IN THE HEMLOCKS. 61 



times called the hermit, and then, after describing 

 the song of the hermit with great beauty and cor- 

 rectness, coolly ascribes it to the veery ! The new 

 Cyclopaedia, fresh from the study of Audubon, says 

 the hermit's song consists of a single plaintive note, 

 and that the veery's resembles that of the wood- 

 thrush ! These observations deserve to be preserved 

 with that of the author of " Out-door Papers," who 

 tells us the trill of the hair-bird (Fringillia socialis) 

 is produced by the bird fluttering its wings upon its 

 sides ! The hermit-thrush may be easily identified 

 by his color ; his back being a clear olive-brown be- 

 coming rufous on his rump and tail. A quill from his 

 wing placed beside one from his tail on a dark ground 

 presents quite a marked contrast. 



I walk along the old road, and note the tracks in 

 the thin layer of mud. When do these creatures 

 travel here ? I have never yet chanced to meet one. 

 Here a partridge has set its foot ; there, a woodcock ; 

 here, a squirrel or mink : there, a skunk ; there, a 

 fox. What a clear, nervous track reynard makes ! 

 how easy to distinguish it from that of a little dog, 

 it is so sharply cut and defined ! A dog's track is 

 coarse and clumsy beside it. There is as much wild- 

 ness in the track of an animal as in its voice. Is a 

 deer's track like a sheep's or a goat's ? What winged- 

 footed fleetness and agility may be inferred from the 

 sharp, braided track of the gray squirrel upon the 

 new snow ! Ah ! in nature is the best discipline. 

 slow wood-life sharpens the senses, giving a new 



