Lake George 

branches still more, or to loosen it, so as to take 
itaway. To test the matter, I hung two other 
strings close by. ‘The next morning I saw that 
they were gone, while the original one seemed 
to have been untouched. ‘This showed that 
they were building elsewhere, and had been 
trying, for two days, to secure this tempting 
material. As Providence helps those who help 
themselves, I loosened it and cut it in two, and 
soon both pieces were carried off. Following . 
the bird to a small apple-tree on the other side 
of the house, I soon found the framework of the 
nest, saddled in a crotch of the branches about 
six feet from the ground ; and, among the dried 
grass and roots, they had interwoven what they 
must have considered a very mysterious supply 
of building material. Although I have used the 
plural number, it was probably the female that 
was allowed to do most of the work, and who 
deserved most of the credit, after her lord had 
sanctioned the location of the nest. 
Feeling asupervisory interest in their domestic 
affairs, and thinking they would be grateful for 
a supply of suitable material for interior decora- 
tions, I then hung up three pieces of soft yarn, 
red, black, and white, to see what their taste 
might be, and knowing that, at any rate, bright 
. 221 
