Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1911-11-16

subject of d delightful address upon
the beauties of nature by Mrs Y. F.
DeCoster of Buekfcld. She said in
part:
When l WIS a small child I learned
TO believe in fairies and | still believe
IN them more and more. People may
tell YOU there are no such things az
| fairies but You Will find / am telling
you the truth, if you will go quietly
to the fields and woods, brooks and
pastures and hunt and listen patient
| y. But il You 80 whiZzing through
the country III an automobile or All
electric car, YOU will never become
| acquainted with the fairies They are
to be found on every farm and III
| every forest in the State of Maine.
| They may not look just as some fairy
| tales picture them. but they are just
| the incest kinds of fairies imaginab BILE
when YOU get acquainted with them.
4 few weeks ago l discovered the
| headquarters of the fairies in our
town. II was IN a beautiful helnioels
grove where the trees ran up tall and
straight. and the ground was free
from underbrush, carpeted with ever
green needles, outlined in beautiful
patterns with ferns. gold thread. and
partridge vines. dotted with red Der
rieS.
Away up in the tree tops an old grey
squirrel keeps guard and warns the
fairies of all intruders. / think the
fairies had held a grand carnival the
night before, for there We're many
| tables and dancing pavilions when
| looked like mushrooms. Some were
round and broad and fiat Some, Of
beautiful shades OF pink. some Of
white. orange and brown Some We're
shaped like open umbrellas. others like
umbrellas turned inside out, and some
We're almost round. Many people eat
| mushrooms, but those which belong
to the fairies in the woods are very
| likely to be poisonous and it is new
err safe to eat even those collected in
open pastures unless collected by an
expert.
In this grove the fairies keep their
pipes, which are often called Indian
pipes, but I think they are fairies
pipes because they are so pink and
white and WaXy. Here also grows the
coral root with dainty orchid flowers,
and beautiful iointed roots. from
which the fairies make coral neck
| Iaces. Along one edge of the grove
dances a laughing brook. The banks
are frlnged with beautiful ferns while
great trees lean over the water There
| i6 one deep pool beside a huge boulder
where the speekle6 trout and water
babies live. On the edge Of the brook
| grows the purple fringed orchids
Farther down in the woods the brook
rushos over many great rocks, under
| which the larvae of the Dohson fly
| HE. Fishermen call them hellgram-
| ties, and use them for bait when fish
| ing Cor black bass These hob goblins
are ugly looking fellows, growing to
| be three inches or more in length
with 4 row of legs and gills on each
| side of his body. When fully grown
they crawl into the bank and in about
month come forth a large. winged
insect. expanding from four to five
inches. The males have fierce looking
mandibes, which strike fear to ali
small fairies. On still pools in the
brook, arc black water striders dart
ing over the water, and occasionally
leaping into the air after insects. In
the woods on the edge of tho meadow
| are mary btduiIuf MOWERS. mere Inc
fairies get their footwear from the
early pink Ladies Slipper, A little
later they have the Yellow MoccasiH
flower. and the last of June. the
Snowy Ladies Slipper.
In the grasses, grow the dainty or
chids of Ladies Tresses, which must
have grown from some fairies curling.
locks. Here too, are the wonderful
pitcher plants. / have brought you
some of the leaves so that some Of
you scholars may take them to school
tomorrow to show to the other girls
| and boys. In the edge of the woods
| grow the early hepaticas, from which
the fairies get their white fur hoods.
| Here too, are the may flowers, spring
| beauties yellow violets, and the beau
| tiful Dutchman's breeches. The flow
| er books ought to call them fairies
boomers, if they must call them any
wearing apparel The thick white
| flowers of the turtle head grow in the
] brook, the leaves of which, furnish