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brings is different to each one of us.

To me, the lament of the wood pewee brings to mind deep, moist places in
the Pennsylvania backwoods; the crescendo of the oven bird awakens
memories of the oaks of the Orange mountains; when a loon or an
olive-sided flycatcher or a white-throat calls, the lakes and forests of
Nova Scotia come vividly to mind; the cry of a sea-swallow makes real
again the white beaches of Virginia; to me a cardinal has in its song the
feathery lagoons of Florida's Indian River, while the shriek of a macaw
and its antithesis, the silvery, interlacing melodies of the solitaire,
spell the farthest _barrancas_ of Mexico, with the vultures ever circling
overhead, and the smoke clouds of the volcano in the distance.

So sweet, so sweet the calling of the thrushes,
The calling, cooing, wooing, everywhere;
So sweet the water's song through reeds and rushes,
The plover's piping note, now here, now there.
Nora Perry.

TURTLE TRAITS

A turtle, waddling his solitary way along some watercourse, attracts
little attention apart from that aroused by his clumsy, grotesque shape;
yet few who look upon him are able to give offhand even a bare half-dozen
facts about the humble creature. Could they give any information at all,
it would probably be limited to two or three usages to which his body is
put--such as soup, mandolin picks, and combs.

In the northeastern part of our own country we may look for no fewer than
eight species of turtles which are semi-aquatic, living in or near ponds
and streams, while another, the well-known box tortoise, confines its
travels to the uplands and woods.

There are altogether about two hundred different kinds of turtles, and
they live in all except the very cold countries of the world. Australia
has the fewest and North and Central America the greatest number of
species. Evolutionists can tell us little or nothing of the origin of
these creatures, for as far back in geological ages as they are found
fossil (a matter of a little over ten million years), all are true
turtles, not half turtles and half something else. Crocodiles and
alligators, with their hard leathery coats, come as near to them as do any
living creatures, and when we see a huge snapping turtle come out of the
water and walk about on land, we cannot fail to be reminded of the fellow
with the armoured back.