The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1898-04-09
SIGNALS FROM
SONG BIRDS
Dawn and Twilight Music
Heralding Spring.
Flora. I'm Unison, Contributes Her
Part i'm Natures Prettfest PIANO.
rama of the Seasons.

Among the earliest sounds of Spring
in the country are the bird calls. The
! Winter chip, chip" of the house spar
row and occasional soft notes of the
/ chickadee are scarcely hushed before
the bluebirds call, the blackbird's gut
teral notes and the sparrow's trill
break the silence OF wood and field.
When the first call of the bluebird is
heard, in the warm Spring twilights,
the peppers, or little frogs begin TO
sing in every pond, their plaintive
voices crying persistently: Spring has
come. Spring has comet" over and
over again they announce il, as il they
would never tire of telling the story.
As soon as the shadows grow long they
begin, and do not cease until midnight,
when suddenly they stop and are heard
no more cntil the following twilight
The sound is lovely, and a feeling of
home longing is felt by the nearer,
which may be associated with the sad
story of the beautiful boy, Hylas, after
whom the little frogs are named.
In the Greek mythology is this story
of Hylas:
When Hercules went to the coast Of
Mysia in his search for the Golden
Fleece Hylas went with him, and when
they reached the coast the boy went on
shore to draw water from a fountain,
but he was so beautiful that the water
nymphs fell in love with him. and drew
him down TO the bottom. When night
came and Hylas did not return to the
ship, Hercules became alarmed, and
went on shore to search for him.
u, h. nd
meadows, calling 'Hylas! Hylas" and
the boy answered family and sadly
from the bottom of the fountain, but
the great warrior could not hear his
voice and sailed away without him,
I thinking he had been devoured by wild
beasts, so the mouTnful little peppers
are named after Hylas because they
call from the bottom of all the quiet
country waters in field and meadow.
The marshy dells in the woods are
now filed with the first flowers Of
Spring. and among them is noticed a
plant, shell-shaped and purple, bearing
the unsavory name OF skunk cab
bage."
IL is the first bloom after the barren
ness Of Winter. and is well worth
search, being one of the most curious
members Of the great floral family.
In sheltered places during the latter
part Of March may be found the hard
lest of the anemone family, the lovely
little hepatica, putting forth its fragile
purple blossoms The buds form in the
FAN, before the frost hardens the
ground. and then they are tucked safe
ly away at the base of the leaf stalk in
their silveTy coats, and are ready to
open under the warm rays OF the late
March and early April sunshine.
Flowers express the dominant mood
Of the season in which they appear. the
early ones being chilly-looking and shy.
with the shrinking. uncertain charm of
the American Spring.
In sunny sheltered field paths. dur
ing late March. the earliest herb Of
Spring. the fragrant catnip, is found.
IL is a hardy member of the sage fam
lily. and ii often reach a luxurient
growth in March. though the bloom
comes later in the season. The fond
ness Of the cat family for this peculiar
herb is curious. When thrown to the
lions in Central Park. New York, their
eagerness to get il arouses such an ex-
element and uprOar that the keepers
will not allow any to be given 10 them.
1t seems to be cultivated taste and
not inherited. as young kittens will not
touch it,
A quaint legend of the catnip is that
the root II eaten bN iiltil- iidhtS bhCi4i
courageous. An English hangman ad-
mitted that he could not screw up his
courage to the point of performing his
greWsome duty until he first ate some
catnip.
Many of the woodland trees are fully
budded in March. and show red and
green shadings under the warm sun
light
Along the clear brooks and small
streamlets the swamp willows show
their delicate green fringe, and the
pussy-willows burst into soft gray balls
during the windy month.