Morning journal and courier., 1880-12-08
Robins Getting Drunk.
The Berries of the China Tree.

The Berries of the China Trees
 In Georgia and some other parts of the South there is large, spreading tree, very beautiful in early May when covered with it's delicate veil of lovely bloom, which is riously known as the 'tPride of China" and Pride of India' Its berries, as it appears from the following brief reference to the tree in @ letter to Forest and St7eGna, from Barlow, Georgia, have the property of lntox- icatine birds. The writer of the letter, it ap- pears had said so, and been laughed at as a fraud. In another letter he maintains it as fact. The experiment we quote was made before the war:
 From Forest and Stream.I
 During last May wrote you little sketch, A continuation of Southern Wood Notes, ' in which I mentioned in rather playful manner the habits of some birds. No at tempt was made at a scientific description, but some notes were inserted concerning the habits of our migratory birds, which trust ed might prove interesting to northern natu- ralists. Among other birds mentioned were the crow and robin. About the robin, espec- ially, some of your correspondents have been much exercised in their vast and power full minds. A storm of righteous indignation is noured upon me for my sins, in that I made Cock Robin cool, deliberate, unmiti- oatad inebriate! I noticed that robins were in the habit of falling stupefed to the ground after a long-continued feast upon the berries of the China tree.
 Again some were not stupefed at all, but were as sober as judges-and they looked with ill-concealed contempt upon their more conyiyiaIly inclined associates. Some, i'll the frolicsome stage, would buffet their compan- ions with their wings; and altogether, would present a most rakish and dissipated appear ance.
 Now here was a seeming contradiction. All ate of the berries. Ergo, II one got q thara ronGt be seasoned s'bummers'' among them, who, being drunk, carried it off as most men do, with an owl-ike gravity and wisdom most edifying to behold.
 To satisfy myself that these birds were drunk, and, like honest Cassie, had put an enemy into their mouths to steal away thelr brains :'' took several one evening to my room l.: which room was the chosen resting place of myself and an incipient sawbones. He knew enough of medicine to make the most powerful antidotes to alcoholic poison ing, and we applied them in diluted and cautious way to the gay and festive rooms, our patients I am sorry to record that no one thanked us for our efforts, but they flew out of the window, nor paused to pay any medical fee.
 ssPerfectly recovored?'' Had you seen them as they went careening over the tree-tops, you would have thought that some fellow had been giving them hook and soda after Q1gnb' QeDaucu
 But the most curious part of the whole af- fair was the comical resemblance each robin bore to somebody of our acquaintance, when in his erps. There was one old robin, very Falstaff in size and vinous tendencies, who had the same moist eye, the same love of sack, and the rakish air of Sir John:
 One, when the antidote had it's full effect upon him, actually winked at me and the i'm mature sawbones in the most paternal man ner Another, on staggering to his feet, Ike old Colonel L., tried to get into an affair of honor, for he pecked fercely at us both:
 Having established to my satisfaction that robins did get gloriously drunk, while others eating the same food did not leave the stony paths of sobriety, determined to investigate the matter.
 Well, found it just as I stated it to be. Some berries contain alcohol in solution, others do not Why, is one of those things we cannot find out. So, Cock Robin gets hold of one or more of those berries in morning and gets drunk. ''Well, wot of it?'' He gets drunk and enjoys it; and he IS not ashamed.