SMALL COUNTRY NEIGHBORS 409 



us the bobolink's song bubbles over with rollicking mer- 

 riment, with the glad joy of mere living; whereas the 

 thrushes, the meadow lark, the white-throated sparrow, 

 all have a haunting strain of sadness or plaintiveness in 

 their melody; but I am by no means sure that there is 

 the slightest difference of this kind in the singers. Most 

 of the songs of the common birds I recognize fairly well; 

 but even with these birds there will now and then be a 

 call, or a few bars, which I do not recognize; and if I 

 hear a bird but seldom, I find much difficulty in recall- 

 ing its song, unless it is very well marked indeed. Last 

 spring I for a long time utterly failed to recognize the 

 song of a water thrush by Rock Creek; and later in the 

 season I on one occasion failed to make out the flight song 

 of an oven-bird until in the middle of it the singer sud- 

 denly threw in two or three of the characteristic " teacher, 

 teacher " notes. Even in neighborhoods with which I am 

 familiar I continually hear songs and calls which I can- 

 not place. 



In Albemarle County, Virginia, we have a little place 

 called Pine Knot, where we sometimes go, taking some 

 or all of the children, for a three or four days' outing. 

 It is a mile from the big stock farm, Plain Dealing, 

 belonging to an old friend, Mr. Joseph Wilmer. The 

 trees and flowers are like those of Washington, but their 

 general close resemblance to those of Long Island is set off 

 by certain exceptions. There are osage orange hedges, 

 and in spring many of the roads are bordered with bands 

 of the brilliant yellow blossoms of the flowering broom, 

 introduced by Jefferson. There are great willow oaks 



