THE OUTDOOR WORLD 



281 



ticed car is at once aware of it, but, 

 mi paper, it is still only a peep or a 

 chirp. Me has yet another note, rather 

 frequent, though less so than those al- 

 ready mentioned, — or rather a sort of 

 musical couplet, — to hear which at this 

 season is like finding' a cluster of deli- 

 cate little wild flowers growing in the 

 snow. For, when (.nice he starts, he is 

 like to repeat the performance several 

 times, as if it were a sudden and happy 

 thought. Just so I have heard, and so 

 have yon. a woman pipe up and sing 

 at her work, or a man whistle, and the 

 work go with a will. I myself have 

 done it many a time. 



And then, toward spring", the weather 

 moderating just a little, how sweet the 

 first utterance of his nuptial song! 

 What infinite tenderness (that is the 

 proper word) in those two notes of 

 his, and how full of springtime senti- 

 ment ! After these few mild days the 

 song crops out*of him as spontaneously 

 as grass out of April ground. Again 

 those two notes, how full of his new- 

 message! And how human! Indeed, 

 the manner of their delivery, occasional 

 at first, halt suppressed, perfectly non- 

 committal, yet none the less telltale, 

 and lastly the very notes themselves— 

 their pitch, tone, key and all that — all 

 are exactly those of a bov "smitten" 

 for the first time, who wdiistles at a 

 certain gate, scarcely knowing why, 

 ready enough to turn and run should 

 he hear but the creak of a latch ! Everv 

 village street has its chickadee song. 



Winter, with ns, still lingers; but to 

 a chickadee, always so heedless of snow 

 and sleet, it must be as a thing of the 

 past, and spring a verity, when he can 

 voice such a sentiment in such a way. 



The Nature Faker. 



Sentimental Young Lady — Ah, pro- 

 fessor, what would this old oak say if 

 it could talk? 



Professor — It would say, "I 

 •elm." — Successful Farming. 



Boulder Split by Cherry Tree. 



BY CHARLES K. I'.KSSK.Y, LINCOLN, NEBR. 



Forty-six years ago last June J saw 

 by the roadside between Lansing, 

 Michigan, and the Agricultural Col- 

 lege, a large granite boulder, six to 



am an 



PROFESSOR CHARLES E. BESSEY. 



eight feet in diameter with a little wild 

 cherry tree (Primus serotina) growing 

 from a small crack in its upper surface. 

 It was only a foot or two high, and not 

 more than a third of an inch in dia- 

 meter, and the crack in the boulder 

 was not over a half an inch wide, and. 

 it did not extend through it. From 

 time to time I saw this tree, and 

 watched its increase in diameter, and 

 with its growth the widening of the 

 crack. Gradually the crack extended 

 downward and finally split the great 

 boulder in two, and after that the 

 young tree had no further trouble. It 

 is now a sturdy tree about a foot in 

 diameter, and twenty to thirty feet in 

 height. It has been known for manv 

 years as an interesting curiosity, and 

 thousands of college students look upon 

 it as one of the notable college land- 

 marks. A few years ago when a dealer 

 painted his advertisement on the 

 boulder the college boys promptly 



