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 to a bird as to a 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 to its 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 



