The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1904-08-03
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AUGUST q 1904.
THE SKYLARK'S SONG
AN ASTONISHING FEAT FROM MANY
POINTS OF VIEW.

Tone and Quality, but Its Voium
Is Astounding and It's CIrcumstnnc
of Utternncc Physical Marvel.
For its music alone the song of III
lark is almost the most mclodious o
my birds The tone and quality ar
admirable and the volume of sound as
tonishing. 1t can be hcard clenrl.
when the lark has mounted, ms /
sometimes does, beyond recognition b.
normal cyesieht. The volume of sonn'
IS also most noticeable when cagct
lark is heard, singing ns ii does fhl
nearer to the nearer than the bird II
the sky. But apart from the quality
and music of the song the eirchm
stances In which 1t Is uttered render
it nm astonishing feat.
Every other considerable sohgStcr Is
quite aware that singing entails n'neh
physical effort. Consequently 1t thkea
care to secure n good platform to sing
from. A thrush or blackbird OF Il
robin nearly always selects top SHOOT
or projecting bOugh, preferably II dthd
one, on which 1t sits and sings, never
moving its position, and without any
objects round it 10 hinder the carry OF
its voice. The hlackcap and nlghtlh.
gale and some of the warblers sit III
Il bush to sing, but the whitethfoat
and even the hedge sparrow choohe
the topmoSt twig The whitethroht
sometimes sings when descending, ana
some of the pipits and the wood lark
do the same, the meadow pipit singing
Il feeble little song as 1t makes n snort
ascent and descent
But 10 the strain on its lungs of long
protracted song the lark adds the great
muscular cXcrtion OF a stcady upward
flight, usually carried out not by seal
Ing the air In gentle circles, az In the
sonring of the larger birds, but by
vertical climb made by the incessant
beating of its wings. Wordsworths
recognition of II as the
Type of the wise who soar. but never
ronm,
True To the kindred points of heaven and
home.
IL often almost literally correct After
two or three spirals the bird goes UP
almost as IL 1t were drawn heavenward
by cord, and then. closing Its wings,
dcsccnds like falling stone To the
very point from which 1t rose The
strain upon the muscles and the lungs
would b. grcat ii during all this time
II were silent But IL chooses 10 add
to the eXcrtion of soaring that Of pour
Ing forth II continuous Hood Of sweet
notes with no mtcrmisslons or breaks
whatever
A lark will soar aud sing during II
space of ten minutes consecutivcly The
rapidity with which the pcctoral mus
clcs are working during this period
mny he Judged from the fnct that the
bird makes not less than from five to
six beats of the wing per second. The
heats arc usually III sets of from three
to five, the bird pauslng for n moment
IA II to take n fresh stnrt after the
interval. When chased 10y the merlin
falcon, slylHrks make their finest ex
hibtions of flight, ascending into TIL,
air To heights which have been csti
mated as being not less than thou
sand feet Sometimes the bird use'
the same means of ascent M when il l.
soaring and singing. rising vertically
by inccssant beats of the wing. In tn,
language of the fnlconer, these ar'
termed mounting" larks, and thcil
object is 10 outfy the hawk directly
shaking off it's pursuit during the az
cent. Others prefer To rise by flying II
II spiral, which the falcon initiates
Mr. Il II, Michel In his volume OF
The Art and Practice of Hawking,
says. The one bird may he circlinl
from right tn left and the other from
left to right, and neither seems To guild,
the direction of its rings 10y any refer
cncc 10 those which the other Is max
ing 1t In now II struggle 10 see which
can get mp fastest, and IL IL astonish
Ing 10 see to what n height such iliGht'
Will sometimes reach Az soon IA
lark IL 500 feet high II can drop, nhnos
like n stone, into any cover within
radius of POO yards from the spot jus
Under II, allowance being nude for tn
effect of the wind But 500 feet il no
high for n ringing flight, AT least Their,
IL nothing unusual about II A larl
does not 20 out of sight until II /
much above that height and IL is NJ
extraordinary thing for it To do this
The lark seldom sings late in the day
Ii can he tempted TO rise in Il burst u
melody for one final ascent II the even
ing sun breaks through the clouds afte
rain hut as rule II Is silent lon;
before the sun has descended into tn,
western bed of cloud We have Mil
toms authority that IL Is up and in soni
before dawn. But those who have
Heard the lark begin it's flight
And singing atartie the dun night
nre not easily found though in tn,
height of the pairing time 1t may very
possibly he beforehand with aurora ii
greeting Its mate. Hut as rule tn,
lark sings ut sunrise, as the ortolai
eats. Darkness dcprcsses ii and keeps
it muta but II GLENN of sun Is the sig
nal for II 10 ascend obviously raiI
would make IL most difficult for IL I,
soar, both lay adding 10 the weight o.
the feathers and by wctting the weh'
of the pinions, SO the lark only scars Il
the dry Ms II rule II is one of the mos
sensitive and best of natures weathc
gauges for when the larks begin I,
sing il Is almost certain that rain ha
ceased for some time If not for tn,
day 1t is the cock lark which sings
William Cohbctt noted that one wa'
just soaring and beginning To sim
when the hen flew up and evidentl!
told him TO stop, for she fetched hin
down again IAN instance" says Cob
bett "of that pctticoat government
which Is universal - London Standard
Knox and the Union.
Following the strike of 100 of its en-
ployees members of the United Hat,
ters' Union of North America. the
Knox Hat company of brooklyn has
retaliated by declaring in printed rcso-
lutions that never again will II employ
"a l1.,V ~ bn II