The solitary sandpiper is one of the early migrating birds that is now returning from its northern nesting grounds. It is always found near water, singly or in twos and threes. It has a habit of holding its wings over its head as it alights, showing conspicuously their dark tips. Like all sandpipers, it is not supposed to perch in trees or bushes; nevertheless it does so frequently when a person approaches its young or its nest. August Thirtieth Have you ever watched a spider making its web? The sticky fluid, which becomes a silk strand upon coming in contact with the air, pours from several holes, or spinnerets, at the end of the body. The threads are guided by the feet, and when the spinnerets are held apart, several strands are spun, but by contracting them one heavy rope is made. Notes August Thirty-first Most crickets die at the approach of winter, but some hibernate. It is only the males that sing, and they do it by rubbing together the inner edges of the outside wings. They live on the moisture from the roots of various kinds of vegetables, and are not above eating insects. Notes =September= September First In various localities the Oswego tea is known as "bee balm," "fragrant balm," "Indian plume," and "mountain mint." "The bee balm especially haunts those cool brooks, and its rounded flower-clusters touch with warmth the shadows of the deep woods of midsummer. The Indians named the flower, _o-gee-chee_, 'flaming flower,' and are said to have made a tea-like decoction from the blossoms." (Dana.) September Second Small mammals are abundant in the Adirondacks. Chipmunks and red squirrels are very tame, and if one sits still in the woods they will approach within a few feet. By watching at the base of logs and stumps, you can often see a red-backed mouse or a long-tailed shrew. The latter is the smallest of American mammals, its body being scarcely two inches in length. September Third Mr. Scudder says that katydids have a day and a night song. He has watched one, and when a cloud obscured the sky, it, and all of those within his hearing, stopped singing and began their night song, but as soon as the sun came out, they again changed to their original song. Notes September Fourth What a fine time the robins, cedar-birds, catbirds, and flickers are having in the choke-cherry bushes these days! Twenty or thirty of them may fly from a bush of ripened fruit as you approach. The streaked and speckled breasted young robins and cedar-birds are loath to leave their feast. September Fifth It is hard to believe that the yellow butterflies with the black tips and spots on their wings, so common about moist spots in the road, were once cabbage worms. Mr. Packard says that this species was introduced from Europe to Quebec about 1857. It rapidly spread into New England and has reached as far south as Washington, D. C. About Quebec it annually destroys $250,000 worth of cabbages. September Sixth