mmon bayberry.

Among the sand dunes of the extensive "Banks" along the North Carolina
coast there grows in great profusion a small bushy tree known as the
yaupon. {90} The young leaves of this when dried and steeped make a very
acceptable drink, and during the hungry days of the Civil War when the
Federal blockade became effective the people of the region used this as a
substitute for tea and coffee. The yaupon produces in great abundance a
berry that is so highly esteemed by the Myrtle Warblers that they pass
the winter in these regions in numbers almost incredible.

_When the Food Supply Fails._--It is hard to realize the extent of the
havoc wrought among birds by cold, snowy weather. Early in the year 1895
a long, severe cold spell, accompanied by snow and sleet, almost
exterminated the Bluebird in the eastern United States. The bodies of no
less than twenty-four of these birds were found in the cavity of one
tree. It looked as if they had crowded together with the hope of keeping
warm. It was not the cold alone which had destroyed the birds: a famine
had preceded the cold snap, and the birds, weakened by hunger, were ill
prepared to withstand its rigours.

One winter some years ago a prolonged freezing {91} wave swept over our
South Atlantic States, and played havoc with the Woodcock in South
Carolina. This is what happened: the swamps in the upper reaches of the
Pee Dee, the Black, and Waccamaw rivers were frozen solid, and the
Woodcock, that in winter abound in this region, were thus driven to the
softer grounds farther downstream. The cold continued and the frozen
area followed the birds. The Woodcock, unable to drive their long bills
into the once-responsive mud, were forced to continue their flight toward
the coast in search of open ground where worms could be found. When at
length they reached Winyaw Bay, where these rivers converge, they were at
the point of exhaustion. Thousands of the emaciated birds swarmed in the
streets and gardens of Georgetown. They were too weak to fly, and
negroes killed them with sticks and offered baskets of these wasted
bodies, now worthless as food, for a few cents a dozen. Several
shipments were made to Northern cities by local market men, who hoped to
realize something by their industry.

{92}

Of the Wild Ducks which remain North in the winter many die because of
the freezing of the water in which they must dive or dabble for their
food. On the morning of F