A MONTH'S MUSIC. 288 
At the risk of being thought to reflect upon 
the acuteness of more competent observers, I am 
free to express my hope of hearing the music of 
both these noble visitors again another season. 
For it is noticeable how common such things 
tend to become when once they are discovered. 
An enthusiastic botanical collector told me that 
for years he searched far and near for the adder’s- 
tongue fern, till one day he stumbled upon it in 
a place over which he had long been in the habit 
of passing. Marking the peculiarities of the 
spot he straightway wrote to a kindred spirit, 
whom he knew to have been engaged in the 
same hunt, suggesting that he would probably 
find the coveted plants in a particular section 
of the meadow back of his own house (in Con- 
cord) ; and sure enough, the next day’s mail 
brought an envelope from his friend, inclosing 
specimens of Ophioglossum vulgatum, with the 
laconic but sufficient message, Hureka! There 
are few naturalists, I suspect, who could not 
narrate adventures of a like sort. 
One such befell me during this same month, 
in connection with the wood wagtail, or golden- 
crowned thrush. Not many birds are more 
abundant than he in my neighborhood, and I 
fancied myself pretty well acquainted with his 
habits and manners. Above all, I had paid 
attention to his celebrated love-song, listening 
