The evening times., 1900-04-07
APRIL THE MONTH OF SHOWERS
Its Glory as an Opening Door 10
General Spring.
From the Hartford Times.

iIltW tit iiditloiN IHhfs.J
The seasons most Interesting month,
and the one which usually brings the
years best promise of the brighter, glad
der days coming. came this year against a
March like northwest wind; but the day
was fulr of early spring sunshine, and was
not so cold as its predecessors. The early
| birds We're seen and heard in the suburban
districts and in the surrounding country.
Crocus beds. here and there. were in full
blossom. and nothing is more springlike
to the eye than these beds of gold and
pale-purpIe bloom. The crocus. like the
pansy. is the flower of April. In the edge
of some pieces of woodland. where the
April sunshine lies warm on the south
ward slope, the trailing arbutus, hiding
under the dead leaves. can usually be
found in full and fragrant blossom before
the end of the first half of the month
sometimes even before the actual depart
ure OF March Its spicy odOr is as delicate
and pieasurable and as suggestive of the
shy woodland life it has developed, as the
first song of the brown thrasher. the
king vocalist of our forest border thrush
es, who comes later in the month April
is called and with reason. a 6okle month
giving but little assurance tat least cur
ing its first half whether il is to flood the
scene with warm sunshine or with pour
ing rain. But April contrives TO make this
very mixture. or blending. of shine and
shower delightful.
Like souls that balance joy and pain.
With tear and smiles from heaven again
The uaItau Spring upon the plain
Cam, iu suuiit fail OF rain.
That hits the April character accurately.
The "sunlit fall Of rain. though not very
frequently seen. especially in the months
first half. is 60 charming a spring feature
when il does occur. that one remembers il
long as an April delight. The capricious
month. with all its whims and contradic-
tiOns is the first of the new years moons
TO bring 10 our New England fields the
welcome fresh tints of green OF the start
ing grass-the first hue seen. of all the
world Of life and color that the later spring
and summer open for us In favored
spots, on city lawns. this emerald tint is
already discernible. II viii soon become
general. for the lawns. and little later
for the fields II needs the warm April
showers TO start 1t.
The migrating birds will now begin to
appear. The robin, the bluebird the
CHEEKY song sparrow the neadowlark and
the 'wake-up' or yellowhammer appeared
in this part OF Connecticut in the middle OF
March Probably they had not gone South.
with the mass OF their kinds in the
autumn. but continued 10 live through our
New England winter subsiSting on cedar
berries and other dubious fare and hiding
in the shelter of the swamps and forest
hemlocks TO shield them a little from the
zero weather. But these hardy birds. be-
longing by kinship to the great body of
migrants. are the exception TO the rule
The instanct Of the great mass teaches
them better, wiser course-to go South |
after the northern summer has fed, and
follow on her skirts to winter which is |
more such in name than in reality-return- |
ing 10 their native Northern fields in the |
early bright days of spring.
There are two great migratory move
ments northward now-one in the upper |
air. the other in the sea The shad is |
one of the fish that come northward with |
the early birds. Where the shad goes. on |
leaving his native river for the South, |
who can say? He goes somewhere. in the |
far sea-currents where he grows big and |
fat; possibly in that oceanic Amazon of. |
life in variety, the Gulf Stream. He be- |
gins his northward journey home in the |
winter-first trying the big river of Florl- |
da; but the native Connecticut River Shad |
will always return TO his native stream |
or would. if the slaughtering pounds on |
the Connecticut side of Long Island Sound |
would let him; and al any rate he gets |
here, like the new Easter hat. and many |
other good things, in April.