WHEN THE DAYS BEGIN TO LENGTHEN 



of its establishment, and unless you have made the 

 experiment of such an arrangement, you cannot 

 picture to yourself the great advantages that re- 

 sult from this simple protective measure. It af- 

 fords the little pensioners a shelter in which to 

 lunch comfortably, to arrange fur or feathers lei- 

 surely, and to rest without fear of attack or pur- 

 suit; while, to onlookers like ourselves, there re- 

 sult from the arrangement opportunities for the 

 most delightful and intimate acquaintance imag- 

 inable with the natural life of these happy little 

 people. I can almost delude myself into the be- 

 lief that I also am a tree-top dweller, as I hob-nob 

 with the little feathered friends among the 

 branches hardly two feet distant from my writ- 

 ing-table. 



At first the nearness of human beings caused 

 them some anxiety, but a short probation sufficed 

 to put them entirely at their ease with us; and 

 now we have the rare privilege of seeing and 

 studying the little wild things as they appear 

 without a shadow of disguise or shyness. 



Sometimes the sun shining through the frail 

 little legs reveals each vein and fibre of their deli- 

 cate structure. As for the study of claws, it can 

 be carried to great lengths under such favorable 



[101] 



