66 HOMING WITH THE BIRDS 



I have spent practically every summer of my life 

 afield, more than twenty years of the time with 

 cameras and other paraphernalia in active field 

 work among the birds, work that required living 

 from March to November in close, personal inti- 

 macy with them, and included the remainder of 

 the year among the winter residents. Five years 

 ago, through the work of farmers and lumbermen, 

 my immediate territory had been cleared, drained, 

 and put under cultivation, until the birds had 

 flown, the flowers and moths were exterminated, 

 there was not an interesting landscape left to re- 

 produce. Then, in desperation, I hunted the 

 state over, finally selecting another piece of true 

 Limberlost country at the head of the same swamp 

 region, where there are lakes by the score and miles 

 upon miles of luxuriant swamp growth to attract 

 the birds and perpetuate the flowers. Here, with 

 the earnings from my work, I bought one hundred 

 and twenty acres of rolling land, sloping abruptly 

 to a small lovely lake, a mile of the winding shore 

 line of which is included in my purchase. Also 

 there are two fair-sized pieces of original timber, 

 truly remarkable for the tall straightness of the 

 trees and the wide range in variety ; for I have chest- 

 nut oaks, blue ash, and coffee trees, as well as 

 splendid red and white oaks, and grand grey 

 old beeches, elms, lindens, and hackberries. Here, 

 I practically reproduced the first Cabin, greatly 

 enlarging it and adding a corner especially designed 



