The Forrest City times. [volume] (Forrest City, Ark.) 1871-1919, 1895-03-08
A CHARMING SINGER,
man Greatly Indebted to the Lark for
Usefulness and Delight.

Man Greatly Indebted to the Lark fop
Usefulness and Delight.
DR.. Levi c. Lane. recently delivered
lecture on birds, the concluding por-
ton being devoted to the lark. He
said
''All birds do not sing. That faculty
is, in the main, possessed by those
which feed on worms and insects. And
In their work in the garden, orchard
and grain field, in destroying vermin,
they materially aid man in his indus
tries; and if they do eat few cherries.
grapes, or grains of wheat, they richly
pay for all they consume in the de-
struction of insects. In fact, man is
greatly their debtor And in reckon
ing the services of the feathered cred
ltors, If they were to recount their
notes in addition to the insects they
have killed. the .ungrateful lord of
creation would find himself in no en-
viable position as debtor. And this
leads me to some remarks in regard to
charming songster, the lark
The lark is denizen of every region
OF the temperate zone, and there are
in all over twenty varieties, and prom
inent among those are the crested lark.
the lark of the woods, the sand lark.
and the meadow lark. The meadow
lark is native of Europe. yet he has
a near kinsman in America. The Eu-
ropean lark scars aloft, ascending
spirally, singing with all his might as
he rises, and finally reaches such a
height that he becomes almost invis-
ible. In this excursion to the sky he
is gazed upon by his admiring female
lover, who remains on earth below.
There is no better example of gallantry
among men. The American field lark
does not soar upward as does his trans
atlantic brother, yet his notes. swollen
with joy. come from a heart palpitating
with similar ecstacy of delight.
THE wood lark sings best when his
mate is sitting on her eggs, and after
the young are Matched, the singer lays
aside his syrinx and assists his mate in
feeding their young
"The sand larks have this peculiarstv
that company of the males will rise
upward together, and, when they are
so high that they can no longer be
seen, then they sing concert togeth-
er. Such is as excellent choir as the
angelic one which saluted the ears of
st. Cecilia.
+ I'm the countries of the Levant, in
olden times, the lark was highly rev.
erenced, and in Lemnos he was an OBJ
Ject OF veneration. In Greece this bird
was beloved; he called the harvester
to work in the morning, and at noon
tide, when the lark rested, the labor
ers also rested, and in the evening.
when the lark ended his song, the har-
vester ceased from his toll. a
Besides the carol which nature
taught the meadow lark, he can also
learn the songs of other birds; not one.
but several. But some care must be
taken in this tuition, for if the lark
hear different birds singing, he ac-
quires song compounded of several
confused notes. Hence, in training,
he must hear but one song at time.
THE lark, when confined, must have
cloth canopy in his cage, for he re-
tains his primitive habit of rising when
he sings. and, without the precaution
mentioned, he has been known to rise,
strike his head and die.
''The sentiment of affection for their
young is not confined to the mother, as
the following fact, observed by Button,
shows: A young lark that could hardly
fly was placed in cage. Soon after
ward nest of larks just Matched was
placed in the same cage. The previous
occupant immediately assumed the
cares of mother to the young ones,
regularly fed them, and protected them
from the cold by covering them, and so
sedulous and untiring was the young
guardian that she died in her task Of
devotion. San Francisco Bulletin.
The Scheme that Failed.