36 MEMOIRS OF THE NUTTALL ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 



Fresh Pond. 



Time was — and that not so very long ago — when Fresh Pond had per- 

 fectly natural shores, well wooded m places and indented by no less than five 

 large reedy coves, or ' nooks,' as we used to call them. It was then a remark- 

 ably pretty sheet of water, somewhat disfigured, it is true, by the huge icehouses 

 clustered about Cambridge and Black's Nooks and at the southwestern end of 

 the pond. These buildings — with certain others — were demolished in 1890 

 and 1 89 1, soon after the immediate surroundings of the pond were taken for a 

 public park. Its shores might have been adapted to this purpose without much 

 injury to their great natural beauty, but the work, unfortunately, was entrusted 

 to persons who possessed neither sound judgment nor good taste in respect to 

 such matters — as the results abundantly show. The removal or serious dis- 

 figurement of most of the hills and ridges which encircled the pond, the filling of 

 three of its larger coves, and the total obliteration of all its original shore lines, 

 were among the worst pieces of needless vandalism committed at this time. 

 Another gi-ave blunder was the running of the park driveway close to the 

 water's edge about the entire pond. Had this driveway been brought to the 

 margin of the water at a few places only and elsewhere kept well back from 

 it, traversing, wherever possible, the lower slopes of the bordering hills and 

 occasionally passing over or even behind their projecting spurs, the shores of 

 the pond would have been but slightly marred and the road itself made infinitely 

 more attractive and picturesque than it is at present, as any competent land- 

 scape architect would have seen at a glance. 



I can remember when the water-fowl which frequented Fresh Pond came to 

 it chiefly in the early morning, during their southward migrations in autumn, 

 and when they were usually killed or dispersed by the local gunners not long 

 after their first appearance. The species which alighted oftenest may be named 

 in the order of their relative abundance, as follows : The Ruddy Duck (invari- 

 ably called ' Dumb-bird ' ), the Hooded Merganser, the Bufile-head, the Lesser 

 Scaup, the Coot {Fiilica, locally known as ' Meadow-hen ' ) and the Pied-billed 

 Grebe or 'Dipper.' Canada Geese, Wood Ducks, Teal of both kinds. Whistlers, 

 Old-squaws, Surf Scoters, White-winged Scoters, Goosanders and Loons also 

 alighted more or less frequently. Black Ducks were seen regularly in autumn, 

 and during frosty October mornings often in large numbers, but most of them 

 passed high over the pond and very few ventured to settle there, although they 

 were often surprised and killed in the neighboring marshes and smaller ponds. 



For four or five years (from 1867 to 187 1) Ruthven Deane and I followed 

 the morning shooting at Fresh Pond rather closely. It began early in Septem- 



