NATURE versus MEDICINE 



song-sparrows and bluebirds swelled the 

 chorus, the tree-sparrows silently disappeared. 

 April 3d, in the morning, I found a large 

 flock of fox-sparrows in the dooryard. It 

 is somewhat singular that for three years 

 they appeared on the same day of the month. 

 One year, April 3, 1887, I awoke in the 

 morning to find three feet of snow in the door- 

 yard, and I was obliged to shovel the snow 

 away in order to feed the sparrows on bare 

 ground. The fox-sparrow is two-thirds as 

 large as a robin, and may be classed with the 

 beautiful birds both in form and coloration. 

 The sexes are alike. The color above is a 

 rich rusty red, deepest and brightest on the 

 wings, tail, and rump. The head, neck, and 

 shoulders are a dark ash-color, more or less 

 streaked with rusty red. Below the ground- 

 work is snow-white, also thickly spotted with 

 rust red. It could be called a wood-thrush 

 by a careless observer. These birds are mi- 

 grants with us, and pass through the State 

 to their breeding-grounds in April, to return 

 in October. It is usually six weeks from the 

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