86 IN THE HEMLOCKS. 



here behind the screen of ferns and briers, 

 and hear this wild-hen of the woods call to- 

 gether her brood. At what an early age the 

 grouse, or partridge as it is usually called 

 in the Northern States, flies ! Nature seems 

 to concentrate her energies on the wing, 

 making the safety of the bird a point to 

 be looked after first; and while the body 

 is covered with down, and no signs of feath- 

 ers are visible, the wing-quills sprout and 

 unfold, and in an incredibly short time the 

 young make fair headway in flying. 



The same rapid development of wing may 

 be observed in chickens and turkeys, but 

 not in water-fowls, nor in birds that are 

 safely housed in the nest till full-fledged. 

 The other day, by a brook, I came suddenly 

 upon a young sandpiper, a most beautiful 

 creature, enveloped in a soft gray down, 

 swift and nimble and apparently a week or 

 two old, but with no signs of plumage either 

 of body or wing. And it needed none, for 

 it escaped me by taking to the water as 

 readily as if it had flown with wings. 



Hark ! there arises over there in the brush 

 a soft, persuasive cooing, a sound so subtle 

 and wild and unobtrusive that it requires 

 the most alert and watchful ear to hear it. 



