CANADIAN BIRDS--SNOW SPARROW--ROBIN REDBREAST--CANADIAN FLOWERS--AMERICAN
PORCUPINE.
"Spring is coming, nurse--spring is coming at last!" exclaimed the
Governor's little daughter, joyfully. "The snow is going away at last! I
am tired of the white snow; it makes my eyes ache. I want to see the brown
earth, and the grass, and the green moss, and the pretty flowers again."
"It will be some days before this deep covering of snow is gone. The
streets are still slippery with ice, which it will take some time, my
lady, to soften."
"But, nurse, the sun shines, and there are little streams of water running
along the streets in every direction. See, the snow is gone from under the
bushes and trees in the garden. I saw some dear little birds flying about,
and I watched them perching on the dry stalks of the tall, rough weeds,
and they appeared to be picking seeds out of the husks. Can you tell me
what birds they were?"
"I saw the flock of birds you mean, Lady Mary. They are the common
snow-sparrows [Footnote: Fringilla nivalia.]--almost our earliest
visitants, for they may be seen in April, mingled with the brown
song-sparrow, [Footnote: Fringilla malodia.] flitting about the garden
fences, or picking the stalks of the tall mullein and amaranths, to find
the seeds that have not been shaken out by the autumn winds; and possibly
they also find insects cradled in the husks of the old seed-vessels. These
snow-sparrows are very hardy; and though some migrate to the States in the
beginning of winter, a few stay in the Upper Province, and others come
back to us before the snow is all gone."
"They are very pretty, neat-looking birds, nurse; dark slate colour, with
white breasts."
"When I was a little girl I used to call them my Quaker-birds, they
looked so neat and prim. In the summer you may find their nests in the
brush-heaps near the edge of the forest. They sing a soft, low song."
"Nurse, I heard a bird singing yesterday when I was in the garden; a
little, plain, brown bird, nurse."
"It was a song-sparrow, Lady Mary. This cheerful little bird comes with
the snow-birds, often before the robin."
"Oh, nurse, the robin! I wish you would show me a darling robin redbreast.
I did not know they lived in Canada."
"The bird that we call the robin in this country, my dear, is not like the
little redbreast you have seen at home. Our robin is twice as large.
Though in shape resembling the European robin, I believe it is really a
kind of thrush. [Footnote: Turdus migratoria.] It migrates in the fall,
and returns to us early in the spring."
"What is migrating, nurse? Is it the same as emigrating?"
"Yes, Lady Mary; for when a person leaves his native country, and goes to
live in another country, he is said to emigrate. This is the reason why
the English, Scotch, and Irish families who come to live in Canada are
called emigrants."
"What colour are the Canadian robins, nurse?"
"The head is blackish; the back, lead colour; and the breast is pale
orange--not so bright a red, however, as the real robin."
"Have you ever seen their nests, nurse?"
"Yes, my dear, many of them. It is not a pretty nest. It is large, and
coarsely put together, of old dried grass, roots, and dead leaves,
plastered inside with clay, mixed with bits of straw, so as to form a sort
of mortar. You know, Lady Mary, that the blackbird and thrush build nests,
and plaster them in this way?"
The little lady nodded her head in assent.
"Nurse, I once saw a robin's nest when I was in England. It was in the
side of a mossy ditch, with primroses growing close beside it. It was made
of green moss, and lined with white wool and hair. It was a pretty nest,
with nice eggs in it; much better than your Canadian robin's nest."
[Illustration: WATCHING THE BIRDS]
"Our robins build in upturned roots, in the corners of rail fences, and in
the young pear-trees and apple-trees in the orchard. The eggs are a
greenish-blue. The robin sings a full, clear song; indeed, he is our best
songster. We have so few singing-birds that we prize those that do sing
very much."
"Does the Canadian robin come into the house in winter, and pick up the
crumbs, as the dear little redbreasts do at home?"
"No, Lady Mary; they are able to find plenty of food abroad when they
return to us, but they hop about the houses and gardens pretty freely. In
the fall, before they go away, they may be seen in great numbers, running
about the old pastures, picking up worms and seeds."
"Do people see the birds flying away together, nurse?"
"Not often, my dear; for most birds congregate together in small flocks,
and depart unnoticed. Many go away at night, when we are sleeping; and
some fly very high on cloudy days, so that they are not distinctly seen
against the dull, gray sky. The water-birds--such as geese, swans, and
ducks--take their flight in large bodies. They are heard making a
continual noise in the air; and may be seen grouped in long lines, or in
the form of the letter V lying on its side (>), the point generally
directed southward or westward, the strongest and oldest birds acting as
leaders. When tired, these aquatic generals fall backward into the main
body, and are replaced by others."
Lady Mary was much surprised at the order and sagacity displayed by
wild-fowl in their flight; and Mrs. Frazer told her that some other time
she would tell her some more facts respecting their migration to other
countries.
"Nurse, will you tell me something about birds' nests, and what they make
them of?"
"Birds that live chiefly in the depths of the forest, or in solitary
places, far away from the haunts of men, build their nests of ruder
materials, and with less care in the manner of putting them together.
Dried grass, roots, and a little moss, seem to be the materials they make
use of. It has been noticed by many persons, my dear, that those birds
that live near towns and villages and cleared farms, soon learn to make
better sorts of nests, and to weave into them soft and comfortable things,
such--as silk, wool, cotton, and hair."
"That is very strange, nurse."
"It is so, Lady Mary; but the same thing may also be seen among human
beings. The savage nations are contented with rude dwellings made of
sticks and cane, covered with skins' of beasts, bark, or reeds; but when
they once unite together in a more social state, and live in villages and
towns, a desire for improvement takes place. The tent of skins or the rude
shanty is exchanged for a hut of better shape; and this in time gives
place to houses and furniture of more useful and ornamental kinds."
"Nurse, I heard mamma say that the Britons who lived in England were once
savages, and lived in caves, huts, and thick woods; that they dressed in
skins, and painted their bodies like the Indians."
"When you read the history of England, you will see that such was
the case," said Mrs. Frazer.
"Nurse, perhaps the little birds like to see the flowers, and the
sunshine, and the blue sky, and men's houses. I will make my garden very
pretty this spring, and plant some nice flowers, to please the dear little
birds."
Many persons would have thought such remarks very foolish in our little
lady. But Mrs. Frazer, who was a good and wise woman, did not laugh at the
little girl; for she thought it was a lovely thing to see her wish to give
happiness to the least of God's creatures, for it was imitating his own
goodness and mercy, which delight in the enjoyment of the things which he
has called into existence.
"Please, Mrs. Frazer, will you tell me which flowers will be first in
bloom?"
"The very first is a plant that comes up without leaves."
"Nurse, that is the Christmas-rose. [Footnote: Winter Aconite] I have seen
it in the old country."
"No, Lady Mary; it is the colt's-foot. [Footnote: Tussilago Fartara] It is
a common-looking, coarse, yellow-blossomed flower: it is the first that
blooms after the snow. Then comes the pretty snow flower, or hepatica. Its
pretty tufts of white, pink, or blue starry flowers may be seen on the
open clearing, or beneath the shade of the half cleared woods or upturned
roots and sunny banks. Like the English daisy, it grows everywhere, and
the sight of its bright starry blossoms delights every eye. The next
flower that comes in is the dog's tooth violet." [Footnote: Erythronium]
"What a droll name!" exclaimed Lady Mary, laughing.
"I suppose it is called so from the sharpness of the flower leaves
(petals), my lady, but it is a beautiful yellow lily. The leaves are also
pretty, they are veined or clouded with milky white or dusky purple. The
plant has a bulbous root, and in the month of April sends up its single,
nodding, yellow spotted flowers. They grow in large beds, where the ground
is black, moist, and rich, near creeks on the edge of the forest."
"Do you know any other pretty flowers, nurse?"
"Yes, my lady, there are a great many that bloom in April and May. white
violets, and blue and yellow of many kinds. And then there is the spring
beauty, [Footnote: Claytonia] a delicate little flower, with pink striped
bells, and the everlasting flower, [Footnote: Graphalium] and saxifrage,
and the white and dark red lily, that the Yankees call 'white and red
death.' [Footnote: Trillium or Wake Robin] These have three green leaves
about the middle of the stalk, and the flower is composed of three pure
white or deep red leaves--petals my father used to call them: for my
father, Lady Mary, was a botanist, and knew the names of all the flowers,
and I learned them from him. The most curious is the moccasin flower. The
early one is bright golden yellow, and has a bag or sack which is
curiously spotted with ruby red, and its petals are twisted like horns.
There is a hard, thick piece that lies down just above the sack or
moccasin part; and if you lift this up, you see a pair of round, dark
spots like eyes, and the Indians say it is like the face of a hound, with
the nose and black eyes plain to be seen. Two of the shorter, curled,
brown petals look like flapped ears, one on each side of the face. There
is a more beautiful sort, purple and white, which blooms in August. The
plant is taller, and bears large, lovely flowers."
"And has it a funny face and ears too, nurse?"
"Yes, my dear, but the face is more like an ape's: it is even more
distinct than in the yellow moccasin. When my brother and I were children,
we used to fold back the petals, and call them baby flowers: the sack, we
thought, looked like a baby's white frock."
Lady Mary was much amused at this notion.
"There are a great number of very beautiful and also very curious flowers
growing in the forest," said Mrs. Frazer. "Some of them are used in
medicine, and some by the Indians for dyes, with which they stain the
baskets and porcupine quills. One of our earliest flowers is called the
blood-root. [Footnote: Sanguivaria.] It comes up a delicate, white-folded
bud, within a vine-shaped leaf, which is veined on the under side with
orange yellow. If the stem or the root of this plant be broken, a scarlet
juice drops out very fast. It is with this the squaws dye red and orange
colours."
"I am glad to hear this, nurse. Now I can tell my dear mamma what the
baskets and quills are dyed with."
"The flower is very pretty, like a white crocus, only not so large. You
saw some crocuses in the conservatory the other day, I think, my dear
lady."
"Oh yes; yellow ones, and purple too, in a funny china thing, with holes
in its back, and the flowers came up through the holes. The gardener said
it was a porcupine.
"Please, nurse, tell me of what colours real porcupine quills are?"
"They are white and grayish-brown."
Then Lady Mary brought a print and showed it to her nurse, saying,--
"Nurse, is the porcupine like this picture?"
"The American porcupine, my dear, is not so large as this species: its
spines are smaller and weaker. It resembles the common hedgehog more
nearly. It is an innocent animal, feeding mostly on roots and small
fruits. It burrows in dry, stony hillocks, and passes the cold weather in
sleep. It goes abroad chiefly during the night. The spines of the Canadian
porcupine are much weaker than those of the African species. The Indians
trap these creatures, and eat their flesh. They bake them in their skins
in native ovens--holes made in the earth, lined with stones, which they
make very hot, covering them over with embers." [Footnote: There is a
plant of the lily tribe, upon whose roots the porcupine feeds, as well as
on wild bulbs and berries, and the bark of the black spruce and larch. It
will also eat apples and Indian corn.]
Mrs. Frazer had told Lady Mary all she knew about the porcupine, when
Campbell, the footman, came to say that her papa wanted to see her.