Branksome Hall - Slogan Yearbook (Toronto, Ontario Canada)

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THE BRANKSOME SLOGAN. 15 caricatures the laugh of man. He lives on snakes, and as our snakes are nearly all very poisonous, we feel friendly towards him. The mopoke and curlew both have dismal cries. The former says mopoke, or more pork ' over and over monotonously. The curlew has a very shrill, penetrating cry. Among the larger birds is the emu, a brown gray bird, smaller than the ostrich, the ibis, the wild turkey and the black swan. This last may be seen in many swamps, and is very stately and graceful. Among the Grampian mountains, some forty miles from here, there is undisturbed bush. A profusion of wild flowers, heaths white, pink and purple, cover the ground. A tiny creek from the hills mur- murs sleepily along between banks embowered in ferns; gum trees whisper, the wattles softly sigh in answer, the glossy leaves shimmer; a bird calls, perchance a beady-eyed lizard stares in silent wonder at the intruder, standing alone among the sounds and silences and the indescribable loneliness of the Australian bush. He is very close to the heart of Mother Nature, old and wise, whose laws and plans vain, foolish Man seeks so often to undo. Australia.- G. M. Cross. CHARACTER IN HORSES Late one spring afternoon I was riding home from school on my velvet-footed Cricket, when, as we rounded a bluff, his ears pricked up and his step quickened. A broad ravine was before us, and on the far side a dozen horses were grazing. Cricket was so interested that the flock of prairie chickens, usually startled at this point, failed to frighten him. That danger over, I, too turned my attention to the horses. If our horses were amongst those, I thought, that black one with his head up would be Coalie — Coalie, the most sociable and kindly of horses, would be first to notice a stranger. On we came, Cricket in a hurry, I rather nervous. As we drew near, all the horses looked up and moved inquisitively towards us ; all save one. Again I said mentally, If our horses were here, you, you unsociable creature, would be my Dick. ' Almost as the thought formed in my mind, the haughty little head raised slowly, gave one long, cool stare at Cricket, then continued cropping the grass. There ' s only one Dick in the world, and at close range one couldn t mistake him. I looked again at the black horse and laughed aloud. Coalie and Dick, straying around with a neighbor ' s horses, had forced them- selves upon my notice, each by his most pronounced characteristic Not one of the others had I noticed. Jean M. Eoss.

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14 THE BEANKSOME SLOGAN. for dairying, and many graziers, my father among the number, lease part of their land to dairy farmers. The dairy farms consist of a few hundred acres. One or two hundred cows are milked night and morn- ing, and the cream is taken to a butter factory, or cheese-making is carried on on the premises. There is much hard work, but profits are sure where there is seldom fear of drought. In the north-west and Wimmera districts, agriculture predominates, and when a good year comes the yields of wheat are enormous and the farmers prosper. This district, however, is subject to droughts, which last sometimes for years, and thousands are ruined. The crops won ' t grow, horses die, there is no water, and families almost starve. Although Victoria is comparatively cleared of bush, yet in the north-eastern portion and in Gippsland there is an over-abundance of timber. There are forests of enormous gum trees and lesser trees, and fern gullies are plentiful. The climate in this continent is so varied that nearly every plant will grow but the native vegetation is peculiar to Australia. The trees most prevalent belong either to the non- deciduous families — Eucalyptus, which includes all gum trees, and Acacia, which includes all wattle trees. Wattle trees have lovely golden blossom in the form of little round fluffy balls massed together, and these emit a strong, agreeable perfume. We have no snow in Australia, except in the very highest parts (Australian Alps, Mt. Kosciusko, 7,000 feet). Though there may be an occasional light fall elsewhere, it never lies. Many Australians have never seen a real snowstorm such as you rejoice in. Consequently we grow flowers all the year round, and even the tiniest cottages revel in their beautiful gardens blazing with the colors of roses, carnations, chrysanthemums, narcissus and many others attractive in their season. The early settlers in Australia had no fierce animals to contend with, their chief enemy being the black fellow. ' ' The largest animal is the kangaroo, found only in Australia and some islands of the Pacific. Then there is the opossum, one species of which hangs by its tail to the branches of trees; the native bear, which is harmless; and the dingo, or wild dog. Another peculiar animal is the duck-billed platy- pus, which is web-footed, has a bill like a duck, and is amphibious. Its young are hatched from eggs, but it is also a mammal. We have an abundance and variety of bird life. Parrots, paroquets and cockatoos, all brilliantly plumaged, are numerous. The bell-bird is famed for its call, which resembles the sound of a bell. The lyre bird owes its name to the fact that its sixteen tail feathers are arranged in the form of a lyre. Among songsters the magpie is a type. His song is musical and cheerful, and when one hears a goroke chorus a sunny day may be expected. The kookaburra, or laughing jackass,

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16 THE BRANKSOME SLOGAN. LOST Lost ! Ah, but that word doesn t mean anything at all until you ' ve really been lost, even if it is only six in the evening and a mile or two from your destination. It was all Dick ' s fault that I ever found myself in such a plight, and as Dick is a little bay pony which cannot speak for himself, 1 can tell my story without fear of contradiction. One fall day I started from home immediately after dinner on a sixteen-mile ride to school. 1 forgot, indeed, how short the days were becoming, and how long we had chatted over our noonday meal, and in this happy state of forgetfulness 1 did a very wise thing — took a new trail over which I had been driven once. The first four miles of the way I knew perfectly, and the next two passed like a flash, for an acquaintance was riding out the same road, and little Dick puts forth his swiftest paces when he has equine ( ?) company. But when our paths diverged, and Dick and I settled down for the ten miles straight south, all his enthusiasm evaporated. If I touched him with the whip he would bounce into a half-hearted gallop, shake it out into a trot, and slow down into a walk, all in six times his ow]i length. This was very tiresome for us both, and it was quite a rest for him sometimes to stop altogether and nibble the grass beside the trail. So we proceeded seven or eight miles, until I suddenly noticed the sinking sun and informed Dick that we must hurry. Dick, being a very wise little horse, knew that I meant it, and dropped his dawdling ways. At this rate we would be there in twenty minutes or so — but, behold my trail, without any warning, spread out fan-like before me; it was. a choice of three. When I want an inexhaustible subject on which to talk, I shall choose the in-follow-bility of trails. At present all I can say is that, all positions being relative, and not knowing exactly where I was, I didn ' t know quite where I wanted to go ; neither could I guess whicli of the serpentine trails before me would finally wind up at my destina- tion ; so I chose the middle course and urged Dicky on. The rail dipp-ed into a black-looking hollow behind a bluff. Too dark for me, I ' ll strike south and find my usual trail, ' thought 1. When in doubt, never change trails, would be as possible a proverb as never change horses crossing a stream. Trails just have a way of moving right out of the country as soon as your back is turned. I couldn ' t find my usual route, nor could I find again the one I had deserted. Finally I came to a standstill, knee-deep in rustling brown prairie grass, dusk settling all around me, peeping stars overhead, and nothing to tell me where to go.