The morning call., 1891-03-01
I'm NATURES REALM.
Some. Subjects Of General Interest TO. Both
&. s {. 3. " Old and Young.

E. In thls.supreme momeI& the sky becomes
intensely blue, and every line and touch of
frost work on trees and shrubbery and tele.
graph wires are sharply cut. against. the
,ceEulean: background in tracery of tntensest
|: white. dehnfng:m twig ard spray as
they never were: before. Grapeyines and
Moodbines enfolds their trelllses and arbors
/: with crystal ;drapery:; The tendrils of the
weeping birch and willow del end like the
sprays of fountains stilled in mid air. The
meshes: of: lawn tennis nets, still standing
as in sumlner:days., vie In :filmy texture with
the. finest Valenciennes lace. The massed
{; Lines of: telegraph stand out Sin space
oyerllead :like the. parallel: threads of "A
= weaver3s loom. Here; there. and everywhere.
"the sunlight touches up. the foliage and the
sprays with .pEiSinatic: hueS, which CLEAN
and flash like:gems in; the Peryading light, .
and. later on, when its waxing heat warns
the fr0st:w0fk of the trees: it.eXpands like
: the budding leayes:of spring time until they
resemble epear*ahd plum: treessin IN. fullest
And ali the while the: air is. so still and
calm, and the san so. bright, and the sky so
cleirr that one does not.fealZe: the: great de-
gree of: frost till his: ears begin:to Jingle,
and; :peradyenture.= when he. eOnsults the
thernl0meter,: he finds. the temperature at
zero, though his: body may be III a glow of
warmth -: -; - 80:
These frost phenomena are. sui >generi
They: are beautiful but harInfessS more ex-
quiSlte than=tIe ice. and .sleet*p phenomena Of
,luwer ATTITUDES which break the.lifnbS which.
they ;IbeSpang or the. blankets of: fresh
fallen snow which coyer*.the:tretS in masses.
of .whiteness, which :obHterate instead .0f
defining the handfw0rk of tile objects which;
tney envelope: ere:the: frost 'wo rki Of 4he
fog touches up the: trees with the m ost@
minute and exquisite. ::tractrys while IT.
clothes them with an effl2rescenGe which:iS
incompatible. :: There is nothing more deli
cateiy beautiful: miniatures realm. -. ::
". - The Cuckoo. = -.
F. The habits and mannerisnS OF the cuckoo
haye been more acute1y* observed; than per-
haps those, of any other. Bird For thou;
sands ofyears. naruralists have Identifying
to. understand and .-explain:its mysterious
ways, but have not fully succeeded. There
yet remain many impenetrable: and SEEM
.fngly Observation-Disclosures mysteries con
nected withit. Enough about it. has, how
ever, been found QUITO prove that ltis the
bird of the strangest habits known to mem
1t seems curiodsthat European naturalists
have not long ago Succeeded n:hnding out
everything connected. with. the cuckoo.
Were it a inative tof America it ,is.sAfe to
presIiinei that more would nOWqbe known
about it, for Audubon. alone would have de-
voted years TO- the study:of its habits, and
would have solved every mystery connected
with il, If they. were capable of solution
A native of. tlhS: continent can hardly
realize the charm of the notes Of the cukOO.-.
From a musical point of View there is not
much in them, but the name of the bird is
evidently: ononFatopoetic; thai is, formed
from tire sounds emitted by 81 and this
name is the same; or nearly. same in,
the languages OF all the COUNTLESS it fire.
urrnts The two notes ale uttered with ,
such wonderful softhess that they are
really Harmonious and pleasing, but they de-
rive their principaI.e harm from the time CT
. the year in which, they are. heard. for the
song of the cuckoo is a sure harbinger of
summer. tits heard inthat.most delightful
period of the year when the spring is ripen-
irg into: the glory of summer The first
notes of the cuckoo always cause sensa-s
tion of delight. They seem to say: The
glory of the year is at hand. l bring SUM
mer with me" ~ -.
The cuckoo is about the size OF the com
mon American wocd-pigeoD, and is much
of the same color. only not quite so blue.
Itnever varies week in the time 1t makes
disappearance every year. which for Great
Britain and Ireland may be set down as
abnut-the 25th of April. In Southern En-
rope it:appears month or so earlier. 1t
remains only six. or seven weeks, aud IS
rarely heard after the 10Th of june. Toward
the end of its sojouTn its voice becomes
h0arse and disagreeable, very different from
the rich, mellow tones 1t uttered on It's
arrival. After 1T has ceased to sing" 1t Is
L.