nest must have been within a circle of 

 a few feet, but with rank greenery 

 above and underfoot the accumulated 

 leafage of the ages, soft and penetra 

 tive as if placed layer by layer for the 

 bird's special accommodation, any 

 square foot might have held the treas 

 ure and kept the secret of possession. 



Soon after a farmer told me of a 

 strange nest, a curiously covered house 

 with a low door, within which the sit 

 ting bird could be seen. The bird's 

 flight as it left the nest first attracted 

 his attention, just in time to prevent 

 his foot from -crushing through the 

 roof. He had never heard of oven- 

 birds or of roofed-over nests, and was 

 so interested in this new page of 

 natural history that " once a day when 

 he went for the cows he went round 

 that way to see how things were get 

 ting on there." 



" Every time I went," he said, " I 

 expected to find that the cattle had 

 spoiled it!" 



After describing his interesting ten 

 ants he offered to share the pleasure 

 of their acquaintance, saying most 

 kindly, " I wouldn't mind leaving the 

 hayfield any time to take you there! 

 I've done my share of haying, I guess; 

 the boys don't want me to work so 

 hard; come up to-morrow and I'll go 

 with you!" 



I was there with to-morrow and was, 

 if possible, more amazed at the adapta 

 tion of the "oven" to its surroundings 

 than with the structure itself. 



The bird was sitting and not at all 

 disposed to leave on our account; she 

 merely drew in her pretty head, cud 

 dled closer to the ground, and waited. 

 Both house and tenant were so thor 

 oughly blended in color with the en 

 vironing leafage that, when pointed 

 out, it was difficult for the eye to 

 locate them. Possibly the brave little 

 housekeeper divined the situation; or 

 did she presume upon a previous ac 

 quaintance with the friendly farmer? 

 The proprietor of the establishment, a 

 little man-milliner with a bow of 

 orange ribbon in his bonnet, sang 

 through the fragrant morning as if 



glad of an opportunity of speaking to 

 a gracious audience, interlarding his 

 song with rushing over to his family 

 vault, I was going to say, for being 

 sunken a bit in the ground and dark 

 within, it suggested a mausoleum. A 

 tiny ledge of slate, tilted vertically, 

 made a strong wall upon one side of 

 the small estate; young beeches, kept 

 down by browsing cattle, grew where 

 the rear-gates should have been, and a 

 maple twig partially screened the en 

 trance. Evergreen ferns crowded 

 between the "-oven " and the wall, their 

 leaves interlaced, above the roof, with 

 others opposite, the tips of two being 

 caught down and interwoven with the 

 roofing. The nest was made of dry 

 leaves, lapped and overlapped, padded 

 and felted in one compact arch a ver 

 itable arch of triumph! Upon July I5th 

 six creamy-white eggs, dotted with 

 brown and lilac, lay safe within, these 

 being duly replaced by a round half- 

 dozen " little ovens," whose mouths 

 were always open. Indeed, more food 

 was shoved into those open-mouthed 

 storehouses than would have supplied 

 a village bakeshop, and still there was 

 room for more. Warm rains soon gave 

 the nest an unyielding texture; so 

 matted and felted that the full weight 

 of the hand left no impression, and I 

 questioned whether the foot, set 

 plumply down, would have crushed it 

 out of shape entirely. 



When the young birds had flown I 

 brought home the nest as a unique 

 souvenir of summer. Removed from 

 the picturesque setting it was no 

 longer interesting; its charm was that 

 of environment; its beauty the marvel 

 of adaptation. 



So surely does Nature equip each 

 bird with an individuality that distin 

 guishes it from all others! Not only 

 have they common rules followed in 

 obedience to the law of instinct, but 

 each species has special gifts devel 

 oped according to the law of its 

 nature, a law of harmony so delicately 

 enforced that the law itself is not per 

 ceptible. 



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