236 
RAIL. 
here and on James River, in Virginia, who have seen their 
nests, eggs, and young. In the extensive meadows that 
border the Schuylkill and Delaware it was formerly common, 
before the country was so thickly settled there, to find young 
Rail, in the first mowing time, among the grass. Mr James 
Bartram, brother to the botanist, a venerable and still active 
man of eighty-three, and well acquainted with this bird, says, 
that he has often seen and caught young Rail in his own 
meadows in the month of June ; he has also seen their nest, 
which he says is usually in a tussock of grass, is formed of a 
little dry grass, and has four or five eggs, of a dirty whitish 
colour, with brown or blackish spots : the young run olf as 
soon as they break the shell, are then quite black, and run 
about among the grass like mice. The old ones he has very 
rarely observed at that time, but the young often. Almost 
every old settler along these meadows, with whom I have 
conversed, has occasionally seen young Rail in mowing time ; 
and all agree in describing them as covered with blackish 
down. There can, therefore, be no reasonable doubt as to the 
residence of many of these birds, both here and to the north- 
ward, during the summer. That there can be as little doubt 
relative to their winter retreat, will appear more particularly 
towards the sequel of the present account. During their 
residence here, in summer, their manners exactly correspond 
with those of the Water Crake of Britain, already quoted, so 
that, though actually a different species, their particular habits, 
common places of resort, and eagerness for concealment, are 
as nearly the same as the nature of the climates will admit. 
Early in August, when the reeds along the shores of the 
Delaware have attained their full growth, the Rail resort to 
them in great numbers to feed on the seeds of this plant, of 
which they, as well as the Rice Birds, and several others, are 
immoderately fond. These reeds, which appear to be the 
Zizania panicula effusa of Linnaeus, and the Zizania clavulosa 
of Willdenow, grow up from the soft muddy shores of the 
tide water, which are alternately dry, and covered with four 
