February 
A farmer and a naturalist look at objects from 
totally different points of view, and what com- 
mands the admiration of the latter may excite 
only the contempt of the former- The cedar- 
bird is a case in point; and its grace and color 
count for nothing with the brawny agricultu- 
rist who finds it plundering his cherry-trees. 
As regards a bird’s reputation, Shakespeare’s 
words are often true, ‘‘ The evil that it does lives 
after it, the good is oft interred with its 
bones,” which is as applicable toa bird as toa man, 
The theft of a few cherries or other fruit is an 
obvious fact, which the owner is not likely to 
forget ; but the same bird’s destruction of thou- 
sands of noxious insects, which are its staple diet, 
is not charged toits credit. The ravages of all 
the birds put together are but a petty annoyance 
compared with the immeasurable advantage of 
their presence in orchard, garden, and field. 
Years after the event, the ornithologist will 
tell you the precise spot where he discovered a 
new species, or first heard its song, and even 
what part of the day it was, and whether the 
sun was shining. ‘The whole atmosphere of 
the scene is woven into the memory, and is 
suggested instantly, just as the faintest odor will 
sometimes recall the scenes of long ago. 
65 
