296 



GLEANINGS FROM NATURE. 



I have in mind a wooded tract, of probably 100 

 acres, which a few years ago was thickly grown up to 

 under-brush and contained many fallen trees. There, 

 on any day in winter, one could tind twenty or more 

 species of birds, on the trees, in the brush piles, or on 

 the ground, each one seeking its food according to its 

 adaptations. Not only birds but many other forms 



Fig. 82 Brown Thrush. (After Judd.) 



of living things, such as snails, reptiles, batrachians, 

 and insects of varied size and shape, found a congenial 

 home within the borders of those woods. But, 

 although they belong to a wealthy family who could 

 well afford to have spared them, to-day all is changed. 

 Every brush pile where in summer nested the brown 

 thrush and Carolina wren ; every log beneath which 

 the plodding snail, spotted salamander or white- 



