Evening star., 1946-07-18
This and That,
By Charles E. Tracepeu
"LANIER PLACE,

"LANIER PLACE.
Dear Sir:
Human inclinations, good and bad.
interfere quite often with the ways of
animals and birds.
Our garden was probably part of a
wilderness, forest land, and certainly
scene OF many dramas among the beings
whom so many Ct us hardly know any
longer
wild raspberry CD bushes climb up
the hill, the northern and more remote
section Of the garden. They increase
from year to year, bear more fruit and
very fine berries, not too sweet, but of
good taste, with every new summer.
This year we have plenty of them.
Japanese beetles do not interfere with
these bushes. Is there something in the
bushes that keeps them away? Do they
not like the grapelike, deep red berries?
Neither do they interfere with my COL
lecting the berries.
"But-should go down the hill and
collect them at all? For, this year for
the first time since we have moved into
this house, robin built her nest under
the protecting leaves and thorns of the
bushes.
~
Il discovered it few days ago. All
kinds OF material did she find and use.
Cloth and strings, feathers and straw.
and what else
when I started to approach the
bushes, through thorns and branches,
suddenly saw bird flying away, dark,
not too big.
Then I saw the nest. In it: Two
small blue-green eggs, approximately 2
inches long, IA inches wide
Should I have retired right away,
lea wing the beautiful berries, much vel
coined with mixture of other fruits
as our desert?
Should I have left berries and bird
and eggs alone for the next days and
weeks, rather considering the berries
like those other items on the food list
which, we know, do exist, but are not
available for the time being2
II left the nest and bushes alone for
at least three days, did not even ap-
proach it, and nobody else did.
This morning I ventured carefully
down the hill. There were bird cries
unfortunately I did not understand
them very welD before in the early
morning.
But when I moved toward the nest,
there was no sign of bird, not near
and not far away which might have in
dicated that the mother bird is some
where in the neighborhood.
"The nest: No charge; the eggs still
there.
What should I do? It would not be
no IN I,,,4
for this year, if I only knew that the
mother would come back and hatch the
young generation.
And what would you suggest that I
DO IN case the mother does not come
back?
Il would appreciate to get your good
advice, and there is, of course, no neces-
sity to publish my letter, as I do not
think it is as important as many other
OF the letters you receive and which get
so very helpful, serious and humorous
answers and advice from you.
Very sincerely yours, X. D."
* X
We are taking the liberty of printing
this letter, because we like it SO much.
and other readers will
II the eggs were as large as our cor
respondent says, they would not be robin
eggs.
The little blue heron lays from two to
four blue-green eggs of the size de-
scribed, and is here in summer, and
might nest in such place.
The robin egg is smaller than those
described, considerably smaller than 2
inches long, and by no means as wide
as " inches.
But whatever the bird may be. the
nesting site is best left alone as most
mother birds, once they realize their
nest Is known, will give very fine ini-
tation OF never being at home,
Robins, in particular, are good at this.
House wrens, too, specialize in giving
nest deserted air. We believe that if
our kindly correspondent will, forget
about his berries for time, and remain
entirely away from the site, the mother
bird win hatch them out all right. If
this has not been done in three weeks.
the eggs may be regarded as deserted.