Museum, Cambridge, Mass. 
June 3rd, 1397. 
Dear Will:- 
Another line to keep iny hand in. There is nothing 
particular to record but all home matters have an interest to the dis¬ 
tant friend. The days glide by quietly withdut anything new. Every time 
I come down to the garden I find some new plant in flower. The Poppies 
are making a magnificent show. I never saw finer ones before. The 
Rhododendrons are also in full flower and of various colors, making a 
beautiful combination. The garden is pretty quiet now as regards birds. 
I see very few about. Indeed during the past week I have not added a 
new bird to my list. I haven't been out as much as usual on account of 
the weather which has been bad. I have tried hard to see a Dendroica 
striata, but I have been unable to get a sight of one. I am afraid they 
have about gone now and I must wait till the fall. 
One interesting observation I made yesterday in Mt.Auburn. I 
saw two English Sparrows with their bills crammed full of cankerworms. 
One was a male and one a female. Both birds were on the ground very 
near me,and with my glass I saw the worms perfectly. In each case the 
bunch of worms was as big round as the end of my thumb. One of the 
birds dropped two or three of the worms and I went to them and stooped 
down and examined them. They were true cankerworms. The birds both flew 
away in a straight line as if going to the nest. I saw the birds at 
different times. As the leaves have been coming out this spring,people 
have been much puzzled by the way the English Sparrows have been engaged 
in the treetops. They have been hanging upsidedown from the small 
branches busily picking away at something. Their behavoir has been so 
peculiar that even Mrs.Kettell was puzzled at first as to what thar bird 
was. It was suggested that they were eating the young fruits or samaras 
of the elms, but George thought they were eating the cankerworms. Now 
yesterday I saw at Mt.Auburn an English Sparrow on a low branch of an 
elm very near me,picking something off the worraeaten leaves. They were 
plainly cankerworms. A few worms were hanging down several inches below 
the leaves by their webs, and one English Sparrow flew out from the 
trunk of the tree and tried to x>oise like a humming-bird and catch the 
worms. It was really a funny.sight to see his attempt. He couldn't 
stay in that position long and soon flow back to the place he had left. 
What was he after? Of course the cankerworms. I lay stress on this 
as I believe it is asserted that the English Sparrow never under any 
circumstances does anything as beneficial as this. Perhaps however, I 
am repeating an old story and this is now well known. It v^as new to me. 
Margie is well and busy and so are Dr. and Mrs.Coolidge. Mar- 
was a little sick two nights ago, but she is about over it now. This 
cold damp weather is very trying to weak constitutions. I have sent 
Carrie and Lizzie a letter to which Margie added another, so they will 
get the news from Cambridge. 
I trust you are having good weather for photography. I shall 
be interested in the results you can imagine. x 
Sincerely yoxn-s _ 
