28 the Hyla breed: A breed of small tree frogs, called spring peepers, which hibernate underground in winter. See also Charles Darwin’s discussion of Hyla frogs in The Voyage of the Beagle, chapter 2, “Rio De Janeiro.” Also significant is the ancient myth of Hylas mentioned in Virgil, Eclogue 6.2.44-43: “His adiungit, Hylan nautae quo fonte relictum/clamassent, ut litus ‘Hyla, Hyla’ omne sonaret.” (“To these he adds the story of the spring where Hylas was left and how the seamen called on him, till all the shore rang ‘Hylas! Hylas!’ ”) In Greek mythology, Heracles spared Hylas the young son of King Theiodamas, whom he had defeated and killed. After making Hylas his page, they traveled together on the voyage of the Argonauts till landing at Cios. There Hylas went to fetch water, found a spring, and was pulled into the water by nymphs, who were in love with his beauty. Heracles stayed to look for him and this became the basis in Cios for a ritual search for Hylas.

29 Oven Bird: A warbler, whose call sounds like “preacher, preacher” or “teacher, teacher,” that builds his domelike nest on the ground. See also the discussion of the oven bird (genus Furnarius) in Darwin’s The Voyage of the Beagle, chapter 5, “Bahia Blanca.”

30 shed crystal . . . had fallen: See Shelley’s “Adonais,” 52.462-64: “Life, like a dome of many-coloured glass,/Stains the white radiance of Eternity,/Until Death tramples it to fragments.”

31 orchid Calypso: A bog herb named after the nymph Calypso, a goddess of silence who reigned on the island of Ogygia and offered Odysseus eternal youth and life if he would cease wandering and stay with her forever.

32 “Out, Out”: Shakespeare, Macbeth, 5.5.23—“Out, out, brief candle!”—from Macbeth’s speech on the death of his wife.

33 Racker Sect: Frost invented this name.

34 Chickadee: Titmouse, a small bird with thick plumage and a short bill.

35 the gift of . . . tongues: See Acts 2:4. The outpouring of spirit that enabled the Apostles to communicate in all foreign languages.

36 Stone-Boat: A low, flat sled used for transporting stones.

37 Bird of Paradise’s tail: The Bird of Paradise is a tropical bird prized for its brilliantly colored plumes.

38 Wave offering: An offering waved before the Lord; for example, in Numbers 5, 6, 18, and 20; Leviticus 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, and 23; Exodus 29.

39 Wild Grapes: Isaiah 5:2—“And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes and it brought forth wild grapes.”

40 What tree . . . birch: Cf. Matthew 7:16—“Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?”

41 Eurydice: In classical mythology, Orpheus attempts to rescue Eurydice from the underworld but is ordered not to look back at her while leading her out of Hades. He turns toward her when they come into sight of the upper regions, and she disappears.