The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1890-10-02
CoNFIDING WRENs.
a Couple of tho Birds Raisoa Fam
lily in a Letter-Box.
Nice Summer Quarters Discovered by n
Eeather"d Wooer--Ho and His Bride
Take Possession without Delay and
Spend a Happy Season.

During tho spring q pair of wrcn,
fitted into the well-shaded grounds thai
S surround Il gentlcmanS residence on the
q Providence road, writes u Scranton Q>a. J
correspondent of the New York Trib-
nnc, and began to search for Il summer
& home. A son OF the owncr OF the place,
who was sitting on tho vcranda at the
time, saw the cheerful little birds when
they arrived, and no studied their move
ments all the forenoon. They flew
about the cornices of tho house for sew
s eral minutes, surveyed every nook and
corner that looked secluded, and then
alighted on n shade tree and compared
s notes. For some timo tho birds had a
confab in low and gentle tones, their
actions indicating to the young man that
they hadn't found place that exactly
suited them to settle down in for the
summer. At tho close of tho consulta-
ton the wrens sailed out Of the tree and
again went to hunting for nesting
place, and in n short time the male ran
across ono that seemed to suit him.
On one of the large wooden cato posts
there was lettcr-box in the shape of a
little house. 1t had a peaked roof, a
slot on the street side for the mail-car-
rier to drop letters into, and littlo
door on the yard side to take them out
OF. 1t was rain tight, and it stood in
3 the shadow of a largo maple.
In his search for nice summer quar-
tiers in the country, the male wren found
his way into tho box through the slot
He stayed in it less than minute, and
then he flew out joined his wife on
fnr .l-dJ t,N1l
her about the coy spot he had discov-
cred. Mrs. Wren appeared to be all of
flutter over tho pleasant news her
proud husband had brought her, and
away they both flewat once and entered
the slot.
Pretty soon they came out and flow
across the street to an open field. 1t
was soon evident that Mrs. Wren was as
well pleased with the box as her mate
was, for in 4 short time they both sailed
back again, each carrying u short piece
of broken twig in tho bill. These they
dropped in the bottom OF tho box, and
back and forth tho Industrious littlo
Filters went until noon, whom the young
man looked into tho box and found that
the wrcns had carried in good hand
full of twigs and nicely arranged them
rs foundation for their nest. BY
nightfall the birds had got the rough
work on the nest pretty we'll under way,
and the next day they nearly finished it.
When the young man told his mother
about what tho wrons had done, she said
that the little birds must be permitted
to keep house in tho box, as we'll rs pro-
tected while they wcro raising family
there So on Monday morning another
boz for letters was rugged up on tho
ether gate post, and the lady of tho
Iouse watched for the lcttcr-carrier that
forenoon and requested him not to drop
any moro letters into the box where tho
wrens had taken up their abode.
On the fence she placed food that tho
wrens liked, and she talked to them and
made them feel that they wore welcome.
Inside of week tho wrcns got TO be So
contentcd and confiding that they
didn't seem to fear the woman or her
daughters Some sparrows undertook to
modest tho quiet birds III the box, but
the young man got his gun and pep
pered away at them until those that
didn't get killed were glad to go.
About week after the finishing touch
had been put on the nest the female
4 laid an egg IN it. When sho began to
sit. the llind-hcarted housewife opened
the little door and stroked her,
calling her pct names as she ca
ressed her. Whilo she was sitting,
the male fitted among the shrub
berry close by and sang mcrrily
and one day very intelligent and
highly-prizcd female housc-cat that be-
longed to tho familycamc near catching
him. Puss' mistress caught her up, car
ried her to the box, showed her the fe.
I male wren on the nest, pointing out to
her the hopping male on tho fence and
gave her "a good talking to- telling
her that if she harmed the birds or tho
nest it would go hard with her. Puss
understood what was said, for not once
afterward did She offer to approach the
box, although before then she had ofton
walked along the fence and across the
gate. She had several chances to kill
the male, but She didn't dare to spring
at him after the warning her mistress
had given her.
now deterioration polied three lot
( ters through the slot one day and nearly
covered up the sitting wren, but she
didn't mind it, and in fcw days she
Matched out nest full of little ones.
About tho Same time tho old cat gave
birth to four kittens, and at last ac-
counts both the wren family and the
cat family were getting along finely and
wcro much admired by their friends, the
human family.
1 Mr.. Oxley's Valuable Snake.
"A Thomas Oxley, a well-known farmer
.of r ;oon1p C'cnrfv W. ", hoe , ,,,,oa,