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Test Bank For Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach, 8/E 8th Edition Joyce S Osland, David A. Kolb, Irwin M Rubin, Marlene E. Turner

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Test Bank For Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach, 8/E 8th Edition Joyce S Osland, David A. Kolb, Irwin M Rubin, Marlene E. Turner

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WHAT ABOUT ME?


A. Personality Insights A-6
1. What’s My Basic Personality? A-6
2. What's My Jungian 16-Type Personality? A-8
3. Am I a Type-A? A-9
4. How Well Do I Handle Ambiguity? A-11
5. How Creative Am I? A-12
B. Values and Attitude Insights A-14
1. What Do I Value? A-14
2. How Involved Am I In My Job? A-15
3. How Satisfied Am I With My Job? A-16
4. What Are My Attitudes Toward Workplace Diversity? A-18
C. Motivation Insights A-20
1. What Motivates Me? A-20
2. What are My Dominant Needs? A-21
3. What Rewards Do I Value Most? A-23
4. What's My View on the Nature of People? A-24
5. What are My Course Performance Goals? A-26
6. How Confident Am I In My Abilities to Succeed? A-27
7. What’s My Attitude Toward Achievement? A-29
8. What’s My Job’s Motivating Potential? A-30
9. Do I Want an Enriched Job? A-32
D. Decision Making Insights A-34
1. Am I a Procrastinator? A-34
2. How Do My Ethics Rate? A-35
E. Other A-38
1. What's My Emotional Intelligence Score? A-38
2. What Time of Day Am I Most Productive? A-39
3. How Good Am I at Personal Planning? A-40
4. Am I Likely to Become an Entrepreneur? A-42

II. WORKING WITH OTHERS


A. Communication
Skills A-44
1. What's My Face-to-Face Communication Style? A-44
2. How Good Are My Listening Skills? A-45
B. Leadership and Team Skills A-47
1. What's My Leadership Style? A-47
2. How Charismatic Am I? A-48
3. Do I Trust Others? A-50
4. Do Others See Me as Trusting? A-52
5. How Good Am I at Disciplining Others? A-53
6. How Good Am I at Building and Leading a Team? A-55
C. Power and Conflict Skills A-58
1. How Power-Oriented Am I? A-58
2. What's My Preferred Type of Power? A-59
3. How Good Am I at Playing Politics? A-61
4. How Well Do I Manage Impressions? A-63
5. How Do I Handle Conflict? A-64
6. What’s My Negotiating Style? A-66

III. LIFE IN ORGANIZATIONS


A. Organization Structure A-69
1. What Type of Organization Structure Do I Prefer? A-69
2. How Willing Am I to Delegate? A-70
3. How Good Am I at Giving Performance Feedback? A-71
B. Careers A-74
1. What's the Right Organizational Culture For Me? A-74
2. How Committed Am I to My Organization? A-75
3. Am I Experiencing Work/Family Conflict? A-77
4. How Motivated Am I To Manage? A-78
5. Am I Well-Suited for a Career as a Global Manager? A-80
C. Change and Stress A-82
1. How Well Do I Respond to Turbulent Change? A-82
2. How Stressful Is My Life? A-83
3. Am I Burned Out? A-84

IV. NEW ASSESSMENTS


A. Personality Insights A-86
1. Am I A Narcissist? A-86
2. Am I A Deliberate Decision Maker? A-87
3. How Confident Am I In My Abilities To Succeed? A-89
4. How Spiritual Am I? A-91
B. Motivation Insights A-94
1. Am I Engaged? A-94
C. Values and Attitude Insights A-96
1. What’s My Attitude Toward Older People? A-96
2. What Are My Gender Role Perceptions? A-97
D. Mood and Emotion Insights A-100
1. How Are You Feeling Right Now? A-100
2. What’s My Affect Intensity? A-101
E. Leadership and Team Skills A-104
1. Do I Have A Negative Attitude Toward Working In Groups? A-104
2. What Is My Team Efficacy? A-105
3. Am I A Gossip? A-107
4. Am I An Ethical Leader? A-109
5. What’s My LPC Score? A-111
F. Organization Structure A-115
1. Is My Workplace Political? A-115
2. Do I Like Bureaucracy? A-116
G. Other A-119
1. How Much Do I Know About Organizational Behavior? A-119
2. How Much Do I Know About HRM? A-120
I. What About Me A. Personality Insights

1. What’s My Basic Personality? CD: I.A.1

Overview

Personality is a unique set of attributes that every human being has. It is quite often the first
thing that we notice about a person when we meet them. We immediately assess and judge
them based on the attributes identified in this self-assessment exercise. For example, you are
taking an interview for a new job. You have done your homework and researched the
company’s history, its corporate earnings, and expected earnings; checked with others who are
familiar with the company’s culture and attitudes toward employees; and have researched the
trade magazines such as Fortune, Fast Company, and Business Week on how the company is
being managed. You have also visited the company’s website and made assumptions as to what
type of “personality” would best fit into the company. You realize that this is the company for
you and the job for you. Your personality appears to fit right in, and you are hopeful the
interviewers will agree. But so as not to leave too much to chance, you rehearse your interview
with friends with like personalities so you can show off your own personality to the best
advantage. On the day of the interview, you dress the part, act the part, and “hit a home run” in
the interview from your perspective. Your personality seemed to mirror that of the panel of
interviewers, making your very comfortable and able to “do” a good interview. The next day
you receive a call from the company human resources department offering you the job. It
appears your assessment, at least on the surface, was correct, and you should be able to do well
in this culture.

In this situation, you have used your personality in a positive way to achieve your goal. Had you
done your research and found a mismatch between your personality and the company’s culture,
you might have either passed up an interview or failed miserably in the interview from both
your perspective and the company’s. In a recent best-seller, Built to Last, by Collins and Porras,
they discovered that many companies, as part of long-term success, have very strong cultures
that in many ways dictate a certain personality type if one is to be successful. For example, if
you work at 3M, a high score on Openness to Experience would be an almost necessary
personality attribute or trait, because the culture is built around innovation, change, and
creativity. At Nordstrom’s, there is a cult-like culture that demands an adherence to the
“Nordy” spirit and culture, so high scores on Extraversion and Agreeability are essential traits to
possess. If you are low on either of these, the Nordstrom culture is probably not the place for
you. Knowing your own personality and the culture of the company can save both parties much
time, effort, and money if the culture is strong and has fairly specific expectations around
behavioral patterns.

Teaching Notes

Scotsman Robert Burns in Ode to a Louse (“louse” is the singular form of head lice, in this case,
as seen in a woman’s bonnet while in church) writes the following lines (loosely modernized):
Would God give us the power to see ourselves as others see us; it would free many from their
blinders and foolish notions. Understanding the impact of one’s personality on others is the
heart of this quote and essential to finding a successful match between an organization, a
person, and that person’s chosen career. It is both economically and psychologically cost
effective for both the company and the potential employee to get a sense of the mutual “fit” at
the beginning of the relationship.

The students can use this exercise to see where they are in their personality evolution at this
point. That is, although personality is relatively set in many ways, extraordinary events (wars,
encouragement in class with the right timing, experiencing something that changes one’s world
view) can change a personality.

In many instances, there is not a perceived match between the employee and the culture, but
something in the new employee changes enough to adapt to the situation. Again, drawing from
Built to Last, Merck, a drug company, has the overall goal of serving humanity. It is a very
socially responsible company. Many employees in our society may never have realized this
dimension of organizations’ roles in our society or given it much thought. However, once in this
culture, developing drugs to help humankind is the guiding managerial framework. This does
bring profit, but that is not the overarching goal. A scientist may find this a wonderful place to
work that they had not necessarily always thought about. If the scientist is more interested in
money, he or she would be better off joining a company that believes that the responsibility of a
company is to its stockholders first and foremost, so profit is the guiding factor.

Exercises

1. How Important is a Good Fit? Form students into teams of three to six people, depending
on the size of the class. Half of each team represents management and the other half,
potential and current employees. Have the teams discuss the importance of personality
from both perspectives.

Learning Objective(s): To (1) familiarize students with the role that personality plays at work,
and (2) demonstrate that there are multiple perspectives on this topic.

Preparation/Time Allotment: This is a good icebreaker exercise at the start of the course.
Make sure students are familiar with the basic definition of personality, and try to create
groups that have at least one practicing manager in them. This should take about 30-45
minutes.

Advantages/Disadvantages/Potential Problems: It might be difficult to generate a discussion


if the exercise is done prior to the students reading the material or doing enough
assessments to understand themselves. The exercise is most effective if there are practicing
managers in the class that can give management’s perspective on the issue.

2. Just What Is Personality Anyway? Break the class into small groups and have them debate
the concept of personality as a fixed or changing set of traits.

Learning Objective(s): To introduce the controversial topic of what personality really means;
which traits are stable, and which traits can be learned.

Preparation/Time Allotment: This exercise is most effective after the basic concept of
personality has been covered. The students should understand the differences between
traits, states, and behavior.
Advantages/Disadvantages/Potential Problems: Point out that psychologists have different
views on this topic, and that they will not come to one “right” answer. Rather, this gives
them a flavor for how things are debated and discussed in this field.

2. What’s My Jungian 16-Type Personality? CD: I.A.2

Overview

This instrument is another way to give feedback on personality traits. This is a very popular
personality framework that classifies people in a number of categories. As with all personality
profiles, they can be used to help people determine which organizational cultures and careers
might make the best match for their personality.

If a person likes to work alone and is introverted, being an employee or manager in a company
such as Saturn, which is built on teams, would not produce a good fit. If a person is INTP, then
Merck may be a good match. If you are INTJ, you might think about Reading Inc. magazine or
becoming an entrepreneur. However, a word of good sense: people do often change as
circumstances do. If you are a 20-something, your personality is still forming. If you are a 50-
something, much of your personality is formed and will typically only be altered if some major
event such as being “downsized” occurs. If the status quo is stable for either the 20- or 50-
somethings, the personality may be more stable. In these times of incredible change, the status
quo seems unlikely. Students may wish to keep this CD and retake this assessment over the
years, keeping their results each time and comparing them chronologically.

Teaching Notes

Students can use this instrument to help them with selecting their major and therefore their
initial career choice. We often choose a career without really knowing what the forces are that
shaped the choice. Often it is external in terms of wanting a job to make money or following in
a direction that friends and parents have encouraged or any of a variety of forces. This
instrument can allow students to assess their personality classification. The results and their
interpretation may or may not be helpful. It is up to the student to make use of the tool. They
may wish to ignore it if it runs counter to what they already think about themselves or reject it
because it runs against what they want to be like. You might wish to note that all instruments,
have some validity, but “your mileage may vary” as such surveys only provide indications, not
absolutes.

Exercises

1. ENT-What? Have students compare and contrast their results from this assessment in
groups of three to four. They can then share their impressions with the class as a whole.

Learning Objective(s): To (1) have students become familiar with the 16 categories of the
assessment, and (2) have them see how these categories manifest themselves in actual
people.
Preparation/Time Allotment: Have students take the test and score it prior to class. Each
student should have five to ten minutes to discuss their personality with the rest of the
group.

Advantages/Disadvantages/Potential Problems: Students may not agree with the category


that they are in. In general, this can be caused by some scores being on the border between
two categories. Discuss how this is a side effect of surveys, and to simply categorize
individuals into 16 categories is only one small part of personality at work.

Make sure the discussion revolves around actual behaviors that students can see and
observe. For example, if they say they are highly extroverted, have them give tangible
examples, such as how much they enjoy meeting new people at parties. Make sure to
translate this into concrete career examples. For example, politicians that are extroverted
probably enjoy fund-raising dinners, and most likely would be successful at these dinners.

2. All Like One or Different for All? Students may want to administer the assessment to
friends or people in a relevant group such as a student club, sorority/fraternity, or sports
team.

Learning Objective(s): To show students how people with similar interests may have similar
personalities.

Preparation/Time Allotment: The assessment should be done outside of class. You could
either have them turn in a paper regarding the findings, lead a class discussion, have a group
discussion, or require a formal presentation.

Advantages/Disadvantages/Potential Problems: Sometimes it is hard to predict personalities


based upon similar interests, especially with these 16 categories. Individuals on a sports
team may be widely diversified. If so, steer the discussion towards the value of
understanding individual differences and not stereotyping based upon an assessment tool.

3. Am I A Type-A? CD: I.A.3

Overview

Type As are common in North America. Despite some of the problems that are pointed out, one
can easily speculate that the CEOs and upper management of most American companies are
Type As. One can further speculate that most of these have come from the baby boomer or
silent generation/veterans and are most probably As. Twenty-somethings tend to be Type Bs
and much better suited to be team players than many of their colleagues who are older or their
bosses. They tend to balance out work and family, working to live.

An interesting question facing American businesses is the fact that most of the 20th century
entrepreneurs and top managers were Type As. They created a very prosperous economy, not
single handedly, for other events also helped such as the aftermath of WWII. They worked hard
and defined themselves as company “men” (as most were men until after the Civil Rights Act of
1964; for an excellent analysis of the corporation and gender issues see Rosabeth Moss Kanter’s
Men and Women of the Corporation).

The digital or knowledge-based economy calls for a different set of skills and drive, that is,
working smarter, not harder may be the major key to success. Stress is very evident in Type As,
as they drop dead from a variety of stress-related diseases. Type Bs are not as stressed because
they work with a different set of goals in might that include living one’s life, not having it more
or less dictated by the “firm.” So the question to be answered: will the preponderance of Type
Bs over time secure the economic dominance the United States has so long enjoyed?.

Teaching Notes

Without revealing any names, it might be interesting to collect the results of this instrument and
crosscheck it with grades to see if there is any correlation between Type As and Type Bs in terms
of grades, class participation, and attendance (the recommendation would be to use the results
and grades of your PREVIOUS class, not the current one). This could create a lively discussion on
what it takes to make it in college. Then transfer the discussion to the world of work.

Exercises

1. Alphabetic Pairings. Pair Type As and Type Bs and have them compare what they want out
of life. As a follow up, have them discuss what the future of our country would be if it were
largely in the hands of either Type As or Type Bs.

Learning Objective(s): To show how Type As and Bs may view the world through different
lenses.

Preparation/Time Allotment: Have the students take and score the assessment prior to
class. This exercise should take about 20 minutes.

Advantages/Disadvantages/Potential Problems: You may find that Type As and Bs want the
same things in life. If so, shift the discussion towards how they process information, or how
they will achieve their goals. They may want the same things, but differ in their approach.

2. TV Time. Assign the students a project to watch a television show and try to identify the
Type As and Type Bs. Have them bring their findings into class and discuss the findings and
their importance as a possible reflection of society.

Learning Objective(s): To translate observed behaviors into the Type A/B framework.

Preparation/Time Allotment: This could serve as an in-class presentation, discussion item,


paper, or formal presentation, thus time will vary.

Advantages/Disadvantages/Potential Problems: Remember that the students are only


inferring personality types from TV show behaviors. The main characters on a police or
hospital drama may all appear to be exhibiting Type A behaviors, but Type B’s can yell, get
excited and hyper, and also stress out at work. Make sure the students do not automatically
classify someone as an A or B type.
4. How Well Do I Handle Ambiguity? CD: I.A.4

Overview

The assessment helps the student understand how well he or she will manage change and
upheaval in life. It looks at all sorts of issues from immersion in another culture, to people they
like to hang with, to the role of teachers and supervisors. With our very changing and turbulent
times, the ability to deal with ambiguity will be essential to success and perhaps any semblance
of good mental health. If one is rigid, she or he is unlikely to feel comfortable in most current
organizations other than traditional bureaucracies, incompetent in companies that expect
change and adaptation, and may actual feel like dropping out of the work world completely, a
loss for both organizations and self.

This exercise should be interesting for the teacher to take along with the students to see how
well you are adapting to a changing classroom populated by different generations. Our students
have already gone through very ambiguous times and may score better than many of us,
(depending on your age).

Teaching Notes

This might be a good time to discuss the topic of age and generational differences in the
workplace. Expectations, prejudices, miscalculations, fear, and a host of other emotions as well
as the organizational problems such as conflict can arise when there are vastly different levels of
the ability to manage ambiguity. You might want to use a case that shows what these types of
complications can create. An example such as a company that suddenly needs new ideas and a
staff that is not only computer literate, but who excel technologically, might be worthy of
discussion.

Exercises

1. Generation Gap. Divide the class into groups based on age with older and younger
represented. If you have a relatively uniform group, have half of the group “play” their
parents. Then discuss how they did on the test and how they think their parents would do.
As a follow up, have them discuss how they would both divide work and work together if
they were placed on the same work team.

Learning Objective(s): To show how age can affect one’s tolerance for ambiguity.

Preparation/Time Allotment: A group discussion should take anywhere from 15 minutes to


an hour, depending upon the diversity in the class and the size of the groups.

Advantages/Disadvantages/Potential Problems: Point out that the younger generation may


have less tolerance for ambiguity because they most likely have fewer responsibilities. It is
much easier to lose your job when you do not have a family, mortgage, or other obligations
to meet. You might also discuss whether this assessment is a personality trait, or a
reflection of one’s life experiences.
2. Ambiguity and the Type A. Have the students take both I.A.3 and this assessment.
Compare their determined Type to the ambiguity results to see if there are any similarities
or trends in the scores. Then discuss the implications of this finding.

Learning Objective(s): To begin to see how the different assessment tools complement and
interact with each other.

Preparation/Time Allotment: Remember to assign both assessments. The discussion should


take 15-30 minutes. You might also chart the correlations anonymously to visually share
any patterns in the data.

Advantages/Disadvantages/Potential Problems: Each assessment tells us a little bit more


about personality and work. It is important to reinforce this, and also discuss how they may
fit together, or be totally unrelated.

5-3 5. How Creative Am I? CD: I.A.5

Overview

In changing times, creativity seems to be at a greater premium then when all is stable and
predictable. We are clearly living in changing times, what Charles Handy calls a time of
“discontinuous” change; that is, the status quo cannot be moved forward. If this is the case,
then our organizations dearly need people who are both talented and creative. Organizations
like 3M have always recruited creative people because the culture is one of trying things
repeatedly until no use can be found in the idea. Without such a corporate philosophy, we
would not have Post-it-Notes, Teflon pans, and any number of incredible products. In Built to
Last, Porras and Collins make the point that the top 18 well-managed companies they analyzed
live by the idea of trying all sorts of ideas and keeping the ones that work. In our changing
times, this seems like good advice for organizations and individuals.

Teaching Notes

Our students are in for a bumpy ride as they start their careers, as are those people who are
reentering the workforce. The demands on organizations will be much the same as they have
always been, but creativity will clearly be in greater demand, as the global economy and the
Internet reshape the business environment. We will all be in for a bumpy ride and the more we
know about ourselves, the better we will be able to manage the trip.
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
The Project Gutenberg eBook of A year
among the trees
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United
States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away
or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License
included with this ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you
are not located in the United States, you will have to check the
laws of the country where you are located before using this
eBook.

Title: A year among the trees


or, the woods and by-ways of New England

Author: Wilson Flagg

Release date: January 9, 2024 [eBook #72670]

Language: English

Original publication: Boston: Educational Publishing Company,


1881

Credits: Richard Tonsing, Emmanuel Ackerman, Steve Mattern,


and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from
images generously made available by The Internet
Archive)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A YEAR AMONG


THE TREES ***
Transcriber’s Note:
New original cover art included with this eBook is
granted to the public domain.
A Year among the Trees;

OR,

THE WOODS AND BY-WAYS OF NEW

ENGLAND.

By WILSON FLAGG,
AUTHOR OF “STUDIES IN THE FIELD AND FOREST,” “A YEAR WITH THE
BIRDS,” “HALCYON DAYS,” ETC.

The temples of the gods made desolate,


They leave the earth to curses born of art;
Degenerate man resumes the bow and quiver,
And beauty sleeps until another dawn.

BOSTON:
EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING CO.
1890.
COPYRIGHT, 1881,
BY ESTES AND LAURIAT.
BOSTON.

COPYRIGHT, 1889,
BY EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING CO.,
BOSTON.
INDEX.
A.
Ailantus 267
Alder Alnus serrulata 265
American Elm 74
American Wayfaring-Tree Viburnum lentago 185
Andromeda 209
Animals of the Primitive Forest 12
Apple-Tree Pyrus malus 70
Arbor-Vitæ Thuya occidentalis 299
Arrow-Wood Viburnum dentatum 187
Ash Fraxinus Americana 8
Ash, Mountain 86
Aspen, large Populus tripida 257
Aspen, small Populus tremuloides 258
Autumn Woods 188
Azalea 18

B.
Balsam Fir Abies balsamea 288
Barberry Berberis communis 48
Bayberry Myrica cerifera 178
Beach-Plum Prunus maritima 72
Bearberry Arbutus uva-urs 143
Beech-Tree Fagus Americanus 145
Benzoin Laurus benzoin 135
Bittersweet Celastrus scandens 151
Blackberry Rubus procumbens 152
Black Birch Betula lenta 237
Black Poplar Populus nigra 247
Black Spruce Abies nigra 291
Black Walnut Juglans nigra 164
Buckthorn Rhamnus catharticus 270
Burning-Bushes 269
Butternut Juglans cinerea 163
Button-bush Cephalanthus occidentalis 172
Buttonwood 174
C.
Canada Poplar Populus candicans 246
Canadian Rhodora 19
Catalpa 41
Ceanothus 49
Checkerberry Gaultheria procumbens 143
Cherry, Black Prunus Virginiana 81
Cherry, Choke Prunus serotina 82
Chestnut Castanea vesca 154
Chokeberry Mespilus arbutifolia 85
Clethra Clethra alnifolia 173
Clipped Hedge-rows 136
Cornel 200
Cornel, Blue-berried Cornus circinata 201
Cornel, Dwarf Cornus Canadensis 202
Cornel, Florida Cornus Florida 201
Cornel, Purple-berried Cornus alternifolia 200
Cornel, White-berried Cornus alba 200
Cypress, Northern Cupressus thuyoides 293
Cypress, Southern Taxodium distichum 294

D.
Dark Plains 223
Dewberry Rubus sempervirens 152
Dogwood Rhus vernix 204
Dutch Myrtle Myrica gale 178

E.
Eglantine Rosa micrantha 218
Elder Sambucus Canadensis 206
Elm, American Ulmus Americanus 74
Elm, English Ulmus campestris 80
Elm, White Ulmus Americanus 74

F.
Fir Picea 288
Flowering Dogwood 200
Flowering Raspberry Rubus odoratus 152
Foliage 51
Forms and Expressions of Trees 42

G.
Glycine Glycine apios 150
Grapevine Vitis labrusca 152
Ground Laurel Epigea repens 142
Guelder Rose Viburnum opulus 186

H.
Hardhack Spiræa tomentosa 114
Hawthorn Cratægus oxyacantha 115
Hazel, Beaked Corylus rostrata 172
Hazel, Common Corylus Americana 171
Heath Erica 208
Hemlock Abies Canadensis 279
Hickory 156
Hickory, Bitternut Carya amara 157
Hickory, Fignut Carya ficiformis 157
Hickory, Shellbark Carya squamosa 157
Hickory, White Carya alba 157
Hobblebush Viburnum lantanoides 186
Holly Ilex opaca 113
Honey Locust Gleditschia 108
Hop Hornbeam Ostrya Virginica 61
Hornbeam Carpinus Americana 60
Horse-Chestnut Æsculus 40

I.
Indian Summer 240
Insecurity of our Forests 63

J.
Jersey Tea Ceanothus Americana 49
Juniper Juniperus Virginiana 297
K.
Kalmia 96

L.
Lambkill Kalmia angustifolia 98
Larch Larix Americana 277
Laurel Laurus 134
Laurel, Low 98
Laurel, Mountain 96
Lilac Syringa 47
Lime Tilia Americana 93
Linden-Tree 93
Locust Robinia pseudacacia 106
Lombardy Poplar Populus fastigiata 254

M.
Magnolia Magnolia glauca 105
Maple Acer 220
Meadow-Sweet Spiræa alba 114
Mespilus, Snowy 84
Missouri Currant Ribes aureum 49
Motions of Trees 100
Mountain Ash Sorbus Americana 86
Mountain Laurel Kalmia latifolia 96
Mountain Maple Acer montana 221
Myrtle Myrtus 177

N.
Northern Cypress Cupressus thuyoides 293
Norway Spruce Abies excelsa 291

O.
Oak 121
Oak, Black Quercus tinctoria 133
Oak, Red Quercus rubra 131
Oak, Scarlet Quercus coccinea 132
Oak, Scrub Quercus ilicifolia 132
Oak, Swamp Quercus bicolor 130
Oak, White Quercus alba 129
Orchard Trees 69

P.
Peach-Tree Amygdalus 73
Pear-Tree Pyrus 71
Pine, Pitch Pinus rigidus 305
Pine, White Pinus strobus 301
Pine Woods 282
Plane-Tree Platanus occidentalis 174
Plum-Tree Prunus 72
Plumgranate Prunus Americana 72
Poison Ivy Rhus radicans 150
Poplar Populus 245
Primitive Forest, The 1
Privet Ligustrum vulgare 270

Q.
Quince-Tree Pyrus cydonia 72

R.
Red Birch Betula rubra 239
Red Maple Acer rubrum 228
Red Osier Cornus circinata 201
Relations of Trees to the Atmosphere 109
Relations of Trees to Birds and Insects 233
Relations of Trees to Poetry and Fable 260
Relations of Trees to Salubrity 212
Relations of Trees to Soil 181
Relations of Trees to Temperature 159
Relations of Trees to Water 88
Rhodora Rhodora Canadensis 19
River Maple Acer 222
River Poplar Populus rivalis 248
Rock Maple Acer saccharinum 221
Rose Rosa 217
Rotation and Distribution 25
Rustic Lane and Woodside 148

S.
Sassafras Laurus sassafras 134
Snow-ball Tree 186
Snowy Mespilus Mespilus Canadensis 84
Sounds from Trees 249
Southern Cypress 294
Spindle-Tree Euonymus 269
Spiræa 114
Spruce Abies 290
Spruce, Black Abies nigra 291
Spruce, Norway Abies excelsa 291
Spruce, White Abies alba 290
Strawberry-Tree Euonymus 269
Sugar Maple Acer saccharinum 221
Sumach, Poison Rhus vernix 204
Sumach, Poison Ivy Rhus radicans 152
Sumach, Smooth Rhus glabrum 204
Sumach, Velvet Rhus typhinum 204
Summer Wood-scenery 117
Swamp Honeysuckle Azalea viscosa 18
Swamp Rose Rosa Caroliniana 218
Sweetbrier Rosa micrantha 218
Sweet-Fern Comptonia asplenifolia 179
Sweet-gale 178
Synopsis of Autumn Tints 197

T.
Trees as Electric Agents 137
Trees for Shade and Salubrity 212
Trees in Assemblages 125
Tulip-Tree Liriodendron tulipifera 104
Tupelo Nyssa villosa 58
V.
Vernal Wood-scenery 35
Viburnum, Arrow-Wood V. dentatum 187
Viburnum, Hobblebush V. lantanoides 186
Viburnum, Maple-leaved V. acerifolium 186
Viburnum, Wayfaring-Tree V. lentago 185
Virginia Creeper Ampelopsis 149
Virgin’s Bower Clematis 153

W.
Weeping Willow Salix Babylonica 32
Western Plane Platanus occidentalis 174
White Birch Betula alba 230
White Pine Pinus strobus 301
White Spruce Abies alba 290
Whortleberry Pasture 165
Whortleberries and Huckleberries 170
Willow 21
Willow, Swamp Salix eriocephala 22
Willow, Yellow Salix vitellina 24
Winter Wood-scenery 271
Witch-Hazel 266
Woody Nightshade Solanum dulcamara 150

Y.
Yellow Birch Betula excelsa 238
Yew Taxus Canadensis 300
PREFACE.

The matter contained in this volume is taken wholly from “The


Woods and By-Ways of New England,” omitting all that is published
in Volume I., and which has no special reference to trees. This
volume, beside the particular description of species, treats of the
value and beauty of trees and forests, of their climatic influence as
purifiers of the atmosphere, of their relations to water, to electricity,
to temperature, to the soil, to shade and salubrity, to birds and
insects, to ornament, and to poetry and fable.
THE WOODS.
A YEAR AMONG THE TREES;

OR,

THE WOODS AND BY-WAYS OF NEW


ENGLAND.

THE PRIMITIVE FOREST.

When the Pilgrim first landed on the coast of America, the most
remarkable feature of its scenery that drew his attention, next to the
absence of towns and villages, was an almost universal forest. A few
openings were to be seen near the rivers,—immense peat-meadows
covered with wild bushes and gramineous plants, interspersed with
little wooded islets, and bordered on all sides by a rugged, silent, and
dreary desert of woods. Partial clearings had likewise been made by
the Indians for their rude hamlets, and some spaces had been
opened by fire. But the greater part of the country was darkened by
an umbrageous mass of trees and shrubbery, in whose gloomy
shades were ever present dangers and bewilderment for the traveller.
In these solitudes the axe of the woodman had never been heard, and
the forest for thousands of years had been subject only to the
spontaneous action of natural causes. To men who had been
accustomed to the open and cultivated plains of Europe, this waste of
woods, those hills without prospect, that pathless wilderness, and its
inhabitants as savage as the aspect of the country, must have seemed
equally sublime and terrible.
But when the colonists had cut roads through this desert, planted
landmarks over the country, built houses upon its clearings, opened
the hill-tops to a view of the surrounding prospect, and cheered the
solitude by some gleams of civilization, then came the naturalist and
the man of science to survey the aspect and productions of this new
world. And when they made their first excursions over its rugged
hills and through its wooded vales, we can easily imagine their
transports at the sight of its peculiar scenery. How must the early
botanist have exulted over this grand assemblage of plants, that bore
resemblance to those of Europe only as the wild Indian resembles the
fair-haired Saxon! Everywhere some rare herb put forth flowers at
his feet, and trees of magnificent height and slender proportions
intercepted his progress by their crowded numbers. The wood was so
generally uninterrupted, that it was difficult to find a summit from
which he could obtain a lookout of any considerable extent; but
occasional natural openings exposed floral scenes that must have
seemed like the work of enchantment. In the wet meadows were
deep beds of moss of the finest verdure, which had seldom been
disturbed by man or brute. On the uplands were vast fields of the
checkerberry plant, social, like the European heath, and loaded half
the year with its spicy scarlet fruit. Every valley presented some
unknown vegetation to his sight, and every tangled path led him into
a new scene of beauties and wonders. It must have seemed to him,
when traversing this strange wilderness, that he had entered upon a
new earth, in which nature had imitated, without repeating, the
productions of his native East.
Along the level parts of New England and the adjacent country,
wherever the rivers were languid in their course, and partially
inundated their banks in the spring, were frequent natural meadows,
not covered by trees,—the homes of the robin and the bobolink
before the white man had opened to them new fields for their
subsistence. In the borders of these openings, the woods in early
summer were filled with a sweet and novel minstrelsy, contrasting
delightfully with the silence of the deeper forest. The notes of the
birds were wild variations of those which were familiar to the Pilgrim
in his native land, and inspired him with delight amidst the all-
prevailing sadness of woods that presented on the one hand scenes
both grand and beautiful, and teemed on the other with horrors
which only the pioneer of the desert could describe.
The whole continent, at the time of its discovery, from the coast to
the Great American Desert, was one vast hunting-ground, where the
nomadic inhabitants obtained their subsistence from the chase of
countless herds of deer and buffalo. At this period the climate had
not been modified by the operations of man upon the forest. It was
less variable than now, and the temperature corresponded more
definitely with the degrees of latitude. The winter was a season of
more invariable cold, less interrupted by thaws. In New England and
the other Northern States, snow fell in the early part of December,
and lay on the ground until April, when the spring opened suddenly,
and was not followed by those vicissitudes that mark the season at
the present era. Such was the true forest climate. May-day came
garlanded with flowers, lighted with sunshine, and breathing the
odors of a true spring. It was then easy to foretell what the next
season would be from its character the preceding years. Autumn was
not then, as we have often seen it, extended into winter. The limits of
each season were more precisely defined. The continent was annually
visited by the Indian summer, that came, without fail, immediately
after the fall of the leaf and the first hard frosts of November. This
short season of mild and serene weather, the halcyon period of
autumn, has disappeared with the primitive forest.
The original circumstances of the country have been entirely
revolutionized. The American climate is now in that transition state
which has been caused by opening the space to the winds from all
quarters by operations which have not yet been carried to their
extreme limit. These changes of the surface have probably increased
the mean annual temperature of the whole country by permitting the
direct rays of the sun to act upon a wider area, while they have
multiplied those eccentricities of climate that balk our weather
calculations at all seasons. There are still in many parts of the
country large tracts of wood which have not been greatly disturbed.
From the observation of these, and from descriptions by different
writers of the last century, we may form a pretty fair estimate of the
character and aspect of the forest before it was invaded by civilized
man.
During this primitive condition of the country, the forest, having
been left for centuries entirely to nature, would have formed a very
intelligible geological chart. If we could have taken an extensive view
of the New England forest, before any considerable inroads had been
made by the early settlers, from an elevated stand on the coast, we
should have beheld a dense and almost universal covering of trees.
From this stand we might also trace the geological character of the
soil, and its different degrees of fertility, dryness, and moisture, by
the predominance of certain species and the absence of others. The
undulations upon this vast ocean of foliage would come from the
elevations and depressions of the ground; for the varying heights of
the different assemblages of species upon the same level could hardly
be perceived by a distant view. The lowest parts of this wooded
region were at that period covered very generally with a crowded
growth of the northern cypress, or white cedar. These evergreen
swamps would constitute the darkest ground of the picture. The deep
alluvial tracts would be known by the deciduous character of their
woods and their lighter and brighter verdure, and the dry, sandy and
diluvial plains and the gravelly hills and eminences by their white
birches and tremulous poplars, their stunted pitch-pines and
dwarfish junipers. For a century past the woods have been cleared
mostly from the alluvial tracts; and the oaks, the hickories, the
chestnuts, and other hard-wood trees, the primitive occupants of the
rich and deep soils, have been succeeded in great measure by trees of
softer wood, that originally grew on inferior land. The wooded aspect
of the country cannot any longer be considered, as formerly, a good
geological chart, except in some parts of Maine and the adjoining
British Provinces.
One of the conditions most remarkable in a primitive forest is the
universal dampness of the ground. The second growth of timber,
especially if the surface were entirely cleared, stands upon a drier
foundation. This greater dryness is caused by the absence of those
vast accumulations of vegetable débris that rested on the ground
before it was disturbed. A greater evaporation also takes place under
the second growth, because the trees are of inferior size and stand
more widely apart. Another character of a primitive forest is the
crowded assemblage of trees and their undergrowth, causing great
difficulty in traversing it. Innumerable straggling vines, many of
them covered with thorns, like the green-brier, intercept our way.
Immense trunks of trees, prostrated by hurricanes, lie in our path,
and beds of moss of extreme thickness cover a great part of the
surface, saturated with moisture. The trees are also covered with
mosses, generated by the shade and dampness; and woody vines, like
the climbing fern, the poison ivy, and the ampelopsis, fastened upon
their trunks and trailing from their branches, make the wood in
many places like the interior of a grotto. Above all, the traveller
would notice the absence of those pleasant wood-paths that intersect
all our familiar woods, and would find his way only by observing
those natural appearances that serve as a compass to the Indian and
the forester.
In primitive woods there is but a small proportion of perfectly
formed trees; and these occur only in such places as permit some
individuals to stand in an isolated position, and spread out their
arms to their full capacity. When rambling in a wood we take note of
several conditions which are favorable to this full expansion of their
forms. On the borders of a lake, a prairie, or an open moor, or of an
extensive quarry that projects above the soil, the trees will extend
their branches into the opening; but as they are crowded on their
inner side, they are only half developed. This expansion, however, is
on the side that is exposed to view; hence the incomparable beauty of
a wood on the borders of a lake or pond, on the banks of a river as
viewed from the water, and on the circumference of a densely
wooded islet.
Fissures and cavities are frequent in large rocks not covered with
soil, allowing solitary trees which have taken root in them to acquire
their full proportions. In such places, and on eminences that rise
suddenly above the forest level, with precipitous sides, overtopping
the surrounding woods, we find individual trees possessing the
character of standards, like those we see by roadsides and in open
fields. But perfectly formed trees can only be produced in openings
and on isolated elevations such as I have described; and it is evident
that these favorable circumstances must be rare. The trees in a forest
are like those human beings who from their infancy have been
confined in the workshops of a crowded manufacturing town, and
who become closely assimilated and lose those marks of individual
character by which they would be distinguished if they had been
reared in a state of freedom and in the open country.
The primitive forest, in spite of its dampness, has always been
subject to fires in dry seasons, which have sometimes extended over
immense tracts of country. These fires were the dread of the early
settlers, and countless lives have been destroyed by their flames
often overwhelming entire villages. At the present time the causes of
fire in the woods are very numerous; but before they were exposed to
artificial sources of ignition it may have arisen from spontaneous
combustion, caused by large accumulations of fermenting
substances, or from lightning, or from the accidental friction of the
trunks of half-prostrated trees crossing each other, and moved by a
high wind. The forests in every part of the world have been subject to
conflagrations; and there seems to be no other means that could be
used by nature for removing old and worn-out forests, which contain
more combustible materials than any young woods. The burned
tracts in America are called barrens by the inhabitants; and as the
vegetation on the surface is often entirely destroyed, the spontaneous
renewal of it would display the gradual method of nature in restoring
the forest. The successions of plants, from the beautiful crimson
fireweed, through all the gradations of tender herbs, prickly bushes,
and brambles, to shrubs and trees of inferior stature, until all, if the
soil be deep and fertile, are supplanted by oaks, chestnuts, hickories,
and other hard-wood trees, are as regular and determinable as the
courses of the planets or the orders of the seasons.
THE ASH.

It is interesting to note the changes that take place from one


season to another in the comparative beauty of certain trees. The
Ash, for example, during the early part of October, is one of the most
beautiful trees of the forest, exceeded only by the maple in variety of
tinting. In summer, too, but few trees surpass it in quality of foliage,
disposed in flowing irregular masses, light and airy, but not thin,
though allowing the branches to be traced through it, even to their
extremities. It has a well-rounded head, neither so regular as to be
formal, nor so broken as to detract from its peculiar grace. When
standing with other trees in midsummer, in the border of a wood, or
mingled with the standards by the roadside, the Ash would be sure to
attract admiration. But no sooner have the leaves fallen from its
branches than it takes rank below almost all other trees, presenting a
stiff, blunt, and awkward spray, and an entire want of that elegance it
affects at other seasons.
The Ash is a favorite in Europe, though deficient there in autumnal
tints. It is a tree of the first magnitude, and has been styled in
classical poetry the Venus of the forest, from the general beauty of its
proportions and flowing robes. The English, however, complain of
the Ash, on account of its tardy leafing in the spring and its
premature denudation in the autumn. “Its leaf,” says Gilpin, “is
much tenderer than that of the oak, and sooner receives impression
from the winds and frost. Instead of contributing its tint, therefore,
in the wane of the year, among the many colored offspring of the
woods, it shrinks from the blast, drops its leaf, and in each scene
where it predominates leaves wide blanks of desolate boughs amid
foliage yet fresh and verdant. Before its decay we sometimes see its
leaf tinged with a fine yellow, well contrasted with the neighboring
greens. But this is one of nature’s casual beauties. Much oftener its
leaf decays in a dark, muddy, unpleasing tint.”
The Ash is remarkable for a certain trimness and regularity of
proportion, and it seldom displays any of those breaks so
conspicuous in the outlines of the hickory, which in many points it
resembles. The trunk rises to more than an average height before it is
subdivided; but we do not see the central shaft above this
subdivision, as in the poplar and the fir. Lateral branches seldom
shoot from the trunk, save, as I have sometimes observed, a sort of
bushy growth, surrounding it a little below the angles made by the
lower branches. It is called in Europe “the painters’ tree.” But George
Barnard, alluding to this fact, remarks: “Unlike the oak, the Ash does
not increase in picturesqueness with old age. The foliage becomes
rare and meagre, and its branches, instead of hanging loosely, often
start away in disagreeable forms.”
North America contains a greater number of species of the genus
Fraxinus than any other part of the globe. But three of these only are
common in New England,—the white, the red, and the black Ash.
The first is the most frequent both in the forest and by the roadsides,
the most beautiful, and the most valuable for its timber. All the
species have pinnate and opposite leaves, and opposite branches in
all the recent growth; but as the tree increases in size, one of the two
invariably becomes abortive, so that we perceive this opposite
character only in the spray. The leaflets are mostly in sevens, not so
large nor so unequal as in the similar foliage of the hickory.
The white and the red Ash have so nearly the same external
characters, that it requires some study to distinguish them. They do
not differ in their ramification, nor in their autumnal hues. The black
Ash may be readily identified by the leaves, which are sessile, and
like those of the elder; also by the dark bluish color of the buds and
newly formed branches, and the slenderness of its proportions. It
seldom attains a great height or size, and is chiefly confined to
swamps and muddy soils. The wood of this species is remarkable for
strength and elasticity. The remarks of George Barnard respecting
the localities of the Ash in Europe will apply to the American species:
“Though seen everywhere, its favorite haunt is the mountain stream,
where its branches hang gracefully over the water, adding much
beauty to the scene. It is to be met with in every romantic glen and
glade, now clinging with half-covered roots to a steep, overhanging
cliff, and breaking with its light, elegant foliage the otherwise too
abrupt line, or with its soft warm green relieving the monotonous
coloring of the rocks or the sombre gray of some old ruin.”
There are some remarkable superstitions and traditionary notions
connected with the Ash-tree. The idea that it is offensive, and even
fatal, to serpents, is not of modern origin, though not a rustic laborer
can be found who would not consider an Ash-tree planted before his
house as a charm against their intrusion. According to Pliny, if a
serpent be surrounded on one side by fire and on the other by a
barricade of the leaves and branches of the Ash-tree, he will escape
through the fire, rather than through its fatal boughs. It is related in
the Edda that man was first created from the wood of this tree, and it
is not improbable that this superstition has some connection with
the fable of Adam and Eve, and through this with the supposed
antipathy of the serpent for the Ash-tree.
There is a saying in Great Britain, that, if the Ash puts forth its
leaves before the oak, the following summer will be wet; but if the
leafing of the oak precedes that of the Ash, it will be dry. I am not
aware that any such maxim has obtained credence in the United
States.
ANIMALS OF THE PRIMITIVE FOREST.

European travellers in this country frequently allude to the


American forest as remarkable for its solitude and deficiency of
animal life. Captain Hardy remarks that a foreigner is struck with
surprise, when rambling through the bush, at the scarcity of birds,
rabbits, and hares, and is astonished when in the deepest recesses of
the wild country he sees but little increase of their numbers. When
paddling his canoe through lake and river, he will startle but few
pairs of exceedingly timid waterfowl where in Europe they swarm in
multitudes. This scarcity of animals, I would remark, is not peculiar
to the American wilderness. The same fact has been observed in
extensive forests both in Europe and Asia; and in proportion as the
traveller penetrates into their interiors he finds a smaller number of
animals of almost every species. Birds, insects, and quadrupeds will
multiply, like human beings, in a certain ratio with the progress of
agriculture, so long as there remains a sufficiency of wild wood to
afford them a refuge and a home. They use the forest chiefly for
shelter, and the open grounds for forage; the woods are their house,
the meadows their farm.
I had an opportunity for observing these facts very early in life,
when making a pedestrian tour through several of the States. I
commenced my journey in autumn, and being alone, I was led to
take note of many things which, had any one accompanied me,
would have escaped my observation. After passing a few weeks of the
winter in Nashville, I directed my course through Tennessee and
Virginia, and was often led through extensive ranges of forest. I
never saw birds in any part of the United States so numerous as in
the woods adjoining the city of Nashville, which was surrounded with
immense cornfields and cotton plantations. But while walking
through the country I could not help observing the scarcity of birds
and small quadrupeds in the woods whenever I was at a long
distance from any village or habitation. Sometimes night would draw
near before I had reached a hamlet or farm-house, where I might
take lodging. On such occasions the silence of the woods increased
my anxiety, which was immediately relieved upon hearing the
cardinal or the mocking-bird, whose cheerful notes always indicated
my approach to cultivated fields and farms.
That this scarcity of animal life is not peculiar to the American
forest we have the testimony of St. Pierre, who says of the singing
birds: “It is very remarkable that all over the globe they discover an
instinct which attracts them to the habitations of man. If there be but
a single hut in the forest, all the singing birds of the vicinity come
and settle round it. Nay, they are not to be found except in places
which are inhabited. I have travelled more than six hundred leagues
through the forests of Russia, but never met with small birds except
in the neighborhood of villages. On making the tour of fortified
places in Russian Finland with the general officers of the corps of
engineers with which I served, we travelled sometimes at the rate of
twenty leagues a day without seeing on the road either village or bird.
But when we perceived the sparrows fluttering about, we concluded
we must be near some inhabited place. In this indication we were
never once deceived.”
It may be remarked, however, that birds and quadrupeds do not
seek the company of man when they congregate near his habitations.
They are attracted by the increased amount of all their means of
subsistence that follows the cultivation of the land. The granivorous
birds, no less than the insect-feeders, are benefited by the extension
of agriculture. Even if no cereal grains were raised, the cultivated
fields would supply them, in the product of weeds alone, more
sustenance than a hundred times the same area in forest. Before
there were any settlements of white men in this country, birds and
small quadrupeds must have congregated chiefly about the wooded
borders of prairies, on the banks of rivers, in fens and cranberry
meadows, and around the villages of the red man. Their numbers
over the whole continent were probably much smaller than at the
present time, notwithstanding the merciless destruction of them by
gunners and trappers.
There are but few tribes of animals that may be supposed to thrive
only in the wild forest; and even these, if unmolested by man, would
always find a better subsistence in a half-cultivated country
abounding in woods of sufficient extent to afford them shelter and a
nursery for their young, than in a continuous wilderness. Beasts of
prey, however, are destroyed by man in the vicinity of all his
settlements, to protect himself and his property from their attacks,
and game-birds and animals of the chase are recklessly hunted both
for profit and amusement. In Europe the clearing of the original
forest was so gradual that the wild animals multiplied more rapidly
with the progress of agriculture. Civilization advanced so slowly, and
the arts made such tardy and gradual progress, that all species
enjoyed considerable immunity from man. The game-birds and
animals of the chase were not only preserved in forests attached to
princely estates, but they were also protected by game-laws at a time
when such laws were less needful because so few of the peasantry
were accustomed to the use of the gun. While the royal forests
yielded these creatures a shelter and abode, the cultivated lands near
their bounds afforded them subsistence; and they must have
multiplied more rapidly in proportion to the increase of human
population than in America after its settlement, where very different
circumstances and events were witnessed.
America was colonized and occupied by civilized people, and the
forests were swept away with a rapidity unprecedented in the history
of man. Every pioneer was a hunter provided with guns and
ammunition; every male member of his family over seven years of
age was a gunner and a trapper. The sparse inhabitants of the forest,
which if unmolested, as in the early period of European civilization,
would have multiplied in proportion to their increased means of
subsistence, have been, on the contrary, shot by the gunner, insnared
by the trapper, and wantonly destroyed by boys for amusement, until
some species have been nearly exterminated. Instead of increasing in
a ratio with the supplies of their natural food, many tribes of them
are now more scarce than they were in the primitive forest. The small
birds alone, whose prolific habits and diminutive size were their
protection, have greatly multiplied.
But even if birds and quadrupeds were unmolested by man, there
are some tribes that would prefer to reside in the deep wood, while
others would fix their abode in orchards and gardens. The wild
pigeon has not been favored in any respect by the clearing of the
forest. The food of this species is abundantly supplied in the wilds of
nature in the product of beechen woods, hazel copses, groves of the
chinquapin oak, and of the shores of lakes and arms of the sea
covered with Canada rice and the maritime pea-vine. Their immense
powers of flight enable them to transport themselves to new feeding-
grounds after any present stock is exhausted, and to wing their way
over hundreds of miles between their different repasts. This cannot
be said of the grouse, the turkey, and the partridge, whose feeble
powers of flight confine them to a narrow extent of territory; and
these birds must have been frequently robbed of their farinaceous
stores by flocks of wild pigeons during their itinerant foraging.
There are many species of birds which we associate with the wild
wood because they breed and find shelter there, but if we watched
their habits we should learn that even these solitary birds make the
cultivated grounds their principal feeding-places. Such are the quail,
the partridge, and very many of our game-birds. The quail and the
partridge are omnivorous, but, like our common poultry, are more
eager to seize a grub or an insect than a grain of corn. A potato-field
is hardly less valuable to a flock of quails than a field of corn, and
affords more sustenance to the snipe and the woodcock than any
other grounds. But these birds, as well as others, have diminished as
those natural advantages have increased that should promote their
multiplication.
Even our sylvias and thrushes, the most timid of all the winged
tribe, birds hardly ever seen except in lonely woods, multiply with
the clearing of the country and the increased abundance of their
insect food. The vesper thrushes, that shun the presence of man, and
will become silent in their musical evening if the rustling of the
bushes indicates the approach of a human footstep, are more
numerous in the woods of Cambridge than in any other part of the
country. These are chiefly of maple, filled with underbrush, and
afford the birds a harbor and a shelter, while the adjoining fields, in a
state of the highest tillage, supply them plentifully with their natural
food, consisting of worms and the larvæ of insects.

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