104 



AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



more of these singers from Texas, Alabama, Kansas and elsewhere. 

 This is made as a suggestion; I wish it could be effective. 



The Mockingbird bears confinement as contentedly as a canary; needs 

 a large airy cage; is easily kept and, if a singer, is an early riser, good 

 naturedly snatchy all the day long, (when not moulting), and rings his 

 own curfew, so to speak, retiring, if out of the moonlight, "ayant the 

 twa'l." Their food is various, consisting of seeds, fruits and insects 

 and a few varieties of green tender plants. For the caged bird, this 

 dietetic feeding ought to be conformed to as nearly as possible, and if 

 well and properly cared for, they lose none of the energy of the song 

 and intelligent activity. Of course under these conditions they will not 

 come up to the picture lifted by Maurice Thompson, or to the standard 

 lined by Mr. Wilde. Surely there can be no doubt that the bird, whose 

 song inspired such and other masterpieces of English prose and poetry, 

 is indeed a wonderful musician. 



Each jewelled note, within his throat "was but a treasure hidden," as 

 Will Carleton says in his "Our exile Mock-bird is singing." Aside 

 from the ornithological description, the foregoing citation from Mr. 

 Wilde embraces much interesting history, suggestively, in those seven 

 couplets, covering, at least in a fragentary manner, seven centuries of 

 English literature. Get your Ta-ine and "dig it out." To do so will 

 perhaps be more profitable, but not more uplifting, or near so entertain- 

 ing, as to 



fyLUOiH^ki j .hi JUqj> g m 



jP^iiliilipplppIg nn 



{WjiJ i pppE PP^ 



(Chorus). "Listen to the Mocking-bird." 



Stephen D. Parrish, Ky. 



