16 June 1856 – 22 June 1856

Saw at the Natural History Rooms a shell labelled Haltotis splendens, apparently same with mine from Ricketson’s son, with holes and green reflections. To Purgatory in Sutton: by railroad to Wilkinson- ville in the northeast corner of Sutton (thirty cents) and by buggy four or five miles to Purgatory in the south or southeast part of the town, some twelve miles from Worcester. The stream rising from the bottom of it must empty into the Blackstone, perhaps through the Mumford River. Sutton is much wooded. The woman at the last house told [of] an animal seen in the neighborhood last year. Well, she ‘had no doubt that there had been a bad animal about.”” A Mr. Somebody, who could be relied on, between there and Sutton Centre, had been aroused by [a] noise early one morning, and, looking out, saw this animal near a wood-pile in his yard, as big as a good-sized dog. He soon made off, making nothing of the walls and fences, before he and his sons got their guns ready. They raised part of the town, a body of shoemakers, and surrounded a swamp into which it was supposed to have entered, but they did not dare to go into it. Also a strange large track was seen where it crossed the road. Found at the very bottom of this Purgatory, where it was dark and damp, on the steep moss and fern covered side of a rock which had fallen into it, a wood thrush’s nest. Scarcely a doubt of the bird, though I saw not its breast fairly. Heard the note around, and the eggs (one of which I have) correspond. Nest of fine moss from the rock (hypnum ?), and lined with pine-needles; three eggs, fresh. Found in the Purgatory the panicled elder (Sambucus pubens), partly gone to ribbed seed, but some in flower, new to me; Polygonum cilinode (?), not yet in flower; moose-wood or striped maple; and also, close by above, Actea alba, out of bloom; and a chestnut oak common. Cow-wheat numerously out. Heard around, from within the Purgatory, not only Wilson’s thrush, but evergreen- forest note and tanager; and saw chip-squirrels within it.

Go to Blake’s. Indigo-bird on his trees. A. M. — Ride with him and Brown and Sophia round a part of Quinsigamond Pond into Shrewsbury. The southerly end of the pond covered for a great distance with pads of yellow and white lily. Measured one of the last: nine and seven eighths inches long by nine and six eighths, with sharp lobes, etc., and a reddish petiole. Small primrose well out; how long? The cedar swamp, source of Assabet, must be partly in Grafton, as well as Westboro near railroad, according to a farmer in Shrewsbury. P. M.— Went to Rev. Horace James’s reptiles (Orthodox). He had, set up, a barred owl, without horns and a little less than the cat owl. Also a large lobe-footed bird which I think must have been a large grebe, killed in Fitchburg. He distinguished the Rana halecina in the alcohol by more squarish (?) spots. Showed me the horned frog (?), (or toad?); also alive in bottle, with moss and water, the violet-colored salamander (S. venenosa) with yellow spots (five or six inches long), probably same I found in stump at Walden; and, in spirits, smaller, the S. erythronota, with a conspicuous red back. What looked like mine, or the common one in springs here, was Triton niger. I think he said Holbrook made the water ones tritons and land ones salamanders. Another small one, all red, with spots; another with a line of red spots on each side; and others. He finds a variety of Emys guttata with striated scales (mentioned by Holbrook and Storer). Saw a common box turtle shell with initials in sternum. One thought that what- ever was cut in the scale was renewed in the new scale. Saw, in spirits, the Heterodon platyrhinus from Smith- field, R. I., flat-snouted, somewhat like a striped snake; and a very small brown snake. James gave me some of the spawn of a shellfish from a string of them a foot long. At Natural History Rooms, a great cone from a southern pine and a monstrous nutshell from the East Indies (?); seed of the Lodoicea Sechellarum, Seychelles Islands.

Hale says the tiarella grows here, and showed it me pressed; also Kalmia glauca formerly, hobble-bush still, and yellow lady’s-slipper near the Quarry.

Looked at a collection of the rarer plants made by Higginson and placed at the Natural History Rooms. Among which noticed: — Ranunculus Purshu varieties aand f, with no difference apparent, unless in upper leaves being more or less divided. Ribes lacustre, or swamp gooseberry, with a loose raceme such as I have not seen, from White Mountains. A circa, or enchanter’s-nightshade, with a very large raceme and with longer branchlets than I have seen, methinks.? Calla palustris, very different from the Peltandra Virginica. Cerastium arvense, with linear leaves, quite new to me. Smilacina stellata, from Dr. Harris, very Eeneet from the racemosa, being simple. Eedum latifolium, from White Mountains, rather broader-leafed than mine from Maine. Barbarea satwa, from Cambridge, apparently like my B. vulgaris. Is the Smilacina racemosa with such long lower branchlets peculiar, there in Worcester? I saw several in woods. On way to Concord see mountain laurel out in Lan- caster. Had seen none out in Worcester.

Friday. A. M.—'To Baker Farm with Ricketson. A very hot day. Two Sternotherus odoratus by heap in Sanborn’s garden, one making a hole for its eggs, the rear of its shell partly covered. See a great many of these out to-day on ground and on willows. Swamp-pink out apparently two or three days at Clamshell Ditch. Late thalictrum apparently a day or two there. Archangelica apparently two or three days. A pheebe nest, second time, with four cream-white eggs. Got one. The second brood in the same nest. Saw a snap-turtle out in sun on tussock opposite Bittern Cliff. Probably the water was too warm for him. They had at Middlesex House, yesterday, snuff flavored with ground or pulverized black birch bark. Walking under an apple tree in the little Baker Farm peach orchard, heard an incessant shrill musical twitter or peeping, as from young birds, over my head, and, looking up, saw a hole in an upright dead bough, some fifteen feet from ground. Climbed up and, finding that the shrill twitter came from it, guessed it to be the nest of a downy woodpecker, which proved to be the case, — for it reminded me of the hissing squeak or squeaking hiss of young pigeon woodpeckers, but this was more rousical or bird-like.1 The bough was about four and a half inches in diameter, and the hole perfectly circular, about an inch and a quarter in diameter. Apparently nests had been in holes above, now broken out, higher up. When I put my fingers in it, the young breathed their shnill twitter louder than ever. Anon the old ap- peared, and came quite near, while I stood in the tree, keeping up an incessant loud and shrill scolding note, and also after I descended; not to be relieved. Potentilla Norvegica; apparently petals blown away. Five young pheebes in a nest, apparently upon a swallow- nest, in Conant’s old house, just ready to fly. Rudbeckia hirta budded.

P. M. — To Walden. Much pine pollen is washed up on the northwest side of the pond. Must it not have come from pines at a dis- tance? Very hot day, as was yesterday, — 98° at 2 p. M., 99° at 3, and 128° in sun. Nighthawks numerously squeak at 5 p. m. and boom. Saw them fly low and touch the water like swallows over Walden. Find a dozen of the hydropeltis out, apparently several days. My canoe birch wine smells and tastes like mead consider- ably. All my birch wines are now more acid and very good indeed with sugar. Am surprised to see it effer- vesce, all white with white sugar only, like a soda- water.

Sunday. P. M. — To Walden. Ricketson says that they say at New Bedford that the song sparrow says, Maids, maids, maids, — hang on your tea-kettle-ettle-ettle-etile-ettle. R. W. E. imitates the wood thrush by he willy willy — ha willy willy — O willy O. The woods still resound with the note of my tweezer-bird, or Sylvia Americana.