es.

--_New York Independent._

[Illustration: AN ANTWERP SCENE.]

[Illustration]

THE ORIOLE'S SONG.

Tangled and green the orchard way,
Breath of blossoms, and waft of breeze;
Dew-wet vistas of breaking day,
Drifted snow on the drooping trees.

Through branching bloom, and mist of green,
Now here, now there, upon the wing,
Flame of oriole faintly seen--
Vision fair of the winsome spring.

A low-drawn cadence, thrilling, low,
A call, a charm unto the ear;
A forest brook in golden flow,
A love song to the waking year.

And all the gladness of a young May
Is touching with pathos at the strain;
The melting music of the lay
Our heart's deep secrets wakes again.

--_Sheila._

THE RED-HEADED WOODPECKER.

BY FLORENCE MERRIAM BAILEY.

The National Association of Audubon Societies Educational Leaflet No.
43.

The Woodpeckers are a band of foresters most of whom spend their lives
saving trees. Many of them do their work hidden in the dark forests,
but the Red-heads hunt largely out in plain sight of passers-by. Why?
Because, while they devour enough enemies of the trees to deserve the
name of foresters, they are particularly fond of vegetable foods and
large beetles found in the open.

Watch one of the handsome Red-headed birds on a fence. Down he drops to
pick up an ant or a grasshopper from the ground; then up he shoots to
catch a wasp or beetle in the air. Nor does he stop with fly-catching.
Nutting--beech-nutting--is one of his favorite pastimes; while berries,
fruits and seeds are all to his taste. If, in his appreciation of the
good things that man offers, the Red-head on rare occasions takes a bit
more cultivated fruit or berries than his rightful share, his attention
should be diverted by planting some of his favorite wild fruits, such
as dogwood, mulberry, elderberry, chokecherry, or wild black cherry.

But, in judging of what is a bird's fair share of man's crops, many
things should be considered. Food is bought for the Canary and other
house pets; and many people who do not care for caged pets buy food for
the wild birds summer and winter, to bring them to their houses.
Flowers cost something, too. But without birds and flowers, what would
the country be? Before raising his hand against a bird, a man should
think of many things. A man who is unfair to a bird is unfair t