July he is busy with domestic cares in the gray birches 

 of the woodlot; from August to December he and his 

 family come hunting quietly and sociably as a little 

 flock among the trees and bushes of the farm ; and 

 from then on he is back for his winter meals at " The 

 Lilac." 



Is it any wonder that he was the first bird I ever 

 felt personally acquainted with, and the first bird my 

 children knew ? That early acquaintance, however, 

 was not due to his abundance and intrusion, as it 

 might be with the English sparrow, but rather due 

 to the cheerful, confiding, sociable spirit of the little 

 bird. He drops down and peeps under your hat-brim 

 to see what manner of boy you are, and if you are 

 really fit to be abroad in this world, so altogether 

 good — for chickadees. 



He has a mission to perform besides the eating 

 of eggs and grubs of the pestiferous insects. This 

 destruction he does that the balance of things may 

 be maintained out of doors. He has quite another 

 work to do, which is not economic, and which, in 

 nowise, is a matter of fine feathers or sweet voice, 

 but simply a matter of sweet nature, vigor, and con- 

 centrated cheerfulness. 



79 



