Shimmering in the air noticed, 
caused by evaporation; water in the 
brooks, "clear, placid, and silvery," 
both phenomena of spring. 
March 12— Poplar catkins in bloom. 
First meadow-lark seen. 
March 14 — Wild geese seen. 
Fox- colored sparrows seen. 
March 15 — Grass growing in water. 
Wood, or croaking frog heard; "the 
earliest voice of the liquid pools." 
March 16 — The first phebe bird 
heard. Gulls and sheldrakes seen. 
March 17 — Grass green on south 
bank-sides. 
The first flicker and red-wing seen; 
also a striped squirrel; also some kind 
of fly. 
March 18 — The skunk cabbage, in 
moist grounds, abundantly in bloom, 
attracting the first honey-bees, who, 
directed by a wonderful instinct, leave 
their homes and wing their way, per- 
haps for miles, to find this first flower. 
This seems all the more remarkable 
when it is considered that the honey- 
bee is an introduced, not a native insect. 
March 19 — The first shiners seen in 
the brook. 
March 20 — Pussy-willow catkins in , 
full bloom. 
"The tree-sparrow is perhaps the 
sweetest and most melodious warbler 
at present." 
"The fishes are going. up the brooks 
as they open." 
March 21 — The garden chickweedin 
bloom. 
The ground-squirrel's first chirrup 
heard, a sure sign, according to some 
old worthies, of decided spring 
weather. 
The hyla, or tree-frog, begins to peep. 
"The woods are comparatively silent. 
Not yet the woodland birds, except 
(perhaps the woodpecker, so far as it 
migrates) only the orchard and river 
birds have arrived." 
March 23 — The white mapie in bloom 
and the aspen nearly so; the alders are 
generally in full bloom. "The crim- 
son-starred flowers of the hazel begin- 
to peep out." 
March 24 — Shore-larks seen. 
March 28— Buff-edged butterflies 
seen. 
March 31 — The small red butterfly 
seen. 
April 5 — Swallows appear, pewee 
heard, and snipe seen. 
April 6 — Cowslips nearly in bloom. 
April 7 — Gold-finches seen; also the 
purple finch. 
April 8 — Pine warbler seen. 
The epigaea (trailing arbutus) nearly 
in bloom. "The earliest peculiarly 
*woodland, herbaceous flowers are 
epigaea, anemone, thalictrum (or 
meadow rue), and, by the first of May, 
the violet." 
*Notk.— Further to the west and extending- at 
least to Wisconsin, the following- list of early wood- 
land flowers may take the place of the above, bloom- 
ing in the order given: Erigenia (or harbinger of 
spring), hepatica, blcodroot, and dog-tooth violet, 
or perhaps the dicentra (Dutchman's breeches) may 
come before the last. 
The skunk cabbage, which is not a woodland 
flower, and therefore not included in the above list, is 
the first flower probably in all New England and the 
northern states. 
April 9 — fCowslips (not a woodland 
flower) in bloom, "the first conspicuous 
herbaceous flower, for that of the 
skunk cabbage is concealed in its 
spathe " 
tNoTE.— In the West several conspicuous flowers, 
particularly the pretty hepatica, precede the cowslip. 
THE NASHVILLE WARBLER. 
{Helminthophila rubricapilla. ) 
LYNDS JONES. 
THE Nashville warbler is common 
during the migrations in many 
parts of the country, but seems 
to be scarce or entirely wanting locally. 
Thus, in Lorain county, Ohio, as well 
as in Poweshiek county, Iowa, it is 
always one of the commonest warblers 
during the first and second weeks of 
May, and again during the second and 
third weeks of September, while it is 
not reported from Wayne county, Ohio, 
by Mr. Harry C. Oberholser in his 
169 
