182 HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS. 
out of mischief, cutting and uprooting them.” He 
looks still more incredulous when I tell him we have 
really few prettier flowers in the garden than those of 
this wholesome, rough-looking, and sometimes trouble- 
some plant. Hulme understood this, and in figuring 
the flowers of field and garden, has given us the gem of 
all in the burdock. The chief beauty, perhaps, consists 
in the exquisite harmony of color in plant and flower, 
the pink and purple fringe of the latter rivaling that of 
the attractive flowering wintergreen. 
Orchards possess so many attractions for the feathered 
tribes that some ornithologists have classified the song 
birds into those of the orchard, field and woods. The 
old trees afford abundant food of insects and larve; 
they afford wonderful facilities for nesting, and their 
proximity to the house offers protection from many 
animals of prey. Nowhere else do I find nests so plen- 
tiful as in the apple orchards. Bdys who collect eggs 
have found this out, and the owners have to be watch- 
ful to prevent the boys from harrying such premises. 
Fortunate for the farmers could they more generally’ ‘ 
become conscious of the beautiful and interesting things 
- that are to be found in their immediate vicinity. Many 
of them expect only fruit from the trees, when this is 
only a small part which they might enjoy. During less 
than two days here I have found nearly thirty nests, 
among them five robins’ nests, four with eggs and one 
with young birds. When I climbed up to look in this 
last one the old birds made a great ado, and I could not 
convince them that my intentions were friendly. 
