Birds in Horticulture. 185 



tinio a misty rain came noiselessly down. The scene was a weird, unearthly 

 one, and it took but little fancy to bring the music down from the clouds. 

 This evening song held us willing captives for a good half hour. 



The English sparrows are bright, blustering little fellows, and in the heart 

 of a large city, where the wild birds nre seldom or never seen, are hot ob- 

 jectionable ; but this I fear is the only place in America for him. All bird 

 lovers must deprecate his advent into our new country ; but he is here and 

 multiplying, and the momentous question for us to answer, is this: How 

 shall we keep him under, or rid ourselves of him? The mature bii'd eats 

 grain, the very young ones are said to eat worms. They are so pugnacious 

 that native birds fear them. A few robins are wintering in Madison, Wis. 

 this senson. The sparrows, to my certain knowledge, have given them but 

 little rest and peace. I have seen these saucy little birds attacking wood- 

 peckers and blue jays many times during the past winter. If Dame Fashion 

 would decree that the English sparrow was the coming bird for the ladies' 

 head-wear, and for parlor decorations, as the sunflower has been of late, it 

 would be a boon to the country. 



The beautiful golden robin, or Baltimore oriole, is well known from 

 Canada to the Gulf. The name Baltimore was given because of the resem- 

 blance of his coat to that of Lord Baltimore. The song is strange, sweet and 

 powerful. He is apt to confine himself to but few notes, but he is capable 

 of singing an exhaustive melody of great variety and beauty. The deep 

 hanging nest is usually suspended from a tall tree. The city nests are not so 

 beautiful and symmetrical as the country ones. It exhibits in this nest work- 

 manship most rare and wonderful. In the South the nests are made of Span- 

 ish moss, which is attached at both ends to the forks in a branch, then the 

 moss is woven in opposite directions until a hammock-like nest is produced. 

 The oriole takes his food largely from the tree, and while looking on the un- 

 der side of the leaf for the worm, hangs with his head downward. 



The orchard oriole is a sweet singer — not well enough known — color dingy 

 yellow and olive. The nest is a tree-hanging one. The rose-breasted gros- 

 beak comes with the oriole and cat-bird. They are beautiful birds. In some 

 parts of Wisconsin and Minnesota they are the birds most commonly seen, 

 but about Madison not common. Perhaps in the near future we shall see 

 inore of thom, for they are said to be changing their location. Audubon 

 places this bird very high in his list of minstrels. The song begins like the 

 cat-bird's, then rises and falls in waves, and ends with warblings, echoes 

 and trills that are indescribably sweet. This bird will probably be the bird 

 of poetry and song in future years. They make valuable cage birds, and 

 the young are successfully raised in captivity. They show remarkable skill 

 in nest building — will bend twigs by biting the innerside from end to end. 



The cat-bird, or northern mocking bird, frequents both town and country. 

 When he first comes he is shy, but should you desire it you can be on de- 

 lightfully intimate terms with him, for he will hover round you, sing to you. 

 and bathe in the wooden bowl with the robin at vour feet. 



