GOOD-BY TO THE BIRDS. 



To my mind no subject is of more thrilling in- 

 terest than the migration of birds. What exten- 

 sive travelers are some of these feathered ciuisers 

 of the air ! Think of a dainty atom of a bird mak- 

 ing an aerial voyage in the spring from Central 

 America or Panama to Hudson's Bay and even to 

 Greenland, and then back again in the fall ! What 

 a disproportion between the size of the bird and 

 the distance traversed in its semi-annual trips ! 



Nor can one help thinking of the scenes that must 

 pass before, or rather below, the eyes of these mi- 

 grants as they pursue their journey day after day. 

 Over the mountains they fl}^ across the deep val- 

 leys, the stretching plains, and the broad expanse 

 of the great southern gulf. All of it is very won- 

 derful, almost awe-inspiring, and one may be par- 

 doned for pausing to speculate on the unerring 

 instinct that guides their tiny crafts through the 

 trackless oceans of air, to the same suburb, or 

 woodland, or marsh they visited six months before. 



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