Page:Winter - from the Journal of Henry D. Thoreau.djvu/70

56 subsist; yet are there found in great flocks, both on the land and ice of Spitzbergen.&quot; Pennant also says that they inhabit in summer &quot;the most naked Lapland Alps,&quot; and &quot;descend in rigorous seasons into Sweden, and fill the roads and fields,&quot; on which account the uplanders call them &quot;hardwarsfogel,&quot; hard weather-birds; he also says, &quot;they overflow [in winter] the more southern counties in amazing multitudes.&quot; Wilson says their colors are very variable, &quot;and the whiteness of their plumage is observed to be greatest toward the depth of winter.&quot; He also says truly that they seldom sit long, &quot;being a roving, restless bird.&quot; Peabody says that in summer they are &quot;pure white and black,&quot; but are not seen of that color here. Those I saw to-day were of that color. He says they are white and rusty brown here. These are the true winter birds for you, these winged snowballs. I could hardly see them, the air was so full of driving snow. What hardy creatures! Where do they spend the night?

The farmer considers how much pork he has in his barrel, how much meal in his bin, how much wood in his shed. Each family, perchance, sends forth one representative before night, who makes his way with difficulty to the grocery or the post office to learn the news, i. e., to hear what others say to it, who can give the best