AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 227 



wherever they assumed their jurisdiction. The work was done 

 thoroughly when the birds did it. 



Wrens are an agreeable family of songsters working about a 

 dwelling; and who would be so cruel as to kill or annoy them. 



In the United States are probably four millions of families, who 

 for a trifle could erect houses for birds on their premises and in 

 their gardens. If done, how many millions of baskets of vermin 

 would be destroyed; the caterpillar and canker-worm would dis- 

 appear in a few years. 



At Union square, in the city of New- York, two hundred wren 

 houses were put up last year; many of those houses were occupied 

 not only by the wrens, but other birds, such as the ground thrush, 

 yellow birds, phepe birds; and robins made their appearance in 

 this park and did much to divest the trees and shrubs of vermin. 

 This was in the heart of a great city. My brother, who lives in 

 Hampshire county, Massachusetts, has within five years set out 

 the mountain larch tree, or evergreen, around his house; the robin 

 red breasts soon appeared, and no less than five families occupied 

 the grove last year, with their young. His grape vines and fruit 

 trees were soon benefited by this congregation of songsters. 



As soon as the wren birds had taken possession of their new 

 habitation at No. 12 Second street, and become tenants for the 

 season, divers other families of wrens appeared and claimed to 

 occupy the habitation, but the first family claimed the house as 

 their castle, and, by dint of skirmishing and defence three or four 

 days, the assailants were compelled to raize the seige, cind dcDartea 

 for other homes. I procured, at the Washington marKet, a male 

 bobo'link bird, and set his cage in the peach tree, under the wren 

 house. Soon after the wren birds had been established in their 

 summer home, the bobolink began his warbles and strains, and 

 all day long the bobolink would utter his songs, and every strain 

 was responded to by the cockerel wren, during the summer, until 

 August, when the moulting season commenced. In a week the 

 bobolink was silent; his music had departed for other spheres; 

 his white feathers were shed in a few days, so that not one 

 remained. The color of the bird now became brown, and after- 

 wards almost black, and so continued until the month of February 

 following, when the white feathers began to appear again about 



