2O2 IN SUMMER. 



lilies proved too great a strain, and I was glad 

 to seek the shelter of the woods. And what a 

 change is wrought by a few degrees of tempera- 

 ture ! Here I found the humming-birds in pro- 

 Price per 'sonce, but they would not hum or buzz 

 as I drew near or retreated, and proved to be 

 veritable commonplaces, although I am sure 

 their nest was very near. Disgusted w r ith their 

 unsuggestive'ness, I went home, and there fol- 

 lowed up the subject, so far as these birds are 

 concerned. Covering one side of a porch is a 

 thrifty trumpet creeper, now in full bloom. 

 Here come the humming-birds continually, 

 morning, noon, and night, and here I heard their 

 angry buzz, and could see it, too, I think, in the 

 motion of their wings. It needed only a little 

 irritation to make them buzz angrily ; but this is 

 not their only means of making themselves heard. 

 They can squeak quite loudly, and very generally 

 do, if the flower they alight upon or actually en- 

 ter, is not quite to their satisfaction. I used to 

 think that the wrens were the quickest tempered 

 of all our birds, but probably the humming-birds 

 are their equals in this respect. This I learned 

 from a pair of nesting birds, but to-day, this ter- 

 rible, tropical July day, I had the other fact im- 

 pressed upon me, that not alone do insects ex- 

 press their feelings by the movements of the 

 wings ; it is true also of the humming-bird. 



