184 A SPRING RELISH. 



dust in the wood-yard, especially on that of hickory 

 or maple. They wallow amid the dust, working it 

 over and over, and searching it like diamond-hunters, 

 and after a time their baskets are filled with the pre- 

 cious flour, which is probably only a certain part of 

 the wood, doubtless the soft, nutritious inner bark. 



In fact, all signs and phases of life in the early sea- 

 son are very capricious, and are earlier or later just 

 as some local or exceptional circumstance favors or hin- 

 ders. It is only such birds as arrive after about the 

 20th of April that are at all " punctual," according 

 to the almanac. I have never known the arrival of 

 the swallow to vary much from that date in this lati- 

 tude, no matter how early or late the season might 

 be. Another punctual bird is the yellow red-poll 

 warbler, the first of his class that appears. Year 

 after year, between the 20th and the 25th, I am sure 

 to see this little bird about my place for a day or two 

 only, now on the ground, now on the fences, now on 

 the small trees and shrubs, and closely examining the 

 buds or just opening leaves of the apple-trees. He is 

 a small olive-colored bird, with a dark-red or maroon- 

 colored patch on the top of his head. His ordinary 

 note is a smart "chirp." His movements are very 

 characteristic, especially that vertical oscillating move- 

 ment of the hind part of his body, like that of the 

 wagtails. There are many birds that do not come 

 here till May, be the season never so early. The 

 spring of 1878 was very forward, and on the 27th of 

 April I made this entry in my note-book : " In na- 



