TWELVE WINTER BIRDS. 307 



back, scratching its thick rough hide with their tiny 

 implements of toil and so causing it to yield them sus- 

 tenance as does the mite or tick the animal it lives 

 upon. 



The sight of the smooth lichen-covered bole of a 

 beech caused this re very to vanish and I began to 

 ponder over the power of sunlight, which, after trav- 

 eling ninety and more millions of miles, had built up 

 the carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, which the roots and 

 leaves had gathered, into thousands of pounds of solid 

 wood for the use of man. Even the green slime or 

 protococcus found on the north side of the tree has its 

 part to bear in the economy of nature. For it is com- 

 posed of myriads of little cells, each a complete plant 

 in itself and one of nature's disinfecting organs; 

 which, by the aid of the all powerful light of the sun, 

 takes up the impure carbon-dioxide and sets free 

 oxygen, pure and invigorating, for man and beast. 



J>ut in the beech were birds, forms of life of which 

 I was primarily in search. Two species there were 

 which in winter are almost inseparable; namely, the 

 tufted titmouse and the black-capped chickadee. Both 

 are permanent residents, that is they are found here at 

 all seasons of the year but appear most abundant in 

 winter; probably because the trees are then bare and 

 the birds can be more readily seen. 



Both belong to the same family, the Paridc?, of 



which we have but five species in Indiana; namely, 



one titmouse, two chickadees, and two 



nuthatches. Of these the tufted tit- 

 I itmouse. 



mouse is the largest and yet it is be- 

 low the average bird in size, measuring but 6| inches 



