WILD LIFE OF ORCHARD AND FIELD 



tin water-spout under the eaves of a house, for 

 want of a better place; although, no doubt, the 

 birds exercise a decided choice when they can. 

 The tenement determined upon, the furnishing of 

 it does not require much labor or contrivance. The 

 birds bring enough of a peculiar kind of soft grass 

 which turns reddish brown when it dries, some- 

 times mix with it a little hair, and thus thickly 

 carpet the bottom of the cavity. That is all. The 

 eggs are laid by the second week in April, and the 

 young are hatched about ten days after. The 

 eggs are five in number, and are light blue, with- 

 out spots. Once, in northern Ohio, I found a nest- 

 ful of pearly white eggs, and other similar cases 

 have come to my knowledge; they were just as 

 well worth sitting on, however, as five blue eggs 

 would have been. 



The bluebird is also a true bird of the garden, 

 taking the place of England's robin ° redbreast 

 more nearly than any other bird in America. It 

 is no trouble to have them twittering about the 

 house the whole summer through. The negroes 

 at the South always have an abundance of differ- 

 ent birds about their cabins by simply hanging 

 up empty gourds; and a cigar-box with a hole in 

 it is all-sufficient. But you must not be disap- 



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