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Bird - Lore 



shook itself dry and arranged its feathers correctly, and, just before flying 

 away, refreshed itself with a bite or two of suet. The morning was mild (as 

 most of the winter has been), with no snow on the ground; but the absence of 

 sunshine and a dampness in the air made it, to my mind, an unattractive morn- 

 ing for a plunge out-of-doors. White-breasted Nuthatches may have the bath- 

 habit, but, though I have watched them at all times of the year, this is 

 the first time I have seen one enjoying a dip." — R. Owen Merriman, 

 Hamilton, Out. 



A BIRD-BATH OF THE CENTURIES 



"This ancient Indian mill, or 'maize-bowl,' showing the rounded cavity 

 where corn was pounded into meal with a stone pestle, was found in Way- 

 land, Mass., and is now used as a bird-basin in a garden in that town. In its 

 original situation on a pasture hillside, it held water and was used by the 

 birds as a bath from the time the last Indian ground corn in it — three hundred 

 years ago. 



"Thus may we not assume that we here see one of the oldest bird-basins in 

 consecutive use in the country?" — Alfred W. Cutting, Wayland, Mass. 



