304 EARLY SPRING IN MASSACHUSETTS. 
merely olivaceous above, dark about the base of 
the bill, but bright lemon-yellow in a semicir¬ 
cle on the breast, black "wings and tail, with 
white bar on wings and white vanes to tail. I 
never saw them here so early before, or probably 
one or two olivaceous birds I have seen and 
heard of in other years were this. 
April 7, 1860. The purple finch (if not be¬ 
fore). This is therana halecina day, awakening 
of the meadows, though not very warm. The 
thermometer in Boston is said to be 49°-)-. Prob¬ 
ably, then, when it is about 50°+ at this sea¬ 
son, the river being low, they are to be heard 
in calm places. Fishes now lie up abundantly 
in shallow water in the sun ; pickerel, and I see 
several bream. What was lately motionless 
and lifeless ice is a transparent liquid in which 
the stately pickerel moves along. A novel sight 
is that of the first bream that has come forth 
from I know not what hibernaculum, moving 
gently over the still, brown river bottom where 
scarcely a weed has started. Water is as yet 
only melted ice, or like that of November, which 
is ready to become ice. 
April 8, 1840.- Flow shall I help myself ? 
By withdrawing into the garret and associating 
with spiders and mice, determining to meet my¬ 
self face to face sooner or later ? Completely 
silent and attentive I will be this hour and the 
