Parus atricapillus, Wils.

Proportions and plumage as in Parus carolinensis.

Bill brownish-black. Iris dark brown. Feet bluish-grey. The whole upper part of the head and the hind neck pure black, as is a large patch on the throat and fore neck. Between these patches of black is a band of white, from the base of the bill down the sides of the neck, becoming broader behind and encroaching on the back, which, with the wing-coverts, is ash-grey tinged with brown. Quills brown, margined with bluish-white, the secondary quills so broadly margined as to leave a conspicuous white dash on the wing; tail of the same colour, similarly edged. Lower parts brownish-white.

Length 5½ inches, extent of wings 8; bill along the ridge 5/12, along the edge 7½/12; tarsus 7/12.

The two species are almost precisely similar in most respects; but Parus carolinensis is much smaller than P. atricapillus, the former being 4½ inches long, while the latter is 5½, a great difference in birds of so small a size. The differences in the other parts are proportional. The grey of the back is purer in the smaller species, and the white of the neck more so in the larger, in which also the white edgings of the wings are very conspicuous.

The Supple Jack.

The Supple Jack is a species of Smilax extremely abundant in all the swampy portions of the Southern States. Its slender stem entwines the trunk and branches of even the tallest trees, and, with its delicate branches, is extremely tough and pliant, one of half an inch in diameter being strong enough to suspend a body having a weight of several hundred pounds. It is frequently used instead of a cord to hang clothes upon to dry. The festoons which it forms are graceful and pleasing to the eye.