224 The Ottawa Naturalist. [February 



and back through the woods. To a naturalist there are many 

 things of interest to be found in the woods in winter, and many 

 objects attracted the attention o^ the part)-. The leaves being off 

 the trees in winter, the birds' nests are more easily found now 

 than they are in the summer, and may be taken without compunc- 

 tion, although some young ladies who were passing made the 

 remark that it was " a shame to rob the poor birds' nests," think- 

 ing, perhaps, as we are afraid too many do, that the birds use the 

 same nest two years in succession. It is true that some birds do 

 this, but very few of those which are seen about Ottawa. Nests 

 of what were taken to be the least flycatcher, Maryland yellow 

 throat, and one of the vireos were among those seen. A tew 

 chickadees were the only birds observed duringf the afternoon. 

 The beauty and usefulness of the climbing bitter-sweet Celastrus 

 scandens was impressed on the members of the club by the fine 

 appearance of the scarlet berries which were seen in great abund- 

 ance and still in good condition. This is one of the best climbers 

 to plant about a house, as the foliage is seldom injured by insects 

 during the summer, and is of an attractive shade of green and the 

 highly colored fruit, which remains on the plants all winter, makes 

 the home look quite cheerful. The red, white and black ash \v ; re 

 all observed among many other trees, these three being easily dis- 

 tinguished by the color of the wood and the buds. An apple tree 

 was found growing wild among the forest .trees. Chance apple 

 seedlings are not so common in this part of Ontario as they are 

 further south and west. 



The eggs of the tent caterpillar were found on the choke 

 cherry, a favorite food of this insect. The finding of these eggs 

 there and elsewhere this winter shows that the tent caterpillar is 

 again on the increase. 



After a very enjoyable outing, which was a welcome change 

 to those who have to be in offices all week, the party reached 

 Hull about 5.30 p.m. W. T. M. 



