MARCH. 51 



pecker "laughing." Common Wren singing, but not strongly. Wind, 

 E. to N.E. Towards evening a regular snow blizzard raged for over 

 two hours, covering the ground to a depth of three or four inches. 

 Snowstorms and wild birds' eggs!! 



19th. Country-side clothed in whiteness again. Pied Wagtail 

 came up to the back door early this morning for scraps of food, and 

 the House Sparrows perched on the roof with shrugged shoulders, as 

 if they much resent the interference by the clerk of the weather. It 

 upsets their household arrangements without a doubt. In spite of 

 King Winter being here again, Chaffinch and Lark singing. 



Sun very powerful, and by evening snow all gone. 



20th A lovely day. Most birds k singing. A beautiful blood-red 

 sunset at 6 p.m. 



21st. "Spring commences"; at least, so says my Calendar, and, 

 for a wonder, the weather to-day has been in keeping with the 

 Calendar. 



I was tempted out in the garden early by the brilliant sunshine, 

 and did a bit of gardening. Chaffinch "pinking." How delicate- 

 looking the first Snowdrop as it peeps through the brown earth 1 



" You ask why Spring's fair first-born flower is white : 

 Peering from out the warm earth long ago. 

 It saw above its head great drifts of snow, 

 And blanched with fright." 



CLINTON SCOLLARD. 



Very cold towards evening, but a gorgeous golden-red sunset. 

 An ideal Spring day. 



22nd. Very dull and cheerless, but Lark and Hedge Sparrow 

 singing. I have not heard the Thrush the last few days. 



Mr. Nicholson, of Portobello, N.B, writes me to-day as to my 

 recent remarks about the House Sparrow (January 26th): 



"Weather here very cold and rainy, observing birds numbing 

 work, hunting insects and cocoons, much worse. This morning 

 a Skylark rose from a meadow, and in the teeth of an Easterly gale of 

 wind sang its joyful song, and kept it up for some minutes. It 

 was raining hard at the time, and the cold was intense. 



"Referring to the opinions you gave recently as to the Sparrows 

 feeding in the garden, there is no doubt he is an artful creature, but 



