WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1904 



Dear Listener— It occurred to me sudden- 

 ly the otlier day In viewing a cnllection of 

 birds in cages, tliat tliose beautiful, inno- 

 cent birds are serving, like many human 

 prisoners, life sentences, solely because 

 they are beautiful. Very much has been 

 written about the sin of sacriflcing birds 

 for millinery purposes, but very seldom, If 

 ever, is a word uttered In protest against 

 imprisoning the dear little songsters. The 

 Inborn Inconsistencies of the human race I 

 Here Is one instance I have in mind: The 

 wife of a clergyman wears hats that are as 

 free from the plumage of birds as a 

 Quaker's. No one could induce her to 

 wear a feather or a wing; yet recently be- 

 fore going away for a few days, she in- 

 trusted to the care of her nurse girl a 

 pretty, active canary. The girl's atten- 

 tion was given to other things, ^and the 

 poor bird was entirely forgotten. As the 

 result of its having nothing to eat or drink 

 for three days, its little spirit took its 

 flight. When the lady returned home and 

 was told what had happened, she remarked 

 with surprising indifference: "O well, the 

 poor little thing would not have lived very 

 much longer anyway; It was 'getting pretty 

 old. However. Ethel will be given a young 

 bird for a Christmas present." The follow- 

 ing lines fully express a bird's thoughts 

 after being put 



BEHIND THE BARS 

 I wonder what my wings were made for— 



Flutt'rlng. active, restless things; 

 And if this ■cage is all of bird-land. 



Tell me why the bird has wings? 



Shaking, hopping, waiting, restive, 

 How I long for once to fly; 

 I Oh, how my aching pinions tremble! 

 Give me life, or let me die. 



Else what can my wings be good tor, 



1 as well might be a mouse, 

 As linger 'here a lonely prisoner. 



Barred forever in the house. 



Tender in the deep green cedar. 



Fair as light, and Ught as air. 

 Loud shouts the loving, .joyous robin— 



If you love me, send me there. 



1 Oh, better anything with freedom, 

 Than to know that one has wings. 



And must forever keep them fettered— 

 Thraldom hath a thousand stings. 



Oh, this cage, it does not fit me; 

 I 'm not made for It, I know! 



But mine is yonder azure heaven— 



. If you love me, let me go. 



I. G. S. 



+ + + 



"It is so self-evident," writes W. Sloane 

 Kennedy from Belmont, "that the win- 

 ter birds are having a hard time of it— the 

 deep snows covering the weeds that supply 

 most of their seed-food- that It will be 

 superfluous to give a hint to students of 

 birds about scattering grain and food for 

 them. But there are many younger and 

 older folk that don't realize the situation. 

 To such it may be well to say: Keep the 

 snow shovelled down to the ground in some 

 corner of your place and regularly supply 

 cornmeal (how the juncos and sparrows do 

 like this!), or fine cracked grains of any 

 kmd. A plan I have followed this winter 

 Is to turn a Ildless box on its edge and put 

 food ra It. The snow does not enter, and 

 even when deep snows are on the ground, 

 your box Is a .snug, warm inn for the birds 

 to enter and breakfast. I know at least 

 four or five families in my neighborhood 

 who are regularly feeding birds (by tying 

 up suet. etc.). The pleasure and companion- 



ship one gets in watching the creatures, 

 more than repay one, even if the interests 

 of horticulture did not make it self-interest 

 to keep the birds alive. I have felt some 

 compunctions in dally feeding six robber 

 .lays all winter, but concluded they were 

 good Imperialists, and only in the fashion. 

 They lake kitchen scraps, corn, anything at 

 all eatable. I hear that che poor gulls have 

 perished by the hundred on the icebound 



seashore, and 

 tamed by hungei 



• the 



+ 



+ 



Dear Listener— Tour correspondient of the 

 30th, H. W. W., mentioned having seen a 

 snowbunting on the 'im of January. On the 

 22a, I had the pleasure of seeing four of 

 them, on my window sill. On the 30th, a 

 downy woodpecker appeared on one of my 

 trees, and also three nuthatches. Blue jays 

 have been with us all winter, and seemed 

 willing to accept even bread as food. 



V. A. A. 



Roxbury, Jan. 31. 



Dear Listener— Tour West Medford and 

 Boston correspondents, L. C. and H. W. 

 W., who have recorded the presence of 

 the hermit thrush about Boston in winter, 

 will doubtless be interested to hear of two 

 further records. A hermit thrush was seen 

 , on Jan. 1 In the morning at Hall's Pond, 

 Longwood. It was plump and active, hop- 

 ping about in a thicket of hram-bles, tilting 

 its tail and uttering its characteristic 

 "chuck." Another hermit thrush was seen 

 on Jan. 8 at Chestnut Hill. This bird was 

 likewise plump and active, and seemed in 

 a perfectly healthy condition. , From so 

 many records, it is evident that the hermit 

 thrush is wintering not at all uncommonly 

 with U3 this severe season 



F. G. B. ajid M. C. B. 

 Brookline, Feb. 2. 



