THE COMING OF MAN 



IP we betake ourselves to the heart of the deep- 

 est forests which are still left upon our north- 

 ern hills, and compare the bird life which we find 

 there with that in the woods and fields near our 

 homes, we shall at once notice a great difference. 

 Although the coming of mankind with his axe and 

 plough has driven many birds and animals far 

 away or actually exterminated them, there are 

 many others which have so thrived under the new 

 conditions that they are far more numerous than 

 when the tepees of the red men alone broke the 

 monotony of the forest. 



We might walk all day in the primitive woods 

 and never see or hear a robin, while in an hour's 

 stroll about a village we can count scores. Let 

 us observe how some of these quick-witted feath- 

 ered beings have taken advantage of the way in 

 which man is altering the whole face of the land. 



A pioneer comes to a spot in the virgin forest 

 which pleases him and proceeds at once to cut 

 down the trees in order to make a clearing. The 

 hermit thrush soothes his labour with its wonder- 

 ful song ; the pileated woodpecker pounds its dis- 

 approval upon a near-by hollow tree ; the deer and 

 wolf take a last look out through the trees and 

 flee from the spot forever. A house and barn 



179 



