25 



On the way, were seen large numbers of Grackles, of varieties pitr- 

 pureus et ceneus. The stage was a horribly rickety, old rattletrap, 

 which still bore some slight vestiges of the conventional yellow 

 color with which it had originally been decorated ; on its top were 

 piled some long, crooked, heavy iron rods, which rattled dangerously 

 overhead. This splendid vehicle was drawn by two lean and ghostly 

 horses, whose best days were passed a decade or more ago; as the 

 driver whipped them up the long hills, I could not help feeling that 

 I was doing violence to my humanity by sitting on the driver's seat 

 instead of getting out and helping the horses pull, as my conscience 

 told me I ought to be doing. The roads and fences were lined with 

 sturdy, old cedars, and, in these, the grackles were ensconced. As 

 we drove past, almost brushing the branches, they hopped down 

 close to us, leered at our bony nags, peered into the coach and 

 screamed derisively at us, and spread their tails in high glee as 

 they called to their neighbors in advance to join in the merriment at 

 our expense, and they in turn jeered us as we passed by. I could not 

 help feeling ashamed, and, involuntarily, turned to see if our red- 

 nosed driver shared my emotions. The Crow Blackbirds were scat- 

 tered over the fields on both sides of the road. The bronzed variety 

 skone like gold in the sunlight, while the purple ones glittered bril- 

 liantly in their metallic plumage. 



I have never known them to breed in the mountains; but in all the 

 low-lying meadow-country along the Hudson, they do so abundantly 

 — especially where coniferous trees abound. 



Dimensions. — Average measurements of adult male: length, 12-50; 

 stretch, 17-75; wing, 5-55; tail, 5-40; culmen, 1-17; gape, 1-35; tar- 

 sus, 1-45; middle toe, 1-00; its claw, -34. 



