150 Bo^-Trottin^ for OrcHids 



upon the nest had blue tail feathers and a jaunty cadet 

 top-knot, as she peeped over the edge of the nest at me. 

 This was, then, the saucy jay's nest, so seldom found 

 about these woods. She became disturbed, and flew 

 off down the ravine. I managed to climb up the trees 

 high enough to determine that the eggs were still 

 unhatched. 



The glen was dark here, and Major and I sat in the 

 dim light beneath the shadows of this dense under- 

 wood. The jays began in chorus to scream unmerci- 

 fully. They were distressed by Major's presence, and 

 flew saucily above his head. He scarcely knew what 

 to make of it all, — not being a bird-dog, — and sat de- 

 murely looking at me and wagging his tail. Finally, 

 tired of their own screaming, the jays proceeded down 

 through the intricate windings of the hollow, and we 

 heard their mutterings at a distance, — a pleasant wild 

 sound through these forests. 



I looked carefully over the iron- wood trees. They 

 are not uncommon hereabout. Their trunks are ridged 

 and muscular in appearance. These trees are in fact 

 very strong, possessing the endurance of the oak and 

 beech. They never attain great height, — from fifteen 

 to forty feet or so, — but the weight of their wood to the 

 cubic foot is forty to fifty pounds. 



Many decaying logs of yellow birch and pine stumps 

 were scattered along the brook bed. They were cov- 

 ered with beautiful mosses and fungi. The shelf-like 

 growth, known as Polypores, was abundant on these 

 trees. There are several varieties of this group of 



