8 The Wilson Bulletin — No. 70. 



the sparsely settled rural districts, and partly to the numerous 

 dense forests thereabouts, which afford ideal nesting"-places. 



As we made our way slowly up the steep o"rade from Mill- 

 brook to Peterboro we saw other interesting birds. A pair of 

 Black-billed Cuckoos flew leisurely away as we passed by a 

 clump of wild cherry trees near the tracks, and after the train 

 had pulled into the station at Peterboro, we were greeted by 

 the welcome and familiar calls of Nighthawks and Purple 

 Martins. 



At nine o'clock on the following' morning- I found myself 

 comfortably seated in the bow of the pretty little steamer 

 Otonabee, which was lying- at the wharf in Peterboro, in readi- 

 ness for a start down the river. A few minutes later we were 

 off for a twenty-mile ride down the picturesque Otonobee 

 River to Rice Lake. 



For a nature lover there is always a peculiar fascination 

 about riding' on a strange river, for it gives him an opportu- 

 nity to study nature from a very advantageovis position. There 

 are surprises in store for him at every bend of the stream ; new 

 scenery and new landscapes are continually greeting his eye ; 

 now a picturesque little camp in some woodland clearing or shel- 

 tered hillside come into view and remind him of his own ex- 

 periences and adventures while camping out in the wilderness ; 

 now a large black bass, leaping out of the water with a splash, 

 makes him long for an opportunity to try his luck at angling ; 

 now his attention is attracted by a strange waterfowl, flying 

 up from the reeds at the water's edge and flapping heavily off 

 up-stream : now a family of muskrats, disturbed at their feed- 

 ing, swim smartly off up some gully or dive out of sight with a 

 splash : presently the boat rounds a rocky promontory and some 

 strange animal, apparently a fox, is seen scudding up the ad- 

 jacent hillside to the shelter of the woods. In a word, riding 

 along a strange river in a boat is like examining a series of in- 

 teresting pictures. While taking such a ride, however, one 

 has the added advantage of being able to breath the cool, re- 

 freshing river air, enjoy the glory of the summer skies and 

 see the interestins: siofht= at first hand. 



