196 LAND-BIRDS AND GAME-BIRDS 



sbows the necessity of strict accuracj'^ and the utmost care in 

 scientific investigation. 



Mr. Ma3-narcl says : " The Ipswich Sand-hills, where the 

 specimen was procured, is a most peculiar place. I never have 

 met with its equal anywhere. Years ago these Sand-hills, 

 which are three miles long by three-fourths of a mile across, 

 and contain about one thousand acres, were covered with a 

 thick growth of pine-trees. Protected by these trees, and 

 among them, dwelt a tribe of Indians, whose earlier presence 

 is indicated, not only by tradition, but b}'^ numerous shell heaps 

 scattered over the Sand-hills at irregular intervals. Indeed, 

 even now the ashes of camp-fires may be seen, apparently 

 fresh. Upon the advent of the white man, the usual event 

 transpired, namely, the disappearance of the trees ; and to- 

 da}', with the exception of a few scattering ones at the south- 

 easterl}' corner, near the house of the proprietor of the Sand- 

 hills, Mr. George "Woodbury, not a tree is to be seen. All is 

 bleak and barren. The surface of the ground, once covered 

 with a slight deposit of soil, has become a mass of shifting 

 sands. Many times has the present owner had cause to regret 

 the want of foresight in his ancestors in removing the trees, as 

 the several acres of arable land around the house are now cov- 

 ered with sand, including a valuable apple-orchard. Upon this 

 orchard the sand has drifted to the depth of thirty feet. Some 

 of the trees present the curious phenomenon of apples growing 

 upon limbs that protrude a few feet onl}' above the sand, while 

 the trunk and lower branches are buried ! The Sand-hills, in 

 places, are covered with a sparse growth of coarse grass, upon 

 the seeds of which, as I have remarked elsewhere, thousands 

 of Snow Buntings feed. There are, in some places, sinks or 

 depressions with the level of the sea. In these sinks, which, 

 except during the summer months, are filled with fresh water, 

 a more luxuriant growth of grass appears. Walking, on De- 

 cember 4, 1868, near one of these places, in search of Lapland 

 Longspurs, I started a sparrow from out the tall grass, which 

 flew wildly, and alighted again a few rods away. I approached 

 the spot, surprised at seeing a sparrow at this late da}' so far 



