A TASTE OF KENTUCKY BLUE-GRASS 237 



York or New England. One day we saw one weave 

 into her nest unusual material. As we sat upon the 

 lawn in front of the cottage, we had noticed the 

 bird just beginning her structure, suspending it from 

 a long, low branch of the Kentucky coffee-tree that 

 grew but a few feet away. I suggested to my host 

 that if he would take some brilliant yarn and scat- 

 ter it about upon the shrubbery, the fence, and the 

 walks, the bird would probably avail herself of it, 

 and weave a novel nest. I had heard of it being 

 done, but had never tried it myself. The sugges- 

 tion was at once acted upon, and in a few moments a 

 handful of zephyr yarn, crimson, orange, green, yel- 

 low, and blue, was distributed about the grounds. 

 As we sat at dinner a few moments later I saw the 

 eager bird flying up toward her nest with one of 

 these brilliant yarns streaming behind her. They 

 had caught her eye at once, and she fell to work 

 upon them with a will; not a bit daunted by their 

 brilliant color, she soon had a crimson spot there 

 amid the green leaves. She afforded. us rare amuse- 

 ment all the afternoon and the next morning. How 

 she seemed to congratulate herself over her rare find ! 

 How vigorously she knotted those strings to her 

 branch and gathered the ends in and sewed them 

 through and through the structure, jerking them 

 spitefully like a housewife burdened with many cares ! 

 How savagely she would fly at her neighbor, an oriole 

 that had a nest just over the fence a few yards away, 

 when she invaded her territory ! The male looked 

 on approvingly, but did not offer to lend a hand. 



