Music of the Wild 



"widely-spreading branches tlie 'wind sang in louder 

 cadence than \\liere limits "were more closely placed 

 and of heavier leafage. 



There ^yeye maples of even greater circumfer- 

 ence and Jieight, hut many of them leaned and 

 t^visted. Their ])ai-k "\\as not so beautiful, and 

 their leaves not of such tine texture, but they were 

 more artistically oit: and as these trees flourished 

 and grew old in tliis damp place, the lichens had 

 covered them almost entirely, and so they were gay 

 Mith gray and green. It is peculiar ho\\' in the 

 forest one thing seems to lead to or l)ear some re- 

 lation to another. In examining the maples to see 

 how far out tlie large branches the lichens ex- 

 tended, I noticed "s^'liat I easily might have mis- 

 taken for a knot-hole if ])revious experience had 

 not tauglit me to recognize the nest of the dis- 

 tinctive bird of the forest; a nest that is a miracle, 

 from M-liich come birds to match it, and they sing 

 a song tliat all ornithologists agree almost breaks 

 the heart with its sadness. 



The professional "waller" of the forest is the 



wood pewee; and I should like to engage him to 



A Pro- "wail" at my funeral. I would ask no finer music. 



fessional jj^ j^ -^^^ ^ small olive-grav bird, touched with 



' Waller " •' . . . '^ • 



brown, his habitat high among the big crows, owls, 

 and hawks, that comi)aratively must appear larger 

 to him than an elepliant does to us. Because he 

 is evolved in God's great sclieme of things to work 



