I have a bad habit of waking up about 

 four o'clock mornings, and in Summer to 

 keep out of mischief I "pot" around the 

 garden until breakfast time. One morn- 

 ing last Spring I noticed a Bluebird flying 

 towards the house with her bill full of dried 

 grass. I watched her, and you would never 

 guess where she went with it — right into 

 the kitchen chimney. The chimney has a 

 flat stone on top, with openings beneath. 

 I sat down and watched the pair work most 

 lively until the cook came down and started 

 the fire, when, as the smoke poiu-ed out, 

 the birds left. Well, thinks I, you have 

 given that up as a bad job ; but next morn- 

 ing they were at work as hard as ever. I 

 waited for about ten days when the cook 

 complained that the fire did not seem to 

 work right. " It didn't draw," she said. 

 I went on the roof and took oif the stone 

 and looked in. The chimney is not a 

 straight one, but has what the masons call 

 a " draw ofi"" in it. On that ledge, as you 

 might say, they had begun their nest and 

 had finally nearly filled up the whole space 

 in the chimney. In one comer was the 

 nest as natural as Ufe. I took a long 

 wooden rake and carefully brought up and 

 out the whole structure, and, if you will 

 believe me, there was material enough to 

 fill a half-bushel measure. 



. Blue Bibds. — ^In our daily drive of twelve 

 miles we have seen Blue Birds almost every 

 day through the past Winter, always in 

 the morning. ^f^' f^c-oLjL" 



0.&0. Vll.Apr. 1882^^^' 



Bluebirds observed on February 

 O.&O. Vm.. 1^1.1883. p. «F 



