I 



UNDER THE APPLE-TREES 

 Part I 



THERE are few places on the farm where there 

 is so much live natural history to be gathered as 

 in the orchard. All the wild creatures seem to feel 

 the friendly and congenial atmosphere of the or- 

 chard. The trees bear a crop of birds, if not of 

 apples, every season. Few are the winged visitors 

 from distant climes that do not, sooner or later, 

 tarry a bit in the orchard. Many birds, such as the 

 robin, the chippy, the hummingbird, the cedar-bird, 

 the goldfinch, and some of the flycatchers, nest 

 there. The great crested flycatcher loves the old 

 hollow limbs, and the little red owl often lives in a 

 cavity in the trunk. The jays visit the orchard on 

 their piratical excursions in quest of birds' eggs, and 

 now and then they discover the owl in his retreat 

 and set up a great hue and cry over their discovery. 

 On such occasions they will take turns in looking 

 into the dim cavity and crying, "Thief, thief!" 

 most vociferously, the culprit meanwhile, appar- 

 ently, sitting wrapped in utter oblivion. 



In May and June the cuckoo comes to the orchard 

 for tent caterpillars, and the woodpeckers come at 



1 



