132 Clear Skies and Cloudy. 



filling the soft summer air with " Music, good 

 music, all day !" 



I like to make positive statements, and hav- 

 ing for more than forty years studied the orni- 

 thology of a few acres, I am a little surprised 

 when I am contradicted ; for I am frequently 

 informed not always politely that some of 

 my birds do not occur, except as migrants, in 

 the State, and others that I class as common 

 are rare in my locality. It would seem as if it 

 were proper to shut our eyes to all facts that 

 are not the facts in common possession. Doing 

 so, how are we to increase the sum of knowl- 

 edge ? Rose-breasted grosbeaks are common 

 where I live, common to the fields, the hill-side, 

 and meadows ; common even to the yard about 

 my house. They often sing so near my open 

 windows that the rooms are flooded with mel- 

 ody ; inspiring music that drives our doubts to 

 the background and fills the heart with hope. 

 This bird does not whistle to keep his courage 

 up, but finding his little world one more of light 

 than shade, would have all the world to know 

 it. It is no idle whim of an idle fellow to assert 

 that the birds about us teach many a valuable 



