THE BEECH WOODS 



Summer warmth were welcomed by all 

 the little creatures of the woods, and 

 birds appeared that might have been 

 building new homes under the tropic 

 sun. The hawks sailed over woods and 

 fields and climbed up in the blue vault 

 to sound their harsh cries and give a 

 passing thought of Summer. Kobins 

 brightened the passing days with an 

 old-time flash of red, but voiced no Sum- 

 mer song. The crows found much to 

 interest them these delightful days, and 

 many noisy councils were held in the 

 different woods about. From morning 

 till night their calls could be heard 

 echoing along the forest ways, and any 

 stray hawk or owl that chanced to visit 

 their domain was subjected to the 

 fiercest attacks and driven away. For 

 countless generations the crows used 

 to roost in the Niagara Gorge, flying 

 over these woods late in the after- 

 noon in long straggling flocks which 

 stretched for miles from East to West. 

 Since the Gorge of Niagara has been 

 developed for industrial purposes the 

 crows have deserted it and now roost 

 in the pine woods hereabouts, but are 

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