BIRD BATHS 91 



in 1728 through the thought of Bertram Bartran, 

 of Philadelphia. He was a man who had traveled 

 much and was thoroughly versed in the art of flori- 

 culture. In his garden he planted rare and prac- 

 tical seeds partly for the mere joy of carrying out 

 his own whims. This garden, like many others, was 

 individual in its planting, a quality that lent to it 

 an additional charm. 



During the early seventeenth century there were 

 imported into seaport towns principally at Salem, 

 Massachusetts, unique bird baths. They came 

 packed in among the cargo that was stowed away 

 in the holds of the slow sailing ships that plied con- 

 tinuously between Singapore and the New England 

 shores. Many of these were the result of orders 

 given by the ship owners who wanted to,set them in 

 their posy beds, laid out at the rear of their 

 stately homes. Rare were these shells with their 

 fluted framework, and hard to find, yet so spacious 

 that a whole colony of feathered songsters could 

 hold concourse within their pearly depths. 



Underneath the shade of the drooping lilac, they 

 peered out at us from the time the melting of the 

 snow released the snow drops from their icy cover, 

 thus allowing them to lift up their pure white heads 



