70 RIVERBY 



glued together by a glue of home manufacture as ad- 

 hesive as Spaulding's. 



I have wondered if Emerson referred to any par- 

 ticular bird in these lines from "The Problem: '' 



"Know'st thou what wove yon wood-bird's nest 

 Of leaves, and feathers from her breast ? " 



Probably not, but simply availed himself of the 

 general belief that certain birds or fowls lined their 

 nests with their own feathers. This is notably true 

 of the eider duck, and in a measure of our domestic 

 fowls, but so far as I know is not true of any of our 

 small birds. The barn swallow and house wren 

 feather their nests at the expense of the hens and 

 geese. The winter wren picks up the feathers of 

 the ruffed grouse. The chickadee, Emerson's favor- 

 ite bird, uses a few feathers in its upholstering, but 

 not its own. In England, I noticed that the little 

 willow warbler makes a free use of feathers from the 

 poultry yard. Many of our birds use hair in their 

 nests, and the kingbird and cedar-bird like wool. 

 I have found a single feather of the bird's own in 

 the nest of the phoebe. Such a circumstance would 

 perhaps justify the poet. 



About the first of June there is a nest in the 

 woods upon the ground with four creamy white eggs 

 in it, spotted with brown or lilac, chiefly about the 

 larger ends, that always gives the walker, who is so 

 lucky as to find it, a thrill of pleasure. It is like a 

 ground sparrow's nest with a roof or canopy to it. 

 The little brown or olive backed bird starts away 

 from your feet and runs swiftly and almost silently 



