90 
RURAL HOURS. 
the singular flower of the dragon arum, or Indian turnip, as the 
country folk call it, violets also, and a branch of wild cherry. 
Tuesday, 29th. — Among all the varieties of birds flitting about 
our path during the pleasant months, there is not one which is a 
more desirable neighbor than the house-wren. Coming early in 
spring, and going late in autumn, he is ready at any time, the 
season through, to give one a song. Morning, noon, or evening, in 
the moonshine, or under a cloudy sky, he sings away out of pure 
joyousness of heart. They are pretty little creatures, too, nicely 
colored, and very delicate in their forms. For several summers 
we had a nest built under the eaves of a low roof projecting 
within a few feet of a window, and many a time our little friend, 
perched on a waving branch of the Virginia creeper, would sing 
his sweetest song, while the conversation within doors was hushed 
to hear him. His return has been anxiously watched for, this 
spring, but in vain. If in the neighborhood, he no longer builds 
in the same spot. 
But the wrens have many merits besides their prettiness and 
their sweet voice. They are amusing, cheerful little creatures, 
and they are very true-hearted, moreover. The parents are par- 
ticularly attentive to each other, and kind to their family, which 
is a large one, for they raise two broods during the summer. 
Unhke other birds, they do not discard their children, but keep 
an eye on the first set, while making ready for the younger ones. 
Nor are the young birds themselves eager to run off" and turn 
rovers ; they all live together in little family parties through the 
season, and in autumn you frequently see them in this way, eight 
or ten together, feeding on the haws of the thorn-bushes, of 
which they are very fond. 
