KENSINGTON CLOVER.
BY MARCIA D. BRADBURY.
Such a hubbub in the meadow!
Such a rustling in the grass!
"I feel injured," sighed the daisy,
"Things have come to such a pass.
To be worked in colored worsted,
Ev'ry shade and line complete,
Isn't very compliment'ry
To a stylish marguérite."
"One might call it," said the poppy,
In a tone of sleepy fun,
"Flowers raised by crewel culture—
Only, please, excuse the pun."
"Oh, don't joke on such a subject,"
Said an innocent, rather low,
While from sev'ral other quarters
Came a disapproving "No."
"Really," laughed a sweet red clover,
"I flushed up quite nervously
When I saw a head on canvas
So exceedingly like me.
If the honey-bee had been there,
He'd have buzzed about that leaf.
Ah! I only wish he had been;
'Twould have served him right—the thief!"
Suddenly through all this chatter
Came a voice, like music's flow,
From a little yellow violet
Growing in the marsh below.
All the flowers nodded silence
As she said—a little pause—
"What a foolish fuss, my field-mates,
You have made with no real cause!
"Are they fragrant? Can you smell them?
Though they are so bright and fair,
Do the breezes, when they touch them,
Carry incense on the air?
When they fade, will hidden blossoms
Take the places of those dead?
Shooting stems and growing leaflets
Crown the drooping plant instead?"
And the others, well contented,
When the violet's song was o'er,
Tossed their pretty heads and said they
Wouldn't worry any more.
A TREE ALBUM.
Many of our boys and girls, we venture to say, would like to know how to make a collection of specimens illustrating the trees of their own neighborhood and of other parts of the country. We hardly need remind them that the only way to get a complete knowledge and to enjoy the beauty of natural objects is to examine them closely, and find out all their little peculiarities. We may take long walks through the groves and woods, and spend a great deal of time there, and yet when we get home we may know very little about them. We might remember that we had seen a great many trees, but not be able to tell of what kinds they were, how their branches and leaves were shaped, how tall they were, or anything about them.
Now such knowledge is very pleasant to have, and will afford a great deal of pure enjoyment. The more we know about the beautiful trees, the more we will value them, and find entertainment in admiring them.
It is a good plan to bring home from our rambles small portions of them, so that we can examine them minutely at our leisure. The bark, the leaves, and the blossoms are the most important; they are what we look at to recognize a tree, and we should have specimens of each. The first necessary step is to find some way of arranging and preserving them. A good method is to get some pasteboard or stout paper, and cut it into sheets of convenient size—say eight inches long and five wide. Then a box will be needed to keep them in, so that they will not get lost or soiled. Give one sheet to each tree, and upon it paste a piece of the bark, a leaf, and a blossom. The bark should not be taken from the tree where it is too coarse and clumsy, but where it is nearly smooth and perfect, and gives the best idea of the tree; nor should too thin a piece be taken, as when it gets dry it may wrinkle up and crumble to pieces. It may be well to take off with the bark a thin layer of the wood to stiffen it and keep it smooth. A piece of bark about three inches long and two wide would be of a good size.
The blossoms will have to be pressed and dried before they are attached to the sheet. Take care to lay them so as to show the face and the inside parts as plainly as possible. It may be well in some cases to press two or more blossoms, laying them in different positions, so that every part can be seen.