Vintage Years
It has happened with inexplicable frequency that war-years have proved famous for the best vintages. Are they also famous for autumn coloration? If I may give a personal recollection, it was my fortune in 1914 to walk often fifteen and more miles a day in the country between the Marne and the Aisne, and never did the beauty of the country scene more deeply impress itself on my memory. Yet the prevail- ing tree of those districts is the poplar, which can bear no comparison with beech or elm or oak. Perhaps the deep, deep country, always the surest solace in existence, is enhanced by contrast with war, as a green tree will leap into prominence when backed by a thundercloud. The preservation of the English scene is not a duty that can be postponed or inter- mitted, so it is good news that, in spite of smaller staffs and the reduction of periodical literature, the societies especially concerned with preserving England are to remain active and have planted themselves in one of the loveliest counties. They, too, are worthy of support, now as before.
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