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The First Orchard

The first of the orchards is in bloom : the orchard of hazel- nuts. The trees are like bush-apples; the straight avenues between them are misty yellow with caterpillar catkins. This year the flowers are certainly longer than for some years past, and dry mild weather seems to have made them more golden. They were also much earlier; we first noted them on December 13th. Now, two months later, the first are over, the main crop is at its loveliest, the last have not begun. For the past few mornings a skyful of black cloud has come up against the sun. My gardener calls it black wind; rain never comes. If you can catch the full-blown catkins against the black wind, in the sun, they seem suddenly to burn with golden smoke.

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