SUMMER. 
Friday, June \ St. — Beautiful day. Pleasant walk. The whole 
country is green at this moment, more so than at any other period 
of the year. The earth is completely decked in delicate verdure 
of varied shades: the fruit-trees have dropped their blossoms, 
and the orchards and gardens are green ; the forest has just put 
on its fresh foliage, the meadows are yet uncolored by the flowers, 
and the young grain-fields look grassy still. This fresh green 
hue of the country is very charming, and with us it is very fugi- 
tive, soon passing away into the warmer coloring of midsummer. 
The cedar-birds have been very troublesome among the fruit 
blossoms, and they are still haunting the gardens. As they 
always move in flocks, except for a very short period when busy 
with their young, they leave their mark on every tree they attack, 
whether in fruit or flower. We saw them last week scattering 
the petals in showers, to get at the heart of the blossom, which, 
of course, destroys the young fruit. They are very much their 
own enemies in this way, for no birds are greater fruit-eaters than 
themselves ; they are even voracious feeders when they find a 
berry to their taste, actually destroying themselves, at times, by 
the numbers they swallow. 
There are two closely-allied varieties of this bird, very similar 
