Winter

the cold season of the year. Astronomically, winter begins at the winter solstice, December 21, and ends at the spring equinox in March. Practically, however, the farther north, the longer the winter. From New England westward to the Cascade Mountains winter sets in usually in November and lasts until April in the United States. Farther north, heavy frosts and snow may be expected still earlier. In the southern hemisphere the seasons are, of course, reversed. Winter begins when the northern spring is at an end, and is most severe during our midsummer.

Popularly speaking, the northern winter is a time of comparative leisure and of merrymaking. Snow, skating, Thanksgiving Day, and the Christmas holidays are at hand. The long evenings give opportunity for reading and social enjoyment. The winter fireside, as described in Whittier's Snowbound, conveys an idea of snugness, comfort, and content unknown to the inhabitant of a clime where snow is not seen. Mr. Howard W. McMillen, writing for Wallace's Farmer, takes a cheery view:

While we are complaining of the wet, the cold, and the stormy weather of February, out in the fence rows, the fields, and the woods are some useful ctizens taking an entirely different view of winter. While "the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely" and we are wishing ourselves in some warmer clime, they are twittering contentedly over their breakfast of weed seed, and perhaps thinking of their summer homes within the Arctic Circle.

We little appreciate the friendly offices of these little birds who come from the far north to spend their winter with us. Take the tree sparrow, for instance. In a single stomach of this bird 700 seeds of pigeon grass have been found. Prof. F. E. L. Beal, of the United States Department of Agriculture, calculates that in the single state of Iowa the tree sparrow alone destroys 1,750,000 pounds, or over 875 tons, of weed seed during its winter sojourn in that state. Crab grass, pigeon grass, smartweed, ragweed, etc., form the greater part of its diet. The species may be recognized by its chestnut crown, brown and gray back, brown wings with white bars, and by the dark spot in the middle of its ashy breast. Along with the tree sparrows are the song sparrows, juncoes or snowbirds, chickadees, and rarely, when the snow is unusually deep, a redpoll. None of these, except the song sparrow, remain for the breeding season.

In the pastures, in the feed lots, and in the bare fields are the horned larks doing their large part towards lessening our next year's weed crop. This little known bird has a gray and white back, ashy underparts, black breast patch, a black place below and a white line over the eye, and a pencil-like tuft on each side of the head, whence comes the name "horned." Often a flock of from fifty to 500 of these birds may winter around a barn, and, no matter how low the mercury drops or how hard the snow blows, they are always busy and contented, calling to each other between mouthfuls with their cherry "tseet."

See Snow; Ice; Skate; Ski; Toboggan; Fur