OUR NEW CORNER.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 229, 27 September 1930, Page 2 (Supplement)

OUR NEW CORNER.

f ■ THE APPROACH OF SPRING. A SUCCESSFUL COMPETITION. Violets, daffodils and the very scent of the bush seemed to stream into my office as >1 was reading the various letters on the approach of spring. There was something . springlike in the diversity of style in the various letters, which were as refreshing as the spring lady herself. So many and so good were the entries that it was hard contest to judge, but eventually the prize of 2/6 was awarded to Margaret Fowlds, 28, Asquith Avenue, Mount Albert, although the work of Arthur Pell (two blue certificates) was of almost equal merit. Other very good letters were received from Sheila Quinn, Phyllis Crowley, Norma Martin, Marjorie Morton and Alfred Ansley. As one set of letters remains to be judged, no subject will be announced this week.

28, Asquith Avenue, Alt. Albert, Auckland. Dear I'etcr Pan, — Spring is in the air! Spring, like tlie fulfilment of a dream seen in palest tints ot' pink, blue, and gold. Orchards are dressed in bridal array, pink and ivhite being the most fashionable colours. Peach and plum blossom seem to give promise of wonders yet to come. Scattered among the grass, 1 odest violets and bell-like hyacinths hold up blue faces to bu washed with dew or kissed by the sun. Dew-wet cobwebs, strung from tree to tree, tell those who know that there is to be a wedding in fairyland, and that tliev are the decorations. The daffodils bid the guests prepare their frocks of peach, plum, and apple blossom. At night the scent of azaleas tills the garden, and when all is •liuet and the moon Is high, the revels begin. Fluffy pussy-willow catklgs arc the fairies' kittens, and at night they run and play with baby fairies. Soon the oak trees will put on new pale green dresses, cherry trees will be pink with blossom, wistaria will droop over archways, and in the bush golden kowhai will light up the dark places. Spring is here, but alas, not to stay, for summer, with sunshine and gaudy colours, is jealous, and does not give spring long to delight us. i So here we are welcoming spring, and saying a joyful farewell to winter.—l am, yours sincerely, Margaret ijowlds (age io;. 31, Alt. Hobsou Road, Reinuera, Aucklajud. Dear Peter Pan, — With the approach of September jVitnro rises from her couch, and at the touch of her magic wand converts the fields and meadows once more into a paradise of wild flowers. Those who arc lovers of spring find it difficult to realise that such vast changes fan be wrought in one short month. When the win try days of August melt beneath the warm September sun a new epoch is reached, and mother nature oncc more paints the trees, bushes, and flowers with the wonderful colours found only upon her own resourceful palette. Seemingly with the sunrise we find'the birth of the daisy , and buttercup, flowers that relieve the meadows of their velvety

green monotony. Wattles blossom in yellow orofusion, and the hedgerows of hawthorn become white with myriads of tiny flowers. The most beautiful event, however, is the march of spring upon our virgin hush. The forest monarchs respond to the touch of the master hand, donning their fresh green cloaks with a meekness that is difficult to comprehend. From their gnarled boughs nattfre drapes in'her lavish manner clusters of clematis. Like the poppies of the Amencan valleys and the white Jilies, Gstecnjecl the loveliest blossoms of the Otago hills, the clematis is exquisitely beautiful. and possessed of a perfume that is surpassed by no other flower. The glories of a sunrise on a spring morn in the heart of our New Zealand bush are exceptionally beautiful. The sun, a hall of liquid fire, climbs above the hills, melting the thin_ gossamer-like mists that have formed dfiring the night, and drying the* pearly dewdrops that glisten and sparkle like diamonds upon the flowei petals. As the bronzy beacon sails out into the azure blue the air is tilled with a chorus of bird songs—a melody that is in accompaniment with the rugged nature o£ the country—a melody containing the siher notes of the bell-bird and the trilled songs of the tui. The approach of spring heralds the advent of a change upon the world —a change that has the power of awakening the trees ana plants to new life—a change that is entlirailing; wonderful, and magnihcent.— I remain, yours N sincerely, ARTHUR PELL.