesting, [43], [44], [54];
  • experience with a pair, [44]-48.
• Bobolink, song flight, [38], [85].
• Bolar Springs, [117].
• Brain, as organ of the mind, [22], [23].
• Buffon, Georges Louis Le Clerc, [157].
• Bumble-bee, carpenter, [36].
• Bunting, indigo, nesting, [90], [91].
• Bunting, painted, [114].
• Butterflies, flight, [34]; flocking, [155].
• Butterfly, monarch, [34], [35], [155].
• Buzzard, turkey, [32]-34.
• Cacti, [143]-48.
• California, southern, observations in, [127]-51;
• • coast, [127];
  • mountains, [127], [128];
  • climate and soil, [128];
  • bird-song, [128], [129];
  • birds, [129]-32;
  • change of climate in, [210]-12.
• Cambium layer, [5], [6].
• Carpenter, W. B., quoted, [194].
• Catbird, [30];
  • stealthiness, [60], [67], [68];
  • experience with a pair, [60]-66;
  • fondness for butter, [66];
  • theatrical, [68];
  • notes, [87].
• Caterpillars, [91]-94.
• Causes, [165]-67.
• Cedar-bird, [65].
• Chance, in animal life, [208], [209].
• Cheat River, W. Va., [116].
• Chipmunks, two in a den, [11];
  • storing currants, [17];
  • carrying provender, [96], [97].
• Chippie. See Sparrow, chipping.
• Chlorophyll, [190], [191].
• Chrysalis, [12].
• Condor, [33], [34].
• Connellsville, Pa., [113].
• Cormorant, [132].
• Cosmos, the, order and harmony of, [191]-93.
• Cow, [205].
• Crow, flight, [37];
  • needs no great wing-power, [180].
• Crow, fish, [55], [56], [68].
• Cuckoo, [71], [72], [87];
  • solemnity, [88];
  • nesting, [88], [89];
  • young, [89];
  • nest, [90];
  • food, [90].
• Cuckoo, black-billed, notes, [87], [88];
  • nesting-habits, [88].
• Cuckoo, yellow-billed, [87].
• Dana, Richard Henry, Jr., at San Diego, [210], [211].
• Darwin, Charles, quoted, [5], [17], [18], [33];
• • his eager study of natural history, [17], [18];
  • observations during the voyage of the Beagle, [18], [19];
  • failure of his theory, [147], [167]-69;
  • his mind, [173];
  • treated man as an animal, [174].
• Darwin, George Howard, on the tides, [169], [170].
• Darwinism, a cause of the World War, [172]-75.
• Death, an analogy of, [185], [186].
• Desert, vegetation of the, [143]-48.
• Dove, mourning, or turtle-dove, [86].
• Earth, the, quiverings of the surface, [169]-71;
• • the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, [171], [172].
• Edison, Thomas A., [114], [119];
  • contrasted with Mr. Ford, [122]-25.
• Elm, autumn color, [3].
• Emerson, Ralph Waldo, quoted, [69], [165], [186].
• Erosion, as sculpture, [181]-83.
• Fabre, Jean Henri, [162];
• • quoted, [139].
• Far-away, the, [39].
• Fear in animals, [58], [59], [154], [155], [209].
• Fireflies, [19].
• Firestone, H. S., [119], [125].
• Fish, schools of, [154].
• Fleas, [210].
• Flies, intelligence, [156], [157].
• Foraminiferæ, [194].
• Ford, Henry, [113], [114], [119], [120];
  • contrasted with Mr. Edison, [122]-24.
• Foxes, [180].
• Frog, wood, [94], [95].
• Germans, Darwinism, and the World War, [172]-75.
• Giraffe, [200].
• Girls, two West Virginia, [115].
• Gnatcatcher, blue-gray, [103].
• God, man appropriating, [199].
• Goldfinch, flight, [37], [42];
• • chorus singing, [40]-42;
  • notes, [42];
  • notes of young, [43];
  • nesting, [43].
• Grand Cañon, [182], [194].
• Grass, the wonder of, [74], [75].
• Grasshoppers, [155].
• Great Smoky Mts., [109].
• Greensborough, Pa., [112].
• Grosbeak, rose-breasted, nesting, [65].
• Grouse, ruffed, [166].
• Gull, herring, [131].
• Gulls, flight, [38].
• Hawk, red-tailed, [32].
• Hawks, flight, [35].
• Haymaking, [69]-76.
• Hen-hawk, flight, [35].
• Hornets, [163].
• Horns, [201], [202].
• Horse, [205], [206].
• Horseshoe Run, W. Va., [114].
• Hummingbird, ruby-throated, [64];
• • bathing in dew, [13];
  • nest, [79];
  • a fairy bird, [94].
• Hurley, Edward N., [113].
• Huxley, Thomas Henry, [27];
  • quoted, [8], [25].
• Ibis, white, [32], [153], [154].
• Insects, their world, [23]-25, [162];
• • senses, [24];
  • reaction to heat,
  • cold, and vibrations, [25];
  • antennæ, [25];
  • the ruling sex among, [140], [141].
• Interpretation, [186]-90.
• Ironweed, [116].
• James, William, [22].
• Jay, blue, notes, [87].
• Joe-Pye-weed, [116].
• Junco, young, [19], [20];
• • nesting, [81];
  • abundance, [82].
• Kepler, Johann, [169].
• Killdeer, [130], [131].
• Kingbird, flight, [37];
• • and bees, [156].
• Leaves, autumn, [1]-3.
• Lemmings, [152], [153].
• Life, origin of, [194], [195].
• Life, human, analogies, [25]-27.
• Lightning-bugs. See Fireflies.
• Lowell, James Russell, quoted, [5].
• Lubbock, Sir John, quoted, [156].
• McCarthy, Denis Aloysius, quoted, [157].
• Maeterlinck, Maurice, quoted, [23], [162];
• • on the bee, [156]-63.
• Man, and Darwinism, [174];
  • a part of nature, [184]-86;
  • interpretation of nature and of himself, [186]-90;
  • mystery of his evolution, [216].
• Maple, sugar, susceptibility to atmospheric changes, [72], [73].
• Maples, autumn color, [3].
• Marcus Aurelius, quoted, [185].
• Meadowlark, song flight, [37].
• Measuring-worm, [91], [92].
• Mice, wild, [16]; barking trees, [27], [28].
• Microphone, [170], [171].
• Microseisms, [170].
• Mind, community of, [152]-55.
• Mockingbird, [68].
• Moose, [200].
• Mosquitoes, [210].
• Moth, luna, [97].
• Mouse, jumping, [166], [167].
• Mouse, white-footed, [166].
• Mullets, [154].
• Natural history about home, [39], [40].
• Nature, her methods unlike ours, [179]-81, [199];
• • interpreting, [186]-90;
  • lavishness and parsimony, [195], [196], [209];
  • puzzling and contradictory, [201], [202];
  • all-seeing, [212]-14;
  • her movements circular, [214]-16.
• Nighthawk, [104].
• Nonpareil, or painted bunting, [114].
• North Carolina, a countryman of, [121].
• Northern Hemisphere, [171], [172].
• Oak, autumn color, [3].
• Odd and even numbers, [163]-65.
• Oriole, Baltimore, [30], [56];
• • nest, [48]-52, [64].
• Oriole, Bullock's, nest, [52].
• Oriole, orchard, nest, [52].
• Osborn, Henry Fairfield, on the origin of life, [194], [195].
• Ostrich, [200].
• Owl, screech, [45]-47.
• Pacific Ocean, [127].
• Pain, [209].
• Pear-trees, autumn color, [1].
• Pelican, California brown, [131], [132].
• Pennsylvania, motor trip through, [109]-13.
• Pewee, wood, nest, [52], [64];
• • its plaint, [87].
• Phœbe, flight, [37];
  • nest, [52]-54, [56], [59], [60], [64], [79], [80].
• Pigeon, wild, [103], [104].
• Pine Knot, Va., visit to, [101]-08.
• Pipit, American, [129];
  • nest, [129], [130].
• Pittsburgh, [111].
• Plover, killdeer, [130], [131].
• Porcupine, [166].
• Rabbit, its protection, [166];
• • caught by a weasel, [177], [178].
• Rainbow tints, in dew, etc., [13], [14].
• Rat, wood, [207] note.
• Reasons, [165]-67.
• Redstart, [29].
• Road-mending, [11].
• Robin, young, [19];
  • nest, [53]-55, [64], [176];
  • fear of man, [57], [58];
  • fittest to survive, [175], [176];
  • versatility, 176;
  • a hustler, 176;
  • danger of a plague of robins, 177;
  • a runner, [177].
• Rocks, origin of the secondary, [200].
• Roosevelt, Theodore, visit to Pine Knot, Va., with, [101]-08;
  • knowledge of India, [101]
  • opinion of Taft, [105];
  • killing a mosquito, [105], [106];
  • protection of the President, [106];
  • bird-gazing, [107];
  • letter from, [107], [108].
• Salamander, orange-colored, [95], [96].
• San Diego, Cal., [210]-12.
• Sandstone, in the Catskills, [20].
• Sap, [6]-8.
• Sapsucker, yellow-bellied, [6].
• Scorpion, [23].
• Seals, hair, in California, [148]-51.
• Sex, the ruling, [140], [141].
• Shaler, Nathaniel S., quoted, [169];
• • on the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, [171], [172].
• Shrew, [16].
• Skunk, [206]-08.
• Snakes, [11].
• Sources, original, [190], [191].
• South, characteristics of the, [120], [121].
• Southern Hemisphere, [171], [172].
• Sparrow, story of a nest, [98], [99].
• Sparrow, chipping or social, nest, [53], [54].
• Sparrow, song, song flight, [37];
  • nesting, [54];
  • singing, [85], [86].
• Sparrow, vesper, nesting, [80]-84;
  • its names, [82];
  • appearance and habits, [82], [83];
  • courted by a skylark, [83].
• Species, origin of, an insoluble problem, [167]-69, [199].
• Spider, trap-door, [132]-43.
• Spiders, [12], [23];
  • genius of, [136].
• Spider-webs, rainbows in, [13], [14].
• Squirrel, gray, caught by a weasel, [178].
• Squirrel, red, chased by a weasel, [178].
• Strawberry-vines, wild, [212]-14.
• Struggle, [203], [204].
• Sunrise, [197], [198].
• Survival of the fit, [201], [203].
• Swallow, bank, [78].
• Swallow, barn, [71];
  • parental anxiety, [76], [77];
  • notes, [76], [77];
  • pleasing qualities, [77], [78].
• Swallow, cliff, [77].
• Swallow, tree, [78].
• Swallows, feeding, [15], [16];
  • hibernation, [78].
• Swift, chimney, [36].
• Sycamore, autumn color, [3].
• Taft, William Howard, [105].
• Telepathy, [155].
• Thistle, Canada, [202].
• Thorns, the use of, [143]-48.
• Thrasher, brown, [67], [68].
• Thrush, Alaska hermit, [129].
• Thrush, hermit, song, [87].
• Thrush, olive-backed, [30].
• Thrush, Wilson's. See Veery.
• Thrush, wood, [30], [64];
• • manners, [67], [68].
• Tides, the, [169], [170], [193], [194].
• Titlark. See Pipit.
• Trees, leaves, [1]-3;
  • mechanism of growth, [4]-8;
  • roots and rootlets, [4]-6;
  • what man has in common with, [9], [10].
• Tree-toad, [71].
• Turnip, Indian, [196].
• Turtle-dove. See Dove, mourning.
• Uniontown, Pa., [113].
• Universe. See Cosmos.
• Van Dyke, John C., on desert plants, [145], [146].
• Veery, nesting, [97], [98].
• Vireo, nest, young, and mother, [99], [100].
• Vireo, red-eyed, [86], [100].
• Vireo, yellow-throated, [30].
• Vital principle, [8], [9].
• Warbler, Audubon's, [129].
• Warbler, Canada, [29].
• Warbler, mourning, [29], [31].
• Wasp, a solitary, [12], [13].
• Water-thrush, or water accentor, [79].
• Waxwing, Bohemian, [21].
• Weasel, catching rabbits and squirrels, [177], [178];
• • an inspirer of terror, [178], [179].
• Weather, prophesying the, [20]-22.
• West Virginia, motor trip through, [114]-19.
• Whitman, Walt, quoted, [9], [193].
• Wolf Creek, [117].
• Woodcock, flight song, [32], [37].
• Woodpecker, yellow-bellied, [6].
• Woodpeckers, flight, [37].
• World War, Darwinism a cause of the, [172]-75.
• Wren, Bewick's, [103].
• Wren, house, [86];
  • and nesting-box, [29].
• Wren, winter, nest, [79].

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