Evening star., 1897-02-27

CN character. lays tnat
are calm. temperate and sunny and that
offer a bounteous return to those who
utilize them in the search among rural To-
calities for signs of the growing season.
To the dweller in the city who never leaves
its precincts until driven out by the tor
ridity of the dog days, there is nothing
that tells of the reawakening of nature
until the trees of the parks begin to don
green robes. Hence to such March is mere
ly the last chapter of winter But for the
lover of nature. whose ardor draws him
into her own domains whenever the de-
mands of artificial life will permit, each
days jaunt throughout the month is
page full of fresh happenings and signs
that inform him of the rapid progress of
the great change Indeed, if he wait until
the arrival of March he will find himself
late upon the scene; for the advance of the
season is well under way by the 1st of that
month. He will find that the concert of
the birds has already begun, and that he
has consequently missed the earliest num-
bers on the program.
Hnrbingers of Spring.
He. of course. will be unable to record the
beginnings of the concert; but one who has
been present throughout could tell him of
certain mild and sunny days early in Feb
ruary. or perhaps even in January when
meadowlarks cardinals, tufted titmice.
Carolina wrens bluebirds. chickadees.
juncos and field sparrows were giving to
the world slight foretaste Of that flood
of melody which was to fill the woods and
fields of the fully developed springtisne.
Of how during the latter part of February
the fox sparrows Chose Titans of their
race, tree sparrowS and song sparroWs
added their voices to the chorus; and the
nuthatches. spurred by the general rivalry.
sounded their elfin trumpets in ecstatic
bursts of notes in place of their usual dis
connected dual blasts. OF how the blue
jays, those rollicking cavaliers had yield
ed to the softening influence about them to
the extent of trolling occasional hoarse
lays that suggested such love songs as the
hardy Morse vikings might have uttered.
Then. too. the March observer Will IND
that be has missed many other beginnings
of the spring. He will be too late to wit
ness the emergence from their wintry re-
treats of the turtles. the spiders. the hold
flies and the ants. He Will. perhaps.
be unable to record the hum of the earliest
hone bee The brooks will be filled with
minnowS which have risen from the depths
ard holes to sport in the warmer stratum
above. while on their surface water spiders
will be skipping and sliding The minute
scarlet harvest mites will dot the fields, and
the neighbochood of pools and runs will be
musical with the fife and drum music of
the young frogs. All this will have COM
II enced before his arrival.
Appear In March.
But in March there are many indications
of the coming season to be noted for the
first time during the year by the attentive
observer. Lizards, beetles and crickets
make their first appearance during this
month. Butterflies become noticeable,
though one or two species may have pos
sibly appeared during the latter part Of
February. If the season be unusually early
Bats commence to zigzag through the dusk
An occasional snake will crawl out of his
ln n 1in In hos a,,I ~
out of his body. Grasshoppers may be seen
here and there in the open fields; and In
the dark pools and stagnant waters in the
ccol shady depths of low woods great
masses of frog spawn lie glued to log or
leaf. giobules of Jelly. each with a dark
speck in the center. the embryo tadpole
Ihes" globules are Joined together, SO that
the entire mass may be transferred in
in case you wish to take some of
1t to your home in order to observe
the process of Matching out. 1t NAV
be safely predicted. however. that such
an action on your part, unless you are ex-
perlenced. will ultimately be the means of
destruction to all the life that is contained
IN the 1eily you remove. For the tadpoles
s,nea ~neh natehea are most voracious young
sters. and after they have eaten all the
Jelly which incased them before Matching.
IL you have not prepared for them the
proper food and plenty of 1t. you will wake
up one morning and find that famine hss
completely annihilated your entire colony
ME you are securing your frog spawn
II after the caution here given Won ara
no. AFRAID OF the responsibility attached
to the action. it would be well to keen vour
eyes open for the Maryland yellow-throat
irog (rana sylvatica). For 1t is In March
that this handsome batrachian makes his
debut for the year. His specific name. syI-
Vatica, intimates his habitat From tba
same dark pools in the woods in which Won
iino the spawn come his deep eutteraI
tohes. lie Is only about the size of a tree
lrog. nut mis- voice Is SO heavy that 1t
might easily be mistaken for that of tho
bullfrog by careless observer His I'm
sish name Is due to his resemblance in
coloring to the Maryland yellow-throat
one OF the members of the warbler family
thdt spends the summer with us the nen
tral-tinted back and the rich yellow throat
hordered on each side by glossy black
stripe being very suggestive of the aDnear-
bird. e
Birds and Their Coats.
Among the birds March is of much mo-
nenf 10 them 1t is not, as with us of the
town. simply a gusty epilogue to winter or
prologue to spring. to be endured with as
much patience as surfeit of the former
ard longing for the latter will allow. but a
period OF activity and important changes
Almost all Of them brush their clothes and
make themselves spruce and tidy in prena
ration FOR the contest of galIantry at hand
among those birds that have remained
goldfnch are particularly noticeable in this
respect. The blue of the coat Of the for
mer does not suffer by contrast with the
sky Itself. while the change in the gold
finch Is 50 great as to suggest the thought
that he has been wearing dingy over
coat throughout the winter, which he now
casts aside. revealing his handsome uni
form of gold. trimmed with black and
white So gay and debonair does he be-
come. this little feathered Palmerite, that
he makes the entire spring one careless
holiday. and does not assume the duties
and responsibilities of householder and
head of family until midsummer Each
OF these birds may be readily known. not
only by bis striking costume. but by his
characteristic call note. That Of the blue
bird is rich contralto and very loud. Of
ten sounding hcarse when the bird Is near.
The goldhrch has no heed of any
vocal corrective. classic or otherwise for
his voice Is clear and sweet, and possesses
what is called the magnetic quality to n
striking degree. Perhaps there Is a touch
of pathos in it that appeals to his audience.
However that may be- he always has his
hearers thoroughly en- rapport with him.
Whether 1t is tine little yawning note or the
short staccato phrase that accompanies
his undulating flight. there Is a touch of
something there that at once enlists the