SPRING AT THE CAPITAL. 



WITH AN EYE TO THE BIRDS. 



I CAME to Washington to live in the fall of 1863, 

 and, with the exception of a month each summer 

 spent in the interior of New York, have lived here 

 ever since. 



I saw my first novelty in Natural History the day 

 after my arrival. As I was walking near some woods 

 north of the city, a grasshopper of prodigious size flew 

 up from the ground and alighted in a tree. As I pur- 

 sued him, he proved to be nearly as wild and as fleet 

 of wing as a bird. I thought I had reached the capi- 

 tal of grasshopperdom, and that this was perhaps one 

 of the chiefs or leaders, or perhaps the great High 

 Cock O'lorum himself, taking an airing in the fields. 

 I have never yet been able to settle the question, as 

 every fall I start up a few of these gigantic specimens, 

 which perch on the trees. They are about three inches 

 long, of a gray striped or spotted color, and have quite 

 a reptile look. 



The greatest novelty I found, however, was the 

 superb autumn weather, the bright, strong, electric 

 days, lasting well into November, and the general 



