DECEMBER 253 



dence, and yet full of captivating swellings 

 and of surgings from the gentlest, tenderest 

 pianissimos to the boldest, most stirring of 

 fortes. It obeys none of our laws of musi- 

 cal composition, and yet it is undoubtedly 

 supremely musical. To me it seems rarely 

 strange that an instrument so planned by 

 man for a different and far more practical 

 purpose, should lend itself so readily to the 

 gentle touches of the invisible musician who 

 never seems to strike a discordant note. 

 And so, I say, this is winter: clear, typical 

 winter weather. But out-door life in winter 

 is, after all, by no means barren of attrac- 

 tions, and one of the most delightful of 

 them announces itself with a tap-tap-tap- 

 ping that is insistent enough to demand 

 attention. 



A BIRD INSIDE A TREE 

 THE DOWNY WOODPECKER 



Rarely do two things fit each other better 

 than do the tree trunk and the woodpecker. 

 He is born in the trunk of a tree; he lives on 

 the trunk, and when he leaves it, it is but 



