Railroad to Walden, 3 p. m. I see the populus (apparently tremuloides, not grandidentata) at the end of the railroad causeway, showing the down of its anient. Bigelow makes the tremuloides flower in April, the grandidentata in May. . . . . The little grain of wheat, triticum, is the noblest food of man, the lesser grains of other grasses are the food of passerine birds at present. Their diet is like man's.
The gods can never afford to leave a man in the world who is privy to any of their secrets. They cannot have a spy here. They will at once send him packing. How can you walk on ground where you see through it?
The telegraph harp has spoken to me more distinctly and effectually than any man ever did.
March 12, 1853. It is essential that a man confine himself to pursuits, a scholar, for instance, to studies which lie next to and conduce to his life, which do not go against the grain either of his will or his imagination. The scholar finds in his experience some studies to be most fertile and radiant with light, others, dry, barren, and dark. If he is wise, he will not persevere in the last, as a plant in a cellar will strive towards the light. He will confine the observations of his mind as closely as possible to the experience or life of his senses. His
