122 The Ottawa Naturalist. [September 



the hole on the outside was partly eaten away by (1 believe) some 

 larger mammal ; probably to get at the little white-foot It was 

 quite tame but would bite a little at a twig inserted and once 

 struck at it with its front feet. 



March 25. At Model. *Skunk cabbage in full bloom. The 

 spathe is shell-like and very pretty, being variously streaked with 

 purple and yellow. The whole plant has a strong skunk-like 

 odor, no doubt a defense to the large tender plant in the strug- 

 gle for life in places overrun by herbivorous animals. The blos- 

 som precedes the leaves and is very early the cnly available 

 time the plant has found to catch the eye of the fertilizing bees. 



March 28. Froze hard last night. Slight snow fall, quite 

 cold A. M. Birds hard put. P.M. sun out, snow melted. 



April 1. Five or six inches of snow. Winter once more. 

 Birds are surely hard put. 



April 3. Cloudy and mild. Snow disappearing. Saw 



four or five killdeer running at a creek edge querulously calling. 



April 4. Froze hard last night, rather mild today. Saw 

 at edge of muddy road what I took to be a Wilson snipe, al- 

 though apparently rather small. It lit on a rail fence and/ allowed 

 me to approach within thirty-five yards, then flew with the irre- 

 gular snipe-flight, and at the moment of rising uttered a charac- 

 teristic bleat. 



April 5. Fine, A. M. Vesper sparrow singing for first time, 

 Saw phoebe at Crozier's Creek. P.M. Snowing heavily, and hign 

 wind from north. As I rode fifteen miles in the teeth of the 

 storm I had a clearer view of the struggle for existence. 



April 6. Snow 6 inches deep on the level and high drifts be- 

 side. All this snow fell since yesterday noon. This morning 

 is calm and mild with a strong sun shining, and no doubt, the 

 snow will rapidly pass away, surely none too soon for the poor 

 birds. Saw part of the skin with a few feathers, of a small 

 bird on thorn at edge of side road. A shrike had dined well and 



Note. " The Model" to which Mr.^Elliolt refers so frequently in his 

 Diary was an abandoned farm with swampy woods and an old neglected 

 orchard which furnished the best possible ground tor the botanist and 

 ornithologist . With his gentle satire he christened it the " .Model harm.'" 



