58 



BIRDS AND FLOWERS. 



fore tumbling back. At last they hit upon an ex- 

 pedient which I fear will prove successful. One of 

 them flew against the tree, keeping his wings vibrat- 

 ing like a humming-bird's, and he was actually able 

 to do this long enough to pick out a mouthful of the 

 hard fat. They are all learning the trick now. 



Ernest Seton-Thompson in his charming story of 

 Biddy and Randy tells of an English sparrow who 

 learned to sing like a canary by being brought up in a 

 bird shop. Perhaps my experiment in providing for 

 the nuthatches will result in the evolution of a new 

 species of sparrow with the wings of a humming-bird 

 and the claws and tail of a woodpecker. But, how- 

 ever the breed improves, I fear it will always retain 

 its odious disposition and its ' 6 get there ' ' propensities. 



January 4, 1902. 



