XXXVIII 



THE RUFFED GROUSE 



The woods in the older parts of our 

 country possess scarcely a trait of the 

 primeval forest. The oldest trees have 

 a comparatively youthful appearance, 

 and are pygmies in girth beside the de- 

 caying stumps of their giant ancestors. 

 They are not so shagged with moss nor 

 vso scaled with lichens. The forest floor 

 has lost its ancient carpet of ankle-deep 

 moss and the intricate maze of fallen 

 trees in every stage of decay, and looks 

 clean -swept and bare. The tangle of 

 undergrowth is gone, many of the species 

 which composed it having quite disap- 

 peared, as have many of the animals 

 that flourished in the perennial shade of 

 the old woods. 



If in their season one sees and hears 



more birds among their lower interlaced 



branches, he is not likely to catch sight 



or sound of many of the denizens of the 



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