Feb. 13.—Whenever I look through my window and see Spotted necked Doves waiting for morning feed, I note their lazy, gentle appearance and these very attributes send my mind back through the history of the world as we know from the Ark was really what we would call a pigeon: the religious significance of the dove is well Known and many of the Saints are Pictured with a dove on head or shoulder: the extinct Dodo was a kind of pigeon and it was his laziness through the centuries that deprived him of his wings and finally let him Be blotted out in his last known as serpents and harmless as doves." Tam not entirely willing to admit the wisdom of the serpent. particularly in view of what he did for Adam, but T strenuously deny the harmless ness of the dove in view of the story which T now relate, About week ago while various birds were feeding at my table, I. heard the agonized screams of a small bird and Was astonished to find a dove holding a sparrow firmly by the wing and shaking it furiously: T could hardly believe my eyes but to-day T again heard the same sound, and this time. found the dove holding. the sparrow by the skin and feathers of its neck shaking it and swinging from side to side as a terrier shakes a rat; finally the terrified sparrow was dropped over the edge of the table... and Tam glad to say that flew' away more frightened" than hurt, 'So now I trust that young men will' be more careful in addressing their lady-loves in Biblical language as "Oh! my Dove!" Readers of that well known novel "Juan in America" involved. will particularly realize the danger
Feb, 15—While heavy night frosts continue it 1s only natural that ground feeding birds should be hun~;|gry and that a lot of my attention should be drawn to those which feed fat my tables in the garden. The variety Jo not great but the is of intense interest to a bird watcher, The sparrows, blackbirds, bulbuls, doves and magpies are always there ves, While occasional visitors such Pooks, azure-wings and a stray couple of pale thrushes (or Ousels) add riety to the spectacle, And while al "this goes on there is one fact which strikes me daily... that nearly all birds are. pirates, brigands or high-jackers, whichever you prefer to call them. And perhaps. the greatest fof all these pirates is the blackbird. Watch him as he stands on the outside of the scrum waiting for a sparrow to come away with a piece of bread; the blackbird tackles him low as he tries to get away. there a short struggle and the bread is "gone....down the blackbird':
throat, 'The' magpies are doing the same thing In the background; the furtive thrushes hide under bushes and dash out to rob passing strangers Uke "any smateh-thief, Why cannot these bolder and stronger birds come and take their food from the place where It is offered? In actual fact they do s0 later when they are not nearly so hungry; and T can only im:
that their previous actions are ne to some idea that "stolen sweets are best" or that, being born pirates, they love to act as such. When T yee all this going on before me I cannot help thinking of the dear old lady who went to see a Rugby football game for the first time and, after watching several exciting movements said: "If all these young men want football so much, why don't, they ach buy one?" Li's really Just Ike that with birds, peat. United States. scientists are still working on the problem of get ting the country out of hot water, Raunt, the island of Mauritius. So much' for laziness: but what about his reputation for gentleness? St. Matthew probably started {t all when he said (X- 16) "Be yo therefore wise
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.