6 Bird-Nesting 



as they hover in circles in the sky above the house, while the 

 mosquitoes sally forth singing merrily, and make their pres- 

 ence known by an occasional probe in the back of one's neck. 



The sun has now gone down and supper being finished, 1 

 again look over my baggage to see that nothing has been for- 

 gotten, and, taking leave of the dear ones at home, I soon reach 

 the street car, and a ride of fifteen minutes brings us to the 

 station. 



The train is ready and the engine is hissing as if impatient 

 for to start; the platform is crowded with folks who have come 

 to see their friends off; many apparently are going out to the 

 west to seek new homes. 



The passengers are all seated ; in a few moments the signal 

 is given, the engine bell begins to toll, and we glide out of the 

 station into the dark. 



It is midnight, and the passengers soon (j[uiet down, and as 

 the train was very crowded I could not obtain the comfort of 

 a berth in a sleeper, so made myself as comfortable as I could 

 under the circumstances; putting on my slippers and wrapping 

 myself in a rug and placing a pillow in a corner of the seat, I 

 managed to doze for a few hours. 



We jogged along, and at day-break we lind we have reached 

 the famous Muskoka district, the summer resort for Toronto- 

 nians, where, amongst the numerous lakes, excellent Ijoating and 

 fishing may be had. This is also a fine district for the sports- 

 men, and scores of deer and many a large fat black bear find 

 their way into the Toronto market every winter. We pass 

 many lakes studded with numerous rocky islands, with a few 

 pine trees growing on them. Many ducks are seen swimming 

 out on these small lakes, and several Loons are observed, for 

 this is one of their favorite haunts, and I have several clutches 

 of their eggs that have been collected on the islands of these 

 lakes. In this district the loon makes no nest, but simply lays 

 its two large brown eggs, spotted with black, on the bare rocks 

 a few feet from the water's edge. We soon reach Bracebridge, 

 well-known to hunters, for this is one of the places they get off 

 at, and the woods, two or tliree miles back from the railway, 

 abound with deer and small game. 



