386 NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [13:9— Dec, 1917 



they are numberless, and hang on the branches. by a pink stem or 

 thread. When the wind blows, they dance about like fairy 

 things, and the changing pink and red may have suggested its 

 fanciful name. The other one, the native of this country is the 

 prettiest, for the outer shell is just like a strawberry, but it is rare. 



The hawthorns, or black haws bear blue berries in a close, 

 round cluster, with red stems. The seeds are flat, of sweet taste; 

 most berries are sour, and they have but little substance, yet the 

 birds love them, when they pause for refreshments on their journey 

 south, for they are seldom found in the spring. The exquisite 

 white flowers that come in the spring are unequalled in beauty and 

 fragrance. 



The trees have their hotels for the hungry ones, and the wind 

 is the manager for it blows the seed pods about, and spreads a 

 feast on a table cloth of snow. There are more trees than can be 

 mentioned, the locust, cigar tree, paulonia and sugar berry, 

 and many others. The partridge haunts the spruce trees, and 

 hemlocks, in winter, it may be for protection, and to seek the 

 small seeds from the cones. They are fed on this place, when there 

 are snows, and as sure as they are forgotten for an evening, they 

 come up to the house, and feed under the locusts. They will 

 also eat broken acorns. After a deep snow there was a flock 

 of birds very busy under a paulonia. Countless lace work designs 

 of little foot marks, back and forth, showed that they were after 

 the tiny seed, that covered the snow like powder. The sugar- 

 berry or lotus tree is a useful one to the birds. It is a handsome, 

 flat-tcpped tree, growing in the low lands, the berries are plentiful, 

 as sweet as sugar, and are only a skin over a hard kernel, but 

 the birds enjoy them. The cedar berries are eaten by all, every 

 country child knows the taste of their sweet, blue seeds. Who 

 has not seen, flying around cedar trees, like a flock of fairies, 

 the dainty, exquisite cedar birds, whose grey feathers look like 

 spun silk, whose tail is tipped with yellow, and wings with red 

 like wax. It is said that they are so sweet in their manners, 

 that they will pass a berry from one to another. 



The persimmon, the North American date tree — why do people 

 smile at that title? Do they contrast a sweet smelling date 

 with a green persimmon? Just taste one after the frost has 

 touched it and learn how good they are. That is, if the birds 

 have left any. 



