Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-10-02

forest with its deep, unbroken snow-not
far should we have penetrated into this
Aladdins palace before the Well-known
tinkle and persuasive notes would tell us
that in the trees above our heads the
juncos were finding such sustenance as ma
ture had held in reserve for them for just
such occasions as this when the ground
was not accessible.
1t is truly a. multum in parvo that note
which the first week of October filings into
cur ears. For all these and many more ex-
hlarating and uplifting events are inter-
mingled in our memory, and the essence
of the entire mass is extracted AMI stored
in that little bell Of silver. The memory OF
the lover of the poetry of nature is rich
storehouse. For him the dross of every
experience is burned and only the CLEAN OF
pure gold is seen when the door is ajar.
And how much gold may be there Aeaped
up. let him tell who, like Thoreau, makes
daily pilgrimages to the shrine of nature
with his senses all like open windows.
Another Who is Welcome
Not SO many associations are crowded
into the sight of the first golden-crested
knight of the season in early October as are
stirred into life by the juncos silvery notes;
yet to one who has frequently wandered
through wintry woods it has many sugges-
tions. A mite of bird with feathers so
fluffed that he looks like a ball of down,
he moves briskly and actively about the
tree bough that is the field OF his food
search, every now and then turning the top
of his head squarely to you, either right
side up or upside down. as the occasion
demands and showing you the yellow
stripe that parts his crown longitudinally.
Sometimes you will see him lift himself up
by wing power to a pine cone and remain
poised in air feeding on the seeds in the
cone his wings the while working so rap
idly that they disappear from sight as do
those of the humming bird. But his pres
ence is not so often manifest 10 me
eye as to the ear. His body is SO small
and easily hidden, and his fine, nigh
pitched note is SO constantly uttered
that he is much more readily heard thah
seen. Still unless you are observant you
are apt to miss even this indication of his
presence for it is so unobtrusive that it
fits into the general background OF sound
like the rustic of trees in gentle breeze.
1t is very elusive. also, seeming TO come
from no certain point, but mlnSilnS Win all
YOUR surroundings.
October brings US other winter visitors,
but none with which We have such init
mate acquaintance as these two OLD
friends. Still. We have hearty welcome
for all. 1t is pleasant to know. that the
rusty grackle we unexpectedly encounter
in the shade of tangled wood intends TO
see us through the winter. no matter what
the weather may be. Or when we startle
a flock of titlarks in the middle of a stub
blefeId. walking teeteringly away from US
with increasing rapidity until our approach
seems too near for safety, and then taking
wing and flying in a body this way and
that to finally settle down very near the
starting place. there is enjoyment in the
thought that these comical maneuvers may
be repeated for our amusement at any
time until April.
Late Corners.
Then there are the fox sparrows. great
overgrown, good-natured fellows, with their
splo;ched costumes. They do not arrive
until near the end of the month, and most
of them pass on in November. but some
stay all winter to keep company with
the few white threats that remain. What
big-bodied sparrows they are! And most
While walking reside some Shru
shrub-hiddcn stream you will hear a rust
ling among the many dead leaves stre%n
beneath the bushes. Your first thought will
probably be that some chicken has strayed
out into the terra ircognita beyond the
barnyard limits and is unconcernedly
scratching living along the bank of the
stream. But if you investigate you will
find that your Chicken is longer and mar
!ower in build than any you ever saw
before; that it has short legs and Pc
culiarly patched reddish brown costume,
and that 1t is scratching with both feet at
once. You may then know that your ram
BILE along the stream has brought you into
the company of a fox sparrow.
In the course of a walk in these days
one is liable to meet with large focks of
robins. most of them en- their way south.
And If your path lies through the wilder
woods the voices of many blue jays will
bring a wholesome refreshment to your
ear The jays are nearly related to the
crows, a fact which is impressed upon the
listener by the loud and constant excited
conversations they hold as they fly from
tree to tree or move actively about among
the upper branches. Like the cav of the
crow the jays note is not what can be
strictly called musical; yet there is music
in it, nevertheless, from a non-technical
their strident but sturdy and vigorous
cries, particularly in mountain wilder
nesses, comes to find in the sound tonic
tfat Is to the car what the rugged noun
tain side that echoes the calls Is to the
eye. The jays are old and familiar friends.
Hardy, Independent rovers, with the spirit
of the freebooter under their gay cavalier
cloaks of blue and white, they seem par
ticularly suited to the wilderness they love
and to the frfgid season in which they
most abound.
Sounding the Retreat.
Something of the same wildness that
dwells in their cries pervades the beating
pedal note of the flicker which is again
heard at this time, but With a modification
Of the ruggedness. The same rocky cliffs
are there, but they are overgrown with
moss and hung with laurel. 1t is associat-
ed, too, with gentler surroundings, for IL Is
rounces the beginning of the open sea-
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