132 HIGHWAYS AND BYAVATS. 



out of mischief, cutting and uprooting them." He 

 looks still more incredulous when I tell him we have 

 really few prettier flowers in the garden than those of 

 this wholesome, rough-looking, and sometimes trouble- 

 some ])lant. Hulme understood this, and in figuring 

 the flowers of field and garden, has given us the gem of 

 all in the burdock. The chief beauty, perhaps, consists 

 in the exquisite harmony of color in plant and flower, 

 the pink and purple fringe of the latter rivaling that of 

 the attractive flowering w^intergreen. 



Orchards possess so many attractions for the feathered 

 tribes that some ornithologists have classified the song 

 birds into those of the orchard, field and woods. The 

 old trees afford abundant food of insects and larvae; 

 they afford w^onderful facilities for nesting, and their 

 proximity to the house offers protection from many 

 animals of prey. I^owhere else do I find nests so plen- 

 tiful as in the apple orchards. Boys who collect eggs 

 have found this out, and the owners have to be watch- 

 ful to prevent the boys from harrying such premises. 

 Fortunate for the farmers could they more generally 

 become conscious of the beautiful and interesting things 

 that are to be found in their immediate vicinit}^ Many 

 of them expect only fruit from the trees, when this is 

 only a small part which they might enjoy. During less 

 than two days here I have found nearly thirty nests, 

 among them five robins' nests, four with eggs and one 

 with young birds. When I climbed up to look in this 

 last one the old birds made a great ado, and I could not 

 convince them that mv intentions were friendly. 



