worms, being" highly esteemed in the 

 Robin family, were added to the bill-of- 

 fare. Small boys were hunted up and 

 lured by a moderate fee, were induced 

 to dig for these delicacies. My greatest 

 trial was in dealing with the large, fat 

 specimens, which no tiny bird could be 

 expected to swallow whole. Upon one 

 occasion I was forced into making a 

 dreadful experiment ! I shudder to think, 

 or to tell of it ! May it never have to be 

 repeated ! It is hard enough upon the 

 worm to be taken down intact, but when 

 it becomes necessary to cut him in two, 

 with a pair of scissors, and to present a 

 writhing half to the "feathered appetite," 

 one's sense of the proper and becoming 

 receives a severe shock. (A piece of 

 paper held over the scissors, prevented 

 the operator from being an eye-witness 

 to the vivisection.) It was a case of bird 

 versus worm ; the bird came off victor. 

 After all, it was but "the survival of the 

 fittest." 



When alternating the cracker-diet with 

 animal food- the blunt end ot an ivory 

 nail file was used, with which to shovel in 

 the meals. We might have supposed 

 that the young robins had never been ac- 

 customed to any other mode of feeding, 

 so readily did they adapt themselves to 

 the new style ! 



The sanitary arrangements of the fam- 

 ily must now be spoken of, and the many 

 vain efforts to promote cleanliness in its 

 members. Madame Robin has Jier way 

 of attending to the business ; and while 

 it is above reproach, it is not to be copied 

 by a human biped. 



At first piece-meal work was tried, but 

 that proving too arduous, it was given 

 up. The soiled juveniles were simply 

 allowed to remain soiled until a regular 

 house-cleaning was absolutely necessary. 

 The old residence was then consigned 

 in to to to the dust heap and a new one 

 constructed of fresh hay. Let it be noted 

 here that the cleansing of the Augean 

 stables, was nothing in comparison to 

 keeping habitable a home for three young 

 robins. 



Days passed ; the little ones grew ; the 

 nest became too small. They had been 

 living in the window sill, or outside 

 when warm enough ; taken in when too 

 cool ; put to bed at night and sometimes 

 fed at a late hour ; this was done with the 



vain hope that they might rest longer 

 in the morning and their calls be less 

 disturbing to weary sleepers. The larg- 

 est, and presumably the oldest, was the 

 strongest of the trio ; he could call louder 

 and crane up his neck longer, and assert 

 himself more persistently, than either of 

 the other two. Had he not been watched, 

 he would have had "the lion's share" of 

 food. It was quite an art to dangle a 

 worm from a hair-pin so that the right 

 mouth got it at the right moment. Of 

 course the birds were over-fed. I "loved 

 not wisely but too well." 



A severe indisposition caused me to 

 consign the family, for a few days, to the 

 care of a lady and maid in the hotel. 

 They did their best for the fledglings, 

 but it was a case of too many mothers 

 spoiling the children. The maid confided 

 to me the information that she had heard 

 "keeping a robin was bad luck." I 

 could scarcely convince her to the con- 

 trary, so finally replied, "Yes, it is bad 

 luck — for the robin!" 



As the birds grew too large for the 

 nest, a cage was provided for them. How 

 they hated the confining wires ! It was, 

 however, the best that could be done, 

 they could not be allowed to have the 

 liberty of the entire room. 



The weakest was the one that soonest 

 drooped. From the first he had seemed 

 to be delicate. It became evident that 

 he could not live. When the actual 

 moment came — disliking' to witness fur- 

 ther suffering — ^I put him in a tightly- 

 covered small wooden box, with a wad 

 of cotton, saturated with strong chloro- 

 form liniment, close beside hini. I hope 

 that the end came quickly. 



The second little fellow grew to be 

 able to climb out on the floor. He was 

 quite well feathered, but was not as lively 

 as his big brother. Under normal con- 

 ditions he would probably have done 

 well ; but he, — fact all three, — needed a 

 different diet— indeed they needed every- 

 thing that it was impossible to get for 

 them. The laws of nature had been 

 transgressed, so the second little one paid 

 the penalty. 



But one now remained, the strongest 

 and most active of the family. He was 

 trustful, and fearless, regarding a human 

 being solely as a friend and benefactor. I 

 arranged a corner in my room hoping 



