The Best Place of All. 9 



species of insanity. "How much better" (I suspect them 

 of thinking) "are five o'clock teas," but now and then we 

 find a kindred spirit generally a boy. 



A boy it was who, after reading Mrs. E!ckstorm's admir- 

 able Woodpecker- book this winter, told me that a Yellow- 

 bellied Sapsucker had a row of holes around their apple tree 

 and he had been seen sev^eral times. 



I regret to say, I doubted his accuracy ofobserv^ation. A 

 Sapsucker here in winter when Mr. Chapman and the Penn- 

 sylvania bird book said they wintered from \'irginia south .' 

 A 'i^'^ days later the boy was vindicated, for the Sapsucker, 

 bent on investigating the nuthatches activity, followed him 

 up and perched just above the suet a few feet from the 

 kitchen window, without, however, discovering the source of 

 supplies. I wondered if the sly fellow had not stolen many 

 a lunch the nuthatches had stowed away for future use. 



According to the suggestion of the Wilson Bulletin, New 

 Year's day was set aside for a walk, and it was as bright 

 and beautiful a day as could be imagined. Unfortunately 

 we erred as we sometimes do and made ourselves think we 

 could see more birds elsewhere than in our usual haunt. 

 One of our boys, inspired by the offer in the Wilson Bulle- 

 tin, was to go with us, but was too late and being wrongly 

 instructed, went where we should have gone — to the Best 

 Place of all. We returned without having seen a bird while 

 our boy saw a flock of Goldfinches, a Blue Jay, a Partridge 

 Juncos, and a Nuthatch. 



So I believe, for the person who has little time, to know 

 one favorable spot well is better that much going to and fro 

 upon the earth, though that is also good and even necessary 

 for a variety of species. 



I know a beautiful valley with precipitous cliff's where the 

 Bald Eagle soars and builds, a woods upon whose edge a 

 little Scandinavian boy has a garden of yellow lady-slippers, 

 (Cypripediiiin parvijiorum) , which he transplanted and keeps 

 free from grass, prompted only by his love of the beautiful. 

 The maiden-hair fern and the purple-fringed orchis grow 



