OCTOBER.

Variegated, of many different | Inten'sity, great depth or bright

The trees are now fading, and the leaves are fast taking upon themselves the bright and variegated colours which indicate their speedy death.

The fading many-coloured woods,

Shade deepening over shade, the country round
Imbrown, a crowded umbrage, dusk and dun,
Of every hue.

2. Yellow, brown, and red, with here and there a mass of still green foliage, or the dark green of the Scotch fir or holly, make up a picture of surpassing beauty. Lovely as our woods are in autumn, they cannot be compared with those of Canada and the United States. The colouring of the great forests of these countries in the autumn can never be forgotten if once seen, but can hardly be described in words. a. In the still bright days of the socalled 'Indian summer,' or late autumn, the endless American forests stand arrayed in an intensity and variety of tints which could never be imitated by the brush of the painter. On the one hand are groves of maple, clad in the most brilliant orange; here are huge oaks, burnt blood-red by the sun; there are masses of yellow beeches and poplars; whilst the crimson sumach waves its feathery leaves below, and the dark pines raise their heads against the clear blue sky.

4. The evenings in October are cold, and often frosty, and the sunsets, like those of September, are sometimes of wonderful beauty.

The heavens in splendour melt away
From radiant gold to silver gray,
As sinks the sun;

While stars, upon their trackless way,
Come one by one.

5. In the mornings the grass is often white with hoar-frost, and the hill-sides and meadows are covered with endless networks and floating silken threads manufactured by the gossamer spider. This little creature, about the size of a large pin's head, fixes its thread to a blade of grass or some other object, and is then itself blown into the air by the wind. In this way it is carried from place to place, without labour or trouble.

6. The hedgerows are covered with the dark-red glossy berries of the hawthorn, and the orange hips of the wild-rose. The brambles are laden with blackberries; and the mountain-ash or rowan-tree bears a plentiful harvest of its red berries. 7. These make excellent food for the birds; and it is said that one can judge of the severity of the coming winter by the abundance of berries on the hawthorn and mountain-ash, a plentiful supply of berries being a sign of a cold winter; but it is doubtful if there is any truth in this saying.

8. Few plants flower in October, but a great many shed their seeds in this month. In some plants the seeds just fall to the ground; and, if they find a favourable situation, they sprout and grow up into young plants. In other cases, as in the dandelion and thistle, the seed is provided with feathery hairs, so that it floats easily in the air, and is carried far and wide by the wind. 9. In other cases, as in the common burs, the fruit is covered with little hooks, so that they attach themselves to passing sheep and cattle, and are

thus transported from one place to another. In other cases again, the fruit has an elastic spring in it, so that when it is ripe it bursts with a good deal of force, and scatters the seeds inside to a considerable distance.

10. The winter-birds now begin to arrive. Soon after Michaelmas come various kinds, such as fieldfares and woodcocks; and the shrill cries of wild swans and geese are heard both by night and by day, as they wing their flight through the high upper air. 11. In old England, this was the chief month in which the sport of falconry was pursued. Various kinds of hawks or falcons were trained to fly at and to strike down partridges, pigeons, snipes, and above all the slow-flying heron, as he rose from his fishing in some shallow river or quiet lake. The hawk flew high into the air, and after having succeeded in getting above his victim by skilful manœuvring, threw himself upon it, and dashed it along with him to the ground.

QUESTIONS.-1. Tell me the appearance of the woods in this month. 2. Of the Canadian woods. 3. What do we often see in an October morning? 4. What bushes and trees are full of fruit? 5. Tell me the names of some plants whose seeds are provided with down. 6. What other ways have plants of spreading their seeds abroad? 7. What winter-birds now begin to arrive? 8. What birds fly high up in the air? 9. Tell me what you know about falconry.

DICTATION.-Learn to write out section 6.

EXERCISES.-1. Learn to spell the following words:

2. Parse the words in the following sentence: In old England, this was the chief month in which falconry was pursued.

3. Select all the prepositions in section 10, and state what words they join.

4. Make nouns out of the following adjectives and verbs : Serene; cool; compare; intense; various; judge; imitate; severe; splendid; elastic; cover; ripe; carry; begin.

5. Explain the following phrases: (1) The leaves are fast taking upon themselves variegated colours. (2) An intensity and variety of tints. (3) They are transported from one place to another. (4) This was the chief month in which the sport of falconry was pursued.

6. Write a short composition on OCTOBER from the following heads (1) The woods. (2) The gossamer spider. (3) Hips and haws. (4) How plants spread their seeds. (5) Falconry.

1. The partridge, closely ambushed, hear

The crackling leaf-poor timid thing!
And to a thicker covert steers

On swift, resounding wing:
The woodland wears a look forlorn;
Hushed is the wild-bee's tiny horn,
The cricket's bugle shrill—
Sadly is Autumn's mantle torn,
But fair to vision still.

2. The varied aster tribes unclose

Bright eyes in Autumn's smoky bower, An azure cup the gentian shews,

A modest little flower: