DOMESTICATION OF OUR WILD BIRDS 



335 



Among the dwellings framed by birds 

 In field or forest with nice care, 



Is none that with the little Wren's 

 In snugness may compare. 



especially sleet covers the trees, be sure to see that your 

 chickadees are provided with food. A fresh bone with 

 marrow and meat on it or 

 a piece of suet fastened to 

 the limb of a tree and kept 

 free from ice from time to 

 time may save dozens of 

 these precious little lives 

 during a winter. Chicka- 

 dees are also among our 

 cheeriest and tamest birds, 

 and we could not have too 

 many of them about our 

 homes. 



For swallows every barn, 

 and I am tempted to say 

 house attic as well, should 

 be provided with a hole high 

 up in the gables, which can 

 be left open the whole year, 

 or at least all the time the 

 swallows are with us. This 

 is a custom of our fathers 

 which should not be per- 

 mitted to lapse. It is some- 

 times objected that the birds 

 bring undesirable insects 

 into the house. The idea 

 is probably based on faulty 

 observations, but, in any case, the parasites may be easily 

 destroyed, and we should do this rather than not have the 



And when for their abodes they seek 



An opportune recess, 

 The hermit has no finer eye 



For shadowy quietness. 



Wordsworth, The WreTt's Nest. 



This poet, though he live apart, 

 Moved by his hospitable heart, 

 Sped, when I passed his sylvan fort, 

 To do the honors of his court, 

 As fits a feathered lord of land, 

 Flew near, with soft wing grazed my hand. 

 Emerson, The Titmouse. 



Further on we found what we were chiefly 

 looking for — a flock of lively liltle chicka- 

 dees. . . . They would light on our hands, 

 inspect the pieces of crushed nut there, knock 

 off the ones that did not suit them, and 

 finally fly off with one — usually the largest. 



Floyd C. Noble, aged 14, Bird-Lore, 

 Vol. I, p. 58. 



On two occasions, Chickadees have flown 

 down and perched upon my hand. Dur- 

 ing the few seconds they remained there I 

 became rigid with the emotion of this novel 

 experience. It was a mark of confidence 

 which seemed to initiate me into the ranks 

 of woodland dwellers. 



Chapman, Handbook^ p. 390. 



Note also Chapman's " The Legend of 

 the Salt," Bird-Lore, Vol. I, p. 55. 



Gentle swallow, thou we know 



Every year dost come and go ; 



In the spring thy nest thou mak'st ; 



In the winter it forsak'st. 



And divert'st thyself awhile 



Near the Memphian towers, or Nile. 



Anacreon, XXXV, p. Sg, Stanley's 

 Translation (562 B.C.). 



