Lake George 



branches still more, or to loosen it, so as to take 

 it away. To test the matter, I hung two other 

 strings close by. The next morning I saw that 

 they were gone, while the original one seemed 

 to have been untouched. This showed that 

 they were building elsewhere, and had been 

 trying, for two days, to secure this tempting 

 material. As Providence helps those who help 

 themselves, I loosened it and cut it in two, and 

 soon both pieces were carried off. Following 

 the bird to a small apple-tree on the other side 

 of the house, I soon found the framework of the 

 nest, saddled in a crotch of the branches about 

 six feet from the ground ; and, among the dried 

 grass and roots, they had interwoven what they 

 must have considered a very mysterious supply 

 of building material. Although I have used the 

 plural number, it was probably the female that 

 was allowed to do most of the work, and who 

 deserved most of the credit, after her lord had 

 sanctioned the location of the nest. 



Feeling a supervisory interest in their domestic 

 affairs, and thinking they would be grateful for 

 a supply of suitable material for interior decora- 

 tions, I then hung up three pieces of soft yarn, 

 red, black, and white, to see what their taste 

 might be, and knowing that, at any rate, bright 



