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LIBRARY  OF  MARINE  BIOLOGICAL  LABORATORY 

WOODS     HOLE,    MASS. 


Loaned  by  American  Museum  of  Natural  History 


IGNORANCE,  A  LOSS  WITHOUT  EXCUSE 

TAR-GAZING  was  never  more  popular  than  it 
is  now.  Yet,  notwithstanding  this  activity  in 
the  cultivation  of  astronomical  studies,  it  is 
probably  safe  to  assert  that  hardly  one  person 
in  a  hundred  knows  the  chief  stars  by  name,  or 
can  even  recognize  the  principal'  constellations^ 
miuch  less  distinguish  the  planets  from  the 
fixed  stars.  And  of  course  they  know  nothing 
of  the  intellectual  pleasure  that  accompanies  a  knowledge 
of  the  stars..  Modern  astronomy  is  so  rapidly  and  wonder- 
fully linking  the  earth  and  the  sun  together,  with  all  the 
orbs  of  space,  in  the  bonds  of  close  physical  relationship, 
that  a  person  of  education  and  general  intelligence  can 
offer  no  valid  excuse  for  not  knowing  where  to  look  for 
Sirius  or  Aldebaran,  or  the  Orion  nebula,  or  the  planet 
Jupiter.  As  Australia  and  New  Zealand  and  the  islands 
of  the  sea  are  made  a  part  of  the  civilized  world  through 
the  expanding  influence  of  commerce  and  cultivation, 
so  the  suns  and  planets  around  us  are,  in  a  certain 
sense,  falling  under  the  dominion  of  the  restless  and  re- 
sistless mind  of  man.  We  have  come  to  possess  vested  in- 
tellectual interest  in  Mars  and  Saturn,  and  in  the  sun  and 
all  his  multitude  of  fellows,  which  nobody  can  afford  to 
ignore. — Serviss. 


'       Vol.  VIII 
No.  1 

June 

1915 

EDWARD  F.  BIGELOW 

MANAGING  EDITOR 

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and  efforts  of  several  experienced  persons, 
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Vol 


Vlli 


JUNE. 


Number  1 


Concerning  Opossum. 

BY     JOSEPH     \V.     Lli'Pi:-  COTT,     PHILADEL- 
PHIA,  PA. 

It  is,  to  be  sure,  an  accepted  fact  that 
the  opossum,  our  neighbor  of  the  woods, 
occasionally  likes  to  eat  chicken,  in  fact 
loves  chicken.  This  has  indeed  been  re- 
peatedly proved  in  my  own  hen  house, 
so  that  if  I  were  ever  disposed  to  ques- 
tion it,  I  am  now  convinced  to  my  entire 
satisfaction. 

But  there  were  several  questions 
which,  for  the  sake  of  those  hens,  I  used 
to  lie  awake  at  night  pondering-,  and  one 
was  how  did  the  stealth}-  fellow  manage 
to  take  a  chicken  from  the  roost  and  kill 
it  without  a  noticeable  sound  coming 
from  it  or  from  the  dozens  of  others 
roosting  all  around. 

One  night  I  even  experimented  bv 
pretending  I  was  a  'possum  and  stealthi- 
ly trying  to  take  a  hen  by  the  neck,  as 
the  'possum  himself  evidently  did,  and 
carry  it  off  without  waking  the  neigh- 
borhood. It  was  an  interesting  escap- 
ade up  to  the  time  I  succeeded  in  seizing 
the  hen,  then  the  dust,  feathers  and 
squawks  convinced  me  I  was  all  wrong. 
T  tried  it  again  and  again,  however,  and 
found  that  some  hens  didn't  seem  to 
mind  it :  so  the  trick  seemed  to  depend 
upon  finding  a  hen  that  wasn't  skittish. 

Perhaps  it  doesn't  mean  that  the  "pos- 
sum went  around  patting  each  chicken 
to  see  if  it  belonged  to  the  scary  kind; 
but  I  think  it  may  be  inferred  that  the 

Copyright    1915   by  The  Agassiz  Associat: 


old  fellow  was  foxy  or  lucky  enough  to 
look  around  until  he  found  a  setting  hen 
or  a  slow-witted  lazy  old  biddy  that 
roosted  on  the  ground  or  otherwise  sep- 
arate from  the  flock. 

Sometimes  the  "possum  does  raise  a 
big  rumpus  among  the  chickens,  a  lot 
of  cackling  and  squawking  and  disorder 
that  spoils  their  peace  of  mind  for  days 
afterwards :  but  two  of  the  particular 
raids  of  this  kind  that  I  remember,  oc- 
curred in  the  depth  of  the  South  Jersey 
pine  barrens  and  two  in  the  Florida  sand 
hill  country,  both  wild  places  where  the 
"possums  were  not  used  to  man's  wavs — 
still  uneducated.  But  even  there  the 
"possum  did  not  "cut  loose''  as  a  weasel 
would  and  kill  everything  in  sight  from 
the  rooster  down. 

It  seemed  oossible  that  ordinary  sub- 
urban chickens,  never  having  a  chance 
to  see  "possums  in  daytime,  would  not 
know  that  they  were  any  more  danger- 
ous than  the  neiglibor's  gray  cat,  and  to 
test  their  sagacity  I  trapped  in  a  box 
one  of  several  "possunis  that  T  knew 
lived  in  a  certain  set  of  drains.  I  should 
exnlain  here  tliat  while  I  always  took 
the  animal  census  of  the  woods  in  track- 
ing time  and  knew  prettv  well  where 
each  one  lived,  I  respected  the  'possums 
far  too  much  to  molest  them  ordinarily. 

The  one  I  dropped  in  the  chicken  yard 
was  a  big  fellow.  .  He  seemed  to  know 
all  about  the  chicken  yard.  too.  for  no 
sooner  had  I  turned  my  back  than  up  he 

on,   ArcAdiA:    Sound  Beach,   Conn. 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


THE  OPOSSUM  AND  THE  BANTAM 

got  from  his  "playing  'possum"  attitude 
and  scurried  for  the  gate  some  distance 
away.  There  were  chickens  everywhere 
and  they  set  up  a  great  cackh'ng.  Some 
ran  and  all  kept  a  safe  distance  between, 
but  all  showed  intense  interest  and 
closed  in  behind  to  respectfully  follow 
him. 

A  more  sheepish  expression  than  that 
'possum  wore  as  he  continually  looked 
back  over  his  shoulder  while  being  es- 
corted out  by  the  array  of  fowls,  I  "have 
never  seen,  but  he  did  not  hesitate  until 
I  caught  up  to  him  ;  then  he  climbed  a 
pear  tree.  "Now,  old  fellow,  one  more 
test,"  thought  I,  so  running  back  to  the 
yard,  I  caught  a  tame  bantam  rooster 
and  placed  him  in  the  tree  about  six 
inches  from  the  'possum.  He  cackled 
apologetically  once  and  then  began  to 
edge  backwards  and  forwards  on  the 
limb  very  alert  and  full  of  fighting  spirit. 
The  'possum  hardly  stirred. 

Finally  the  bantam  leaped  to  a   limb 


let  the  'possum  go  free  after  that;  he 
waited  until  1  was  out  of  sight,  then 
slipped  down  the  tree  and  scurried  all 
the  way  back  to  his  drain,  brimful  of 
vengeance  perhaps.  Ijut  never  to  show 
himself  to  me  again. 

1  learned  one  great  truth  about  'pos- 
sums and  that  was  that  as  long  as  the 
cover  was  left  oiT  the  garbage  can  at 
night,  not  a  chicken  would  they  molest, 
which  fact  brought  me  to  the  firm  con- 
clusion that  though  they  love  chickens, 
they  only  steal  when  the\'  have  to  in  or- 
der to  live  and  that  they  are  not  such  bad 
neio'hbors  after  all. 


A  Pure  White  Opossum. 

Dallas   City.    Illinois. 
To  the  Editor : 

I  enclose  a  photograph  of  a  white 
opossum  which  was  captured  on  the 
shore  of  Lake  Cooper  by  Mr.  William  E. 
Hoskins,  of  this  city.  The  eyes  and  ears 
take  this  specimen  out  of  the  albino  type 


Hr^"^' 

ll 

^ 

^^^l^ft  L.j^w 

iri 

[JP 

y 

^^".-'^fe  - 

pH 

H 

K| 

^^V 

^H 

■^  wS^^^'-''^ 

i 

1 

A    WIliTE    OPOSSUM. 


although  it  has  every  other  characteristic 

peculiar  to  that  type.     It  thrives  well  in 

confinement    and    makes    an    interesting 

close  by,  flapped  his  wings  almost  in  the      and  docile  pet. 


'possum's  sheepish  face  and  crowed,  not 
once  but  again  and  again,  each  time 
cocking  his  eye  on  the  enemy  to  see 
what  efifect  it  had.  After  that  he  flew 
to  the  ground,  crowed  again  and  ran  oft' 
to  tell  the  admiring  hens  all  about  it.    I 


Aery  respectfullv, 

M.  Tandy, 


What  the  banker  sis^hs  for,  the  mean- 
est clown  may  have,  leisure  and  a  quiet 
mind. — Thoreau. 


THE  CASHMERE  ANGORA  GOAT 


The  Cashmere  Angora  Goat. 
The  Cashmere  Ang-ora  goat  is  a  cross 
between  the  East  Indian  Cashmere  goat 
and  the  Angora  goat.  The  buck,  Singa- 
pore Billy,  the  only  one  of  his  kind  in 
this  country,  is  owned  by  ^liss  Irene 
Chilton  of  Xew  York  Citv.  having  heen 


Klein's  Staff  of  Greenwich  lioard  of 
Health.  The  fat  test  was  6.8%  and  the 
bacterial  count  was  fifty  thousand.  The 
bacterial  count  in  cow's  milk  is  fifty 
thousand  in  the  coldest  weather ;  in  the 
simimer  it  frequently  reaches  a  million. 
The  goat  makes  a  pretty  good  showing 


MR.    TODD'S    FAMOUS   GOAT. 


presented  to  her  by  Dr.  \\'illiam  T. 
Hornaday  of  the  Bronx  Zoological  Gar- 
dens. 

Miss  Chilton  bred  Singapore  Billy  to 
some  pure  bred  Angora  does  and  the  off- 
spring is  now  owned  by  Mr.  Walter 
Todd  of  Greenwich,  Connecticut.  They 
are  Billy  Singapore  bred  from  the  An- 
gora doe.  Molly  C,  and  Daisy  S..  bred 
from  the  Angora  doe,  Susie  B. 

]\Ir.  Todd  has  also  a  grade  Toggen- 
burg,  a  Swiss  milch  goat.  Billy  Singa- 
pore and  Daisy  S.  are  the  oldest  ma- 
tured Cashmere  Angora  goats  in  the 
United  States  at  this  time ;  they  will  be 
two  years  old  in  February  of  this  year. 

The  milk  of  Daisy  S.  and  of  the  grade 
Toggenburg  was  tested  for  the  fat  and 
the  bacterial  count  on  August  29th.  1914. 
bv    Dr.    Bennett.    Bacteriologist    of    Dr. 


with  a  bacterial  count  of  fifty  thousand 
in  August. 

The  fat  test  of  6.8%  is  almost  2% 
higher  than  that  of  the  Jersey  cow.  It 
was  received  two  hours  after  milking, 
and  was  tested  twenty-four  hours  after 
it  had  been  received.  Goats  have  been 
known  to  give  milk  for  a  period  of  two 
years  without  renewed  gestation.  The 
period  of  gestation  is  five  months. 

Goat's  milk  is  easily  digested  because 
the  fatty  globules  are  so  infinitesimally 
small.  It  is  nearest  to  mother's  milk.  In 
time,  when  people  become  better  ac- 
quainted with  the  goat,  the  milk  will  be 
used  for  infant  feeding.  Goats  are  im- 
mune from  tuberculosis. 

The  goat  is  a  useful  animal  but  is  de- 
spised by  most  persons.  It  is  looked  upon 
as  a  scavenger. 


THE  GUIDK  TO  NATURE 


TIIEY     ARE    GOOD    .MILKERS. 

Some  people  have  an  idea  that  goats 
can  exist  on  next  to  nothing-.  This  is 
true  to  a  certain  extent,  hut  one  has  to 
g-ive  them  the  nearest  to  nothing'  on 
which  they  will  thrive. 

The  best  and  cheapest  way  to  keep 
a  herd  is  to  turn  them  out  on  some  cheap 
brush  land.  They  will  clean  up  the 
brush  in  a  wood  lot  as  well  as  it  can  be 
done  by  hand  and  at  practically  no  cost. 

The  State  of  New  York  stocked  the 
Adirondacks  with  some  eight  thousand 
goats  to  keep  the  brush  down.  As  a  pre- 
ventative of  fire  this  is  a  good  invest- 
ment. 

Two  invalid  sisters,  the  Misses  Wood, 
went  to  California  for  their  health.  The}' 
settled  on  a  small  farm  near  Los  An- 
geles. They  traded  three  Pekin  ducks 
for  a  young  goat.  They  raised  the  goat, 
found  it  profitable  and  raised  more.  At 
present  they  are  milking  twelve  does, 
and  obtain  on  an  average  thirty-six 
quarts  of  milk  a  da\'.  The  milk  finds 
regular  customers  at  twenty-five  cents  a 
quart.  They  figure  that  a  goat  costs 
them  a  dollar  and  fifty  cents  a  month. 

The  Angora  and  other  long  haired 
goats  do  not  give  as  much  milk  as  the 
milch  breeds,  but  contribute  their  fleece 
as  profit.  Mohair  is  the  product  of  the 
Angora  goat.  The  fibre  is  coarse,  long, 
lustrous  and  with  little  crimp.  It  is  used 
for  the  manufacture  of  braids,  felts, 
linings  and  plushes.  It  is  also  being  now 
used  as  a  substitute  for  human  hair  in 
switches  and  wigs.  Alpaca,  Vicuna  and 
Llama,   natives   of    South    America,   are 


destructive  types  of  goats  which  produce 
fibres  used  to  some  extent  in  commerce. 
Tlie  annual  yield  is  uncertain,  as  the  ani- 
mals are  not  domesticated.  The  hair 
varies  in  color  froni  white  and  reddish- 
brown  to  black. 

When  the  goat's  good  qualities  are 
better  appreciated,  more  will  be  raised. 
It  is  a  profitable  animal. 


From  an  Amateur  Goat  Raiser. 

The  much  ridiculed  goat  had  been  the 
subject  of  much  thought  and  discussion 
until  it  was  decided  to  give  them  a  trial. 
The  idea  was  toward  production  of  milk 
for  household  use  in  quantities  sufficient 
and  in  quarters  which  ])rohibited  the 
keeping  of  a  cow. 

A  few  goats  were  purchased  at  a  verv 
nominal  figure,  which  is  point  number 
one  in  favor  of  the  goat  as  the  initial  price 


THE    KIDS    ARE    A    TOY. 


TWO   I'REE   STUDIES 


in  comparison  to  a  cow  in  milk  produc- 
tion is  greatl}'  in  favor  of  the  goat.  The 
goat  is  clean  and  eats  nothing  but  clean 
food,  it  is  true  they  eat  the  cheapest  of 
things  and  thrive  on  them,  such  as  dried 
leaves — a  great  delicacy — corn  stalks,  po- 
tato peelings  and  the  like,  and  it  is  true 
they  are  eccentric  in  the  matter  of  eating. 
In  milking  one  day.  a  lighted  cigarette 
was  laid  on  the  ground  for  the  moment, 
the  goat  spied  it  and  ate  fire,  ashes,  to- 
bacco and  paper,  seemingly  enjoying  it, 
and  without  tliscomfort. 

It  is  of  course  necessary  to  keep  them 
tethered  or  placed  in  a  yard  for  the  pur- 
pose as  they  will  damage  foliage  and 
nibble  at  other  things  not  for  their  use. 

The  upkeep  is  scarcely  anything,  point 
number  two ;  as  stated,  they  will  thrive 
on  almost  anything  and  be  productive : 
they  are  hardy,  only  needing  a  shed  in 
the  coldest  winter  nights.  A  goat  will 
give  as  high  as  four  quarts  of  milk  a 
day,  of  a  very  fine  cjuality,  almost  free 
from  bacteria,  and  is  not  subject  to  tuber- 
culosis. Goats  are  cunning  pets  and  if 
treated  kindly  are  absolutely  gentle,  not 
showing  in  the  least  the  tendency  for 
which  they  are  so  renowned. 

The  adults,  however,  are  well  able  to 
take  care  of  themselves  against  dogs, 
even  thougdi  tethered.  The  male  must 
be  segregated  from  the  young  at  birth 
as  he  is  apt  to  injure  and  frequentl}'  kill 
them. 

The  good  points  in  relation  to  goats 
are  very  numerous  and  the  bad  not  worth 
mentioning. 


To'^e'~;h  Grinnel.  in  Science  for  Feb- 
ruary 12,  puts  up  a  strong  plea  for  the 
old-fashioned  collector  who  named  his 
birds  "With  a  gun."  Eye,  camera,  and 
field  glass,  he  admits,  are  the  proper 
weapons  for  nine  hundred  and  ninety- 
nine  observers  in  each  thousand.  But 
unless  there  is  a  thousandth  man  to 
form  a  permanent  collection,  and  to 
study  it  diligently,  there  will  be  no 
accurate  knowledge  to  guide  the  dil- 
ettante. Unfortunately,  most  of  our 
game  laws  favor  the  sportsman  who 
kills  and  eats,  not  the  man  of  science 
who  kills  and  studies. 


Was  tlie  city  girl  in  the  country 
whollv  mistaken  when  she  interpreted 
"T?.  E.  D."  as  meaning  "Room  for  De- 
velopment?"— The  Youth's   Comi)anion. 


Two  Tree  Studies. 

Kcarneys\ille,    West    Virginia. 
To  the  I'^ditor : 

I  am  sending  you  two  snap  shots 
from  Berkeley  County,  \\'est  Virginia. 
One  is  of  an  oak  and  a  walinit  tree  that 


TREE    STUDIES    FROM    WEST    VIRGINIA. 

seem  to  be  one  tree.     The  larger  is  the 
walnut.      The    other    picture    shows    a 
large  oak  completely     covered     by     a 
grapevine  that  Avinds  around  it. 
Sincerely, 
Samuel  G.  W^illiamson. 


Morton  L.  Clark,  of  the  Amherst, 
Massachusetts,  Experiment  Station, 
riescri'es  in  Scieiire  for  January  22,  an 
ingenious  device  -  of  his  invention  for 
counting  small  seeds.  A  short  pipe, 
about  a  quarter  inch  in  diameter  is 
filed  flat  on  one  side,  and  along  this  flat 
surface  are  drilled  ten  holes.  Suction 
on  the  pipe  by  a  small  air  pump,  causes 
ten  seeds  to  cling  to  the  ten  holes. 
The  size  of  the  holes  and  the  power 
of  the  draft  have  to  be  adjusted  to  the 
particular  seeds;  but  the  method  is 
convenient  for  anv  smooth  object. 


Copyright  Notice  Was  Omitted. 

The  animal  ]Mctures  l)y  Mr.  Harry  W. 
Frees  ap])earing  in  our  May  issue  were 
renroduced  from  photographs  all  copy- 
righted U)14  by  Harry  \\'.  Frees.  .Ml 
.'■iijhts   reserved. 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


SEA    BASS    TAKKN    WTTH    ORDINARY    ROD    AN'D    REEL. 
This  is  not  a  fake  photograph  but  a  real  bass  much  larger  than  the  woman   that  caught  it  with   a   light  rod 

and  reel. 
Photograph  bv   Professor  Charles   Frederick   Holder.     Cut  by   courtesy   of  the   "Outer's   Book." 


MONSTER  BLACK  BASS 


A  Monster  Black  Bass. 

\\"e  here  present  an  impressive  illus- 
tration of  a  monster  1  kicK  bass  that  was 
taken  with  ordinary  roi  and  reel.  For 
the  illustration  we  are  indebted  to  an 
interesting"  article  by  Professor  Fred- 
erick Flolder  in  the  "'Outer's  Book."  The 
author  tells  its  of  the  joy  of  seeing-  one 
of  these  ponderous  fellows  and  how  it 
eyed  the  bait. 

"The  l)Iack  sea  bass,  or  Stcrcolepis 
gigas,  as  the  scientific  men  call  him,  is 
a  ponderous  fellow,  yet  1  jncture  him  as 
a  most  graceful  creature.  Only  the  day 
before  Pinchot  and  I  had  been  drifting 
over  a  great  rock  which  rose  from  the 
slope  of  the  sea  mountain  in  deep  water. 
I  was  lying  fiat  on  the  deck,  gazing  down 
into  the  depths,  wondering  at  the  vari- 
ants of  blue,  the  splendid  tone  that  ap- 
peared to  pervade  everything,  when  sud- 
denly I  became  aware  that  1  was  looking 
directly  at  something  moving.  It  w-as 
tinted  blue,  the  same  hue  as  the  sea,  and 
the  algae-covered  rock ;  then  I  saw  that 
I  was  looking  at  a  big  black  sea  bass  in 
its  native  lair,  not  ten  feet  below  me  and 
as  distinct  as  though  it  had  been  laid  oitt 
on  the  beach. 

'T  called  the  attention  of  my  com- 
panion to  it,  and  for  several  minutes  we 
watched  the  'king  of  the  bass.'  My  bait 
was  in  a  cleft  of  the  rock  and  doubtless 
the  fish  had  scented  it  like  a  hound.  Its 
movements  suggested  caution,  suspicion 
and  cunning  to  a  more  remarkable  de- 
gree than  I  should  have  believed. 

"Such  a  monster  of  a,  fish,  at  least  five 
or  six  feet  in  length  and  proportionately 
robust,  might  have  been  supposed  to 
have  an  appetite  to  correspond  and  to 
have  rushed  at  the  lure,  a  shining  sar- 
dine ;  yet  it  did  exactly  the  reverse.  It 
would  come  up  out  of  the  blue  waters, 
swim  along  with  the  greatest  dignity, 
passing  over  the  bait,  then  return,  eyeing 
it  coyly,  with  all  the  cleverness  a  trout 
is  supposed  to  possess,  all  in  all,  present- 
ing an  attractive  and  fascinating  spec- 
tacle." 

Professor  Holder  says  that  some  of 
the  largest  bass  are  captured  with  rod 
and  reel.  "Even  ladies  have  taken  some 
of  the  largest  bass  ever|hooked,  as  ]Mrs. 
Everett  of  Eos  Angeles,  who  landed 
w'ith  rod  and  reel  a  colossus  which 
weighed  four  hundred  and  sixteen 
pounds.  I  once  had  the  pleasure  of  see- 
ing her  play  one  nearly  as  large." 


Think  of  playing  with  ordinary  rod 
and  reel  a  fish  weighing  almost  a  quarter 
of  a  ton. 


Fear  of  Our  Woods. 

V.y       KATIIERYXE       SIKKIXG,       SECRETARY 

EOUISVILLE    girls'    HIGH    SCHOOL 

CHAPTER,  LOUISVILLE,  KY. 

Tliere  are  few  dangers  in  the  Ken- 
tucky woodlands,  and  these  few  may  be 
easil}'  overcome.  It  is  impossible  for  us 
to  enjoy  the  woods  until  we  have  driven 
these  fears  "into  the  dark  of  the  moon." 

We,  the  pitrsuers,  often  become  pur- 
sued and  driven  back  to  the  well-worn 
footpath.  Every  time  a  bird  cries  in 
alarm  or  a  mouse  squeaks  in  pain,  or  a 
rabbit  leaps  in  fear  from  beneath  our 
feet,  we  too,  jump  and  run  if  our  fears 
are  not  allayed.  From  those  who  fear 
the  woods,  nature  withholds  her  mys- 
teries. 

Let  us  go  into  the  woodland  wdth  one 
who  knows  its  dangers.  We  go  boldly 
ahead  until  the  woods  become  denser ; 
here  the  tree  trunks  are  enveloped  in  a 
mass  of  hard  stems  from  which  hangs  a 
three-leaved  foliage ;  in  the  axil  of  those 
leaves  are  dull  whitish  berries.  The 
leader  calls  out  in  alarm  as  some  one 
starts  toward  the  vine.  What  is  the 
trouble?  Only  poison  ivy,  harmless  if 
you  keep  away  from  it. 

At  another  time  we  walk  near  a 
swampy  tract  where  one  plant  in  par- 
ticular predominates.  So  beautiful  is  it 
that  we  are  tempted  to  fill  our  arms  with 
its  brilliantly  colored  leaves.  Our  de- 
sire is  a  rash  one,  for  this,  with  its  dull 
gray  bark,  red  leaf-stalks,  feather-veined 
leaves,  rather  far  apart  with  the  bright 
red  berries,  is  the  poison  dogwood,  the 
most  dangerous  plant  .of  our  coimtry. 

If  we  cared  to  know  the  plants  the 
wood  fear  could  be  blotted  out  in  a  short 
time.  \\'e  might  go  to  a  botany  or  a 
plant  guidebook  and  read  of  the  struc- 
ture of  the  poisonous  plants,  but  such 
plants  are  not  so  well  remembered  -as 
when  observed  in  the  woods.  There  are 
several  magazines  in  wdiich  we  can  find 
such  things  discussed  in  so  original  a 
way  that  we  soon  learn  to  know  them. 
As  a  suggestion,  ask  for  a  copy  of  The 
Guide  to  Nature.  -  What  is  this?  A 
magazine,  best  described  by  this  quota- 
tion :  "Slie  leads  in  beauty  and  interest 
from  homes  to  nature's  realms." 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


Plants    Growing   From    Leaves. 

Leaves  seem  about  the  last  thing 
from  which  one  would  ever  think  that 
plants  might  grow.  One  would  as  soon 
think  that  a  plant  might  spring  from  the 
bark.  Leaves  are  the  temporary  ser- 
vants of  the  plant,  attending  it  during 
its  period  of  growth,  but  when  they 
have  outlived  their  usefulness,  they 
wither  and  fall.  It  therefore  seems  es- 
pecially astonishing  that  in  the  variet\' 
of  Nature's  methods  she  has  in  some 
plants  acquired  the  hal^t  of  producing 
subsequent  generations   from  the  leaves. 


THE  BRYOPIlVlJ.LiM   DROPS  ITS  LEAVES  TO 
GROW   NEW  PLANTS. 


THE    LEAN'ES    GROWING    NEW    PLANTS    IN    A 
PAN    OF    EARTir. 

The  live-for-ever  plant,  Byyof>/ixlliiiii 
calycinuiii ,  has  this  habit.  The  leaves 
fall  when  they  are  still  green  and  in 
good  condition.  When  they  touch  the 
ground  or  perhaps  even  before  they  fall, 
the  growth  of  tiny  roots  begins  along 
the  edge.  If  these  rootlets  reach  moist 
earth,  an  upward  shoot  soon  appears  and 
develops  into  a  large  and  beautiful  plant, 
sometimes  called  the  chandelier  plant  on 
account  of  its  numerous  branches. 

Another  remarkable  characteristic 
mentioned  by  liailey,  the  well-known 
botanist,  in  his  "Cyclopedia  of  Horticul- 
ture." is  that  the  leaves  of  the  Bryophyl- 
litin  are  sour  in  the  morning,  tasteless 
at  noon  and  bitter  toward  evening.  He 
attributes  this  to  the  absorption  of  oxy- 
gen at  night  and  its  disengagement  in 
daylight. 

We  suggest  that  our  readers  secure 
leaves  or  specimens  of  this  plant  for  ex- 
periment. 

We  will  mail,  well  packed  and  post- 
paid, a  leaf  from  which  several  plants 
may  be  grown,  for  twenty-five  (25c) 
cents.  Address  The  Agassiz  Associa- 
tion. Arc  Am  A:  Sound  Beach,  Conn. 

A  leaf  will  be  sent  to  any  present  sub- 
scriber who  will  send  a  dollar  for  a  new 
subscription  for  one  year. 


THE  PLANT  \\"()RLD  UNDER  CARE 


SEXERAL    P.RYOPIIYLLUM    PLANTS    MAY   BE   GROWN    FROM    OXE   LEAF. 

An  Interesting  Twining  Root. 

IIY  DR.  C.KokCK  T.  SThVK-XS,  XK\V  YORK  Cri'Y 

Plants  such  as  bear  flowers  and 
fruit,  grasses,  the  common  field  plants, 
trees  and  others,  are  characterized  by 
certain  general  forms  of  their  three 
principle  parts.  These  three  parts  are 
the  stem,  the  leaves  and  the  root. 
There  is  a  diversity  of  form  for  each 
of  these  structures  depending  largely 
upon  the  species  of  plant.  To  the  fea- 
tures of  only  two  of  these  parts  is  at- 
tention called  here. 

First,  if  Ave  examine  the  stems  of 
many  plants,  we  soon  find  that  we  may, 
in  a  pretty  general  way,  divide  them 
into  three  groups.  These  groups  are 
the  erect  stems,  such  as  those  of  trees, 
grasses  and  many  familiar  plants  ;  then 
the  weak  stems,  one  group  of  which 
lies  prone  upon  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  as  for  example,  do  the  stems 
of  the  creeping-  partridge  berry  (Mitch- 
cUa  rrpciis),  or  those  of  the  twin  flower 
(Liiniaea  borealis)  ;  or  in  a  sub- 
group of  these  prostrate  stems  a  con- 
siderable part  may  be  covered  by  the 
soil  as  in  the  case  of  the  gold  thread 
(Copfis  tri folia). 

A  third  group  of  stems  includes 
those  which,  although  too  w-eak  to  sup- 
port themselves,  prefer  to  rise  above 
the  soil  by  the  aid  of  more  robust 
stems  or  other  objects.  Familiar  ex- 
amples are  the  stems  or  vines  of  the 
climbing  bean,  the  hop,  the  pea  and  the 
morning  glory. 

Here  again  we  find  a  grouping  de- 
pending on  the  method  of  support.   For  a  twixing  parsxip. 


10 


THE  GUIDE  TO  iNATURE 


example,  the  climbing"  bean  and  the  hop 
have  slender  stems  which  wind  about 
stronger  plants,  while  the  pea,  the 
grape  and  other  vines  support  them- 
selves by  tendrils. 

The  stems  which  wind  about  the 
supporting  object  are,  in  nearly  all 
cases,  characterized  by  the  fact  that  all 
stems  of  a  given  species  wind  in  a 
single  direction.  Thus,  the  morning 
glory  winds  always  from  the  left  to  the 
right  as  it  ascends,  while  the  stem  of 
the  hop  as  it  ascends  winds  to  the  left. 
Such  twining  stems  are  said  to  be 
voluble. 

If  the  stem  of  the  morning  glory,  the 
bean  or  the  hop  finds  no  other  support 
about  which  to  wind,  it  seeks  a  neigh- 
boring stem  and  the  two  wind  about 
each  other  and  thus,  in  some  measure, 
form  mutual  support. 

There  are  also  some  pretty  clear 
groupings  in  the  form  and  arrangement 
of  roots.  Thus  we  have  the  pivotal 
root  of  the  carrot,  the  tap  root,  and  the 
fascicular  roots  of  grass. 


X'oluble  roots,  twining  roots,  are  so 
rare  that  I  have  thought  it  worth  while 
to  show  a  photograph  of  a  pair  in 
which  the  twining  is  as  regular  and  as 
perfect  as  it  would  be  found  between 
two  stems  of  any  twining  plant. 

The  photograph  of  the  specimen  here 
shown  is  that  of  a  parsnip.  Dining  re- 
cently with  a  lady  in  New  Haven,  I 
observed  the  specimen  arranged  as  an 
object  of  interest  in  the  fruit  dish.  The 
lady  kindly  gave  it  to  me  and  I  am  in 
turn  presenting  its  picture  to  the  read- 
ers of  The  Guide  to  Nature. 

It  will  he  seen  that  the  tap  root  of 
the  parsnip  divides  near  its  origin  into 
two  roots  and  that  these  two  branches 
at  once  assume  the  nature  of  twiners 
and  continue  this  characteristic  to  the 
end.  The  thickness  of  the  root  before 
division  is  two  and  one-eighth  inches 
and  the  length  of  the  specimen  is  nine 
and  one  fourth  inches.  There  are  ten 
full  turns  of  each  of  the  members. 

Very  rarely  do  roots  assume  the 
voluble  character  and  only  in  rarest  in- 
stances do  we  find  so  perfect  a  twining 
as  is  here  shown. 

It  might  be  easy  to  understand  why 
weak  stems  should  acquire  the  twining 
character  but  it  would  be  difficult  to 
guess  why  these  deeply  penetrating 
roots  should  assume  the  habit  of 
twiners  unless  in  imitation  of  above 
ground  voluble  stems. 

[By  a  curious  coincidence,  just  be- 
fore your  letter  was  received,  there 
came  from  the  kitchen  of  my  home  a 
similarly  entwined  carrot.  A  photo- 
graph of  this  was  taken  and  is  shown 
herewith.— E.  F.  B.] 


The  knowledge  of  an  unlearned  man 
is  living  and  luxuriant  like  a  forest,  but 
covered  with  mosses  and  lichens,  and  for 
the  most  part  inaccessible  and  going  to 
waste;  the  knowledge  of  the  man  of  sci- 
ence is  like  timber  collected  in  yards  for 
public  works,  which  still  supports  a  green 
sDrout  here  and  there,  but  even  this  is 
liable  to  drv  rot. — Thoreau. 


"HE    ENTWINED    CARROT. 


Several  different  scholars  have  re- 
cently expressed  the  opinion  that  the 
Tree  of  Life  of  the  Garden  of  Eden, 
mentioned  in  the  early  parts  of  Gene- 
sis, is  the  date  palm. 


THE  PLANT  WORLD  UXDI'-R  CARE 


II 


An    Adventurous    Ivy    Vine. 

Seattle.   Washint^'ton. 
To  the  E  litor  : 

It  is  a  welLknown  fact  that  ivy  is  Iiard 
to  check  in  growth,  and  many  ])eople  can 
testif}-  tliat  it  will  i^row  u])  inside  of  a 
window  casing  and  ont  at  the  top,  but 
it    remained     for    a    house    in     Morton, 


in  the  boards  of  the  entrance  building  and 
sent  a  branch  of  luxurious  grow'th  into  the 
interior  in  Arcadian  picturesc^ueness.— Ed. 


You  are  producing  a  marvelous  maga- 
zine and  each  number  is  a  joy  to  any 
lover  of  nature. — Ximena  AlcGlashan, 
Truckee,  California. 


LR'ING   I^'Y    THAT    MADE    ITS    W'AY    THROUGH    WALLS    AND   WALL    PAPER. 


Washington,  to  prove  that  it  can  pierce 
wall  paper.  In  this  house  the  tendency 
to  explore  led  the  ivy  that  cover.s  the  out- 
side of  the  house  through  the  walls  into 
the  living  room  and  into  the  kitchen.  At 
three  diiTerent  places  it  has  broken 
through  the  wall  paper  and  is  still  grow- 
ing. The  illustration  shows  wdiere  it  has 
forced  itself  into  the  living  room  near 
the  clock  shelf  and  already  grown  long- 
enough  to  festoon  the  picture  on  the  ad- 
joining wall. 

Resoectfull\-. 

Helen  L.  Bushnell. 

In  replv  to  an  inquiry  in  a  later  letter 
Miss  Bushnell  wrote : 

'T  took  the  picture  myself,  and  the 
old  lady  who  lives  in  the  house  said  that 
the  vine  broke  through  the  paper  of  it- 
self. She  cut  it  off  several  times  and 
kept  it  cut  off  in  the  kitchen,  but  finally 
decided  it  would  make  a  good  decoration 
in  the  living  room,  so  let  it  grow  and 
trained  it  around  the  picture." 

A  rambler  rose  on  the  Home  Of^ce  of 
The  Agassiz  Association  is  true  to  its 
name.     In  its  randdes  it   found  a  crack- 


Keeping  Lettuce  Fresh. 

In  picking  lettuce  from  the  garden, 
do  not  cut  oft'  the  root  or  even  pull 
it  violently  from  the  ground.  Instead, 
lift  the  plant  carefully  with  a  trowel 
as  if  for  transplanting ;  then  shake  the 
root  free  of  earth  without  injuring  the 
small    fibers. 

^^'ash.  Set  in  tumbler  of  water, 
leaves  resting  on  the  end ;  root  im- 
mersed. In  a  cool  place,  the  plant  will 
keep  fresh  for  several  days,  wdthout 
losing  flavor  as  wdien  the  leaves  are 
wet.  Plants  treated  in  this  way,  even 
though  plucked  while  wilted  by  the 
sun's  heat,  become  crisp  and  edible  in 
a  couple  of  hours. 

The  device  is  especially  useful  in 
the  absence  of  ice. 


Lipman  and  Fowler  report  the  first 
successful  attempt  to  isolate  in  pure 
culture  and  directly  from  the  soil  the 
nitrifying  bacteria  which  forms  the 
nodules  on  the  roots  of  peas,  beans, 
and  other  legumes. 


12 


THE  GUIDK  TO   NATURE 


A  Bird  Home  Among  the  Cat-tails. 

BY  EDWIN  h.  JACK,  PORTLAND,  ME. 
Photographs  from  life  by  the  Author. 
Almost  everyone  interested  in  orni- 
thology knows  the  red-winged  black- 
bird, but  owing  to  the  general  location 
chosen  by  the  bird  for  its  nesting  site, 
few  people  have  become  intimately 
acquainted  with  its  "Home  Life."    For 


three  successive  years  a  number  of 
red-winged  blackbirds  had  nested  in  a 
small  swamp  a  short  distance  from  my 
home.  Their  domestic  life  among  the 
cat-tails  appeared  so  interesting  and 
picturescjue  to  me  that  this  season  I 
introduced  my  camera  into  their  sur- 
roundings and  succeeded  in  ol)taining 
the  studies  here  sfiven  : 


THE  HAUNT  OF  THE  RED-WINGED  BLACKBIRD. 


ORNITHOLOGY 


The  birds  arrived  at  the  swamp  on 
the  seventeenth  of  last  May,  and  im- 
mediately began  the  construction  ot 
their  homes. 

On  the  twenty-ninth,  the  nest  which 
I  had  chosen  for  my  photographs  was 
completed,  and  June  fifth  it  contained 
four  beautiful,  light  green  eggs,  thick- 
ly marked  with  irregular  scrolls  of 
chocolate  around  the  larger  end. 

The  following  day  I  started  for  the 
swamp  with  a  five  by  seven  camera, 
folates,  tripod,  long  hose,  and  rubber 
waders.  The  location  proved  most  dif- 
ficult for  camera  work,  but  in  a  short 
time  I  had  my  outfit  arranged  and  se- 
cured the  study  of  the  nest  and  eggs 
here  given. 

My  next  attempt  was  for  a  study  of 
the  female  brooding,  so  I  attached  the 
long  tubing  to  the  shutter,  went  off 
fifty  feet  and  waited ;  the  bird  was  ex- 
tremely shy  of  the  camera,  regardless 
of  the  fact  that  I  had  concealed  it  with 
reeds.  She  knew  it  was  no  natural 
part  of  the  landscape,  and  she  simply 
would  not  go  to  the  nest.  In  fear  that 
the  eggs  would  chill,  I  removed  the 
camera  and  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  a  picture  of  her  was  possible  only, 
when  the  eg-gs  were  farther  advanced 
in  incubation,  or  when  the  young  had 
hatched. 

In  twelve  days,  I  paid  the  birds  a 
second  visit  and,  as  I  approached  the 
swamp ;  on  a  swaying  cat-tail  was 
perched  the  female,  with  what  ap- 
peared to  be  an  insect  in  her  bill,  and 
I  knew  that  in  all  probability  the 
young  birds  had  hatched.  Leaving 
the  camera  on  the  bank,  I  carefully 
worked  my  way  toward  the  nest.  As 
I  neared  it,  the  female  flew  from  one 
cat-tail  to  another,  uttering  her  harsh 
"click—click,"  while  the  male,  perched 
in  the  top  of  a  nearby  tree,  occasion- 
ally sent  forth  his  clear  "con-quer-ee 
— con-quer-ee— .  On  reaching  the 
nest,  my  expectations  were  realized, 
for  it  contained  three  young  birds,  and 
one  unhatched  egg.  AVith  all  possible 
haste  I  arranged  the  camera,  focussed 
sharply  on  the  nest,  attached  the  long 
tubing,  throwing  the  bulb  back  to  the 
edge  of  the  bank,  and  concealing  my- 
self as  much  as  possiple,  I  waited. 

It  was  one-half  hour  before  the  fe- 
male showed  the  slightest  signs  of 
feeding  the  young.  At  last,  she  flew 
to    an    adjoining    field,     and    in    the 


"INSTANTLY    UP    WENT    THREE    GAPING 
MOUTHS    AND    LONG    SCRAGGY    NECKS." 

course  of  a  few  minutes,  returned, 
with  a  grasshopper  in  her  bill.  Flying 
from  one  reed  to  another,  and  each 
time  going  a  little  nearer,  she  at  last 
flew  to  a  cattail  stock  to  which  the 
nest  w^as  attached.  Here,  she  medi- 
tated, scanned  the  surroundings,  and 
seemingly  finding  things  to  her  satis- 
faction, flew  to  the  rear  of  the  nest; 
instantly  up  went  three  gaping  mouths 
and  long  scraggy  necks.  I  squeezed 
the  bulb,  and  the  click  of  the  shutter 
sent  her  flying  to  the  nearest  fence 
post.  This  all  happened  in  an  instant, 
but  in  that  instant  I  secured  the  like- 
ness of  the  bird  here  given. 

On  the  following  day  I  made  a  sec- 
ond attempt  at .  picturing  the  bird  in 
some  desirable  attitude  in  her  domes- 


T4 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


^^^^^ 

■■ 

^^BK.f»^i^^^-^  ,,_^^^  ^^I^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H 

HKi^^J^^^^^H 

H 

Hp^l 

'^^ISIIJH 

^H^K^ 

A  YOUNG  BLACKBIRD  TWO  DAYS  BEFORE 
LEAVING  NEST. 


tic  duties.  Having  focussed  the  cam- 
era on  the  nest,  I  repeated  the  per- 
formance of  the  previous  day ;  but  I 
had  only  to  wait  a  comparatively  short 
time,  for  the  bird  immediately  flew  to 
the  nest,  this  time  lighting  in  full  view. 
I  snapped  and  secured  a  second  like- 
ness, which  to  me  is  one  of  my  best 
pictures  of  the  bird  As  the  nest  was 
very  deep,  and  only  the  heads  of  the 
young  birds  would  show  in  a  picture, 
I  concluded  to  wait  until  they  were 
fully  feathered  and  ready  to  leave  the 
nest,  before  photographing  them.  This 
meant  a  period  of  about  twelve  days, 
and  during  that  time  I  often  waited  by 
the  hour  with  my  camera  focussed  on 
the  nest,  hoping  to  secure  a  study  of 
the  male  bird. 

What  a  fitting  picture  he  made  in 
the  landscape,  perched  either  on  the 
old  wooden  fence,  which  bordered  one 
side  of  the  swamp,  or  swaying  back 
and  forth  on  a  cat-tail !  But  not  once 
during  the  time  I  had  worked  about 
the  ne>^t  did  he  approach  within  fifty 
feet  of  it.  He  did  not  appear  disturbed 
or  frightened  in  the  least,  but  evident- 
ly he  took  small  part  in  the  rearing  of 
his  family. 

When  it  was  almost  time  for  the 
young  to  leave  their  nest,  there  came  a 
rainstorm  of  three  days'  duration.  On 
the   fourth   day  it  cleared,   and   in   the 


afternoon  I  went  to  the  swamp,  only 
to  find  the  nest  empty ;  and  although  I 
searched  in  vain,  not  one  young  black- 
bird from  that  nest  could  be  found. 

\\'ithin  forty  feet  of  the  nest  I  had 
been  working  on,  I  located  another, 
which  contained  one  young  bird.  Its 
feathers  were  not  fully  developed,  but 
not  caring  to  take  another  chance  with 
the  weather,  I  carefully  placed  him  on 
the  top  rail  of  the  old  fence  and  pho- 
tographed him.  It  is  to  be  regretted 
that  I  did  not  have  two  more  to  place 
lieside  him,  but  this  is  only  a  small 
circumstance  in  the  many  disappoint- 
ments encountered  by  the  "bird  pho- 
tographer." 

The  red-winged  blackbird  occasion- 
;illy  places  its  nest  in  alder  and  wild 
rose  bushes,  bordering  a  swamp  or 
>tream;  but  the  majority  are  placed 
among  cat-tails,  in  swamps. 

Just  why  the  bird  most  frequently 
selects  this  location  I  do  not  know, 
but  doubtless  instinct  teaches  them, 
that  there  in  the  swamp,  the  nest  care- 
fully hidden  among  the  rushes,  with 
often  three  or  four  feet  of  water  be- 
neath, they  are  safe  from  four-footed 
as  well  as  two-footed  enemies. 


Birds  of  New  York. 

r>v  special  arrangement,  the  Massa- 
chusetts Audubon  Society,  234  Berkeley 
Street,  Boston,  is  able  to  furnish  the 
complete  set  of  the  plates  of  the  Birds  of 
Xew  York  for  57  cents  postpaid  to  any 
address  in  the  first  or  second  zone.  These 
are  complete,  just  as  found  in- this  in- 
v;duable  book.  They  figure  in  color  every 
bird — land  or  water-  -that  flies  over  the 
State,  done  on  a  heavy  coated  paper  9  x 
12  in  size.  There  are  io5  of  these  plates 
and  they  are  enclosed  in  a  neat  and  ser- 
viceable portfolio,  the  whole  in  a  card- 
board box. 

The  total  cost  is  57  cents,  and  the  op- 
portunity for  bird-lovers  is  unique. 


Tropical  Humming  Birds. 

A  London  ornithologist  has  been 
keeping  tropical  humming  birds  alive 
in  special  steam-heated  cages  in  which 
grow  orchids  to  provide  nectar  for 
their  food.  When  the  supply  of  nectar 
fails,  the  birds  are  fed  on  a  mixture  of 
honey,  sponge  cake,  crumbs,  and  in- 
fant's  food. 


ORNITHOLOGY 


15 


The  Ancients  and  Birds. 

.  ..,umg-  Llie  latest  of  the  ptiblica- 
tions  of  Leland  Stanford  Junior  Uni- 
\ersity  is  Ernest  Whitney  Martin's 
"The  Birds  of  the  Latin  Poets.''  The 
author  has  brought  together  virtually 
every  mention  in  Latin  poetry  of 
every  several  bird.  These  amount  to 
some  seventy  species  in  all ;  and  each 
of  these  so  far  as  possible,  is  identified, 
and  in  addition,  compared  with  our 
own  American  forms. 

The  striking  feature  of  this  work, 
besides  the  remarkable  learning  and 
industry  of  its  author,  is  the  small 
knowledge  of  ancients  concerning  bird 
life.  They  concerned  themselves  lit- 
tle Avith  their  neighbors  of  the  air,  and 
took  little  delight  in  them.  In  this, 
they  seem  to  have  been  of  like  mind 
with  their  descendants  of  to-day,  who 
prefer  to  eat  a  robin  or  a  lark  to  hear- 
ing it  sing. 

Doubtless  as  the  author  points  out, 
the  fact  that  the  Romans  belicA  ed  that 
the  birds  are  metamorphosed  human 
children  had  something  to  do  with 
their  feeling  toward  them.  Neverthe- 
less, they  did  not  always  think  sad- 
ly of  the  feathered  tribes — as  witness 
Horace's  famous  lines  about  the  duck 
and  his  habitat  in  the  "aqua,  qua, 
qua,  qua,  qua  !" 


Trinity   Churchyard  a   Bird   Refuge. 

The  vestry  of  Trinity  Church,  in 
New  York  City,  has  recently  adopted 
measures  for  the  protection  of  the 
birds  that  frequent  the  churchyard  dur- 
ing migration.  This  action  was  taken 
at  the  instance  of  Miss  Elizabeth  S. 
Day,  of  Brooklyn,  who  reported  that 
she  had  noted  thirty  species  of  birds 
in  the  churchyard,  despite  its  location 
at  the  junction  of  Broadway  and  W'alh 
Street,  in  the  heart  of  the  financial 
section  of  the  city. — Henry  Oldys. 


A  tern,  ringed  in  the  Fame  Islands, 
almost  at  the  north  of  England,  in  July 
was  captured  the  following  February 
on  the  African  Gold  Coast  almost 
under  the  equator. 


The  Hatching  Egg. 

BY    W.    I.     EEECROFT,     ADAMS,      MASS. 

A  wonderful  provision  of  nature  im- 
pels the  lower  animals  to  do  the  right 
things  at  the  right  time,  things  which 
they  could  not  have  been  taught  nor  have 
learned  by  previous  experience ;  in  the 
case  of  very  young  animals  omission 
would  prove  fatal.  The  chick  breaks  its 
way  out  of  the  shell  unaided.  But  it 
does  not  work  aimlessly.  Starting  at  a 
point  where  it  first  breaks  the  shell,  it 
continues  all  around  in  the  same  plane  by 
turning  itself  bodily  as  it  proceeds,  until 
by  vigorous  kicks  and  struggles  it  forces 
the  lid  off. 

Another  wonderful  thing  in  this  con- 
nection is  that  nature  has  provided  a 
temporary  means  for  the  breaking  of  the 
shell.  The  chick's  bill  is  soft,  so  nature 
has  placed  in  the  tip  of  the  upper  man- 
dible a  tiny  hard  scale  that  drops  ofT  a 
few  days  after  the  chick  emerges  as  it  is 
then  of  no  f:'r  Iv/r  •.'.-c. 


--__  _ 

^ 

N 

\ 

/ 

{ 

M 

'v 

V'  '-^ 

/ 

■i^KM 

^ggH^ 

^^^gg| 

^^^^ 

HOW  THE  CHICK   BREAKS  THE   EGGSHELI. 


i6 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURb: 


The  Black-crowned  Night  Herons. 

BY  G.   B.   AFFLECK,   A.    R.,    M.   P.   E.,   SPRING- 
FIELD,   MASSACHUSETTS. 

In  tlie  Connecticut  river  about  ten 
miles  below  Springfield.  Mass.,  and  a 
mile  or  so  above  Windsor  Locks.  Conn., 
is  an  island  somewhat  more  than  a  mile 


"OTLIERS    REMAINED    PERCHED   NEAR   THEIR 

NESTS." 

in  length  and  about  half  a  mile  across  at 
its  widest  part.  Locally  it  is  known  as 
Terry's  Island,  but  the  Geological  Sur- 
vey maps  indicate  King's  Island.  On  its 
southerh-  part  the  black-crowned  night 
herons  have  nested  for  at  least  several 
years.  The  field  trip  of  the  S])ringfield 
Allen  Bird  Club  to  this  heronry  is  thus 
described  by  one  of  the  party: 

"On  approaching  the  island  by  boat  we 
noted  the  slow,  steady  flight  of  the  adult 
birds     and    their    occasional,     contented 


'Ouack!'..  'Quack!'  as  they  passed  up 
or  dowai  the  river  on  their  way  to  and 
from  the  marshes.  Landing  at  a  point 
remote  from  the  rookery  we  walked 
without  special  precaution  towards  the 
nests  and  soon  noted  the  whirling,  cir- 
cling flight  of  the  overhead  birds  accom- 
panied by  their  frequent,  vigorous  and 
high-pitched  alarm  notes.  We  were  not 
only  discovered  but  also  announced  as 
dangerous.  Our  nearer  approach  was 
greeted  by  clamor  from  the  several  hun- 
dred adult  birds  which  after  quietly 
leaving  their  nests  circled  excitedly 
overhead.  Others  remained  perched 
near  their  nests  and  'froze'  among  the 
dry  bare  branches  of  the  dead  hemlocks 
among  which  for  the  most  part  the  nests 
were  placed — they  can  scarcely  be  de- 
scribed as  built  as  they  consisted  en- 
tirely of  sticks  loosely  thrown  together 
in  a  pile  with  slight  depressions  on  the 
upper  side  from  which  at  intervals  the 
fledgling-  young  scrambled  in  twos  or 
threes  or  fours. 

"These  platforms  of  sticks  were  usu- 
ally thirty  or  more  feet  from  the  ground 
and  in  some  cases  as  manv  as   four  or 


AND       'FROZE'       AMONG       THE       DRV       BARE 
r.RAXCHES    OF    THE    DEAD    HEMLOCKS." 


ORNITHOLOGY 


five  were  found  on  a  single  tree.  Koth 
old  and  young  birds  would  stand  silent 
and  motionless  with  their  bills  pointed 
upwards  thereby  assuming  a  position  in 


YOUNG    BLACK-CROWXKI)    NIGHT    HP:R0NS. 

which  they  most  closely  resembled  the 
dead  branches  among  which  they  posed. 
"A  few  of  the  young  birds  frightened 
by  our  approach  attempted  to  stride 
away  from  the  lower  branches  upon 
which  they  had  been  resting,  but  were 
easily  captured  by  the  more  acrobatic 
members  of  the  i:)arty.  Upon  close  ex- 
amination the  jjjin-feaJthered^  fledglings 
presented  a  plumage  of  brown  spotted 
or  streaked  with  light  so  that  while  the 
back  was  decidedly  brownish  the  under 
parts  were  gray,  their  legs  and  feet  were 
pale  green,  wdiile  the  glaring  yellow  eyes 
and  massive  mouths  combined  various- 
ly to  give  expressions  sulky,  threatening 
or  stupid.  Being  placed  upon  the 
ground  they  made  off  as  fast  as  they 
could  but  after  a  few  attempts  they  ap- 
peared to  lose  some  of  their  fear,  and 
after  food  had  been  thrown  into  one 
cavernous,  hissing  mouth  there  was 
little  difficulty  in  persuading  them  to 
swallow  whatever  was  dropped  into 
their  gullets — sandwich,  cake,  or  orange 
peel  were  equally  acceptable.  Some  of 
these  were  appropriately  tagged  wdth  the 
aluminum  bands  supplied  by  the  Ameri- 
can Bird  Banding  Association,  and  after 
being  thus  duly  appreciated  consented  to 
pose  for  their  photographs.  Unshapely 
and  to  some  forbidding  they  are  intense- 
ly interesting  to  those  who  wisli  to  make 
comijarisons  and  note  stages  of  develo])- 


'.nent.  1  hese  were  returned  to  the  lower 
branches  and  though  as  yet  unable  to 
fly  were,  we  trust,  able  to  regain  their 
nests  higher  up  none  the  worse  for  their 
iniique  experiences. 

'The  trunks,  branches  and  ground  be- 
neath the  nests  were  bespattered  with 
excrementa,  giving  a  whitewashed  ap- 
pearance, and  scattered  about  were 
feathers,  fragments  of  dull  light  blue 
egg  shells,  portions  of  fish  and  occasion- 
al dead  yoimg  birds  wdiich  evidently  had 
fallen  from  the  nests  or  branches  above. 

"Desiring  to  know  the  size  of  the  col- 
ony a  count  was  made  which  placed  the 
number  of  nests  at  approximately  two 
hundred  and  fifty,  while  the  estimate  of 
more  than  a  thousand  birds,  adult  and 
\oimg,  seems  to  be  conservative." 


Vivid  Description  of  the  Grackle. 

Will  Webb  Tuttle,  of  Aluncie,  Indiana, 
is  doing  good  work  in  his  community  by 
contributing  to  the  local  paper  stories  and 
articles  on  nature  topics.  In  a  recent  es- 
say he  speaks  of  the  large  flocks  of 
grackles.  The  following  paragraphs  are 
an  example  of  his  vivid  and  poetical  de- 
scription of  the  birds"  songs  : 

"They  rap  on  the  door  with  their  four 
knuckles,  pound  the  piano  and  hammer 
their  snare  drums  as  if  finger  movement 
and  muscular  expression  are  their  main 
achievement.  Saw  filing,  boiler  making 
and  dropping  glass  into  barrels  seem  fit- 
ting figures  to  describe  their  enthusiasm 
as  they  rushed  in  upon  us. 

"The  crooning  of  the  owl  and  the 
plaintive  notes  of  the  whippoorwill  pos- 
sess the  very  soul  of  sunset ;  the  song  of 
the  cardinal  harmonizes  with  the  glory  of 
the  winding  river ;  the  catbird  flits  to  the 
bush  and  the  bobolink  seems  like  a  big 
overgrown  cricket  poised  in  the  air,  the 
reeds  in  its  harp  filled  with  the  splashing 
of  rain  and  the  skirt-rustling  of  ripe 
grain.  His  wing  movements  resemble 
the  heat  waves  that  rise  from  the  parch- 
ing meadow  and  the  daisies  mock  his 
garments  that  are  dyed  by  the  colors  of 
the  sun." 


A  recent  inil)lication  of  the  Carnegie 
Institution  of  Washington  is  the  life  his- 
tory of  eight  soecies  of  Xorth  American 
frogs  and  toads.  The  author  is  Mr.  A. 
H.  Wright  of  Ithaca.  New  York.  The 
account  is  lull  and  the  photographs  are 
man\'  and  excellent. 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


M 


,^M1 


^    ®t|^  Nature  5^I|0tngrapI|0r0   f 


Petrified  Wood. 

Professor  Edgar  T.  Wherry  sends  to 
us  a  photograph  of  logs  that  were  plough- 
ed up  in  the  fields  of  Joseph  Rich,  near 
Woodbourne,  Bucks  County,  Pennsyl- 
vania. He  has  grouped  these  around  the 
base  of  a  modern  conifer  that  as  he  sug- 
gests may  perhaps  be  a  descendant  of  the 
petrified  trees.  Petrified  wood,  he  says, 
has  been  found  in  Connecticut.  Profes- 
sor Hitchcock  relates  an  incident  in  which 
a  farmer  found  a  silicified  stump  that 
looked  so  natiu'al  that  he  tried  to  split  it. 


"The  tree  came  from  the  hill  and  we 
drew  it  down  with  a  pair  of  oxen.  It  is 
nearly  three  feet  in  height  and  two 
across.  The  wood  was  plentiful  on  the 
hill,  but  this  is  much  the  largest  speci- 
men. Another,  in  front  of  one  of  the 
camps,  came  from  a  neighbor's  (Mr. 
Bradley's)  land.  It  may  be  a  little  longer, 
but  is  only  half  of  a  tree. 

"When  Professor  Hobbs  was  here,  he 
said  it  was  the  finest  specimen  that  he 
had  seen  in  these  parts.  He  mentioned 
it    in    his   book    descriptive   of   his   work 


PROFESSOR  WHERRY'S  PHOTOGRAPH  OF 

The  axe  broke,  whereupon  he  pounded 
to  pieces  the  magnificent  specimen. 

At  about  the  time  when  this  letter  was 
received  Miss  Annie  L .  Scofield,  of 
Darien,  Conn.,  visiting  at  ArcAdiA,  told 
us  of  petrified  trees  found  in  Connecticut 
and  referred  to  Miss  Charlotte  F.  Cur- 
tiss  of  South  Britain,  Conn.  Miss  Cur- 
tiss  has  kindly  contributed  two  speci- 
mens to  Arc.\diA.  She  reports  that  a 
number  of  specimens  have  been  found  on 
the  hill  back  of  her  home.  To  Miss  Sco- 
field, Miss  Curtiss  writes  dS  tollows : 


PETRIFIED   LOGS   IN    PENNSYLVANIA. 

along  geological  lines.  If  I  remember 
correctly  he  intimates  that  so  much  silici- 
fied wood  is  rarely  found  in  Connecticut 
as  has  been  found  on  Horse  Fence  Hill. 
\\'e  have  given  away  a  large  number  of 
small  specimens.'' 

Upon  writing  to  Professor  William  H. 
Hobbs,  Director  of  Geological  Eabora- 
tor_\-,  L'niversity  of  Michigan,  Ann  Ar- 
bor, [Michigan,  we  received  the  follow- 
ing: 

"You  will  find  a  brief  description  ot 
this  and  other  specimens  of  similar  char- 


THE  NATURE  PHOTOGRAPHERS 


19 


Geological  Survey,  Part  3,  pp.  55-56,  and 
especially  in  the  appendix  to  this  report 
by  Professor  F.  H.  Knowlton  on  pages 
161-162." 


Color  of  Timber  Relation  to  Decay. 

Practical  users  of  timber  have  long 
known  that  there  is  a  marked  differ- 
ence in  the  resistance  ot  ditterent 
sticks  to  decay,  one  piece  rotting  badly 
while  another,  under  apparently  lik^ 
conditions  remains  sound.  It  now  ap- 
pears that  this  difference  is  due  to 
varying  amounts  of  certain  antiseptics 
(_ir  preservatives  formed  in  the  living 
tree.  In  general,  the  darker  the  heart- 
wood  is,  the  more  of  these  preserva- 
tives are  present  and  the  better  the  tim- 
ber will  last.  This  applies,  however, 
only  to  different  samples  of  the  same 
sort  of  lumber.  Different  sorts  of 
wood  are  naturally  light  or  dark,  so 
that  the  most  antiseptic  of  white  cedar 
will  last  three  or  four  times  as  long 
as  the  much  darker  red.  But  differ- 
ent whites,  or  different  reds,  resist  de- 
cay much  in  proportion  to  their  depth 
of  color. 


MISS  CURTISS'S  PHOTOGRAPH  OF  PETRIFIED 
WOOD  NEAR  HER  HOME  IN   CONNECTICUT. 

acter  in  my  Government  Report  en- 
titled, 'Tlie  Xewark  System  of  the  Pom- 
peraug  \'alley,  Connecticut."  published  in 
21  St  Annual  Reixjrt  of  The  I'nited  States 


A  Dog  Star  But  Not  Astronomical. 

From  ]\Iiss  S.  G.  Rice,  Sandy  Lake, 
Pennsylvania,  we  have  received  a  beauti- 
ful photograph  with  a  "happy  thought" 
for  a  name.  Dog  Star  as  a  photograph  will 
not  only  attract  lovers  of  dogs  but  will  sug- 
gest a  simple  yet  novel  manner  of  posing. 


THE    DOG    STAR. 


20 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


Mirrors  in  Photography. 

Few  photographers  realize  the  beau- 
tiful effects  that  may  be  obtained  by  the 
use  of  mirrors.  Suitable  ones  that 
should  preferably  be  without  a  frame 
may  be  obtained  at  small  expense  from 
dealers  in  plate  glass,  such  as  The 
Pittsburg  Plate  Glass  Company  of  New 
York  City.  They  may  be  of  any  size, 
convenient  to  the  photographer  and  the 
space  at  his  disposal. 

One  mirror  may  be  used  for  photo- 
graphing an  object  so  as  to  show  both 
front  and  back,  though  owing  to  dis- 
tance the  back  view  will  be  somewhat 
smaller  than  the  front.  Interesting 
duplicating  effects  may  be  made,  as  in 
the  photograph  of  the  water  lilies  and 
the  white  rabbits  here  shown.  It  is  also 
desirable  at  times  to  picture  some  small 
curiosity  from  all  points  of  view.  This 
may  easily  be  done  by  setting  up  the 
object  in  the  front  of  the  mirror  and 
slanting  the  mirror  sidewise,  not  from 
top  to  bottom,  so  as  to  reflect  the  far- 
ther side  of  the  object,  this  reflection  to 
be  a  little  to  one  side  of  the  object. 

But  notable  and  comical  effects  may 
be  obtained  by  using  two.  so  as  to  pro- 


duce a  kaleidoscopical  eft"ect.  Take  for 
example  the  little  bunch  of  blooming 
clematis  shown  in  the  accompanying 
illustration.  A  wreath  appears  in  the 
photograph  but  there  is  only  one  bunch 
of  flowers.  Astonishing  effects  may  be 
had  in  the  duplicating  of  animals  as  is 
shown  in  the  photograph  of  the  two 
toads,  a  frog  and  a  turtle  in  the  accom- 
panying illustration.  There  are  appar- 
ently seven  turtles,  while  in  reality 
there  is  only  one.  There  is  no  difficulty 
in  this  kind  of  photography.  Put  the 
mirrors  together  edgewise  to  form  a  V, 
and  photograph  that  V ;  you  will  have 
no  end  of  interesting  illustrations,  ac- 
cording to  the  angl^  of  the  V.  More  or 
fewer  may  be  obtained,  according  to 
this  angle.  Three  or  four  kittens,  placed 
within  the  V,  will  be  multiplied  until 
there  are  seven  tinjes  as  many.  The 
writer  has  taken  several  such  photo- 
graphs of  kittens  but  has  never  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  all  sharp  and  in  per- 
fect detail.  The  subjects  were  too 
lively. 

Probably  the  funniest  of  all  is  made 
by  placing  within  this  V  several  toads. 
Put  a  little  sticky  material  on  the  top 


A  BUNCH  OF  FLOWERS  BECOMES  A  WREATH. 


THE  NATURE  PHOTOGRAPHERS 


21 


CURIOUS    DUPLICATING   EFFECT   DV   PUTTING   MIRRORS   TOGETHER   EDGEWISE   TO 

FORM  A  V. 


of  each  toad's  head,  and  place  a  fly  on 
the  mucilage.  It  is  better  if  the  fly  is 
alive  and  the  glue  strong  enough  to 
keep  it  quiet,  though  sometimes  the 
experiment  may  be  successful  with  a 
dead  fly.  The  toad  will  try  to  catch 
the  reflected  fly.  It  is  funny  to  see  him 
slap  his  tongue  against  his  own  reflec- 
tion. If  the  fly's  struggles  are  lively, 
the  toad  will  frequently  repeat  his 
tongue  lapping,  but  will  assume  an  ex- 


pression of  astonishment,  evidently 
mystified  by  the  failure.  The  toad's 
tongue  will  make  curious  little  marks 
on  the  mirror  but  it  is  almost  impos- 
sible to  photograph  these  as  the  move- 
ment is  so  rapid  that  the  operator  can- 
not spring  the  shutter  quickly  enough. 
Other  pleasing  eltects  may  be  readily 
obtained,  as  in  the  illustration  of  the 
dancing  toads. 

A  wooden  base  in  which  the  mirror 


LILIES  PIIOToGkAPIlKI)  o.\   A   IIKillLV  POI.ISIIKD  ^L\II()G\XV    lAlM.E. 


22 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


WHITE   J'.EI.CIAN   HARES   PHOTOGRAPHED  ON  A  MIRROR. 


may  be  set  is  convenient.  Interesting 
optical  illusions  and  really  valuable 
studies  along  that  line  may  be  made  by 
a  proper  placing  of  the  mirror.  A  piece 
of  plank  may  be  easily  slotted  so  as  to 
hold  each  unframed  mirror  edgewise. 
The  mirrors  should  extend  beyond  the 
end  of  the  base  of  the  stand  so  that  they 
may  be  brought  into  contact. 

This  seems  to  be  an  undeveloped 
field  with  unlimited  opportunity  for 
many  unexpected  and  decorative 
effects. 


Girls  and  Young  Women,  at  Tarrytown- 
on-Hudson,  New  York.  She  is  thor- 
oughly experienced  in  the  development 
and  management  of  girls  and  is  in  thor- 
ough and  loving  sympathy  with  their  in- 
terests. If  you  would  know  more  of  this 
ideal  camp,  write  to  Miss  Farwell,  ad- 
dressing her  till  June  ist  at  The  Castle, 
Tarrytown-on-Hudson,  and  after  that  at 
Wells  River.  Vermont.  She  will  send 
you  an  interesting  and  attractively  illus- 
trated book. 


An  Ideal  Camp  for  Girls. 

It  is  good  for  girls  and  young  women 
to  leave  their  homes  in  the  crowded  city 
and  take  to  the  woods  during  the  sum- 
mer, but  where  they  go  an:l  under  what 
auspices  they  are  to  spend  the  vacation 
are  vastly  more  important.  The  best 
girls  camp  of  whicli  the  editor  has 
knowledge  is  Camj)  Farwell,  at  Wells 
River,  A'ermont.  The  location,  environ- 
ment, equipment,  management  are  ideal. 
Aliss  Julia  H.  Farwell,  the  director,  has 
been  for  many  years  the  head  teacher 
at  The  Castle,  Miss  Mason's  School  for 


Sale  of  Books  and  Apparatus. 

]Mr.  H.  S.  Woodman,  608  Van  Buren 
Street,  Brooklyn,  New  York,  offers  for 
sale  his  entire  outfit  of  microscopes, 
slides,  books,  etc..  at  a  remarkably  low 
price.  Mr.  Woodman  is  one  of  the 
charter  members  of  the  club  which  be- 
came the  Microscopical  Section  of  the 
Brooklyn  Institute.  For  a  time  he  served 
verv  satisfactorilv  as  one  of  the  officials. 
On  account  of  recent  poor  health  he  is 
disposing  of  liis  entire  apparatus.  He 
will  mail  a  descriptive  circular  with 
prices  to  any  one  who  will  make  appli- 
cation. This  is  not  published  as  an  ad- 
vertisement but  as  a  favor  to  a  long- 
time, faithful  worker  in  microscopy. 


THE  STARRY  HEAVENS  FOR   JUNE 


-'3 


By  Professor  Eric   Doolittle  of  the   University  of  rennsvlvaiiia 


THE  beautiful  planet.  Saturn,  which 
has  been  shining"  so  brightly  in  the 
heavens  for  so  long-  a  time,  will  this 
month  leave  the  evening  sky.  For  many 
months  this  has  been  the  only  bright 
world  to  be  seen  in  the  evening  heavens 
so  that  its  withdrawal  would  have  left 
our  evening  skies  planet-less  were  it  not 
that  the  bright  and  ever  interesting  little 
]\Iercurv  comes  iust  at  this  time  into  it? 


only  a  short  distance  beyond  the  borders 
of  our  evening  map,  and  it  will  require 
Imt  a  few  weeks  more  before  the  steady 
transformation  of  the  celestial  sphere  will 
bring-  this  beautiful  golden  world,  with 
its  fo::r  bright  moons,  into  our  evenino- 
sky. 

THE  JUNE  STARS. 

The    bright    groups,    Orion,    Taurus, 
Gemini  and  Auriga,  have  now  almost  en- 


Figure   1.     The  Heavens  at  9  P.   M.,  June   1.      (H  facing  south  hold  the  map  upright.     If  facing  east 
hold   East  below.      H  facing  west  hold   West  below.      If   facing   north   hold  the   map   inverted.) 


best  position  for  observation  of  the  entire 
year. 

This  swiftly  moving  little  world  will, 
however,  pay  us  but  a  short  visit :  after 
the  middle  of  June  it  will  again  be  lost  in 
the  sun's  rays,  and  then  no  bright  planet 
will  be  seen  among  the  evening  constella- 
tions.   But  the  great  planet  Jupiter  is  now 


tirely  disappeared,  and  Leo.  the  last  of 
the  train  of  winter  constellations,  is  sink- 
ing in  the  west.  But  the  two  most  bril- 
liant summer  stars,  Arcturus  and  Spica, 
which  present  so  interesting  a  contrast  in 
color,  are  near  the  meridian  in  the  south ; 
the  striking  Scorpio,  the  most  beautiful 
of  all  the  summer  groups,  has  completely 


24 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


risen  in  the  east,  while  \  ega,  the  Eagle, 
and  the  beautiful  Northern  Cross  have 
now  completely  entered  the  evening-  sky. 
As  the  months  go  by,  the  last  constella- 
tion will  swing  steadily  across  the  hea- 
vens, reaching  its  highest  position  in 
September  and  not  finally  sinking  below 
the  horizon  in  an  upright  position  until 
the  very  close  of  the  year. 

Above  Vega,  the  constellation  Her- 
cules is  now  found  in  excellent  position 
for  study.  Above  Hercules  there  is  the 
beautiful  Northern  Crown  while,  still 
higher,  the  great  Bootes  now  fills  the 
very  highest  area  of  the  heavens.  At  the 
point  A,  nearly  in  a  straight  line  between 
the  stars  B  and  C,  there  will  readily  be 
found  the  wonderful  cluster  in  Hercules, 
a  compact  mass  of  sixty  thousand  stars. 
This  cloud  of  suns  can  even  be  seen  as  a 
faint,  nebulous  patch  of  light  with  the 
naked  e}'e.  In  the  region  between  the 
stars  H.  F.  and  Antares,  there  are  a  great 
many  other  interesting  clusters  (though 
these  all  require  a  telescope  to  render 
them  visible)  while  at  the  point  K  there 
is  an  interesting  planetary  nebula,  which 
shines  as  a  greenish,  misty,  eighth  magni- 
tude star.  The  faint  stars  in  the  region 
E  form  the  group  Cerebus,  the  three- 
headed  dog  which  Hercules  holds  in  his 
hand. 

THE   PLANET    AlERCrRY. 

The  oberver  should  not  fail  during  the 
first  days  of  June  to  find  this  most  inter- 
esting little  planet,  which  is  always  so 
nearly  lost  in  the  sun's  ravs,  because  its 


Figure    2.      Appearance    of    the    planet    Mercury    as 
it  passes  around   the   sun. 

present  appearance  is  a  very  unusually 
favorable  one.  The  planet  is  now  reach- 
ing its  greatest  distance  east  of  the  sun, 
and  it  happens  that  this  month  it  recedes 
from  the  sun  an  vmusually  long  distance. 
Figure  2  shows  the  shape  of  the  path  of 
the  planet  about  the  sun  and  also  the  tele- 
scopic appearance  of  Mercury  when  it  is 
at  various  parts  of  its  path.  We  always 
view  the  orbit  nearly  edgewise,  but  this 
orbit  is  not  really  a  perfect  circle,  as  in- 
dicated in  Figure  2,  but  the  distance  from 
B  to  S  is  actually  fifteen  millions  of  miles 
greater   than    that    from    S    to    D.      The 


planet  passes  the  point  U,  and  is  hence 
seen  by  us  at  its  greatest  distance  to  the 
left,  or  east  of  the  sun,  on  Alay  31.  It 
is  because  when  it  reaches  this  position 
the  planet  is  at  nearly  its  greatest  dis- 
tance from  the  sun  in  miles  that  we  will 
see  the  two  bodies  so  far  apart  in  the 
sky. 

The  motion  of  Alercury  among  the 
stars  during  the  month  is  shown  in  Figure 
3.  This  figure  shows  the  appearance  of 
the  western  sky  at  7  P.  M.  on  June  i. 
On  this  date  the  planet  will  be  seen  in  the 
northwest,  almost  vertically  under  the 
Twins,  above  and  to  the  left  of  Saturn 
and  separated  from  this  planet  by  a  dis- 
tance equal  to  five  times  the  apparent  dis- 
tance across  the  full  moon.  C)n  this  date 
Mercury  will  not  set  until  two  hours  after 
sunset. 

Having  found  the  planet,  the  observer 
should  have  no  difficulty  in  continuing 
to  follow  it  until  very  nearly  the  middle 
of  the  month,  by  which  time  it  will  set 
oidy  one  hour  after  sunset.  On  June  i 
he  will  see  that  it  is  exactly  half  full,  as 
sliown  at  B  in  Figure  2,  but  during  the 
ensuing  days  he  will  see  it  narrowing 
verv  rapidly  to  a  thin,  silvery  crescent.  It 
will  finally  pass  the  position  C.  Figure  2, 
and  enter  the  morning  sky,  on  June  17. 

THE   PLANETS   IN   JUNE. 

On  June  i,  \'enus  may  still  easily  be 
seen  in  the  morning  sky,  rising  one  hour 
and  twenty-four  minutes  before  sunrise. 
But  this  planet  is  both  drawing  nearer 
the  sun  and  increasing  its  distance  from 
the  earth,  so  that  it  is  daily  coming  into 
less  favorable  position  for  observation.  It 
will  not  finally  pass  the  sun,  however,  and 
enter  the  evening  sky  until  September  12. 

Mars  rises  two  hours  before  sunrise  on 
June  I,  and  this  interval  increases  to  two 
hours  and  thirty  minutes  by  June  30.  It 
is  approaching  the  earth,  and  consequent- 
ly growing  steadily  brighter,  its  bright- 
ness now  being  almost  exactly  that  of  a 
first  magnitude  star.  It  will  not  reach  its 
most  favorable  position  for  oliservation 
until  next  February. 

Jupiter  is  almost  on  the  equator  and 
near  the  \  ernal  Equinox.  By  the  end  of 
the  month  it  may  be  seen  rising  due  east 
so  early  as  eleven  hours,  thirty  minutes 
P.  M.  ' 

Saturn  enters  the  morning  sky  on  June 
2S.  It  is  too  nearly  lost  in  the  sun's  ravs 
to  be  satisfactorily  oljserved  during  the 
present  month. 

Uranus  is  in  Capricornus,  in  the  morn- 
ing sky :  Neptune  is  in  Cancer  and  hence 
low  in  the  west. 


THE  STARRY  HEAVENS  FOR  JUNE 


25 


THE  BEGIXXIXG  OF  SUMMER. 

On  June  22,  at  seven  hours,  twenty- 
seven  minutes,   sixteen   seconds,   A.   ^l., 
(Eastern   Standard  Time)    the  sun   will 
attain  its  greatest  distance  above  the  celes- 
tial equator,  and  this  will  consequently  be 


states  and  forty-two  minutes  less  in  the 
Gulf  States.  On  the  equator  the  days 
and  nights  are  of  exactly  equal  lengths, 
while  in  southern  latitudes,  June  22  will, 
of  course,  be  the  shortest  day  and  mark 
for  them  the  beginning  of  winter. 

The  new  comet  is  to  attain  its  greatest 


WE.ST 


Hercuhy 

JUNE.   I. 

Saturn 

uw^a  f. 
riERCURr 

yJw^e.  30. 


Figure  3.     The  western   heavens  at   7    P.   M.,   June   1,   showing  the  position   of  the   planet  Mercury. 


the  longest  day  of  the  year.  In  the  lati- 
tudes of  the  Aliddle  States,  sunrise  will 
occur  at  4:30  A.  AL  and  sunset  at  7:30 
P.  ^L,  the  day  thus  being  six  hours  longer 
than  the  night.  This  difference  is  six- 
teen  minutes   greater    in    Xew    England 


brightness  during  the  present  month  and 
will  doubtless  be  a  very  conspicuous  ob- 
ject in  the  southern  skies.  Unfortunately, 
however,  it  is  too  far  below  the  celestial 
equator  to  be  ^Jisible  to  observers  in 
northern  latitudes  on  the  earth. 


Give  Dr.  Bigelow  His  Telescope. 

[An   Editorial  in  "The  Greenwich  Press," 
May  5,  1915.] 

From  the  reading"  of  the  war  in  Europe 
whose  horrors  harrow  the  feelings  of 
most  Americans,  and  whose  nearness  to 
us  seems  to  grow  daily,  from  the  struggle 
against  unemployment  and  poverty  at 
home,  and  from  the  local  political 
wranglings  following  the  attempt  to 
break  up  machine  government,  the  aver- 
age Greenwichite  will  be  glad  to  turn  his 
mind  to  Arcadia. 

Arcadia,  the  little  tract  of  land  where- 
on is  situated  the  home  of  the  Agassiz 
Association.  There  one  may  find  an- 
other viewpoint,  and  there  one,  with  the 
friendly  aid  of  Dr.  E.  F.  Bigelow,  its 
founder,  may  delve  into  the  wonders  of 
nature  and  enjoy  her  many  beauties. 
And  in  this  sanctum  of  nature  one  may 
forget  for  the  nonce  that  wars  rage,  that 
classes  struggle  and  that  human  govern- 
ment still  far  misses  perfection.  One 
may  see  nature  and  g-limpse  in  the  study 
of  the  tiniest  flower  or  animal,  processes 
whose  greatness  makes  all  human  strife 
seem  small  and  puny  and  futile. 

By  continuous  labor  and  devotion  to 
an  ideal.  Dr.  Bigelow  has  built  up  this 
little  refuge.     He  has  added  department 


after  department  in  the  hope  of  opening 
the  vistas  of  nature  to  both  young  and 
old.  in  the  hope  of  making'  them  see, 
know  and  enjoy  the  world  they  live  in. 

And  now  he  seeks  to  open  another  de- 
partment— that  of  astronomy — the  most 
wonderful,  the  grandest,  the  most  stu- 
pendous of  all  sciences.  He  is  himself 
an  expert  astronomer,  and  one  who  loves 
the  science,  loves  it  enough  so  that  he 
can  enjoy  communicating  his  knowledge 
to  others.  And  this  he  is  willing  to  do 
if  enough  money  can  be  raised  to  provide 
Arcadia  with  the  proper  instruments. 

Certainly  it  would  be  a  boon  to  give 
our  children  the  privilege  of  wandering" 
in  the  starry  fields  with  such  a  guide. 
And  there  is  something  more  than  a 
mere  knowledge  of  facts  to  be  gained  by 
such  wandering.  There  is  the  op- 
portunity to  see  our  own  world, 
our  own  struggles,  our  own  troubles 
in  perspective.  As  we  sit,  in  the 
body,  and  gaze  off  into  the  millions  of 
miles  of  ether,  we  can  also  sit,  mentally, 
away  oft'  there  in  space  and  gaze  back  on 
this  little  troublesome,  fretful  world  of 
ours  and  inspect  it.  \\q  can  see  it  and 
all  our  doings  in  com]^arison  of  the  awe- 
some order  of  the  universe,  its  sulilime 
calm  and  regularitv. 


■26 


THr:  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


We  are  terribly  upset  when  we  learn 
that  a  million  men  are  being  sacrificed  in 
Europe,  that  mighty  guns,  throwing  a 
ton  of  metal  each,  are  destroying  cities. 
We  are  perturbed  at  thousands  out  of 
•employment.  We  are  irritated  at  the 
stupidity  of  mortals  who,  through  ig- 
norance, wear  the  yoke  of  an  outworn 
system  of  government. 

But  let  us  talk  with  Dr.  L>igelow  a  mo- 
ment. We  have  considered  with  him  the 
miracle  of  growth  that  turns  a  seed  into 
a  plaiHr-  and  the  metamorphosis  of  a 
wo^^n  into  a  butterfly.  "How  large  does 
a  star  look  in  the  telescope?"  we  ask.  'Tt 
does  not  look  as  large  as  it  does  to  the 
naked  eye.  It  really  has  no  size  what- 
ever to  the  telescope.  It  is  too  far  awav. 
It  is  merely  a  geometrical  point  of  light. 
Light  travels  so  quickly  that  it  will  go 
entirely  around  the  earth  seven  times 
while  you  wink  your  eye,  but  some  of  the 
stars  are  so  far  away  that  it  takes  light 
five  or  six  hundred  years  to  travel  from 
them  to  the  earth.  If  some  of  them 
should  go  out  of  existence  entirely,  they 
would  be  still  apparent  on  this  earth  for 
five  or  more  centuries." 

How  small  our  earthly  afifairs  appear 
in  the  lig"ht  of  such  stupendous  facts. 
And  it  is  only  one  of  thousands  of  facts 
equally  amazing  and  equally  interesting. 

If  a  nroper  telescope  is  forthcoming 
there  will  be  nightly  classes  in  astronomy 
at  Arcadia,  to  which  the  public  will  be 
■admitted.  Such  a  telescope  as  is  needed 
.\w\\\  cost  about  a  thousand  dollars.  Dr. 
Bigelow  says.  Some  of  the  money  has 
already  been  subscriberl.  He  asks  the 
people  of  Greenwich  in  the  interest  of 
popular  science  and  their  own  education 
and  enjoyment,  to  supply  the  money 
needed  for  the  instrument. 

It  may  be  added  that  there  is  not  at 
present  a  good  observatory  between 
Fairfield  and  New  Rochelle. 

Greenwich  has  been  generous  in  all 
things.  She  has  given  money  to  helo 
unemployed  and  the  otherwise  unfortun- 
ate. This  is  good  on  the  moral  side. 
She  has  given  money  to  the  church.  This 
shows  interest  on  the  religious  side.  She 
lias  demonstrated  her  interest  in  clean 
government.  This  is  excellent  on  the 
civic  side.  But  she  is  now  aopealed  to 
on  the  intellectual  side.  She  is  asked  to 
provide  for  the  ourely  intellectual  oleas- 
ure  of  her  children — and  Dr.  Bigelow 
does  not  apoeal  on  utilitarian  grounds, 
He  savs  simolv.  now  let  the  people,  chil- 
'dren    and    grown-ups    enjo}"    themselves 


intellectually. 

We  liope  that  Dr.  Bigelow  will  have 
his  wholly  unselfish  desu-e  to  serve  the 
people  intellectually,  satisfied.  He  ha.^ 
done  a  good  work  for  Greenwich,  a  work 
wdiich  will  be  better  appreciated  in  the 
future  than  it  is  to-day.  He  has  not 
affiliated  himself  with  charitable  move- 
ments, nor  social  movements  or  political 
movements.  All  of  these  things  he  rec- 
ognizes as  good,  but  he  considers  his 
own  work  for  humanity  a  separate  one. 

He  does  not  join  peace  parties  for  the 
ending  of  the  European  war.  He  is  con- 
cerned with  neither  peace  nor  war.  His 
interest  is  in  science.  One  can  almost 
think  of  him  as  of  Archimedes,  the  great 
Greek  mathematician  of  antiquity,  whose 
interest  in  science  made  him  obvious  to 
all  movements  about  him.  Of  him  it  is 
said  that  he  did  not  budge  at  the  ap- 
proach of  the  Roman  army,  but  con- 
tinued drawing  his  mathematical  circles 
on  the  sand.  \Ad'ien  a  Roman  soldier  ap- 
proached him  and  challenged  him.  he 
•did  not  even  look  up  but  only  answered : 
"Get  out  of  my  circle.  You're  spoiling 
my  calculations."  Whereupon,  it  is  re- 
corded, the  soldier  killed  him,  thereby 
destroying  his  body  but  not  his  fame  nor 
his  great  work. 

To  those  in  Greenwich  who  have 
money  we  sav :  "Give  Dr.  Bigelow  his 
telescope.  He  can  do  more  than  a 
thousand  dollars'  w'orth  of  good  with  it. 
He  can't  rehabilitate  families  with  it  nor 
mend  broken  l)ones  nor  launch  oolitical 
campaigns,  nor  feed  hungry  stomachs, 
but  he  can  feed  huno-ry  minds,  and  we 
must  always  remember  that  'man  lives 
not  bv  bread  alone.'  " 


Bulletin    of    Scientific    Supplies. 

^'r.  Edward  Pennock  of  3600  W^ood- 
hnd  \venue,  Philadelnhia.  is  issuing  a 
"Special  Bulletin"  of  his  scientific  instru- 
ments and  supplies  that  will  be  of  in- 
terest to  many  of  our  readers.  A  free 
conv  will  be  mailed  upon  request.  Kindly 
refer  to  ThK  Guipe  to  Nature. 


Si'mr^er   School   of   Biology. 

\y&  tqke  pleasure  in  calling  attention 
to  the  Summer  School  of  the  Biological 
L^horitor\-  at  Cold  Soring  Harbor,  Dong 
T<l'infl  The  resfidar  cl^ss  \\-ork  will  be- 
gin Tune  -?oth  and  continue  for  six  weeks 
to  August  TOth.  A  circular  with  full 
partirnlcij-c  ma^-  be  obtained  by  address- 
ing- Dr.  Charles  B.  Davenoort,  Cold 
Spring  BTarbor,  Long  Island,  New  York. 


MISCELLANEOUS 


27 


Death  of  Thomas  Edwards. 
Thomas  Edwards  of  Rye,  Xevv  York, 
for  many  years  a  Sustaining"  [Member  of 
The  Agassiz  Association,  died  on 
Wednesday,  May  5th,  at  the  Greenwich 
Hospital  fohowing"  an  operation  per- 
formed a  httle  more  than  a  week  pre- 
viously. Mr.  Edwards  was  born  Oc- 
tober 20th,  1843.  He  was  a  farmer,  car- 
penter and  veteran  of  the  Civil  War.  Al- 
ways a  lover  of  outdoor  life  he  was  in 
the  broadest  and  best  sense  of  the  term 
an  ideal  member  of  the  AA.  While  not 
in  any  sense  a  technical  scientist,  his  love 
of  the  country  and  the  seashore  was 
heartfelt.  His  mentality  was  great,  and 
as  a  lover  of  music  and  the  fine  arts  he 
excelled.  His  disposition  was  quiet.  He 
disliked  notoriety,  and  his  reluctance  to 
attract  attention  always  kept  him  in  the 
background.  In  his  hotel  work  he  was 
famed  for  his  management  of  everything 
that  tended  to  increase  the  enjoyment  of 
the  seashore,  but  when  he  had  large  par- 
ties to  serve  he  usually  kept  out  of  sight, 
preferring  to  oversee  the  affair  from 
Avithin,  rather  than  to  mingle  whh  the 
visitors.  He  disliked  ostentation  of  all 
kiiifls.  and  InA-ed  ?  life  of  inward  con- 
temnlation.  appreciation  of  educational 
unlift.  and  of  commonnlace  nnture  with 
uncommon  interest,  that  made  him  m-ie 
of  the  most  valued  members  of  the  AA. 

A  Camping  and  Sight-seeing  Tour  of 
the  West. 

Our  readers  were  interested  in  Pro- 
fessor J.  Chester  Bradley's  advertise- 
ment in  the  last  number  of  ThK  Guide 
TO  Nature,  repeated  in  this,  oft'ering  to 
take  several  boys  on  a  sight-seeing  tour 
through  the  Canadian  Rockies,  Yellow- 
stone Park,  Yosemite  Valley,  and  other 
places.  Interesting  phases  of  nature  will 
form  an  important  part  of  the  sight-see- 
ing. The  editor  of  The  Guide  to  Na- 
ture has  been  acquainted  with  Professor 
Bradley  for  many  years  and  knows  him 
to  be  thoroughly  trustworthy.  He  has 
had  much  experience  with  students,  is 
thoroughly  competent  to  take  charge  of 
such  a  tour.     He  says : 

'T  believe  that  nothing  is  so  conducive 
to  pleasure  in  travel,  and  in  life  in  gen- 
eral, as  an  interest  in  nature,  and  in  the 
phenomena  of  the  world  around  us.  Such 
a  trip  as  we  are  about  to  undertake  is  a 
great  object  lesson.     It  is  geography  and 


geology,  as  well  as  history  and  human 
activities  lived  instead  of  studied  from  a 
text-book.  1  shall  consider  myself  to 
blame  if  any  Iwy  of  our  party  fails  to  tind 
such  an  interest  in  all  that  we  see, 
whether  desert  or  mountains,  whether 
birds  or  butterflies,  whether  flowers  01 
trees,  and  in  the  'how'  and  'why'  of  them 
all" 

We  urge  every  reader  of  this  maga- 
zine to  send  to  Professor  Bradley,  Cor- 
nell L'niversity,  Ithaca,  New  York,  for 
further  particulars. 


Spring  Mushrooms. 

Schenectady,   N.  Y. 
To  the  Editor : 

During  May  and  June,  in  the  latitude 
of  New  York  and  Boston,  there  is  found 
in  the  woods,  especially  after  warm  rains, 
an  edible  fungus  popularly  knowai  as  the 
morel  or  spring  mushroom. 

The  botanical  names  for  the  three  prin- 
cipal species  are  the  Morchella  deliciosa, 
M.  esciilenta  and  M.  conica.  These  close- 
ly resemble  one  another  in  that  the  hol- 
low top  is  a  lig"ht  gray  or  buff  yellow, 
pitted  so  as  to  look  somewhat  like  a 
sponge,  and  supported  on  a  white  or 
whitish  hollow  stem.  Their  height 
usually  varies  from  three  inches  to  six 
inches  and  the  diameter  of  top  from 
three-quarters  of  an  inch  to  one  and  one- 
half  inches. 

Owing  to  their  peculiar  appearance, 
and  the  fact  that  they  do  not  in  any  way 
resemble  the  more  common  mushrooms 
with  an  umbrella-shaped  cap  on  top,  it 
is  rather  difficult  to  describe  them  in 
words ;  and  as  a  result  of  their  peculiar 
and  distinctive  characteristics,  an  inex- 
perienced person  seeing  one  for  the  first 
time  would  probably  not  consider  it  a 
mushroom.  However,  an  examination 
of  one  or  the  study  of  a  good  picture, 
such  as  is  shown  in  Bulletin  No.  85  of 
the  V.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture, 
will  serve  to  familiarize  any  person  with 
this  interesting  plant. 

Owing  to  the  ease  with  which  thev  are 
identified,  and  the  fact  that  all  species  of 
this  genus  are  said  to  be  edible,  various 
authors  highly  recommend  them  for 
amateur  mushroom  hunters  to  begin 
with.  Thev  are  also  credited  as  being 
one  of  the  finest  of  our  mushrooms. 
B.  D.  Miller. 

Here  is  a  good  suggestion.  Will  our 
nature  photographers  please  obtain  some 
good  photographs  of  this  peculiar  mush- 
room ? 


28 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


experiences  that  I  am  about 
to  relate  were  not  uncommon,  and  were 
not  rarely  repeated,  on  many  a  warm  day 
in  the  latter  part  of  May  or  of  June,  from 
thirty-five  to  forty  years  or  more  ago, 
and  at  al^out  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning-. 
(Perhaps  also  in  some  parts  of  the  coun- 
try at  the  present  time). 

It  was  swarming  time.     Memory  may 
be  playing  a  trick,  but  most  of  these  oc- 


-TiTK  i:ees  are  swarming:" 

currences  have  taken  place  in  the  liarn 
lot  hayfield.  While  some  of  the  men 
were  loading  the  hay  that  had  been  dried 
and  stacked  on  the  previous  afternoon, 
others  were  mowing  in  another  part  of 
the  field.  The  oxen  and  the  wagon  were 
near  one  of  the  largest  haycocks  and  the 
wagon  was  about  half  loaded. 

Suddenly,  unexpected,  startling,  came 
a  shrill  cry  from  the  farmhouse,  "The 
bees  arc  szcarniiiig!"  AMien  did  a  far- 
mer boy  ever  hear  that  high-pitched 
warning  or  those  magic  words,  without 
having  his  heart  leap  in  anticipation  of 
the  joy  of  the  coming  contest,  and  the 


blissful  change  in  his  monotonous  life? 
To  him  it  meant  another  Fourth  of  July 
pandemonium.  Xever  mind  if  more  hav 
was  dried  and  drying  than  could  possibly 
be  gathered  on  that  day ;  no  matter  if 
thunderheads  were  looming  ominously 
above  the  western  woods ;  never  mind  if 
nearly  every  hive  was  well  filled  and  we 
already  had  more  bees  than  we  knew 
what  to  do  with,  drop  everything  and  re- 
spond to  that  far-reaching  cry,  "The  bees 
are  szcaniiiiii^.'" 

Father  was  the  first  and  foremost  in 
leading  the  running  at  swarming  time, 
but  each  of  the  other  workers  came  in- 
for  the  close  second,  knowing  by  the 
promptness  with  which  he  dropped  the 
]>itchfork  and  leaped  across  the  field  that 
the  conditions  were  serious.  So  sudden 
a  movement  of  course  alarmed  the  oxen 
and  they  started  to  run.  John  yelled, 
"Whoa,"  and  even  I  hesitated  in  my 
rapid  transit  toward  the  house,  but 
Father  shouted,  ''Let  them  go;  they  will 
run  only  to  the  farther  edge  of  the  barn 
lot,  and  will  be  all  right  there  in  the 
shade."     I  arrived  just  in  time  to  see  the- 


"THE 


ENTIRE  ATMOSPHERE  SEEMED  FULL. 
OF  FLYING  PILLOWS." 


THE  RUNNING  AT  SWARMING  TIME 


29 


octogenarian  Grandmother  enter  the 
race.  Upstairs  she  hurried  to  the  spare 
l)e(lroom — never  entered  except  on  rare 
occasions  when  some  distinguished  guest 
was  present  or  expected.  She  pulled  the 
liedclothes  olT.  She  thought  that  she 
piled  the  pillows  in  a  chair,  but  in  her 
excitement  she  seemed  to  be  having  a 
])illow  fight.  She  threw  those  pillows 
right  and  left.  There  probably  were  only 
two  on  that  bed.  but  the  entire  atmos- 
])Iiere  seemed  full  of  flying  pillows.  She 
threw  down  comfortable  and  blanket ; 
she  pulled  out  the  sheet,  because,  as  she 


was  with  great  difficulty  tliat  he  could 
walk  from  the  house  out  to  that  chair, 
suddenly  joined  in  the  general  scramble. 
Forgetting  his  stiff  joints,  and  even  one 
of  his  canes,  he  ran  for  the  very  last 
empty  hive — one  hardly  fit  to  use,  but 
in  the  emergency  anything  and  every- 
thing" must  be  brought  into  service  if  the 
swarm  was  to  be  saved,  even  if  the  hay 
Avere  lost.  With  the  hive  he  ran  to  the 
workshop  because  the  cover  was  a  little 
loose  and  one  side  was  a  little  uncertain, 
and  like  the  expert  carpenter  that  he 
was,  he  hurriedlv  drove  in  the  necessarv 


■THE  COXCOCTIOX   FROM   THE  PANTRY." 


explained,  all  the  others  were  in  the 
wash  just  wdien  she  most  needed  them. 
She  gathered  up  the  sheet — no,  gathered 
is  not  the  word — she  did  not  fold  it,  she 
did  not  crumple  it,  she  just  "wapsed" 
it  u])  and  ])ushed  it  under  one  arm,  leav- 
ing the  other  hand  free  to  cling  to  the 
railing  as  she  hurried  down.  I  had 
followed  her,  not  expecting  to  be  of 
much  assistance,  but  rather  to  see  the 
good  old  lady  struggle  with  the  bedding. 
In  the  meantime  Grandfather,  who 
spent  a  decade  or  more  punching  his 
cane  into  the  ground  by  his  easy  chair 
under  the  apple  trees,  and  who  said   it 


nails,  one,  as  I  recall  it,  a  shingle  nail, 
the  other  a  spike.  Anything  that  would 
hold  the  parts  together  would  do.  All 
this  time  Grandmother  had  been  en- 
gaged on  a  second  round  of  running". 
From  the  pantry  slie  grabbed  a  hand 
basin,  vinegar,  salt,  sugar,  pe]i])er.  mo- 
lasses— perhaps  1  may  be  slightly  in  er- 
ror in  regard  to  the  pepper ;  possibly  the 
salt  is  a  little  off,  but  again  treacherous 
memory  brings  to  me  a  vision  of  a  fran- 
tic g-raljbing  of  anything  and  everything 
from  the  shelves,  high  and  low.  And 
then  out  she  dashed  through  the  kitchen 
to    that   bench.      The    whole    thing    was 


30 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


well  timed.  She  and  Grandfather  had 
done  their  best ;  1  was  the  only  negli- 
gent spectator,  remiss  in  running  duties 
at  swarming  tmie.  "ijoy,  why  aon't  you 
run?  Run,  hurry  up,  get  some  walnut 
leaves."  I  needed  no  second  command. 
I  darted  by  the  woodhouse,  over  the 
stone  wall  into  the  cow  pasture.  Hur- 
riedly I  clambered  to  the  top  rail  of  the 
fence  under  the  branches  of  the  walnut 
tree.  Just  as  I  was  reaching  my  best 
and  pulling  down  and  cutting  a  bunch, 
one  of  the  stakes  in  the  fence  dropped 
and  down  I  went,  hands  full  of  branches 
and  jackknife,  rails  flying  in  every  di- 
rection, but  somehow  in  the  melee  1 
closed  the  jackknife,  grabbed  the 
branches,  rubbed  off  the  greater  part  of 
the  mud,  and  started  on  my  homeward 
run.  But  I  could  not  arrive  soon  enough 
to  escape  the  storm  of  reprimands  that 
I  knew  was  sure  to  follow  if  I  kept  them 
waiting.  The  concoction  from  the  pan- 
try must  be  made,  for,  you  know,  the 
hive  must  be  scrubbed  with  the  walnut 
leaves,    with    the    mixture    of    vinegar. 


'HE  TOOK  A   POLE  IN   HASTE,  AND  WITH   IT 
MOST  OF  THE  BEANS." 


water,  salt,  sugar,  molasses.  I  know  not 
what  mysterious  things  went  into  that 
scouring  preparation.  Possibly  there 
was  a  dash  of  vanilla  flavor.  There  must 
have  been  for  there  seemed  to  be  a  dash 
of  ever\thing  else  in  every  direction. 
Again  there  came  a  shout,  "Run,  why 
don't  you  run?"  In  his  frantic  efl^orts, 
John,  the  hired  man,  tore  the  g'arden 
gate  from  its  hinges,  and  made  a  wake 
in  the  truck  and  the  corn,  such  as  a 
swift  yacht  makes  in  the  waves.  His 
destination  was  the  rail  fence.  I  could 
have  told  him,  if  he  had  asked  me,  where 
he  could  find  plenty  of  rails  spread  in 
delicious  and  extravagant  profusion,  for 
had  I  not  been  there?  But  he  heeded 
me  not,  nor  even  thought  to  profit  by 
my  experience.  He  wanted  a  rail,  and 
he  wrecked  the  best  part  of  a  fence  to 
get  it. 

Father  also,  courageous  man,  ran 
through  the  garden,  for  he,  like  a  brave 
general,  had  reconnoitered  the  field  and 
prepared  his  plans  for  the  battle.  He 
seemed  calmer  than  the  rest,  as  befitted 
the  high  dignity  of  his  position  as  gen- 
eral in  that  saltatory  army.  Although 
the  bean  poles  had  been  set  in  the  garden 
and  the  beans  had  already  begun  to 
climl)  around  them,  what  of  that?  What 
ff  he  pulled  ofif  a  few  of  the  tendrils? 
Beans  can  grow  more  tendrils  and  the 
poles  may  sometimes  be  returned  to 
th.eir  places.  At  any  rate  he  stopped  not 
to  reason  why,  his  liut  to  do  or  die  ;  he 
took  a  pole  in  haste,  and  with  it  most 
of  the  beans.  Back  through  the  gate  he 
went,  closely  followed  by  John  with  the 
rail  on  his  shoulder. 

In  the  meantime  Grandfather  had 
brought  the  hive  and  Grandmother  the 
sheet.  Again  I  heard  that  shrill  voice, 
"Run,  boy,  run  !"  I  was  to  get  out  of 
the  stone  wall  four  cobbles,  smooth  and 
round,  "al^out  as  big  as  your  two  fists." 
The  sheet,  in  our  frantic  endeavors,  was 
almost  torn  in  two,  and  I  pulled  so  hard 
that  I  almost  Dulled  the  fatigued  and 
trembling  old  lady  ofif  her  legs,  and 
worse  than  this,  I  started  a  rip  in  the 
middle  seam  of  the  sheet.  The  sheet  at 
such  times  must  be  spread  smooth,  and 
to  make  a  sheet  smooth  you  must  oull  it, 
but  no  law  in  the  land  has  ever  said  just 
bow  much  you  may  pull,  and  vet  esca'^e 
the  horrible  calamit"  of  pulling  it  in  two. 
When  it  had  been  snapped  and  smoothe  1 
and  laid  firmly  on  the  ground,  a  cobble- 
stone was  placed  on  each  of  the  corners. 


THE  RUNNING  AT  SWARMING  TIME 


31 


Then  the  hive,  under  the  skilled  super- 
vision of  the  general,  must  be  placed  just 
right.  It  was  his  practiced  eye  that  de- 
cided how  far  the  top  should  he  inclined 
backward,  and  when  it  should  be  held 
by  the  rail,  and  where  one  end  of  the 
rail  should  touch  the  hive  and  the  other 
1)6  braced  against  the  ground.  It  was  a 
delicate   and   complex    proceeding. 

The  time  had  come  for  Father  to 
shoulder  the  bean  pole,  and  to  march  as 
with  a  rifle  to  meet  the  enemy.  Should 
I  leave  him  alone  in  a  situation  so  peril- 
ous? Xot  I.  I  dashed  through  the 
kitchen  into  that  sacred  spare  room,  and 
grabbed  my  double-barrelled,  muzzle- 
loading  shotgun.  Hastily  I  pulled  out 
the  ramrod,  took  off  the  cap  of  the 
wormer,  thrust  the  rod  down  one  barrel 
after  the  other,  and  pulled  out  the  hornet 
paper  waddin.g.  I  inverted  the  gun  and 
poured  into  my  palm  two  charges  of 
shot.  It  was  only  the  powder  that  was 
wanted.  We  had  no  desire  to  kill  any- 
body or  anything.  Our  only  object  was 
to  make  a  noise  and  I  was  willing  to 
make  my  share  or  more.  Back  I  ran  to 
the  apple  tree  under  which  was  the  cen- 
ter of  all  interest,  in  time  to  see  the  com- 
pletion of  the  hive  adjustments,  and 
Grandfather  panting  for  breath,  and  ex- 
emplifying a  mixture  of  all  sorts  of  gaits 
in  his  effort  to  reach  the  wood  shed, 
not  the  workshop  portion,  but  the  open 
space  portion  where  was  tlie  wood  pile 
and  where  was  the  ladder  up  which  the 
chickens  went  to  roost  in  the  attic.  Just 
under  that  ladder  was  a  wooden  peg 
on  which  hung  the  old  string  of  sleigh 
bells,  never  to  be  used  except  at  swarm- 
ing time.  I  can  even  now  hear  their 
crisp,  metallic  music,  as  their  vibrations 
rang  in  sympathy  with  the  old  man's 
jumping.  "Run.  run ;  why  don't  you 
run?"  With  a  crash  of  clanging  metal 
he  arrived,  and  met  Grandmother,  who 
had  been  back  to  the  pantry,  where  she 
had  snatched  a  polished  tin  nail  in  one 
hand,  and  a  shining  tin  pan  in  the  other. 
She  thought  that  she  might  work  double- 
action  in  flashing  the  light  into  the 
swarm,  if  perchance  it  should  decide  not 
to  accept  its  new  and  well  scrubbed 
home. 

Philip,  a  boy  about  mv  o\vn  age.  who 
lived  on  an  adjoining  farm,  grabbed  a 
pail  and  ran  to  the  middle  of  the  road 
where  was  a  liberal  supplv  of  drv  sand. 
He  went  on  that  errand  with  a  swiftness 
so  frantic  that,  it  seemed  to  me,  he  could 


never  be  equalled  by  any  other  boy,  and 
though  the  ])ail  was  nearly  full,  he 
rushed  back  as  if  the  content  were  as 
light  as  feathers. 

Susie  ran  to  the  sitting  room,  grabbed 


"SUSIE       .     .     .        REACHED   UP   TO    TAKE   AN 

OLD-FASHIOXEI)    LOOKIXG-GLASS    FROM    ITS 

NAIL  NEAR  THE  CEILING." 

a  chair,  climbed  on  it  and  reached  up  to 
take  an  old-fashioned  looking-glass  from 
its  nail  near  the  ceiling.  In  her  haste 
she  lost  her  balance,  the  chair  tipped 
over,  but  by  some  miraculous  interven- 
tion, perhaps  the  great  necessity  of  the 
bees  at  that  time,  she  escaped  with  a  few 
bruises,  and  the  mirror  without  even  a 
crack.  Even  Bill,  who  under  ordinary 
circumstances  could  not  be  prevailed  up- 
on to  mow  the  grass  within  several  rods 
of  the  hives,  and  who  seldom  knew  that 
there  was  such  a  thing  as  a  well  on  the 
place  because  of  his  familiarity  with  the 
cider  barrels  in  the  cellar,  now  suddenly 
became  brave  and  an  ardent  advocate  of 
cold  water.  He  seized  one  of  the  in- 
verted milk  pails  that  were  hanging  in 
the  sun  for  purification  and  drying;  he 
dashed  the  bucket  down  the  well  and 
pulled  it  up  as  if  he  was  thoroughly  fa- 
miliar with  cold  water  and  poured  the 
contents  into  that  milk  pail.  Then  hur- 
riedlv  grabbing  a  dipper,  he  hastened  to 
the  scene  of  action. 

Everybody  was  in  readiness  and  there 
came  over  the  scene  a  hush  like  that 
which  precedes  a  thunderstorm.  The 
central  figure  was  mv  Father.  All  eyes 
and  hearts  instinctively  turned  to  him  as 
to  one  upon  whom  everything  depended. 
He     shouldered     the     bean     pole     and 


3^ 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


marched  bravely  forward.  ( )h,  could 
there  have  been  present  some  rustic  poet 
to  sing-,  bees  to  the  right  of  him,  bees  to 
the  left  of  him,  bees  in  front  of  him — 
and  so  soon,  so  soon,  bees  to  be  behind 
him.  He  brought  that  bean  pole  back 
•over  his  shoulder,  firmly  grasped  in  both 


•"WITH  ONE  TREMENDOUS  BLOW  HE  STRUCK 

THAT    LIMB,    BREAKING   THE   BEAN    POLE    IN 

TWO." 

hands,  made  careful  estimate  with  his 
skilled  eye  of  the  relative  distance  l)e- 
tween  sheet  and  hive  and  hanging  clus- 
ter on  the  apple  tree  limb  so  heavily  sus- 
pended. Possibly  the  long  pause  and 
the  feints  of  striking  at  the  limb  were  all 
needed  to  take  sure,  steady  and  effective 
aim.  But  as  I  look  back  upon  it  now 
after  all  those  years,  I  am  inclined  to 
think  he  was  like  some  public  men  whom 
I  have  known  and  wdio  enjoy  being  the 
center  of  attraction  and  are  the  willing 
recipient  of  laudation  for  bravery,  al- 
tliough  he  was,  as  we  have  known  other 
public  men,  soon  to  be  in  ignominious 
flight. 

With  one  tremendous  blow  he  struck 
that  limb,  breaking-  the  bean  pole  in  two, 
because  white  birch  poles,  although  ap- 
parently strong,  are  in  reality  only 
whited  sepulchres  of  deception.  Down 
came  the  black  mass  in  a  solid  lump,  but, 
as  if  it  had  exploded  when  it  touched  the 
white  sheet  and  dashed  against  the  slant- 
ing side  of  the  hive,  its  constituent  par- 
ticles of  pungent  possibility,  scattered  in 
a  humming  cloud  of  wrath  toward  every 
point  of  the  compass.  Then  came  a 
tmanimous  and  synchronous  signal  to 
run.  No  individual  now  ran  for  any 
specific  purpose,  but  everyone,   old  and 


}-oung,  lithe  and  limber,  or  with  creaking- 
joints,  ran  in  one  ignominious  skedaddle. 
Grandfather  seemed  to  have  acquired 
magical  agility  and  no  longer  needed  a 
cane.  Grandmother  renewed  her  youth 
and  leaped  on  those  slender  ankles  as  if 
she  was  only  "sweet  sixteen."  There 
comes  a  vision  of  the  bare  feet  of  Philip, 
of  Susie,  and  of  Julia  and  even  of  tiny 
"tow-head,"  who  lived  in  a  nearby  tene- 
ment house,  as  they  disappeared  sudden- 
ly through  the  gate  or  over  the  stone 
wall  around  the  corner  of  the  house. 
Here  was  a  case  in  which  the  slowest 
was  the  bravest,  and  the  rear  more  dan- 
gerous than  the  van.  In  the  rear  I 
stayed,  not  so  much  from  innate  courage, 
but  from  eagerness  to  fire  the  gun  of 
which  I  was  fond.  Whether  the  bees 
were  going  off  or  not,  we  delighted  in 
construing-  their  hovering  in  the  air  as 
susceptible  of  that  interpretation. 

Though  he  had  not  read  books  and 
though  he  had  never  opened  a  hive  con- 
taining- live  bees.  Grandfather  was  pre- 
sumed, as  the  outcome  of  long  years  of 
observation  and  especially  of  punching 
his  cane  into  the  ground,  to  have  an  ac- 
quired knowledge  of  bees  superior  to 
that  of  ordinary  mortals.  All  eyes  w^ere 
turned  toward  him.  How  delightedly 
we  heard  his  decision,  "The  bees  are  go- 
ing off',   we  must   stop  them."       Joy  of 


ADDED  MY  OUOTA  OF  NOISE  TO 
THE  DIN." 


THE  RUXXING  AT  SWARMING  TLME 


33 


joys.  \\  hen  did  farmer  ho}'  or  farmer 
girl  ever  hear  more  deHghtedly  the  sum- 
mons to  break  forth  into  Fourtli  of  Julv 
])anJemonii:m.  aye.  even  demoniacal 
racket.  I  loaded  and  hred  as  fast  as  1 
could  and  added  my  (luota  (.f  noise  to 
the  din  of  jingling  sleigh  bells  and  the 
rattling-  of  tin  pans.  I  stood  my  ground. 
I  would  not  retreat  so  long  as  there  was 
any  powder  left.  What  though  I  be 
sprinkled  with  sand,  drenched  with 
water,  and  have  the  sunlight  flashed  in 
my  eyes  from  glistening  tin  pans  and 
heirloom  mirrors?  Only  one  other  kind 
of  excitement  do  I  recall  as  being  any- 
where near  as  deliriously  delightful  as 
the  hiving  of  sw^arming  bees.  That  was 
when  occasionally  the  roof  got  on  fire 
around  the  chimney.  If  it  had  not  been 
for  those  occasional  attic  fires  and  the 
swarming  of  the  bees,  the  country  boy's 
pleasures  in  life  would  have  been  far 
fewer.  He  would  have  had  to  content 
himself  with  such  quiet  aft'airs  as  the 
frog  pond,  with,  at  long  intervals,  the 
excitement  of  breaking  in  a  pair  of  steers 
or  a  colt.  It  is  true  that  sometimes  it 
did  seem  as  if  all  these  frantic  endeav- 
ors were  wasted,  because  the  bees  had 
a  way  of  going  high  in  air.  perhaps  re- 
turning to  a  branch  of  the  same  tree,  or 
possibly  alighting  upon  a  little  maple 
only  a  few  rods  away.  That  maple 
seemed  to  be  a  favorite  position  from 
which  to  reconnoiter  the  field. 

P)Ut  perhaps  the  reader  vdio  has  not 
had  these  delightful  experiences,  per- 
haps the  pathetic  reminiscences  of  the 
long  ago,  will  ask  why  all  this.  Let  it 
be  explained  that  for  centuries  bee-keep- 
ers have  accepted  the  theory,  or  shall  I 
say  the  myth,  that  swarming  bees  must 
be  thrown  into  confusion,  it  makes  but 
little  dift'erence  how.  Any  one  of  a  mul- 
tiplicity of  methods  was  regarded  as  ef- 
fective— water,  sand,  light,  noise,  any- 
thing and  everything  out  of  the  usual  or- 
der of  things  was  regarded  as  destruc- 
tive of  the  discipline  supposed  to  exist, 
and  by  which  the  queen,  sometimes  mis- 
takenly called  the  king,  led  forth  her 
myriads  of  followers  in  flight.  At  the 
]:)resent  time  there  is  a  lingering  belief  in 
tlie  minds  of  even  skilled  bee-keepers, 
that  such  confusion  in  mid-air  has  an  ef- 
fect similar  to  that  of  pufiing  smoke  into 
the  hive.  Smoke  does  not  stuDefy.  It 
makes  the  bees  think  of  something  else 
and  turns  their  attention  away  from 
stinging,  while  this  confusion  in  mid-air 
makes  them  think  of  an\thing  and  everv- 


thing  except  getting  away,  and  I  should 
not  wonder  at  that.  I  do  not  see  how, 
amidst  the  showers  of  sand  and  the  dip- 
perfulls  of  water,  any  bees,  especially 
those  that  were  struck  by  the  flying 
solids  and  liquids,  could  have  gone  away. 
On  the  contrary,  they  brought  dead  bees 
to  the  ground.  But  what  if  out  of  some 
ninety  or  one  hundred  thousand  a  few 
thousand  were  killed?  One  must  expect 
that  anv  "reat  war  will  have  some  vic- 


■HE    KNOWS    THEY    CAME     FROM     MY 
SKEPS.'  " 


tims.  Xot  all  can  reach  the  promised 
land  of  vinegar-washed  hives. 

There  are  those  wdio  say  that  this 
time-honored  custom  originated  with 
good  King  Alfred,  and  that  it  was  done 
in  obedience  to  man's  law,  and  not  to  the 
biological  or  innate  characteristics  of  the 
bee.  At  any  rate,  after  all  these  years, 
King  Alfred  cannot  dispute  any  charges 
that  may  be  laid  on  his  royal  shoulders. 
So  let  us  throw  it  all  on  him,  and  insist 
that  our  country  people  have  for  centu- 
ries been  unwittingly  perpetuating  a 
royal  edict. 

This  is  the  tradition.  Once  upon  a 
time,  never  mind  the  year,  but  we  natu- 
rally infer  that  it  was  in  the  beautiful 
month  of  ]\Iay,  an  excited  bee-keeper 
rushed  into  the  royal  presence  shouting. 
"He  lies,  he  lies.  They  are  not  David's 
bees :  they  are  mine.  He  knows  they 
came  from  my  skeps.  I  know  mv  bees 
when  I  see  them,  and  they  went  straight 
from  my  apiary  down  across  the  meadow 


34 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


to  the  tree,  and  there  I  clainietl  them  as 
my  own  and  was  going"  to  gather  them 
in,  when  that  thief  would  take  them  from 
me." 

David  without  waiting  for  him  to  fin- 
ish this  long  speech  had  been  shouting 
excitedly,  "He's  a  liar,  he's  a  liar,  he's  a 
thief.  He  knows  they  came  from  my 
skeps.  He  is  trying  to  get  away  my 
property." 

Meantime  the  calm,  philosophic  King 
was  the  very  personification  of  patience, 
benignity  and  placid  intelligence.  As 
David  and  Jonathan  became  almost  ex- 
hausted by  their  frantic  argumentative 
efforts,  the  good  king  raised  his  hand 
and  held  it  above  his  head,  as  a  signal 
for  the  agitated  disputants  to  cease  their 
clamor.  Silence  reigned  in  that  austere 
court  room.  One  could  almost  hear  the 
sands  dropping  through  the  hour-glass 
and  not  a  word  broke  the  ominous  si- 
lence. The  well-adjusted  cell  structure 
of  that  great  brain  was  formulating  an 
impartial  judgment.  Either  David  or 
Jonathan,  no  one  but  that  kingly  brain 
could  know  which,  should  go  home  with 
full  title  to  that  colony  of  bees,  while  the 
other  would  be  ridiculed  and  reviled  as 
he  passed  along  the  street,  because,  "He 
tried  to  steal  his  neighbor's  bees." 

So  the  silence  seemed  to  imply,  but  in 
fact  the  royal  wisdom  was  not  only  puz- 
zled but  completely  dumfounded.  There 
seemed  to  be  no  facts  in  the  case  upon 
which  to  base  judgment.  Solomon  with 
the  baby  and  two  clamoring  mothers  had 
an  easy  job  in  comparison  with  this.  At 
last  the  silence  was  broken.  The  king- 
decided  that  in  so  evenly  a  contested 
matter,  it  seemed  but  right  that  each 
should  take  one-half  of  the  colony.  But 
tradition  saith  not  who  should  take  the 
queen,  but  of  what  importance  is  one 
queen  when  the  wisdom  of  a  king  is  in 
ieopardy?  Is  this  the  onlv  time  that  a 
judge's  decision  has  set  individual  rights 
at  naught?  Then,  as  an  amendment,  he 
said  to  the  clerk  who  was  ready  with 
quill  pen  and  sand  box,  "You  mav,  sir, 
DUt  it  on  record  that  hereafter  when  a 
bee-keeper  has  an  absconding  swarm  he 
shall  immediately,  upon  his  first  know- 
ledge of  such  absconding  tendency, 
forthwith  take  the  dinner  bell  or  the 
fish  horn,  whichever  in  his  own  judg- 
ment shall  be  the  most  convenient,  and 
proceed  bv  vigorous  clan9"ing  or  sten- 
torian tooting  to  oroclaim  his  ownership. 
Then  upon  the  whole  village  having  been 
notified  bv  the  first  clang  or  official  toot. 


it  will  be  readily  seen  by  all  the  by- 
standers and  fellow  neighbors  that  any 
secondary  clangings  or  intruding  toots 
shall  become  ridiculous  in  the  sight  and 
hearing  of  the  aforesaid  neighbors  and 
shall  thereby  make  it  perfectly  clear  who 
is  the  real  owner  of  the  colony.  Thus 
not  necessitating  the  laborious  workings 
of  a  kingly  brain  which,  on  these  hot, 
May  and  June  days,  is  more  fittingly  to 
be  indulging  in  peaceful  slumber  under 
the  shade  of  the  widespreading  beech 
tree.    Here  endeth  the  edict." 

But  time  passed  on  and  the  loyal  sub- 
jects of  good  King  Alfred,  like  the  old 
king  himself,  were  laid  to  rest,  and  the 
daisies  bloomed  above  them,  and  their 
bees  were  forgotten,  and  forgotten  by 
their  successors  was  the  original  pur- 
pose of  the  edict.  They  remembered 
only  the  clanging  and  the  tooting  and 
the  consequent  pandemonium.  David  and 
Jonathan  and  King  Alfred  have  been  the 
cause  of  more  delirious,  hilarious  fun 
for  country  boys  and  country  girls  than 
ever  they  could  in  their  wildest  imagin- 
ings have  dreamed  of.  But  there  is  one 
farmer  boy  whose  memory  runs  back  to 
the  comedy  and  the  pathos  involved  in 
the  running  at  swarming  time,  and  he 
now  exclaims,  "Decades  have  gone  by, 
participants  of  that  old  homesiead  have, 
like  King  Alfred  and  his  disputing  sub- 
jects, laid  aside  kingly  powers,  clang- 
ing bells,  tooting  fish  horns,  flashing  mir- 
rors and  noisy  guns,  leaving  only  peace- 
ful, pathetic  memories  of  the  running  at 
swarming  time." 

Somewhere  I  have  read  that  a  traveler 
in  England  saw  a  soldier  walking 
slowlv  back  and  forth  on  guard  in  the 
middle  of  a  field.  The  curious  American 
went  to  the  commandant  and  inquired 
why  a  soldier  was  so  uselessly  on  guard 
in  such  a  place.  The  reply  was  that  it 
was  in  accord  with  the  time-honored  cus- 
tom, that  his  predecessor  in  office  had 
always  kept  an  officer  on  guard  in  that 
place  and  that  his  predecessor  had  done 
so.  Then  why  should  he  be  so  presump- 
tuous as  to  violate  the  authority  of  prec- 
edent? Our  American  visitor  after  fur- 
ther investigating  the  matter  by  looking 
up  the  records  of  that  place  found  that 
a  few  centuries  ago  the  queen  and  her 
attendants  were  walking  in  that  particu- 
lar soot  and  there  found  a  beautiful 
flo^ver.  That  it  might  surelv  come  into 
its  fullness  of  beautv  the  ciueen  reonested 
that  a  guard  be  placed  by  the  flower. 
Later  on  when  the  flower  was  fully  ex- 


THE  RUNNING  AT  SWARMING  TniE 


35 


1 


"uL. 


^^jiSa^ 


""^     nA^--K.^:$,_^y^^^^^;^;^ 


''// 


'HF,   SAID  TO  THE  CLFRK  WHO  WAS  RF-ADV  WITH  OUTLI.  PFX   AXD   SAXD   BOX." 


l)ande(l,  she  walked  again  in  the  fields 
and  picked  it  in  its  gorgeous  fruition, 
but  she  forgot  to  countermand  the  order 
to  the  guard.  And  so  who  would  pre- 
sume to  go  against  the  queen's  author- 
ity? The  soldier  went  on  guarding  and 
his  successor  went  on  guarding  until 
when  several  decades  had  passed  every- 
body had  forgotten  wliy  there  was  a 
■guard  in  that  particular  spot. 

So  I  think  it  was  with  King  Alfred 
and  Jonathan  and  all  the  loyal  villagers 
in  the  edict  of  the  noise  at  swarming 
time,  his   successors   have   forgotten   the 


reasons  why  it  was  to  make  an  infernal 
noise  in  the  sky. 

But  do  not  laugh  too  much  at  those 
good  old  people.  Perhaps  there  was 
something  more  than  a  legal  right  in- 
volved in  the  matter  and,  like  the  pro- 
verbial great  smoke  that  implies  at  least 
some  little  fire,  in  all  those  noisy  demon- 
strations there  may  be  a  little  fire  of 
reason.  At  any  rate,  could  I  bring  back 
old  Dutch  Willie,  or  A'illie  as  most 
people  called  him  in  imitation  of  his  own 
peculiar  pronunciation  of  his  name,  he 
would  iirnve  a  valuable  witness  in  favor 


36 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


of  the  efficacy  of  yelling  and  of  throw- 
ing- sand.  I  recall  that  once  in  spite  of 
all  the  noisy  demonstrations  the  hees  per- 
sisted in  going-  to  more  quiet  fields.  The 
bees  arose,  a  cloudy  mass,  high  in  the 
air.  They  circled  like  a  swaying  balloon 
anchored  by  its  rope,  until  they  had  ob- 
tained their  bearings  and  across  the  field 
they  flew,  straight  for  the  woods  beyond. 


from  \illie.  Who  shall  say  whether  it 
was  the  result  of  Villie's  screaming  and 
jumping- jack  performances,  or  whether 
they  unsolicited  would  have  alighted 
there  ?  In  any  case  it  is  beyond  my  phil- 
osophy to  tell  whether  here  was  a  case 
of  cause  and  efifect  or  only  a  funny  co- 
incidence. A'illie  claimed  the  honor 
that     evening     and     he     told     the     men 


f  ^  (f^:» 


'-'f-^rC/ -.^ 


"I    CLOSE   MY    F,YES   AND   SEE   THAT   EXCTTED    DUTCHMAN    PRANCING    TN    THE    MTDST    OF 

THAT  SWARM  OF  BEES." 


Directly  in  their  line  of  flight  was  ri- 
diculous old  Dutch  Mllie  smoking  his 
pipe  and  hoeing  corn  on  the  summit  of 
the  hill,  lost  in  placid  memories  of  his 
fatherland  and  in  longings  for  the  I^eer 
of  his  adopted  country,  or  thinking  of 
his  next  attempt  at  drinking  some 
three  dozen  mugs  of  that  beer  on  the 
Saturday's  half  holiday  in  the  near-by 
village.  The  bees  literally  took  a  bee 
line.  It  led  them  high  in  air  over  the 
valley,  but  close  to  the  ground  on  the 
summit  of  the  hill  around  Dutch  A'illie. 
The  most  astonished  Dutchman  that  ever 
existed  was  in  that  cornfield,  when 
ninety  thousand  bees  swarmed  near  him 
in  their  slow  flight  onward.  Bees  in 
swarming  fly  swiftly  around  and  around 
and  around  like  the  balloons  of  the  solar 
system,  while  the  entire  family  moves 
slowly  onward.  A^illie  was  in  the  very 
center  of  that  flight  and  he  had  a  little 
dirt  throwing  and  a  pandemonium  of 
yelling  all  to  himself.  He  used  hands, 
arms,  legs  and  mouth — a  veritable  jump- 
ing-jack,  to  my  great  delight,  as  I  ran 
up  the  hill  to  ascertain  where  those  bees 
were  going.  But  the  thing  worked,  or 
seemed  to  work,  for  the  bees  settled  on 
a  scrub  of  a  wild  cherry  bush  not   far 


at  the  tavern  that  he  had  saved  a  swarm 
of  bees  that  was  worth  five  dollars,  be- 
cause he  yelled  and  threw  dirt  at  them. 
I  am  not  sure  of  the  validity  of  his 
claim,  l)ut  I  do  know  that  he  gave  me 
more  than  five  dollars'  worth  of  fun  that 
day.  and  many  a  laugh  since  then,  as  I 
close  my  eyes  and  see  that  excited  Dutch- 
nian  prancing  in  the  midst  of  that  swam 
of  bees. 


A  Peculiar  Cloud-Effect. 

'Twas  eventide.  The  small  lad  stood 
on  the  bridge  clapping  his  hands  vig- 
orously. Beyond  the  brow  of  the  hilt 
a  dull  red  glow  sufifused  the  sky. 

"Ah,  little  boy,"  remarked  the  stran- 
ger, who  was  a  little  near-sighted,  "it 
does  my  heart  good  to  see  that  you 
appreciate  yon  cloud-efifect." 

"Yes,  sir,"  replied  the  lad.  "I've  been 
watching  it  for  ten  minutes." 

Upon  the  boy's  face  there  appeared 
a  smile  of  perfect  bliss. 

"A  real  poet  without  a  doubt.  And 
do  you  watch  the  sunset  often,  little 
boy?"  asked  the  stranger. 

"Sunset?  Why,  that  ain't  a  sunset, 
gov'nor ;  that's  our  schoolhouse  burn- 
ing down." — Exchansre. 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE.— ADVERTISEMENTS. 


XI 


ORCHIDS 

We  are  specialists  in  this  kind  of  plants. 
We  collect,  import  and  grow  orchids  from 
all  parts  of  the  world  where  orchids  grow. 

We  will  be  glad  to  fill  your  order  for 
one  plant  or  a  thousand  according  to  your 
requirements. 

Our  beautiful  Catalogue  and  special  lists 
on  applicaf'on. 

LAGER   &   HURRELL, 

Orchid  Growers  and  Importers 

SUMMIT,  N.  J. 


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Microscopical  Slides 

IN 

BOTANY  AND  ZOOLOGY 

Slides  that  are   Artistic 
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Correspood  for  particulars 

J.  B.   HOWARD 

EXPERT  IN  MICROSCOPY 

45,   Frenchgate,  Richmond, 
York,  ENGLAND 


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U       and  the  Arrival  of  Choice  Nursery  Stocl(.      yc 


Oil,  the  real  joy  of  setting  it  out,  and  then  watching 

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A  THE  ELM  CITY  NURSERY  CO.         K 

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^       NEW  HAVEN  -  -  -  CONNECTICUT      K^ 


XII 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE  LITERARY  NOTES 


Practical  Field  Botany.  By  A.  R.  Horwood, 
F.  L.  S.  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania:  J.  B. 
Lippincott  Company. 

This  is  an  English  book  written  with  both 
genuine  amateur  and  professional  spirit.  Its 
numerous  illustrations  are  out  of  the  ordinary, 
and  convey  new  ideas,  especially  in  the 
mounting  and  arrangement  of  specimens  for 
the  herbarium. 


Bill's   School   and   ]\!ixe.      By   William   Sud- 
dards  Franklin.     South  Bethlehem,  Penn- 
sylvania :     Franklin,  Macnutt  and  Charles. 
An  interesting  collection  of  essays  to  which 
the  keynote  is  the  author's  statement  in  his 
preface,   that   "some   things   in    this    world   are 
to    be    understood    by    sympathy,    and    some 
things   are  to   be   understood  by   serious   and 
painful  effort." 


Nature  Notes  For  Ocean  Wu-agers.  By 
Captain  Alfred  Carpenter,  R.  N.,  D.  S.  O., 
and  Captain  D.  Wilson-Barker,  R.  N.  R. 
Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania:  J.  B.  Lippin- 
cott Company. 
This  book  presents  a  comprehensive  survey 

of  the  life,  conditions  and  phenomena  in   the 

great  ocean  depths.      An   amusing  anecdote  is 

worth  printing : 

"^^jsthetic    Passenger     (to    old     ."^alt)  :     'Can 

you  tell  me,  my  good  man,  the  name  of  that 

fine  bird  hovering  about?' 

"Old   Salt :    That's   a   halbatros,   sir." 

"^.  P. :  'Dear  me  !     Quite  a  rara  avis,  is  it 

not?' 

"Old  Salt:   'Dunno,  sir,  Fve  always  heard  it 

called  a  halbatros s.' 

^.    P. :    'Yes,   yes,    my    good    fellow,    but    1 

call  that  a  rara  avis,  just  as  I  call  you  a  Genus 

homo.' 

"Old  Salt  (indignantly)  :  Oh,    do  you  ?    Then 

I   calls  that   a   halhatross,   just  the   same   as    I 

calls  vou  an  old  humbug.' " 


Seehearwrite.     Guide  to  taking  notes  in   Na- 
ture Studv  for  "Hunters  of  the  Beautiful.'' 
By  D.  S.  Hartline,  A.  M.,  Head  of  Depart- 
ment  of   Biology,      State     Normal     School, 
Bloomsburg,      Pennsylvania.        Bloomsburg, 
Pennsylvania :    George   E.   Elwell  &   Son. 
This    is   a   novel   form   of   notebook.     It   is 
unlike    anything    else    that    the    reviewer    has 
ever   seen.      It   consists   of    a   pocket,    doubled 
somewhat  like  that  commonly  used   by  clerks 
in    a   store,    and   contains   a   large   number   of 
appropriate    quotations,    many    of    them    of    a 
religious   nature.     The   principal   quotation   is, 
"Be  ye  lift  up,  ye  everlasting  doors  ;  And  the 
King    of    Glory    shall    come    in."      This    is    in 
ornamental    t3'pe    within    an    appropriate    em- 
blematic  design.     The   whole      thing      is      so 
unique  that  we  suggest  that  our  readers  write 


to    Professor    Hartline    for    descriptive    circu- 
lars and  particulars. 

One  of  the  novel  suggestions  is, 

"Bring  a  nice   lot   of    (a)    VVotisits, 

(b)   Wantunos." 


The    Pocket    Nature    Library.      Tree    Guide 
(Trees  East  of  the  Rockies)   by  Julia  Ellen 
Rogers.     Flower  Guide   (Wild  Flowers  East 
of  the  Rockies),  Bird  Guide   (Water  Birds, 
Game  Birds  and  Birds  of  Prey  East  of  the 
Rockies)  and  Bird  Guide  Part  2  (Land  Birds 
East  of   the   Rockies)    bv   Chester  A.   Reed. 
700  Color  Plates,  1,000  text  Pages.     Bound 
in  Leather.     Price,  $4.50.     Garden  City,  New 
\'ork :   Doubleday,   Page   &   Co. 
These  four  books  are  convenient,  attractive 
and  efficient.     What  more  can  be  said?     When 
one  goes  afield  if  several  books  are  taken  in 
addition   to   the   necessary   apparatus   they   be- 
come   literally    impedimenta,    but    with     these- 
special  books  one  can  carry  a  library  covering 
the  flowers,  the  trees  and  the  birds.  It  probably 
will  not  be   necessary  to  take   more   than  one 
book  on  birds  since  one  volume  is  devoted  to 
land  birds  and  the  other  to  water.     It  is  a  de- 
light to  sit  under  a  tree,  consult  a  little  book 
and   compare  the  color  plates   with  the  living 
bird  and  thus  identify  and  fix  it  in  mind. 

jMiss  Roo-ers  has  produced  one  of  our  best 
books  on  trees  and  her  simplification  into  this 
pocket  volume  should  elicit  the  gratitude  of 
everv  lover  of  trees. 


Star  Lore  of  All   Ages.     By   William   Tyler 

Olcott.      N^ew    "^'ork    City :    G.    P.    Putnam's 

Sons. 

^lany  of  our  amateur  astronomers  will  find 
this  book  especially  delightful.  We  not  only 
like  to  know  the  names  of  the  stars  and  some- 
thing of  celestial  mechanics  but  also  want  to 
know  the  beautiful  myths  and  legends  that  time 
and  fanc}^  have  woven  about  them.  People 
who  admire  the  beauty  of  the  stars  may  learn 
to  love  them  b}-  reason  of  the  literar}^  and  leg- 
endary association  recalled  by  their  appearance. 

The  author,  as  "Who's  Who  in  America" 
tells  us.  is  a  lawyer,  but  it  is  evident  that  he  is 
also  an  enthusiastic  amateur  astronomer,  since 
he  has  written  several  important  and  interest- 
ing books  on  the  subject.  A  further  aim  has 
been  to  revive  an  interest  in  the  mythology 
that  twines  about  the  stars.  It  has  seemed 
but  right  that  this  wealth  of  star  lore,  -buried 
in  the  treasury  of  the  past,  should  be  brought 
to  the  light,  to  charm  and  interest  those  who 
scan  the  skies.  The  same  author  has  issued 
another  volume  entitled  "Sun  Lore  of  All 
Ages."  This  is  devoted  to  mythology,  folk 
lore,  sun  worship,  emblematic  and  symbolic 
forms  of  the  sun  and  to  the  sun  as  r' vealed  by 
science.  Both  books  are  valuable.  They  cover 
the  entire  field  in  a  masterly  manner. 


To  Know  The  Starry  Heavens 

(SEE  PAGE  55) 

A     PROMPT    RESPONSE  TO  THE  CALL    FOR     AN 

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HAVE    FAITH    THAT    OUR    FRIENDS 

WILL  NOT  LET  IT  BE  EMPTY. 


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Vol  VllI 
No.  2 


July  1915 


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has  good  transportation  facilities  to 
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Vol 


Published  monthly  by  The  Agassiz  Association,  ArcAdiA:  Sound  Beach,  Connecticut. 

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Entered  as  Second-Class  Matter  June  12. 1909.  at  Sound  Beach  Post  Office,  under  Act  of  March  3,  1897. 

Number  2 


Vlll 


JULY. 


A  Thoroughly  Commendable  Vagabond 

BY  EDWARD  F.  BIGELOW,  ArcAdiA,  Sound  Beach,  Conn. 


CURIOUS,  is  it  not,  how  some 
words  are  a  sort  of  slur  upon  the 
human  mind?  They  are  pessimis- 
tic in  result  although  in  themselves  they 
mav  be  only  good.  Take  the  word  preju- 
dice; it  really  means  a  prejudgment,  yet 
it  conveys  the  impression  that  the  mind 
is  thinking  disparaging  things.  What  is 
a  vagabond?  One  that  exemplifies  the 
meaning  of  the  Latin  word  '•vagus,"  to 
wander  around.  It  is  a  curious  fact  that 
the  mind  usually  thinks  of  a  wanderer 
as  necessarily  bad.  Should  not  one  sup- 
pose that  the  language  would  commend 
a  vagabond  as  the  very  opposite  of  a 
stolid  loafer  who  has  not  life  enough  to 
move  from  the  position  where  he  sits 
and  thinks  and  sometimes  only  sits." 

Bliss  Carman  of  New  Canaan,  Con- 
necticut, has  for  many  years  been  teach- 
ing and  inspiring  mankind  with  the  idea 
that  one  may  wander  around,  yes,  even 
be  a  highly  commendable  vagabond  and 
think  thoughts  that  are  uplifting,  even 
heavenlv.  "His  poem,  "The  Joys  of  the 
Road,"' in  "Songs  from  Vagabondia," 
gave  me  my  first  knowledge  of  this  de- 
lightful vagabond.  At  that  time  I  had 
become  imkied  with  the  spirit  of  Walt 


\M-iitman"s   "'Afoot  and  light-hearted,   I 
take  to  the  open  road." 

One  thinks  of  Whitman  as  swinging 
along  at  a  rapid  pace  in  a  rough  and 
ready  style,  but  when  we  turn  to  Bliss 
Carman  we  think  more  of  mind  and 
heart  than  of  legs.  Xo  one  reading  his 
"The  loys  of  the  Road"  would  think  of 
him  as  hurrying.  He  contemplates  and 
uplifts.  His  vagabondage  sees  things 
aright  and  gets  their  inner  meaning.  Xo 
one  has  portrayed  more  perfectly  nor 
beautifully  the  joys  of  the  road  in 
autumn.  Every  nature  lover  should  know 
the  poem.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  se- 
lect a  quotation  since  the  entire  poem 
might  well  be  considered  a  single  sen- 
tence, a  leisurely  sentence  wandering 
along  a  delightful  October  road  only 
now  and  then  to  pause  but  not  really  to 
stop.  The  thought  goes  on,  one  joy 
leads  to  another  so  rapidly  as  to  fill  the 
mind  with  a  constantl\-  recurring  pano- 
rama of  beautiful  pictures.  Thus  he 
swings  ofi^  leisurely : 

Now  the  jovs  of  the  road  are  chiefly  these: 
A  crimson  touch  on  the  hard-wood  trees; 

A  vagrant's  morning  wide  and  blue, 

In  early  fall,  when  the  wind  walks,  too; 


Copyright  1915  by  The  Agassiz  Association,  ArcAdiA:   Sound  Beach,  Conn. 


38 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


BLISS   CARMAN   of   New   Canaan,  Connecticut 


A  shadowy  highway  cool  and  brown, 
Alluring  up  and  enticing  down 

From  rippled  water  to  dappled  swamp. 
From   purple   glory  to   scarlet   pomp ; 

The  outward  eye,  the  quiet  will, 

And  the  striding  heart  from  hill  to  hill ; 


The  tempter  apple  over  the   fence  ; 

The  cobweb  bloom  on  the  yellow  quince; 

The    palish    asters    along   the    wood, — 
A  lyric  touch  of  the  solitude ; 

An  open  hand,  an  easy  shoe, 

And  a  hope  to  make  the  day  go  through,- 


A  THOROUGHLY  COMMENDABLE  VAGABOND 


39 


Stop  to  get  step  there,  the  poem  like 
the  walker  goes  for  home : 

Who   never   defers   and   never   demands, 
But,  smiling,  takes  the  world  in  his  hands, — 

Seeing  it  good  as  when  God  first  saw 
And  gave  it  the  weight  of  his  will  for  law. 

The  poems,  "Songs  from  Vagab'on- 
dia,"  also  "More  Songs  from  Vagabon- 
dia"  and  "Last  Songs  from  Vagabo,n- 
dia,"  were  written  in  cooperation  wath 
his  fellow  traveler,  Richard  Hovey,  who 
died.  "Echoes  from  Vagabondia"  were 
written  by  J\Ir.  Carman.  These  delight- 
ful little  books  are  published  by  Small, 
Maynard  and  Company,  Boston,  Mass., 
and  should  be  familiar  to  every  nature 
lover. 

"The  Rough  Rider  and  Other  Poems," 
published  by  Mitchell  Kennerly  of  New 
York  City,  contains  some  charming  bits 
of  nourishment  for  every  nature  lover. 
In  this  are  two  poems  with  especial 
local  interest.  "Easter  Eve"  refers  to 
Lake  Wampanaw  of  New  Canaan  and 
the  accompanying  illustration  shows  Mr. 
Carman  standing  by  that  Lake  in  medi- 
tation, and  he  asks  in  a  way  that  startles 
the  reader,  suppose  while  going  from 
town  on  Wednesday  he  had  met  Christ 
walking  on  Ponus  Street? 

Then  let  me  ask  you.     Last  December,  when 

there    was    skating   on   Wampanaw, 
Among  the  weeds  and  sticks  and  grasses  un- 
der  the   hard   black   ice    I    saw 
An  old  mud-turtle  poking  about,   as  if  he 

were  putting  his  house  to  rights, 
Stiff   with    the   cold    perhaps,    yet   knowing 
enough  to  prepare  for  the  winter  nights. 

Well,    I    have    an    instinct    as    fine    and    valid, 
surely,  as  that  of  the  beasts  and  birds, 
Concerning  death   and  the  life  immortal,   too 
deep   for  logic,  too  vague  for  words. 
No  trace    of  beauty  can  pass  or  perish,  but 

other  beauty  is  somewhere  born  ; 
No  seed  of  truth  or  good  be  planted,  but 
the  yield  must  grow  as  the  growing  corn. 

Therefore    this   ardent    mind    and   spirit    I    give 

to  the  glowing  days  of  earth. 
To  be  wrought  by  the  Lord  of  life  to  some- 
thing of  lasting  import  and  lovely  worth. 
If  the  toil   I  give   be   without  self-seeking, 
bestowed  to  the  limit  of  will  and  power, 
To   fashion   after   some   form  ideal  the   in- 
stant task  and  the  waiting  hour, 

It  matters  not  though  defeat  undo  me, though 

faults  betray  me  and  sorrows  scar, 
Already  I  share  the  life  eternal  with  the  April 
buds  and  the  evening  star. 
Our  minister  here,   entrenched   in   doctrine, 

may  know  no  doubt  upon  Easter  Eve. 
And  when  it  comes  to  the  crucial  question. 
Doctor,  you   skeptic,  you  too  believe  ! 


Another  delightful  poem  with  local 
reference  is  "On  Ponus  Ridge."  In  the 
first  stanza  he  propounds  a  question,  an. 
answer  to  which  he  finds  on  Ponus 
Ridge : 

I  hoard  the  voice  of  our  mother  planet  mur- 
mur CO  da}   as  the  south  wind  blew 
Over  the  old  Connecticut  granite,  up  from  the 
Sound  and  the  rainy  blue. 
"What  is  your  comment,   wandering  broth- 
er," said  Ponus  Ridge  to  the  striding  rain, 
"Not  on  the  new  word,  Love  one  another, 
but  the  harder  text.  Ye  shall  rise  again?" 

It  is  difficult  to  do  justice  to  this  poem 
without  quoting  it  all,  but  this  stanza  is 
a  sample  of  the  beautiful  thoughts  that 
crowd  the  author's  mind  and  seek  ex- 
pression : 

Here  all  day  long  I   shall  lie  and  ponder  the 

teeming  life  whereon  I  brood, 

While  the  buds  unfold,  the  low  clouds  wander, 

and  all  things  flow  to  rhythm  and  mood. 

And  seeing  all  form  but  the  trace  of  mo 

tion,  all  beauty  the  vestige  of  joy  made 

plain, 

Shall  I   stint  my  care  and  my  devotion,  to 

vex  me  with  counting  the  once  or  again  ? 

One  can  but  think  of  Bliss  Carman 
somewhat  as  of  John  Howard  Payne. 
Tenderly  beautiful  in  thought,  affec- 
tionate in  spirit,  Bliss  Carman  lives  his 
life  alone;  he  has  no  home.  He  engages 
a  room  at  one  house  near  the  railroad 
station  in  Xew^  Canaan,  and  takes  his 
meals  in  another.  He  is  not  surrounded 
by  relatives,  he  knows  not  the  joys  of 
home  life  though  he  has  enriched  thous- 
ands of  homes  by  the  tenderly  beautiful, 
loving  spirit  of  his  poetry.  He  who  has 
sung  for  the  delight  of  many  a  home  is, 
as  he  himself  says,  a  vagabond.  Ask  at 
the  station  in  New  Canaan,  "Where  is 
Mr.  Carman's  home?"  and  the  answer  is, 
'T  suppose  you  mean  that  man  who 
writes  for  magazines  and  wears  a  broad- 
brimmed  hat.  He  has  no  home ;  he 
boards  over  there.  I  don't  believe.  Mis- 
ter, you  will  find  him  at  home ;  he  goes 
walking  over  the  hills  and  through  the 
woods  and  perhaps  you  will  find  him  on 
the  lake  where  he  spends  much  of  his 
time." 

Is  vagabondage  commendable?  As  ex- 
emplified by  Bliss  Carman,  it  is. 

Is  Carman  singing  a  new  song?  No, 
it  is  the  old,  old  story  of  Him  who  walk- 
ed with  His  disciples  in  the  open  road, 
who  drew  His  lessons  from  the  lilies  in 
the  field,  from  the  vineyards  that  He 
passed,  from  the  birds  that  He  saw  and 


40 


THE  GUIDE  TO   NATURE 


'HE  GOES  WALKING  OVER  THE  HILLS  AND   THROUGH   THE  WOODS.'  " 


from  the  farmer's  boy  feeding  the  pigs, 
whose  acquaintance  He  had  probably 
made,  and  from  whom  He  drew  his  mosi 
touching  lesson.  These  thoughts  must 
have  been  running  through  Bliss  Car- 
man's mind  Vvdien  he  asked  the  astonish- 
ing question,  Suppose  one  were  to  meet 
Christ  right  on  ordinary,  everyday, 
commonplace  Ponus  Street,  what  then  is 
to  be  done?  It  is  to  think  His  thoughts 
and  draw  His  lessons  from  nature  and 
realize,  as  Ponus  Ridge  said  to  the  strid- 
ing rain,  there  is  a  greater  question  than 
"Love  one  another,"  the  harder  task, 
"Ye  shall  rise  again."  Bliss  Carman  is 
showing  the  sacredness  of  commonplace 
nature,  making  really  a  new  Canaan  and 
in  the  years  to  come  that  sacredness  of 
thought  shall  more  and  more  be  credited 
to  this  master  poet  whose  head  and 
heart  tower  literally  and  emblematically 
farther  toward  heaven  than  those  of 
most  men  while  his  feet  tread  common- 
place earth. 


From  James  Whitcomb  Riley's 
Secretary. 

Indianapolis.  Ind.,  April  17,  191 5. 
Dear  Mr.   Bigelow : 

Your  letter  has  been  forwarded  to  Mr. 
Riley  in  the  South  where  he  has  no 
secretary.  I  know  he  will  make  a  special 
efifort  to  write  what  you  request  because 
of  his  friendship  both  for  you  and  Mr. 
Carman. 

May  7th,  191 5. 

Mr.  Riley,  who  isn't  able  to  take  up 
the  pen,  says  he  has  expressed  his  appre- 
ciation and  love  for  Bliss  Carman  in  the 
poem  which  I  am  enclosing.  He  is  sorry 
that  his  health  is  such  that  it  is  difficult 
for  him  to  write  anything  new.  "There 
is  nothing  I  would  not  do  or  say  for 
Carman,"  he  tells  me.  "He  is  a  fine, 
knightly  man,  poet  and  scholar." 


The  man  is  blessed  w'ho  every  day  is 
permitted  to  behold  anything:  so  pure  and 
serene  as  the  western  skv  at  sunset, 
while  revolutions  vex  the  world — 
Thoreau. 


TO  BLISS  CARMAN. 

He  is  the  morning's  poet — 

The  bard  of  mount  and  moor, 

The  minstrel  fine  of  dewy  shine, 
The   dawning's   troubadour : 

The  brother  of  the  bluebird, 

ATid  blossoms,  throng  on  throng, 

Whose  singing  calls,  o'er  orchard  walls, 
Seem  glitterings  of  song. 


A  THOROUGHLY  COMMENDABLE  VAGABOND 


41 


He  meets,  with  brow  uncovered, 
The  sunrise  through  the  mist, 

\\  ith  raptured  eyes  that  range  the  skies 
And  seas  of  ameth_vst : 

The  brambled  rose  clings  to  him  ; 

The  breezy  wood  receives 
Him  as  the  guest  she  loves  the  best 

And  laughs  through  all  her  leaves : 

Pan  and  his  nymphs  and  dryads 
They  hear,  in  breathless  pause. 

This  earth-born  wight  lilt  his  delight, 
And  envy  him  because       .... 

He  is  the  morning's  poet — - 

The  bard  of  mount  and  moor. 

The  minstrel  fine  of  dewy  shine. 
The   dawning's  troubadour. 


Stamford  Salutes  New  Canaan. 

BY  CHARLES   H.  CRANDALL,  STAMFORD,   CT. 

Bliss  Carman?  Certainly.  To  know 
him  is  to  know  one  whose  head  is  in  the 
clouds  (he  is  considerably  over  six  feet), 
so  it  is  easy  for  him  to  see  visions  which 
escape  common  mortals,  as  an  ofificer 
looks  over  the  trenches  by  means  of  a 
periscope.  When  you  are  a  poet,  and  in 
good   workino-  order,  vou   can   see  over 


mountain  tops  and  around  corners.  It 
is  therefore  no  wonder  that  Carman  can 
extract  wisdom  from  the  turtle  in  Lake 
Wampanaw  or  stroll  over  Ponus  Ridge 
and  fancy  himself  walking  in  the  foot- 
steps of  Socrates,  and  gather  up  a  fine 
crop  of  philosophy  as  the  fruit  of  his 
walk.  I  have  chatted  with  our  serene 
and  lofty  poet  in  his  tent  in  the  woods 
near  New  Canaan  and  envied  him  his  air 
of  illimitable  leisure,  his  calm  serenity 
and  unrufiled  poise.  But  I  am  out  of 
patience  with  the  shade  of  my  old  friend, 
E.  C.  Stedman,  who,  in  making  up  his 
anthologies  of  verse,  failed  to  class  Car- 
man as  an  American,  but  must  remind 
us  that  he  was  born  under  the  aegis  of 
"Our  Lady  of  the  Snows,"  in  far- 
away Labrador  or  New  Brunswick  or 
Scotia,  where  even  the  wild  geese  cannot 
stand  the  winters.  Having  all  the  sense 
of  the  goose,  and  then  some  (and  mind 
you,  wild  geese  know  a  lot  that  we  do 
not ) .  ]\Ir.  Carman  took  flight  from  Can- 
adian wilds  to  old  New  York  town  many 
years  ago  and  has  been  tramping  over 
tlie  Catskills  and  the  New  Canaan  hills 


'CARMAN  CAN   EXTIi,\CT  WISDOM   FROM   THE  TURTLE  IX   LAKE   WAMPANAW 


42 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


for  decades  more  or  less.  So  I  call  him 
an  American,  as  he  is  to  all  intents  and 
purposes.  I  speak  of  Stedman's  classi- 
fications because  I  wanted  to  telJ  a  lady 
where  to  find  his  "Make  Me  Over, 
Mother  April,"  and  did  not  find  him  in 
the  group  of  American  poets.  Read  this 
poem  of  his  if  you  wish  to  find  Carman 
in  one  of  his  choicest  moods,  when  he 
revels  in  rhyme  and  rhythm  and  daring- 
characterization  of  nature,  a  wild  sort 
of  Bohemian  chant  such  as  stirred  his 
blood  in  the  young-  days  when  he  hit 
the  woodland  trails  and  the  open  road 
with  Richard  Hovey  and  g^ave  the  world 
those  wild,  rollicking,  careless,  lawless 
"Songs  of  Vagabondia."  May  he  al- 
ways renew  his  youth  whenever  he 
chooses  to  hit  the  open  road. 


married   daughter,   were  all   successful 
authors. 

William  Hayes  Ward, 
Honorary  Editor  of  "The  Independent. 


Tribute  from  William  Hayes  Ward. 

South  Berwick,  Maine. 
To  the  Editor : 

Yes,  Bliss  Carman  was  for  a  while 
office  editor  of  "The  Independent" 
while  I  was  editor  and  his  companion- 
ship in  the  office  it  is  a  pleasure  to 
recall.  He    was    in    his   youth   a   tall 

blonde,  with  statuesque  head  and  long- 
hair and  open  neck :  very  quiet  and 
unassuming,  dreamy,  yet  companion- 
able. He  was  much  with  his  cousins, 
the  Robertses,  whose  literary  ambi- 
tions had  brought  this  exceptionably 
gifted  family  to  New  York.  It  was 
about  this  time  that  he  did  his  tramp- 
ing with  his  poet  friend,  Richard 
Hovey,  whose  early  death  was  a  sad 
loss  to  American  literature.  The  fruit 
of  these  wimderings  appear  in  his 
"Vagabondia,"  and  he  mentioned  his 
companion  under  the  name  of 
"Dickon.  Such  poems  as  "The  Quaker 
Eadies"  and  the  "Easter  Market"  at 
Washington,  very  simple  and  delight- 
ful, were  not  easily  forgotten,  and 
ought  not  to  be,  although  probal:)ly 
they  cost  him  much  less  labor  than  his 
longer  poems  of  which  I  mention  only 
the  "Coronation  Ode"  on  the  accession 
of  King  Edward,  for  he  was  a  loyal 
Canadian.  "The  Independent"  pub- 
lished many  of  his  verses.  Of  course 
he  wrote  prose,  if  not  so  much  as  did 
his  cousin,  Charles  G.  D.  Roberts.  We 
are  indebted  to  New  Brunswick  for  a 
family  of  unusual  worth.  The  senior 
Roberts  was  an  Episcopal  .clergyman 
of  much  distinction,  and  his  three  sons, 
Charles,  William  and  Theodore,  and  a 


Associations  "  of  Plants  and  Birds. 

Dr.  Arthur  A.  Allen,  of  Cornell  Uni- 
versity, in  a  paper  before  the  Biologi- 
cal society  of  Washington,  recognizes 
seven  "associations"  of  plant  and  bird 
life  between  pond  or  river  on  the  one 
side  and  field  and  forest  on  the  other. 
These  are,  in  order : 

1.  The  Open  Water  Association. 
Here  the  plants  are  important  sources 
of  food  but  do  not  provide  nesting 
places  for  any  birds. 

2.  The  Shoreline  Association.  This 
provides  little  food.  One  of  the  few 
birds  inhabiting  it  is  the  pied-billed 
grebe. 

3.  The  Cat-tail  Association.  Here  as 
a  favorite  locality  for  such  birds  as  the 
least  bitterns,  coots,  and  various  rails 
The  red-winged  blackbird,  though 
having  a  wide  range  over  various  sorts 
of  country  prefers  this  belt. 

4.  The  Sedge  Association.  Marsh 
wren,  ordinary  bittern,  swamp  spar- 
row, and  marsh  hawk,  are  among  the 
birds  of  this  district. 

5.  The  Grass  Association,  of  which 
song  sparrow  and  Maryland  yellow- 
throat  are  typical  inhabitants. 

6.  The  Alder-Willow  Association, 
with  the  green  heron  and  alder  fly- 
catcher among  nesting  species. 

7.  The  Elm-Maple  Association,  where 
dwell  a  large  variety  of  woodland  birds, 
while  several  species  nest  here  which  get 
their  living  in  other  regions. 


The  commonest  and  cheapest  sounds, 
as  the  barking  of  a  dog,  produce  the 
same  effect  on  fresh  and  healthy 
ears  that  the  rarest  music  does 
It  depends  on  your  appetite  for  sound. 
Just  as  a  crust  is  sweeter  to  a  healthy  ap- 
petite than  confectionery  to  a  pampered 
or  diseased  one.  It  is  better  that  these 
cheap  sounds  be  music  to  us  than  that 
we  have  the  rarest  ears  for  music  in  any 
other  sense.  I  have  lain  awake  at  night 
many  a  time  to  think  of  the  barking  of  a 
dog  which  I  had  heard  long  before,  bath- 
ing my  being  again  in  those  waves  of 
sound,  as  a  frequenter  of  the  opera 
might  lie  awake  remembering  the  music 
he  had  heard — Thoreau. 


CAMP  FIRE  PHOTOGRAPHS  AT  NIGHT 


43 


Campfire    Photographs    at    Night. 

One  of  ihe  simplest  yet  most  eftective 
and  striking  flash-light  photographs  that 
one  can  make  is  a  camp  fire  flash-light. 
All  we  need  is  a  camera,  a  camp  fire  and 
about  three  of  the  flash  sheets  that  can 
be  had  of  any  photograph  dealer.  First 
pile  on  a  lot  of  wood  and  let  your  camp 
fire  burn  until  vou  have  a  big  he:l  of  red 


between  the  camera  and  the  fire  we  must 
have  three  or  four  figures  standing  close 
together.  This  is  to  shield  the  camera 
from  the  glare  of  the  flash  which  might 
give  up  that  fuzzy  efifect  called  halation. 
Xow  we  give  our  flash  sheets  or  powder 
to  one  of  the  boys  sitting  close  to  the 
fire  with  instructions  to  toss  it  into  the 
hottest  part  of  the  bed  of  coals  at  our 


A  CAMP  FIRE  PHOTOGRAPHED  AT  NIGHT. 


hot  coals  but  no  fire  to  speak  of.  Xow 
then,  place  your  camera  at  a  convenient 
distance  from  the  fire  so  you  can  include 
your  group,  say  about  twenty  feet.  The 
camera  must  be  on  some  firm  support 
for  this  will  be  a  time  exposure.  If  you 
have  no  tripod  set  it  on  a  log,  tree  stum]), 
camp  chair  or  anything  that  is  handy. 
Now  then,  set  the  shutter  for  a  time  ex- 
posure. Xow  our  camera  is  ready  and 
it  is  time  to  arrange  our  group.  Oh, 
yes,  I  forgot  to  mention  that  you  focus 
on  the  fire  if  it  is  a  focusing  camera.  oMy 
reason  for  fixing  the  camera  first  is  not 
to  have  our  subjects  sitting  close  to  the 
hot  fire  any  longer  than  is  necessary. 
Sometimes  they  get  too  hot  while  wait- 
ing for  the  photograoher  to  get  ready 
and  refuse  to  pose.  Now  we  arrange  our 
Darty  in  a  circle  about  the  fire,  sitting, 
kneeling  or  in  natural  attitudes,  but  just 


word  of  command.  Then  just  before 
taking  the  picture  we  .gather  up  a  bunch 
of  damp  leaves  or  green  grass  and 
throw  it  on  the  fire.  Immediately  there 
rises  up  a  cloud  of  dense  white  smoke 
which  is  very  essential  to  our  picture. 
Then  we  step  back  to  our  waiting  cam- 
era, open  the  shutter,  give  the  word  of 
command  to  our  assistant  to  throw  the 
flash  into  the  hot  part  of  the  fire.  "Bing!"' 
ofl^  goes  the  flash ;  we  close  our  shutter 
and  the  ])icture  is  made.  It  is  well  to 
caution  }our  group  to  look  at  the  fire 
or  each  other  and  not  at  the  camera  for 
this  spoils  the  naturalness  of  the  efifect. 
[Photograph,  with  instructions,  from  Brown 
and  Dawson,  Stamford,  Conn.,  and  copyright- 
ed  by   them.] 


The  Natioual  Museums  of  Peru  have 
had  to  be  closed  as  a  result  of  the  hard 
times  which  have  followed  the  war. 


44 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


Natures  Studies  in  and  Around  Washington,  D.  C. 


BY    R.    W.    SIIUFELDT,     M.    D. 


OF  ALL  THE  CITIES  in  this 
country  few  there  are  that  can  of- 
fer the  amateurs  and  profession- 
als in  any  of  the  departments  of  natural 
science,  botany,  agriculture,  and  their 
allied  callings,  more  advantages  in  the 
way  of  libraries,  museums,  and  delight- 
ful variety  in  the  surrounding  country 
than  can  the  city  of  Washington — our 
Capital.  Moreover,  Washington  holds 
in  its  society  an  unusually  large  number 
of  people  who  are  more  than  interested 
in  such  pursuits,  for  the  city  is  the  home 
of  a  great  many  distinguished  men  and 


venient  to  consult  everything  that  has 
been  published  along  the  lines  of  biology 
in  its  broadest  sense.  The  many  mu- 
seums have  superb  public  exhibits  of 
natural  history  material  of  every  descrip- 
tion, and  collections  for  the  use  of  stu- 
dents, containing  thousands  upon  thous- 
ands of  specimens  from  every  division 
and  kingdom  in   nature. 

Situated  as  the  city  is  upon  the  Po- 
tomac river,  one  naturally  finds  present 
the  usual  river  faunse  as  they  occur  in 
this  part  of  the  world :  a  few  interesting 
mammals  for  study  ;  a  long  list  of  water 


FIG.  1.     A  GROUP  OF  WASHINGTON  FOLK  WHO  BELIEVE  IN  THE  COUNTRYSIDE  LIFE. 


women  of  science,  and  of  a  considerable 
body  of  those  that  take  up  such  studies 
in  a  non-professional  way.  To  these 
and  others  we  may  add  a  very  large  as- 
semblage of  those  devoted  to  amateur 
pursuits  along  similar  lines,  and  they,  in 
turn,  have  their  host  of  friends  in  that 
charming  class  now  usually  designated 
as  the  nature  lovers.  In  short,  we  have 
an  army  of  such  people,  ranging  all  the 
way  from  a  strict  closet  naturalist  to  the 
jolly  soul  who  takes  to  the  timber  just 
for  the  love  of  it,  in  that  he  or  she  may 
be  as  close  to  nature  as  possille  all  the 
time. 

We  have  several   large     libraries     in 
Washington,  rendering  it  easy  and  con- 


and  land  birds ;  a  fair  representation  of 
fresh-water  fishes,  and  finally,  quite  a 
number  of  batrachians  and  reptiles,  as 
well  as  insects,  mollusks,  and  other  in- 
vertebrata.  As  for  the  flora,  it  is  most 
varied  and  beautiful,  flowering  species 
lasting  from  the  earliest  days  of  spring, 
until  entirely  checked  by  the  hand  of 
winter,  which  is  not  always  cold  enough, 
however,  to  kill  it  all,  as  one  may  see 
dandelions  here  even  in  January. 

The  summer  of  19x4  was  a  particular- 
ly lovely  one — all  the  way  from  the  mid- 
dle of  April  to  the  last  -lays  of  October, 
and  even  a  good  ^'-pvs  into  November. 
My  wife  and  I  enioved  a  score  or  more 
of  fine  tramps  in  various  directions  ;  and 


NATURE  STUDIES  IN  AND  AROUND  WASHINGTON. 


45 


FTG.  2.     A  SCENE  IN  NORTHERN  \IRGIN1A. 

upon  one  memorable  occasion  a  party 
was  made  up  which  included  Mr.  C.  \\  . 
Gilmore.  who  has  charge  of  the  fossil 
birds  and  reptiles  in  the  U.  S.  National 
^Museum :  Mrs.  Gilmore,  their  three 
beautiful  little  daughters,  Mrs.  Coutant, 
]\Irs.  Gilmore's  mother ;  Mrs.  Shufeldt. 
and  the  subscriber.  The  latter  is  respon- 
sible for  perpetuating  this  squad  of  true 
nature  lovers,  as  shown  in  Figure  i, 
wherein  Mr.  Gilmore  declines  to  apolo- 
gize for  smoking  in  the  presence  of  la- 
dies, while  the  latter  told  me  afterwards 
that  they  wished  they  had  taken  their 
hats  off,  as  these  were  not  altogether  up 
to  date. 

In  these  tramps  we  by  no  means  con- 
fine ourselves  to  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia ;  for,  owing  to  the  splendid  system  of 
electric  cars  running  out  from  the  city  in 
all  directions,  it  requires  but  short  spaces 
of  time  to  take  in  much  of  southern 
Maryland,  northern  A^irginia,  and  by  an 
extra  jaunt,  soon  land  at  the  shores  of 
Chesapeake  Bay,  which  in  all  respects 
offers  nearly  everything  that  one  finds  at 
the  seashore. 

Some  parts  of  \^irginia  are  as  attrac- 


tive as  anything  that  can  well  be  imagin- 
ed. In  Figures  2  and  3  we  have  wood  and 
farm  scenes  in  old  Virginia,  just  over 
the  river  from  Washington ;  and  did  you 
ever  see  such  a  wealth  of  daisies  as  we 
have  in  the  foreground  of  Figure  3,  or 
a  farmhouse  more  snugly  sheltered  in 
the  encircling  woodland? 

When  wife  and  I  take  to  the  country- 
side, we  are  after  things.  We  are  not 
only  rigged  out  for  the  tramp,  but  all 
sorts  of  collecting  traps,  a  5  x  8  camera, 
and  other  necessaries  go  along  with  us. 
If  I  chance  to  be  studying  box  tortoises 
at  home — their  life  histories,  variations, 
and  so  on — then  box  tortoises  are  in  or- 
der, and  five  or  six  of  them  are  duly 
collected.  These  are  subsequently  to  be 
photographed  in  my  study  (Fig.  4),  and 
to  be  observed  and  examined  in  various 
>vays  as  material  for  monographic  work. 
In  some  parts  of  \'irginia  these  reptiles 
are  remarkably  abundant  and  exhibit 
wide  variations  in  their  coloring.  One 
day  we  found  where  one  had  crawled 
into  an  empty  tin  preserving-can  and 
(lied  there.  It  was  apparently  long  ago, 
and   only   its   skeleton    was   in   evidence. 


FIG.  3.  A  FARMHOUSE  IX  XOK  I  lil-.K.\  \  Iki.lMA 


46 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


FTG.   4.      AX   Or.D  BOX   TORTOTSK. 


This  was  nearly  complete,  and  thus 
saved  me  some  trouble  in  another  direc- 
tion which  I  need  not  mention  now. 


FTG.  5.     THF.  GREAT  HORNFD  OWL. 


As  I  am  preparing"  a  work  on  the  nat- 
ural history  of  this  region,  we  allow 
nothing  to  escape  us,  and  with  my  cam- 
era, during  the  past  few  seasons,  I  have 
made  two  or  three  hundred  most  beauti- 
ful negatives,  photographs  from  which 
will  be  used  as  illustrations  to  the  forth- 
coming manual. 

The  ornithology  of  the  country  is 
most  interesting",  and  is  now  very  thor- 
oughly protected  by  the  recent  bird  laws. 
This  has  preserved  even  some  of  the 
largest  raptorial  birds,  and  on  the  river 
one  occasionally  sees  the  white-headed 
eagle  soaring  majestically  overhead, 
while  in  the  timbered  sections  I  have 
sometimes  met  with  the  great  horned 
owl — the  young"  and  old  of  this  species 
being  here  shown  in  Figures  5  and  6, 
captive  specimens  which  I  photographed 
for  my  work. 

Down  in  the  marshes  we  have  the 
noisy  little  marsh  wrens,  which  build 
nests  out  of  the  cat-tail  leaves  in  com- 
munities, each  having  the  form  of  a  co- 
coanut,  with  a  hole  at  the  side  for  an 
entrance.  They  also  build  here  and  there 
"mock-nests,"  apparently  with  the  hope 
that  their  enemies,  in  hunting^  for  nests 
containing  their  eggs,  might,  in  coming 
across  these,  become  discouraged  or  per- 
haps think  that  all  the  nests  in  sight 
were  deceptions,  and  so  give  up  their 
search.  Unfortunately,  this  little  scheme 
rarely  succeeds.  Snakes  get  many  of 
their"  eggs,  especially  those  found  in  and 


NATURE  STUDIES  IN  AND  AROUND  WASHINGTON 


47 


around  the  marsh-lands,  as  the  deadl}' 
"copperhead,"  the  young  of  which  spe- 
cies is  seen  in  Figure  8, — a  \'irginia 
specimen  which  I  photographed  and  sul> 
sequently  placed  in  the  National  Mu- 
seum collections. 

Of  all  my  studies  and  photographic 
work,  none  is  more  fascinating  than  the 
insects  and  flowers  of  this  region,  and 
everv  year  that  goes  hy  adds  forty  or 
fifty' new  subjects  to  my  collection.  As 
I  write  these  lines  I  am  yearning  for  the 


FIG. 


THE  SPOTTED  PELIDNOTA  OR 
GRAPEVINE  BEETLE. 


FIG.  6. 


THE  YOUNG  OF  THE  GREAT 

HORNF.n  owr.. 


"bluets'"  and  the  crow-  or  bird-foot  vio- 
lets to  show  themselves  again,  peeping 
up  amid  the  dead  leaves  of  last  year's 
growth.  A  beautiful  bunch  of  bluets 
are  shown  in  Fig.  lo,  which  I  took  last 
year  in  Maryland,  just  a  little  ways  from 
our  home. 

Insect  life  is  very  abundant  here  ;  and 
over  thirty  years  ago  the  veteran  ento- 
mologist of  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Ag- 
riculture, the  late  Charles  \'alentine 
Riley,  told  me  that,  by  careful  search, 
there  were  still  ftew  species  of  the 
smaller  forms  of  insects  to  be  described 
for  the  District  of  Columbia  and  north- 
ern Mrginia.  Few  contributed  more  to 
this  subject  than  Professor  Riley,  and 
especially  along  the  line  of  those  species 
of  insects  which  are  the  enemies  of  the 
agriculturist,    or    destroyed    our    shade- 


Fir,.  S.     VOTING  COPPERHFAn  VIPER  OR  SNAKE. 
Not  to  he  trusted  at  this  age,  and  very  venomous   when   older. 


48 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


FIG.  9.     THE  BROAD-NECKED  TRIONUS. 


trees,  or  were  pests  in  other  ways. 

Out  of  my  large  collection  of  insect 
photographs  taken  in  this  region,  I  select 
two  for  reproduction  here, — the  one 
shown  in  Fig.  7  being  the  "Spotted  Pel- 
idnota,"  which  often  does  great  damage 
to  the  wild  and  cultivated  grape-vines 
during  the  summer  months ;  the  other 
subject  (Fig.  9)  is  the  well-known 
"Broad-necked  Prionus,"  the  larva;  of 
wliich  feed  upon  the  roots  of  the  grape- 
vine, and  which  doubtless  is  a  harmful 
insect  in  other  ways. 

IVIany  of  the  moths  and  butteflies  of 
the  District  are  very  beautiful,  and  a  dis- 
play-collection of  these,  together  with 
other  insects,  is  now  being  made  for  one 
of  the  exhibition-rooms  at  the  U.  S.  Na- 
tional ]^Iuseum.  This  is  very  convenient 
for  study,  and  of  great  assistance  to 
those  interested  in  this  particular  and 
important  branch  of  zoology. 


FIG.  10.    A  BEAUTIFUL  BUNCH  OF  "BLUETS.' 


THE  INTEREST  IN  INSECTS 


49 


Bee  Buccaneers. 

BY    JOHN    H.    LOVELL,    WALDBORO,    MAINE. 

The  diligence  of  bees  is  proverbial, 
and  they  have  long  been  held  up  as  mod- 
els of  industry  in  both  prose  and  poetry. 
It  is  then  with  no  small  astonishment 
tliat  we  learn  that  there  are  idle  bees, 
which  have  given  up  nest  building  and 
storing  supplies ;  and  live  wholly,  as  re- 
gards brood  rearing,  at  the  expense  of 
their  neighbors.  Like  robbers,  as  they 
are.  they  steal  into  the  homes  of  the 
rightful  owners  of  the  nests,  when  they 
are  away,  and  lay  their  eggs  on  the  balls 
of  bee-bread.  They  are  called  guest- 
bees,  brood  parasites,  or  inquilines ; 
while  their  unconscious  victims  are 
known  as  host-bees. 

The  guest-bees  are  usually  allied  in 
structure  with  their  hosts,  and  both  are 
probably  derived  from  the  same  primi- 
tive stock,  thus  the  false  bumblebees, 
which  live  in  the  nests  of  bumblebees, 
are  commonly  mistaken  for  bumblebees, 
and  both  doubtless  had  a  common  ances- 
try. The  origin  of  this  habit  is  not  per- 
haps wholly  clear,  but  it  is  only  one  of 
many  manifestations  in  nature  of  a  wide- 
spread tendency  among  animals  and 
plants,  not  excepting  the  human  race,  to 
live  at  the  expense  of  others  when  there 
is  an  opportunity.  Common  genera  of 
parasitic  bees  in  the  eastern  states  are 
^v'omada,  Coelioxys,  Stelis.  Melecta.  and 
Psithvrus,  or  the  false  bumblebees.  (Fig. 
I). 

Of  the  lives  and  adventures  of  these 
bold  buccaneers  of  the  air  we  know 
little : 

"His  morals  are  mixed,  but  his  will  is 
fixed ; 

He  prospers  after  his  kind. 
And    follows   an    instinct,    compass-sure. 

The  philosophers  call  blind. 

And  that  is  why,  when  he  comes  to  die, 
He'll  have  an  easier  sentence. 


Than  some  one  I  know  who  thinks  just 
so. 
And  then  leaves  room  for  repentance." 
The  way  in  which  a  parasitic  bee  en- 
ters the  burrow  of  a  nest  bee  is  thus  de- 
scribed by  Dr.  Graenicher :     A  parasitic 
bee    (Triepeohts   iiuniiiiiis    comes   flying 


FIG.  1.     COMMON  PARASITIC  BEES. 

1.  Nnmnda  beUa  :   n.   female;  b.  male. 

2.  Melecta  miranda,   female. 

3.  Melecta  interrupta,  female. 

4.  Triepeolus   donatus:   a,   female;   b,   male. 

5.  Coelioxys  rufitarsis:  a,  female;   b,  male. 

6.  Stelis   foederalis,  female. 


over  a  clay-bank  examining  every  hole 
and  crevice  in  search  of  the  nest  of  a 
host-bee.  When  it  discovers  the  burrow 
of  Colletes  eulophi  it  becomes  greatly  ex- 
cited, crawling  around  with  quivering 
wings,  looking  into  the  tunnel  but  not 
entering.  It  soon  takes  up  a  position  on 
a  small  plant,  and  waits  patiently  until 
the  owner  arrives  with  its  load  of  pollen 
and  honey  and  disappears  in  the  nest. 
After  the  departure  of  the  host-bee  the 
parasite  enters  the  nest  where  it  remains 
about  a  minute.  It  then  spends  nearly  six 
minutes  in  studying  the  territory  around 
the  nest  in  order  that  it  may  easily  locate 
it  again.  For  several  successive  days  it 
returns  and  at  the  right  time  deposits  an 


50 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


egg-  on  the  bee-bread  (a  mixture  of  nec- 
tar and  pollen).  At  last  the  nest  is  defin- 
itely closed  by  its  owner  {Collet cs  culo- 
phi)  and  both  bees  disappear  to  return 
no  more. 

Another   parasitic   bee    (Stclis     uiacii- 
lata)  lays  her  eggs  in  the  nests  of  Alci- 


FIG.    2.      DIAGRAMS   OF    SECTIONS    OF   CELLS. 

A.  Diagram  of  a  section  lengthwise  through  a 
cell  troni  the  nest  of  Alcidamea  prodncta:  c,  egg  of 
host  bee,  Alcidamea  producta;  d,  egg  of  parasitic  bee, 
Stelis  sexmaculata. 

B.  Diagram  of  section  lengthwise  through  lower 
half  of  cell  of  Megachile  latimanus:  e,  egg  of  host 
bee,  Megachile  latimanus;  f,  egg  of  parasitic  bee, 
Coelioxys  rufitarsis.  Notice  that  the  egg  of 
the  parasitic  bee  is  concealed  on  the  side  of  the  mass 
of   bee    bread.      (After    Graeniclier). 

damea  producta.  The  nest  of  Alcidamea 
producta  is  a  tunnel  in  the  pith  of  the 
dry  stem  of  the  blackberry  or  sumac.  At 
the  bottom  there  is  stored  a  conical  mass 
•of  bee-bread  on  the  top  of  which  Alci- 
damea lays  her  egg;  during  the  absence 
of  the  host-bee  the  parasite  Stelis  enters 
the  tunnel  and  lays  an  egg  on  the  side 
near  the  base  of  the  bee-bread.  (Fig.  2). 
The  host-bee  may  build  as  many  as  four 
such  cells,  one  over  the  other,  closing 
each  with  a  felt-like  mass  of  chewed 
strawberry  leaves. 

Let  us  now  enter  the  nest  and  observe 
the  tragic  end  which  awaits  the  rightful 
heir.     According  to  Dr.  Graenicher  both 


B 


FIG.  3.     MANDIBLES  OF  LARVAE. 

A.  Mandible  of  larva  of  host  bee,  Alcidamea  pro- 
ducta. Notice  that  it  is  blunt  and  bifid,  adapted 
neither  for  attack  nor  defense. 

B.  Acutely  pointed  mandible  of  larva  of  parasitic 
bee,  Stelis  sexmaculata,  with  which  it  pierces  the  body 
of  the   host  larva.      (After   Graenicher). 


eggs  hatch  at  nearly  the  same  time.  The 
larva  of  the  parasite  is  armed  with  long- 
sharp  mandibles;  but  those  of  the  host 
larva  are  blunt  and  bifid  and  not  well 
adapted  either  for  defense  or  attack — so 
the  latter  is  doomed  from  the  beginning. 
When  the  two  larvae  meet,  while  feed- 
ing on  the  bee-bread,  the  parasite  seizes 
the  body  of  the  host-larva  between  its 
sharp  mandibles.  The  latter  may  strug- 
gle a  little  but  soon  succumbs ;  after 
sucking  out  the  liquid  contents  of  its 
host  the  parasite  resumes  feeding  on  the 
bee-bread.  If  the  host  bee  lays  two  eggs 
in  the  same  cell,  the  larvae  can  not  injure 
each  other;  but  if  there  are  two  larvae 
of  the  parasite  a  combat  is  certain  to  re- 
sult, and  the  victor  is  the  larva  obtaining- 
the  first  hold  on  the  body  of  the  other. 

The  handsomest  parasitic  bees  belong 
to  the  genus  Nomada,  and  Smith  calls 
them  most  beautiful  of  all  the  genera 
found  in  Great  Britain.  They  are  often 
called  wasp-bees,  "because  of  their  gay 
coloring."  They  are  dark  red  in  color, 
often  sufifused  partially  with  black,  and 
maculated  with  bright  or  pale  yellow  (a 
yellow  streak  is  certainly  a  fitting  color 
for  these  bees).  The  males  are  much 
jTiore  yellow  than  the  females.  As  the 
females  no  longer  .gather  pollen  they 
have  largely  lost  the  hair  brushes  used 
for  this  purpose.  They  lay  their  eggs 
in  the  burrows  of  the  ground  bees  (An- 
drciia).  They  occur  chiefly  north  of  the 
equator,  and  are  more  abundant  in  west- 
ern than  in  eastern  North  America. 

In  New  England  there  are  two  species 
of  false  bumblebees,  of  the  genus  Psithy- 
rus,  which  live  in  the  nests  of  the  bum- 
blebees. In  appearance  they  closely  re- 
semble bumblebees,  and  are  no  doubt  de- 
rived from  the  same  ancestral  stock. 
They  produce  no  workers,  only  males 
and  females,  which  would  appeal  to  a 
certain  type  of  socialists  as  an  ideal  state 
of  afifairs.  They  were  long  supposed  to 
be  merely  commensals,  living  with  the 
bumblebees  but  doing  no  harm.  Their 
economy,  however,  has  recently  been 
fully  described  by  Sladen.  The  female 
Psithyrus  attacks  and  kills  the  bumblebee 
queen  and  takes  possession  of  the  nest ; 
but  with  cunning  foresight  she  waits  un- 
til a  sufficient  number  of  eggs  have  been 
laid  to  provide  a  force  of  bumblebee 
workers  large  enough  to  provide  for  her- 
self and  her  brood.  Sometimes  she  waits 
too  long  and  enters  a  colony  with  a 
strong  company  of  workers,  and  is  fu- 


THE  INTEREST  IN  INSECTS 


51 


tiniately  as  }ou  may,  and  I  am  ready  to 
let  fall  the  veil  which  hides  me,  and 
trust  myself  and  all  my  secrets  to  you." 


FIG.   4.     TWO   COMMON   FALSE   BUMBLEBEES. 

1.  Psithyrus  ashtoni:   a,  female;  b,  male. 

2.  Psithyrus   laboriosus:   a,   female;    b,   male. 

riously  assailed,  overcome  and  slain. 
Females  of  the  false  bumblebees  do  not 
fight  with  each  other.  So  little  is  known 
about  American  bumblebees  that  they 
offer  a  most  interesting  field  for  study. 
(Fig-  4)- 

While  according  to  human  ethical 
standards  there  are  pirates  of  the  air 
among  the  bees,  the  group  as  a  whole  is 
of  inestimable  value  in  the  pollination  of 
flowers.  In  the  absence  of  insect  visits 
a  great  number  of  flowers  would  remain 
unfertile,  for  example,  a  large  part  of 
our  fruits,  as  apples,  pears,  plums, 
sweet  cherries,  grapes,  cucumbers  and 
squashes,  in  the  absence  of  insects,  are 
largely  or  wholly  unproductive.  As  pol- 
linators the  bees  easily  surpass  all  other 
insects  in  importance.  As  they  all  live 
on  flower  food  in  both  the  larval  and 
adult  stages,  they  are  compelled  con- 
stantly to  visit  flowers.  In  the  spring 
the  air  around  the  catkins  of  the  willows 
and  the  bloom  of  the  plum  trees  is  filled 
with  wild  bees.  But  the  collector  should 
examine  every  conspicuous  flower,  for 
some  bees  fly  only  in  spring,  others 
only  in  autumn.  Bees  with  a  short 
term  of  flight,  as  a  month  or  two,  often 
restrict  their  visits  almost  entirely  to 
to  one  kind  of  common  flower,  as  the 
willows,  golden-rods  and  asters,  which 
yield  an  abundance  of  pollen  and  nectar. 

There  is  no  more  fascinating  study 
than  the  relations  of  flowers  and  insects, 
and  in  the  words  of  Hermann  Mueller 
the  flowers  extend  to  you  this  invitation : 

"Only  venture  to  come  to  me,  and  in 
true  love  make  yourself  acquainted  with 
me  and  all  mv  conditions  of  life,  as  in- 


Which  Bees  Swarm  Out? 

Gentryville,  Indiana. 
To  the  Editor : — 

I  shall  feel  greatly  obliged  to  you  if 
you  will  kindly  answer  the  following 
question :  Do  young  or  old  bees  leave 
the  hive  in  the  swarm? 

Halligan  in  his  "Fundamentals  of  Ag- 
riculture," states  that  the  old  bees 
swarm,  while  T.  Chalmers  Potter  in  his 
booklet,  "Beekeeping  for  Sedentary 
Folk,"  states  that  the  young  bees  swarm. 

Assuring  you  that  your  answer  will  be 
greatly  appreciated, 
I  am, 
Very  truly  yours. 

J.  B.  Harter. 

You  are  both  right  and  wrong.  The 
fact  is,  that  both  young  bees  and  old  bees 
go  out  with  the  swarm.  The  very  young 
bees,  of  course,  are  left  with  the  young 
brood  to  take  care  of  them.  Practically 
speaking,  the  average  swarm  is  made  up 
of  drones  of  all  ages,  bees  of  all  ages,  but 
mainly  field  bees  and  young  bees  that  are 
old  enough  to  go  to  the  fields,  or  old 
enough  to  go  out  and  indulge  in  the  play 
spells  out  in  front  of  the  entrance  of  the 
hive  on  bright  sunny  days. — The  A.  I. 
Root  Company. 

An  English  naturalist  reports  two  dif- 
ferent male  blackbirds  which  chanced, 
early  in  the  mating  season,  to  catch 
sight  of  their  own  reflections  in  a  win- 
dowpane  and  came  back  every  day  to 
fight  it.  The  one  kept  up  the  visionary 
combat  during  and  entire  month,  the 
other  throughout  the  spring.  Neither 
bird  appeared  to  have  the  least  capacity 
to  profit  by  experience. 


During  the  recent  siege  of  Antwerp, 
the  famous  Zoological  Gardens  belong- 
ing to  the  city  received  only  a  single 
hostile  shell,  wdiich  fell  among  the 
turtles  and  did  little  damage.  Before 
the  bombardment  began,  however,  the 
management  thought  it  wisest  to  shoot 
all  the  bears ;  and  later  after  the  city 
took  fire,  all  the  large  carnivora  were 
likewise  disposed  of.  as  well  as  the 
venomous  serpents.  Otherwise  the 
institution  has  suffered  little  except  for 
lack  of  money. 


52 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


Ants'  Heads  Do  Walk  About. 

In  our  May  number  we  quoted  from 
"The  American  Botanist"  an  article  en- 
titled, "Interesting-  But  Not  True."  We 
suggest  that  in  criticising  others,  one 
should  say  nothing  that  may  be  criticised 
by  those  others.  The  following  letters 
are  self-explanatory : 

Washington,  D.  C. 
To  the  Editor: 

I  am  enclosing  a  page  from  your  May 
number  of  The  Guide  to  Nature  with 
a  slight  correction.  It  so  happens  that, 
so  far  as  I  know,  I  was  the  first  to  re- 
port the  facts  about  an  "ant's^head  walk- 
ing by  itself  without  a  body."  , 

I  take  the  following  from  my  note- 
book of  July  loth,  1887,  the  facts  after- 
wards being  reported  to  the  Entomo- 
logical Society  here:  "Hollis,  N.  H., 
July  10. 

"While  sitting  on  the  front  steps  I  no- 
ticed the  headless  bodies  of  some  black 
ants  (Camponotus  pennsylvaniciis) 
which  were  still  alive.  On  looking 
around  carefully  I  found  several  heads 
lying  detached.  On  examination  each 
head  was  found  to  be  occupied  by  a 
small,  live,  white  worm.  They  were  able 
to  move  around  by  keeping  the  head  on 
its  flat  (posterior)  surface  and  by 
elongating  themselves,  pushing  their 
house  backward — " 

Several  years  later  Mr.  E.  A. 
Schwartz  of  the  Agricultural  Depart- 
ment reported  a  full  study  of  the  sub- 
ject and  identified  the  adult  of  the  worm 
as  a  parasitic  fly  (  ?)  which  deposited  its 
eggs  on  the  back  of  the  ant's  head. 

"The  American  Botanist,"  from  which 

you   quote   should   change    its    quotation 

to,  Be  sure  you  are  right,  then  go  ahead. 

Sincerely  yours, 

William  H.  Fox,  ^I.  D. 

^         *         * 

\Vashington,  D.  C. 
To  the  Editor : 

I  have  yours  of  the  4th,  with  letter 
from  Dr.  William  H.  Fox  of  this  city 
and  clipping  from  the  May  number  of 
The  Guide  to  Nature.  Doctor  Fox  is 
correct,  with  the  single  exception  that 
the  man  who  wrote  the  second  article 
conveying  the  determination  of  the  para- 
site and  so  on  was  not  Mr.  E.  A. 
Schwarz.  but  Mr.  Theodore  Pergande  of 
this  Bureau.  You  will  find  an  account 
of  this  curious  phenomenon  of  an  ant's 
head  apparently  walking  by  itself  in  my 


"Insect  Book"  published  by  Doubleday 
Page  &Co.,  on  pages  147-148,  under  the 
head  of  "The  Hump-backed  Flies  (Fam- 
ily Phoridae)."     I  quote: 

"Life    History   of   the    Ant-Decapitating 
Fly 
{Apoccphalus  pcrgandei  Coquillett.) 
"It  would  be  rather  a  misnomer  to  call 
this  a  typical  life  history  since  this  form 
seems  peculiar  in  its  habits  and  rather 
aberrant   among   the    Phoridae,   but   the 
observations  which  have  been  made  upon 
it  by  Dr.  W.  H.  Fox  and  Mr.  Theo.  Per- 
gande have  been  more  complete  than  any 
which  have  been  made  upon  other  mem- 
bers of  the  family,  so  it  is  here  included. 
A  common  black  ant  (Camponotus  perui- 
sylvanicus)     is    the    host    of    this    little 
hump-backed  fly.     In  the  District  of  Co- 
lumbia and  in   New   Hampshire  the  fly 
may  be   found    in    midsummer    darting 
about   the   moving   ants   on    tree    trunks 
and  elsewhere  and  finally  succeeding  in 
laying  its  ^gg,  sometimes  after  a  strug- 
gle, on  the  neck  of  the  ant.     The  Qgg 
hatches  and  the  young  larva  bores  direct- 
ly into  the  head  of  the  ant.     As  it  en- 
larges it  eats  out  the  whole  head  cavity, 
the  head  breaks  ofif  from  the  body  of  the 
ant  and  moves  about  independently,  pro- 
pelled by  the  body  of  the  contained  mag- 
got which  extrudes  partly  from  the  neck 
hole.     The  larva  of  the  fly  transforms  to 
pupa  with  the  last  larval  skin  in  the  cut 
oft'  ant's  head  and  the  adult  fly  issues  in 
the  course  of  from  two  to  three  weeks. 
To  see  an  ant's  head  walking  off  by  itself 
is   a   curious   sight,    yet    it    is    common 
enough  where  this  fly  abounds.     Dr.  Fox 
named  it,  appropriately  enough,  'the  ant- 
decapitating  fly.'  " 

Sincerely  yours, 

L.  O.  Howard, 
Chief  of  Bureau. 


The  latest  of  the  long  series  of  mono- 
graphs on  "The  Natural  History  of 
New  England"  brought  out  by  the 
Boston  Society  of  Natural  History  is 
by  W.  C.  Kendall,  associate  of  the 
United  States  Bureau  of  Fisheries.  It 
comprises  part  T  of  a  proposed  mono- 
graph on  the  salmon  family,  and  is 
given  over  exclusively  to  the  trouts. 
In  addition  to  the  usual  minute  de- 
scriptions in  the  hundred  quarto  pages, 
there  is  much  historical  information, 
together  with  seven  large  and  beauti- 
ullv  colored  plates. 


THE  MINERAL  COLLECTOR 


•53 


■■r ■■vyy^Y^rv^^^.-o^ri.i.iri.iii.Mi.n-rtjtj.iiiiMiroTrTiomcUXaxet^^ 


THE  MINERAL  COLLECTOR 


« ■■« Yrrfrr, ^rtTywvvTVYTrv»-i-«vY-fi-.T  1 1 1  ni.i.Ti  i-i-nm  o  oTjcixgcaaxoooocOJCgooooeoooecoaxc 


Mica    and    Isinglass.  crystallize      in      the      monoclynic      sys- 

tem.     The  various   species  are  charac- 

BY     R0BI2RT     SPARKS      WALKER,      CH.VTTA-       ^-ii  •.  11  -ij- 

tenzed    by    a    basal    cleavage    yielding 

NOOGA,  TENN.  tough  scales,  which  vary  from  colorless 

Mica  is  not  isinglass.   There  is  a  group      to  jet  black.     Muscovite  is  our  common 

of  minerals  classified    under    the    name      mica,    and    is    generally    known    by    the 

mica,     such    as    muscovite,     paragonite,      simple    name    mica.      Colorless    mica    is 

lepidolite,    biotite.    etc. ;    the    illustration      used  in  stove  doors,  for  lamp  chimneys, 


LARGE    PIECES    OF    MICA    OF    THE    Ml'SCOVPrE    VARIETY. 


shows  a  piece  of  the  muscovite  variety,  in   the  manufacture  of  insulating  mate- 

the  kind    most    familiar    to    our    read-  rial,  of  wall  paper,  of  dynamite  and  as  a 

ers.       These     mica   minerals,    consisting  lubricant.       In    the    year     1900,    70,587 

of     aluminum      silicate,     with     varying  pounds  of  sheet  mica  were  mined  in  the 

proportions   of   potassium,    sodium,   etc..  United  States. 


54 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


IMuscovite  mica  is  a  normal  constituent 
of  granite,  gneiss,  and  similar  rocks. 
Deposits  from  which  sheet  mica  is  ob- 
tained, are  found  in  a  coarse  granite 
called  pegmatite.  Its  preparation  is  sim- 
ple. When  freed  from  rocks,  it  is  split 
into  blocks  by  the  use  of  wedges,  and 
then  cut  into  various  sizes. 

The  picture  shows  a  view  of  some  of 
the  mica  mined  by  the  Ridgeway  Mica 
Company,  Ridgeway,  Virginia.  North 
Carolina  furnishes  nearly  half  the  mica 
now  used. 

The  Ridgeway  people  take  out  about 
15,000  pounds  monthly.  The  largest 
block  removed  weighed  more  than  3,000 
pounds.  The  mine  apparently  contains 
enough  mica  to  keep  the  owners  busy  for 
nearly  a  century. 

Mica,  especially  sheet  mica,  is  often  re- 
ferred to  as  isinglass.  This  is  an  erro- 
neous application  of  the  word,  as  mica 
and  isinglass  are  two  entirely  different 
things. 

Isinglass,  the  dried  swimming  bladder 
of  certain  fishes,  is  prepared  by  tearing 
the  air  bladder  from  the  back  of  the  fish, 
washing  it  in  clear  water,  and  removing 
the  outer  black  skin.  It  is  then  spread 
on  a  board  to  dry,  and  to  prevent  shrivel- 
ing, is  tacked  to  the  board.  The  best 
quality  is  made  from  sun-dried  sounds. 
After  being  thus  dried  the  sound  is 
moistened  with  warm  water  and  the  in- 
terior glossy  skin  removed  by  rubbing. 
It  is  then  pressed  between  two  highly 
polished  iron  rollers.  If  it  is  desired  to 
extract  the  gelatin,  which  sometimes 
amounts  to  more  than  ninety  per  cent., 
the  sound  is  bleached  in  a  sulphuric  acid 
solution.  This  causes  it  to  swell  into  a 
mass,  which,  when  dry,  is  bright  and 
colorless. 

Pure  isinglass  should  be  free  from 
odor  and  taste.  If  not  tasteless,  it  is  not 
pure.  It  is  used  for  the  same  purposes 
as  gelatin,  and  in  cement.  It  is  the  isin- 
glass in  court  plaster  that  makes  the 
plaster  adhesive. 

Isinglass  is  prepared  in  many  coun- 
tries, but  principally  in  Manila.  Canada, 
Brazil,  Russia,  West  Indies  and  East  In- 
dies. The  best  is  probably  that  from  the 
sturgeon,  but  the  bladders  of  cod  and 
other  fish  furnish  a  good  quality — From 
the  "Southern  Fruit  Grower."  by  per- 
mission. 


Copper  Rocks  and  Boulders  in  Sound 
Beach. 

ArcAdiA  has  recently  received  from 
the  mines  of  the  Calumet  and  Hecla  Min- 
ing Company  at  Calumet,  Michigan,  two 
samples  of  native  copper,  one  a  rock 
weighing  considerably  more  than  a  quar- 
ter of  a  ton,  the  other  a  boulder  of  forty- 
eight  pounds.  The  rock  has  been  placed 
in  an  appropriate  position  at  the  entrance 
to  the  Welcome  Reception  Room  and  as 
nearly  under  the  word  "Welcome"  as  is 
convenient.  This  seems  especially  fitting, 
since  both  specimens  have  been  presented 
to  The  Agassiz  Association  by  Mr.  R.  L. 
Agassiz,  Vice  President  of  the  Calumet 
and  Hecla  Mining  Company,  and  grand- 
son of  Louis  Agassiz,  for  whom  the  sci- 
entific association  is  named.  The  Calu- 
met and  Hecla  Mining  Company  has  been 
so  intimately  connected  with  the  name  of 
Agassiz,  and  the  name  Agassiz  is 
of  nature,  that  a  peculiar  significance  in- 
heres in  this  great  mass  of  copper  as  an 
emblem  of  the  welcome  that  we  extend 
to  all  to  share  in  the  benefits  of  this 
nature  study  institution. 

The  mineralogical  section  of  ArcAdiA 
has  grown  extensively  in  the  past  year. 
The  fireplace  compose-:!  of  minerals  from 
all  parts  of  the  country,  mostly  contri- 
buted by  friends  of  The  Agassiz  Associa- 
tion, has  acted  as  a  nucleus,  around  which 
a  large  number  of  interesting  specimens 
has  rapidly  accumulated. 


The  ancient  superstition  that  gun- 
fire, Fourth  of  July,  and  blasting,  bring 
on  rain,  seems  to  be  pretty  well  dis- 
posed of  by  the  weather  records  of  the 
artillery  proving-ground  at  Shoebury- 
ness,  England.  Here  are  tried  out,  al- 
most daily,  the  largest  guns  made — 
yet  the  locality  has  almost  the  smallest 
rainfall  in  the  United  Kingdom. 


A  grandson  of  Charles  Darwin,  him- 
self a  scientific  man  of  no  small  parts, 
has  perished  in  Flanders. 


The  Oregon  Experiment  Station  re- 
ports a  flock  of  fifty  hens  with  an  aver- 
age of  213  eggs  apiece  during  one 
calendar  year ;  with  220  for  the  average 
of  the  actual  laying  year  of  each  parti- 
cular hen.  The  world's  champion  layer, 
which  last  year  produced  303  in  365 
days  has  now  brought  her  score  to  505 
and  broken  the  two-year  record.  An- 
other bird  claims  the  astonishing  total 
of  819  eggs  in  four  years.  The  average 
farm  hen"  attains  from  fifty  to  seventy- 
five. 


TO  KNOW  THE  STARRY  HEAVENS 


Contributions  to  the  Observatory. 

Sound  Beach  :  ]\Ir.  E.  B.  Lockwood, 
$i.oo;  Mrs.  Robert  McGinnis,  $10.00. 
A  Friend,  $1.00;  A  Friend,  $2.00.  Total. 
$14.00. 

Greenwich :  Mr.  A.  W.  W.  Marshall, 
$2.00;  Mr.  E.  C.  Converse,  $100.00;  Mr. 
Arthur  S.  'Todd,  $1.00;  Mr.  R.  M.  Wil- 
cox, $1.00;  Mr.  P.  W.  Hatheway,  $1.00; 
Mr.  A.  F.  Rippel,  $1.00;  ^Ir.  R.  L. 
Chamberlain,  $1.00;  Air.  William  S. 
Meany,  $2.00;  ]\Ir.  Walter  B.  Todd, 
$10.00;  Mr.  Francis  Clark,  $1.00;  Mr. 
Frederick  C.  Manvel,  $5.00.  Total 
$125.00 

Stamford:  A  Friend,  $3.00;  Mv.  Ed- 
ward A.  Myrick,  $1.00;  ]\lr.  O.  E.  Stone, 
$1.00:  Mr.  T.  H.  Kirk,  $1.00;  Mr.  Wil- 
liam R.  INIichaels,  $1.00;  Air.  George  R. 
Close,  $1.00;  Air.  B.  F.  Whitford,  $i.oo; 
Voska  &  Otto,  $2.00 ;  Air.  Edmund  Rvan, 
$1.00:  Air.  C.  O.  Aliller,  $5.00;  Air.  R.  H. 
G.  Cunningham,  $10.00;  Air.  George 
Breman,  $5.00;  Mrs.  Fitch  A.  Hoyt, 
$5.00;  Air.  Fitch  A.  Hoyt,  $25.00;  Airs. 
Belden  B.  Brown,  $3.00;  Dr.  J.  D. 
Hertz,  $2.00.  Total, 
Elsewhere :  Aliss 
$5.00;  Air.  Arthur  A. 
setts,  $50.00;  Air.  H. 
sylvania,  $io.oo;  Air.  William  Tyler 
Olcott,  Connecticut,  $1.00;  A  Prominent 
Astronomer,  $25.00;  Airs.  Charles  E.  H. 
Phillips,  Connecticut,  $5.00 ;  Dr.  Robert 
T.  A'lorris,  New  York,  $5.00;  Mr.  H.  E. 
Deats,  New  Jersey,  $5.00;  Air.  Chas.  A. 
Bruun.  Alissouri,  $10.00.  Total,  $116. 
Grand  Total,  S322.00. 


$67.00. 
Hills,    Oklahoma, 
Carey,  Alassachu- 

L.  Cassard,  Penn- 


E.  C.  Converse  Gives  $100. 

After  Reading  Press  Editorial  He 

Sends  Check  to  Help  Buy 

Telescope  for  ArcAdiA. 


Alay  10,  191 5. 
Greenwich  Press, 

Greenwich,  Conn. 
Gentlemen  : — 

Enclosed   find   check   for  $100  to  the 


order  of  Dr.  E.  F.  Bigelow,  for  use  to- 
ward the  purchase  of  a  telescope.  I  was 
interested  in  your  article  on  this  subject, 
and  am  desirous  of  helping  Dr.  Bigelow 
accomplish  his  laudable  purpose. 
Very  truly  yours, 

E.  C.  Converse. 

In  response  to  the  editorial  which  ap- 
peared in  this  newspaper  last  week,  ask- 
ing people  to  help  Dr.  E.  F.  Bigelow 
establish  an  astronomical  observatory  at 
ArcAdiA,  in  Sound  Beach,  E.  C.  Con- 
verse sent  to  The  Press  to-day  the  above 
letter,  enclosing  a  check  for  One  Hun- 
dred Dollars  as  a  donation. 

This  is  only  one  of  the  many  public- 
spirited  things  that  the  steel  'magnate 
has  done  to  help  along  the  growth  and 
welfare  of  Greenwich.  The  Press  ex- 
tends its  thanks  to  Air.  Converse,  in  the 
name  of  the  people  of  Greenwich. — "The 
(jreenwich  Press." 


Greenwich:  What  Is  in  the  Name? 

Director  Schlesinger  of  the  observa- 
tory of  Allegheny,  Pennsylvania,  in  a  re- 
cent conversation  made  this  appropriate 
suggestion : 

"Establish  an  observatory  in  the  town 
of  Greenwich?  Why,  of  course  you 
should.  It  is  the  most  fitting  thing  that 
could  be  done.  It  is  a  wonder  that  sncli 
an  observatory  was  not  long  ago  estab- 
lished there,  merely  for  the  carrying  out 
of  the  associations  suggested  by  the 
name." 

The  world  over,  the  word  "Greenwich'' 
is  a  synonym  for  astronomy  and  astro- 
nomical investigation.  Everyone  knows 
that  the  longitude  of  a  place  on  the  earth 
is  the_  angle  at  the  pole  made  by  the 
meridian  passing  through  the  observer's 
place.  The  place  from  which  most  na- 
tions have  agreed  to  count  their  time  is 
Greenwich,  England.  Some  of  them  have 
their  own  time  for  their  own  pur- 
poses, but  for  general  purposes,  as, 
for  instance,  events  occurring  in  the 
sky,  all  refer  to  Greenwich  time  :  that  is, 


THE   GUIDE  TO   NATURE 


by  what  the  sun  appears  to  do  at  Green- 
wich. It  seems  fitting'  that  the  word. 
"Greenwich,"  of  Connecticut,  should 
step  forward  in  astronomical  affairs.  It 
is  hoped  that  the  first  step  toward  our 
first  popular  observatory  may  lead  to 
something  on  a  larger  scale,  and  that  the 
word,  "Greenwich,"  may  become  as  fa- 
mous as  an  observatory  for  the  general 
public  to  view  the  wonders  of  the  heav- 
ens as  its  great  namesake  is  famous  as 
a  technical  investigator  of  those  wonders. 


When  Things  Are   Darkest  Push 
Ahead. 

In  these  times  of  war  and  other  things, 
these  are  indeed  dark  days.  We  have 
been  told  that  it  is  not  financially  a  good 
time  to  attempt  new  things.  It  may  not 
be  a  good  time  to  accomplish  new  things 
but  there  is  never  a  time  when  it  is  not 
best  to  attempt  to  do  better  work  and  to 
render  more  efficient  services  to  man- 
kind. The  Agassiz  Association  has 
many  problems  in  connection  with  the 
continuation  of  its  present  work,  but  we 
have  faith  to  believe  that  through  the  aid 
of  many  kind  friends  it  will  go  forward, 
and  we  believe  also  that  it  has  a  greater 
work  to  do  with  a  larger  development. 
The  wrong  time?  Discouraged?  Not  a 
bit.  Why  we  are  only  a  short  way  on  the 
Sound  from  the  home  of  that  famous 
Abraham  Davenport,  who  on  that  dark- 
est of  days  ]\Iay  iQth  1780  said  work 
should  not  be  discontinued  but  go  on.  It 
is  worth  while  to  read  John  Greenleaf 
Whittier's  poem  telling  of  that  man  who 
was  not  discouraged  even  when  every- 
thina:  was  dark. 


From  a  brown  homestead,   where   the 

Sound 
Drinks  the  small  tribute  of  the  Mianas, 
Waved  over  by  the  woods  of  Rippowams, 
And   hallowed   by   pure     lives      and     tranquil 

deaths, 
Stamford  sent  up  to  the  councils  of  the  State 
Wisdom   and   grace   in   Abraham  Davenport. 

The    low-hung    sky 
Was   black    with    ominous   clouds,    save    where 

its  rim 
Was  fringed  with  a  dull  glow,  like  that  which 

climbs 
The   crater's   sides    from   tlie   red   hell   below. 
Birds    ceased    to    sing,    and   all    the   barn-yard 

fowls 
Roosted  ;  the  cattle  at  the  pasture  bars 
Lowed,     and     looked     homeward ;     bats     on 

leathern  wings 
Flitted  abroad ;  the  sounds  of  labor   died  : 
Men  prayed,  and  women  wept ;  all  ears  grew 

sharp 


To  hear  the  doom-blast  of  the  trumpet  shatter 
The   black  sky. 

No  faithless  servant  frightened  from  my  task, 
But  ready  when  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  calls  ; 
And    therefore,    with    all    reverence,    I    would 

say, 
"Let  God  do  His  work,  we  will  see  to  ours. 
Bring    in    the    candles."      And    they    brought 

them  in. 


In  spite  of  the  dark  days  in 
these  strenuous  financial  times,  we  be- 
lieve that  our  work  is  of  sufficient  im- 
portance to  issue  a  call  to  all  workers, 
"Bring  in  the  candles."  And  I  am  sure 
that  the  future  historian  of  the  early 
days  of  this  Institution  will  write  as  did 
Whittier.  "And  they  brought  them  in." 


The  Genuine  Altruistic  Spirit. 

Mr.  Charles  A.  Bruun,  an  attorney 
of  Kansas  City,  Missouri,  writes : 

"By  all  means,  ArcAdiA  should  have 
a  telescope.  Have  you  inaugurated  a 
campaign?  It  seems  to  me  that  $1,000 
should  be,  and  can  be,  raised  by  popu- 
lar subscriptions  of  perhaps  $10  each. 
I  may  not  often  'see  through  it,'  but 
you  may  put  me  dow^n  for  $10,  v^hich 
will  be  forwarded  whenever  your  am- 
bitions shall  have  been  fulfilled,  or 
realized." 


The  Observatory  at  Sound  Beach. 

"Popular  Astronomy"  of  Northfield,' 
Minnesota,  the  principal  publication  of 
the  United  States  devoted  to  populariz- 
ing astronomy,  in  its  recent  June-July 
issue,  gives  an  extended  notice  regarding 
the  efforts  to  establish  an  astronomical 
observatory  and  adds  the  following  edi- 
torial approval : 

"  'Popular  Astronomy'  is  always  ready 
to  approve  and  to  encourage  steps  which 
will  lead  to  wider  interest  in  astronomy 
and  we  believe  thoroughly  in  the  useful- 
ness of  the  observatory  which  may  be 
frequently  open  to  the  public  at  regular 
intervals.  Everyone  ought  to  know 
something  of  the  story  of  the  universe 
and  nothing  gives  more  of  a  stimulus  to 
the  study  than  an  occasional  look 
through  a  good  telescope  at  some  of  the 
wonders  of  the  skv." 


We  Need  $700  More 


TO  KNOW  THE  STARRY  HEAVENS 


57 


Good  Words  for  the  Observatory. 

I  greatly  rejoice  that  you  intend  put- 
ting up  a  new  observatory  in  a  place  so 
Avell  calculated  for  the  study  of  heavenly 
phenomena. — J.  S.  Ricard,  University  of 
Santa  Clara,  Santa  Clara.  California. 


I  think  your  plan  to  establish  an  ob- 
servatory a  good  one.  No  instruction 
is  given  in  astronomy  in  any  of  the 
schools  under  my  charge  as  far  as  I 
know.  I  hope  that  some  instruction  will 
be  given  in  the  High  School. — Edwin  C. 
Andrews,  Superintendent  The  Public 
Schools,  Greenwich,  Connecticut. 
^     ^     ^     jjc     ^ 

I  sincerely  hope  that  you  will  succeed 
in  your  endeavor  to  establish  an  observ- 
atory. A  man  who  has  been  so  success- 
ful in  popularizing  astronomy  ought  to 
"have  his  facilities  for  such  service  in- 
creased.— Herbert  A.  Howe,  Director 
The  Chamberlin  Observatory,  University 
of  Denver,  University  Park,  Colorado. 

^         jjc         ^         ^         :{; 

I  am  very  glad  to  express  my  cordial 
approval,  and  hope  that  you  may  be  suc- 
cessful in  raising  the  money  needed.  I 
welcome  every  effort  that  is  made  to  give 
the  "man  in  the  street"  a  glimpse  of  the 
wonders  of  the  heavens. — Anne  Sewill 
Young,  John  Payson  Williston  Observa- 
tory, Mount  Holyoke  College,  South 
Hadley,  Massachusetts. 

^;         ^         ^         ^         ^ 

I  sympathize  heartily  with  your  pur- 
pose in  wanting  an  astronomical  observ- 
atory. I  know  of  nothing  which  appeals 
to  the  imagination  in  a  more  helpful  way 
than  a  study  of  the  stars,  and  through 
the  imagination  to  the  sense  of  wonder 
that  does  so  much  to  refresh  the  minds  of 
people  wdiose  grooves  of  life  are  neces- 
sarily narrow. — Arthur  A.  Carey,  Fel- 
lowship Plouse,  Waltham,  Massachusetts. 

^         :^         ^         ^         ^ 

I  am  glad  to  learn  that  you  are  under- 
taking the  campaign  for  the  estal:)lish- 
ment  of  a  public  observatory  at  Sound 
Beach.  As  you  know,  we  have  had  con- 
siderable experience  in  this  matter  at  the 
Allegheny  Observatory,  with  highly 
gratifying  results.  I  can  hardly  imagine 
any  other  way  in  popular  education  in 
which  larger  results  can  be  obtained  for 
a  small  outlay  of  money,  than  by  giving 
the  public  access  to  a  good  telescope  un- 
der the  charge  of  a  well-informed  and 


enthusiastic  attendant.  Your  project  de- 
serves immediate  success,  and  I  should 
be  glad  to  assist  in  it  in  any  way  that  I 
can. — Frank  Schlesinger,  Director  Alle- 
gheny Observatory  of  the  University  of 
Pittsburgh,  Pittsburgh,  Pennslyvania. 
■'fi     ^     ^     ^     ^ 

Your  effort  to  get  the  observatory  de- 
serves the  hearty  approval  of  every  one 
interested  in  astronomy  and  the  general 
culture  of  people.  I  feel  that  it  must  suc- 
ceed, and  I  wish  that  some  person  of 
large  means  may  be  found  to  establish 
it.  Probably  but  few  astronomers  can 
give  material  aid,  because  most  of  them 
find  the  financial  end  the  handicap  in 
their  own  work. — Tilton  C.  H.  Bouton, 
Hudson,  New  Hampshire. 

^         ^J;         ^         ^         ?Jc 

The  plan  to  establish  an  observatory 
at  ArcAdiA,  Sound  Beach,  by  Edward 
F.  Bigelow,  is  a  project  which  should  be 
heartily  supported  by  residents  through- 
out this  entire  section.  ]\Iost  of  us  are 
interested  in  astronomy.  It  is  generally 
admitted  that  it  has  great  value  from 
the  utility  point  of  view  to  navigators  and 
others,  but  it  is  astronomy  freed  from 
any  physical  needs  that  ]\Ir.  Bigelow  has 
in  mind.  The  telescope  that  he  proposes 
to  erect  in  Sound  Beach  will  cost  about 
$800,  and  already  nearly  one-half  that 
amount  has  been  subscribed.  The  ear- 
nestness of  Mr.  Bigelow  is  to  be  com- 
mended, and  he  is  receiving  the  sup- 
port of  many  noted  astronomers  in  this 
country. — "Greenwich  News  and  Gra- 
phic." 

Your  wish  to  establish  an  astronomical 
observatory  for  popular  use  in  the  town 
of  Greenwich  is  admirable.  Every  town 
needs  such  an  observatory.  It  seems  es- 
pecially neglectful  that  so  large,  well- 
populated,  and  very  prosperous  a  section 
of  the  country  should  not  have  such  an 
institution.  A  six-inch  telescope  would 
be  the  most  useful.  A  glass  of  that  size 
shows  well  the  objects  of  general  in- 
terest and  can  be  turned  quickly  from 
one  part  of  the  sky  to  another.  I  sincere- 
ly hope  }'ou  will  be  successful  in  estab- 
lishing such  an  observatory  "for  the  gen- 
eral dift'usion  of  knowledge."  In  regard 
to  the  possibility  of  securing  a  large  ob- 
servatory for  research  work,  it  is  the  be- 
lief of  most  astronomers  that  more  can 
he  accomplished  by  gifts  to  the  existing 
observatories   than   bv   establishing  new 


58 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE. 


ones,  unless  some  site  is  found  offering- 
better  conditions,  such  as  in  a  higher  al- 
titude or  in  a  southern  latitude.  May 
somebody  build  small,  well  equipped  ob- 
servatories all  over  the  country,  as  Mr. 
Carnegie  has  libraries. — Miss  h.  B.  Al- 
len, Observatory  House,  Wellesley, 
Massachusetts. 


The   Pioneer  Astronomers. 

Mr.    Lemont    Barbour    of    Columbia 
University    purposes     to     establish     a 
Chapter    of   The    Agassiz    Association 
to    search   for   new    stars,    for   comets, 
and  to  do  general  pioneer  work  in  as- 
tronomy.    He  says,  "My  plan  is  to  get 
together  a  number  of  members  of  the 
AA    and    assign    them    particular    sec- 
tions  of  the   sky  to   observe   as   often 
as   possible.      These   sections   will   not 
be  very  large,  probably  about  the  size 
of  the  constellation  Auriga.     The  plan 
of  work  is  along  the  lines  sketched  by 
Mr.    Leon    Campbell    in    'Popular   As- 
tronomy' for  October,  1914.     The  only 
requisites  are  a  good  star  atlas  (Schu- 
rig's,  price  $1.00,  is  a  good  one  and  is 
not  expensive,  as  is  Proctor's)   and  a 
certain  amount  of  perseverance.  When 
a  Nova  is  discovered,  the  person  sends 
a  note   to   me   and   a   telegram   to   the 
nearest     observatory     for     confirmation. 
This  should  be  done  immediately,  and 
should  merely  include  a  statement  of 
the  Nova's  location  in  relation  to  the 
nearest   bright   stars    and   its   approxi- 
mate   magnitude,    calculated    by    com- 
parison   with    near   by    stars    of   known 
magnitude.     For  those  possessing  tel- 
escopes  (there  are  surely  some  people 
in  the  AA  who  own  telescopes)  a  sim- 
ilar but  more  certain  work,  more  cer- 
tain, that  is,  because  they  have  charts 
showing  the  star  that  they  are  to  ob- 
serve and  when  to  look  for  it,  consists 
in  observing  stars     that     were     once 
Novae,  but  are  now  rather  dim.    If  the 
work    appeals    sufficiently    to    the    ob- 
servers, those  who  wish  to  do  so  may 
join   Mr.  Olcott's  association  of  Vari- 
able Star  Observers.     Particulars  may 
be  had  regarding  this  from  me  or  from 
Mr.  Olcott,  62  Church  street,  Norwich, 
Connecticut." 

We  purpose  to  make  the  new  ob- 
servatory at  ArcAdiA  the  center  or 
clearing  house  for  astronomical  work 
w^ith  young  people,  with  either  small 
telescopes  or  good  field  glasses.  Meet- 
ings   will   be   held   here   from    time   to 


time.  Air.  Barbour  cordially  invites 
correspondence.  He  proposes  that  the 
motto  of  the  new  astronomical  Chap- 
ter be  "Per  stellas  ad  lumen"  (through 
the   stars   to   enlightenment).  It   is 

probable  that  this  plan  may  result  in 
two  new  corresponding  Chapters,  one 
for  those  who  have  telescopes  and  the 
other  an  opera  glass  or  field  glass 
Chapter.  Regarding  this  plan  our 
Professor  Eric  Doolittle  w^rites  as  fol- 
lows : 

"This  would  be  an  excellent  plan  and 
will  prove  an  interesting  and  attractive 
work  to  those  who  seriously  enter  upon 
it.  But  I  would  not  limit  the  efforts  to 
'new'  stars,  nor  probably  did  Mr.  Bar- 
bour intend  this.  Let  each  observer  take 
a  small  area  of  the  sky  and  become  so- 
familiar  with  it  that  he  shall  'know^  it  like 
a  book.'  Then  upon  searching  the  region 
at  frequent  intervals,  he  will  at  once 
notice  anything  new  or  different,  whether 
it  be  a  new  star,  a  sudden  variation  in 
brightness  of  an  old  one,  a  comet  or  any- 
thing unusual. 

"It  would  add  greatly  to  the  value 
and  interest  of  this  work  if  each  observer 
could  have  at  least  a  small  telescope. 
Even  if  it  were  but  a  pair  of  field  glasses, 
held  firmly  with  heavy  rubber  bands  to- 
a  cheap  tripod,  this  would  be  a  dozen 
times  more  efficient  than  the  unaided  eye. 
I  remember  that  twenty-five  years  ago,, 
my  first  professor.  Professor  Laenas  G. 
Weld,  of  Iowa  City,  used  to  urge  the  de- 
sirability of  thus  apportioning  the  entire 
sky  among  professional  astronomers.. 
The  idea  was  that  each  should  take  a. 
small  area  and  make  a  full  map  of  it, 
putting  in  all  stars  visible  in  his  tele- 
scope, their  magnitudes,  colors,  the  nebu- 
las, clusters  and  everything  else.  Each 
should  then  sweep  over  his  assigned  re- 
gion until  he  knows  it  as  well  as  he- 
knows  the  arrangement  of  rooms  and 
furniture  in  his  own  house.  A  brief  ex- 
amination made  each  evening  before  he- 
began  his  regular  work  in  the  observa- 
tory would  then  be  all  that  would  be 
necessary  to  discover  if  anything  new 
had  appeared,  or  any  change  had  taken 
place,  in  his  particular  region. 

"The  remarkable  new  star  in  Cygnus 
(discovered  by  Schmidt  of  Athens  in 
1876)  rose  from  invisibility  to  a  star  of 
the  second  magnitude  zvithin  tzvo  hours. 
The  new  star  in  Perseus  (discovered  in 
1901  by  the  Reverend  T.  D.  Anderson,. 


TO  KNOW  THE  STARRY  HEAVENS 


59 


an  amateur  astronomer)  increased  in 
brightness  within  three  days  until  it  was 
the  brightest  star  in  the  northern  heav- 
ens, Sirius  alone  excepted.  The  behavior 
of  every  new  star  that  has  appeared  has 
been  most  remarkable  and,  generally 
speaking,  entirely  inexplicable. 

"It  is  true  that  any  single  observer 
might  observe  for  a  long  time  without 
finding  anything;  in  fact  he  might  never 
find  anything  new.  Yet  the  work  would 
be  its  own  reward,  and  there  would  al- 
ways remain  the  hope  of  a  striking  dis- 
covery to  spur  him  on  to  continue  in  it." 


What  Allegheny  and  Pittsburgh  Have 
Done  for  Popular  Astronomy. 

I  recently  visited  the  astronomical 
obser-vatory  at  Allegheny  for  the 
second  time  within  a  few  months.  The 
establishing  of  that  observatory  was 
indeed  an  inspiration.  It  is  strictly 
astronomical,  and  strictly  altruistic.  It 
shows  what  may  be  done  by  an  intel- 
lectual and  generous  community. 

It  was  only  a  few  years  ago  that  ^Ir. 
John  A.  Brashear.  an  enthusiastic 
lover  of  astronomy  and  maker  of  lenses, 
decided  to  circulate  a  subscription 
paper  among  his  friends  and  acquain- 
tances and  the  other  citizens  of  Alle- 
gheny and  Pittsburgh. 

At  that  time  there  was  a  small  obser- 
vatory in  Allegheny  with  a  thirteen 
inch  telescope.  This  had  been  bought 
in  1859  by  popular  subscriptions.  That 
this  telescope  had  been  appreciated  for 
a  half  century  was  evinced  by  the  fact 
that  Mr.  Brashear's  plea  for  something 
larger  and  better  met  with  an  immediate 
and  satisfactory  response.  The  public 
gave  generously  and  the  observatory 
was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $300,000.  A 
new  telescope  with  a  thirty-inch  objec- 
tive was  paid  for  by  members  of  the 
Thaw  family.  Friends  of  the  late  Di- 
rector Keeler  erected  a  thirty  inch  re- 
flecting telescope  as  a  memorial  to  him. 
Mr.  ]\Iellon  paid  for  a  spectrograph  and 
Mr.  Porter  for  a  solar  spectrograph, 
various  other  enterprising  citizens  sup- 
plying other  forms  of  apparatus,  most 
of  them  as  memorials.  But  here  enters 
a  surprising  fact  that  shows  the  altru- 
istic spirit  in  which  it  was  all  done.  The 
thirty  inch  telescope  is  not  used  for 
popular  observation.  None  of  the  citi- 
zens have  access  to  it.  So  far  as  local 
people  are  concerned  they  receive  no 
more  benefit  directly  from  the  greater 


part  of  the  building  and  equipment 
than  if  the  observatory  were  located  in 
California.  The  gifts  are  entirely  dis- 
connected from  local  use.  They  are 
employed  for  the  benefit  of  humanity 
in  general.  People  of  the  vicinity  are 
invited  four  evenings  a  week  to  look 
through  the  old  thirteen  inch  public 
telescope  and  to  hear  a  lecture  on  as- 
tronomy, illustrated  by  lantern  slides. 
Nearly  all  that  this  observatory,  the 
third  largest  in  the  United  States,  is 
accomplishing  with  its  $300,000  equip- 
ment for  the  people  of  the  cities  of 
Alleheny  and  Pittsburgh  could  be  done 
in  the  Sound  Beach,  Connecticut,  ob- 
servatory, with  an  equipment  costing 
not  more  than  $1,000.  The  six  inch 
telescope  that  it  is  proposed  to  erect 
here  would  show  practically  everything 
that  can  be  shown  in  larger  observa- 
tories. The  projection  of  astronomical 
slides  in  the  Welcome  Reception  Room 
cannot  be  excelled  by  any  observatory 
in  the  United  States. 

The  great  Lick  Observatory,  on 
Mount  Hamilton,  California,  is  not 
available  to  the  people  of  the  locality 
for  astronomical  purposes,  but  only  to 
give  tourists  an  incentive  for  a  pleasing 
excursion  from  San  Jose.  There  is  no 
hotel  on  Mount  Hamilton  and  no  vis- 
itor is  allowed  to  remain  there  over- 
night. He  may  look  at  the  big  tele- 
scope, but  rarely  through  it.  At  Williams 
Bay,  Wisconsin,  he  may  look  at  the  larg- 
est refracting  telescope  in  the  United 
States  but  never  through  it.  No  large  ob- 
servatory is  readily  available  to  the  gen- 
eral public  because  on  all  fair  evenings  it 
must  be  used  for  technical  work.  Time  is 
precious  Such  a  telescope  cannot  be  used 
for  even  a  single  minute,  unless  its  use 
adds  to  our  store  of  astronomical  knowl- 
edge. But  what  shall  be  done  for  the 
public  by  this  accumulation  of  astrono- 
mical information?  Just  what  is  done  in 
other  great  establishments.  In  com- 
merce the  large  factory  or  wdiolesale 
house  distributes  through  many  similar 
but  smaller  establishments.  The  United 
States  does  not  so  much  need  more  big 
observatories  as  it  needs  numerous  places 
for  distributing  the  accumulated  product. 
Such  a  distributing  center  it  is  purposed 
to  establish  at  Sound  Beach. 

When  one  hears  that  many  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  dollars  have  been  spent  to 
establish  a  single  observatory,  and  that 
the  expenses  are  enormous,  it  looks  as  if 


6o 


THE  GUIDE  TO   NATURE 


an  expenditure  of  only  about  $i,ooo 
would  not  accomplish  much.  That  im- 
pression is  not  correct.  The  observatory 
at  Sound  Beach  will  be  more  available  to 
the  public  than  is  any  of  the  large  obser- 
vatories of  the  United  States,  because  it 
will  be  established  in  the  interest  of  the 
general  public,  while  others  have  been 
established  to  accumulate  technical 
knowledge. 

It  is  popularly  supposed  that  vastly 
more  can  be  seen  through  these  enor- 
mous telescopes  than  through  one  of 
medium  power.  The  fact  is  that  a  six 
inch  telescope,  or  at  least  one  a  little 
larger,  would  show  practically  every- 
thing that  a  visitor  may  see  through  the 
largest  telescope  in  the  world.  For  view- 
ing some  of  the  popular  objects,  espe- 
cially the  moon,  the  smaller  telescope 
would  be  even  more  convenient,  and  in 
one  evening  would  accomplish  more  than 
can  be  done  by  any  of  the  large,  unwieldy 
instruments. 

For  the  purposes  for  which  this  ob- 
servatory is  to  be  established,  it  would 
not  be  advisable  to  spend  much  over 
$10,000  even  if  all  the  money  that  could 
be  desired  should  be  available.  Some- 
thing a  little  larger  than  the  $1,000 
equipment  might  be  used  to  advantage, 
but  it  is  hoped  that  the  small  equip- 
ment may  lead  in  time  to  the  addi- 
tion of  a  larger.  For  popular  use  it  is 
better  to  have  two  medium  sized  tele- 
scopes rather  than  an  enormously  large 
one.  Let  us  have  this  thousand  dollar 
equipment.  The  building  will  be  small 
and  inexpensive,  but  the  telescope  will  be 
good  enough  to  grace  the  finest  observa- 
tory in  the  land.  We  understand  that 
some  of  our  wealthiest  friends  think  the 
$1,000  equipment  will  be  too  small  to 
deserve  their  aid.  It  will  be  large  enough 
for  a  beginning,  and  will  be  thoroughly 
effective. 

The  above  letter  was  submitted  to 
Director  Schlesinger  of  the  Allegheny 
Observatory,  and  he  wrote  on  the  date  of 
May  29th  as  follows : 

"The  subscriptions  to  our  new  observa- 
tory amounted  to  $300,000.  One  anony- 
mous donor  gave  $62,500.  Andrew  Car- 
negie and  Mrs.  \\^illiam  Thaw,  Jr.,  gave 
$25,000  each.  These  are  by  far  the 
largest  subscriptions,  of  which  there 
were  several  hundred,  the  smallest  one 
being  for  $5.  Your  appeal  to  me  seems 
to  be  a  very  strong  one,  and  I  shall  be 
much  surprised  if  it  does  not  succeed." 


The  Popularizing  of  Astronomy. 

There  is  doubtless  great  work  yet  to 
be  done  in  the  further  establishment  and 
equipment  of  observatories.  x\stronomy 
would  have  come  to  little  without  these  in 
the  past,  and  its  continued  progress  de- 
pends on  the  men  and  instruments  thus 
located.  But  observatories  are  not  en- 
gaged in  the  popularizing  of  astronomy ; 
they  are  digging  out  the  sober  facts, 
which  of  course  we  must  have,  and  are 
wrestling  with  the  enormous  problems 
which  the  science  imposes  upon  them. 
They  are  serving-  themselves,  a  few 
others  like  themselves,  a  handful  of  stu- 
dents interested  in  sharing  their  work, 
and  a  few  score  of  people  who  read  the 
astronomical  journals,  or  the  popular 
science  column  of  a  few  newspapers.  It 
remains  that  the  great  masses  of  the 
people  are  uninterested  in  and  unin- 
formed about  this  supreme  science. 

Xor  does  this  need  to  be  the  case. 
Profovmd  as  astronomy  is.  and  unfath- 
omable as  are  the  depths  of  the  sky,  ex- 
perience has  shown  that  the  skillful  pre- 
sentation of  this  subject  to  popular 
audiences  never  fails  to  interest,  to  ex- 
pand the  mind,  to  stimulate  the  imagin- 
ation, to  ennoble  the  character.  That  we 
can  know  so  little  about  one  million 
^Millions  of  gleaming  worlds  is  no  reason 
for  not  knowing  and  enjoving  at  least 
That  little. 

Hut  what  are  the  facts?  Astronomy, 
which  used  to  be  regarded  as  an  essential 
in  a  fairly  liberal  education,  has  now 
con.ipletely  dropped  out  of  the  high 
school  curriculum  throughout  the  state 
of  New  York — so  the  writer  is  officially 
informed — and  no  doubt  the  same  is  true 
in  most  or  all  of  the  other  states  of  the 
union;  so  of  private  schools  for  pupils 
of  similar  age.  The  writer  has  recently 
learned  of  one  where  200  young  ladies 
and  girls  are  students,  only  three  of 
whom  are  receiving  instruction  in  as- 
tronomy. In  the  colleges,  it  is  true,  some 
astronomy  is  taught,  though  often  in- 
differently, technically  and  mathematic- 
allv,  rather  than  phenomenally,  usually 
in  association  with  mathematics  or  some 
other  branch  of  science.  Distinguished 
professors  of  astronomy  may  be  good 
dehers  but  i^'oor  teachers. 

By  far  the  larger  number  of  high 
school  students  do  not  go  to  college  any- 
way ;  a  large  percentage  do  not  even  fin- 
ish high  school.  These  hosts  of  young 
people  go  out  into  life  knowing  nothing 


TO  KNOAA^  THE  STARRY  HEAVENS 


6i 


of  any  world  except  this  little  speck  of 
dust  on  which  they  happen  to  he  living", 
and  indeed  little  enough  about  that.  They 
are  ignorant  of  what  ought  to  be  primary 
in  their  knowledge  of  the  earth,  namely, 
its  place  in  the  universe  of  worlds.  They 
cannot  tell  30U  the  difference  between  a 
star  and  a  planet.  They  are  amazed  at 
the  statement  that  the  moon  is  not  found 
to-night  where  it  was  last  night,  as  an  ex- 
perienced teacher  was  to  whom  I  spoke 
of  it.  They  have  no  clear  idea  of  the  phe- 
nomena and  causes  of  eclipses.  They  do 
not  know  one  star  from  another,  nor  one 
constellation  from  another.  When  the 
subject  is  astronomy,  they  either  take  no 
part  in  conversation  or  allow  themselves 
to  be  betrayed  into  the  most  egregious 
mis-statements.  And,  when  they  walk 
abroad  at  night,  and  moon  and  counties.? 
orbs  are  shedding  radiance  over  the 
earth,  they  either  do  not  notice  at  all,  or 
else  are  as  lost  as  if  they  were  amid  the 
lal^yrinth  of  Venetian  canals.  As  for  any 
thrill  of  healthy  emotion,  or  uplift  of 
soul,  by  reason  of  acquaintance  with  the 
stars,  thev  are  utter  strangers  to  it. 


The  observatories  are  already  splen- 
didly equipped.  What  we  now  want  is  to 
unlock  the  treasures  of  the  observatories, 
to  let  the  light  stream  out  of  them  that 
has  streamed  into  them ;  to  translate  the 
great  facts  and  figures  which  they  have 
accumulated  into  the  familiar  language 
of  the  people  ;  to  make  easy  to  the  aver- 
age mind  what  has  been  hard  even  to  the 
trained  mind ;  to  inspire  a  thousand  at  a 
time  with  the  splendor,  romance  and 
magnificence  of  the  universe,  which  have 
again  and  again  heaved  the  bosom  of  the 
lonely  astronomer  as  he  has  kept  his 
vigil  at  night.  This  can  be  done ;  on  a 
very  small  scale  it  is  being  done.  Its  pos- 
sibility and  utilitv  have  been  abundantly 
demonstrated.  The  next  man  or  woman, 
believer  in  education  and  in  general  en- 
lightenment, and  lover  of  his  less  fortu- 
nate fellowmen,  should  make  his  gift,  not 
to  an  already  well  equipped  institution, 
but  rather  to  the  people — -"Popular  As- 
tronomy." 

A  similar  need  exists  in  all  other  de- 
partments of  natural  science.  That  is 
the  reason  The  Agassiz  Association 
should  be  strongly  supported. 

We  Need  $700  More 


An     Observatory — "Per    Naturam    ad 
Deum." 

I  am  pleased  to  see  that  you  are  going 
to  have  a  telescope  by  which  you  may  be 
able  to  diffuse  astronomical  knowledge 
and  arouse  interest  in  the  queen  of  sci- 
ences. Some  years  ago  I  had  it  dem- 
onstrated to  me  that  only  one  person  in 
thirty  could  explain  the  phases  of  the 
moon,  and  I  doubt  if  we  would  find  more 
than  one  person  in  one  hundred  that  can 
point  out  a  single  star  in  the  heavens 
and  call  it  by  name.  This  should  not 
be :  it  is  ingratitude  to  God  who  has  bralt 
a  wonderful  universe  and  given  man 
vision  and  intellect  to  see  it  and  compre- 
hend it  .  People  generally  believe  it  re- 
quires so  much  time  and  study  in  order 
to  know  anything-  about  this  great  .sub- 
ject that  they  pass  it  up.  It  never  oc- 
curs to  them  that  it  is  as  much  man's 
dutv  to  study  the  works  of  God  as  it  is 
to  study  his  words. 

I  have  had  an  observatory  of  some 
kind  or  another  here  for  thirty  years  and 
every  now  and  then  some  one  comes  to 
the  observatory,  and  tells  me  about  what 
he  saw  in  a  former  visit  years  ago  and 
how  he  remembers  what  he  saw.  This 
shows  that  the  views  and  impressions 
are  lasting.  There  is  nothing  like  as- 
tronomy to  give  one  a  proper  conception 
of  the  Creator,  for  as  his  conception  of 
creation  grows  his  conception  of  the 
Creator  must  grow  in  proportion. — John 
A.  Cook,  The  Cook  Observatory  and 
United  States  Weather  Station,  Alacon, 
Missouri. 


"Ox   Up  Lunam  with  the  Shanghai." 

Andover,  Massachusetts. 
To  the  Editor : 

The  account  in  the  April  number  of 
Thk  Guide  to  Nature  of  the  chicken 
house  astronomical  observatory  recalls  to 
mind  the  fact  that  once  upon  a  time  the 
fourth  largest  telescope  in  America 
adorned  a  henhouse  in  the  back  yard  of 
a  little  house  off  what  is  now  Massachu- 
setts Avenue,  Cambridge. 

It  was  in  1842  or  1843  that  J.  D.  Whit- 
ney, the  geologist,  his  brother  \\^illiam, 
who  afterwards  was  editor  of  the  Cen- 
tury Dictionary  and  the  author  of  the 
famous  "W^hitney's  German  Grammar," 
the  great  Latinist,  George  M.  Lane,  and 
two  astronomers,  B.  A.  Gould  and  Jo- 
seph Winlock,  all  then  young  men,  took 
a  house  together,  which  thev  named 
"Clover  Den." 


62 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


The  memory  of  these  brilhant  young- 
fellows  and  their  housekeeping-  has  not 
yet  faded  out  of  Cambridge.  What  in- 
terests us  here,  however,  is  that  Winlock 
was  already  at  work  on  the  "Nautical 
Almanac,"  which  later  became  his  great 
life  work,  while  Gould  was  engaged  in 
determining  longitudes  for  the  Coast 
Survey.  Between  them,  they  actually 
managed  to  corral,  for  a  short  while  a 
great  telescope,  the  property  either  of 
their  Uncle  Samuel  or  of  the  Harvard 
Observatory,  which  they  mounted  in  the 
unused  henhouse,  and  by  natural  asso- 
ciation of  ideas  christened  "the  Shang- 
hai." 

The  biographer  of  one  of  the  Whit- 
neys  confessed  himself  sorely  puzzled  by 
a  sentence  in  an  old  letter  from  one 
brother  to  the  other,  "Now  is  the  time  to 
ox  up  Lunam  with  the  Shanghai." 

But  with  "Shanghai"  as  the  key,  one 
quickly  recalls  ihatLnna  is  Latin  for  the 
moon,    and   that   "ox"    in    college    slang 
might  easily  mean  "work"  or  "study." 
Edwin  Tenney  Brewster. 


This  letter  is  indeed  most  interesting, 
containing  as  it  does  this  personal  remi- 
niscence of  the  two  eminent  astronomers, 
Gould  and  Winlock.  The  latter  is  at 
once  suggested  to  all  double  star  astron- 
omers by  his  discovery  of  the  very  mi- 
nute attendant  to  Regulus  and  also  by 
liis  discoveries  of  very  many  other  pairs 
which  are  known  by  his  name,  while  the 
most  accurate  meridian  work  of  the  for- 
mer at  the  observatory  of  Cordoba 
marks  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  as- 
tronomy of  the  southern  heavens.  Dr. 
Gould  also  founded  the  astronomical 
journal  of  perhaps  the  highest  standard 
of  any  astronomical  periodical  of  the 
world,  and  after  its  death  there  has  been 
added  to  its  title,  "Founded  by  B.  A. 
Gould."  Many  stories  of  his  uniform 
consideration  for  younger  astronomers 
are  known  to  all  and  he  may  truly  be 
said  to  have  done  fully  as  much  as  any 
one  man  ever  did  to  advance  American 
astronomy.  I  was  indeed  most  inter- 
ested in  this  slight  contribution  to  a  his- 
torv  of  these  eminent  men. — Professor 
Eric  Doolittle. 


We   Need   $700    More 


An  Unusually  Bright  Halo. 

Mr.  Edward  Pennock,  of  Philadelphia, 
has  kindly  sent  us  extended  notes  de- 
scribing rings  around  the  sun  together 
with  a  column  article  from  a  Phila- 
delphia newspaper.  There  was  really 
nothing  extraordinary  about  this  halo 
except  its  unusual  brightness.  That  the 
halo  not  only  stirred  up  interest  in  the 
sun,  but  was  in  some  cases  even  a  cause 
for  alarm,  is  shown  by  the  following 
cpotation  from  the  paper : 

"About  lo  o'clock,  persons  who 
glanced  up  at  the  sky  for  a  hint  of  the 
weather  saw  a  broad  band  encircling  the 
sun,  the  outer  rim  a  deep  purple  and 
the  inner  a  gorgeous  red.  In  the  north- 
western quadrant  of  its  centre,  a  point 
in  the  circumference  of  the  lirst  circle, 
was  a  second  band  of  whitish  hue,  great- 
er in  size  but  much  less  distinct  than  the 
other.  In  addition  there  appeared  in 
the  southeast  quadrant  of  the  primary 
band  a  segment  of  about  90  degrees,  still 
less  distinct,  although  the  red  and  violet 
of  its  edges  were  discernible.  The  first 
had  a  22  degree  radius  and  the  second 
one  of  44  degrees. 

"For  two  hours  and  more  this  strange 
sight  met  the  gaze  of  millions,  for  it  was 
visible  in  the  greater  part  of  Eastern 
Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey  and  Dela- 
ware. 

"By  noon  all  Philadelphia  and  virtu- 
ally the  rest  of  the  territory  concerned 
went  out  of  doors  and  stood  on  tiptoe 
watching  the  strange  sight.  Knots  of 
persons  would  point  their  fingers  at  the 
halo  and  assure  themselves  that  it  was 
a  'war  ring'  or  that  it  signified  the  end 
of  the  world. 

"  'Old  timers'  remembered  that  a  simi- 
lar apparition  had  appeared  just  before 
the  Civil  War ;  others  versed  in  biblical 
literature  compared  it  with  the  rainbow 
that  cheered  the  hearts  of  Noah  and  his 
crew  on  the  Ark,  or  quoted  from  Revel- 
ations on  the  end  of  the  world. 

"In  the  Italian  section  of  the  city  and 
in  Italian  settlements  in  rural  communi- 
ties where  the  rings  were  observed  the 
terror  in  some  cases  nearly  assumed  the 
proportions  of  a  panic.  It  was  held  by 
them  to  be  a  bad  omen  for  Italy's  en- 
trance into  the  war." 

This  article  and  other  inquiries  were 
referred  to  our  Professor  Doolittle  and 
he  replies  as  follows : 

"The  brilliant  haloes  described  bv  Mr. 


TO  KXOW  THE  STARRY  HEAVENS 


63 


P^eniiock  naturally  created  a  great  deal 
of  interest  here  in  Philadelphia,  and  even 
a  good  deal  of  excitement  among  unin- 
formed persons  who  regarded  them  as 
'signs  in  the  heavens'  of  some  evil  or 
good  to  come.  I  suppose  that  practically 
everyone  in  and  around  the  city  saw 
them :  we  received  perhaps  sixty  tele- 
])hone  calls  regarding  them  between  the 
liours  of  10:30  and  12:,  when  they  were 
most  conspicuous. 

"Of  course  we  carefully  observed 
them.  Aly  assistant  here  saw  not  only 
the  three  bright  ones,  but  also  at  least 
four  more — the  outward,  so-called  par- 
helic  circles,  but  sun  dogs  seemed  not 
this  time  in  evidence. 

"Now  this  is  a  well-known  and  not 
at  all  an  iiiuisual  phenomenon,  though  it 
is  very  unusual  to  see  the  circles  so 
bright.  I  could  explain  it  fully,  but  I 
think  this  not  necessary  as  the  explana- 
tion will  be  found  in  any  meteorology ; 
for  example,  Loomis,  pp.  214  to  225,  is 
very  clear  and  good  and  illustrated  by 
many  figures.  Air.  Bliss  (our  weather 
man)  tells  us  that  these  average  about 
two  hundred  eight  a  year.  (This  means 
sun  and  moon  haloes  both).  When  mak- 
ing the  noon  observations  of  the  sun,  we 
very  frequently  see  them  if  the  sky  is 
hazy  but  otherwise  clear,  but,  as  I  said, 
the  usual  halo  is  far  fainter  than  that 
seen  the  other  day  and  so  attracts  no 
particular  attention.  I  have  coated  a  pane 
of  glass  with  alum  crystals  and  so  can 
now  show  my  students  a  set  of  three  fine 
"haloes  whenever  I  wish  to  do  so." 


The  Tints  of  Spring. 

The  tints  of  spring  are  rainbow  tints, 

All  roseate  and  gay ; 
Aladdin's  lamp  to  bear  us  all 

To   fairyland  away. 

The  mists  of  green,  the  gauzy  scarfs 
Thrown  o'er  the  branches  bare. 

Are  all  in  keeping  with  the  warmth 
And  softness  of  the  air. 

The  trees  a-shimmer  and  a-flower, 
Are  robed  like  reigning  queen  ; 

They're  regal,  ere  they  settle  down 
To   summer's  constant  green. 

Then  come  into  the  open,  come, 
Renew  your  own  youth  too ; 

The  show  is  fleeting,  all  too  soon 
The  pageant  will  be  through. 

— Emma   Peirce. 


The  Starry   Heavens  in  July. 

BY    PROF.    KKIC    DOOLITTLE    OF    THE    UNI- 
VERSITY   oF    PENNSYLVANIA. 

OF  all  the  seven  planets,  there  is  not 
one  whose  in  the  heavens  now 
brings  it  within  the  limits  of 
our  evening  star  map ;  this  is  the  only 
month  of  the  year  in  which  this  unusual 
condition  is  presented.  The  observer 
who  wishes  to  see  at  one  time  as  many  as 
possible  of  the  bright  worlds  which  circle 
about  the  sun,  must  now  go  out  in  the 
morning,  an  hour  or  less  before  sunrise. 
Then  he  will  see  the  great  Jupiter  shin- 
ing in  the  southwest.  Mars  high  in  the 
heavens  in  the  southeast,  and  Venus  and 
Alercury  close  to  the  ground  in  the  east, 
both  so  nearly  lost  in  the  sun's  rays,  that 
they  can  be  viewed  for  a  few  minutes, 
only,  in  the  early  dawn.  The  planet-less 
condition  of  the  evening  heavens  will  last, 
however,  for  but  this  single  month.  On 
July  31st,  Jupiter  will  rise  but  17  minutes 
later  than  9  o'clock,  and  for  the  rest  of 
the  year  this  beautiful  world  will  shine 
out  brightly  in  our  southern  skies. 
'  The  July  Stars. 

There  is  no  part  of  the  heavens  which 
is  more  beautiful  or  more  filled  with  ob- 
jects of  interest  than  the  southern  and 
southeastern  sky  of  this  month.  First,  is 
the  brilliant  Scorpio,  with  its  red  An- 
tares ;  to  the  right  of  this  there  will  at 
once  be  seen  the  two  stars  of  the  Bal- 
ances and  the  bright,  bluish  Spica,  while, 
so  high  above  that  they  are  now  almost  in 
the  zenith,  is  that  bright  and  interesting 
train  of  five  striking  groups  which  is  led 
by  Bootes  and  ended  by  the  Northern 
Cross. 

All  of  these  groups  the  observer  will 
have  but  little  difficulty  in  tracing  out. 
but  the  stars  of  the  great  area  extending 
almost  from  Arcturus  to  Sagittarius  and 
from  Hercules  to  Scorpio  are  far  less 
conspicuous.  These  form  the  Serpent  and 
the  Serpent-holder.  The  former  is  a 
long,  winding  constellation  whose  head  is 
the  interesting  groups  of  some  15  or  20 
stars  at  A,  Figure  i,  and  whose  swinging 
body  extends  first  downward  and  then 
upward  along  the  exact  center  of  the 
Alilky  Way.  until  the  tip  of  the  tail  is 
reached.  The  Serpent-holder  is  repre- 
sented as  an  old  man  whose  head  is  at  E 
and  whose  feet  are  at  F,  and  who  holds 
the  writhing  Serpent  in  his  two  hands  at 
the  pairs  of  stars,  B  and  C. 

There  is  a  special  pleasure  in  tracing 
out    and    becoming    familiar    with    these 


64 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


faint  groups,  and  often  their  outlines  are 
more  perfect  and  there  are  more  objects 
of  interest  within  their  boundaries  than 
is  the  case  with  the  few,  very  brihiant, 
constellations,  with  which  nearly  every- 
one is  familiar.  But  to  study  these  more 
hidden  beauties  of  the  heavens  the  ob- 
server must  be  sure  to  select  a  dark  night, 
when  the  moon  is  absent,  and  to  go  away 
from  the  city  or  other  artificial  lights; 
it  is  only  then  that  the  wonderful  beauty 
and  infinite  complexity  of  the  heavens 
will  appear  to  him. 

The    whole    Summer    Branch    of    the 
Milky   Way   is   now   well   up    from   the 


of  their  enormous  distance  from  us,  that 
they  appear  merely  as  filmy  patches  of 
light  in  a  small  telescope. 


The  Comets  Now  in  the  Heavens. 

The  first  comet  of  the  present  year  has 
been  approaching  the  earth  and  sun  so- 
rapidly  that  it  will  be  just  visible  to  the 
eye  throughout  the  present  month.  Un- 
fortunately, however,  its  motion  carries 
it  so  verv  far  below  the  celestial  equator 
that  during  this,  its  time  of  greatest 
brightness,  it  is  wholly  invisible  to  north- 
ern observers.  At  the  beginning  of  July 
it  is,  in  fact,  very  close  to  the  South  Pole 


NORTH 


FIGURE    1.      The    Constellations    at    9    P.    M.,    July    1.       (If    facing    South    hold    the    map    upright.      If 
-actng  east  hold   East  below.      Tf  facing   west   hold   West  below.      If   facing   north   hold   the   map   inverted. 


ground  and  this  will  repay  many  hours 
of  exploration  with  a  small  telescope.  Its 
wide  southern  portion  is  remarkably 
filled  with  star  clouds  and  streams,  alter- 
nating with  vacant  regions  from  which 
the  suns  seem  to  have  been  swept  away 
to  be  heaped  together  elsewhere.  This 
whole  region,  and  especially  the  lower 
part  of  Ophiuchus  is  remarkable  for  the 
great  number  of  round,  compact  star 
clusters  which  it  contains ;  but  these  are 
nearly  all  so  faint,  probably  on  account 


of  the  heavens.  From  here  it  will  move 
rapidly  northward,  traversing  the  whole 
length  of  the  constellation  Eridanus,  and 
finally  crossing  the  celestial  equator  and 
entering  the  borders  of  Taurus  in 
next  January.  It  will  be  in  reasonably 
good  position  for  northern  observation 
next  November,  but  by  that  time  it  will 
have  diminished  to  the  9th  magnitude, 
and  will  continue  to  grow  steadily 
fainter. 

This   comet   is    one   of    those,    which,. 


THE  STARRY  HEAVENS  IN  Tl'LY. 


65 


being  originally  little  nebulous  clouds, 
far  out  in  space,  came  to  feel  the  gravi- 
tational pull  of  our  sun  and  to  fall  toward 
that  body.  Since  both  the  cloud  and  our 
sun  are  rushing  through  space,  the 
chance  of  an  actual  collision  occurring 
is  almost  infinitely  small ;  the  comet  will, 
in  fact,  miss  the  sun  but  swing  around 


then  whenever  we  have  a  shower  of 
shooting  stars  it  is  because  our  earth 
ploughs  through  a  great  stream  of  me- 
teoric particles  which  were  formerly 
gathered  more  closely  together  into  the 
cloud  form  which  we  call  a  comet. 

The  further  behavior  of  this  new  body 
as  it  approaches  the  sun  will  be  watched 


ConeT    AT   AlPR ELTON 
IS-l    JULY  1.  ip.r^. 

v/ 

^^^^ITER  ^^^==^^^^ 

A^ 

1                  \       ^\ 

/    I 

\                        \\ 

1 

\ 

L 

\ 

JVLY  1 
JVLY  5 

V     I  ~               T                  4/    E.A.-RTK    SEPT.  1 

^\>--_X-«'''^    ■E/\RTH    JULY    31 
\^    //r  ,A^    EARTK    c3ULY    1 

CoMtT  KT  Pe.t^ihel.ioh 
1310    5BPT.  I  5  r:k. 

FIGURE 


The   path   of   the   faint   periodic    comet,    1915    b,    about   the   sun. 


that  body,  and  if  undisturbed  by  the  pull 
of  any  of  the  planets,  will  recede  into 
space,  never  to  be  seen  by  us  again. 

The  present  comet  will  attain  its  near- 
est approach  to  the  sun  on  July  i8.  The 
most  interesting  observation  connected 
with  it  thus  far  is  the  discovery  that 
during  Alay  its  mass  disrupted,  probably 
under  the  tidal  and  electrical  forces  of 
the  sun  toward  which  it  is  falling,  and 
that  four  masses  broke  away  from  the 
main  head  and  are  now  receding  from 
this  at  the  rate  of  about  2,000  miles  a 
day.  It  is  believed  that  it  is  from  comets 
which  are  thus  broken  up  and  whose 
substance  is  distributed  for  a  great  dis- 
tance along  their  paths,  that  no  shooting 
star-streams  are  formed.     If  this  is  so. 


with  great  interest.  It  is  indeed  unfor- 
tunate that  just  at  this  critical  time  it  will 
not  be  visible  from  our  northern  observa- 
tories. 

Another  most  interesting  comet  w^as 
re-discovered  in  April.  This  body  upon 
its  first  approach  to  the  sun  was  dis- 
turbed in  its  motion  by  Jupiter  and  so 
forced  to  follow  the  closed  path  shown 
in  Figure  2.  It  passes  completely  around 
this  orbit  in  5  years  10  months ;  its  last 
return  was  in  1909,  and  it  has  appeared 
altogether  six  times  since  its  first  discov- 
ery. As  the  path  of  this  body  is  so  ac- 
curately known,  its  apparent  position 
among  the  stars  can  be  computed  for  any 
time  with  great  accuracy.  It  was  search- 
ed for  this  year  by  means  of  a  delicate 


66 


THE   GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


photographic  plate  and  when  it  finally 
had  approached  near  enough  to  impress 
its  image  upon  this  plate  it  was  found  to 
he  in  practically  the  exact  position  which 
was  predicted.  This  comet  will  remain 
in  our  northern  heavens  throughout  the 
month,  moving  along  the  path  M  N  Fig- 


FIG.    3.      "THE   COMET    SEEKER." 
A  form  of  small   telescope  with   which   the   observer 
sweeps  over  the  sky,  hour  atter  hour,  and  night  after 
night,  in  the  hope  of  discovering  a  new  comet. 

ure  I,  but  it  will  remain  a  very  faint  ob- 
ject. It  will  pass  nearest  the  sun  on 
September  i. 

A  third,  very  faint,  periodic  comet  was 
discovered  in  May,  in  the  constellation 
Pisces,  so  that  altogether  there  are  three 
comets  now  visible  in  the  sky. 


The  Planets  in  July. 

Mercury,  which  came  to  conjunction 
on  June  26,  will  reach  its  greatest  dis- 
tance west  of  the  sun  on  July  18  and  may 
then  be  seen  in  the  early  morning  sky  for 
one  and  one  half  hours  before  sunrise. 

Venus  also  rises  one  and  one  half  hours 
before  sunrise  on  July  i,  but  this  time  is 
diminished  to  40  minutes  by  July  31. 
This  planet  is  rapidly  becoming  lost  in 
the  sun's  rays  and  will  be  practically  in- 
visible after  the  middle  of  the  month. 

Mars  is  in  Taurus,  between  the  Plei- 
ades and  the  Hyades.     It  rises  3  hours 


before  the  sun  on  July  i  and  this  time  is 
increased  to  3  hrs.  35  min.  By  July  31. 
This  planet  is  drawing  steadily  nearer 
the  earth  and  now  shines  in  the  morning 
sky  with  the  brightness  of  a  first  magni- 
tude star. 

Jupiter  is  conspicuous  in  the  southeast 
after  midnight.  It  rises  at  11  hrs.  20  min. 
P.M.  on  July  i,  and  at  9  hrs.  on  July  31, 

Saturn  entered  the  morning  sky  on 
June  28  and  throughout  the  month  re- 
mains too  near  the  sun  to  be  observed. 

On  July  5  at  4  P.M.  our  earth  reaches 
its  greatest  distance  from  the  sun  of  the 
present  year.  At  this  time  we  will  be 
3,112,100  miles  farther  away  from  the 
sun  than  we  were  at  the  time  of  our  near- 
est approach  on  the  2nd  of  last  January. 


It  is  related  of  Sir  Isaac  Newton  that 
he  was  once  attracted  by  a  fair  lady, 
and  paid  court  to  her ;  in  the  course  of 
an  evening's  visit  he  fell  to  musing. 
Reaching  out  his  hand  he  took  the 
young  lady's  and  raised  it  gently  to- 
ward his  lips ;  he  carefully  picked  out 
the  little  finger  on  which  to  bestow 
the  evidence  of  his  affection.  About 
this  time  the  lady  also  became  lost  in 
pleasant  thoughts.  Sir  Isaac  squeezed 
her  finger  a  bit,  and  stirred  the  hot 
ashes  of  his  pipe  with  it.  The  rest 
of  the  story  is  short ;  he  remained  a 
bachelor. — Howe's  "A  Study  of  the 
Skv." 


The  condor  of  the  Andes  Mountains, 
the  largest  of  all  flying  birds,  takes  seven 
years  to  grow  up.  The  birds  spend  an 
entire  year  in  the  nest  before  learning 
to  fly.  After  that,  they  remain  for  two 
years  more  under  their  parents'  care. 
Not  until  they  enter  their  seventh  year, 
do  they  take  on  completely  their  adult 
plumage. 


BY-WAYS. 


Lightly  tripping.   Summer   comes. 

Clad  in  verdant  coat ; 
The  weary  world  the  open  seeks, 

In    motor,   and   in   hoat. 

But  through  the  highways  ;  and  the  fact 

Is  known  to  you  and  me. 
That  nature's  byways  are  the  best. 

With  stores  of  wealth  to  see. 

While  others  hasten,  we  will  stroll. 

And  find,  in  every  nook. 
Enough  of  interest  and  charm 

To  fill  a  Wonder-Book. 

— Emma  Peirce. 


THE  AGASSIZ  ASSOCIATION 


^7 


c«<c«<gc<«cagc«<c«ggggcg«gcc^«c«<«cc<cc««c«cc<g««cc^ 


-p^g      <^^=im^^J^ 


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•••*'      i 


AQASSIZ  ASSOCIATION 


k<i<.<i<<^<ss^<^^ 


Established  1S75 


lncorporatP<l,  Massachusetts,  ISK. 


Incorporated,  Connecticut,  1910 


What  The  Agassiz  Association  Offers. 

IX    GENERAL. 

From  the  Charter    of    Incorporation : 

"The  purposes  for  which  said  corpora- 
tion is  formed  are  the  following,  to  wit : 
the  promotion  of  scientific  education ;  the 
advancement  of  science ;  the  collection  in 
museums  of  natural  and  scientific  speci- 
mens ;  the  employment  of  observers  and 
teachers  in  the  different  departments  of 
science,  and  the  general  dift'usion  of 
knowledge." 

The  Agassiz  Association  is  a  Clearing 
House  for  information  on  any  phase  of 
nature  or  of  natural  science.  It  places  at 
your  convenience  the  total  of  all  human 
knowledge  pertaining  to  the  natural 
world.  This  it  is  able  to  do  by  having  a 
Council  of  experts  in  every  department 
of  natural  science.  If  anybody  knows  it, 
}'ou  may  know  it  by  merely  inquiring. 

The  AA  publishes  observations,  an- 
swers questions,  identifies  specimens  and 
creates  and  increases  a  knowledge  and 
love  of  nature.  This  work  is  not  limited 
to  its  Chapters  and  Members.  The 
Guide  to  Nature,  the  official  organ  of 
the  Association,  is  devoted  to  common- 
place nature  with  uncommon  interest. 

LOCALEY. 

ArcAdiA  offers  to  Stamford,  Sound 
Beach  and  Greenwich,  and  to  visiting 
parties  from  other  places,  the  facilities 
of  a  general  natural  history  Institution : 

The  beautiful  Agassiz  Grove. 

A  well-equipped  Reception  Room. 

Nymphalia.  This  is  a  nature  study 
park,  so  named  because  it  is  the  home  of 
Nymphs  of  nature  study :  Love,  Study, 
Interest,  Enthusiasm,  Beauty.  Begin 
with  Love  and  through  the  series  we  find 
Beauty.  "We  love  things  not  because 
they  are  beautiful,  but  they  are  beautiful 
because  we  love  them." 

The  Forest  of  Arden — more  than  one 
hundred  acres  of  unexcelled  picturesque 
wild  forest  and  thickets,  explained  and 
explored  under  personal  guidance. 


Demonstrations  in  an  up-to-date  api- 
ary. 

Instructions  in  a  biological  laboratory. 

Exhibitions  with  compound  and  pro- 
jection microscope  not  equalled  any- 
where else  in  the  United  States. 

Soon  to  be  in  readiness,  it  is  hoped, 
an  astronomical  observatory  with  a  six- 
inch  telescope.  This  telescope  will  prob- 
ably be  the  only  one  dedicated  wholly  to 
the  free  use  of  the  public  for  the  study 
of  the  heavens. 

What  Our  Expenses  Have  Been. 

In  the  year  ending  March  31,  191 5, 
our  expenditures  were  a  total  of 
$6,046.97.  Deducting  Sundays  and  holi- 
days this  is  an  average  of  $19.95  P^''  ^^7- 

The  President  of  The  Agassiz  Asso- 
ciation receives  no  salary  for  work  as 
President  nor  as  editor  of  The  Guide  to 
Nature.  For  some  of  the  mechanical 
and  business  work  on  the  magazine  he 
has  received  this  past  year  $708.44  or 
$13.62  per  week.  For  the  previous  seven 
years  he  received  not  a  cent  of  pay  even 
for  this  kind  of  work.  Three  members 
of  the  family  who  assist  (some  giving 
their  entire  time)  have  received  no  sal- 
ary. The  Bigelow  family  does  not  re- 
ceive even  free  house  rent.  Birchen 
Bower  and  its  part  of  ArcAdiA  freely 
used  by  the  public  is  not  the  property  of 
The  Agassiz  Association.  The  family 
pays  the  AA  a  rental  for  personal  use 
of  the  garden  and  the  pet  house.  It  will 
be  seen  that  so  far  as  the  Bigelows  are 
concerned,  they  give  their  time  to  the 
Cause  to  which  the  public  is  giving  fi- 
nancial support. 

These  services  have  been  unpaid  be- 
cause there  has  not  been  sufificient  in- 
come with  which  to  pay  for  them.  Ad- 
ditional workers  will  be  secured  when 
the  income  is  sufificient.  The  equipment 
could  use  to  advantage  many  times  the 
present  number  of  workers.  There  is  no 
limit  to  the  general  work ;  the  local  work 
too,  is  pressing  for  an  increased  number 
of  assistants. 


68 


THE  GUIDE  TO   NATURE 


Our  Income. 

1.  Membership  Fees.  You  are  eligible 
for  membership  if  you  approve  of  the 
work  as  here  outHned.  Full  particulars 
upon  application. 

2.  Subscriptions  and  Advertisements. 
The  Guide  to  Natue  is  growing.  It 
now  has  a  circulation  of  three  thousand. 
Help  it  grow.  You  may  thus  extend  and 
aid  our  work. 

3.  Cash  Contributions.  These  have 
come  from  all  parts  of  the  world  and 
have  been  an  important  factor  in  sus- 
taining the  work. 

4.  Rentals  of  Parts  of  ArcAdiA. 
From  the  Bigelow  family  for  garden  and 
pet  house.  From  Mrs.  Blakely  for  the 
site  for  her  Botany  Bungalow.  She  owns 
her  house,  pays  rental  for  land,  her  mem- 
bership dues,  and  gives  her  services  free- 
ly to  the  botanical  students  of  the  A  A. 

Inspection  and  Cooperation. 

The  cashbooks  for  any  year  may  be  in- 
spected by  any  Member  or  Contributor. 
Every  detail  of  the  work  will  be  made 
clear  to  any  one  that  wants  to  know.  We 
need  more  money  and  have  full  confi- 
dence that  with  increased  knowledge  by 
our  Members  and  friends  and  by  the 
public  in  general  as  to  the  exact  situa- 
tion, it  will  be  freely  given. 

Here  is  a  work  of  merit  that  in  which 
the  interests  of  humanity  should  be  pro- 
perly financed  for  full  efficiency.  Nowhere 
else  in  all  the  world  has  so  much  been 
accomplished  in  forty  years  with  so  little 
money ;  nowhere  has  there  been  greater 
faithfulness,  or  more  devoted  service,  or 
a  greater  ideal  for  the  uplift,  the  educa- 
tion, the  improvement  of  humanity. 
Edward  F.  Bigelow^  President, 
The  Agassiz  Association,  Inc., 
ArcAdiA,  Sound  Beach,  Conn. 


The     Agassiz     Association     and     Its 
Arcadia  Are  for  You. 

To  create  and  increase  a  knowledge 
and  love  of  nature.  You  are  not  too  rich, 
nor  too  poor;  not  too  wise  nor  too  ig- 
norant ;  not  too  young  nor  too  old,  to 
share  in  their  benefits. 

VISITING  DAYS. 

To  Members  (and  accompanying 
Friends).  All  Days.  Special  personal 
attention,  if  an  appointment  is  made  by 
telephone  or  otherwise. 

To  Non-Members  (not  accompanying 
Members).  Wednesdays  and  Saturdays, 
.3  :oo  to  5  :oo  P.  M.,  and  at  other  times 


by  Special  Invitation  and  Appointment. 

The  Agassiz  Association's  Home  (Ar- 
cAdiA) is  for  Study  and  Research,  and 
for  the  Giving  of  Information  upon  any 
phase  of  nature  to  any  person  that  de- 
sires to  know.  It  is  also  intended  to  cre- 
ate a  desire  to  know. 

It  is  a  Clearing  House  for  an  inter- 
change of  observations  by  its  Council 
and  Members. 

It  is  not  a  Museum,  not  a  Botanical 
Garden,  not  a  Zoo. 

Yet  at  dififerent  times  it  has  a  few 
special  interests  (under  special  study) 
along  some  or  all  of  these  lines.  Our 
purpose  is  not  so  much  to  exhibit  nor  to 
entertain,  as  to  create  a  desire  to  do 
what  Agassiz  so  insisted  upon — that  is, 
to  "study  nature,"  and  to  aid  in  that 
studv. 


YEARLY  CASH  REPORT. 

Approved  at  the  Annual  Meeting  on  May  28th 
1915 


SUMMARY— CASH  RECEIVED 
From  The  Guide  to  Nature     -     -     -   $4,648.56 
From  Members'  Dues,   Contributions, 

etc      -      ---- 1,398.41 

Total  $6,046.97 
SUMMARY— CASH  PAID 
For  The  Guide  to  Nature       -       -     -  $4,972.20 
For    General    Expenses  and   Improve- 
ments     --- -     1,074.77 

Total  $6,046.97 

The  above  is  a  correct  summary  of  cash  re- 
ceived and  paid  from  April  i,  1914,  to  March  31, 
1915,  inclusive. 

(Signed)  Edward  F.  Bigelow, 
Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me    this    23rd 
day  of  April,  1915. 

(Signed)  Harry  C.  Frost 
(Sound  Beach,  Conn.)  Notary  Public. 


This  is  to  certify  that  I  have  examined  the  de- 
tails of  which  the  foregoing  is  a  summary  and 
find  all  to  be  correct. 

(Signed)  Clinton  R.  Fisher 
(Stamford,   Conn.)  Auditor  for  the  Public. 

Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me  this  nth 
day  of  May,    1915- 

(Signed)  Clarence  E.  Thompson 
(Stamford,  Conn.)  Notary  Public 


I  have  gone  over  the  detailed  cash  account  of 
the  A  A  and  Guide  to  Nature  for  the  year 
ending  Mar:h  31,  1915,  and  find  them  correct,  as 
stited,  and  am  satisfied  that  the  expenditures 
have  been  made  wisely 

(Signed)  Hiram  E.  Deals, 
(Flemington,  N.  J.)  Auditor  for  Trustees. 

May  28,    1915 


THE  AGASSIZ  ASSOCIATION 


69 


For  Real  Study. 

Signs  have  been  put  in  the  northern 
part  of  ArcAdiA  which  read  "Nympii- 
ALiA,  a  part  of  ArcAdiA,  for  nature 
study.  If  you  wish  to  enter,  call  at  the 
office  for  permission.  The  Agassiz  As- 
sociation." 

These  notices  are  not  to  exclude  any 
visitors  who  wish  to  study  nature  but  are 
to  exclude  those  who  are  not  seriovisly  in- 
terested in  knowledge  rather  than  injury 
or  pernicious  idleness.  A  cordial  invita- 
tion is  given  to  everybody  to  study  na- 
ture in  any  part  of  ArcAdiA,  but  young 
folks  or  others  should  understand  that 
while  it  is  kept  wild,  every  inch  is  under 


tone  illustrations  and  lantern  slides  of 
the  eminent  scientist  from  wdiom  the 
Association  takes  its  name,  but  this  is 
the  first  large  framed  portrait  and 
therefore  is  a  most  welcome  Sfift. 


Reports  come  from  trappers  in  north- 
ern Maine  that  a  feral  race  of  the  do- 
mestic cat  is  appearing  in  the  region. 
The  creatures  are  apparently  the  de- 
scendants of  pets  deserted  by  summer 
visitors  which  have  managed  to  survive 
the  winter.  Now  they  are  several  gen- 
erations removed  from  civilization  and 
have  completely  reverted  to  the  wild  con- 
dition. 


THE  SULPHUR  "MUSHROOM"  (FUNGUS) 


careful  protection.  A  guide  will  be  fur- 
nished at  the  office  for  any  one  who 
wishes  to  reallv  studv  nature. 


Framed  Portrait  of  Agassiz. 

^Irs.  William  Siegrist  Sound  Beach, 
Connecticut,  has  presented  to  the  Agas- 
siz Association  a  large  and  beautifully 
framed  portrait  of  Louis  Agassiz  to  be 
placed  in  the  Welcome  Reception  Room. 
This  is  the  first  portrait  of  Louis  Agassiz, 
strange  to  say,  that  has  been  placed  in 
ArcAdiA.  There  have  been  in  use  for 
some    time    small    photographs,    half- 


A  Beautiful  Fungus. 

Salem,  Ohio. 
To  the  Editor : — 

Enclosed  you  will  find  a  photograph  of 
one  of  our  most  beautifully  colored  fungi 
— the  sulphur  mushroom.  This  one  was 
of  fairly  large  size. 

The  sulphur  mushroom,  Polyporns  sul- 
phurens,  is  indeed  a  beautiful  object;  its 
delicate  lemon  yellow  body  with  an 
orange  border  makes  it  a  handsome  fun- 
gus, although  this  applies  only  to  the 
fresh  state,  for  it  soon  crumbles  into  an 
unsightly,  soft  and  ill-smelling  powder. 
H.  W.  Weisgerber. 


yo 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


Celebrating  "Bird  Day'  in  New 
Orleans. 

BY        STANLEY        CLISCY        ARTHUR,        NEW 
ORLEANS,    LOUISIANA. 

The  state  of  Louisiana  observed 
"Bird  Day"  this  year  on  May  4th,  the 
anniversary  of  the  birth  of  John  James 
Audubon,  who  was  a  native  of  that 
state.  Appropriate  exercises  were  held 
in  all  of  the  public  schools  of  the  state 
and  the  pupils  were  told  of  the  great 
naturalist's  life  work,  and  special  plans 


Louisiana  forest  scene  l)y  the  use  of 
actual  trees,  shrubs,  palmetto  leaves 
and  hanging  Spanish  moss.  The 
mounted  birds  were  installed  by  the 
ornithologist  of  the  Commission,  Stan- 
ley Clisby  Arthur. 

The  city  displayed  the  livliest  inter- 
est in  the  exhibit.  Through  the  use  of 
a  counting  machine  it  was  learned  that 
over  fifty  thousand  people  visited  the 
display  betwen  6  a.m.  and  6  p.m  Mon- 
day, May  3rd.,  and  were  about  the  four- 


TIIE  BIRD  DAY  EXHIBIT  IN  NEW  ORLEANS. 


were  made  for  the  preservation  of  the 
birds. 

In  New  Orleans  the  feature  of  the 
bird  day  observance  was  a  comprehen- 
sive display  of  the  different  birds  of 
the  state  by  the  Conservation  Commis- 
sion of  Louisiana.  Over  two  hundred 
and  fifty  mounted  specimens  of  the  bird 
life  of  the  state  were  mounted  in  real- 
istic attitudes  by  expert  taxidermists. 
The  largest  department  store  in  New^ 
Orleans  donated  to  the  display  a 
large  center  show  window,  measuring 
eighteen  by  thirty-three  feet,  and  the 
whole    was    converted    into    a    typical 


sided  window  six  deep  that  evening.  As 
all  of  the  birds  and  the  half-dozen 
mammals  showm  were  designated  by 
cards  having  the  common  names,  the 
fact  that  they  were  either  resident, 
winter  visitors,  or  migratory,  the  whole 
display  was  made  educational.  Game 
birds  were  designated  as  such,  and  the 
few  "outlaw^ed"  birds  were  so  labeled, 
and  special  attention  was  called  to  the 
value  of  the  song  and  insectiverous 
"citizens  of  the  air." 

On  May  4th,  many  thousands  of 
public  school  children  attended  the  ex- 
hibit in  class  bodies,  and  their  teachers 


THE  AGASSIZ  ASSOCIATOION 


71 


•explained  the  various  reasons  for  bird 
and  other  wild  life  conservation.  The 
Conservation  Commission  on  this  day 
•distributed  copies  of  the  Bird-day  Bul- 
letin to  the  children  together  with  Au- 
■dobon  Society  leaflets.  The  newspapers 
of  the  city  gave  great  publicity  to  the 
display  and  the  department  store  in- 
serted half-page  advertisements  in  the 
press  calling  attention  to  the  exhibit. 
The  success  of  this  display  has  been  so 
marked  that  President  M.  L.  Alexan- 
■der  of  the  Conservation  Commission  is 
arranging  for  a  display  of  the  same 
Tcind  four  times  a  year  and  will  also  send 
one  on  a  tour  of  the  state.  The  interest 
this  exhibit  has  aroused  will  result,  it 
has  been  predicted,  in  a  better  obsev- 
ance  of  the  laws  of  the  state  in  refer- 
ence to  wild  life. 


The  Mysteries  of  Flowers. 

Mr.  Herbert  W.  Faulkner  of  Wash- 
ington, Connecticut,  has  revived  this  fa- 
mous lecture. 

The  name,  William  Hamilton  Gibson, 
will  recall  to  nature  students  throughout 
our  country  the  splendid  work  of  that 
distinguished  writer,  artist  and  natural- 
ist, whose  lectures  on  the  wild  flowers 
possessed  such  rare  merit  and  charm. 
For  these  lectures  Mr.  Gibson  invented 
and  made  many  different  sets  of  gigantic 
moving  charts — all  colored  by  hands  and 
true  to  nature.  These  charts  showed 
hees  and  butterflies  in  the  act  of  visiting 
the  flowers,  and  by  a  mechanism  that 
worked  like  a  charm  the  models  gradu- 
ally changed  and  displayed  the  subtle 
operations  of  the  plant  and  insect  worlds. 
In  this  ingenious  way,  to  the  keen  de- 
light and  edification  of  his  hearers,  he 
demonstrated  nature's  wonderful  scheme 
for  the  perpetuation  of  plant  life. 

These  charts  have  lain  idle  since  the 
•untimely  death  of  Mr.  Gibson,  while  a 
new  generation  of  nature  lovers  has 
grown  up  who  would  be  charmed  by  the 
remarkable  revelations  of  these  unique 
models. 

The  name,  William  Hamilton  Gibson, 
IS  well-known  to  nature  lovers.  Mr. 
Faulkner  has  for  several  years  occupied 
Mr.  Gibson's  studio  at  Washington. 
Connecticut,  and  has  had  the  opportu- 
nity to  make  a  careful  study  of  his  speci- 
mens, writings,  drawings  and  lecture 
notes. 

A  circular  giving   full   particulars    of 


these  remarkable  lectures  and  ]\Ir.  Faulk- 
ner's treatment  of  them  will  be  mailed 
to  any  one  upon  application  to  Herbert 
W.  Faulkner,  Ph.  B.,  D.  E.,  Washington, 
Connecticut.  Every  nature  lover  will  be 
pleased  to  know  that  these  lectures  will 
be  available  to  the  present  generation.  No 
writer  nor  lecturer  ever  succeeded  better 
in  inspiring  a  real  love  and  a  real  desire 
to  know  nature  than  did  Mr.  Gibson. 
The  younger  generation  knows  but  little 
of  him  except  through  the  charm  of  his 
books,  "Sharp  Eyes,"  "My  Studio  Neigh- 
bors," "Eye  Spy,"  and  others.  These 
lectures  will  revive,  as  far  as  possible, 
the  wonderful  charts  and  models. 


Goat  Eats  Tobacco  and  Bag. 

Summerland,  British  Columbia, 
Canada. 
To  the  Editor : 

In  The  Guide  to  Nature  for  April,  I 
read  two  interesting  "lessons"  on  the 
goat.  I  should  like  to  add  a  third.  A 
goat  owned  by  my  friend,  Professor 
J — ,  decided  to  make  me  a  morning  call. 
Skipping  across  the  yard  she  stopped  to 
gaze,  also  to  graze,  on  the  strawberry 
bed.  In  a  short  time  that  strawberry  bed 
was  a  minus  quantity.  Seeing  a  white 
object  lying  near  a  tree  she  investigated 
that.  It  was  a  cotton  flour  sack  contain- 
ing ten  pounds  of  twist  tobacco.  She  ate 
nearly  all  the  tobacco  and  part  of  the 
sack;  on  a  second  visit  she  finished  the 
tobacco  and  left  only  a  few  shreds  of  the 
sack.  Sincerely  vours, 

I\Irs.  Eva  C.  Van  Hise. 


Mr.  D.  M.  Barringer,  in  the  Pro- 
ceedings of  the  Philadelphia  Academy 
for  September  argues  that  the  so- 
called  "Meteor  Crater"  in  Arizona,  was 
actually  formed  by  the  impact  of  a 
meteor,  probably  a  portion  of  the  head 
of  a  small  comet. 


A  contribution  to  natural  history 
comes  to  hand  in  a  post-card  photograph 
of  a  "two-mile  auto  bridge  over  Little 
Egg  Harbor  Bay,"  the  roadway  of  which 
is  for  a  long  distance  strewn  with  broken 
clam-shells.  The  post-card  naturalist 
says :  "The  white  tl;ings  you  see  are 
clam-shells.  The  sea-gulls  get  clams  from 
the  flats  and  flv  no  high  and  drop  them 
to  break  the  shells  so  they  can  eat  the 
clams.  The  bridge-tender  has  to  sweep 
them  ofif  everv  day,  they  cut  the  tires  so." 
—The  Outlook. 


72 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


EDITORIAL 


Good    Wishes    for    an    Accomplished 
Editor. 

Norman  Talcott  has  resigned  the  edi- 
torship of  "The  Greenwich  Press"  whic)i 
he  estabhshed  some  five  years  ago.  In 
his  work  he  has  been  ably  assisted  by 
Mrs.  Talcott,  who,  like  himself,  is  a 
skilled  writer. 

Mr.  Talcott  is  above  the  average  as 
an  editorial  writer.  He  has  pronounced 
convictions,  and  states  those  convictions 
so  clearly  and  effectively  as  to  convince 
every  reader  of  his  thorough  sincerity 
even  if  he  does  not  always  convert  the 
reader  to  his  belief.  He  has  a  pecu- 
liarly artistic  temperament  and  the 
manner  in  which  he  has  struggled 
against  enormous  obstacles  in  his  effort 
to  accomplish  his  ideals  should  inspire 
anyone  who  is  struggling  to  achieve 
some  permanent  good.  There  is  no  con- 
fusion in  his  thought.  From  his  point 
of  view  he  sees  his  ideals  and  the  needs 
of  the  community  with  remarkable  clear- 
ness. There  may  be  those  who  do  not 
think  that  he  always  has  the  correct  point 
of  view,  but  any  editor  or  any  other  per- 
son who  struggles  to  accomplish  things 
is  liable  to  that  little  criticism.  Mr.  Tal- 
cott's  resignation  brings  real  pain  to  his 
fellow  writers  of  Greenwich  and  to  his 
many  readers.  These  have  stood  by  him 
with  a  loyalty  that  could  never  have  been 
inspired  by  one  not  possessed  of  his 
strength  and  his  artistic  skill  in  present- 
ing ideas.  The  Guide  to  Nature  ex- 
tends to  him  the  most  cordial  wishes  in 
whatever  line  of  work  he  may  in  the  fu- 
ture undertake. 


Promulgating  the  Busy  and  Beautiful. 

The  Stamford  Board  of  Trade  has 
issued  a  remarkably  beautiful  "Year 
Book"  to  tell  of  our  busy  and  beauti- 
ful city,  its  locati(^n,  scenery,  history, 
government,  industries,  resources, 
statistics  and  growth.  The  work  is 
highly  creditable  to  those  who  have 
had  it  in  charge.  It  is  well  done.  It 
is  the  kind  of  book  that  has  been  need- 
ed  for  a   long-  time.     From   the   natu- 


ralist's point  of  view  we  are  delighted 
with  it.  Its  descriptions  and  pictures 
of  our  outdoor  interests  are  charming 
and  alluring:  moonlight  at  Shippan 
Point,  an  artistic  gem  by  Brown  & 
Dawson ;  an  enticing  view  of  the  Long 
Ridge  road  and  various  others  near 
Stamford ;  rural  life  in  haying  time ; 
picturesque  scenery  on  the  Wire  Mill 
road,  and  numbers  of  other  beautifuL 
views.  Together  they  make  this  a  de- 
lightful handbook.  Some  of  Brown  &. 
Dawson's  work  is  far  above  the  or- 
dinary standard  of  similar  photo- 
graphs. We  feel  proud  when  we  note 
how  this  "busy  and  beautiful"  city  is 
growing  and  how^  well  it  is  "doing 
things." 

From  the  viewpoint  of  nature  there- 
is  probably  no  city  in  all  the  world 
that  can  equal  Stamford.  Here  are- 
farms  under  intensive  culture,  seashore,, 
wild  country,  picturesque  ravines,, 
marvelous  landscapes,  and  unlimited 
natural  resources.  Many  of  the  sub- 
urban roads  are  in  splendid  condition 
and  others  are  being  gradually 
brought  to  the  highest  standard.  In 
our  opinion  this  part  of  Fairfield 
County  is  the  best  place  in  all  the 
world.  We  congratulate  the  Stamford 
Board  of  Trade  upon  its  success  in  so 
effectively  unfolding  the  activities  and 
the  beauties  of  this  beautiful  and  ac- 
tive town. 


One  promising  experiment  in  cattle 
breeding-,  now  being  carried  on  at  the 
University  of  Wisconsin  Experiment 
Station  and  also  on  a  private  estate  in  the 
north  of  England,  is  the  attempt  to 
toughen  the  Jersey  strain  by  crossing  it 
with  the  hardv  Angus  or  Aberdeen-An- 
gus stock.  The  result,  thus  far,  is  an 
animal,  hornless  like  the  Angus,  or  with 
mere  short  loose  scurs,  somewhat  more 
beefy  than  the  Jersey,  but  an  alniost 
equally  good  milker.  The  striking  thing 
about  the  new  breed  is  its  toughness,  the 
voung  stock  actually  thriving  better 
through  the  winter  in  open  sheds  than  in 
the  warm  stables  of  the  dairy  breeds. 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE.— ADVERTISEMENTS. 


XI 


ORCHIDS 

We  are  specialists  in  this  kind  of  plants. 
We  collect,  import  and  grow  orchids  from 
all  parts  of  the  world  where  orchids  grow. 

We  will  be  glad  to  fill  \-our  order  for 
one  plant  or  a  thousand  according  to  your 
requirements. 

Our  beautiful  Catalogue  and  special  lists 
on  applicaf'on. 

LAGER   &   HURRELL, 

Orchid  Growers  and  Importers 

SUMMIT,  N.  J. 


Accurate 
Microscopical  Slides 

IN 

BOTANY  AND  ZOOLOGY 

Slides  that  are  Artistic 
and  Scientific 

Tuition  in 

MICRO-TECHNIQUE 

Correspond  for  particulars 

J.  B.   HOWARD 

EXPERT  IN  MICROSCOPY 

45,  Frenchgate,  Richmond, 
York,  ENGLAND 


DO  YOU  KNOW 

that  the  Beautiful  Evergreens  which  grow  so 
well  in  New  England,  can  be  transplanted  to 
advantage  in  August  and  September,  and  that 
Evergreens  transplanted  with  generous  balls 
of  earth  at  that  season  seldom  fail  to  grow  and 
thrive? 

Do  You   Wish  to  Select  From  One  of  the  Choicest 
Stocks  in  New  England  ?     Write 

THE     ELM     CITY     NURSERY     COMPANY 

WOODMONT  NURSERIES,  Inc. 
NEW  HAVEN  Connecticut 


XII 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE  LITERARY  NOTES 


How  TO  Use  New  Thought  in  Home  Life. 

By  Elizabeth  Towne.     Holyoke,  Mass. :  The 

Elizabeth   Towne   Company. 

Mrs.  Towne  has  here  answered  almost 
every  conceivable  question  relating  to  the 
home  life,  to  the  problems  of  husbands,  wives 
and  children.  She  shows  how  -to  apply  New 
Thought  in  the  home  to  promote  happy  and 
efficient  living,  to  make  the  home  a  successful 
and  happy  cooperative  colony  versus  an  indi- 
vidualistic hades 


Illustrations  of  a  Thousand  Shells.  Part 
H.  By  Y.  Hirase,  Karasumaru,  Kyoto,  Japan. 
Part  I  of  this  interesting  series  has  already 
been  reviewed  in  this  magazine.  Those  of  our 
readers  who  were  interested  in  that  will  be 
glad  to  know  that  the  second  part  has  been  is- 
sued. The  book  is  beautifully  bound  in  silk  and 
is  made  to  open  in  an  unique  way  as  a  contin- 
uous strip  of  paper,  llie  illustrations  are 
peculiar  to  Japanese  art,  and  are  beautiful.  The 
price  of  the  book  is  $1.50  postpaid. 


War  and  World  Government.  By  Frank 
Crane,  D.  D.  New  York :  John  Lane  Co. 
Rarely  has  any  one  man  exterted  so  wide 
an  influence  upon  the  thought  of  the  people 
as  has  Dr.  Frank  Crane.  His  ideas  are  con- 
structive, progressive,  yet  sane.  He  has  some- 
thing to  say,  and  he  says  it  in  the  simplest 
possible  way.  His  editorial  utterances  on  the 
subject  of  war  have  been  published  in  many 
leading  newspapers  of  the  United  States  and 
Canada,  and  are  here  gathered  in  a  volume. 
The  keynote  to  all  is  an  appeal  for  inter- 
national influence  which,  the  talented  writer 
claims,  is  the  only  way  in  which  to  abolish 
war's  horrors. 


The  Whole  Year  Round.  By  Dallas  Lone 
Sharpe.  Boston :  Houghton  ]\Iiffl"m  Company. 
This  book  is  designed  especially  for  chil- 
dren, and  by  experience  the  author  knows 
whereof  he  writes,  for  he  says  that  when  he 
was  a  child  he  roamed  the  fields  as  he  still 
does  with  all  the  child's  love  of  freedom  and 
all  his  joy  in  the  companionship  of  wild 
things.  For  these  things  he  is  asking  the  chil- 
dren of  the  present  day  to  tramp  the  fields. 
He  himself  is  still  a  child  at  heart  and  he  still 
loves  the  ways  of  wild  folk.  He  rightly  says 
that  ordinary  things  are  ordinary  only  because 
we  have  not  watched  them  nor  thought  about 
them.  The  method  of  going  should  be  "bare- 
foot when  we  can,  in  rubber  boots  if  we  must; 
sometimes  with  a  fish-pole,  sometimes  with  a 
hoe ;  sometimes  with  a  camera — but  never 
with  a  gun  ;  and  if  we  see  nothing  more  than 
the  sky  and  the  earth,  we  shall  not  have  had 
our  tramp  in  vain — not  if  the  skv  is  full  of 
clouds  or  storm  or  stars;  and  not  if  the  earth 
is  full  of  wideness  and  freshness  and  free- 
dom ;  and  not  if  our  hearts  are  full  of — it 
may  be,  of  those  strange  deep  feelings  that 
the  hearts  of  children  know." 


Atlas  Designed  to  Illustrate  Burritt's  Ge- 
ography OF  THE  Heavens.  By  Hiram  Mat- 
tison,  A.  M.  A  new  edition,  revised  and 
corrected.  New  York :  American  Book 
Company. 

This  department  is  intended  for  notices  of 
new  books.  It  is  an  unusual  experience  for 
the  reviewer  to  be  called  on  to  speak  of 
a  work  originally  published  several  years 
before  he  was  born.  He  well  remembers 
this  as  a  book  of  his  earliest  boyhood.  He 
was  then  delighted  with  the  outlines  of  the 
mythological  animals  and  other  fancies  that 
live  in  the  sky.  The  heavens  in  this  book 
and  the  book  itself  perpetually  renew  their 
youth  and  charm.  This  atlas  gave  joy  to 
fathers  and  grandfathers  and  to  boys  and 
girls  of  more  than  a  half  century  ago,  and 
yet  here  it  is  to-day,  revised,  corrected  and 
ready  to  tell  of  the  ancient  shepherds'  queer 
astronomical  fancies.  Every  amateur  astrono- 
mer should  have  the  book ;  others  who  get  it 
will  become  amateur  astronomers. 


The  Lure  of  the  Land.       By     Harvey     W. 

Wiley,    M.    D.      New    York :    The    Century 

Company. 

Dr.  Wiley  is  known  everywhere  for  his  dis- 
cussion of  the  pure  food  laws.  He  has 
written  an  ideal  book  in  which  he  considers 
both  the  advantages  and  the  disadvantages  of 
leaving  the  city  for  the  country.    He  says  : 

"From  my  point  of  view  I  would  set  forth 
for  the  average  man  of  average  nieans,  who 
wishes  to  indulge  the  natural  desire  for  coun- 
try life,  the  dangers  and  difficulties,  as  well  as 
the  advantages  and  successes,  of  making  his 
home  on  the  farm. 

"It  is  evident  that  those  who  live  in  the 
country  must  earn  a  living,  but  in  doing  this 
there  is  no  need  that  all  of  the  beauties  of 
rural  life  should  be  sacrificed  until  it  be- 
comes a  burden  unbearable.  It  is  not  difficult 
to  understand  how  the  youth  brought  up  on  a 
farm  turns  his  longing  eyes  towards  the  town. 
The  conditions  of  farm  life,  as  a  rule,  are 
not  such  as  to  attract  or  to  hold  the  farmer's 
son  or  daughter.  Life  does  not  consist  alone 
in  watching  the  beautiful  sunrise,  in  stroll- 
ing through  a  shady  forest,  or  wandering  by 
a  babbling  brook.  To  the  farmer's  boy  life 
means  early  rising,  hard  and  continuous  la- 
bor, plain  and  often  poorly  cooked  food,  hard 
beds,  and  an  absence  of  all  the  opportunities 
which  the  youth  so  strongly  desires.  It  is  just 
as  natural  for  the  farmer's  bov  to  look 
towards  the  town  as  it  is  for  the  town  boy_  to 
look  towards  the  country,  but  these  conflicting 
desires  arise  from  dififerent  sources." 

The  last  sentence  raises  a  question.  I 
wonder  how  many  town  boys  do  look  long- 
ingly toward  the  country.  I  wish  someone 
could  tell  us  that,  and  just  how  we  may  aid 
those  boys.  In  what  are  they  interested  and 
how  may  that  interest  be  developed  into  real 
knowledge  and  love  of  the  country? 


IS^I^I^IS€I^# 


"^^ni^^^s^; 


To  Know  The  Starry  Heavens 

(SEE  PAGE  94) 

FOR    THE     ASTRONOMICAL 
OBSERVATORY 

We  Need  Only  $500  More 
THE  BUILDING    IS    COMPLETED 

Let  the  Telescope  be  in  Position 
by  September  15 


Vol.  Vill 
No.  3 


August  1915 


EDWARD  F.  BIGELOW 

MANAGING  EDITOR 


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Vol 


VIII 


AUGUST. 


Number  3 


The  Pussywillow's  Neglected  Beauty. 

If  the  pussy  willow  could  speak,  it 
would  stand  up  in  every  springtime 
marsh  and  say,  "You  love  and  admire 
me  not  for  my  intrinsic  beauty,  but  for 
what  I  represent  in  the  transition  of  the 
seasons.  If  I  should  come  in  midsummer 
YOU   would   not   notice   me.      In    June   I 


come  in  greater  beauty  than  almost  any 
other  plant.  In  June  I  come  from  the 
autumnal  point  of  view  with  as  startling 
an  interest  as  in  the  last  of  winter  I 
come  with  suggestions  of  spring.  If  in 
the  early  spring  I  spoke  with  a  portent 
of  the  charms  of  spring,  then  why  do 
you    not,    nature    lovers,    for    the    same 


THE  PUSSY   WILLOW    PREP.XRIXG   FOR   THE   "RLXKLR V." 
tSee   next    page.) 


Copyright  1915  by  The  Agassiz  Association,  ArcAdiA:   Sound  Beach,  Conn. 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


THE  REVELRY  OF  THE  FULLNESS   OF  LIFE  OF  THE  PUSSY  WILLOW  IN  JUNE  AND  JULY. 


reason  admire  me  in  June  when  I  give 
you  a  premonition  of  the  fuhiess  of  Octo- 
ber joys?  You  have  forgotten  that  I 
shared  in  the  spring  because  you  will  not 
remember  me  now.  Perhaps  I  have  too 
many  rivals  but  you  will,  in  September 
or  October,  go  into  ecstacies  over  the 
fruit  of  the  milkweed,  and  even  later  for 


the  jovs  of  fruiting  goldenrod,  hawk- 
weed  and  innumerable  members  of  my 
faithful  kin." 

Thus  may  the  pussy  willow  complain 
because  no  other  plant  receives  admira- 
tion more  transient  and  as  wrong  as  it  is 
transient.     The  pussy  willow  in  June  is 


THE  PEANUT 


/y 


the  most  dainty  and  delicate  of  fruiting 
plants.  But  what  a  parody  of  human 
nature  it  is !  How  frequently  it  occurs 
in  life,  in  good  fortune,  in  happy  part- 
nerships, how  frequently  do  we  forget 
those  that  gave  the  introduction  that  has 
completely  changed  the  course  of  our 
life,  or  how  often  do  we  forget  the  kind- 
ness that  changed  our  path  and  led  us  to- 
ward subsequent  prosperity. 

Let  us  not  forget  the  pussy  willow  that 
stands  at  the  gate  of  June  and  welcomes 
us  to  the  joys  of  summer. 


The  Peanut. 

BY  DR.   FR.\XK   CRAXE. 

(Copyright,  1914,  by  Frank  Crane.   Pub- 
lished  by    courtesy    of    '"The    Globe," 

New  York  City.) 

I  would  lay  a  few  wreaths  at  the 
feet  of  the  peanut. 

It  is  one  of  the  admirable  arrange- 
ments of  whoever  runs  mundane  mat- 
ters that  the  very  best  goods  of  life 
are  for  every  man,  and  that  the  proud 
and  privileged  when  they  nibble  their 
expensive  delicacies  are  toying  with 
the  avenging  furies,  from  a  pain  in 
their  tum-tums  to  hardening  of  the 
arteries. 

There  is  air,  for  instance,  oodles  of 
it,  free  ;  and  if  there  be  aught  better  I 
have  never  found  it.  Also  water.  Al- 
so sunshine. 

More  expensive,  but  still  cheap 
enough  for  dollar-a-day  folk,  is  corn 
bread,  the  thanwhichest  of  all  tooth- 
some things. 

Right  dowm  below  the  high-cost-of 
living  list,  down  where  the  multitude 
mults,  even  below  down  where  the 
Wurzburger  flows,  are  the  little 
friends  of  the  hoi  polloi,  the  peanuts. 

Item.  They  are  good.  A  better  nut 
has  not  been  nutted.  If  they  cost 
twenty-five  cents  apiece  they  would 
be  served  as  hors  d'a-uvres  at  the 
Grand  Hotel  de  Luxe,  and  make  glad 
the  small  white  teeth  of  the  daughters 
of  Millionbucks. 

If  they  cost  $100  a  nut  their  shells 
would  be  strung  around  the  necks  of 
the  grillionaires'  ladies  who  unveil 
their  beauty  upon  us  the  first  night 
of  the  opera. 

Alas !  They  are  five  cents  a  bag.  So 
they  are  nothing  but  just  plain  good. 

Item!  They  are  nourishing.  Fad- 
dists and  medicine  men  have  denounc- 
ed all  other  kinds  of  food,  white  bread, 


sugar,  coffee  and  milk,  but  none  has- 
dared  to  lift  his  voice  against  the  pea- 
nut. 

A  sack  of  peanuts  is  an  excellent 
lunch.  I  so  lunched  yesterday.  1 
bought  a  nickel's  worth  of  Dante  Al- 
ighift'eri,  who  keeps  them  hot  at  our 
corner.  I  ate  them  for  three  blocks.. 
It  is  a  grand  thing  to  lunch  walking;, 
you  get  your  air,  exercise,  and  nutri- 
tion all  at  once. 

They  are  still  better  eaten  between 
meals.  They  are  the  ideal  tid-bit  for 
those  who  watch  the  baseball  game. 
They  are  the  right  hand  of  the  circus 
man.  On  trains  they  have  no  fellow, 
when  there  is  no  dining  car  and  na 
stop  for  dinner. 

They  are  the  true  symbol  of  democ- 
racy. 

They  are  friends  of  lovers.  Who 
can  say  how  subtle  are  the  opportun- 
ities of  the  paper  of  peanuts  consumed 
by  "me  and  Mame"  up  in  the  third 
balcony,  when  our  hands  touch  as  we 
fish  the  gay  goobers  from  the  sack,, 
and  munch  while  we  watch  Lord  Ed- 
ward being  foiled  upon  the  stage? 

"The  Star  Spangled  Banner"  may 
be  the  national  tune,  the  golden  rod 
or  something  else  the  national  flower, 
and  the  turkey  and  the  eagle  the  na- 
tional birds,  but  the  national  nut  is  un- 
questionably the  peanut. 

Sweet  is  the  voice  of  the  peanut  man 
as  he  sings :  "Five  cents,  a  nickel,  half 
a  dime.  All  ready  and  all  hot.  Right 
this  way,  ladies  and  gents,  for  your 
fresh  roasted  peanuts !" 


A  patch  of  timber  or  a  wood-lot 
without  squirrels  always  conveys  an 
impression  of  lonesome  solitude  and 
something  gone — like  a  country  grave- 
yard. There  is  no  other  animal  of 
equal  size  that  can  add  so  much  of  lite 
and  cheerfulness  to  a  hardwood  forest 
or  a  meadow  as  a  hardwood  forest 
squirrel.  Why  is  it  that  American 
men  and  boys  kill  them  so  eagerlv? 
Surely  the  flesh  of  their  little  bodies 
is  not  needed  as  food.  It  has  a  taste 
so  queer  and  rank  that  to  many  per- 
sons it  is  decide^lly  unpalatable. 
Americans  are  the  only  white  men  on 
earth  who  eat  squirrels.  An  English- 
man would  as  readily  eat  a  rat! — \\^il- 
iiam  T-  Hornaday,  Sc.  D.,  in  "The 
American   Natural  Hi?tcrv." 


76 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


The  Wild  Tomato. 

BY    CHARLES    H.    GAHLE,    Fl'NCHAL, 
MADEIKA. 

"The  little  wild  tomato  ( Lycopcrsicitiii 
Tiilgare  ccrasiforme)  which  is  found  in 
Madeira  is  generally  considered  by  bot- 
anists to  belong  to  the  original  stock, 
native  in  South  America,  from  which 
our    cultivated    varieties    have   been    de- 


rived. It  grows  wild  in  many  parts  of 
the  islands,  often  under  desert  condi- 
tions, and  in  appearance  the  plant  is 
quite  similar  to  the  garden  varieties. 
One  plant  was  found  where  it  could  not 
have  had  a  drop  of  water  for  at  least 
three  months.  It  probably  had  started  to 
grow  during  the  last  few  rains  of  spring 
but    had    completed    its    growth    during 


THE   WILD   TOMATO. 
From   '"The   Journal   of  Heredity''   by   permission. 


MEN  AS  WELL  AS  WOMEN  ARE  CURIOUS 


71 


the  heat  and  drought  of  summer. 
When  it  was  found,  the  vine  was  appar- 
ently dead  and  lying  flat  on  the  ground ; 
the  leaves  had  dried  up  and  dropped  ofif ; 
but  more  than  300  fruits,  all  plump  and 
firm,  were  clinging  to  the  vine.  The 
fruits  are  so  very  acid  that  they  can  be 
used  for  little  else  besides  soups,  and  the 
natives  do  not  use  them  a  great  deal  for 
even  that.  Their  keeping  quality,  how- 
ever, might  prove  a  desirable  character- 
istic in  crossing  with  some  of  the  highly 
developed  varieties  with  the  object  of  ob- 
taining a  good  shipping  tomato  of  pleas- 
ing flavor.     Photograph,  actual  size." 

The  illustration  and  permission  to  pub- 
lish this  article  were  obtained  through 
the  courtesy  of  "The  Journal  of  Here- 
dity" of  the  American  Genetic  Associa- 
tion, Washington,  D.  C. 


Men  as  Well  as  Women  are  Curious. 

Dorothy  Dix,  the  w^ell-known  writer 
for  "The  New  York  Journal,"  says 
that  the  old-time  statement  that 
women  have  more  curiosity  than  men 
is  without  foundation.  \Ve  are  in- 
clined to  agree  with  her. 

"Ever  since  that  apple  incident  in 
the  Garden  of  Eden,"  says  Miss  Dix, 
"the  feminine  sex  has  been  called  the 
curious  sex,  and  men  have  derided  and 
guyed  us  for  peeking  and  prying  into 
other  people's  affairs,  and  nosing 
around  into  things  that  were  none  of 
our  business. 

"And  we've  accepted  it  all  as  gospel 
truth,  and  let  men  convince  us  that  we 
had  more  curiosity  than  they  had, 
whereas  the  truth  is  that  women  have 
no  curiosity  at  all  compared  to  men. 

"Take,  for  example,  such  a  common, 
everyday  occurrence  as  the  hoisting  of 
a  safe  by  means  of  pulleys  and  ropes 
up  to  a  third  or  fourth  story  window. 
,In  every  city  in  the  world  that's  done 
every  day.  There's  nothing  new  or 
startling  about  it.  Probably  there  isn't 
a  city  man  living  who  hasn't  seen  it 
done  dozens  of  times,  yet  every  time 
the  act  is  performed  such  a  big  crowd 
will  gather  around  it  that  it  will  stop 
traffic  in  the  street." 

Miss  Dix  also  cites  the  familiar  op- 
eration by  which  a  man  puts  a  new 
tube  into  an  automobile  tire.  That  al- 
ways draws  a  crowd.  Look  also  at 
the  hundreds  of  men  crowding  before 
bulletin  boards.  Women  can  restrain 
their  curiosity  and  wait  to  read  about 


the  game  in  the  newspapers.  Miss  Dix 
also  asserts  that  the  husband  is  more 
desirous  than  the  wife  to  learn  what 
has  happened  duYing  his  absence,  not 
because  he  is  jealous  or  suspicious  or 
begrudging  of  the  money  that  the  fam- 
ily has  spent,  but  because  it  is  "his  in- 
ordinate curiosity  that  clamors  to  be 
gratified." 

Then  Miss  Dix  tells  us  that  men 
have  always  been  the  world's  great  dis- 
coverers, and  that  woman  has  no  more 
curiosity  to  see  what  is  at  the  North 
Pole  than  she  has  to  see  what  is  in 
the  back  yard.  Nor  does  she  care 
what  is  in  the  heart  of  darkest  Africa. 
Most  women  have  so  little  curiosity 
that  they  never  strive  to  extend  nor  to 
go  outside  of  their  own  little  circle 
of  interests  and  acquaintances.  Then 
she  sums  it  all  up. 

"It's  man's  curiosity  that  has  made 
him  dejve  into  things  and  wrest  her 
secrets  from  nature.  Man  calls  it  orig- 
inal research,  but  it  is  only  curiosity." 

She  admires  this  quality  and  calls  it 
a  sign  of  intelligence. 

/\ny  one  who  has  had  much  experi- 
ence in  teaching  nature  study  will  bear 
witness  that  Miss  Dix  is  absolutely 
correct.  The  writer  has  had  many 
years  of  e^vperience  with  all  kinds  of 
audiences  and  in  schools  of  various 
grades.  Invariably  he  has  found  that, 
when  talking  to  girls,  nature  must  be 
portrayed  as  beautiful,  sentimental, 
whereas  with  boys  one  must  go  di- 
rectly to  the  subject  in  hand  and  show 
what  is  in  it,  how  it  is  formed,  how 
the  thing  is  done,  what  is  on  the  in- 
side of  it-  The  boy  wants  to  know. 
The  girls  cares  but  little  for  detailed 
structure  of  plants  or  animals.  It  is 
noticeable  in  the  laboratory  that  in 
explaining, the  machinery  of  organisms 
to  women  they  exclaim  over  the  beauty 
and  care' exemplified,  and  little  heed 
the  mechanics  or  the  structural  details. 
On  the  other  hand  the  man  says  noth- 
ing about  'beauty  or  sentiment,  but 
w^ants  to  know  about  the  action. 
"What  is  it  doing  and  how  is  it  doing 
it?"  There  are,  as  in  other  general 
rules,  remarkable  exceptions.  I  once 
knew  a:  lady,  the  daughter  of  John 
Muir  of  California,  who  had  turned  her 
bedroom  ,into  a  machine  shop,  filled 
with  parts  of  locomotives.  She  is  in- 
tensely curious  about  all  kinds  of  ma- 
chinerv.     I  have  known  manv  women 


78 


THE  GUIDE  TO   NATURE 


who  have  acquired  skill  and  fame  in 
original  t:cientihc  research.  On  the 
other  hand,  there  are  some  men  who 
see  not  the  mechanics  but  rather  the 
poetry  and  the  artistic  aspects  of  na- 
ture. The  boy  and  the  man  want  to 
see  the  wheels  go  round,  the  girl  likes 
the  watch  for  its  usefulness  and 
beauty. 


Of   Cats'   Coats. 

R.  I.  Pocock,  the  superintendent  of 
the  London  Zoological  Society's  Gar- 
dens, points  out  that  there  are  reall> 
two  different  sorts  of  cats,  though  they 
both  come  in  all  colors.  One  is  the 
common  striped  tabby,  with  narrow 
wavy  markings  running  crosswise  of 
the  body.  These  stripes  are  sometimes 
slightly  thickened,  or  they  may  break 
up  into  spots.  But  the  pattern  is  al- 
ways the  same  and  recognizable  at  a 
glance. 

The  other  sort  is  cpiite  different  and 
much  more  uncommon.  Instead  of  the 
many  narrow  stripes  lying  in  the  di- 
rection of  the  ribs,  there  are  a  few 
wide  irregular  blotches,  at  least  three 
of  which  run  lengthwise  of  the  body, 
across  the  ribs.  These  give  the  pecu- 
liar "horseshoe,"  "spiral,"  or  "target  ■ 
pattern.  Besides  this,  there  is  a  well- 
marked  band  on  each  side  -f  the  back- 
bone, and  a  curious  diamond-shaped 
area  on  the  back  of  the  neck,  where 
the  five  narrow  head  stripes  are  left 
out.  All  this  is  quite  distinct,  and 
quite  unlike  the  pattern  of  the  common 
striped  tabby. 

Where  this  pattern  came  from,  no- 
body knows.  The  common  tabby  is 
descended  from  the  ancient  Egyptian 
cat,  which  the  Pharaohs  used  to  ven- 
erate when  alive  and  embalm  when 
dead.  This  also  had  the  tabby  pattern. 
So,  too,  has  the  European  wild  cat. 
But  no  known  sort  of  cat,  tiger,  lynx, 
or  anything  of  the  kind  has  the  other, 
"blotched"  pattern. 

Mr.  Pocock  suggests  also  that  an- 
ciently, in  Europe,  long  before  the  ad- 
vent of  civilized  man  or  the  beginnings 
of  history,  there  were  various  sorts  of 
wild  cats  besides  the  single  one  that 
has  survived  to  the  present  day.  We 
know  these  only  by  their  bones.  Their 
coats  may  have  been  anything.  One  or 
more  of  them  may  have  been  a 
blotched  tabby,  whose  coat  pattern 
still   survives. 


Greatness  and  Early  Marriage. 

Casper  L.  Redfield  of  Chicago  is  of 
the  opinion  that  all  the  eminent  persons 
of  history  are  from  the  late-marrying, 
slow-breeding  stocks  which  have  three 
generations  or  less  to  the  century; 
while  the  great  majority  of  mankind, 
who  marry  early  and  have  four  gener- 
ations to  the  century  produce  only 
mediocrities. 

To  test  his  theory,  Mr.  Redfield  de- 
posited two  hundred  dollars  with  the 
treasurer  of  the  American  Genetic  As- 
sociation, which  the  Association  might 
keep  if  any  of  its  members,  (several  of 
whom  have  expressed  opinion  contrary 
to  his  own)  could  meet  the  following 
challenge : 

(i)  Half  the  sum  for  a  single  case 
among  the  two  or  three  thousand 
persons  known  to  history  for  their  in- 
tellectual powers,  where  the  eminent 
individual  was  born  within  a  century 
of  the  average  birth  date  of  his  sixteen 
great-great-gfrandparents ;  or  in  other 
words,  was  the  product  of  breeding 
four  generations  to  the  century.  Three 
examples,  counting  male  ancestors 
only,  would  also  win  the  wager. 

(2)  The  other  half  for  a  single  case 
where  a  man  of  the  highest  grade,  such 
as  Aristotle,  Franklin,  or  Darwin, — of 
whom  there  are  some  two  or  three 
hundred  known  to  history — whose  male 
forbears  were  even  in  the  three-gene- 
rations-to-the-century  class.  For  it  is 
a  part  of  Mr.  Redfield's  theory  that  the 
highest  types  of  ability  can  be  produced 
only  at  the  rate  of  two-and-a-fraction 
generations  to  the  century  in  place  of 
the  four  of  common  mortals. 

The  offer  printed  in  the  Journal  of 
the  Association  stood  for  nearly  a  year, 
and  the  time  limit  has  just  expired. 
Various  persons,  among  them  several 
expert  genealogists,  took  up  the  gage. 
But  nobody  was  able  to  score,  and  the 
Association  has  returned  the  funds. 

As  the  case  now  stands,  therefore,  the 
persons  who  make  civilization  are  the 
offspring  of  late  marriages  ;  while,  to 
quote  Mr.  Redfield,  the  thirty-three 
states  which  permit  legal  unions  be- 
tween boys  from  fifteen  to  nineteen  and 
girls  from  thirteen  to  seventeen,  are  en- 
couraging the  rapid  generations  which 
"lead  to  the  production  of  mental  and 
moral  defectives." 


INSECTIVOROUS   PLANTS 


79 


Insectivorous  Plants. 

Through  the  courtes}-  of  the  "[Mis- 
souri Botanical  Garden  Bulletin,"  we 
present  herewith  a  cut  of  a  group  of 
plants  that  eat  insects.  We  all  know  that 
some  insects  eat  plants,  but  it  is  not  gen- 
erally known  that  many  plants  have  de- 
vices for  catching,  killing  and  literally 
eating  insects.  It  has  been  ascertained 
by  experiment  that  the  majority  of  such 
plants  use  the  captured  animals  as  food. 

Some  of  these  contain  chambers  into 
which  small  animals  may  enter  but  from 
which  they  cannot  escape.  Such  plants 
exhibit  no  movement  of  anv  kind.     An- 


other class  uses  actual  movement  in 
catching  their  prey,  which  is  subsequent- 
ly digested  and  absorbed.  For  two  or 
three  years  specimens  of  the  \'enus's 
fly-trap  were  kept  growing  in  ArcAdiA 
under  close  observation.  In  some  in- 
stances flies  that  were  caught  had  evi- 
dently been  recently  entrapped  for  they 
were  active  in  their  efi:'orts  to  escape,  but 
no  one  had  the  good  luck  to  see  the 
plant  actually  catch  the  fly.  We  should 
be  glad  if  our  naturalists  will  make  ob- 
servations and  report  on  any  form  of  in- 
sectivorous plants  that  may  grow  in  their 
vicinity. 


A   CROUP    OF    INSECTIVOROUS    PLANTS. 
Drosera.  Sarrarevia. 

Pinguicula. 


Dionaea. 


8o 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


nOG   TEAM    BRINGING   HAY   TO   THE   BELGIAN    COMIVUSSARY   IN    ANTWERP. 
Cut  by  courtesy   of  The  American    Society   for   the   Prevention   of   Cruelty   to   Animals. 


Dogs    Are    Astonishingly    Strong. 

Here  is  a  remarkable  illustration  of  a 
heavy  load  drawn  by  a  pair  of  dogs.  To 
look  at  this  load  of  hay,  especially  at 
the  cart,  one  would  say,  "It  is  a  pretty 
respectable  burden  for  a  pair  of  horses." 
That  does  not  mean  that  it  would  be 
difficult  for  a  pair  of  horses,  neither 
would  it  suggest  that  it  is  too  small  for 
a  pair.  It  does  mean,  however,  that  it 
is  too  much  for  a  pair  of  dogs. 


The   Compass  in  the  Watch. 

A  few  days  ago  I  was  standing  by  an 
American  gentleman,  when  I  ex- 
pressed a  wish  to  know  wdiich  point 
was  north.  He  at  once  pulled  out  his 
watch,  looked  at  it,  and  pointed  to  the 
north.  I  asked  him  whether  he  had  a 
compass  attached  to  his  watch.  "All 
watches,"  he  replied,  "are  compasses." 
Then  he  explained  to  me  how  this  was. 
Point  the  hour  hand  to  the  sun,  and 
the  south  is  exactly  half  way  between 


the  hour  and  the  figure  12  on  the 
watch.  For  instance,  suppose  that  it 
is  4  o'clock.  Point  the  hand  indicating 
4  to  the  sun  and  two  on  the  w^atch  is 
exactly  south.  Suppose  that  it  is  8 
o'clock,  point  the  hand  indicating  8  to 
the  sun,  and  the  figure  10  on  the  watch 
is  due  south.  My  American  friend  was 
cjuite  surprised  that  I  did  not  know 
this  Thinking  that  verv  possibly  I 
was  ignorant  of  a  thing  that  every  one 
else  knew,  and  happening  to  meet  Mr. 
Stanley,  I  asked  that  eminent  traveler 
wdiether  he  was  aware  of  this  simple 
mode  of  discovering  the  points  of  a 
compass.  He  said  that  he  had  never 
heard  of  it. 

I  presume  therefore,  that  many  are 
in  the  same  state  of  ignorance.  Amalfi 
is  proud  of  having  been  the  home  of 
the  inventor  of  the  compass.  I  do  not 
know  what  town  boasts  of  my 
American  friend  as  a  citizen. — The 
London   Truth. 


PLANT  MOTIONS  AND  GROWTH 


8i 


Plant  Motions  and  Growth. 

Professor  Jagadis  Chunder  Bose  of 
the  University  of  Calcutta,  who  has 
been  spending  the  winter  travelling 
and  lecturing-  in  "The  States,"  is  prob- 
ably the  world's  first  authority  on  the 
movements  of  the  common  higher 
plants.  He  is  originally  a  teacher  of 
physics,  and  being  accustomed  in  thai 
precise  science  to  delicate  apparatus 
and  accurate  measurement,  he  has  lat- 
terly turned  that  experience  to  the 
minute  motions  of  the  plant  world. 
Among  other  delicate  tools,  he  has  in- 
vented one  that  will  record  the  growth 
of  a  tendril-tip  during  each  half  minute, 
and  by  distances  less  than  the  thick- 
ness of  tissue  paper,  show  the  change 
of  rate  with  alterations  of  temperature 
or  w^ater  supply.  Still  another  will  ex- 
hibit the  turning  of  a  green  leaf  toward 
the  flame  of  a  match  held  near  it  for 
only  ten  seconds. 

By  such  means  as  these,  Professor 
Bose  has  been  able  to  prove  that  the 
green  plants  are  essentially  like  cold- 
blooded animals.  Their  tissues  are  at 
the  same  time  both  nerve  and  muscle  ; 
and  they  respond  like  an  animal  to 
heat  and  cold,  electric  shocks,  scratch- 
es and  pin  pricks.     They  are  even  af- 


fected by  drugs  like  a  very  sluggish 
animal,  and  have  a  true  rigor  mortis 
when  they  die. 


The  Largest  Spider  Web  in  the  World. 

P.V    ROUKRT    [I.    AIOL'LTON. 

The  largest  spider  web  in  the  world 
was  spun,  not  Ly  a  spider,  but  by  hu- 
man hands.  It  stands  on  the  lawn  of  a 
Chicago  man's  country  home,  and  is  of 
such  tremendous  size  as  to  startle  the 
passerby  when  he  first  sees  it. 

The  creator  of  this  interesting  odd- 
ity conceived  the  idea  of  attempting  to 
see  how  closely  an  actual  spider's  web 
could  be  reproduced  with  rope.  Select- 
ing two  immense  trees  on  the  lawn  of 
his  home,  he  spun  between  them  this 
spider's  web,  forty  by  sixty  feet,  which 
is  so  strong  that  a  boy  or  man  may 
easily  climb  to  the  center  or  top  of  it. 

The  web  faces  the  main  thorough- 
fare, which  passes  the  house,  and  is 
one  of  the  most  fascinating  country 
ground  decorations  ever  seen.  The 
spinner  could  not  attain  the  minute- 
ness of  the  actual  spider's  work,  but 
came  so  near  to  it  that  the  illusion  is 
almost  perfect-  The  uniqueness  of  the 
undertaking  catches  and  fascinates 
everv  eve. — Scientific  American. 


THE  SPIDER  WEB  OF  ROPES. 
Cut  by  courtesy  of  "Scientific  American. 


S2 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


A  New  Fossil  Fig  and  Its  Significance. 

BY    EDWIN     W.     HUMPHREYS,     NEW 
ROCHEEEE,   N.   Y. 

Some  time  ago,  the  writer  drew  the  at- 
tention of  the  readers  of  The  Guide  to 
KaturE  to  some  interesting  fossil  figs 
from  the  Tertiary  deposits  of  Wyom- 


Tliis  new  fig  was  found  more  than  a 
year  ago  by  Dr.  S.  J.  Schofield  of  the 
Canadian  Geological  Survey  in  the  Ple- 
istocene deposits  of  the  Kootenay  Val- 
ley of  British  Columbia,  Canada.  The 
specimen  along  with  others  was  finally 
sent   to   Dr.    HolHck   at   tlie    Xew    York 


^  ^ 


^  2 


ing  and  Montana.  Recently  a  still 
more  interesting  fig  has  been  described 
and  illustrated  by  Dr.  Arthur  Hollick 
in  the  March  number  of  the  Journal  of 
the  New  York  Botanical  Garden.  Fig- 
ure I  is  a  photograph  of  the  entire  spe- 
cimen, natural  size. 


Botanical  Garden  for  determination. 

Careful  study  and  comparison  with 
the  fruits  of  plants  now  living  demon- 
strated that  the  specimen  is  a  defoli- 
ated, fruiting  branch  of  a  fig  tree, 
closely  allied  to  the  general  type  of  cer- 


A  NEW  FOSSIL  FIG 


83 


tain  figs  now  living  in  ^lexico  and  the 
West  Indies. 

A  glance  at  Figure  2,  which  is  en- 
larged to  twice  the  natural  size,  will 
show  the  characteristic  incurved  apex 
of  the  figs.  The  shape,  striations,  and 
method  of  attachment  also  indicate  the 
relation  of  the  fruits  of  the  figs. 


passing  from  the  great  past  to  the  pres- 
ent. It  is  the  period  during  which  more 
than  six  or  eight  million  square  miles  of 
the  earth's  surface  which  had  previous- 
ly been  enjoying  a  mild  climate  was 
covered  with  immense  glaciers.  Esti- 
mates as  to  how  long  ago  this  period 
closed  vary  in     round     numbers     from 


The  interglacial  fig — as  it  ma}-  be 
called,  the  scientific  name  being  Ficits  iii- 
terglacialis  Hollick — is  not  so  old  as  the 
ones,  described  from  the  Tertiary.  As 
lias  been  stated  it  grew  during  the  Ple- 
istocene period  which  is  the  last  step  in 


about  ten  to  fifty  tlibusand  years. 

Aside  from  its  being  a  new  species  the 
interglacial  fig  is  invested  with  addition- 
al interest  due  to  its  climatic  significance. 
A  well  defined  specimen  of  the  genus 
Fiats  would.  Dr.  Hollick  states,  be  re- 


84 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


garded  as  evidence  of  tropical  or  sub- 
tropical climatic  conditions.  Hence,  it  is 
to  be  inferred  that  while  the  specimen 
under  discussion  was  growing  tropical 
or   sub-tropical   conditions   prevailed. 

This  inference  is  strengthened  by  the 
luxuriance  of  the  contemporaneous  vege- 
tation as  shown  b}-  the  large  size  of  the 
fossil  leaves  and  by  the  presence  of  cer- 
tain remains  which  suggest  Yucca  or 
some  kind  of  a  palm. 

Finally,  the  fossil  plants  from  the  Ple- 
istocene of  east  Canada,  in  the  Don 
River  Valley,  indicate  a  cooler  climate 
for  that  part  of  Canada  during  their  pe- 
riod of  growth.  Whether  the  Kootenay 
Valley  and  the  Don  River  Valley  Pleis- 
tocene floras  were  contemporaneous 
or  not  is  not  at  present  known.  Al- 
though Dr.  Hollick  does  not  disre- 
gard a  different  conclusion,  the  fact 
that  they  may  have  been  so  taken  in 
connection  with  other  suggestive  facts 
leads  him  to  conclude  his  paper  as  fol- 
lows, "We  may  have,  therefore,  in  this 
recently  discovered  Pleistocene  flora  in 
British  Columbia,  the  heretofore  missing 
link  of  evidence  tending  to  show  that 
contemporaneous  regional  climatic  dif- 
ferences between  the  west  and  the  east 
on  our  continent  have  prevailed  more  or 
less  continuously  ever  since  Cretaceous 
time." 

Cuts  by  courtesy  of  tlie  New  York 
Botanical  Garden. 


Recent  English  records  show  that 
in  certain  especially  dusty  and  smoky 
cities,  the  dirt  that  falls  from  the  air 
may  occasionally  reach  the  enormous 
amount  of  sixty  tons  on  a  square  mile 
during  a  single  month. 


God  in  Nature. 

BY    H.    GORDON    HAWKINS,    WESTFIELD,    MASS. 

Oh,    the    wondrous    beauty    of    them    all, 
The  flowered  dell,  the  mountain  wall, 
The  viny  bower  where  hides  the  silver  spring. 
The  lacy  wood  where  numerous  wood  birds 

sing. 
The    fallow   field,   the   unploughed   hill. 
The  slow  brook  running  past  the  mill, 
The  leafy  coven,  where  red  deer  leap  in  sight, 
the  wooded  slope  bathed  in  the  morning  light. 
All  these,  God's  gifts,  are  to  our  weary  gaze 
Far  better  than  an  idle  sone  of  nraise. 
We    learn  His  lessons  from  the  whispering  trees 
From    warbling   birds    and    playful    breeze. 
From  silent  rock  and   rushing  storm 
And    from   the   sunbeams,   dancing  warm, 
And  even  in  the  dying  flowers. 
We  learn  the  lesson  of  the  hours. 


Knowing  Too  Much  to  Be  Helpful. 

In  this  work  as  a  magazine  writer  I 
learned  a  lesson  from  my  father  which 
has  exerted  a  controlling  influence  upon 
me  in  my  editorial  life.  ]\Ir.  Fletcher 
Harper  asked  me  to  write  an  article  for 
the  "^vlagazine"  on  ocean  steamship 
travel.  I  told  him  that  I  could  not  do  so 
because  I  had  no  other  knowledge  of  the 
subject  than  such  as  I  had  gained  from 
my  one  voyage  across  the  ocean.  "Then 
ask  your  father  to  write  it,"  said  he.  This 
I  did. 

"Why  do  you  not  write  the  article 
yourself?"  asked  my  father. 

"Because  I  know  nothing  of  the  sub- 
ject," was  my  reply. 

"Then,"  said  he,  "you  are  just  the  one 
to  write  it." 

"How  is  that?"  I  asked. 

"Because,"  said  he,  "the  object  of  the 
author  of  a  popular  magazine  article  is 
to  give  knowledge  of  a  subject 
to  people  who  are  wholly  ignor- 
ant of  it.  To  do  that  he  must 
know  both  the  subject  and  the  con- 
dition of  ignorance.  If  he  is  familiar 
with  the  condition  of  ignorance,  he  can 
make  himself  acquainted  with  the  sub- 
ject ;  but  if  he  is  thoroughly  familiar 
with  the  subject  it  is  almost  impossible 
for  him  to  acquaint  himself  with  the  con- 
dition of  ignorance." 

Whether  I  wrote  the  article  or  not  I 
forget,  but  this  principle,  laid  down  by 
my  father,  became  my  guide  when  later 
I  took  up  editorial  work.  I  have  found 
it  almost  uniformly  true  that  an  expert 
cannot  write  on  the  subject  with  which 
he  is  familiar  what  readers  who  are  not 
familiar  with  the  subject  can  understand. 
The  experienced  but  non-technical 
writer  must  provide  the  article,  and  it 
must  then  be  submitted  to  the  expert  to 
make  sure  that  he  has  fallen  into  no  se- 
rious errors. — Dr.  Lyman  Abbott  in 
"The  Outlook.'^ 

There  is  a  corollary  from  this  Q.  E.  D. 
A  technical  organization  or  institution 
can  never  successfully  popularize  natu- 
ral science.  It  requires  a  separate  or- 
ganization that  may  draw  from  technical 
sources  accurate  data  to  be  popularized. 


Matter  has  more  intricacies,  delicacies 
and  potencies  than  the  mind  of  man  has 
been  able  to  discover.  Not  that  matter 
is  greater  than  mind  but  it  has  been 
touched  to  finer  issues  by  a  finer,  higher 
mind. — Bishop  H.  W.  Warren. 


THE  NATURE   PHOTOGRAPHERS 


8i 


•^vi 


The     Most      Beautiful      Woman      in 
America. 

The  Aiisco  Company,  Binghamton, 
New  York,  has  spent  more  than  $5,000 
in  trying  to  find,  from  the  photograph- 
ers' point  of  ^'iew,  the  loveliest  woman 


W 

City.     Mr.  Conklin  writes  as  follows : 

"The  young  woman  was  here  af 
school  and  the  photograph  was  made- 
in  the  ordinary  course  at  the  time  of 
her  graduation.  I  probably  made  six 
or  eight  negatives  at  that  time.  This 
^  was  nearly  two  years  ago, 
and  while  I  always  considered 
it  an  especially  attractive  pic- 
ture, permission  to  use  it  was 
withheld  until  last  fall. 

"Aliss  Johnstone  is  now 
with  the  'Watch  Your  Step*" 
nusical  comedy  company,  and 
I  understand  that  competent 
uidges  have  decided  that  her 
icatures  approach  as  near  the- 
i'leal  as  is  possible,  and  that 
among-  numerous  other  flat- 
tering attentions,  one  of  the 
South  American  Repubhcs 
has  reproduced  her  head  on 
some  of  their  coinage.'' 


FIRST      PRIZE      WIXXIXG      PORTRAIT 
COMPANY'S    $5,000    LO\'LIEST 
WOMEN    CONTEST. 


AN  SCO 


The  United  States  Bureau 
of  Standards  calls  attention  to^ 
the  fact  that  almost  no  Amer- 
ican units  are  precisely  equal' 
to  those  called  by  the  same 
name  in  Great  Britain.  Yard 
and  pound  are  nearly  alike;: 
but  our  gallon  is  only  five- 
sixths  of  the  imperial  gallon, 
and  our  bushel  is  thirty-two 
thirty-thirds  of  the  imperial' 
half  a  micromilemeter,  or 
bushel.  Even  the  two  stand- 
ard meters  dififer  by  more  than 


$500,  first  prize  won    by   Philip  Conklin.   Troy,  New  York;  subject,        ,  r  i     ' 

Miss  Justine  Johnstone.  New  York  City.    This  portrait,  togrether  with  the      abOUt    OUC    five-thoUSandth    OI 
entire  collection  of   prize  winners,   is  now  on   e.xhibition   at   tho   .Ansco      linlf 
Company's    booth    at    the   Panama-Pacific   Exposition,  San   Francisco,      ndll 
California,  is" 

Published  by  courtesy  of   the   .\nsco  Company.   Binghampton,  New 
York. 


a     micromilemeter,     or 
an  inch. 


in  America,  and  incidentally  the  pho- 
tographer sufficiently  skillful  to  por- 
tray that  woman.  The  first  prize  of 
$500  was  awarded  to  Philip  Conklin 
of  Troy,  New  York,  who  photographed 
Miss  Justine  Johnstone  of  New  York 


Examination  of  the-  stomach  contents 
of  bats  indicates  that  their  food  is  more- 
than  nine-tenths  moths,  the  rest  being 
beetles  and  other  insects.  Attempts  to- 
utilize  these  animals  to  keep  down  mos- 
quitoes have  therefore  failed. 


86 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


San  Antonio,  Texas. 

To  the  Editor: 

I  send  to  your  fine  magazine,  The 
Guide  to  Nature,  an  interesting  view 
of  two   of   our  Texas   cactus   leaves,    a 


tissue.  I  prepared  the  photograph  at 
the  farm  pasture  of  a  good  friend  and 
great  nature  enthusiast,  Mr.  Lee  Hoyt, 
of   the    Leona   valley. 

Sincerely  yours, 

Dr.  R.  Menger. 


TWO  CACTUS  LFAVES  FROM  TEXAS— ONE  F 

OTHER  TO  SHOW^ 

large  fresh  one  from  a  growing  plant, 
and  another  showing  the  framework  or 
skeleton  with  its  beautiful  network  and 
ramifications  intact.  They  were  gathered 
by  me  during  a  late  outing  at  our  lovely 
Leona  hills,  close  to  San  Antonio,  where 
miles  of  wild  cactus  jungles  exist  in  un- 
cultivated pastures  and  open  prairies. 

During  late  and  remote  floods  near 
the  Leona  creek  numbers  of  these  leaves 
were  carried  away  and  lodged  in  the 
trees  and  shrubbery — some  as  high  as 
thirty  and  more  feet  above  the  ground. 
In  one  place,  where  earth,  all  sorts  of 
debris,  cactus  remnants  and  sand  had  ac- 
cumulated, there  were  several  leaves, 
whole  side  branches  showing  such  leaves 
and  root  stems  denuded  of  their  succu- 
lent parenchyma,  leaving  only  the  fi- 
brous network,  similar  to  that  shown  in 
the  photograph.  This  specimen,  from 
years  of  exposure  to  the  elements,  and 
its  incomplete  covering  of  sand  and  soft 
earth,  lost  all  its  integumental  covering 
except  at  a  few  spots  near  the  base  that 
show  outlines  of     the     original  external 


RF.SH    FROM    A    (SROWING    PLANT    AM)    THE 
THE  FRAMEWORK. 

Look  Up! 

Look   up,    at   the    stately   trees, 
Look  up,   at   the   winsome   flowers 

Which    nature's    lavish    hand 

Has    woven   through    the   bowers. 

Look  up  at  the  hills  around, 

All    verdure-clad,    serene ; 
Look  up   at  the   mountains   bold 

O'er  nearer  hilltops   seen. 

Look  up  at  the  clear  blue  sky, 

Look  up  at  the  stars  at  night, 
At  clouds  that  are  sailing  by. 

The   moon   with   its   silvery   light. 

Look  up  as  you  go  along, 

'Twill  broaden  all  your  way; 
Look  up  till  the  habit  grows, 

And  adds  a  zest  to  vour  dav. 


-Emma  Peirce. 


Clarence  King,  the  first  head  of  the 
United  States  Geological  Survey,  writ- 
ing in  1880,  opined  that  the  mineral 
otitput  of  the  country  might  sometime 
in  the  distant  future  reach  a  value  of 
a  billion  dollars  a  year.  Already  it  is 
two  and  a  half  billions. 


TJIl".   XATURl^:    PHOTOnRAP'TTr^RS 


87 


A  Multiplicity  of   Young. 

Cincinnati,  Ohio. 
To  the  Editor : 

I  send  two  puzzle  pictures  for  the 
readers  of  The  Guidk  to  Nature.  This 
mother  'possum  was  caught  on  August 
ist,  1914,  because,  as  usual,  she  feigned 
death  or  "played  'possum."  Examina- 
tion showed 'that  nine  young  ones  were 
twined  about  her  tail.  Her  captor  car- 
ried her  for  at  least  half  a  mile  as  shown 
in  one  of  the  pictures.  The  entire  family 
is  now  confined  in  a  public  park  in  Chilli- 
cothe,  Ohio.  The  capture  occurred  on 
the  farm  of  ]\Ir.  George  Core,  Frankfort. 
Ohio.  In  view  of  the  vanishing  wild 
life  in  this  country,  this  seems  to  be  well 
worth  publishing.  I  doubt  if  many  such 
finds  are  made  now.     I  know  Mr.  Core 


THE  MOTHER    POSSUM   AND  ^UUNCt 

personally,  and  can  vouch  for  the  num- 
ber of  young.  On  looking  up  the  sub- 
ject I  find  that  the  'possum  may  have 
as  many  as  sixteen  young.  There  may 
be  two  or  three  litters  a  vear. 
Yours  sincerely. 

G.  A.  HixxEx. 


Tests  in  Soil   Fertility. 

The  new  theory  of  soil  fertility,  that 
fertility  is  due  to  bacteria  in  the  soil 
and  sterility  to  infusoria  that  prey 
upon  the  bacteria,  is  soon  to  have  a 
thorough  try-out.  An  association  has 
been  formed  in  Enoknd  of  nursery- 
men and  market  gardeners,  who  have 
subscribed  ten  thousand  dollars  for 
the  plant  of  an  experiment  station  and 
promised  another  fortv-five  hundred  a 
year  for  running  expenses. 

The  special  line  of  study  will  be  the 
partial  sterilizing  of  soils  to  just  the 
degree  which  destroys  the  infusoria 
but  spares  the  somewhat  more  re- 
sistant bacteria.  Laboratory  experi- 
ments have  already  shown  that  lime, 
steam  at  100  degrees  instead  of  the 
customary  130,  chloroform,  carbolic 
acid,  carbon  bisulphid.  and  toluene  can 
all  be  given  in  such  accurate  graduated 
amounts  as  to  kill  the  animal  life  in 
the  soil  without  affecting  the  vege- 
table. The  soil  then  remains  fertile 
i"^^^il  dust  or  earth  from  tools  or  shoes 
infects  it  once  more. 

The  problem  now  is  to  reduce  the 
laboratorv  to  a  commercial  basis. 


METHOD    BY    WHICH    THE    CAPTOR    CARRIED 
AX    OPOSSUM    FAMILY    FOR    NEARLY 
UALF    A    MILE. 


MEADOW-RUE. 
As  foam  on  crested  wave  is  seen, 
So  meadow-rue  on  sea  of  green. 

— Emma   Pcirce. 


^ 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


A  Photograph  of  a  Lynx  Cat. 

Idr.  S.  C.  Baker  of  Wallingford.  Ver- 
Tnont,  sends  us  an  interesting  and  lifelike 
photograph   of   a   lynx    cat.      Its   length 


A   LYNX    CAT. 


was  five  feet  from  tip  to  tip,  its  weight 
fifty-one  pounds.  It  was  shot  by  Mr.  A. 
E.  Rodgers  of  Wallingford. 


The   Abandoned   Art   of   Micro- 
photography. 

What  is  microphotography  ?  Do  not 
confuse  it  as  it  is  often  confused,  with 
photomicrography. 

Photomicrography  is  a  large  pho- 
tograph of  a  microscopic  object.  It  is 
usually  made  through  a  microscope  by 
the  aid  of  microscope  objectives  alone 
or  with  the  addition  of  the  eyepiece. 

Photomacography  is  a  term  less  fre- 
quently used  but  is  employed  by  some 
opticians  to  designate  enlarged  photo- 
graphs of  moderately  small  objects. 
The  work  is  done  with  short  focus 
camera  lenses  and  usually  with  a  long 
camera. 

These  are  but  tw^o  forms  of  magni- 
fying photography,  although  the  dis- 
tincdon  between  the  two  is  not  always 
absolutely  sharp  and  fast. 

Microphotography  is  exactly  the  re- 
verse and  consists  of  carrying  to  an  ex- 
treme minimizing  photography.  Near- 
ly all  ordinary  photography  w^ith  a  camera 
stands  about  the  same  relation  in  mini- 
mizing that  photomacrography  has  to 


magnifying.  For  example,  a  child  with 
a  small  camera  takes  a  picture  of  his 
schoolmate  who  is  four  feet  tall.  The 
photograph  is  perhaps  an  inch  in 
height.  This  is  a  micro  photograph ; 
the  object  is  reduced  in  size.  Your 
friend  may  also  be  microphoto 
graphed  so  that  you  may  examine  his 
l)icture  under  the  microscope.  Such 
photographs  are  invisible  to  the  naked 
eye.  While  these  microphotographs 
are  extremely  interesting  and  a  few  of 
them  are  to  be  found  in  nearly  all 
microscopical  cabinets  yet  the  making 
of  microphotographs  is  practically  an 
abandoned  art.  There  is  one  micropho- 
tographer  in  Germany  and  another  in 
Manchester,  England,  but  so  far  as  an 
extensive  correspondence  has  revealed 
there  are  few  workers  in  this  country. 

Mr.  Edward  Pennock  of  Philadel- 
phia writes  as  follows : 

"Francis  T.  Harmon,  3920  Ellis  Ave- 
nue, Chicago,  Illinois,  has  been  doing 
some  good  work  in  this  line  of  late ;  he 
has  sold  some  microphotographs  of 
'The  Declaration  of  Independence' 
made  from  an  old  copy  (engraving) 
which  I  obtained  for  him  at  an  old- 
book  shop  here,  and  which  I  believe  is 
the  same  as  the  one  copied  by  Langen- 
heim  in  Philadelphia  along  about  i860 
or  thereabouts." 

When  these  photographs  were  pop- 
ular as  interesting  things  with  which 
to  entertain  the  microscopist's  unsci- 
entific friends,  such  objects  as  the  fol- 
lowing were  common :  "A  Ticket  to 
Heaven"  (a.  card  of  admission  to  a 
Sunday  School  bearing  much  good  ad- 
vice) ;  "The  Lord's  Prayer" ;  Land- 
seer's  "The  Stag  at  Bay" ;  Gray's 
"Elegy"  ;  the  Presidents  of  the  United 
States ;  Niagara  Falls,  and  similar  sub- 
jects. These,  and  others  like  them, 
had  no  natural  science  value.  They  are 
preserved  in  our  cabinets  of  slides  as 
curiosities. 

Photomicrographs  are  vastly  dififer- 
ent.  These  are  usually  instructive  and 
valuable,  permanently  recording  the 
microscopic  structure  of  objects  other- 
wise invisible,  and  probably  incapable 
of  being  made  visible  to  the  majority 
of  human  beings.  Scientific  magazines 
and  similar  publications  and  their 
readers  would  sufifer  great  loss  if  pho- 
tomicrography should  cease  to  exist, 
of  which  there  is  not  the  slightest 
dansfer. 


THE  NATURE  PHOTOGRAPHERS 


89 


Lines  to  the  Violet. 

BY    H.    GORDON    HAWKINS,    W  KSTFIELD,    MASS. 

O  gentle,  shj-.  retiring  flower 
Of  green  banked  dell  and  mossy  wood. 
Little  knowest  thou  thj'  power 
That  within  us  works  for  good. 
For  when  petulant  and  weary, 
We  see  thy  gently  nodding  head. 
Gone  is  the  thought  that  life  is  dreary, 
And  all  our  evil   dreams  have   fled. 
And  ever  in  thy  clear  blue  eye, 
Where  with  our  thoughts  we  sense  thy  worth, 
We  see  the  trace  of   Him  on  high 
Who  holds  the  destinies  of  earth 
And   rules   in   love. 


Some  Fishing  Experiences. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
To  the  Editor : 

Grassy  Sound  is  a  summer  fishing- 
place  with  about  one  hundred  cottagers 
who  spend  only  the  summer  month > 
there.  It  is  on  Hereford  Inlet,  an  arm 
of  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  near  Anglesea,  at 
the  end  of  the  Jersey  coast  near  Cape 
May. 

The  following  notes  of  my  fishing  ex- 
periences at  this  place  may  be  of  interest 
to  some  of  vour  readers. 


A    TEN    POUND    EEL. 


AN    EIGHTEEN    POUND    SHEEPSHEAD. 

Last  year  I  caught  a  seventy-five 
pound  channel  bass ;  this  year  an  eighty 
pound  one,  that  fought  for  his  life  for 
half  a  mile,  while  the  boat  drifted  with 
the  tide. 

An  eel,  the  largest  ever  caught  in  the 
Sound,  weighed  ten  pounds  and  meas- 
ured nearly  five  feet  in  length.  I  got 
it  into  the  boat  with  my  bare  hands,  in 
spite  of  its  size  and  slipperiness. 

Sheepshead  are  rare  and  hard  to 
catch.  One  may  fish  for  weeks  and  not 
get  one.  It  is  a  slow  biter  and  generally 
hangs  around  old  piles,  wrecks  of  boats 
and  overhanging  banks  where  there  are 
mussels,  fiddler  crabs  or  soft  clams.  It 
is  a  handsome  fish  with  black  and  yellow 
stripes,  and  big  teeth  like  those  of  a 
sheep  with  which  it  crushes  the  hard 
shells  of  its  favorite  food. 

Sharks  come  in  the  Soimd  in  schools, 
and  either  follow  a  school  of  small  fish 
in  or  come  in  after  small  fish.  When 
swimming  it  always  shows  its  dorsal  fin. 
^^'hen  it  is  hookell,  the  struggle  becomes 
furious,  but  the  shark  is  speedily  ex- 
hausted. 

There  is  nothing  artificial  al)out  the 
i:)hotograph  of  the  snake.     It  shows  the 


90 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


A     S.XAL:,     .-.L  ...M.Wi     ITSKLr. 

reptile  exactly  as  I  saw  it,  sunning-  itself 
in  an  old  tree.  I  approached  near  enough 
to  get  this  good  sized  picture.  It  seemed 
to  he  a  ground  snake.  No  water  was 
near. 

Yours  respectfully, 

Harry  BeelEr. 


Tests  of  the  ahility  of  various  birds  to 
pick  out  their  food  against  diiTerent 
backgrounds  show  that  such  birds  as 
make  a  quick  rush  for  their  prey  take 
non-protectively  colored  objects  nine 
times  more  frequently  than  they  take 
those  which  resemble  the  surroundings. 
Such  birds,  however,  as  approach  slowly 
and  look  before  seizing,  seem  hardly  at 
all  to  be  influenced  by  concealing  pat- 
terns. 


Novel  Position  for  Cereus. 

W'estport,  Isle  of  Pines,  W.  I. 

1  send  a  photograph  which  I  hope 
will  be  of  interest  to  you.  It  is  of  a 
night-blooming  cactus  taken  on  Alay  5th, 
between  5  and  5.30  a.  m.,  with  a  Zeiss 
I'rotar  on  a  Standard  Orthonon  plate. 
It  was  taken  wide  open  (6.3)  and  10 
seconds'  exposure.  The  early  morning 
was  very  foggy. 

The  blossom  is  beautiful,  being  white 
tinged  by  buff  and  with  a  yellow  center. 
This  special  plant  had  eight  blossoms  at 
the  same  time  and  twenty-six  buds.  It 
is  native  here,  although  it  is  not  com- 
mon. As  a  rule  it  grows  in  the  jungles. 
This  particular  specimen  was  flourishing- 
on  a  post  palm  together  w^ith  orchids  and 
ferns.  The  mass  is  about  as  big  around 
as  a  barrel. 

We  have  had  this  wonderful  thing  for 
more  than  two  years,  having  brought  it 
post  and  all  from  the  coast,  but  a  heavy 
rain  broke  the  whole  mass  from  its  sup- 
])ort  after  the  photograph  had  been 
taken. 

Yours  truly, 

A.   C.  Read. 


ABOUT  AS  BIG  AROUND  AS  A  BARREL 


ORNITHOLOGY 


91 


ORNITHOLOGY 


Former     President     Roosevelt      Visits 
Louisiana's    Vast    Bird    Island 
Reservation 

The  visit  of  Col.  Theodore  Roosevelt 
to  the  many  bird  island  reservations, 
many  of  which  he  set  aside  for  this  pur- 
pose while  president,  and  game  pre- 
serves of  Louisiana  during  the  first  part 
of  June  has  aroused  considerable  inter- 
est in  conservation  measures  practiced 
there  for  bird  protection. 

As   the   guest   of  John   ]\L   Parker,    a 


break,  ]\\\\^  8th,  and  the  course  was  laid 
so  as  to  circle  the  long  stretches  of  Chan- 
deleur,  Errol,  Free  Alason,  North  Har- 
bor, Battledore,  Hog,  Grand  Cochere 
and  Breton  islands. 

These  islands  all  lie  east  of  the  many- 
mouthed  delta  of  the  ^Mississippi  river 
and  are  given  over  almost  wholly  to  the 
terns,  gulls,  skimmers,  pelicans,  men-o"- 
warsmen  and  shore  birds  that  breed  in 
the  south.  Vast  colonies  of  these  birds 
flock  to  these  islands  to  lay  their  eggs 


COLONEL    ROOSF.VELT    IXSPECTIN'G    THE    XESTIXG    COP  OXV    OF    ROY \L     C  VSPI  \X     \ND 
CABOT  TERNS,  LAUGHLN'G  GULLS  AND   BLACK   SKIMMERS   OX   BRETOX' Isi.AXD. " 


noted  Louisiana  sportsman,  and  the 
Conservation  Commission  of  Louisiana, 
Col.  Roosevelt  was  given  the  opportun- 
ity of  setting  foot  on  the  sandy  shores  of 
the  many  low-lying  islands  that  guard 
the  delta  coast  of  the  Pelican  State  from 
the  high  rolling  waves  of  the,  at  times, 
turbulent  Gulf  of  Mexico.  The  trip, 
which  consumed  a  solid  week,  began 
when  the  Conservation  Commission's 
yacht  "Daisy"  left  Pass  Christian  at  day- 


either  on  the  sand  or  in  the  rough  nests 
they  construct.  A  arious  sized  colonies 
ranging  from  ten  to  twenty  thousand  in- 
dividuals were  inspected  but  it  was  not 
vmtil  he  went  ashore  on  Breton  Island 
that  Col.  Roosevelt  realized  the  extent 
of  the  protection  and  the  multitude  of 
birds  given  sanctuary  to-day  in  Louisi- 
ana. 

At  Breton  Island  the  Roosevelt  party 
was  joined  by  AI.  L.  Alexander,  presi- 


92 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


COLONEL       RUOSEVELT,    PRESIDENT       M.       L. 
ALEXANDER    CIN    THE    CENTER)     AND    AU- 
DUBON WARDEN  EXAMINING 
A   ROYAL   TERN    EGG. 

dent  of  the  Conservation  Commission  of 
Louisiana,  and  Stanley  Clisby  Arthur, 
the  commission's  ornithologist.  The 
head  of  the  commission  found  a  ready 
listener  in  the  former  president  when  he 
went  into  the  details  of  conservation 
work  now  practiced  in  Louisiana. 

Breton  Island  proved  a  revelation  to 
Col.  Roosevelt.  A  two-mile  stretch  of 
sandy  beach  was  covered  with  the  eggs 
of  the  Royal,  Caspian  and  Cabot  terns 
and  black  skimmers.  Back  from  the 
beach  the  mangroves  and  salt  grass  were 
filled  with  the  nests  of  about  fifteen 
thousand  laughing  gulls.  At  the  ap- 
proach of  the  party,  sections  of  the  vast 
colony,  estimated  to  be  over  a  hundred 
thousand,  took  the  air  in  a  beautiful 
fluttering  flight  of  snowy  wings,  settling 
back  on  their  eggs,  however,  as  the  par- 
tv  moved  forward. 


For  an  hour  the  former  president  sat 
on  the  beach  and  with  his  binoculars 
studied  the  nesting  habits  of  the  various 
species,  the  peculiarities  of  flight,  and 
saw  for  the  first  time  the  reprehensible 
habit  of  the  laughing  gull  in  pouncing 
on  the  unguarded  egg  of  the  terns, 
breaking  it  open  with  its  stout  bill  and 
feasting  on  the  contents.  Many  other 
habits  were  noted  and  discussed  with 
Herbert  K.  Job,  head  of  the  Department 
of  Applied  Ornithology  of  the  National 
Association  of  Audubon  Societies, 
who  accompanied  the  former  president 
to  make  the  pictures  for  his  magazine 
articles,  and  Air.  Arthur,  who  in  his 
work  for  the  Louisiana  commission,  has 
made  a  special  study  of  breeding  cus- 
toms practiced  by  the  southern  breeding 
birds. 


A  R0\AL  TERN  COLONY    ON    BRETON   ISLAND 


A   VIEW  SHOWING    HOW  TERN    EGGS   ARE    DE- 
POSITED   ON    TWO    MILE    STRETCH    OF 
SAND   ON    BRETON    ISLAND. 

The  patrolling  system  of  protecting 
these  breeding  islands  from  human  mo- 
lestation during  the  summer  months  was 
explained  to  the  distinguished  natural- 
ist by  President  Alexander  and  the  com- 
mission's work  in  this  regard  was  high- 
ly commended  by  Col.  Roosevelt,  who 
also  showed  lively  interest  in  the  other 
natural  resources  of  the  state  under  the 
jurisdiction   of   the    commission. 

It  is  expected  that  Col.  Roosevelt  will 
make  a  second  visit  to  Louisiana  during 
the  coming  winter  to  investigate  the 
great  game  and  water-fowl  refuges. 
Marsh  Island,  The  State  Game  Pre- 
serve, the  Ward-Mcllhenny  and  Rocke- 
feller Foundation,  when  the  ducks  and 
2'eese  are  there. 


ORNITHOLOGY 


93 


Swiffs  and  Weather. 
West    Devonport,   Tasmania,   Australia. 
To  the  Editor : 

Perhaps  the  following"  note  may  be  of 
interest,  and  may  induce  some  of  the 
readers  of  the  The  Guide  to  Nature  to 
study  and  record  the  movements  of  the 
American  members  of  that  extraordinary 
group  of  birds — the  swifts.  In  a  paper 
read  before  the  Royal  Society  of  Tasma- 
nia I  endeavored  some  time  ago  to  trace 
a  connection  between  the  appearances  of 
the  spine-tailed  swift  {Chactura  canda- 
cuta)  both  in  this  state  and  in  Mctoria 
(Australia)  and  disturbed  weather  con- 
ditions, showing"  that  in  all  cases  which 
had  come  under  my  notice  the  appear- 
ance of  this  swift  meant  atmospheric 
change.  This  was  again  strikingly 
demonstrated  on  the  twentv-seventh  of 
February  of  this  year,  when  in  the  morn- 
ing I  saw  fifty  or  sixty  of  these  fine  birds 
coursing  insects  over  the  paddocks.  The 
day  was  sultry  but  fine.  Soon  afterward 
I  met  a  friend  who  spends  most  of  his 
life  out-of-doors  and,  like  myself,  takes 
pleasure  in  noting  natural  objects.  I 
told  him  that  I  had  just  seen  a  large 
party  of  swifts  for  the  first  time  this 
summer,  the  twenty-seventh  of  February 
being  near  the  end  of  summer  wath  us  in 
these  southern  latitudes,  when  he  re- 
marked, "Then  rain  is  not  far  away." 
That  very  evening  a  light  rain  began  to 
fall,  and  practically  the  whole  of  the  fol- 
lowing day  was  wet.  Not  only  so.  but 
for  several  days  afterward  we  had  high 
winds  and  showers,  culminating  on  the 
seventh  and  eighth  of  ]\Iarch  in  a  tre- 
mendous northwesterly  gale,  w'hich  did 
a  great  deal  of  damage.  All  this  distur- 
bance came  after  months  of  fine  settled 
weather.  On  the  ninth  of  March  the 
swifts  were  migrating  from  southeast  to 
northwest,  passing  in  twos  and  threes 
every  few  minutes,  from  two  to  four 
o'clock,  during  the  afternoon.  As  this 
species  is  often  with  us  until  April  and  I 
have  seen  it  as  late  as  the  twenty-seventh 
of  that  month,  I  took  this  early  departure 
to  mean  rough  and  cold  autumn  weather. 
a  supposition  which  has  since  been  abun- 
dantly verified.  Some  notes  of  mine  on 
the  subiect  were  sent  to  the  Tasmanian 
Field  Club,  which  has  its  headquarters 
in  Hobart,  at  the  end  of  the  state  oppo- 
site to  that  in  which  I  reside,  and  were 
read  by  the  secretary  at  a  recent  meeting. 
Considerable  discussion  ensued,  most  of 
the  members  agreeing,  however,  that  the 


sudden  appearance  of  the  spine-tailed 
swift,  especially  if  flying  low,  after  a 
long  spell  of  fine  weather,  indicates  a 
break-up  of  anticyclonic  conditions.  I 
was  pleased  to  receive  this  confirmation 
of  my  series  of  observations  which  cover 
a  good  many  years. 

H.  Stuart  Dove. 


John  Burroughs's  Diet. 

This  veteran  naturalist,  who  has  re- 
cently passed  his  seventy-eighth  birth- 
day, tells  us  that  he  is  now  in  better 
health  and  is  better  able  to  do  his  work 
than  he  has  been  for  years.  In  an  inter- 
esting article  in  "The  Ladies'  Home 
Journal"  he  says : 

"Old  age  is  not  such  a  bugaboo  after 
all.  He  is,  in  many  ways,  better  to  live 
with  than  Youth,  because  he  leaves  you 
more  at  your  ease ;  you  are  in  the  calmer 
waters ;  the  fret  and  fever  of  life  have 
greatly  abated.  Old  Age  brings  the  phil- 
osophical mind ;  he  brings  a  deeper,  wid- 
er outlook  upon  life ;  he  brings  more  tol- 
erance and  charity  and  good  will." 

As  a  part  of  his  experience  we  learn 
the  astonishing  fact  that  he  has  dis- 
carded from  his  dietary  eggs  and  raw 
apples.  He  also  says,  and  this  is  less 
surprising,  that  he  avoids  pastry,  new 
bread,  coiiee,  tea,  iced  drinks  and  all  al- 
coholic beverages,  but  the  most  amazing 
thing  is  that  he  uses  neither  eggs  nor 
raw  apples.  It  has  been  generally  sup- 
posed that  these  are  the  prime  factors 
in  the  diet  of  one  that  lives  near  to  na- 
ture. But  !Mr.  Burroughs  believes  that 
eggs  are  poison  to  some  people.  He  was 
induced  to  discard  them  through  the  in- 
fluence of  Professor  Chittenden's  book, 
and  by  the  fact  that  no  eggs  were  given 
to  the  Yale  students  upon  whom  Chitten- 
den has  been  experimenting  with  various 
svstems  of  diet.  In  a  personal  letter  to 
tiie  editor  of  TiiE  Guide  to  Nature,  he 
says : 

"I  do  not  eat  our  grapes,  or  plums,  or 
pears  and  rarely  a  raw  apple.  I  eat  a 
few  ripe  peaches  and  ripe  strawberries 
once  a  day.  Oranges  and  grapefruit  do 
me  more  harm  than  good.  With  cooked 
fruit  I  fare  better.  I  can  eat  baked  ap- 
ples three  times  a  day.  The  one  raw 
fruit  that  is  medicine  to  me  is  the  tree 
melon  or  papaya  of  the  Hawaiian 
Islands." 

We  shall  be  glad  to  learn  from  others, 
especially  of  our  elderly  readers,  as  to 
whether  their  experiences  coincide  with 
this  of  the  Dean  of  Naturalists. 


94 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


Contributions  to  the  Observatory. 
Air.    J.    R.    de    la    Torre    Bueno, 

White  Plains,  N.  Y $  i.oo 

Mr.  Frederick  A.  Hubbard,  Green- 
wich       I.oo 

Mr.    Irving    Bacheller,    Riverside, 

Conn lo.oo 

Mrs.   John   Elbert   White,   Green- 
wich       I.oo 

A  Friend  ( Increase — total  $4.00) ., .  2.00 
Mr.  Fred  C.  Binney,  Sound  Beach.  5.00 
Mr.  J.  D.  Sawyer,  New  York  City  2.00 
Mr.   S.   M.   Boschnogel,   Sauders- 

burg",  Penn i.oo 

Mr.  J.  K.  Lawrence,  Stamford.  . .  .      2.00 

Mr.  E.  N.  Fast,  Stamford i.oo 

Mr.  Geo.  W.  Lockwood,  Stamford  i.oo 
Mr.  B.  Frank  Finney,  Greenwich.  .  i.oo 
Miss  Frances  H.  Errett,  Newtown, 

Ohio 25.00 

Brady  &  Chadeayne,  Stamford.  .  .  .  5.00 
Mr.  George  Lauder,  Jr.,  Greenwich  25.00 
Mr.    Charles    H.    Knapp,    Sound 

Beach io.od 

Air.  Chas.  O.  Trowbridge,  Fram- 

ingham  Center,  Mass i.oo 

Air.  Arthur  L.  DeGrofif,  Newark. 

N.  T 25.00 

Airs.  'R.     G.     Hinton,     Hartford, 

Conn I.oo 

Air.   Walter   F.   Alortimer,    Sound 

Beach 2.00 

Air.  AI.  G.  Allyn,  Riverside.  Conn,  i.oo 
Air.  S.  C.  Hunter,  New  Rochelle, 

N.  Y 50.00 

Air.  Samuel  Phillips.  Stamford...  i.oo 
Airs.    Grace    Lee    Smidt,     Sound 

Beach 10.00 

Aliss  Sarah  Root  Adams,  Portland, 
Alaine 20 

Total    $184.20 

Previously  acknowledged   322.00 

Grand  Total  $506.20 


The  Starry  Heavens  in  August. 

BY    PROF.    KRIC    DOOLITTLK     OF    THE    UNI- 
VFRSITY   OF    PENNSYLVANIA. 

DOUBTLESS  the  most  interesting 
astronomical  occurrence  of  the 
present  month  is  the  entrance  of 
the  beautiful  planet  Jupiter  into  our  eve- 
ning sky.  If  during  the  last  few  weeks 
the  reader  has  happened  to  glance  at  a 
late  hour  of  the  evening  toward  the 
eastern  heavens,  he  cannot  have  failed  to 
notice  this  most  brilliant  object  there, 
well  up  from  the  ground,  and  shining 
with  sixteen  times  the  brightness  of  a 
first  magnitude  star.  But  not  until  the 
first  of  the  present  month  does  this  most 
wonderful  and  interesting  world — by 
far  the  largest  of  all  the  worlds  which 
circle  around  our  sun — enter  the  bor- 
ders of  our  evening  sky  map.  For  the 
remainder  of  the  present  year  it  will  re- 
main the  most  conspicuous  object  in  the 
evening  heavens. 

This  month  is  also  signalized  by  the 
passage  of  the  moon  over  the  bright 
star  Antares  and  by  the  occurrence  of 
an  eclipse  of  the  sun,  but  unfortunately 
neither  of  these  interesting  phenomena 
will  be  visible  to  observers  within  the 
borders   of  the   United   States. 

THE  AUGUST  STARS. 
There  have  been  many  interesting 
changes  in  the  face  of  the  evening  heav- 
ens since  last  month.  The  great  Leo, 
the  very  last  of  the  winter  groups,  has 
disappeared ;  the  preceding  stars  of  the 
very  large  group,  Virgo,  are  beginning 
to  set,  and  there  no  longer  remains  the 
least  trace  of  the  long,  straggling  con- 
stellation known  as  the  Water  Snake. 
Hercules  and  Corona  no  longer  occupy 
the  highest  point  of  the  heavens,  but 
they,  as  well  as  the  brilliant  Scorpio, 
Opiiiuchus  and  Bootes,  have  moved  far 
toward  the  west.  The  long  train  of 
bright  groups  along  the  Alilky  Way  are 
now  all  near  the  meridian,  while  Aquari- 
us, the  beautiful  Andromeda    and    the 


TO  KNOW  THE  STARRY  HEAVENS 


95 


Great   Square   of   Pegasus   have   all  ap- 
peared in  the  east. 

A  very  beautiful  region  for  explora- 
tion and  study  is  that  which  lies  within 
the  borders  of  the  constellation  Cygnus, 
or  the  Northern  Cross,  now  high  in  the 
evening  sky.  The  star  at  A  is  perhaps 
the  most  beautiful  double  star  in  the 
heavens  with  a  small  aperture,  the  larg- 


which,  from  the  immense  amount  of 
mathematical  research  which  has  been 
devoted  to  it,  is  well  known  to  every  as- 
tronomer. This  pair  is  called  "Sixty- 
one  Cygni"  and  has  the  distinction  of 
being  nearer  to  us  than  any  other  known 
star  north  of  the  Celestial  Equator.  The 
light  from  this  pair  of  suns  requires  bnt 
eight  vears  to  reach  us,  so  that  Sixtv- 


SOUXM 


Figure  1    Tlic  Constellations  on  August  1  at  9  P.  M. 
(If  facing  south,  hold  the  map  upright;  if  facing  East  hold  east  below; 
if  facing  west,  hold  West  below;  if  facing  north,  hold  the  map  inverted.) 


er  star  being  of  a  golden  color  and  the 
smaller  one  blue.  The  star  at  C  is  a  very 
similar  but  more  difficult  double,  while 
that  at  D  is  a  double  presenting  an  only 
slightly  less  beautiful  contrast  in  color, 
but  in  which  the  colors  are  far  more  un- 
usual, the  larger  star  being  white  and 
the  smaller  one  of  a  lilac  tint.  If  there 
are  any  worlds  in  this  strange  system, 
the  dwellers  upon  them  thus  see  a  white 
sun  and  a  lilac  sun  rise  every  day ;  in 
fact,  it  might  always  be  day  on  so 
strangely  situated  a  world,  because,  per- 
haps, one  of  their  suns  is  always  to  be 
seen  in  their  sky. 

At  the  position  E  there  is  an  incon- 
spicuoiis    sixth    magnitude   pair   of   suns 


one  Cygni  is  at  almost  exactly  the  same 
distance  aw^ay  as  the  bright  Dog  star 
Sirius. 

The  variable  star  at  B,  which  the 
reader  may  have  noticed  when  it  was  a 
bright,  naked-eye  object,  is  now  of  near- 
ly the  eleventh  magnitude  and  is  daily 
growing  fainter.  This  strange  sun  thus 
oscillates  from  brightness  to  faintness 
continually,  the  period  being  406  days ; 
though  for  some  cause,  as  unknown  to 
us  as  the  cause  of^the  variability  itself, 
this  period  has  recently  been  growing 
longer. 

Around  the  star  at  F  there  is  a  won- 
derful stream  of  stars,  while  between 
this  and  the  star  at  H  is  the  curious  va- 


96 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


cant  region  of  the  Milky  Way  known  as 
the  Northern  Coal  Sack.  But  star 
streams  and  clouds  and  other  wonderful 
objects  literally  fill  this  beautiful  region 
of  the  Milky  Way.  The  bright  star  at 
H  is  itself  a  most  interesting  sun.  Not 
only  do  we  now  see  it  as  the  brightest 
star  of  the   constellation,   but  it  is  ap- 


moon,  while  to  those  within  the  narrow 
strip  MNO,  the  intensely  black  disc  of 
the  moon  will  appear  to  move  complete- 
ly on  to  the  bright  disc  of  the  sun. 
Even  here,  however,  the  sun's  light  will 
at  no  time  be  completely  cut  off ;  it  will 
shine  out  as  a  brilliant  ring  encircling 
the   ball   of   the    moon.      It    is    for    this 


Figure  2.    Regions  of  the  earth  from  which  the  eclipse  of  August  10  is  visible. 


proaching  our  earth  at  the  rate  of  thirty- 
six  miles  a  second,  and  in  the  course  of 
very  many  centuries  it  will  have  drawn  so 
near  us  that  it  will  far  outshine  every 
other  star  of  the  heavens.  What  kinds 
of  beings  they  will  be  who  will  then  be 
watching  the  heavens  from  our  little 
earth  we  can  only  conjecture,  if  indeed 
our  world  at  that  remote  epoch  will  be 
in  such  a  condition  that  any  life  at  all 
wall  be  possible  upon  it. 

THE  ANNULAR  ECLIPSE  OF  THE 

SUN. 

On  the  afternoon  of  August  lo  the 
moon  will  pass  between  the  earth  and 
the  sun,  but  unfortunately  the  shadow 
of  our  satellite  will  not  at  that  time  fall 
upon  any  part  of  the  United  States. 
Were  there  an  observer  at  the  point  A, 
Figure  2,  he  would  be  the  first  person 
on  the  earth  to  see  the  moon's  black 
disc  touch  the  edge  of  the  sun ;  while 
it  is  from  the  point  B  that  the  last  trace 
of  the  eclipse  will  be  visible. 

All  observers  within  the  region  RST 
V  will  see  the  sun  partly  hidden  by  the 


reason  that  eclipses    of    this    kind    are 
called  Annular,  or  Ring,  eclipses. 

The  present  eclipse  will  begin  on  Aug- 
ust lo  at  2  hours  56  minutes  6  seconds, 
P.  M.  (Eastern  standard  time)  and  will 
end  at  8  hours  48  minutes  P.  M.,  thus 
lasting  in  its  entirety  almost  six  hours. 

THE  PLANETS  IN  AUGUST. 

Mercury  enters  the  evening  sky  on 
August  14,  but  does  not  reach  its  great- 
est distance  east  of  the  sun  until  Septem- 
ber 27.  On  August  31  it  sets  about  one 
hour  after  sunset  and  may  therefore  be 
then  detected  low  in  the  twilight;  but  it 
can  be  seen  to  much  better  advantage 
four  weeks  later. 

Venus  is  practically  invisible  through- 
out all  of  August,  as  it  is  lost  in  the  rays 
of  the  sun.  On  August  i  it  rises  but 
forty  minutes,  and  on  August  31  but 
ten  minutes  before  sunrise. 

Mars  will  be  seen  rising  far  in  the 
northeast,  four  hours  before  sunrise ;  it 
thus  attains  a  quite  high  altitude  by  the 
time  of  dawn.  It  is  now  of  almost  ex- 
actly the  same  brightness  as  a  first  mag- 
nitude star ;  because  of  this,  and  because 


TO  KNOW  THF  STARRY  HEAVENS 


97 


of  its  red  color,  it  is  very  conspicuous 
and  cannot  be  mistaken. 

Jupiter  may  be  seen  rising  almost  ex- 
actly at  the  east  point  of  the  horizon 
at  9  P.  M.  on  August  i  and  at  a 
few  minutes  before  7  P.  M.  on  August 


Figure  3.  A  recent  drawint;  of  the  planet  Jupiter  made 
with  a  large  telescope.  The  flattening  of  the  planet  at 
the  poles  is  very  evident  in  this  drawing. 


31.  Though  this  world,  on  the  whole, 
moves  eastward  among  the  stars,  com- 
pleting the  circuit  of  the  heavens  in 
about  twelve  years,  it  is  at  the  present 
time  moving  slowly  westward  or  "re- 
trograding." This  retrograde  motion 
will  continue  until  Novemljer  15,  when 
it  will  be  found  at  a  distance  equal  to 
seventeen  times  the  apparent  diameter 
of  the  full  moon  west  of  its  present  po- 
sition. After  this  date  it  will  again  run 
rapidly  eastward  among  the  stars. 

No  planet  affords  a  more  interesting 
subject  for  study  with  a  small  telescope 
than  does  this  one.  Its  delicately  color- 
ed bands  and  its  markings,  which  are 
continually  changing  both  on  accoimt  of 
the  great  disturbances  on  this  vaporous 
world  and  on  account  of  its  rapid  ro- 
tation, and  its  four  bright  and  ever-mov- 
ing moons  form  so  fascinating  an  object 
that  one  can  scarcely  tire  of  watching 
it.  Numerous  occultations,  transits  or 
eclipses  of  the  moons  will  be  seen  to  oc- 
cur during  the  nights  of  August  6,  8, 
15.  22  and  31. 

Saturn  is  steadily  withdrawing  from 
the  sun's  rays  into  the  morning  sky.  On 
August  I  it  rises,  but  two  hours  before 
sunrise,  but  this  time  is  increased  to  no 
less  than  four  and  three-fourths  hours 
by  the  end  of  the  month.  It  will  not  be 
until  November,  however,  that  we  will 
see  this  beautiful  planet  shining  in  our 
evening  sky. 


A  Sonnet. 

Mysterious  nijjht!  when  our  first  parent  knew 
Thee    from    report    divine,    and    heard      thy 

name, 
Did  he  not  tremble  for  his  lovely  frame. 
This  glorious  canopy  of  light  and  blue? 
Yet  "neath  a  curtain  of  translucent  dew. 
Bathed  in  the  rays  of  the  great  setting  flame, 
Hesperus  with  the  Host  of  Heaven  came. 
And  lo!  creation  widen'd  in  man's'  view. 
Who    could    have    thought    such    darkness    lay 

conceal'd 
Within  thy  beams,  O  Sun  !  or  who  could  find, 
Whilst    fly    and    leaf    and    insect    stood      re- 

veal'd ; 
That  to  such  countless  orbs  thou  mad'st  us 
blind? 
Why   do   we   then   shun    deatli,   with     anxious 
strife? 
If  light  can  thus  deceive,  wherefore  not  life? 
— Joseph  Blanco  White. 


Dr.  Edward  F.  Bigelow,  over  at 
Sound  Beach,  is  trying  to  buy  a  tele- 
scope for  ArcAdiA,  so  we  can  all  look 
up  into  the  sky  and  see  what  is  going  on 
so  far  away.  While  there  is  a  good  deal 
of  room  up  in  the  sky  for  one  small  spy- 
glass to  look  at  we  hope  the  Doctor  gets 
his  observatory.  It  is  nice  to  know  a  lot 
if  you  can  acquire  knowledge  by  merely 
looking  at  it  instead  of  reading  and 
studying,  Avhich  is  hard  on  the  occiput. 
— "Cos  Cob  Nature  Notes." — New  York 
World.  . 

A  late  report  from  the  Lowell  Obser- 
vatory at  Flagstaff,  Arizona,  states  that 
the  only  water  on  Mars  is  that  furnished 
by  the  melting  snow  of  the  polar  ice 
caps.  The  equatorial  region,  therefore,  is 
excessively  dry.  The  latest  measure- 
ment of  the  amount  of  oxygen  present 
in  the  Martian  atmosphere  show^s  it  to 
be  about  one-half  that  of  the  earth's. 

A  German  naturalist  notes  that  some 
of  the  common  shore  crabs  lifted  by 
the  shell  between  thumb  and  finger  and 
waved  in  the  air,  become  rigid  and  are 
probably  hypnotized. 


A  recent  study  by  Crocker  and 
Groves  of  the  duration  of  life  in  seeds 
appears  to  show  that  death  is  due  to 
a  slow  coagulation  of  the  proteins. 
The  rate  at  wdiich  this  takes  place  is 
the  more  rapid  the  higher  the  temper- 
ature and  the  greater  the  amount  of 
moisture  in  the  seed.  One  hundred 
and  fifty  years  seems  to  be  the  limit 
of  longevity  for  the  most  resistant 
seeds  under  the  most  favorable  con- 
ditions. 


98 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


:^^i 


*••••••♦•••* 


AQASSIZ  ASSOCIATION 


KCCC<CCCCSKC<K<C<KC^^^ 


Established  1875 


IncorpDrntHil.    MnMM,icliiisHttH.  IMfj 


Connecticut,  1910 


Our  Meriden,  Connecticut,  Chapter. 

The  annual  reports  from  this  Chapter 
come  to  us  in  excellent  shape,  not  in 
glittering  generalities,  but  in  a  specific 
account  from  each  member  as  to  what 
was  actually  studied.  For  example,  we 
cjuote  a  little  from  a  few  of  these  ex- 
tended, individual  reports. 

Mildred  Whiting  tells  how  she  went 
into  the  woods  searching  for  cocoons 
and  finally  found  one  on  a  white  birch 
tree.  "This  cocoon  was  made  out  of 
leaves  and  fastened  to  the  twig  of  the 
tree.  I  cut  the  twig  and  procured  the 
cocoon.  Then  I  took  a  box,  cut  out 
the  top  of  the  cover,  inserted  some  net- 
ting, put  the  cocoon  in  the  box,  and  put 
this  cover  on.  I  also  gathered  about 
six  of  these  common  brown  caterpillars 
and  put  them  in  the  same  kind  of  a 
box  as  I  did  the  cocoon.  I  fed  them 
grass  and  leaves,  mostly  rose  leaves. 
Within  three  days,  they  had  all  spun 
a  cocoon  for  themselves.  They  all 
seemed  to  prefer  the  corner  of  the  box, 
so  that  there  were  two  or  three  in  one 
corner." 

Caroline  J.  Hitchcock:  "The  subject 
I  chose  for  my  work  last  year  was 
plants.  During  a  visit  to  the  British 
Isles  I  collected  and  pressed  speci- 
mens. This  fall  I  mounted  these  and 
I  now  have  to  give  to  the  society  about 
fifty  specimens  and  of  these  eleven  are 
ferns.  The  ferns  have  their  botanical 
name  with  them  but  the  others  have 
not." 

Eva  Rettenmeyer  tells  how  she  be- 
came interested  in  astronomy  and  con- 
tinued that  study:  "As  far  back  as  1 
can  remember  I  have  felt  a  friendly 
interest  in  the  stars.  Although  there 
were  brighter  and  more  attractive 
groups  in  the  heavens,  the  seven  stars 
of  the  Big  Dipper  received  most  of  my 
attention.  The  reason  was  simple 
enough — I  knew  the  group  by  name. 
Because  of  this  I  made  a  firm  resolu- 


tion to  learn  the  names  of  as  many 
stars  as  possible.  But  how?  Occasion- 
ally one  had  been  pointed  out  to  me, 
but  when  I  looked  for  it  again,  it  was 
lost  among  the  many. 

"W^ith  a  great  deal  of  doubt  in  my 
mind,  I  turned  to  books  for  help.  At 
first  I  found  them,  as  I  had  expected, 
too  technical,  until  at  length  one  ap- 
peared which  professed  itself  a  guide 
for  the  amateur.  This  I  read  and  re- 
read during  the  day  and  then  impa- 
tiently awaited  night  and  my  old 
friend,  Ursa  Major. 

"With  the  aid  of  the  'Pointers'  I 
found  the  Pole  Star  and  the  other  stars 
making  Ursa  Minor.  By  tracing  im- 
aginary lines  from  these  two  constella- 
tions I  located  Cassiopeia  and  then 
Capella  and  Vega  and,  soon  after,  the 
most  beautiful  star  of  all,  Arcturus. 
And  so  I  continued  the  study,  each 
night  finding  some  further  from  the 
North  Pole  until  I  could  recognize 
most  of  the  southern  constellations. 

"By  this  time,  newer  constellations 
began  to  appear  in  the  east.  It  was 
ever  so  interesting  to  watch  the  stars 
rise,  one  by  one,  first  late  at  night  and 
then  earlier  and  earlier  until  they  were 
visible  soon  after  sunset. 

"Meanwhile  some  of  my  first  star 
acquaintances  left  the  evening  skies. 
Now  thev  are  returning  and  others  are 
setting.  It  is  a  continual  going  and  com- 
ing which  keeps  our  interest  balanced 
between  the  east  and  west. 

"As  I  have  shown,  my  first  step  in 
astronomy  was  to  learn  the  names  of 
the  brightest  stars  and  of  the  constel- 
lations to  which  they  belonged.  This 
I  could  not  do  without  noticing  and 
reading  about  various  phenomena.  I 
noticed  the  dififerent  degrees  of  bright- 
ness and  this  led  to  the  reading  of  para- 
graphs on  magnitudes,  size,  and  dis- 
tance.     I    marked    the    differences    in 


THE  AGASSIZ  ASSOCIATION 


99 


•colour  and  the  different  tone  of  the 
.same  star  when  rising  or  setting.  Of 
these,  also,  the  book  held  explanations. 
J.  saw  double  stars  and  read  about 
them,  and  in  one  glorious  moment, 
through  a  telescope,  I  saw  the  trapezium 
-of  Orion.  In  that  same  moment  I  real- 
ized, from  the  quickness  with  which 
■the  telescope  got  out  of  lield,  how 
rapidly  the  earth  is  revolving.  The  dif- 
ferent positions  of  Ursa  Major  had  pre- 
-^■iously  proved  it  to  me. 

"These  are  but  a  few  of  the  interest- 
ing points  in  the  study  of  astronomy. 
Jt  contains  everything  from  the  most 
-poetic  traditions  to  the  greatest  of  scien- 
tific investigations. 

"So  far  I  have  tried  to  gain  a  little 
general  knowledge  of  astronomy  in  dif- 
ferent phases  Perhaps  in  another 
:season  I  shall  be  content  to  concentrate 
upon  the  study  of  some  particular 
phase  of  it ;  at  least,  I  hope  to." 

Adelaide  Piechocki  gives  a  list  of 
minerals  that  she  has  studied,  also  con- 
tinuing an  interest  in  moths  and  but- 
terflies. The  list  of  minerals  contains 
many  of  especial  interest  with  descrip- 
tion of  what  has  been  learned. 

Gertrude  Henrietta  Rudolph  has 
studied  and  mounted  eighteen  kinds 
of  plants  and  found  the  work  delight- 
ful. She  is  continuing  it  this  summer. 
She  also  reports  having  given  consid- 
erable time  to  birds  and  insects  on  her 
Avalks  searching  for  plants. 

E.  Norma  Doolittle  has  studied  trees 
and  astronomy.  She  says  that  she 
secured  a  planisphere  and  some  books 
and  in  a  short  time  was  able  to  recog- 
nize principal  stars  as  well  as  constel- 
lations. During  her  study  she  was 
fortunate  in  having  a  view  through  a 
large  telescope.  She  saw  Saturn,  the 
stars  of  the  Pleiades,  and  has  become 
much  interested  in  Mercury. 

Ellena  Risley  McLean  says  she  ar- 
ranged a  collection  of  thirty-five  differ- 
ent tree  seeds  in  uniform  bottles  and 
labeled.  "I  have  five  blocks  of  wood 
cut  to  show  the  grain.  The  evergreens 
look  well  in  the  Rikers'  mounts  and  I 
have  branches  of  the  white  pine,  arbor 
v'itae,  and  Norway  spruce,  with  cones 
from  each,  thus  arranged.  I  also  have 
a  photograph  of  each  tree  which  I  shall 
fasten  in  an  envelope  to  the  back  of  the 
mount." 


Louis  C.  Dossin  collected  the  cocoons 
of  moths  in  the  winter  and  gives  c^uite 
a  long  list  telling  various  experiences 
with  each  particular  kind.  In  the  spring 
he  caught  moths  under  the  electric 
lights  but  found  that  the  most  perfect 
imagoes  were  those  that  came  out  of 
cocoons  collected  during  the  winter 
months. 

AW  G.  Shute  gave  extended  attention 
to  geology  and  writes  interestingly  as 
follows :  "A  few  years  ago  Professors 
Rice  and  Gregory  explained  the  geolo- 
gical changes  to  wdiich  Connecticut 
and  therefore  Meriden  were  subjected. 
During  the  past  summer  I  attempted 
to  cover  Aleriden  and  the  vicinity  in 
order  to  explain  the  nature  of  our  hills 
and  mountains  in  the  light  of  the  work 
prepared  by  the  gentlemen  mentioned. 

"I  visited  first  Roaring  Brook  in 
Southington  wdiere  I  took  a  picture  of 
the  Paleozoic  schists  at  right  angles  to 
the  overhanging  sandstones.  I  later 
found  outcrops  of  gneiss  east  of  ]\Iid- 
dletown  thereby  easily  proving  that 
Meriden  was  formerly  under  water, 
with  high  mountains  on  either  side. 
The  four  separate  strata  of  sandstone 
were  easily  followed  wnth  their  inter- 
vening lava  sheets,  namely  the  ante- 
rior, main  and  the  posterior.  The  last 
was  not  found  in  ^leriden.  The  first 
was  interesting  for  it  bore  the  marks  of 
a  lava  deposit  into  water.  One  fright- 
ful explosion  of  steam  and  stone  was 
found  in  the  'crater'  near  Berlin.  Fur- 
thermore, the  sandstones  by  their  de- 
cidedly red  color  denote  that  they  were 
deposited  in  fresh  water.  This  shows 
that  Meriden  was  at  least  twice  under 
water.  The  age  of  the  strata  is  easily 
determined  by  the  many  imprints  of 
the  dinosaur,  a  semibipedal  reptile, 
which  lived  during  the  Triassic  or 
early  Jurassic  era. 

"The  last  changes  were  explained  by 
the  ice  sheet's  sweep  across  the  state.  I 
took  many  photographs  illustrating  the 
different  formations  caused  by  the  gla- 
ciers and  attempted  to  explain  the 
nature  of  all  our  hills.  The  whole 
attempt  of  my  work  was  to  picture  as 
clearly  as  possible  the  different  stages 
through  which  ^Meriden  had  passed." 

Anna  Koffinke  tells  of  "x\moebae  I 
Have  A\^atched"  as  follows :  "Aly  mind 
was  strangely  divided  in  my  choice  of 
a    special    subject    between    astronomy, 


lOO 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


the  largest,  most  infinite  of  all  sciences, 
and  the  study  of  amoebae,  the  lowest 
forms  of  animal  life,  too  tiny  to  be  seen 
by  the  naked  eye,  though  thousands  be 
in  a  drop  of  water. 

"Microscopes  have  an  interest  second 


(SlAOlli*) 


only  to  a  telescope,  and  each  glance 
brings  a  new  surprise.  And  so,  with 
a  different  specimen  occasionally,  but 
almost  invariably  the  amoeba  shown 
on  Plate  I,  I  spent  a  few  afternoons 
watching   their   movements    and    record- 


AnotiA) 


ing    them    each    minute    or   each    half- 
minute. 

"The  amoeba  shown  on  Plate  1 
changed  rapidly  and  was  very  active 
whenever  I  observed  it ;  it  appears, 
however,  that  amoebae  have  their  per- 
iods of  activity  and  of  rest,  according 
to  a  pamphlet  written  by  Dr.  Gibbs  and 
other  gentlemen  who  made  a  special 
study  of  one  specimen.  I  have  never 
seen  it  take  any  food  excepting  algae. 
But  as  the  second  plate  shows,  I  had  an 
opportunity  to  watch  the  discharge  of 
a  food  vacuole. 

"Plate  III  shows  the  Amoeba  diffliiens 
which  is  continually  thrusting  out  little 
projections  of  its  protoplasm,  and  again 
contracting. 

"By  far  the  most  interesting  and  pret- 
tiest of  the  amoebae  which  I  could  find 
changed  even  more  rapidly  than  the 
others.  This  was  the  Amoeba  radiosa, 
beautiful  for  its  symmetry,  for  the 
glass-like  appearance  of  its  projections, 
sharp  and  pointed  like  the  rays  of  a 
star. 


"A  queer  and  constantly  varying  spe- 
cimen is  that  on  Plate  V.  I  have  not 
been  able  to  find  its  name  Further  than 
these,  the  slipper-animalcule  and  a 
large,  interesting  Entomostracus,  with 
an  extraordinary  amount  of  activity, 
and  my  observations  were  suddenly  in- 
terrupted But  the  study  of  amoebae 
proved  so  interesting  as  far  as  I  went, 
that  I  shall  some  day  try  to  make  a  spe- 
cial study  of  them." 

This  Chapter  has  always  kept  a  high 
standard  of  work.  It  has  a  special 
place  of  work  known  as  The  Agassiz 
Room.  Two  delegates  were  sent  by 
the  Chapter  to  visit  ArcAdiA.  We  do 
not  know  what  they  reported  back  to 
the  Chapter  but  we  do  know  that  they 
gave  some  very  interesting  reports  of 


THE  AGASSIZ  ASSOCIATION 


lor 


the  Chapter.  One  commendable  fea- 
ture was  the  fact  that  every  member 
has  to  do  something  and  the  rule  is 
even  if  you  have  not  done  anything  get 
up  and  say  so,  which  makes  every  one 
do  something:. 


Trees  Gnawed  by  Beavers. 

The  accompanying  photograph,  show- 
in""  the  work  of  beavers,  excels  in  many 


"I  am  mighty  glad  to  see  you,  old  fel- 
low." The  thought  of  sourness  or  of 
cordiality  comes  before  the  words.  To 
the  writer  this  is  an  important  pedagogi- 
cal point.  Shall  we  begin  with  a  thing 
or  with  a  worrl  if  we  intend  to  teach  the 
child  to  think?  I  am  sure  that  Agassiz 
had  this  in  mind  when  he  said,  "Study 
nature,  not  books." 

This   question   was    sent  to   Professor 


A    REMARKABLY       LARGE  TREE  ATTACKED   BY   BEAXERS. 


respects  all  other  photographs  of  beavers 
that  have  reached  this  office,  as  the  trees 
there  shown  are  the  largest  that  we  have 
known  to  be  attacked  by  beavers.  The 
one  in  the  background  is  more  than  four 
feet  in  diameter,  the  other  more  than 
five.  They  are  on  Trout  Creek,  about 
half  a  mile  from  Okanagan  Lake  in  Brit- 
ish Columbia,  Canada.  The  photograph 
was  sent  bv  F.  H.  \^an  Ilise. 


Words  and  Things. 

The  first  line  on  the  first  page  of  a 
recent  number  of  ''Moderator-Topics'" 
reads  as  follows :  "We  think  in  words." 
That  surely  causes  one  to  think.  Do  we 
really  think  in  words,  or  are  the  words 
secondary  as  an  expression  of  an  aroused 
thought  ?  I  bite  an  apple.  It  is  sour. 
I  have  a  thought  before  I  speak  the  word 
"sour."  I  meet  a  friend  and  cordially 
grasp  his  hand.  The  thought  in  itself  is 
complete  before  I  express  it  in  the  words. 


Hugo  Munsterberg,  the  famous  profes- 
sor of  psychology  at  Cambridge,  !AIassa- 
chusetts.     He  writes  in  reply  as  follows : 

"You  are  certainly  right  in  saying  that 
you  can  think  of  the  actions  of  a  cat,  a 
squirrel,  a  child,  without  any  words,  but 
the  pedagogical  magazine  which  claims 
that  we  think  in  words  is  certainly  right 
too.  The  apparent  conflict  lies  in  the 
fact  that  the  word  thinking  is  used  there 
in  two  entirely  dififerent  meanings.  You 
use  thinking  in  the  sense  of  having  in 
consciousness,  including  remembering" 
and  selecting  parts  of  the  memory  pic- 
ture, even  linking  new  memory  pictures 
and  imaginative  ideas.  The  other  party 
uses  thinking  in  the  sense  of  producing 
thoughts  by  going  from  premises  to  con- 
clusions. In  your  sense  of  the  word  the 
animals  certainly  thinT:  too :  in  the  other 
sense  of  the  word,  the  animals  hardly 
think. 

"Rut  it  seems  to  me  more   imiiortant 


I02 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


that  both  functions  deserve  training.  The 
study  of  nature  itself  is  therefore  an  ex- 
cellent condition  for  mental  development 
and  is  to  be  recommended  as  the  basis 
of  all  scientific  interests.  Yet  when  we 
come  to  the  development  of  principles 
based  on  thought,  the  thinking  in  words 
becomes  essential.'' 


The  Station  for  Experimental  Evo- 
lution at  Cold  Spring  Harbor,  Long 
Island,  reports  one  hundred  successive 
generations  of  the  common  vv^ater  flea 
(Daphiiia  pules)  without  the  appear- 
ance of  any  males.  Another  culture,  of 
a  different  species,  has  nov\^  reached 
seventy-six  parthenogenetic  genera- 
tions. 


A  Spider's  Motherly  Devotion. 

BY     W.     I.     BEECROFT,     ADAMS,     MASS. 

Different     creatures     have     different 
methods  of  caring  for  their  young,  pro- 


Appreciative  Words  from  a  Stamford 
Editor. 

The  Agassiz  Association  of  Sound 
Beach  appears  to  be  mounting  the 
ladder  of  pecuniary  success  so  rapidly 
of  late  as  to  make  it  a  potential  candi- 
date for  the  ranks  of  plutocracy.  In 
the  annual  financial  report  just  made 
public,  the  candid  confession  is  made 
by  President  Edward  F.  Bigelow  that 
during  the  last  year  he  has  been  paid 
the  sum  of  $708.44  for  mechanical  and 
business  work  on  The  Guide  to  Na- 
ture, the  olffcial  organ  of  the  associa- 
tion, which  has  provided  him  with  a 
weekly  compensation  of  $13.62.  In  his 
capacity  as  president  of  the  associa- 
tion and  editor  of  its  magazine,  how- 
ever, he  received  nothing.  The  $13.62 
looks  prodigious,  owing  to  the  monetary 
void  that  preceded  the  latest  year,  as 
during   the   previous   seven    years   Mr. 


HOW   THE    SPIDER   CARRIES   THE   YOUNG. 


vided  they  give  them  any  care.  The 
running  spider's  habit  of  carrying  the 
young  on  the  back  is  a  peculiar  instance 
of  devotion  in  a  creature  so  low  in  the 
scale  of  life.  In  the  accompanying  il- 
lustration the  mother  spider  is  thus 
transporting  more  than  two  hundred 
little  ones. 


Bigelow's  work,  mechanical,  editorial 
or  any  other  sort,  has  gone  wholly  un- 
rewarded, and  he  has  even  paid  rent  to 
the  association  for  personal  use  of  the 
garden  and  pethouse.  Furthermore, 
three  members  of  the  president's  fam- 
ily assist  in  the  work  of  the  association 
without  compensation.     It  would  appear, 


THE  AGASSIZ  ASSOCIATION 


103 


then,  that  $13.62  a  week  buys  a  deal  of 
labor  and  devotion  in  the  interests  of 
an  educational  enterprise. 

The  steadily  widening"  orbit  of  the  asso- 
ciation's influence  and  work  and  the  con- 
stantly increasing  number  of  its  friends 
and  patrons  are  the  best  evidence  of  a 
growing-  appreciation  of  the  excellence 
of  its  purpose.  The  association  is  forty 
years  old  this  summer,  but  during  the 
last  two  years  it  has  been  entering  on 
what  is  described  as  a  "new  era  of  en- 
larged scope  as  a  public  institution." 
Its  object  is  highly  meritorious,  as  few 
education  excursions  are  more  produc- 
tive of  profit  and  pleasure  than  deep 
researches  into  the  mysteries  of  nature. 
In  its  president  the  association  has  a 
tireless  and  self-sacrificing  official  to 
whom  great  credit  is  due  for  progress 
already  made  and  a  prospective  that  is 
particularly  promising  of  greater  pro- 
gress to  come. — "The  Daily  Advocate," 
Stamford  Conn.,  Friday,  June  18,  1915. 


Good  Work  and  Good  Methods. 

Frankford,  Philadelphia,   Pennsylvania. 
To  the  Editor : 

As  President  of  Chapter  1054  I  send 
the  following  report. 

Order  of  Exercises. 

1.  ]\Ieeting  called  to  order  by  Presi- 
dent. 

2.  Reading  of  minutes  of  last  meeting 
by  Recording  Secretary. 

3.  Old  or  unfinished  business  of  the 
Chapter. 

4.  New  business  of  the  Chapter. 

5.  Collection  of  dues. 

6.  Discussion  of  nature  subjects. 

7.  Fun. 

8.  Adjournment. 

The  meetings  are  held  every  two  weeks 
at  the  houses  of  the  members  in  alpha- 
betical order.  At  each  meeting  the  mem- 
bers report  on  some  object  of  nature 
that  they  have  seen.  The  treasurer  re- 
ports once  a  month.  The  dues  are  two 
cents  every  meeting.  The  number  of 
members  is  limited  to  ten. 

We  have  taken  several  outings.  On 
the  first  of  these  we  found  several  arrow- 
heads and  saw  many  birds.  This  month 
we  are  specially  searching  for  birds.  We 
have  arranged  to  look  through  the  large 
telescope  in  the  observatory  at  Haver- 
ford  College. 

Joseph  Borxeman. 


Come  Now ;  Let  Us  Reason  Together. 

It  is  an  astonishing  fact  that  The 
Agassiz  Association  has  hundreds  of 
members,  yes,  even  thousands  if  we 
take  into  consideration  all  those  that 
have  been  enrolled  as  individual  mem- 
bers or  as  members  of  Chapters  since 
the  organization  was  first  started,  that 
have  not  yet  become  subscribers  to 
The  Guide  to  N.ature. 

It  is  also  equally  astonishing  that 
The  Guide;  to  Nature  has.  hundreds  of 
subscribers  that  are  not  members.  We 
may  have  some  on  our  list  that  can- 
not afford  to  pay  a  dollar  and  a  half 
a  year,  but  we  are  sure  that  many  of 
our  active  friends  should  become 
members. 

Probably  some  of  our  readers  will  be 
amazed  at  the  statement  that  we  have 
so  many  members  that  are  not  sub- 
scribers, and  a  large  number  of  sub- 
scribers that  are  not  members.  But 
they  have  no  more  reason  for  astonish- 
ment than  have  the  w^orkers  here  in 
the  Home  Office.  Let  us  remedy  this 
amazing  situation.  Every  one  who  re- 
ceives this  magazine  at  a  dollar  a  year 
is  getting  what  costs  far  more,  and 
that  difference  is  made  up  by  our  loyal 
members  and  appreciative  contribu- 
tors. Let  every  one  who  can  possibly 
do  so  take  more  cooperative  interest  in 
the  work  than  merely  by  a  subscrip- 
tion. 


The  Naturalist  Field  Club  of  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania,  after  some 
years  of  inactivity,  has  been  reorgan- 
ized and  has  taken  on  renewed  life. 
The  club  is  now  managed  entirely  by 
the  undergraduates,  although  gradu- 
ate students  and  members  of  the  teach- 
ing force  are  eligible  to  membership. 
The  zoological  laboratory  of  the  Uni- 
versity provides  a  meeting  place  and 
a  photographic  dark  room. 


C.  H.  Turner  prints  in  the  Biological 
Bulletin  (Lancaster,  Pennsylvania)  a 
long  account  of  his  elaborate  experiments 
on  the  hearing  of  the  large  silk-moths, 
polyphemus,  cecropia,  promethea,  etc., 
together  with  various  other  smaller 
moths.  He  finds  that  they  all  hear,  and 
are  affected  by  a  wide  range  of  pitch, 
from  below  the  lowest  note  of  a  piano 
to  above  the  highest. 


I04 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


A  Wide-Awake  Chaper. 

Monsarrat  School,  Louisville,  Kentucky. 
To  the  Editor : 

Since  our  former  letter  to  you,  the 
Monsarrat  Chapter  of  the  AA  has  had 
several  enjoyable  trips.  One  excursion 
was  to  our  beautiful  Cherokee  Park.  We 
started  immediately  after  school  and 
spent  the  afternoon  in  searching  for 
plants  and  hearing  wonderful  explana- 
tions about  them. 

Many  spring  flowers  were  in  bloom, 
such  as  the  wild  yellow  poppy,  the  white 
and  the  purple  violet  and  the  wild  hya- 
cinth. The  hyacinth  was  more  eagerly 
sought  for  than  any  other  plant ;  the  chil- 
dren scrambled  over  rocks,  climbed  hills 
and  did  almost  anything  to  reach  one. 
But  the  roots  extend  so  deep  into  the 
ground  that  it  is  difficult  to  get  them  out 
unbroken  and  complete,  yet  nearly  all  of 
our  plants  had  the  roots,  and  most  of  the 
children  transplanted  them  in  their  gar- 
dens or  window  boxes.  A  common  plant 
which  interested  us  was  Dutchman's- 
breeches,  another  name  for  squirrel  corn. 
We  also  got  many  specimens  of  jack-in- 
the-pulpit. 

All  our  trips  have  been  beneficial  and 
we  hope  that  others  in  the  future  will  be 
as  successful. 

We  held  our  final  regular  meeting  of 
the  A  A  on  Thursday,  June  loth.  This 
was  the  last  one  for  many  of  us  as  mem- 
bers of  the  Monsarrat  School,  since  we 
go  to  High  School  next  September. 

We  were  pleased  to  see  our  letter  and 
pictures  in  the  May  number  of  The 
Guide;  to  Nature.  When  you  said  that 
we  have  caught  the  real  A  A  spirit  of 
standing  for  high  ideals  and  accomplish- 
ing things  really  worth  while,  you 
strengthened  our  desire  to  keep  that 
standard,  not  only  in  nature  study  but  in 
everything  else. 

A'^ery  sincerely  yours, 

Letitia  Lawrence, 
Corresponding  Secretary. 


The  Report  of  the  Larchmont  Manor 
Chapter. 

Larchmont,  N.  Y 
To  The  Agassiz  Association : 

Since  the  members  of  my  schoolroom 
formed  the  Larchmont  Manor  Chapter 
of  The  Agassiz  Association  last  June,  we 
have  all  taken  a  special  interest  in  the 
study  of  nature. 

In  the  autumn  we  studied  the  trees  and 
their  bark,   especially    the    nut    bearing 


trees.  We  also  made  a  special  study  of 
the  silkworm,  the  bee  and  the  life  his- 
tory of  some  moths  and  butterflies.  This 
spring  we  raised  an  exceedingly  beauti- 
ful Polyphemus  moth  in  our  room. 

In  the  spring  we  studied  the  buds  of 
trees  and  shrubs.  We  also  learned  much 
about  spring  flowers  and  made  a  collec- 
tion. 

At  the  meetings  of  the  AA  during  the 
year,  we  have  studied  many  song  birds. 

All  the  pupils  of  the  ]\Ianor  School 
were  delighted  with  the  interesting  lec- 
ture that  Dr.  Bigelow  gave  us  in  Janu- 
ary on  "Roadsides,  Fields  and  Forests." 
I  sincerely  hope  that  we  may  hear  from 
him  again,  as  he  afforded  us  so  much 
pleasure. 

Hoping  to  go  to  ArcAdiA,  the  inter- 
esting home  of  the  AA,  not  only  next 
year,  but  at  many  other  times,  I  am 
Sincerely  yours, 

Aeys  Boross, 
Corresponding  Secretary. 


A  Collecting  Pipette. 

Mr.  Arthur  M.  Banta,  a  member  of 
the  staff  of  the  Long  Island  Station 
for  Experimental  Evolution  recom- 
mends for  collecting  small,  active 
water    creatures    a    peculiar    form    of 


pipette.  The  instrument  is  made  from 
one  of  the  "calcium  chloride  tubes" 
sold  by  dealers  in  chemical  supplies, 
and  is  worked  by  means  of  a  common 
rubber  bulb  two  inches  or  so  in  dia- 
meter. 

These  tubes  come  in  various  sizes. 
A  convenient  sort  will  be  seven  or 
eight  inches  long  and  have  a  bulb  an 
inch  and  a  half  across,  with  a  tube 
about  half  this  dimension.  The  wide 
open  end  of  the  tube  will,  of  course, 
have  to  be  heated  and  drawn  down  to 
the  required  size  for  the  pipette 
mouth. 

Because  of  the  large  capacity  of  this 
type  of  pipette,  there  is  little  danger 
of  drawing  a  specimen  into  the  rubber 
bulb,  its  shortness  makes  it  easier  to 
carry  in  the  pocket  than  the  ordinary 
long  form,  it  is  far  more  nimble  than  a 
net,  and  less  likely  to  injure  delicate 
specimens  or  itself  come  to  grief. 


THE  AGASSIZ  ASSOCIATION 


105 


"The  Forest  of  Arden  "  at  Sound  Beach. 

One  hundred  acres  of  forest  land,  as 
wild,  primitive  and  picturesque  as  it  was 
in  the  days  of  the  Indians,  have  had  their 
natural  history  attractions  added  to  those 
of  ArcAdiA.  Mr.  Cyrus  C.  Miller  of 
Miller  &  Bretzfelder,  Counselors  at  Law, 
No.  55  Liberty  Street,  New  York,  has 
placed  his  extensive  forest,  so  far  as  its 
nature  interests  are  concerned,  at  the  dis- 
posal of  the  Agassiz  Association.  He 
will  hereafter  allow  this  wild  and  beauti- 
ful tract  to  be  known  as  "The  Forest  of 
Arden."  He  writes  as  follows  under 
date  of  May  17: 

"I  have  no  objection  to  your  calling- 
it  'The  Forest  of  Arden'  if  you  wish,  but 
I  presume  such  names,  to  be  lasting, 
must  be  adopted  by  the  community.  I 
have  refrained  for  a  long  time  from  post- 
ing signs  on  the  property  forbidding 
trespassing,  as  I  like  to  have  the  people 
of  the  neighborhood  exercise  the  privi- 
lege of  rambling  over  the  property  and 
enjoy  the  woods  and  fields,  but  I  found 
it  necessary  to  warn  people  generally  to 
keep  away,  as  they  knocked  down  and 
took  away  the  fences  and  gates  and  even 
cut  down  the  trees.  It  is  to  be  regretted 
that  they  could  not  enjoy  the  woods  and 
fields  without  destroying  fences,  shrub- 
bery and  trees.  If  the  people  of  the 
neig'hborhood  would  take  it  upon  them- 
selves to  prevent  such  vandalism  I  should 
be  very  glad  to  have  them  do  so  and  to 
enjoy  the  natural  delights  of  the  place." 

■Mr.  Aliller  desires  to  keep  this  tract 
of  land  in  its  present  primitive  state. 
In  a  later  letter  he  writes:  "I  have  with- 
stood the  temptations  of  fellows  who 
wished  to  buy  the  trees  to  cut  down,  and 
it  was  a  matter  of  regret  to  me  when 
the  chestnuts  were  blighted  so  they  had 
to  be  destroyed.  I  do  not  like  to  see 
even  a  single  tree  injured.  There  are 
not  many  pieces  of  woods  left  now-a- 
days  near  the  big  cities  so  that  we  can 
destroy  one  lightly." 

It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  more 
easily  accessible  or  picturesque  forest 
than  this.  It  is  within  six  minutes'  walk 
of  ArcAdiA.  ]\Iany  visitors  and  stu- 
dents have  been  taken  there  to  examine 
the  trees,  the  plants,  the  insects,  the  birds 
and  among  other  things  the  various 
phases  of  aquatic  microscopy.  Every 
one  interested  in  nature  study  will  com- 
mend the  selection  and  the  appropriate- 
ness of  the  name  "The  Forest  of  Arden," 


an  idyllic  place  of  enjoyment  in  nearness 
to  nature.  It  will  form  an  acceptable  ad- 
junct to  our  present  equipment  for  na- 
ture study.  Of  course  everybody  knows 
that  the  Forest  of  Arden  was  made  fa- 
mous by  Shakespeare's  play,  "As  You 
Like  It."  What  could  be  more  fitting 
than  a  name  from  such  a  play?  What 
one  gets  out  of  nature  depends  entirely 
upon  how  it  is  liked.  "We  love  things 
not  because  they  are  beautiful  but  they 
are  beautiful  because  we  love  them." 
Shakespeare  fittingly  portrayed  the  valu- 
able knowledge  we  may  obtain  from 
"The  Forest  of  Arden'^  when  he  refers 
to  the  common  myth  that  a  toad,  though 
erroneously  regarded  in  those  days  as 
ugly  and  venomous,  "Wears  yet  a 
precious  jewel  in  his  head."  The  myth 
of  the  toad  applies  well  to  all  phases  of 
nature.  Often  a  swamp  may  seem  very 
commonplace  or  even  ugly  and  forbid- 
ding, and  yet  if  one  searches  faithfully 
into  the  near  recesses  of  things  there  will 
be  found  many  "jewels"  or  good  things. 
Shakespeare  sums  up  the  value  of  "The 
Forest  of  Arden"  in  these  classic  words : 

"And  this  our  life,  exempt  from  public  haunt, 
Finds  tongues  in  trees,  books  in  the  running 

brooks, 
Sermons  in  stones,  and  good  in  every  thing." 

It  will  be  remembered  by  the  read- 
ers of  "As  You  Like  It"  that  Orlando 
was  of  poetic,  sentimental  tendency,  and 
that  Adam,  an  old  fellow,  who  lived  near 
to  nature,  thus  describes  himself : 

"Though  I  look  old,  yet  I  am  strong  and  lusty; 
For  in  my  youth   I  never  did  apply 
Hot  and  rebellious  liquors  in  my  blood  ; 
Nor  did  not  with  unbashful  forehead  woo 
The  means   of  weakness   and  debility : 
Therefore  my  age  is  as  a  lusty  winter, 
Frosty,  but  kindly." 

That  was  a  pretty  good  combination 
for  exploring  "The  Forest  of  Arden" 
and  the  result  was  that  Orlando  saw 
the  poetical  commonplace  trees  and  ex- 
pressed his  love  by  hanging  poems  there- 
upon. They  were  only  ordinary  trees,  just 
such  trees  as  may  be  found  in  this  Sound 
Beach  "Forest  of  Arden,"  but  looked  at 
with  the  heart  o£  love  they  became  per- 
meated with  beautiful  thoughts.  Thus 
the  elderly  people  of  kindly  heart  will 
enter  "The  Forest  of  Arden"  fittingly 
accompanied  by  the  poetic,  yotithful  en- 
thusiasm of  tl\^  young  people. 


io6 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


Gathering  the  Soap  Plant. 

BY    BESSIE    L.    PUTNAM,    CONNEAUT    LAKE, 
PENNSYLVANIA. 

A  new  industry  has  sprung  up  in 
some  parts  of  the  West,  and  the  gath- 
ering of  a  species  of  Yucca  at  from  five 
to  eight  dohars  per  ton  may  add  to 
the  farmer's  income,  and  at  the  same 
time  free  his  fields  from  a  troublesome 
weed.  The  plant  belongs  to  the  lily 
family.  Its  leaves  yield  a  fibre  useful 
for  several  purposes.  The  fruit,  simi- 
lar in  shape  to  a  banana,  was  highly 
relished  by  the  Indians.  The  establish- 
ment of  the  new  factory  to  convert 
the  plant  into  a  soap,  said  to  be  free 
from  alkali,  and  especially  useful  as  a 
toilet  soap  and  for  washing  woolen 
goods,  is  but  another  illustration  of  the 
fact  that  new  uses  are  continually  be- 
ing found  for  what  were  once  consid- 
ered waste  products. 

This  however  is  not  the  only  soap 
plant  which  nature  has  given  us.  In 
California  is  another  bulbous  plant,  the 
outer  husks  of  which  are  used  to  fill 
cushions  or  mattresses,  and  the  inner 
portion  to  make  a  fine  lather  for  laun- 
dry purposes.  Peru,  Spain,  Egypt  and 
other  countries  have  each  its  represen- 
tative soap  plant,  some  of  these  be- 
longing to  widely  different  families. 


Do  Lobsters  Suffer? 

Humane  people  have  for  a  long  time- 
protested  against  the  cruelty  of  fisher- 
men, because  of  their  custom  of  boiling 
lobsters  and  crabs  slowly,  instead  of 
plunging  them  into  water  boiling  hot, 
and  thus  ending  the  agonies  of  the; 
creatures  quickly.  It  seems,  however, 
that  the  fisherman's  w^ay  was  the  most 
humane  way,  after  all. 

The  New  Jersey  Society  for  the  Pre- 
vention of  Cruelty  to  Animals  asked! 
Mr.  Joseph  Sinel,  late  of  the  New 
Jersey  Marine  Biological  Laboratory,, 
to  test  the  matter  by  a  series  of  experi- 
ments. The  result  showed,  according" 
to  Mr.  Sinel,  that  lobsters,  placed  in 
cold  water,  gradually  brought  to  su 
boiling  point,  exhibited  no  signs  of  dis- 
comfort. When  the  water  reached! 
seventy  degrees,  they  became  coma- 
tose, and  they  died  at  about  eighty  de- 
grees. On  the  contrary,  lobsters- 
placed  in  boiling  water  made  violent 
efforts  to  escape  and  did  not  die  for 
about  two  minutes. 

Mr,  Sinel  compares  the  death  of  x 
lobster  by  gradual  boiling,  to  that  of  eh 
person  succumbing  to  a  "heat  wave" ; 
it  suffers  a  gradual  loss  of  conscious- 
ness and  a  painless  end- — The  Youth's^ 
Companion. 


A    SECTION    OF    A    BED    OF    POPPIES. 
Grown   at   Joseph    F.    Whittaker's,    143    Washington    Avenue,    Stamford,    Connecticut;    from    seed    sent    by 

friend    in    California. 


PUBLISHERS'   NOTICES 


107 


'Tis  not  in  mortals  to  COMMAND  success,  but  we'll  do  more,    Sempronius,    we'll    DESERVE    IT. 

— Addison:     Cato. 


Remarkable  Effects  in  Illumination. 

The  illumination  at  the  Panama-Pa- 
cific Exposition  in  San  Francisco,  over 
which  so  many  visitors  have  gone  into 
ecstacies,  depends  to  a  great  extent  upon 
powerful  searchlights  and  retiectors 
made  by  the  Bausch  &  Lomb  Optical  Co 
of  Rochester.  Xen'  York. 


ace  of  Horticulture,  said  to  be  the  largest 
structure  of  glass  in  the  world.  It  is 
illuminated  with  twelve  thirty-six-inch 
searchlights  which  direct  the  light  upon 
the  great  globe  of  glass  while  revolving 
disks  cause  an  ever-changing  procession 
of  colors  to  follow  each  other  across  the 
dome. 


THE  EXHIBIT  OF  THE  BAUSCH  &  LOMB  OPTICAL  COMPANY  AT  THE  PANAMA  EXPOSITION. 


The  great  Tower  of  Jewels,  the  domi- 
nant feature  of  the  illuminating  system, 
furnishes  the  most  striking  efifect  of  the 
searchlights.  The    125,000   cut    glass 

prisms,  with  which  the  structure  is  hung, 
reflect  all  the  colors  of  the  rainbow  un- 
der the  searchlights'  rays. 

Another  feature  for  which  a  large  or- 
der was  placed  with  the  Bausch  &  Lomb 
Company  is  the  illumination  of  the  Pal- 


The  order  placed  with  the  Bausch  & 
Lomb  Optical  Company  called  for  450 
twelve-inch  spherical  mirrors,  200 
eighteen,  and  25  thirty-inch  parabolic, 
and  48  mirrors  of  the  twentv-six-inch 
(three-foot)  size — a  total  of  ^2}^  mir- 
rors. Parabolic  mirrors  are  not  like  an 
ordinary  mirror.  In  shape  they  resem- 
ble the  pointed  end  of  an  ^^%.  They 
must  be  accurately  ground  and  polished, 


io8 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


no  small  task  when  the  mirror  is  of 
large  size,  such  as  the  sixty-inch,  five 
feet  across  the  opening-.  The  total  value 
of  the  mirrors  supplied  to  the  Exposition 
is  nearly  $50,000. 

In  addition  to  the  mirrors,  the  com- 
pany supplied  325  cylindrical  diverging 
glass  fronts  for  use  in  the  doors  of  the 
searchlight.  Proiected  through  these 
special  fronts,  the  beam  of  light  in  each 
becomes  divergent  and  thus  more  spec- 
tacular in  its  illuminating-  effect. 

At  the  entrance  of  the  yacht  harbor 
is  a  great  battery  of  searchhghts  called 
the  "Scintillator,"  which  in  effect  repro- 
duces the  aurora  borealis  as  seen  in 
the  far  north — a  procession  of  colored 
lights  extending  across  tlie  skv  almost 
from  horizon  to  horizon  and  spreading 
for  miles  in  every  direction.  This  bat- 
tery has  a  combined  total  of  2,600,000,- 
000-candle  power. 

The  exhibit  of  the  Bausch  &  Lomb 
Company  in  the  Palace  of  Liberal  Arts 
is  of  interest  to  professional  men  of  all 
classes  and  to  the  public  generally  for 
the  variety  of  scientific  instruments  on 
display.  This  includes  microscopes,  en- 
gineering instruments,  balonticons  ('or 
projecting  lanterns),  photographic 
lenses,  photomicrographic  apparatus, 
equatorial  telescopes,  stereo  prism  bin- 
oculars and  laboratory  equipment.  The 
walls  are  hung  with  a  collection  of  pho- 
tographs shown  as  examples  of  the  work 
done  with  Bausch  &  Lomb-Zeiss  photo- 
graphic lenses. 

In  the  center  of  the  exhibit  is  a  ball 
nearly  fifteen  feet  in  circumference,  dec- 
orated with  thousands  of  lenses  of  dif- 
ferent colors  which  are  used  in  eye- 
glasses and  spectacles.  The  ball  is  made 
to  revolve  by  an  electric  motor  in  the 
base.  Around  the  middle  of  the  ball  is 
a  strip  carrying  the  inscription.  "Bausch 
&  Lomb  Optical  Company,  Rochester. 
N.  Y.,"  set  in  silvered  lenses,  not  one  of 
which  is  more  than  one-quarter  inch  in 
diameter. 


Recent  estimates  show  that  dust  .from 
the  western  deserts  is  being  blown  into 
the  Mississippi  Valley  faster  than  the 
river  and  its  tributaries  are  carrying 
rock-waste  to  the  sea;  with  the  result 
that  the  great  central  valley  of  the  con- 
tinent, instead  of  being  still  farther  ex- 
cavated, is  actually  filling  up. 


An  Ideal  Pencil. 

\Ye  have  tried  many  kinds  of  pencils 
with  many  experiences  and  many  unsat- 
factory  experiences.  These  trials  remind 
me  of  what  I  was  told  when  I  inquired 
about  the  hotels  in  a  small  village :  "Try 
either  one  and  you  will  be  sorry  that  you 
did  not  try  the  other."  This  may  often 
and  truthfully  be  said  of  the  pencils  in  a 
miscellaneous  assortment.  But  the  ^li- 
kado,  made  by  the  Eagle  Pencil  Com- 
pany, is  a  neat  pencil,  agreeable  to  hold 
and  look  at  and  pleasing  to  use. 


The  Joke  with  a  Double  Laugh. 

A  cigar  salesman  in  the  lobby  of  a  ho- 
tel, intending  to  be  generous  toward  his 
fellow  guests  and  also  to  do  a  little  ad- 
vertising, passed  cigars.  Among  the 
guests  were  an  American  comedian  and 
an  Englishman.  The  salesman  enthusi- 
astically said:  "I  am  selling  these  cigars 
and  anyone  who  smokes  three  thousand 
of  them  gets  a  grand  piano."  The 
smokers  puffed  away  in  silence  for  a 
minute  or  so.  Then  the  comedian,  curl- 
ing upward  a  beautiful  ring  of  smoke, 
inquired :  "Did  I  understand  you  to  say 
that  if  anybody  smokes  three  thousand 
of  these  cigars  he  will  get  a  grand 
piano?"  "Yes,  and  a  pretty  good  piano 
it  is."  Another  period  of  silence  and  tvv^o 
or  three  more  puffs  by  the  comedian. 

Then  said  the  actor:  "I  think  there 
must  be  a  mistake  somewhere.  If  any 
one  smokes  three  thousand  of  these  cigars 
it  is  not  a  piano  that  he  will  need  but  a 
harp."  Hearty  laughter  from  everybody 
excei:)t  the  Englishman,  who  smoked  on 
in  silence. 

About  an  hour  afterwards  he  burst 
out  in  uproarous  laughter  as  only  an 
Englishman  can  laugh.  Then  to  the 
comedian  he  said  "I  hope  you  will  ex- 
cuse me  for  not  laughing  at  your  first- 
rate  joke.  I  did  not  at  once  see  the 
point  but  now  I  understand  it.  A  friend 
has  just  told  me  that  you  are  a  funny 
man  on  the  stage  and — of  course  I  was 
stupid  not  to  see  the  joke.  You  could 
not  take  a  piano  around  with  you  from 
place  to  place.  The  harp  would  be  nnich 
l^etter  for  transportation." 

Then  everybody  else  laughed,  but  it  is 
doubted  whether  the  Englishman  has  yet 
discovered  the  cause  of  that  laugh. 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE.— ADVERTISEMENTS.  XI 


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most  completeand  up-to-date  book  of  its  kind,  also  our  Autumn  Bulb  Catalog 
We  "Plan  and  "Plant  Grounds  and  Gardens  Everywhere 


Nurserymen,  Florists  and  Hanters  RUTHERFORD    N.  J. 


XII 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE  LITERARY  NOTES 


York  State  Rural  Problems.  II.     By  L.  H. 

Bailey.     Albany  :  J.  B.  Lyon  Company. 

Every  lover  of  the  out  of  doors  will  hail 
with  delight  this  collection  of  Professor 
Bailey's  addresses  to  various  companies  of 
students,  farmers,  and  others.  He  speaks 
clearly  and  effectively  on  many  aspects  of  the 
farm   and  of   life   in   the  countrv. 


Money  Talks.  By  Eleanor  Baldvirin.  Holy- 
oke.  Mass. :  The  Elizabeth  Towne  Company. 
This  is  the  New  Thought  on  money,  what 
money  really  is,  what  the  function  of  money 
really  is,  what  money  must  have  through 
which  to  perform  that  function,  and  how  these 
three  may  be  applied  to  solve  the  problems 
of  our  present  conditions.  "Money  will  mas- 
ter mankind  until  mankind  masters  money," 
says  the  author. 


Spencer  Fullerton  Baird  :     A  Biographv.    By 
William  Healey  Dall,  A.  M.,  D.  Sc.     Phila- 
delphia :  J.  B.  Lippincott  Company. 
Natural   history   in   America   is   most   of   all 

indebted  to  two  remarkable     men,     Professor 

Louis     Agassiz     and     Professor     Spencer     F. 

Baird. 

Their  activities  in  a  public  sense  in  this 
country  began  about  the  same  time,  Agassiz, 
the  enthusiastic  inspiring  teacher,  and  Baird, 
the  efficient,  hard-working  and  lovable  organ- 
izer, complemented  each  other. 

Professor  Baird  was  a  born  naturalist  and 
organizer  of  methods  and  men.  His  biography 
is  not  a  history  of  explorations  nor  a  record 
of  technical  investigations  ;  but  an  account  of 
the  life  and  relation  to  them  of  a  singularly 
eminent,  able,  efficient  and  modest  devotee 
of  the  natural  sciences. 

Apart  from  the  scientific  side  of  the  activi- 
ties it  endeavors  to  make  the  reader  ac- 
quainted with  the  characteristics  of  a  pure  and 
lovable  leader  of  men  to  whose  modesty  and 
self-sacrifice  the  country  owes  a  debt  which 
is  still  appreciated  only  by  a  select  few. 


Handbook  of  Medical  Entomology.  By  Wm. 
A.  Riley,  Ph.  D.,  and  O.  A.  Johannsen.  Ph. 
D.  Ithaca,  New  York  :  The  Comstock  Pub- 
lishing Company. 

This  work  treats  of  poisonous  and  parasitic 
insects  and  their  allies,  and  especially  of  those 
which  transmit  and  disseminate  disease.  It  is 
fully  illustrated  and  contains  keys  for  deter- 
mining the  principal  species  noxious  to  man. 
.An  extended  bibliography,  alphabetically  ar- 
ranged adds  greatly  to  the  value  of  the  work. 
The  "Handbook  of  INIedical  Entomology" 
will  prove  invaluable  for  medical  men,  stu- 
dents of  entomology  and  to  all  interested  in 
public  health  questions. 


The   Well-Considered       Garden.        By   Mrs. 

Franci^s   King.      New   York:    Charles' Scrib- 

ner's  Sons. 

This  volume  by  the  president  of  The 
Women's  National  Agricultural  and  Horti- 
cultural Association  contains  the  results  of  a 
large  gardening  experience  set  forth  with  that 
"knowledge,  insight,  and  splendid  enthusiasm" 
which,  as  Miss  Jekyll  writes  in  the  preface  she 
contributes,  "combine  to  make  her  one  of 
those  most  fitted  to  direct  energy,  to  suggest 
and  instruct."  Harmony  in  color  and  design 
may  be  said  to  be  Mrs.  King's  central  theme, 
but  there  are  few  aspects  of  gardening  prob- 
lems which  she  does  not  touch  informinglv. 


A  Field  Book  of  Stars.  Bv  William  Tvler 
Olcott.  New  York  City:  G.  P.  Putna'm's 
Sons. 

To  facilitate  the  fascinating  recreation  of 
star  gazing,  the  author  has  desigrned  this  field 
book.  All  matters  of  a  technical  or  theoreti- 
cal nature  have  been  omitted.  Only  what  the 
reader  can  observe  with  the  naked  eye  or 
with  an  opera  glass  have  been  included  in  it. 
Simplicity  and  brevity  have  been  aimed  at, 
the  main  idea  being  that  whatever  is  bulky 
or  verbose  is  a  hindrance  rather  than  a  help 
when  one  is  engaged  in  the  observation  of  tlie 
heavens. 


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Vol 


VIII 


SEPTEMBER. 


Number  4 


A  Naturalist  Who  Considers  Many  Subjects 

By  EDWARD  F.  BIGELOW,  ARCADIA:  Sound  Beach,  Connecticut 


OUR  readers  know  him  as  a  natural- 
ist, the  medical  profession  and 
many  patients  as  a  skillful  sur- 
geon, hundreds  of  students  as  "Profes- 
sor," and  all  Stamford  as  a  suburbanite 
—  a  real  "back  to  nature"  resident  on  a 
nut  farm.  But  we  now  have  the  surpris- 
ing pleasure  of  knowing  him  ?.s  Robert 
T.   \  [orris,  the  Philosopher. 

I  say  advisedly  "'su.rprising."  since 
even  he  must  be  surprised,  because  it  all 
came  about  in  so  sudden  and  yet  so  nat- 
ural a  way.  Like  Europe  in  the  present 
war,  he  exploded  because  he  was  loaded, 
but  with  what  effect  perhaps  even  this 
firer  of  philosophical  broadsides  did  not 
even  himself  anticipate.  That  came  as 
the  Deacon's  one  boss  shay  went — all 
at  once  and  nothing  first.  He  has  billed 
three  books  with  many  good  things  by 
saying  much  in  few  words. 

His  three  large  volumes  of  philosophy 
have  been  published  by  Doubleday,  Page 
&  Company  under  the  general  title  of 
"To-morrow's  Topics."  They  are  "A 
Surgeon's  Philosophy,"  "Microbes  and 
Men"'  and  "Doctors  Versus  Folks."' 

It  seems  hardly  possible  that  these  are 
by  he  author  of  Dr.  Morris's  medical 
boo.<s,  and  they  are  far,  far  aw^ay  from 


the  charming  retrospect  of  his  boyhood 
at  "Hopkins's  Pond."  They  are  totally 
unlike  him  as  previously  known  and  to- 
tally unlike  the  books  of  any  one  else. 
They  begin  a  new  era  in  literature.  In 
these  days  we  seek  new  things  and  here 
we  find  them.  The  public  is  getting  tired 
of  the  short  story  which  represents 
"your  thinking  done  by  some  one  else." 

According"  to  the  old  regime  we  asso- 
ciated the  idea  of  science  with  Tyndall, 
the  idea  of  humor  with  Dickens,  the  idea 
of  beauty  with  Stevenson.  xAn  author 
whose  leitmotif  is  new  science,  and  who 
presents  it  in  an  atmosphere  of  humor 
and  of  beauty,  is  unquestionably  opening 
as  original  a  line  of  cleavage  in  literature 
as  Thompson  Seton  found  with  his  addi- 
tion of  the  human  element  to  the  sub- 
ject of  wild  life. 

The  publishers  tell  us  that  they  be- 
lieve the  time  is  ripe  for  a  return  to  the 
short  essay  wdiich  stimulates  controversy 
and  activity  of  thought.  These  books 
are  the  right  kind  published  at  the  right 
time  to  turn  the  mind  of  the  reading 
public  toward  a  new  field. 

The  hack  reviewer  will  not  like  them. 
They  are  for  the  critic  who  is  looking 
for  something  new  in  literature  and  com- 


Copyright   1915  by  The  Agassiz  Association,  ArcAdiA:   Sound  Beach,  Conn. 


no 


THE  GUIDE    TO  NATURE 


THE  FARMHOUSE  AT   MERRIBROOKE   HAS   BEEN   HALLOWED    BY   "TO-MORROW'S   TOPICS." 
The  elevated  sleepng  porch  is  shown  at  the  left  of  the  illustration.     Here  Dr.   Morris  is  lulled  to  sleep 
by  the  melody  of  the  Mianus  River  in  its  rapids  at  the  foot  of  the  garden  only  about  two  rods  away.     He 
is  awakened  by  the  music  of  the  birds   in   the  edge   of  the   forest. 


plains  because  he  has  difificulty  in  finding 
it.  Agree  with  all  that  he  says?  No. 
And  the  author  evidently  does  not  intend 
that  you  shall.  This  is  the  charming 
part.  Complete  acquiescence  will  not 
arouse  thought  as  these  chapters  arouse 
it.  Some  reader  will  spring  from  his 
chair  and  walk  the  floor  exclaiming, 
"That  man  makes  me  think  as  I  never 
thought  before,"  and  some  mystics,  some 
morbid  musicians  and  painters,  will  be 
disposed  to  swing  the  battle  ax  and  let 
loose  the  dogs  of  war.  But  the  books  will 
be  read  more  ten  years  form  now 
than  they  will  be  this  year.  They  are 
not  passing  books  like  popular  novels 
but  something  that  will  go  into  perma- 
nent literature.  The  point  of  view  is  not 
merely  for  the  present  but  literally  of 
"to-morrow's  topics."  The  thinker  in 
advance  of  his  day  will  especially  enjoy 
them. 

But  how  did  he  do  it  all?  Why  so 
astonishing,  literally  so  extraordinary  an 
explosion  of  a  series  of  mines  loaded 
with  so  many  incongruous  subjects? 
These  never  came  from  a  Madison  Ave- 
nue office,  nor  an  easy  chair,  nor  from 


the  haunts  of  busy  men.  They  come 
from  wild  nature.  The  author's  philos- 
ophy makes  us  think  not  of  medication 
but  of  meditation.  Only  in  its  incisive- 
ness  is  it  surgical,  but  true  to  the  sur- 
geon it  is  curative  of  manv  of  humanitv's 
ills. 

Like  Thoreau  at  Walden  he  has  lived 
alone  with  nature  and  much  of  his  phil- 
osophy is  similarly  or  even  more  radi- 
cally iconoclastic. 

The  topics  lead  naturally  from  one  to 
another  as  do  those  in  a  lively  conversa- 
tion. The  author  seems  to  have  talked 
with  himself  as  he  was  busy  among  his 
beloved  trees  and  shrubs.  The  books 
are  concrete  pent  up  soliloquies.  The 
pressure  on  the  author's  mind,  the  men- 
tal tide  so  surged  and  swirled  that  two 
vacations  were  spent  in  dictating  to  a 
stenographer  at  the  nut  farm,  and  these 
books  are  the  result.  In  them  we  are 
not  concerned  with  trees  and  shrubs  al- 
though they  show  us  where  in  what  at- 
titiKles  he  did  the  thinking.  Hence  the 
accompanying  photographs,  taken  since 
the  arrival  of  the  books. 

Even  a  naturalist  must  admit  tliat  tlie 


A  NATURALIST  WHO  CONSIDERS  MANY  SUBJECTS         iir 


ho^iks  hallow  ]\Ierribrooke  more  tlian  all 
his  extensive  experiments  with  nnt  bear- 
ing" trees.  Mind  is  superior  to  matter. 
What  he  has  thought  and  how  he  has 
made  others  think  is  of  inconceivably 
wider  influence  than  how  he  a;)})lic  1  the 
bandages  to  buddings  and  (ither  cvitiings. 

His  philosophy  of  the  wild  tive-petal- 
led  rose  in  comparison  with  the  ordinary 
polypetalous  "blaze  of  glory"  influenced 
the  editor  to  telephone  to  Philosoplii-r 
^lorris  and  ask  him  if  he  has  many  really 
good  wild  roses.  "Yes,  I  have,"  he 
laughed.  "What  made  you  think  so?  1 
have  a  beautiful  clump  in  the  woods  nf>r 
far  from  the  farmhouse  door." 

"All  right.  Expect  me  with  a  'Mmera 
in  about  an  hour." 

These  views  show  the  thinker  and  his 
thinkery.  The  following  brief  quota- 
tions show  the  spirit  of  his  books. 


"Some  of  the  most  beloved  people  dc 
not  know  my  feeling  towards  them. 
\\'ere  I  to  let  them  know  about  it, 
there  would  be  reciprocation  and  ex- 
changes of  affection.  That  would  take 
time, —diverting    our    thoughts    toward 


what  is  so  attractive.  Some  of  the  men. 
whom  I  esteem  most  highly  do  not 
know  it.  There  are  people  who  iise  af- 
fection and  esteem  for  trade  purposes,. 
but  it  seems  better  to  use  them  as  a. 
miser  holds  his  gold,  wdiere  one  caa 
gloat  over  afl^ection  and  esteem  in  pri- 
vate." 

^  ^  ^  ^  ^ 

"I  gave  a  spray  of  white  azalea  to  a 
friend  on  an  early  July  day.  'How  won- 
derful !'  he  said.  'What  delicate  fra- 
grance, what  daintiness  in  shades  of 
white, — if  one  can  have  shades  of 
white!  Is  it  Japanese?  Now  wdiat  do 
you  think  of  that?  No  wonder  people 
ask  what  is  the  use  of  living.  My  friend 
did  not  know  where  the  white  azaleas 
grew.  It  grows  where  the  rose  breasted 
grosbeak  would  waken  him  at  four  o'- 
clock in  the  morning  ^vith  a  finer  song' 
than  he  would  hear  in  town  during"  the 
day.  It  grows  where  the  hellebores 
say  'I'm  here  !'  to  the  g"oddess  of  spring"- 
time — where  the  bracken  fern  ofl:'ers 
best  thanks  for  sunshine  received,  and 
where  the  X'irginia  tvu'tle  shows  us  a 
placer  of  unalloyed  gold  in  the  trout 
brook." 


THE  PICTURESQUE  E1)(;E  OF  THE  SWIMMING  POOL  DEDICATED  TO  YOUTH  AND 

ENTHUSIASM. 
Dr.  Morris  takes  his  morning  dip  here.     Perhaps  that  has  helped  put  so  much  vigor  and  freshness  into 
his  philosophy. 


112 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


THE   PHILOSOPHER   AND   HIS    ROSE. 
'I   have  a  beautiful  clump  in   the  woods  not   far   from   the   farmhouse   door.' 


A   NATURALIST  WHO   CONSIDERS  MANY  SUBJECTS       113 


A  BLAZE  OF  GLORY  OF  A  DOUBLE  ROSE. 
Photographed    by    Mr.    Nathan    R.    Graves.    Rochester.    New    York. 


"Is  the  most  famous  double  rose 
really  finer  than  the  healthy  simple  rose 
after  all  ?  By  the  gods  I  do  not  know  ! 
Sit  down  by  the  side  of  a  wild  rose  bush 
— and  not  vulgarly  close,  for  it  has  tan- 
gible dignity  indeed.  It  keeps  one  at 
an  aristocratic  distance  until  he  has 
loved  it  enough  to  understand  it.  When 
■one  has  loved  the  wild  rose  enough  to 
■take  the  trouble  for  really  understand- 
ing it  he  is  then  at  liberty  to  hold  its 
finest  flower  in  his  hand,  to  press  the 
soft  petals  against  his  cheek ;  to  drink 
the  royal  clear  pink  into  his  color  soul, 
and  to  enjoy  the  fragrance  that  is  not 
for  the  careless  passer-by,  but  only  for 
liim  who  seeks    it    affectionately,  and 


who  finds  it  as  a  reward.  And  then  the 
unfolding  bud  !  There  is  exquisite  mod- 
esty in  its  diffident  advancement  from 
the  sepals  which  protect,  even  as  the 
wise  mother  guards  her  beautiful 
daughter  until  the  tender  heart  can 
bear  the  glance  of  a  powerful  but  kind 
and  generous  sun,  which  might  unwit- 
tingly do  it  harm. 

"If  I  may  have  the  choice  between  a 
wild  rose  and  a  double  rose  upon  my 
grave,  give  me  the  sturdy  wild  rose  that 
combines  its  colors  with  those  of  early 
morning  sunlight  in  jewels  of  a  thous- 
and glimmering  dewdrops,  when  the 
robin  and  the  woodthrush  are  making 
the  welkin  ring  with  songs  of  life-joy 
and  of  praise  for  the  coming  day." 


114 


THE. GUIDE    TO  NATURE 


"Aly  friend  Dr.  Bigelow,  finding-  him- 
self near  his  lK)}diood  scenes,  in  the 
country,  hunted  up  an  old  playmate 
who  was  not  at  home.  The  Doctor  en- 
joyed the  qtiaint  old  farmhouse  and  its 
surrotuidings,  and  wc.s  truly  envio'>.:s  oi 
the  owner.  He  took  a  photograph  ot 
the  hotise,  and  later  sent  a  copy  of  it  to 
his  old  time  acqtiaintance.  There  was 
no  answer  to  the  letter  enclosing  the 
photograph,  and  the  Doctor  learned 
later  that  his  boyhood  companion  call- 
ed   him    all    sorts    of   names,    and    said 


"I  sometimes  hear  a  man  complaining 
about  having  been  born  mto  tiie  world 
against  his  will,  an  e^•ent  concerning 
which  he  had  no  chioce.  Vv  hat  an  un- 
grateful wretch !  If  you  were  born 
blind,  and  could  have  sight  as  a  reward 
for  being  good  for  a  period  of  ten  years, 
how  very,  very  good  you  would  be  for 
ten  years  at  least.  The  complainer  us- 
ually has  first  rate  eyes.  If  you  were 
born  deaf,  how  good  you  would  be  if 
you  were  to  be  given  ears  as  a  reward 
of  merit.     The  complainer  usually  has 


THIS  ROCK  INSPIRES  A  "TOPIC"  FAR  AHEAD  IN  THE  "TO-MORROW." 

"Odd  folks  belonging  to  some   strange   new  nation   will  come   aiid   sit   upon   the   rock   at   the   foot   of  my 
garden   two  thousand  years  from  next  June." 


that  if  he  was  protid  of  living  in  a  bet- 
ter house  in  the  city,  he  ought  not  to 
taunt  anybody  by  taking  a  picttire  of 
the  old  farmhouse  and  sending  it  to 
him.  How  many  people  there  are  in  this 
world  surrounded  by  beatitifid  things 
and  envied  bv  others  but  not  aware 
of  it." 

^  ^  ij;  ;■;  ^ 

"Men  are  best  judged  by  their  attitude 
toward  other  people,  because  that  re- 
presents their  tuiconsciotis  and  un- 
guarded expression  of  personal  feeling 
for  the  degree  of  need  for  self  protec- 
tion. 


first-rate  ears.  With  all  his  gifts  a  man 
is  ungrateful.  He  obtained  his  gifts 
for  nothing  and  consequently  does  not 
value  them." 

^  ^         ^         ^         sj: 

"I  have  always  refused  to  look  at  life 
as  anything  excepting  a  good  game  of 
sport,  with  its  proportion  of  good  losers 
and  bad  losers  among  my  friends. 

"Would  you  like  to  know  right  now 
everything  you  will  ever  know?  'Yes!' 
That  would  spoil  the  game !  You  are 
not  a  good  sport ! 

"If  we  knew  everything  at  once  it 
would  be  like  playing  a  game  of  cards 


A   NATURALIST  WHO  CONSIDERS   MANY   SUBJECTS        ii 


backward  after  the  game  was  over. 
There  is  no  sport  in  that.  There  is 
great  sport  in  playing  the  game  of  life 
if  one  plays  fair. 

"There  is,  to  be  sure,  such  a  thing  as 
luck,  btit  man  does  not  call  it  by  that 
name  unless  it  is  going  against  him," 

"Which  pays  best,  goodness  or  bad- 
ness? Anyone  who  is  bound  to  put  the 
question  upon  a  payment  basis  is  him- 
self bad.  I  can  answer  the  question, 
however,  having  made  observations  for 
more  than  half  a  hundred  years.  It  is 
my  conviction  that  goodness  and  bad- 
ness pay  about  equally  well  so  far  as 
material  gains  are  concerned.  Good 
people,  on  the  whole  are-more  comfort- 
able.   That  is  the  only  difiference." 

"I  would  rather  have  dogs  and  babies 
run  to  me  instinctively,  than  to  have  a 
press  agent  succeed  in  working  into 
'the  society  columns'  an  impression 
that  I  was  really  on  the  inside  with  the 
exclusives." 

^  ^  ^  ^  ^       * 

"This  is  October  the  5th,  1912.  A 
perfect  autumn  day,  and  mine  the  luck 
to  have  traded  temporarily  a  fine  old 
shopworn  city  in  exchange  for  my 
beautiful  clean  Merribrooke  at  Stam- 
ford. What  would  I  not  give  to  return 
to  the  farm  house  for  one  whole  day 
an  hundred  years  from  now  on  Octo- 
ber the  5th,  2012.  Not  in  spiritual  form 
with  pure  white  wings  and  a  golden 
harp,  but  just  in  my  old  duds.  A  felt 
hat  torn  at  the  top,  hob  nail  shoes,  and 
my  canvas  shooting  coat  minus  a  but- 
ton or  two,  but  with  its  treasury  of 
capacious  pockets  all  intact.  The  early 
gunners  walked  this  morning  through 
glinting  frosty  grass  that  was  still 
being  lighted  by  the  crescent  of  a  wan- 
ing moon,  long  after  signal  lights  had 
come  from  the  east  bidding  the  j^lanet 
Neptune  to  retire.  There  will  be  no 
change  in  that  particular  morning  order 
of  the  heavens  for  October  5th,  2012." 

"It  is  difificult  to  live  one's  happiest 
life  among  surroundings  of  the  city.  It 
is  only  while  at  my  old  farmhouse  in 
vacation  time  that  these  notes  can  be 
written, — near  the  pleasant  sound  of 
rushing  water,  where  vireos  are  sing- 
ing, and  a  chattering  squirrel  in  the 
hickory  tree  tries  to  attract  my  atten- 
tion. Here  is  where  one  can  watch 
sunset  clouds  and  smell  ripening  fruit. 


These  must  be  my  joyful  surroundings, 
for  in  the  city  one  is  engaged  in  making 
adaptation  to  duties  of  the  day  as  one 
cog  wheel  fits  into  another  cog  wheel, 
rotating  with  the  rest  of  town  machin- 
ery. We  may  call  it  "life"  in  town,  but 
"soul"  is  in  the  country.  W'ho  cares 
if  soul  and  life  were  once  synonymous 
terms  away  back  in  the  dark  begin- 
ning, so  long  as- now  the  course  of  life, 
like  the  Nautilus  of  Dr.  Holmes,  estab- 
lishes grander  mansions'  as  it  pro- 
gresses. Eyes  brighten  most  when 
men  speak  of  the  country." 

"A  family  is  often  proud  when  a 
genius  appears  in  their  midst.  They 
should  be  sad,  rather,  because  it  indi- 
cates beginning  disintegration  of  the 
family." 

^  TfC  ^  ^  ^ 

"One  reason  why  science  does  not 
have  so  many  advocates  as  general 
literature  is  because  its  reasons  are  not 
turned  into  feeling  and  the  public  is 
thankful  to  anybody  who  will  serve  as 
proxy  for  its  thinking." 

^         2(:         ;{:         ^         ^ 

"In  the  good  old  days  of  my  youth, 
there  was  a  distinction  in  small  vices 
of  the  different  sexes.  W^here  men 
swore,  women  shed  tears  and  had  a 
headache.  Where  men  drank  rum, 
women  drank  tea.  Tea  and  tears  were 
the  equivalents  of  rum  and  swearing." 

^  ;{;  ^  ^  ^ 

"A  bright  thought  let  us  say  is  nothing 
but  a  potato  expressed  in  another  form 
of  energy,  just  as  the  whistle  of  the 
locomotive  is  a  piece  of  coal  expressed 
in  another  form  of  energy." 

^  5{C  5}C  5{C  Jjc 

"People  understand  each  other  very 
well  on  the  whole.  I  have  watched  a 
bear  for  half  an  hour  at  a  time  feeding 
or  playing  right  near  me  in  the  woods. 
I  have  watched  a  beaver  at  his  work, 
often  but  a  few  yards  away.  They  did 
not  know  they  were  being  watched,  or 
they  would  not  have  stopped  long 
enough  for  two  grunts.  It  is  the  same 
way  with  people.  Their  intimate  habits 
are  watched  and  understood  by  other 
])eo])le,  just  as  T  watched  the  bear  and 
the  beaver." 

:^         ^z         ^         :^         ^ 

"A\"hen  al)out  to  make  a  sarcastic  re- 
niarl<.  sto]:>  to  think  if  you  would  do  it 
beside  a  man's  cof^n  when  his  hands 
are  folded  on  his  breast,  and  the  white 
face  can  make  no  reply.     If  you  would 


ii6 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


not  do  it  then,  why  do  it  now?" 

"A  young  man  said  to  a  father :  'I 
suppose  you  will  refuse  if  I  ask  for 
the  hand  of  your  daughter."  The  father 
replied,  "Yes,  I  will  refuse ;  but  if 
you  had  put  it  the  other  way,  that  you 
were  bound  to  have  my  daughter  if 
you  had  to  kill  me  first,  you  could 
have  had  her.  As  it  is,  you  have  defeat- 
ed yourself  at  the  start,  and  I  do  not 
want  a  son-in-law  of  that  type  of  mind. 
A  man  who  defeats  himself  on  pro- 
positions at  the  start  needs  to  be  look- 
ed after  by  some  one  else  most  of  the 
time." 

"I  have  had  under  my  care  many  an 
one  whose  history  would  make  a  novel, 
and  yet  the  entire  lii.'-tory  would  be  of  no 
real  consequence  to  the  world.  If  the 
same  people  had  been  engaged  in  some 
.?tudy  of  .science  their  lives  woulil  ha\c 
been  completely  filled,  there  would  ha'c 
been  a  life-satisfaction  for  them,  and  the 
social  world  would  have  profited  by  their 
presence  instead  of  being  subjected  to 
a  destructive  attrition  resulting  from 
their  friction  applied  to  its  surface.  To- 
morrow social  efficiency  experts  will 
utilize  such  waste  material." 

;i<         ^         :);         H= 

"How  quickly  sympathy  changes  a 
man's  entire  point  of  view?  In  camp 
in  the  north  we  were  all  very  fond  of 
wild  goslings  for  the  camp  table.  One 
day  I  captured  a  couple  of  them  wdien 
going  off  salmon  fishing;  kept  them  in 
the  canoe  all  day  for  company,  and  to- 
ward evening  handed  a  little  fresh 
grass  toward  them.  They  came  up  and 
took  it  out  of  my  hand,  and  I  never 
could  kill  goslings  after  that. 

"Although  meat  is  a  necessary  article 
of  diet  for  most  people  I  suppose  that  as 
we  get  older  we  all  dislike  more  and 
more  the  idea  of  having  anything  killed. 
Hot  roast  duck  stuft'ed  with  chestnuts, 
mushrooms  and  sausage,  and  served 
with  a  flood  of  rich  brown  gravy  is 
pretty  good,  but  any  one  who  has  had 
cunning  little  yellow  downy  ducklings 
climbing  all  over  his  feet  and  hands 
and  has  watched  them  grow  under  his 
care,  would  rather  have  someone's  else 
ducks  killed  for  his  dinner.  When  eat- 
ing roast  duck  I  always  try  to  imagine 
that  it  was  raised  by  somebody  who 
didn't  know  Timmie  from  Dickie. — 
somebody  who  raised  impersonal  ducks. 


"I  often  wish  the  pathetic  did  not  ap- 
peal to  me  so  deeply,  for  it  does  not 
seem  to  belong  to  a  broad  shouldered 
bear  hunter  who  is  about  six  feet  in 
height.  When  I  find  a  little  dead  bird  ly- 
ing upon  its  back  with  feet  outstretched 
in  mute  appeal  against  a  decree  which 
could  bring  destruction  to  one  so  little 
and  innocent,  I  always  know  w^here 
tears  start  from  in  women.  It  is  from  a 
place  away  down  deep.  It  requires 
something  of  an  effort  to  put  aside  the 
feeling  on  the  ground  that  it  is  woman- 
ly, and  not  masculine  in  origin." 

^         ^         :^         ^         ^ 

"Thousands  of  women  of  education 
and  refinement  spend  a  large  part  of 
every  day  in  card  playing.  This  is  done 
largely  by  time-wasters     of     the     elim 


HE    IJUDS     A     nSTAClIIi    BRANCH    AND    A 
THOUGHT. 


A  NATURALIST  WHO  CONSIDERS  MANY  SUBJECTS       117 


group.  Imagine  how  a  country  would 
progress  if  all  these  minds  were  to  be 
engaged  in  any  department  of  natural 
science    whatsoever." 

'T  know  an  elderly  couple  who  lost  all 
their  money.  They  formerly  entertained 
extensively,  and  carried  all  of  the  com- 
plicated responsibilities  of  social  form. 
Now  they  sing'  all  day  long  since  the 
money  is  gone,  and  say  they  were  never 
so  happy  in  their  lives  previously.  They 
are  on  a  tiny  salary,  keeping  chickens 
and  enjoying  life.  Their  former  butler 
came  to  call  upon  them  one  day  when  I 
was  present.  He  looked  very  grand. 
Why  is  this  couple  happy?  One  reason 
is  because  a  former  butler  would  call 
respectfully  when  their  money  was 
gone." 

"Happiness  is  said  to  consist  in  not 
wanting  wdiat  we  cannot  get.  Satisfac- 
tion is  really  better  than  happiness,  the 
satisfaction  of  getting  things  in  the  end 
which  one  was  not  cjuite  sure  he  would 
obtain. 

"Contentment  is  to  be  deprecated  if 
it  leads  to  inaction.  The  man  who  is 
most  contented  wdien  he  is  hardest  at 
work  has  the  right  sort  of  content- 
ment. 

"Contentment  is  not  altogether  pleas- 
ing to  nature  and  she  sees  to  it  that  it 
does  not  last  long  unless  one  is  con- 
tented when  at  hard  work. 

"Most  people  are  well  off,  but  they 
do  not  know  it.  Often  when  hunting 
I  have  been  cold,  wet  and  hungry,  and 
have  thought  how^  well  off  people  were 
with  their  warm  clothes  on.  in  some 
distant  house  in  which  I  saw"  the  light 
shining  from  a  window.  Perhaps  the 
people  there  were  uncomfortable  also 
but  in  a  different  way,  bothering  them- 
selves with  some  financial  or  social 
question  or  disturbed  about  their 
neighbors.  They  were  well  oft'  but  did 
not  know  it." 

^  ^  :^  ^  ^ 

"Among  all  bird  songs  appropriate 
to  the  environment  what  can  be  more 
delightful  than  the  song  of  the  wood- 
cock? It  is  the  song  of  the  tenderest 
of  lovers,  and  it  strikes  the  very  note 
that  poets  have  sought  in  their  ideals 
of  love  in  a  cottage,  or  of  a  secluded 
spot  in  some  far  wilderness.  The  song 
of  a  woodcock  is  the  dearest  song  in 
the  world.  "Would  that  some  one  would 


sing  to  me  such  a  lullaby !  All  is  quiet 
in  the  valley.  Moonlight  is  transmut- 
ing spring  mist  into  gold.  The  jingle 
of  silver  bells  of  the  Hyla  chorus  comes 
faintly  from  some  distant  marsh.  Then 
it  is  that  the  woodcock  looks  into  the 
dreamy  eyes  of  his  beautiful  bride  and 
springing  aloft  with  twittering  wing, — 
stills  the  wing  note  when  high  in  the 
air,  and  warbles  so  softly  and  sweetly 
to  his  true  love  that  it  seems  almost 
sacrilege  to  listen.  It  is  not  to  the  mul- 
titude that  he  sings.  Oh,  no,  indeed ! 
Tt  is  just  for  you  and  me,  Betty!  Not 
for  the  w^orld  w'ould  we  disturb  any- 
one with  our  affection,  but  we  love  each 
other  and  our  happiness  is  complete.'  " 

^         ^         ^         ^         sic 

"We  love  people  who  bring  out  our 
best  qualities,  and  avoid  those  who. 
bring  out  our  worst  equalities." 

^         ^         ;{<         jjc         ^ 

"Anger  and  emotional  stress  of  any 
sort  places  an  undue  burden  upon  the 
liver,  with  bad  reciprocal  consequences, 
and  may  give  one  gall  stones." 
***** 

"]\Ien  of  large  affairs  are  knocked 
down  on  favorite  propositions  every 
year  of  their  lives  and  they  enjoy  it  as 
much  as  hearty  players  enjoy  the  bangs 
in  a  football  game." 


"'Had  I  twenty-five  millions  of  dollars 
to  give  away  at  the  present  time,  I 
would  give  ten  millions  of  dollars  to  a 
certain  medical  school  wdiich  teaches 
graduate  doctors  to  be  of  greater  ser- 
vice to  humanity  in  modern  ways.  Ten- 
millions  of  dollars  would  go  to  the  na- 
tural history  departments  of  my  former 
alma  mater  and  five  millions  of  dollars 
would  be  devoted  to  my  experimental 
work  in  developing  nut  trees  for  fur- 
nishing a  great  food  supply  for  the 
masses  of  the  future." 

***** 

"I  find  the  only  way  for  obtaining 
mental  relief  is  to  emulate  the  guinea 
hen,  and  she  is  now  my  pet  symbol.  A 
guinea  hen  will  find  a  choice  corner  in 
the  brush  lot  and  soon  has  forty  eggs 
in  her  nest.  Then  she  sits  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  nest.  She  cannot  hatch  all 
of  the  eggs,  but  hatches  out  all  that  she 
can,  and  lets  the  rest  go.  The  lesson 
taught  by  the  guinea  hen  came  to  me  as 
a  srreat  coiufort." 


ii8 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


All  communications  for  this  department 
should  be  sent  to  the  Department  Editor, 
Mr.  Harry  G.  Higbee,  13  Austin  Street, 
Hyde  Park,  Massachusetts.  Items,  articles 
and  photographs  in  this  department  not 
otherwise  credited  are  by  the  Department 
Editor. 

Let  Us  Make  It  Better! 

Hyde  Park.  Mass. 
To  Our  Readers : 

In  assuming  the  responsibility  of  this 
department,  I  have  done  so  somewhat 
reluctantly  and  only  with  the  confi- 
dence in  our  readers  of  their  willingness 
to  assist  in  making  it  a  success. 

Let  us  have  a  department  as  brim- 
ful of  interesting  bird  notes  and  obser- 
vations as  the  bobolink's  song  is  full 
■of  melody.  To  do  this  we  must  depend 
upon  the  help  of  many  rather  than  the 
over-exertion  of  a  few. 

Personal  observations  and  anecdotes 
•of  bird-life  are  always  interesting  and 
faithful  research  by  our  thousands  of 
readers  in  their  widely  separated  locali- 
ties cannot  fail  to  bring  to  light  much 
valuable  information. 
Take  your  note-books  and  pencils  with 
you  afield.  If  you  have  a  camera  you 
will  get  so  much  more  enjoyment  out  of 
your  study.  Sharp  eyes  and  ears  are 
the  prime  requisites.  In  any  event  ob- 
serve accurately  and  do  not  over-look 
■details — these  may  be  the  most  import- 
ant— and  above  all.  never  jmnp  at  con- 
•clusions. 

By  the  interchange  of  ideas,  the  re- 
sults of  what  we  see  and  hear  and  the 
facts  learned  we  should  be  able 
to  help  each  other  and  may  each 
learn  something  to  our  profit.  First- 
"hand  study  is  what  we  want  and  oppor- 
tunities are  never  lacking  for  faithful 
observers. 

Bespeaking  the  indulgence  of  our 
rea'ders  I  wish  to  assure  them  of  my 
earnest  endeavors  to  make  this  depart- 
ment of  interest  to  all.  and  to  urge  their 
co-operation  in  the  attainment  of  this 
end. 

Harry  G.  Higbee. 


A  Visit  to  the  Home  of  the  American 
Eagle. 

PHOTOGRAPHS     BV     DR.     A.     W.     KING    AND 
THE  AUTHOR. 

About  midway  along  the  western 
coast  of  Florida,  where  the  blue  waters 
of  the  Gulf  of  ]*iIexico  lap  the  white 
sands  and  wash  up  curious  sponges, 
shells,  and  other  forms  of  marine  life,  a 
channel  has  broken  through  the  low- 
lying  coastal  reefs,  and  finding  its  way 
in  graceful  curves  among  the  palmettos, 
has  spread  out  its  waters  into  the  quiet 


BALD     EAGLE     AND     NEST. 


ORNITHOLOGY 


119 


and  peaceful  seclusion  of  Dona  Bay. 

Far  up  in  the  eastern  arm  of  this  bay 
are  the  few  scattered  houses  and  orange 
groves  of  the  little  town  of  \'enice. 
Aside  from  the  enjoyment  of  life,  the 
raising  of  citrus  fruits  here  seems  to 
be  the  principal  occupation  of  the  in- 
habitants,— exceot  for  the  intrusion  of 
the  turpentine  camps,  whose  exhaustive 
work  is  causing  the  beautiful  and  char- 
acteristic groves  of  longleaf  pine  to  fast 
disappear. 

Here,  in  a  grove  of  scattered  pines 
near  the  shore,  within  sight  of  some  of 
the  houses  on  the  outskirts  of  the  vil- 
lage, and  but  a  few  rods  from  the  sandy 
road  which  winds  through  the  scrub 
palmettos,  my  companion  and  I  saw  our 
first  nest  of  the  bald  eagle.  It  was  a 
huge  mass  of  sticks,  wdiich  the  top  of 
the  stout  pine  in  which  it  was  placed 
seemed  hardly  able  to  support,  and  its 
height  commanded  a  good  view  of  the 
surrounding   territory. 

We  had  been  observing  this  magnifi- 
cent bird  for  the  past  month,  on  our 
cruise  down  the  east  coast  and  through 
The  Everglades, — admiring  his  impos- 
ing attitude  as  he  sat  perched  on  the 
tallest  cypress  of  an  inaccessible  swamp, 
sometimes  for  more  than  an  hour ;  mark- 
ing his  rapid  flight  in  pursuit  of  the  os- 
prey,  to  rob  him  of  his  quarry,  or  watch- 
ing his  dignified  movements  on  an  oc- 
casional fishing  trip  of  his  own,  along 
the  mangrove  keys, — and  it  was  thus 
with  a  keen  delight  that  we  at  last  be- 
held the  nest  of  "The  Bird  of  Our  Coun- 
try." 

It  was  on  the  evening  of  the  seventh 
of  January,  1914,  while  Old  Boreas  still 
held  New  England  in  a  savage  grip  of 
intense  cold,  that  we  entered  Casey's 
Pass  and  anchored  our  launch  on  the 
placid  waters  of  Dona  Bay.  The  sun 
was  just  setting  over  the  gulf,  rimming 
the  horizon  with  an  indescribable  color- 
ing of  crimson  and  gold,  and  the  fring- 
ing palm  trees  along  the  shores  leaned 
far  out  over  the  water,  as  if  to  admire 
their  beauty  reflected  in  perfect  image 
below.  A  delicious  odor  was  in  the  air, 
for  it  was  spring  along  the  hummocks 
and  bayous  of  tropical  Florida.  The 
buds  were  swelling  and  bursting  on  the 
live-oaks ;  flowers  were  in  bloom,  and 
the  birds  were  doing  their  best  to  instill 
into  us  some  of  their  exuberant  joy. 
Bluebirds  called  softly;  meadowlarks 
whistled,  and     Florida     wrens     warbled 


THE     P\LMETTO     BLIND.     CONCEALING     THE 
CAMERA    AND    PHOTOGRAPHER. 

their  ventriloquial  notes,  and  as  these 
died  away  the  purer  strains  of  a  hermit 
thrush  came  floating  across  the_  water, 
bidding  us  a  sweet  "good-night." 

A\^e"had  planned  to  spend  but  one 
night  here,  but  on  learning  from  a  friend 
whom  we  visited  that  evening  of  another 
eagles"  nest  in  the  vicinity,  we  decided 
to  stop  over  in  -hope  of  securing  some 
photographs  of  the  home  life  of  these 
birds.  Before  breakfast  on  the  follow- 
ing morning  our  good  friends  were 
alongside  in  their  canoe,  and  we  made 
our  plans  for  a  visit  to  the  eagles'  eyrie. 
The  first  nest  appeared  not  to  be  oc- 
cupied, though  we  learned  it  had  been 
used  for  several  years  past — usually  in 
the  month  of  February.  It  was  about 
sixtv  feet  up  in  the  tallest  pine  in  the 
grove,  and  we  estimated  it  to  be  over 
six  feet  in  depth  and  three  or  four  feet 
in  diameter.  It  was  apparently  com- 
posed entirely  of  sticks,  although  we 
made  no  attempt  to  ascend  the  tree,  as  it 
was  seemingly  impossible  to  climb  up 
over  the  bulkv  mass. 


120 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


THE    FEMALE    EAGLE    UPON    THE    NEST. 

After  photographing  this  nest  our 
friends  guided  us  to  the  other  grove 
not  far  away,  where  a  pair  of  breeding 
birds  were  said  to  be.  and  we  had  no 
difficulty  in  locating  the  spot.  Indeed 
this  great  nest,  which  was  considerably 
larger  than  the  other,  was  the  most  con- 
spicuous object  in  the  grove.  being 
placed  in  the  upper  crotches  of  a  large 
dead  pine,  where  the  watchful  birds 
might  obtain  an  unobstructed  view.  A 
long  distance  observation  through  our 
binoculars  showed  the  nest  to  be  occu- 
pied,— the  white  head  of  the  parent  bird 
showing  distinctly  over  the  top, — so 
making  a  detour  of  about  half  a  mile,  I 
attempted  an  approach  near  enough  to 
secure  a  photograph  of  the  eagle  upon 
the  nest.  The  birds  proved  extremely 
wary,  however,  and  scrub  palmetto 
rather  difficult  to  make  one's  way 
through  quietly,  and  while  still  about  a 
hundred  yards  distant  the  bird  arose  and 
circled  about  overhead,  uttering  a  series 
of  rapid  shrill  cries,  accomoanied  by  a 
low  scolding  and  hissing  when  directly 
above  me.  The  male  bird,  which  had 
been  soaring  far  overhead,  now  joined 
its  mate  and  they  continued  their  circling 
about  with  cries  of  alarm.  Wq  could 
distinP'uish  a  difference  in  their  calls, — 


that  of  the  male  being  a  rapid,  whistling 
alarm  or  cackle,  and  uttered  more  regu- 
larly than  that  of  the  female  :  the  plum- 
age of  both  sexes  being  alike,  these  birds 
are  otherwise  indistinguishable.  Their 
conspicuous  markings, — in  the  adult  a 
uniform  brownish-black,  with  the  head, 
neck  and  tail  of  pure  white,-^  and  their 
large  size,  with  a  wing-spread  of  over 
six  feet,  give  to  these  bn-ds  an  imposing 
appearance,  and  to  watch  them  at  close 
range  in  their  native  haunts  was  a  rare 
privilege  which  we  thoroughly  enjoyed. 

By  partially  concealing  myself  in  the 
scrub  palmetto  and  standing  in  one  po- 
sition for  about  an  hour,  I  was  able  to 
secure  a  photograph  of  the  nest  and  both 
birds,  and  finally  another  of  the  female 
about  to  alight  upon  the  nest.  I  then 
withdrew  to  where  my  companions  had 
been  waiting — being  followed  by  the  agi- 
tated birds  until  well  out  of  the  grove — 
and  planned  to  return  the  following  day 
for  further  observations. 

There  was  a  spring  feeling  in  the  air 
as  we  went  ashore  the  next  morning,  with 
two  cameras,  climbing-irons,  life  l^elt  and 
ropes,  prepared  to  spend  a  day  with  the 
eagles  and  if  possible  to  make  a  close 
scrutiny  of  the  nest  and  its  contents. 
There  had  been  rain  in  the  early  morn- 
ing with  clearing  about  seven,  the  tem- 
perature was  65,  and  a  fresh  clear  atmos- 
])here  made  every  breath  exhilarating. 


THE    EAGLE    ABOUT    TO    LIGHT    UPON    HER 
NEST. 


ORNITHOLOGY 


121 


We  met  our  friends  at  the  bridge,  and 
as  we  walked  through  the  woods  the 
white-eved  towhees  and  mcadowlarks 
mounted  the  scrub  pahiiettos  and  called; 
several  loggerhead  shrikes  were  in  evi- 
dence, and  a  pair  of  red-bellied  wood- 
peckers were  busily  engaged  hunting 
about  on  a  cabbage  palm.  At  our  close 
approach  they  flew  across  the  water, — 
the  male  giving  a  loud,  rattling  call  like 
that  of  a  kingfisher  as  he  flew.  Ground 
doves  moved  noiselessly  about  under  the 
scrub,  while  the  animated  wrens  jerked 
restlessly  over  it  or  disappeared  beneath 
the  broad  leaves,  only  to  peer  out  from 
some  hidden  retreat  with  a  chuckling 
call,  as  if  they  had  gotten  the  best  of  us, 
— and  so  they  had,  for  they  were  ever 
present  yet  always  disappearing  just 
as  we  wanted  to  watch  them. 

The  eagle  allowed  us  to  approach  to 
within  abotit  fifty  yards  of  the  nest  be- 
fore taking  flight  this  morning,  and  re- 
mained in  a  nearby  tree  until  we  were 
verv  close.  She  then  began  circling 
about  overhead  and  uttering  a  low  gut- 
teral  note,  while  the  male  soon  appeared 
giving  his  sharp,  piercing  cry.  Select- 
ing a  favorable  spot,  the  5x7  camera  was 
set  up  close  by  and  focussed  on  the  nest. 
We  then  constructed  a  rough  blind  of 
palmetto  leaves  about  it,  concealing  all 
but  the  lens  and  leaving  room  to  crouch 
behind  and  work  the  camera.  Entering 
the  blind.  I  was  covered  by  my  compan- 
ions, who  then  walked  away  making  no 
attempt  at  concealment,  and  the  birds 
after  following  them  out  of  the  grove, 
returned  and  ceased  their  cries,  circling 
about  and  apparently  paying  not  the 
slightest  attention  to  the  blind.  They 
were  evidently  able  to  distinguish  no  dif- 
ference between  three  persons  entering 
the  grove  and  two  persons  leaving  it, 
and  their  actions  clearly  indicated  that 
thev  did  not  realize  mv  presence  in  the 
blind. 

The  following  detailed  notes  of  the 
birds'  actions  will  give  an  idea  of  their 
extreme  wariness  and  watchfulness 
about  the  nest.  The  male  almost  im- 
mediately flew  away,  while  his  mate 
circled  about  a  few  times  and  then 
perched  on  the  tree  within  a  few  feet 
of  the  nest,  where  she  sat  looking  into 
it  with  mouth  open  but  uttering  no  cries. 
It  was  now  eleven  o'clock.  After  a  few 
moments  in  this  position  as  if  to  assure 
herself  that  her  home  had  not  been  dis- 
turbed, she  flew  up ;  hovered  for  an  in- 
stant over  the  nest,  then  flew  off.  cir- 


cling about  a  few  times  and  seeming  to« 
scrutinize  the  ground  below,  and  at  11.05 
returned  and  dropped  into  the  nest,  soon, 
settling  down  where  she  could  not  be 
seen  over  its  rim  from  my  position  in 
the  blind.     After  making  several  expos- 


AT  THE  EAGLE'S  NEST. 
This    nest,    seven    by    twelve    feet,    was    seventy    feet 
up    in    a    dead    pine   eight    feet    in    circumference    in    a 
grove    of    long-leaf   pine. 

Photograph    by    Dr.    A.    W.     King. 

ures  I  quietly  watched.  At  1 1  :20  the 
male  came  circling  over  the  tree,  but 
without  alighting  and  with  no  cry  flew 
immediately  awa}'.  I  then  made  a  slight 
sound  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  bird 
on  the  nest  so  she  would  hold  her  head 
up  high  enough  to  show  in  the  photo- 
graph,— which  she  did,  but  immediately 
settled  down  again  out  of  sight. 

At  II  -.23  she  left  the  nest,  evidently- 
alarmed  by  something,  and  circling  about 
she  alighted  on  a  tree,  called  several 
times  and  then  flew  away.  At  1 1 :43  she 
returned,  and  slowly  circling  overhead 
a  few  times,  alighted  near  the  nest,  utter- 
ing some  low,  cackling  notes.  She  re- 
mained thus,  looking  about  and  below 
her  for  three  minutes,  then  again  circling 
about  emitted  several  rapid,  whistling 
calls  followed  by  shrill  peeps.  After 
several  minutes  absence  she  returned  to 
the  tree  and  looked  about  from  her  perch 
for  two  minutes :  then  flew  oft",  again 
circled  about  and  returned  without  call- 
ing, remaining,  however,  but  a  few 
minutes,  when  she  was  oft'  again.  Soar- 
ing- in  circles  overhead  she  uttered  sev- 
eral rapid  calls. — shrill  whistles  begin- 
ning with  a  rising  inflection  and  rapidly 
running  downward :  then  in  a  few 
minutes  returned  to  the  tree  and  at 
1 1  :59  dropped  onto  the  edge  of  the  nest 
— where  she  remained  for  three  minutes, 
then  flew  off.  circled  and  returned  to 
her  perch  on  the  tree. 


122 


THE  GUIDE      TO  NATURE 


Here  she  remained  for  nine  minutes, 
uttering  no  sound  but  scanning  the  sur- 
roundings closely.  She  then  flew  away, 
circling  about  w^ith  a  shrill  call,  and  at 
12:17  returned  and  alighted  on  a  dead 
pine  near-by.  Remaining  here  for  four 
minutes,  she  flew  up,  hovered  over  the 
nest,  called  twice,  then  circled  about  a 
few  times  and  returned  to  the  near-by 
tree  wliere  she  looked  about  for  a  few 
seconds ;  flew  to  her  perch  over  the  nest, 
and  after  again  scrutinizing  the  nest  and 
its  surroundings,  hopped  quietly  onto  it. 
She  seemed  still  restless  and  at  the  snap 
of  the  camera  flew  oif  and  soared  about, 
soon  returning  to  the  tree  close  by  where 
she  perched  for  a  few  moments ;  then 
•was  off  with  more  circling,  after  which 
she  alighted  near  the  nest  and  again 
dropped  onto  it  at  12:35.  Almost  im- 
mediately leaving,  she  resumed  her  circ- 
ling for  about  five  minutes,  when  she 
returned  to  the  near-by  tree.  After  mak- 
ing a  few  exposures  with  the  Graflex 
(cajniera  as  the  eagle  soared  overhead  I 
emerged  from  the  blind, — feeling  some- 
what cramped  and  uncomfortably  warm 
from  my  confinement  of  over  two  hours, 
but  pleased  with  my  observations.  The 
watchful  bird  had  spent  about  a  fourth 
of  this  time  upon  her  nest,  and  in  her 
restlessness  and  anxiety  had  left  and 
returned  to  it  sixteen  times. 

At  one  o'clock  there  was  a  tempera- 
ture of  74  and  a  fresh  east  wind.       We 
lunched   at   our    friends'   house   and    re- 
turned to  the  eagles'  nest  at  one-thirty, 
the  bird  leaving  quietly  when  we  were 
a  hundred  yards  away.     I  at  once  made 
ready  to  ascend  the  tree,   which  was  a 
•dead  long-leaf  pine  eight  feet  in  circum- 
:ference.    Climbing  to  the  top  where  the 
huge   nest   was    set   among  the    forking 
branches  was  not  an  especially  difficult 
task,  but  I  now  found  myself  beneath 
a  mass  of  sticks  measuring  seven  feet  in  di- 
ameter and  twelve  feet  high,  and  the  prob- 
lem seemed  to  be  how  to  get  around  and 
above  it.     After  working  on  one  course 
for  half  an  hour  and  being  compelled  to 
abandon  it  on  account  of  the  rottenness 
of  the  branches,  I  managed  finally,  by 
throwing  a  rope    over    several    of    the 
limbs,  to  pull  myself,  up ;  and  standing 
on   the    uppermost    brantch    coming    out 
of  the  side  of  the  mass  I  peered  over  the 
top  and  into  the  nest.    I  was  immediately 
greeted  by  a  young  eaglet,  which,  utter- 
ing long  peeping  cries,  scrambled  to  the 
edsre  of  the  nest  to  meet  me.     I  judged 


it  to  be  about  two  weeks  old.  It  was 
covered  with  a  soft  grayish  down,  had 
snapping  black  eyes  and  a  black  beak, 
and  although  not  strong  enough  to  stand 
upon  its  feet,  it  insisted  upon  working 
itself  to  the  edge  of  the  nest  nearest  me 
after  I  had  continually  replaced  it  to- 
ward the  middle. 

This  nest  was  evidently  a  very  old  one 
showing  where  it  had  been  added  to  and 
repaired  year  after  year.  It  was  a  solid 
mass  of  coarse  sticks,  some  of  which 
were  over  two  and  a  half  feet  long  and 
an  inch  or  more  in  thickness,  and  the 
huge  bulk  must  have  weighed  more  than 
five  hundred  pounds.  There  was  but  a 
very  slight  depression  in  the  top  and  no 
attempt  at  a  lining  of  softer  material.  A 
fe^v  clumps  of  coarse  grass  and  a  bit  of 
11  loss  lay  among  the  sticks  near  the  up- 
])fcr  edge,  and  scattered  about  through 
the  mass  were  a  few  fish  'ooiits,  bird 
skulls,  etc.  The  remains  of  a  fresh, 
partly  eaten  catfish,  about  a  foot  long, 
lay  in  the  nest  beside  the  eaglet. 

J.owering  a  rope,  I  drew  up  niv  cam- 
'  ras  one  at  a  time,  and  made  several 
attempts  to  photograph  the  young  bird, 
though  I  soon  found  that  maneuvering 
about  with  such  apparatus  sixty  feet  in 
the  air, — with  nothing  above  3'ou  to  h oid 
onto  and  your  subject  determined  to 
walk  into  the  camera, — was  not  condu- 
cive to  pictorial  success.  I  finally  tried 
focussing  on  an  object  the  approximate 
distance  from  the  lens  and  holding  the 
camera  up  over  my  head  to  get  it  far 
enough  away  from  this  inquisitive  young 
chicken, — and  thus  out  of  five  attempts 
secured  one  passable  picture. 

The  view  from  this  eyrie  was  su])erb. 
There  was  no  chance  for  an  enemy  to 
approach  unobserved  by  the  keen-sight- 
ed birds,  as  they  could  see  for  a  long  dis- 
tance in  every  direction.  Considerably 
above  the  tops  of  the  surrounding  trees, 
they  would  be  first  to  receive  the  breath 
of  the  new  dawn,  while  away  to  the  west- 
ward over  the  sparkling  gulf  the  last 
glow  of  the  sunset  would  be  theirs. 
Even  now  as  I  looked,  the  great  fiery 
ball  was  dropping  into  the  midst  of  those 
rippling  waters, — its  slanting  rays  still 
lighting  up  the  nest  with  a  glow,  though 
it  had  disappeared  from  view  from  the 
ground  beneath  some  minutes  before. 

After  holding  up  the  eaglet  to  the  view 
of  my  companions  below,  I  carefully  re- 
placed it  in  the  nest  and  descended  to 
the  ground,  having  been  in  the  tree  two 
hours  and  fifteen  minutes.  Although  I 
was  prepared   for  trouble   from   the  pa- 


ORNITHOLOGY 


123 


rent  birds,  they  made  no  attempt  to  de- 
fend their  nest  and  young,  and  during 
all  this  time  soared  majestically  about. 
high  overhead. 

The  next  morning  we  noted  both 
eagles  circling  about  the  nest,  but  did 
not  re-visit  it.  Subsequently  inquiries  in 
the  vicinity  showed  that  both  nests  here 
referred   to  have   been   occupied   succes- 


on  a  most  exciting  trip  as  far  as  Sara- 
sota Bay — which,  however,  is  another 
storv  and  has  nothinsf  to  do  with  eacles. 


State  Bird  Sanctuaries. 

A  new  held  of  service  for  Natural 
History  Societies  is  made  possible  by 
the  ^Massachusetts  statute  which  g-ives 


THE  EAGLET  IN  THE  NEST. 


sively  for  the  past  seven  years,  a  family 
near-by  assuring  us  that  the  large  one 
has  been  used  to  their  personal  knowl- 
edge for  at  least  eighteen  years,  being 
when  they  first  knew  it  but  a  comparatively 
small  nest.  \\'e  were  told  that  the  eagles 
leave  this  locality  about  the  first  or  mid- 
dle of  August  and  are  absent  for  a 
period  of  about  two  months.  A  pair  had 
been  seen  roosting  nightl\'  in  the  trees 
near  here,  and  another  pair  about  a  mile 
away.  \A  e  learned  also  from  a  woman 
living  not  far  distant  of  a  still  larger 
nest  which  she  stated  she  had  known  for 
over  twenty  years,  ^^'e  did  not,  how- 
ever, have  opportunity  to  investigate  it, 
and  though  we  saw  other  eagles  in  this 
general  locality, — both  in  the  immature 
and  adult  plumages, — we  could  not 
spare  the  time  to  search  for  their  nests. 

With  urgent  invitations  to  return  we 
left  A'enice  about  smirise  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  twelvth,  to  continue  our  cruise 
up  the  west  coast.  Somewhat  reluctant- 
ly we  left  our  anchorage  and  passed  out 
of  this  quiet  bay.  for  it  was  a  charming- 
spot  and  we  had  made  several  new 
friends,  three  of  whom  accompanied  us 


to  the  Fish  and  Game  Commissioners 
power  to  take  over  land,  on  request  of 
the  owners,  and  use  it  as  sanctuary  for 
wild  life. 

The  Andover  Natural  History  So- 
ciety, for  example,  selected  a  tract  of 
wild  country  some  two  miles  long  and 
a  half  mile  wide,  containing  a  stream 
and  a  small  pond,  and  persuaded  its 
owners,  some  fifteen  in  number,  to  join 
with  it  in  having  the  area  made  a  State 
Reservation.  The  society  undertook 
to  relieve  the  owners  of  all  trouble  and 
expense,  to  put  up  bird  houses,  to 
keep  down  enemies  of  the  interesting- 
wild  life,  and  to  feed  the  creatures 
through  the  winter.  In  return,  the 
owners  are  protected  In-  the  state  offi- 
cers from  the  depredations  of  gunners 
— so  that  as  a  matter  of  fact,  they  were 
nearly  all  heartily  glad  to  come  into 
the  scheme. 

Thus  through  the  efl:'orts  of  the  local 
society,  the  community  has  added  an 
interesting  feature  to  its  other  attrac- 
tions, although  no  single  owner  had 
any   special   interest   in   the   matter  or 


124 


THE  GUIDE    TO  NATURE 


would  have  put  himself  to  any  trouble 
to  secure  the  result.  In  addition,  while 
notes  in  the  local  paper  have  educated 
the  adults,' by  having-  the  public  school 
classes  in  carpentry  make  the  bird 
houses,  zeal  for  wild  life  protection  has 
been  given  a  distinct  "boost"  among 
the  young. 

Here  then,  in  states  where  the  laws 
make  it  possible,  is  an  interesting  and 
worthy  field  of  effort.  To  any  organi- 
zation disposed  to  attempt  a  like  pro- 
ject, the  Andover  Society  offers  freely 
the  results  of  its  experience. — Address 
E.  T.  Brewster,  Andover,  Mass. 


An  Unusual  Vireo's  Nest. 

The  accompanying  photograph  shows 
the  nest  of  a  red-eyed  vireo  found  in  a 
very  unusual  and  beautiful  location.  It 
is  from  Merrimac,  N.  H.  and  was 
placed  in  the  low  branches  of  a  young 
white  pine,  where  it  was  but  a  little 
over  two  feet  from  the  ground  and 
seemed  well  concealed  among  similar 
:growth  and  scrub  hardwoods  near  the 
edge  of  an  open  pasture. 

This  nest  when  first  visited,  on  the 
morning  of  the  29th  of  June,  contained 
naked  young,  apparently  but  a  few  days 


old.  Thinking  from  its  location  in  the 
pine  tree  that  it  might  be  the  nest  of 
the  "blue-headed"  rather  than  the  red- 
eyed  species,  I  visited  the  place  with 
a  jack-light  about  ten-thirty  the  follow- 
ing night  to  positively  identify  the  bird 
upon  the  nest.  By  approaching  care- 
ful!}" with  the  light  held  out  in  front  I 
was  enabled  to  get  within  two  or  three 
feet  of  the  nest  without  being  noticed 
by  the  brooding  bird  who  was  fast 
asleep  with  her  head  buried  under  her 
right  wing.  After  studying  her  for 
about  a  minute  she  suddenly  awoke 
with  a  startled  look  in  her  deep  red 
eyes  and  gazed  intently  at  the  light, 
btit  remained  motionless.  The  com- 
pactly woven  nest  of  strips  of  bark  and 
fibre,  decorated  with  bits  of  paper  and 
white  birch  bark  lighted  up  beautifully 
against  the  soft  delicate  green  back- 
groimdof  pine  needles  and  made  a  pretty 
picture.  Not  wishing  to  disturb  her  fur- 
ther I  quietly  withdrew,  making  an- 
other visit  the  next  morning  and  find- 
ing her  again  on  the  nest. 

My  next  opportimity  for  visiting  this 
nest  was  on  the  tenth  of  July,  when  I 
foimd  it  empty,  with  no  traces  of  either 
parents  or  young  in  the  immediate 
locality.  It  may  have  been  possible  that 
the  young  birds  had  flown,  though  I 
half  suspect  that  a  large  black  snake 
Avhich  I  foimd  lurking  in  the  vicinity 
ma}'  have  had  something  to  do  with 
their   disappearance. 


The  English  Starling. 

The  U.  S.  Department  of  Agricid- 
ture  is  making  a  wide-spread  investi- 
gation of  the  status  of  the  English 
starling,  a  bird  recently  introduced  into 
the  United  States,  which  has  been  con- 
sidered by  many  an  undesirable  addi- 
tion to  our  fainia.  It  is  a  bird  which 
has  increased  and  spread  rapidly  and 
seems  able  to  hold  its  own  against  all 
comers,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped,  therefore, 
that  its  beneficial  traits  will  so  far  out- 
weigh its  injurious  ones  that  this  hand- 
some bird  may  be  welcome  to  remain 
with  us.  Nobody  wants  a  second 
"English  sparrow." 


A  VIREO'S  NEST   IN   A  WHITE    PINE 


I  wish  to  express  my  appreciation  of 
The  Guide  to  Nature.  We  have  found 
much  of  interest  and  have  been  greatly 
aided  in  our  efforts  to  become  better  ac- 
quainted with  nature. — Miss  ]\Iatilda 
Krebs,  Johnstown,   Pennsylvania. 


ORNITHOLOGY 


12  = 


Photographing  Young  Birds. 

The  most  attractive  age  of  a  young 
bird  is  usually  the  tirst  week  or  so  after 
it  has  left  the  nest, — when  it  is  lainich- 


Flickers  and  goldfinches,  in  Riverside 
Drive  between  ii6th  Street  and  Grant's 
Tomb,  late  in  November. 


YOUNG  CATRIRn  JUST  AFTER  LEAVNG  NEST. 

Photograph   by    Mr.    Charles   I.    Reid,    Millersburg; 

Pennsylvania. 

ing  forth  into  the  world  to  try  its  own 
resources.  It  is  shy,  yet  it  seems  to 
know  no  fear :  its  poses  are  graceful 
combining  with  the  freshness  and  vigor 
of  youth  some  of  the  dignity  and  repose 
of  the  adult.  This  period  might  be  said 
to  be  the  "sweet  sixteen"  of  bird  life, 
and  it  seems  to  contain  all  the  attrac- 
tive qualities  of  the  bird  with  none  of 
the  objectionable  ones,  making  its  sub- 
ject as  lovable  as  an  opening  flower. 


Bird  Notes  for  New  York  City, 

BY     MISS      ELIZABETH     VAX      HOEVEXBERG, 
FISH  KILL,   XEW  YORK. 

A  Blackburnian  warbler  was  observed 
May  ly,  1914,  on  Lenox  Avenue  at 
129th  Street,  in  a  tree  near  the  curb  in 
front  of  a  florist's  greenhouses. 

Kinglets  and  redstarts  have  been 
seen  among  the  trees  and  shrubs  of  the 
Upper  Campus,  Columbia  University, 
New  York  City. 

Juncos,  feeding  among  the  chickens 
on  a  "Harlam  Squatter's"  claim,  on 
Morningside  Drive,  at  121st  Street,  be- 
fore the  great  apartment  houses,  now 
there,  were  built. 


Bird  Photography  for  Women. 

That  bird-photography  is  not  only 
possible  for  women  to  enjoy,  but  that 
it  may  be  made  one  of  the  most  fasci- 
nating and  healthful  of  out-door  studies 
is  shown  in  an  interesting  article  tinder 
the  above  title,  published  in  the  May- 
June  number  of  "Bird  Lore."  The 
author  is  Miss  E.  L.  Turner,  F.  Z.  S. 
of  Cambridge,  England. 

A  number  of  women  in  our  own 
country  have  also  done  most  admirable 
work  along  similar  lines,  and  such  re- 
sults should  be  encouraging  to  others 
who  are  taking  up  this  useful  pastime. 


Remarkable  Devotion  of  a  Robin. 

BY    RE\'.    MAXLEY    B.    TOWXSEXD.    X.ASHU.A, 
XEW    HAMPSHIRE. 

A  number  of  years  ago,  when  living 
in  Southbridge,  Mass.,  this  remarkable 
robin  incident  came  to  my  notice.  A 
friend,  a  conductor  on  the  railroad  that 
runs  from  Thompsonville,  Conn.,  to 
Southbridge,  told  me  the  story. 

One  morning  at  Thompsonville  a 
passenger  car  that  had  been  standing 
idle  on  a  siding  for  several  weeks  was 
attached  to  the  train.  Several  miles 
otit  of  the  place  the  attention  of  some 
passengers  standing  on  the  rear  plat- 
form was  attracted  by  the  peculiar 
actions  of  a  robin  that  seemed  to  be 
persistently  following  the  train.  My 
friend,  the  condtictor.  was  informed 
rnd  a  close  watch  kept  upon  the  bird. 
Yes.  it  was  certainly  following  the 
train,  but  for  what  purpose?  The  an- 
swer soon  came,  for  when  the  train 
made  its  first  stop  the  robin  flew 
directly  to  the  car  and  disappeared  be- 
neath the  trucks.  An  investigation 
revealed  a  nest  containing  four  newly- 
batched  voung,  on  whom  the  mother 
was  sitting  close.  Bright-eyed  and 
fearful,  but  bravely,  she  eyed  the  faces 
thrust  close  to  her  and  her  treasures. 
Wben  the  train  started  she  flew  out, 
but  followed  faithfully  the  entire  run, 
brooding  and  warming  her  bal)ies 
whenever  the  train  stopped  and  af- 
forded her  the  opportunit}'.  Thus  she 
kept  them  alive  and  warm  until  ."^outh- 
bridtre  was  reached.     The  conductor  at 


126 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


once  notified  the  railroad  officials,  who 
gave  orders  that  the  car  should  be  de- 
tached and  set  apart. 

It  is  gratifying  to  be  able  to  report 
that  such  devotion  had  its  fitting  re- 
ward, and  that  the  little  family  was 
safely  reared  and  launched  out  into  the 
world.  The  other  day  I  read  of  a 
mother  who  made  a  great  sacrifice  for 
her  child.  Readers  of  the  deed  were 
thrilled  by  the  mother-love  behind  the 
act,  yet  here  in  this  simple,  humble 
bird  we  find  the  same  mother-love. — 
strong  and  beautiful.  Shall  we  not  ren- 
der her  our  tribute  as  truly  as  if  she 
were  a  human  mother? 


An  Ambitious  Wild  Goose. 

In  the  Zoological  Park  wc  have 
reared  yearly  a  goodly  number  of  Can- 
ada geese,  our  flock  of  these  birds  now 
numbering  more  than  fifty.  In  the 
spring  of  191 5,  the  usual  number  of 
pairs  nested,  and  succeeded  in  hatching 
their  goslings.  But  one  curiously 
acquisitive  and  equally  pugnacious 
pair,  apparently  dissatisfied  wath  their 
own  brood  of  five,  decided  to  increase  it. 
By  means  of  a  system  of  browbeating 
on  one  hand,  and  persuasion  on  the 
other,   thev   actuallv   succeeded   in   ab- 


ducting the  goslings  of  other  birds 
until  they  had  gathered  a  flock  of  fif- 
teen ;  a  number  entirely  without  pre- 
cedent in  the  writer's  experience. 

The  trouble  of  the  "old  lady  who 
lived  in  the  shoe"  was  caused  by  the 
fact  that  she  didn't  know  what  to  do 
with  so  many.  Our  geese  never  be- 
trayed any  such  tribulation,  and  while 
there  was  some  scantiness  of  space  be- 
neath the  sheltering  feathers  of  the 
mother,  the  overflow  could  always  col- 
lect alongside  and  receive  a  share  of 
warmth.  All  are  being  safely  reared, 
and  the  excellence  of  their  care  is  at- 
tested by  the  evident  prosperity  of  the 
goslings,  as  shown  in  the  accompany- 
ing picture. — L.  S.  C.  in  the  "Zoological 
Societv  Bulletin." 


"American  Forestry"  for  July  con- 
tains a  five-page  article  on  "Bird  Pro- 
tection and  the  Work  of  the  Brookline 
Bird  Club"  in  Brookline,  Mass.,  an  or- 
ganization which  has  done  invaluable 
work  in  that  town.  This  magazine  also 
makes  the  following  announcement : 
"Birds  and  the  Need  of  Them"  will  be 
another  subject  given  a  special  depart- 
ment. The  conservation  of  birds  is  vi- 
tally necessary  to  the  preservation  of 
human  life.  So  few  people  realize  this 
that   "American   Forestry"   will   make   a 


CANADA    GOOSE    WITH    HER    KIDNAPPED    GOSLINGS 

Cut    by    courtesy    of    the     "Zoological     Society     Bulletin." 


ORNITHOLOGY 


127 


special  effort  to  promote  proper  protec- 
tion and  care  of  birds." 

It  is  indeed  gratifying  to  note  the  in- 
terest being-  shown  in  this  subject  by 
such  magazines,  and  denotes  an  awaken- 
ing which  is  becoming  wide-spread  and 
must  certainly  result  in  a  great  deal  of 
good.  Publicity  means  education,  and 
education  means  progress. 


Dr.  Arthur  W.  King  of  Jacksonville. 
Fla.,  who  has  recently  returned  from  a 
motor-boat  trip  around  the  lower  part 
of  that  state,  brings  back  well  authenti- 
cated reports  of  a  good-sized  colony  of 
Roseate  Spoonbills  on  an  island  near 
Caxambas  on  the  west  coast,  and  it  is 
hoped  arrangements  may  be  made  at 
once  for  the  protection  of  these  beauti- 
ful birds,  which  were  formerly  so  abun- 
dant but  had  become  nearly  extermin- 
ated throughout  the  state.  It  is  grati- 
fying also  to  learn  of  the  large  rook- 
eries of  the  "great  white"  and  snowy 
egrets  in  regions  through  which  he 
passed,  the  recent  increase  of  these 
birds  being  largely  due,  no  doubt,  to  the 
excellent  work  of  the  Audubon  Society 
wdiich  has  done  so  much  to  stop  the 
plumage  traffic  and  to  protect  the  fast- 
disappearing  birds  of  this  region. 


Two  recent  publications  by  the  ]\Iass. 
State  Board  of  Agriculture  of  especial 
interest  to  bird  students  are  Circular 
No.  45,  entitled  "The  Starling"  and  Cir- 
cular No.  47  on  Bird  Houses  and  nest- 
ing Boxes."  The  former  gives  a  his- 
tory of  the  introduction  of  the  Starling 
into  America  and  the  increase,  dis- 
tribution, food  and  habits  of  this  bird  of 
questionable  character,  while  the  latter 
covers  well  the  subject  of  which  it 
treats,  and  being  fully  illustrated 
should  be  of  valuable  assistance  to 
those  contemplating  erecting  bird  boxes 
on  their  gromids. 

Both  circulars  are  l:)y  Edward  Howe 
Forbush.  the  State  Ornithologist, 
known  throughout  the  country  for  his 
painstaking  work  and  valuable  con- 
tributions on  eccjnomic  ornitholoe:^^ 


sistants  to  our  agriculture.  We  are  de- 
pendent upon  the  birds  much  more 
than  the  average  person  has  realized, 
and  their  protection  and  increase  about 
our  homes  has  a  large  bearing  upon  the 
insect  problem,  which  is  so  vital  to  any 
lover  of  trees.  Let  us  not  forget  them 
when  we  plan  our  grounds. 


The  many  attractive  appliances  in 
the  natv:re  of  feeding  stations,  nesting- 
boxes  and  bird-l)aths  now  oft'ered  the 
bird-loving  ]n:blic  are  doing  much  to 
stimulate  an  interest  in  our  feathered 
friends  and  to  bring  us  into  a  right 
relation   with   these   most   valuable  as- 


Beautiful  Photograph  of  Snowy  Owl. 

Ebensl)urg,  Pennsylvania. 

To  the  Editor : 

I  am  sending  the  photograph  of  a 
snowv  owl,  which  I  took  some  time 
ago.     Experts  say  that  this  species  of 


A     SX(:)\N"Y     0\VL. 

owl    is    rare    in    Pennsylvania,    and    is 
usually  found  in  the  state  of  }^Iaine. 

The  bird  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
specimens  of  this  type  ever  seen.  It 
was  shot  and  slightly  injured  near 
Ebensburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  upon 
discovery  that  the  l>ird  was  in  the  pro- 
tected class,  was  turned  over  to  the 
state  game  warden  for  this  district. 

Yours  ver}-  truly. 

Deck  Laxe. 


A   Four   }klonth's  Trial   Sul)scri])tior 
for  onlv  2SC.     Send  to  a  friend. 


128 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


i;lack-tiiroated  loon  ox  nest. 

A  Real  Not  a  Wooden  Bird.  apparently   of  wood   and   striped   with 

In  this  remarkable  specimen  of  the  paint.     It  is  a  photograph  of  the  living 

black-throated  loon,  nature  has  success-  bird.      For    its    use    we    gratefully    ac- 

fully  imitated   an   artificial   bird   made  knowledge  the  courtesy  of  "Bird-Lore." 


TO  KNOW  THE  STARRY  HEAVENS 


129 


Contributions  to  the  Sound  Beach 
Observatory. 

Miss  Frances  H.  Errett,  New- 
town,   Ohio    (Increase — total 

$179-38)    ....$154-38 

Dr.  P.  J.  Oettinger,  New  York 

City   1 .00 

Miss     Eulalee     Finney.     Sound 

Beach    i.oo 

The  Frost  Family,  Soitnd  Beach 

($1.00  each)    5.00 

Mr.  H.  E.    Deats.    Flemington. 

New   Jersey    (Increase — total 

$15.00)    10.00 

Mr.   Thomas    W.    King.    Sound 

Beach 5.00 

A  Friend 2.00 

Mr.   W.   W.    Lathrop,   Warren, 

Ohio 50 

Mr.  William  T.  Finney,  Stam- 
ford            I.oo 

Reverend    Fay    E.    Livengood. 

Sound  Beach  2.00 

Mrs.  H.  H.  Knox,  New  Canaan, 

Connecticut    i.oo 

Mr.]\Iitchell  Kennerley,  ]^Iamar- 

oneck.  New  York 5.00 

Total    $187.88 

Previously  acknowledged   .  .  .    506.20 

Grand  Total   $694.08 

Here  is  a  good  example  for  other  young 
folks.  Miss  Eulalee  Finney  of  Sound 
Beach  has  contributed  a  dollar  to  The 
Agassiz  Association  for  a  telescope, 
and  writes  as  follows : 

"I  earned  a  dollar  a  few  days  ago. 
and  I  want  you  to  have  it,  to  help  buy 
the  telescope  wihch  I  know  we  shall 
all  enjoy." 

It  is  probable  that  every  girl  and  boy 
in  Sound  Beach  would  contribute  at 
least  five  cents  each  if  it  could  be  made 
clear  to  all  yonug  folks  how  much  they 
will  enjoy  and  be  benefitted  by  becom- 
ing familiar  with  "the  wonders  of  the 
sky."  These  wonders  are  marvelously 
entertaining,  and  few  people,  even  the 
adults,  know  much  about  them.     Eula- 


lee Finney  is  right  in  the  statement 
that  we  shall  all  enjoy  the  telescope. 
The  heavens  are  moving  pictures 
that  are  not  "trash,"  and  that  are  al- 
ways uplifting  in  thought. 


Variable  Star  Observing.  Fascinating 
Work  for  the  Amateur  Astronomer 

BY  WILLIAM  TYLER  OLCOTT,  CORRESPOXD- 
IXG  SECRET.4RY,  AMERICAX  .4SSOCL\TIOX 
OF  VARIABLE  STAR  OBSERVERS 

There  may  be  many  members  of 
The  Agassiz  Association  who  possess 
small  telescopes.  By  small  telescopes 
I  mean  those  mounted  on  tripods  of 
three  to  five  inch  aperture.  It  is  the 
purpose  of  this  article  to  outline  briefly 
how  telescopes  of  this  type  may  be 
turned  to  good  advantage  in  the  aid  of 
science  by  anyone  willing  to  engage  in 
an  interesting  bit  of  astrophysical  re- 
search work  that  involves  no  mathe- 
matics and  the  details  of  which  are 
quickly  and  easily  mastered. 

There  are  many  stars,  telescopic  for 
the  most  part,  that,  strange-enough, 
do  not  present  the  constant  state  of 
brightness  that  characterizes  most  of 
the  lucid  stars  with  which  the  layman 
is  familiar.  The  light  of  these  stars, 
which  are  known  as  Variables,  fluctu- 
ates, and  the  law  that  governs  their 
variation  presents  a  baffling  enigma, 
which  only  time,  and  a  large  number  of 
observations  can  solve. 

Professional  astronomers  the  world 
over  are  for  the  most  part  too  busily 
engaged  in  solving  other  great  astro- 
nomical problems  to  give  much  atten- 
tion to  \'ariables,  and  consequently 
this  important  work  has  been  some- 
what neglected,  and  the  field  is  open 
to  the  amateur  astronomer  with  his 
modest  telescopic  equipment  to  do 
something  that  is  worth  while  in  the 
realm  of  astronomical  research  that  so 
many  think  is  for  the  professional  as- 
tronomer alone. 

The  only  requisites  for  the  work, 
aside  from  a  certain  amount  of  patience 
and    perseverance,    is    a   knowledge   of 


130 


THE  GUIDE     TO  NATURE 


the  constellations,  easily  acquired,  a 
"Star  Atlas,"  (a  good  one  can  be  pur- 
chased for  $1.25),  and  the  charts  which 
the  writer  will  gladly  furnish  to  those 
who  wish  to  take  up  the  work.  The 
method  of  observing  is  briefly  as  fol- 
lows : 

On  each  of  the  charts  the  Right  As- 
cension and  Declination  of  the  Variable 
is  designated,  that  is  to  say.  its  latitude 
and  longitude  terrestrially  speaking. 
First  the  position  of  the  \"ariable  is 
roughly  plotted  on  the  "Star  Atlas," 
and  then  the  region  is  swept  over  with 
the  telescope,  using  a  low  power  ocular 
until  the  immediate  field  given  on  the 
chart  is  identified.  The  \'ariable  is  then 
easily  located.  This  may  strike  the 
reader  as  difficult,  but  it  does  not  prove 
so  as  many  have  found  out  who  have 
essayed  this  form  of  c>bservational 
work. 

The  observation  of  the  \  ariable  then 
follows.  On  each  chart  are  a  number 
of  constant  stars  that  have  been  photo- 
metrically measured,  and  their  definite 
magnitude  is  designated.  These  are  the 
comparison  stars.  Note  one  a  trifle 
brighter  and  one  fainter  than  the  Vari- 
able and  you  have  the  means  of  ascer- 
taining and  estimating  visually  the 
magnitude  of  the  Variable  on  the  date 
observed. 

Observe  the  \'ariable  a  few  nighis 
later,  and  you  will  note  a  change  in  its 
degree  of  brightness.  Continue  the 
work  for  a  time  and  you  can  trace  out 
its  light  curve  in  full,  thus  determining 
very  closely  its  exact  magnitude  at 
maximum  and  at  minimum,  and  the 
date  of  each,  which  constitute  valuable 
scientific  data. 

There  is  nothing  monotonous  about 
the  work,  and  every  observation  you 
make  has  a  positive  and  scientific  value 
which  renders  observing  a  pleasurable 
and  interesting  task.  You  always  have 
the  assurance  that  your  time  is  well 
spent,  and  that  you  are  not  engaged 
in  the  desultory  work  in  which  class 
so  much  that  the  amateur  does  with  the 
microscope  and  telescope  falls. 

Once  you  engage  in  \'ariable  star  ob- 
serving you  will  l:)ecome  fascinated 
with  it,  and  will  wish  to  join  the  Ameri- 
can Association  of  \"ariable  Star  Ob- 
servers, a  group  of  amateurs  who  de- 
light in  this  interesting  telescopic  em- 
ployment. 

There  are  no  dues  to  frighten  vou  a- 


away,  or  exacting  obligations  of  any 
sort.  You  simply  agree  to  observe  Var- 
iables when  it  is  convenient,  and  pay 
a  nominal  tax  of  twenty-five  cents  per 
annum  to  cover  postage.  You  are  fur- 
nished with  a  valuable  set  of  charts 
gratis,  and  in  return  make  a  monthly 
report  of  your  observations  to  the  Har- 
vard College  Observatory  and  the  wri- 
ter. The  observations  appear  each 
month  in  "Popular  Astronomy,"  and 
later  are  published  in  the  Harvard  An- 
nals. 

Here  is  a  chance  you  have  been  look- 
ing for.  An  opportunity  to  assist  if 
even  by  the  contribution  of  a  mite  in 
adding  to  the  sum  total  of  scientific 
knowledge. 

The  work  is  endorsed  by  Professor 
E.  C.  Pickering,  Director  of  the  Har- 
vard College  Observatory,  who  consi- 
ders it  to  be  the  most  valuable  and  use- 
ful that  the  amateur  can  engage  in. 

Get  out  that  old  glass  up  in  the  attic. 
It  is  a  valuable  scientific  instrument  in 
intelligent  hands.  You  can  do  as  good 
work  with  it  in  observing  Variables 
as  can  be  done  with  an  expensive  tele- 
scope of  great  aperture.  You  will  not 
find  the  work  difficult,  of  that  I  can 
assure  you,  for  many  write  me  that 
they  have  success  from  their  initial  ef- 
forts. 

Naturally  the  cjuality  of  the  esti- 
mates depends  on  constant  practice,  but 
in  a  wonderfully  short  time  the  eye 
yields  results  that  are  reliable  and  val- 
uable. 

Some  day  we  will  know  the  secret 
these  inconstant  stars  now  possess,  and 
the  fame  and  satisfaction  of  the  discov- 
ery will  be  shared  in  a  great  measure 
by  the  faithful  group  of  amateur  astro- 
nomers now  engaged  in  this  delightful 
and  intellectually  profitable  telescopic 
work. 


Fm    willin'   a   man   should   go   tollable 
strong 
Agin  w'rong  in  the  abstract,  for  that 
kind  o'  wrong 
Is  oilers  unpop'lar  an'  never  gits  pitied, 
Because   it's   a   crime   no   one   never 
committed ; 
But  he   musn't  be   hard   on   partickler 
sins, 
'Coz   then   he'll   be   kickin'    the   peo- 
ple's own  shins. 

J.4MES     RUSSEL     LoWELL. 


TO  KNOW  THE  STARRY  HEAVENS 


131 


A  Young  Man's  Homemade  Telescope. 

Dayton.  Ohio. 
To  the  Editor : 

Enclosed  you  will  find  a  picture  of  the 
telescope  that  I  constructed  with  the  aid 
of   Air.    Fosdick.      The   instrument   is   a 


astronomer  as  R.  E.  Fosdick  declares  is 
as  g-ood  for  all  practical  purposes  as  any 
telescope  costing  $150. 

"John  made  his  own  design  of  the 
telescope  according  to  directions  that  he 
read  in  books  obtained  from  the  library. 


MR.  JOHN  L.  WALLACE  AND  THE  TELESCOPE  HE  MADE 


reflector  of  the  Newtonian  type  with  a 
mirror  six  and  one-half  inches  in  diame- 
ter and  a  focal  length  of  one  hundred  and 
ten  inches. 

Some  of  the  parts  are  odds  and  ends 
found  in  a  garage,  such  as  an  automobile 
drive  shaft  for  a  declination  axis,  but  for 
the  larger  part  I  bought  the  material  and 
worked  it  down. 

Yours  truly, 

John  L.  \\'allace. 

Mr.  Fosdick  is  the  leader  of  a  local 
group  of  amateur  astronomers.  From  a 
newspaper  clipping  sent  to  us  by  him  we 
quote  as  follows : 

"The  latest  mechanical  genius  that  has 
been  discovered  in  this  city  is  John  \\'al- 
lace,  sixteen  years  of  age,  a  sophomore 
in  Steele  high  school.  The  lad  who  is  the 
son  of  Clinton  Wallace,  of  the  Rotterman 
building,  has  just  constructed  a  telescope 
— an  instrument  that  such  a  well-known 


He  conceived  the  idea  while  studying  as- 
tronomy, although  there  was  nothing 
brought  out  in  the  classroom  that  would 
provide  the  directions  for  making  the 
telescope. 

"He  began  his  work  some  time  before 
Christmas  and  worked  on  Saturdays 
and  at  various  times  on  week  days,  when 
he  wasn't  occupied  in  doing  other  things, 
until  he  had  completed  the  instrument. 
Everything  was  carried  on  in  his  father's 
garage.  He  consulted  Mr.  Fosdick  at 
various  stages  of  the  work,  but  he  per- 
formed the  actual  labor  himself^ 

"The  tubes  are  of  common  sheet  iron. 
There  is  a  silver  glass  mirror  at  one  end 
and  an  eyepiece  at  the  other  end.  He 
bought  the  glass  for  the  lens  and  ground 
it  himself  .  The  tube  is  one  hundred 
inches  long  and  seven  and  one-iialf 
inches  in  diameter.  The  mirror  is  six 
and  one-half  inches  in  diameter. 


132 


THE  GUIDE   TO  NATURE 


TO  KNOW  THE  STARRY  HEAVENS 


133 


The  Starry  Heavens  in  September. 

BY    PROF.     ERIC    DOOLITTLE,    OF    THE     L  XI- 
VERSITV    OF    PEXXSYLVAXIA. 

THOUGH  the  most  brilHant  con- 
stellations of  the  heavens  have  all 
now  left  ns.  the  evening  skies  of 
September  are  wonderfully  beautiful. 
The  ]\Iilky  Way  now  passes  through 
the  very  zenith,  its  golden  arch  extend- 
ing from  the  northeast  to  the  south- 
west, its  succession  of  most  interestiner 


which  was  to  the  Persians  one  of  the 
four  Guardians  of  Heaven  ;  and  in  the 
northeast  we  again  welcome  the  group 
Perseus,  with  its  wonderful  variable 
star,  and  the  bright  Capella,  that  sun 
so  like  our  own  but  so  very  much  larger 
and  brighter. 

\'ega,  the  autumn  star,  has  now  just 
passed  the  highest  point  of  the  heavens  ; 
Arcturus,  whose  red  color  contrasts 
strongly  with  Vega's  brilliant  blue,  is 
still   high    up   from   the   ground   in   the 


FiR.  1.    The  Constellations  on  September  1  9  P.  M. 
(If  facing  south,  hold  the  map  upright.    If  facing  east,  hold  East  below.     If  facing  west,  hold 
West  below.    If  facing  north,  hold  the  map  inverted.) 


Star  groups,  no  less  than  its  own  won- 
derful and  intricate  structure,  forming 
an  object  of  endless  interest  for  explora- 
tion and  study. 

The  September  Stars. 
The  remarkable  and  striking  summer 
group,  Scorpio,  is  just  sinking  from  the 
evening  skies,  while  appearing  in  the 
east  to  take  the  place  of  those  constel- 
lations which  have  withdrawn  since 
last  month,  we  see  only  the  very  faint 
Aries,  Pisces  and  Cetus.  But  just  be- 
low these  there  has  appeared  the  bril- 
liant   Formalhaut,    the    solitarv    star. 


west,  w'hile,  most  conspicuous  of  all,  we 
seethe  brilliant  Jupiter  shining  out  with 
its  golden  radiance  in  the  south.  The 
four  best-known  objects  for  a  very 
small  telescope — the  Nebula  of  Androm- 
eda (at  A,  Figure  i),  the  Cluster  in 
Hercules  (at  B),  the  double  cluster  in 
Perseus  (at  C)  and  the  remarkable 
"Demon  Star"  (at  D)— are  all  in  favor- 
able position  for  examination.  The 
eclipses  of  Algol  can  only  be  observed 
toward  the  end  of  the  present  month, 
since  the  earlier  ones  will  occur  during 
the  daytime.     The  times  of  the  star's 


134 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


greatest  faintness  are  roughly  as  fol- 
lows:  September  24,  i  A.  M. ;  Septem- 
ber 26,  10  P.  M.,  and  September  29, 
7  P.  M. 

The  Planets  in  September. 
Mercury  may  be  detected  low  in  the 
twilight  glow  throughout  almost  the 
whole  of  the  present  month.  On  Sep- 
tember I  it  sets  almost  exactly  due 
west,  about  one  hour  after  sunset,  while 
on  September  ly  it  reaches  its  greatest 


and  a  little  below  the  planet  Mars.  It 
rises  far  in  the  northeast  about  four 
and  one-half  hours  before  sunrise  on 
September  i.  and  this  time  is  increased 
five  and  one-half  hours  by  Sep- 
tember 30.  The  reader  who  chooses 
to  observe  during  the  early  morning 
hours  will  find  that  both  of  these  plan- 
ets are  excellently  situated  for  study, 
while  at  this  time  he  will  also  see  the 
brilliant  Jupiter  low  in  the  southwest. 


Fig.  2.    Measuring  the  distances  of  the  stars.    As  the  earth  moves  around  its  orbit,   .ABC,   a 
near-by  star  seems  to  move  about  a  similar  orbit.  ARCE 


elongation,  by  which  time,  however,  it 
will  have  moved  much  farther  toward 
the  south  point  of  the  horizon. 

Venus  passes  the  sun  on  September 
12  and  enters  the  evening  sky,  but 
throughout  the  month  it  is  far  too  near 
the  sun  to  be  satisfactorily  observed. 

Mars  is  daily  becoming  more  con- 
spicuous in  the  eastern  heavens  before 
sunrise.  On  September  i  it  rises  four 
and  one-half  hours  before  the  sun,  and 
its  own  eastward  motion  among  the 
stars  is  so  rapid  that  this  time  is  in- 
creased only  to  five  hours  by  the  end 
of  the  month.  This  planet  is  now  near 
the  summer  solstice  and  so  rises  as 
high  in  the  heavens  as  does  the  sun  in 
mid-summer.  It  is  approaching  the 
earth,  its  distance  diminishing  from 
163,000,000  to  147,000,000  of  miles  dur- 
ing September,  and  its  brightness  is 
consequently  steadily  increasing.  It  will 
be  seen  shining  as  a  reddish,  first  mag- 
nitude star. 

Jupiter  will  at  once  attract  attention 
in  the  southeast,  just  below  the  Great 
Square  of  Pegasus.  This  world  is  now 
slowly  retrograding  among  the  stars 
and  moving  slowly  downward  and 
westward  from  the  Vernal  Eqinox  at 
V,  Figure  i.  The  most  numerous  phe- 
nomena of  Jupiter's  satellites  will  be 
seen  to  occur  on  the  evenings  and 
nights  of  September  2,  7,  14,  23,  25, 
and  30. 

Saturn  is  in  the  morning  sky,  lying, 
on   September  i,  six  degrees  to  the  east 


The  morning  skies  are  thus  far  more 
brilliant  at  present  than  those  of  the 
early  evening. 

The  moon,  which  passed  over  the 
bright  star  Antares,  at  E,  Figure  i,  on 
the  i8th  of  last  month  will  again  occult 
this  object  on  September  15  at  3  A.  M., 
and  in  the  course  of  its  regular  jovirney 
around  the  heavens  it  will  again  hide 
this  star  from  view  on  October  12.  But, 
unfortunately,  these  interesting  occul- 
tations  can  only  be  seen  by  observers 
who  are  near  or  below  the  equator  of 
the  earth. 

The  sun  will  pass  the  Autumnal 
Equinox  on  September  23  at  10  hours 
24  minutes  12  seconds  P.  M.  (Eastern 
standard  time,)  and  at  this  instant 
autumn  will  begin.  It  should  also  be 
noticed  that  we  are  now  drawing  near 
to  the  time  of  a  sun-spot  maximum. 
The  observer  who  examines  the  sun's 
disc  will  therefore  almost  surely  notice 
several  spots  upon  its  surface,  and  the 
probability  is  that  a  few"  of  these  inter- 
esting objects  will  be  seen  which  are 
of  an  unusually  large  size. 
Measuring  the  Distances  of  the  Stars. 
When  the  great  astronomer  Coper- 
nicus, more  than  350  vears  ago,  an- 
nounced his  discovery  that  the  earth  is 
not  fixed  but  that  it  is  moving  around 
the  sun,  this  new  and  startling  idea 
was  opposed  even  by  scientists,  on  the 
strictly  logical  ground  that  such  a  mo- 
tion of  the  earth  must  certainly  cause 
an  apparent  displacement  of  the  stars 


TO  KNOW  THE  STARRY  HEAVENS 


135 


on  the  sky.  Just  as  when  one  is  walk- 
ing through  a  wood  or  riding  on  a  rail- 
way he  sees  all  objects  apparently  mov- 
ing past  him  in  a  direction  exactly  op- 
site  to  that  in  which  he  is  going.  The 
nearer  objects,  because  they  are  nearer, 
appear  to  move  the  most  rapidly,  while 
those  which  are  very  distant  may  seem 
to  be  moving:  verv  little  indeed. 


observations  were  begun  with  the  most 
accurate  instruments  that  had  then  ever 
been  constructed  in  order  to  see  if  any 
such  dis])lacement  could  be  found,  but 
apparent!}'  no  trace  of  it  existed.  The 
reason  is  that  the  stars  are  so  very  far 
away  that  the  greatest  displacement  of 
even  the  nearest  of  them  is  quite  too 
small  to  have  been  detected  with  these 


Fi^.  3.     The  Mi-ridian  Circle   in    the    United   States   Naval   Observatory.    Washington.     An 
instrument  for  determining^  the  positions  of  stars  on  the  sky  with  higrh  accuraey. 


In  exactly  the  same  way,  if  the  earth 
is  really  passing  around  a  circular  path, 
any  star  should  seem  to  be  moving  in 
direction  exactly  opposite  to  that  in 
which  the  earth  is  moving  at  the  instant 
of  observation.  A  little  reflection  will 
show  the  reader  that  the  total  effect  of 
this  apparent  motion  of  the  star  will 
be  to  cause  it  to  apjiarently  describe 
a  small  closed  jiath  in  the  heavens, 
completing  its  circuit  alxjut  this  p;ilh 
in  exactly  one  year. 

Three    centuries    aeo    most    careful 


earl}-  instruments.  In  fact,  very  nearly 
all  of  the  stars  are  so  distant  that  even 
in  our  most  accurate  instruments  they 
seem  not  to  Idc  displaced  in  the  slightest 
degree  while  we  on  the  earth  change 
our  position  186,000,000  of  miles  in 
going  from  one  side  of  our  sun  to  the 
other.  If  in  the  course  of  all  this  jour- 
ney a  star  is  displaced  in  its  position 
on  the  sk}-  b}-  the  thickness  of  the  finest 
spider  thread,  we  can  measure  the  dis- 
placement and  so  lind  the  distance 
awav  of  the  star.    This  work  illustrates 


136 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


probably  better  than  any  other  the  ex- 
traordinary accuracy  of  modern  astro- 
nomical observations. 

There  are  several  different  methods 
employed  for  measuring  these  exces- 
sively minute  displacements.  The  most 
direct  one  is  to  actually  measure  with 
the  so-called  Meridian  Circle  the  suc- 
cessive positions  of  the  star  on  the  sky 
— that  is,  its  distance  above  or  below 
the  Celestial  Equator  and  its  angular 
distance  from  the  Vernal  Equinox.  If 
it  is  found  that  the  point  of  the  sphere 
occupied  by  the  star  does  not  remain 
constant  but  that  it  apparently  moves 
along  a  little  elliptic  curve,  we  know 
that  this  apparent  motion  is  wholly 
due  to  the  nearness  of  the  star.  The 
nearer  the  star  is  to  us  the  greater 
will  be  its  displacement;  the  computa- 
tion of  its  absolute  distance  from  the 
amount  of  its  displacement  is  a  very 
simple  matter. 

Another  method  now  very  exten- 
sively employed  is  to  measure  the  posi- 
tion of  the  nearer  star  with  reference 
to  one  or  more  stars  which  are  so  in- 
finitely far  away  that  these  so-called 
comparison  stars  will  not  seem  to  move 
at  all  as  we  move  around  the  sun.  This 
can  either  be  done  by  direct  measures 
at  the  telescope  or,  as  is  now  more 
usual,  by  photography.  If  at  several 
different  dates  a  very  small  region  of 
the  heavens  about  the  star  whose  dis- 
tance is  to  be  measured  is  photographed 
and  if  the  plates  are  then  carefully 
measured  under  a  microscope,  a  dis- 
placement of  any  one  star  can  thus  be 
found  with  reference  to  the  others. 

It  is  in  this  way  that  the  distances 
of  the  nearer  stars  are  measured,  and 
the  results  are  so  enormous  that  thev 
overwhelm  the  imagination.  We  find 
that  there  is  no  star  so  near  that  the 
light  with  which  we  view  it,  though 
traveling  with  the  inconceivable  velo- 
city of  nearly  200,000  miles  a  second, 
has  occupied  less  than  several  years  in 
coming  to  us.  while  manv  even  of  the 
brighter  stars  are  no  less  than  100  light 
years  awav. 

And  it  is  still  more  remarkable  that 
many  of  the  very  bright  stars  of  the  sky 
are  so  remote  that  thev  undergfo  no  dis- 
placement arising  from  our  motion 
about  the  sun  at  all.  It  mav  be  that 
their  light  has  occupied  thousands  of 
years  in  coming  to  us.  and  it  is  certain 
that  they  are  as  far  as  100  light  years 


away.  The  brilliant  Arcturus  now  so» 
conspicuous  in  the  western  sky  is  one 
of  these.  This  star  is  certainly  many 
thousands  of  times  brighter  than  our 
sun,  for  though  it  seems  so  bright  to 
us  it  is  so  infinitely  remote  that  its- 
distance  cannot  be  measured. 

Truly  the  great  cloud  of  suns  which 
surrounds  us  is  of  so  enormous  a  mag- 
nitude that  our  whole  solar  system 
seems  to  shrink  into  nothing  in  com- 
parison with  it. 


The  Ennobling  Effect  of  Astronomy. 

Dr.  Brashear  recently  spoke  at  the- 
annual  banquet  of  the  Providence 
Society  of  Mechanical  Engineers.  From 
an  account  of  his  address  published  in 
"Popular  Astronomy"  we  quote  the 
following : 

"In  closing,  Dr.  Brashear  spoke  of 
the  lofty  and  ennobling  influence  which 
the  study  of  'the  supreme  science'  has 
upon  the  human  mind  and  soul,  and 
spoke  of  a  well-known  millionaire, 
whose  son  was  not  all  that  his  father 
desired  him  to  be.  The  father  had  gone 
to  Dr.  Brashear  and  asked  him  to  take 
the  son  into  the  Observatory,  and  show 
him  some  of  the  marvels  to  be  seen 
through  the  telescope.  This  the  Doctor 
had  done,  the  young  man  had  become 
interested  in  the  study,  and  the  inevi- 
table ennobling  effect  had  followed. 
The  young  man  is  now  one  of  the  most 
highly  respected  men  in  the  city  where 
he  lives." 


C.  C.  Georgeson,  of  the  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture,  has  been 
doing  some  special  work  on  the  native 
wild  fruits  of  Alaska  with  the  hope  of 
breeding  new  cold-resistant  varieties  of 
the  cultivated  species.  Already  he  has 
produced  nearly  four  thousand  hybrids 
between  the  cultivated  strawberry  and 
wild  sort  that  grows  along  the  Alaskan 
coast.  Other  crosses  between  exotic 
and  native  raspberries,  gooseberries, 
and  currants  have  thus  far  been  less 
successful.  There  is  also  a  wild  Alas- 
kan crab  apple  which  it  has  been  hoped 
to  cross  with  some  of  the  hardiest  of 
our  northern  cultivated  sorts,  since 
even  the  most  resistant  of  these  latter 
are  grown  only  with  the  greatest  dififi- 
cultv  so  close  to  the  Arctic  Circle. 


THE  AGASSIZ  ASSOCIATION 


137 


AQASSIZ  ASSOCIATION' 


k<.<.<i<<^<.<i<s:^^^ 


Established  1n7 


irpoi'iiti'il,   MiissacliUwetts,  ISItL' 


lMfc>i(MM-al.><l,   CoMiiecttcut,  1910 


Stop,  Look,  Listen 

Young  man,  young  woman,  there  are 
two  roads  of  life.  Over  one  you  may 
travel  in  peace  and  calm,  over  the  other 
you  may  rush  forward  with  a  speed  that 
will  finally  crush  3'ou  to  pieces.  Take 
the  quiet  road  of  mental  rather  than  that 
of  material  things.  For  a  time  you  may 
seem  to  have  a  grand  good  time  in  rush- 
ing from  tango  to  bridge  whist  and  the 
cabaret.  There  is  hilarity  in  speeding 
up  to  seventy  miles  an  hour.  Nobody  can 
dispute  that.  But  the  best  things  in  life 
are  not  obtained  at  any  such  reckless 
speed.  There  is  an  advantage  in  a  crowd ; 
one  can  there  forget  for  a  time  every- 
thing but  the  joy  of  life ;  but  reaction 
must  come.  One  cannot  be  continu- 
ously in  a  crowd.  Our  isolation  be- 
comes more  and  more  complete  as  the 
years  go  by.  Long  ago  a  great  w^riter 
said  God  has  set  the  solitary  in  families, 
and  He  has  set  the  lonely  in  communities, 
which  are  just  larger  families.  Learn  to 
have  resources  in  yourself,  depend  less 
and  less  upon  fellow  beings.  The  re- 
sources of  nature  and  of  books  are  more 
permanent  and  ever  more  readily  avail- 
able than  are  the  sources  of  hilarity. 
Mental  things  are  more  enduring  and 
satisfying  than  material.  Happiness  after 
all  is  only  a  state  of  mind.  It  is  easier 
and  pleasanter  to  keep  a  quiet  mind  than 
to  be  in  a  perpetual  ferment. 

This  may  sound  like  preaching.  Per- 
haps it  is  a  sermon,  but  the  advice  is 
good.  Acquire  the  habit  of  being  pleased 
by  small  things  and  by  home  friends.  Not 
many  friends  are  required  to  make  life 
happy,  but  they  must  be  true,  congenial 
and  sympathetic.  One  may  have  a  feel- 
ing of  friendship  and  a  kindly  feeling 
for  a  number  of  people,  but  happiness 
does  not  depend  upon  the  cultivation  of 
hilarious  joys  amid  the  multitude.  Learn 
to  love  the  trees,  the  birds,  but  learn 
more  thoroughly  than  all  else  to  be  on 
friendly  terms  with  yourself  in  your 
quiet  moments. 


An  Ideal  for  Girlhood. 

Our  whole  idea  of  woman's  charm 
and  woman's  place  was  conceived  by 
men.  The  Englishman,  well,  we  will 
say  up  to  the  nineteenth  century,  was 
a  gallant  where  woman's  "charm"  was 
concerned  and  a  brute  where  her 
"place"  was  concerned.  Under  their 
training,  woman  herself  uses  the  same 
terms  in  describing  herself.  It  does  not 
seem  to  occur  to  her  that  the  concep- 
tion was  man-made,  though  she  may 
have,  as  a  girl,  wept  bitter  tears  over 
the  freckles  which  she  believed  robbed 
her  of  her  charm.  We  are  beginning 
to  resent  the  implication,  and  to  insist 
that  woman's  charm  is  the  same  thing 
as  man's  charm.  It  does  not  depend 
upon  a  woman's  hair  and  eyes  and 
complexion  and  willowy  figure  any 
more  than  it  depends  upon  a  man's 
drooping  moustache  and  melancholy 
eyes,  or  that  "genteel  figure"  which 
Kate  Hardcastle  so  much  admired.  Her 
real  attraction  is  not  that  subtle  thing 
which  makes  her  desirable  to  men,  but 
that  nobility  which  makes  her  attrac- 
tive to  God  and  to  mankind.  It  is  the 
way  in  which  she  uses  her  faculties,  her 
opportunities,  her  perceptions  that 
makes  her  a  force  in  the  world. — Alice 
B.  Macdonald  in  "The  Educational 
Review." 


A  Work  of  Great  Value. 

I  see  a  high  work  in  turning  the  eyes 
and  faculties  of  the  youth  to  Nature  as 
a  means  of  laying  a  moral,  intellectual 
and  spiritual  foundation  that  will  be 
wholesome,  sane  and  safe.  I  believe  our 
Infinite  Father  had  this  in  mind  as  well 
as  the  practical  and  material  when  He 
formed  our  environment.  In  many  in- 
stances I  have  been  able  to  trace  an  ex- 
traordinarilv  sweet,  mild  and  gentle  dis- 
position back  to  a  foundation  laid  in  Na- 
ture communion. — Will  Webb  Tuttle, 
^luncie.  Indiana. 


138 


THE  GUIDE   TO  NATURE 


Distinguishing  Male  from  Female 
Canary. 

(in  reply  To  ax  inquiry.) 
The  male  can  usually  be  distinguished 
from  the  female  canary  by  the  fact  that 
it  only  sings.  The  young  males  usually 
begin  to  sing  even  in  the  November  or 
December  of  the  year  in  which  they  have 
been  hatched.  If  the  female  sings  it 
usually  does  so  far  less  perfectly  than 
the  male.  The  only  absolute  criterion  is 
that  the  female  lays  eggs  and  the  male 
does  not. — Charles  B.  Davenport.  The 
Biological  Laboratory,  Cold  Spring  Har- 
bor, New  York. 


The  Protozoa,  remarks  a  recent 
writer  should  not  be  called  "unicel- 
lular" but  "non-cellular." 


The  Fascination  of  Fasciation. 

No  abnormal  plant  growth  seems  to 
attract  more  general  attention  than  fasci- 
ation. For  most  people  fasciation  has 
a  decided  fascination.  Fasciation  occurs 
frequently  in  asparagus,  hyacinth,  gold- 
enrod  and  other  strong  plants.  The 
growths  are  hereditary  in  the  cockscomb 
or  Celosia.  The  causes  of  this  growth 
are  not  known,  but  something  goes 
wrong,  there  is  somewhere  a  kink  that 
leaves  a  kink  in  the  whole  stem.    Profes- 


sor \\'illiam  F.  Ganong  writes  as  fol- 
lows : 

"Fasciations  can  also  be  produced,  by 
the  way,  by  external  injury,  such  as  the 
bites  of  some  insects,  though  wdien  pro- 
duced in  such  manner  they  are  not  hered- 
itary. They  are  of  all  degrees  of  com- 
plexity, down  to  a  simple  forking  of  the 
growing  point,  which  may  sometimes  re- 
sult in  the  formation  of  double  fruits, 
though  these  are  more  often  the  result 
of  the  fusion  of  two  buds  in  a  sort  of 
natural  grafting.  It  is  obvious  that  such 
fasciations  come  very  close  to  the  condi- 
tion which  originates  the  Birdseye  Maple 
or  rather  that  the  latter  in  reality  is  a 
kind  of  fasciation.  It  is  perfectly  im- 
possible to  draw  any  sharp  line  between 
these  different  forms  of  clustered  abnor- 
mal growths,  or  between  external  and 
internal  causes  of  their  formation." 

Of  all  the  examples  that  have  come  to 
ArcAdiA  an  asparagus  stem  presented 
recently  by  Mrs.  Frederick  Gotthold  of 
Cos  Cob,  Connecticut,  a  Member  of  The 
Agassiz  Association  and  close  student  of 
nature,  is  surely  entitled  to  first  pre- 
mium. The  stem  is  three  inches  in  width 
or  a  tririe  more  in  some  places,  and  the 
fascinated  growth  itself  stands  the  length 
of  a  yard  stick  and  yet  if  the  stem  were 
straightened  out  it  would  be  fully  five 
feet  long. 


ASPARAGUS    FASCIATION    SENT    ]5Y    MR.   H.    E.    BEATS,    FI.EMINGTON,    NEW   JERSEY. 


THE  AGASSIZ  ASSOCIATION 


139 


~^^: 


A   MOST   ASTONISHING    SPECIMEN    OF    ASPARAGUS    FASCIATION    FROM    MRS.    FREDERICK 
GOTTHOLD,    COS    COC,    CONNECTICUT. 


140 


THE  GUIDE     TO  NATURE 


Insects  that  Swim  under  Water. 

Professor  C.  R.  Crosby,  of  Cornell 
University,  recently  discovered  an  in- 
teresting insect  {Caraphractus  ductus 
Walker)  that  swims  under  water  in  the 
adult  or  imago  stage,  by  the  aid  of  their 
wings.     He  says : 

"The  adults  of  this  species  seem  per- 
fectly at  home  under  water  and  swim 
quite  rapidly  by  means  of  their  wings 


THESE  INSECTS  ARE  AT  HOME  UNDER  WATER 
AND   SWIM   BY   MEANS   OF  THEIR  WINGS. 


with  a  jerky  motion,  corresponding  to 
the  wing  strokes  made  at  the  rate  of 
about  two  per  second.  The  legs  are 
trailed  behind  and  are  not  used  in 
swimming.  They  spend  much  of  their 
time  walking  nervously  over  the  stems 
of  submerged  plants,  the  surface  of 
which  they  examine  carefully  with  the 
tips  of  their  antennae,  as  if  searching 
for  eggs  in  which  to  oviposit.  They 
are  able  to  walk  on  the  sides  of  the 
glass  aquaria  and  on  the  under  side  of 
the  sm-face  film.  After  transferring 
a  jar  of  water  containing  these  para- 
sites from  one  building  to  another  a 
number  were  found  on  the  upper  side 
of  the  surface  film  in  the  air  and  flew 
across  the  surface  trailing  their  legs 
attached  to  the  film.  They  emerge  from 
the  water  by  crawling  up  some  object 
and  forcing  their  way  through  the  sur- 
face film. 

"We  have  been  vuiable  to  see  any  ex- 
ternal air  supply  carried  by  these 
insects  while  under  water.  While  sub- 
merged they  appear  to  be  perfectly 
wet  but  as  soon  as  they  emerge  into  the 
air  they  seem  to  be  perfectly  dry.  They 
are  able  to  live  submerged  in  water  for 
over  12  hours  in  a  bottle  filled  full  of 
water  and  corked." 


This  is  practically  the  same  as  Poly- 
nema  nataiis  about  which  Lubbock  of 
England  published  fifty-two  years  ago. 
Quite  a  number  of  aquatic  insects  can 
fly  in  the  adult  stage,  but  do  not  use 
their  wings  for  "flying"  through  water. 
They  swim  by  aid  of  their  flattened 
legs. 

Can  any  of  our  readers  give  informa- 
tion of  any  other  insect  that  "flies" 
under  water? 


A  Killdeer  Assists  a  Farmer. 

Stamford  , Connecticut. 
To  the  Editor : 

A  killdeer,  or  ring-necked  snipe  as  it 
is  called  on  the  eastern  end  of  Long 
Island,  selected  our  asparagus  field  as 
her  home.  The  bird  does  not  make  a 
nest,  but  lays  her  four  eggs  anywhere 
on  open  ground  in  the  sunlight.  The 
size  of  the  eggs  is  wonderful.  The  bird 
in  body  is  smaller  than  our  robin,  but 
her  eggs  are  three  times  the  size  of  the 
robin's.  I  am  sorry  we  did  not  take  a 
photograph  when  the  bird  was  near  the 
eggs.  As  we  had  to  cultivate  the  field, 
it  being  a  young  peach  orchard,  the 
trees  eighteen  inches  high,  the  birds  be- 
came used  to  us  although  they  did  not 
cover  the  eggs  in  the  middle  of  the  day, 
if  the  weather  was  clear.  I  think  two 
weeks  were  spent  in  hatching,  but  I  am 
not  certain.  The  result  was  a  bill,  two 
legs  and  a  ball  of  down.  The  yoving 
birds  could  fly  in  two  weeks.  What 
the  old  birds  did  for  me  without  pay, 
if  I  put  a  pecuniary  value  on  their 
labors,  would  have  been  worth  about 
twenty  dollars.  They  kept  an  acre  of 
asparagus  clear  of  the  asparagus 
beetle  for  the  season,  by  eating  them 
all,  with  how  many  other  bugs  I  do  not 
know.  They  now  have  a  lease  of  the 
place  for  as  many  years  as  they  will 
take  it.  The  young  birds  have  left  for 
the  South  ;  the  older  ones  will  go  in  a 
few  days.  Why  the  young  go  first  with 
other  young  birds  I  do  not  know,  but 
as  I  have  gunned  on  the  eastern  end  of 
Long  Island  for  years,  I  do  know  that 
the  young  flight  comes  first,  and  as  a 
rule  on  August  first.  The  flight  of  the 
old  begins  about  two  weeks  later  and 
lasts  till  the  first  of  September.  I  have 
shot  many  ring-necked  snipe,  calling 
them  to  stool  by  a  penny  whistle,  and 
have  thus  destroyed  many  cheap  labor- 
ers that  would  have  helped  the  farmer. 

Yours  truly, 

Robert  L.  Case. 


THE  AGASSIZ  ASSOCIATION 


141 


Centipede  and  Young. 

BY     H.     STUART    DOVE,     WEST    DAVENPORT, 
T  A  S  M  A  N I  A,    A  U  ST  R  A  L I A . 

In  December  last  (midsummer  with 
us  in  Tasmania),  while  splitting"  some 
partly  deca\ed  gum  logs  on  my  land,  I 
exposed  to  light,  in  a  niche  in  the  wood, 
a  large  greenish  centipede,  about  three 
inches  in  length,  curled  round  about 
twenty  young  ones.  The  young  were 
each  nearly  one-half  inch  long,  whitish, 
almost  transparent  and  delicate  in  ap- 
pearance. The  mother  would  not  de- 
sert them  in  spite  of  the  uneasiness 
caused  by  the  sudden  exposure  of  her 
home  to  the  strong  sunlight.  The  shock 
of  the  axe  having  caused  a  partial  dis- 
persal, she  gathered  them  again  as  well 
as  she  could  and  curled  snugly  around 
them.  I  thought  this  was  so  fine  an  in- 
stance of  maternal  care  under  untoward 
circumstances,  that  I  gathered  the  fam- 
ily on  their  piece  of  gum  log  and  placed 
them  under  shelter  where  they  could  ma- 
ture and  be  undisturbed. 


Strange  Vegetation  of  the  Sea. 

BY  MAME  BUXTOX,  REDONDO  BEACH,  CALI- 
FORNIA. 

Msitors  to  the  beaches  of  Southern 
California  view  with  wonder  and  sur- 
prise the  strange  marine  vegetation  that 
is  washed  up  on  the  shore  by  the  fury  of 
the  waves  during  a  storm.     While  there 


X  ^^H 

% 

are  many  beautiful  and  curious  speci- 
mens of  seaweed  the  giant  kelp  is  the 
most  wonderful.  Its  striking  peculiarity 
is  the  bulb  or  air  sack  that  gives  the  plant 
sufficient  bouyancy  to  float  on  the  surface 
of  the  water.  The  foliage,  resembling 
antlers,  grows  out  of  the  top  of  the  bulb, 
and  the  plant  is  anchored  to  the  rocks  at 
the  bottom  of  the  sea  by  a  cord-like  ap- 
pendage that  is  sometimes  300  feet  long. 
It  is  said  to  be  the  longest  plant  in  the 
Avorld.  The  growth  of  the  kelp  is  some- 
times so  extensive  as  to  form  a  natural 
breakwater,  and  sometimes  endangers 
navigation. 

The  value  of  kelp  as  a  fertilizer  has 
led  to  investigations  by  the  Department 
of  Agriculture  with  the  view  to  arous- 
ing interest  in  the  commercial  possibili- 
ties. Germany  has  furnished  the  potash 
used  in  the  United  States,  and  now  that 
the  supply  is  cut  off  doubtless  manufac- 
turies  will  soon  be  erected  along  the  Paci- 
fic coast  for  the  production  of  potash  from 
these  plants,  as  well  as  iodine.  The  kelp 
is  sometimes  used  medicinally  in  glandu- 
lar aft'ections  on  account  of  the  iodine  it 
contains. 


"The  man  who  tamed  the  blueberry, 
Frederick  V.  Coville,  has  been  trying 
his  hand  at  the  still  wilder  Mayflower. 
He  reports  that  the  two  plants  are  much 
alike  in  their  requirements,  since  each 
demands  a  "sour"  soil  that  has  never 
been  treated  with  lime,  manure  or 
chemical  fertilizer.  The  fruit  of  the  Mav- 
flower  is  a  small  edible  berry  not  unlike 
that  of  the  wild  strawberry,  but  much 
smaller,  and  ripening  about  the  same 
time.  This  must  be  collected  by  search- 
ing under  the  leaves  in  June' or  July, 
and  promptly  sown  in  a  mixture  of  one 
part  clean  sand  with  two  parts  upland 
peat,  preferably  from  laurel  thickets. 
The  young  plants  are  repotted  from 
time  to  time,  and  after  exposure  to  win- 
ter cold  are  ready  to  bloom  the  next 
spring.  Under  cultivation  the  blossoms 
are  much  finer  than  in  the  wild  state. 


THE    GIAXT    KELP    IS    THE    MOST    WONDER- 
FUL OF  SEAWEEDS. 


A  recent  German  authority  main- 
tains that  the  irritant  of  the  nettle  is 
not.  as  has  commonly  been  supposed, 
formic  acid,  but  a  substance  of  at 
least  the  general  nature  of  the  pro- 
teins resembling  in  many  respects  an 
■nzyme.  In  other  words,  the  poison 
of  the  nettle  not  unlike  that  of  the 
cobra    and    rattlesnake. 


142 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


A  Milk  Snake  Mimicking  a  Rattler. 

Andover,  Mass. 
To  the  Editor  : 

I  have  just  had  an  adventure  which 
seems  to  cast  doubt  on  the  statement  of 
the  natural  histories  that  the  common 
milk  snake  confines  its  mimicry  of  the 
rattler  to  its  coloring  and  the  trick  of 
shaking  its  tail.  I  found  a  milk  snake, 
some  two  feet  long,,  which  on  being 
annoyed  struck  viciously  at  my  foot 
some  half  dozen  times,  the  blows  com- 
ing in  rapid  succession  and  so  hard  that 
I  felt  the  jar  through  the  thick  boot- 
sole  which  I  presented  to  his  attention. 
Einding  he  made  no  impression  on  the 
leather,  the  animal  tried  apparently  to 
reach  my  shin  by  shooting  straight  up 
into  the  air  nearly  half  his  length.  This 
he  repeated  three  or  four  times.  Mean- 
while he  kept  his  tail  going  like  the 
clapper  of  an  alarm  clock. 

In  fact,  the  whole  imitation  was  so 
very  convincing  that  I  began  to  wonder 
whether  I  might  not  myself  be  mis- 
taken. And  so,  the  chance  for  observa- 
tion not  being  at  all  good,  I  killed  the 
animal,  to  be  on  the  safe  side.  There 
proved  to  be  neither  rattles  nor  any 
sign  of  fangs.  It  was  beyond  all  doubt 
just  a  common  milk  snake. 

Now  I  wonder  wdiether  the  books  are 
wrong  or  whether  this  sort  of  perform- 


ance is  really  uncommon. 
Yours  very  truly. 

Edwin^  Tenney  Brewster. 
Upon  referring-  the  above  to  Raymond 
L.  Ditmars  of  the  Herpetological  De- 
partment of  the  New^  York  Zoological 
Park,  he  writes  as  follows  :  "The  only 
indication  of  mimicry  is  in  shaking  the 
tail.  Eorm  of  body  and  coloration  are 
rather  unlike  the  rattlesnake.  The 
greater  numl^er  of  the  harmless  snakes 
vigorously  put  up  a  defence  when  cor- 
nered and  strike  at  the  enemv." 


Decorative  Fish  Eggs. 

Ocean  Grove,  New  Jersey. 
To  the  Editor  : — 

I  send  with  this  letter  a  small  box 
containing  what  I  take  to  be  the  eggs 
of  some  marine  animal.  I  have  found 
them  before,  but  have  never  been  able 
to  learn  what  they  are. 

During  a  storm  large  numbers  of 
them  were  cast  on  the  beach.  The 
colors  of  the  different  clusters  were  so 
varied  and  so  beautiful  that  they  at- 
tracted considerable  attention. 

I  wish  I  could  send  you  a  picture  of 
some  of  the  clusters  which  I  have  ar- 
ranged in  water  in  a  glass  dish.  The 
colors  run  through  various  soft  shades 
of   brown    and   green,    some   having  a 


•••f#v.^ 


XrfE   DECORATIVE   FISH   EGGS. 


THE  AGASSIZ  ASSOCIATIOX 


143 


reddish  and  some  a  purplish  tinge,  Hke 
amethyst.  One  cluster  is  firmly  at- 
tached to  one  of  our  common  finger 
sponges,  which  rises  out  of  the  center 
in  a  pretty  way. 

Very  truly  yours, 

Emma  \'.\x  Gilluwe. 
The  dried  eggs  appear  to  be  those  of 


point — considers  them  vermin  and  legit- 
imate prey.  The  hunting  instinct  seizes 
ever\-one  at  the  Lodge,  and  when  a 
5ro\vn  object  is  seen  in  a  distant  field  or 
orchard,  Mr.  Burroughs  seizes  his  rifle 
and  creeps  toward  the  railing  of  the 
porch.  Usually  the  woodchuck,  under- 
standing conditions   perfectly,  notes  the 


THE   EIGHTEEN    SPINED   SCXXPIX. 


the  eighteen  spined  sculpin  Myoxocepha- 
liis  octodecimspinosns  (Mitchill),  the 
common  sculpin  of  our  coast  which 
lays  its  eggs  in  masses  attached  usual- 
ly to  seaweeds  in  shallow  water.  In 
storms  these  often  wash  on  shore  in 
great  numbers — Raymond  C.  Osburn, 
Assistant  Director,  New  York  Aqua- 
rium. 


John  Burroughs,   Woodchuck   Hunter. 

^Ir.  Albert  Houghton  Pratt  has  an  in- 
teresting article  in  a  recent  number  of 
"The  Outlook,"  descriptive  of  his  visit 
to  the  home  of  John  Burroughs,  at  West 
Park,  New  York.  Among  the  illustra- 
tions is  a  full  jage  of  Mr.  Bur- 
roughs as  a  woodchuck  hunter.  Most 
of  us  think  of  this  famous  natural- 
ist as  an  observer  rather  than  a  shooter 
of  animals,  but  it  appears  that  between 
him  and  woodchucks  there  is  a  point 
where  patience  ceases  to  be  a  virtue. 
When  the  woodchucks  become  a  pest, 
Jlr.  Burroughs  does  not  hesitate  to  get 
after  them  with  his  rifle.  Mr.  Pratt 
writes  as  follows : 

"Woodchuck  Lodge  lives  up  to  its 
name.  The  reason  for  its  being  so  called 
is  apparent  on  all  sides,  and  is  never  lost 
sight  of.  Woodchuck  holes  are  visible 
everywhere.  ^Ir.  Bunoughs — looking 
at  woodchucks  from  the  farmer's  stand- 


movement,  even  if  a  hundred  yards 
away,  and  disappears  into  his  hole.  If, 
however,  he  is  seen  over  the  barrel  of  the 
gun — it  usually  means  one  woodchuck 
less.  One  day  I  saw  i\Ir.  Burroughs  dis- 
pose of  five  of  the  rodents  with  six  shots. 
This  warfare  does  not  tend  toward  ex- 
termination, for  nothwithstanding  it  the 
woodchucks  are  as  numerous  as  ever. 

"So,  whether  trying  his  skill  as  a 
marksman  on  woodchucks.  contemplat- 
ing nature,  or  thinking  and  writing  about 
the  new  discoveries  in  chemistry  and  the 
new  conceptions  of  matter,  the  best  days 
of  the  year  for  ]\Ir.  Burroughs  are  those 
spent  at  Woodchuck  Lodge." 


]\Ir.  P.  J.  O'Gara,  American  Smelting 
and  Refining  Company,  Salt  Lake  City, 
Utah,  is  interested  in  white  English 
Sparrows  and  asks  for  notes  on  their 
occurrence  in  normal  flocks. 


Dr.  Otto  x\ppel,  of  the  Berlin,  Ger- 
many, Agricultural  Experiment  Sta- 
tion, finds  that  the  dift'erent  resistance 
to  disease  of  various  sorts  of  potato 
depends  largely  on  the  rapidity  with 
which  small  wounds  heal.  Some  varie- 
ties begin  to  "skin  over"  a  wound  in  six 
b.ours,  while  others  let  it  remain  open 
for  forty-eight.  The  former,  therefore, 
may  escape  infection  to  which  the 
latter  succumb. 


144 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


The  Rattlesnake's  Worst  Enemy. 

Aiken,  South  CaroHna. 
To  the  Editor  : — 

Some  years  ago  while  I  was 
riding  in  Atascosa  County  on  the 
Frio  River  in  southwest  Texas,  a 
rattlesnake  crossed  the  road  about 
twenty-five  yards  in  front  of  me, 
and  looked  back  as  though  he  were  being- 
pursued.  He  paid  not  the  least  attention 
to  the  sounds  of  the  horse's  hoofs,  al- 
though as  a  rule  rattlesnakes  will  coil  at 
any  sound  and  prepare  for  fight.  To  see 
what  was  going  on  I  stopped  my  pony. 
The  rattler  had  not  advanced  more  than 
fifteen  or  twenty  feet,  when  a  blacksnake 
appeared.  I  knew  that  a  blacksnake  will 
kill  and  swallow  any  other  kind  of  snake, 
so  I  waited  to  witness  the  struggle.  In 
a  cleared  space  in  the  mesquite.  a  few 
steps  from  the  road,  the  rattler  was 
coiled  ready  for  the  battle  that  he  seemed 
to  know  must  be  fought.  With  his  rattles 
hissing,  a  menace  and  warning  to  man 
and  beast,  his  eyes  glaring  fiery  hate  at 
the  enemy,  he  waited. 

The  blacksnake,  his  head  slightly  lifted, 
his  eyes  on  his  victim,  approached  the 
edge  of  the  clear  space.  With  a  slo\v 
and  deliberate  movement  he  circled 
around  his  enemy.  Faster  and  faster  he 
made  the  round,  and  the  rattler  followed 
the  movement  with  his  head — faster  and 
faster  until  I  could  see  only  a  black  streak 
and  a  film  of  floating  dust.  The  rattle- 
snake's head  steadily  followed  the  mov- 
ing streak.  A  sudden  silence.  The 
lilacksnake  had  crossed  the  circle  and  w^as 
eyeing  his  victim  that  was  again  coiled, 
his  head  showing  signs  of  weakness,  and 
his  rattle  only  faintly  hissing.  In  the 
twinkling"  of  an  eye,  the  blacksnake 
caught  him  behind  the  head,  and  coiled 
himself  around  the  rattler  and  stretched 
himself  until  I  heard  the  rattler's  bones 
crack  and  snap.  When  the  blacksnake 
made  the  dart  at  the  rattler,  the  latter 
struck  himself  on  the  back,  pouring  all 
his  poison  into  his  own  body. 

Then  I  went  my  way,  knowing  that 
I  had  that  day  seen  a  battle  that  I  was 
not  likelv  to  witness  again. 

W.  D.  Kkrshaw. 


What  "The  Evening  Star''  Says. 

"The  Star"  today  has  given  over  con- 
siderable space  to  the  annual  statement 
of  the  Agassiz  Association  because  "The 
Star"  wants  to  help  along  Dr.  Bigelow 
and  the  others  who  are  engaged  with  him 
in  his  work  at  ArcAdiA. 

The  public  ought  to  read  every  word 
of  the  statement  and  those  of  the  public 
who  can  afford  it  should  put  their  hands 
down  in  their  pockets  and  "shell  out." 
The  Agassiz  Association  or  AA  as  it  is 
abbreviated  is  doing  a  good  work,  a 
public  work,  and  one  that  the  public 
ought  to  appreciate. 

There  are  many  institutions  in  Con- 
necticut receiving  regular  grants  from 
the  general  assembly  each  year.  ]Many  of 
these  are  much  less  worthy  than  the 
AA's  ArcAdiA  at  Sound  Beach. 

This  matter  should  be  put  up  to  the 
next  general  assembly. 

Until  then  the  institution  must  con- 
tinue to  rely  upon  the  public  as  a  whole. 
If  anybody  doubts  the  statement  that  the 
AA  is  a  thing  that  should  be  encouraged, 
let  him  go  to  Sound  Beach  and  visit 
ArcAdiA.  If  he  goes  to  scoff  he  will 
remain  to  pray.  There  isn't  another  thing- 
like  it  in  Connecticut,  perhaps  not  in  the 
country. 

It  is  invaluable — or  could  be  made  so 
— to  the  sch(X)l  children  in  this  section  of 
the  state.  Nature  study  is  part  of  the 
curriculum  of  the  schools.  Botany  is 
taught  in  the  High  school.  If  these  bud- 
ding botanists  would  go  to  ArcAdiA  to 
supplement  their  "book-learning"  they 
would  get  a  new  idea  of  nature  and  its 
wonders. 

To  sum  it  all  up,  ArcAdiA  is  built  for 
use.  It  can  be  used  by  anybody  who  has 
a  serious  wish  to  study  nature.  It  is 
not,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  a  playground,  al- 
though part  of  it  is  ideal  for  that  pur- 
pose. It  is  a  place  for  serious  work,  and 
it  is  up  to  students  of  nature  to  interest 
themselves  in  its  opportunities  and  then 
they  will  be  able  to  share  its  responsibili- 
ties.— The  Evening  Star,  Stamford. 


Report  comes  of  the  finding  of  a 
mastodon  tusk  in  glacial  gravels, 
twelve  miles  southwest  of  Ithaca,  Ncaa' 
York.  The  fossil  has  been  presented 
to  the  Cornell  ^Museum. 


The  famous  Zoological  Station  at  Na- 
ples, among  the  oldest  and  best  equipped 
institutions  of  its  sort  in  the  world,  is  in 
a  serious  condition  financially  owing  to 
the  withdrawal  of  German  support.  It 
is  proposed  that  the  American  universi- 
ties take  up  the  places  in  the  laboratories 
left  vacant  bv  the  nations  at  war. 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE.— ADVERTISEMENTS.  XI 


pt  iT-ir^T-ii  n-fr>i-fi  -n-fr\i-fr  ii-tr«i-ii —  H^ 

IF  YOU  ARE  A  USER  OF  PAPER  WE  WISH  TO  INTEREST 

YOU  IN  THE  FAMOUS 

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They  embody  the  best  products  of  the  foremost  mills  of  this  country 
and  cover  every  conceivable  requirement.  Complete  stocks  are  on  hand 
of  the  renowned  Warren  Standard  Book  Papers — 

"LUSTRO,"  "CAMEO,"  "CUMBERLAND,"  Etc. 

Our  selection  of  Fine  Cover  Papers  is  unsurpassed. 
Samples  furnished  gladly  to  those  who  are  interested. 
We  invite  your  inquiry. 

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We  cordially  invite  you  to  visit  our  Nurseries  and  see  these  surpris- 
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We  wish  especially  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  we  are  growers  and  having 
expensive  land  and  experience  are  able  to  discriminate  with  care  and  con- 
fidence the  finest  in  every  line  of  Horticulture. 

EVERGREENS 

In  an  unrivaled  selection,  rare  and  complete. 

HARDY  OLD-FASHIONED  FLOWERS 

A  v/onderful  assortment  including-  Peonies  and  Iris 

SPRING-FLOWERING  BULBS 

(  )nly  the  best  in  quality  and  variety. 

OUR  NEW  HYBRID  GIANT  -  FLOWERING  MARSHMALLOW 

The  wonder  of  the  age  in  striking  color.     Flowering  now. 

You  can  obtain  by  request  our  Illustrated  General  Catalog  No.  f  6  the 
most  completeand  up-to-date  book  of  its  kind,  also  our  Autumn  Bulb  Catalog 
We  "Plan  and  "Plant  Grounds  and  Gardens  Everywhere 


Nurserymen,  Florists  and  Planters  RUTHERFORD    N.  J. 


XII 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE  LITERARY  NOTES 


A    Popular   Handbook   to   the    Microscope, 

By  Lewis  Wright.     London:  The  Religious 

Tract  Society. 

This  is  the  only  book  on  the  microscope 
published  from  the  standpoint  of  religious 
interest  that  has  come  to  the  reviewer's  desk. 
The  author   says  : 

"The  Microscope,  then,  has  deserved  well 
of  the  Christian  believer;  and  it  is  to  be 
lioped  that  this  may  not  be  the  last  work  the 
Religious  Tract  Society  may  see  fit  to  publish 
concerning  the  marvels  it  unfolds  to  us,  upon 
which  part  of  the  subject  very  limited  space 
has  prevented  any  enlargement  in  this  little 
volume." 

This  is  indeed  a  good  point  of  view  and 
merits  heart}'  commendation  from  our  Asso- 
ciation whose  motto  is  "Per  Naturam  ad 
Deum."  The  book  is  up-to-date,  convenient, 
and   contains   good   material   in   concise    form. 

Love  and  Service  of  Country.  B3'  Frede- 
rick J.  Gould,  17  Johnson's  Court,  Fleet 
Street,  E.  C,  London,  England:  Watts  & 
Company. 

This  booklet  of  some  thirty  pages  has 
just  reached  America.  It  is  one  of  the 
strongest   and   wisest   little   books   that    the 


At  your  dealer  or  direct 
OUTING  PUBLISHING 


OUNTRY     LIFE 

L.  C.  Corbett,  Chief  of  the 
Plant  Bureau  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture  and  other 
experts  tell  you  "how  to"'  in 
plain  language  in 

OUTING  HANDBOOKS 

Intensive  Farming.  Apple  Growing.  Prof- 
itable Breeds  of  Poultry.  Pigeon  Rais- 
ing. Suburban  Gardens.  The  Horse, 
Its  Breeding,  Care  and  Use. 

Thirty-eight  other  HANDBOOKS  on 
other  phases  of  outdoor  life.   Catalog  free. 

Seventy  Cents,   postage  five  cents  extra. 

COMPANY,  141  W.  36th  St.,  New  York 


war  has  brought  forth.  Li  the  preface  we 
read : 

"The  European  War  of  1914-15  has  con- 
centrated the  mind  of  the  world,  by  a  sad 
necessity,  upon  the  military  forms  of  pa- 
triotism. The  present  pamphlet  seeks  to 
emphasize  the  non-aggressive  aspects  of 
love  and  service  of  one's  country.  " 

The  true  scientific  method  in  bringing 
out  ''love  and  service"  is  shown  in  this 
pamphlet.  To  be  conscious  of  keen  patriot- 
ism in  the  activities  of  life  is  noble,  but  let 
patriotism  prove  grander  results  than 
through   bloodshed! 

Air.  Gould  is  an  English  author  and  lec- 
turer. He  has  devoted  his  life  to  pioneer 
work  for  humanity. 

The  pamphlet  may  be  used  by  both 
teachers  and  speakers.  It  is  filled  with 
ideas   for  both   old   and  young. 


An  Illustrated  Catalogue  of  American  In- 
sect Galls.  By  Alillett  Taylor  Thompson, 
Ph.  D.  Published  and  distributed  by 
Rliode  Island  Hospital  Trust  Company, 
Executor,  in  accordance  with  the  provis- 
ions.of  the  will  of  S.  Millett  Thompson. 
Edited  by  E.  P.  Felt,  Nassau,  Rensselear 
County,   New  York. 

This  interesting  publication  was  needed. 
It  fills  an  important  and  previously  unoc- 
cupied field.  Its  pictures  of  a  large  number 
of  galls  will  be  convenient  in  getting  the 
names  but  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  more 
matter  descriptive  of  galls  has  not  been  in- 
cluded to  teach  us  something  more  about 
them.  The  book  neglects  to  tell  what  a 
gall   is. 

Alanj'  years'  experience  with  boys  and 
girls  has  shown  that  galls  are  interesting 
objects  to  them.  They  are  intrinsically  in- 
teresting to  everybody.  Why  does  not 
some  one  write  a  book  to  tell  what  they 
are  and  to  describe  the  insects  that  cause 
them,  their  life  historj-  as  well  as  the  struc- 
ture of  the  plant  malformation? 


II' 


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IN     THIS      NUMBER 

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.         IT  IS  EDITED 

BY  HARRY  G.  HIGBEE 

13     AUSTIN    STREET,     HYDE    PARK.    MASSACHUSETTS 


THE  HEARTY  COOPERATION  OF  ALL  BIRD 
LOVERS  IS  CORDIALLY  INVITED 


Vol.  VIII 
No.  5 


October  1915 


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MANAGING  EDITOR 


Subscription,  $1.00  a  Year.     Single  Copies,  10  Cents 


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THE    EDITION    DE  LUXE 
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As   Trustee 

Under  this  term  are  several  forms  of  serv- 
ice covered  by  The  Greenwich  Trust 
Company,  such  as:  Administration  of  es- 
tates left  without  wills,  receiver  or  assignee 
of  enterprises  in  financial  difficulties;  agent 
for  persons  who  want  to  be  relieved  of  the 
management  of  their  own  business  and 
property  affairs. 

A  corporation  is  better  than  an  individual, 
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THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE.— ADVERTISEMENTS. 


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THE  GUIDE   TO  N ATU RE.— ADVERTISEMENTS. 


TRADE    MARK    REGISTERED 

NO  CHANCE  FOR  AN  ARGUMENT. 

When  you  and  the  "man  next  door"  have  those 
Sunday  morning  discussions,  you  differ  on  many 
points. 

Makes  of  tires,  brands  of  oil,  body  design,  rela- 
tive merits  of  fours,  sixes  and  eights — all  of  these 
you  can  find  arguments  for  and  against. 

But  when  you  consider  storage  batteries  you 
agree  that  the  Willard  satisfies  all  your  require- 
ments for  starting  and  lighting.  And  nobody 
questions  the  value  of  Willard  Service  Stations — 
they  have  proved  indispensable  to  owners  every- 
where. 

If  you  haven't  learned  the  advantages  of  an 
acquaintance  with  Willard,  now's  the  time  to 
begin. 

Willard  performance  and  service  are  two  big 
elements  in  the  successful  operation  of  85%  of 
American  makes  of  electrically  equipped  motor 
cars. 

We  are  agents  and  service  station  of  Willard 
Storage  Battery  Co. 

FAIRBANKS  ELECTRIC  COMPANY 

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Evervthing  Electrical. 


The  Egotism  of  Youth. 

It  was  commencement  evening.  A 
youth  rose  to  deliver  his  oration.  His  sub- 
ject was   "Light."     He   began: 

"  'In  the  beginning  God  said,  Let  there 
be  Hght :  and  there  was  light.'  Now  let 
us  consider  some  of  the  modern  improve- 
ments."— Canadian   Monthly. 


Less  Than  Human, 
Tom,  the  country  six-year-old,  pre- 
senting himself  one  day  in  even  more 
than  his  usual  state  of  dust  and  dis- 
order, was  asked  by  his  mother  if  he 
would  not  like  to  be  a  little  city  boy, 
and  always  be  nice  and  clean  in  white 
suits  and  shoes  and  stockings.  Tom 
answered  scornfully :  "They're  not 
children  ;  they're  pets."  —  Harper's 
Monthly. 


Interrupted  Story. 

Supper  was  in  progress  and  the  father 
was  telling  about  a  row  which  took  place 
in  front  of  his  store  that  morning.  "The 
first  thing  I  saw  was  one  man  deal  the 
other  a  sounding  blow,  and  then  a  crowd 
gathered.    The  man  who  was  struck  ran 


Citizens    Savings 
Bank 


OF  STAMFORD,  CONN. 


Assets 


$4,300,000.00 


A  Savings  Account  is  the  best 
investment  for  your  Money 
To  foster  the  Habit  of  Saving 
We  make  Small  Deposits  a 
Specialty.  A  Dollar  or  more 
will  Start  You  and  give  you  a 
small    bank    for    home    savings. 


WILLIAM  D.  SMITH. 


President 


CHARLES  D.  LOCKWOOD, 

Vice  President 

WALTER  E.  HOUGHTON. 

Sec'y  and  Trees. 


and  grabbed  a  large  shovel  he  had  been 
using  on  the  street  and  rushed  back,  his 
eyes  flashing  fire.  I  thought  he'd  surely 
knock  the  other  man's  brains  out  and  I 
stepped  right  in  between  them." 

The  }'Oung  son  of  the  family  had  be- 
come so  hugely  interested  in  the  narra- 
tive as  it  proceeded  that  he  had  stopped 
eating  his  pudding.  So  proud  was  he 
of  his  father's  valor  his  eyes  fairly 
shone,  and  he  cried : 

"He  couldn't  knock  any  brains  out  of 
you,  could  he,  father?" 

Father  looked  at  him  long  and  ear- 
nestly, but  the  lad's  countenance  was 
frank  and  open. 

Father  gasped  slightly  and  resumed 
his   supper. — Lippincott's    Magazine. 


12  New  Bulbs,  10c 

Together  with  a.  Complete  Treatise  on 
the  Culture  of  Hardy  Bulbs  both  indoors 
and  out,  and  our  beautiful  Catalogue — 

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HOMES  NEAR  TO  NATURE 


Homes  Near  to  Nature.  architect  to  supply  further  information. 

The  Guide  to  Nature  intends  to  pub-  We   begin   the   series   with   a   pleasing 

lish  a  series  of  plans  for  suburban  or  design  and  convenient  arrangement  for 

country  homes  with  estimates  of  cost,  a  home  near  to  nature  that  can  be  built 


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Detailed  specifications  may  be  obtained    for  $4,175. 

by    addressing    this    office.      We    have         The  exterior  is  of  stucco,  with  shin- 
made    arrangements    with    an    expert     gle  roof. 


146 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


The  first  floor  provides  for  a  porch 
across  the  entire  front  of  house,  with  a 
living  room  of  exceptional  dimensions 
provided  with  a  fireplace. 

The  kitchen  is  almost  square  and 
connects  with  the  dining  room  by  a 
small  pantry.  Two  good  closets  are 
also  provided.  There  is  a  small  porch 
at  the  rear. 

The  second  floor  is  complete  with 
four  bed  rooms,  a  fair  sized  bath  room 
and  a  hall. 

Following  is  an  itemized  cost  of  con- 
struction : 


publi5her;s 


Excavation  $150 

Stonework  $200 

Brickwork  $125 

Carpenter  work  $800 

Plastering  $800 

Lumber  $600 

Millwork  $900 

Painting  and  Glazing  $150 

Plumbing,  etc.  $200 

Hardware  $85 

Hot  air  heating  $125 

Range  $40 

$4  J  75 

NOTICES 


Tis  not  in  mortals  to  COMMAND  success,  but  we'll  do  more,    Sempronius,    we'll    DESERVE    IT. 

—Addison:     Cato 


The  Slingerland  Insect  Slides. 

It  is  with  special  pleasure  that  we 
call  attention  to  the  advertisement  in 
this  number  of  the  Slingerland  lantern 
slides  of  insects.  They  are  used  at 
ArcAdiA  to  the  delight  oi  the  visitors 
that  have  seen  them  on  the  screen. 
They  are  colored  true  to  nature  and  are 
sharply  and  clearly  defined  on  the  can- 
vas. They  are  in  every  respect  first- 
class. 


High  Awards  for  Dog  Foods. 

Gold  Medal  and  Highest  Award  for 
dog  foods  at  the  Panama-Pacific  Expo- 
sition has  been  given  to  Spratt's  Patent. 
Newark,  New  Jersey. 

Is  this  surprising  when  you  are  told 
that  at  three  (3)  shows  recently,  over 
3000  prizes  were  won  by  dogs  fed  regu- 
larly and  exclusively  on  Spratt's  Dog 
Foods? 

The  products  manufactured  by  this 
company  have  been  on  the  market  for 
over  fifty  years.  During  this  period 
they  have  received  the  highest  honors 
at  all  the  principal  national  and  inter- 
national expositions,  a  convincing  proof 
that  merit  wins  in  the  long  run. 

There  are  more  prize-winners  reared 
and  fed  on  Spratt's  Dog  Foods  than  on 
all  others  combined. 

Spratt's  will  bench  and  feed  the 
Panama-Pacific  Dog,  Poultrv,  Cat  and 


Pet  Stock  Shows.  These  exhibitions 
are  among  the  largest  and  most  impor- 
tant held  in  this  country  and  the  fact 
that  the  contracts  for  all  the  above  men- 
tioned shows  have  been  awarded  to  this 
well  known  firm  speaks  volumes  for 
their  up-to-date  methods,  efficiency,  etc. 


Get  the  Right  Camera  and  Lens. 

The  Goerz  hand  cameras  equipped 
with  the  Goerz  lenses,  the  result  of 
twenty-five  years  painstaking  research 
work,  are  offered  in  a  variety  of  styles 
and  lenses.  The  editor  believes  that 
every  form  of  hand  camera,  if  the  ex- 
pense can  be  met,  should  be  equipped 
with  an  anastigmat.  The  difference 
between  the  price  of  an  ordinary  lens 
and  that  of  an  anastigmat  is  large,  but 
the  result  is  well  worth  the  increase. 
Good  work  is  occasionally  done  with 
the  simpler  form  of  lens,  but  the  anas- 
tigmat is  the  most  satisfactory,  and  as- 
sures the  largest  percentage  of  success. 
The  Goerz  people  have  devised  a  cam- 
era that  for  convenience  is  ideal,  and 
have  equipped  it  with  anastigmat  lens- 
es, because  they  are  not  satisfied  with 
a  moderate  percentage  of  success  but 
want  every  exposure  to  be  the  best  pos- 
sible. Send  for  their  new  booklet, 
"Goerz  Lenses."  Address  C.  P.  Goerz 
American  Optical  Company,  317  East 
Thirtv-fourth   Street.   New 'York  Citv. 


Published  monthly  by  The  Agassiz  Association,  ArcAdiA:  Sound  Beach,  Connecticut, 

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Vol 


VllI 


OCTOBER. 


Number  5 


A  Well-Equipped  Chemical  Laboratory 

By  EDWARD  F.  BIGELOW,  ARCADIA:  Sound  Beach,  Connecticut 


PROFESSOR  Frederick  H.  Getman, 
for  several  years  professor  of  chem- 
istry at  Bryn  Mawr  College,  has 
decided  to  devote  his  time  to  original 
research  in  chemistry,  and  for  that  pur- 
pose has  recently  completed  an  ideally 
equipped  laboratory  on  the  steep  hill- 
side in  the  rear  of  his  home  on  Glen- 
brook  Road,  and  has  very  appropri- 
ately named  it  The  Hillside  Labora- 
tory. The  writer  believes  that  not  only 
locally,  but  generalh%  there  is  keen  in- 
terest in  this  kind  of  work.  For  this 
reason  we  publish  the  accompanying 
photographs  and  this  description  of  the 
laboratory  and  its  ecpiipment.  Dr.  Get- 
man is  well-known  locally  on  account 
of  his  active  interest  in  our  Stamford 
High  School  as  a  teacher  in  chemistry 
and  physics. 

This  Laboratory  is  a  single-story 
building,  thirty  feet  long  and  twenty 
wide.  One  enters  it  through  a  small 
vestibule  into  a  well-lighted  office 
where,  in  addition  to  the  usual  office 
furniture,  is  a  library  of  about  five 
hundred  volumes  bearing  upon  Physics 
and  Chemistry,  together  with  files  of 
the  more  important  chemical  journals. 


From  the  office,  a  doorway  leads  into 
the  main  laboratory,  which  is  devoted 
to  measurements  of  precision.  Near 
the  center  of  the  room  a  marble  slab 
resting  upon  two  brick  piers  free  from 
all  vibration,  serves  as  a  support  for 
an  analytical  balance  and  a  cathetom- 
eter. 

hi  this  room  are  two  stills,  one  for 
the  distillation  of  the  city  water,  the 
other  for  the  distillation  of  the  product 
from  the  first  still  The  distilled  w^ater 
obtained  from  the  second  still  is  of  so 
high  a  degree  of  purity  that  its  electri- 
cal conductance  is  only  0.000002  recip- 
rocal ohms. 

Among  other  special  pieces  of  appara- 
tus in  use  in  this  room  may  be  mentioned 
a  large  electrically  controlled  thermo- 
stat bath,  capable  of  maintaining  its 
contents  at  any  desired  temperature 
between  that  of  the  room  and  35°C., 
with  a  maximum  variation  of  o°.oi  ;  a 
potentiometer  permitting  direct  read- 
ings of  electromotive  force  to  hundred- 
thousandths  of  a  volt,  and  an  apparatus 
for  metallurgical  photomicrography. 
An  apparatus-case  in  the  same  room 
contains  other  fine  specimens  of  the 
instrument    maker's    skill,    such    as    a 


Copyright    1915   by  The  Agassiz   Association,   AkcAdiA:    Sound   Beach,   Coin 


148 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


DR.   FREDERICK   H.   GETMAN   OF 


STAMFORD,    C(  )N N EC 
TORY. 


ICLr,    AND    HIS    HILLSIDE    LAUORA- 


w^ave-leiigth  spectroscope,  a  polarime- 
ler  and  a  refractometer. 

A-djoining  the  main  laljoratory  is  a 
dark  room  especially  arranged  for 
scientific  photography. 

Beyond  the(main  laboratory  is  a  small- 
er apartment  devoted  to  purely  chemi- 
cal  work.  In  this  the  desks  are  equip- 
ped with  water,  gas,  and  electricity, 
while  a  fume-closet  connected  with  a 
special  flue  in  the  chimney  serves  to 
•carry  off  noxious  gases. 

Adjoining  the  chemical  laboratory  is 
a  small  room  for  the  storage  of  chemi- 
cals. 

Owing  to  its  situation  upon  the  side 
of  a  hill,  a  well  lighted  basement  is 
secured.  Here  is  installed  a  one  kilo- 
watt motor  generator  furnishing  direct 
current  for  experimental  purposes,  and 
for  charging  the  laboratory  storage- 
battery.  The  basement  also  contains  a 
work  bench  well  stocked  with  tools, 
the  nucleus  of  a  future  shop,  and  ample 
•shelves  for  the  storage  of  laboratory 
•glass-ware. 

The  building  is  heated  throughout  by 
"hot  water,  and  is  lighted  by  electricity. 

The  Hillside  Laboratory  was  plan- 
ned primarily  for  physico  chemical  re- 
search along  lines  already  developed 
by  its  owner. 


At  the  present  time  certain  interest- 
ing phenomena  connected  with  the 
metals  are  under  investigation.  In  the 
course  of  a  series  of  experimental  stu- 
dies conducted  by  Dr.  Getman  several 
years  ago  at  BrynMawr  College,  certain 
peculiarities  were  noted  in  the  electri- 
cal behavior  of  metallic  cadmium  when 
it  is  immersed  in  an  aqueous  solution 
of  one  of  its  own  salts.  During  the 
past  year  this  phenomenon  has  been 
studied  much  more  thoroughly,  and 
several  exceedingly  interesting  facts 
have  been  clearly  established. 

When  a  stick  of  cadmium  is  immers- 
ed in  an  aqueous  solution  of  cadmium 
iodide,  a  difference  of  potential  between 
the  metal  and  the  solution  is  developed. 

Lest  the  term  difference  of  potential 
be  unfamiliar  to  some  of  the  readers  of 
this  magazine  it  may  not  be  amiss  to 
attempt  to  make  its  meaning  clearer- 
If  two  tanks  of  water,  A  and  B,  be  con- 
nected lDy  a  pipe,  and  the  water  flow^s 
from  A  to  B,  we  infer  that  the  hydro- 
static pressure  at  the  point  where  the 
pipe  leaves  A  is  greater  than  it  is  where 
it  enters  B,  and  we  attribute  the  flow 
to  this  difference  of  pressure.  Similarly 
if  two  bodies.  A  and  B,  are  connected 
by  a  conducting  wire  and  an  electric 
charge  is  found  to  pass  from  A  to  B 


A  WELL  EQUIPPED  CHEMICAL  LABORATORY 


149 


we  say  that  the  potential  of  A  is  higher 
than  that  of  B,  and  the  cause  of  the 
current  is  assigned  to  the  difference  of 
potential  between  the  two  bodies.  Dif- 
ference of  potential  may  thus  be 
thought  of  as  a  difference  of  electrical 
le\el.  The  unit  in  which  difTerence  of 
potential  is  measured  is  called  the  volt. 

It  was  found  that  freshly  cast  sticks 
of  cadmium  were  negative  to  the  solu- 
tion of  cadmium  iodide  in  which  they 
were  immersed,  but  the  magnitude  of 
this  difference  was  not  constant  under 
apparently  identical  conditions.  Upon 
prolonged  immersion  in  the  solution  of 
cadmium  iodide,  however,  a  constant 
dift'erence  of  potential  was  established, 
the  average  difference  between  the  ini- 
tial and  final  values  being  abottt  0.0093 
volt. 

\^arious  hypotheses  were  advanced 
to  account  for  these  facts,  but  the  only 
one  which  has  thus  far  survived  the 
searching  test  of  experiment,  is  that 
which  assumes  the  existence  of  two  or 
more  forms  of  the  metal  cadmium. 
Such  different  forms  of  the  same  ele- 
ment are  known  as  allotropic  tnodifica- 
tions, 

Allotropic  modifications  of  an  element 
undergo  transformation  from  one  form 
into  the  other  at  a  definite  temperature 


known  as  the  transition  temperature. 
Obviously  at  this  particular  tempera- 
ture there  should  be  no  difference  be- 
tween the  electrical  behavior  of  freshly 
cast  cadmium  and  that  which  has  been 
immersed  for  some  hours  in  a  solution 
of  cadmium  iodide.  This  was  actually 
found  to  be  the  case  at  about  70°  C. 
Therefore,  this  temperature  may  be 
considered  as  a  close  approximation  to 
the  transition  temperature  of  the  two 
forms  of  cadmium. 

Furthermore,  if  we  were  to  construct 
a  cell  having  for  its  two  poles  sticks 
of  freshly  cast  cadmium,  and  cadmium 
which  had  been  transformed  by  pro- 
longed immersion  in  a  solution  of  cad- 
mium iodide,  and  having  as  an  electro- 
lyte a  solution  of  a  cadmium  salt,  the 
direction  of  the  current  furnished  by 
such  a  cell  should  be  conditioned  by 
its  temperature.  Below  7o°C  the  fresh- 
ly cast  electrode  should  be  positive, 
while  above  70°  it  should  be  negative. 

A  careful  series  of  experiments 
served  to  completely  verify  the  correct- 
ness of  this  prediction. 

Among  other  facts  it  was  observed 
that  whereas  freshly  cast  cadmium  has 
a  bright  silvery  lustre,  that  which  has 
been  immersed  in  a  solution  of  a  cad- 
mium salt  for  twenty-four  hours  ac- 
quires a  dull  gray  color. 


THE  OFFICE  OF  THE  HILLSIDE  LABOliATORV, 


T50 


thp:  guide  to  nature 


A  CORNER  IX  THE  MAIN  LABORATORY. 


It  therefore  seemed  of  interest  to 
subject  the  surface  of  the  metal  before 
and  after  immersion  to  microscopical 
examination. 

The  results  of  such  observation  were 
more    than    g-ratifvinQ-    as    the    accom- 


Danying-  photomicrographs  will  show. 
The  appearance  of  a  piece  of  freshly 
cast  cadmium,  polished  and  etched  in 
nic.ic  acid,  is  shown  in  Fig.  i,  the  mag- 
nification being  two  hundred  diameters. 
After  five  weeks  immersion  in  a  solu- 


AIAIN    LAliORATORV    SHOWING   VIBRATION-FREE    SUPPORTS. 


A  WELL  EQUIPPED  CHE^IICAL  LABORATORY 


i^i 


FIG. 


>i     FRESHLY 
MIUM. 


CAST    CAD- 


tion  of  cadmium  iodide,  the  metal  ap- 
peared, under  a  magnification  of  one 
hundred  diameters,  as  shown  in  Fig.  2. 

That  we  are,  in  fact,  dealing  with 
allotropic  modifications  of  cadmium 
can  no  longer  be  doubted.  Further- 
more the  change  in  crystalline  form  is 
from  a  lower  to  a  higher  degree  of  sym- 
metry, which  is  as  it  should  be,  if  the 
freshly  cast  metal  is  to  be  more  electro- 
positive than  the  gray  modification. 

Other  lines  of  evidence  are  being 
accumulated  to  confirm  the  correctness 
of  the  view  that  cadmium  exists  in  at 
least  two  allotropic  modifications. 

It  is  of  interest  to  point  out  that  simi- 
lar results  have  recently  been  obtained 
bv  Professor  Ernst  Cohen  of  Utrecht, 
Holland. 

He  has  succeeded  in  showing  that 
ordinary  freshl}^  cast  cadmium  consists 
of  a  mixture  of  three  allotropic  modifi- 
cations which  he  designates  as  a,  b.  and 
2  cadmium. 

In  addition  to  the  investigation  of 
cadmium,  similar  studies  are  being 
carried  out  with  lead.  While  it  would 
be  premature  to  make  any  detailed 
statement  at  this  time  yet  it  may  be  of 
interest  to  point  out  that  there  is  un- 
questionable evidence  in  favor  of  the 
allotropjsm  of  lead.  This  is  clearly 
shown  by  Figs.  3  and  4.  In  Fig.  3  is 
shown  a  photomicrograph  of  a  freshly 
cast  lead  surface  magnified  one  hun- 
dred diameters,  while  in  Fig.  4  the 
same  surface  is  shown  after  six  weeks 
immersion  in  a  solution  of  lead  acetate. 


the  magnification  being  one  hundred 
diameters. 

The  complete  disintegration  of  the 
metal  is  clearly  shown  in  Fig.  4. 

The  question  that  the  visitor  to  the 
Hillside  Laboratory  invariabl}^  asks  is, 
'A\'hat  is  the  practical  bearing  of  all 
this  work"? 

To  this  Dr.  Getman  invariably  replies 
that  he  does  not  know, — rthat  it  fre- 
quently happens  that  discoveries, 
which  at  the  time  when  they  are  made 
are  of  purely  scientific  interest,  turn 
out  later  to  have  practical  application 
and  hence  commercial  value. 

In  writing  to  the  Faraday  Society  of 
London  about  his  work  along  similar 
lines.  Professor  Cohen  has  this  to  say : 
"****A  new  field  of  research  for  chem- 
ists, as  well  as  for  physicists,  presents 
itself.  Whilst  it  will  be  the  task  of  the 
chemist  to  prepare  the  pure  modifica- 
tions (of  the  metals)  and  study  their 
physicochemical  properties,  the  physi- 
cist will  require  to  turn  his  attention 
to  the  determination  of  their  physical 
and  mechanical  constants.  As  the  phe- 
nomena described  have  been  unknown 
up  to  the  present,  metallurgists  have 
not  been  able  to  take  them  into  account 
when  studying  the  hardening  of  metals. 
And  yet  these  reversible  transforma- 
tions, which  so  often  go  on  so  very 
slowly  in  consequence  of  the  retarda- 
tions mentioned  above,  must  play  an 
important  role  when  the  metals  are 
subjected   to   changes   of   temperature. 


FIG.  2.  SURFACE  OF  CADMIUM  AFTER  IM- 
MERSION  IN  A  SOLUTION  OF  CADMIUM 
IODIDE. 


152 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


This  role  may  become  fatal  if  the 
metals  are  in  contact  with  electrolytes 
(water),  as  these  accelerate  enormous- 
ly the  transformation  velocity.  The 
volume  changes  which  generally  accom- 
pany these  transformations  may  cause 
the  disintegration  of  the  materials. 

Research  in  pure  science  has  its 
place  in  the  world's  work.  It  is  not  a 
mere  pastime  for  the  dilettante,  nor  is 
it  an  easy  pursuit  for  the  trained  inves- 
tigator. At  the  bottom  of  all  of  our 
real  progress  lies  what  may  be  called 
the  scientific  spirit. 

*"Those  who  have  come  to  under- 
stand what  is  meant  by  scientific  proof 
of  an  hypothesis  have  learned  that  even 
the  most  fascinating  theory  may  go 
down  into  oblivion  if  it  cannot  meet 
new  facts." 

"Scientific  training  tends  to  exalt  the 
idea  of  knowledge  attained. 

_  Few  people  outside  of  the  scientific 
circle  can  grasp  the  satisfaction  felt  by 
an  investigator,  when  he  feels  that  his 
work  has  opened  up  a  new  line  of 
thought.  The  ordinary  man,  looking 
at  the  progress  of  chemistry,  would  be 
apt  to  imagine  that  the  synthesis  of  a 
new  dye,  the  production  of  a  new  ex- 
plosive or  the  simplifying  of  some 
metallurgical  operation  w^ould  cause  a 
profound  impression  in  the  scientific 
world.  But  such  things  can  be  pro- 
duced  by   methods   which   are    largely 


sive,  is  a  sudden  development,  which 
the  ordinary  man  probably  never  hears 
mentioned,  something  which  the  scien- 


FIG.    4.       Sl'KI'ACfc:    ()!<■    LEAD    AFTER    IMMER- 
SION   IN    A    SOLUTION    LEAD    ACETATE. 

tific  mind  sees  will  revolutionize  more 
than  one  field  of  inquiry,  and  bring  a 
flood  of  light  to  bear  upon  intricate 
problems  still  awaiting  solution.  Ap- 
plied science  any  one  can  understand, 
as  it  comes  into  touch  Avith  his  daily 
experience ;  but  applied  science  is  only 
a  superstructure  built  upon  the  solid 
foundations  which  have  been  laid  by 
men  who  never  sought  to  make  a  cash 
transaction  of  their  knowledge.  Yet, 
if  it  had  not  been  for  their  labor,  di- 
vorced apparently  from  all  practical 
application,  applied  science  would  not 
stand  where  is  stands  today.  On  the 
one  hand  are  the  needs  of  humanity, 
on  the  other  lies  the  search  for  knowl- 
edge ;  the  bridge  between  them  is  ap- 
plied science.  But  unless  the  pursuit 
of  knowledge  was  going  on,  there 
would  be  no  bridge,  for  the  acquire- 
ment of  knowledge  must  come  before 
its  application." 


A  new  study  of  one  of  the  Trypano- 
somes  of  the  common  rat,  made  by  two 
British   zoologists,   adds   an   important 
point  to  our  knowledge  of  human  infec- 
FiG.^  3.   ^  SURFACE  OF  FRESHLY  CAST  LEAD,    tious  by  way  of  rat  flcas,  such  for  ex- 
applications    of    old    principles    of    no      ample  as  the  bubonic  plague.    The  flea 
great  scientific  interest.    What  is  much       takes    the    infection    from    the    rat    by 
more  rare,  and  therefore  more  impres-       biting.     But  the  rat  becomes  infected 
^Chemistry  and   its   Borderland.     A.   W.       only  by  licking  its  own  fur  or  by  eating 

infected  insects,  not  by  the  flea's  bite. 


Stewart. 


THE  FLOWER  BED  OX  TOP  OF  A  ROCK 


153 


A  Beautiful  Flower  Bed  in  an  Unusual 
Situation. 

We  ha\-e  all  heard  that  it  is  difficult 
to  grow  o-rass  on  a  rock,  but  a  lady  of 
Sound  Beach  and  her  son  have  proved 
that  it  is  possible  to  grow  petunias  on 
a  rock. 

The  accompanying  photograph  shows 
a  novel  flower  bed  at  the  home  of  Mrs. 
]\Iary  E.  Campbell  and  her  son,  Mr. 
Mr.    George    \V.    Campbell,    of    Sound 


a  rim  of  pointed  stones  along  the  edge 
uf  that  hollow  that  was  then  tilled  with 
earth.  The  result  is  that  with  constant 
care,  prol)abl}'  with  more  care  than  an 
ordinary  flower  bed  would  need,  Mr. 
Campbell  has  one  of  the  most  luxuri- 
ant beds  of  flowers  ever  seen  in  this 
vicinity.  "Indeed,"  he  says,  "it  was  so 
sturdy  a  growth  that  we  got  tired  of 
the  rankness,  and  recently  cleaned  it 
out,  and  put  in  rosebushes."  A  good 
suggestion   for  ornamenting  an   other- 


Tin-:  FLOWER  1!EJ)  (JX 

Beach.  Mr.  Campbell  is  an  architect 
of  long  experience,  which  he  has  ap- 
plied in  building  a  home  for  himself, 
comfortable  and  unique.  The  wall 
fronting  the  street  is  made  of  pointed 
rocks  ;  the  posts  are  capped  in  a  simi- 
lar manner.  Within  these  caps  earth 
has  been  placed,  and  in  them  flowers 
are  growing. 

But  perhaps  the  most  novel  of  these 
designs  is  the  bold  plan  of  growing 
petunias  upon  the  top  of  the  ledge.  Mr. 
Campbell  explains  that  the  ledge  was 
naturally  somewhat  hollow'ed  at  the 
top.  and  all  he  needed  to  do  was  to  run 


TOP   OF   .'v   R(_)CK. 

wise  barren   place  to  make   it   a   thing 
of  beautv. 


The  red  rust  of  wheat  has  been  vir- 
tually extirpated  from  Germany  by  de- 
stroying all  wild  barberry  bushes  near 
the  wheat  fields.  The  barberry  serves 
as  the  host  plant  for  one  of  the  alter- 
nating generations,  the  other  of  which 
spoils  the  wheat.  This  being  elimi- 
r.ated,  the  rust  can  no  longer  reproduce 
iliself.  In  the  same  way.  pear  rust  can 
be  prc\-ented  by  remo\-ing  all  juniper 
trees. 


154 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


The  Land  of  Paradoxes. 

BY     MR.    JOHN     C.     UHRLAUB,    RIDGEWOOD, 
GLENBROOK,    CONNECTICUT. 

I  believe  the  Chinese,  rich  and  poor 
ahke,  of  all  people  on  earth,  may  be 
counted    anion"-    the    g^reatest    lovers    of 


find  there  hundreds  of  citizens,  resting 
after  the  toil  of  the  day,  sipping  hot  tea 
or  wiping"  their  face  with  one  of  the  lux- 
uries of  a  Chinese  restaurant  or  theatre, 
the  sweat  cloth,  a  piece  of  cotton  wrung 
out  in  boiling  water,  while  at  least  half 
of  the  tea  drinkers  hold  in  their  hand  or 


MR.   UHRLAUB  WITH  THE  PET   BIRDS   IN   CHINA. 


nature.  To  have  evidence  of  this,  one 
only  need  to  go  to  any  large  tea  house  in 
Canton  or  in  anv  other  Chinese  citv,  to 


A   BIRD'S    NEST   FROM   WHICH   THE   CHINESE 
MAKE    SOUP. 


have  on  the  table  in  front  of  them  a  cage 
containing  a  pet  bird.  I  have  seen  a 
street  beggar  asking  for  alms  with  a 
caged  bird  on  his  arm.  At  dawn  of  a 
summer  morning,  I  have  seen  hundreds 
of  people  sitting  at  the  street  corners  or 
in  the  public  squares  and  giving  their 
pets  an  airing.  Many  of  the  birds  are 
trained  to  do  marvelous  tricks.  A  rice 
bird  of  large  size  is  commonly  taught  to 
catch  a  grain  of  "kalian"  (giant  millet) 
in  the  air  and  fly  back  to  the  hands  of 
its  owner  and  eat  the  grain  at  leisure 
while  it  sits  on  its  patron's  thumb.  The 
birds,  among  which  are  many  beautiful 
songsters,  are  petted  and  well  cared  for, 
and  often  have  free  access  to  their  cage, 
going  and  coming  as  they  please. 

But  the  same  John  Chinaman  that  will 
assiduously  and  gently  care  for  his  song 
bird,  will  quietly  look  on  the  torture  and 
execution  of  a  criminal  so  horrible  in  its 
details  that  it  would  freeze  our  blood.  A 
land  of  paradoxes  and  things  incongru- 
ous, this  flowery  kingdom  !  In  Pekin  on 
the  old  Hattaman  Street,  what  a  mixture 
of  modernism  and  a  remote  past !  A  car- 
avan of  ^Mongolian  dromedaries  coming 
for  eighteen  hundred  miles  from  the  Gobi 
desert,  laden  with  furs,  wool  and  tea, 
meets  a  procession  of  Ford  motor  cars ! 


SEEING  THEXGS      IX  AUTUMN 


155 


But  everything-  changes,  even  in  China. 
r^Iany  Chinamen  to-day  j^refer  a  juicy 
beefsteak  to  the  finest  plate  of  bird  nest 
soup.     I  do  not  blame  them,  after  having 


A    REMARKABLE    -'HEAD    OX" 
STUDY. 


PHOTUGRAPHIC 


Ixjth  seen  an  uncooked  bird  nest  and 
tasted  the  soup.  The  famotis  edible  bird 
nest  is  formed  of  the  regurgitations 
and  excrements  of  a  rock  swallow,  and 
is  considered  one  of  the  greatest  of  Chi- 
nese delicacies.  The  isoirp  tastes  like 
musty  dishwater.  The  Chinese  are  om- 
nivorotis  in  the  ftillest  sense ;  aquatic 
beetles,  owls.  cats.  dogs,  rats,  snakes. 
toads  mice,  are  all  dainty  dishes  for  a 
Chinese  palate. 

I  have  assisted  at  sonie  great  Chinese 
dinners,  some  of  one  htmdred  and  fifty 
courses,  beginning  with  bird  nest  soup, 
shark  fins,  sea  cucumbers  (Holothurea), 
seaweeds,  eggs  a  hundred  years  old. 
roasted  dog,  dried  rats,  fried  ice,  boiled 
water  beetles,  etc.,  etc. — that  is.  I  have 
been  present,  bttt  taste,  appearance  and 
odor  prevnting  me   from   reallv  eating. 

Fried  ice?     Yes,  fried  ice  is  absolute- 


ly correct.  Pieces  of  flavored  ice  are 
covered  with  batter  and  cpiickly  dipped 
in  boiling  lard.  The  batter,  fried  crisp, 
encloses  a  piece  of  ice.  The  dish  is 
served  with  lightning-like  rapidity 
from  the  frying  pan  to  table. 


Seeing   Things   in  Autumn. 

BY    .MAY    L.   JOIIXSOX,   RICIIAIOXD   HILL, 
XEW    YORK. 

Every  lover  of  nature  can  find  inter- 
esting things  in  the  springtime,  for 
then  all  the  outdoor  world  is  waking 
up  and  rising  into  life  with  a  promise 
of  glorious  beauty  to  come ;  the  birds 
are  returning;  Ave  ourselves  feel  a  new 
zest  in  living,  it  seems  to  be  in  the 
air.  But  hoAv  about  the  autumn?  Each 
-eason  has  its  attractions  for  the  true 
nature  lover,  although  some  of  our 
pessimistic  friends  who  are  poetically- 
inclined  may  quote  Bryant's : 

"The     melancholy     days     are     come,     the 

saddest  of  the  j-ear. 
Of   wailing  winds   and  naked  woods,   and 
meadows  brown  and  sear." 

An  yet  even  the  withered  leaves  may- 
be a  source  of  enjoyment,  as  I  discov- 
crd  a  short  time  ago,  as  I  sat  in  the 
dusk  and  Avatched  the  wind  playing 
pranks  Avith  the  dead  leaves  that  in  the 
twilight  looked  like  little  broAvn  mice. 
One  moment  they  A\^ere  Avhirling  in  a 
circle  as  though  playing  some  childish 
game,  then  the  A\and  changed  and 
away  they  Acaa-  one  after  the  other 
arotmd  the  corner  of  the  house,  playing 
a  game  of  folloAv  the  leader.  A  few 
moments  later  the  Avind  A'eered  and 
caught  them  from  every  direction  and 
huddled  them  in  a  group.  One  could 
almost  imagine  that  they  Avere  aliA^e, 
and  bobbing  their  heads  together  like 
a  little  company  of  fairies  congregated 
like  small  boys  to  talk  over  some  all- 
important  secret,  or  planning  Avhat 
mischief  to  do  next  as  they  danced  and 
fluttered ;  but  the  restless  Avind  scat- 
tered them  eA'en  before  their  plans 
could  be  laid  and  aAvay  the  little  broAA^n 
felloAvs  fleA\%  each  to  his  OAvn  important 
task.  To  a  person  of  the  aA-erage 
amotmt  of  imagination  it  seemed  hard 
to  belieA'e  that  they  Avere  inanimate. 
If  our  friends  Avotild  enjoy  this  moA-ing 
jMcture  experience  in  the  tAvilight  of 
a  Avindy  autumn  evening  before  the 
leaA-es  are  gone.  I  am  sure  they  would 
appreciate  literally  "The  Fun  of  v^eeing 
'Jliinefs." 


I50 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


Collecting  Crooked  Sticks. 

BY   FRANK  A.   ARNOLD,    NEW   YORK   CITY, 

[Reprinted    by    permission    from    the 
August  Countryside  Magazine]. 

It  is  said  that  every  man  has,  or 
should  have,  a  fad.  Among  the  faddists 
are  many  collectors,  but  who  ever 
heard  of  a  man  collecting  crooked 
sticks?  There  is  such  a  man,  however, 
— E.  A.  Miles,  of  Clifton  Springs,  N.Y., 


wan,  Canada,  and  was  cut  from  a  small 
tree,  close  to  the  wood's  path,  leading 
to  the  Canadian  Pacific  Hotel. 

"C"  Avas  found  about  300  feet  below 
the  summit  of  Mount  Tamalpais,  Cali- 
fornia, within  sight  of  the  city  of  San 
Francisco. 

The  letter  "D"  came  from  Erie 
County,  N.  Y. 

"E"  was  found  in  the  village  of  Ma- 
rilla,  near  Bufifalo,  N.  Y. 


THE  ALPHABET  I'RO.M  MOTHER  NATURE. 


— who  has  collected  all  the  letters  of 
the  alphabet  from  Mother  Nature  in 
the  shape  of  crooked  branches  of  trees 
and  shrubs,  and  with  just  one  root  to 
finish  the  twenty-six  letters. 

Here  you  have  the  collection  before 
you,  framed  and  photographed,  and 
worthy  of  permanent  preservation  in 
narrative  form.  Mr.  Miles  has  been  col- 
lecting these  letters  for  many  years, 
and  each  letter  has  its  history. 

"A"  comes  from  Oshawa,  Canada,  on 
the  northern  shore  of  Lake  Ontario, 
about  forty  miles  east  of  Toronto. 

"B"  was  found  at  Banff,  Saskatche- 


"F"  in  a  grove  at  the  Great  Falls  of 
the  Potomac,,  about  thirty  miles  from 
\\'ashington,  D.  C. 

The  letters,  "G,"  "K,"M,"  and  "W" 
were  found  either  in,  or  near  Attica, 
N.  Y.  How  very  appropriate  that 
w4ien  he  found  the  letter  "M"  he  should 
have  been  taking  a  walk  through  the 
woods  with  his  mother ! 

It  is  quite  natural  that  several  of 
these  specimens  should  have  been 
found  near  Mr.  Miles's  home,  in  Clifton 
Springs,  N.  Y.,  for  he  is  a  great  walker, 
and  enjoys  exceedingly  a  long  ramble 
through^ the  fields  and  Avoods.  wdiere. 


COLLECTING  CROOKED  STICKS 


157 


with  his  eyes  wide  open,  he  sees  many 
things  which  the  ordinary  pedestrian 
would  overlook  entirely. 

The  letter  "N"  which  was  the  first 
of  the  series,  was  discovered  in  this 
vicinity;  likewise  the  letters  "H,"  "O," 
"P,"  ''S,"  "U,"  and  "Z." 

The  letter  "H"  formed  a  portion  of  a 
root,  and  is  the  only  exception  in  the 
list,  the  other  letters  coming  exclu- 
sively from  branches  of  trees. 

The  letter  "1"  grew  in  a  small  park 
adjoining  the  home  of  the  late  William 
A.  Wheeler  Malone,  N.  Y.,  once  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States. 

*'T"  was  cut  from  a  scrubby  tree  about 
fifty  feet  from  the  edge  of  the  Grand 
Caiion  of  the  Colorado,  in  Arizona. 

"L"  came  from  Lundy's  Lane  battle- 
field, Province  of  Ontario,  Canada. 

The  letter  "Q"  was  found  growing 
beside  the  trail  leading  to,  and  about 
five  hundred  feet  from  the  summit  of 
Mount  Lowe,  Southern  California. 

"R"  was  discovered  at  the  corner  of 
Queen  Park  Avenue,  Toronto,  not  far 
from  the  Parliament  Buildings. 

The  letter  "T"  has  an  exceptional 
history.  Mr.  Miles  was  visiting  the 
tomb  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  at  Spring- 
field. Illinois,  and,  by  a  strange  coinci- 
dence found  a  workman  pruning  a  tree 
directly  beside  it.  With  his  quick  eye, 
]\Ir.  Miles  detected  a  branch  which 
would  naturally  form  the  letter  T,  and 
in  a  moment  it  was  his,  with  all  of  its 
historical  association  and  without  a 
hint  of  vandalism  to  his  charge. 

"Y"  came  from  the  "Plains  of  Abra- 
liam,  Quebec,  where  "Wolfe  died  vic- 
torious." 

"X"  was  found  very  near  the  Fifth 
Corps  headquarters  Monument  on  Lit- 
tle Round  Top,  Gettysburg,  Pa. 

The  letter  "Y"  has  another  bit  of  in- 
teresting history.  It  was  found  form- 
ing a  part  of  a  bush,  growing  where 
the  Union  Army  commenced  the  tun- 
nel, which,  when  completed,  terminated 
in  a  chamber  under  Fort  IMalone  in 
front  of  Petersburgh,  Virginia.  When 
the  mine  was  exploded,  it  created  what 
is  known  in  history  as  "the  crater." 

It  will  be  noticed  that,  in  addition  to 
the  letters,  a  complete  set  of  numerals 
has  been  obtained  in  the  same  way;  all 
of  these,  however,  having  been  cut  from 
.trees  or  bushes  in  the  immediate  vicin- 
ity of  Clifton  Springs. 

In  talking  of  this  unique  collection. 


Mr.  Miles  says  that  in  no  instance  has 
any  twig  or  branch  been  bent  or  artifi- 
cially twisted.  Each  letter  and  numeral 
represents  the  actual  formation  by 
Nature — a  fact  which  renders  this 
alphabet  all  the  more  wonderful. 

We  read  often  of  how  the  preacher 
obtains  sermons  from  stones,  books 
from  running  brooks,  and  so  on  ;  but, 
so  far  as  we  know,  it  has  been  left  for 
Mr.  Miles  to  obtain  from  Nature  the 
sum  total  of  human  knowledge,  as  em- 
bodied in  the  alphabet  and  its  corres- 
ponding word  combinations ! 

If  you  should  by  chance  be  in  Clif- 
ton Springs  some  time,  stop  your  auto- 
mobile in  front  of  the  Sanitarium,  and 
step  just  inside  the  lobby,  and  there, 
protected  by  a  frame,  you  will  find  the 
original  from  which  the  above  illustra- 
tion was  taken,  and,  if  Mr.  Miles  hap- 
pens to  be  at  his  desk,  I  know  how 
pleased  he  will  be  to  tell  you  some  of 
his  personal  experiences  connected 
with  collecting  these  bits  of  wood. 


T.  A.  Jagger,  formerly  of  Harvard, 
now  of  the  Hawaiian  Volcanic  Ob- 
servatory, with  a  number  of  his  assist- 
ants, narrowly  escaped  losing  their 
lives  during  the  recent  errtiption  of 
^launa  Loa.  The  party  had  ascended 
the  mountain  for  nearer  observation 
of  the  crater,  and  were  caught  by  a 
storm  and  avalanches  almost  in  the 
path  of  a  lava  stream. 


"Perhaps  the  most  convincing  sign 
of  this  new-old  faith  is  the  unconscious- 
ness of  the  unbeliever.  He  has  no  idea 
that  he  is  believing  or  having  faith  in 
any  thing.  He  is  simply  loving  the 
green  earth  and  the  blue  sea,  and  the 
ways  of  birds  and  fish  and  animals ; 
but  he  is  so  happy  in  his  innocent, 
ignorant  joy  that  he  seems  almost  to 
shine  with  his  happiness.  There  is,  lit- 
erally, a  light  about  him — that  light 
which  edges  with  brightness  all  sincere 
action.  The  trout,  or  the  wild  duck,  or 
the  sea  bass  is  only  an  innocent  excuse 
to  be  alone  with  the  Infinite.  To  be 
alone.  To  be  afar.  Men  sail  precarious 
craft  in  perilous  waters  for  no  reason 
they  could  tell  of.  They  may  think 
that  trawling,  or  dredging,  or  whaling 
is  the  explanation  :  the  real  reason  is  the 
mystery  we  call  the  Sea. — Richard  Le 
Gallienne  in  "The  Phoenix." 


15^ 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


An  Impaled  Fly. 

New  York  City. 
To  the  Editor : 

A  few  days  ago  I  was  camping  on 
that  stretch  of  sand  and  sand  dunes 
which  ranges  from  Fire  Island  to  Mon- 


TIIE    \\'IX])    IMPALED    THIS    FLY. 

tank  Point,  and  separates  the  Atlantic 
()cean  from  those  inland  bays,  such  as 
Great  South  Bay,  Peconic  Bay,  etc.,  and 
was  forced  during  this  period  to  supply 
my  own  meals  through  my  craftiness  as 
a  fisherman  and  hunter. 

As  I  found  no  birds  flying  along  the 
shore,  I  decided  to  enter  the  fields  of 
sedge  grass   and   try   my   luck  there.      I 


lay  down  in  grass  about  three  and  a 
half  or  four  feet  high,  and  scanned  the 
horizon  for  any  birds  that  might  be 
coming  my  way.  Every  time  I  looked 
over  my  left  shoulder  I  saw,  a  few  feet 
from  me,  a  blade  of  sedge  grass  on 
which  a  fly  seemed  to  be  perching. 
After  a  lapse  of  from  fifteen  to  twenty 
minutes,  I  became  curious  to  learn  how 
and  why  that  fly  clung  to  that  blade  of 
grass,  so  I  laid  down  my  gun  and  walk- 
ed over  to  gratify  my  curiosity,  and 
found  that  the  sharp  point  of  the  grass 
blade  had  pierced  the  fly's  body  and  was 
holding  it  impaled.  It  had  evidently 
l:)een  flying  over  the  field  when  a  sudden 
gust  of  wind  blew  it  against  the  tip  of 
the  blade  and  impaled  it  there.  I 
lirought  it  home,  because  I  considered 
it  a  peculiar  freak  of  nature,  illustrating 
one  of  the  many  dangers  that  threaten 
the  insect  world. 

I  took  the  specimen  to  the  IMuseum 
of  Natural  History  and  showed  it  to 
the  curator,  Doctor  Lutz,  who  told  me 
that  he  had  never  seen  a  similar  speci- 
men. The  butcher  bird  kills  insects  of 
all  kinds  and  places  them  on  thorns  but 
Doctor  Lutz  doubts  if  this  bird  is  a 
habitant  of  this  stretch  of  Long  Island. 

I  enclose  two  photographs  made  from 
the  s])ecimen.  I  shall  be  pleased  to  hear 
v.hat  you  think  of  them. 

\^ery  sincerely  yours, 

A.  L.  Goodman,  M.  D. 

This  is  a  rare  and  remarkable  acci- 
dent. The  fly's  life  was  lost  as  is  that 
of  a  tree  when  it  is  lilown  over  by  the 
wind. 


The  [Missouri  Experiment  Station  re- 
ports encouraging  progress  with  its  ef- 
forts to  breed  more  hardy  strains  of  ';e\- 
era!  of  our  most  prized  varieties  of 
reach. 


I  think  your  August  number  quite 
excellent  and  the  September  number  its 
equal.  I  hail  with  delight  the  new  de- 
nartment  of  "Ornithology."  In  fact  if 
I  were  to  trv  to  express  my  apprecia- 
tion it  would  take  shape  something  like 
the  following:  The  Guide  to  NaTl'RE 
is  a  live  olive  leaf  dropped  into  my 
window  by  the  dove  of  good  fortune 
that  impels  the  belief  that  the  blinding 
mists  are  abating  and  a  new  beauty  is 
rising  from  the  common  like  a  green 
island  thrust  up  from  the  sea! — Will 
Webb  Tuttle.  Muncie,  Indiana. 


ANIMAL  ART  STAMPS 


159 


Animal  Art  Stamps. 

The  increasing  popularity  of  poster 
stamps  and  their  collecting  in  various 
wavs  has  suggested  the  reproduction 
in  that  form  of  some  of  the  remarkable 
photographs  of  animals  taken  in  the 
New  York  Zoological  Park  during  the 
fifteen  vears  that  institution  has  been 
open  to  the  public. 

The   series   issued   at   this   time   con- 


A   SAMPLE  OF  ONE  OF  THE   STAMPS. 


sists  of  130  subjects,  reproduced  in 
natural  colors  by  the  four-color  process. 
The  stamps  are  2}i  x  3  inches  in  size 
and  are  particularly  clear  and  well  exe- 
cuted pictures.  They  are  to  be  disposed 
of  in  six  sets  of  twenty  stamps  each,  at 
ten  cents  per  set.  The  remaining  ten 
stamps  of  the  series  are  mounted  in  a 
thirty-two  page  album  sold  at  fifteen 
cents,  which  provides  space  for  the  en- 
tire 130  stamps,  making  the  cost  of  the 
complete  series  and  album  seventy- 
five  cents.  Carefully  written  captions 
giving  authentic  infomation  regarding 
each  animal  represented  appears  in  the 
album  under  the  space  for  each  stamp. 
This  educational  feature,  in  connection 
with  the  fact  that  they  are  from  actual 
photographs,  which  include  many  rare 
animals  unknown  to  the  average  child, 
makes  the  series  the  most  worth  while 
picture  stamps  that  have  yet  come  to 
our  attention. 

If  this  isstie  proves  popular,  others 
will  follow,  as  the  collection  of  photo- 
graphs available  runs  into  the  thous- 
ands. 


A  Mouse-eating  Garter  Snake. 

BY    JOSEPH    W.    LIPPINCOTT. 

It  is  claimed  by  anthropologists  that 
different  species  of  snakes  have  a  re- 
stricted diet  from  which  they  never  vary 
and  that  those  which  eat  batrachians  will 
never  eat  warm-blooded  animals  and  vice 
versa ;  nevertheless  I  once  saw  a  garter 
snake  sw'allowing  a  meadow  mouse  re- 
gardless of  the  fact  that  this  species  of 
snake  comes  under  the  former  head  and 
feeds  regularly  on  toads,  frogs,  small 
fish  and  earthworms. 

It  happened  that,  when  walking  along 
the  sea  cHft's  on  Conanicut  Island,  Nar- 
ragansett  Bay,  I  saw^  quite  a  distance 
away  a  queer  head  rear  itself  above  the 
thick  meadow  grass,  wag  oddly  once  or 
twice  on  its  thin  neck  and  then  drop 
again  below  the  grass  tops.  It  proved 
to  be  a  stout  three-foot  garter  snake 
with  the  biggest,  fattest,  short-tailed 
meadow  mouse  I  ever  saw  stuck  in  his 
jaws  in  such  a  way  that  it  seemed  a  pro- 
longation of  the  snake's  head.  The  hind 
quarters  and  the  tail  were  down  the 
throat  and  when  the  snake  reared  up  in 
his  earnest  yet  comical  endeavors  to 
climb  over  the  grass  in  the  directon  of  a 
briar  patch,  the  mouse  seemed  to  be 
calmly  sitting  on  a  pedestal. 

The  grass  was  too  thick  10  push 
through  with  the  cumbersome  load  so  the 
snake  rose  on  his  tail  as  high  as  he  could 
and  then  toppled  over,  or  rather  fiung 
himself,  towards  his  goal.  His  head 

would  land  in  the  grass  about  a  foot 
away  from  where  the  tail  had  been,  the 
tail  being  drawm  after  the  head  and 
coiled  again  preparator_\-  to  repeating  the 
strange  performance. 

I  evidently  hastened  the  reptile  in  his 
retreat  for  he  soon  made  much  quicker 
motions  and  scarcely  ever  rested  between 
jumps.  The  closer  I  watched  the  more 
ner^-ous  he  grew  until  without  any  warn- 
ing- he  disgorged  the  half  swallow^ed 
mouse  and  then  beat  a  very  hasty  retreat 
to  the  briar  patch,  finding  no  difficulty 
in  threading  his  way  through  the  grass 
^low  that  the  bulky  prey  was  discarded. 
There  w^as  not  the  least  doubt  about  his 
being  a  common  garter  snake. 


Tests  at  the  IMaryland  Agricultural 
College  show  that  700  yards  is  the  out- 
side limit  to  which  a  fly  commonly 
roves  from  the  point  where  it  is  hatch- 
ed. 


New  measurement  by  a  French  as- 
tronomer shows  that  the  sun's  corona 
is  apparently  spinning  faster  than  the 
general  mass.  About  two  miles  a 
second  is  the  probable  velocity. 


1 6c 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


All  communications  for  this  department 
should  be  sent  to  the  Department  Editor, 
Mr.  Harry  G.  Higbee,  13  Austin  Street, 
Hyde  Park,  Massachusetts.  Items,  articles 
and  photographs  in  this  department  not 
otherwise  credited  are  by  the  Department 
Editor. 


What  One  Bird  Club  Is  Doing. 

When  any  organization  reaches  a 
membership  of  over  half  a  million  it  nat- 
urally commands   some  attention. 

The  Liberty  Bell  Bird  Club— without 
doubt  the  largest  organization  of  this 
kind  in  the  world — has  reached  these  pro- 
portions, and  in  two  and  a  half  years' 
time. 

The  active  work  and  growth  of  this 
club  is  outlined  below  by  Mr.  Shoftner, 
its  leader,  at  my  recjuest,  and  the  magnifi- 
cent restdts  accomplished  in  so  short  a 
time  should  be  a  source  of  gratitude  to 
all  friends  of  the  birds  and  an  inspira- 
tion to  other  clubs  of  a  like  nature. 


Over  Half  a  Million  Bird  Club. 

BY     CriAS.     p.     SHOFFXER,     PHILADELPHIA^ 
EDITOR  OE  THE  LIBERTY  BELL  BIRD  CLUB. 

In  this  day  and  generation,  anv  move- 
ment to  be  a  success,  must  be  built  on  a 
need.  You  can  popularize,  to  a  certain 
extent,  almost  anybody  or  anything  by 
advertising  and  a  judicious  use  of  print- 
er's ink.  But  to  make  a  movement  grow, 
increase  in  value  and  in  the  estimation  of 
the,  very  often,  fickle  public,  is  another 
problem.  If  the  foundation  is  of  sand, 
down  your  building  will  go,  it  matters 
not  how  fine,  strong,  or  well  planned  the 
superstructure. 

^^'hen  the  formation  of  a  new  bird 
club  was  discussed  two  and  a  half  years 
ago,  there  Avere  fifty-seven  apparent  rea- 
sons given  why  such  a  club  was  unnec- 
essary. There  were  many  bird  clul:)S, 
there  had  been  bird  clubs  for  years,  folks 
wouldn't  join  any  more  clubs,  and  so  on 
and  so  on. 

\\'e  know  now  thev  were  not  reasons. 


A  LIBERTY  BELL  BIRD  CLUB  AT  BAKERVLLE,  MASSACHUSETTS. 


ORNITHOLOGY 


i6i 


The  one  who  believed  in  the  new  chib 
idea  was  positive  of  two  facts,  first,  that 
we  should  have  more  birds,  and,  second, 
that  the  great  majority  of  the  bird  clubs 
confined  their  activities  principally  to  the 
cities. 

So,  on  January  i,  1913,  The  Liberty 
Bell  Bird  Club  was  formed.  The 
name  was  significant :  Independence  for 
Birds.  The  motto  was,  "Protect 
our  Feathered  Friends."  The  Pledge  : 
"I  desire  to  become  a  member  of  The 
Liberty  Bell  Bird  Club,  and  promise  to 
study  and  protect  all  song  and  insectiv- 
orous birds,  and  do  what  I  can  for  the 
Club."  The  "Farm  Journal,"  of  Phila- 
delphia, was  to  be  the  official  spokesman, 
and  the  publishers  of  that  paper  said,  as 
an  educational  feature  and  with  a  sincere 
desire  to  help  the  farmers  of  America, 
they  would  bear  the  expense  of  the  Club. 
There  were  to  be  no  dues,  no  fines,  no 
assessments  of  any  kind.  Upon  receipt 
of  the  signed  pledge,  a  button  and  a 
twenty  page  "Guide"  were  to  be  sent 
free  of  all  charge. 

The  great  feature  of  the  Club  was  that 
it  was  especially  formed  to  interest,  in- 
struct and  enlist  the  support  of  the  men, 
women  and  children  of  the  country,  the 
real  place  where  birds  are  found.  (  )f 
course,  city  members  w'ould  be  welcomed. 
We  now  have  many  thousands  in  the 
cities,  and  we  would  like  to  have  more. 

The  Club  grew  rapidly.  On  its  first 
birthday,  it  had  86,000  members,  on  its 
second  birthday,  252,904  members,  and 
to-day  August  4,  1915,  533,194  members. 
We  believe  it  to  be  the  largest  active  bird 
club  in  the  world.  Our  members  work. 
We  started  a  campaign  of  education  and 
and  it  has  brought  forth  much  good  fruit. 
Formerly  few  farmers  had  bird-houses 
or  nesting  thickets.  To-day,  thousands 
of  farms  have  both  and  thousands  of 
trees  have  been  planted  to  furnish  food 
for  the  birds. 

Our  birds  have  been  thoughtlessly 
slaughtered  for  food  and  for  adornment. 
Civilization  and  the  onward  tread  of  the 
times  have  taken  from  the  birds  their 
natural  food  supply.  They  decreased, 
I  ut  the  insects,  which  only  the  birds 
can  keep  in  check,  increased.  Those 
insects  cause  an  annual  loss  of  $1,000.- 
000.00.     The  farmers  are  the  sufiferers. 

Increase  the  bird  population  and  the 
insect  pests  will  decrease.  The  Liberty 
Bell  Bird  Club  members  are  pledged  to 
increase  the  bird  population,  and  they  are 
doing  it. 


Cp  to  March  i,  1915,  we  brought  the 
battle  for  the  birds  before  3577  county 
superintendents,  166,471  school  teachers,, 
and  introduced  bird  study  into  nearly^ 
9.000  schools. 

Our  members  have  put  up  thousands- 
of  bird  houses,  faithfully  fed  the  birds 
in  winter  and  given  them  water  in  sum- 
mer. We  have  installed  many  bird  sanc- 
tuaries and  have  established  the  second 
Friday  in  April  of  every  year  to  be  the 
Annual  Bird  Day  of  The  Liberty  Bell 
Bird  Club.  This  year,  celebrations  were 
held  from  Maine  to  California  and  from 
Canada  to  the  Gulf.  We  believe  our  Clvib 
was  the  first  to  buy  an  entire  page  in  one 
of  the  great  magazines  to  bring  the  sub- 
ject of  bird  conservation  to  the  attention 
of  the  country. 

Our  Platform  is  easily  imderstood. 
Here  it  is : 

Protection  by  competent  laws  through- 
out the  world  for  all  song  and  insectiv- 
orous birds. 

The  teaching  of  practical  ornithology 
in  all  public  and  private  schools. 

The  regulation,  but  not  persecution,  of 
cats,  red  squirrels,  and  all  enemies  of 
the  beneficial  birds. 

The  establishment  of  ])ird  sanctuaries 
in  every  city,  town,  village  and  hamlet. 

The  planting  of  trees,  shrubs  and  vines 
that  will  attract  and  feed  our  birds. 

The  putting  up  of  safe  and  artistic 
bird  houses  and  the  feeding  of  our  winter 
birds. 

We  have  not  always  received  roses. 
Many  could  not  believe  we  were  sincere, 
so  we  have  had  to  print  this :  "Save  the 
Birds,  The  Farm  Journal  can  take  care 
of  itself."  Educators,  ornithologists  and 
economic  students  everywhere  have  ap- 
proved our  work,  and  we  are  much  en- 
couraged. 

Xow,  dear  friends,  don't  you  think  our 
Club  was  needed  ? 

Much  more  remains  to  be  done.  The 
more  we  can  interest,  the  sooner  will  bird 
protection  become  an  assured  fact.  Re- 
member this,  The  Liberty  Bell  Bird  Club 
is  trying  to  secure  the  right  balance  of 
bird  life,  in  a  practical  way. 

Are  vou  with  us? 


First  Federal  Bird  Preserve  in  Minne- 
sota. 

By  executive  order  of  the  president 
a  small  rocky  islet  on  Mille  Lacs.  Min- 
nesota, which  is  the  breeding  resort  of 
a  number  of  varieties  of  gulls,  has  been 
set  apart  for  a  federal  bird  reservation.. 


1 62 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


The    Poisoning   of   Birds   by   Spraying 
Trees. 

The  increasing  use  of  arsenate  of  lead 
in  spraying  orchards  and  shade  trees  for 
the  suppression  of  insect  pests  seems  to 
have  created   considerable   alarm   among 


arsenic  is  required  to  kill  caterpillars, 
and  a  great  many  of  the  poisoned  ones 
would  have  to  be  eaten  at  one  time  to 
affect  a  bird  under  ordinary  conditions. 

In  ten  years'  experience  with  spraying 
in  various  localities  the  writer  has  been 


A    BIRDLESS    AREA    STRIPPED    BY    GIPSV    MOTHS. 
Photographed   in   July. 


'bird-lovers  generally  as  to  the  danger  of 
killing  birds  through  the  poisoning  of 
their  food.  Especially  has  this  been  the 
case  throughout  the  territory  of  the  gyp- 
sy and  brown-tail  moth  infestation  in 
Massacliusetts  and  elsewhere,  as  it  has 
frequently  become  necessary  to  spray 
large  areas  of  woodland,  and  there  has 
been  a  number  of  reports  of  birds  being 
found  dead  in  these  localities,  attribut- 
ed to  the  spraying. 

A  thorough  investigation  of  this  matter 
tends  to  show,  however,  that  there  is  lit- 
tle danger  to  birds  of  poisoning  from  this 
source,  and  there  appears  to  be  several 
practical  reasons  born  out  by  extended 
and  careful  observation  for  this  conclu- 
sion. That  birds  will  seldom  feed  upon 
<iead  ordyingcaterpillars  has  been  prac- 
tically proven  in  many  instances,  and  by 
this  means  only  would  they  be  likely  to 
obtain  much  of  the  poison.     A^ery  little 


interested  to  note  its  effect  on  birds,  and 
has  never  known  of  an  instance  of  a  bird 
being  killed  by  the  poison,  nor  of  tlreir 
deserting  the  locality  on  account  of  this 
work.  He  has,  however,  seen  birds'  nests 
deserted  and  found  young  birds  dead  and 
dying  from  heat  and  exposure  in  infested 
preas  where  no  spraying  had  been  done 
and  the  trees  and  shubbery  were  eaten 
bare  by  the  caterpillars.  Such  an  area 
is  destitute  of  bird  life,  and  under  present 
conditions  any  badly  infested  localit}'  is 
sure  to  be  reduced  to  this  condition  if  it 
is  not  sprayed. 

Dr.  Willard  G.  Van  Nann,  Zoologist 
of  the  New  York  State  Museum,  writes 
me  as  follows  in  regard  to  this  subect : 

"In  regard  to  the  poisoning  of  birds  by 
spraying  trees  there  seems  to  be  a  gen- 
eral agreement  that  it  is  responsible  for 
killing  some  birds,  especially  orioles, 
cuckoos,    grosbeaks   and    purple   finches, 


ORNITHOLOGY 


163 


but  when  positive  evidence  is  sought  it  is 
surprisingly  hard  to  find.  Several  pur- 
ple finches  have  been  sent  in  to  this  office 
which  appear  to  have  been  killed  in  that 
way  but  the  evidence  is  not  positive.  The 
State  Entomologist,  Dr.  E.  P.  Felt,  was 
unable  to  give  me  positive  instances  when 
I  inquired  of  him  recently  and  he  prob- 
ably would  have  informed  me  if  he  had 
learned  of  any  since  then." 

The  following  extracts  are  also  of  in- 
terest, bearing  directly  upon  the  subject 
at  hand : 

From  Prof.  E.  H.  Forbush.  State  Or- 
nithologist of  Mass.    Report  of  1912: 

"Reports  of  the  finding  of  dead  bn-ds 
under  trees  sprayed  with  insecticides  con- 
tinue to  come  in  but  no  great  numbers 
of  birds  have  been  found  in  any  case,  and 
two  years'  work  investigating  the  subject 
leads  to  the  belief  that  very  few  birds 
are  killed  by  spraying." 

The  following  from  the  Pureau  of 
Biological  Survey  at  Washington,  D.  C. : 

'Tn  response  to  your  letter  about  ar- 
senical sprays  for  birds,  I  may  say  that 
there  is  little  evidence  that  birds  are  kill- 
ed as  the  result  of  such  work.  The  prob- 
lem has  been  investigated  by  the  State 
Ornithologist  of  Alassachusetts,  by  this 
Bureau,  and  bv  the  Bureau  of  Entomol- 


ogy   wiili   the   result   that   little   tangible 
connection    could   l)e   established   by  the 
use  of  sprays  and  other  insecticides  and 
the  death  of  any  wild  birds. 
\'erv  truly  yours, 
'E.  W.  Nelsox, 
Acting  Chief,  Biological  Survey." 

In  conclusion,  this  extract  from  Prof. 
H.  A.  Surface,  D.  Sc,  State  Zoologist  of 
Pennsylvania,  who  is  an  exceedingly  care- 
ful and  painstaking  investigator,  seems 
to  bear  out  the  above  testimony  and 
should   be  convincing : 

"Replying  to  your  letter  of  the  21st, 
making  inquiry  concerning  the  poisoning 
of  birds  by  spraying,  I  can  say  that  I 
have  watched  this  subject  with  the  great- 
est care  in  thousands  of  sprayed  orchards 
in  this  state,  and  I  am  prepared  to  say 
with  certainty  that  I  have  never  known 
a  case  of  a  bird  being  killed  by  spraying, 
or  having  been  found  dead  under  circum- 
stances that  would  justify  the  suspicion 
that  this  was  the  cause  of  its  death.  We 
have  examined  the  stomachs  of  dead 
birds,  and  have  found  no  'evidence  of  ar- 
senic to  which  tlieir  death  could  be  attri- 
buted. I  live  in  the  midst  of  one  of  the 
largest  orchards  in  Pennsylvania,  which 
has  been  sprayed  frequently,  and  it  is  full 
of  birds'  nests.     I  am  sure  that  if  spray- 


A  SPR.WED  TERKITORV  AND  PLENTY  OF  BIRDS. 


164 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


ing  were  destructive  to  birds  they  would 
not  be  nesting  in  this  orchard. 

"It  is  true  that  there  is  a  firm  engaged 
in  the  manufacture  of  a  so-called  insecti- 
cide, fungicide  and  fertilizer,  which  they 
claim  contains  "mineral  oxides,"  but  not 
poisons,  and  which  they  further  claim 
should  be  used  in  order  to  prevent  the 
death  of  the  birds  by  the  arsenicals.  It 
can  be  seen  that  their  statements  of  the 
poisoning  of  birds  are  a  part  of  the  me- 
thods of  selling  their  goods.  One  of  their 
agents  has  gone  so  far  as  to  criticise  me 
very  severely,  stating  that  I  am  respon- 
sible for  the  killing  of  birds  in  this  State 
in  great  numbers,  because  I  recommend 
arsenical  spraying.  It  is  true  that  I  have 
made  such  recommendations,  and  have 
shown  thousands  of  persons  how  to 
spray,  and  as  a  result  of  such  instructions 
we  have  better  fruit  in  this  State  than  ever 
before;  but  the  advocates  of  the  bird- 
poisoning  theory  can  not  show  evidence 
of  a  bird  being  killed  by  poison  spray, 
and  they  can  not  reconcile  the  presence 
of  birds  in  great  numbers  in  sprayed  or- 
chards with  their  theory  of  death  by 
sprays." 


When  the  Birds  Go  South. 

Even  as  early  as  the  latter  part  of  June, 
when  the  red-wings  are  flocking,  after 
their  nesting  season,  we  have  occasional 
reminders  of  that  miracle  of  bird  life  to 
begin — the  fall  migration.  It  seems  hard 
to  comprehend  the  powerful  instinct 
which  calls  these  tinv  bits  of  life  twice 


annuall}-  on  their  long  journey — a  jour- 
ney filled  with  dangers  and  fatalities — 
and  which  guides  them  across  the  thous- 
ands of  miles  of  that  trackless  and  seem- 
ingly unknown  territory  of  the  air. 

Xow  and  then,  as  I  write,  the  faint 
chirps  of  passing  flocks  high  up  in  the 
darkness  come  drifting  down  to  me, 
though  I  cannot  identify  their  voices, 
for  these  night  calls  of  the  migrants  seem 
different  from  any  we  hear  in  our  ordi- 
nary acquaintance  with  the  birds  at  home. 
I  have  sometimes  listened  by  the  hour 
to  these  chirps  and  twitterings.  A  few 
are  recognizable  at  times, — the  bobolinks, 
tanagers  and  some  of  the  shore-birds 
giving  calls  which  we  know,  but  the  vast 
army  moves  on,  flying  high  or  low,  ac- 
cording to  the  weather  conditions, — 
sometimes  hundreds  of  miles  without  a 
patise, — and  we  are  scarcely  aware  of 
their  movements  until  we  realize  that 
they  have  gone. 

Thus  it  is  with  the  night  migrants, 
though  the  several  species  which  travel 
by  day  offer  better  chances  for  observa- 
tion. The  "honking"  of  the  Canada 
geese  announces  their  coming  far  in  ad- 
vance and  we  look  up  to  see  their  wedge- 
shape  flocks  cleaving  the  sky.  Hawks 
and  crows ;  swifts,  swallows  and  many 
of  the  sea  birds  may  be  observed  migrat- 
ing by  day,  although  many  undoubtedly 
also  pass  over  in  the  night. 

The  large  flocks  of  grackles  passing 
through  the  fields  and  pastures  are  con- 
spicuous  examples   of   this   great   move- 


THE  LARGE  FLOCKS  OF  GRACKLES  ARE  CONSPICUOUS  EXAMPLES. 


ORNITHOLOGY 


i6= 


DUCKS    MIGRATING. 


ment.  .  Flocks  of  robins,  sparrows  and 
finches  may  also  be  encountered  along  the 
hedges  and  roadsides  as  they  are  gather- 
ing for  the  flight,  and  many  of  the  warb- 
lers on  their  leisurely  journey  southward 
spend  days  with  us  "en  route"  to  rest  and 
feed.  Especially  noticeable  in  the  north- 
eastern and  some  of  the  central  states  is 
this  fall  flight  of  blackpoU  warblers. 
These  birds  breed  northward  to  Alaska ; 
the  flocks  concentrating  as  they  move 
southward,  and  all  pass  through  Florida, 
The  Bahamas  and  West  Indies  to  the 
northern  part  of  South  America,  where 
they  spend  the  winter  five  thousand  miles 
from  their  svunmer  home. 

In  August  we  see  immense  numbers 
of  swallows  flocking  about  the  ponds  and 
marshes  as  they  prepare  to  leave  the 
locality;  then  suddenly  in  a  day  they  are 
gone,  and  we  cannot  find  one  by  search- 
ing. Some  ten  years  ago,  in  north-east- 
ern Maine,  I  had  the  opportunity  of  wit- 
nessing for  over  two  hours  a  continuous 
flight  of  swallows  and  martins,  of  which 
I  identified  several  species  among  the 
low-flying  migrants.  Thousands  upon 
thousands  of  these  birds  passed  steadily 
by  to  the  southward  as  we  watched  them 
from  a  veranda,  and  the  flight  had  not 
ceased  when  we  left,  although  it  had 
somewhat  diminished.  This  was  in  the 
latter  part  of  August  late  one  afternoon, 
and  the  following  day  we  saw  no  signs 
of  anv  of  these  birds. 


The  night  migrants  have  sometimes  been 
studied  by  the  aid  of  powerful  search 
lights,  or  by  focussing  a  telescope  on  the 
face  of  the  full  moon,  and  watching  the 
birds  as  they  move  across  its  illuminated 
path.  IMuch  of  interest  may  also  be 
learned  by  spending  the  night  upon  some 
hill-top  in  a  favorable  location,  noting 
the  sounds  and  times  of  passing  of  the 
difi:'erent  birds. 

The  definite  routes  of  migration  now 
known  to  be  followed  by  most  of  our 
birds  may  be  studied  to  advantage,  al- 
though many  }-et  remain  a  mystery  and 
there  is  ample  opportunity  for  research 
along-  these  lines.  Perhaps  some  day  we 
will  know  what  becomes  of  the  chimney 
swifts  as  they  disappear  ofif  the  coast  of 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico  after  slowh-  gath- 
ering from  their  breeding  haunts  and 
migrating  southward  to  this  point.  It  is 
only  known  now  that  they  absolutely  van- 
ish here  in  the  fall,  making  their  appear- 
ance again  in  the  early  spring  from  their 
unknown  winter  home. 

Six  species  of  our  shore  birds  breed- 
ing north  of  the  arctic  circle  and  finding 
their  way  over  an  eight  thousand  mile 
route  to  Patagonia ;  the  golden  plover 
flying  twenty-four  hundred  miles  across 
the  water,  from  Nova  Scotia  to  South 
America,  without  food  or  rest,  and  the 
ering  eleven  thousand  miles  each  way  to 
arctic  tern — champion  of  them  all — cov- 
visit  its   winter  home,   are   some  of   the 


1 65 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


marvellous  examples  of  bird  migration. 

Identifying  the  smaller  birds — espec- 
ially the  warblers— during  the  fall  flight 
is  no  easy  matter:  the  predominence  of 
immature'  birds  in  their  differing  plum- 
ages, and  the  change  in  many  of  the 
adults  from  their  well-known  summer 
g-arb  to  a  totally  dififerent  winter  one, 
making  them  scarcely  recognizable.  The 
new  songs  of  the  young  and  changed 
calls  of  the  old  bird's  also  seem  to  add  to 
this  difficulty.  In  northern  Florida,  in 
early  November.  I  have  observed  this 
confusion  among  the  warblers,  sometimes 
studying  them  close  at  hand  when  there 
seemed  to  be  so  many  diiTerent  kinds  that 
]  could  scarcely  find  two  birds  alike  in 
the  entire  flock. 

Bird  migration  is  an  interesting  and 
important  part  of  general  bird  study,  nnd 
we  should  be  glad  to  receive  notes  and 
observations  upon  this  subject  from  any 
of  our  readers. 


The  Value  of  Birds  to  Man. 

A  few^  items  from  the  comprehensive 
and  valuable  article  under  the  above 
title  by  James  Buckland  of  London. 
England,  in  the  annual  report  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  for  1913  have 
been  briefly  summed  up  in  the  follow- 
ing by  the  Alal:)ama  Bird  Day  Book, 
and  printed  in  the  August  number  of 
the  "National  Humane  Review." 

It  is  impossible  to  review  the  many 
valuable  features  of  this  article  in  so 
limited  a  space  and  it  should  be  read 
entire  by  all  interested  in  bird  protec- 
tion and  insect  depredations. 

"Remarkable  instances  of  the  birds' 
services  to  man  include  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  English  sparrow  into  New 
Zealand  with  the  resulting  elimination 
of  the  thistle  and  the  caterpillar, 
which  were  ruining  the  land  and 
crops,  and  the  saving  of  Australian 
agriculture  from  the  grasshoppers  by 
the  straw-necked  ibis,  in  individual 
craws  of  which  an  average  of  2,400 
grasshoppers  was  found.  The  story 
of  Frederick  the  Great,  wherein  he  is 
alleged  to  have  ordered  all  small  birds 
killed  because  the  sparrows  had  pecked 
at  some  of  his  cherries,  and  the  result- 
ing lack  of  fruit  but  fine  crop  of 
caterpillars  two  years  later,  proves  a 
graphic  lesson.  The  "Scalp  Act"  of 
Pennsylvania,  which  paid  bounties  of 
$90,000  for  the  extermination  of 
hawks    and    owls,    lost    for    the    State 


$3,850,000  in  damage  to  agriculture, 
due  to  the  increase  of  small  rodents 
which  resulted.  When  Montana  was 
free  from  hawks  and  owls  it  became 
so  overrun  with  destructive  rodents 
that  the  Legislature  offered  rewards 
for  them — a  task  which  the  banished 
hawks  and  owls  had  performed  free 
of  charge.  But  during  the  first  six 
months  such  large  sums  of  money 
were  paid  out  that  a  special  session 
of  the  Legislature  was  called  to  repeal 
the  act  before  the  State  went  bank- 
rupt. In  191 2  Lord  Kitchener  pointed 
out  the  necessity  of  prohibiting  the  de- 
struction of  certain  Egyptian  birds 
which  prevented  insect  pests." 


Shore  Bird  Protection. 

The  placing  lA  the  small  sandpipers, 
curlew,  avocet,  godwit  and  several  spe- 
cies of  plover  which  have  been  nearing 
extinction  on  the  protected  list  under 
the  federal  law  is  a  timely  procedure 
by  our  national  legislators. 

Mr.  Wells  W' .  Cooke  of  the  Biological 
Survey  in  advocating  the  prohibiting  of 
all  shooting  at  the  beach  resorts  along 
the  Atlantic  coast  is  also  starting  a 
movement  which  should  do  consider- 
able toward  increasing  these  graceful 
little  birds  which  add  so  much  to  the 
life  along  our  shores,  and  every  prop- 
erty owner  at  these  resorts  should  glad- 
ly give  his  assistance  toward  the  secur- 
insT  of  such  lesfislation. 


A  fifty-three  page  article,  with  seven- 
ty-two colored  plates  and  four  half-tones, 
on  "American  Game  Birds"  appears  in 
the  "National  Geographic  Magazine"  for 
August ;  this  being  the  fifth  of  a  compre- 
hensive series  of  bird  articles  printed  in 
that  magazine  within  the  past  two  years. 

The  present  article  deals  with  the 
waterfowl,  shore-birds,  grouse,  quail, 
etc., — each  picture  being  accompanied  by 
a  short  description  of  the  bird's  habits 
and  range.  The  plates  are  from  paint- 
ings by  that  well-known  bird  artist,  Louis 
Agassiz  Fuertes,and  the  text  is  by  Hen- 
ry W.  Henshaw,  Chief  of  the  U.  S.  Bio- 
logical Survey.  This  list  is  supplement  • 
ed  by  a  short  resume  of  the  protective 
game  laws  and  an  index,  and,  especially 
in  connection  with  the  previous  articles 
referred  to,  which  have  been  combined 
and  issued  in  a  thin  volume,  it  makes  a 
handv  reference. 


ORNITHOLOGY 


167 


Feeding  the  Birds. 

It  is  none  too  earl_\-  in  the  northern  and 
middle  states  to  start  putting"  out  food 
for  the  winter  birds,  as  the  more  they 
become  accustomed  to  their  feethng  sta- 
tions, the  more  surely  have  we  won  their 
confidence  and  the  more  plentiful  they 
will  be  about  our  homes  during  the  win- 
ter months. 

Suet,  scraps  of  meat  and  l^roken  ])ieces 


THIS     FOOD   r.!)X   TS   XEX'ER   EMPTY. 

of  bone  should  be  tied  to  the  trees  or  at- 
tached by  some  of  the  wire  feeding  cages 
made  for  this  purpose,  and  seeds,  crumbs, 
and  vegetable  scraps  may  be  placed  in 
window  boxes,  where  the  birds  may  be 
closely  studied  at  their  feeding. 

If  wild  seed-bearing  shrubs  and  fruit- 
ing trees  have  been  planted  about  the 
grounds  many  will  now  be  maturing  and 
are  attractive  to  several  species  of  our 
migrating  birds.  Some  of  these  in  fav- 
orable locations  may  winter  over  where 
there  is  an  abundance  of  food,  when 
otherwise  thev  would  leave  for  the  want 
of  it. 

A\"ater  should  be  kept  in  the  bird-bath 
until  there  is  danger  of  freezing,  as  there 
will  be  many  davs  when  the  birds  will 
deliglit  in  its  use. 

The  window-box  shown  in  the  picture 
is  never  without  food ;  there  are  always 
scrap-bones  hanging  in  tlie  trees  nearbv, 
— and  there  is  an  abundance  of  birds  of 
various  kinds  about  this  farm  at  all 
seasons  of  the  vear. 


Birds  in  the  War  Zone. 

From  the  firing  line  in  Flanders, 
along  with  the  boom  of  heavy  artillery 
and  the  snapping  of  musketry,  comes 
word  by  a  correspondent  of  the  "Lon- 
don Times"  of  the  friendliness  of  many 
of  the  small  birds  and  the  interest  taken 
in  them  by  the  entrenched  soldiers. 

The  writer  speaks  of  skylarks  run- 
ning about  over  the  ground  and  some- 
times in  the  heavy  cannonading  soaring 
aloft  and  singing  as  if  their  ambition 
were  to  drown  the  noise  of  the  bom- 
bardment. Blackbirds,  robins  and 
others,  seemingly  indifferent  to  the  in- 
termittent firing,  make  friends  with  the 
men, — even  hopping  down  into  the 
trenches  for  food  offered  them, — in  one 
instance  a  bird  alighting  on  a  bayonet 
held  up  out  of  the  trench  for  it. 

Many  other  stories  of  bird  observa- 
tions come  from  letters  written  home 
by  the  soldiers,  showing  instances  ot 
their  appreciation  of  the  songs,  and 
facts  relating  to  birds  nesting  on  the 
battle-grounds  that  seem  truly  remark- 
able under  the  circumstances  of  their 
environment. 

A  Rooster  that  Puts  Up  at  a  Hotel. 

While  sitting  in  the  office  of  a  hotel  at 
English.  Indiana,  my  attention  was  at- 
tracted to  a  rooster  that  was  wandering 
slowly  along  the  sidewalk,  having  ap- 
parently come  in  from  the  suburbs. 
\Miat  was  my  surprise  when  I  saw  him 
walk  to  the  door  and  peer  through  the 
wire  screen.  The  proprietor  advanced, 
opened  the  door  for  his  approaching 
guest  and,  lifting  him  in  his  arms  and 
proudly  displaying  him  to  the  other 
guests  in  the  office,  explained  that  the 
rooster  is  a  permanent  guest  with  a 
room  to  himself  and  a  nice  big  bed. 
When  young,  the  bird  had  his  thigh 
broken.  The  bone  was  set  and  ban- 
daged, and  during  the  healing  process 
the  rooster  became  very  tame  and  was 
iM'ought  in  every  day  to  the  bed.  As 
his  recovery  progressed,  he  began  to 
make  daily  journeys,  gradually  increas- 
ing the  distance,  but  never  associating 
with  other  fowls.  for,while  he  was  so 
nearly  helpless,  the  others  jumped  on 
him,  pulled  out  his  feathers,  and  so  an- 
noyed him  that  he  decided  that  the 
hotel  is  a  good  place,  and  every  evening 
returns  and  suggests  that  he  be  taken 
to  his  room. — E.  F.  R. 


i6> 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


The  Starry  Heavens  in  October. 

BY  PROF.   ERIC  DOOLITTLE,  OF  THE   UNIVER- 
SITY  OF    PENNSYLVANIA. 

During  the  past  month  the  whole  of 
the  striking  constellation  of  the  Scor- 
pion has  sunk  below  the  western  hori- 
zon of  the  evening  heavens  ;  Sagittarius 
has  partly  disappeared,  as  has  also  the 
winding  Serpent  and  the  great  Bootes, 
the  principal  star  of  the  latter  constel- 


now  swung  completely  below  the  Pole 
which  has  shone  so  brightly  in  the 
and  is  seen  resting  in  an  upright  posi- 
tion almost  upon  the  horizon ;  here  it 
seems  to  be  a  far  larger  figure  than 
when  it  is  higher  in  the  heavens.  The 
Solitaiy  Star,  Fomalhaut,  is  almost  on 
the  meridian  in  the  south,  the  Great 
Scjuare  of  Pegasus  is  high  in  the  heav- 
ens, and  the  planet  Jupiter  shines  out 


Fig.    1.       The   Constellations   at    9    P.    M.,    October    1.       (If    facing   south,    hold   the    map    upright.       If 
facing  east,  hold  East  below.      If  facing  west,  hold  West  below.      If  facing  north,   hold  the  map  inverted.) 


lation, — the  great,  reddish  Arcturus, — 
northwest  for  so  many  months,  has 
completely  withdrawn,  not  to  again 
be  seen  in  our  evening  skies  until  next 
March. 

In  the  North,  the  great   Dipper  has 


with  its  steady,  golden  radiance  in  the 
Southwest. 

The  October  Stars. 
But  the  most  interesting  of  all  the 
changes  in  the  heavens  is  the  reappear- 
ance of  the  brilliant  Taurus,  the  very 
first    of    the    train    of  Winter    groups, 


TO  KNOW  THE  STARRY  HEAVENS 


169 


-which,  with  its  beautiful  Pleiades  and 
Hyades,  will  now  be  seen  well  above 
the  ground  in  the  northeast.  The  little 
•dipper-shaped  group  of  rather  faint 
stars   which   form   the   Pleiades   is   the 


Fig.  2.      Showing  the  present  positions  of  the  plan. 
ets   Mars   and   Saturn. 


most  noted  of  all  star  groups  in  the 
heavens.  Every  nation  had  its  legends 
about  this  beautiful  star  figure,  and 
many  peoples  regulated  their  calendar 
"by  its  appearance  and  withdrawal  from 
the  evening  sky.  The  little  group  can 
easily  be  seen  and  studied  now.  but  it 
is  November  which  is  the  Pleiad  Month 
and  which  marked  the  beginning  of  the 
new  year  when  this  was  determined  by 
these  stars. 

The  observer  will  probably  at  once 
notice  six  stars  in  the  Pleiades,  but  a 
small  telescope  or  opera  glass  will 
■greatly  increase  the  number,  while  on  a 
delicate  photographic  plate  no  less  than 
two  thousand  have  appeared.  All  of 
these  form  a  compact  little  group  of 
suns,  which  are  moving  through  space 
together,  and  it  is  most  remarkable 
that  the  principal  stars  of  the  cluster 
are  surrounded  and  connected  together 
with  clouds  and  streams  of  faintly  shin- 
ing nebulous  matter. 

Below  the  Pleiades  there  is  the  beau- 
tiful  A^-shaped  group  of  the  Hyades. 
whose  principal  star  is  the  great  red- 
dish Aldebaran.  or  Follower,  so  called 
because  this  sun  is  seen  to  follow  the 
Pleiades  across  the  sky  as  the  hours 
of  the  night  go  by.  The  light  from  this 
star  requires  twenty-eight  years  to 
reach  us.  If  we  represent  the  great 
distance  which  separates  the  earth 
from  our  sun  by  one  inch,  then  the  dis- 
tance to  Aldebaran,  preserving  the 
same  scale,  will  be  no  less  than  twenty- 
seven  miles. 


The  Planets  in  October. 

Mercury  which  reached  its  greatest 

distance  east  of  the  sun  on  September 

27,  may  possibly  be  detected  low  in  the 

■southwest  after  sunset  during  the  first 

few  davs  of  October,  but  it  will   soon 


be  again  lost  in  the  sun's  rays.  On 
October  22  it  will  pass  to  the  west  of 
the  sun  and  enter  the  morning  sky.  On 
October  30  the  planet  will  be  nearest 
the  sun  and  this  little  world  will  then 
have  its  season  of  greatest  heat.  At  this 
time  more  than  twice  as  much  light  and 
heat  will  be  poured  down  upon  it  as  it 
will  receive  when  it  reaches  its  greatest 
distance  from  the  sun  forty-four  days 
later. 

Venus  is  in  the  evening  sky,  but  too 
near  the  sun  to  be  well  observed.  It 
sets  about  20  minutes  after  sunset  on 
October  i,  and  this  time  is  increased  to 
nearly  an  hour  by  the  end  of  the  month. 

^lars  and  Saturn  are  conspicuous  in 
the  heavens  during  the  late  hours  of  the 
night  but  they  are  still  beyond  the 
borders  of  our  evening  map.  The  for- 
mer is  moving  eastward  so  rapidly  that 
it  passes  from  Gemini  entirely  across 
the  constellation  Cancer  during  the 
month  ;  Saturn  is  near  the  center  of  the 
former  constellation,  in  the  position 
shown  in  Figure  2.  Jupiter  is  in  excel- 
lent position  for  observation.  The  most 
interesting  phenomena  of  its  satellites 
will  be  seen  on  the  evenings  of  October 
9,  15,  22,  and  31. 

*     ^     H=     =1=     * 
The  Planet  Uranus. 

This  great  world,  no  less  than  32,000 
miles  in  diameter,  is  always  so  very  far 
away  from  our  earth  that  it  is  never 
more  than  barely  visible  to  the  naked 
eve,    and   even   in   a   moderatelv   large 


•      » 


•  .  • 


'     •<:     ,    ..• 


•  «u    • 


Fig.    3.      The   small   square   of   Fig.    1    enlarged   to 
show  the  position  of  the  planet  Uranus. 


telescope  it  is  always  an  inconspicuous 
object.  Yet  this  planet,  with  its  very 
strangely  moving  system  of  moons  and 
the   remarkable   position   of  its   axis  is 


I70 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


one  of  the  most  interesting  of  all  the 
worlds  of  our  sun's  family.  During  the 
present  month  it  is  not  only  in  good 
position  or  observation  but  it  happens 
to  be  so  near  a  moderately  bright  star 
that  it  can  be  found  with  less  difficulty 
than    usual.     And    on    October   i6  the 


glass,  appearing  as  a  greenish   star  of 
the  sixth  magnitude. 

Though  this  distant  world  is  so  large 
it  is  far  less  dense  than  our  earth  and  is 
indeed  almost  certainly  in  a  vaporous 
condition.  Long  ages  must  pass  before 
it  can  become  a  cold  and  solid  world. 


EAST 


Fig.   4.       Passage   of   Uranus   and   a   star   behind   the   moon    on   the   evening   of   October    1( 


planet  will  be  occulted  by  the  moon. 
On  all  of  these  accounts  therefore,  the 
possessor  of  a  small  telescope  should 
not  fail  to  search  for  this  most  interest- 
ig  object. 

Uranus  moves  steadily  along  the 
path  A  V  B,  Figure  i,  completing  the 
entire  circuit  of  the  heavens  in  eighty- 
four  years.  It  is  now  in  Capricornus, 
far  below  the  celestial  equator  and 
therefore  cannot  rise  very  high  in  our 
southern  skies,  but  for  the  past  ten 
years  it  has  been  slowly  climbing  up- 
ward and  in  the  course  of  thirty-two 
years  more  it  will  reach  the  Summer 
Solstice,  near  B,  Fig.  i,  and  will  then 
be  in  its  highest  position  in  the  heavens. 

The  planet  is  now  exactly  3  minutes 
33  seconds  west  of  the  star  at  C,  and  21 
minutes  45  seconds  south  of  it.  In  Fig. 
3  all  of  the  faint  stars  near  C  are  shown. 
The  faintest  of  these  will  probably  not 
be  visible  in  a  telescope  of  but  two  or 
three  inches  aperture,  unless  the  air  at 
this  low  altitude  is  unusually  clear,  but 
Uranus  will  be  visible  in  the  smallest 


It  has  a  system  of  four  beautiful  moons 
whose  paths  among  the  stars  are  al- 
most perpendicular  to  the  path  of  the 
sun  as  seen  from  Uranus.  It  is  very 
probable  that  the  axis  about  which  the 
planet  turns  thus  lies  in  the  plane  of  the 
orbit,  a  very  strange  position  wholly 
unlike  that  of  any  of  the  other  planets 
of  our  Solar  System.  Were  the  axis 
of  our  earth  in  a  similar  position  the 
sun  would  be  at  some  times  nearly  ver- 
tically above  the  north  pole  of  the 
earth  ;  six  months  later  it  would  be  ver- 
tically above  the  south  pole,  and  not 
only  the  north  pole,  but  nearly  the 
whole  northern  hemisphere,  would  be 
in  complete  darkness. 

Thus  at  some  time  during  each  year 
every  part  of  the  earth  would  be  sub- 
jected to  a  tropical  heat ;  at  another 
time,  six  months  later,  it  \vould  be 
without  sunlight, — or  a  frigid  zone. 
The  wind  motions  and  the  character  of 
the  seasons  would  thus  be  exceedingly 
intricate  and  unlike  those  we  now 
enjoy. 


TO  KNOW  THE  STARRY  HEAVENS 


171 


The  Occultation  of  Uranus. 

The  moon,  which  passes  completely 
around  the  sky  in  one  month,  following- 
nearby  along  the  path  A  \'  B,  Fig.  i, 
will  pass  over  both  Uranus  and  that 
star  at  C  on  the  evening  of  October  i6. 
As  seen  from  Washington,  the  planet 
will  disappear  at  the  eastern  (dark) 
edge  of  the  moon  at  9  hours  40  minutes 
P.  M.,  Eastern  Standard  Time,  and  will 
reappear  at  10  hours  43  minutes.  The 
star  will  disappear  at  iihours  34  min- 
utes and  reappear  at  12  hours  34  min- 
utes, but  at  the  emergence  the  moon 
will  have  set  throughout  the  eastern 
states. 

These  exact  times,  however,  apply 
■only  for  observers  at  Washington,  at 
another  station  they  will  be  very  differ- 
ent. The  observer  should  therefore 
find  Uranus  in  his  telescope  in  the 
early  evening"  and  having  noted  the 
relative  positions  of  the  planet  and  the 
moon,  he  should  estimate  as  closely  as 
"he  can  the  time  when  the  occultation 
will  occur,  remembering  that  the  moon 
requires  one  hour  of  time  to  move 
eastward  a  distance  equal  to  its  own 
diameter.  As  the  planet  has  a  disc,  he 
will  see  this  object  gradually  fade  away 
as  the  dark  edge  of  the  moon  pauses 
•over  it ;  the  disappearance  of  the  star 
will,  on  the  contrary,  be  absolutely 
instantaneous.  This  fact  shows  us  that 
•our  satellite  has  no  appreciable  atmos- 
phere upon  its  surface. 


The  Hunter's  Moon. 

The  full  moon  of  October  22  is  the  so- 
called  Hunters'  Moon.  On  this  evening 
the  moon  will  rise  almost  exactly  at  the 
east  point  of  the  horizon  while  on  the 
following  evening  it  will  rise  much 
farther  north  and  only  about  a  half 
an  hour  later  than  on  the  evening 
before.  For  four  or  five  evenings  the 
moon  will  thus  move  so  rapidly  north- 
ward on  the  heavens  that  this  motion 
will  partly  overcome  it  usual  retarda- 
tion in  rising.  It  will  rise  but  about 
one  half  hour  later  on  each  successive 
evening  instead  of  about  one  hour  later 
as  is  usual.  These  nights  will  there- 
fore have  an  unusual  amount  of  moon- 
light. The  efifect  was  even  more  marked 
at  the  time  of  the  Harvest  Moon,  which 
occurred  this  year  on  September  23, — 
the  exact  dav  of  the  AiUumnal  T^ciuinox. 


Retrogradation  of  Stars. 

Pattersonville,  New  York. 
To  the  Editor : 

I  noticed  in  your  August  number  of 
The  Guide  to  Nature  that  you  speak  of 
the  planet  Jupiter  retrograding.    What 
is  the  cause  of  this  motion? 
Very  truly  yours, 
Charles  H.  Patterson. 


University  of  Pennsylvania, 
Philadelphia. 

The  outer  planets  all  move  Cjuite 
steadily  eastward  among  the  stars, 
completing  the  circuit  of  the  heavens 
in  a  greater  or  less  time  depending 
upon  their  distances  from  the  sun. 
Thus  Jupiter  moves  completely  around 
the  stm  in  11.86  years,  Saturn  in  29.46 
years,  Uranus  in  84.02  years,  and  Nep- 
tune in  164.78  years.  These  numbers 
represent  the  times  that  the  planets 
occupy  in  themselves  actually  passing 
around  the  sun.  But  we  must  remem- 
ber that  we  do  not  view  them  from 
the  sun  itself  but  from  our  moving 
earth,  which  world  is  itself  going  around 
the  sun  once  each  year.  The  resulting 
apparent  motions  can  readily  be  imi- 
tated by  turning  one  wheel  inside  of 
another,  much  larger  one  and  noticing 
how^  a  point  on  the  inner  wheel  some- 
times passes  a  point  on  the  outer  one 
and  how  sometimes  these  two  points 
are  moving  in  the  same  direction. 

When  the  earth  is  between  Jupiter 
and  the  sun  it  is  moving  forward  so 
much  more  rapidly  than  Jupiter  that, 
as  seen  from  the  earth, the  larger  planet 
seems  to  move  backward  on  the  sky. 
and  this  backward  motion  continues 
until  the  earth  is  about  sixty  degrees 
ahead  of  the  position  of  conjunction. 
WHien,  however,  the  earth  gets  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  sun,  both  its  own 
motion  and  that  of  Jupiter  make  the 
latter  planet  appear  to  move  forward : 
hence  at  these  times  the  outer  planets 
run  rapidly  eastward. 

Figures  illustrating  this  may  be 
found  in  almost  any  astronomy,  but 
the  best  way  is  to  study  it  from  a  small 
model.  A  so-called  planetarium  shows 
it  beautifully,  but  it  may  also  be  clearly 
shown  l)y  merely  drawing  two  concen- 
tric circles  of  different  sizes,  moving 
a  point  around  each  of  the  circles,  let- 
ting the  point  on  the  inner  circle  move 
the  faster,  and  noticing,  (or  indicating 
l)v    drawiiiQ-    lines    between    the     two 


1/2 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


points  in  their  different  positions)  how 
as  viewed  from  the  inner  point  the 
outer  one  is  sometimes  moving  for- 
ward and  sometimes  moving  backward. 
In  the  former  case  the  motion  of  the 
outer  point  is  said  to  be  "direct;"  in 
the  latter  it  is  "retrograde." — Eric 
Doolittle. 


Mr.   Warner's    Observatory   at   Tarry- 
town. 

After  'Mv.  Worcester  Reed  Warner, 
of  the   well-known   firm   of  Warner   & 


collapse,  but  is  l)raced  rigidly,  for  the 
barn  and  the  trees  hide  the  horizon, 
but  when  it  is  open,  as  here  shown,  I 
have  plenty  of  room  for  the  pole. 

"The  foundation  is  only  eight  posts 
set  in  concrete,  the  tops  sawed  oft'  level 
after  hardening.  A  concrete  pier  ex- 
tends from  hard  gravel  to  twelve  inches 
l)elow  the  floor  where  the  broad  iron 
column  of  the  telescope  meets  it.  I 
should  have  mentioned  that  the  two 
quadruple  bronze  hinges  into  which  the 
girders  screw  were  made  at  my  factory 


TWO    SELF-K.\PLA.\AT()RV    \  I  l-.W  > 

Swazey  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  had  estab- 
lished his  residence  at  Tarrytown-on- 
Hudson,  New  York,  one  of  the  first 
things  that  he  did  was  to  erect  an  ob- 
servatory. Upon  request  of  the  editor, 
Mr.  Warner  has  sent  two  photographs, 
and  has  written  as  follows : 

"I  enclose  two  views  of  my  new  ob- 
servatory. I  think  you  will  find  them 
largely  self-explanatory.  The  building 
was  not  quite  finished  when  they  were 
taken. 

"Nearly  every  piece  of  wood  was 
sawed  to  length  and  shape  at  the  mill 
(except  flooring)  and  my  chauft'eur  did 
the  erecting. 

"The  girders  are  four  pieces  of  one- 
half  inch  galvanized  pipe  bent  to  shape 
by  the  erector.  The  covering  was  fit- 
ted and  put  on  l)y  our  local  carpet 
dealer.     The  northern  section  does  not 


IV    MK.    WARNER'S    OBSER\'.\TORY. 

in  Cleveland.  The  cost  of  the  building 
Was  low,  and  its  efficiency  seems  high, 
for  the  severest  storm  does  not  succeed 
in  getting  a  drop  of  water  inside. 

"My  telescope  is  our  standard  pat- 
tern ;  the  objective  is  seven  and  three- 
quarters  aperture." 

]\Ir.  Warner  has  gone  to  California, 
and  on  October  2nd,  will  sail  for  the 
Orient,  where  he  expects  to  spend  the 
winter. 


"The  wistlom  of  C^iod  receives  small 
honor  from  those  that  stare  about  and 
with  gross  rusticity  admire  His  works  : 
those  highly  magnify  Him,  whose  ju- 
dicious inquiry  into  His  acts,  and  delib- 
erate research  into  His  creations,  return 
the  duty  of  a  devout  and  learned  (i.  e., 
intelligent)  admiration." — Religio  Medi- 
ci. A.^D..  i( 


TO  KNOW  THE  STARRY  HEAVENS 


What  Visitors  See  at  The  Lick  Observ- 
atory. 

Aiouiit  llamilton,  Califurnia. 
To  the  Editor : 

On  Saturday  nights  the  thirty-six 
inch  telescope  is  directed  upon  the  most 
interesting  available  object,  and  the 
twelve  inch  upon  the  next  most  in:er- 
esting.  With  so  many  visitors  it  is  im- 
possible to  show  more  than  one  object 
with  each  telescope.  At  this  season, 
in  the  dark  of  the  moon,  the  Hercules 
Cluster  and  a  double  star,  Epsilon 
Lyrse,  more  often  than  any  other 
usually  shown.  Jupiter  is  now  getting 
into  position  and  will  be  shown  to- 
night (August  28thj  with  the  twelve 
inch.  It  is  not  high  enough  yet  to  be 
convenient  for  the  thirty-six  inch. 

AA'e  ask  our  visitors  to  be  prompt  in 
taking  their  places  at  the  telescope, 
but  when  there  to  look  till  they  are 
satisfied.  Some  merely  glance  in, 
others  take  two  or  three  minutes  or 
more.  Alany  ask  a  number  of  ques- 
tions which  are  always  answered  to  the 
extent  of  our  knowledge. 

No  lantern  slides  are  shown,  but  in 
the  main  hallway  or  corrider  are  five 
large  cases  of  transparencies,  holding 
from  eight  to  twenty-eight  plates 
eight  by  ten  or  larger.  These  are 
illuminated  by  electric  lights  and  the 
views — sun,  moon,  comets,  nebulae, 
clusters,  spectra,  Milky  Way,  etc. — ex- 
plained to  all  who  care  to  hear. 

There  are  also  numerous  photo- 
graphs on  the  walls. 

Besides  this  the  clocks,  transit  instru- 
ment, seismograph,  weather  instru- 
ments, etc.,  are  shown  and  their  use 
explained. 

Rouglily  speaking,  about  half  the 
Saturday  night  visitors  are  content 
with  looking  through  the  telescopes 
and  taking  a  rapid  survey  of  the  build- 
ing without  guide.  The  rest  see  and 
hear  as  much  as  possible. 

Yours  verv  trulv, 

'  R.  G.  AiTKEx. 


lishes  "The  Monthly  Evening  Sky  Map," 
subscription  to  w'hich  is  one  dollar  per 
year  and  which  we  cordially  commend  to 
our  readers.  It  is  a  clear,  large  sized 
monthly  map,  and  contains  many  items 
of  astronomical  interest.  Mr.  Barritt 
has  continued  this  work  with  a  faithful- 
ness that  elicits  our  admiration.  The 
publication  cannot  be  sufficiently  remun- 
erative to  give  him  full  returns  for  his 
time,  and  he  should  therefore  be  consid- 
ered as  an  enthusiastic  missionary  in  be- 
half of  the  science  of  astronomy. 

Contributions  to  the  Sound  Beach 
Observatory. 

A  Friend,  Stamford $   i.oo 

Mrs.     S.     O.     Edwards,     Sound 

Beach    5.00 

Mrs.W.  G.  Ihrig,  Brooklyn,  N.Y.      i.oo 
Mr.   Tamizo    Watanabe,    Green- 
wich          2.00 

A  Friend,  Massachusetts 5.00 

Mr.    and    Mrs.    S.    H.    Hilliard, 

Stamford    i.oo 

]\Ir.  and  Mrs.  C.  W.  Payne,  Case- 

novia,  N.Y i  .00 

Antietam  Farm,  Smithtown,  N.Y,    5.00 
Mr.  John  xA..  Brown,  Stamford.  .      i.oo 

Dr.  F.  Schavoir,  Stamford 10.00 

Mr.  Robert  Stewart,  Sound  Beach    5.00 

A  Friend,  California i.oo 

Mr.     Charles    Andrews,     Sound 

Beach   i.oo 

]\Ir.  Samuel  P.  Avery,  Hartford, 

Conn 25.00 

Total    $  64.00 

Previously  acknowledged.  .  .  .    694.08 

Grand  Total $758.08 

"As  quick  as  a  wink"  proves  on 
the  recognition  of  five  different  types 
of  Thunderstorm  phenomenon.  The 
dividuals  from  0.035  seconds  to  0.049, 
with  a  mean  of  0.042.  In  other  words, 
a  wink  commonly  takes  about  one 
twentv-fifth  of  a  second. 


Mr.  Barritt's  Good  Work. 

Every  lover  of  "the  grandest  of  scien- 
ces" should  have  a  feeling  of  gratitude 
and  of  appreciation  for  the  excellent 
work  that  Leon  Barritt,  150  Nassau 
Street,  New  York  City,  is  doing  in  behalf 
of  all  astronomical   interests.     He  pub- 


A  promising  attempt  is  now  under 
way  to  reclaim  the  waste  peat  bogs  of 
Ireland  by  planting  them  to  pine. 
The  ordinar}^  Scots  pine  of  the  British 
Isles  will  not  grow  in  the  peat ;  but  an- 
other species,  Pinu  pinaster,  has  been  found 
to  do  well.  Oddly  enough,  P.  pinaster 
cannot  be  transplanted  to  the  bogs,  but 
must  be  grown  from  seed  sown  in  place. 


174 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


AQASSIZ  ASSOCIATION 


Established  1875  Incorporated,  Massachusetts,  1892  Incorporated,  Connecticut,  1910 


The  Value  to  Young  People  of  Study 
and  Observation  of  Nature. 

P.Y  MRS.  MARIA  HE;RRICK  BRAY,  WEST 
GLOUCESTER.  MASSACtlUSETTS,  A  NA- 
TURE STUDENT  EIGHTY-SEVEN  YEARS 
YOUNG. 

Life  is  eternal,  and  on  each  of  its 
pages  we  register  what  we  are.  As  I 
look  back  to  the  beginning  of  my  earth- 
ly life  eighty-seven  years  ago,  I  am 
firmly  convinced  that  one  of  the  duties 
that  I  owe  to  the  young  people  of  this 
generation  is  to  urge  them  to  come  at 
an  early  age  into  close  and  familiar 
companionship  with  nature. 

Nature  never  fails  to  give  a  cordial 
welcome  to  every  son  and  daughter 
who  is  inspired  with  love  for  birds, 
flowers,  ferns,  trees  and  the  countless 
variety  of  interesting  attractions  that 
nature  offers  everywhere  freely  and 
profusely. 

Splendid  opportunities  open  to  _  us 
every  day.  Years  ago  Browning 
wrote : 

" we're  made  so  that  we  love 

First    when    we    see    them    painted, 

things  we  have  passed 

Perhaps  a  hundred  times  nor  cared 
to  see  

A  deep,  reverent  love  for  nature,  a 
real  hunger  for  knowledge  concerning 
simple  everyday  objects  in  botany,  or- 
nithology, marine  plants,  things  not 
rare  nor  seclusive,  but  as  Hamilton 
Gibson  says,  "To  be  found  in  almost 
any  of  our  woods  or  fields,  along  the 
seabeaches,  and  which  any  wide-awake 
saunterer  may  discover  with  'half 
an  eye'  if  that  meml^er  be  properly 
equipped." 

Anticipation  is  an  equipment,  the 
surest  "open  sesame"  to  discovery,  and 
anticipation  may  be  quickened  either 
bv  pictorial  hint  or  previous  experience. 
The  brain  must  be  on  the  alert.    A  boy 


who  has  woodchucks  in  his  mind  as 
he  crosses  the  farm  is  sure  to  see  his 
woodchuck. 

Having  lived  for  more  than  eight 
decades  I  feel  it  a  privilege  and  a  pleas- 
ure to  counsel  young  people,  if  they 
desire  to  enter  into  one  of  the  broadest 
zones  of  real  enjoyment  and  happiness, 
where  the  daily  frets  and  worries  of 
life  cannot  enter,  to  begin  the  observa- 
tion and  study  of  nature  early  in  life. 

I  give  this  counsel  from  personal  ex- 
perience. I  have  no  recollection  of  the 
time  when  the  woods,  the  fields  and 
the  shore  of  the  multitudinous  sea. 
did  not  have  strong  attractions  for  me, 
nor  when  I  failed  to  find  "Mother  Na- 
ture" a  teller  of  true  and  entrancing 
stories.  If  you  begin  early  in  life  to 
think,  study  and  observe,  the  wise 
mother  will  reveal  wonderful  stories  of 
planting,  growth  of  leaf,  bud,  blossom 
and  fruit. 

Turn  another  leaf  in  "nature's  vast 
storybook,"  and  you  become  interested 
in  the  study  of  the  flowerless  plants, 
lichens,  mosses  and  ferns.  After  these 
interesting  plants  attract  your  atten- 
tion, you  cannot  walk  aimlessly  through 
the  woods  and  fields,  for  as  Mr.  Under- 
wood declares.  "In  the  entire  vegeta- 
ble world,  there  are  probably  no  forms 
of  growth  that  attract  more  general 
notice  than  the  ferns." 

I  recall  hours  filled  with  perfect  joy 
in  "fern  hunts."  In  a  short  time  the 
ferns  become  companionable  through 
observation  and  study  of  their  names, 
habits  and  habitats. 

In  early  life  I  began  to  collect  sea 
plants,  wild  flowers  and  ferns.  The 
work  was  full  of  fascination,  and  devel- 
oped within  me  an  insatiable  desire  for 
the  study  and  observation  of  nature. 
And  in  these  later  years  memories  of 
the  long  ago  are  beautiful ;  like  rare 
paintings  thev  glow  with  the  colors  of 


THE  AGASSIZ  ASSOCIATION 


175 


flowers,  intermingled  with  shadows  of 
green  ferns  and  dotted  by  lichens,  grey, 
brown  and  in  motley,  and  the  himible 
moss.  Such  pictures  are  securely  en- 
shrined wnthin  my  soul.  They  have 
been  to  me  blessed  consolers  in  seasons 
of  sadness  and  sorrow,  and  now',  in  the 
days  of  my  declining  years,  they  bring 
to  me  the  spirit  of  peace,  joy  and  cheer- 
fulness. 

Then  comes  the  study  of  the  birds, 
the  observation  of  their  habits.  Read 
'A\'ake-Robin"  by  John  Burroughs. 
That  cannot  fail  to  inspire  you  with  a 
desire  to  begin  to  study  and  observe 
the  birds  that  come  about  your  door- 
vards  even  in  winter,  waiting"  to  be 
fed,  and  the  great  army  of  land  birds 
and  sea  birds  that  come  with  the  return 
of  summer. 

Olive  Thorne  Miller  truly  says,  "Ears 
have  they,  but  they  hear  not,  may  be 
said  of  many  people  Once  learn  to 
hear  the  sounds  from  nature's  vast  do- 
main, and  observe  even  a  small  part  of 
what  is  wonderful  and  beautiful  in  the 
helds,  along  the  byways,  and  objects 
in  the  open  air,  countless  birds  on  the 
wing,  you  cannot  fail  to  find,  not  a  de- 
crease in  your  interest  in  nature's  fauna 
and  her  flora  and  the  wonders  of  her 
world,  but  an  increase  of  satisfaction 
and  joy  that  can  come  from  no  other 
source  My  last  message  to  my  young 
friends  that  do  not  wish  to  grow  old 
in  heart  is :  Keep  in  touch  with  ]\Iofher 
Nature  and  her  old  storybook  and  you 
will  always  find  that  she  has  a  new  leaf 
for  you  to  ttu-n.  Finis  has  not  yet  been 
written  on  her  page.  Every  day  it  is 
my  experience  that 

"Spring    still    makes    spring    within    the 
mind 

When  over  eighty  years  are  told  ; 
Love  wakes  anew  the  throbbing  heart 

And  I  am  never  old." 


Nature's  portals  open  wide,  , 

Her   ,a:ifts   are   free   to   all; 
Come,    let    us    gather   precious    store. 

Before  the  frosts  of  Fall. 

— Emma    Peirce. 


I  have  lived  to  be  fifty  years  old  and 
I  have  troubled  myself  overmuch  with 
books,  yet  with  a  tiniverse  of  knowl- 
edge untouched  before  me  I  feel  like  a 
child  lisping  its  first  lessons.  What 
hope,  then,  but  that  the  lamp  which 
here  dies  shall  be  rekindled  in  a  higher 
sphere? — "The  Phoenix." 


Web-like  Growth  Around  a  Tree. 

Singer's  Glen,  Virginia. 
To  the  Editor : 

This  strange  tree  stands  near  Lester, 
West  X'irginia.  The  oak  seems  to  have 
grown     u|)     throitgh     the     maple     and 


A    WKl;    (IF    MAl'I.K    AROLXD    AX    OAK. 

caused  it  to  take  this  peculiar  shape.    I 
can  accoitnt  for  it  in  no  other  way. 
Yours  trtily, 

Harry  Staley. 


The    White-throated    Sparrow. 

By  Elizabeth  \'an  Hoevenberg,  East  Stone- 
ham,    Maine. 

The   white-throat's   ringing,  bell-like   note 
Is   filling  all   the   air  with   nielod}-  so   sweet 

and  clear, 
We  seem  to  feel  its  mys'try  float 
About   us   far  and  near. 

He  calls  on   "Old  Sam!   Peabody,   Peabody, 
Peabody!" 
Insistant,   pleading,    earnesth',   to 
"Sow  \\heat!  cleverly,  cleverh-,  cleverly!" 

His  little  head  is  lifted  high,,  his  white- 
throat    thrills    and    throbs. 

The  notes  seem  welling  to  the  sky, 

As,  tumbling  from  his  trembling  beak,  they 
burst   in    swelling  sobs — 

Of   "Sow   wheat!   cleverly,    cleverly,   clever- 

Insistant,  pleading,  earnestly,  for 
"Old   Sam!   Peabod}',   Peabod3\   Peabody!" 


1/6 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


Interesting  Dog  and  Kittens. 

Willimantic,  Connecticut. 
To  the  Editor  :— 

Herewith  I  send  a  picture,  taken  by 
my  self,  of  myself,  of  my  white  collie 
dog,  and  my  two  white  kittens  eating 
their  breakfast  together.  When  the 
kittens   were   smaller,    Duke,   my   dog. 


Credit  to  Professor  Matheson. 

Through  an  oversight,  credit  to  Pro- 
fessor Robert  Matheson,  Ithaca,  New 
York,  was  omitted  from  the  article, 
"Insects  that  Swim  under  Water,"  in 
our  September  number.  Professor 
Matheson  was  author  with  Professor 
Crosby  in  the  original  publication. 


KATING  THEIR  r.RE 

used  to  carry  them  around  like  the 
mother  cat.  Duke  likes  to  play  with 
the  kittens  and  is  always  careful  not 
to  hurt  them.  The  kittens  were  four 
weeks  old  when  we  got  them.  They 
slept  in  a  basket  and  while  they  were 
sleeping  Duke  would  lie  down  beside 
the  basket.  If  he  thought  they  were 
sleeping  too  long,  he  would  put  his 
nose  in  the  basket  and  take  the  kittens 
out  very  gently  with  his  mouth  and 
then  they  would  play  together.  I  have 
lots  of    fun    playing  with  my  dog  and 

kittens. 

Helen  Zipfel. 


AKFAST  TOGETHER. 

Bluebells    at    Grand    Manan. 

All   over   the    cliffs   tiny   l)luebells 

Were   nodding   with   exquisite    grace, 

The  solid  rock  softening  and  brightening, 
As   smiles  will   illume   a   stern   face. 

— Emma    Peirce. 


Couleur  de  Rose. 

Bright  maple  leaves  a  carpet  made, 

A  roof  above  our  heads; 
Their   wondrous   tints   were   all   about,, 

Beyond   the   garden   beds. 

As  though   sunrise  and  sunset  clouds 

Encompassed  us  around, 
And   were   jiot   melting   in   the   air. 

But    falling   on    the    ground. 

— Emma    Peirce. 


God  speed  the  good  work  of  making 
God's  creatures  love  the  works  of  God 
and  through  these  grow  to  know  the 
Truth  in  spiritual  fields. — 

POULTNEY  BiGEEOW. 

(Personal  letter.) 


Mr.  Charles  T.  Wills,  of  Greenwich, 
Connecticut,  a  Member  of  The  Agassiz 
Association,  died  in  the  Greenwich 
Hospital  on  Tuesday  morning,  August 
31st.  The  deceased,  one  of  the  oldest 
and  most  prominent  residents  in  Green- 
wich, held  many  prominent  positions 
in  civic  and  business  matters.  He  was 
a  member  of  several  other  scientific 
organizations,  including  The  Metro- 
politan Museum  of  Natural  History. 
The  American  Geological  Society,  The 
New  York  Botanical  Society  and  The 
New  York  Academy  of  Science.  The 
Agassiz  Association  extends  to  mem- 
bers of  the  family  sincere  sympathy  in 
their  great  loss.  and_to  the  community 
for  the  loss  of  an  ef^cient  business  man 
who  devoted  a  large  part  of  his  time 
and  means  to  scientific  interests. 


THE  AGASSIZ  ASSOCIATION 


// 


The     Agassiz     Association     and      Its 
Home  Are  for  You. 

To  create  and  increase  a  knowledge 
and  love  of  nature.  You  are  not  too  rich, 
nor  too  poor ;  not  too  wise  nor  too  ig- 
norant ;  not  too  young  nor  too  old,  to 
share  in  their  benefits. 

VISITING   DAYS. 

To  Members  (and  accompanying 
Friends)  :  All  Days.  Special  personal 
attention,  if  an  appointment  is  made  by 
telephone  or  otherwise. 


To  Xon-Members  (not  accompanying 
Members).  Wednesdays  and  Saturdays, 
3  :oo  to  5  :oo  P.  M..  and  at  other  times 
by  Special  Invitation  and  Appointment. 
ArcAdiA  is  not  a  Museum,  not  a  Botan- 
ical Garden,  not  a  Zoo.  Yet  at  different 
times  it  has  a  few-  special  interests  (under 
special  study)  along  some  or  all  of  these 
lines.  Our  purpose  is  not  so  much  to  ex- 
hibit nor  to  entertain,  as  to  create  a  de- 
sire to  do  what  Agassiz  so  insisted  upon — 
that  is.  to  "study  xature.'' 


BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES. 

Corporators:  Edward  F.  Bigelow,  Ph.  D., 
Sound  Beach.  Conn.,  President  and  Treas- 
urer; Hon.  Homer  S.  Cummings,  Stam- 
ford, Conii.,  Secretary;  Walter  D.  Daskam, 
Stamford,  Conn.  Other  Trustees:  Harlan 
H.  Ballard.  Pittsfield.  Mass..  Honorary 
Vice-President;    Hiram   E.   Deats,   Fleming- 


ton.  New  Jersey,  Business  Adviser  and 
Auditor:  Dr.  David  Starr  Jordan,  Chancel- 
lor Leland  Stanford  Junior  University, 
Stanford  University,  California,  Dean  of 
Council:  Dr.  Leland  O.  Howard,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  Naturalist  Adviser;  Reverend 
Charles  Morris  Addison,  Stamford,  Conn,; 
George  Sherrill,  M.  D.,  Stamford,  Conn. 


Chapter  Organization  Expense 

Entrance    Fee     *^i  -^; 

Handbook,    "Three    Kingdoms"...     .75 
Engraved  Charter,  in  tube 1.00    $3.00 

ANNUAL   DUES — PAYABLE   IN    ADVANCE. 

The  Annual  Dues  for  Chapter.  .$2.00 

Annual       Dues       Members       of 

Chapter     Members  @  5c 

each   —    $    

Total  Necessary  Expense  to  Chap- 
ter upon  Joining  the  Associa- 
tion       <c     — 


,-^^ 


Ivi^ 


AGASSIZ  AS  A  TEACHER 

HE  spoke  with  intense  earnestness  and  all   his  words 
were  filled  with  that  deep  religious  feeling  so  char- 
acteristic of  his  mind.     For  to  Agassiz  each  natural 
object  was  a  thought  of  God,  and  trifling  with  God's  truth 
as  expressed  in  Nature  was  the  basest  of  sacrilege. 

And  the  Summer  went  on,  with  its  succession  of  joj-ous 
mornings,  beautiful  days,  and  calm  nights,  with  every 
charm  of  sea  and  sky:  the  master  with  us  all  day  long, 
ever  ready  to  speak  words  of  help  and  encouragement,  evei 
ready  to  give  us  from  his  own  stock  of  learning.  The 
boundless  enthusiasm  which  surrounded  him  like  an  at- 
mosphere, and  which  sometimes  gave  the  appearance  of 
great  achievement  to  the  commonest  things  was  never 
lacking.  He  was  always  an  optimist,  and  his  strength  lay 
largely  in  his  realization  of  the  value  of  the  present  mo- 
ment He  was  a  living  illustration  of  the  aphorism  of 
Thoreau.  that  "there  is  no  hope  for  you  unless  the  bit  of 
sod  under  your  feet  is  the  sweetest  in  this  world — in  any 
world."  The  thing  he  had  in  hand  was  the  thing  worth 
doing,  and  the  men  about  him  were  the  men  worth  ^elping 
— Dai'id  Slar-r   Jorddn  in  ^'Agassiz  at  Fenikesf." 


Corresponding  Member's  Expense 

Entrance    Fee $0.25 

Handbook,  "Three  Kingdoms" 75 

Certificate   of   Membership 50 

$1.50 

Annual  Dues    i.^o 

$3.00 

Student  Members  are  required  to  make  a 
report  at  least  once  a  year.  This  report 
should  contain  not  only  a  statement  of 
work  done,  but  of  "the  promotion,"  "the 
advancement,"  etc.  See  quotation  from 
Charter.  We  are  to  help  others  as  well  as 
ourselves.     Extend  the  influence  of  the  AA. 

The  Auuiial  Dues  include  payment  for  sub- 
seriptiou  to  The  Guide  to  IVature. 


COOPERATING  MEMBERSHIPS 

Sustaining    Member      (annually)     $5 

Sustaining  and  Honorary   (annually)    . .   $25 

Life  Member  (paid  at  one  time)    $100 

Patron    (paid   at   one   time)    $1,000 

Founder     $5,000 

Benefactor    $25,000 


178 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


Propogation  of  Wild  Birds.     By  Herbert  K. 
Job.      Garden    City,    New   York:    Double- 
day,  Page  &  Company. 
"Louis  Agassiz  Fuertes,,  the  artist  of  bird 


rare  or  unusual  one.  Bless  his  artistic  soul! 
A  thousand  times,  yes!  It  is  one  of  the 
most  entrancing  emotions;  and  the  person 
is  fortunate  indeed  who  knows  it  from  fre- 


'O 


a, 

.£■  c 

U     1) 

•S  S 


life,  once  asked  the  writer  whether  he  ever 
felt  a  sort  of  rapturous  thrill  when  in  close 
proximity  to  a  wild  bird,  especially  with  a 


quent  experience." 

Thus  speaks  the  author  of  this  Dook,  the 
first  and  only  popular  manual  to  give  prac- 


BOOKS  AND  MAGAZINES 


179 


tical  directions  for  the  attracting  and  the 
conserving         wild   bird   life. 

The  scope  of  the  work  is  set  forth  in  a 
prefatory  note  by  T.  Gilbert  Pearson,  Sec- 
retary of  the  National  Association  of  Au- 
dubon  Societies,   as  follows: 

"There  has  grown  up  in  the  United 
States,    within    the   past   ten   years,    a   wide- 


"As  a  natural  consequence  of  these  mani- 
festations of  interest  on  the  part  of  the 
public,  there  has  appeared  an  increased  de- 
sire to  have  birds  come  about  the  home  in 
greater  numbers.  People  are  wanting  more 
robins  on  the  lawn,  more  wrens  in  the 
garden,  and  more  bluebirds,  thrashers,,  and 
woodpeckers    in    the    neighborhood. 


spread  interest  in  birds,  the  extent  of  which 
has  never  been  equalled  in  this  or  any  other 
country.  Along  with  the  desire  to  acquire 
more  knowledge  regarding  the  habits  and 
activities  of  these  feathered  denizens  of  the 
great  Outside  has  arisen  a  sense  of  personal 
obligation  to  aid  all  movements  that  tend 
toward  safeguarding  their  lives  and  pro- 
longing their  usefulness. 


'T  recall  that  less  than  ten  years  ago  I 
spent  much  time  in  an  effort  to  induce  a 
certain  man  to  begin  the  manufacture  and 
sale  of  nesting-boxes  for  birds  and  similar 
apparatus,  with  the  view  of  supplying  a 
demand  which  I  felt  was  certain  to  come. 
It  was  with  very  great  difficulty  that  he 
was  induced  to  go  into  this  business.  To- 
day there  are  more  than  twenty  well-known 


i8o 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


manufacturers  of  bird-boxes  and  other  bird- 
attracting  apparatus  in  the  eastern  part  of 
the   United   States  alone. 

"It  has  not  been  a  great  many  years  since 
an  estate  on  which  pheasants  and  wild  ducks 
were  reared  was  a  curiosity  and  occasioned 
much  local  comment.  To-day  hundreds  of 
persons   are   engaging  in   this   pleasant   and 


rnct^'j;>afh  by  Com.  oi\no,:  H.  Graham  of  Mass. 

U.  S.  Senator  George  P.  McLean  feeding  young  ruffed  grouse  reared 
on  his  estate  at  Simsbury,  Connecticut 


profitable  occupation.  Naturally  much  well- 
meant  effort  in  this  direction  has  been  ill- 
directed;  and  it  has  become  evident  that 
there  is  great  need  of  some  one  highly 
skilled  in  the  matter  of  artificial  propoga- 
tion  of  birds  to  give  counsel  to  those  desir- 
ing to  undertake  an  enterprise  of  this  char- 
acter. 

"It  was  to  meet  this  demand  and  provide 
expert  advice  for  those  desiring  to  begin 
the  raising  of  game-birds,  or  to  make  bird- 
sanctuaries  of  their  groves  and  fields,  that 
I  arranged  for  the  National  Association  of 
Audubon  Societies  to  establish,  in  1914,  its 
'Department  of  Applied  Ornithology.'  " 

In  his  introduction  Mr.  Job  points  out 
that  the  work  of  the  Audubon  Societies 
looking  toward  the  propagation  of  wild 
birds  is  really  a  movement  in  direct  line 
with  the  great  national  desire  for  the  con- 
servation of  the  natural  resources  and 
beauties  of  the  country.  Up  to  about  1875 
birds  of  all  sorts  were  slaughtered  for  food, 
for  their  plumage  or  for  the  mere  sport  of 
killing.  But  at  that  time  the  economic 
value  of  bird  life  began  to  dawn  upon  a  few 
thoughtful  minds,  and  the  effort  ever  since 
has  been  to  prevent  the  useless  killing  of 
birds. 

In  another  place  he  describes  the  joy  to 
be  found  in  helping  the  birds  in  their  un- 
equal  struggle  for  life: 

"Recently    I    sat   for   more    than   hour   on 


the  shore  of  a  small  pond  close  to  several 
species  of  wild  ducks  in  all  the  glory  of 
their  nuptial  plumage.  The  previous_  sea- 
son out  in  the  wilds  of  northern  Manitoba 
I  had  hatched  these  ducklings  in  an  incu- 
bator, raised  them  by  hand,  and  had 
brought  them  under  my  personal  care  more 
than  two  thousand  miles  to  the  spot  where 
I  sat.  The  wonderful  can- 
vasbacks  were  diving  and 
eating  the  succulent  roots 
which  they  brought  to  the 
surface.  The  light  glanced 
resplendent  from  their 
delicately  pencilled  backs 
and  gleamed  in  the  fiery 
eyes  of  the  inales.  Was. 
it  tedious  to  sit  there  so 
long  in  the  cold  April 
wind?  Nay,  rather  in  my 
delight  I  was  oblivious  tO' 
the  passing  of  time. 

"Much  the  same  feeling 
may  be  kindled  when  a 
pair  of  bluebirds,  wrens, 
or  chickadees  accept  our 
hospitality  and  raise  a 
brood  or  two  in  one  of 
our  nesting-boxes;  or 
when  the  chirping  spar- 
rows and  phoebes  use  the 
building  material  we  have 
put  out  for  them,  and  nest 
in  the  woodbine  or  under 
the  porch  by  our  very 
door." 

The   author  asserts   that 
the     propagation     of    wild 
birds  for  food  or  for  other 
practical    purposes    is    go- 
ing on  to  a  greater  extent 
than      ever      before.        He 
showed  the  legitimate  bas- 
is of  such  propagation,  and  how  the  work  of 
the  Audubon  Society  has  created  a  new  field 
for  scientific  research. 

The  book  is  divided  into  three  general 
divisions.  In  the'  first  part,  "Methods  with 
Gallinaceous  Birds,  and  Others,"  it  treats 
of  the  wild  turkey,  the  pheasant,  the  pigeon. 
In  the  second  part,  "The  Propagation  of 
Wild  Waterfowl,"  it  deals  with  wild  ducks, 
wild  geese,  swans,  wading  birds,  and  sim- 
ilar types.  In  the  third  part,  "Methods  with 
the  Smaller  Land  Birds,"  the  person  just 
beginning  the  study  will  perhaps  find  the 
most  interesting  material.  Here  the  author 
discusses  such  important  fundamental  mat- 
ters as  nesting-boxes,  nesting  material, 
water  supply,  attractive  vegetation,  sup- 
pression of  enemies,  etc. 

The  book  is  profousely  illustrated  with 
excellent  photographs  that  have  not  only 
artistic  merit,  but  well  illustrate  the  practi- 
cal   parts    of   the    subject. 


From  the  Agricultural  Experiment 
Station  at  Madras,  India,  comes  the 
report  of  successful  experiments  on 
feeding  cattle  with  dried  fish.  The  diet 
is  by  no  means  ideal,  but  serves  to 
keep  the  creatures  alive  when  the 
grass  fails. 


w 


Fie  upon  thee,  November !  thou  dost  ape 
The  airs  of  thy  young  sisters  ;  —  thou  hast  stolen 
The  witching  smile  of  May  to  grace  thy  lip, 
And  April's  rare  capricious  loveliness 
Thou'rt  trying  to  put  on  ! 

Julia  C,  R.  Dorr 


VoLVIll  November.  1915 

PUBLISHED   BY 

THE  AGASSIZ  ASSOCIATION 

ArcAdiA:  sound  beach,  CONNECTICUT 

EDWARD    F.    BIGELOW.   Managing  Editor 
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GREENWICH 


THE    EDITION    DE  LUXE 
OF  CONNECTICUT  TOWNS 


GREENWICH 


As   Trustee 

Under  this  term  are  several  forms  of  serv- 
ice covered  by  The  Greenwich  Trust 
Company,  such  as:  Administration  of  es- 
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of  enterprises  in  financial  difficulties;  agent 
for  persons  who  want  to  be  relieved  of  the 
management  of  their  own  business  and 
property  affairs. 

A  corporation  is  better  than  an  individual, 
because:  It  never  dies;  it  is  never  absent 
or  too  busy  for  immediate  action;  and  do- 
ing its  work  by  the  collective  judgment 
and  efforts  of  several  experienced  persons, 
it  is  superior  to  individual  human  frailties 
of  judgment  and  conduct  which  so  often 
result  disastrously  in  the  case  of  one  man 
trusteeship. 
Our  Officers  will  gladly  confer  with  you  re- 
garding the  services  above  outlined. 

The  Greenwich  Trust  Co. 

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GREENWICH,  CONNECTICUT 

has  good  transportation  facilities  to 
New  York.  You  can  buy  or  rent  to 
good  advantage  and  enjoy  living  by 
the  water  or  among  the  hills  to  the 
utmost  satisfaction. 

I  have  for   Sale 

Elegant  Country  Estates,  Shore  and  Inland 
Residences,  Farms,  Acreage,  Cottages  and 
Building  Sites.  Also  a  number  of  selected 
Furnished  Residences  and  Cottages  to  Rent 
in    all    locations. 

Would  be  pleased  to  have  you  call  or  write. 

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456        Opp.  Depot        Greenwich,  Conn 


BEST  NURSERY  STOCK  EVER  GROWN 

Evergreens  Fruit  and  Ornamental  Trees 
Flowering  Shrubs  Hedge  Plants  Vines 
Roses     Hardy  Perennials      ^      ^      ^ 


Preparing  of  Plans       Laying  Out  of  Grounds     Grading 
-:-        -:-        Road  Building       Tree  Work        -:-        -:- 


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THE  GUIDE  rO  NATURE.— ADVERTISEMENTS. 


VII 


THE  STAMFORD  NOTE 
BOOK 

Inspiring  for  Late  Autumn  and  Winter 

One  of  the  most  stimulating  and 
satisfying  stores  is  that  of  The  Lock- 
wood' &  Palmer  Company  in  Stamford, 
Connecticut.  Any  lover  of  suburbs  or 
of  country  that  enters  this  store  will 
love  the  home  and  its  surroundings  and 
nature  better  than  ever,  and  will  see 
that  here  are  satisfying  equipments  of 
every  kind. 

If  you  are  interested  in  building,  har- 
vesting, care  of  chickens,  the  cultivating 
of  vegetables  on  the  farm,  in  repairing 
and  painting  the  buildings  for  the  win- 
ter, if,  in  fact,  you  are  interested  in  any- 
thing connected  with  a  home  near  to 
nature,  then  here  you  will  find  the  best 
of  everything  with  reasonable  prices 
and  courteous  treatment. 

A  store  so  well  equipped  and  man- 
aged is  not  only  a  commendable  busi- 
ness enterprise  for  the  owners,  but  is  to 
the  visitor  educational  and  suggestive. 
It  tends  to  make  living  in  the  country 
enjoyable  and  efficient. 


Stamford's  Biggest  Candy  Kitchen. 

It  is  fifteen  years  since  the  Olympia 
Candy  Company  started  in  business  on 
Atlantic  Street,  Stamford,  Connecticut. 
Their  growth,  the  result  of  painstaking 
endeavor  to  please  the  public,  has  been 
steady. 

The  crowning  point  of  their  success 
has  recently  been  celebrated  by  several 
changes  and  improvements.  They  have 
installed  the  largest  and  best  refrigerat- 
ing plant  in  this  vicinity,  at  a  cost  of 
more  than  two  thousand  dollars,  and 
with  a  capacity  of  six  tons.  The  work- 
ing rooms  have  been  extended.  A  new 
ceiling  and  a  new  tile  floor  have  been 
put  in.  The  entire  establishment  is 
beautiful,  convenient,  spacious,  attrac- 
tive. A  large  variety  of  candy  always 
fresh  and  ice  cream  always  delicious 
is  kept  at  all  times.  Everything  about 
this  popular  store  is  inviting. 


A  three-year-old  girl  became  inter- 
ested in  a  peculiar  noise  and  asked  what 
it  was.  "A  cricket,  dear,"  replied  the 
mother.  "Well,"  remarked  the  little 
lady.  "  he  ought  to  get  himself  oiled." — 
Christian  Resfister. 


Cheering. — Mistress — "I  shall  be 
very  lonely,  Bridget,  if  you  leave  me." 

Bridget — Don't  worry,  mum.  I'll  not 
go  until  ye  have  a  houseful  of  com- 
pany."— Boston  Transcript. 


Come   out   into   the   sunshine 
Why  stay  cooped  up  in-doors? 

This   sparkling  morning  tonic 
Is  always  freely  yours. 

— Emma  Peirce. 


A  well-to-do  Scottish  lady  one  day 
said  to  her  gardener : 

"Man  Tammas,  I  wonder  you  don't 
get  married.  You've  a  nice  house,  and 
all  you  want  to  complete  it  is  a  wife. 
You  know  the  first  gardener  that  ever 
lived  had  a  wife." 

"Quite  right,  missis,  quite  right," 
said  Tammas,  "but  he  didna  keep  his 
job  lang  after  he  got  the  wife." 


The  codfish  lays  a  million  eggs. 

While  the  helpful  hen  lays  one; 
But  the  codfish  does  not  cackle. 

To  inform  us  what  she's  done ; 
And  so  we  scorn  the  codfish  coy, 

But  the  helpful  hen  we  prize; 
Which  indicates  to  thoughtful  minds 

It  pays  to  advertise. 

w.  A.  McClelland 

OPTOMFTRIST  OPTICIAN 


J\keds- 

whether  business  or  social, 
can  be  supplied  here  to  the 
best  advantage.  Variety, 
quality,  price,  all  in  your 
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STAIVll-uRU,  CONN. 


VIII  THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE.— ADVERTISEMENTS. 


THE  C.  O.  MILLER   CO. 

Established  47  Years 

Atlantic  Square  Stamford,  Conn. 

A  Store  for  Particular  People  where  you  will  find  full  stock 
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SPECIAL  ATTENTION  IS  DIRECTED  TO 

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ESTABLISHED    1S5: 


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Homes  Near  to  Nature 


Skould    be   so    constructed    as   to   give   lasting   satisfaction. 
Our    metkod    of    manufacturing    dependable    Imterior    amd 
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SPECIALTY:  High-Qrade  HARDWOOD  FLOORING        THE  ST.  JOHN  WOODWORKING  CO. 

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Entered  as  Second-Class  Matter  June  12.  1909.  at  Sound  Beach  Post  Office,  under  .Act  of  M  arch  3.  1897. 


Vol 


VIII 


NOVEMBER 


Number  6 


A  Lake  of  Possibilities  and  Difficulties. 

By  EDWARD  F.  BIGELOW,  ArcAdiA:  Sound  Beach,  Connecticut. 


MR.  Ernest  Thompson  Seton  for  the 
past  three  years  at  his  new  home 
that  he  calls  "The  Fincherie"  has 
been  engaged  for  about  three  months  each 
year  in  developing-  or  transforming"  a  pes- 
tilential marsh  into  a  picturesque  lake. 
This  famous  naturalist  quite  evidently 
likes  to  do  that  kind  of  a  thing,  because 
on  his  former  estate — "Wyndygoul" — he 
had  an  extremely  interesting  lake  that 
was  almost  wholly  his  development,  na- 
ture provided  onl.\  the  water  and  a  very 
nice  possibilit}-  so  that  the  attempt  met 
with  a  great  many  difficulties  in  order 
to  get  the  water  back  enough  to  flow  over 
a  large  stretch  of  territory  and  in  giving 
the  whole  thing  a  really  natural  appear- 
ance. One  would  never  think  of  calling 
it  a  pond,  because  it  really  was  a  lake 
to  all  intents  and  purposes. 

Here  at  his  recently  acquired  property 
there  are  greater  possibilities  and  greater 
difficulties  in  producing  the  desired  effect 
but  on  the  whole,  the  plan  seems  to  give 
promise  of  far  greater  results  than  did 
his  former  lake.  The  road  by  the  side  of 
the  lake  has  every  picturesque  advantage 
and  the  view  from  the  south  looking  up 
the  lake  is  beautiful  in  the  extreme.  ^Ir. 
Seton  says,  "I  am  a  little  shy  about  giving 
information     concerning    the    lake     plan 


just  now  because  so  much  of  it  is  prob- 
lematic.    I  never  know  what  the  difificul- 


MR.     SKTOX 


ADMIRES    THK    STUMP 
M.VCHIXE. 


PULLIXG 


Copyright   1915  by  The  Agassiz   Association.   Arc.-Vdi.A:    Sound   Beach,   Conn. 


l82 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


"THE  ROAD   BY  THE   SIDE   OF  THE   LAKE   HAS   EVERY   PICTURESQUE   ADVANTAGE." 

ties  are  till  I  come  to  them,  so  I  cannot      separate  treatment."     However  great  are 
say  in  advance  how  I  am  going  to  solve      the  difificulties,  he  will  overcome  them, 
them.     Bog,  rock  and  level  flat  all  require  I  remarked  to  a  friend  who  visited  the 


THE  MEN  GO  OUT  IN  BOATS  TO  ATTACH  A  WIKK  CABLE  TO  THE  STUMPS. 


A  LAKE  OF  POSSIBILITIES  AND  DIFFICULTIES 


183 


IN    THE    LATE   AFTERNOON. 


locality  with  me,  "How  is  it  that  such  a  the  right  hands  ?"  His  reply  was :  "When 
marvelous  locality  could  have  been  here  the  gods  wish  to  have  a  work  done,  they 
all  these  years  and  now  fall  into  exactly    not  only  provide  the  work  but  they  keep 


ONE  OF  THE  MANY  SCENES  AMONG  FALLEN  TREES. 


1 84 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


"THE  VIEW  FROM  THE  SOUTH  LOOKING  UP  THE  LAKE  IS  BEAUTIFUL  IN  THE  EXTREME. 


it  until  an  opportune  time  and  then  they 
provide  the  man." 

That  seems  to  be  the  solution  to  the 
whole  situation.  Mr.  Seton  has  had  ex- 
perience ;  he  loves  the  work ;  he  knows 
nature ;  he  has  an  artistic  eye  and  the  re- 
quisite knowledge  and  financial  facilities 
to  carry  the  thing  through  successfully. 
He  does  not  work  at  it  with  feverish 
impatience  nor  with  the  air  of  a  con- 
tractor who  must  rush  the  job.  He  em- 
ploys a  few  men  and  makes  use  of  a 
powerful  little  machine  that  has  a  capacity 
to    draw    between    forty    and    fifty    tons 


through  the  labor  of  two  men  who  work 
a  long  lever.  Huge  trees  are  moved 
bodily  by  this  Oregon  stumper  and  drag- 
ged bodily  from  the  lake  bed  to  the  road- 
side. The  stum])s  are  dragged  with  a 
large  mass  of  earth  as  much  as  a  thou- 
sand cubic  feet  at  one  pull  to  form  ready 
planted  lake  borders  or  enchanting 
islands,  so  that  a  canoe  trip  of  this  mile 
long  lake  will  be  a  trip  of  exploration 
with  vistas  and  surprises  at  every  turn. 
It  is  quite  evident  that  here  is  thorough- 
ly original  work  and  there  is  not  much 
precedent   to  go  b\-,   but  the   impression 


MR.   SETON   IS  MUCH   INTERESTED  IN    SKUNK  FARMING. 


LAYING  EGGS  ON  TIME 


i8: 


given  to  a  visitor  is  that  the  problems  are 
quickly  being"  solved  and  that  here  will 
be  one  of  the  most  novel  and  picturesque 
lakes  covering  about  a  dozen  acres  and 
with  a  permanent  depth  of  some  eight 
feet  of  water.  The  lake  will  be  stocked 
with  fish,  but  the  prime  idea  is  not  the 
fisherman  but  the  naturalist ;  not  a  land- 
scape decoration,  but  artistic  satisfaction. 

Mr.  Seton  is  well  known  the  world 
over  as  being  interested  in  skunk  farming, 
and,  after  returning  from  the  lake  with 
him,  he  kindly  consented  to  pose  at  the 
feeding  time  of  his  favorite  pets.  He 
also  has  two  lynxes  or  bobtailed  cats  from 
the  Rocky  ^Mountains,  and  he  derives 
much  pleasure  in  studying  their  charac- 
teristics. There,  under  close  observation, 
are  several  of  our  wildest  and  shyest 
animals,  including  minks,  martens,  sables, 
coons  and  others. 

There  is  every  indication  that  this 
will  become,  under  the  transforming 
hand  of  this  famous  naturalist,  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  and  natural  developments 
and  a  real  bird  and  animal  sanctuarv. 


Fall  Dandelions. 

Like  golden  stars  throughout  the  browning 

grass, 
These    tardy   blooms   appear   to   those   who 

pass; 
A    message    of    good    cheer    they    have    for 

most, 
Late  lingerers  of  Summer's  blossom  host. 
— Emma    Peirce. 


Laying  Eggs  on  Time. 

Go  with  your  clock  to  the  clock  maker's 
to  have  it  repaired.  Probably  a  dozen 
people  will  say,  "I  see  that  you  are  going 
to  be  on  time  as  you  are  carrying  it  with 
you.  "  Nowadays  time  is  in  the  atmos- 
phere. How  soon  can  you  do  it?  How 
soon  can  I  get  there?  Oh,  Central,  be 
quick ;  I  am  in  a  hurry !  Is  this  the  fast- 
est train?  We  discuss  the  number  of 
hours  that  shall  form  a  working  day,  and 
some  predict  that  that  day  will  soon  be 
shorter  than  it  now  is.  Time  is  in  the  air. 
It  seems  conclusive  from  circumstantial 
evidence  that  even  the  hens  are  consider- 
ing the  matter.  One  can  easily  fancy  that 
over  in  Cos  Cob  during  one  of  these  dis- 
cussions one  of  the  egg  layers  arose  to 
a  point  of  order  and  said,  "What  is  the 
use  of  this  discussion?  Human  beings 
have  clocks  but  we  haven't."  Then  arose 
a    Yankee    biddie.       "Necessity    is    the 


mother  of  invention  !"  she  laconically  re- 
marked. "If  there  is  a  need  there  is  almost 
always  some  method  of  supplying  that 
need.  It  is  therefore  evident  to  me  that 
all  this  discussion  should  have  some  effect 
on  our  egg  laying."  Therefore  sitting- 
down  to  the  situation,  the  hen  produced 
an  egg  with  a  clock  face  on  it. 

Some  reader  may  be  so  bold  as  to  be- 
lieve that  this  is  only  a  dream.     But  is 


THE  'TIOUR"  MARKS  OX  THE  EGG. 

The   white   ridges   were  marked  with   pencil  in   order 

that  they  might  show  clearly  in   the   photograph. 

Mrs.    Gotthold  explains  that   the  hen    escaped   from    the 

yard  into  the  flower  bed  and  fed  from 

a  bed  of  thvmel  I 


this  the  photograph  of  a  dream  ?  A  hen's 
egg  with  a  clock  dial  on  it.  and  put  there 
by  the  hen?  The  egg  was  kindly  con- 
tributed to  ArcAdiA  by  Airs.  Frederick 
Gotthold.  one  of  the  Members  of  The 
Asjassiz  Association. 


The  new  building  for  the  Field  Ahi- 
seum  of  Natural  History  in  Chicago  is 
a1  last  under  way.  and  is  to  be  complet- 
ed in  three  years.  Seven  hundred  feet 
by  three  hundred  and  fifty  are  its  di- 
mensions :  wdiile  its  floor  space  will 
amount  to  more  than  fifteen  acres,  of 
which  nearly  ten  acres  will  be  given 
over  to  exhibitions.  Some  three  thou- 
sand men  will  be  employed  on  the  struc- 
ture, which  when  completed  will  be. the 
largest  marble  building  in  the  world, 
and  one  of  the  largest  museums. 


i86 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


A  Remarkable  Piece  of  Veneer. 

The  illustration  shows  a  remarkable 
specimen  of  rotary  cut,  yellow  poplar 


labor  and  delicate  machinery  were  re- 
quired to  cut  such  a  piece  of  wood  with- 
out  splitting  it.     In  addition    to    this, 


:^>^^NJ^::^>'>^^ 


veneer,  one-eighth  of  an  inch  thick,  ten  think  of  the  skill  required  to  fit  it  to 

feet  wide,  and  thirty  feet  long.     It  is  the  ceiling  and  put  it  in  position  as  one 

to  be  used    as    a    ceiling  panel  for  an  entire  ornamental  design, 
electric  street  railway  car.     Much  skill.  We  are  indebted  to  "American  For- 


SQUIRREL  BURVIXG  A  XUT 


187 


estry  for  the  use  of  this  remarkable 
illustration,  taken  from  an  interesting 
article  entitled  "Commercial  Uses  of 
Tulip  or  Yellow  Poplar."  "American 
Forestry."  beginning  with  the  August 
numbei,  has  made  a  remarkable  ad- 
vance. The  magazine  is  enlarged  and 
in  every  respect  improved;  the  quality 
of  the  paper  is  good;  the  printing  is 
first-class,  and  the  reader  must  wonder 
where  the  editors  find  so  great  an 
amount  of  interesting  material  pertain- 
ins:  to  our  forests. 


Squirrel   Burying  a  Nut. 

BY   EWING   SUMMERS,    WASHINGTON,   D.    C. 

For  the  first  time  in  my  life  I  saw  a 
few  days  ago  the  beautiful  and  interest- 
ing operation  of  a  squirrel  burying  a 
morsel  of  food.  As  I  was  passing  a  park 
I  noticed  the  dear  little  creature  work- 
ing with  all  his  rapid  might,  with  his 
nose  close  to  the  ground  not  more  than 
two  feet  from  the  sidewalk,  and  was 
surprised  that  he  did  not  notice  me,  he 
was  so  enthusiastic  in  his  task.  Having 
been  drilled  for  many  years  by  nature 
study  writers  into  the  importance  of 
close  observation,  I  immediately  thought 
that  now  there  is  a  golden  opportunity 
for  putting  the  principle  into  practice. 
The  provident  little  animal  was  digging 
a  hole  in  which  to  bury  a  peanut  which 
he  was  holding  in  his  mouth  with  ends 
up  and  down,  not  horizontally.  There 
was  a  wise  object  in  this,  as  we  shall 
presently  see.  On  his  finishing  the  ex- 
cavation I  noticed  that  it  was  about  two 
inches  wide  at  the  top  and  two  inches 
deep.  He  stuck  the  peanut  down  end- 
wise into  the  bottom  of  the  hole  as 
tightly  as  he  could  and  commenced  to 
cover  it,  not  as  we  men  would,  by  paw- 
ing in  the  loose  earth  thrown  up,  but  by 
tearing  in  the  unbroken  earth  next  the 
peanut.  At  first  I  did  not  discern  the 
reason  of  this,  but  I  soon  saw  it.  He 
saved  the  soil  first  thrown  up  for  the 
final  covering,  so  that  it  would  not  be 
of  a  color  diflferent  from  the  surround- 
ing surface.  With  his  characteristic 
quick  movement,  as  rapidly  as  a  small 
dead  leaf  tree  fluttering  in  a  violent  wind, 
he  finished  ofif  the  surface  by  skillfully 
patting  it  down  so  swiftly  I  could  not  see 
what  he  was  doing,  and  jerked  a  dead 
leaf  over  the  center  and  scampered 
away,  and  not  till  then  did  I  discover 
what  he  had  done.  I  peered  at  the  com- 
pleted task  closely  and   could    not    see 


even  the  least  marking  to  show  that  the 
surface  had  been  disturbed ! 

Now  the  object  of  his  plunging  the 
peanut  down  endwise  at  the  bottom  of 
the  hole  w^as  evidently  to  facilitate  tak- 
ing it  up  when  he  came  to  dig  up  the 
store,  by  grasping  the  upper  end  with 
his  mouth  as  soon  as  he  reached  it,  with- 
out having  to  dig  more  for  it  had  it  been 
laid  horizontally.  How  he  can  ever  find 
the  place  again,  I  cannot  imagine.  Can 
any  of  my  readers  suggest?  The  odor 
of  the  soil  is  much  stronger  than  that  of 
the  nut.  We  men  would  have  to  de- 
scribe the  exact  point  in  surveyor's 
terms,  as  for  instance,  so  many  feet  and 
inches  from  a  certain  designated  tree, 
north  202  o  mm  'i^y  east. 

Well,  after  the  squirrel  had  run  off 
about  twenty  feet  from  me  he  noticed 
that  I  did  not  go  along  about  my  busi- 
ness as  a  decently  behaved  man  ought 
to,  and  his  suspicions  were  aroused.  So 
he  reared  up  into  a  statuesque  position 
to  watch  me.  I  took  the  warning  and 
passed  on,  and  then  he  passed  on  his 
way. 


Studies  of  the  White  Pine. 

The  seasonal  growth  of  the  white 
pine  is  the  subject  of  a  careful  study 
by  an  English  botanist.  He  finds  that 
increase  begins  in  March  with  the  ex- 
pansion of  the  soft  tissues  without  cell 
division.  Late  in  April,  the  tissues 
begin  to  divide — at  first  rapidly,  then 
more  slowly.  Growth  begins  in  the 
trunk,  near  the  top,  and  spreads  both 
upward  and  downward,  reaching  the 
tips  of  the  branches  some  time  before 
the  base  of  the  tree.  The  butt,  how- 
ever, continues  to  grow  after  the  crown 
has  stopped.  The  total  growth  period 
is  about  five  and  a  half  months. 

Rate  of  growth  depends  largely  on 
the  temperature,  and  varies  from  day 
to  day  and  even  from  hour  to  hour.  It 
is  most  rapid  in  May  and  early  June. 
It  then  becomes  less  rapid,  only  to  take 
a  new  spurt  in  July  and  August.  In- 
crease is,  however,  not  the  same  at  all 
levels  in  the  tree,  though  in  the  end  the 
differences  are  evened  up. 

New  wood  begins  to  form  early  in 
August,  starting  at  the  top.  The  new 
shoots,  however,  stop  elongating  about 
the  beginning  of  July.  But  the  needles 
continue  to  grow  until  more  than  a 
month  later. 


1 88 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


SOME  SOUASH  INTERESTS 


189 


The  Value  of  Bees  in  Fertilizing  Squash 
Blossoms. 

UV  SUSAN  E.  HOWARD,  STOXliHAM,  MASSA- 
CHUSETTS. 

Replying  to  your  inquiry  as  to  the  value 
of  bees  to  my  squash  and  small  fruits,  1 
would  say  they  are  of  the  utmost  impor- 
tance, and  they  have  been  a  great  factor 
in  mv  success  in  growing  squashes  The 
development  of  a  small  orchard  and  fruit 
growing  are  secondary  to  my  bee  inter- 
ests; and  while  the  trees  ana  bushes  are 
growing,  I  utilize  the  land  by  planting- 
catch  crops  and  fertilizing  or  cover  sow- 
ings. The  eight  tons  of  squash  shown  in 
the  picture  were  grown  on  iive-sixths  ol 
an  acre,  which  also  carried  115  two-year 
fruit-trees  and  600  one-year  currant 
bushes. 

The  squash  followed  a  crop  of  54  bush- 
els of  green  peas,  which  were  harvested 
before  the  squash  were  ready  to  spread. 

As  recorded  in  Apiarian  Bulletin  Xo.  8, 
Massachusetts  Department  Agriculture, 
it  was  no  uncommon  occurrence  to  note 
four  to  six  bees  in  a  squash-blossom  at 
one  time,  happy  and  contented.  I  have 
also  counted  28  bees  within  an  hour  in  one 
squash-blossom.  The  scpaash  crop  was 
the  banner  one  for  this  section,  for  the 
land  occupied,  and  was  in  marked  con- 
trast with  results  at  a  distance  from  my 
apiary. 

To  people  who  realized  in  a  measure 
the  good  work  performed  by  the  Ijee  it 
was  a  revelation,  and  substantiated  my 
oft-repeated  statement,  "bees  as  ilower 
fertilizers  first,  and  honey  production  an 
after-consideration." — "Gleanings  in  Bee 
Culture,"  [Medina.  Ohio. 


Forest  fires,  during  the  last  year, 
burned  over  six  million  acres,  and  did 
about  ten  million  dollars'  worth  of  dam- 
age. More  than  half  these  fires  were 
due  to  pure  carelessness — in  no  small 
measure  to  campers. 


Of  the  four  or  five  thousand  fires  re- 
ported each  year  in  our  national  forests, 
slightly  more  than  a  third  are  attribut- 
ed to  lightning.  The  largest  proportion, 
of  thunderstorms  come  between  three 
and  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  :  the 
smallest,  within  an  hour  after  midnighv 
and  between  seven  and  eight  o'clock  in 
the  morning.  Thunderstorms  are  most 
frequent  in  June,  rarest  in  December 
and   Tanuar\'. 


A  Twin  Squash. 
A  remarkable  twin  squash,  of  which 
an  illustration  is  here  shown,  was 
grown  in  Mr.  Stanley  Tompkins's 
garden  at  Glenbrook,  Connecticut, 
and  forwarded  to  this  office  by  Miss 
Lottiebelle    Tompkins.      We    have    re- 


THE  TWIN  SQUASH. 

ceived  other  forms  of  twin  fruits,  such 
as  apples,  plums,  strawberries,  toma- 
toes, etc..  l3Ut  this  is  our  first  twin 
squash.     It  is  a  fine  specimen. 


Students  of  mankind  are  taking  ad- 
vantage of  the  vast  numbers  of  Russian 
prisoners  of  war  to  push  the  study  of 
Russian  anthropology  To  a  single  in- 
vestigator, for  this  purpose,  the  Vienna 
Academy  of  Sciences  has  lately  made 
a  srrant  of  nearlv  a  thousand  dollars. 


Bronze  and  Gold. 

The   maple    fires   have   come   and   gone, 
And  earth  would  be  left  drear. 

But  that  the  bronze  and  gold  of  trees 
Are   left   to   give   us   cheer. 

The  beech  and  birch  and  aspen  gold 

Is  gold  witliout  allo3\ 
And  with  the  richness  of  the  oaks. 

A  late  Autumnal  joj-. 

When  they  are  gone,  then  all  is  gone, 

.\nd   Fall's  parade  is  o'er; 
But  Winter  has  its  beauties  too, 

A  richly  varied  store. 

— Emma   Peirce. 


190 


HE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


The  Bucket  Orchids. 

These  are  so  unusual  aud  grotesque  in 
their  appearance  and  structure  that  there 
is  nothing  quite  like  them  found  among 
the  great  variety  of  orchids,  or  even  in 
the  entire  plant  kingdom.  Perhaps  no- 
where is  the  curious  structure  of  this 
group  of  orchids  more  conspicuous  than 


from  which  the  plant  receives  its  common 
name.  Unfortunately,  the  flowers  are  of 
such  short  duration  and  the  plant  itself  is 
so  difficult  to  cultivate,  that  few  have  had 
the  pleasure  of  seeing  this  floral  curiosity. 

^  ^  ^  :}c  ^ 

Dr.  Cruger,  formerly  Director  of  the 
Botanic   Garden   at   Trinidad,    writes   as 


,3  «   w 
"^  -  c 

o  u,   n 

n         H 
lip 


in  the  genus  Coryanthes,  of  which  there 
are  upwards  of  a  dozen  species  indige- 
nous to  tropical  America.  The  partially 
opened  buds  resemble  a  bat  at  rest  and 
when  the  flower  is  fully  opened  it  reveals 
a  ''bucket,"  which  holds  the  nectar  and 


follows  of  his  observations  of  the  insects 
which  pollinate  the  flowers  : 

"Large  humble-bees,  noisy  and  quarrel- 
some, are  attracted  at  first  by  the  smell 
of  the  flower ;  but  the  smell  probably  only 
o-ives  notice  to  the  insects ;  the  substance 


THE  BUCKET  ORCHIDS 


191 


they  really  come  for  is  the  interior  lining 
of  the  labelluni  which  they  gnaw  off  with 
great  industry.  They  may  be  seen  in 
great  numbers,  disputing  with  each  other 
for  a  place  on  the  edge  of  the  hypochile. 
Partly  by  contrast,  partly  perhaps  intoxi- 
cated by  the  matter  they  are  indulging  in, 
they  tumble  down  into  the  'bucket'  (epi- 
chile)  half  full  of  the  fluid  secreted  by 
the  horn-like  organs  at  the  base  of  the 
column.  They  then  crawl  along  the  an- 
terior inner  side  of  the  bucket  where  there 
is  a  passage  for  them.  If  one  is  early  on 
the  lookout,  as  these  hymenopters  are 
early  risers,  one  can  see  on  every  flower 
how  pollination  is  performed.  The  hum- 
ble-bee in  forcing  its  way  out  of  its  invol- 
untary bath  has  to  exert  itself  consider- 
ably as  the  mouth  of  the  epichile  and  the 
face  of  the  column  fit  together  exactly  and 
are  very  stiff  and  elastic.  The  first  bee 
that  is  immersed  will  have  the  gland  of 
the  pollen  masses  glued  to  its  back.  The 
insect  then  generally  gets  through  the 
passage  and  com'es  out  with  this  peculiar 
appendage,  to  return  almost  immediately 
to  its  feast,  when  it  is  generally  precipi- 
tated a  second  time  into  the  bucket,  pas- 
sing out  through  the  same  aperture,  and 
so  inserting  the  pollen  masses  into  the 
stigma  while  it  forces  its  way  out,  and 
thereby  pollinating  either  the  same  or 
another  flower.  I  have  often  seen  this, 
and  sometimes  there  are  so  many  of  these 
humble-bees  assembled  that  there  is  a 
continual  procession  of  them  through  the 
passage  specified." — "Missouri  Botanical 
Garden  Bulletin,"  St.  Louis,  ]\Iissouri. 


Regent's  Park,  London. 

BY  DR.   C.   H.   MYERS,  CHATTANOOGA, 

TENNHSSEE. 

The  Gardens  of  the  Zoological  Society, 
situated  in  Regent's  Park,  London, 
occupy  more  than  thirty  acres  in  the 
northern  portion  of  the  Park  adjoining 
the  grounds  of  the  Botanical  Society 
and  the  Archery  Society.  The  Society 
is  very  old,  having  been  founded  by 
Sir  Humphrey  Davy  and  Sir  Stamford 
Rafflees  in  1826.  'Naturally  it  is  a 
Mecca  for  children,  and  hundreds  are 
familiar  with  the  elephants  and  the 
dromedaries,  the  pelicans  and  the  par- 
rots of  this  famous  zoo.  The  band  plays 
for  the  children  on  Sunday  afternoons. 
Many  Parks  are  inhumane  enclosures, 
where  beasts  and  birds  suffer  from  im- 
proper feeding  and  limited  space.  The 
photograph  herewith  will  serve  to 
show    the    remarkably    fine    provision 


made  in  Regent's  Park.  Rock  and 
cement  have  been  used  lavishly  to  re- 
l)roduce  as  nearly^  as  possible  the  habi- 
tats of  the  animals.  At  the  left  back- 
ground are  the  rocky  crags  for  ante- 
lopes, mountain  goats  and  gazelles. 
There  are  also  furnished  spacious  pad- 
docks.    In  the  foregroimd  is  the  polar 


A   POLAR   BEAR   IN    CAPTIVITY   UNDER  GOOD 
CONDITIONS. 

bear's  pond.  This  healthy  white  speci- 
men is  a  good  illustration  of  the  possi- 
bilities in  well-conducted  zoological 
parks — which  constitute  one  of  the 
finest  of  educational  institutions. 


The  famous  asphaltum  beds  of  south- 
ern California  have  preserved  many  in- 
teresting remains  of  animals  which 
have  become  ingulfed  in  them.  A  col- 
lection of  more  than  two  thousand 
specimens  from  these  deposits  has  late- 
ly been  acquired  by  the  Field  Museum 
of  Chicago.  Among  other  bones,  are 
those  of  the  sabre-toothed  tiger,  the 
mastodon,  bison,  a  giant  sloth  similar 
to  the  Megatherium,  with  various  cats, 
horses,  deer  and  the  like.  Nearly 
everything  is  of  the  time  of  the  Glacial 
Period. 


192 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


Moles,  and  Their  Relation  to  Agricul- 
ture. 

BY  DR.  R.  W.  SHUFELDT, 
WASHINGTON,  D.   C. 

In  the  present  article  it  is  my  purpose 
to  touch  upon  the  natural  history  of 
moles,  and  in  what  way  their  presence 
on  the  farm  may  affect  the  farmer's  in- 
terests— that  is,  should  he  regard  them 
as  his  enemies  or  as  his  friends.  What 
I  have  to  say  is  chiefly  from  personal  ob- 
servation, as  I  have,  for  many  years,  had 


of  these,  while  in  the  case  of  others  we 
still  have  much  to  learn  about  them. 

One  of  the  most  striking  species  is  the 
star-nosed  mole.  Coiidylura  cristata,  so 
called  on  account  of  the  peculiar  fleshy 
rosette  of  feelers  ornamenting  the  distal 
end  of  its  snout.  This  mole  is  not 
very  abundant  anywhere ;  and,  owing  to 
its  habits  and  to  its  being  a  semi-aqua- 
tic swamp  species,  it  is  but  rarely  ob- 
served. I  have  never  seen  but  three  of 
them   in   mv  life.     One  of  these   was  a 


C4; 


A  COMMON  MOLE  CAPTURED  NEAR  WASHINGTON,   D.   C. 


the  Opportunity  to  study  moles  in  na- 
ture, in  the  museums,  and  in  my  own 
laboratory.  The  two  photographs  from 
which  the  cuts  that  illustrate  this  article 
were  made  were  taken  by  myself  of  a 
specimen  of  a  common  mole,  captured 
near  Washington,  and  presented  to  me 
by  Mr.  Edward  S.  Schmid  of  that  city. 
It  was  an  adult  male  of  the  species 
found  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  United 
States,  Scalopus  a.  aquaticus,  and  its 
skeleton  now  forms  a  part  of  my  private 
cabinet.  It  will  be  a  surprise  to  some  to 
learn  that  we  have  so  many  different 
kinds  of  moles  in  this  country,  although 
they  all  belong  to  the  same  family,  Tal- 
pidae.  Most  naturalists  recognize  four 
genera  of  them,  and  these  four  genera 
together  contain  no  fewer  than  twenty 
different  species  and  sub-species  of  these 
interesting  little  animals  We  are  fairly 
well  acquainted  with  the  habits  of  some 


dead  specimen ;  another  escaped  me  af- 
ter an  exciting  chase,  while  a  third  I 
captured  alive  on  the  border  of  a  swamp 
near  Stamford,  Connecticut,  and  had  the 
opportunity  to  study  it  for  a  short  time. 

Brewer's  mole  has  never  been  seen 
alive  by  me,  nor  any  of  the  Pacific  Coast 
forms  of  the  genus  Neiirotrichus,  or, 
indeed,  any  living  examples  of  the  com- 
mon mole  of  Europe,  Talpa  curopaca; 
so  the  present  account  may  be  said  to 
apply  only  to  the  eastern  United  States 
species,  and  to  such  other  species  as 
chance  to  agree  in  their  habits. 

All  moles  belong  in  the  order  Inscctiv- 
ora.  where  they  are,  in  this  country,  as- 
sociated with  the  shrews,  of  which  in- 
teresting little  animals  there  are  a  great 
many  kinds.  Our  common  mole  does  not 
appear  to  be  particularly  abundant  in 
any  locality,  though  it  is  fairly  so  in 
many  parts  of  its  ranges.    Every  farmer 


MOLES  AND  THEIR  RELATION  TO  AGRICULTURE 


193 


and  gardener  in  the  Northern  and  Mid- 
dle States  are  more  or  less  familiar  with 
them,  and,  as  a  rule,  they  destroy  them 
whenever   opportunity   offers.  When 

asked  why  they  do  this,  the  usual  answer 
is  that  moles  disfigure  the  lawns  and 
grass-plots  with  their  long  burrows ; 
that  they  uproot  plants  and  feed  upon 
garden  vegetables.  How  true  all  this 
may  be  will  be  discussed  further  on  in 
the  present  article. 

The  entire  structure  of  a  mole  fits  it  for 
the  life  it  leads,  that  is,  underground,  in 
the  long  passages  it  digs,  and  in  the  sub- 
terranean nest  it  constructs,  as  a  home  in 
which  to  rear  its  young,  these  latter  rang- 
ing in  numbers  from  two  to  nine.  Bur- 
rows dug  by  these  animals  have  often 
been  found  to  be  upwards  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  yards  in  length,  and  may,  in 
some  instances,  even  far  exceed  that,  as 
it  has  been  so  stated  by  writers  on  the 
subject. 

They  rarely  come  out  in  winter,  unless 
the  weather  be  very  mild,  as  they  do  not 
endure  cold  well,  notwithstanding  the 
thick  coat  of  close  fur  they  have.  On  one 
occasion,  however,  during  a  thaw  in  Jan- 
uary, I  saw  a  mole  scamper  over  the  snow 
and  disappear  into  one  of  its  burrows  be- 
fore I  could  overtake  him.  At  this  sea- 
son their  passages  are  much  further  be- 
neath the  surface  of  the  ground  than 
they  are  during  the  summer  months, 
which  is  the  season  of  their  greatest  ac- 
tivity. 

Moles  live  almost  entirely  upon  vari- 
ous kinds  of  insects  and  their  larvae, 
which  they  come  across  while  making 
their  burrows.  They  also  partake  very 
largely  of  angling  worms ;  and  one  that 
I  had  a  short  time  in  captivity  appeared 
to  be  very  fond  of  raw  beef.  They  are 
in  no  sense  of  the  word  vegetable-feed- 
ers or  seed-eaters,  as  the  agriculturists 
usually  say  they  are ;  depredations  of 
that  sort  are  now  readily  traced  to  those 
field  mice  which  make  use  of  the  gal- 
leries of  the  moles  in  getting  about  un- 
derground. 

It  is  truly  astounding  what  a  number 
of  angling  worms  a  mole  will  eat  in  the 
course  of  twenty-four  hours,  and  few 
animals  are  more  dependent  on  their 
food  than  moles.  If  one  be  kept  in  a  big 
box  with  a  foot  of  clean  earth  in  it,  the 
animal  will  not  live  over  fifty-six  hours, 
if  it  is  not  regularly  fed  on  worms,  meat, 
or  such  insects  as  it  feeds  upon  in  nature. 
Should  another    mole     be  placed  in  the 


box  to  keep  the  first  one  company,  the 
stronger  animal  will,  if  very  hungry,  kill 
and  devour  the  weaker  one.  In  other 
words,  under  certain  conditions,  moles 
are  cannibals,  killing  and  eating  their 
own  kind. 

Most  of  the  insects  which  moles  con- 
sume in  great  quantities  feed  upon  the 
roots,  leaves,  and  other  parts  of  garden 


A  DETAILED  MOLE  STUDY. 

vegetables,  or,  in  some  instances,  upon 
the  vegetables  themselves.  In  this  par- 
ticular, then,  these  little  animals  are  of 
decided  benefit  to  the  gardener,  the  agri- 
culturist, and  the  farmer.  Occasionally, 
in  their  search  for  food,  they  will  uproot 
a  plant  or  two,  or  rip  up  the  lawn  with 
a  superficial  burrow ;  but  such  slight  of- 
fences are  as  nothing  compared  with 
their  most  useful  services  in  destroying 
the  insect  enemies  of  sfarden  and  farm. 


Throw  open  the  casements  and  fling  wide 
the  doors, 
Let  in  all  the  sunshine  and  air; 
'Tis   better   by   far   than    your   potions    and 
pills. 
And  the  M.  D.'s  most  vigilant  care. 
— Emma  Peirce 


194 


THE  GUIDE  rO  NATURE 


Is  This  the  Largest  Elm : 

On  page  396  of  The  Guide  to  Nature 
for  May  we  published  an  article  and 
illustration  borrowed  from  "American 
Forestry,"  entitled,  "Largest  Elm  in 
Connecticut."     Since  then   that  mag"a- 


for  February  or  the  Stirling  Elm  de- 
scribed in  'American  Forestry'  for 
April.  Indeed  it  is  so  much  larger  than 
either  of  these  two  that  there  appar- 
ently is  justice  in  the  claim  that  it  is 
the  largest  elm  in  the  entire  state." 


THE  BIG  ELM  AT  WETHERSFIELD,  CONNECTICUT. 
Cut  by  courtesy  of  The  American  Forestry  Magazine^  Washineton,   D.   C. 


zine  has  published  the  following,  which 
we  are  through  their  courtesy  permit- 
ted to  reprint : 

"Mrs.  Mary  M.  Williamson  of  Mid- 
dletown,  Connecticut,  furnishes  an  ad- 
dition to  the  several  magnificent  elms 
for  which  Connecticut  is  famous,  in  the 
Wethersfield  Elm  which  she  believes 
is  the  largest  in  the  State. 

"This  elm  is  at  Wethersfield,  Hart- 
ford County,  Connecticut,  and  when  it 
was  measured  in  1912  by  Mrs.  William- 
son's husband,  its  circumference  was 
27  feet  I  inch,  its  spread  142  feet  8^ 
inches  and  its  age  about  175  years. 
This  is  larger  than  either  the  Benedict 
Elm  mentioned  in  'American  Forestry' 


Does  the  Gray   Squirrel   Find   Buried 
Nuts  by  Memory  or  by  Smell? 

BY  DR.  ROBERT  T.   MORRIS,  NEW  YORK  CITY. 

The  question  relating  to  this  caption 
has  been  discussed  at  considerable 
length ;  perhaps  both  faculties  are  em- 
ployed. Here  is  definite  evidence  re- 
lating to  the  sense  of  smell. 

On  my  country  place  at  Stamford, 
Connecticut,  there  is  a  sand  beach  at 
the  swimming  pool.  Last  winter  a 
large  number  of  acorns  of  the  red  oak 
were  whirled  into  the  eddy  of  this  pool 
and  buried  in  the  sand.  As  the  water 
receded  the  gray  squirrels  found  these 
acorns  and  dug  for  them  at  various 
points  near  the  water's  edge. 


THE  LARGEST  SHADE  TREEE 


195 


1  was  struck  by  the  fact  that  the 
squirrels  seemed  to  go  directly  to  each 
nut ;  they  did  not  dig  about  haphazard. 
In  order  to  experiment  a  bit  I  placed 
a  number  of  the  acorns  an  inch  or  so 
beneath  the  surface  of  the  sand  in  a 
row,  and  the  next  morning  they  were 
all  gone. 

Wishing  to  determine  the  depth  at 
which  the  squirrels  detect  the  presence 
of  these  acorns  beneath  the  surface  of 
wet  sand,  I  buried  a  row  of  acorns  at  a 
depth  of  2.y2  inches.  The  following 
morning  it  was  found  that  the  squirrel 
which  found  this  row  had  apparently 
not  been  unerring.  He  had  found  some 
of  the  nuts  and  left  some  of  the  others. 
This  gave  the  impression  that  perhaps 
a  limit  for  him  was  not  far  from  2^ 
inches'  depth. 

Yesterday  morning  on  going  quietly 
to  the  pool  I  saw  a  gray  squirrel  indus- 
triously digging  in  the  sand  near  the 
water's  edge.  He  had  scooped  out  a 
hole  about  as  big  as  an  ordinary  teacup 
saucer  and  which  was  full  of  water — he 
kept  on  digging  in  the  water.  When 
he  espied  me  he  ran  olT.  I  went  to  his 
little  pool  and  scooped  out  a  handful 
of  the  sand  but  there  was  no  nut  there. 
Another  handful  of  sand  still  more 
deeply  down  was  taken,  with  no  nut. 
I  then  made  up  my  mind  that  the  sqttir- 
rel  had  been  engaged  in  some  tmusual 
procedure  at  that  particular  point,  not 
relating  to  the  question  of  nuts,  but  on 
second  thought  decided  to  make  a  final 
search.  At  a  depth  of  nearly  six  inches 
three  acorns  were  found  lying  almost 
in  contact  with  each  other.  The  squir- 
rel had  evidently  smelled  these  acorns 
through  six  inches  of  wet  sand  before 
he  began  digging,  and  the  presence  of 
water  in  the  hole  did  not  change  his 
determination. 

There  is  no  doubt  but  these  acorns 
are  somewhat  "high."  I  am  enclosing 
one  of  them  to  the  editor. 

If  anyone  cares  to  suggest  any  par- 
ticular experiment  in  this  connection, 
I  will  try  and  carry  it  out,  for  the 
acorns  and  the  squirrels  will  both  be  at 
band. 


The  Largest  Shade  Tree. 
_A    sycamore    near    Worthington,    In- 
diana, has  been  declared  by  the  American 
Genetic  Association  of  Washington.  D.C.. 
to  be  the  largest  shade  tree  in  the  United 


States.  The  measurements  and  other 
details  of  interest  are  given  by  "The 
Journal  of  Heredity"  as  follows  : 

"I  ft.  above  the  ground.  .  .45  ft.  3  in. 

5  ft.  aljove  the  ground.  .  .42  ft.  3  in. 

East  branch 27  ft.  8  in. 

West  branch 23  ft.  2  in. 

"The  height  is  said  to  have  been  re- 
duced considerably  in  recent  years  by 
wind  and  lightning;  it  is  now  estimated 
at  150  feet,  while  the  spread  is  about  lOO 
feet.  As  far  as  is  known,  these  are  the 
largest  authentic  measurements  of  a  syca- 
more now  living. 

"The  American  sycamore  (Plat anus 
occidentalis)  is  more  correctly  called  the 
plane  tree ;  is  is  not  related  to  the  Biblical 
sycamore  (Ficits  sycamoris) ,  a  species  of 
fig),  mentioned  particularly  in  connec- 
tion with  Zaccheus  who,  as  the  old 
Primer  put  it,  'did  climb  a  tree,  his  Lord 
to  see.'  The  American  sycamore  is  also 
knowai  in  some  parts  of  the  country  as 
the  buttonwood  or  buttonball,  in  allu- 
sion to  its  large  seed-balls,  which  hang 
on  the  tree  all  winter. 

"The  tree  here  illustrated  is  located  in 
the  rich  alluvial  loam  of  the  White  River 
bottom.  As  this  stream  frequently  over- 
flows its  banks,  it  periodically  deposits  a 
layer  of  silt  around  the  tree;  but  the 
floods  appear  to  have  done  no  damage  to 
it,  although  on  one  occasion  it  is  said  the 
water  reached  as  high  as  the  fork,  15  feet 
from  the  ground.  It  may  be  believed  that 
this  frequent  deposit  of  alluvium  is  one 
of  the  factors  which  has  caused  the  great 
growth  of  the  tree.  Many  other  large 
sycamores,  beech  and  walnut  trees  have 
been  produced  in  the  same  locality,  but 
most  of  them  have  been  long  since  felled 
for  lumber.  One  of  the  sycamores  which 
met  this  fate  was  so  large  that  it  could 
not  be  hauled  to  the  mill,  but  was  floated 
down  the  river;  another,  cut  in  the  last 
few  years  within  500  yards  of  'the  big 
tree,'  as  the  prize  winner  has  been  known 
in  the  region  since  the  first  settlers  ar- 
rived, made  five  lo-foot  logs,  the  largest 
of  them  60  inches  in  diameter  and  measur- 
ing 1, 960  board  feet.  The  tap  log  was 
about  43  inches  in  diameter.  These  figures 
give  some  idea  of  the  amount  of  lumber 
that  a  single  one  of  these  giants  will 
yield. 

"As  are  most  large  sycamores,  the  base 
of  this  tree  is  hollow,  the  opening  being 
on  the  opposite  side  from  that  shown  in 
the  photograph.  Fire  has  recently  dam- 
aged it." 


THE  oriDE  TO  XATURE 


THE  LARGEST  SHADE  TREE 


198 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


All  communications  for  this  department 
should  be  sent  to  the  Department  Editor, 
Mr.  Harry  G.  Higbee,  13  Austin  Street, 
Hyde  Park,  Massachusetts.  Items,  articles 
and  photographs  in  this  department  not 
otherwise  credited  are  by  the  Department 
Editor, 


Young  Bald  Eagles. 

BY  F.   J.   HAYDEN,  VENICE,   FLORIDA. 

The  interesting  article  in  the  September 
number  with  description  of  the  Great 
American  eagle  by  the  department  editor 
prompts  the  writer  to  offer  a  little  supple- 


«•"" 

IK. 

/^ 

^»:, 

&*L*fc*C^ 

mm 

■% 

g 

i 

THE   NEST   WITH   THE   TWO   YOUNG  EAGLES. 

mentary  data  taken  in  the  same  locality 
one  year  after  Mr.  Higbee's  visit  to  our 
home  in  Venice,  Fla. 


Early  in  December,  19 14,  we  discov- 
ered a  new  nest  on  the  shore  of  Dona 
P)ay.  It  was  occupied  by  a  pair  of  splen- 
did birds  which  we  daily  observed  cir- 
cling over  the  bay  in  front  of  our  home, 
robbing  gulls,  cormorants,  pelicans  and 
ospreys  with  cheerful  indiscrimination, 
carrying  the  captured  fish  away  to  their 
tree-top  nest. 

One  fine  day  in  January  while  passing 
in  our  launch  we  saw  two  young  birds 
standing  on  the  edge  of  the  nest.  We 
were,  of  course,  delighted  with  the  dis- 
covery and  immediately  the  edict  went 
forth — we  must  rival  Mr.  Higbee's  ex- 
]:)loit,  climb  the  tree  and  secure  pictures 
of  the  young  eagles. 

The  tree  was  a  long  leaf  pine  of  stupen- 
dous girth  and  height  and  the  longer  we 
looked  at  the  nest  the  higher  it  seemed 
to  be. 

Our  sole  outfit  consisted  of  a  ladder, 
a  piece  of  string  and  a  little  Goerz  vest- 
]x~)cket  camera.  The  ladder  enabled  us 
to  reach  the  first  horizontal  limb,  my  com- 
panion insisting  on  going  up  with  me  as 
a  body  guard.  After  half  an  hour's  diffi- 
cult and  laborious  climb  we  reached  the 
bottom  of  the  nest  only  to  find  that  our 
troubles  had  just  begun.  Over  our  heads 
in  the  top  crotch  of  the  tree  was  a  huge 
mass  of  seemingly  impassable  sticks  eight 
feet  high  by  seven  feet  in  diameter.  For 
nearly  two  hours  we  studied  and  worked 
on  the  baffling  problem  of  how  to  get  past 
this  huge  mass  in  order  to  reach  the  top 
of  the  nest.  By  dint  of  much  patience  I 
finally  succeeded  in  digging  sufficient 
sticks  from  the  nest  to  give  hand  hold  and 
footing  with  which  to  ptill  myself  up  on 
a  limb  that  overlooked  the  nest. 

During  all  this  time  the  old  birds  cir- 
cled over  our  heads  uttering  their  pecul- 
iar sharp  whistles  and,  although  threaten- 
ing, they  did  not  at  any  time  come  near 
enough  for  attack. 

They  were  beautiful  specimens,  their 
white  heads  and  tails  and  wonderful  ex- 
panse of  wing  showing  to  splendid  advan- 
tage directly  over  our  heads. 

Upon  arriving  at  the  top  of  the  nest 


ORNITHOLOGY 


199 


my  greatest  surprise  was  the  size  of  the 
young  birds.  They  stood  eighteen  inches 
high,  were  fully  feathered  and  were  ap- 
parently as  large  and  able  to  fly  as  the 
adults. 

Their  plumage  was  a  dusty  brownish 
black  which  is  said  to  undergo  three 
changes  before  they  appear  at  the  close 
of  the  third  year  with  white  heads  and 
tails.  They  did  not  resent  my  intrusion, 
in  fact  the  picture  shows  the  utter  uncon- 
cern with  which  they  regarded  both  the 
camera  and  myself. 

One  picture  shows  the  birds  quite  close 
together.  This  view  gives  a  very  good 
idea  of  the  hawk-like  beak,  the  marvellous 
eyes,  the  beautiful  plumage  and  majestic 
bearing. 

In  the  next  picture  the  birds  were  sep- 
arated with  the  idea  of  showing  the  width 
and  character  of  the  nest  and  giviug  some 
idea  of  the  commanding  view  from  the 
tree-top  nest. 

To  the  north  and  east  the  view  is  an 
Arabian  Night's  dream  of  tropical  splen  • 
dor.  To  the  south  (showing  in  the  pic- 
ture) are  the  placid  waters  of  beautiful 
Dona  Bay  along  whose  shores  stand  giant 
pines  and  majestic  palms  hung  with 
flowering  ivy  and  festooned  with  Spanish 
moss. 

To  the  west  is  the  roar  of  the  open  sea. 
and  probably  nowhere  on  the  rim  of  any 
ocean  is  to  be  found  such  a  wealth  of  land 
and  water  birds.  It  would  be  hard  to 
conceive  of  a  location  better  adapted  for 
the  home  of  the  Great  American  eagle. 


A  CLOSE  VIEW  OF  THE  YOUNG  BIRDS. 

We  are  indebted  to  Air.  Higbee  for  the 
first  eagles'  pictures  ever  attempted  in 
this  locality.  At  the  time  he  made  his 
perilous  climb,  with  every  prospect  of 
being  attacked  by  these  powerful  birds, 
It  made  each  particular  hair  of  our  heads 
stand  on  end  until  we  resembled  the  fret- 
ful porcupine. 

Since  then  a  somewhat  similar  ex- 
perience has  proven  to  my  entire  satisfac- 
tion that  any  one  looking  for  adventure 
(who  wishes  to  be  thrilled  until  their 
nerves  twang  like  harp  strings)  will  find 
no  sport  like  hunting  eagles  with  a  camera. 


i 

^^^^^^P\«^^.          '  ..AjoHhib^. 

^ 

L. 

-. "-     %^^ 

3 

iHii^SiH^S 

•    N.;f 

THE  AERIE  OF  THE  BALD  EAGLE. 


200 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


The  Belted  Kingfisher. 

BY  EDWIN  L.  JACK,  PORTLAND,  MAINE. 
[Photograph   by   the   Author.] 

There  are  few  people,  indeed,  who  are 
imfamiHar  with  this  Izaak  W'ahon 
among  birds  which  inhabit  the  regions 
of  lakes,  rivers  and  streams  in  the  more 
remote  districts  of  our  northern  states. 


glossy  white  eggs  on  a  little  heap  of 
rejected  fish  bones  and  scales  which  in 
her  opinion  serves  as  a  nest  for  the 
young. 

In  recent  years,  especially  in  the 
more  remote  regions,  kingfishers  have 
become  very  nitmerous  and  complaints 
are  arising  from  the  fish  hatcheries  to 
which  the  bird  frecpiently  finds  its  way. 


YOUNG  KINGFISHERS  TWELN'E  D 

As  the  kingfisher's  diet  consists  en- 
tirely of  fish, — chiefly  chubs,  perch  and 
frequently  trout, — it  is  not  at  all  un- 
common to  come  upon  him  perched 
motionless  on  an  old  dead  snag  over- 
hanging the  water,  watching  the  crystal 
depths  below  for  his  unsuspecting  prey. 
Suddenly,  as  an  unwary  fish  swims 
within  range  of  the  bird's  vision,  there 
is  a  flash  of  blue  as  the  kingfisher  dives, 
striking  the  water  with  a  resounding 
splash.  Immediately  he  returns  to  his 
favorite  perch  to  devour  the  prize, 
which  if  it  be  a  small  fish  is  swallowed 
head  first. 

A  peculiarity  of  the  kingfisher  is  the 
fact  that  following  a  meal  the  bird  re- 
jects all  indigestible  matter,  such  as 
bones,  fish  scales,  etc. 

Like  the  bank  swallow,  this  bird 
places  its  nest  at  the  end  of  a  tunnel  in 
a  bank,  which  is  of  clay  or  gravel  and 
near  the  water.  A  pair  of  kingfishers 
will  sometimes  w^ork  on  an  excavation 
for  three  weeks  before  the  desired 
length  is  attained,  tunneling  their  wav 
into  a  solid  embankment  by  the  use  of 
their  strong,  sharp  bills.  At  the  end 
of  this  tunnel,  which  is  usually  six  feet 
in  length,  is  an  enlarged  chamber. 
Here  the  female  lays  from  five  to  seven 


AYS  BEFORE  LEAVING  THEIR  NEST. 

I  once  visited  a  state  hatchery  in  the 
interior  of  Maine,  which  was  situated 
near  a  large  lake.  The  inen  in  charge 
told  me  they  were  obliged  to  shoot  over 
forty  kingfishers  in  less  than  one 
month.  The  birds  had  discovered  that 
hunting  in  the  shallow  pools  about  the 
hatchery,  which  were  swarming  with 
trout,  was  much  more  easy  than  wait- 
ing by  the  hotir  in  their  nattiral  environ- 
ments for  a  meal. 

That  the  kingfisher  is  a  bird  worthy 
of  protection  in  its  wild  state,  is  gener- 
ally acknowledged,  as  it  is  known  to 
subsist  principally  upon  fish  which  are 
of  little  or  no  value  as  food,  but  which 
live  upon  the  eggs  and  young  of  other 
more  valuable  species.  It  is  therefore 
to  be  regretted  that  it  should  become 
necessary  to  shoot  or  trap  these  birds 
in  such  instances  as  above  mentioned. 

While  there  is  no  doubt  that  the 
kingfisher  at  times  may  do  serious  dam- 
age in  destroying  yotmg  trout,  it  seems 
as  though  ways  might  be  devised  for 
protecting  the  fish  without  destroying 
these  birds  in  any  such  numbers. 

Many  hatcheries  now  have  the  pools 
which  contain  the  young  trout  screened 
although  this  is  rather  expensive. 


ORNITHOLOGY 


20 1 


The  Superintendent  of  the  Govern- 
ment Station  at  Nashua,  N.  H.,  writes 
me  that  he  has  a  setter  dog  which  has 
learned  to  know  that  the  kingfishers 
are  not  wanted,  and  so  keeps  after  them 
until  they  are  driven  away  from  the 
ponds.  His  suggestion  that  other  dogs 
might  be  similarly  trained  is  a  good 
one,  and  seems  worthy  of  a  trial  in 
places  where  these  birds  are  trouble- 
some.— H.  G.  H. 


With  the  Audubon  Societies. 

SUiMMER    COURSES    IN    BIRD    STUDY. 

The  arrangement  made  by  The  Na- 
tional Association  of  Audubon  Societies 
for  conducting  summer  courses  in  bird 
study  in  New  York,  Vermont,  Virginia, 
Georgia,  South  Carolina,  Florida,  Mon- 
tana and  California  seems  to  have  be- 
come very  popular,  and  will  give  to 
teachers  and  others  a  much  needed 
opportunity  for  a  definite,  practical 
course  in  applied  ornithology  under  the 
leadership  of  experts.  These  courses 
will  doubtless  be  enlarged  and  arrange- 
ments made  to  cover  many  of  the  other 
states  another  season.  The  Massachu- 
setts Agricultural  College  has  included 
in  its  summer  classes  a  four-weeks' 
course  in  Bird  Life  which  provides  a 
similar  opportunity  to  all  residents  of 
that  state. 


ILLEGAL  SALE  OF  AIGRETTES. 

For  the  recent  seizure  of  Ten  Thous- 
and Dollars'  worth  of  "aigrettes"  from 
five  millinery  dealers  in  New  York 
much  credit  is  due  the  agents  of  the 
National  Association,  who  have  been 
untiring  in  their  efforts  to  bring  to  jus- 
tice importers  of  wild  bird  plumage  in 
violation  of  the  laws. 

The  secrecy  and  underhand  methods 
of  handling  these  "forbidden  goods''  pur- 
sued by  the  firms  mentioned,  together 
with  certain  facts  learned  in  regard  to 
the  collecting  of  the  aigrettes  in  the 
Florida  rookeries,  show  that  there  is 
still  considerable  traffic  in  such  goods 
going  on  behind  our  backs,  despite  the 
stringent  laws  enacted  to  stop  this  ne- 
farious work. 

As  long  as  dealers  ofifer  fabulous 
prices  for  the  aigrettes  there  will 
always  be  plenty  of  uneducated  and  un- 
principled men  ready  to  defy  the  laws  : 
collecting  the  birds  even  at  the  risk  of 
their  own   lives,   and   finding  wavs   to 


ship  them  undetected,  and  as  long  as 
women  demand  the  aigrettes  to  wear, 
so  long  will  unscrupulous  dealers  con- 
tinue to  offer  the  fabulous  prices  to 
meet  their  demands.  The  ceasing  of  the 
demand  would,  of  itself,  stop  the 
supply. 


War  Scares  Birds  Away, 

The  war  is  having  a  great  influence 
on  the  birds  throughout  Europe,  espe- 
cially on  the  birds  of  passage. 

Last  Autumn  the  storks  left  Russia 
and  Galicia  a  month  earlier  than  usual : 
they  were  noticed  in  flocks  of  30  to  100 
on  their  way  through  Austria,  where 
they  alighted  on  the  roofs  and  chim- 
neys of  the  houses,  to  rest  before  con- 
tinuing their  journey  south. 

Other  birds  of  passage  have  deserted 
their  old  routes  of  flight  and  have  chos- 
en new  air  roads  along  less  disturbed 
regions.  Both  going  and  returning, 
these  birds  were  observed  in  places 
where  they  were  never  seen  before, 
and  were  missed  in  the  localities  where 
battles  were  raging. 

In  Luxemburg,  where  otherwise  mil- 
lions of  birds  congregate  in  leafy  for- 
ests, there  are  now  scarcely  any  to  be 
seen  or  heard. 

As  an  instance  how  the  birds  have 
deserted  Luxemburg,  a  nature  lover 
writes  that  "whole  oat  fields  have 
sprung  up  along  the  roads  and  in  the 
market  squares  of  the  little  towns  and 
villages  where  the  horses  have  been  fed 
as  the  cavalry  passed  through." 

This  would  never  have  been  possible 
in  other  years,  for  then  the  birds  would 
soon  have  picked  up  every  grain  that 
fell  to  the  ground. — Scientific  Ameri- 
can. 


Observation  on  Fall  Migration. 

BY   MRS.  F.  J.   HAYDEN,  SIOUX  CITY,  IOWA. 

For  some  reason  the  migrating  war- 
blers, etc.,  are  not  in  evidence  this  fall 
in  the  vicinity  of  Sioux  City,  la.  It  may 
be  that  the  unusual  weather  we  have  had 
this  summer  and  fall  has  influenced  ihem 
to  take  a  dififerent  route  or  to  go  through 
by  night  without  stopping. 

September  19th  we  saw  a  scarlet  tana- 
ger  in  the  transition  stage.  The  breast 
was  yellow  with  a  few  small  patches  of 
scarlet.  It  was  silent  and  shy,  seeming  to 
avoid  observation  as  if  ashamed  of  its 
strange  appearance. 


20^ 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


Nesting  Habits  of  the  Nighthawk 

Upon  city  roofs  and  house-tops  would 
not  generally  be  supposed  a  profitable 
place  to  look  for  birds'  nests,  yet  such 
a  location  is  not  uncommonly  chosen    by 


While  both  young  and  adult  were 
colored  remarkably  like  the  gravel  and 
tar  of  the  roof,  the  blotched,  gray  down 
of  the  young  especially  resembled  the 
stones    upon    which   they    squatted,    and 


ADULT  NIGHTHAWK  ON  WALL. 

the  nighthawk ;  perhaps  not  for  its  nest, 
properly  speaking, — for  there  is  abso- 
lutely no  trace  of  such, — but  to  deposit 
its  eggs  and  rear  its  young. 

It  was  high  up  on  the  flat,  gravel  roof 
of  a  business  block,  along  one  of  the 
busiest  streets  of  Nashua,  N.  H.,  that  I 
first  made  a  visit  to  such  a  home  on  the 
twenty-sixth  of  June.  As  we  stepped 
out  from  the  skylight  onto  the  roof  and 
looked  about,  there  seemed  to  be  nothing 
visible  but  the  coarse,  gravelly  floor,  en- 
closed on  all  sides  by  a  three-foot  coping. 

It  was  several  minutes  before  we  dis- 
covered the  parent  bird  brooding  two 
downy  young, — near  the  end  of  the  roof, 
under  a  beam  which  had  been  placed 
across,  as  a  support  for  a  sign.  Although 
in  plain  sight,  they  were  practically  con- 
cealed by  their  remarkable  "protective 
coloring,"  which  was  much  more  apparent 
in  life  than  the  pictures  would  indicate. 
The  eggs,  I  learned,  had  been  hatched  out 
in  the  middle  of  the  roof;  the  young 
birds  having  evidently  been  transferred 
to  this  position  for  shade. 

When  within  ten  or  twelve  feet,  the 
brooding  bird, — which  we  supposed  to  be 
the  mother, — fluttered  along  the  roof  as 
if  injured,  to  lure  us  away  from  her  help- 
less young.  A  few  yards  away  she  would 
He  with  her  wings  spread  and  mouth 
open,  uttering  a  faint  twitter  and  seem- 
ingly unable  to  fly.  When  followed  she 
flew  to  the  coping,  repeating  this  perfor- 
mance until  closely  approached,  when  she 
flew  ofif,  but  soon  returned  and  remained 
silently  watching  us. 


THE  FLUTTERING  ANTICS  OF  THE  ADULT 
BIRD. 

they  were  quite  invisible  a  few  yards 
away.  They  were  apparently  not  many 
days  old  and  huddled  closely  together 
with  half-closed  eyes. 

Four  days  later  we  again  visited  these 
young,  securing  several  more  pictures, 
and  their  growth  and  development  in  this 
short  period  seemed  remarkable.  They 
appeared  nearly  twice  their  former  size 
and  were  now  covered  with  pin- feathers. 
We  noticed  that  the  blotched  markings 
extended  even  to  their  bills,  making  their 
belonging  with  the  surroundings  almost 
perfect.  On  our  approach  at  this  visit, 
the  adult  bird,  which  had  been  brooding 
one  of  the  young  in  the  same  location  as 
previously,  left  its  charge  and  repeated 
its  fluttering  antics  almost  at  our  feet. 
Curiously  enough,  our  picture  of  this  bird 
shows  a  broken,  white  band  near  the  end 
of  the  tail.  This  is  supposed  to  be  a  dis- 
tinguishing mark  of  the  male  bird,  and 
would  therefore  indicate  that  he  shares 
in  the  brooding  of  the  young, — a  trait 
which  I  have  been  unable  to  find  pre- 
viously mentioned  by  any  writer.  The 
other  young  was  alone,  several  yards 
away,  and  after  photographing  them  sep- 
arately the  two  were  placed  together 
as  shown  in  the  picture.  In  neither  case, 
although  we  made  a  thorough  search, 
did  we  see  any  sign  of  the  other  parent 
bird. 

A  third  visit  to  this  little  family,  on  the 
tenth  of  July,  disclosed  both  the  young 
and  adult  squatted  under  the  shade  of 
the  big  cross  beam,  the  old  bird  being  be- 
tween the  other  two,  which  were  now 
about    two-thirds   its    size    and    showing 


ORNITHOLOGY 


203 


signs  of  the  mature  markings,  though  still 
downy  in  appearance.  When  I  approach- 
ed within  six  feet  of  them  both  young 
suddenly  flew  out,  sailing  across  the  roof, 
up  over  the  casement  wall  and  away, 
without  alighting.  The  old  bird  then 
fluttered  out  onto  the  roof,  going  through 
its  ruse  of  feigned  lameness  to  distract 
attention  from  the  young,  as  before. 

The  nighthawk,  or  "bull-bat,"  is  with- 
out doubt  one  of  the  most  useful  of  all 
birds  to  the  farmer  and  agriculturist,  as 
it  feeds  entirely  upon  insects,  of  which 
it  destroys  large  quantities.  Stomachs  of 
these  birds  examined  have  been  found  to 
contain  over  five  hundred  mosquitos ; 
others  even  a  greater  number  of  flying 
ants,  while  grass-hoppers,  cucumber 
beetles,  potato  beetles,  cotton-boll  w^ee- 
vils,  June-bugs  and  various  other  de- 
structive insects  form  part  of  their  daily 
food.  These  insects  are  all  captured  by 
the  birds  while  on  the  wing.  They  are 
very  adept  fliers,  with  a  quick  zigzag- 
ing  flight,  and  as  they  come  forth  about 
dusk  they  may  often  be  seen  making 
great  swoops  downward  through  the  air, 
seemingly  as  if  they  would  dash  into  the 
ground  or  the  top  of  some  building,  sud- 
denly swerving  just  before  they  strike. 

On  a  wall  or  ridge  of  a  house  they 
usually  alight  length-wise, — instead  of 
cross-wise,  as  do  most  of  the  perching 
birds, — and  it  is  in  this  position^  squatted 
upon  the  limb  of  a  tree,  that  the  night- 
hawk  spends  the  day  in  the  woods.  Here 
in  some  open  spot  it  deposits  its  two  eggs 
— which  are  blotched  similar  to  the  young 
birds — either  upon  the  ground  or  a  bare 
rock. 


Chapman,  in  his  "Handbook  of  Birds 
of  Eastern  N.  A.,"  states  that  "the  night- 
hawk  is  one  of  our  few  truly  nocturnal 
birds,"  while  Forbush,  in  his  "Useful 
Birds  and  their  Protection,"  remarks  that 
"It  flies  chiefly  at  evening  but  is  seldom 
heard  to  cry  after  dark,  and  often  may  be 
seen  flying  about  during  the  greater  part 
of  the  day."  My  own  experience  bears 
out  the  latter  statement,  and  I  have  fre- 
quently heard  this  bird's  sharp,  wheezy 
note  in  the  middle  of  the  day  and  looked 
up  to  see  them  flying  about,  high  above 
the  city  buildings, — although  their  favor- 
ite time  for  feeding  seems  to  be  from  sun- 
set until  dark,  and  in  the  early  hours  of 
the  morning.  The  note  of  these  interest- 
ing birds,  although  difficult  to  describe, 
is  unlike  that  made  by  any  other,  and 
when  once  heard  wall  be  remembered. 

Belonging  to  the  order  of  goatsuckers, 
swifts  and  humming-birds,  the  night- 
hawk  is  of  the  same  family  as  the  whip- 
poor-will,  which  it  somewhat  resembles 
and  with  which  it  seems  to  be  often  con- 
founded. The  latter,  however,  has  a 
rounded  tail  showing  broad  white  patches 
on  its  outer  feathers,  and  short,  rounded 
wings  wuth  no  conspicuous  markings ; 
while  the  former  has  long,  angular  wings 
with  prominent  white  bars,  and  a  slightly 
forked  tail.  The  difference  in  plumage 
markings  is  also  readily  apparent  upon  a 
close  examination  and  comparison.  The 
whip-poor-will  is  a  bird  of  the  woods, 
often  heard,  but  rarely  seen, — unless 
ocasionally  it  is  flushed  from  the  ground, 
where  it  spends  the  day, —  as  it  seldom 
appears  before  night-fall. 
Nighthawks  are  birds  of  the  open  and 


'THEY   WERE   QUITE   I  WIST  RLE  A  FEW 
YARDS  AWAY." 


"THE  BLOTCHED  MARKI.\GS  EXTENDED 
EVEN  TO  THEIR  BILLS." 


204 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


one  has  frequent  opportunities  to  observe 
them  about  their  haunts.  They  rang^e 
over  the  greater  part  of  North  America, 
appearing  in  the  latitude  of  New  York 
about  the  first  of  Ma}',  and  leaving  about 
the  first  of  September.  They  winter  south 
to  Argentina. 


Robin  Roosts. 


BY  F.  J.  HAYDEN,  SIOUX  CITY,  IOWA. 

Autumnal  ornithology  brings  many 
interesting  problems.  The  remarkable 
habit  of  robins  roosting  together  in  large 
flocks  beginning  in  July  and  lasting  until 
migration  seems  to  receive  no  comment 
or  attempted  explanation  in  our  popular 
bird  books. 

At  the  Sioux  City  Morningside  College 
campus  is  a  robins'  roost  toward  which 
every  evening  these  birds  may  be  seen 
flying  from  all  directions  over  the  city. 
Upon  arriving  at  the  grounds  a  few  eve- 
nings ago  at  5.30  P.M.  only  a  few  robins 
were  in  evidence.  Soon  however  we 
observed  them  coming  in  twos  and  threes 
and  dozens  from  all  directions. 

It  was  out  of  the  question  to  keep  count 
or  make  sure  of  them  all  but  judging  that 
the  influx  was  equally  great  on  all  sides 
there  must  have  been  between  one  and 
two  thov:sand  birds.  The  trees  were  soon 
filled  with  a  loud  cackling,  scores  were 
bathing  in  roadside  pools  and  the  ground 
and  grass  seemed  literally  alive  with 
robins. 

By  day  these  birds  scatter  over  the 
entire  city  and  country.  They  make  no 
attempt  to  live  in  commimities  in  the 
summer  but  any  one  who  will  keep  a 
sharp  lookout  on  the  robins  in  their  local- 
ity will  find  that  beginning  in  July  and 
August  these  birds  flock  to  some  general 
roosting  place  at  sunset. 

It  would  hardly  seem  that  this  gather- 
ing could  be  in  any  way  connected  with 
the  southern  migration.  Why  then  should 
these  birds  not  sleep  upon  their  respective 
nesting  and  feeding  grounds  instead  of 
flying  several  miles  twice  a  day  just  for 
the  privilege  of  spending  the  nights  at 
some  particular  rendezvous  ? 

[Have  any  of  our  readers  noticed  simi- 
lar roosts  in  their  localities? — H.  G.  H.l 


O  Mountains,  lift  us  to  your  heights, 

Let  us  look  down,  serene, 
On  all  the  pettiness  of  life, 

Which    distance   serves   to   screen. 

— Emma  Peirce. 


The  Junior  Audubon  Work. 

AUDUBON   SOCIETY  OF  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 

BY  THE   REV.    MANLEY   B.   TOWNSEND,   SEC 

"The  child  is  father  to  the  man."  The 
rising  generation  of  today  are  to  carry 
on  the  world's  work  tomorrow.  Any 
eft'ective  educational  work  must  com- 
prehend the  children.  The  National 
Association  of  Audubon  Societies,  real- 
izing this  and  wishing  to  do  something 
big  for  bird  conservation  and  the 
spread  of  knowledge  about  our  feather- 
ed songsters,  fotu'  years  ago  began  in 
a  modest  way  the  organization  of 
Jimior  Audubon  Classes  in  the  public 
schools.  It  was  a  master  stroke. 
Everywhere,  from  Maine  to  California, 
teachers  and  children  seized  upon  the 
idea  with  enthusiasm. 

A  good  friend  of  the  children  and  the 
birds  contributed  five  thousand  dollars 
for  the  work.  The  next  year  he  gave 
seven  thousand,  and  last  year  he  in- 
creased the  sum  to  twenty  thousand 
dollars !  Such  is  his  confidence  in  this 
method.  This  year  he  has  repeated  his 
gift,  and  has  placed  another  twenty 
thousand  dollars  at  the  disposal  of  the 
Association. 

Every  child  who  pays  ten  cents  and 
joins  a  Junior  Audubon  Class  receives 
ten  bird  leaflets  (all  different)  :  ten  col- 
ored plates  and  ten  outline  drawings, 
besides  a  bird  button, — the  Junior  Au- 
dtibon  badge.  Every  teacher  organiz- 
ing a  class  of  ten  or  more  receives 
"Bird-Lore"  free.  Educators  every- 
where endorse  the  plan  and  are  ready 
to  help  the  work.  Six  years  ago  Mrs. 
Russell  Sage  gave  five  thousand  dollars 
for  similar  work  in  the  South,  and  has 
maintained  her  generous  gift  yearly. 
Without  these  gifts  the  work  could  not 
be  continued.  The  fees  received  from 
the  children  are  merely  nominal. 

The  results  of  this  work  have  been 
truly  astonishing.  From  its  humble 
beginning  six  years  ago  to  the  present 
day,  the  total  enrollment  has  grown 
from  ten  thousand  enrolled  in  one  year 
to  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  en- 
rolled in  1914-15.  One  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  children  studying  lairds, 
learningtomake  bird-houses,  bird-baths 
and  to  attract  birds  about  the  house ! 
One  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  child- 
ren edttcated  in  bird  conservation,  their 
eyes  opened  to  one  of  the  most  fascinat- 


ORXITHOLOGY 


205 


ing-  of  nature's  realms !  Xor  does  the 
good  work  end  with  the  children,  for 
every  one  of  them  carries  home  the 
knowledge  he  has  gained  and  educates 
his  father  and  mother  and  the  other 
members  of  the  family.  So  there  is  no 
measuring  the  good  that  this  work  is 
accomplishing.  "A  little  child  shall 
lead  them." 


Bulletins  of  Interest  to  Bird  Students. 

The  following  bulletins  may  be  obtain- 
ed free  while  the  supply  lasts  from  the 
Editoi-  and  Chief,  Division  of  Publica- 
tions, and  after  that  at  a  nominal  cost 
from  the  Superintendent  of  Documents, 
U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture,  Washington. 
D.  C. 

There  are  constantly  new  bulletins  of 
this  nature  appearing  from  this  depart- 
ment, as  well  as  from  the  various  State 
r)Oards  of  Agirculture,  and  bird  students 
would  do  well  to  keep  in  touch  with 
tliem,  as  nowhere  else  may  so  much  val- 
uable information  be  obtained  at  so  slight 
a  cost. 

DEPARTMENT    BL'LEETINS. 

Xo.  107.   Birds  in  relation   to  the  alfalfa 

weevil. 
X'o.   128.  Distribution   and  migration   X. 

A.  rails  and  their  allies. 
X^o.  187.   Preliminarv  census  of  birds  of 

the  U.  S.  ' 

farmers'  bulletins. 
X^o.  197.  Importation  of  game  birds  and 

eggs  for  propagation. 
X^o.  390.  Pheasant  raising  in  the  U.  S. 
Xo.  456.  Our  grosbeaks  and  their  value  to 

agriculture. 
X'o.  493.  The  English  sparrow  as  a  pest. 
Xo.  497.   Some    common    game,    aquatic 

and    rapacious   birds    in    relation   to 

man. 
Xo.  506.   Food  of  some  well-known  birds 

of  forest,  farm  and  garden. 
Xo.  513.   Fifty  common  birds  of  farm  and 

orchard. 
X'^o.  609.  Bird  houses  and  how  to  build 

them. 
X'o.  621.   How  to  attract  birds  in  north- 
eastern U.  S. 
X'^o.  630.  Some    common    l)irds    useful    to 

the  farmer. 

C[RCri.  ARS. 

Xo.  17.    liiological    Surve_\-.    IWrd    day    in 

the  schools. 
Xo.  77.   Biological  survey.   Xational  bird 

ant!  mammal  reservations  in  Alaska. 
Xo.  79.   Biological  Survey.  Onr  vanishing 

shore-birds. 
Xo.  81.   Biological  Survcv,  Three  impor- 


tant wikl  duck  foods. 

X'o.  84.  Biological  Survey,  Distribution 
of  the  American  egrets. 

Xo.  87.  Biological  Survey,  Xational  re- 
servations for  the  protection  of  wild 
life. 

Y.    B.    SEPARATES. 

504.  Plants  useful  to  attract  birds  and 
protect  fruit. 

590.  Our  meadowlarks  in  relation  to  agri- 
culture. 

601.  Relation  of  birds  to  grain  aphides. 

620.  The  American  thrushes  valuable 
bird  neighbors. 

642.  Our  shore-birds  and  their  future. 

Reprint  Year-book  1904,  The  relation  of 
birds  to  fruit  growing  in  California 

Biological  Survey,  Bulletin  44,  Food  of 
our  more  important  flycatchers. 


The  cause  of  bird  protection  spreads. 
With  the  beginning  of  this  year,  impor- 
tation of  wild  bird  plumage  was  prohib- 
ited for  the  entire  Dominion  of  Canada. 
Xow  comes  the  report  that  the  law  is 
on  against  shooting  and  exporting 
skins  even  in  such  unlikely  places  as 
Java  and  New  Guinea.  To  be  sure, 
this  latter  prohibition  afifects  only  some 
districts  and  some  species  of  birds  of 
paradise ;  but  prospects  are  said  to  be 
bright  for  further  extensions. 


To  Frederick  W^ard  Putnam,  head  of 
the  Peabody  Museum  at  Harvard,  who 
died  last  August  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
six,  is  assigned  the  credit  of  inaugura- 
ting the  modern  type  of  scientific  col- 
lecting expedition.  Before  his  time,  ex- 
peditions went  out  in  search  of  what- 
ever they  could  pick  up.  Nowadays, 
they  start  out  with  a  particular  prob- 
lem to  solve  and  bring  back  to  the  mu- 
seum the  evidence  for  the  answer. 


Readers  of  Dr.  W.  J.  Holland's  well- 
known  "Butterfly  Book,"  one  of  the 
most  fresh  and  charming  of  all  natural 
history  volumes,  will  welcome  his  "But- 
terfly Guide."  The  new  work,  unlike  the 
old,  is  distinctly  a  "guide  book,"  a  vast 
pocket  manual  for  the  identification  of 
255  common  species,  largely  by  means 
of  some  three  hundred  remarkably  well 
executed  colored  pictures.  Yet  the 
price  is  only  one  dollar. 


The  Cardinal. 


A   flash   of  color,  a  hurst  of  song, 
A  cardinal  has  passed  along. 

— Emma    Peirce. 


2o6 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


The  Heavens  in  November. 

BY  PROF.  ERIC  DOOLITTLE,  OF  THE  UNIVER- 
SITY  OF   PENNSYLVANIA. 

With  the  approach  of  winter  the 
eastern  heavens  are  beginning  to  be 
filled  with  the  most  brilliant  constel- 
lations of  the  entire  sky.  Already  the 
most  beautiful  and  striking  group  of 
the  Bull,  with  the  lesser  groups  of  the 
Pleiades  and  the  Hyades  which  are  in- 


Saturn  into  our  evening  sky,  so  that 
throughout  November  both  Saturn  and 
Jupiter,  which  are  the  most  satisfactory 
planets  of  all  for  study  with  a  small 
telescope,  will  remain  with  us  in  excel- 
lent position  for  observation. 

This  month  also  is  the  month  of  the 
most  interesting  November  shooting 
stars,  the  richest  in  numbers  of  all  the 
shooting  star  showers  of  the  year,  and 


morth 


South 

Fig.    1.      The    Constellations    at    9  P.  M.,  Novcmucr  l.      (If  facing   S       outh,  hold  the  map  upright.  If  facing 
east,  hold  East  below.     If  facing  west_  hold,  West  below.     If  facing  north,  hold  the  map  inverted.) 


volved  in  it,  has  risen  high  above  the 
eastern  ground,  while  below  this  there 
shines  out  the  very  brilliant  Gemini  and 
the  great  constellation  of  Orion,  which 
is  the  most  striking  star  group  of  the 
entire  heavens. 

The  present  month  is  signalized  also 
by  the  entrance  of  the  beautiful  planet 


when  we  add  that  we  are  at  this  mo- 
ment very  near  to  the  time  when  the 
spots  upon  our  sun  appear  in  their 
greatest  number  it  will  be  realized  that 
the  present  month  is  one  of  unusual 
interest  to  those  who  find  pleasure  in 
watching  and  studying  the  revelations 
of  the  sky. 


TO  KNOW  THE  STARRY  HEAVENS 


207 


How  to  Observe  the  Sun  With  a  Small 

Telescope. 

During   the   last   several    weeks    the 

reader     may     have     noticed     occasional 

newspaper  announcements  of  the  dis- 


destroy  the  (Cyesig'ht.  Sometimes  a 
dark  paper  is  placed  over  the  larger 
lens,  having  a  small  circular  hole  cut 
from  its  center,  but  this  is  a  poor  plan, 
for  it  greatly  increases  the  blurring  of 


Fig.   2.     Arrangement  for  viewing  the  sun   with   a   small   telescope. 


covery  of  one  or  more  great  sun  spots, 
the  discovery  being  sometimes  credited 
to  one  astronomer  and  sometimes  to 
another.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  any  sun 
spot  large  enough  to  be  noteworthy 
is  visible  even  in  the  smallest  telescope, 
and  sometimes  even  without  any  tele- 
scope at  all,  and  therefore  it  will  be  sure 
to  at  once  be  seen  by  any  observer  who 
happens  to  look  at  the  sun's  disc  after 
it  has  appeared.  It  is  thus  hardly  more 
reasonable  to  speak  of  the  "discoverer" 
of  a  great  sun  spot  than  to  credit  a 
single  observer  with  the  discovery  of  a 
iull  moon  or  of  an  equinoctial  storm. 
At  the  present  time,  and  for  several 
months  to  come,  every  possessor  of  a 
small  telescope  will  find  that  a  frequent 
■examination  of  the  sun's  disc  will  af- 
ford a  most  profitable  and  interesting 
study.  For  we  are  now  very  near  to 
an  epoch  of  sun-spot  maximum,  an 
•epoch  which  will  not  occur  again  until 
II  years  from  the  present  time. 

With  even  a  small  telescope  one 
•cannot  look  directly  at  the  sun,  for  were 
this  done  the  large  lens  would  act  as  a 
"burning  glass  and  concentrate  upon 
the  eye  all  of  the  light  and  heat  rays 
which  fall  upon  the  area  of  its  surface. 
This    would    injure    or    even    com])letelv 


the  solar  image.  A  far  better  arrange- 
ment is  that  shown  in  Figure  2.  The 
eyepiece  at  E  is  removed  and  the  card- 
board screen  A.  D.  is  adjusted  at  the 
position  of  most  perfect  focus,  a  clear 
image  of  the  sun  will  appear  upon 
the  screen,  especially  if  a  dark  cloth 
be  thrown  over  the  top  and  farther 
sides,  ABKD,  so  as  to  cut  off  all  out- 
side light.  (The  figure  is  taken  from 
Kelvin  McKreadv's  "A  Beginner's 
Star  Book.") 

The  amateur  should  be  warned 
against  looking  at  the  sun  directly, 
even  with  the  red  glasses  provided 
with  small  telescopes.  If  the  observa- 
tion is  prolonged,  which  is  apt  to  be 
the  case  when  an  enthusiastic  observer 
is  intently  watching  the  marvelous 
changes  going  on  in  this  wonderful 
star,  the  heat  may  suddenly  crack  the 
red  cover  with  disastrous  results  to  the 
observer's  evesight. 

'    :i:      '    ;!:  *  ^  * 

The  Sun  a  Great  Ball  of  Fire. 

AX'hen  care  is  used  in  arranging  this 
simple  apparatus  an  image  of  the  sun 
will  appear  on  the  screen  which  will 
have  all  the  sharpness  and  clearness  of 
a  steel  engraving,  its  appearance  re- 
sembline  more  or  less   that  shown   in 


2o8 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


Figure  3.  The  ol)server  will  at  the  pre- 
sent time  see  several  spots  upon  its 
surface,  and  if  he  will  look  at  these  at 
intervals  of  a  few  days  he  will  plainly 
see  that  our  great  luminary  is  steadily 
turning  around  upon  it  axis,  just  as  the 
earth  is  doing.  But  our  great  sun,  a 
million  times  larger  than  our  earth,  in- 
stead   of    turning   about   once    each    day. 


Fig.  3.  The  a|iptavancc  ut  tlu  Mm  a^  viewed  in  a 
small  telescope. 

occupies  twenty-five  and  one-third  days 
in  making  one  single  rotation.  If,  there- 
fore, the  observer  sees  a  large  spot  just 
coming  around  the  advancing  edge — 
that  is,  just  rising  to  his  view — nearly 
two  weeks  will  elapse  before  its  steady 
onward  motion  will  have  carried  it  en- 
tirely across  the  disc  of  the  sun  and 
caused  it  to  withdraw  from  view  to 
the  side  of  the  sun  which  is  ever  hid- 
den from  us. 

Our  svm  is  an  inconceivably  large 
body,  no  less  than  866,500  miles  in  di- 
ameter, and  it  is  so  excessively  hot  that 
the  temperature,  even  of  its  cooler  out- 
er layer,  is  no  less  than  12,000  degrees 
above  zero.  This  is  sufficient  not  only 
to  melt  but  to  instantly  vaporize  any 
known  substance  which  occurs  upon 
the  earth.  Consequently  we  believe 
that  the  sun  is  nothing  but  a  great  ball 
of  intensely  heated,  gaseous  matter. 
How  inconceivably  hot  its  interior  may 
be  we  have  no  means  of  ascertaining, 
but  doubtless  great  currents  o'f  super- 
heated matter  are  forever  rushing  from 
the  interior  to  the  surface  and,  becom- 
ing cooled  there,  are  sinking  to  the  in- 
terior again — currents  of  vaporized 
metals  and  other  substances  on  which 
whole  earths  like  ours  would  be  carried 
as  easily  as  small  chips  are  carried  up- 
on the  surface  of  a  swiftly  flowing  mill 
stream. 


The  whole  enormous  ball  is  in  a 
state  of  inconceivably  violent  agitation. 
It  is  no  wonder  that  great  disturbances 
appear  upon  its  surface,  known  to  us 
as  sun  spots,  and  that  these  are  some- 
times of  forty  or  even  fifty  thousand 
miles  in  diameter.  We  do  not  know 
their  exact  nature,  nor  do  we  know 
why,  every  11  years,  they  reappear  in 
very  unusual  numbers.  But  long-con- 
tinued observations  have  shown  that 
the  inconceivably  violent  agitations  to 
which  this  great  ball  is  subjected  at- 
tain their  maximum  regularly  at  times 
separated  by  this  constant  interval.  It 
is  certain  that  these  disturbances  will 
thus  be  the  greatest  from  toward  the 
end  of  the  present  year  until  nearly  the 
middle  of  1916.  It  is  during  these 
months  that  our  sun  will  be  an  object 
of  the  highest  interest  for  study  to 
those  who  are  so  fortunate  as  to  have 
access  to  a  small  telescope. 


The  Planets  in  November. 

Mercury,  which  passed  to  the  west  of 
the  sun  and  became  a  morning  star  on 
October  22,  will  reach  its  greatest  wes- 
tern elongation  on  November  7,  and  at 
this  time  may  be  seen  in  the  early  dawn 
for  nearly  two  hours  before  sunrise. 
It  must  be  looked  for  very  near  the 
ground,  a  little  south  of  the  east  point, 
where  it  will  be  seen  shining  with  three 
times  the  brightness  of  a  standard  first- 
magnitude  star.  In  the  telescope  dur- 
ing the  last  days  of  October  it  will  ap- 
i:)ear  as  a  beautiful,  thin,  silvery  cres- 
cent, becoming  half  full  on  November 
7,  and  from  then  on  rapidly  increasing 
its  phase. 

Venus  is  destined  soon  to  be  the 
most  conspicuous  object  of  the  evening 
skies,  but  it  is  still  too  near  the  sun  to 
be  easily  observed.  On  November  i  it 
sets  but  50  minutes  after  svmset,  and 
this  time  is  increased  to  only  i  hour 
and  10  minutes  by  November  30.  The 
planet  is  now  moving  very  rapidly 
southward  over  the  sky  and  by  the  lat- 
ter date  is  almost  25  degrees  below  the 
equator.  Soon  after  the  end  of  the 
month,  however,  it  will  begin  to  move 
rapidly  northward  and  will  thus  soon 
be  seen  high  in  the  evening  sky.  At 
present  it  must  be  looked  for  far  south 
of  the  west  point  of  the  horizon,  shin- 
ing in  the  twilight  for  about  an  hour 
after  the  sun  has  set. 


TO  KNOW  THE  STARRY  HEAVENS 


209 


Mars,  tliough  destined  soon  to  enter 
the  borders  of  our  evening  star  map, 
is  still  a  little  too  far  east  to  be  shown 
in  Figure  i.  During  November  it 
moves  from  Cancer  well  into  the  con- 
stellation Leo.  On  November  i  it  is  a 
little  above  and  to  the  east  of  the  re- 
markable cluster  of  stars  known  as  the 
Praesepe,  while  by  November  30  it  has 
reached  a  position  only  slightly  to  the 
right  of  Regulus.  On  the  former  date 
it  rises  about  10  o'clock,  and  on  the 
latter  half  an  hour  earlier.  This  planet 
is  still  drawing  steadily  nearer  to  us. 
its  distance  decreasing  during  the  pre- 
sent month  from  122  to  99  millions  of 
miles.  It  will  not,  however,  be  in  its 
best  position  for  observation  and  be- 
come a  striking  object  in  the  evening 
heavens  until  next  spring. 

Jupiter,  which  is  seen  shining  bril- 
liantly in  the  south,  a  little  to  the  west 
of  the  meridian,  is  now  the  most  beauti- 
ful and  conspicuous  object  in  the  even- 
ing sky.  This  planet  is  always  a  most 
satisfying  object  for  examination  in  a 
small  telescope.  If  the  air  is  reason- 
ably steady  its  beautiful  rose-colored 
bands  and  its  four  bright  moons  can 
always  be  seen,  and  if  the  observer 
has  the  patience  to  watch  this  world 
for  only  a  few  hours  he  can  see  clearly 
that  it  is  turning  around  under  his 
telescope.  In  fact,  any  marking  which 
is  seen  emerging  at  the  right-hand  edge 
of  the  planet  will  pass  completely 
across  the  disc  and  disappear  at  the 
left-hand  edge  in  less  than  live  hours  : 
and,  meanwhile,  the  bright  moons  will 
be  seen  to  be  rapidl}-  changing  their 
positions,  some  transiting  across  the 
planet's  disc,  some  passing  l^ehind  it 
and  some  passing  into  the  planet's 
shadow  and  becoming  eclipsed,  so  that 
altogether  the  wonderful  system  af- 
fords perhaps  the  best  study  in  a  small 
telescope  of  any  object  in  the  entire 
heavens.  Eclipses,  etc.,  of  the  moons 
will  be  seen  to  occtir  in  unusual  num- 
bers on  the  evenings  of  November  2. 
9,  22  and  27. 

The  beautiftil  planet  Saturn  will  be 
seen  in  almost  the  center  of  the  constel- 
lation Gemini,  a  short  distance  up  from 
the  east  point  of  the  horizon  in  the 
early  evening  and  by  midnight  it  will 
have  risen  high  in  the  heavens.  The 
rings  of  this  planet  are  now  widely 
opened  and  it  forms  a  beautiful  object 
in  a  small  telescope.    The  planet  is  now 


between  the  bright  stars  A  and  B  of 
Figure  i.  It  is  at  present  retrograding, 
or  moving  westward  over  the  sky,  and 
will  pass  the  star  at  A  on  December  27. 
This  westward  motion  of  Saturn  will 
continue  until  March  11,  when  it  will 
have  reached  the  position  C.  After  this 
it  will  run  rapidly  eastward,  nc^t,  how- 
ever, finally  passing  the  star  at  B  until 
June  21.  The  eastward  motion  of  Sat- 
urn carries  it  entirely  arotmd  the  sphere 
in  about  30  years,  but  in  the  course  of 
this  motion  it  retrogrades  no  less  than 
29  times,  so  that  its  actual  path  among 
the  stars  is  a  very  complicated  one. 

The   November  Shooting  Stars. 
If  the  observer  will  go  out  of  doors 
toward  midnight  about  the  middle  of 
the  month  and  face  northeast  he  will 
see    an    occasional    shooting   star    dart 
outward    from    the    constellation    Leo. 
move  very  swiftly  across  the  sky  and 
disappear.      These   are   the    November 
shooting   stars.      Each   one   is   a   little 
meteoric  body  which   is   moving  with 
a  high  velocity  about     the     sun     and 
which,  colliding  with  the  upper  regions 
of  our  air,   is   rendered   luminous   and 
speedily   consumed   by   the   great   fric- 
tion to  which  it     is     stibjected.     The 
earth  happens  to  run  into  this  stream 
of    particles,    consequently    they    plow 
through  our  air  with  a  speed  of  about 
40  miles  a  second  and  are  hence  very 
cpiickly    consumed.       The    stream     of 
August  meteors  on  the  contrary  over- 
take the  earth,  and  therefore  enter  our 
air  with  a  velocity  of  only  about  eight 
miles  a  second ;  these  shooting  stars  are 
hence  consumed  but  slowly,  and  travel 
in  long  paths  across  the  sky.    For  these 
reasons  also  the  light  of  the  November 
meteors  is  of  a  deep  bluish  color,  while 
that  of  the  August  meteors  is  yellow- 
ish or  red.    The  former  meteoric  swarm 
is   following  about   the   sun   the  exact 
path   of  a   comet   known   as   Tempel's 
Comet :  it  is  indeed  believed  to  be  noth- 
ing less  than  the  remains  of  this  com- 
et, which  has  been  drawn  out  along  its 
orbit  for  a  great  distance  owing  to  the 
tidal  action  of  the  stin.     Each  year  in 
November    our    earth    runs    into    this 
swarm  of  meteroic  particles  and  there 
results  what  we  observe  as  the  Novem- 
ber  shower  of  shooting  stars. 


No  star  seemed  less  than  what  science 
has  taught  us  that  it  is. — Cooper. 


2IO 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


An    Interesting    "Ten"    at    the    Sound 
Beach  Observatory. 

1.  The  Moon.  This  is  generally  re- 
garded as  the  most  spectacular  object 
in  the  sky.  The  new  telescope  may  be 
used  to  advantage  along  about  the  first 
quarter  of  the  moon,  perhaps  a  few- 
days  before  or  a  few  days  after.  Then 
may  be  clearly  seen  the  mighty  Apen- 
nines— a  long  mountain  range,  the  huge 
volcanoes — Copernicus  and  Gassendi, 
the  streaks  radiating  from  Tycho,  and 
other  spectacular  appearances.  A 
view  of  the  moon  is  impressive  to  most 
persons  because  it  shows  that  the  fami- 
liar object  has  not  been  known  as  it 
really  is.  The  six  inch  telescope  shows 
all  of  the  more  prominent  details  with 
probably  fully  as  much  satisfaction  to 
the  amateur  astronomer  as  does  any 
other  telescope  in  the  United  States. 
This  is  true  of  nearly  all  the  most  in- 
teresting objects.  A  popular  but  er- 
roneous impression  is  that  huge  tele- 
scopes and  big  buildings  are  required 
for  observation.  These  huge  equip- 
ments are  used  mostly  in  technical  re- 
search, especially  in  photography. 
When  the  moon  is  shining  in  the  sky, 
it  is  not  only  in  itself  an  interesting- 
object,  but  it  overpowers  everything 
else  and  monopolizes  our  attention.  On 
moonlight  nights  we  see  the  moon  but 
on  moonless  nights  we  may  readily  see 
all  the  other  nine  objects  here  listed. 

2.  Jupiter.  This  may  now  be  viewed 
at  its  best  in  the  southern  sky.  Even 
the  naked  eye  is  attracted  by  its  marvel- 
ous splendor.  It  is  larger  than  all  the 
other  planets  put  together ;  it  is  thir- 
teen hundred  times  as  large  as  the 
earth.  Most  astronomers  agree  that 
nothing  in  the  heavens  is  more  impres- 
sive than  the  disappearance  and  the 
return  of  Jupiter's  moons.  The  planet 
and  its  wonderful  train  of  circling  satel- 
lities  that  gleam  like  diamond  sparks 
cannot  be  adequately  described  in 
words ;  they  can  be  appreciated  only 
when  seen.  Both  the  moons  and  the 
planet  can  easily  be  seen  to  be  moving 
in  a  small  telescope.  Jupiter  actually 
turns  around  under  the  telescope  as 
one  looks  at  it — an  interesting  sight. 

3.  Hercules  13M  Star  Cluster.  On  a 
still  moonless  evening  the  sight  of  this 
sun  cluster  in  Hercules  captivates  the 
mind  of  even  the  most  thoughtless  and 
uncontemplative   observer.      Here   the 


imagination  will  unavoidably  let  itself 
loose  on  its  wings  and  fly  away  to  that 
wonderful  collection  of  suns  which  was 
estimated  by  Sir  William  Herschel  to 
contain  fourteen  thousand  stars,  and  in 
which  at  the  great  observatory  on 
Mount  Wilson  sixty  thousand  were 
counted,  but  whose  true  number  may 
even  be  far  more.  It  can  be  seen  even 
with  an  opera  glass  as  a  small  nebulous 
body  between  Eta  and  Beta  Herculis.  It 
it  one  of  the  few  objects  that  a  large 
telescope  will  exhibit  to  a  little  better 
advantage  than  will  one  of  six  inches' 
aperture,  but  the  difference  is  not  great. 
It  would  probably  not  be  noticeable  to 
any  but  the  professional  astronomer. 
The  spectacular  appearance  in  the  six 
inch  is  surely  fully  up  to  the  wonders 
of  this  far  famed  cluster  which  is  prac- 
tically unknown  to  those  that  are  not 
especially  interested  in  astronomy.  I 
once  spent  an  evening  in  a  large  ob- 
servatory and  had  the  big  telescope 
placed  at  my  disposal.  "What  are  you 
going  to  try  it  on?"  asked  the  astrono- 
mer. "Try  it  on  !  I  intend  to  travel  in 
13M.  That  is  a  dreamland  I  long  have 
wanted  to  see."  For  more  than  an  hour 
I  gazed  at  those  myriad  suns,  first  with 
one  eye,  then  with  the  other,  first  with 
one  eyepiece  and  then  with  another.  I 
could  not  tire  of  looking.  It  is  marvel- 
ous.   It  is  more.    It  is  awe-inspiring. 

4.  Andromeda  Nebula.  This  great 
nebula,  famous  in  itself,  is  easily  distin- 
guishable with  a  good  opera  glass ;  in- 
deed, a  person  with  acute  eyesight  may 
on  a  very  clear  and  cloudless  evening 
see  it  as  a  nebulous  body,  but  it  does 
not  usually  attract  much  public  atten- 
tion. In  August,  1885,  a  new  star  sud- 
denly made  its  appearance  in  this  neb- 
ula, but  in  a  year  it  disappeared.  Not 
even  the  largest  telescope  in  the  United 
States  can  now  find  it.  This  astonish- 
ing phenomenon  gives  one  the  same 
feeling  as  looking  at  a  so-called  haunted 
house  only  in  this  case  the  mysterious 
appearance  and  disappearance  are 
proven  beyond  the  shadow  of  a  doubt. 
Where  did  that  star  come  from? 
Where  did  it  go?  No  human  being  in 
all  this  world  can  answer  these  ques- 
tions. 

5.  Epsilon  Lyrae.  This  is  near  Vega, 
the  third  brightest  star  in  the  skv  and 
the  brightest  north  of  the  celestial 
equator.  It  emits  one  hundred  times 
more  light  than  our  sun.   Epsilon  Lyrae 


TO  KNOW  THE  STARRY  HEAVENS 


211 


is  a  fourth  magnitude  star  but  on  ac- 
count of  its  intrinsic  interest  even  out- 
rivals Vega,  the  third  brightest  star 
of  the  sky.  With  it  and  with  one  other 
star  it  forms  a  small  equal-sided  tri- 
angle. It  is  not  only  a  good  example  of 
a  double  but  of  a  double  double.  Even 
with  the  unaided  eye,  if  acute,  it  may 
be  seen  as  a  double  star.  A  small  opera 
glass  readily  separates  the  two  doubles, 
but  the  six  inch  at  the  Sound  Beach 
Observatory  shows  not  only  the  double 
but  splits  each  component,  making  a 
double  double.  Between  the  two  com- 
ponents appear  two  faint  spots  of  light 
that  Sir  John  Herschel  made  famous  by 
naming  debillissima.  If  we  may  call 
the  new  star  in  Andromeda,  The 
Ghost,  then  we  may  call  this  The  Will- 
o'-the-Wisp,  because  now  you  see  it 
and  now  you  don't.  It  demands  care- 
ful scrutiny  with  the  most  sensitive 
part  of  the  retina.  About  ten  degrees 
east  of  Vega,  within  this  constellation, 
appears  the  famous  Ring  Nebula  of 
Lyra.  This  is  considered  by  some  to 
be  as  interesting  as  the  Andromeda 
Nebula. 

6.  The  famous  colored  star,  Albireo. 
This  is  Beta  Cygni  and  if  one  thinks  of 
the  beautiful  constellation  in  the  Milky 
Way  as  a  swan  flying  southward,  then 
this  is  the  bill  of  the  swan.  If  one 
thinks  of  it,  as  is  commonly  done,  as  a 
cross,  then  Albireo  is  to  be  regarded  as 
the  base  of  a  cross  leaning  toward  the 
north.  Perhaps  this  is  the  most  charm- 
ing of  all  double  stars.  During  Novem- 
ber a  number  of  beautiful  colored  stars 
will  be  easily  accessible.  For  those 
that  best  like  these  objects  a  list  of 
some  half  dozen  will  be  provided.  The 
components  of  Albireo  are  in  sharp  and 
beautiful  contrast — light  yellow  and 
deep  blue.  It  is  a  heavenly  sight  un- 
known to  one  that  has  not  used  a  tele- 
scope, and  to  which  one  may  return 
again  and  again  with  pleasure  undimin- 
ished. 

7.  Algol,  the  Demon  Star.  Every 
starlovershould  be  able  to  locate  Algol, 
and  to  follow  the  perfect  and  regular 
changes  that  occur  at  intervals  of  two 
days,  twenty  hours,  forty-eight  min- 
utes and  fifty-five  seconds ;  that  is,  they 
occur  on  every  third  day  about  three 
hours  and  eleven  minutes  earlier  in  the 
day  than  at  the  previous  maximum  or 
minimum.  Perhaps  there  is  no  other 
variable  about  which  so  many  popular 


articles  have  been  written.  The  story 
is  as  fascinating  as  any  that  can  be 
told.  Algol  is  supposed  to  have  a  dark 
component  about  the  size  of  our  sun 
and  slightly  smaller  than  Algol  itself ; 
it  does  not  totally  eclipse  Algol,  but  as 
it  revolves  around  the  star  gradually, 
and  regularly  every  three  days,  reduces 
its  light  from  the  second  to  the  fourth 
magnitude.  Can  anything  be  more  fas- 
cinating than  a  black  sun  that  circles 
around  a  bright  star  but  never  com- 
pletely hides  it? 

8.  The  Milky  Way  or  The  Galaxy. 
The  telescope  shows  that  here,  spinning 
together,  are  unknown  millions  of  stars, 
wath  others  as  numerous  that  the  most 
powerful  telescopes  can  only  faintly 
define.  Our  six  inch  telescope  is  turned 
on  various  parts  of  this  amazing  collec- 
tion of  suns,  suns  as  plentiful  as  are  the 
sands  of  the  sea,  and  shows  their  segre- 
gation, or  collection,  into  little  groups, 
and  among  them,  here  and  there, 
amidst  this  streaming  of  dust-like  suns, 
jet  black,  apparently  empty  holes, 
places  where  one  might  say,  in  popular 
language,  "The  bottom  of  everything 
has  fallen  out,"  and  through  them  we 
gaze  into  vacant  space. 

9.  Mizar.  This  is  the  big  bear's 
principal  attraction.  Even  the  naked  eye 
shows  near  it  a  small  star  named  Alcor, 
but  the  telescope  will  apparently  cut 
Mizar  in  two  and  show  that  it  consists 
of  two  bright  stars  brilliantly  contrast- 
ing in  color,  the  larger  white,  the  small- 
er blue  green.  These  two  with  Alcor 
form  an  interesting  triangle.  Besides 
Alcor  several  fainter  stars  are  seen 
clustered  together  over  the  field  of 
view.  "Taken  all  in  all,"  says  Mr.  Ser- 
viss,  "there  are  very  few  equally  beau- 
tiful sights  in  the  starry  heavens." 
Near-bv  are  several  interesting  nebulae. 

10.  The  Pivot  of  the  Top.  All  the 
stars  and  other  objects  that  have  been 
mentioned  move  rapidly  out  of  the 
field  of  the  telescope,  showing  that  the 
earth  is  whirling  rapidly  in  space,  lit- 
erally spinning  like  a  top,  and  carrying 
the  telescope  with  it.  The  telescope 
will  be  turned  on  Polaris,  the  pole  star, 
that  is  interesting  not  only  in  itself  but 
in  the  fact  that  it  is  the  pivot  around 
which  all  the  others  are  turning.  The 
pole  star  is  not  exactly  the  pivot,  but  is 
so  near  that  for  practical  purposes  it 
stands  still  like  the  pivot  of  a  spinning 
top,  and  will  remain  long  in  the  field  of 


212 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


the  telescope,  while  for  all  other  stars 
a  constant  adjustment  is  needed  to 
keep  the  object  in  sight.  Polaris  is  a 
double  separable  by  even  a  small  tele- 
scope. The  six  inch  clearly  shows  it 
as  a  double. 

Appointments  to  view  the  heavens 
through  the  telescope  on  clear  evenings 
should  be  made  by  telephone,  so  as  to 
prevent  overcrowding  in  the  small 
(twelve  by  twelve)  observatory.  Those 
that  wish  to  study  popular  astronomy 
systematically  may  arrange  now  for  a 
series  of  absolutelv  free  lessons. 


Contributions  to  the  Sound  Beach 
Observatory. 

Mrs.  M.  Kennerley,  Mamaroneck, 

N.  Y.,  $  lo.oo 

Greenwich  Farmers'  Club,  Green- 
wich          5.00 

Mr.   George  Lauder,  Jr.,   Green- 
wich (Increase — total  $50.00)..      25.00 

A  Friend,  Stamford   (Increase — 

total  $13.00) 10.00 

A  Friend,  Sound  Beach 10.00 

R.  Hertzberg,  M.D.,  Stamford.  .  5.00 

Mrs.   Pauline  Agassiz   Shaw,  Ja- 
maica Plains,  Mass 50.00 

Judge     Charles     D.     Lockwood, 

Stamford 5.00 

A  Friend.  Stamford 5.00 

Ivcwis  W.   Barney,   Ph.D.,   Sound 
Beach 5.00 

Miss    May    L.     Tohnson,    Morris 

Park,  N.  Y...; 50 

Miss     Elizabeth     D.      Ferguson. 

Stamford 20.00 

Mr.    Stephen    I.    Clason,    Sound 

Beach i  .00 

Mr.  R.  L.  Agassiz,  Boston,  Mass.,      20.00 

Mr.    Howard    H.    Cleaves,    New 

Brighton,  N.  Y 3.00 

Total   $174.50 

Previously  acknowledged $758.08 

Grand  Total $932.58 

5):  ^  ^  >!;  ^ 

Mrs.  Pauline  Agassiz  Shaw  is  the 
daughter  of  Louis  Agassiz  from  whom 
The  Agassiz  Association  is  named.  In 
sending  her  contribution,  she  writes  as 
follows : 

"I  enclose  with  pleasure  $50  for  your 
telescope  and  congratulate  you  on  the  pur- 
chase of  Clark's  wonderful  instrument 
which  I  well  know,  I  am  sorry  I  cannot 
send  more. 


"1  think  \our  family  of  students  will 
have  some  wonderful  revelations  by 
means  of  this  telescope." 

;|:         ^         *         ;|;         ;1: 

Mr.  Howard  H.  Cleaves  writes  us : 

"You  may  thank  the  quartz-like 
clearness  of  the  sky  last  night  for  the 
inclosure,  which  is  for  the  Observatory 
Fund. 

"My  bed  is  so  near  the  window  that 
I  can  thrust  my  head  out  into  the  open 
the  second  I  hear  a  screech  owl,  or  the 
notes  of  any  migratory  birds.  This 
I  did  last  night  and  after  the  bird 
sounds  had  ceased  I  fell  to  gazing  at 
the  stars  and  wondering  about  them. 
The  twinkling  of  the  stars  reminded 
me  of  the  radiant  optimism  of  the  Sage 
of  Sound  Beach — and  from  this  it  was 
perhaps  only  a  natural  sequence  of 
meditation  that  led  me  to  recall  the 
need  of  funds  for  the  Observatory ! 

"It  isn't  always  that  one's  night 
thoughts  are  found  to  be  substantial 
the  next  morning ;  but  in  this  instance 
my  faith  has  boldly  held  until  I  have 
reached  my  check-book." 


Trained  Aircraft  Guns  on  Jupiter. 

Paris. — Jupiter,  looming  up  especially 
brilliant  nowadays,  has  been  frequently 
mistaken  for  the  searchlight  of  an  aero- 
plane flying  over  Paris.  Gunners  at  the 
front  have  made  the  same  mistake,  and 
prepared  to  train  their  anti-aircraft 
weapons  against  it.  The  well  known  as- 
tronomer, Abbe  Moreaux,  says  he  has 
received  a  great  many  letters  from  them 
asking  particulars  about  this  great  light 
in  the  East,  brought  to  their  notice  for  the 
first  time  by  the  war.  Abbe  Moreux 
infers  from  the  mass  of  correspondence 
received  that  thousands  of  soldiers 
oblig-'ed  to  pass  the  night  under  the  open 
sky,  are  acquiring  an  interest  in  the  won- 
ders and  beauties  of  nature  that  other- 
wise they  would  have  passed  their  lives 
without. — Newspaper. 


Purple   and   Gold. 

The  first  flower  colors  are  purple  and  gold. 

Behold  when  crocus  buds  unfold.. 
And  when  the  season's  latest  blooms 

Unfurl  their  brilliant,  wayside  plumes, 
Are  purple  and  gold  again  abroad. 

In  aster  rays,  and  golden-rod: 
While  linking  the  two  the  year  around, 

Are   sunset   clouds,   gold-purple   crowned. 
— Emma    Peirce. 


THE  GUIDE  TO  XATURE—ADVERTISEMEXTS 


X\ 


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»*^'^ 


PUBLISHERS  NOTICES 


Tis  not  in  moitais  to  COMMAND  success,  but  well  do  more,    Sempronius,    we'll    DESERVE    IT. 

— Addison:     Cato 


Awards  for  Optical  Excellence. 
The  record  made  by  the  Bausch  & 
Lomb  Optical  Co.  at  the  Panama-Pa- 
cific Exposition  is  one  that  is  probably 
unequalled  by  any  of  the  other  exhibi- 
tors at  San  Francisco.  The  awards 
granted  aggregate  four  Grand  Prix,  or 
highest  possible  awards,  one  Aledal  of 
Honor  and  one  Gold  Medal.  The  award 


THE    WONDERFUL    MIRRORS. 

in  each  case  was  the  highest  prize 
granted.  There  is  good  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  no  one  company  in  any  other 
department  of  the  great  Exposition 
received  such  high  honors  as  did 
Bausch  &  Lomb.  In  fact  the  company's 
representative  at  the  Fair  writes  that 
the  other  exhibitors,  regardless  of  their 
product  or  how  they  were  grouped  onlv 


received  one  Grand   Prix  and  in  most 
cases  only  a  Gold  Aledal. 

The  four  classes  in  which  Bausch  & 
Lomb  Optical  Co.  received  the  Grand 
Prix  are  Optical  Instruments,  Balopti- 
cons.  Engineering  Instruments  and 
Range  Finders.  The  first  division, 
called  Optical  Instruments,  is  com- 
prised of  seven  classes  and  covers  the 
company's  Opthalmic  Lenses, 
microscopes,  parabolic  and 
Mangin  mirrors.  Field  Glasses, 
microtomes  and  magnifiers. 

Opthalmic  lenses,  or  the  len- 
ses used  in  eyeglasses  and  spec- 
tacles, are  one  of  the  chief  pro- 
ducts   of   the   Bausch   &   Lomb 
plant    and   many   million    pairs 
per     year     are     manufactured. 
Notwithstanding   this    quantity 
production,    the   highest    stand- 
ard   of   scientific   accuracy   and 
precision     is     maintained     and 
every  single  lens  is  subjected  to 
rigid  inspections  before  leaving 
the    factory.      Within   the   past 
year  Bausch  &  Lomb  have  in- 
troduced in  America  two  new 
types  of  lenses  invented  by  their 
associates,      the      Carl      Zeiss 
^^'orks.     One  of  these     is     the 
Punktal,  which  is  described  as 
a  perfectly  corrected  opthalmic 
lens  and  which  is  rapidly  com- 
ing into  favor  in  preference  to 
the    ordinary    spectacle    lenses 
heretofore  used. 
The  second  t3^pe  is  the  Katral,  a  lens 
which  restores  nearly  normal  vision  to 
persons  who  have  been  operated  upon 
for   cataract.      The   Punktal   and   Katral 
lenses   are   acclaimed   by   scientists   as 
the  greatest  achievement  thus   far  at- 
tained in  this  branch  of  optics. 

The  superior  quality     of  all  Bausch 
&  Lomb  optical  instruments  is  gener- 


XVI 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE— ADJ'ERTISEMENTS 


ally  recognized.  Their  microscopes  are 
found  in  the  laboratories,  schools  and 
colleges  throughout  the  country.  Mag- 
nifiers of  this  make  have  been  in  use 
for  sixty  years,  while  it  was  this  com- 
pany who  introduced  in  this  country 
the  stereoscopic  prism  field  glass ,  a 
type  that  is  now  universally  adopted 
for  the  better  quality  glasses. 

Another  Grand  Prize  was  awarded 
the  Balopticons,  as  the  projection  appa- 
ratus of  Bausch  &  Lomb  manufacture 
is  called.  It  is  believed  that  this  award 
was  granted  not  only  on  the  general 
excellence  and  completeness  of  this 
line,  but  upon  the  marked  improvement 
in  projection  apparatus  caused  by  the 
entry  of  this  company  into  the  field 
Besides  simple  stereopticons  for  lan- 
tern slide  projection,  the  Balopticons 
include  instruments  which  project 
opaque  objects  direct,  that  is,  solid  ob- 
jects or  actual  photographs,  pictures, 
etc.,  without  the  necessity  of  making 
lantern  slides.  These  instruments  also 
project  on  the  screen  objects  as  seen 
through  the  microscope  and  include 
every  other  device  known  in  optical 
projection. 

Bausch  &  Lomb  surveying  instru- 
ments received  a  Grand  Prix  tor  "(jen- 
eral  Design  and  Excellence  of  Qual- 
ity." These  engineering  instruments 
are  known  to  engineers  everywhere  for 
the  excellence  of  their  optical  parts  and 
the  number  and  value  of  the  mechani- 
cal improvements  which  these  instru- 
ments introduced  as  innovations  in  the 
field. 

The  fourth  Grand  Prize  awarded 
Bausch  &  Lomb  products  was  granted 
upon  Range  Finders.  These  instru- 
ments are  used  in  all  branches  of  war- 
fare to  ascertain  the  distance  of  a  hos- 
tile ship  or  force,  and  thus  obtain  the 
firing  range.  As  '^sed  in  connection 
with  the  big  guns  of  '^""e  Toast  D'^f*""^'". 
''-■p  range  finders  may  be  stationed  a 
mile  nwav  fror^   ■''       '  '^'-o-•^'      O  s 

^nd  the  range  of  '^  ^nronching  ship^, 
the  various  farto'-=  r^'-e  calculated  and 
the  position  of  the  enemy  plotted  on  a 
chart.  Exact  directions  are  telephoned 
to  the  ofificer  in  charge  of  the  firing 
squad,  who  may  never  see  what  they 
are  shooting  at. 

The  optical  parts  of  the   Bausch   & 


Lomb  range  finders  are  mounted  in  a 
way  original  with  this  make.  They  are 
suspended  upon  nickel-steel  wires 
stretched  between  the  ends  of  the  tube 
under  a  tension  of  10,000  pounds. 
Bausch  &  Lomb  are  now  making  two  of 
the  largest  instruments  ever  built.  They 
are  forty  feet  in  length  and  will  be  used 
in  the  fortifications  on  the  Panama 
Canal. 

When,  in  the  early  days  of  photog- 
raphy, Bausch  &  Lomb  began  to  man- 
ufacture piiotographic  lenses  they  pro- 
duced them  so  cheaply  that  camera 
manufacturers  were  enabled  to  offer 
their  products  at  popular  prices.  The 
invention  of  the  iris  diaphragm  shutter 
helped  still  further  in  making  picture- 
taking  popular  and  paved  the  way  for 
the  modern  high-speed  lens.  Hence, 
when  Dr.  Rudolph,  of  the  Zeiss  Works, 
invented  the  modern  anastigmat  pho- 
tographic lens,  the  Zeiss  company  now 
collaborators  of  the  Bausch  &  Lomb 
Optical  Co.,  designated  these  manufac- 
turers as  the  sole  producers  for  Amer- 
ica. As  a  result  of  the  experience  and 
skill  gained  in  this  way,  the  Gold  Medal 
has  been  awarded  to  Bausch  &  Lomb- 
Zeiss  photographic  lenses. 

The  Photomicrographic  Apparatus  of 
Bausch  &  Lomb  make  has  been  granted 
the  Medal  of  Honor.  This  apparatus 
consists  of  a  special  camera  with  appli- 
ances for  using  it  in  connection  with 
a  microscope  to  make  photographs  of 
specimens  as  seen  in  the  microscope. 
Considerable  accuracy  and  rigidity  are 
required  in  the  mechanical  parts  and 
high  quality  in  the  optics — for  the  im- 
age as  received  on  the  photographic 
plate  is  magnified  a  thousand  or  more 
times  and  the  slightest  tremor  of  the 
apparatus  or  other  defect  would  result 
in  a  failure. 


Minerals  for  Working  Collections. 

Ward's  Natural  Science  Establish- 
ment, 84-102  College  Avenue,  Roches- 
ter, New  York,  has  recently  issued  an 
attractive  pamphlet  that  gives  a  list  of 
their  minerals  and  prices.  It  contains 
many  suggestions  in  regard  to  a  selec- 
tion for  private  cabinets  and  for  school 
use.  We  advise  our  readers  that  are 
interested  in  minerals  to  send  for  this 
pamphlet  with  a  mention  of  The  Guide 
TO  Nature. 


PUBLISHED   BY 

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ArcAdiA:  sound   beach,   CONNECTICUT 

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ESTABLISHED    1887. 

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GREENWICH,  CONNECTICUT 


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1  have  for   Sale 

Elegant  Country  Estates,  Shore  and  Inland 
Residences,  Farms,  Acreage,  Cottages  and 
Buildii^  Sites.  Also  a  number  of  selected 
Furnished   Residences  and   Cottages  to    Rent 

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THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE.— ADVERTISEMENTS. 


V 


THE 

STAMFORD   LUMBER  CO- 

LUMBER 

ISash^^  Doors,  Blinds  and  Window-Fram 

ES 

— i 

[WHOLESALE    AND    RETAIL 

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.-sizr^ 

STAMFORD,  CONN. 

NEW  STORE  NEW  LOCATION 

NEW  GOODS 

COME  AND  VISIT 

AUGUST  GARGIULO 

Cor.  Main  and  Greyrock  Place 


8826    {With   Basting   Line   and   Added    Seam   Allowance) 
One-Piece   Dress   for   Misses   and   Small   Women,    16   and 

18  years. 
Here  is  one  of  the  prettiest,  smartest  frocks  that  could 
be  offered.  It  combines  plaid  taffeta  with  the  new  crepe 
gabardine  and  it  is  most  charming  both  in  material  and 
treatment  as  well  as  in  its  lines  and  cut.  It  is  simple 
too  and  easy  to  make,  especially  so  because  of  the  seam 
allowance  and  basting  line  included  in  the  pattern.  The 
skirt  is  a  simple  one,  gathered  at  the  upper  edge,  but  the 
trimming  portion  that  is  applied  over  it  gives  it  an  en- 
tirely  novel   effect. 


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VI 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


A  Home  Near  to  Nature 

This  design  is  of  a  popular  style,  beau- 
tiful in  appearance  with  many  little  points 
of  taste  and  convenience.  It  has  a  living 
room  with  open  fireplace  and  wide  door- 
way to  dining  room.  Hall  contains  pretty 
staircase  with  coat  closet  under  it.  The 
kitchen  is  a  very  large  and  convenient 
one.    Pantry  contains  dresser. 

On  the  second  floor  are  three  pleasant 


Plastering    1/5 

Lumber    45° 

Millwork   425 

Painting  and  Glazing 250 

Plumbing,   etc 250 

Hardware   lOO 

Hot  air  heating 125 

Range 40 

Total  $2,690 


0^. 


^^/\V'/t 


^»^^ 


f^iDSTfLOOPPLAH 


SLCono Floor  Plan- 


bedrooms.  Each  room  with  closet  space. 
Linen  closet  in  hall.  Bath  room  with 
modern  plumbing. 

In   the    following   items,   cost  of   con- 
struction is  given : 

Excavation $100 

Stonework    1 50 

Brickwork   125 

Carpenter  Work 500 


Nature's  Knowledge  is  Expensive. 

"Farm  products  cost  more  than  they 
used  to."  "Yes."  replied  the  farmer : 
"when  a  farmer  is  supposed  to  know  the 
botanical  name  of  what  he'  raisin',  an' 
the  entomological  name  of  the  insect  that 
eats  it,  an'  the  pharmaceutical  name  of  the 
chemical  that  will  kill  it.  somebody's  got 
to  pay." 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


VII 


Publishers'    Notices 


"The  Man  on  the  Job." 

Blessed  is  the  man  that  has  found  his 
job  and  is  in  harmony  with  it.  Such  a 
man  will  do  good  service  for  his  fellow 
men.  Occasionally  one  meets  a  case  so 
lacking  in  adaptation  that  it  seems  im- 
moral for  the  workman  to  continue  in  it ; 
but  it  is  a  joy  to  see  a  man  working  with 
enthusiasm  and  with  efficient  service. 

Such  thoughts  often  recur  to  the 
writer's  mind  as  he  sits  at  a  table  in  The 
Stamford  Lunch  and  notices  how  skiU- 
fuUy  the  proprietor,  Mr.  Fred  McDer- 
mant,  conducts  his  establishment.  Mr. 
McDermant  is  in  a  class  by  himself.  He 
stands  distinctly  and  conspicuously  be- 
yond and  above  some  of  his  fellows.  He 
is  efficient.  In  the  writer's  opinion  Mr. 
McDermant  is  the  most  efficient  restau- 
rant manager  that  he  has  ever  known. 
Hundreds  of  people  in  Stamford  voice 
a  similar  sentiment.  Skill,  unfailing 
courtesy,  the  menu  well  selected,  the  food 
w^ell  prepared  and  attractive  in  appear- 
ance, are  a  few  of  the  features  that  make 
an  ideal  restaurant.  All  of  these,  with 
minimum  rates,  may  be  found  at  The 
Stamford  Lunch.  Why  do  not  some 
other  restaurants  elsewhere  emulate  his 
example?  To  do  so  would  be  to  their 
advantage.  Some  other  restaurants  in 
other  towns  seem  absolutely  immoral  in 
their  slovenly  and  desultory  conduct,  with 
their  lack  of  neatness  and,  perhaps  still 
worse,  their  lack  of  courtesy. 

We  laud  a  man  and  build  a  monument 
to  his  memory  wdien  he  dies  in  the  service 
of  his  fellow  men,  but  we  should  not 
forget  to  patronize  as  well  as  to  honor 
the  man  that  feeds  his  fellow  men  and 
does  it  well,  and  in  these  days  of  the  high 
cost  of  living  does  it  for  only  a  moderate 
and  honest  compensation.  Air.  McDer- 
mant is  providing  fare  as  good  as  can  be 
found  in  New  York  City  or  in  any  other 
city  at  many  times  his  prices.  No  one 
knows  how  he  does  it,  but  that  he  does  it 
is  pleasingly  evident.  Many  attempts 
have  been  made  to  solve  the  puzzle.  The 
only  possible  explanation  is  that  he  is 
exactly  the  man  for  the  place. 

S.    G.     aUDD 

DEALER   IN 

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Homes  Near  to  Nature 

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Our  method  of  manufacturing  dependable  Interior  aad 
Exterior  house  trim  from  thoroughly  kiln  dried  material 
ov    skilled   mechanics  insures   such   satisfactiom. 

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Published  monthly  by  The  Agassiz  Association,  ArcAdiA;  Sound  Beach,  Connecticut, 

Subscription,  $1.00  a   year  Single  copy,  10  cents 

Entered  as  Second-Class  Matter  June  12.  1909,  at  Sound  Beach  Post  Office,  under  Act  of  March  3,  1897. 


Vol 


VIII 


DECEMBER 


Number  7 


BOULDERS 


By  Professor  William  North  Rice,  Wesleyan  University,  Middletown,  Connecticut 


Probably  few  readers  of  this  paper 
living  in  New  England  or  in  adjacent 
parts  of  the  United  States  and  Canada, 
have  failed  to  notice  the  frequent  occur- 
rence of  loose  pieces  of  rock  of  difTerent 
kinds  varyingin size  from  cobble-stones 
to  masses  many  tons  in  weight.  These 
boulders  are  often  found  lying  on  the 
surface  of  the  ground.  Sometimes  a 
boulder  is  perched  upon  a  ledge  of  rock 
very  different  from  the  boulder.  Often- 
times a  boulder  rests  upon  a  very  small 
base,  so  as  to  suggest  the  idea  that  it 
would  be  easy  to  rock  it  and  even  to 
tip  it  over.  Such  boulders,  in  Burling- 
ton, Connecticut,  are  shown  in  Figures 
I  and  2.  Rarely  a  huge  boulder  is 
found  so  nicely  balanced  that  it  actually 
can  be  made  to  rock.  While  many  of 
these  boulders  lie  upon  the  surface, 
others  are  foimd  beneath  the  surface, 
buried  in  a  mass  of  disintegrated  rock 
material  in  which  coarse  and  fine  stuff 
are  mixed  helter-skelter.  The  smaller 
boulders  are  often  utilized  for  stone 
walls.  Thus  the  fields  are  cleared  of  an 
incumbrance,  and  serviceable  and  pic- 
turesque walls  are  provided  at  small 
expense.    Sometimes  a  boulder  may  be 


recognized  as  a  fragment  of  some  more 
or  less  peculiar  kind  of  rock  of  which 
a  ledge  is  known  to  occur  at  some  dis- 
tance from  the  present  situation  of  the 
boulder.  In  this  part  of  the  country, 
when  we  can  recognize  the  probable 
source  of  a  boulder,  it  is  found  that 
the  boulder  has  moved  southward  from 
its  original  home,  though  the  direction 
of  its  movement  may  have  been  con- 
siderably east  or  west  of  a  meridian 
line.  While  most  readers  can  verify 
most  of  these  facts  by  their  own  obser- 
vation, comparatively  few  have  de- 
finitely asked  themselves  the  question, 
what  is  the  meaning  of  the  facts.  To 
answer  that  question  is  the  purpose  of 
this  article. 

Wherever  ledges  of  rock  are  exposed 
to  the  atmosphere  and  to  rain  water 
percolating  downward  through  cracks 
and  crevices,  the  rocks  tend  to  become 
disintegrated.  The  process  is  partly 
mechanical.  Water  freezes  in  the 
cracks  and  so  splits  the  rock.  Changes 
of  temperature,  between  the  blaze  of 
sunshine  and  the  coldness  of  night, 
produce  alternate  expansion  and  con- 
traction which  tend  to  shatter  the  rock 


Copyright   1915  by  The  Agassiz  Association,  ArcAdiA:   Sound  Beach,  Conn. 


St4 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


FIG.    1.      GI.ALIAL    JJi  iL  l.DER.    BURLlXCrfOX      COXXECTICL'T. 


into  fragments.  But  the  process  is 
partly  chemical.  Oxygen,  carbon  di- 
oxide, and  water  decompose  many  of 
the  minerals  of  which  the  rocks  are 
made.  As  rain  water  penetrates  down- 
ward in  cracks,  it  carries  in  solution 
the  oxygen  and  carbon  dioxide  of  the 
atmosphere,  and  so  this  chemical  de- 
composition or  rotting  of  the  rocks  may 


go  on,  not  only  at  the  surface,  but  in 
cracks  many  feet  below  the  surface. 
Some  parts  of  a  rock  mass  may  disin- 
tegrate more  rapidly  than  others.  So 
blocks  of  comparatively  sound  rock 
may  be  left,  while  other  portions  of  the 
mass  have  crumbled  into  a  coarse  pow- 
der. The  rain,  especially  on  slopes 
of   some   degree   of   steepness,   washes 


FIG.   2.     GLACIAL   BOULDER,    BURLINGTON,    CONNECTICUT. 


BOULDERS 


215 


FIG. 


GLACIAL   r.OL^LDER.    la'RLINGTOX,    CONNECTICUT. 


awa}'  the  line  material,  leaving  piles 
of  the  large  fragments.  The  blocks 
tend  to  become  rounded,  since  the 
edges  and  corners  decompose  more 
rapidly  than  the  rest  of  the  block.  Thus 
are  formed  boulders  of  disintegration. 
A  pile  of  such  boulders  near  Butte. 
]\Iontana,  is  shown  in  Fig.  5.  Such 
boulders  remain  very  near  the  place 
where  thev  were  found,  and,  in  eeneral. 


they  are  of  the  same  material  as  the 
underlying  rock.  It  is  evident,  how- 
ever, that  in  some  way  most  of  the 
boulders  of  New  England  have  been 
transported  to  a  greater  or  less  distance 
from  their  original  home. 

The  transportation  of  these  boulders 
is  due  to  the  series  of  events  which 
marked  the  Glacial  period.  Some  tens 
of  thousands  of  years,  perhaps  a  few 


FIG.  4.     .\NOTHER  ^'IEW  Ol-'  THE  ROL'LDER  SHOWN  IN  FIG.  3. 


2l6 


THE  GUIDE  TO   NATURE 


hundreds  of  thousands  of  years,  ago, 
there  was  a  change  of  cHmate,  by  which 
the  mean  temperature  at  least  of  large 
areas  of  the  earth's  surface  came  to  be 
somewhat  lower  than  it  had  been  in  pre- 
vious ages,  and  lower  than  it  is  at  pre- 
sent. The  cause  of  this  change  of  climate 
is  not  certainly  known,  but  the  most 
probable  theory  is  that  it  was  due  to  a 
diminution  in  the  amount  of  carbon 
dioxide  in  the  atmosphere.  It  would 
not  require  a  change  of  many  degrees 
in  the  mean  temperature  to  prevent  the 
winter    snowfall    from    melting    away 


St.  Lawrence  valley.  If  the  mean  tem- 
perature were  reduced  a  little,  a  larger 
share  of  the  precipitation  woidd  be 
snow,  a  smaller  share  would  be  rain. 
In  the  highlands  between  the  St.  Law- 
rence and  Hudson  Bay,  the  mass  of 
snow  accumulated  in  the  Glacial  period 
to  a  thickness  of  thousands  of  feet,  and 
gradually  extended  itself  in  all  direc- 
tions. The  weight  of  the  mass  of  snow 
gradually  consolidated  it  into  ice,  and 
produced  a  slow,  creeping  movement 
of  that  ice  outward  from  the  center  of 
the  area.     At  the  extreme  of  s^laciation 


FIG.  5.     BOULDERS  OF  DISINTEGRATION,  NEAR  BUTTE.  MONTANA. 


entirely  in  the  following  summer  in 
considerable  areas  of  Canada  and 
northern  New  England.  If  a  little  of 
the  winter's  snow  remains  unmelted 
through  the  following  summer,  each 
winter  will  add  somewhat  to  the  accu- 
mulation, and  the  mass  of  snow  will 
increase  both  in  depth  and  in  horizontal 
area.  The  snowfall  is  now  very  heavy 
in  the  track  of  the  cyclonic  storms 
which   move  northeastward   down   the 


the  thin  edge  of  the  great  ice  sheet 
had  crept  southward  in  the  eastern 
United  States  to  about  the  latitude  of 
40°.  Farther  west,  where  the  air  is 
drier  and  the  precipitation  less,  the 
southern  boimdary  of  the  ice  sheet  was 
hundreds  of  miles  farther  north.  Several 
times  during  the  long  history  of  the 
Glacial  period  the  climate  became  war- 
mer, and  the  edge  of  the  ice  sheet  melt- 
ed back  for  scores  or  hundreds  of  miles, 


BOULDERS 


217 


and  then  the  cHmate  became  colder 
and  the  ice  again  advanced.  For  a  pic- 
ture of  the  northeastern  United  States  and 
easterii  Canada  during  the  Glacial  period 
we  may  look  to  Greenland  and  the  An- 
tarctic continent. 

Before  this  ice  invasion,  the  northeastern 
United  States  and  eastern  Canada  had 
been  above  the  sea  level  for  tens  of  mil- 
lions of  years.  During  all  those  long 
ages  the  rocks  had  been  undergoing 
disintegration  by  the  chemical  and 
mechanical  agencies  which  have  been 
already  referred  to.  On  the  lowlands 
the  bed  rocks  were  covered  with  a  thick 
mantle  of  disintegrated  rock,  in  which 


FIG.     6.       JUDGES'    CAVE,    WEST    ROCK.     NEW 
HAVEN,   CONNECTICUT. 


there  was  a  gradual  transition  from 
solid  rock  at  the  bottom  to  fine  soil  at 
the  top.  On  the  hill  slopes  rested 
numerous  boulders  of  disintegration, 
where  the  more  finely  disintegrated 
material  had  been  washed  away  by  the 
raiub.  As  the  thickening  ice  sheet 
began  to  creep  outward  from  its  center, 
it  shoved  along  vast  masses  of  the  dis- 
integrated material,  scouring  in  most 
places  down  to  the  fresh  and  unaltered 
bed  rock.  Hence  it  is  that  in  these 
glaciated  regions  the  mantle  of  disin- 
tegrated rock  is  almost  everywhere 
composed  of  material  which  has  been 
transported  a  greater  or  less  distance 
from  the  place  where  it  was  formed. 
Rarely  do  we  find  in  New  England  the 
gradual  transition  between  unaltered 
rock  and  soil  which  is  characteristic 
of  the  regions  beyond  the  boundaries 
of  the  great  ice  sheets.  Such  an  ice 
sheet  would  shove  along  in  its  resist- 
less  course   boulders   of   disintegration 


FIG. 


BOULDER      NEAR     SOUTHINGTON, 
CONNECTICUT. 


of  every  size,  as  well  as  the  finer  mate- 
rial. Herein  lies  a  very  striking  difit'er- 
ence  between  transportation  by  water 
and  transportation  by  ice.  Water  mov- 
ing slowly  can  transport  only  fine  pow- 
der. Water  plunging  in  a  fierce  torrent 
can  carry  boulders  a  few  feet  in  dia- 
meter. In  general,  the  weight  of  the 
largest  block  which  moving  water  can 
carry  varies  as  the  sixth  power  of  the 
velocity.  But  there  is  a  limit  to  the 
size  of  the  stones  which  can  be  moved 
by  the  fiercest  mountain  torrents. 
There  is,  on  the  other  hand,  no  limit  to 
the  size  of  the  rock  masses  which  can 
be  transported  by  the  slowly  creeping 
glacier.  It  carries  coarse  and  fine 
material  with  equal  ease. 

A  part  of  the  material  which  is  trans- 
ported by  every  glacier  is  shoved  along 
beneath  the  ice  mass  ;  and.  in  the  case 
of  a  continental  ice  sheet,  much  the 
larger  part  of  the  material  transported 
is  at  the  bottom.   But  some  of  the  mate- 


■ic. 


.!■:     ROCK,     XE.VR     .MIDDLETOWN, 
CONNECTICUT. 


2l8 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


FIG. 


CUCIIEGAX  ROCK,  MOXTVILLE,  COXXECTICUT. 


rial  is  carried  on  top  of  the  ice.  From 
overhanging  cliffs,  frost  and  other 
agencies  continually  detach  blocks  of 
rock,  large  and  small,  which  fall  upon 
the  surface  of  a  glacier.  In  the  case  of  a 
continental  ice  sheet,  the  amount  of 
material  on  top  of  the  ice  is  relatively 
small ;  but  here  and  there  sharp,  rocky 
ridges  protrude  above  the  ice,  and  from 
such  ridges  the  blocks  detached  by 
frost  may  fall  upon  its  surface. 

A  glacier  or  a  continental  ice  sheet 
carries  thus  at  its  bottom  or  on  its  sur- 


FIG. 


10.      BOULDER     XEAR    COBALT,    COXXEC- 
TICUT 


face  whatever  loose  material  is  fur- 
nished to  it.  But  it  does  more  than 
this.  The  ice  with  the  material  frozen 
into  its  bottom  abrades  like  a  colossal 
rasp  the  surface  of  bed  rock  over  which 
it  passes.  If  the  bed  rock  over  which 
it  moves  is  intersected  by  cracks,  the 
ice  penetrates  into  those  cracks.  It 
freezes  around  the  semi-detached 
blocks  between  the  cracks,  and  so 
plucks  them  from  their  place  and  car- 
ries them  forward.  If  the  ice  moves 
over  a  hummock  in  its  path,  it  tears 
off  blocks  of  rock  from  the  top  of  the 
hummock,  and  the  more  rapid  motion 
of  the  superlicial  ice  carries  these 
blocks  forward  over  the  stagnant  ice 
in  the  lee  of  the  hummock.  Thus  the 
rock  material  transported  by  a  glacier 
is  partly  beneath  the  ice,  partly  on  top 
of  the  ice,  and  partly  within  the  ice. 

When  the  ice  finally  melts,  it  drops 
its  load.  Coarse  material  and  tine  are 
left  indiscriminately  wherever  they 
happen  to  be  when  released  from  the 
icy  grip.  Thus  we  see  how  it  is  that 
the  bed  rocks  of  New  England  are  gen- 
erally covered,  not  with  material  result- 
ing from  the  decomi^iosition  and  disin- 
tegration of  the  underlying  rock,  but 
with  material  of  various  origins  trans- 
ported by  the  glacier  and  dropped  by 


BOULDERS 


219 


the  melting  of  the  ice.  Thus  we  can 
understand  how  it  is  that  the  scattered 
boulders  are  apt  to  be  of  entirely  differ- 
ent material  from  the  bed  rock  underly- 
ing them,  and  how  the  boulders  are 
sometimes  perched  in  apparently  inse- 
cure positions. 

Some  of  the  boulders  are  sufficiently 
large  and  conspicuous  to  have  attracted 
general  attention  and  to  have  received 
special  names.  Fig.  6  represents  an  in- 
teresting boulder  on  West  Rock,  near 
New  Haven,  known  as  the  Judges' 
Cave,  from  a  tradition  that  Edward 
Whalley  and  William  Goft'e,  two  of  the 
members  of  the  English  Parliament 
who  signed  the  death  warrant  of  King 
Charles  I.,  found  shelter  here  from 
their  pursuers.  The  separate  blocks 
which  now  form  the  so-called  Cave,  or 
rather  rock  shelter,  are  all  probably 
fragments  of  one  huge  boulder  which 
has  been  shivered  by  frost  since  it  found 
its  resting  place.  The  party  represented 
in  our  picture  are  a  group  of  professors 
and  students  who  were  visiting  the 
locality  on  a  geological  excursion.  Fig. 
7  shows  one  of  the  largest  boulders 
which  I  have  ever  seen  in  Connecticut. 


The  locality  is  west  of  the  village  of 
Southington,  near  where  the  road  crosses 
Eight  Mile  River.  Fi.g.  8  represents 
a  rather  picturesque  boulder  in  the 
southeastern  part  of  Middletown,  local- 
ly known  as  Bible  Rock.  The  appear- 
ance of  a  half-opened  book  is  due  to  the 
fact  that  the  boulder  of  gneiss  hap- 
pened to  be  lodged  with  its  planes  of 
foliation  nearly  vertical,  and  frost  work 
has  spread  the  leaves  of  the  book  apart. 

Figs.  I,  2,  3  and  4  show  a  group  of 
picturesque  boulders  on  the  estate  of  the 
late  ^Ir.  James  Terry,  Burlington,  Con- 
necticut. The  beautiful  photographs 
from  which  these  pictures  were  made 
were  a  gift  to  the  writer  from  Mr.  Terry. 
Fig.  10  shows  rather  oddly  perched  boul- 
der near  Cobalt,  Connecticut.  Fig.  11 
shows  an  interesting'  boulder  near  the 
home  of  ]\Ir.  ^Mitchell  Kennerley,  Mamar- 
oneck.  New  York. 

Prof.  W.  O.  Crosby,  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Institute  of  Technology,  has 
shown  that  Cochegan  Rock  is  not  a 
boulder  at  all.  It  is  simply  a  portion  of 
the  underlying  rock  which  has  resisted 
the  erosive  agencies  that  have  carried 
away  the  surrounding  part  of  the  mass. 


IG.   11.     BOULDER,    MAM ARO.XECK.    (WITJI    THE   EL)]T()R    Ol'    THIS    MAGAZIXEh    NEW    YORK. 


220 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


AH  communications  for  this  department 
should  be  sent  to  the  Department  Editor, 
Mr.  Harry  G.  Higbee,  13  Austin  Street, 
Hyde  Park,  Massachusetts.  Items,  articles 
and  photographs  in  this  department  not 
otherwise  credited  are  by  the  Department 
Editor. 


The  Birds'  Christmas. 

Let  us  not  forget  the  birds  in  our  Christ- 
mas plans.  There  are  several  ways  in 
which  we  may  be  able  to  help  them,  chiefly 
in  providing  food  and  shelter. 

About  the  house  we  may  put  out  extra 
bits  of  suet,  tying  them  to  the  trees  or 
bushes  where  our  guests  mav  be  easily  ob- 


A     DOWNY     WOODPECKER     AT     LUN'CH.  ' 

served  from  the  windows,  thus  affording 
an  added  amount  of  pleasure  to  those  in- 
doors who  may  be  interested  to  watch 
them.  The  picture  of  the  downy  wood- 
pecker   here    shown    was    taken    from    a 


sitting-room  window,  while  the  bird  fed 
contentedly  from  a  strawberry  basket  at- 
tached to  some  shrubs,  close  beside  the 
walk  and  but  a  yard  or  two  away  from  the 
window.  Blue  jays,  chickadees  and  nut- 
hatches also  fed  from  the  scraps  placed  in 
this  basket. 

Birds  soon  learn  to  know  their  friends 
and  are  quick  to  show  their  confidence  in 
this  way.  As  suggested  in  the  October 
number,  if  we  started  putting  out  food 
early  in  the  season  we  should  be  more 
likely  now  to  have  daily  visitors  among 
the  birds.  Bread  crumbs  and  grain  are 
good  for  the  tree  sparrows  and  juncoes, 
and  nuthatches  and  woodpeckers  seem  to 
delight  in  picking  at  a  bone  containing 
dried  bits  of  meat,  hung  from  the  trees  or 
wedged  in  the  branches.  This  gives  a 
variety  from  the  suet. 

Window  boxes  have  special  advantages 
in  being  easily  cared  for  and  the  food  sup- 
ply kept  up  from  within,  besides  being 
ideally  situated  for  studying  the  birds  at 
their  feeding,  and  they  may  be  varied  in 
many  ways.  Small  evergreen  trees  may 
be  fastened  upon  them  and  bits  of  food 
attached  to  these,  or  the  scraps  simply 
scattered  on  the  floor  of  the  box. 

The  "food  stands,"  some  of  which  are 
quite  elaborately  made,  are  well  suited  for 
keeping  the  food  protected  from  the 
weather,  and  at  the  same  time  allowing 
of  free  access.  Seeds  and  crumbs  should 
l^e  kept  dry. 

Shelter  and  protection  from  severe 
weather  and  storms  are  also  much  appre- 
ciated by  the  birds.  Evergreen  trees  and 
thickets  of  shrubs  offer  protection  to 
many  about  the  houses,  while  brush  heaps, 
stacks  of  corn,  etc.,  are  made  use  of  by 
quail  and  pheasants  in  the  fields  and  pas- 
tures. In  severe  winters,  especially  when 
the  ground  is  covered  with  snow,  pheas- 
ants and  bobwhites  have  a  hard  time  in 
procuring-  food  and  will  often  come  up 
into  the  door-yards  in  search  of  it.  Mixed 
grain  should  be  scattered  in  places  kept 
clear  for  this  purpose.  When  ice  covers 
the  twi<2rs  and  berries  the  ruff'ed  grouse 


ORNITHOLOGY 


221 


cannot  procure  food  in  the  woods,  and 
goldfinches,  siskins  and  other  seed  eaters 
are  unable  to  get  at  the  weed-seeds, 
birches  and  cones.  In  severe  cases  even 
the  crows,  jays  and  woodpeckers  are 
affected,  being  deprived  of  their  iisual 
sources  of  food  su])ply. 

Probably  many  birds  each  winter  die 
of  starvation.  They  seem  capable  of  with- 
standing almost  any  amount  of  cold  if 
they  can  onl\-  secure  food  enough  to  keep 
up  the  bodily  functions.  This  is  shown  by 
the  occasional  wintering  over  of  birds 
Avhich  usually  go  south,  in  localities  where 
they  find  food  in  plenty. 

The  ground  feeders  are  of  course  more 
seriously  affected  by  the  deep  snows,  and 
excursions  into  the  woods  to  scatter  grain 
for  them  may  be  the  means  of  saving 
many  and  it  should  bring  us  pleasure  to 
do  it.  The  snow  should  be  trampled 
down,  or  preferably  cleared  to  the  groimd, 
and  such  places  ought  to  be  visited  fre- 
quently to  keep  the  patches  open  and  sup- 
plied with  grain.  Oats,  chaff,  buckwheat 
and  cracked  corn  may  be  used.  A  mix- 
ture is  good.  It  is  also  desirable  to  scatter 
sand  or  fine  gravel  among  the  grain,  as 
birds  need  this  to  aid  in  digesting  their 
food.  Piling  up  brush  or  making  tem- 
porary wind-breaks  along  the  most  ex- 
posed sides  of  such  clearfngs  will  assist 
in  keeping  them  clear  of  drifting  snows 


\    CHICKADEE    OX     TOP     OF    THE    WINDOW 
BOX. 


and   at   the   same   time   offer   shelter    for 
the  birds. 

Snow-shoes  make  excellent  shovels  in 
lieu  of  wooden  or  steel  ones,  and  pockets 
may  be  readily  filled  with  grain,  so  there 
is  no  excuse  for  our  not  sharing  w'ith  the 
birds  some  of  the  good  things  in  our 
winter  tramps  afield. 


SCATTERING  GRAIN   IN   A  CLEARING   MADE   IX    IIIE   DEEP   SNOW. 


222 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


Versatility  of  the  Mockingbirds'  Song. 

Within  the  past  two  or  three  years 
mockingbirds  have  been  reported  from 
several  localities  in  eastern  Massachusetts, 
these  birds  usually  wintering  in  the  vicin- 
ity where  they  have  made  their  appear- 
ance. The  Arnold  Arboretum  at  Forest 
Hills  has  been  one  of  these  favored  locali- 
ties, having  harbored  one  of  the  versatile 
songsters  during  the  winter  of  1914.  It 
was  here  also  during  several  weeks  in 
October  just  past  that  a  mocker  has  been 
observed,  which  in  all  probability  will 
make  this  spot  its  winter  home. 

Probably  no  bird  has  a  more  remark- 
able song  in  its  power  of  mimicry  and 
variation,  although  there  appears  to  be 
a  great  difference  shown  by  individuals 
in  this  respect  and  many  display  no  more 
mimicry  than  a  catbird  in  their  son;gs. 
Though  loved  by  the  inhabitants  of  the 
southern  states  where  it  abounds,  few 
who  have  not  visited  that  section  have  had 
the  pleasure  of  listening  to  the  mocking- 
bird's sweet  chorus, — for  chorus  it  seems, 
appearing  to  be  made  by  many  birds 
rather  than  the  performance  of  an  indi- 
vidual songster,  especially  when  the  indi- 
vidual is  of  the  mimicing  type. 

Listening  to  such  an  outburst  one  fine 
October  morning  in  the  Arboretum,  I 
seated  myself  under  the  edge  of  a  large 
clump  of  forsythias  while  the  bird  sang 
from  the  thicket  within  a  few  yards  of  my 
head.  The  performer's  repertoire  was  in 
this  instance  a  somewhat  remarkable  one, 
and  I  noted  the  succession  of  its  imitative 
songs  and  calls.  This  out-pouring  of 
melody  lasted  between  fifteen  and  twenty 
minutes,  during  which  time  I  recognized 
exact  imitations  of  the  following,  which 
were  given  in  the  order  named. 

Red-shouldered  hawk,  call ;  robin, 
song;  red-eyed  vireo,  song;  chewink,  call ; 
phoebe,  call;  blue  jay,  call;  robin,  song; 
downy  woodpecker,  call ;  chewnnk,  call ; 
blue  jay,  agitated  call;  chicadee,  (day, 
day,  day  call)  ;  bobwhite,  call ;  catbird,  cat 
call ;  barn  swallow,  twittering  song ; 
cat-bird,  song ;  robin,  song  and  calls : 
English  sparrow,  chattering:  blue  jav. 
call ;  wood  pew^ee,  call ;  brown 
thrasher,  song;  robin,  song;  chickadee, 
call;  catbird,  song;  English  soarrow, 
scolding;  American  goldfinch,  call;  cat- 
bird, call;  robin,  song;  blue  jav,  call: 
flicker,   short  call ;    bobwhite,   call :    blue 


jay,  several  calls:  robin,  various  calls; 
red-breasted  nuthatch,  "yank" ;  robin, 
call;  flicker,  call;  brown  thrasher,  song; 
bobwhite,  called  twice ;  phoebe,  called 
three  times ;  flicker,  ( wicker,  wicker, 
wicker  call)  ;  song^  sparrow,  song  and 
call ;  chewink,  call ;  bobwhite,  both  calls  ; 
robin,  several  calls ;  blue  jay,  several  calls  ; 
kingfisher,  rattle  (twice)  ;  chickadee,  call; 
blue  jay,  call  (five  times)  ;  flicker,  various 
calls ;  robin,  son,g  and  calls ;  chickadee, 
calls ;  swallows,  twittering ;  red-winged 
blackbird,  nest  call ;  warbling  vireo,  full 
song;  blackbird  "chip";  white-breasted 
nuthatch,  calls. 

Interspersed  between  many  of  the  above 
were  various  bits  of  melody  which  I  did 
not  know — perhaps  memories  of  the 
sunny  south-land.  The  common  calls  and 
songs  of  nineteen  different  species  were 
here  given  in  as  many  minutes,  in  addition 
to  several  less  familiar  calls  of  some  of 
these  same  birds,  which  I  distinctly  recog- 
nized. 

A  northern  race  of  these  energetic  and 
hardy  songsters  would  certainly  be  a  valu- 
able addition  to  our  avi-fauna.  May 
their  tribe  increase.  . 


With  the  Audubon  Societies. 

Under  the  title  "Birding  with  Colonel 
Roosevelt"  the  Rev.  Herbert  K.  Job,  Pro- 
fessor of  Applied  Ornithology  for  the 
Audubon  Societies,  is  bringing  forward 
a  new  illustrated  lecture  for  the  benefit  of 
the  Audubon  work.  Air.  Job,  in  his 
recent  trip  with  Col.  Roosevelt  to  some  of 
the  southern  bird  rookeries  and  protected 
areas,  took  oz'er  three  miles  of  motion  pic- 
ture film  in  addition  to  many  photographs, 
showing  the  bird  life  of  these  sections. 

The  campaign  against  the  cat  as  a  bird- 
destroyer  is  being  pushed  vigorously,  and 
the  matter  thoroughly  investigated.  It  is 
hoped  that  the  time  may  soon  come  when 
sentiment  ceases  to  interfere  with  this  im- 
portant action.  Regulations  and  "cat  ordi- 
nances" are  already  enforced  in  some 
places,  but  until  they  become  more  general 
the  destruction  will  go  on. 

The  wandering  cat  is  a  serious  problem. 
Last  year  the  S\  P.  C.  A.  put  to  death 
nearly  one  hundred  and  seventy-five 
thousand  of  these  unfortunates  in  New 
York  City  alone.  It  is  stated  that  five  cats 
on  the  New  York  state  game  farm  killed 
and  ate  $5000.00  worth  of  young  pheas- 
ants before  the  marauders  were  finally 
rounded  up  and  killed. 


ORNITHOLOGY 


223 


Some  Notes  on  the  Passenger  Pigeon 
and  Its  Recent  Reported  Occurrence 
in  Minnesota. 

What  was  generally  believed  to  be  the 
last  survivor  of  that  great  army  of  pas- 
senger pigeons  which  swarmed  in  almost 
unbelievable  numbers  over  our  continent 
in  the  days  of  Audubon,  died  in  the  Zoolo- 
gical Gardens  at  Cincinnati.  Ohio,  on  the 
first  day  of  September.  IQ[4.  This  bird — 
a  female — was  born  in  captivity,  and  was 
twent\-nine   vears   old.      Since   that   time 


that  the\'  had  ])en'>hed  in  storms  or  had 
been  wiped  out  by  disease,  though  as  the 
seasons  went  by  and  no  birds  reappeared 
the  former  theory  soon  died  out,  and  from 
the  best  obtainable  reports  it  appears  now 
conclusive  that  destruction  by  man  has 
been  the  ultimate  factor  in  causing  the 
disappearance  of  the  wild  pigeon. 

That  there  may  yet  remain  a  few  of 
these  birds  alive  s^ems  not  altogether  im- 
possible, and  a  report  coming  from  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Francis  L.  Palmer,,  of  Stillwater, 
Minnesota,  that  he  believes  he  has  seen  a 


PASSENGER  PIGEONS  AT  ONE  TIME  IN  CAPTIVITY  IN   HYDE   PARK,   MASSACHUSETTS. 


large  rewards  have  been  otlered  for  the 
finding  of  a  nest  of  a  wild  pigeon,  and 
occasionally  reports  of  one  or  more  of 
these  birds  having  been  seen  would  be 
brought  to  the  attention  of  ornithologists, 
only  to  find  that  the  observer  had  been 
mistaken  and  that  the  birds  in  question 
were  mourning  doves,  band-tailed  pigeons 
or  some  other  species  resembling  the  true 
"wild"'  or  "passenger"  pigeon. 

Notwithstanding  the  relentless  persecu- 
tion and  slaughter  of  these  birds  through- 
out their  range,  their  disappearance  took 
place  so  suddenly  and  the  annihilation  of 
the  species  was  apparently  so  complete 
that  it  has  called  forth  considerable  specu- 
lation as  to  the  direct  cause  of  this  catas- 
trophe. Manv  believed  that  it  was  but  a 
temporary  disappearance  and  that  for 
some  unknown  reason  the  diminishing 
flocks  had  migrated  to  new  fields ;  others. 


passenger  in  the  vicinity  seems  to  be  a 
well-authenticated  record  of  its  recent 
appearance,  wdiich,  he  states,  occurred  on 
the  thirty-first  of  May,  191 5.  Noting  this 
occurrence  mentioned  in  "Bird-Lore"  I 
wrote  Dr.  Palmer  for  further  particulars 
and  previous  records  in  his  locality. 

In  the  instance  mentioned.  Dr.  Palmer, 
who  has  studied  the  birds  of  Minnesota 
for  fifteen  years,  was  accompanied  by  his 
daughter  and  two  other  observers  and  had 
a  g-ood  opportunity  of  observing  the  bird 
and  noting  its  call.  \\'hile  skepticism 
always  pushes  to  the  front  in  such  cases, 
reasonable  testimony  must  be  accepted 
and  there  appears  very  little  chance  of  the 
parties  being  mistaken  in  this  instance. 
That  the  mourning  dove  is  common  in  the 
vicinity  and  was  well  known  to  the  ob- 
servers ;  that  the  band-tailed  [n'geon  has 
never  been  known  to  occur  in  that  part 


224 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


of  the  country,  and  that  the  calls  of  the 
bird  which  they  saw  and  heard  were 
totally  different  from  those  of  either  of 
the  above  species  and  exactly  coincided 
with  the  calls  attributed  to  the  passenger 
pigeon,  are  convincing  facts  which  point 
almost  to  a  positive  identity.  Dr.  Palmer 
also  states  that  they  were  familiar  with 
a  stuffed  specimen  of  the  wild  pigeon  in 
their  school  collection,  and  its  comparison 
only  served  to  strengthen  their  belief  in 
the  identification  of  the  bird  which  they 
saw. 

Regarding  recent  previous  records,  he 
writes  as  follows :  "A  retired  lumberman 
thinks  he  saw  one  a  year  ago  when  riding 
in  his  automobile  in  the  vicinity.  Dr.  E. 
S.  Boleyn,  a  trained  observer,  four  years 
ago  saw  a  pair  of  great  wild  pigeons 
which  he  was  sure  were  passenger 
pigeons." 

It  is  difficult  to  comprehend  the  extent 
of  the  flocks  of  these  beautiful  birds,  as 
recorded  by  the  early  observers.  Even  a 
comparatively  few  years  ago  they  were 
r^ot  deemed  especially  valuable  and  not- 
withstanding their  former  abundance 
many  of  the  museums  have  but  a  few 
specimens  to  represent  this  vanished  mul- 
titude. Even  those  familiar  with  their 
habits  did  not  seem  to  realize  their  danger 
of  extinction.  I  well  remember  a  market- 
man  friend  tellin:g  of  their  receiving  the 
pigeons  minus  their  wings,  that  they 
might  get  more  of  them  packed  into  a 
barrel,  and  of  his  being  ridiculed  by  his 
fellows  when  he  ventured  to  prophesy 
that  they  would  see  the  day  when  there 
would  be  no  more  wild  pigeons  in  the 
market. 

My  own  observation  of  these  birds  was 
limited  to  a  flock  of  about  fifteen  kept  in 
a  large  enclosure  at  the  Webster  Public 
Museum  at  Hyde  Park,  Mass.  The  ac- 
companying photograph,  taken  through 
the  cage,  while  not  very  distinct,  is  inter- 
esting to  show  the  characteristic  attitudes 
of  these  birds  and  their  constantly  alert, 
half-wild  appearance  which  they  always 
seemed  to  preserve.  For  the  use  of  this 
picture  we  are  indebted  to  the  Frank 
Blake  Webster  Co.,  proprietors  of  the 
museum.  These  pigeons,  which  were 
brought  from  Indian  Territory,  were  acci- 
dentally liberated  by  some  workmen  in  the 
spring  of  1894,  and  for  about  two  years 
thereafter  occasional  reports  of  wild 
pigeons  being  seen  in  this  vicinity  were 
brought  to  the  attention  of  the  ^luseum. 


about  the  last  report  coming  from  Sharon, 
some  fifteen  miles  southward. 

The  following  paragraph  from  "The 
Story  of  my  Boyhood  and  Youth"  gives 
us  a  delightful  bit  of  insight  into  the 
habits  of  these  noble  birds,  as  observed  by 
the  master  mind  of  John  Muir,  during  the 
early  days  of  his  life  on  the  Wisconsin 
farm. 

'Tt  was  a  great  memorable  day  when 
the  first  flock  of  passenger  pigeons  came 
to  our  farm,  calling  to  mind  the  story  we 
had  read  about  them  when  we  were  at 
school  in  Scotland.  Of  all  God's  feathered 
people  that  sailed  the  Wisconsin  sky,  no 
other  bird  seemed  to  us  so  wonderful.  The 
beautiful  wanderers  flew  like  the  winds  in 
flocks  of  millions  from  climate  to  climate 
in  accord  with  the  weather,  finding  their 
food — acorns,  beechnttts,  pine-nuts,  cran- 
berries, strawberries,  huckleberries,  jtini- 
per  berries,  hackberries,  buckwheat,  rice, 
Avheat,  oats,  corn — in  fields  and  forests 
thousands  of  miles  apart.  I  have  seen 
flocks  streaming  south  in  the  fall  so  large 
that  they  were  flying  over  from  horizon 
to  horizon  in  an  almost  continuous  stream 
all  day  long,  at  the  rate  of  forty  or  fifty 
miles  an  hour,  like  a  mighty  river  in  the 
sky,  widening,  contracting,  descending  like 
falls  and  cataracts,  and  rising  suddenly 
here  and  there  in  huge  ragged  masses  like 
high-plashing  spray.  How  wonderful  the 
distances  they  flew  in  a  day — in  a  year — 
in  a  lifetime !  They  arrived  in  Wisconsin 
in  the  spring  just  after  the  sun  had 
cleared  away  the  snow,  and  alighted  in 
the  woods  to  feed  on  the  fallen  acorns  that 
they  had  missed  the  previous  autumn.  A 
comparatively  small  flock  swept  thousands 
of  acres  perfectly  clean  of  acorns  in  a  few 
mintites,  by  moving  straight  ahead  with 
a  broad  front.  All  got  their  share,  for  the 
rear  constantly  became  the  van  by  flying 
over  the  flock  and  alighting  in  front,  the 
entire  flock  constantly  changing  from  rear 
to  front,  revolving  something  like  a  wheel 
with  a  low  buzzing  wing  roar  that  could 
be  heard  a  long  way  off.  In  summer  they 
feasted  on  wheat  and  oats  and  were  easilv 
anoroached  as  they  rested  on  the  trees 
?ilong  the  sides  of  the  field  after  a  good 
full  meal,  displaying  beautiftfl  iridescent 
colors  as  they  moved  their  necks  back- 
ward and  forward  when  we  went  verv 
near  them.  Every  shotgtm  was  aimed  at 
tliem  and  everybody  feasted  on  pigeon 
pies,  and  not  a  few  of  the  settlers  feasted 
also  on  the  beautv  of  the  wonderful 
birds." 


ORNITHOLOGY 


225 


Nesting  of  a   Bullock  Oriole. 

BV   I*.    II.   VAX    IIISE, SL'.MMEKLAXD,   H.    C, 

CANADA. 

On  June  7th,  191 5,  noticing  a  Bullock 
Oriole  (Icterus  hullocki)  trying-  to  pull 
strings  from  a  piece  of  carpet  that  was 
hanging-  on  the  clothesline,  I  put  the  car- 
pet on  a  wire  running  along  the  front  of 
the  porch  and  placed  upon  it  short  pieces 
of  string. 

The  bird,  which  was  a  female,  would 
come  and  get  the  string  while  I  was  on  the 
porch,  being  gone  only  two  and  a  half 
to  three  minutes  at  a  time  when  she  would 


BULLOCK    ORIOLE    WITH     STRING. 

return  for  more.  The  nest  was  about  a 
hundred  feet  from  the  house. 

The  male  did  not  help  with  the  nest- 
building  but  the  female  worked  all  day  on 
the  seventh  and  eighth  and  until  eleven- 
thirty  on  the  ninth,  taking  fifty  strings, 
each  about  a  foot  long,  on  the  latter  day. 
The  nest  was  then  finished  except  for 
lining. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  eleventh 
she  came  aagin  and  called  to  me.  I 
thought  perhaps  she  was  after  more  string- 
but  that  was  not  what  she  wanted,  so  I 
combed  some  hair  out  of  my  collie  and 
put  that  up  for  her.  She  soon  came  and 
took  several  big  mouthfuls,  with  which 
she  lined  the  nest. 

The  voung  left  the  nest  on  the  twelfth 
of  Tulv. 


BULLOCK    ORIOLE   NEbT  COMPOSED    MOSTLY 
OF  STRING. 

The  1916  Audubon  Bird  Calendar  has 
been  issued  and  may  be  secured  at  the 
various  state  departments  of  the  society. 


Starry  blossoms  and  blossomy  stars 
Bedeck  the  earth  and  the  sky; 

Let  us  not  go  about  with  unseeing  eyes, 
That   pass   these  -beauties   by. 

— Emma   Peirce. 


INTERIOR    OF    NEST,    LINED    WITH    HAIR 
FROM   COLLIE   DOG. 


226 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


"ANYBODY  HERE." 


"DID  SOME  ONE  CALL. 


"OH  THERE  YOU  ARE." 


The  Flicker  at  Home. 

BY  CLARENCE  BUXDY,  T.\C()^L\,  OHIO.  , 

It  was  the  middle  of  April.  Birds 
were  everywhere.  The  flickers  were 
beginning  to  remodel  their  summer 
home — located  in  a  dead  cherry  tree  by 
the  yard  fence. 

For  several  days  they  worked  at  the 
digging  and  the  cleaning  until  the  hol<" 
was     five     inches     in     diameter     and 


After  a  week  or  so  all  became  quiet. 
Had  the  birds  gone  to  find  a  more  suit- 
able abode?  Investigation  proved  that 
they  were  at  home,  for  a  tap  on  the 
tree  brought  the  female  bird  to  the 
front  door.  About  the  middle  of  ^lay, 
things  began  to  happen  around  the  old 
cherry.  The  days  of  patient  brooding 
were  over,  and  the  duties  of  hunting 
for  food  and  training  the  young  were 
added    to    the    ordinar^'    routine.      One 


"YES,  rVE  RETURNED. 


•DO  YOU  LO\E  ME  YET 


"YUM,  YUM,  YUM.' 


eighteen  inches  deep,  a  more  spacious 
apartment  than  the  former  occupants, 
also  flickers,  had  owned  during  the  pre- 
vious year. 

Occasionally  they  took  resting  spells, 
on  a  nearby  trellis,  there  going  through 
the  craziest  performances,  bowing, 
scraping,  spreading  wings  and  tail,  and 
sounding  their  rolling  wheet-ur,  wheet- 
ur,  wheet-ur.  It  was  curious  love-mak- 
ing when  viewed  from  a  human  stand- 
point. 


morning  when  the  male  bird  flew  to 
the  hole  he  was  met  by  one  of  his 
greedy  offspring  whose  energy  had 
brought  him  to  the  edge  of  a  new 
world.  Before  giving  up  the  morsel  of 
food,  the  male  flicker  often  sat  prop- 
ped on  his  tail  at  one  side  of  the  hole 
just  out  of  reach  presumably  giving  a 
lesson  in  patience,  though  I  should  say 
that  the  vocal  apparatus  was  most 
benefitted. 

And  how  they  grew.    So  fast  that  the 


ORNITHOLOGY 


227 


home  soon  became  too  small,  and  one 
morning,  one  little  savage,  spreading 
his  over  confident  wings,  landed  igno- 
miniously  in  a  crestfallen  heap  amongst 
the  weeds,  and  got  scolded  for  his 
pains. 

In  passing  the  old  cherry  a  few  days 
later,  I  could  but  mark  the  silence  that 
brooded  about  the  tree,  lately  so  full 
of  life.  The  old  birds  paid  it  an  occa- 
sional visit,  but  for  the  rest  of  the  year 
their  interest  in  it  was  over. 

Birds  seem  to  thrive  best  in  human 
society  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  their  ex- 
perience has  not  been  entirely  reassur- 
ing. The  great  crested  flycatcher,  na- 
turalists say,  "is  a  shy,  solitary  bird 
seldom  seen  beyond  the  deep  forest." 
Yet  this  summer  I  found  a  pair  nesting 
in  the  hollow  limb  of  an  apple  tree  in 
a  neighbor's  yard. 

Let  the  birds  come  back.  Let  us 
help  them  to  come,  realizing  that  our 
existence  depends  in  large  measure  on 
their  companionship  and   continuance. 


Nature   Interest  Rewarded. 

BY  CLARENCE  BUNDY,  TACOMA^  OHIO. 

The  student  of  nature  that  shares  his 
interest  and  knowledge  with  the  youths 
of  the  neighborhood  receives  his  re- 
ward quickly  and  repeatedly.  So  do 
they. 

If  every  community  could  have  as 
one  of  its  members  an  earnest  nature 
student,  well  might  that  community 
rejoice  for  he  is  or  inay  become  a 
mighty  factor  in  elevating  the  ideals  of 
the  boys  and  girls. 

I  know  a  boy  whose  companionship 
is  dear  to  me.  He  accompanies  me  on 
rambles  through  the  woods  and  the  by- 
ways, sharing  every  observation  and 
showing  a  lively  interest  in  things  per- 
taining to  birds  and  insects.  It  was  not 
always  so.  His  parents  moved  from 
the  city  to  the  country  to  remove  him 
from  the  evil  influences  that  were  fast 
making  him  a  little  ruffian. 

It  has  been  my  privilege  to  watch 
his  mental  and  moral  outlook  rise  and 
broaden,  influenced  by  his  glimpses  of 
the  wonderful  things  in  the  great  out- 
doors. I  also  have  a  Sunday  school 
class  and  some  other  young  friends 
whom  I  have  interested  in  this  subject. 
A  quail's  nest  was  discovered  one  dav 
in  the  lane  that  leads  to  the  main  road, 
and  not  many  rods  from  the  home  of 


the  boy  that  found  it.  I  was  called  by 
telephone  to  photograph  the  nest. 

It  was  a  wonderful  affair  of  soft 
grasses  woven  into  a  deep  round  struc- 
ture and  roofed  over  with  similar  mate- 
rial, and  with  a  hole  in  the  side  only 
large  enough  for  the  plump  little  body 
to  slip  in  and  out.  The  boy  told  me 
that  he  would  never  have  found  it  had 
not  the  mother  bird  flown  from  the 
nest  at  his  feet.  In  this  snug  little  home 
were  nineteen  eggs. 

Ten  days  later  the  telephone  rang 
again.  A  voice,  eager  and  full  of  ex- 
citement responded  and  bade  me  come 
as  "quick  as  you  can  get  here."  The 
boy  had  been  working  in  an  adjoining 
field  and  as  he  passed  the  nest  he  saw 
a  sight  few  are  ever  fortunate  enough 


'•THE    QUAILS     WERE    HATCHING." 

to  see.  The  quails  were  hatching.  Tiny 
brown  heads  were  sticking  out  around 
the  mother's  breast,  and  taxing  her 
spreading  capacity  to  the  utmost.  We 
cautiously  proceeded  to  record  this  un- 
usual sight,  making  the  first  exposure 
with  a  nine  inch  lens,  fearing  to  go 
close  enough  to  use  the  seven  inch  An- 
astigmat. 

A  few  leaves  and  blades  of  grass  inter- 
fered with  the  view,  so  my  friend  took 
the  tripod  and  carefully  pulled  them 
aside  (note  the  tripod  in  the  corner 
holding  down  the  grass),  after  which  I 
made  another  exposure  within  three 
feet  of  the  subject.    I  was  not  yet  satis- 


228 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


fied.  The  boy  then  took  the  tripod  and 
pulled  away  the  grass  from  within 
three  inches  of  the  mother's  bill  and  she 
showed  no  sign  of  fear  or  nervousness. 
Her  young  birds  were  too  precious  to 
be  deserted  for  any  such  ordinary  dis- 
turbance. 

I  made  No.  3,  and  left  the  patient 
little  creature  to  rear  her  brood  in 
peace. 


The  March  of  the  Penguins. 

We  are  indebted  to  Robert  Cushman 
Murphy,    Acting    Curator    of    Natural 


beaches  that  separate  various  arms  of 
the  bays,  or  which  lead  from  the  sea  to 
the  snow-water  ponds  in  which  the 
penguins  delight  to  play,  they  follow 
regular,  well-tramped  avenues.  When 
bent  on  a  definite  journey  across  the 
land,  they  trudge  along  very  steadily 
and  unconcernedly,  and  for  the  time 
seem  to  take  no  notice  of  their  fellows. 
When  in  great  haste,  they  fall  upon 
the  belly  and  run  on  all  fours.  By  this 
well-known  mode  of  progTession,  called 
"tobogganing,"  they  lead  a  man  a  very 
creditable  chase.  Their  most  curious 
attitude    is   assumed    when    they   walk 


,11.-.-^     MARCH  TO   THE   SEA. 


Sciences  of  the  Brooklyn  Museum  for 
the  accompanying  illustration  of  the 
marching  penguins  of  which  he  has 
made  extended  studies  in  South  Geor- 
gia. He  makes  the  following  interest- 
ing statements  regarding  these  curious 
birds : 

"The  johnnies  walk  in  a  deliberate 
manner,  raising  their  feet  high  at  each 
step,  carrying  their  tails  well  above  the 
ground,  thrusting  their  wings  behind 
them  as  balances,  and  poking  the  head 
forward  into  the  accustomed  near- 
sighted attitude.  Their  near-sighted- 
ness is  probably  no  less  real  than  ap- 
parent, because  of  the  specialization  of 
their  eyes  for  vision  through  a  medium 
of  water. 

"In  crossing  the  stony  or  hummocky 


down  an  incline,  such  as  a  snow-bank 
or  a  steep  beach.  The  head  is  then 
thrust  so  far  forward  that  the  straight 
neck  and  the  spine  form  a  right  angle  ; 
the  wings  are  held  stiffly  back  as  far  as 
possible,  and  the  round  belly  projects 
as  the  bird  proceeds  with  gingerly 
steps.  On  rare  occasions  they  hop  in- 
stead of  walking,  springing  with  both 
feet  from  one  beach  pebble  to  another, 
in  the  manner  of  the  true  "rock-hopper" 
penguins  Eudyptes.  Their  fat  bodies 
seem  to  be  able  to  stand  hard  knocks, 
for  not  only  do  they  tumble  over  fre- 
quently wherever  the  walking  is  rough 
on  shore,  but  they  also  suffer  fearful 
batterings  on  the  shingle  when  they 
come  out  of  the  surf,  sometimes  being 
bowled  over  bv  four  or  five  successive 


ORXITHOLOGY 


229 


breakers  before  they  can  scramble  out 
of  the  undertow. 

"When  wading  into  the  w^ater,  the 
johnny  penguins  invariably  round  their 
shoulders,  bend  down  their  heads 
almost  to  their  feet,  and  scoop  beneath 
the  surface  as  soon  as  there  is  depth 
enough  to  float  them.  Once  under  way, 
all  their  terrestrial  awkwardness  van- 
ishes. They  swim  with  well-nigh 
incredible  speed,  remaining  below  the 
surface  except  when  they  leap  out  por- 
poiselike, giving  an  audible  gasp  for 
air — to  be  gone  again  within  the  twink- 
ling of  an  eye. 

"As  long  as  young  penguins  were  on 
this  nesting  ground,  processions  of 
adults  might  at  all  times  be  seen  com- 
ing and  going  between  the  high  land 
and  the  sea.  The  birds  met  and  passed 
each  other  without  a  visible  sign  of 
recognition,  each  trundling  graveh' 
along  on  its  own  business.  A  broad 
thoroughfare  had  been  stamped  across 
the  moraine,  worn  down  doubtles.'- 
through  generations  of  the  pattering 
of  little  leathery  feet,  and  deeph' 
grooved,  sinuous  avenues  extending  up 
the  long  snowbanks  to  the  highest  por- 
tions of  the  colony  two  kilometers  from 
the  shore. 

"The  antiquity  of  the  hill-climbing 
instinct  among  the  johnny  penguins  of 
South  Georgia  is  attested  by  a  strange 
and  romantic  phenomenon,  namely 
that  the  penguins  go  back  to  the 
heights  to  die.  In  a  hollow  at  the  sum- 
mit of  the  coast  range  south  of  the  Bay 
of  Isles  lies  a  clear  lake  on  a  bed  of 
ice-cracked  stones.  This  transparent  pool, 
with  a  maximum  depth  of  three  or  four 
meters,  is  a  penguin  graveyard.  In 
January,  1913,  I  found  its  bottom  thick- 
ly strewn  with  the  bodies  of  penguins 
which  had  outlived  the  perils  of  the 
sea  and  had  apparently  accomplished 
the  rare  feat  among  wild  animals  of 
dying  a  natural  death.  They  lay  by 
scores  all  over  the  stony  bed  of  the 
pool,  mostly  on  their  backs  with  pin- 
ions outstretched,  their  breasts  reflect- 
ing gleams  of  white  from  the  deeper 
water.  Safe  from  sea  leopards  in  the 
ocean  and  from  skuas  ashore,  thev  took 
their  last  rest." 


Two    Skillful    Fishermen,    the    Heron 
and  the  Kingfisher. 

BY  THK  RKV.   MAXLKY  B.  TOWNSEND, 
NASHUA,   N.   H. 

(Photograph  by  H.  G.  Higbee). 
Long'  before  the  white  man  invaded  the 
wilds   of   America   and   began    to   exter- 
minate the  fish  and  game  with  rod  and 
gun,  those  fine  old  fishermen,  the  herons 


An  English  naturalist  reports  a  wea- 
sel feeding  on  frogs. 


Till      i.RKAT    BLUE    HERGX. 

These    beautiful    birds    add    much    to    the    life    of    our 

streams    and    marshes. 

and  king-fishers,  fished  our  lakes  and 
streams.  Indigenous  to  our  soil,  like  the 
red  man  they  took  what  necessit}'  re- 
quired, making  no  appreciable  impression 
upon  the  teeming  waters.  Then  came  the 
white  man  and  began  his  dread  work. 
Once  the  trout  swarmed  everywhere — 
now  one  must  seek  the  remote  wilds  to 
find  these  speckled  beauties  in  any  con- 
siderable numbers. 

Yet  every  once  in  a  while  some  group 
of  fishermen  breaks  out  in  stupid  antago- 
nism to  the  feathered  native  anglers, 
denouncing  them  as  destroyers  of  fish, 
and  seeking  legislation  to  allow  their 
destruction.  Most  states  have  seen  such 
attempts, — attempts  that  are  frustrated 
only  by  concerted  action  on  the  part  of 
bird  conservationists. 

An  instance  of  this  sort  occurred  last 
winter  in  New  Hampshire.  Some  fisher- 
men, with  more  zeal  than  wisdom,  intro- 
duced a  bill  into  the  legislature  to  remove 


230 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


protection  from  the  great  bine  heron  and 
the  kingfisher  on  the  plea  that  they  de- 
stroyed fish.  Only  prompt  and  energetic 
action  by  the  Audubon  people  killed  the 
pernicious  measure  and  saved  these  fine 
birds  to  the  landscape  of  the  state. 

Undoubtedly  herons  and  kingfishers  do 
catch  fish.  But  who  has  a  better  right? 
Who  was  here  first?  To  whom  do  the 
lakes  and  streams  belong?  It  is  true  that 
these  t)irds  sometimes  work  havoc  at  fish- 
hatcheries,  but  my  friend,  the  Superin- 
tendent of  the  United  States  Fish  Hatch- 
ery at  Nashua,  N.  H.,  keeps  a  dog  that 
drives  off  all  such  poachers.  He  has  no 
trouble. 

Everybody  knows  or  should  know,  that 
the  heron  is  a  wading  bird  and  subsists 
ordinarily  not  upon  game  fishes,  but  upon 
frogs,  minnows,  chubs,  suckers  and  fishes 
that  frequent  shallow  water;  but  even  if 
these  birds  did  feed  upon  game  fishes, 
would  that  warrant  their  destruction  ?  As 
a  matter  of  fact  there  are  a  dozen  persons 
who  enjoy  watching  the  heron  at  his  frog- 
ging  and  fishing  and  whose  hearts  leap  un 
when  they  behold  him  winging  his  wav 
across  the  sky  on  great,  strong.  wiM 
wings,  to  one  person  who  pursues  the  pis- 
catorial art.  These  people  have  rights  in 
the  wild  life  of  the  land  as  well  as  fisher- 
men in  the  fish  of  the  waters.  I  have  done 
much  fishing  in  my  day.  It  is  a  healthful 
and  invigorating  pastime, — ^but  when  I  go 
fishing  I  go  for  more  than  the  mere  catch- 
ing of  fisii.  I  go  to  get  out  into  the  great 
wonder-world.  I  go  to  get  into  touch 
with  nature.  I  go  to  see  the  trees  and  the 
wild  flowers,  and  the  ferns  and  the  birds. 
I  go  to  see  the  herons  and  the  kingfishers 
at  their  fishing.  I  like  to  catch  fish,  but 
even  if  I  catch  no  fish,  I  go  home  en- 
riched. I  carry  back  something  in  my 
mind  and  soul  better  than  fish  in  a  basket. 
Old  Mother  Nature  has  placed  her  hand 
upon  my  head  with  healing  power. 

Herons  and  kingfishers  destroy  the  fish, 
do  thev  ?  The  boot  is  really  on  the  other 
foot !  Man  has  reduced  our  fish  and  game 
almost  to  the  vanishing  point.  Let  justice 
be  done.  Let  the  feathered  bipeds  alone 
and  let  featherless  bipeds  remember  that 
"people  who  live  in  glass  houses  should 
not  throw  stones."  Our  streams  can  be 
re-stocked  with  fishes,  but  our  feathered 
friends  once  destroyed  can  never  be  re- 
placed. 

^t     *     *     *     * 

Our    friend    is    right.     We    should    be 


broad  enough  to  look  upon  these  matters- 
with  an  unbiased  mind.  Neither  the  blue 
heron  nor  the  kingfisher  are  destroyers  of 
edible  fish  in  general.  There  may  be  in- 
stances where  they  do  damage  and  these 
cases  should  be  regulated  accordingly.  We 
should  see  something  besides  fish  when 
we  go  a-fishing,  and  we  should  not  make 
laws  to  favor  and  satisfy  a  few,  that  will 
restrict  and  deprive  many  of  the  legiti- 
mate pleasure  of  enjoying  our  wild  life. 
— H.  G.  H. 


A  Barn  Owl's  Remarkable  Attitude. 

North  Salem,  Indiana. 
To  the  Editor : 

Can  you  or  any  of  your  readers  guess 
at  first'  glance  what  is  the  thing  shown 
in  the  accompanying  illustration?  It 
is  a  barn  owl  that  had  been  frightened 


A     liAKX     OWl.     I'RlGllTEXEl)     KV     A     DOC. 

by  a  dog  that  passed  near  him  just  as 
I  was  going  to  take  his  photograph. 
In  his  terror  the  owl  assumed  this  posi- 
tion, with  bill  and  tail  on  the  ground, 
body  raised  as  high  as  possible,  wings 
spread  like  fans  and  hiding  his  body. 

It  is  amusing  to  hear  the  guesses  as 
to  what  the  photograph  represents. 
Some  call  it  a  stump,  some  a  stone. 

Frank  B.  Hopkins. 


Steamship  St.  Louis,  of  the  American 
Line,  reports  encountering  a  swallow 
almost  in  mid-Atlantic,  .s6o  miles  from 
the  nearest  land.  The  bird,  though  evi- 
dently tired,  was  by  no  means  alto- 
gether spent. 


ORXITHOLOGY 


231 


Gods  ReLpeR 

Whei\  ir\tKe  orchard  patK 

I  fo\ii\d  you, 
Where  Kurt  and  treiphliiig 

in  the  0rass  yo\i  lay, 
Itrvily  thought  God  had 

forgotten. 
To  note  your  falling  this 

hot    sumnier  day 


V-^c^ 


PV^ 


V* 


Bvt  Guntie  said  twas  God  who  sent  n>e  to  you, 

And  Birdie  dear,  I  truly  think  Re  did; 
I  had  TDade  plans  to  Qo  beside  the  n^aples, 
Then  chose  this  path  wher^  sooi\Ifoui\dyojJ 


To  thir\K  I'm  helping  God  maKe#^;^^^^J^4L^' 

me  so  happy, 
So  ^lad  that  I  caiv  make  you 
^         well   and   free;  4^^rj^ 

-v'f^'  P^T\d  when  once  more  \ip  in  the 


t- 


•u  ^^'  ^'^ 


sKies  you're   flyinQ 


/k"^^^-Q  gjj^^  loud  praises  both  for 
^^L  ^   yo\j  and  me. 

f^  V.  vv  -^i  JS%^1^      Sophia  R.  RGi+lett:^,i? 


o Y-::??^ 


4'ivt'r 


232 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


Contributions   to   the   Sound   Beach 
Observatory. 

Miss  A.  P.  Cobb,  Sound  Beach.  .  .$  i.oo 
Frederick     H.     Getman,     Ph.D., 

Stamford 5-Oo 

Mr.  Charles  B.  Allyn,  Riverside, 

Conn 5-00 

Mr.  Arthur  F.  Estabrook,  Boston, 

Mass 25.00 

Mr.  L.  S.  Miller,  Sound  Beach. .  .  .  2.85 
Mr,  Mason  Parker,  Greenwich.  .  .  5.00 
Mr.      Alfred      Gilbert      Smith. 

Greenwich    25.00 

Total    $    68.85 

Previously  acknowledged $932.58 

Grand  Total $1,001.43 

Only     $150     more     needed.     Please 
clear  that  up  before  the  Holidays. 

;;;  H:  *  *  * 

The  Heavens  in  November. 

BY  PROF.  ERIC  DOOLITTLE,  OF  THE  UNIVER- 
SITY  OF   PENNSYLVANIA. 

THE  whole  eastern  half  of  our  even- 
ing heavens  now  appears  a  most 
beautiful  spectacle.  The  great 
group  Taurus  has  mounted  more  than 
half  way  to  the  zenith ;  the  very  beautiful, 
bright  Gemini  covers  a  large  part  of  the 
sky  toward  the  east,  while  above  this  last 
constellation  we  see  the  very  brilliant, 
golden  Capella  and  below  it  there  shines 
the  bright,  bluish  Procyon,  a  most  beauti- 
ful double-sun  system  known  as  the  Les- 
ser Dog  Star. 

Below  Gemini,  in  the  northeast,  there 
has  again  appeared  that  strange,  faint 
little  group  of  the  Crab,  within  whose 
borders  is  the  misty  little  patch  of  light 
known  as  the  Little  Cloud  to  the  ancients 
and  which  even  the  smallest  telescope  will 
show  to  be  a  loose  cluster  of  about  150 
suns.  When,  in  a  clear  sky,  this  little 
cloud  grew  more  and  more  indistinct,  and 
perhaps  finally  entirely  disappeared,  it 
was  regarded  as  a  certain  sign  of  rain. 
Thus  it  was  employed  as  a  sort  of 
weather-glass,  though  it  would  apnear 
that  the  wonderfully  delicate,  filmy  haze 


of  stars  forming  the  constellation  known 
as  the  Maiden's  Hair  should  have  been 
still  more  useful  for  this  purpose. 

^;  ;)c         ;];  >)!         sj; 

A  New  Attendant  to  the  Dog  Star. 

Following  along  the  horizon  from 
Cancer  toward  the  south,  we  next  come 
to  the  wonderful  Dog  Star,  Sirius,  the 
brightest  star  of  the  entire  heavens.  It 
will  be  remembered  that  so  early  as  1844 
it  was  known  that  this  great  sun  must 
have  a  companion  sun  revolving  around 
it,  for  a  mathematical  investigation  show- 
ed conclusively  that  Sirius  was  continu- 
ally being  disturbed  by  the  gravitational 
pull  of  some  unseen  body.  It  was  not 
until  the  year  1862,  however,  that  the 
companion  was  ac- tally  seen  in  the  tele- 
scope. 

Within  the  last  two  months  another 
excessively  faint  little  star  has  been  dis- 
covered near  Sirius.  The  new  body  is 
31  seconds  south  of  the  bright  star  and 
of  only  the  fourteenth  magnitude ;  that 
is,  it  is  only  one  one-hundredth  part  as 
bright  as  the  old  companion. 

It  is  probable  that  this  very  minute 
body  is  not  physically  connected  with  the 
bright  star  but  that  it  is  almost  infinitely 
far  away  and  only  happens  to  lie  in  the 
same  direction  and  hence  to  be  seen  ap- 
parently near  Sirius  in  the  sky.  As  the 
latter  star  is,  however,  drifting  so  very 
rapidly  through  space  that  it  is  displaced 
in  its  apparent  position  on  the  sky  by 
no  less  than  one  three-tenths  seconds 
every  year,  it  will  require  the  measures 
of  but  a  few  years  to  decide  whether  it 
is  carrying  the  new  companion  along 
with  it  or  not. 

The  Constellation  Orion. 

But  most  interesting  of  all  the  star 
grouDs  which  have  recently  entered  the 
sky  is  the  very  brilliant  Orion,  that  most 
wonderful  midwinter  constellation  which 
is  brighter  and  more  striking  than  any 
other  star  grouo  of  the  heavens.  The 
head   of   this   mightv   hunter   is   marked 


TO  KNOW  THE  STARRY  HEAA'ENS 


233 


by  the  naked-eye  cluster  of  stars  at  A 
(Figure  i),  the  shoulders  being  at  B  and 
C;  the  (bent)  right  knee  is  at  E  and  the 
left  foot  at  D.  The  stream  of  stars  from 
H  to  K  represents  the  Lion's  Skin,  held 
on  the  left  hand  and  arm,  while  the  right 
hand  is  at  L.  The  orange-reddish  star 
at  B  is  the  brightest  star  of  the  constella- 


but  how  much  solid  matter  there  may  also 
be  involved  in  it  we  do  not  know.  The 
spectra  of  certain  of  its  stars  are  so  iden- 
tical with  its  own  that  it  is  practically 
certain  that  these  are  immersed  in  and 
are  a  part  of  the  cloud  itself. 

As  to  the  true  size  of  this  great  cloud, 
it  is  so  great  as  to  be  entirely  inconceiv- 


HOTZTH. 


SOUTH. 


Figure  1.  The  Heavens  at  9  P.  M..  December  1.  (If  facing  south,  hold  the  map 
upright.  If  facing  east  hold  East  below".  If  facing  west,  hold  West  below.  If  facing 
north,   hold  map  inverted.) 


tion,  while  the  bluish  sun  at  D  is  next 
in  brilliance.  The  former  is  irregularly 
variable,  so  much  so  that  in  December, 
1852,  it  was  actually  for  a  short  time  the 
brightest  star  of  the  entire  heavens  ;  the 
latter  is  a  triple  star. 

New  Discoveries  in  the  Nebula  of 
Orion. 

It  is,  however,  in  the  position  X  that 
there  is  found  what  is  by  far  the  most 
wonderful  object  in  this  constellation. 
This  is  the  very  well-known  nebula  in 
Orion,  the  greatest  nebula  of  the  sky  and 
a  beautiful  object  of  wonderful  complex- 
ity. This  is  one  of  the  purely  gaseous 
nebulas ;  that  is,  the  light  with  which  we 
view  it  emanates   from  luminous  gases, 


able.  If  we  can  imagine  a  great  globe 
formed  about  our  sun,  and  so  large  that 
it  will  always  contain  our  moving  earth 
within  it — that  is,  if  we  imagine  the  dis- 
tance through  this  globe  to  be  about  two 
hundred  millions  of  miles,  then  it  is  cer- 
tain that  it  would  require  more  than  one 
million  of  these  globes  to  equal  in  bulk 
this  great  nebulous  cloud. 

Very  recently  the  announcement  of  cer- 
tain results  from  wonderfully  delicate 
measurements  has  attracted  the  attention 
of  astronomers  anew  to  this  extraordi- 
nary object.  By  two  quite  different  pro- 
cesses it  has  been  found  possible  to  meas- 
ure in  miles  per  second  the  velocity  with 
which  any  selected  portion  of  the  nebula 
is  moving  toward  us  or  awav   from  us, 


234 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


Figure   2.      The  great   Nebula   of   Orion. 


and  when  this  was  done  the  results  found 
were  most  surprising..  For  it  then  ap- 
peared that  all  the  little  portions  were 
moving  with  different  speeds :  of  two  re- 
gions very  near  together,  one  might  be 
moving'  toward  or  away  from  us  eight  or 
ten  miles  per  second  faster  than  the  other. 
In  other  words,  instead  of  the  nebula 
being  a  great,  still  mass  of  nearly  quies- 
cent gases,  the  entire  cloud  is  violently 
sursing;   and   streaming   in   a   most  com- 


plicated manner.  Without  doubt  observa- 
tions upon  this  wonderful  object  will  be 
industriously  continued  and  multiplied 
during  the  next  few  years.  Possibly  our 
at  present  very  imperfect,  knowledge  of 
the  true  nature  of  g'laseous  nebulas  may 
soon  be  very  greatly  extended.  If  so,  a 
new  light  may  be  thrown,  nut  only  upon 
these  objects,  but  also  on  the  nature  of 
new  stars,  and  ui:)on  many  other  diffictdt 
r.T.tters  in  astronomy. 


T(^  KXOW  THE  STARRY  HEAVENS 


235 


The  Planets  in  December. 

Mercury  passes  behind  the  sun  on 
December  15.  and  will  therefore  be 
wholly  invisible  throughout  the  month. 

Venus  is  steadily  withdrawing  from 
the  sun's  rays  and  coming  into  better  posi- 
tion for  observation.     On  December  i  it 


It  is  so  near  the  stars  R  and  S  (Figure  i) 
that  from  even  only  a  few  nights'  watch- 
ing its  westward  motion  may  be  clearly 
seen.  It  will  pass  to  the  west  of  R  on 
December  27,  though  toward  the  begin- 
ning of  the  month  it  will  be  seen  far  to 
the  east  of  this  star.    The  rings  of  Saturn 


Figure  3.     Two  recent  drawings  of  the  Planet  Jupiter.     The  borders   of  the   faintly 
colored  bands   and   all   of  the  markings   are,   however     constantly   changing. 


sets  I  hour  and  20  minutes  after  sunset, 
and  this  time  is  increased  to  two  hours 
by  December  31.  The  planet  must  be 
looked  for  far  toward  the  south  of  the 
west  point  of  the  horizon,  when  it  may 
he  seen  but  a  short  distance  above  the 
ground,  shining  in  the  twilight  glow. 

During  the  last  month  Venus  has  been 
moving  very  rapidly  southward  among 
the  stars.  By  December  5  it  will  be  nc 
less  than  24V2  degrees  below  the  celestial 
■equator,  but  on  that  date  it  will  begin  to 
move  northward  again,  and  its  northern 
and  eastward  motions  will  conspire  to 
Turing  it  high  into  the  evening  heavens 
and  make  it  a  conspicuous  object  during 
the  early  months  of  1916. 

Mars,  though  high  in  the  northeast  by 
midnight,  does  not  rise  until  9  :30  o'clock 
on  December  i  and  is  therefore  just  be- 
yond the  borders  of  our  evening  map.  It 
is  moving  slowly  eastward  through  Leo 
and  will  be  seen  crossing  the  handle  of 
the  Sickle  just  above  the  bright  star  Reg- 
ulus.  These  two  bright,  reddish  objects 
so  near  together  will  form  an  interesting 
star  figure  in  the  northeastern  sky. 

Jupiter  still  shines  brightly  in  the  south- 
west, in  excellent  position  for  observa- 
tion. 

Saturn  is  slowly  retrograding  through 
the  middle  of  the  constellation   Gemini. 


are  now  very  widely  opened  out  and  it 
will  be  found  a  most  beautiful  object  for 
study  even  with  a  moderately  large  tele- 
scope. 

The  sun  will  reach  the  lowest  point  of 
its  yearly  apparent  path  on  December  22 
at  5  hours  16  minutes  16  seconds  P.  AI. 
(Eastern  standard  time)  ;  this  is  the  in- 
stant of  winter  solstice,  after  which  its 
northern  motion  will  again  begin.  De- 
cember 22  will  thus  be  the  shortest  day 
of  the  present  year,  this  day  (in  our  Cen- 
tral States)  being  5  hours  34  minutes 
shorter  than  the  ensuing  night. 


Then,  too,  how  wondrous  must  be 
the  colouring  observed  by  the  planet- 
beings,  if  such  exist,  in  any  one  of  the 
not  improbable  planets  revolving 
roimd  sitch  glorious  suns !  How  grand 
the  fairy  spectacle  in  those  belonging  to 
the  compound  S3'stems,  one  sun  setting 
it  may  be  in  golden  yellow,  or  in  purest 
green,  and  another  rising  in  amethyst 
blue  or  in  richest  purple  Moreover, 
fancy  can  sketch  better  than  words 
can  describe,  or  an  artist  portray,  the 
richness,  beauty,  and  variety,  of  the 
hues  presented,  when  such  charming- 
ly coloiu'ed  suns,  mingling  their  flash- 
ing rays,  happen  together  in  the  sky. — 
"The  Call  of  the  Stars,"   (Kippax). 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


Some  Insects   Need   Protection. 

BY  ESTHER  M.  CUNNINGHAM,  WORCESTER, 
MASSACHUSETTS. 

There  is  a  need  for  insect  protection 
as  well  as  for  bird  protection.  Butterflies 
and  moths  are  becoming-  scarcer  each 
year.  The  milkweed  butterfly,  once  our 
commonest  large  butterfly,  is  now  rare. 
It  is  entirely  harmless,  its  food  plant  being 
the  milkweed  for  which  we  do  not  care. 
Other  butterflies  and  moths  are  disappear- 
ing. There  are  several  reasons  for  this. 
The  first  is  the  brown-tail  spray.  While 
trying  to  kill  the  pests,  I  fear  that  we  are 
destroying  the  harmless  and  useful  in- 
sects. To  kill  the  brown-tailed  moths  the 
trees  are  sprayed  with  poison.  The  cater- 
pillar eats  this  poison  and  dies.  The 
brown-tailed  and  gypsy  moths  are  fast 
disappearing.  We  hear  pleasing  stories 
of  their  decrease,  but  are  not  our  harmless 
insects  going  at  the  same  time  ?  Another 
cause  for  the  decrease  is  ignorance.  Many 
of  us,  when  we  see  a  cocoon  or  a  caterpil- 
lar, say:  "There  is  one  of  those  dreadful 
creatures ;  kill  it !"  Every  cocoon  and 
caterpillar  should  not  be  destroyed  in  the 
belief  that  it  contains  a  gypsy  moth,  a 
brown-tailed  moth  or  other  nuisance. 
Butterflies  and  moths  have  natural  ene- 
mies. Ichneumon  flies  attack  many  spe- 
cies. Birds  devour  great  numbers.  These 
enemies  tend  to  keep  insects  within  rea- 
sonable limits,  but  with  our  enmity  added 
these  creatures  have  little  chance.  Many 
insects  are  entirely  harmless,  and  some 
are  lovely.  We  Americans  should  not  be- 
come so  practical  that  we  shall  lose  these 
beautiful  and  inspiring  creatures.  Our 
beautiful  night  moths  are  often  consid- 
ered a  nuisance ;  they  are  especially  sub- 
ject to  attack  from  the  ichneumon  fly. 
They  are  so  large,  too,  that  they  are  con- 
spicuous and  so  are  subject  to  the  attack 
of  birds.  For  these  reasons,  they  can 
never  become  dangerous.  Their  food  is 
the  foliage  of  the  forest  trees.     The  loss 


of  a  few  of  these  leaves  cannot  harm  us. 
Many  persons  beheve  that  all  moths  are 
clothes  moths;  the  clothes  moth  is  indeed 
a  nuisance,  but  other  moths  will  not  eat 
woolen  cloth.  Numberless  flowers  are 
fertilized  by  the  aid  of  moths  and  butter- 
flies. Many  flowers  depend  upon  one 
kind  of  moth  for  their  life;  if  the  moth 
disappears  the  flower  will  disappear.  Hawk 
moths  are  especially  adapted  to  the  work 
of  fertilization  on  account  of  their  long 
tongue.  The  tomato  worm  moth  is  the 
commonest  of  this  group.  Although  this 
is  considered  a  nuisance,  it  is  rare  and 
does  little  harm.  It  too  is  subject  to  attack 
from  the  ichneumon  fly.  There  are  other 
kinds  of  flies  that  scatter  pollen.  The 
chief  of  such  insects,  however,  are  bees. 
Many  of  us  do  not  realize  how  much  de- 
pends on  these  insects.  Take  an  example 
from  Australia.  Red  clover  was  planted 
for  the  use  of  the  cattle.  The  first  year 
it  grew  abundantly,  but  the  next  year  it 
failed.  The  people  blamed  the  climate.  A 
naturalist  solved  the  problem  by  planting 
more  red  clover  and  at  the  same  time  in- 
troducing numerous  bumblebees.  After 
this,  the  clover  crop  was  immense.  Our 
farmers  in  America  would  regret  to  lose 
their  clover,  but  they  would  lose  it  if  the 
bumblebees  should  disappear.  These 
creatures  are  becoming  less  numerous. 
Dragon  flies  are  useful,  because  their 
chief  food  is  mosquitoes.  Our  common 
ladybugs  make  way  with  plant  lice ; 
spiders  eat  flies  ;  many  insects  help  us  in 
their  individual  ways.  As  President 
Lincoln  once  said  :  "Let  us  give  the  bug 
a  chance." 


The  New  York  Agricvdtural  Experi- 
ment Station  at  Geneva  is  paying  spec- 
ial attention  to  the  study  of  grapes.  Its 
vineyards  now  contain  350  native  var- 
ieties, 50  foreign,  and  800  crosses,  all 
in  bearing.  In  addition  about  1,600 
self-seedlings  and  3,500  crosses  have 
not  yet  come  to  fruit. 


THE  IXTEREST  IX  IXSECTS 


^y> 


Henri  Fabre. 

Henri  Fabre,  whose  portrait  appears 
on  another  page,  is  dead,  at  the  fine  old 
age  of  ninety-tuo  years.  It  is  fortunate 
that  he  could  live  so  long,  for  until 
nearly  eighty  years  old   the  man    whom 


illiterate  parents.  When  only  five  year^ 
old,  his  special  bent  was  indicated  in  an 
attempt  to  find  out  how  the  cricket 
chirped.  But  he  could  not  take  up  the 
investigation  of  natural  history  as  he 
wanted  to  do  :  he  had  to  earn  his  living-. 


11 1  S-    I 


-^  E-2.    ' 

o  »  -." 
-»  w  o 

^  E'°  o    '■ 

»S'"',g     ■ 

•1   <  — »5 

3  a.-- 
o  u  a 

10  C   1   3         , 

•lip.  ; 

2     —  '"'  •' 
E  o  __ 

°no   "    -' 


QJ     «-!'   "^    W 


o  "  « 


-  =     n 


S-«o- 


„  2      o 


•"  -  2 

a  §  o 


\'ictor  Hugo  described  as  "the  insects' 
Homer''  remained  almost  unknown  to  the 
world.  His  life  had  been  one  of  povertv, 
sacrifice,  and  struggle,  but  of  superb  per- 
severance.    He  was  born  of  humble  and 


and  became  a  teacher  of  mathematics. 
This,  however,  did  not  prevent  him  from 
being  a  tireless  and  wonderfully  success- 
ful observer  of  insects.  He  discovered 
many   facts   regarding  them,   and   solved 


238 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


not  a  few  mysteries.  He  married  early 
in  life,  and  the  responsibility  of  a  large 
family  made  it  imperative  for  him  to  work 
harder  than  ever  at  teaching,  thus  ])ost- 
poning  his  dream  of  becoming  a  natural- 
ist with  nothing  to  do  but  to  study  insect 
life.  He  was  able,  however,  to  make 
great  use  of  his  studies  near  Avignon, 
where  he  lived,  because  the  sun-baked, 
wind-swept  wastes  about  that  town  were, 
if  worthless  agriculturally,  an  insect  para- 
dise. Here  it  was  that  Fabre  wrote  his 
greatest  work,  "Souvenirs  Entomologi- 
ques,''  which  has  now  gone  into  many 
editions.  It  was  crowned  by  the  French 
Academy. 

Fabre  became  the  friend  of  Darwin, 
Maeterlinck,  and  Mistral.  Maeterlinck 
has  said :  "He  is  one  of  the  most  profound 
scholars,  purest  writers,  and  finest  poets 
of  the  century  just  passed."  Through  talks 
with  Fabre,  Maeterlinck  was  inspired  to 
write  "The  Life  of  the  Bee.''  The  poet 
Mistral  rescued  Fabre  from  poverty  and 
obscurity  by  begging  aid  from  all  inter- 
ested in  science. 

A  recent  remark  by  Fabre  illustrates 
his  simplicity  and  humility  : 

"Because  I  have  stirred  a  few  grains 
of  sand  on  the  shore  am  I  in  a  position 
to  know  the  depths  of  the  ocean?  Life 
has  unfathomable  secrets.  Human  knowl- 
edge will  be  erased  from  the  archives  of 
the  world  before  we  possess  the  last  word 
that  the  gnat  has  to  say  to  us.  Scientifi- 
callv,  nature  is  a  riddle  without  a  definite 
solution  to  satisfy  man's  curiosity.  Hy- 
pothesis follows  hypothesis ;  the  theoreti- 
cal rubbish  heap  accumulates  and  truth 
ever  eludes  us.  To  know  how  not  to  know 
might  well  be  the  last  word  of  wisdom." 
—"The  Outlook." 


Where  to  Obtain  Living  Pupae 

Many  of  our  readers  desire  to  watch  the 
transformation  of  pupae  into  moths  or  but- 
terflies. Suchof  course  know  that  a  butter- 
fly passes  through  a  chrysalis  pupa,  a  moth 
through  a  cocoon  pupa.  We  are  glad  to 
announce  that  both  kinds  may  be  obtained 
from  Ward's  Natural  Science  Establish- 
ment, 82-104  College  Avenue,  Rochester, 
New  York.  Send  for  their  price  list  and 
refer  to  this  magazine. 


The  Lament  of  the  Drones. 

BY   GRACE   ALLEN    IN    "GLEANINGS    IN    BEK 
CULTURE.'' 

Xo  JHOl-e? 

Not  ever  ever  more  within  the  hive 

No   more   to    feel    its    friendly    shelter 

'round  ? 

Xo  more  to  share  its  pulsing  peace,  alive 

With   vibrant  hum   of   motion   and   of 

sound  ? 

And  we  so  powerful-winged  and  light  of 

heart  ? 
( )f  all  this  life  we  love  are  we  a  part 
Xo  more  ? 


The  Harvard  College  Observatory 
was  founded  in  1840  with  a  total  en- 
dowment of  $3000.  Now,  it  spends 
$50,000  each  year. 


"NO    MORE." 

No  more. 

Not  ever  ever  more  within  the  hive. 

An  unimaginable  end  has  come. 
The  things  are  turning  dead  that  were 
alive 

And  all  the  singing  voices  turning  dumb 
And  Life  herself,  who  one  time  bade  us  be, 
Has  turned  away  her  eyes,  which  we  shall 

see 
No  more. 

And  this  the  end  ? 

No  end  but  this  for  those  uncounted  days 

Of  banqueting,  or  those  mad  hours  of 

bliss 

We  went  careening,  careless,  through  the 

ways 

Of  miracle  and  light?  No  end  but  this? 

No  end  but  this.      No  proud  sustaining 

thought 
Of  deed  with  rapture    or  with    patience 

wrought — ■ 
No  end  but  this. 

More  and  more 

The  dripping  night  that  stalks  without  the 
hive 


THE  INTEREST  IN  INSECTS 


239 


Draws   round   us,   dread   and   ghostly, 
grim  and  stark ; 
Within,  tlie  deepest  shadows  are  alive 
With  warmth  and  fragrance,    and    the 
very  dark 
Dreams   day   to   come.     But   though   the 

great  sun  burns 
A  million  dawns  awake,  the  day  returns 
To  us.  no  more — no  more. 


A  Remarkable  Honeycomb. 

It  seems  as  if  honeybees  at  times  work 
purely  as  a  matter  of  pleasure  and  for 
their  own  education.  They  then  abandon 
every  regular  method  and  become  amaz- 
ingly irregular,  as  was  recently  shown  in 
certain  tests  made  to  ascertain  what  they 
would  do  on  sheets  of  pure  smooth  bees- 
wax. When  a  block  of  such  wax  was 
placed  in  a  hive,  the  bees  probably 
thought,  "As  you  are  doing  such  an  un- 
usual thing,  Mr.  Reekeeier,  \Ae  will  meet 
you  halfway." 

Here  is  shown  th?ir  astonishing  pro- 
duction.    It  is  unique.     The  two  down- 


wardly projecting  portions  stand  out 
clearly  from  the  sheet  of  plain  beeswax. 
Around  these  suspended  parts  the  bees 
could  go  freely,  as  a  careful  study  of  the 
dainty  projections  makes  clearly  evident, 
since  they  are  so  transparent  that  the 
cells  of  the  other  side  are  visible  through 
them. 


Come  Forth 

Come  forth  from  your  roofs  and  walls. 

Into  the  woods  and  fields; 
Find  out  for  yourself  the  delight 
A  day  in  the  open  yields. 

Eacli   sunbeam,   every  flower. 

An  influence  for  your  good; 
But  better  than  all,   the   cool 

Enchantment  of  the  wood. 

Therein   is  balm  for  your  soul, 
Therein  is  rest  for  your  nerves. 

Therein  the  elixir  of  life. 

That   bodily  health   conserves. 

Then  shatter  your  prison  bars. 
And  live  in   God's-out-of-doors; 

Put  awaj'  life's  carking  cares, 

Fill  3^our  soul  with  nature's  stores. 

— Emma    Peirce. 


HIE   REMARKABLE   HOXEYCOMB. 


240 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


g«««<g««CC«C«C«gg<Cg€C«gC<«gg«<C«C<CC«C<CC<C<C<C<«CC^ 


AQASSIZ  ASSOCIATION' 

^  ©  ^  @  ^  @  ^ 

Established  1875  Incorporatpd,  Maesachusetts.  18H-.>  Incorporated,  Connecticut,  1910 


Additions  to  our  Membership  Since 
Last  Publication. 

Corresponding : 

Miss  Edna  H.  Danielson,  Goodhue, 
Minnesota. 

Mr.  T.  R.  Moss,  Louisville,  Ken- 
tucky. 

Mrs.  Kate  Lockwood  Nevins,  Anti- 
och,  California. 

Charles  C.  Adams,  Ph.  D.,  Syracuse, 
New  York. 

Mr.  Edmund  J.  Sawyer,  Watertown, 
New  York. 

Mrs.  John  Hofmeyer,  Williamsburg, 
Virginia. 

Mr.  W.  C.  Gray,  Tama,  Iowa. 

Mr.  William  D.  Richardson,  Rich- 
mond, Virginia. 

Dr.  George  F.  Kunz,  New  York  City. 

Miss  Frances  M.  Tollett,  New  Brigh- 
ton, Staten  Island,  New  York. 

L.  H.  Pammel,  Ph.  D.,  Ames,  Iowa. 

Mr.  Lemont  Barbour,  New  York 
City. 

Miss  Frances  M.  Staples,  Stockton, 
California. 

Mrs.  Estelle  Darrah  Dyke,  Green- 
wich,  Connecticut. 

Mr.  Osmar  Falls  Wright,  New  York 
City. 

Mr.  John  Franklin  Johnson,  Green- 
wich, Connecticut. 

Mrs.  O.  H.  Stevens,  Marlboro,  Mas- 
sachusetts. 

Mr.  William  Howlett  Gardner,  Port 
Washington,  Long  Island,  New 
York. 

Master  Charles  Casimir  Wade, 
Sound  Beach,  Connecticut. 

Miss  M.  Inez  Lee,  Plainfield,  Iowa. 

Mr.  W.  W.  Lathrop,  Warren,  Ohio. 

Albert  Elmer  Austin,  M.  D.,  Sound 

Beach,  Connecticut. 

Mr.  Will  Webb  Tuttle,  Muncie,  In- 
diana. 
Sustaining : 

Mr.  Frank  La  Manna,  Brooklyn, 
New  York. 


Mr.  George  Lauder,  Jr.,  Greenwich, 
Connecticut. 

Mr.  A.  Ramsey,  Surrey,  England. 

Mr.  Herbert  W.  Faulkner,  Washing- 
ton, Connecticut. 

Mr.  Chas.  P.  Shoffner,  Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania. 

Mr.  Frederic  Webster,  Darien,  Con- 
necticut. 
Life: 

Mr.   Charles   A.   Bruun,   Kansas   City, 
Missouri. 


With    Our   Chapters. 

Under  the  leadership  of  Mr.  Halbert 
C.  Phillips  our  Glenbr-ook  Chapter  has 
been  reorganized  and  the  following  of- 
ficers elected  :  President,  C.  S.  Hemp- 
stead ;  Vice-President,  Alan  Arthur; 
Recording  Secretary,  Carl  Mix ;  Cor- 
responding Secretary,  Arthur  Sylves- 
ter ;  Treasurer,  Abbot  Andrews. 

We  have  added  to  our  list  the  Seeley 
Chapter  of  Stamford  and  Springdale, 
and  the  Ernest  Thompson  Seton  Chap- 
ter of  the  Woodcraft  School  in  Green- 
wich. The  officers  of  the  Seeley  Chap- 
ter are:  President,  Mrs.  Bertha  Gallup 
Dailey;  Vice-President,  Miss  Sarah  A, 
Ward ;  Recording  and  Corresponding 
Secretary,  Miss  Sara  Crissy  Brown ; 
Treasurer,  Miss  Margaret  J.  Hutch- 
ings. 

Of  the  Ernest  Thompson  Seton 
Chapter  the  President,  Treasurer  and 
Corresponding  Secretary  is  Virginia 
Beresford ;  V  ice-President,  Richard 
Beresford  ;  Recording  Secretary,  Cecile 
Dudley;  Curator,  Wade  Dudley. 


Events  in  the  Welcome  Reception 
Room, 

November  6th :  Organization  of  the 
Seely  Chapter. 

November  I2th:  Camo  Fire  Girls. 

November  r3th  :  Boy  Scouts. 

November  i6th:  Organization  (^f  the 
Ernest  Thompson  Seton  Chapter. 


THE  AGASSIZ  ASSOCIATIOX 


241 


Talks  by  Dr.  Bigelow  Elsewhere. 

November  4tli :  Waterside  School, 
Stamford. 

November  8th :  Greenwich  Farmer's 
Club,  Greenwich. 

November  9th:  Woodcraft  School, 
Greenwich. 


Miscellaneous  Contributions  to 

ArcAdiA. 

Air.  Stephen  I.  Clason,  Sound  Beach: 
poker  for  mineralogical  fireplace  in  the 
Welcome  Reception  Room. 

Mr.  John  R.  Gordon,  New  York  City : 
block  of  sulphur  from  Louisiana  mines. 

Mr.  Arthur  Munson,  Panama  City, 
Florida:  shells  from  Florida. 

Mr.  H.  E.  Beats,  Flemington,  New 
Jersey :  two  pieces  of  coral  and  flicker 
nest. 

Airs.  \\'illiam  Siegrist,  Sound  Beach: 
portrait  of  Eouis  Agassiz  for  the  Wel- 
come Reception  Room. 

Mr.  W\  Scott  Lewis,  Los  Angeles,  Cal- 
ifornia :  three  slides  for  projection  by 
stereopticon. 

Aliss  A.  P.  Cobb,  Sound  Beach :  ter- 
minal bud  and  stem  through  center  of 
rose. 

Miss  Linda  \¥orrell,  Sound  Beach: 
large  jack-in-the-pulpit. 

Airs.  Frederick  Gotthold,  Cos  Cob, 
Connecticut :  unusually  large  fasciated 
stem  of  asparagus — flattened  stem  three 
inches  in  diameter  and  five  feet  long ;  egg 
with  peculiar  markings. 

Aliss  Poloma  Engle,  Sound  Beach : 
Actios  luna  moth. 

Air.  Thomas  O'Connor,  Sound  Beach : 
large  mourning  horsefly,  Tahanus  atra- 
tus. 

Aliss  Natalie  Roeth,  Stamford :  double 
leaf  of  wild  cherry. 

James  Byrnes,  Sound  Beach :  specimen 
of  Corydalis  cornuta. 

Mr.  Ellis  B.  Noyes,  Portsmouth,  Vir- 
ginia :  large  herbarium. 

Mrs.  Charles  Engle,  Sound  Beach :  bat 
from  Porto  Rico. 

John  Drenckhalm,  Riverside,  Connec- 
ticut: larva  of  moth   (Sibine  stimulea). 

Air.  Wm.  J.  Blackburn.  Jr.,  Adena. 
Ohio :  specimen  of  Calamite  or  "horse- 
tail." 

Aliss  Helene  Edmonds,  Sound  Beach: 
string  of  egg  cases  of  whelk  {Fulg^ur 
canaliculata). 

Aliss  Winifred  Stoner,  Jr.,  Wilming- 
ton,   North    Carolina:    living    specimens 


of  carnivorous  plants — Venus  flytrap 
pitcher  plant  and  trumpet  plants  and 
their  bloom. 

Excelsior  Hardware  Company,  Stam- 
ford :  burnishing  and  lacquering  candle- 
sticks for  the  fireplace  in  the  Welcome 
Reception  Room. 

Reverend  Lewis  W.  Barney,  Ph.  D., 
Sound  Beach :  decorative  drawing  of 
Biblical  texts    (God's  Works). 

Yerkes  Observatory,  Williams  Bay, 
Wisconsin :  eighteen  astronomical  trans- 
parencies. 

Lick  Observatory,  Alount  Hamilton, 
California:  illustrated  volumes  of  star 
fields,  nebulae,  comets,  etc. 

United  States  Coast  Survey,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C. :  large  chart  showing  details 
from  Shippan  Point  to  Captain's  Island 
and  northward  to  the  railroad, 

LInited  States  Naval  Observatory, 
Washington,  D.  C. :  "The  American 
Ephemeris"  for  1915-1916. 


"Everyone  to  Her  Taste" 

Heading,  of  Leading  Editorial  of  Stamford 
Evening  Star. 

As  the  sweet  young  thing  said  when 
she  kissed  her  Boston  brindle  pup. 

The  visitors  wished  to  see  the  aver- 
age life  of  Connecticut  folks  so  we  took 
the  Post  Road  to  Bridgeport. 

Cove  Pond  and  Percy's — hospitality, 
rest,  geniality.  Then  onward  through 
bright,  lively,  pretty  Norwalk ;  onward, 
across  the  bridge  (at  your  own  risk) — 
on  to  Bridgeport,  brilliant  in  every 
way ;  stylish  girls  and  fellows,  firm  and 
vigorous   movement,   vibrant   life. 

Let  us  see  all  of  Bridgeport;  so  the 
six-cylinder  Haynes  pauses  at  the 
cabaret. 

Don't  abandon  hope,  ye  who  enter, 
but  get  on  while  you  are  still  normal ! 

Noise  !    Noise ! !    Noise  ! ! ! 

Noisy  sounds  from  the  piano ;  noisy 
sounds  by  a  good  voice  that  knows 
nothing  of  the  art  of  singing,  noisy  talk, 
noisy  laughter,  exceedingly  noisy  cos- 
tumes, noisome  air  and  fortissimo 
marks  on  the  thermometer. 

How  poor  the  things  that  cost  so 
dear !  Fresh  air  is  free,  stale  air  costs 
by  the  minute.  The  genial  family  with 
its  handsome  sons  and  pretty  daugh- 
ters, has  the  latch  string  out ;  the  un- 
clean cabaret  with  its  stench  and  rouge 
taxes  you  at  the  door.  Pure  water  and 
delicious     viands     bestow^ed     without 


242 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


stint  by  the  head  of  the  family ;  drug- 
ged waters  and  food  flavored  with 
sweat  at  the  cabaret,  plus  the  fragrance 
of  stale  tobacco,  stale  alcohol,  very 
stale  alcoholics,  stale  strategems  all 
around. 

Oh  yes,  the  people  like  to  be  hum- 
bugged !  For  the  tables  were  filled,  so 
were  the  come-ons — ears,  eyes,  noses, 
bellies — with  poison,  and  their  pockets 
rapidly  emptying. 

Yet  neither  the  poor,  pretty,  panited 
girls,  nor  the  gluttonous  drinkers  were 
as  poor  as  the  man  who  taxed  all  for 
his  poor  stuff. 

Enough.  We  have  seen  poverty  of 
soul,  poverty  of  mind,  poverty  of  taste  ; 
to-morrow  we  shall  see  riches.  Back 
to  Stamford. 

Up  and  out  into  the  fresh  morning 
air,  past  prosperous  homesteads  and 
fragrant  gardens,  glimpses  of  the  spark- 
ling Sound,  and  we  apply  brakes  at 
ArcAdiA. 

"Welcome,"  says  the  bright  blue  sky  ; 
"Welcome,"  say  the  trees :  "come,  enjoy 
our  shade ;"  "Welcome,"  from  the  leaf- 
embowered  cottages ;  "Welcome,"  say 
the  whole  God-blessed  clan  of  Bige- 
lows. 

Take  your  ease,  breathe  ozone,  walk 
with  God,  feast  your  soul. 

Forget  the  poor  cabaret,  for  here  is 
wealth.  Strength,  love,  normality — 
these  are  yours  without  condition  or 
price  at  ArCz^diA. 

Stamfordians,  you  can  get  the  price- 
less for  nothing,  or  you  can  buy  the 
worthless  by  paying  out  your  all. 

Everyone  to  his  taste. 

But  taste  can  be  acquired. 


Has   Established   a   Conchological 
Museum. 

Y.  Hirase,  one  of  the  members  of  The 
Agassiz  Association,  has  been  a  faithful 
worker  among  shells  for  thirty  years.  He 
labors  for  a  new  ideal  along  the  line  of 
nature  study  but  in  the  meritorious  pur- 
suit he  has  met  with  many  financial  trials. 
Recently  he  issued  a  circular  in  which  he 
appeals  to  his  American  friends,  telling 
the  story  of  his  struggles,  the  great  ex- 
pense for  books,  papers,  magazines  and 
the  time  that  he  has  devoted  to  the  work. 
He  states  that  he  has  consumed  half  his 
property  and  that  necessarily  hi?  family 
has  lived  sparingly.  But,  good  for  him, 
he  has  been  sticking  to  it  and  now  expres- 


ses his  determination  as  follows :  "I  was 
determined  'not  to  look  back,  as  J  had  put 
my  hand  to  the  plough'  nor  to  leave  it 
off  until  I  should  fall  down  dead." 

Every  lover  of  shells  wili  be  interested 
in  his  circular.  Add'-ess :  V.  Hirase, 
President,  The  Hirase  Conchological 
Aluseum,  Okazaki,  Kyoto,  Jai)aii. 


The  Astonishingly  Powerful  Stump 
Pulling  Machine. 

That  Mr.  Seton  aided  by  one  or  two 
workmen  has  been  able  to  uproot  such 
enormous  trees,  as  was  explained  in 
our  November  number,  has  attracted  much 
attention  and  elicited  many  inquiries. 
At  the  time  of  publication  of  that  num- 
ber we  did  not  know  the  manufactur- 
er's address,  but  have  obtained  it  and 
are  glad  to  present  it  to  our  many  in- 
quiring friends.  Full  particulars  may 
he  obtained  from  Walter  J.  Fitzpatrick, 
182  Fifth  Street,  San  Francisco,  Cali- 
fornia. 

A  man  at  the  handle  of  this  machine 
can  lift  forty-eight  tons.  This  is  more 
than  can  be  accomplished  by  sixteen 
horses.  Is  there  any^thing  more  aston- 
ishing in  all  the  realm  of  mechanical 
power?  The  editor,  watching  the 
operation  of  the  little  machine,  realized 
that  it  is  entitled  to  its  name  of  the 
"Wonder  Worker." 

It  will  pull  any  stump  that  a  one 
inch  wire  cable  will  hold.  It  is  built 
of  first-class  material,  it  will  last  a  life- 
time, and  it  is  not  expensive.  Think 
how  convenient  this  is  for  any  farmer 
or,  perhaps  even  better,  for  some  local 
contractor  that  could  easily  secure  one 
and  do  a  thriving  business  among  the 
farmers  and  others  that  have  need  of 
so  powerful  a  machine.  A  few  farmers 
could  club  together  and  own  it  in  a 
company  and  each  have  the  benefit  of 
it.  Where  in  all  the  world  can  another 
machine  be  found  capable  of  pulling 
as  much  as  sixteen  horses,  and  needing 
onlv  one  man  to  control  it? 


Of  Interest  to  Parents. 

"Child  Life,"  published  by  the  Amer- 
ican Institute  of  Child  Life,  of  Phila- 
delphia, Pennsylvania,  has  been  dou- 
bled in  size  and  so  improved  that  it  is 
now  in  true  harmony^  with  its  name. 
It  publishes  much  material  of  interest 
to  parents,  and  reprints  from  a  large 
number  of  magazines  suggestions  in- 
tended to  inspire  interest  among  the 
young  folks  themselves. 


THE  AGASSIZ  ASSOCIATIOX 


243 


Tragic  Death  of  a  Young  Naturalist. 

On  September  21st.  only  a  few  days 
after  his  eighth  birthday,  little  Robert 
Walker  of  Chattanooga,  Tennessee,  was 
struck  by  an  automobile  as  he  was  cross- 
ing the  street  to  visit  a  candy  store,  and 
almost  instantly  killed.  His  father  is  the 
representative   of   The    Agassiz   Associa- 


was  Robert  and  his  brother  Wendell  who 
at  the  dinner  table  said:  'Tell  Mr.  Bige- 
low  to  come  ;  Wendell  and  I  have  $50  in 
the  bank ;  we  will  bear  his  expenses.  We 
want  to  see  him  and  hear  him  tell  some 
stories."  I  intended  to  allow  him  to  carry 
out  his  wishes,  and  you  will  remember 
that  when  I  wrote  you  I  stated,  'You  will 
be  amused  when  you  learn  who  it  is  that 
is  putting  up  the  guarantee  fund.' 


"HE  HAS  THE  MAGAZINES  UNDER  HIS 
ARM." 


"SHOWS  HIM  FEEDING  HIS  PET  KID." 


tion  for  Tennessee  and  for  a  long  time 
has  taken  active  interest  in  the  work.  He, 
his  son  and  the  other  members  of  his 
family  are  good  naturalists.  The  editor 
■expected  to  visit  the  family  last  autumn. 
but  was  unavoidably  prevented.  Under 
date  of  October  7th  ^Ir.  Walker  writes 
as  follows : 

'T  am  sorry  that  you  did  not  know 
Robert  personally.  He  was  a  born  natur- 
alist, and  the  most  affable,  and  genial 
child  that  ever  lived.  He  never  failed 
to  •enjoy  a  beautiful  sunset,  or  a  glorious 
sunrise,  nor  to  try  to  show  others  the 
beauty  that  was  in  nature.  The  plants, 
the  birds,  the  flowers,  everything  in 
nature  had  a  peculiar  charm  for  him. 
Three  hours  before  the  occurrence  of  the 
terrible  accident  that  took  away  his  life 
he  was  caressing  his  butterflies,  feeding 
his  garden  spider,  and  showing  me  the 
spines  on  the  back  of  an  lo  moth  larva. 

"Last  fall  when  we  were  anticipating 
a  visit  from  you  and  when  the  organiza- 
tion here  failed  to  keep  its  pledge  to  sup- 
ply the  funds  that  were  to  bring  you.  it 


"T  enclose  a  photograph  that  I  made 
of  him  last  winter  when  the  snow  was 
on  the  ground,  and  as  he  was  starting 
out  to  solicit  subscriptions  for  The  Guide 
TO  Nature.  He  has  the  magazines  tnider 
his  arm.  The  other  photograph  shows 
him  feeding  his  pet  kid.  This  was  taken 
a  few  weeks  before  his  death.'' 

Fill  the  Mind  with  Roadsides. 
For,  if  we  can  fill  the  plastic  minds  of 
growing  children  with  thotights  of  the 
beautiful  world  of  nature,  with  the  fas- 
cination of  the  myriads  of  wee  beati- 
ties,  more  wonderfttl  than  a  circus,  we 
can  so  saturate  them  with  the  good, 
that  no  room  remains  for  the  morbid, 
the  inidesirable,  the  vicious.  Let  us 
teach  them  to  read  roadsides,  as  well 
as  books. — "The  Nature-Study  Re- 
view." 


Nature   is   so   prodigal, 

She  heaps  her  treasures  up: 

If  to  her  we  look  for  joy, 
Full   will   be   our   cup. 

— Emma   Peirce. 


244 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


°®«®®SS<B<S®' 


LITERAM©  e  NOTICES 


Natural  Education.  By  Winifred  Sackville 
Stoner.  Indianapolis,  Indiana:  The 
Bobbs-Merrill   Company. 

The  author  tells  in  a  simple  and  direct  man- 
ner just  how  she  educated  her  daughter,  Wini- 
fred Sackville  Stoner,  Jr.,  from  the  cradle  up 
to  her  tenth  year.     In  her  choice  of  topics  she  has 


with  Winifred  in  an  extraordinary  way  by 
following  the  laws  of  a  natural  education. 
She  contends  that  there  should  be  schools  for 
mothers  rather  than  for  children,  and  that 
love  combined  with  intelligence  and  ingenuity 
can  work  wonders  in  making  so-called  "dry" 
studies  interesting  and  valuable.  She  de- 
scribes   games    through    which    children    may 


Miss  Winifred  Sackville  Stoner 
SHE  AND  HER  MOTHER  ARE  MEMBERS  OF  THE  AGASSIZ   SOCIETY 


been  guided  by  the  many  letters  received  from 
mothers  and  teachers  asking  how  she  succeed- 
ed in  training  her  little  girl  so  she  could  speak 
several  languages  and  write  for  periodicals 
at  the  age  of  five  years,  and  yet  retain  all  the 
characteristics  of  a  healthy,  playful  child. 
Mrs.   Stoner  shows  that  she  has  succeeded 


learn  to  read,  write,  spell,  acquire  different 
languages,  and  gain  a  general  knowledge  of 
history,  geography,  physiology  and  mathemat- 
ics. And  she  attributes  the  remarkable  re- 
sults she  has  achieved  to  the  help  of  the  "good 
giants.  Observation  and  Concentration,"  and 
the  "little  fairy.  Intense  Interest,"  led  by  "Im- 


LITERARY  NOTES 


IX 


agination,  mortals'  greatest  gift,"  which  can 
"make  the  pathway  of  Knowledge  one  of  joy 
for  all  children." 

Facts    in    Jingles.      By    Winifred    Sackville, 

Stoner,    Jr.      Indianapolis,    Indiana :    The 

Bobbs-Merrill  Company. 

From    the    educational    point   of    view    amid 

natural   methods,   one  hardly  knows   which  to 

admire  most — the  mother  that  has  used  plain 

common  sense  in  her  efficient  teaching,  or  the 


daughter  that  has  profited  by  the  teaching  of 
so  wise  and  skilled  a  mother.  We  are  espe- 
cially glad  that  both  mother  and  daughter  are 
Members  of  The  Agassiz  Association  and  that 
they  are  carrying  on  their  nature  work  in 
connection  with  ArcAdiA.  ]Many  specimens 
collected  by  Winifred  are  on  exhibition  in  our 
laboratory.  These  include  living  pitcher 
plants  and  Venus's-flytraps.  These  flytraps 
are   found   onlv   in   Wilmington,   North   Caro- 


Winifred,  age  three 


lina,  so  far  as  has  been  reported  to  ArcAdiA. 
Of  this  remarkable  girl,  the  publishers  say  in 
their  announcement  of  her  books  : 

The  best  developed  child  in  America,  Wini- 
fred Sackville  Stoner,  Jr.,  could  speak  several 
languages  and  wrote  for  newspapers  and  mag- 
azines at  the  age  of  five,  and  yet  retained  all 
of  the  characteristics  of  a  healthv,  plavful 
child. 

At  the  age  of  nine  she  passed  the  college 
entrance  examinations,  and  now  at  twelve, 
she  has  mastered  eight  languages,  has  written 
nine  books,  is  a  teacher  of  Esperanto,  an  ac- 
complished   musician,    and    is    stronger   physi- 


cally than  the  average  child  of  her  age. 

She  is  not  a  genius  nor  a  wonder  child,  but 
simply  a  normal  child  well  developed  through 
a  svstem  of  Natural  education  invented  by  her 
mother,  Mrs.  Winifred  Sackville  Stoner, 
from  whom  she  has  received  her  training. 

Any  mother  can  do  for  her  child  what  Mrs. 
Stoner  has  done  for  her  daughter,  if  she 
employs  Mrs.  Stoner's  methods. 

Any  mother  can  learn  Mrs.  Stoner's  sys- 
tem from  her  book,  in  which  she  analyzes, 
outlines  and  describes  her  entire  plan  as  car- 
ried out  during  the  education  of  her 
daughter  from  the  cradle  to  her  tenth  year. 


X 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


Bird  Lore  for  October  is  a  Bird-Club 
number,  with  articles  on  the  forming  and 
conducting  of  bird  clubs  by  Frank  M. 
Chapman,  Ernest  Harold  Baynes,  and 
others.  Reports  from  the  leading  bird  clubs 
of  the  country  show  that  some  of  these 
purely  local  organizations  have  as  many  as 
500  members,  and  the  interest  they  arouse  in 
Citizen  Bird  indicates  that  the  bird-club 
movement  is  possessed  of  a  far-reaching 
importance. 


Industrial  and  Vocational  Education.  By 
S.  H.  Comings.  1140  Columbus  Avenue, 
Boston,  Massachusetts :  Christopher  Pub- 
lishing House. 

The  scope  of  this  interesting  book  is  well 
expressed  in  the  dedication  to  all  that  desire 
to  see  the  supreme  ambition  of  our  civiliza- 
tion turned  from  the  effort  to  develop 
things  to  the  development  of  thehighestpos- 
sible  average  type  of  manhood  and  woman- 
hood; and  to  all  who  would  see  labor 
spiritualized,  and  man's  creative  attribute 
changed  from  the  ideal  of  degradation  to 
that  of  communion  with  each  other,  and 
with  the  infinite. 

The  book  is  of  especial  local  interest  since 
it  devotes  much  attention  to  Mrs.  Johnson's 
School  of  Organic  Education  at  Fairhope, 
Alabama.  Mrs.  Johnson  has  a  summer 
school  at  Greenwich,  Connecticut.  In  the 
introduction,  C.  Hanford  Henderson  says: 

"There  is  a  wholesome  compromise  be- 
tween this  extreme  and  the  other  extreme 
represented  by  child  labor.  It  lies,  I  think, 
in  having  children  do  everything  they  pos- 
sibly can  for  themselves,  and  then  every 
day  something  of  real  service  for  the  gen- 
eral   good    of   the    household." 


obtainable  from  a  farm,  the  man  adapted  by 
taste  or  natural  inclination  to  a  rural  life 
can  be  happy  in  the  country,  can  there  give 
his  children  proper  training  and  there  make 
them  happy.  The  book  is  good  to  look  at 
and,  perhaps  better  than  this,  it  is  good  to 
read.  Its  topics  cover  a  wide  range,  and 
are  pleasingly  treated. 

Connecticut  and  some  other  states  would 
do  well  if  they  should  adopt  some  of  New 
York's  methods.  The  trouble  with  many  of 
our  rural  schools  in  Connecticut  is  that  they 
follow  too  closely  the  methods  of  city 
schools  and  turn  the  children's  attention 
toward  the  city.  They  are  too  well  com- 
mercialized and  not  well  enough  naturalized. 


Cornell  Rural  School  Leaflet.     An   Issue 
for  Teachers.     Ithaca.  New  York:  The 
Department   of   Rural    Education,    New 
York   State    College    of   Agriculture    at 
Cornell  LTniversity. 
Here  are  nature  study  and  agriculture  in 
delightful    combination.      "Nature       study," 
the   editors   say,   "is   the   study     of     nature. 
Every  boy  and  girl  should  be  encouraged  to 
find  education  and  resources  in  the  out-of- 
doors.      They    should    know    the    wild    life 
about  them — the  birds,  the  trees,  the  flowers, 
and  wood.     They  should  take  interest  in  the 
the   weds,   the   insects,   the   animals   of  field 
soils,   the    rocks,   the   brooks,   the   hills,   the 
woodlot,  the  forest.     They  should  learn   to 
love  the  music  of  the  wind,  the  soughing  of 
the  pines,  the  clear,  true  starlights,  the  rest- 
fulness  of  rains,  and  the  magic  of  the  snows. 
Love   of  nature   is   a   valuable   asset   in   the 
lives  of  farm  folk." 

The  publication  of  such  a  plain,  attractive, 
common  sense  book  on  nature  study  in  its 
relation  to  farm  life  is  encouraging.  There 
is  the  absence  of  that  popular  and  foolish 
teaching,  that  a  city  man  can  without  pre- 
vious experience  remove  to  a  farm  and  in 
a  few  months  make  a  fortune.  The  book 
suggests  nothing  of  the  kind  but  does  show 
that   in    addition    to    any    pecuniary   returns 


How  to  Attract  Wild  Birds  about  the  Home. 
By  Niel   Morrow  Ladd,  President  of  the 
Greenwich    Bird   Protective   Society,    Inc., 
with  an  Introduction  by  Charles  D.  Lanier, 
Greenwich,    Connecticut :    The    Greenwich 
Bird  Protective  Society,  Inc. 
This  book,  which  includes  the  First  An- 
nual Report  of  the  Greenwich  Bird  Protec- 
tive  Society,   Inc.,  is  extremely  convenient 
and   attractive.     Its   literary  form   is   good, 
the   illustrations  are  beautiful,   meritorious, 
mechanically  perfect,  and  tell  the  story  in 
a  manner  not  only  instructive  but  inspiring. 
Mr.  Ladd  is  doing  wonderful  work.     He  de- 
serves and  will  doubtless  receive  the  hearty 
support  of  bird  lovers.     He  is  an  enthusias- 
tice  ornithologist  and  possessor  of  the  busi- 
ness ability  to  make  that  enthusiasm  prac- 
tical.      We    advise     our    readers     to     send 
thirty-five  cents  for  a  copy  of  this  unique 
and  attractive  book. 


Nature  Study  Review 

Official    Journal    American    Nature    Study 
Society 

The  numbers  for  the  coming  school  year 
will  be  filled  with  special  art'cles  from 
practical  teachers  dealing  with  actual  work, 
methods  and  suggestions  for  School  Gar- 
dening, Elementary  Agriculture,  and  Nature 
Study. 

DO  NOT  MISS  ANY  OF  THEM. 
$100  per  year  15c  per  copy 

SUBSCRIBE  NOW 

Add    for  Canadian    Postage    10c.      Foreign 

Postage  20c.      With  "Guide  to  Nature" 

one  year  $1.50. 


Address  all  orders  to 


The  Nature  Study  Review 


ITHACA,  N.  Y. 


JANUARY,    1916 


THE  GUID 
TO  NATUR 


VOL.  VUI      / 


hDVVAKD    F.  BIGELOW,  Managing    Editor 

PUBLISHED   MONTHLY   BY 

iTHE   AGASSIZ  ASSOCIATION.  ARCAoi A:   Sound  Beach,  Conn. 

Subscription,  $1.00  a  Year;   Single  Copy,  10c 


"G.A.r\|iJG 


GREENWICH 


THE    EDITION    DE  LUXE 
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GREENWICH 


Are  You  Protected? 

Savings  Mean  Success  and  the 
Man,  Woman  or  Child  who  In- 
dustriously saves  a  Small  Portion 
of  Their  Income  is  Building  a 
Bulwark  of  Protection  Against 
Poverty  and  Unhappiness.  This 
Bank  Allows  a  Liberal  Rate  of 
Interest  on  Savings  Accounts. 
Give '  It     Consideration 


The  Greenwich  Trust  Co. 

ESTABLISHED    1887 

GREENWICH,   CONN. 


GREENWICH,  CONNECTICUT 


has  good  transportation  facilities  to 
New  York.  You  can  buy  or  rent  to 
good  advantage  and  enjoy  living  by 
the  water  or  among  the  hills  to  the 
utmost  satisfaction. 

I  have  for   Sale 

Elegant  Country  Estates.  Shore  and  Inland 
Residences,  Farms,  Acreage,  Cottages  and 
Building  Sites.  Also  a  number  of  selected 
Furnished  Residences  and  Cottages  to  Rent 
in    all    locations. 

v\  ould  be  pleased  to  have  you  call  or  write 

Laurence  Timmons 

Tel.  456        Opp.  Depot        Greenwich,  Conn 


^S 


BEST  NURSERY  STOCK  EVER  GROWN 


k? 


Evergreens  Fruit  and  Ornamental  Trees 
Flowering  Shrubs  Hedge  Plants  Vines 
Roses     Hardy  Perennials      j-      ^      ^ 


Preparing  of  Plans       Laying  Out  of  Grounds     Grading 
-:-        -:-        Road  Building       Tree  Work        -:-        -:- 


GREENWICH    NURSERIES 


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I  LANDSCAPE    GARDENERS   AND  NURSERYMEN 

GREENWICH,  CONN. 


THE   GUIDE   TO  NATURE.— ADVERTISEMENTS. 


THE  STAMFORD  SAVINGS  BANK 

INCORPORATED  1851I 

ASSETS,    $S,832I,000.00 

Interest  Irom  the  First  Day  ol  Each    Month  at  the  Rate  of  4  per   cent,  per  annum 

CHARLES  H.  LOUNSBURY,   President. 
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J.   HOWARD  BOGARDUS,  Treasurer. 


Greenwich 


A  New  System  of  Banking  by  Mail 

A  unique  svstem  of  Banking  by  mail  has  been  in- 
stituted by  The  Putnam  Trust  Co.  of  Green\yich 
Conn.,  intended  to  afford  a  simple  and  safe  method 
bv  which  people  living  at  a  distance  can  carry  on 
interest  accounts  through  the  mails.  Ihe  tirst  and 
sub'^equent  deposits  can  be  sent  by  check  or  a 
money  order  with  the  depositor's  signature  and  ad- 
dress The  company  sends  a  certificate  which  looks 
a  good  deal  like  a  coupon  bond.  A  number  of  siiiaU 
coupons  are  attached,  and  when  the  depositor  wish- 
es to  withdraw  he  can  do  so  by  simply  filling  out  a 
coupon,  and  mail  certificate,  with  the  coupon  at- 
tached, to  the  company.  These  certificates  are  non- 
negotiable  and  cannot  be  used  except  by  the  person 
who  has  the  account.  In  return,  a  check  is  sent  by 
The  Putnam  Trust  drawn  on  the  Guaranty  1  rust 
Company  of  New  York,  which  can  be  cashed  m  any 
place  where  there  is  a  bank.  Deposits  and  with- 
drawals are  noted  on  the  certificates,  showing  tne 
exact  balance.  For  depositors  in  foreign  countries 
a  bill  of  exchange  is  sent  payable  in  the  currency 
of  the  country.  The  company  pays  the  usual  four 
per  cent,  interest  and  its  operations  are  safeguarded 
by  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Connecticut 

SEND  $5.00  FOR  TRIAL  ACCOUNT 

4  Banking  By  Mail 

A     CERTIFICATE 

original    with 

The  Putnam  Trust  Co. 
of  Greenwich,  Conn. 

Best  and  Safest  Method 
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first  of  every  month 

TO    DEPOSIT   fill   out    the   blank  below   and   mail 

with  deposit 

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Fresh  New  Crop  Vegetable  and  Flower 
SEEDS 

Bird  Houses  and  Bird  Foods Ask  for  Catalogue 

J.  B.  McARDlE,     Florist  and  Seedsman 


Merritt  Building 


Greenwich,  Conn. 


Robert    Stewart 
choice      groceries 

FLOUR    AND  FEED 

SOTTND  BEACH.  CT. 

Telephone     Connection 


Nature  Needs  More  Words. 

The  weather  Bureau  has  sprung  a  new 
one.  It  is  the  word  "smog"  and  it  means 
smoke  and  fog.  The  bureau  explains 
that  very  frequently  there  are  times  when 
this  mixture  is  apparent  in  the  atmos- 
phere, and  it  considers  the  new  word  a 
great  little  idea. 

Very  well,  "smog"  let  it  be,  says  the 
Kokomo  Tribune.  But  why  end  there? 
Let's  call  a  mixture  of  snow  and  mud 
"smud."  A  mixture  of  snow  and  soot 
"snoot,"  and  a  mixture  of  snow  and  hail 
"snail."  Thus  we  might  have  a  weather 
forecast : 

"Snail  today,  turning  to  snoot  tonight ; 
tomorrow  smoggy  with  smud." — Coun- 
try Gentleman. 


When  Two  Fools  Met. 

Dr.  P.  S.  Henson  once  delivered  his 
lecture  on  "Fools"  at  the  New  York 
Chautauqua.  Introducing  him,  Bishop 
Vincent  said:  "Ladies  and  gentlemen, 
we  are  now  to  listen  to  a  lecture  on  'Fools' 
by  one — (and  the  audience  broke  into  a 
roar  of  laughter,  and,  after  it  had  died 
away,  Bishop  Vincent  added) — "of  the 
most  brilliant  men  in  America."  Dr. 
Henson  rose,  and  with  a  genial  smile, 
said:  "Ladies  and  gentlemen,  I  am  not 
so  great  a  fool  as  Bishop  Vincent" — (an- 
other roar  of  laughter,  after  which  the 
speaker  added) — "would  have  you  be- 
lieve." 


D.   MAHER   &    SONS 

LEHIGH  COAL,  HYGEIA  ICE 

BUILDING    MATERIAL,   LIME,    LATH, 
BRICK,   SAND,  CEHENT,   DRAIN  PIPE 

Tel.  1582-2  Sound  Beach,  Conn. 


FT 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE.— ADVERTISEMENTS. 


Stamford  Business  Directory 


WE  SELL 
LEHIGH  VALLEY  ANTHRACITE 

"The  Coal  That  Satisfies' 


GRAVES  AND 
STRANG 


Tel    ^ 
1046. 


COAL 


INC 


556  Canal  St.  STAMFORD,  CONN. 


JOHN  PHILLIPS 

Dealer  in 
BOOTS     AND     SHOES 

463  Main  St.  Stamford,  Conn. 


FOR    FINE    MILLINERY 
NEWSTAD'S 


200  ATLANTIC  STREET,  STAMFORD,  CONN 


THE  STAMFORD  LUNCH 

276    MAIN   STREET  STAMFORD,  CONN 

FRED  McDERMANT,  Proprietor 
We    cater   to   Parties,  Clubs,  Stags  and    Outings       45-47  Bank  St. 


VOSKA  &L  OXTO 

TAILORS 


Suits  and  Ovei coats  to  Order  Twenty-five  dollars  up 
We  mean  of  better  kinds 

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CONTRACTOR 

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Dealer  in  Sand  and  Gravel 
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Room  306,  1  Bank  St..  Stamford.  (Jonn. 


REMOVAL  NOTICE 

Drs.  W.  H.  and  E.  W.  Pomeroy 

DENTISTS 

are  now  located  in  the  Gurley  Building, 
324  Main  St.,  opposite  City  Hall. 


THE  STAMFORD  HAT  MFG.  CO.     ''°%*lK-speciaiir°°' 


Gold  and  Silver  Platins 
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LUMBER 

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OFFICE    AND    YARD.    297    PACIFIC    STREET 
STAMFORD,  CONN. 


O-H 


8876  {With  Basting  Line  and  Added 

Seam  Allowance)    Child's    Dress,    i, 

^,  4  and  6  years. 


Here  is  a  frock  that  can  be  made  from  flouncing  and 
from  material  with  equal  success  It  is  a  very  charming 
little  model,  eminently  childlike,  yet  essentially  smart 
and  it  can  be  made  with  a  high  or  square  neck  and  with 
either  short  or  long  sleeves,  so  that  it  seems  adapted  to 
many  occasions  as  well  as  to  many  materials.  When 
flouncing  is  used,  the  hem  and  tucks  are  of  necessity 
omitted.  Here,  the  fulness  at  the  upper  edge  is  laid  in 
tiny  tucks,  but  it  would  be  quite  possible  to  substitute 
smocking  and  smocking  is  exceedingly  smart  and  also 
gives  a  very  pretty  effect.  On  the  figure,  the  frock  is 
made  of  embroidered  flouncing  with  plain  lawn  for  the 
sleeves  and  lace  banding  used  as  trimming.  In  the  small 
front  view,  it  is  made  of  rose  colored  challis  with  lace 
and  it  makes  a  very  pretty  frock  suited  to  the  girls  of  six 
years  of  age. 

For  the  4  years  size  will  be  needed,  2  yds.  of  material 
27  or  36  in.  wide,   1  3-4  yds.  44,  or  1  1-2  yds.  of  flouncing, 
27    in.    wide,    with    1-2   yd.    of    plain    material    36   in.    wide 
and  2  1-4  yds.  of  banding. 


NEW  STORE  NEW  LOCATION 

NEW  GOODS 

COME  AND  VISIT 

AUGUST  GARGIULO 

Cor.  Main  and  Greyrock  Place 


DELMONICO  RESTAURANT 

Good  Food  Promptly  served  at  popular 

prices  in  neat  and  tasty  manner. 

GEORGE  PIERRIDES 

284  Main  Street, 
Stamford        Connecticut 


Xpy 


for 

IVIen's  Xogs 

Suits  and  Overcoats  to  measure 

Gleaning,    Repairing  and  Pressing 

a  Specialty 

Best  Hat  Values  Obtainable  in  the 

Celebrated  C  &  K 

Line  of  Derby  and  Soft  Hats 

196  Atlantic  St. 

Stamford  Connecticut 


VT 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


Full  Plans  and  Specifications  May  be  Obtained  from 
THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE. 

Attractive  and  Convenient. 

The  house  shown  here  is  a  roomy,  attractive  group  of  rooms.  Kitchen  is 
comfortable  one,  with  wide  porches.  The  l)rig"ht  and  convenienth-  arranged.  Rear 
reception  hall,  living  room  and  dining  porch.  On  the  second  floor  are  four  bed- 
room with  bay  AvindoAV  are  a  pleasant,  rooms  and  a  bath.    .  An  unusually  large 


Second  tlooc 


TiRST  Tlooq 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


VII 


amount  of  closet  s] 

)ace  is 

pr 

ovided. 

The  cost  of  this 

house 

IS 

given  in  th 

items  below  : 

Excavation 

$  90 

Stonework 

175 

1')  rick  work 

60 

Carpenter  work 

525 

Plastering- 

200 

Lumber 

550 

Aiillwork 

500 

Painting  and  Gk 

izmg 

250 

Plumbing,  etc 

225 

Hardware 

100 

Hot  air  heating 

125 

Range 

40 

Total 

?2,840 

Mail  for  the  Murphys. 

A  freckle-faced  girl  stopped  at  the 
post-ofifice  and  yelled  out:  "Anything 
for  the  Murphys?" 

"No,  there  is  not,"  said  the  postmas- 
ter. 

"Anything  for  Jane  Murphy?" 

"Nothing." 

"Anvthing  for  Ann  Murphv?" 

"No?' 

"Anything  for  Tom  Murphy?" 

"No." 

"Anything  for  Bob  Murphv?" 

"Not  a  bit." 

"Anything  for  Jerry  Murphy?" 

"Nothing  at  all." 

"Anything  for  Lize  Murphy?" 

"No,  nor  Pat  Murphy,  nor  Dennis 
Murphy,  nor  for  Pete  Murphy,  nor 
Paul  Murphy,  nor,  John,  Jack  nor  Jim 
Murphy,  nor  any  Murphy,  dead,  living, 
unborn,  native  or  foreign,  civilized, 
savage  or  barbarous,  male  or  female, 
black  or  white,  franchised  or  disfran- 
chised, natural  or  otherwise.  No ! 
there  is  positively  nothing  individually, 
jointly,  severally,  now  and  forever." 

The  girl  looked  at  the  postmaster  in 
astonishment  and  said:  "Please  see  if 
there  is  anvthing  for  Clarence  ^Murphv." 
—Truth. 


Protest  Answered. — "Hang  it,  Jones, 
I've  just  been  stung  by  one  of  your 
confounded  bees  !  I  demand  repara- 
tion !" 

"Certainly,  Bilson.  You  just  show 
me  which  bee  it  was  and  I'll  punish  the 
horrid  thing  severely  !" — Philadelphia 
Evening  Ledger. 


Difficulties  of  Physiology. 

Young  Arthur  had  the  study  of  anat- 
omy at  school,  and  had  shown  interest- 
in  the  course.  (Jne  morning  at  breakfast 
he  asked  his  mother  in  grave  perplexity, 
"Mother,  I  know  where  my  liver  is,  but 
where  is  my  bacon?" 


Passed. — The  excellence  of  the  Crea- 
tor's work  is  officially  established,  as 
evidenced  by  the  following  from  a 
motion  picture  screen  : 

"As  God  Made  It." 

"Approved  by  the  Ohio  State  Board 
of  Censors," — Boston  Herald. 


The  Best  Firm. 

A  pretty  good  firm  is  Watch  &  Waite 
And  another  is  Attit,  Early  &  Layte; 
And  still  another  is  Doo  &  Dairet ; 
But  the  best  is  probablv  Grinn  &  Barret. 

Walter  G.  Doty  in  "Woman's  Home  Com- 
panion." 


The  place  you  will  eventually  go 
to  have  your 

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E.  BARTHOL,  D.  C. 

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VIIj 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE.— ADVERTISEMENTS. 


THE  C.  0.  MILLER   CO. 

January is the Month of Bargains 

In  this  month  we  undertake  to  clear  our  stock  of  all  remaining  lots  and 
oddments  of  winter  goods.  To  accomplish  this  we  CUT  PRICES  deeply, 
realizing  that  to  interest  you  sufficiently  in  this  merchandise  to  enable  us  to 
quickly  dispose  of  it,  we  must  offer  extraordinary  bargains. 

THE     SALE     AFFECTS 

Dress  Goods — Silks — Coats — Furs — Curtains  and  Cur- 
tain Materials — Balance  of  Holiday  Merchandise — China 
and  Various  Things  from  all  Departments 

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creasing trade  in  this  specialty  proves  the  fact  thai 
the  country  home  is  not  complete  until  fitted  out  with 
this  beautiful  and  sanitary  furnishing.  Old  residence! 
may  be  greatly  imp'-oved  hy  laying  thin  floors  over  the 
old    ones. 

CANAL  DOCKS,  STAMFORD,  CONN. 
Telephone  2180. 


Homes  Near  to  Nature 

Should  be  so  constructed  as  to  give  lasting  satisfaction. 
Our  method  of  manufacturing  dependable  Interior  and 
Exterior   house   trim   from   thoroughly   kiln   dried   materia) 

Dy   skilled   mechanics  insures  such   satisfaction. 

THE  5T.  JOHN  WOODWORKING  CO. 

Canal  docks,  Stamford    Conn. 

Telephone  78 1 

DIRECTORS 
WALTON  FERGUSON,  Pres.  W.  W.  HEROY, 

W.   D.    DASKAM,   Vice  Pres.  F.  H.  HOYT. 

W.  H.  JUDD,   Sec.  and  Treas.  F.   VV.    BOGARDUS. 

J.   G.   WIGG,   General   Manager. 


The  LOCKWOOD  &  PALMER  Co. 


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:ii: 


II 


Published  monthly  by  The  Agassiz  Association,  ArcAdiA:  Sound  Beach,  Connecticut, 

Subscription,  $1.00  a  year  Single  copy,  10  cents 

Entered  as  Second-Class  Matter  June  12. 1909,  at  Sound  Beach  Post  Office,  under  Act  of  March  3,  1897. 


Vol 


VIII 


JANUARY,    1916 


Number  8 


An  Adjoining  Institution  of  Outdoor  Interests. 

By  EDWARD  F.  BIGELOW,  ArcAdiA:  Sound  Beach,  Connecticut. 


THE  Agassiz  Association's  ArcAdiA 
and  the  Sound  Beach  Golf  Links  lie 
side  by  side.  The  history  of  the  locat- 
ing of  both  organizations  in  this  pictur- 
esque spot  and  as  next  door  neighbors 
has  much  in  common.  The  reasons  for 
the  removal  of  the  organizations  to  this 
part  of  the  town  are  likewise  similar.  The 
purpose  of  each  is  to  afford  healthful 
occupation  and  to  incite  an  interest  in  "all 
out  of  doors."  The  real  intent  of  a  ram- 
ble in  the  fields  and  the  woods  with  cam- 
era or  collecting  case,  with  eyes  wide  open 
and  mind  alert  is,  in  the  end,  precisely 
the  same  as  that  of  knocking  a  ball  across 
similar  fields  and  artificial  obstacles. 
When  we  consider  prime  purposes,  we 
discover  that  we  differ  only  in  methods 
and  not  in  fundamental  principles.  Both 
occupations  seek  similar  results,  both  de- 
mand muscular  exercise,  and  require 
considerable  skill.  The  joy  of  photo- 
graphing a  bird  or  of  finding  a  rare  speci- 
men of  plant  is  about  the  same,  I  judge, 
as  that  of  making  a  certain  number  of 
strokes  carry  a  ball  to  a  certain  point  on 
the  links. 

The  Sound  Beach  Golf  Links  and  The 
Agassiz  Association's  ArcAdiA  are  ex- 
changing contributors  in  that  each  fur- 


nishes the  other  with  reciprocal  pictur- 
esqueness.  We  recently  published  in  this 
magazine  an  account  of  a  land  owner  in 
New  York  that  possesses  the  right  of 
view  across  the  fields  in  front  of  his  prop- 
erty. In  his  deed  is  the  restriction  that 
the  view  from  his  territory  shall  never  be 
disturbed,  and  a  pecuniary  value  is,  for 
perhaps  the  first  time,  placed  upon  a  land- 
scape. The  Sound  Beach  Golf  Club  is 
contributing  definite  pleasure  to  the  AA, 
and  is  increasing  ArcAdiA's  value.  We 
are  trying  to  reciprocate  by  improving 
the  appearance  of  our  territory,  so  as  to 
increase  the  Golf  Club's  pleasure  in  the 
landscape. 

Do  these  golfers  know  how  really  beau- 
tiful they  are  ?  I  am  not  referring  to  their 
personal  pulchritude,  but  to  the  charm 
and  grace  that  they  add  to  the  landscape. 
If  they  were  engaged  by  the  day  to  pose 
in  picturesque  attitudes  on  the  rolling 
green  for  our  satisfaction,  they  could  do 
no  better  than  they  now  do  without  money 
and  without  price.  Every  visitor  at 
ArcAdiA,  especially  those  who  visit 
Nymphalia,  admires  the  strong,  healthful 
strides,  the  graceful  poses,  the  alluring 
aspect  of  the  golfers  as  they  march  over 
the  links,  following  a  ball  that  leaps  in 


Copyright   1915   by  The  Agassiz   Association,   ArcAdiA:    Sound   Beach,   Conn. 


244 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


AN  ADJOINING  INSTITUTION  OF  OUTDOOR  INTERESTS    245 


ON  HOLIDAYS  ALL  ROADS  LEAD  TO  THE  GOLF  CLUB. 


mathematical  curves  before  their  dexter- 
ous blows.  Little  of  this  world's  beauty 
is  self-conscious  ;  for  this  it  is  all  the  more 
charming.  Do  the  golfers  in  their  gay 
costumes  on  holidays  and  Saturdays  real- 
ize how  greatly  they  enhance  the  beauty 
of  ArcAdiA  Road  as  they  pass  to  and 
fro  in  their  pursuit  of  a  few  hours  exhil- 
arating exercise?  They  often  look  to- 
ward ArcAdiA — we  have  been  happy  to 
see  them  do  it — as  if  it  were  hallowed 
ground — something   admirable,    enviable, 


desirable  next  after,  perhaps  next  before, 
their  adorable  links,  not  tangible,  only 
visible,  but  far  beyond  their  reach. 

Once  we  tried  to  break  the  icy  barrier 
by  sending  a  circular  of  invitation  to  each 
of  the  club  members,  offering  them  the 
nature  study  facilities  of  this  Institution. 
\\'e  received  a  prompt  reply.  Two  men, 
one  woman  and  two  boys  visited  our  In- 
stitution, expressed  great  delight  with  it, 
and  wondered  why  we  had  neglected  to 
invite  the  club  members  and  to  let  them 


NOW  WE  ARE  READY  TO  SHOW^  YOU  HOW^  WE  KEEP  YOUNG  AND  \T:G0R0US. 


246 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


know  what  we  are  doing'.  It  is  consoling 
to  know  that  some  faults  have  been  cor- 
rected. We  are  hoping  for  frequent  visits 
in  the  future. 

Once  a  golfer,  always  a  golfer,  with  no 
leisure  time  for  anything  but  golf.  I 
admire  this  club  and  these  enthusiastic 
people.  A  thing  that  is  worth  doing  at 
all  is  worth  doing  whole-heartedly.  A 
golfer  would  so  act  if  he  should  take  an 
interest  in  nature  study.  We  know  that 
such  will  understand  why  we  at  ArcAdiA 
have  no  time  to  play  golf.  I  must  content 
mvself  with  a  distant  view  of  the  links. 


presents  golf  links  to  people  financially 
less  favored.  There  are  thousands  of 
dollars  given  to  keep  people  indoors,  to 
provide  institutions  for  the  care  of  con- 
sumptives, but  where  is  the  wise  philan- 
thropist that  will  make  golf  links  available 
to  those  less  successful  in  financial  mat- 
ters ;  A  sanatorium  for  the  alleviation 
or  the  cure  of  consumption  is  a  good 
thing.  It  is  perhaps  better  to  provide 
spacious  and  palatial  buildings  for  libra- 
ries. Young  Men's  Christian  Associations, 
Rescue  Homes,  settlements,  hospitals, 
but  whv  does  not  some  lover  of  golf  who 


THE  GOLF  PROFESSOR  GIVING  A  PRACTICAL  LECTURE  ON 

ING   OUTDOOR   EXERCISE." 


'THE  BENEFITS  OF  INTEREST- 


and  an  occasional  visit  to  these  cordial 
and  hospitable  people,  and  I  must  try  not 
to  be  disappointed  if  they  do  not  honor 
us  by  rushing  to  become  members,  nor 
by  such  frequent  visits  as  we  should  like 
them  to  make.  There  is  a  zest  in  the  golf- 
er's manner  of  occupying  his  spare  time 
in  his  favorite  field,  but  what  shall  we 
say  of  the  astonishing  indifference  of  so 
many  people  who  make  no  efi^ort  to  get 
into  God's  outdoors,  but  confine  them- 
selves in  stuffy  rooms  devoted  to  "the 
movies"  or  some  other  form  of  entertain- 
ment that  deprives  them  of  the  joys  of 
the  fresh  air  and  of  the  open  country  ? 

Exclusiveness  is  the  one  criticism  that 
may  be  made  of  golfing.  This  will  prob- 
ably  continue   until   some   philanthropist 


possesses  millions  of  dollars  provide  golf 
grounds  for  clerks,  factory  workers, 
sales  people  and  school  teachers?  These 
would  enjoy  the  swinging  of  golf  sticks 
and  the  exhilarating  walk  across  the  links. 

I  realize  that  some  people  will  never 
take  an  intellectual  interest  in  nature. 
They  may  go  a-fishing  or  fill  a  basket 
with  mushrooms,  under  the  delicious 
hypocrisy  that  they  are  seeking"  something 
for  the  table  when  in  reality  their  own 
heart  is,  maybe  unconsciously,  seeking 
contact  with  the  heart  of  Nature.  They 
need  not  be  ashamed  to  confess  it.  The 
things  that  touch  the  inner  life  are  often 
reluctantly  admitted.  They  need  not  be. 
So  to  confess  is  an  honor. 

The  Sound  Beach  Golf  Club  may  have 


AN  ADJOINING  INSTITUTION  OF  OUTDOOR  INTERESTS    247 


STUDENTS  IX   THE  GREAT  COLLEGE   OF  MOTHER  NATURE. 


full  credit  for  developing'  muscles,  per- 
haps even  for  developing"  the  links  more 
successfully  than  The  Agassiz  Associa- 
tion accomplishes  its  chosen  labor,  yet 
ArcAdiA  cannot  but  feel  a  superiority 
because  it  is  at  least  trying  to  reach  and 
to  help  all  classes  while  the  club  is  neces- 
sarily restricted,  and  perhaps  reluctantly 
exclusive.  The  average  golf  club  says, 
"Keep  off  the  .grounds  ;  the  heels  of  your 
shoes  cut  into  the  turf."  They  also  must 
necessarily  say,  "You  can't  join  our  club; 
vou    are    not    rich    enough."      Thev    sav 


these  things  regretfully,  and  we  are  dis- 
posed to  refrain  from  what  may  be  con- 
sidered intrusive.  We  should  like  to  be 
better  acquainted  with  our  golfing  neigh- 
bors, and  to  have  them  get  better  ac- 
quainted with  the  fundamental  principles 
of  the  A  A.  We  do  not  expect  that  they 
will  come  bodily  into  our  field  any  more 
than  we  expect  to  go  bodily  into  theirs. 
They  run  over  into  Nymphalia  at  times, 
and  into  the  Agassiz  Grove  occasionally, 
to  get  a  ball.  When  they  do  that,  can't 
they  stop  and  investigate  the  fundamental 


'e4  1  W 

■^^k 

E? 

IPIvw^^w      1      ii^^^^^^^^ ^      ^/    I                 ^■^B^^H    ^SK^^H 

pTll 

mm 

•FOR   THKV   ARK  .KM.IA'   GOOD   FELLOWS,    WHICPI   NOBODY   CAN    DENY." 


248 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


principles  of  our  Association  that  they 
may  extend  their  activities,  and  ours,  too, 
stili  further,  and  so  reach  all  classes  of 
people?  Take  this  thought,  Mr.  Golfer, 
and  knock  it  around  for  a  while,  and 
travel  with  it  up  hill  and  down  as  you 
travel  there  with  your  golf  ball.  We  beg 
for  money  to  extend  our  work,  so  that 
the  poorest  child,  the  most  uncultured 
man,  the  most  ignorant  human  being, 
may  have  the  benefit  of  it  as  well  as  our 
members  in  private  schools  and  in  tech- 
nical universities.  ArcAdiA  is  happy  to 
have  you  next  door.  As  an  institution 
you  do  well,  but  as  an  Institution  we  are 
doing  better.  Please  do  not  keep  all  your 
joy  to  yourselves.  We  do  not  keep  all 
of  ours  to  ourselves.  Some  millionaire 
golfer  who  desires  to  leave  a  monument 
to  himself  and  for  the  benefit  of  humanity 
may  set  a  good  example  to  others  by 
taking  the  lead  and  establishing  a  golf 
club  that  shall  be  as  open  to  membership 
as  is  a  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion or  a  public  library,  and  as  general 
in  scattering  benefits  as  are  hospitals  and 
settlement  houses. 

I  have  heard  that  some  members  of  the 
golf  club  think  The  Agassiz  Association 
is  a  little  too  persistent  in  its  efforts  to 
secure  money,  and  in  expecting  everybody 
to  be  interested  in  its  work.  The  criticism 
may  be  just.  Good  Mr.  Golfer,  here  and 
elsewhere  extend  your  own  fields  in  your 
own  wav,  but  burn  this   fact  into  your 


memory,  learn  this  one  truth — we  extend 
our  interests,  we  shall  continue  to  labor  by 
day  and  by  night  to  extend  our  interests 
so  as  to  bring  the  joys  of  nature  to  every- 
body, old  or  young,  rich  or  poor,  black 
or  white.  We  are  not  exclusive.  We 
cannot  be.  We  would  not  be  if  we  could. 
You  are  so  because  the  nature  of  your 
favorite  pursuit  compels.  You  have  no 
choice.  It  is  that  or  nothing.  All  those 
that  I  have  mentioned  would  enjoy  golf, 
but  they  cannot.  This  is  not  their  fault 
neither  is  it  yours.  We  have  carried 
Nature  to  the  slums  of  New  York,  and 
you  could  carry  your  interests  to  thous- 
ands, along  precisely  the  same  lines,  by 
purchasing  grounds  somewhere  in  the 
country  to  which  the  boys  of  New  York 
City  might  go  to  play  their  childish  golf, 
as  your  caddies  play  theirs  in  your  ab- 
sence, and  on  your  grounds.  There  are 
boys  and  girls,  men  and  women  innumer- 
able who  would  like  golfing  as  well  as 
you  like  it,  and  I  am  sure  that  you  would 
enjoy  your  golfing  better  if  you  will  pro- 
vide free  golf  grounds  for  those  that  can- 
not afford  to  pay  for  them.  A  golfer  is 
a  royal  good  fellow,  and  his  female  com- 
panion too  is  a  royal  good  fellow.  She 
is  as  full  of  zeal  as  the  other  good  fellow. 
She  follows  the  ball  with  as  much  zest, 
and  she  appears  to  be  as  fond  of  the  exer- 
cise, the  out-of-doors  movements  and  the 
application  of  her  skill  as  is  the  more  ro- 
bust player  of  the  other  sex. 


DO   THESE   GOLFERS    REALIZE    HOW    MrCII    OF    CHARM    AND    GRACE    THEY    AUU    TO    THE 

LANDSCAPE? 


AN  ADJOINING  INSTITUTION  OF  OUTDOOR  INTERESTS    249 


AT  HEART  THEY  ARE  REAL  ARCADIANS  AND  LOVE  CORNFIELD  DECORATIONS. 


We  are  learning  from  the  Sound  Beach 
Golf  Club.  We  enjoy  their  presence  as 
next  door  neighbors.  We  hope  that  this 
benefit  may  be  reciprocal.  We  have  re- 
ceived good  things  from  them.  We  ac- 
knowledge that  they  are  doing  much  in 
the  outdoor  air  of  this  Arcadian  territory. 
We  acknowledge  that  they  are  representa- 
tive of  good  principles.  We  should  like 
to  have  these  golf  players  run  over  the 
walls  out  of  their  fields  and  into  our 
fields  occasionally,  to  examine  some  of  the 
fundamental  missionary  principles  of  The 
Agassiz  Association  that  may  be  applied 
as  well  to  golfing. 


Lightning  Kills  Fish  in  a  Creek. 

BY  FRANK  B.  HOPKINS,  NORTH  SALEM, 
INDIANA. 

In  a  recent  thunderstorm,  a  dead  elm 
about  fifty  or  sixty  feet  high  and  over- 
hanging a  long  pool  in  Eel  River,  here 
only  a  rod  or  two  rods  wide,  and  about 
a  mile  and  three-quarters  north  of  this 
place,  was  struck  by  a  tremendous  bolt. 
The  current  followed  the  tree  to  the 
"elbow"  where  it  turns  to  grow  erect,- 
and  there  left  it  for  the  river  after  con- 
siderably shattering  the  trunk.  The 
pool  is  some  rods  in  length  and  is  a 
favorite  spot  in  which  to  fish  for  carp 
and  crappie,  which,  with  black  bass, 
calico  bass  and  white  suckers,  are  plen- 
tiful here.  After  the  storm  two  fami- 
lies that  live  nearest  the  pool  went  to 
see  the  stream  and,  noticing  the  dead 


fish,  began  to  gather  them,  as  they 
seemed  but  recently  dead.  Investiga- 
tion showed  the  riven  tree  and  the 
point  where  the  bolt  had  left  it.  The 
fish  were  found  on  the  bars  and  in 
patches  of  saw  grass  and  water  willow 
for  a  distance  of  more  than  half  a  mile. 
One  family  gathered  a  bushel  of  them. 


"How  to  Make  an  Eugenical  Family 
Study"  is  the  title  of  one  of  the  latest 
bulletins  of  the  Record  Office  at  Cold 
Spring  Harbor,  Long  Island,  New 
York.  It  should  interest  not  only  per- 
sons concerned  with  family  genealogy, 
but  also  all  who  take  the  naturalist's 
attitude  toward  problems  of  human 
nature. 


Heed  the  Call. 


The   out-of-doors    is   calling   you 

Give  heed  unto  its  voice, 
And  ever  after  you  will  have 

Good    reason   to   rejoice. 

For   energy,   vitality, 

Sound  health  are  in  its  keep, 
Abounding  spirits  through  the  day, 

At  night  refreshing  sleep. 

If  these  were  held  for  ransom  high, 
Far  sought  would  be  the  gain, 

Yet  they  come  knocking  at  your  doors, 
And  often  knock  in  vain. 

Let  wisdom  guide  you  through  the  year, 

To  spurn  would  be  a  sin. 
And  when  you  cannot  get  outdoors 

Why,  let  the  outdoors  in! 

— Emma  Pcirce. 


2^0 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


The  Vegetable  Sheep  of  Peru. 

A  very  curious  plant  growing  in  Peru 
is  known  by  the  natives  as  "Yareta"  or 
"vegetable  sheep." 

"The  plant  grows  abundantly  among 
rocks  at  high  altitudes  along  the  Andes 
of  Bolivia  and  Peru,  where  it  constitutes 
a  conspicuous  feature  in  the  landscape 
because  of  its  peculiar  manner  of  growth 
in  developing  the  so-called  'polster'  or 
cushion  formation.  Similar  compact 
masses  of  plant  growth  are  frequently 
found  on  high  mountains,  as  well  as  in 
arctic  and  antarctic  regions." 

The  size  and  general  appearance  of 
this  big  plant  are  shown  in  the  illustra- 
tions borrowed  from  the  "Missouri 
Botanical     Garden     Bulletin."     Plate    i 


being  made  from  a  photograph  taken  by 
Professor  Bailey  on  Mount  Chachani, 
near  Arequipa,  at  an  elevation  of  fully 
17,000  feet  above  sea-level. 

"It  forms  hillocks  or  small  mounds 
often  becoming  three  feet  high  and  some- 
times several  feet  in  diameter.  More- 
over, the  entire  mound  is  made  up  of  a 
single  plant,  not  of  a  colony  of  individ- 
uals, and  it  attains  this  enormous  size 
and  extreme  compactness  by  a  process 
of  repeated  branching  (Plate  2),  so  that 
the  ultimate  branches  are  closely  crowded 
and  the  outer  surface  is  continuous 
(Plate  2).  The  flowers  of  the  Yareta 
are  very  tiny,  only  about  two  millimeters, 
or  less  than  one-eighth  of  an  inch  long, 
and  are  borne  in  small  sessile,  axillary, 
involucrate  clusters  near  the  tips  of  the 


''0 


TWO  MOUNDS  OF  YARETA  GROWING  ON  MT.  CHACHAXI,  NEAR  AREQUIPA,  PERU. 


THE  VEGETABLE  SHEEP  OF  PERU 


251 


FRAGMENT    OF    YARETA.      ABOUT    NATURAL    SIZE. 
This  cut  and  the   one  on   the   preceding  page   are  lent  to   us  by  the   "Missouri    Botanical   Garden    Bulletin." 


branches ;  and  the  fruit  is  somewhat  hke 
a  miniature  caraway  seed." 

A  correspondent  says  that  it  is 
"brought  down  to  Arequipa  by  the  car 
load  and  forms  the  principal  fuel  of  that 
town." 


The  Dangers  of  Vulgarity. 

The  chief  peril  to  which  American 
children  are  exposed  is  not  immorality 
but  vulgarity.  The  Outlook  has  al- 
ready painted  out  the  various  ways  in 
■which  sound  taste  and  healthful  views 

of  life  in  children  are  assailed  bv  the 


so-called  "Comic  Supplement,"  many 
of  the  movies,  and  a  good  deal  of  the 
current  literature  written  especially 
for  them.  Americans  are  extremely 
alert  in  some  ways  and  extremely  dull- 
minded  in  others.  One  of  the  most 
severe  comments  ever  made  upon  the 
country  was  the  statement  that  it  has 
ruthlessly  cut  down  its  noblest  forests 
to  furnish  the  material  on  which  the 
sensational  newspapers  are  published. 
It  has  felled  its  forests  to  spread  vul- 
garity, exaggeration,  and  cheapness 
throughout  the  whole  country. — The 
Outlook. 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


The    Seeds    of    Potatoes. 

BY   EDWARD  F.   BIGIiLOW. 

Thirteen  years  ago  I  originated  the 
annnal  summer  school  of  nature  study 
at  the  Connecticut  Agricultural  Col- 
lege, Storrs,  Connecticut,  and  was  the 
director  of  the  first  session.  One  of 
the  members  of  the  staff  at  that  session 
was   Professor   Gully,   the   horticultur- 


five  dollars,  but  I  wanted  the  satisfac- 
tion of  proving  that  the  professor  was 
in  error.  Potato  balls?  It  seemed 
only  yesterday  that  I  saw  them  lying 
on  the  ground  by  the  quart,  the  peck, 
the  half  bushel!  Potato  balls?  I  re- 
member hurling  them  from  the  end  of 
a  sharp  stick  with  almost  the  accuracy 
of  a  catapult. 


AN   ATTRACTIX'E   CLUSTER   OF   POTATO    BALLS.      "LOOK   LIKE   GREEN    TOMATOES." 
Photograph  by   courtesy   of   Luther   Burbank,    Santa   Rosa,    California. 


ist  of  the  college.  This  expert  in  gar- 
den products  made  one  day  an  aston- 
ishing statement  that  I  thought  was  in- 
tended to  be  oratorical  rather  than  lit- 
erally financial.  When  discoursing  in 
regard  to  the  fruiting  berries  of  the 
common  potato,  he  exclaimed,  "All 
these  berries  have  disappeared  from 
the  state.  I  will  give  twenty-five  dol- 
lars for  one  found  within  Connecticut." 
No  more  of  that  lesson  that  day  for 
me.  I  did  not  expect  to  receive  twenty- 


I  slipped  out  of  the  classroom  and 
hastened  to  the  nearest  potato  patch. 
Over  an  acre  of  ground,  up  and  down 
between  the  rows  I  traveled,  but  if  the 
prize  had  been  one  hundred  dollars  I 
should  have  received  it  not.  No  pota- 
to l^alls  were  there.  Still,  I  was  deter- 
mined to  show  Professor  Gully  that 
he  was  wrong.  When  I  returned 
home  I  hunted  in  my  garden  and  in 
the  gardens  of  other  people.  I  haunt- 
ed potato  fields  and  searched  acres.     I 


THE  PLANT  WORLD  UNDER  CARE 


253 


AN  ENLARGED  VIEW  OF  A  THIMBLEFUL  OF  POTATO  SEED,  NOW  AT  ARCADIA,  THAT 

COST  OVER  SIX  DOLLARS. 


invited  others  into  the  work.  I  talked 
about  it  from  the  lecture  platform  in 
various  parts  of  the  state.  At  last 
came  a  letter  and  a  package.  "Here, 
Air.  Bigelow,"  said  the  letter,  "are 
fifty  dollars'  worth.  I  found  these 
two  in  hunting  over  an  acre  of  potato 
patch  and  I  send  them  to  you.  Collect 
fifty  dollars  from  the  professor.  You 
keep  twenty-five.  That  will  be  fair  to 
both."  With  high  anticipations  I  un- 
wound the  fastenings  and  removed  the 
cover  of  that  box,  but  how  dissimilar 
to  those  great,  round,  smooth,  tomato- 
like forms  so  familiar  to  me,  just  a  few 
days  ago,  as  it  seemed,  in  boyhood's 
familiarity  with  the  potato  patch ! 
These  were  vestigial  berries  no  larger 
than  peas !  So  for  thirteen  years  I 
have  searched  in  vain  to  prove  that 
Professor  Gully  is  wrong,  but  he  must 
still  limit  that  claim  to  Connecticut, 
although  it  would  not  cost  him  a  for- 
tune should  he  extend  to  the  United 
States  in  general. 

From  the  lecture  platform  in  Teach- 
ers' Institutes  in  Ohio,  Indiana  and 
Pennsylvania  I  have  told  the  story  of 
that  startling  announcement,  and  in 
most  places  I  have  offered  a  year's 
subscription  to  this  magazine  for  a 
box  of  well-developed  specimens.  Last 
August  I  made  the  offer  before  more 
than  two  thousand  teachers  of  Alle- 
gheny County  at  Pittsburgh,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  again  in  one  of  the  countr\- 
districts  of  southern  Indiana.  The 
announcement  was  received  with  eren-- 


eral  surprise  and  the  remark,  "W^e  can 
send  them  to  \ou  by  the  bushel.  We 
will  bankrupt  you  on  subscriptions." 
But  of  the  thousands  of  teachers  that 
promised  to  search  the  fields  only 
about  a  dozen  have  responded,  and 
no  package  contained  more  than  eight 
or    ten    balls.      Nearly    all    have   been 


rilE  POTATO  SEED  STILL  FURTHER  ENLARGED. 


254 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


vestigial.  In  the  thirteen  years  not 
more  than  thirty  large,  smooth,  round, 
perfect  specimens  have  reached  me.  As 
a  result  of  my  efforts  during  the  past 
summer,  I  have  obtained  at  a  cost  of 
six  dollars  less  than  a  thimbleful  of 
the  seed. 

Now  the  question  is,  "What  is  go- 
ing to  happen  to  the  potato  crop  when 
no  more  seed  is  obtainable?"  Most 
readers  know  that  what  we  call  the 
planting  of  seed  potatoes  is  the  plant- 
ing of  pieces  of  potato  to  raise  a  new 
crop  ;  it  is  really  but  a  sort  of  cutting 
as  one  might  cut  twigs  of  willow  and 
set  them  in  the  ground  to  produce 
new  trees.  Like  grafting  it  produces 
its  own  kind. 

But  when  we  plant  potato  seed  it  is 
like  planting  apple  seeds  for  we  do 
not  know  what  will  happen.  The  seeds 
seem  to  become  insane  and  trv  to  pro- 
duce a  little  of  everything.  Fortunate 
is  the  experimenter  that  finds  in  the 
varied  potato  seedlings  some  particu- 
lar form  that  may  be  better  than  the 
original.  I  long  ago  gave  up  all  at- 
tempt to  attain  fame  and  fortune  by 
originating  an  Early  Rose  or  some- 
thing equally  epoch-making,  but  I 
find  it  interesting  to  experiment  with 
the  seeds  and  I  get  kaleidoscopic  effects 
that  most  conspicuously  manifest  them- 
selves about  the  second  or  third  year. 

These  investigations  have  led  to 
efforts  to  ascertain  where  in  the  Unit- 
ed States  the  seed  may  yet  be  obtained. 
T  have  found  a  few  in  western  Penn- 
sylvania and  a  few  more  in  West  Vir- 
ginia, but  perhaps  the  best  in  the 
vicinity  of  Jefferson.  Ohio. 

We  request  the  reader  to  inquire 
among  the  farmers  and  ascertain  to 
what  extent  these  balls  may  now  be 
obtained.  Here  is  an  extremely  in- 
teresting nature  topic,  and  the  interest 
of  which  is  not  lessened  by  the  fact  that 
it  is  utilitarian. 

Gray's  "Field,  Forest,  and  Garden 
Botany"  merely  says'  under  Solan  urn 
tiiherosiiin,  "Berries  round.  .  green." 
Much  of  interest  remains  unuttered  in 
those  three  words.  The  history  of  the 
potato  itself  is  of  great  interest.  The 
most  extensive  research  leads  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  i^otato  was  not 
found  anywhere  on  the  North  Ameri- 
can Continent  before  the  arrival  of 
Europeans.  Dr.  Asa  Gray  and  other 
prominent   investigators  have  reached 


that  conclusion.  The  potato  was 
known  to  the  aborigines  and  was 
found  under  cidtivation  in  the  eastern 
part  of  South  America,  on  the  heights 
of  Guiana  and  Brazil  and  in  Chile. 

A  number  of  correspondents  have 
told  me  that  Luther  Burbank  of  Santa 
Rosa,  California,  "has  plenty."  Mr. 
Burbank  throws  the  will-o'-tbe-wisp 
clear  across  the  continent  to  Maine 
and  writes : 

"The  reason  for  the  scarcity  of  potato 
seed  is  that  the  potatoes  have  been 
grown  from  cuttings  so  long  that  it 
has  given  up  its  habit  of  going  to  seed. 

"It  is  somewhat  difficult  to  obtain 
potato  seed,  but  you  can  probably  ob- 
tain it  from  some  of  the  nurseries  or 
seed  houses  in  Maine." 

Many  other  correspondents  explain 
that  the  matter  is  very  simple  and 
wonder  why  any  one  should  even  raise 
the  question.  "You  can  get  all  you 
want  away  'down  in  Maine.'  "  So,  up 
on  the  map  but  "down"  in  common 
parlance,  to  Maine  we  go.  Here  is 
what  the  Department  of  Agriculture 
of  the  State  of  Maine  says : 

"I  do  not  know  of  anyone  at  present 
who  is  experimenting  in  growing  pota- 
toes from  seed.  The  season  has  been  so 
bad  here  in  southern  Maine  that  I  have 
not  seen  any  mature  seed  bolls.  I  have 
some  at  home  in  a  little  vial,  probably 
several  himdred.  These  are  several  years 
old  and  I  do  not  know  whether  they 
would  germinate  or  not.  They  are  either 
from  the  Norcross  or  Clyde  both  of  the 
Green  Mountain  type  and  both  very  fine 
potatoes.  I  have  used  them  for  that 
reason  in  my  own  breeding  work.  I  can 
send  these  to  you,  if  you  desire,  and  will 
make  no  charge  for  them  as  I  am  not 
certain  they  will  germinate." 

W't  have  accepted  the  offer  of  a  few 
of  these  "scz'cral  years  old"  seeds.  You 
see  how  plentiful  they  are  away  "down 
in  Maine.'' 

The  more  extensive  the  correspon- 
dence the  more  one  is  inclined  to  agree 
with  the  great  Dreer  seed  house  of 
Philadelphia  when  it  writes  : 

"We  regret  to  say  that  we  are  im- 
able  to  furnish  you  with  the  potato 
balls  and  do  not  know  any  source  of 
supply  for  seeds." 

Readers,  this  is  an  alarm  cry  !  Potato 
seed  is  going  from  this  country.  There 
is  vet  a  little  to  be  obtained.     All  that 


THE  PLANT  WORLD  UNDER  CARE 


^:)D 


can  be  obtained  should  be  put  at  once 
into  the  hands  of  competent  experi- 
menters. 

What  are  we  going  to  do  when  the 
present  varieties  of  potatoes  have  "run 
out,"  and  no  more  seed  can  be  ob- 
tained? 


United    States    Department   of   Agriculture, 
Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  Washington,  D.C. 

Potato  seed  balls  are  frequently  de- 
veloped on  potato  plants  grown  in 
northern  latitudes.  It  is  not  at  all  un- 
common to  find  a  considerable  number 
of  seed  balls  on  potato  vines  in  Aroos- 
took County,  Maine.  Neither  is  it  un- 
common to  find  them  in  northern 
Michigan  and  Wisconsin.  I  have  also 
seen  them  in  a  fair  degree  of  abundance 
in  Greeley  and  Carbondale,  Colorado. 
Occasionally  on  certain  varieties,  they 
may  be  developed  quite  abundantly  in 
this  section  of  the  country.  We  have  a 
collection  of  South  American  varieties 
growing  at  Highlands,  North  Carolina, 
which  I  hope  to  harvest  this  coming- 
week  that  I  am  sure  will  supply  us  with 
a  considerable  quantity  of  seed  balls 
of  which  I  shall  save  a  few  for  your 
special  use.  On  our  seedlings  of  some 
of  our  variety  collection  grown  at  Pres- 
que  Isle,  Maine,  this  season,  it  would 
have  been  possible  to  collect  them  by 
the  half-bushel.  Unfortunately,  I  did 
not  have  your  letter  at  that  time  and 
so  did  not  save  any. 

The  reason  that  seedballs  are  devel- 
oped more  frequently  in  northern  lati- 
tudes is  that  in  a  colder  and  moister 
climate  the  potato  plant  reaches  its 
optimum  development  and,  under  these 
conditions  they  more  frequentlv  pro- 
duce seed  than  under  more  imfavorable 
ones. 

The  reason  why  more  seed  balls  are 
not  developed  is  due  to  the  fact  that 
the  plant  fails  to  produce  viable  pollen. 
— that  is,  pollen  that  is  capable  of  ger- 
mination. Whenever  a  variety  is 
grown  that  normally  produces  good 
pollen  in  abundance  one  is  almost  sure 
to  obtain  seed  balls — Wm.  Stuart,  Hor- 
ticulturist. 


The  meeting  last  September,  at  Gen- 
eva, of  the  Swiss  Society  of  the  Natural 
Sciences,  which  corresponds  in  that 
country  to  our  own  A.A.A.S.,  was  the 
hundredth  anniversary  of  the  Society's 
foundation. 


The  Shooting  of  the  Pigweed. 

A  purple  specimen  from  the  Amaranth 
family  in  which  are  included  our  green 
pigweeds  as  well  as  the  tumbleweeds  was 
left  at  ArcAoiA  by  ]\Irs.  G.  Fred  Farn- 
ham,  Sound  Ijeach,  Connecticut,  who 
found  it  in  her  garden  in  the  autumn.  A 
lady  in  the  office  at  the  time  said :  "Isn't 
that  beautiful!  I  know  what  it  is.  It 
is  some  member  of  the  Celosia  family.'" 
The  name  Celosia  brings  to  mind  the  old- 


A  SECTION  OF  THE  PURPLE  PIGWEED. 

fashioned  coxcomb  of  variegated  colors, 
more  commonly  purple.  This  sudden 
identification  would  not  seem  so  far  out 
of  the  way  if  one  were  to  depend  on  a 
casual  glance  at  the  beautiful  color.  But 
the  botanies  as  well  as  a  little  careful 
observation  classify  the  specimen  far 
from  Celosia  and  list  the  plant  asAmaran- 
fliits  paniculatns.  Britton  and  Brown's 
botany  describes  the  seeds  as  follows : 
"Fruit  an  ovoid  or  oblong  utricle,  cir- 
cumscissile,  bursting  irregularly."  The 
seeds  are  tiny,  shiny  and  black  and  are 
shot  out  to  an  astonishing  distance.  The 
specimen  was  placed  on  the  table  in  the 
laboratory  and  allowed  to  remain  there 
for  three  or  four  days.  While  examining 
it.  the  seeds  were  seen  to  shoot  out,  some 
of  them  to  a  distance  of  nearly  a  foot, 


256 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


but  the  plant  failed  to  do  its  long  distance 
work  under  human  observation.  In  a  day 
or  two  a  large  number  of  the  seeds  were 
found  at  much  greater  distances — some 
even  forty  inches  away. 

The  seeds  are  almost  as  large  as  the 
thin  walled  pods,  but  what  pent  up  power 
must  be  in  these  tiny  fragile  capsules  that 
throws  these  little  cannon  balls  to  such  a 
distance. 

I  have  read  of  an  enthusiastic  botanist 
who  says  that  even  a  garden  weed  may  be 
extremely  interesting.  In  many  cases 
weeds  are  more  interesting  than  rarer 
plants.  They  have  a  persistence  and  a 
perseverance  that  are  commendable  when 
we  look  only  at  those  characteristics  but 
annoying  when  we  try  to  displace  them 
l)y  other  and  more  desirable  plants.  Any 
plant  that  grows  where  we  do  not  want 
it  to  grow  becomes  a  weed.  It  is  not  the 
plant's  fault. 

We  commend,  especially  to  our  younger 
readers,  this  purple  pigweed  and  other 
members  of  the  family,  though  I  must 
confess  that  the  purple  plant  is  rather 
more  aristocratic  and  more  beautiful  than 
the  common  green  pigweed. 


THE  SOCKETS  AFTER  THE  liALLS  HA\  E  IJEEX 
FJREU. 


Sunbeams  and   raindrops,   the   rustle  of  the 

breeze. 
Flower-petals,    green    leaves,    the    welcome 

shade  of  trees. 
Falling  water,   bird   notes,   and   things   such 

as  these. 
.\re  in   Nature's  alphabet  the  A.   B.   Cs. 
— Emma   Peirce. 


THE  BALLS  AND  THE  CAPS. 


THE  PLANT  WORLD   UNDER  CARE 


257 


THE  BEEFSTEAK  MUSEIROOM  IS  WELL  ^^■ORTH  CAREFUL  CONSIDERATION. 


J 'he  Beefsteak  Mushroom. 

BY    H.    W.    WEISGERBER,    SALEM^   OHIO, 

Of  all  the  numerous  nature  subjects 
there  are  none  that  I  more  thoroughly 
enjo}'  photographing  than  the  fungi. 
Many  of  these  are  difficult  subjects. 
This  is  one  reason  why  so  many  of  the 
older  books  upon  mushrooms  have 
such  poor  pictures. 

The  beefsteak,  Fistulina  Hepatica,  is 
one  of  the  difficult  forms,  for  not  only 
is  it  reddish  in  color,  but  it  is  practi- 
cally smooth  on  the  top  as  well  as  on 
the  underside,  as  shown  in  the  upper 
left-hand  corner  of  the  illustration. 

The  "flesh"  of  this  fungus  is  fibrous 
and  follow's  the  outline,  as  shown  by 
the  section  in  the  upper  right-hand 
corner. 

The  large  specimen  at  the  lower  edge 
of  the  picture  grew  on  an  old  chestnut 
stump ;  the  two  smaller  forms,  as  well 
as  the  one  "sectioned,"  and  the  one 
turned  bottom  side  up,  w^ere  gathered 
elsewhere  to  complete  the  picture  of 
the  species. 

The  inside  is  red.  The  watery  juice 
resembles  thin  blood  and  has  an  acid 


taste.  The  gourmand  who  loves  strong 
vinegar  on  his  beefsteak  would  enjoy 
this  "sour"  fungus,  which  wdien  pre- 
pared is  said  to  resemble  beefsteak  in 
flavor — but  I  failed  to  find  it  so  when 
I  tried  one.  But  as  I  have  not  yet 
acquired  a  liking  for  the  fungi,  I  am  not 
a  judge.  But  mushrooms  make  fine 
negatives.  For  that  reason  I  delight 
to  study  and  to  photograph  them. 


Our  moment  of  life  costs  many  hours, 
hours  not  of  business,  but  of  preparation 
and  invitation.  Yet  the  man  who  does 
not  betake  himself  at  once  and  desperate- 
ly to  sawing  is  called  a  loafer,  though  he 
may  be  knocking  at  the  doors  of  heaven 
all  the  while,  which  shall  surely  be  open- 
ed to  him.  That  aim  in  life  is  highest 
which  requires  the  highest  and  finest  dis- 
cipline. How  much,  what  infinite  leisure 
it  requires,  as  of  a  life-time,  to  appreciate 
a  single  phenomenon !  You  must  camp 
down  beside  it  as  for  life,  having  reached 
your  land  of  promise,  and  give  yourself 
wholly  to  it.  It  must  stand  for  the  whole 
world  to  you,  symbolical  of  all  things. 
— Thoreau. 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


The  Heavens  in  January. 

BY  PROFESSOR  ERIC  DOOLITTLE  OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 

This,  the  first  month  of  the  year,  is  a 
month  crowded  with  matters  of  interest 
to  those  who  watch  the  skies.  It  is  in  this 
month  that  the  heautiful  Leo,  the  last  of 


southeast  in  the  twihght  glow  after  sun- 
set ;  and  also  the  very  brig'ht  little  Mer- 
cury, which  attains  its  farthest  entrance 
into  the  evening-  heavens  toward  the  end 
of  the  month,  it  will  result  that  every 
one  of  the  five  naked  eye  planets  are  to  be 
seen  during-  the  early  evenings  of  the 
present  month. 


NORTH. 


South. 


Figure   1.     The  constellations  at  9  P.   M.,   January   1.      I  If  facing  soutli,   hold   the  map  upright.     If  fac- 
ing east,  hold  East  below.     If  facing  west,   hold  West  below.      If  facing  north,   hold  the  map  inverted.) 


the  winter  constellations,  has  entered  the 
evening  heavens,  so  that  the  whole  south 
and  southeast  are  now  covered  with  the 
brilliant  winter  train  of  stars.  And  more 
than  this,  we  now  have  the  unusual  spec- 
tacle of  no  less  than  three  bright  planets 
— Jupiter,  Saturn  and  Mars,  all  shining 
in  our  evening  sky  at  one  time.  Indeed, 
if  we  include  the  very  beautiful  Venus, 
which   is   now   the   most   brilliant   in   the 


besides  this  wealth  of  interesting  ob- 
jects presented  for  our  study  we  will  also 
in  the  early  morning  of  January  20,  wit- 
ness an  interesting  partial  eclipse  of  the 
moon,  while,  (most  interesting  of  all  to 
an  astronomer)  the  wonderful  variable 
star,  Mira,  is  seen  shining  in  the  south- 
west, and  this  object  will  during  the  pre- 
sent month  pass  through  its  epoch  of 
maximum  light. 


TO  KNOW  THE  STARRY  HEAVENS 


259 


While  so  much  occurs  of  special  in- 
terest we  will  have  but  little  space  to  write 
of  those  heavenly  objects  that  are  with  us 
for  a  longfer  time.  The  possessor  of  a 
small  telescope  will  not  fail  to  remember, 
however,  that  the  great  nebulas  of  Orion 
and  Andromeda,  the  Praesepe.  the  Plei- 
ades, the  Double  Cluster  in  Perseus,  and 
the  stars.  Sirius,  Regulus.  Capella  and  the 
blood-red  star  in  Lepus.  are  now  all  in 
excellent  position  for  observation. 


after  attaining  its  greatest  brilliance  it 
will  rapidly  fade  away,  and  soon  there 
will  be  no  trace  of  any  object  in  this  part 
of  the  heavens,  unless  a  telescope  is  em- 
ployed. As  with  many  variable  stars  of 
this  kind,  it  may  be  continuously  followed 
with  telescopic  aid.  and  as  it  grows  fainter 
will  be  seen  to  become  a  deep  red  color. 

Mira  is  a  great  sun  which  is  usually 
fainter  than  the  ninth  magnitude.  At  an 
interval   of  about   every   eleven   months. 


Figure  2.  Curve  showing  the  variation  in  the  observed  magnitude  of  Mira  through 
tvjro  periods,  or  during  an  interval  of  about  twenty-two  months.  During  recent  years  the 
maximum   brightness   has   been    slightly   greater    than    even    the   first    (Ligh)    maximum    here 


The  Variable  Star,  Mira. 

This  wonderful  and  interesting  object 
will  be  found  in  the  position  indicated  in 
Figure  i.  If  the  observer  will  face  to- 
ward the  southwest  in  the  early  evening 
he  will  probably  have  but  little  difficulty 
in  finding  the  quadrilateral  formed  by  the 
four  stars,  B,  C,  D  and  E,  which  at  this 
time  are  past  the  meridian  but  are  still 
well  up  from  the  horizon.  These  four 
stars,  together  with  either  the  star  at  A 
or  the  two  stars.  A  and  H.  form  the  figure 
of  a  small  inverted  dipper. 

If  now  a  straight  line  be  imagined 
drawn  from  E  to  D.  and  extended  up- 
ward, it  will  almost  meet  the  star  at  F. 
which  star  is  Nodus,  the  knot  in  the  cord 
which  binds  the  two  Fishes  together.  It  is 
just  below  this  star  that  there  now  shines 
out  the  wonderful  Mira.  A  few  weeks 
ago.  had  the  observer  looked  at  this  part 
of  the  heavens,  he  would  have  seen  no 
trace  of  this  star  with  the  naked  eye. 

All  of  the  stars  in  this  region  of  the 
sky  are  unfortunately  rather  faint  ones — 
it  is  the  extreme  eastern  border  of  the 
faint,  summer  heavens,  but  it  is  hoped 
that  from  the  above  directions  the  reader 
will  be  easily  able  to  locate  this  variable 
star.  If  he  will  look  at  it  from  time  to 
time  as  the  weeks  go  by.  he  will  see  that 


however-  some  stupendous  disturbance 
begins  within  it  and  the  amount  of  light 
and  heat  which  it  pours  out  begins  rapidly 
to  increase,  until  within  a  few  weeks  it 
becomes  thousands  of  times  as  great  as 
when  the  sun  was  quiescent.  Sometimes, 
for  many  years,  Mira  has  only  brightened 
to  a  faint  star  of  less  than  the  fourth 
magnitude ;  in  other  years  it  has  risen  to 
nearly  the  first  magnitude,  and  it  is  re- 
ported that  sometimes  for  many  vears 
consecutively  it  has  not  grown  bright 
enough  to  be  seen  with  the  naked  eye. 

The  present  maxinunn  is  due  to  occur 
on  January  8,  but  as  the  interval  between 
brightenings  is  for  some  reason  quite 
irregular,  the  date  ma\-  var\-  even  so  much 
as  a  week  or  two  from  this.  Nor  can  we 
predict  exactly  how  bright  Mira  will 
grow ;  but  since,  during  the  past  few- 
weeks,  its  brightness  has  increased  an 
hundredfold  it  is  probable  that  the  pre- 
sent brightening  will  be  a  notable  one. 
The  magnitude  of  the  star  at  B,  Figure  i, 
is  ^.6;  that  of  the  star  at  C  is  3.8;  of  D 
is  3.9;  of  E  is  the  3.6,  and  of  F  is  4.0. 
Mira  will  certainly  become  conspicuously 
brighter  than  any  of  these  stars  and  it 
will  probably  exceed  even  the  star  at  H, 
whose  magnitude  is  2.2.  It  will  probably 
become  when  brightest  from  three  to  six 


26o 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


times  as  bright  as  the  Pole  Star.  As  to 
the  cause  of  this  wonderful  periodic  dis- 
turbance in  this  distant  sun,  we  are  as 
yet  in  complete  ignorance. 

The  Partial  Eclipse  of  the  Moon. 

The  interesting-  eclipse  of  January  20 
unfortunately  occurs  at  so  late  an  hour 
of  the  night  that  it  will  probably  only  be 
seen  by  those  of  us  who  are  so  interested 
in  astronomy  that  they  will  make  a  spe- 


Figure   3.      The   partial   eclipse   of   the   moon    on    the 
morning    of   January    20th. 


cial  effort  to  observe  it.  The  eclipse  is 
also  a  very  partial  one,  only  about  one- 
seventh  of  the  moon's  diameter  being  cov- 
ered by  the  shadow. 

The  great  shadow  of  the  earth,  \vhich 
always  stretches  out  into  space  in  a  direc- 
tion exactly  away  from  the  sun,  has  the 
form  of  a  great  cone  whose  base  is  the 
earth  and  whose  length  is  no  less  than 
857,000  miles  in  diameter. 

Figure  3  shows  this  portion  of  the 
shadow,  and  also  the  motion  of  the  full 
moon  as  we  will  view  it  on  the  morning 
of  January  20.  Our  satellite  will  reach 
the  position  A'  and  the  eclipse  begin  at  2 
hrs.  55  min.  A.M.,  (Eastern  Standard 
Time)  ;  it  will  reach  B  and  the  eclipse  will 
be  the  greatest,  at  3  hrs.  39  min.  A.M., 
and  it  will  finally  reach  C  and  the  eclipse 
terminate  at  4  hrs.  24  min.  A.M. 

The  entire  phenomenon  will  thus  last 
I  hr.  29  min. ;  but  it  will  be  noticed  that 
even  when  the  eclipse  is  greatest  it  will 
only  be  a  small  portion  of  the  lower  edge 
of  our  satellite  which  is  hidden  from  us. 
Throughout  the  eclipse  the  moon  will  be 
seen  high  in  the  sky,  in  the  beginning  it 


will  be  about  three  hours  past  the  merid- 
ian, and  at  the  end  it  will  be  about  one- 
third  the  way  up  from  the  northwestern 
horizon  to  the  zenith. 

The  Planets  in  January. 

Alercury  will  attain  its  greatest  distance 
east  of  the  sun  on  January  20  and  for  a 
few  evenings  before  and  after  this  date 
it  may  be  seen  shining  brightly  in  the  twi- 
light glow,  low  in  the  southwest  for  a 
short  time  after  sunset.  It  will  pass  to 
the  west  of  the  sun  and  become  a  morn- 
ing star  on  February  5. 

The  observer  may  have  noticed  how 
very  brilliantly  the  beautiful  planet  Venus 
has  been  shining  in  the  southwest,  just 
after  sunset.  For  many  weeks  past,  and 
also  throughout  the  present  month,  it  con- 
tinually moves  northward  among  the 
stars,  and  is  therefore  seen  continually 
creeping  from  the  south  to  the  west  point 
of  the  horizon.  On  January  I,  it  sets  in 
the  southwest  about  two  hours  after  stui- 
set ;  by  January  31,  this  time  is  increased 
to  two  and  one-half  hours,  and  the  planet 
sets  almost  due  west,  having  by  this  time 
become  a  conspicuous  object  in  the  early 
evening  sky.  Venus  will  remain  with  us 
throughout  the  winter  and  spring,  in- 
creasing in  brightness  and  mounting 
higher  in  the  sky  on  each  successive  eve- 
ning. It  will  reach  its  greatest  distance 
east  of  the  sun  on  April  23,  (when  it  will 
remain  in  the  western  sky  until  nearly 
midnight)  and  it  will  attain  its  greatest 
brilliance  on  ]\Iay  27. 

Mars  will  be  a  most  interesting  object 
for  observation  during  the  present  month. 
Its  very  rapid,  direct  motion'  which  for 
so  long  a  time  has  kept  it  beyond  the 
borders  of  our  evening  star  map,  will 
cease  on  January  i,  at  9  P.M.,  and  from 
this  time  until  Alarch  22  it  will  move  west- 
ward among  the  stars.  During  January 
it  will  be  seen  in  the  constellation  Leo, 
just  within  the  blade  of  the  Sickle.  This 
most  interesting-  planet  is  now  in  almost 
the  best  position  for  observation  of  the 
entire  year.  It  reaches  its  least  distance 
from  the  earth  on  February  9,  and 
throughoutthe  month  of  January  the  earth 
and  Mars  are  so  unusually  near  together 
that  the  planet  can  be  studied  to  the  great- 
est advantage.  The  reader  may  remem- 
ber how  faint  the  Red  Planet  looked  only 
a  few  months  ago.   It  has  now  approached 


TO  KNOW  THE  STARRY  HEAVENS 


261 


so  near  us  that  on  January  i  it  will  shine 
with  three  times,  and  on  January  31,  with 
six  times-  the  brightness  of  a  first  magni- 
tude star. 

Jupiter  is  still  well  up  in  the  evening 
sky  on  January  i,  though  by  the  end  of 
the  month  it  will  have  passed  beyond  the 
borders  of  our  map.     Saturn  is  high  in 


It  may  of  course  be  that  the  writer, 
a  certain  Benjamin  De  Casseres,  does 
not  intend  this  to  be  taken  seriously 
since  he  says  that  the  name  of  the  new 
sun-planet  is  Nietzsche,  but  most 
readers  would  accept  it  as  a  new  dis- 
covery. Professor  Eric  Doolittle 
makes    this   general    comment   regard- 


Figure   4.      Drawings   of  the   planet   Mars.      The   planet   is   now   opposite   the   sun   and 
therefore  now  appears  fully  as  in  the  second  drawing. 


the  southeast  in  the  constellation  Gemini, 
and  dailv  approaching  nearer  the  merid- 
ian. Both  of  these  planets  are  now  in 
excellent  position  for  observation  and 
study. 

On  January  2.  at  8  A.]\I..  our  earth, 
in  the  course  of  its  yearly  path,  will  pass 
nearest  the  sun.  Our  sun  will  then  be 
more  than  three  millions  of  miles  nearer 
Us  than  when  the  two  bodies  are  farthest 
separated  in  July. 


Foolish  Astronomy. 

It  seems  easy  to  deceive  the  public 
along  astronomical  lines,  because  the 
public  has  so  little  general  knowledge 
of  the  subject,  but  it  is  strange  that  a 
paper  of  the  standing  of  "The  New 
York  Sun"  should  print  such  a  letter 
as  this  from  an  unknown  writer : 

"]\Iy  observatory  has  recorded  the 
presence  of  an  eighth  planet.  It  lies 
beyond  Neptune.  It  is  half  sun  and 
half  planet.  In  one  hundred  years  the 
effect  of  this  giant  strayling  on  the 
other  seven  planets  will  have  been  so 
strong  that  our  sidereal  system,  as  we 
know  it  to-day,  will  have  passed 
through  tremendous  cateclysms.  But 
it  will  survive.  The  name  of  this  new 
sim-planet  is  Nietzsche." 


ing  such  astronomical  nonsense : 

"There  is  no  foundation  for  this 
article.  It  is  absolute  foolishness. 
Who  De  Casseres  is  I  do  not  know — I 
have  never  heard  of  him.  Many  such 
articles  appear  from  time  to  time. 
Newspapers  will  naturally  print  al- 
most any  communication  in  the  form 
of  a  letter,  disclaiming,  of  course,  all 
responsibility  for  what  the  letters  may 
contain.  Only  yesterday  I  received  a 
letter  from  another  'Astronomer'  as- 
suring me  that  he — or  rather  she,  for 
it  was  a  woman — had  been  holding  in- 
teresting talks  with  the  inhabitants  of 
Mars,  and  ofifering  (for  a  considera- 
tion) to  tell  me  what  they  talked  about. 
Such  articles  are  perhaps  amusing,  but 
they  should  deceive  nobody  with  the 
smallest  knowledge  of  astronomy." 


Silently  one  by  one,  in  the  infinite  mea- 
dows of  heaven. 

Blossomed  the  loveh^  stars,  the  forget- 
me-nots  of  the  angels. 

— Lonsrfellow. 


Earth's  crammed  with  heaven. 
And  every  common  bush     afire 
God. — Mrs.  Browning-. 


with 


262 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


The   Mine  of  Interests  and   Pleasures 
in  Unknown   Names. 

EDWARD  F.   BICELOVV. 

How  seldom  does  an  unknown  name 
suggest  the  possibility  of  a  mine  of 
treasures  as  valuable  as  gold,  although 
such  experience  is  not  rare.  Every 
person  has  had  his  pleasure  in  life  ex- 
tended by  new  acquaintances.  We  may 
hear  a  name  and  pass  it  by  as  mean- 
ingless, yet  later  that  person's  friend- 
ship may  mean  to  us  much  more  than 
words  can  convey. 


by  which  to  measure  other  entertain- 
ments. I  have  never  yet  found  any- 
thing that  I  think  is  better  than  the 
formerly  meaningless  Wang.  I  have 
learned  that  a  term  absolutely  mean- 
ingless may  finally  become  an  intel- 
lectual gold  mine. 

Dear  reader,  perhaps  you  shy 
and  jump  like  a  skittish  horse  when 
you  see  or  hear  a  scientific  name. 
You  lean  against  the  fence,  your  hands 
in  your  pockets,  your  eyes  cast  down. 
Now  listen  to  these  two     words,     Al- 


HOW  THE  EDITOR  OF  THIS   MAGAZINE   BEGAN   STUDYING   ASIRONOMY   TWENTY-FR'E 

YEARS  AGO. 


It  is  true  that  a  word  signifies  noth- 
ing unless  we  know  what  it  signifies. 
That  sounds  trite  but  it  is  equally 
true  to  say  that  strange  words  have 
become  nuggets  of  gold  to  us. 

I  recall  an  experience  of  the  kind  in 
"Wang,"  the  name  of  a  comic  opera. 
When  it  was  first  announced  it  made 
no  impression  upon  me,  and  when  I 
heard  that  tickets  were  selling  rapidly 
I  thought  how  silly  it  is  for  sensible 
people  to  find  pleasure  in  that  meaning- 
less Wang.  But  when  a  friend  induc- 
ed me  to  call  on  Wang,  I  experienced 
a  change  of  heart.  The  interview  was 
the  most  enjoyable  entertainment  of 
the  kind  that  I  have  ever  had,  and 
Wang  has  ever  since  been  a  standard 


maack  and  Alesartim.  Meaningless  to 
you.  are  they?  Never  heard  them  be- 
fore? The  first  is  Gamma  Androme- 
dae.  the  second  Gamma  Arietis.  You 
say,  "They  mean  nothing.  Go  away." 
Please  recall  my  experience  with 
Wang.  Come  out  and  share  in  the 
continuous  performance  now  going  on 
at  the  Sound  Beach  Astronomical  Ob- 
servatory. Your  new  acquaintances, 
Almaack  and  Mesartim,  will  give  you 
i:)leasure  not  heretofore  realized  by  you, 
if  you  will  do  a  little  thinking  along 
with  seeing.  You  may  make  an  origi- 
nal discovery  in  Mesartim  and  go  back 
more  than  two  hundred  years  to  the 
time  when  Sir  Isaac  Newton  was  earn- 
ing his  fame,  in  those  good  old  davs 


TO  KNOW  THE  STARRY  HEAVENS 


263 


when  so  many  people  were  making  ori- 
ginal discoveries.  An  astronomer, 
Hooke,  was  looking  at  a  comet  through 
his  telescope.  Near  that  comet  he  made 
a  startling  discover)'.  He  found  Gam- 
ma Arieties  and  the  Mesartim.  "I 
took  notice  that  it  consisted  of  two 
small  stars  ver}-  near  together,  a  like 
instance  to  which  I  have  not  yet  met 
with  in  all  the  heavens."  That  was  the 
first  double  star  ever  discovered. 
Previously  to  that  no  one  even  imag- 
ined such  a  thing  as  a  double  star.  You, 
my  friend,  may  be  in  that  condition  of 
mind.  Come  to  the  observatory  and 
change  your  mind.  You  may  exper- 
ience Mr.  Hook's  surprise  and  grati- 
fication. Gamma  Arietis  is  a  little 
twin  jewel  in  appearance  but  in  fact 
it  is  two  mighty  suns  millions  of  miles 
apart  and  each  probably  as  big  as  our 
one.  Every  astronomer  that  has  ever 
seen  Gamma  Arietis  calls  it  a  "fine 
double."  a  white  and  a  pale  gray.  It 
is  indeed  a  "fine  double."  but  Almaack 
is  a  "splendid  double."  Those  that 
have  access  to  a  large  telescope  say 
that  the  little  star  is  itself  a  double 
so  that  the  system  is  really  a  triple. 
Rut  if  the  little  twinkler  were  divided 
into  four,  it  would  not  bring  to  my 
mind  so  much  pleasure  as  does  its  glim- 
mering orange  beside  the  emerald 
green  of  its  brighter  companion.  There 
are  other  "splendid  doubles"  in  the  sky 
at  the  present  time,  but  I  think  that, 
as  T  keep  AA'ang  as  my  standard  of 
comjiarison  for  comic  operas,  so  you 
will  keep  Gamma  Andromedae,  the 
Almaack,  as  the  standard  of  excellence 
bv  which  vou  will  judge  all  "fine  dou- 
bles." 

In  mv  Dcrsonal  opinion  this  is  the 
finest  double  in  all  the  heavens.  It  is 
mv  favorite.  Well,  wait  a  moment. 
Tt  is  difincult  to  tell  which  is  the  best. 
Of  course  you  know  T  had  a  mental 
reservation  regarding  the  astonishing 
blue  and  the  dainty  little  companion 
of  Rigel  in  Orion.  Almaack  and  the 
bhie  Rigel.  "I  could  be  happy  with 
either  were  t'other  dear  charmer  awav." 


The  .Stars !  W^ords  fail  mc  here. 
They  filled  my  soul  with  a  something 
deeper  and  a  w^orship  truer  and  higher 
than  I  had  ever  known  in  my  three 
score  -^-ears. — l\Trs.  David  ^^^  fackson. 
Rartville,  Pa. 


Baseball  Diamonds  in  the  Sky. 

BV  W.  B.  CL.^RKE,  M.D.,  IXDI.XN AWJMS, 
INDIANA. 

Professor  Doolittle's  article,  "The 
Heavens  in  November,"  in  your  Novem- 
ber issue  interested  me.  While  not  an  as- 
tronomer nor  a  student  of  astronomy, 
though  perhaps  1  may  be  accused  of  some- 
times being  a  stargazer,  it  is  possible  that 
I  have  made  an  astronomical  discovery 
that  may  interest  the  lovers  of  baseball, 
from  the  President  down. 

As  I  gazed  at  the  professor's  circular 
representation  of  the  constellatitjiis  in 
their  respective  places,  I  thought  I  saw- 
something",  and  then  went  out  and  scan- 
ned the  sky  for  verifications,  and  found 
them,  just  as  any  other  tyro  can  do  these 
starlight  nights  if  no  strong  and  discon- 
certing electric  lights  are  near.  I  enclose 
a  diagram  of  what  I  saw,  the  interpreta- 
tions being  in  red  ink. 

The  aforesaid  lovers  of  baseball, 
whether  "our"  team  finished  high  or  low, 
should  be  delighted  to  learn  of  my  dis- 
covery that  beautiful  baseball  diamonds, 
full  of  stars,  make  nightly  appearance  in 
the  heavens  at  this  late  season  of  the  year. 
It  has  not  been  determined  what  league 
these  unchanging  diamonds  belong  to,  nor 
have  scores  of  their  games  yet  been  re- 
ceived, but  it  is  evident,  reasoning  from 
the  popular  Martian  philosophy  of  these 
war  times,  that  there  is  such  a  league.  A 
little  to  the  east  of  directly  overhead  (in 
the  middle  of  Indiana)  is  a  plainly  out- 
lined diamond,  the  prettiest  of  the  whole 
lot ;  north  of  that  another  nearly  as  well 
defined,  and  four  smaller  and  less  perfect 
ones  in  the  west,  east  and  south,  but 
whose  teams  are  evidently  traveling  as 
their  pitchers  are  not  visible. 

The  plainest,  most  conspicuous  and 
most  perfect  diamond  is  in  the  great 
Milky  \\'ay  (  perhaps  appropriately,  as  in 
baseball  it  is  the  public  that  is  getting 
milked  )  and  belongs,  as  Astronomer  Doo- 
little  would  locate  it,  a  la  constellation,  to 
the  Cygnus  Club  (right  in  the  swim)  ; 
the  next  most  perfect  belong's  to  the 
Pegasus  Club  (running  well)  ;  two  others 
to  Ursa  !Major  and  Ursa  ]\Iinor  (continu- 
ally growling  at  tlie  umpire),  with  Cetus 
and  Draco  and  ]:)erhaos  Lyra  trailing 
along  behind.  Any  of  the  "fans"  can 
easily  find  Cygnus  and  Pegasus  any  fine 
evening,  and  then  can  have  my  head  for 
a  football  if  they  can't. 

In  Cygnus  all  the  players  are  in  almost 
perfect  position,  with  the  umpire,  with  a 


264 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


base  runner  and  catcher  off  third,  while 
in  the  great  square  of  Pegasus  the  catcher 
is  off  first  and  a  base  runner  oft'  third. 

I  will  leave  for  the  more  imaginative 
and  descriptive  powers  of  the  baseball 
editor  the  first  report  of  a  championship 
game  between  the  Cygnus  and  Pegasus 
Clubs  of  the  Heavenly  League,  as  well  as 
the  detailing  how  the  heavenly  home  runs 
are  made.  But  may  I  suggest  that,  as  a 
pastor  in  the  East  preached  an  eloquent 
sermon  in  favor  of  baseball  on  Sunday, 
the  aforesaid  absolutely  indispensable 
editor  collaborate  with  this  pastor,  or  at 
least  borrow  from  him  some  appropriate 
descriptive  phrases  illustrating  this  nota- 
ble event? 

Another  point  made  plain  in  the  Pro- 
fessor Doolittle  diagram  is  the  fact  that 
there  are  a  number  of  "dippers"  in  the  sky 
besides  the  Great  and  Little  ones.  Even 
the  great  square  of  Pegasus,  baseball 
diamond  that  it  is,  is  a  dipper  with  a 
handle,  the  latter  being  furnished  by  An- 
dromeda, and  LTrsa  Major  and  Ursa 
Minor  are  also  both  dippers,  and  so  is 
Draco. 

I  wall  not  further  encroach  upon  your 
valuable  space  more  than  to  ask  your 
readers  to  get  out  your  November  number 
and  study  the  diagram  for  the  purpose  of 
seeing  how  near  they  can  come  to  the 
conclusions  here  arrived  at.  And  if  they 
want  to  see  a  picture  of  the  writer  it  will 
be  found  on  page  197  of  the  same  number, 
as  I  nominated  the  big  tree  that  took  the 
prize  as  the  largest  in  the  L^nited  States. 
The  other  man  is  Mr.  Dixon,  owner  o'" 
the  tree. 


What  is  Beyond  our  Universe? 

There  is  a  definite  thinning  out  of 
the  stars  as  we  penetrate  to  vast  dis- 
tances into  the  star  cloud ;  evidence 
which  has  convinced  us,  contrary  to 
our  former  belief,  that  we  are  reach- 
ing or  have  reached  in  some  directions, 
the  true  limit  or  boundary  of  our  immense 
universe. 

Almost  infinitely  extended  though 
our  wonderful  universe  is,  when  we 
have  reached  its  boundaries  it  is  im- 
possible for  our  minds  to  stop  there. 
Whether  beyond  is  infinite  but  empty 
space,  or  whether  one  universe  suc- 
ceeds another,  absolutely  without  end, 
one  conception  is  as  utterly  beyond  the 
powers  of  our  little  minds  as  the  other. 
But  if,  having  seen  that  our  Milky 
Way  universe  is  limited,  we  shall  ever 


discover  that  there  is  another,  almost 
infinitely  distant  one,  its  existence,  so 
far  as  we  can  now  see,  can  only  be  re- 
vealed to  us  by  its  disturbing  pull  upon 
our  own  vast  cloud  of  suns.  And  this 
slight  but  continuous  disturbance  of 
our  system  as  a  whole  will,  if  ever, 
only  be  revealed  to  us  by  the  exceed- 
ingly accurate  measures  belonging  to 
the  science  of  astronomy  of  position. 
— Eric  Doolittle,  C.  E.,  Professor  of 
Astronomy. 


Distance  and  Number  of  Stars. 

At  present  we  know  the  distances  of 
some  three  hundred  stars,  and  it  can- 
not be  doubted  that  in  the  course  of  a 
few  years  this  number  will  be  increas- 
ed to  many  thousands.  So  accurate 
is  the  new  method  that  if  a  star  is  no 
farther  than  163  light  years  away  its 
distance  can  be  thus  directly  measured. 

But  the  great  cloud  of  suns  around 
us  contains  millions  upon  millions  of 
objects.  The  latest  estimate  from 
Cambridge  is  that  the  number  of  vis- 
ible suns  in  our  universe  is  no  less  than 
1,600,000,000.  Though  w^e  can  direct- 
ly measure  the  distances  away  of  but 
a  few  thousands  of  these  can  we  reach 
no  reasonable  conclusions  in  regard  to 
the  true  distances,  sizes  and  distribu- 
tion of  the  others?  We  can  indeed  ac- 
quire much  reliable  information  on 
these  points,  but  it  must  be  obtained 
indirectly.  And  our  greatest  source  of 
information  comes  from  the  so-called 
Proper  Motions  of  the  stars. — Eric 
Doolittle,  C.  E.,  Professor  of  Astron- 
omy. 


On  almost  any  moonless  night  wdien 
the  sky  is  perfectly  clear,  and  the  soft 
shades  of  twilight  have  vanished,  a 
most  enjoyable  half-hour  or  hour  may 
be  spent  in  gazing  upon  the  immense 
deep  blue  expanse  above,  bedecked 
with  roving  planets  and  scintillating 
stars.  The  beautiful  constellations — 
strange  groupings  of  the  brighter  stars, 
handed  down  from  the  antiquity  of  the 
ages — are  always  present  in  God's 
great  outdoors,  and  are  ever  changing 
as  the  months  go  by,  constituting  a 
scene  of  marvellous  and  impressive 
splendour,  and  at  the  same  time  afford- 
ing an  unfailing  field  for  study,  of  the 
highest  interest  and  utilitv. — "The 
Call  of  the  Stars"  (Kippax). 


TO  KNOW  THE  STARRY  HEAVENS 


265 


A   Midnight   Mountain   Message   from 
an  Astronomical  Observatory. 

BY    KDGAR    LUCIAN    LARKIX,    IHRECTOR    OF 

THE  LOWE  OBSERVATORY,    ^rOUNT 

LO\VE,    CALIFORNIA. 

{Especially   written    on   the    summit   of   the 

mountain   for   the    readers   of  The   Guide 

TO  Nature.] 

I  have  been  looking-  at  the  Milky  Way 
and  upon  the  hiig"e  disk  of  Jni^iter  with 


doubted.  The  fact  is  that  during  all  my 
years  in  observatories  in  Illinois  i  never 
really  saw  the  unutterable  splendors  of 
the  Milky  Way,  the  star  strewn  way,  un- 
til I  came  to  this  peak.  As  I  write,  the 
stillness  and  the  solitude  are  absolute. 
The  imagination  is  alert,  and  there 
alone  on  the  mountain  summit  I 
seem  almost  to  hear  the  axis  of  the  earth 
turning  in  space.     I  just  glanced  toward 


THE  LOWE  EOr 
This  illustration  and  the  one  on   the  followi 


iRI  \l.  TELESCOPE. 

re   lent   to   us  by   "Tlie   Theosophical   Path."   Point 


Loma,   California.      They   originally  appeared   in    Professoi    Larkin's   book,    "Witliin   the    Mind   Maze." 


the  sixteen-inch  Clark  &  Sons  equatorial. 
The  air  is  so  pure  to-night  that  \vere  I 
to  tell  of  the  inconceivably  minute  points 
— all  giant  suns —  that  I  have  seen  deep 
within   the  galaxy,   my   words   might   he 


the  south  window  of  the  observatory  and 
beheld  the  majestic  Goddess  of  the  Night, 
personified  as  from  the  Galaxy.  She  is 
disolaying  her  supernal  robes  adorned 
with    millions    of    stars.      Owing   to    the 


266 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


rotation  of  the  earth,  she  is  dragging  tb.e  below  the  great  white  dome  of  the  observ- 
hem  of  the  garment  in  the  Pacific  Ocean,  atory.  .  . 

for  the  gorgeous  stellar  hosts  by  untold  Stars  by  millions  are  rising  and  the 
millions  in  Scorpio  and  Sagittarius  are  glittering  points  emerge  from  peaks  and 
vanishing  bevond  the  waterv  wastes.    My  crags    worn    by    the    wind,    scarred    and 


southern  and  southwestern  horizons  are 
water,  while  the  eastern  is  a  scries  of 
majestic  sentinel  peaks  rising  thousands 
of  feet  above  the  floor  of  the  canyon  far 


shattered  by  the  lightning.  To-night  I 
beheld  a  moon  of  Jupiter  rise  behind  a 
distant  rock  before  the  edge  of  the 
mighty  disk  appeared.     Early  this  morn- 


TO  KNOW  THE  STARRY  HEAVENS 


267 


ing,  September  6th.  1915,  the  edge  of 
Saturn's  ring  was  seen  projecting  beyond 
the  stone  before  the  globe  came  into  view. 
The  star-Hghted  vault  celestial  seems  to 
be  just  around  and  about  the  mountain 
summit.  One  can  almost  touch  the  stars, 
the  illusion  is  so  apparently  real  and  so 
fascinating.  There  is  another  remark- 
able summit  and  canyon  effect.  The  tele- 
scope reverses,  therefore  by  looking  with 
one  eye  at  the  instrument  and  the  other 
at  a  peak,  literally  millions  of  galactic 
suns  seem  to  pour  downward  in  a  colos- 
sal flood  toward  the  yawning  abyss,  black- 
er now  than  Egyptian  night.  At  this 
approach  of  midnight,  giant  suns  are 
blazing  in  all  directions  with  an  effulgence 
unseen  in  observatories  on  the  plains 
below.  Here  one  is  not  "near  to  Nature's 
heart,"  but  within  it.  One  must  indeed 
be  debased  and  "out  of  tune"  if  he  is  not 
deeply  impressed  by  the  supernal  beauties 
of  Mars  and  Saturn  so  near  conjunction. 
The  World's  Great  University. 
I  have  just  returned  from  thirty  days' 
research  into  the  amazing  astronomical 
and  electrical  wonders  of  the  Panama- 
Pacific  Exposition.  The  transcendent 
products  of  the  Mount  Wilson,  Lick 
and  other  observatories  advance  those 
making  these  astonishing  photographs 
to  the  dignity  of  exalted  beings. 
Each  step  in  the  evolution  of  suns 
from  nebulae  is  shown  in  photog- 
raphic detail.  Nature  cannot  lift 
a  hand  without  being  instantly  photo- 
graphed. No  such  collection  of  stellar 
spectra  has  ever  before  appeared.  One 
can  see  the  laws  of  nature  in  action. 
Astronomer  Kapteyn's  concept  of  the 
drifting  of  the  stars  is  confirmed,  for 
there  are  the  paths  of  nineteen  hundred 
suns  that  are  moving  toward  Orion  in 
majestic  march.  The  motion  of  our  own 
sun  with  reference  to  the  Taurus  stars, 
including  the  Pleiades,  during  the  last 
eight  hundred  thousand  years  is  on  dis- 
play. The  instrumental  exhibits  of  War- 
ner &  Swazy,  of  Brashear,  and  of  the 
United  States  Government,  present  the 
perfection  of  human  work  in  precise 
measurements.  Brashear's  diffraction 
gratings  are  there,  glowing  with  superb 
colors,  and  telling  man  of  the  elements 
composing  the  sidereal  universe ;  the  tele- 
graphone,  recording  human  speech;  and 
the  audian  amplifier,  in  circuit  between 
New  York  and  San  Francisco,  and  capa- 
ble of  making  audible  the  faintest  wliisper 


in  either  city — these  three  wondrous 
triumphs  of  genius  stamp  their  inventors 
as  master  minds.  But  on  this  summit, 
in  the  "witching  hours,"  I  am  writing  of 
things  supernal,  in  a  peace  that  passeth 
all  understanding,  due  to  the  laws  of 
nature.  I  look  upon  scenic  and  cosmic 
splendors,  and  know  that  all  these  won- 
derful things  are  in  the  mighty  clutch 
of  pure  mathematics.  The  amazing  ef- 
fects due  to  chemically  pure  atmosphere, 
the  mirage  of  perspective,  the  exquisite 
panorama  of  peaks — these  and  the  balmy 
air  of  a  California  night  in  the  mountains 
conspire  to  set  the  mind  in  the  path  of 
peace  and  happiness. 

I  have  attended  the  inspiring  sessions 
of  the  American  Association  for  the 
Advancement  of  Science,  the  Astronomi- 
cal Society  of  America,  and  with  the 
members  of  these  societies  and  of  the 
American  ^Mathematical  Society  have 
visited  the  Lick  Observatory  on  Mount 
Hamilton.  As  I  entered  its  classic  dome, 
I  put  my  hand  on  the  spectroscope,  the 
world  famous  instrument  that  has  accom- 
plished the  seemingly  impossible  task  of 
measuring  in  the  line  of  sight  the  specific 
speeds  of  flying  sims  as  they  approach 
or  recede.  A  few  years  ago  this  seemed 
to  be  beyond  the  power  of  man,  but  it 
is  now  accomplished  fact.  The  year  191 5 
has  astronomically  been  of  fascinating 
interest. 

— Lowe  Observatory,  2  minutes  A.  M. 
September  7,  1915. 


May  Now  View  the  Sunspots. 
On  Thanksgiving  Day  the  Sound 
Beach  Astronomical  Observatory  was 
used  for  the  first  time  in  viewing  the 
sun.  The  telescope  show^ed  very  effect- 
ively quite  a  fair-sized  sunspot  then 
in  good  position  for  observation.  A 
view  of  the  sun  and  its  spots  may  also 
be  projected  through  the  telescope  up- 
on a  white  cardboard  on  the  wall  of 
the  observatory,  so  that  several  people 
may  see  the  sunspot  at  the  same  time. 
These  first  experiments  in  solar  obser- 
vation were  made  by  the  director  of  the 
observatory,  assisted  by  S.  C.  Hunter, 
an  amateur  astronomer  of  New  Ro- 
chelle.  Mr.  Hunter  had  already  con- 
tributed $50  towards  the  observatory, 
and.  in  addition,  on  this  recent  visit, 
he  presented  a  very  fine  sim  diagonal, 
costing  $30.  The  observatory  is  now 
well  equipped  and  in  readiness  for 
Aiewinof  anvthiiiir  in  the  heavens. 


268 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


Death  of  Carl  A.  R.  Lundin. 

Mr.  Carl  A.  R.  Lundin  died  in  Cam- 
bridge, Massachusetts,  on  November 
28th,  191 5.  He  was  born  in  Wenners- 
borg,  Sweden,  January  13th,  185 1. 
Subsequently  his  family  removed  to 
Falun  where  his  education  was  ob- 
tained at  the  Falun  High  School. 
Early  developing  a  taste  for  mechanics 
he  decided  to  become  an  instrument 
maker  and  soon  after  his  graduation 
went  to  Stockholm  where  he  served 
an  apprenticeship  of  seven  years. 
From  thence  he  went  to  Christiana, 
Norway,  and  was  associated  with 
Olsen,  the  famous  instrument  maker  of 
that  city.  In  1873  he  determined  to 
come  to  America,  and  soon  after  his 
arrival  in  August  of  that  year  he 
entered  the  employ  of  Alvan  Clark  & 
Sons  (who  had  become  famous)  as 
their  chief  instrument  maker. 

From  the  beginning  he  was  interest- 
ed in  the  optical  part  of  the  work  and, 
finding  him  possessed  of  unusual  prom- 
ise, Mr.  Alvan  Clark  induced  him  to 
devote  his  entire  time  and  study  to  the 
art.  Up  to  the  time  of  Alvan' Clark's 
death  a  strong  attachment  existed  be- 
tween the  two  men.  each  recognizing 
and  appreciating  the  ability  of  the 
other.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  Mr. 
Lundin  was  the  only  man  in  whom 
Mr.  Clark  ever  saw  sufficient  promise 
to  induce  him  to  educate  him  in  the 
science  of  objective  making. 

Mr.  Lundin  had  two  children — a  son, 
C.  A.  Robert  Lundin,  who  for  the  past 
twenty  years  has  been  associated  with 
his  father  in  the  making  of  telescope 
objectives  at  the  Clark  works,  and  a 
daughter,  Laura  M.  Lundin,  a  gradu- 
ate of  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of 
Technology  and  now  a  professor  of 
mathematics  and  physics. 

Mr.  Lundin's  first  important  work 
was  in  connection  with  the  thirty  inch 
objective  for  Pulkowa,  Russia,  and  he 
v\/as  especially  designated  by  the  Rus- 
sian government  to  take  the  objective 
to  Russia  and  install  it.  At  the  time 
it  was  made,  it  was  the  largest  glass  in 
the  world.  In  the  making  of  the  thir- 
ty-six inch  objective  for  the  Lick  Ob- 
servatory and  the  forty-inch  objective 
for  the  Yerkes  Observatory,  he  bore  a 
prominent  part.  A  particularly  fine  ex- 
ample of  his  work  is  Dr.  Lowell's 
twenty-four  inch  objective  located  at 
Flagstafif,  Arizona.  He  also  made  the 
sixteen  inch  for  the  University  of  Cin- 


cinnati and  the  eighteen  inch  for  Am- 
herst College. 

Nearly  his  last  work  was  the  six  inch 
refractor  for  the  Agassiz  Association. 
This  telescope  was  received  October 
20th.  only  a  little  over  a  month  before 
his  death. 

He  was  a  Fellow  of  the  American 
Association  for  the  Advancement  of 
Science,  and  a  Charter  Member  of  the 
Astronomical  Society  of  America.  In 
recognition  of  his  services  to  science, 
Amherst  College  in  1905  conferred  up- 
on him  the  degree  of  A.  M. 


Faithful  Work  of  an  Astronomer. 

Dr.  Furness,  of  Vassar,  writes  enter- 
tainingly of  the  disappointment  felt 
by  one,  who,  fired  by  a  love  of  astron- 
omy, visits  an  observatory  for  the  first 
time,  and  watches  an  astronomer  at 
his  work.  He  is  not  found  sitting  at 
the  end  of  a  great  telescope,  looking 
at  a  Lunar  landscape  or  a  planet,  and 
uttering  from  time  to  time  an  irrepres- 
sible exclamation  of  delight  at  what 
he  sees,  nor  is  he  ever  hunting  in  the 
sky  for  something  new.  Instead,  he  is 
probably  passing  hour  after  hour  plac- 
ing a  fine  spider's  thread  upon  the 
exact  centers  of  successive  stars,  or 
determining  to  the  hundredths  part  of 
a  second  the  instants  when  other  stars 
are  crossing  his  meridian — occupations 
which  to  the  uninitiated  seem  utterly 
uninspiring  and  devoid  of  interest. — 
Eric  Doolittle,  C.  E.,  Professor  of  As- 
tronomv. 


A  Poor  Telescope. 

Sir  Robert  Ball  used  to  tell  a  story 
of  an  experience  he  had  when  he  was 
at  the  Dunsink  Observatory.  A  farmer 
came  to  him  one  day  and  asked  if  he 
might  look  at  the  moon  through  the 
telescope. 

"Surely  you  can,"  said  Ball.  "Come 
round  tonight." 

"Can  I  see  it  now?"  asked  the  farmer. 
"I  am  sorry  that  you  cannot,"  said  the 
astronomer.  "You  will  have  to  wait 
until  night." 

"Huh  !  Then  your  old  telescope  is 
not  so  great  a  thing  as  I  thought  it 
was !"  said  the  man.  "I  can  see  the 
moon  at  nigfht  without  it." 


The  gray  squirrel  is  reported  to  be 
increasing  in  England,  where  it  is  not 
at  all  desired. 


THE  AGASSIZ  ASSOCIATION 


269 


AOASSIZ  ASSOCIATION' 


feCCC<CCCC5KCC<KC<KC<CCCCCCCCC^^^ 


Established  1875 


Incorporated,  Maasachusetts,  1892 


Incorporated,  Connecticut,  1910 


Where  are  the  Really  Interesting 
Things? 

A  few  days  ago,  a  garage  not  far 
from  our  office  caught  fire.  The  whole 
town  turned  out  to  look,  and  I  was 
assured  that  it  was  a  spectacular  sight, 
when  the  great  volumes  of  black  smoke 
rolled  upward,  and  the  flames  leaped 
across  the  driveway  and  began  to  beat 
against  our  post  office  building.  If  I 
had  been  at  home,  I  probably  would 
have  joined  the  crowd  to  gaze  upon 
the  fire  and  the  smoke  and  the  labor- 
ing firemen. 

On  the  same  day,  in  the  Sound  Beach 
Astronomical  Observatory,  only  a  few 
rods  from  this  local  conflagration, 
which  was  watched  by  hundreds  of 
people,  one  could  view  a  fire  large 
enough  to  devour  half  of  the  United 
States,  possibly  the  whole  earth.  Sound 
Beach,  yes,  the  state  of  Connecticut, 
might  be  dropped  into  this  fire  and  it 
would  vanish  like  a  chip  in  a  bonfire. 
Not  only  for  a  few  minutes,  but  for 
days  was  this  seething  maelstrom  of 
whirling  flame  a  spectacular  sight. 

A  few  called  to  see  it  and  some  of 
these  appreciated  what  was  taking 
place  and  were  awed  by  its  grandeur. 
Others  looked  at  it  and  said,  "Is  that 
little  black  thing  what  you  call  a  spot 
on  the  sun?  It  isn't  much,  is  it? 
True ;  Things  are  "much"  only  rela- 
tively. 

Not  long  ago,  I  wandered  away  with 
my  camera  and  came  to  a  picturesque 
ravine  down  which  gurgles  and  laughs 
and  plunges  a  wonderful  brook.  From 
its  side  I  looked  at  this  miracle  of  rush- 
ing water,  but  I  had  the  sight  to  my- 
self. Not  a  human  being  was  visible 
in  the  moist  earth  at  the  ford,  there 
was  no  print  of  a  foot  except  the  print 
of  a  cow's  hoof. 

As  I  returned  to  the  office,  I  saw  the 
road  crowded  with  people,  traffic  sus- 
pended, vehicles  blocked  and  a  multi- 


tude gazing.  What  was  the  attrac- 
tion? A  water  main  had  burst.  Spurt- 
ing, gushing  streams  were  leaping  into 
the  air,  muddy  water  filled  the  gutters 
and  ran  into  the  ditches.  At  that  mo- 
ment the  spirit  of  Lowell,  the  poet,  said 
to  me.  "The  most  winsome  and  way- 
ward of  brooks  draws  now  and  then 
some  lover's  foot  to  its  intimate  re- 
serve, while  the  spurt  of  a  bursting 
water  pipe  gathers  a  gaping  crowd 
forthwith." 

Why  is  it  that  the  first  shall  be  last 
to  attract  the  general  mass  of  human 
beings?  On  earth  at  the  furtherest 
for  only  a  few  decades,  amidst  a  won- 
derful universe,  with  every  inch  of 
earth's  surface  crowded  with  wonder 
and  beauty,  why  do  the  gigantic  events 
of  nature  go  unconsidered,  and  the 
tiny  marvels  remain  unseen?  After 
the  earth  has  swung  around  the 
sun  for  only  a  few  more  times,  human 
eyes  will  no  longer  be  able  to  see  them. 

If  I  were  to  go  to  a  distant  place,  or 
if  I  were  to  visit  a  great  Exposition, 
and  had  only  a  limited  time  in  which 
to  stay,  do  you  think  that  I  would  not 
use  ever}^  minute  to  the  best  possible 
advantage?  This  world  is  only  a  lar- 
ger and  more  extensive  Exposition, 
with  God  as  the  exhibitor.  Why  not 
so  live  and  see  that  there  be  not  an 
eternity's  loss  and  possible  regret  that 
more  of  the  marvelous  things  of  time 
were  not  seen  with  that  intensest  en- 
thusiasm that  thev  merit? 


Throug'h  the  printer's  error  after  final 
proofs  had  left  this  office.  The  Agassiz 
Association  was  referred  to  in  the  Decem- 
ber number  as  The  Agassiz  Society.  It  is 
probable  that  all  our  long  time  friends 
understood  this  to  be  an  error,  but  we  call 
attention  to  it  for  the  sake  of  those  that 
have  recently  come  to  us.  We  are  not  a 
society,  but  an  Association  of  societies 
known  as  Chapters,  together  witli  indi- 
vidual Members. 


2/0 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


Studying  Nature  in  a  Barn. 
Forty-three  years  ago  next  summer, 
Louis  Agassiz  established  in  a  barn 
on  Penikese,  an  island  ofif  the  southern 
shore  of  Massachusetts,  the  most  fam- 
ous school  for  the  study  of  nature  that 


has  ever  existed.  From  that  school 
went  out  innumerable  influences  in  var- 
ious channels.  A  pupil,  David  Starr 
Jordan,  is  at  present  a  Trustee  of  The 
Agassiz  Association.  The  school  was 
held  in  a  barn  rather  hurriedly  fitted 


LOUIS   AGASSIZ,   THE   MASTER   TEACHER   VV^HG    INSPIRES    EVERY    AA    MEMBER. 
"He  seldom  spoke  without  a   piece  of  chalk  in   his  hand  *   *   *   *     Those  who  saw  his  genial  sniile   that 
portrayed  his  kindly  heart   *    ♦   *   *   were  influenced  for   life,   and  they   in   their  turn    have   influenced   thous- 
ands of  others." 


THE  AGASSIZ  ASSOCIATION 


271 


OUR  Fn'E  1-JKES  CHAPTER  (  CKEEN  W  1(1 1,  (O.XXECTICUT.i   HOLDS  ITS  MEE  1  1  .\(  IS  IN  A  BARN. 


up  for  the  purpose.  Professor  Holder 
in  his  "Louis  Agassiz :  His  Life  and 
Work"  tells  us  of  the  first  day  and  of 
Agassiz's  opening  the  school  with  si- 
lent prayer,  a  fact  recorded  in  the  poem 
by  Whittier  and  familiar  to  all  our 
readers. 

Dr.  Jordan  says : 

"None  of  us  will  ever  forget  his  first 
sight  of  Agassiz.  We  had  come  down 
from  New  Bedford  in  a  little  tug-boat 
in  the  early  morning,  and  Agassiz  met 
us  at  the  landing-place  on  the  island. 
He  was  standing  almost  alone  on  the 
little  wharf,  and  his  great  face  beamed 
with  pleasure.  For  this  summer  school, 
the  thought  of  his  old  age,  might  be 
the  crowning  work  of  his  lifetime.  Who 
could  forsee  what  might  come  from  the 
efforts  of  fifty  men  and  women,  teach- 
ers of  science,  each  striving  to  do  his 
work  in  the  most  rational  way?  His 
thoughts  and  hopes  rose  to  expecta- 
tions higher  than  any  of  us  then  un- 
derstood. 

"His  tall,  robust  figure,  his  broad 
shoulders  bending  a  little  under  the 
weight  of  years,  his  large  round  face 
lit  up  by  kindly  dark-brown  eyes,  his 
cheery  smile,  the  enthusiastic  tones  of 
his  voice,  his  rolling  gait,  like  that  of 
'a   man   who   had   walked   much   over 


ploughed  ground, — all  these  entered 
into  our  first  as  well  as  our  last  impres- 
sion of  Agassiz.  He  greeted  us  with 
great  warmth  as  we  landed.  He  looked 
into  our  faces  to  justify  himself  in 
making  choice  of  us  among  the  many 
whom  he  might  have  chosen. 

"The  old  barn  on  the  island  had  been 
hastily  converted  into  a  dining-hall 
and  lecture-room.  A  new  floor  had 
been  put  in  ;  but  the  doors  and  walls 
remained  unchanged,  and  the  swal- 
lows' nests  were  undisturbed  under 
the  eaves.  The  sheep  had  been  turned 
out,  the  horse-stalls  were  changed  to 
a  kitchen,  :and  on  the  floor  of  the 
barn,  instead  of  the  hay-wagon,  were 
placed  three  long  tables.  At  the  head 
of  one  of  these  sat  Agassiz.  At  his 
left  hand  always  stood  a  movable 
blackboard,  for  he  seldom  spoke  with- 
out a  piece  of  chalk  in  his  hand.  He 
would  often  give  us  a  lecture  while  we 
sat  at  the  table,  frequently  about  some 
fish  or  other  creature  the  remains  of 
which  still  lay  on  our  plates." 

In  that  famous  school  Agassiz  taught 
his  pupils  to  take  the  near-by  things  of 
marine  life  and  study  them.  He  then 
stood  at  the  blackboard  making  sket- 
ches of  the  things  under  consideration. 


272 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


LEADERS    OF    THE    FIVE    FIRES    CHAPTER    CONTINUING    AGASSIZ'S    METHOD    AT    THEIR 

BLACKBOARD  IN  A  BARN. 


Those  who  saw  his  genial  smile  that 
portrayed  his  kindly  heart  and  knew 
his  ideals  as  a  teacher  were  influenced 
for  life,  and  they  in  their  turn  have  in- 
fluenced thousands  of  others. 

The  work  still  goes  on  under  the 
auspices  of  The  Agassiz  Association. 
Young  people  are  everywhere  inspired 
by  the  influence  of  Agassiz  to  investi- 
gate the  commonplace  things  nearest 
to  them,  to  note  the  details  and  to  in- 


spire others  by  their  studies. 

It  seems  peculiarly  fitting  in  the  fifth 
decade  after  that  famous  school  in  the 
Penikese  barn  that  we  should  have  es- 
tablished in  a  barn  in  Greenwich  a 
Chapter  known  as  Five  Fires.  Youth- 
ful enthusiasts  are  there  taking  the 
commonplace  things  and  sketching 
them  so  to  note  their  detail.  In  our 
illustration  Master  Lewis,  Vice-Presi- 
dent of  this  Chapter,  is  shown  in  the 


^-^^S^Cio^       < 


■"> 


THE   OAK   PANEL   ON   OUR   OFFICE   DOOR. 
Quoted  from  a  motto  of  Agassiz's  school  in  a  barn. 


THE  AGASSIZ  ASSOCIATION 


^72> 


act  of  continuing  the  method  of  black- 
board demonstration  as  it  was  estab- 
lished forty-two  years  ago  by  the  great 
Agassiz  himself.  Master  Lewis  and  his 
associates  are  studying  the  details  of  a 
flicker's  nest  much  as  Agassiz  studied 
the  radiates  and  demonstrated  them  to 
his  pupils.  This  is  the  right  spirit, 
and  the  commonplace  objects  of  nature 
are  the  best  objects. 


Chapter   No.    1052,    Nashua,    New 
Hampshire. 

Our  Chapter  enjoyed  a  successful 
season  during  the  fall,  winter  and 
spring  of  1914-1915.  We  do  not  hold 
summer  meetings,  as  our  members  are 
at  that  time  widely  scattered.  We  have 
about    thirty    members    and    hold    our 


never  short  of  funds  to  carry  on  our  work. 

We  have  enjoyed  some  delightful 
evenings  among  the  stars,  -especially 
those  spent  at  the  observatory  of  the 
Reverend  T.  C.  H.  Bouton,  who  is  ever 
ready  to  place  his  six  inch  telescope  at 
our  disposal. 

Studying  bacteria  under  the  micro- 
scope of  Dr.  Bradford  Allen  proved 
particularly  valuable.  The  description 
of  the  "Distribution  of  Seeds"  aroused 
great  interest.  Several  evenings  were 
spent  in  studying  "Bird  Architecture." 
Wild  flowers,  trees,  ferns,  birds  and 
many  other  nature  subjects  were  con- 
sidered. We  have  now  begun  a  syste- 
matic study  of  "The  Geological  Story," 
to  occupy  most  of  the  winter  months. 
If  the  interest  shown  in  the  first  meet- 


THE  EXTRA.W  K  TO  THE  CAMP  OF  THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS'  AA  CHAPTER. 
The  Camp  Fire  Girls  along  this  part  of  the  Connecticut  coast  have  formed  an  union  AA  Chapter,  meet- 
ing at  ArcAdiA  once  a  month. 


meetings  fortnightly  in  the  Unitarian 
Church  or  at  the  homes  of  the  mem- 
bers. Organized  as  the  "Nature  Club" 
connected  with  the  local  Unitarian 
Church  we  sought  and  obtained,  about 
a  year  ago,  membership  in  The  Agas- 
siz Association.  We  have  no  dues,  but 
those  that  so  desire  contribute  five 
cents  at  every  meeting.  Nearly  every- 
body "chooses"  to  do  this,  so  we  are 


ing  on  the  subject,  "The  Three  Great 
Classes  of  Rocks,"  is  any  indication, 
the  meetings  this  winter  will  be  fol- 
lowed with  absorbing  interest.  Num- 
erous specimens  add  greatly  to  the  val- 
ue of  the  discussions.  We  take  fre- 
quent field  trips,  especially  in  the 
spring  during  the  bird  migration. 

Manly  B.  Towxsexd. 
Class  Leader. 


2/4 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


'?.»."^^ 


WHERE  AA  GIRLS  SPEND   SEVERAL  WEEKS   NEAR  TO  NATURE. 


Old  Wire  Mills  Camp  Chapter. 

On  Saturday  evening  at  five  o'clock  the 
Camp  Fire  Girls  from  Sound  Ueach. 
Riverside  and  Greenwich  gathered  at 
Welcome  Reception  Room.  ArcAdlA. 
The  girls  were  chaperoned  by  their  guar- 
dians, Mrs.  Lewis  W.  Barney,  of  Sound 
Beach,  Mrs.  I.  Newton  Lewis  and  Mrs. 
Seaman  Mead  of  Greenwich.  After  sup- 
per the  girls  were  called  to  order  and  Mrs. 
L  Newton  Lewis  acted  as  chairman.  The 
Old    Wire    Mill    Camp    Chapter    of    the 


Agassiz  Association  was  organized  with 
]\Iiss  Genevieve  Seeley,  of  Greenwich,  as 
president ;  Miss  Emma  Knapp,  vice-presi- 
dent ;  Miss  Clara  Schotanus,  of  Sound 
Beach,  recording'  secretary  ;  Miss  Reeves, 
corresponding  secretary  and  Miss  Mar- 
garet Smith,  of  Riverside,  treasurer.  It 
was  voted  to  meet  at  Welcome  Reception 
Room  last  Friday  in  January  at  5  p.m. 
Dr.  Bigelow  gave  a  short  talk  on  the  stars 
and  then  took  the  girls  out  to  look 
thr(mgh  the  telescope. 


A  PRACTICAL  AND  ENJOYABLE  WAY  OF  STUDYING  THE  INTERESTS  OF  A  BROOK. 


LITERARY  NOTICES 


IX 


LITERAK 


^««>®23<B^® 


War,  Science  and  Civilization.     By  William 
E.  Ritter.     Boston,   Massachusetts :   Sher- 
man, French  &  Company. 
The    author    treats    the    subject   biologically 
exactly  as  he  would  treat  some  phase  of  na- 
ture.   He  does  not  stop  with  theories  and  their 
proof,   but   indicates   what   our   nation   can   do 
with   its   present   supreme   opportunity   toward 
leading  the  world  to  permanent  peace. 


The    Essence   of    Astronomy.      By    Edward 
W.   Price.     New  York  City.     G.  P.  Put- 
nam's Sons. 
Here    is    a    volume    of    popular    astronomy 
quite  different  from  the  usual  variety. 

It  answers  in  untechnical  language  the 
everyday  questions  of  ever3'day  people,  the 
material  being  so  arranged  as  to  be  readily 
available  for  reference,  as  well  as  for  con- 
secutive reading. 


The  ]\Ioon..  By  Garrett  P.  Serviss.  New 
York  City.  D.  Appleton  and  Company. 
What  i\Ir.  Serviss  writes  on  astronomy  is 
always  interesting.  In  this  book  he  has  made 
the  subject  especially  attractive  since  he  has 
adopted  a  conversational  method,  in  imitation 
of  the  style  of  an  eighteenth  century  French 
classic.  The  entire  book  is  readable  and  in- 
structive. We  cordially  recommend  it  to  our 
readers.  The  photographs  are  the  best  to  be 
obtained  from  the  Yerkes  Observatorv. 


The  Call  of  the  Stars.     Bv  John  R.  Kippax, 
M.  D.,  LL.  B.    New  York  City.  G.  P.  Put- 
nam's Sons. 
This  readable  book  gives  a  concise  and  ac- 
curate  story   of   the   starry  heavens,   together 
with   the    legends   that   time    and    fancy   have 
associated  with  them.     It  is  intended,  not  for 
professional  readers,  but  for  those  that  desire 
to   know    about   the    wonderful   things    in   the 
sky  with   their   interesting   myths.     The   illus- 
trations and  charts  are  effective  and  interest- 
ing.   We  cordially  commend  the  book  to  those 
of  our  readers  that  are  beginning  star  study. 


Our  Dooryard  Friends.     Bv  Sara  V.  Prueser. 
Steinway    Hall,    Chicago,    Illinois :    "The 
Platform,''  The   Lyceum  and   Chautauqua 
Alagazine. 
This   is  mostly   devoted   to   birds   in    fulfill- 
ment of  the  author's   desire  to   interest  both 
young  and  old  in  the  life  and  beauty  of  the 
out-of-doors.     She  makes  no  claim  to  novelty 
nor  to  much  originality,  but  she  has  a  thor- 
oughly   good    individualistic    point    of    view. 
The_  book    is    pleasingly    illustrated    and    the 
publishers  have  done  their  work  well.  Among 
the  many  interesting  photographs,  perhaps  the 
most  attractive  is  that  of  a  house  wren  that 
built  her  nest  in   a  clothespin  bag  and   there 
reared  her  young. 


NOTICES 


^Iy  Growing  Garden.  By  J.  Horace  McFar- 
land.  New  York  City:  The  Macmillan 
Company. 
When  searching  for  a  semi-suburban  plot, 
the  author  of  this  book  stumbled  upon  an  old 
house  of  hybrid  design,  together  with  a  couple 
of  acres  of  abandoned  vineyard.  What  he 
and  his  family  do  during  a  half-dozen  years 
to  make  out  of  this  a  notable  garden  home,  on 
a  scale  at  once  modest  yet  inspiring,  is  the 
theme  of  the  volume.  Mr.  McFarland  is  well 
known  for  his  enthusiasm  for  forestry  and 
outdoor  life,  and  also  as  head  of  the  American 
Civic  Association,  leading  in  the  fight  for  the 
preservation  of  Niagara  Falls. 


Plant  Life.     By  Charles  A.  Hall,  F.R.M.S. 
Soho  Square,  London,  England :   A.  &  C. 
Black,  Ltd.     American  Agents :  The  Mac- 
millan  Company,  64  &  66   Fifth   Avenue. 
New  York  City. 
This  attractive  book  treats  the  subject  in 
a  scientific  way,  but  is  sufficiently  elemen- 
tary   and    explicit    to  interest    the    general 
reader.     The  beautiful  illustrations  make  it 
an  ideal  gift  book.     In  addition  to  the  col- 
ored plates,  of  which  there  are  several,  there 
are   numerous   clear   and   beautiful    photog- 
raphic illustrations. 

The  book  attempts  no  detailed  description 
of  any  special  phase  of  plant  life,  but  rather 
embodies  a  broad  view  of  the  whole  field. 


The  Sun.  By  Charles  G.  Abbot,  S.  M.  New 
York  City:  D.  Appleton  and  Company. 

Everybody  is  interested  in  the  sun.  All 
life  depends  upon  the  sun,  but  it  must  be  con- 
fessed that  many  persons'  interest  seems  to  be 
not  all  that  it  should  be  as  a  matter  of  actual 
knowledge.  The  design  of  this  book  is  to  have 
the  rays  of  knowledge  reach  head  and  heart 
and  to  sweep  away  the  clouds  of  ignorance 
that  so  often  obscure  those  rays.  The  author 
has  succeeded  remarkably  well  in  placing  on 
his  pages  much  that  is  new  to  the  amateur 
and  of  especial  interest  to  the  professional 
astronomer.  The  book  has  also  been  nicely 
adapted  for  school  and  college  use  as  well  as 
for  the  general  reader.  The  chapter,  "The 
Sun  among  the  Stars."  clearly  sums  up  var- 
ious facts  and  theories  pertaining  to  the  sun. 
The  human  race  knows  but  little,  compara- 
tively speaking,  regarding  the  sun  and  other 
heavenly  bodies,  but  the  author  expects  much 
in  the  future,  as  he  states : 

'There  still  remains,  and  ever  will  remain 
in  solar  and  stellar  investigation,  room  for 
such  work;  and  on  the  thorough  doing  of  it 
in  our  time  the  wonderful  flowers  of  future 
discovery,  whose  beauty  our  eyes  cannot  see, 
or  our  imaginations  picture,  must  largely  de- 
pend." 


X 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


Beekeeping.  By  Everett  Franklin  Phillips, 
Ph.D.  New  York  City:  The  Macmil- 
lan  Company. 
The  needs  of  the  beekeeper  with  a  few 
colonies  are  considered  in  this  book  as  well 
as  those  of  the  specialist  who  devotes  his 
entire  time  to  hony  production.  The  treat- 
ment of  the  subject  is  based  wholly  on  fun- 
damental principles.  The  author  presents 
the  essential  manipulations  in  their  logical 
order  and  shows  the  desirability  of  elimi- 
nating all  that  is  non-essential.  Since  tools 
alone  do  not  make  a  good  beekeeper  the 
consideration  of  apparatuses  is  subordi- 
nated, though  all  of  the  equipment  is  briefly 
described  and  illustrated. 


it  thought.  The  more  you  pay  for  your  lens 
and  the  greater  its  reputation  the  more  time 
and  attention  you  must  dcz'ofe  to  it  in  order 
to  obtain  results.  This  statement  is  born  of 
actual   fact." 


The  Children's  Book  of  Birds.  By  Olive 
Thorne  Aliller.  Boston,  r\las~achusetts : 
Houghton  Mifflin  Company. 
This  interesting  and  attractive  book  will 
fulfill  its  purpose  to  interest  young  people 
in  the  ways  and  habits  of  birds,  and  to  incite 
them  to  further  study.  The  author  for 
many  years  has  had  extensive  experience  in 
talking  on  the  subject  to  boys  and  girls  in 
the  schools.  She  reports  that  the  result  of 
some  of  these  talks  has  been  astonishing. 
The  book  is  well  adapted  to  the  continuing 
of  this  good  work  in  a  wider  range.  The  il- 
lustrations too  are  many  and  effective.  The 
publishers  have  seconded  the  author's  ef- 
orts  in  every  respect,  as  might  be  anticipat- 
ed from  their  high  standing  and  well-known 
efficient  work  as  publishers. 


The  x\merican  Annual  of  Photography 
1916.  Edited  by  Percy  Y.  Howe.  New 
York  City:  The  American  Annual  of 
Plhotography,  Inc.  Distributing  Agents : 
George  Murphy,  Inc.,  57  East  Ninth 
Street,  New  York  City. 
As  usual,  this  book  contains  a  vast  amount 
of  illustrative  and  textual  material.  To  the 
reviewer,  the  best  article  in  the  volume  is 
"The  Anastigmat  Lens  and  the  Average 
Amateur"  by  A.  H.  Beardsley.  It  is  well 
written  and  to  the  point.  It  covers  the  ques- 
tion. Why  is  an  anastigmat  lens  better  than  a 
recitilinear,  and  why  is  a  rectilinear  not  so 
good  as  an  anastigmat?  The  question  has 
caused  much  discussion  and  from  this  new 
point  of  view  both  sides  are  right.  The 
photographer  will  get  the  most  out  of  a  lens 
in  which  he  firmly  believes  and  to  which  he 
is  best  adapted.  Mr.  Beardsley  makes  it  clear 
that  that  principle  applies  not  only  to  a  choice 
between  an  anastigmat  and  a  rectilinear,  but 
to  a  choice  between  the  various  kinds  of  anas- 
tigmats.  I  have  never  before  seen  so  clear 
an  explanation  of  the  fact  that  a  rectilinear  is 
better  than  an  anastigmat  and  that  the  anas- 
tigmat is  also  suoreme.  The  anastigmat  is 
better  only  when  the  photographer  can  use  it 
to  better  advantage.  The  following  quota- 
tion from  the  article  is  worth  careful  consid- 
eration : 

"A  motto  handsomely  framed  and  illumi- 
nated by  electric  lights  should  be  hung  in 
every  store  to  read,  'Never  buy  an  anastig- 
mat lens  without  solemnly  taking  the  oath 
to  master  its  proper  use.'  Just  because  you 
paid  fifty  dollars  for  a  lens  in  no  way  guaran- 
tees you   better   pictures.     Note  this  and  give 


Ten  Years'  Work  of  a  Mountain  Observa- 
tory. By  George  Ellery  Hale.  Washing- 
ton,  D.    C.  :    The    Carnegie    Institution   of 

Washington. 

This  little  book,  published  by  The  Car- 
negie Institution  of  Washington,  and  beauti- 
ful in  a  mechanical  way,  contains  much  of 
value.  The  illustrations,  particularly  those 
of  the  sun  and  the  nebulae,  are  remarkable. 
Every  American,  especially  every  one  that 
is  interested  in  astronomy,  must  have  a  feel- 
ing of  pride  at  what  is  being  accomplished 
by  Director  Hale  and  his  efficient  assistants 
at  Mount  Wilson.  We  cannot  thank  him 
enough  for  placing  before  us  these  remark- 
able  results  of  astronomical  investigations. 

The  Mount  Wilson  Solar  Observatory, 
like  other  great  observatories  in  the  United 
States,  is  doing  the  work  of  a  big  manufac- 
tory or  warehouse;  it  is  producing  and 
storing  an  enormous  amount  of  material 
that  would  be  interesting  and  useful  to  the 
public.  Here  is  shown  the  need  of  many 
small  observatories  like  the  new  one  at 
Sound  Beach  to  disseminate  this  informa- 
tion among  those  that  crave  a  knowledge 
of  the  wonders  of  the  heavens. 


Wild  Bird  Guests  :  How  to  Entertain  Them, 
By    Ernest    Harold    Baynes.      New   York 
City:   E.  P.  Dutton   &  Company. 
Every    friend    of    American    wild    birds — 
everyone  who  wishes  to  be  their  friend,  will 
find  this  book  a  source  of  joy  and  inspira- 
tion.    As  a  result  of  his  own  wide  experi- 
ence,  the  author  is  able  to   show  why  the 
birds   are    in   sore   need   of   our   friendship; 
why  it  is  so  well  worth  our  while  to  give 
it  to  them,  and  then,  how  we  may  give  it  to 
them  in  such  a  way  that  it  shall  be  profit- 
able  alike   to  the   birds,   to   us,   to   our   chil- 
dren, and  to  the  country  at  large. 

There  is  a  delightfully  intimate  descrip- 
tion of  Meriden,  N.  H.,  "The  Bird  Village," 
and  of  the  interesting  results  already  at- 
tained by  the  residents  there  through  fol- 
lowing the  author's  methods  of  attracting 
wild  birds;  and  in  later  chaipters  these 
methods  are  described  in  detail,  step  by 
step,  so  simply  that  even  a  little  child  may 
follow  them.  Finally,  for  the  benefit  oi 
those  who  may  feel  inspired  to  work  with 
him  to  still  further  advance  the  cause  of 
bird  protection,  Mr.  Baynes  tells  exactly 
how  to  organize  and  manage  an  active  bird 
club.  With  the  assistance  of  his  readers  he 
hopes  to  spread  a  network  of  such  clubs 
over  the  United  States — the  happiest  pos- 
sible solution  of  the  problem  of  American 
wild  bird  conservation. 


Uplifting   are   the   mountains 
And  having  them  in   sight. 

An  inspiration  to  the  soul. 
E'er  striving  for  the  right. 

— Emma   Peirce. 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE.— ADVERTISEMENTS. 


THERE  IS  ONLY  ONE 

NO  other  interior 
wall  finish  pro- 
duces the  re- 
sults obtained  with 
Satina.  It  surpasses 
in  the  requirements 
of  beauty,  durability, 
adaptability,  sanita- 
tion, economy,  spread- 
ing and  covering  qualities. 

C  ~^       ^^^  declared   "best" 

^  J^l      by  an   official   test  of 

28  leading  brands  of 
wall  finishes. 
It  is  used  by  the  U. 
S.  Government  and 
on  prominent  office 
and  public  buildings, 
,  schools,       churches, 

hospitals,  theatres  and  dwellings.  Color 
Card  and  descriptive  literature  sent  upon 
request.      Working  samples  to  architects 

THE  CHARLES  H.  BROWN  PAIIVT  CO. 

i88  Montague  Street 
Boston      Brooklyn,  N.  Y.       Atlanta 


Hunting  Without  a  Gun 

A  LECTURE 

Illustrated  with  trophies  of  the  hunt  in 
natural  colors.  The  wild  bird,  the 
wild  animal,  the  wild  flowers  and 
other  wild  life.  Showing  how  all 
may  be  had  without  doing  them  injury 
or  even  molesting  them,  and  giving 
graphic  explanation  of  how  to  over- 
come the  pugnacity  of  the  English 
sparrow  in  attracting  the  native  birds 
to  our  homes. 

Engagements  Solicited 

THE   BIRD-MAN 

^<^>^A    203  MONROE  AVENUE 

1 


ROCHESTER 

NEW   YORK 


TWO   GRAND 
PRIZES 

The  International  Jury  of  Award, 
Panama-Pacific  Exposition,  has  con- 
ferred the  Grand  Prix  upon 

BAUSCH  &  LOME 
BALOPTICONS 

Bausch  &  Lomb  Balopticons  ofifer  the 
most  efficient  means  for  every  form  of 
optical  projection.  The  recent  intro- 
duction of  the  gas-filled  Mazda  lamp 
has  made  them  still  simpler  and  more 
efficient  and  optical  projection  has  been 
reduced  to  its  simplest  terms  by  the 
adaptation  of  this  new  Mazda  to  the 
projection  of  opaque  objects. 

Another  Grand  Prix  is  awarded 

BAUSCH  &  LOMB 
MICROSCOPES 

for  superiority  of  design  and  construc- 
tion— optical  and  mechanical. 

The  Gold  Medal — the  highest  prize 
granted  in  this  class — was  awarded  to 

BAUSCH  &  LOMB 

ZEISS 

Photographic  lenses 

It  is  understood  that  no  Grand  Prize 
was  awarded  in  this  class — not  because 
of  lack  of  quality — but  because  of  the 
absence  of  foreign  exhibitors  and  con- 
sequent lack  of  competition. 

Bausch  &  Lomb  Optical  Co. 

324    SAINT   PAUL  St..  ROCHESTER.    N.   Y 


Leading  American  Makers  of  Mic- 
roscopes, Projection  Apparatus  {Bal- 
opticons), Photographic  Lenses,  En- 
gineering Instruments,  Range  Finders, 
Binoculars,  Searchlight  Reflectors, 
Ophthalmic  Lenses  and  other  High 
Grade  Optical  Products. 


XII 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE— ADVERTISEMENTS 


Were  Your  Vacation 

Pictures  Failures  ? 
-IF  so— 
The  Moderate  Priced 

<*oe:rz 

SYNTOR 

SHOULD  BE  ON  YOUR 
CAMERA 

THIS  lens  is  especially  made  to 
fit  both  the  pocketbook  and  the 
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tographer who  is  not  getting  good 
results.  Of  special  importance  to 
you  is  the  fact  that  the  SYNTOR  is 
a  GOERZ  LENS  of  true  GOERZ 
QUALITY.  See  your  dealer  or 
write  us  for  full  information. 

C.  p.  Gocrz  American  Optical  Co. 

317  G.  East  34lh  Street,  New  York  City 


SUBSCRIBE  NOW 

January,  1916,  is 
No.  I,  Vol.  XII,  of  the 

Nature  Study  Review 

Official  Journal  American  Nature  Study 
Society 
The  numbers  for  the  coming  year 
will  be  filled  with  special  articles  from 
practical  teachers  dealing  with  actual  work, 
methods  and  suggestions  for  School  Gar- 
dening, Elementary  Agriculture,  and  Nature 
Study. 

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Thirty-Seventh  C.  L.  S.  C.  Year 

Social  and  Economic  Forces  in  Ameri- 
can History.  Edited  by  Albert  Bush- 
nell  Hart,  Harvard  University  ...$1.50 

Changing  America..  By  Edward  Als- 
worth  Ross,  University  of  Wiscon- 
sin        $1.20 

American  Ideals  in  Character  and  Life. 
By  Hamilton  Wright  Mabie,  author 
and  editor   1.50 

The  Ways  of  the  Planets.  By  Mar- 
tha  Evans   Martin    1.25 

The  Independent.  A  wreekly  maga- 
zine.    Illustrated,  52  issues 3.00 

The  Round  Table.  Monthly.  Teach- 
ing and  illustrative   material. 

C.  L.  S.  C.  Membership  Enrollment  i.oo 

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If  in  doubt,  send  stamp  for  handbook 
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It  is  generally  agreed  that  Edward  F. 
Bigelow,  of  ArcAdiA,  Sound  Beach. 
Connecticut,  is  one  of  the  most  interest- 
ing instructors  of  any  who  have  ad- 
dressed the  institute  in  recent  years. 
His  talks  are  not  only  entertaining  but 
are  based  along  lines  that  will  prepare 
teachers  for  the  new  vocational  work 
and  his  subjects  cover  a  wide  range. 
Mr.  Bigelow's  lectures  have  attracted 
considereable  attention  locally  and 
there  have  been  many  in  attendance 
who  are  not  connected  with  the  teach- 
ing stafif  of  the  comity.  These  visitors 
are  cordially  welcomed  by  the  peda- 
gogues.— -"The  Danville  Gazette,"  Dan- 
ville, Indiana. 


ITHACA,  N.  Y 


The  torpedoing  of  an  oil  steamer  off 
the  east  coast  of  Scotland  has  caused 
the  death  of  thousands  of  shore  birds. 
The  escaped  oil  coats  the  surface  of  the 
water,  and  so  beplasters  the  feathers 
of  the  eider  ducks,  puf  fins,  razorbills 
and  guillemots,  that  the  wretched  birds 
can  neither  fly  nor  dive.  Therefore 
they  starve  and  their  dead  bodies  strew 
the  beaches. 


1916 


February 

VOL  VIII,  No.  9 


EDWARD  F.  BIGELOW 

MANAGING  EDITOR 


Published  Monthly  by 

The  Agassiz  Association 

ARCADIA,  SOUND  BEACH.  CONN. 

Subscription,  $1.00  a  Year;  Single  Copy,  10c 


WJ^^on^   5i"/scn 


GREENWICH 


THE    EDITION    DE  LUXE 
OF  CONNECTICUT  TOWNS 


GREENWICH 


Are  You  Protected? 

Savings  Mean  Success  and  the 
Man,  Woman  or  Child  who  In- 
dustriously saves  a  Small  Portion 
of  Their  Income  is  Building  a 
Bulwark  of  Protection  Against 
Poverty  and  Unhappiness.  This 
Bank  Allows  a  Liberal  Rate  of 
Interest  on  Savings  Accounts. 
Give     It     Consideration 


The  Greenwich  Trust  Co. 

ESTABLISHED    1887]: 

GREENWICH,    CONN. 


GREENWICH,  CONNECTICUT 

has  good  transportation  facilities  to 
New  York.  You  can  buy  or  rent  to 
good  advantage  and  enjoy  living  by 
the  water  or  among  the  hills  to  the 
utmost  satisfaction. 

I  have  for   Sale 

Elegant   Country   Estates,  Shore    and   Inland 

Residences,    Farms,    Acreage,    Cottages    and 

,  Building   Sites.      Also   a   number  of  selected 

i  Furnished  Residences  and  Cottages  to    Rent 

in    all   locations. 

Would  be  pleased  to  have  you  call  or  write. 

Laurence  Timmons 

Tel.  456        Opp.  Depot       Greenwich,  Conn 


BEST  NURSERY  STOCK  EVER  GROWN 


Evergreens  Fruit  and  Ornamental  Trees 
Flowering  Shrubs  Hedge  Plants  Vines 
Roses     Hardy  Perennials      ^      ^      ^ 


Preparing  of  Plans       Laying  Out  of  Grounds     Grading 
-:-        -:-        Road  Building       Tree  Work        -:-        -:- 


GREENWICH    NURSERIES 

LANDSCAPE   GARDENERS  AND  NURSERYMEN 

GREENWICH,  CONN. 


THE   GUIDE   TO   NATURE.— ADVERTISEMENTS.  1' 

THE  STAMFORD  SAVINGS  BANK 

INCORPORATED  1851 

ASSETS,     $5,832,000.00 

Interest  from  the  First  Day  of  Each    Month  at  the  Rate  of  4  per    cent,  per  annum 

CHARLES  H.   LOUNSBURY,   President. 
ALBERT  G.   WEED,  Vice  President. 
J.   HOWARD  BOGARDUS,   Treasurer. 


Greenwich 


A  New  System  of  Banking  by  Mail 

A  unique  system  of  Banking  by  mail  has  been  in- 
stituted by  The  Putnam  Trust  Co.  of  Greenwich. 
Conn.,  intended  to  afford  a  simple  and  safe  method 
bv  which  people  living  at  a  distance  can  carry  on 
interest  accounts  through  the  mails.  The  first  and 
subsequent  deposits  can  be  sent  by  check  or  a 
money  order  with  the  depositor's  signature  and  ad- 
dress. The  company  sends  a  certificate  which  looks 
a  good  deal  like  a  coupon  bond.  A  number  of  small 
coupons  are  attached,  and  when  the  depo'^itor  wish- 
es to  withdraw,  he  can  do  so  by  simply  filling  out  a 
coupon,  and  niail  certificate,  with  the  coupon  at- 
tached, to  the  company.  These  certiticates  are  noi  - 
negotiable  and  cannot  be  used  except  by  the  person 
who  has  the  account.  In  return,  a  check  is  sent  by 
The  Putnam  Trust  drawn  on  the  Guaranty  Trust 
Company  of  New  York,  which  can  be  cashed  in  any 
place  where  there  is  a  bank.  Deposits  and  witji- 
drawals  are  noted  on  the  certificates,  showing  tbe 
exact  balance.  For  depositors  in  foreign  coui  tries 
a  bill  of  exchange  is  sent  payable  in  the  currency 
of  the  country.  The  comi)any  pays  the  usual  four 
per  cent,  interest  ar.d  its  operations  are  safeguarded 
bv  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Connecticut. 

SEND  $5.00  FOR  TRIAL  ACCOUNT 

4  Banking  By  Miil 

^     CERTIFICATE 

original    with 

The  Putnam  Trust  Co. 
of  Greenwich,  Conn. 

Best  and   Safest   Method 
Deposits   of   $1    to   $10,000   draw   interest   from   the 

first   of  every  month 

TO    DEPOSIT    fill    out   the   blank   below   and   mail 

with  deposit 

Signature    

.\ddress    

Amount  of  Deposit 


Fresh  New  Crop  Vegetable  and  Flower 
SEEDS 

Bird  Houses  and  Bird  Foods Ask  for  Catalogue 

J.  B.  McARDLE,     Florist  and  Seedsman 


Merritt  Building 


Greenwich,  Conn. 


Robert    Stewart 
choice      groceries 

FLOUR    AND   FEED 

SOTTND  BEACH.  CT. 

Telephone     Connection 


Promoting  Nature — Agriculture ! 

"Where  I  stayed  last  summer  a  green 
hired  man  tried  to  kiss  me.  He  said 
he  had  never  kissed  a  girl  in  his  life, 

and " 

"What  did  you  tell  him?" 
"I  told  him  that  I  was  no  agricultural 
experiment      station." — The      Country 
Gentleman. 


Merciful  Lessons  from  Nature! 

The  teacher  was  hearing  the  class  in 
Nature.  Trying  to  impress  upon  the 
children's  minds  the  horror  of  cruelty 
to  animals  she  told  the  following  story  : 

"Once  a  farmer  went  out  to  milk  a 
cow  and  a  little  calf  switched  the  man 
in  the  eye  with  its  tail.  The  man  took 
out  his  knife  and  cut  off  the  calf's  tail. 
Now,  children,  what  verse  in  the  Bible 
should  that  man  have  remembered?" 

Of  course  she  had  reference  to  "Bless- 
ed are  the  merciful,"  but  Philip  had  an- 
other answer : 

"What  God  hath  joined  together,  let 
no  man  put  asunder." 

COMPLIMENTS 

of 

THE    SOUND    BEACH    PHARMACY 

Sound   Beach,  Connecticut. 

Telephone  1294  Stamford. 


D.    MAHER    &    SONS  1 

LEHIGH  COAL,  HYGEIA  ICE  | 

BUILDING    MATERIAL,   LIME,    LATH,    | 
BRICK,   SAND,  CEHENT,   DRAIN   PIPE    - 

Sound  Beach,  Conn.    I 


Tel.  1582-2 


II 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE.— ADVERTISEMENTS. 


Stamford  Business  Directory 


WE  SELL 
LEHIGH  VALLEY  ANTHRACITE 

"The  Coal   That  Satisfies' 


GRAVES  AND 
STRANG 

INC 


Tel.   - 
1046. 


CQAIi 


556  Canal  St.  STAMFORD,  CONN. 


JOHN  PHILLIPS 

Dealer  in 
BOOTS    AND    SHOES 

463  Main  St.  Stamford,  Conn. 

FOR    FINE    MILLINERY 
NEWSTAD'S 

200  ATLANTIC  STREET,  STAMFORD,  CONN 


THE  STAMFORD  LUNCH 

?-76    MAIN   STREET  STAMFORD,  CONN 

FRED  McDERMANT,  Proprietor 
We    cater   to    Parties,  Clubs,  Stags   and    Outings       45-47  Bank  St. 


VOSKA  &  OXXO 

TAILORS 


Suits  and  Ovei coats  to  Order  Twenty-five  dollars  up 
We  mean  of  better  kinds 

Stamford,  Conn. 


W.  H.  ARTHUR 

CONTRACTOR 

Sewers,    Pavements,    Macadam    Roads,    Cokcretk 
Walls,  Excavating    Rock,  Railroads 

Dealer  in  Sand  and  Gravel 
P.  O.  Box  88  Teleohone  Connpction 

Room  306,  1  Bank  St..  Stamford.  (Jonn. 


REMOVAL  NOTICE 

Drs.  W.  H.  and  E.  W.  Pomeroy 

DENTISTS 

are  now  located  in  the  Gurley  Building, 
324  Main  St.,  opposite  City  Hall. 


THE  STAMFORD  HAT  MJFG.  CO.     ^'^^tSlSTJi^^'''"^ 

PRACTICAL    HATTERS 

Panama   Bleaching  and   Renovating   of 
all  Kinds 


Gold  and  Silver  Plating 
Engraving 


20  WORTH  STREET 


iSAMUEL  PHILLIPS 

Jeweler   and    Optician 
Diamonds  and  Watches 


?TAMFORD 


232  Atlantic  Street        -        STAMFORD,  CONN. 
CONN.  TELFPHONE    516-2 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE.—ADFERTISEMENTS. 


V 


THE  STAMFORD   LUMBER  CO 

LUMBER 

[Sash    Doors    Blinds  and  Window-Frames 

WHOLESALE    AND    RETAIL 

OFFICE    AND    YARD.    297    PACIFIC    STREET 
STAMFORD,  CONN. 


Ol-H 

t) 

M 

H 


8876  (WiiJi  Basting  Line 
Seam   Allowance)    Child's 
-  ,  4  and  6  year 


a7id 
Drt 


Uded 
i>    I, 


Here  is  a  frock  that  can  be  made  from  flouncing  and 
from  material  with  equal  success  It  °5s  a  very  charming 
little  model,  eminently  childlike,  yet  essentially  smart 
and  it  can  be  made  with  a  high  or  square  neck  and  with 
either  short  or  long  sleeves,  so  that  it  seems  adapted  to 
many  occasions  as  well  as  to  many  materials.  When 
flouncing  is  used,  the  hem  and  tucks  are  of  necessity 
omitted.  Here,  the  fulness  at  the  upper  edge  is  laid  in 
tiny  tucks,  but  it  would  be  quite  possible  to  substitute 
smocking  and  smocking  is  exceedingly  smart  and  also 
gives  a  very  pretty  effect.  On  the  figure,  the  frock  is 
made  of  embroidered  flouncing  with  plain  lawn  for  the 
sleeves  and  lace  banding  used  as  trimming.  In  the  small 
front  view,  it  is  made  of  rose  colored  challis  with  lace 
and  it  makes  a  very  pretty  frock  suited  to  the  girls  of  six 
years  of  age. 

For  the  4  years  size  will  be  needed,  2  yds.  of  material 
27  or  36  in.  wide,  1  3-4  yds.  44,  or  1  1-2  yds.  of  flouncing, 
27  in.  wide,  with  1-2  yd.  of  plain  material  36  in.  wide 
and  2  1-4  yds.  of  banding. 


NEW  STORE  NEW  LOCATION 

NEW  GOODS 

COME  AND  VISIT 

AUGUST  GARGIULO 

Cor.  Main  and  Greyrock  Place 


DELMOMCO  RESTAURANT 

Good  Food  Promptly  served  at  popular 

prices  in  neat  and  tasty  manner. 

GEORGE  PIERRIDES 

284  Main  Street, 
Stamford        Connecticut 


Try 

for 

IVIen's  Xogs 

Suits  and  Overcoats  to  measure 

Gleaning,    Repairing   and  Pressing 

a  Specialty 

Best  Hat  Values  Obtainable  in  the 

Celebrated  G  &  K 

Line  of  Derby  and  Soft  Hats 

196  Atlantic  St. 

Stamford  Connecticut 


VI 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE.— ADVERTISEMENTS 


Full  Plans  and  Specifications  May  be  Obtained  from 
THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE. 
A  Modern  Home 
Attractive  and  Convenient. 


This  cottage  makes  a  pleasant  home, 
and  can  be  built  for  a  moderate  amount. 

From  the  side  porch  entrance  is  had 
to  the  large  reception  hall,  which  con- 
tains a  wide  staircase.  Closet  under 
stairs.  Parlor  on  right.  Dining  room 
has  a  deep  bay  window.     Pantry  con- 


h^xcavation 
Stonework 
Brickwork 
Carpenter  work 
Plastering 
Cement  tioor 
Paper  and  nails 
Lumber 


90 
100 
100 

550 

125 

40 

30 
475 


tains  shelves  and  dresser.  Kitchen  is 
conveniently  arranged.  Rear  porch 
has  a  cold  air  closet. 

On  the  second  floor  are  three  bed- 
rooms and  bath-room. 

The  following  items  give  cost  of 
building : 


Millwork 

Painting  and  Glazing 

Plumbing,  etc. 

Hardware 

Hot  air  heating 

Range 

Total 


400 

225 
250 

50 
125 

40 

$2,600 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE.— ADVERTISEMENTS 


VII 


vS'^:  <::<:?  A/x?  7\2:  cx>^=^ 


f-;:z.srr  7^JL.cxP7=^ 


"Aren't  you  afraid  of  hoi  polloi?"  the 
erudite  reporter  asked  Senator  Cashem. 

"Oh,  no,"'  rephed  the  statesman  ;  "we 
boil  our  drinking  water." — Philadelphia 
PubHc  Ledsrer. 


The  Alvan    Clark 
&  Sons  Corporation 

Cambridge,  Mass. 

MAKERS  OF 

Astronomical 

and 

Terrestrial 

Telescopes 

Correspondence  Solicited 


The  place  you  will  eventually  go 
to  have  your 

CHIROPRACTIC   SPINAL  ADJUSTMENTS 

Lalest  Painless  Methods.     Spinal  Analysis  Free 

E.  BARTHOL,  D.  C. 

STAMFORD,  CONN. 
Week  Days  Only,  9  a.  m.  to  5  p.  m.     Phone  1727 

w.  A.  McClelland 


OPTOMFTRIST 


OPTICIAN 


^  yburjStdf/onery 
JVeeds- 

whether  business  or  social, 
can  be  supplied  here  to  the 
best  advantage.  Variety, 
quality,  price,  all  in  your 
favor.  We  would  espec- 
ially like  to  show  you 

Self -Filling 

Fountain  Pen 

—the  pen  that  fiUs  It- 
self by  a  thumb-pres- 
sure from  anything 
that  holds  ink.  Cleans 
itself  at  the  same 
time.       Never  leaks. 


345  Atlantic  Street 


STAMFORD.  CONN. 


V^III 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE.— ADVERTISEMENTS. 


THE  C.  0.  MILLER   CO. 

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"Ideals  are  like  stars;  you  will  not  succeed  in  touching 
them  with  your  hands,  but  like  the  sea-faring  man  on  the 
desert  of  waters  you  choose  them  as  your  guides,  and  follow- 
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This  drawing  was  made  and  contributed  to  The  Agassiz  Associa- 
tion by  the  Reverend  Lewis  W.  Barney,  Ph.  D.,  Sound  Beach,  Con- 
necticut. 


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HONEYBEES  LIVE  IN  THIS  ROCK. 
Cut  by  courtesy  of  "Gleanings  in  Bee  Culture,"  Medina,  Ohio. 


Published  monthly  by  The  Agassiz  Association,  ArcAdiA;  Sound  Beach,  Connecticut, 

Subscription,  S  1 .00  a  year  Single  copy,  10  cents 

Entered  as  Second-Class  Matter  June  12.  1909.  at  Sound  Beach  Post  OflBce.  under  Act  of  March  3,  1897. 


Vol 


VIII 


FEBRUARY,    1916 


Number  9 


Honeybees  that  Live  in  a  Rock. 

The  full  page  illustration  shows  a 
remarkable  home  of  honeybees  in  a 
rock  located  in  Griffith's  Park  about  six 
miles  from  Los  Angeles  and  two  miles 
from  Lindale,  California.  The  editor 
of  "Gleanings  in  Bee  Culture"  has 
kindly  lent  us  this  illustration,  and 
from  that  interesting  apiarian  maga- 
zine we  glean  the  following : 

The  park  contains  three  thousand 
acres  of  mountain  scenery,  beautiful 
drives  and  zoological  gardens,  but  bee- 
keepers will  be  interested  in  what  is 
perhaps  the  biggest  bee  rock  in  the 
world,  and  in  the  several  bee  trees  that 
stand  in  the  reservation.  The  rock  is 
on  high  ground,  and  while  it  com- 
mands an  extensive  view  of  the  sur- 
rounding country,  it  is  itself  so  per- 
forated by  holes  and  excavated  by  cav- 
ities that  it  has  become  a  fantastic  ob- 
ject, in  which  we  may  see  the  forms  of 
animals  and  the  faces  of  men.  In 
these  cavities  are  located  colonies  of 
bees,  some  of  which  are  probably  enor- 
mous in  size.  Apparent!}-  no  one  has 
ever  explored  the  interior  of  the  rock 
or  made  any  attempt  to  take  the  honey. 
The  rock  is  difficult  of  access  ;  but  bees 
can  be  seen  flying  in  at  the  various 
apertures. 


The  Defenceless  Menhaden. 

BY  JOSEPH  W.  LIPPIXCOTT,  BETH.AVRES,  PA. 

Fifty  or  more  Wilson  terns  were  hov- 
ering over  a  small  cove  in  that  intent 
fashion  which  invariably  denotes  that 
ihey  have  found  a  large  school  of  small 
tish.  Every  now  and  then  there  was 
a  splash  as  one  of  the  birds  darted  into 
the  water,  and  often  there  were  other 
splashes  and  swift  gleams  of  silver  as 
large  fish,  over  zealous  in  their  pursuit 
of  the  small  prey,  broke  the  surface. 

I  drifted  down  wind  in  a  small  boat 
until  in  the  midst  of  the  swarm  of 
screaming  terns  where,  several  feet 
below  me,  I  could  see  a  vast  army  of 
small  fish — young  menhaden — thous- 
ands and  thousands  of  them  not  travel- 
ling in  any  direction  as  is  their  wont, 
but  evidently  feeding  upon  the  infini- 
tesimal animal  organisms  in  the  sea 
water. 

As  I  watched,  a  few,  perhaps  a  hun- 
dred, shot  upward  disclosing  a  large 
fish — a  flounder — in  hot  pursuit.  They 
scattered  along  the  surface  the  terns, 
ignoring  me,  dashing  down  to  catch 
them.  Two  were  carried  off  by  the 
terns,  one  b}^  the  flounder  It  all  hap- 
pened in  a  moment,  then  once  more  the 
hoard  was  feeding  all  unconcernedly. 
And  this  had  been  going  on  for  days, 
perhaps,  in  one  way  or  another,  ever 
since  the  little  fish  emerged  from  the 
eggs. 


("o|pyrieht    )9'6    bv  The   .Agassiz   Association.   ArcAdiA:    Sound  Beach,   Conn. 


278 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


In  the  cove,  a  reef  divided  them  from 
the  bay,  a  reef  covered  by  snaky  rock 
weeds  several  feet  long  which  moved 
with  the  motion  of  the  water  and  evi- 
dently frightened  the  menhaden  back 
whenever  their  leaders  attempted  to 
pass  over  it.  They  had  come  in  during 
the  wet  weather  and  now  they  chose 
to  remain  although  each  day  saw  more 
terns  collecting  to  feed  upon  them  from 
above  and  more  large  fish  and  crabs  to 
attack  them  from  below. 

The  tern  army  was  openly  encamped 
on  the  near-by  rocks  evidently  intending 
to  stay  there  until  the  last  menhaden 
was  caught.  It  could  only  operate  by 
day  so  as  if  to  further  aid  in  the  work 
of  extermination,  night  herons  collected 
in  the  evening.  I  counted  seven  stand- 
ing motionless  at  the  water's  edge  each 
ready  to  strike  with  swift  bill. 

One  thing  might  save  them — a  storm 
—  a  rough  spell  of  high  turbid  water 
that  would  carry  them  out  of  the  cove 
in  spite  of  themselves.  A  month  went 
by  and  it  did  not  come,  a  month  during 
which  the  fish  vanished,  probably  at 
the  rate  of  about  a  thousand  a  day. 
And  even  if  they  rushed  the  barriers, 
what  then?  What  chance  for  them, 
defenceless  in  a  world  of  enemies.  Per- 
haps they  were  wise ;  I  did  not  meddle, 
but  went  away  wondering  at  the  way 
of  life  and — hoping. 


Mossy  Glen. 

BY  A.  W.    BROOKS,  OMAHA,   NEBRASKA 

This  picture  shows  a  deep  ravine  be- 
tween the  hills  near  Strawberrv  Point, 


Iowa.  Just  beyond  this  spot  is  the  head 
of  the  glen,  where  the  waters  come  tum- 
bling over  the  rocks  from  the  springs 
above.  Ferns  of  many  kinds  grow  in 
profusion,  and  it  would  not  be  easy  to 
find  a  square  inch  of  ground,  rock,  tree 
trunk,  stump  or  log  that  is  not  covered 
with  mosses.  Hence  the  name.  Mossy 
Glen,  a  delightfully  cool  spot  on  a  hot 
summer  day,  and  restful  to  the  eyes. 


Lightning  from  a  Clear  Sky. 

"A  bolt  of  lightning  from  a  clear  sky" 
is  a  phrase  familiarly  used  to  illustrate 
some  event  considered  to  be  of  extreme- 
ly unlikely  occurrence.  Yet  that  very 
thing  is  reported  from  the  Connecticut 
village  of  Ellington  this  week.  There 
were  a  few  clouds  low  on  the  northern 
horizon,  but  the  sky  was  the  color  it 
usually  is  when  bending  over  the  blue 
water  of  the  Bay  of  Naples.  Such  was 
the  apparent  aspect  of  things  when  a 
discharge  of  lightning  swept  down  the 
main  street  of  the  village,  paying  un- 
welcome visits  to  six  dififerent  dwellings 
on  the  way,  and  in  each  displaying  its 
proverbial  freakiness.  But  there  was  no 
freak  or  wonder  in  the  whole  perform- 
ance greater  than  the  fact  that  nobody 
was  killed. — The  Stamford  (Conn.) 
Advocate. 


Open  wide  every  window  and  door, 
Let  in  all  the  sunshine,  I  pray; 

And  when  falls  the  curtain  of  night, 
Let  it  wrap  3'ou  about  till  the  day. 
— Emma   Peirce. 


"A  DELIGHTFULLY  COOL  SPOT  ON  A  HOT  SUMMER  DAY.' 


UNLIMITED  FOOD  SUPPLY  FROM  THE  OCEAN 


279 


Unlimited  Food   Supply   from  the 
Ocean. 

The  ocean,  points  out  Professor  J. 
Stanley  Gardner  in  a  report  on  British 
fisheries,  is  really  much  more  fertile 
than  the  land.  The  earth  produces  one 
crop  a  year,  or  at  the  best  two  or  three, 
but  the  minute  vegetable  organisms 
which  nourish  the  life  of  the  sea  grow  a 
new  crop  every  day. 

If,  therefore,  the  wild  life  of  the  water 
were  kept  down  as  the  wild  life  of  the 
land  is.  so  that  only  the  useful  creatures 
are  allowed  to  multiply,  there  is  no 
practical  limit  to  the  quantity  of  human 
food  that  reaches  out  of  the  soil  or  is 
yielded. 

We  commonly  think  of  all  the  plant 
food  that  leaches  out  of  the  soil  or  is 
allowed  to  flow  away  as  sewage  as  so 
much  total  loss  to  mankind.  It  now  ap- 
pears, however,  that  much  of  this  in 
the  economy  of  nature  is  recovered 
again.  The  nitrogen,  phosphorous  and 
silicon  abstracted  from  the  land  help  to 
nourish  the  plant  life  of  the  sea.  This 
in  turn  is  consumed  by  the  fishes,  only 
to  be  returned  once  more  to  the  land 
when  the  "sea  food"  reaches  the 
market. 

Recent  studies  of  the  British  fisheries 
show  that  in  the  abundant  vegetable 
food  of  the  North  Sea  most  food  fishes 
grow  three  times  as  rapidly  as  in  the 
Baltic,  and  no  less  than  eight  times 
faster  than  in  the  cold  waters  of  the 
Arctic  Ocean,  while  four  year  old  her- 
ring from  the  White  Sea  are  only  one 
eighth  the  size  of  those  of  the  same  age 
from  the  fishing  grounds  about  Ice- 
land in  the  same  latitvide.  As  for  the 
sea  creatures  simpler  than  the  fishes. 
their  growth  is  almost  entirely  a  ques- 
tion of  the  food  supply.  Two  starfish, 
for  example,  hatched  from  the  same  lot 
of  eggs,  may  difi^er  in  size  by  five  thous- 
and times. 


The  Brook. 

BY  A.  W.  BROOKS,  OMAHA,   NEBRASKA. 

This  looks  like  a  fisherman's  paradise, 
but  it  is  not.  The  spring  floods  make 
it  impossible  to  keep  the  stream 
stocked.  It  is.  however,  a  favorite  spot 
for  picnics.  Just  above  is  a  log  cabin 
with  a  big  fireplace,  and  across  the 
stream  is  an  ice  cave,  where  ice  may 
be  had  for  making  ice  cream.  This  cave, 
the  remains  of  a  tunnel  dug  into  the 
hillside  by  lead  prospectors,  has,  with 


"A     FAVORITE     SPOT     FOR     PICNICS." 

the  exception  of  a  few  feet  at  the 
mouth,  caved  in,  and  in  the  hole  thus 
left  is  a  pool  that  is  always  frozen  solid 
— why  no  one  knows.  Perhaps  the  hills 
are  a  vast  storehouse  of  ice  buried  there 
since  the  glacial  period.  The  photo- 
graph was  taken  in  eastern  Iowa,  near 
Strawberrv  Point. 


The  Workers  and  Money. 

It  is  quite  probable  that  the  workers 
of  the  United  States  might  be  described 
accurately  about  as  follows: 

Ninety  per  cent  trying  to  make 
money,  thinking  of  little  else. 

Seven  per  cent  despairing  of  making 
money,  and  bitterly  enxying  those  that 
have  money. 

Three  ])er  cent  thinking  of  earnest, 
tiseful  eft'ort  a])art  from  money,  like  the 
nol)le  Agassi/,  who  said  he  hadn't  time 
to  make  money.  (That  three  per  cent 
allowance  is  very  generous.) — N.  Y. 
Journal. 


28o 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


A  PHOTOMICROGRAPH  OF  A  SMALL  PORTION  OF  THE  UPPER  SURFACE  OF  A  CAT'S  TONGUE. 
By  Edward  F.  Bigelow  from  a  section   prepared  and  mounted  by  H.   C.   Wheeler,   Montreal,   Canada. 


The  Roughness  of  the  Cat's  Tongue. 

BY  H.  C.  WHEELER,  MONTREAL,  CANADA. 

A  few  days  ago  I  received  a  letter  from 
the  editor  in  which  he  says,  "I  often  won- 
der why  microscopy  has  been  so  sparingly 
popularized  in  comparison  with  other 
sciences."  I  often  wonder  at  this  myself, 
when  I  think  of  the  many  pleasant  hours 
that  the  microscope  has  afiforded  me.  It 
cannot  be  from  the  lack  of  things  of  in- 
terest to  look  at,  because  there  are  thous- 
ands of  such  things  around  every  dwel- 
ling, no  matter  how  humble  or  confined 
it  be.  Nor  yet  can  it  be  from  the  cost  of 
a  microscope,  as  there  are  many  excellent 
ones  to  be  had  for  a  few  dollars  and  that 
would  afford  any  one  real  pleasure  in  the 
examination  of  the  common  things  that 
surround  us. 

Take,  for  instance,  the  common  house 
cat.  Her  tongue  is  rough,  but  I  doubt  if 
one  person  in  a  hundred  has  given  the 
matter  any  thought  as  to  the  cause  of 
this  roughness.  The  illustration  shows  a 
piece  of  pussy's  tongue.  The  reason  for 
the  roughness  is  at  once  apparent.  Note 
the  little  pockets  that  the  hooks'  form. 
These  enable  her  to  get  the  meat  from  the 
bones  that  she  has  for  dinner,  the  hooks 
acting  much  the  same  as  a  rasp.  She  can 
get  the  bones  cleaner  than  can  we  with 
our  knives  and  forks.  All  members  of 
the  feline  tribe  have  this  rough  tongue. 
In  lions  and  tigers  it  is  so  pronounced 
that  to  have  one  of  them  lick  vour  hand 


or  face  would  very  likely  be  painful  and 
draw  blood. 

This  is  only  one  instance  out  of  the 
many  thousands  that  are  accessible  to  all. 
The  tiny  flowers  on  the  grass  are  things 
quite  as  pretty  as  some  of  the  flowers  in 
the  florist's  window.  All  they  require  is 
to  be  magnified  so  that  our  senses  can 
become  acquainted  with  their  beauty.  Get 
a  microscope  and  look  about  you  and  you 
will  see  that  the  world  is  not  such  a  bad 
place  after  all. 


The  Box  Elder  a  Maple? 

'Ts  the  Box  Elder  a  Maple?"  is  the 
subject  of  long  discussion  by  Amon  B. 
Plowman  in  the  Botanical  Gazette  for 
September.  After  examining  every 
minutest  point  of  leaf,  wood,  root, 
blossoms,  and  bark  of  the  two  trees, 
and  also  the  fossil  forms  of  both,  the 
author  reaches  this  conclusion. 

The  box  elder  was  an  early  offshoot 
of  the  maple  group,  which  took  on  its 
present  day  characters  as  a  result  of 
the  storm  and  stress  of  the  Glacial 
Period.  In  other  words,  it  is  a  modi- 
fied maple,  especially  designed  to  with- 
stand the  rigors  of  the  Great  Ice  Age. 
But  the  buffetings  of  this  trying  time 
have  so  far  altered  the  pre-glacial  char- 
acter of  the  box  elder  that  in  its  modern 
form,  it  is  no  longer  to  be  counted 
among  the  maples.  Nevertheless, 
amongst  other  marked  differences  cer- 
tain striking  similarities  still  survive. 


SOME  INTERESTING  SPECIMENS 


281 


Fitting  for  Immortality. 

The  thought  of  immortaHty  ought  to 
be  one  of  the  utmost  seriousness.  One 
must  somewhere  learn  to  live  in  immor- 
tal things.  Tell  me  honestly — the  sort 
of  existence  that  many  people  are  here 
dragging  out  is  it  worth  perpetuating? 
Is  it  worth  while  to  lengthen  frivolous 
and  useless  lives  to  infinite  age?  What 
good  do  they  do  here?  What  good 
would  they  do  there? — Rev.  Dr.  Marion 
D.  Shutter,  New  Haven,  Connecticut, 
in  a  sermon  on  "Meaning  to  Immortal 
Life." 


The  latest  theory  of  the  origin  of  the 
starfishes  and  sea  urchins  is  that  they 
are  both  merely  greatly  modified  forms 
of  the  crab-lobster  group. 


Interesting  Specimens. 

Through  the  kindness  of  Mrs.  Edwin 
Binney  of  Sound  Beach  we  have  been 
favored  with  an  interesting  specimen  of 
the  well-known  Hercules  beetle  of  South 
America.  In  the  textbooks  the  ordinary 
form,  that  of  the  male,  is  shown  on  ac- 
count of  the  huge  horns.  The  dilTerence 
between  the  male  Hercules  beetle  and  the 
female  is  the  reverse  of  what  occurs  with 
the  ordinary  mosquito.  It  is  the  female 
mosquito  that  bites  and  stings  ;  the  male  is 
rare.    Few  know  the  female  Hercules. 

The  same  contributor  has  also  favorel 
us  with  a  remarkably  good  specimen  of  a 
trap-door  spider  and  the  nest.  The  door 
is   well   shown   in   the   photograph    from 


Mrs.  Binney's  specimen  reproduced  here- 
with. In  "The  Spider  Book"  Professor 
Comstock  tells  us  as  follows  of  the  struc- 
ture and  action  of  this  door : 

"The  door  is  provided  on  one  side  with 
a  hinge  which  is  merely  a  continuation 
of  the  wall  of  the  tube  into  the  layer  of 
silk  that  forms  the  foundation  of  the  door. 

"The  inner  surface  of  the  door  presents 
the  same  appearance  as  the  silken  lining 
of  the  tube,  being  a  firm  layer  of  silk ;  but 


THE  FEMALE  HERCULES  BEETLE. 

the  outer  surface  of  the  door  is  covered 
with  earth  and  made  to  simulate  in  a  very 
perfect  manner  the  surface  of  the  sur- 
rounding soil,  so  that,  when  the  door  is 
closed,  very  careful  observation  is  neces- 
sary to  detect  the  presence  of  the  nest.  In 
those  cases  in  which  the  nest  is  built  in  soil 
covered  with  moss,  moss  is  planted  by  the 
spider  upon  the  door  of  the  nest." 

These  were  all  forwarded  to  Mrs.  Bin- 
ney by  Mrs.  M.  E.  Stead  from  Carthage, 
North  Carolina. 


TRAP-DOOR    SPIDERS   WITH  A  NESl. 


282 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


Domesticated 


NATURE 


Why  Keep  Rabbits  or  Cavies? 

BY  CHARLES   H.   ELLARD,    NEW   YORK   CITY. 

Keeping  a  few  rabbits  or  cavies,  the 
so-called  guinea  pigs,  may  not  seem  to 
have  any  scientific  interest  or  impor- 
tance, but  in  them  is  a  tremendous 
amount  of  material  for  study  and  ex- 
perimentation that  can  give  one  a  lib- 
eral education  in  heredity,  Mendelism 
and  evolution. 

No  one  just  "keeps"  these  pets  and 
gets  any  profit  out  of  it.  The  enjoy- 
ment and  education  are  in  proportion 
to  the  efforts  he  puts  forth  to  develop 
his  stock  and  their  progeny  until  he 
approaches  some  ideal  of  beauty  of 
form  or  color  or  fixes  a  type  that  is  dis- 
tinct. If  these  types  have  become  fixed 
"permanently,"  people  interested  in 
fancy  stock  of  this  kind  and  controlling 
by  their  combined  associations  the 
"fancy,"  give  their  sanction  to  the  nev^ 
type,  formulate  standards,  which  are 
supposed  to  express  the  highest  ideal  of 
the  type,  and  makes  classes  for  them  at 
the  accepted  exhibitions.  The  standards 
are  intended  to  express  the  ideal  of  per- 


fection in  beauty  of  lines,  form  and 
color.  Nature  unaided  would  not  pro- 
duce such  perfection.  It  is  the  breeder's 
endeavor  to  obtain  results  as  near  this 
ideal  as  he  can.  To  do  this  he  must 
study  the  probabilities  to  be  expected 
from  the  parents  of  his  future  perfect 
specimen.  He  must  know  much  of 
their  parentage  and  must  consider  care- 
fully the  faults  of  each  parent  so  that 
those  in  the  one  may  be  counterbal- 
anced by  the  other.  A  case  in  point 
might  be  the  tan  rabbit.  In  breeding 
this  we  desire  a  deep  rich  black  or  blue 
marked  with  tan  in  certain  definite 
places  and  ways  about  the  body.  One 
parent  may  be  particularly  good  in 
these  markings  while  the  otner  may  have 
a  clear  black  in  the  body  color.  The 
probabilities  of  still  better  offspring 
would  be  good.  But  if  both  parents 
showed  a  decided  tendency  to  have  tan 
fur  mixed  with  the  black  good  results 
could  not  be  hoped  for  from  pairing 
such  individuals.  In  all  cases  the  breed- 
ing of  any  of  the  several  varieties  of 
rabbits,  cavies,  mice  or  what  not  when 


A  BLUE  DUTCH  RABBIT  AND  HER  HAPPY  CHILDREN. 


DOMESTICATED  NATURE 


283 


it  is  done  in  the  fancier  spirit  toward  the 
development  of  the  ideal  of  variety  and 
type  to  which  it  belongs,  becomes  a  mat- 
ter of  scientific  study  of  no  mean  propor- 
tions. Results  must  be  studied,  mis- 
takes corrected,  several  generations 
sometimes  being  needed  to  correct  a 
single,  simple  blemish.  But  thought 
and  care  will  bring  you  nearer  and 
nearer  to  the  perfect  specimen.  There 
is  little  probability  that  chance  will 
produce   results   except   in    isolated    and 


■ 

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■ 

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is  ■:■ 

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,;—  > 

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m 

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FUR  PULLED  BY  THE  MOTHER  RABBIT  FROM 

HER    BREAST    FOR    ONE    NEST. 

Piled   on   a    plate   to   show   size    of   pile. 

extremely  rare  cases,  and  in  such  the 
return  to  the  faults  of  the  parent  and 
grandparent  is  usually  pronounced. 

When  an  active  fancier  of  cavies,  a 
railroad  man,  with  whom  I  had  discus- 
sed some  of  the  ideals  for  which  we 
were  trying,  and  to  whom  I  remarked 
that  a  white  cavy  with  blue  instead  of 
pink  eyes  seemed  to  me  a  desirable 
type  to  produce,  discovered  on  a  trip  to 
Washington  what  seemed  to  be  this 
type,  he  purchased  the  pig,  a  female, 
and  sent  it  to  me.  I  determined  to  try 
to  produce  a  strain  that  would  breed 
true,  like  reproducing  like.  The  pig 
sent  me  had  about  five  colored  hairs 


THE  \"ERY   VOUM;  RABBITS  IN  THE  NEST  OF 
FUR. 


near  the  scruff  of  the  neck.  I  selected 
a  pure  albino  mate.  The  young  of  the 
first  mating  showed  of  three  one  albino 
and  two  with  some  decided  red  patches. 
The  albino  was  a  male  and  I  kept  him 
and  bred  him  with  his  dam  and  one  of 
the  red  spotted  ones  to  the  sire.  The 
next  litters  both  showed  a  boar  in  one  and 
two  sows,  in  the  other  male  nearly  all 
white  but  having  females  a  little  more 
colored  than  the  original  dam.  These 
were  again  crossed  on  the  preceding 
parents  that  were  either  albino  or 
showed  the  least  color.  By  this  care- 
ful crossing  and  recrossing  at  the  end 
of  twenty  months  I  had  two  pairs  of 
white  pigs  with  blue  eyes  that  bred  one 
or  two  reproductions  of  themseves  in 
every  litter.  There  would  also  be  a  re- 
version to  the  patched  or  to  the  albino ; 
had  I  been  able  to  continue  these  ex- 
periments for  another  year  there  is  no 


RABBITS   A   FEW   DAYS   OLD. 


284 

THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 

▼   jf 

"^ 

^Br     S 

1 

^^■t    \        ^^^m. 

r   J 

Cj 

^j,i^^J^^^| 

d^"'  "^  4  '^m 

ii^ 

WHITE  BELGIAN  HARES  ON  A  MIRROR. 


A   CONTENTED  FAMILY   TAKING   A  RIDE. 


DOMESTICATED  NATURE 


285 


doubt  that  such  a  variety  would  have 
been  produced  and  maintained.  In 
fact  I  believe  Professor  Castle  of  Har- 
vard has  obtained  such  results. 

Results  are  more  easily  obtainable  in 
animals  whose  period  of  gestation  is 
short,  such  as  mice,  in  which  the  blue- 
eyed  white  is  not  rare. 

Similar  study  and  perseverance  must 
be  applied  to  each  and  every  variety. 
Whoever  really  endeavors  to  produce  a 
specimen  that  will  win  a  competitive 
place  of  the  exhibitions  of  stock  must 
bring  his  results  before  a  competent 
judge  who  will  make  the  necessary 
comparisons  and  criticisms.  In  most 
cases  the  judges  are  glad  to  make  sug- 
gestions to  help  the  breeder  to  obtain 
results  nearer  the  ideal.  This  ideal  is 
invariably  one  in  which  beauty  of  con- 
tour and  of  color  is  paramount.  This 
gives  us,  in  addition  to  the  biological 
training,  a  sort  of  development  in  our 
aesthetic  tastes.  To  approach  the  ideal 
of  the  standards  in  any  fancy  animal — 
horse,  dog,  cattle,  rabbit  or  mouse — is 
no  child's  play.  The  young  person 
capable  of  securing  results  is  bound  to 
have  learned  that  thinking  things  out 
has  much  to  do  wath  success  and  will 
have  gained  a  store  of  biological  knowl- 
edge. He  will  realize,  too.  how 
men  may  use  God's  laws  to  enhance 
the  latent  beautv  of  these  little  creatures. 


Who  Can  Beat  This? 
They  have  been  discussing,  in  one 
of  the  English  natural  history  journals, 
the  strange  idiosyncracies  of  cats  in  the 
things  they  like  to  eat.  Here  are  some 
of  the  reports.  Are  American  cats 
equally  original? 


"A  FTNT'S  A  POUND 
THE  WORLD  AROUND.^ 


One  animal  habitually  refused  both 
meat  and  milk,  and  preferred  above  all 
else  raw  potatoes.  Once  she  got  up 
on  the  table,  and,  ignoring  a  lamb  cut- 
let, made  off  with  a  cucumber. 

A  Persian  tom  demanded  regularly 
two  raw  potatoes,  and  for  a  change 
enjoyed  asparagus,  cucumbers,  cab- 
bage, tomatoes,  vegetable  marrow, 
melons,  cocoanut  and  olives. 

A  Manx  cat  would  risk  a  beating  to 
steal  baked  pears. 

Still  a  fourth  cat  devours  earth- 
worms and  frogs,  and  in  the  spring 
will  stand  on  the  shore  of  a  shallow 
pond  and  with  its  paw  fish  out  masses 
of  frog's  eggs  for  a  meal. 


A  YOUNG  CAVY. 
Photographed    by    an    apple    for   comparison    of    size. 


Even  what  most  attracts  us  in  the 
farmer's  life  is  not  its  profitableness.  We 
love  to  go  after  the  cow  not  for  the  sake 
of  her  milk  or  her  beef,  or  the  money 
they  yield,  but  perchance  to  hear  the 
cinkling  of  the  cow-bell — We  would  keep 
hens  not  for  eggs,  but  to  hear  the  cocks 
crow  and  the  hens  cackle. — Thoreau. 


286 


mi'.  (iUIDE  TO  NATURE 


A    HEN    BROODING    FIVE   KITiENS. 

Cut  by   couitesy   of   "(_)ui-    Dumb   Animals,"    Boston,    Massachusetts. 


Hen  Mother's  Five  Kittens. 

Mrs.  Mary  1.  Glover,  318  North  Ave- 
nue A,  Canton,  Illinois,  has  a  buff  Ply- 
mouth Rock  hen  that  is  acting  the  part 
of  mother  to  live  kittens,  about  six 
weeks  old,  says  the  Daily  Register  of 
that  city.  That  this  statement  is  no 
mere  "newspaper  story"  is  attested  by 
the  accompanying  photograph,  sent  to 
Our  Dumb  Animals  by  a  Canton  cor- 
respondent. 

The  hen  had  been  sitting  perhaps  ten 
days,  when  she  left  her  nest  to  feed, 
and  while  strolling  about  the  barn  she 
discovered  the  kittens,  whose  nest  was 
in  a  tub,  and  proceeded  to  adopt  the 
litter  and  preempted  their  home.  She 
will  fight  for  the  kittens  and  seems  very 
much  attached  to  them. 

Mrs.  Glover  has  attempted  to  per- 
suade the  hen  to  go  back  to  her  nest  of 
eggs,  in  fact  she  has  taken  her  back 
several  times,  but  the  hen  apparently 
prefers  the  company  of  the  kittens  and 
immediately  returns  to  them. 

Equally  strange  is  the  story  of  the 
mother  cat  which  has  adopted  a  crip- 
pled chicken,  a  few  miles  out  of  Favette 
City,  Pennsylvania.  The  Journal  of 
that  town  tells  how  Mr.  Charles  Grant 
took  a  number  of  chicks  from  an  incu- 
bator, among  them    one    so    puny  and 


sickly  that  it  was  not  expected  to  sur- 
vive. But  Mother  Cat  took  it  gently  in 
her  jaws,  placed  it  in  the  nest  with  her 
kittens,  and  now  tenderly  cares  for  it 
and  makes  over  it  as  if  it  were  one  of 
her  own  kind.  The  chick  is  flourishing 
and  follows  the  feline  mother  wherever 
she  goes. — Our  Dumb  Animals. 


Old  Museums  Vigorous  and  Growing. 

The  oldest  natural  history  museum 
within  the  limits  of  the  United  States 
was  founded  at  Charleston,  South  Caro- 
lina, in  1773.  That  at  Salem,  Massachu- 
setts, followed  next,  in  1799,  as  a  repos- 
itory for  the  curious  treasures  which 
the  old  shipmasters  brought  back  from 
the  ends  of  the  earth  to  what  was  then 
one  of  the  chief  seaports  of  the  country. 
The  museum  of  the  Philadelphia  Acad- 
emy of  Sciences  dates  back  to  1812; 
that  of  the  Boston  Society  of  Natural 
History  to  1830.  Of  three  great  collec- 
tions of  the  United  States,  the  Natural 
Museum  at  Washington  started  in 
1846;  the  Agassiz  Museum  at  Cam- 
bridge, in  1852  ;  and  the  Metropolitan 
Museum  in  New  York  City  in  1869. 
All  these  old  institutions  are  still  as 
vigorous,  as  flourishing,  and  as  up-to- 
date  as  if  they  were  the  youngest  in 
the  land. 


DOMESTICATED  NATURE 


287 


The  Curious  Swimming  Frogs. 

All  frogs  can  swim  but  most  frogs  do 
not  stay  in  the  water  all  the  time.  The 
African  swimming  frogs  are  thoroughh 
aquatic  in  their  habits,  and  live  in  perma- 
nent pools  which  they  have  never  been 
observed  to  leave  voluntarily. 

In  the  Reptile  House  of  the  .\e\v  York 
Zoological  Park  three  species  of  these 
frogs  are  on  exhibition.  The  "Zoological 
Society  P.ulletin"  sa}s  of  the  largest, 
known  as  the  smooth  clawed  frog: 

'Tt  attains  a  length  of  body  of  four 
inches  and  has  a  smooth  skin,  except  for 
several  rows  of  thread-like  filaments  on 
the  head  and  body.  Its  color  i-^  dull 
olive,  with  large  variously-snaiDel  spois 
on  the  back  and  limbs.  The  throat  and 
abdomen  are  white,  sometimes  faintly 
spotted  with  brown.  The  head  is  com- 
paratively small,  flat,  with  small  eyes, 
situated  on  top  and  looking  uoward.  A 
star-shaped  pattern  of  fine  white  filaments 
surrounds  the  eye.  The  mouth,  which 
has  teeth  in  the  upper  jaw  only,  is  very 
wide.  The  three  inner  toes  carry  sharp, 
horny  claws  at  their  tios.  The  home  of 
this  frog  is  tropical  Africa  southward  to 
Cape  Town." 


SKKKXITV    AND    CURlUSriV. 

Cut  by  courtesy  of  The  C.  P.  Goerz  American  Optical 

Company,    New    York    City. 

The  Fir. 

(Watched  from  a  train.) 
In  phalanxes  of  green  it  crowns 

The  hills,,  afar  and  near; 
E'er  breathing  incense  on  the  air, 

So   crisp   and   crystal   clear. 

Its   spires   pointing  heavenward. 

To  where  the  cloudlands  lie, 
And    melting   off   itself   anon 

Into   the   sunset  sky. 

— Emma  Peirce. 


AFRICAN  SWIMMING  FROGS. 
Cut  by  courtesy  of  tiie  "Zoological   Society  Bulletin,"   New  York  City. 


288 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


The  Heavens  in  February. 

BY  PROt'ESSOR  ERIC  DOOLlTTI.E  OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY  OE  PENNSYLVANIA. 

Surely  no  one  who  turns  toward  the 
heavens  on  any  clear  evening  of  the 
present  month  can  fail  to  be  impressed 
by  the  wonderful  beauty  of  the  celes- 


the  west  to  the  east,  and  that  the  mag- 
nificent Orion,  Sirius,  Gemini  and  Ca- 
pella  are  in  their  highest  positions  in 
the  heavens. 

Always  during  this  midwinter  month 
the  whole  heavens  are  filled  with  these 
brilliant  winter  stars,  but  it  is  seldom 
indeed   that   no   less   than   four   of   the 


MoieTH 


.^OUTK 

Figure   1.      The   Constellations  at   9    P.    M.,   February    1 
the   map   upright.      If   facing   east,    hold    East   below 
below.     If  facing  north,   hold  the  map  inverted). 


(If  facing  south,   hold 
If   facing    west,    hold   West 


tial  objects  that  now  fill  the  winter 
skies.  At  no  time  of  any  year  will  he 
ever  witness  this  spectacle  in  greater 
brilliance. 


The  February  Stars. 

It  is  only  during  the  evenings  oi 
February  that  the  train  of  bright  win- 
ter constellations  forms  a  complete 
band  across  the  southern  heavens  from 


brightest  planets  are  also  seen  shining 
in  the  evening  heavens  as  we  see  them 
now. 

High  in  the  east,  the  red  planet 
Mars  shines  out  with  six  times  the 
brightness  of  a  first  magnitude  star. 
Almost  on  the  meridian  in  the  south 
is  the  whiter  Saturn  which,  though  less 
brilliant  than  Mars,  is  still  nearly  twice 
as  bright  as  a  star  of  the  first  magni- 


TO  KNOW  THE  STARRY  HEAVENS 


289 


tude.  And  in  the  west  there  is  seen  a 
pair  of  most  beautiful  objects  made  up 
of  the  brilliant,  silvery  Venus  and  the 
golden  Jupiter. 

From  a  very  little  watching,  the  ob- 
server will  find  that  Venus  is  moving 
rapidly  eastward  among  the  stars. 
While  at  the  beginning  of  the  month 
it  is  far  to  the  west  of  Jupiter,  it  will 
rapidly  overtake  and  pass  the  giant 
planet  and  soon  be  found  far  east  of 
it.  The  observer  will  find  it  very  in- 
teresting to  watch  these  two  bright 
planets  as  they  first  draw  nearer  to- 
gether and  afterward  separate  from  one 
another.  Their  closest  approach  will 
occur  on  February  13  at  10  P.  M.,  when 
they  will  be  seen  separated  by  a  dis- 
tance considerably  less  than  the  diam- 
eter of  the  moon,  the  silvery  Venus 
being  then  north  of  Jupiter.  For  sev- 
eral days  before  and  after  this  date 
the  two  objects  will  form  a  conspicuous 
and  beautiful  star  figure  in  the  evening 
sky. 

The  Total  Eclipse  of  the  Sun. 

In  the  forenoon  of  February  3,  the 

moon  will  pass  between  the  earth  and 

the  sun  and  at  all  points  within  a  long 

narrow  strip  on  the  surface  of  the  earth 


west  corner  of  South  America,  pass 
diagonally  across  the  entire  North 
Atlantic  Ocean,  and  will  finally  leave 
the  earth  at  the  point  B  at  12  hrs.  31 
min.  o  s.  P.  M. 


Figure  2.  Region  within  which  the  solar  eclipse  of 
February  3  is  visible,  and  the  path  of  the  moon's 
shadow  on  the  earth. 

The  eclipse  is  an  interestmg  ana  im- 
portant one,  for  from  certain  points 
within  the  path  the  sun  will  be  hidden 
for  no  less  than  2  min.  36  s. 

To  all  observers  within  the  path,  A. 
M.  B.  the  sun  will  be  completely  cov- 
ered by  the  moon.  If  we  move  over 
the  earth  farther  and  farther  north  of 
this  path,  we  will,  as  it  were,  look  more 
and  more  over  the  upper  edge  of  our 


Figure  3.     Showing  the  times   (Eastern  Standard)   of  the  beginning  and  ending 
of  the  eclipse  of  February  3  for  all  points  within  the  United  States. 


will  completely  blot  out  the  sun's  light. 
The  shadow  will  first  strike  the  earth 
at  the  point  A  (Figure  2)  at  9  hrs.  29 
min.  12  s.  A.  M.  (Eastern  Standard 
Time).  It  will  sweep  over  the  turn- 
ing earth,  crossing  the  extreme  north- 


moon  and  thus  see  our  satellite  dis- 
placed downward  upon  the  sun's  disc. 
To  all  observers  in  the  United  States 
the  moon  will  thus  be  seen  to  pass 
across  only  the  lower  path  of  the  sun 
and   the   eclipse   will   hence   from   this 


290 


THE  GUIDE  TO  XATl'RE 


country  appear  as  a  partial  eclipse  only. 
Finally,  if  the  observer  is  north  of  the 
line  R  S  T  the  moon  will  be  lowered  so 
far  in  the  heavens  that  it  will  pass  com- 
pletely below  the  sun.  To  such  ob- 
servers the  eclipse  will  be  wholly  in- 
visible. 

Observers  within  the  United  States 
can  estimate  the  times  at  which  the 
eclipse  begins  and  ends  at  their  sta- 
tions  by   the   help   of   Figure   3.      The 


Figure  4.  Path  of  the  n-oon  across  the  sun  as 
viewed  from  Philadelphia  on  the  morning  of  February 
3rd. 

lines  running  from  right  to  left  indi- 
cate the  times  of  beginning  and  the 
vertical  lines  the  time  of  ending.  By 
measuring  the  proportional  distances 
from  his  location  to  the  two  adjacent 
lines  in  each  case  he  can  find  the  times 
within  two  or  three  minutes. 

For  example,  at  Philadelphia  we 
f^nd:— 

Edge  of  moon  first  touches  edge  of 
sun  and  eclipse  begins  (first  contact) 
10  hrs.  15  min.  A.  M. 

Edge  of  moon  passes  ofif  edge  of  sun 
(last  contact)  12  hrs.  27  min,  P.  M. 

The  appearance  of  the  eclipse  as 
seen  from  Philadelphia  is  shown  in 
Figure  4.  The  eclipse  will  begin  when 
the  moon's  center  is  at  A  and  end  when 
this  is  at  B,  the  greatest  obscuration 
will  occur  when  our  satellite  has  reach- 
ed the  position  C.  Observers  in  the 
northern  part  of  our  country  will  see 
less  of  the  sun  covered  than  is  here 
show^n,  while  to  those  in  the  southern 
states  the  obscuration  will  be  greater. 
From  no  point  within  the  United 
States  will  the  eclipse  be  total,  but 
from  all  points  it  will  be  visible^  as  a 
more  or  less  striking  partial   eclipse. 

The  Planets  in  February. 

Mercury  will  come  into  conjunction 
with  the  sun  and  enter  the  morning 
sky  on  February  5.  It  reaches  western 
elong-ation  on  March  i  and  for  the  last 


few  days  of  February  may  be  seen 
shining  brightly  in  the  southeast  for 
more  than  an  hour  before  sunrise. 

V'enus,  Jupiter  and  Saturn  all  shine 
brightly  in  the  evening  sky  in  excellent 
position  for  observation. 

Mars  is  running  rapidly  westward 
and  during  the  month  will  pass  from 
Eeo  into  Cancer.  Its  nearest  approach 
to  the  earth  of  the  entire  year  will  oc- 
cur on  February  9,  at  6  A.  M.  at  which 
time  it  will  be  but  sixty  million  miles 
awav  from  us. 


Why  February  is  the  Shortest  Month. 

In  all  the  earliest  calendars  the 
month  was  the  number  of  days  in  one 
lunation, — that  is,  from  full  moon  to 
full  moon  or  from  new  to  new.  As  it 
is  impossible  to  fit  an  exact  number  of 
such  months  into  a  year  it  was  neces- 
sary to  arbitrarily  add  or  drop  a  lunar 
month  from  the  calendar  from  time  to 
time. 

The  resulting  inextricable  confusion 
was  first  remedied  in  B.  C.  45  by  Julius 
Caesar,  who  wholly  discarded  the 
moon  from  the  calendar,  adopting  365- 
y^  days  as  the  length  of  the  year,  the 
extra  quarter  of  a  day  being  readily  al- 
lowed for  by  making  each  fourth  year 
366  days.  February  at  this  time  con- 
tained thirty  days  and  our  seventh 
month  also  thirty  days ;  Caesar  named 
the  latter  July,  after  himself,  and  that 
it  might  be  as  long  as  any  other  month 
he  transferred  to  it  a  day  from  Febru- 
ary, leaving  the  latter  with  but  twenty- 
nine. 

His  successor,  Augustus  Caesar,  in 
like  manner  took  possession  of  the  fol- 
lowing month,  naming  it  August,  and 
that  it  also  might  be  as  long  as  any 
month,  he  borrowed  still  another  day 
from  February  to  add  to  his  own 
month  leaving  the  former  month  with 
but  twenty-eight  days. 

In  the  present  year,  however,  Febru- 
ary will  contain  twenty-nine  days  as 
191 6  is  a  leap  year. 


TO  KXOW  THE  STARRY  IIE.WEXS 


291 


Contributions    to    the    Sound    Beach 
Observatory. 

Airs.  Mortimer  B.Foster,  Sound 
Beach $        5-O0 

Mr.  George  A.  Galliver.  Arling- 
ton, N.  J 5-00 

Mr.  Joseph  M.  Phill)rick,  Xew 

York  City 5-O0 

Reverend  N.  P.  Coleman,  River- 
side, Conn 5.00 

Mrs.  C.  O.  Miller,  Stamford.  .  .         lo.oo 

Mr.     Frederick     A.     Hubbard. 
Greenwich   5.00 

Mr.    C.    Dana     Potter.    Sound 

Beach 5.00 

Total $      40.00 

Previously  acknowledged..  .$1,001.43 

Grand  Total $1,041.43 

^         :{;         ;);         H<         ^iJ 

Congratulations  to  Leon  Barritt. 

We  heartily  congratulate  Mr.  Leon 
Barritt  of  150  Nassau  Street,  New 
York  City,  upon  the  decennial  anniver- 
sary of  his  delightful  little  publication, 
"The  Monthly  Evening  Sky  Map."  Mr. 
Barritt  not  only  publishes  this  pleasing 
periodical,  but  he  also  supplies  a  num- 
ber of  new^spapers  v^ath  a  syndicate 
service.     He  says : 

"The  combined  circulation  each 
month,  of  these  papers  has  been  for 
many  years  over  one  million  and  a  half 
copies.  By  this  continuous  presenta- 
tion of  the  subject  of  astronomy,  popu- 
larly presented,  to  this  great  audience 
of  general  readers,  the  publisher  be- 
lieves can  be  attributed  in  no  small  de- 
gree the  revival  of  interest  in  astron- 
omy, which  is  daily  becoming  more  ap- 
parent. ...  I  have  learned  by 
my  experience  in  this  business  some- 
thing of  its  possibilities  and  its  limita- 
tions. Dollars  and  cents,  however,  are 
not  the  measure  of  reward  to  those 
who  work  in  the  astronomical  field. 
It  is  largely  a  labor  of  love  to  all  who 
engage  in  it." 

We  extend  the  right  hand  of  fellow- 
ship to  Mr.  Barritt,  with  hearty  con- 
gratulations upon  his  achievements, 
his  work  has  largely  been  a  labor  of  a 
generous  love ;  his  excellent  serive 
has  brought  him  only  moderate  finan- 
cial returns,  but  his  monthly  has  been 
a  valuable  and  influential  factor  in  de- 
veloping  an    interest    in    astronomv. 


What  is  the  Matter  with  Astronomy? 

T  am  deeply  interested  in  astronomy. 
I  have  found  it  a  pleasurable  diversion 
froni  the  activtties  of  a  busy  life,  and 
I    think    e\'cryone    should    become    ac- 
quainted with  the  "friendly  stars."  The 
f;icts  are,  howe\  er,  that  the  subject  re- 
ceives comparatively  little  attention.  I 
have    found    that    astronomy     is    not 
taught  in  a  single  Grammar  School  in 
the  United  States.    A  few  High  Schools 
give  it  consideration  in  connection  with 
physical    geography,    and    in    the    Col- 
leges and  Universities  it     is     elective, 
and  very  few  take  it  up.     In  my  boy- 
ho(Kl  astronomy  was  a  part  of  the  cur- 
riculum   in    every^    educational    institu- 
tion in  the  country.    What  has  brought 
about  this  great  change?     I  believe  it 
is  largely  due  to  the  abstract  manner 
in  which  the  subject  has  been  presented 
in   text-books,   making  the  subject  re- 
pellent to  teachers  as  well  as  students, 
and    in    no    small    degree    has    it    been 
brought   about   by   parents   who   want 
their  children  educated  along  lines  that 
would    have    more    commercial    value. 
Statistics  show  that  fully  75  per  cent, 
of  the  children  who  graduate  from  the 
Grammar    School    do   not    enter    High 
School,     so    this    large    percentage  of 
boys  and  girls  go  out  into  life  without 
the    slightest   knowledge   of   the   great 
.Solar  System  of  which  we  are  a  part. 
They    know   nothing   of   the    apparent 
rising  and  setting  of  the  sun  ;  the  cause 
of   the   moon's   phases,   or   any   of   the 
simplest   facts   regarding  astronomy — 
"The  Monthly  Evening  Sky  Map." 

When  We  Shall  Know. 

The  child  is  said  to  long  to  grasp 
the  moon.  Wlio.  in  his  maturer  years, 
has  never  wished  that  he  might  stand 
upon  the  moon,  and  watch  the  earth 
at  full,  a  glorious  planet  of  the  night, 
four  times  as  far  from  rim  to  rim,  and 
twice  as  bright  in  every  part  as  is  the 
moon  herself!  AA'ho.  thinking  more 
gravely,  has  not  wished  sometimes  he 
had  been  born  in  later  years,  when  he 
could  share  the  fuller  understanding 
yet  to  come?  Shall  we  not  live  in  hope 
that  if  we  worthily  contribute  to  that 
happy  end.  we,  too,  may  join  with  that 
great  company  Avhose  patient  and 
sound  labors  have  given  us  what  we 
know,  and  in  a  future  life  with  them 
may  see  unrolled  the  wider  view  which 
here  we  long  to  see  in  vain? — "The 
Sun"  by  Charles  G.  Abbot. 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


ORNITHOLOGY 


All  communications  for  this  department 
should  be  sent  to  the  Department  Editor, 
Mr.  Harry  G.  Higbee,  13  Austin  Street, 
Hyde  Park,  Massachusetts.  Items,  articles 
and  photographs  in  this  department  not 
otherwise  credited  are  by  the  Department 
Editor. 


Scaup  Ducks  in  Their  Winter  Home. 

As  both  the  lesser  and  greater  scaup 
ducks,  known  commonly  as  blue-bills, 
gather  along  the  shores  and  ponds  of 
our  eastern  states  in  the  late  fall  they 
become  particularly  noticeable. 


As  the  ponds  and  streams  freeze 
-over,  or  their  food  becomes  scarce  from 
some  other  reason,  these  birds  gradu- 
ally work  their  way  southward,  arriv- 
ing along  the  Florida  coast  and  in  the 
larger  lakes  and  streams  about  the  first 
of  December,  though  sometimes  ear- 
lier. Here  they  spend  the  winter  in  the 
quiet  waters  of  the  semi-tropics,  gath- 
ering in  thousands  and  tens  of  thous- 
ands about  the  harbors  of  some  of  the 
towns,  where  they  receive  the  protec- 
tion   of    state    and    federal    laws,    and 


A  STREET  IN  THE  BEAUTIFUL  TOWN  OF  DAYTONA. 


These  two  species,  usually  found  to- 
gether, have  but  slight  differences  in 
their  markings  and  are  practically  in- 
distinguishable except  at  very  close 
range.  Ordinarily  they  seem  to  asso- 
ciate little  with  other  ducks,  although 
they  appear  very  sociable  among  them- 
selves. 


where  they  find  ample  food  to  their 
liking.  Here  they  become  so  tame  that 
in  many  instances  they  may  be  easily 
approached.  This  applies  only,  how- 
ever, to  their  protected  areas  and  the 
same  birds  outside  become  wild  and 
shy,  probably  from  being  fired  at  by 
the  sfunners. 


ORNITHOLOGY 


A  FLOCK  OF  LESSER  SCAUP  DUCKS. 


At  Daytona,  a  beautiful  winter  resort 
situated  on  the  Halifax  River  along  the 
Florida  east  coast,  we  observed  thous- 
ands of  these  birds — mostly  the  lesser 
scaups — in  the  latter  part  of  Novem- 
ber, and  spent  a  number  of  hours  in 
studying  and  photographing  them. 
They  were  active  and  quick-moving  on 
the  water  and  are  extremely  rapid  fli- 
ers, and  we  found  them  difficult  to 
photograph  on  the  wing.  We  noticed 
a  whistling  sound  produced  by  the 
wings  as  the  birds  passed  over  our 
heads.  Usually  in  their  feeding,  and 
while  paddling  about  or  resting  on  the 
water  they  were  altogether  silent,  al- 
though occasionally  a  low  whistling, 
or  "purring,"  would  seem  to  run 
through  the  flock.  These  flocks,  wheth- 
er large  or  small,  appeared  to  be  under 
the  leadership  of  some  one  bird. 
Shortly  before  sunset  they  would  be- 
gin gathering  for  the  night ;  circling 
'round  and  'round  over  an  area  about 
half  a  mile  square  on  the  water,  grad- 
ually closing  in  to  form  compact  bun- 
ches, and  appearing  like  floating  is- 
lands in  the  river. 

Extending  for  twenty  miles  south  of 
Daytona,  is  the  government  bird  pre- 
serve known  as  "Mosquito  Inlet  Reser- 


vation," and  large  numbers  of  scaups 
were  noted  among  the  many  islands  of 
this  area. 

Below  Mosquito  Lagoon  the  beauti- 
ful Indian  River  winds  southward  for 
about  a  hundred  miles,  being  in  some 
places  two  to  three  miles  wide ;  its 
banks  bordered  with  palms  and  other 


SCAUP  DUCKS  IN  FLIGHT, 


294 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


tropical  vegetation.  Here  one  passes 
through  pretty  villages,  citrus  groves 
and  pineapple  plantations.  At  Cocoa, 
on  the  west  bank  of  the  river,  we  found 
the  ducks  congregated  in  large  num- 
bers. Here  for  several  years  past  dur- 
ing the  winter  months  certain  persons 
have  become  interested  in  these  birds, 
and  a  flock  of  from  fifty  to  several  hun- 
dred may  be  seen  daily  near  the  bridge 
by  the  bank  building,  where  they  are 
regularly  fed  by  these  people.  Both 
here  and  at  Daytona  we  were  able  to 
call  small  flocks  of  these  ducks  across 
the  water  in  answer  to  our  whistling, 
when  they  would  come — shyly  at  first, 
then  more  boldly — to  feed  upon  the 
bread  crumbs  and  other  scraps  which 
we  threw  out  to  them.  I  noticed  in 
these  instances  that  the  ducks  were 
much  less  shy  than  the  drakes. 

In  some  places  we  passed  through 
flocks  in  our  launch  which,  by  careful 
estimates,  I  judged  contained  as  many 
as  ten  thousand  birds.  Often  these 
masses  would  simply  divide,  making 
a  wide  passage  for  our  boat,  when  they 
would  scuttle  along  low  over  the  water 
with  a  great  whirring  sound. 


Through  the  sixty-one  mile  canal 
from  Ft.  Lauderdale  to  Lake  Okeecho- 
bee in  the  Everglades  we  saw  but  one 
lone  duck.  On  the  big  lake,  while 
there  were  immense  flocks  of  coot,  but 
few  of  the  ducks  were  noted,  although 
we  saw  many  thousands  of  them  on 
the  waters  (or  more  properly  speaking, 
the  liquid  mud)  of  Lake  Hicpochee 
and  Lake  Flirt.  This  was  in  the  latter 
part  of  December.  Their  numbers 
grew  gradually  less  as  we  passed 
through  the  waterways  to  the  west 
coast,  and  we  noted  a  conspicuous  ab- 
sence of  scaup  ducks  along  the  borders 
of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  in  the  har- 
bors and  bays  of  the  towns  along  the 
west  Florida  coast  on  our  trip  north- 
ward. 


It  is  beautiful  to  attain  the  quiet  life, 
the  simple  life,  like  Burroughs  in  a 
country  cottage,  or  like  Thoreau  in  a 
cabin  in  the  wilderness.  But  it  is  still 
more  beautiful  to  be  able  to  attain  the 
quiet  life,  the  simple  life,  mixed  with 
the  crash  of  city  activities,  surrounded 
by  the  hurry  of  the  mart  and  the  grind 
of  the  office. — -"The  Columbus  Medical 
Journal,"  Columbus,  Ohio. 


FEEDING  THE  SCAUPS  AT  COCOA,  FJ.OKli;A. 


ORNITHOLOGY 


295 


ox  THE  INDIAN  RIVER,  FLORIDA 


With  the  Audubon  Societies. 

NOTES   FRo^r    THE   ANNUAL   KEI'OKT. 

The  Annual  Report  of  the  national 
association  of  Audubon  Societies  shows 
that  this  organization  now  has  assets 
amounting  to  over  $400,000,  about 
ninety  per  cent  of  which  is  credited  to 
the  endowment  fund.  Its  income  for 
the  year  just  closed,  with  unexpended 
balance  carried  over  from  the  year  pre- 
vious gave  the  society  $106,787.12  as  a 
total  available  sum  for  its  year's  work. 
Of  this  amount,  about  $80,000  was  ex- 
pended,— the  greater  proportion  being 
for  educational  work  in  its  various  de- 
partments,— leaving  a  substantial  bal- 
ance at  the  close  of  its  fiscal  year,  Oct. 
19. 

A  new  island  has  been  purchased  in 
Orange  Lake,  Florida  at  a  cost  of  $250. 
Boats  now  owned  by  the  society  and 
used  in  bird  protection  work  aggregate 
some  $3,000  in  value.  A  little  more 
than  that  sum  was  spent  in  the  egret 
protection  work  in  the  South,  and  has 
accomplished  results  of  great  value. 

Reports  of  the  various  officers  of  the 
association  ;  of  field  agents,  secretaries 
of  the  state  societies  and  wardens  all 
seem  to  have  a  cheerful  tone  and  show 


large  things  accomplished  the  past 
year  in  bird  conservation  work,  look- 
ing forward  with  bright  prospects  for 
the  coming  season.  The  new  depart- 
ment of  Applied  Ornithology,  under 
the  expert  guidance  of  the  Rev.  Her- 
bert K.  Job,  is  proving  a  great  success, 
and  showed  a  balance  of  about  $4000 
at  the  close  of  the  vear's  work. 


Moving  Pictures  of  Bird  Protection 
Work. 

Arrangements  are  being  made  by  the 
national  association  to  have  some  of 
the  excellent  moving  picture  reels  of 
l)ird  protection  work,  obtained  by  Mr. 
Job,  exhibited  in  regular  moving  pic- 
ture houses  throughout  the  country. 
This  should  have  a  far-reaching  effect 
in  educating  young  people  to  protect, 
rather  than  to  destroy,  our  native  birds, 
as  it  will  bring  this  work  before  thous- 
ands of  people  not  reached  through  the 
ordinarv  channels  of  the  Audubon 
Work.  " 


If  Nature  you  would  know, 

You  have  not  far  to  go; 

The  nearest  road,  or  left  or  right, 
Will  bring  her  breezy  realms  in  sight, 

And  lay  her  portals  low. 

— Emma  Peirce. 


296 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


THE  FAMOUS  WILLOW VlLl.K  SLOUGH  ON  THE  DOMLXOUEZ  KAXCllU. 


Migratory  Birds  on  the  Dominquez 
Rancho. 

BY  AEFRE;d  C00K.\LVX_,  HX-PRESIDKNT  OF 
TFIF  LUTHER  BURBANK  CHAPTER  OF  THE 
AGASSIZ  ASS0CL\TI0N  IN  THE  UNIVER- 
SITY OF  SOUTHERN  CALIFORNIA,  LOS  AN- 
GELES,  CALIFORNIA. 

In  early  October,  several  members 
of  the  Luther  Burbank  Chapter  of  The 
Agassiz  Association  established  in  the 
University  of  Southern  California 
journeyed  to  the  Dominquez  Rancho, 
twenty  miles  south  of  Los  Angeles  and 
four  miles  north  of  the  city  of  Long 
Beach  in  Los  Angeles  County,  South- 
ern California,  to  study  the  migratory 
birds  that  are  now  visiting  this  area, 
and  to  collect  a  few  specimens  for 
scientific   study. 

The  Dominquez  Rancho  all  told  cov- 
ers twenty-four  thousand  acres  of  land. 
It  extends  from  the  inner  harbor;  of 
San  Pedro,  situated  in  the  southwest- 
ern section  of  the  Rancho  proper,  to 
the  city  of  Gardena  six  miles  northwest 
to  the  foothills  of  Long  Beach  located 
in  the  southeastern  part  of  the  Rancho 
proper  and  about  eight  miles  southeast 
of  Gardena.  It  forms  the  northwest 
boundary  of  the  city  of  Long  Beach. 


"Signal  Hill"  is  a  peak  towering  above 
the  surrounding  foothills.  From  its 
summit  one  can  view  the  Alamitos 
Bay  territory  and  the  canals  of  Naples. 
The  Los  Angeles  River  meanders 
among  the  willows  and  the  cotton- 
woods  in  the  southwest  section,  diag- 
onally northeast,  then  southwest  to 
the  sea. 

The  Dominquez  Rancho  is  consider- 
ed by  many  of  our  western  ornitholo- 
gists as  one  of  the  greatest  bird  retreats 
in  the  southern  division  of  California. 
One  of  the  greatest  fields  for  ornitho- 
logical research  on  the  American  con- 
tinent is  located  on  this  area.  "Nig- 
ger Sloughs,"  a  great  marsh  locality, 
is  situated  four  miles  north  of  San  Pe- 
dro and  seventeen  miles  south  of  Los 
Angeles.  It  comprises  five  large  lakes 
and  covers  eighteen  hundred  acres  of 
land.  Thousands  of  marsh  birds  visit 
this  area  during  their  migration,  and 
several  species  are  permanent  resi- 
dents. There  are  several  small  marsh- 
es adjoining  the  main  lakes  that  are 
rich  with  vegetation — tules,  cotton- 
woods  and  willows.  Going  among  the 
tules  and  beneath  the  overhanging 
vines,  one  may  imagine  himself  in  the 


ORNITHOLOGY 


297 


jungltjs  of  the  Amazon,  or  on  the  banks 
of  the  African  Congo.  The  beautiful 
sea  birds,  birds  found  in  bays  and 
marshes,  and  the  game  birds  of  the 
Pacific  Coast  Hnger  in  this  locaHty  to 
feed  on  the  insects,  the  Crustacea  and 
the  molluscs  that  here  abound.  Many 
varieties  nest  here. 

Several  leading  gun  clubs  have  tak- 
en advantage  of  these  lakes,  and  have 
leased  large  portions  over  which  to 
shoot  the  wild  ducks  that  visit  us  in 
the  fall  of  the  year. 

During  a  visit  to  Xorth  River  Slough, 
one  of  the  largest  of  the  five  lakes,  we 
recorded  twenty-five  species  and  nearly 
three  hundred  individual  birds.  Among 
those  most  interesting  was  the  northern 
phalarope  (Plialaropus  lobatns)  of  which 
a  large  flock  was  observed  feeding  at  the 
edge  of  the  lake.  In  the  group  we  counted 
fourteen  individual  birds.  They  are  a 
common  migrant  along  the  coast  and  on 
inland  bodies  of  water.  The  writer  took 
an  adult  male  October  12th — a  late  re- 
cord. 

The  black-necked  stilt  {Himantopus 
mexicanus)  is  a  common  summer  resi- 
dent. We  did  not  expect  to  record  any 
of  these  long  legged  stilts,  but  on  the 
northeast  section  we  counted  six.  They 
are  rare  in  winter.  The  writer  has  taken 
sets  of  eggs  of  this  species  for  the 
museum  in  j\Iay  and  June. 

The  avocet  {Recurvirostra  americana) 
was  heralded  with  surprise.  We  have 
never  been  so  fortunate  as  to  locate  this 
species  at  Nigger  Slough.  Dr.  Brown  of 
Washington,  D.  C,  who  is  spending  his 
winter  in  Los  Angeles,  informed  me  re- 
cently that  he  has  taken  several  adult 
specimens  this  year  at  North  Slough. 
They  are  common  in  marshy  districts 
during  migration.  We  counted  three 
feeding  near  the  "little  hill." 

Among  other  interesting  species  we 
recorded  the  American  bittern  (Botaurus 
lentiginosiis),  the  American  coot  {Fnlica 
americana),  the  Bonaparte  gull  {Lams 
Philadelphia),  the  California  and  the 
western  gull  {Lams  calif orniciis  and  L. 
occidcntalis) ,  the  western  sandpiper 
{Breimetes  iiianri),  the  beautiful  marbled 
godwit  {Liniosa  fedoa),  the  greater  yel- 
lowlegs  {Totanus  inclaiiolei(cus) ,  and 
several. varieties  of  song  birds,  ducks, 
terns  and  grebes. 


The  writer  is  preparing  a  treatise  on 
the  aerial  fauna  of  this  region  and  is 
being  assisted  by  members  of  The  Ag- 
assiz  Association  that  reside  in  Los 
Angeles  and  its  vicinity. 


Greenland    Wheatear    at    Manomet, 
Massachusetts. 

An  adult  Greenland  wheatear  was  ob- 
served by  Judge  Charles  F.  Jenney  o  f  Hyde 
Park,  on  September  16,  191 5,  along  the 
boulder-strewn  shore  of  Manomet  Beach, 
Massachusetts.  This  bird  was  studied 
at  close  range  for  twenty  minutes,  giv- 
ing the  observer  ample  opportunity  to 
sketch  and  note  in  detail  its  markings 
and  characteristics. 

This  is  the  second  instance  of  the  wheat- 
ear  appearing  in  Massachusetts,  the  pre- 
vious record  being  in  September  19 10,  and 
there  are  four  records  of  its  occurrence  in 
New  York.  It  rarely,  however,  appears 
anywhere  along  the  coast  of  the  United 
States  ;  its  usual  route  of  migration  carry- 
ing it  across  the  North  Atlantic,  through 
the  British  Isles  and  France,  southward 
to  the  northwestern  part  of  Africa,  its 
winter  home.  It  returns  in  the  spring 
over  the  same  route  to  its  nesting  grounds 
within  the  Arctic  Circle  and  is  said  to  be 
the  only  small  species  of  land  bird  still 
followino-  this  ancient  route. 


TAKING  NOTES  AMONG  THE  CACTUS  OX  THE 
DOMINQUEZ  RANCHO. 


298 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


Nesting    of   the    Yellow-Tailed    Tit. 

BY    H.    STUiVRT   DOVE,    WEST   DEVONPORT, 
TASMANIA,    AUSTRALIA. 

The  yellow-tailed  tit  belongs  to  a  genns 
(Acanthiza)  which  is  peculiar  to  Austra- 
lia and  Tasmania,  and  includes  about  ten 
species.  They  are  placed  in  the  family  of 
warblers,  and  the  approved  trivial  name 
is  "Tit  Warbler,"  which  suits  them  well, 
as  they  have  the  ever-moving,  restless 
ways  among  the  leaves  and  twigs  which 
charcaterize  the  true  tits  (Paridae) — such 
as  the  American  chickadee, — while  at  the 
same  time  most  of  them  have  the  habit  of 
uttering  a  sweet  little  strain  like  the  war- 
blers. To  the  Colonial  boy,  however,  and 
to  the  great  majority  of  the  bush-dwell- 
ers, this  particular  species  is  simply  the 
"Tomtit"  or  the  "Yellow-tail,"  being 
known  to  scientists  as  J.  Chrysorrhea. 

He  is  a  wee  little  fellow,  under  four 
inches  in  length ;  ver}-  neat  in  his  plumage 
— olive-brown  above ;  yellowish- white  be- 
neath, his  dark  forehead  spotted  with 
white,  and  a  light  line  over  the  eye.  The 
base  of  the  tail  and  upper  tail-coverts  are 
bright  yellow,  and  this  contrasted  with 
the  dark,  terminal  band  makes  the  bird 
very  conspicuous  as  soon  as  he  takes 
wing. 

The  tom-tits  are  gregarious  during 
autumn  and  winter,  feeding  in  the  trees 
and  bushes,  or  often  on  the  ground,  in 
small  companies,  but  early  in  the  spring 
these  companies  break  up — each  pair  then 
entering  upon  the  serious  duties  of  life. 

The  nest  is  a  rather  bulky  structure  for 
such  small  architects,  and  often  loosely 
constructed,  but  individuals  vary  greatly 
in  this  particular.  It  is  domed ;  has  a  side 
entrance,  and  is  built  mostly  of  grasses, 
warmly  lined  with  plentiful  feathers, — 
those  of  the  domestic  fowl  being  much  in 
favor.  The  structure  is  seldom  placed 
more  than  eight  or  nine  feet  above  the 
ground  and  is  suspended  from  small 
branches  or  stout  twigs  ; — the  grass,  or 
sometimes  pieces  of  twine,  being  worked 
around  the  twigs  until  a  secure  hold  is 
obtained.  A  favorite  location  aboyt  here 
is  amid  the  drooping  foliage  of  the  white 
gum  (Eucalyptus  viininalis),  where  it  is 
impossible  to  see  the  nest  among  the  thick 
leafage  until  one  gets  against  the  tree 
trunk  and  looks  upward,  when  he  may — 
if  he  has  beforehand  a  pretty  good  idea 
as  to  its  situation — be  able  to  "spot"  it. 
About  my  own  place  this  gum  foliage. 


in  one  tree  or  another,  is  used  every  year,, 
while  at  a  friend's  place  over  the  river  a 
pair  of  yellow-tails  builds  each  season  in 
the  swamp  tea  tree  (Melalenca  cr  ice  folia) 
just  back  of  his  cottage.  This  tree  is  of 
an  entirely  diiTerent  habit  from  the  droop- 
ing white  gum,  being  stiff  and  upright 
with  short,  linear  foliage — more  like- 
pine-needles, — so  that  individualism 
shows  here  as  well  as  in  the  mode  of  nest- 
construction.  At  a  locality  a  few  miles 
past  my  friend's  place,  the  prickly  wattle 
(Acacia  verticillata)  is  the  tree  selected, 
and  makes  unpleasant  handling  for 
would-be  nest-robbers. 

The  "procreant  cradle,"  swung  in  the 
thick  leafage  of  a  gum  only  a  yard  or  two 
from  my  wood-pile,  was  constructed  of 
soft,  partly-green  grasses,  with  a  fair 
amount  of  green  moss  interwoven,  and 
was  plentifully  lined  with  hens'  feathers. 
It  had  the  usual  apical  depression,  called 
the  "cock's  nest"  by  the  boys,  where  the 
lord  and  master  is  supposed  to  sleep  while 
his  mate  is  brooding..  Whether  he  actu- 
ally does  so.  I  have  not  so  far  been  able 
to  ascertain,  owing  to  the  dense  nature 
of  the  foliage  in  which  it  is  situated. 
Three  white  eggs  were  laid,  of  the  usual, 
rather  elongated  pattern  with  fine,  glossy 
surface.  As  I  did  not  find  the  nest  until 
the  eggs  were  deposited,  the  time  of  in- 
cubation was  not  ascertained  with  cer- 
tainty, but  it  was  at  least  fifteen  days. 
The  time  from  hatching  to  leaving  the 
nest  was  nineteen  days.  This  agrees  with 
an  observation  on  the  same  species  which 
I  made  in  Victoria  (Australia) ,  and  is 
much  longer  than  the  time  taken  by  our 
long-tailed  wrens,  which  feather  in  eleven 
to  twelve  days.  (A  brood  which  I  timed 
in  A'ictoria  left  the  nest  on  the  tenth  day 
from  hatching) . 

The  young  tom-tits  have  a  slight  grey- 
ish down  on  the  head  and  back  when 
hatched ;  the  eyes  open  about  the  eighth 
day,  and  on  the  tenth  day  the  down  has 
almost  disappeared  and  feathers  are- 
sprouting-  well  on  the  head  and  body ; — 
the  yellow  on  the  short  tail  and  rump 
showing  distinctly. 

Our  yellow-tail  is  not  infrequently  vic- 
timized by  the  handsome  little  bronze 
cuckoo;  of  which  two,  and  possibly  three 
species  visit  us  each  spring  and  summer 
from  the  main-land  of  Australia.  '  The 
eggs  are  practically  the  same  size  and 
much  the  same  shape  as  those  of  the  "tit," 


ORNITHOLOGY 


299 


but  the  tint  is  different, — which  of  course 
does  not  matter  in  a  covered  nest.  The 
peculiar  whisthng  calls  of  these  small 
cuckoos  are  among  our  familiar  spring 
sounds. 

A  peculiarity  of  our  "yellow-tail"  is 
that  it  sometimes  builds  under  and  ad- 
joining the  nests  of  such  fierce  birds  as 
the  eagles,  ravens  and  magpies.  The 
latter  is  properly  the  "piping  crow- 
shrike,"  one  of  our  most  familiar  species, 
and  so  fierce  at  breeding  time  that  I  have 
seen  it  chase  a  hawk  fully  a  mile  from 
its  nest,  and  occasionally  it  will  even  at- 
tack human  beings  who  venture  too  near 
the  tree — yet  our  little  "tit"  w'ill  some- 
times brood  under  its  protection.  It 
would  be  interesting  to  know  whether 
any  of  the  small  birds  of  America  indulge 
in  the  same  practice. 


The   Starling's    Objectionable    Habits. 

Meriden,  Connecticut. 
To  the  Editor  : — 

In  the  September  number  of  this 
magazine  you  make  mention  of  the  in- 
vestigation now  being  carried  on  by 
the  Department  of  Agriculture,  to  de- 
termine the  economic  value  in  America 
of  the  European  starling. 

Before  this  work  is  completed,  and 
the  result  of  the  inspection  of  hundreds 
•of  stomachs  is  made  known,  I  believe 
that  a  collection  of  facts  relating  to  the 
■objectionable  habits  that  I  know,  from 
actual  experience,  to  be  common  to  the 
starling,  would  be  of  importance  in  de- 
ciding the  question,  Shall  the  starling 
be  protected  or  condemned?  Many 
items  have  been  published  that  de- 
scribe the  starling  as  an  insect  destroy- 
er worthy  of  protection,  and  some  ob- 
servers consider  the  protected  robin  as 
an  even  greater  destroyer  of  fruit,  but 
personally  I  believe  that  the  starling 
more  than  pays  for  the  fruit  it  devours 
by  the  number  of  insects  it  destroys, 
especially  tent  caterpillars,  grasshop- 
pers and  cutworms. 

Other  things  might  be  mentioned  in 
its  favor.  The  beautiful  plumage,  ap- 
pearing after  the  August  moult,  when 
the  dull  brown  of  the  young  bird  is  dis- 
placed by  feathers  of  glistening  black, 
with  changing  tints  of  purple  and 
green,  and  each  feather  tipped  with 
white,  gives  the  bird  a  speckled  ap- 
pearance that  mav  appeal  to  some 
nature  lovers. 


Their  power  of  mimicry  is  interest- 
ing, but  it  is  limited  to  short  calls  and 
whistles.  I  have  heard  them  imitate 
the  call  note  of  the  robin,  the  wood  pe- 
wee,  the  grackle,  the  catbird,  the  flick- 
er and  the  whippoorwill.  How  the 
starling  could  have  learned  the  whip- 
poorwill's  night  call  is  a  question,  but 
I  saw  the  bird,  at  midday,  perched  near 
the  top  of  a  Norway  spruce,  and  heard 
it  thrice  repeat  to  perfection  the  call, 
"whippoorwill." 

But  none  of  these  interesting  habits 
nor  its  insectivorous  nature  should 
save  the  starling,  if  we  have  enough 
evidence  to  prove  its  enmity  for  our 
native  birds.  The  greatest  sufferers 
are  woodpeckers,  bluebirds,  martins 
and  tree  swallow^s.  In  fact,  no  species 
is  safe  that  builds  in  a  hollow  tree,  or 
in  a  hole,  or  in  a  bird  house  that  the 
starling  can  enter.  The  native  bird  is 
driven  out  and  the  site  taken  for  the 
starling's  own  use,  or,  if  the  starling 
has  already  made  its  nest,  it  will  visit 
such  places  to  rob  the  nests  of  eggs  or 
of  young  birds. 

Other  objectionable  habits  are  its 
destruction  of  sprouting  and  ripening 
grain,  its  habit  of  making  holes  or  of 
nesting  in  or  about  buildings,  and,  af- 
ter the  nesting  season  is  over,  the  habit 
of  roosting  in  large  flocks  in  a  tree  by 
the  wayside  where  they  make  them- 
selves disagreeable,  especially  in  the 
city. 

The  examination  of  the  stomach  con- 
tents of  starlings  captured  in  various 
localities  and  at  all  seasons  will  deter- 
mine the  proportions  of  animal  and 
vegetable  matter  consumed,  and  prove 
or  disprove  their  economic  value.  But 
it  will  not  make  known  the  number  of 
flickers  that  have  been  driven  from 
their  holes,  nor  the  hundreds  of  martin 
boxes  and  bluebird  boxes  that  have 
been  occupied  by  the  starling  before 
the  desired  tenants  arrived.  The  child 
that  has  witnessed  such  incidents  has 
more  convincing  evidence  against  this 
imported  bird  than  has  the  professor 
with  his  microscope.  The  starlings 
are  increasing  rapidly,  and  many  of  our 
native  birds  are  about  as  rapidly  de- 
creasing. 

If  the  reader  has  witnessed  any  un- 
desirable habit  of  the  European  star- 
ling and  will  report  to  me.  I  will  as- 
semble the  evidence  and  forward  it  to 
Washington.      We    can    all    thus    take 


300 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


part  in  preventing  what  is  likely  to  be- 
come a  greater  pest  than  the  English 
sparrow. 

L.  W.  Smith. 
The  gathering  of  such  material  should 
be  of  interest  and  value.  Will  not  our 
readers  cooperate  and  send  to  Mr. 
Smith,  60  Cottage  Street,  Meriden, 
Conn.,  their  observations  of  the  star- 
ling's habits,  both  pro  and  con,  to  be 
summarized  for  a  later  report  to  this 
department? — H.  G.  H. 


That  Mysterious  Little  Bird. 

Eartville,  Pennsylvania. 
To  the  Editor : 

From  October  15th  to  17th  a  small  bird 
was  seen  among  the  alders  that  line  the 
swampy  part  of  a  dam.  It  was  not  larger 
than  the  English  sparrow,  and  was  quiet 
in  every  motion.  We  stood  perhaps  six 
feet  away  and  it  showed  no  fear.  It  was 
mottled  greenish  yellow,  with  the  shoul- 
ders between  the  wings  a  downy,  pale 
brown  quite  distinct.  So  much  white  was 
on  the  wings  and  the  short  tail  that  I  said 
at  once  of  the  new  bird,  "It  is  a  crossbill." 
But  we  could  see  that  only  the  little  bill 
was  curved — the  upper  mandible.  The 
bill  was  not  stout  but  appeared  to  be 
pointed  at  the  tip.  As  the  bird  seemed 
immature  and  the  tail  very  short,  I 
thought  it  might  be  a  white-winged  cross- 
bill without  the  decided  cross.  After 
looking  in  my  bird  guide  and  other  books, 
I  decided  that  I  did  not  know  what  to  do 
about  that  little  tail  with  so  much  white 
that  it  appeared  to  be  of  white-edged 
black  feathers,  the  black  showing  also  on 
the  wings.  We  feel  sure  it  was  not  a 
goldfinch  although  its  lower  wings  and 
wee  tail  resemble  those  of  the  goldfinch 
as  pictured.  While  we  guessed  at  the  pine 
siskin,  it  did  not  resemble  those  that  we 
have  occasionally  seen.  Its  body  and 
wing  coloring  were  like  those  of  the 
female  white-winged  crossbill.  When  it 
was  feeding  on  the  alder  cones,  we  noticed 
that  the  bird  gave  a  twist  in  extracting  the 
seeds.  When  moving  from  one  branch 
to  another  it  spread  the  little  tail  (one 
inch  long  or  a  little  more)  fan  fashion  like 
the  redstart.  I  saw  it  two  days  later 
eating  the  seeds  of  the  bitterweed  (rag- 
weed). At  no  time,  even  when  flying, 
was  it  more  than  a  few  feet  high ;  it  fed 
low,  flew  low,  of  its  kind  was  a  solitarv 
bird. 

There  were  many  other  birds  about  the 
hillside  and  along  the  water,  but  it  kept 


to  itself,  and  seemed  fearless.  Is  it  pos- 
sible for  you  to  name  it?  It  has  greatly 
puzzled  me.  I  am  familiar  with  a  hun- 
dred land  birds,  but  not  with  all  the 
young.  It  was  not  a  goldfinch,  nor,  I 
think,  a  siskin. 

Yours, 
A'Irs.  D.  W.  Jackson.. 

The  bird  was  probably  a  pine  siskin,, 
although  these  usually  travel  in  flocks,  as 
do  the  goldfinches  and  the  redpolls.  It  is 
often  difficult  to  note  the  distinguishing, 
characteristics  of  a  bird  so  that  we  can 
afterward  positively  identify  it,  as  in  vary- 
ing lights  and  attitudes  the  colors  and 
form  seem  to  differ. 

The  size,  general  markings,  sharp  bill 
and  feeding  habits,  in  this  instance,  all' 
point  to  the  pine  siskin.  The  light,  yel- 
lowish white  markings  both  on  the  wings- 
and  the  tail  show  conspicuously  when 
they  are  spread  and  are  entirely  con- 
cealed when  they  are  closed.  There  is 
also  considerable  variation  in  the  mark- 
ings among  individual  specimens. — H. 
G.  H. 


Owls  Make  Attacks  on  Heads. 

A  naturalist  living  in  northern  Canada- 
opines  that  the  animal  of  the  region  most 
dangerous  to  man  is  not  the  moose,  rat- 
tlesnake, bear,  cougar  or  lynx — but  the 
great  horned  owl. 

The  bird,  sitting  aloft  in  the  gathering" 
dusk,  mistakes  fur  cap  or  human  hair  for 
some  small  creature  on  the  ground. . 
Thereupon  he  drops  silently  down,  and 
before  he  finds  out  his  mistake,  he  has 
driven  eight  inch-long  talons  into  some- 
body's head.  In  some  lumber  camps,  re- 
port is,  the  men  actually  have  been  forced, 
when  they  go  back  and  forth  in  the  eve- 
ning, to  carry  boxes  or  barrels  over  their 
heads. 


State  Parks  Made  Bird  Reservations. 

The  necessary  legal  steps  have  been 
taken  by  which  the  fine  state  parks  of 
Wisconsin  have  been  made  into  bird 
reserves.  This  will  be  of  great  value 
in  preserving  all  kinds  of  bird  life,  and 
especially  important  in  view  of  the 
threatened  extermination  of  certain 
species. — Boys'  Life. 


GILLTES. 
Gillies,  frosted,  dainty,  sweet, 

Grace  the  border  of  the  lawn  ; 
Glowing,  as  though  clusters  neat 
Caught  the  first  flush  of  the  dawn. 

— Emma  Peirce. 


EDITORIAL 


301 


EDITORIAL 


Guidance  to  Common  Pleasure. 

Not  far  from  this  office,  tlie  road  has 
for  several  weeks  been  torn  up.  The 
new  concrete  road  will  be  a  delight, 
especially  to  automobilists.  At  a  con- 
siderable distance  from  the  place  a 
sign  has  been  erected  and  gives  the  de- 
tour route  to  Stamford  or  to  Green- 
wich. Imagine  the  driver  of  any  one 
of  the  hundreds  of  automobiles  that 
pass  over  the  road  in  a  day,  coming  to 
that  sign  and  pondering  it  long,  with 
disparaging  remarks  about  the  avithor- 
ities  that  put  it  there!  Suppose  there 
should  come  a  philosophic  chauffeur 
and  he  should  further  question  the 
right  of  the  masters  of  Greenwich  and 
Stamford  to  erect  such  signs  to  detract 
from  his  pleasure  in  going  straight 
forward  on  the  road  over  which  he 
wishes  to  go. 

Imagine  the  absurdity,  if  such  a 
chauffeur  should  still  further  question 
whether  or  not  it  were  wise  to  improve 
the  road ;  it  never  had  been  improved 
in  the  past,  why  try  to  improve  it  for 
the  future. 

The  dummiest  chauffeur  that  ever 
lived,  if  he  thinks  at  all  in  the  matter, 
will  say.  "That  guidepost  will  tempor- 
arily swerve  me  from  my  present  road 
and  take  me  over  a  less  pleasurable 
one,  but  it  is  for  the  ultimate  good  of 
all  that  pass  this  way.  I  may  never 
come  over  this  road  again,  but  I  per- 
ceive that  the  process  now  going  on 
here,  as  indicated  by  this  sign,  while 
it  brings  me  present  annoyance,  will 
in  the  future  afford  great  pleasure  to 
many  chauffeurs  and  to  their  passen- 
gers." 

How  many  times  in  recent  months 
have  we  heard  it  said  that  there  cannot 
be  a  God — if  there  were  a  God,  He 
would  stop  the  horrible  war  now  rag- 
ing in  Europe.  This  is  only  applying 
to  nations  what  many  have  said  about 
death  in  their  own  family  or  of  pain 
long  sviffered. 

To  the  writer  it  seems  that  this  great 
war  is  only  a  guidepost  to  point  out 
the  road  that  the  nations  in  the  future 


shall  follow  for  the  benefit  of  the  hu- 
man race.  This  may  not  be  for  any  of 
the  travelers  that  are  now  passing  over 
old  Mother  Earth.  It  will  be  for  the 
comfort  of  the  future,  but  how  far  in 
the  future,  no  one  knows.  In  His  sight 
a  thousand  years  are  as  one  day,  and 
one  day  as  a  thousand  years. 

How  did  that  chauffeur  know  that 
the  guidepost  indicated  a  terrible  up- 
heaval of  affairs  that  would  lead  to 
future  comforts?  By  using  his  com- 
mon sense,  he  had  observed  that  a  lit- 
tle tearing  up  of  a  road  makes  a  little 
discomfort  followed  by  only  a  little 
improvement.  He  had  likewise  learn- 
ed that  when  a  long  stretch  of  road  is 
torn  up  for  a  long  time  something  radi- 
cally better  than  the  old  will  follow. 
The  war  in  Europe  more  and  more 
plainly  indicates  that  God  is  doing  a 
tremendous  work  in  behalf  of  the  hu- 
man race,  though  it  must  be  admitted 
that  it  is  at  present  a  mighty  discour- 
aging and  painful  operation.  Things 
are  so  generally  torn  up  that  there  is 
no  comfort  in  traveling  in  any  direc- 
tion. 

So  it  is  with  pain  and  bereavement 
in  a  family.  The  Divine  processes  are 
long,  they  extend  far  into  the  future, 
where  love  will  probably  be  all  the 
stronger ;  the  greater  the  present  sor- 
row, the  greater  the  future  joy.  Pain 
may  inconvenience  and  discomfort  for 
the  present,  but  it  is  a  guidepost  that 
always  has  been  and  always  will  be 
pointing  to  better  things.  Every  pain 
that  every  person  bears  means  that 
somewhere  in  the  individual  life,  or  in 
the  life  of  some  ancestor  something 
has  been  done  wrong.  Every  one  in 
perfect  present  health  and  comfort  is 
reaping  the  reward  of  the  pain  and 
death  of  the  past. 

This  rule  applies  unerringly  to  na- 
tions as  well  as  to  individuals.  We 
hear  many  say  of  the  war  as  they  say 
of  the  great  and  seemingly  cruel  strug- 
gles of  Nature,  "There  is  no  God." 
But,  like  the  chauffeur,  one  must  think 
far   beyond    the   present,   and   stop   to 


302 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


read  the  sign  that  directs  to  the  great 
changes  for  the  better  that  shall  come 
in  the  future. 

It  is  true,  as  John  Fiske  remarked, 
that  "Every  daisy  field  is  a  scene  of 
carnage  worse  than  that  of  any  Water- 
loo," but  every  daisy  field  of  the  pre- 
sent is  the  result  of  the  carnage  of  the 
past.  Every  protective  Government, 
and  every  healthful  enjoyment  is  the 
result  of  the  carnage  of  the  past. 

History  tells  us  of  the  cruel  suffer- 
ing in  the  wars  between  the  Whites 
and  the  Indians  that  occurred  in  our 
own  vicinity.  Only  a  few  rods  from 
where  I  am  dictating  this  article,  is 
the  Congregational  Church  to  which 
the  men,  only  a  comparatively  few  de- 
cades ago,  carried  their  rifles  when 
they  went  to  the  church  service.  Those 
were  times  when  faith  was  strained  to 
the  breaking  point.  Rifles,  war,  the 
possibility  of  death  in  God's  House ! 
Would  one  be  surprised  if  some  of 
those  good  people  had  lost  faith  and 
had  said,  "There  is  no  God  to  protect 
us  from  the  tomahawk  and  the  scalp- 
ing knife — nothing  but  our  own  power 
and  bullets!" 

But  out  of  it  all  has  come  a  better 
race,  a  better  Sound  Beach  with  better 
protected  homes,  with  better  laws  and 
better  order  everywhere. 

Would  it  have  been  possible  for  even 
Omnipotence  to  develop  a  world  in  any 
different  manner?  Could  there  be  hap- 
piness in  a  world  in  which  unhappiness 
is  impossible?  Would  not  the  monot- 
ony be  painful?  Could  there  be  any 
righteousness  in  a  world  in  which  sin 
is  impossible?  What  may  be  in  some 
other  world  or  in  some  other  state  of 
existence  no  one  knows.  This  dictum 
is  intended  to  apply  only  within  the 
scope  of  that  human  earthly  horizon. 

As  I  look  out  of  the  window  I  see  a 
long  ridge  of  earth  and  two  conical 
mounds  on  the  golf  links.  Why  do 
not  the  golf  players  remove  those 
things?  They  leave  the  obstructions 
for  the  future  satisfaction  of  overcom- 
ing them,  and  of  getting  the  ball  from 
one  end  of  the  links  to  the  other.  If 
I  were  to  ask  such  a  question,  I  should 
be  laughed  at :  "Do  you  not  know  that 
we  have  just  added  what  you  call  hay- 
stacks of  turf?  We  want  to  make  play- 
ing not  easier  but  more  difificult.  Our 
pleasure  is  in  exercising  skill  in  over- 
coming obstacles."    A  life  without  ob- 


stacles would  not  be  worth  living,  and 
a  painless  life  could  never  afford  real 
happiness.  The  greater  the  upheaval 
of  the  road,  the  greater  will  be  our 
future  comfort,  convenience  and  plea- 
sure. 


Be  Frank,  even  if  Not  Interested. 

Not  everybody  is  expected  to  be  in- 
terested in  the  study  of  nature.  If 
everybody  were  interested,  there  would 
be  no  need  for  some  phases  of  the  work 
of  The  Agassiz  Association.  But  it  is 
strange  that  many  people  who  are  not 
in  the  slightest  degree  attracted  try  to 
imply  that  their  interest  in  nature  is 
supreme.  I  recently  called  at  a  school 
where,  so  far  as  I  know,  there  is  not 
a  particle  of  nature  study  in  the  pro- 
gramme. Said  the  principal,  "I  readily 
recognize  the  great  importance  of  na- 
ture study  for  these  young  people.  In- 
deed, I  think  nothing  better  can  enter 
into  their  lives.  Why,  I  recall  that 
when  I  was  a  boy  I  was  influenced 
more  by  nature  than  by  anything  else, 
and  I  recognize  that  you  are  doing 
wonderful  work,'  and  so  on,  and  so  on, 
commending  ad  infinitum,  it  seemed  to 
me,  stopping  hardly  long  enough  to 
catch  his  breath. 

"How  much  time,"  I  asked,  "do  you 
devote  each  day  to  this  subject,  or  how 
much  time  would  you  be  willing  to  de- 
vote to  it?" 

He  said,  "We  have  no  room  for  it  in 
our  curriculum.  I  wish  you  could  see 
what  we  are  doing.  We  are  already 
overcrowded  and  there  is  not  a  minute 
to  spare  for  any  of  your  kind  of  work." 

"Do  you  have  any  nature  study  in 
the  school?" 

"I  should  like  to  have  a  lot  of  it,  but 
we  have  no  time  for  it." 

I  do  not  hope  to  live  long  enough  to 
convince  that  man  of  the  importance 
of  nature  study,  but  I  might  perhaps 
convince  him  of  his  lack  of  frankness. 
He  is  not  honest  with  himself.  His  re- 
marks amounted  to  this :  "There  are 
many  subjects  to  be  considered  in  the 
school.  We  have  everything  except 
nature  because  we  consider  that  less 
important  than  any  other." 

I  recently  handed  a  man  a  sample 
copy  of  The  Guide  to  Nature.  He 
went  into  ecstacies  and  poured  forth 
a  volume  of  grateful  expression  for  an 
occasional  copy  of  this  "beautiful  little 
magazine."     He  said,  "I  think  it  is  the 


EDITORIAL 


303 


most  delightful  publication  I  have  ever 
seen.  I  and  my  wife  enjoy  reading 
every  word  of  it  and  looking  at  your 
wonderful  photographs.  You  are  in- 
deed to  be  congratulated  upon  such 
success." 

"May  we  have  your  dollar  to  enroll 
you  as  a  subscriber?" 

"Oh,  no,  no,  no,"  he  said.  "Our 
house  is  already  crowded  with  maga- 
zines and  papers.  We  have  no  time  to 
do  justice  to  half  of  them." 

My  dear  sir,  you  are  a  long  way 
from  being  a  naturalist,  or  from  the 
proper  appreciation  of  our  "little  mag- 
azine," and  you  are  still  further  astray 
from  the  home  of  frankness.  Your 
remarks  so  completely  disprove  what 
you  intend  your  words  to  convey  that 
your  remarks  are  painful.  What  you 
really  said  is,  "There  are  a  large  num- 
ber of  magazines  and  newspapers,  and 
of  them  all  I  regard  your  magazine  as 
the  least  important." 

A  young  man  came  into  my  home  a 
few  years  ago  and  requested  me  to 
show  him  the  microscope.  I  think  that 
he  was  really  interested  and  I  should 
have  been  pleased  if  he  had  said  so, 
but  because  he  knew  my  interest  in  the 
subject  he  thought  that  nothing  short 
of  the  highest  laudation  would  gratify 
me.  He  said  something  like  this :  "I 
have  been  longing  for  several  months 
to  get  a  microscope.  It  is  the  height 
of  my  ambition.  I  think  that  I  could 
get  more  satisfaction  and  pleasure  out 
of  a  microscope  than  out  of  anything 
else  in  this  whole  world.  I  am  going 
to  buy  one  just  as  soon  as  I  can,  be- 
cause I  know  that  there  is  nothing  bet- 
ter." 

"Well,"  I  said,  "why  not?  The  cost 
in  these  days  is  not  great.    Why  not?" 

"The  trouble  is  that  I  have  not 
money  enough.  What  would  a  really 
good  microscope  cost?"  I  replied  that 
almost  any  amount  from  forty  dollars 
to  seventy-five  dollars  would  get  a 
satisfactory  equipment.  He  said,  "I 
have  just  sixty  dollars." 

I  congratulated  him.  "You  are  able 
to  realize  your  wish.  Send  in  vour 
order  at  once." 

"Oh,  no,  no,  no,"  he  replied.  "I 
could  not  think  of  doing  it  now.  I  am 
saving  my  money  to  buy  a  bicycle." 
This  was  when  a  good  bicycle  cost 
one  hundred  dollars.  About  two  weeks 
later  T  saw  him  with  a  fine  bicvcle,  but 


for  several  years  he  continued  to  assert 
that  he  knew  of  nothing  in  all  the  land 
that  would  afford  him  so  much  enjoy- 
ment as  a  microscope.  So  far  as  I 
know,  he  has  not  yet  obtained  it.  I 
do  not  blame  him  for  selecting  the  bicy- 
cle if  he  liked  it  better,  but  I  deplore 
his  lack  of  frankness.  His  courtesy 
and  appreciation  would  have  pleased 
me  more,  if  he  had  been  more  truthful. 
It  is  his  habit  of  mind  that  I  deplore. 

If  I  were  a  Salvation  Army  worker 
and  should  meet  a  Congregationalist, 
I  should  not  expect  him  to  say,  "I  think 
that  your  association  is  the  best  in  the 
world.  If  there  is  anything  that  I  de- 
sire to  become  it  is  a  worker  in  the 
Salvation  Army." 

If  I  were  a  Democrat,  and  a  Pro- 
gressive should  meet  me  would  he  say 
as  a  matter  of  courtesy,  "If  there  is 
anything  in  all  this  land  that  I  desire 
to  become,  it  is  a  Democrat?" 

Then  in  the  name  of  common  sense 
why  does  everybody  because  I  am  a 
naturalist  say,  "I  think  there  is  noth- 
ing more  delightful  in  all  this  world 
than  the  study  of  nature.  W^e  all  know 
that  it  is  a  wonderful  subject.  It  must 
be  ideal  to  live  among  such  wonder- 
ful things.  I  envy  you  every  minute 
of  your  time !"  As  Shakespeare  more 
than  once  remarked,  "Go  to !" 

My  friend,  I  am  telling  you  imper- 
sonally because  it  would  not  be  court- 
eous to  say  it  individually.  Before 
you  manifest  an  interest  in  anything, 
study  the  good  old-fashioned  quality 
of  frankness. 

If  you  were  to  go  to  the  home  of  a 
musician,  the  greatest  compliment  you 
could  pay  him  would  be,  "Please  let 
me  have  some  of  your  music.  Please 
play  for  me."  Why  do  you  not  use 
ordinary  common  sense  when  you  visit 
a  naturalist?  Why  do  you  hurl  your- 
self through  the  doorway  and  say,  as 
you  consult  your  watch,  "I  know  that 
you  are  a  busy  man.  I  would  not 
think  of  taking  any  of  your  valuable 
time  so  I  am  going  to  stay  just  a  few- 
minutes.  And,  indeed,  I  have  to  catch 
a  train."  Why  come  if  you  come  only 
to  go? 

What  is  desired  by  a  naturalist  in 
charge  of  an  Institution  like  ArcAdiA 
is  to  have  a  visitor  show  that  he  is  re- 
luctant to  go  away.  We  wind  here  the 
great  hunting  horn  of  nature,  and  the 
longer  you  stay  to  hear  the  music,  and 


304 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


the  more  you  seem  to  enjoy  it,  and  the 
greater  is  your  evidence  of  apprecia- 
tion, the  longer  we  like  you  to  stay. 
Come  repeatedly,  stay  a  long  time,  and 
if  you  enjoy  the  music  we  shall  be  glad 
to  give  it  to  you.  On  the  outside  the 
world  is  rushing.  Do  not  rush  in 
ArcAdiA.  And  above  all  things,  tell 
the  truth  in  both  word  and  deed. 


Science  in  Journalism. 

[from    the    literary    digest,    new    YORK 
CITY.] 

The  American  people  do  not  care 
enough  about  sound  and  reliable  scien- 
tific information  to  pay  what  it  is  worth. 
We  are  content  with  the  pseudoscience 
of  the  daily  paper  and  an  occasional 
sensation  of  doubtful  value  in  the 
monthly  magazine.  This  somewhat 
pessimistic  pronouncement  is  made  edi- 
torially by  our  best  scientitic  magazine. 
The  Popular  Science  Monthly  (New 
York,  September),  in  announcing  its 
future  differentiation  into  two  separate 
publications.  This  statement  is  based 
on  the  fact  that  almost  every  serious 
publication  in  the  United  States,  de- 
signed to  give  scientific  news  and  in- 
formation to  the  non-technically  edu- 
cated citizen,  has  lost  money,  and  is  still 
losing  it.  The  editor  believes  that  this 
condition  is  inevitable  and  that  such 
magazines,  if  they  continue  to  exist, 
must  always  show  a  deficit  to  be  made 
up  by  individual  contributions  or  by 
scientific  organizations — now  the  more 
usual  method.  Says  the  magazine 
named  above : 

"In  a  democracy,  journals  and  a  news- 
paper press  fit  to  educate  people  of  all 
sorts  to  an  interest  in  science  and  to  an 
appreciation  of  its  measureless  value 
for  national  and  human  welfare  are 
matters  of  the  utmost  importance.  Un- 
der an  aristocratic  regime,  science,  like 
arts  and  letters,  must  be  cultivated  and 
patronized  from  above.  In  Germany 
the  Imperial  Government  has  directed 
and  subsidized  its  schools,  universities, 
and  research  institutions,  and  has  aided 
commercial  enterprises  based  on  ap- 
plied science.  In  England  men  of 
wealth  have  devoted  themselves  to 
scientific  research,  as  they  have  served 
without  payment  as  county  magistrates 
and  members  of  Parliament.  In  both 
countries  and  in  France  titles  and  social 
position  have  been  used  as  rewards. 


"Scientific  research  can  not  be  under- 
taken as  a  profession.  In  the  existing 
organization  of  society  any  service  to 
an  individual  or  to  a  group  of  individ- 
uals is  paid  for  by  them,  but  service 
to  society  is  usually  not  paid  for  at  all. 
If  newspaper  publishers,  ammunition- 
makers,  or  army  officers  succeed  in 
causing  war  they  profit ;  if  they  advo- 
cate and  maintain  peace  they  suffer. 
If  lawyers  reduce  legal  complexities 
and  delays,  or  if  physicians  decrease  the 
causes  of  disease,  they  sacrifice  their 
material  interests.  If  a  surgeon  per- 
forms an  operation  for  cancer  he  may 
be  paid  a  thousand  dollars  for  an  hour's 
work ;  if  he  discovers  an  improved  tech- 
nique he  may  profit  somewhat,  but 
scarcely  more  than  other  surgeons 
and  far  less  than  the  patients ;  if  he 
should  discover  a  cure  for  cancer  he 
would  receive  no  money-reward;  on 
the  contrary,  he  and  other  surgeons 
would  in  so  far  lose  their  means  of  sup- 
porting their  families. 

"So  scientific  research,  of  greater 
value  than  any  other  service  to  society, 
is  not  paid  for  directly.  It  has  been 
mainly  carried  forward  in  this  country 
by  inen  employed  to  teach  in  colleges 
and  universities  who,  as  amateurs,  give 
part  of  their  time  to  it.  In  recent  years 
the  national  Government,  endowed  in- 
stitutions and  industrial  establish- 
ments have  undertaken  to  advance  re- 
search on  a  business  basis  and  the  gain 
has  been  very  great.  But  in  order  to 
maintain  and  increase  the  work  under 
democratic  control,  people  must  be 
taught  to  value  it,  and  for  this  purpose 
the  proper  treatment  of  science  in  mag- 
azines and  newspapers  is  more  impor- 
tant than  any  other  agency. 

"The  problem  is  very  difficult.  One 
does  not  expect  a  high  school,  a  univer- 
sity, or  a  museum  to  be  self-supporting. 
Even  secondary  schools  for  the  children 
of  the  rich  are  endowed.  If  the  Ameri- 
can Museum  of  Natural  History  charg- 
ed an  entrance  fee  it  would  be  an  empty 
place ;  the  fees  for  a  year  would  not 
support  the  institution  for  a  month.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  side-shows  of  a 
circus  may  be  profitable.  Science  is  so 
commonly  ill-treated  in  popular  maga- 
zines and  newspapers  that  the  very 
words  'popular  science'  need  to  be  re- 
deemed. The  sensational  newspapers, 
the  side-shows  of  the  circus,  and  the 


EDITORIAL 


305 


'movies'  supply  what  people  will 
pay  for.  It  is  no  discredit  to  our  democ- 
racy that  these  are  what  they  want ; 
■on  the  contrary,  it  represents  a  great 
advance  when  a  hundred  million  peo- 
ple care  for  such  things.  We  may  be 
satisfied  if  progress  is  made  by  educa- 
tion and  an  improved  environment  in 
a  hundred  years  if  a  slightly  better 
germ-plasm  is  established  in  a  thous- 
and years. 

"There  are  over  a  hundred  journals 
and  proceedings  devoted  to  the  publi- 
cation of  research-work  in  America  not 
one  of  which  pays  its  expenses  on  a 
regular  business  basis.  Magazines  con- 
nected with  applied  science  and  popular 
mechanics  may  do  so.  This  represents 
a  step  in  advance,  which  we  may  hope 
indicates  that  ultimately  there  may  be 
a  general  interest  in  other  and  more 
fundamental  departments  of  science. 

"It  would  probably  be  undesirable  for 
scientific  journals  to  be  directly  subsi- 
dized or  endowed.  Indirectly  they  are 
now  subsidized  by  the  work  of  contrib- 
utors and  editors  supported  by  en- 
dowed or  tax-supported  institutions 
and  by  subscriptions  from  public  libra- 
ries. In  so  far  as  they  require  addition- 
al support,  it  can  probably  best  come 
through  an  increase  in  the  number  of 
public  libraries  subscribing  for  such 
journals  and  by  an  increase  of  sub- 
scribers among  those  who  may  realize 
the  importance  of  supporting  an  insti- 
tution essential  to  society  and  its  better- 
ment." 


the  sake  of  living  over  any  part  of  the 
past." 

Mingled  with  a  feeling  of  pathos  and 
3-et  with  joy  that  well-known  quotation 
from  Omar  Khayyam,  the  Persian  poet, 
came  into  my  mind :  "The  moving  fin- 
ger writes,  and  having  writ  moves  on." 
The  unwritten  part  of  the  page  offers 
as  much  joy  as  anything  in  the  past 
or  present  and,  in  addition,  there  are 
the  possibilities  and  always  the  pos- 
sible variations. 

Such  a  point  of  view  is  encouraging 
to  the  naturalist.  The  achievements 
and  the  knowledge  accumulated  in  the 
past  are  rolling  up  like  a  big  snowball 
and  offering  us  untold  wealth  in  our 
ability  to  appreciate  the  things  of  na- 
ture. 

To  say  of  a  child,  "That  is  the  best 
part  of  life,"  is  equivalent  to  saying, 
"A  little  development  of  brain  and 
body  is  better  than  much."  We  have 
learned  a  little,  and  let  us  go  and  learn 
more. 

To  the  naturalist,  in  the  Indian  Sum- 
mer of  his  age,  "The  moving  finger 
writes,  and  having  writ  moves  on," 
are  delightful  words.  Mr.  Philosopher, 
would  you  like  to  "come  up  again?". 


"Would  You  Like  to  'Come  Up 
Again?'" 
A  prominent  resident  of  Sound 
Beach  asked  me  this  question  as  I 
boarded  the  trolley  car  in  which  he  was 
sitting.  A  little  girl  about  eight  years 
of  age  had  entered  the  car  just  ahead 
of  me,  and  as  I  stepped  in  he  asked  this 
astonishing  question,  "Would  you  like 
to  be  at  that  age  and  come  up  again?" 
He  said  that  he  had  made  the  sugges- 
tion to  many  people,  but  had  not  yet 
found  one  that  would  like  to  live  over 
even  one  day  of  his  past  life,  and  ad- 
ded, "Life  is  sweet,  but  it  is  chiefly  so 
in  anticipation.  I  believe  that  none  of 
us.  no  matter  how  happy  the  past  has 
been,  would  exchange  one  day  of  the 
present  nor  one  day  of  the  future  for 


A  Study  in  Psychology. 

Recently  in  showing  the  work  of  the 
projection  microscope  to  a  company  of 
visitors  in  the  W^elcome  Reception 
Room,  I  thought  to  make  it  clear  that 
real  specimens  are  used  in  the  projec- 
tion microscope.  I  took  up  a  pocket 
lens  and  a  slide  on  which  was  moimted 
a  dragon  fly's  mouth,  and  called  a  boy 
of  about  five  years  of  age  to  look 
through  the  lens  and  describe  the  object 
to  the  company,  making  it  clear  to  him 
that  he  was  to  observe  the  mouth  of 
a  dragon  fly.  The  point  I  wished  to 
make  was  that  what  he  saw  by  direct 
observation  the  entire  company  would 
see  later  by  projection,  and  he  should 
thus  prepare  them,  excite  their  curios- 
ity, and  make  clear  that  a  projection 
microscope  was  used  to  save  time.  He 
seemed  much  interested  in  what  he 
saw  through  the  pocket  lens  held  in 
my  hand  above  the  slide.  The  slide 
showed  a  number  of  formidable  look- 
ing "teeth"  in  the  jaws  of  the  dragon 
fly.  Thinking  him  properly  impressed 
with  the  device  with  which  these  in- 
sects   eat   mosquitoes,    I    said    to   him. 


3o6 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


"Now  tell  us  how  it  looks."  With  all 
seriousness,  in  tones  of  awe,  this  boy, 
aged  five  years,  said :  "It  looks  like  the 
very  devil !" 

My  first  thought,  and  probably  that 
of  some  in  the  audience,  was  that  this 
boy  came  from  a  home  where  profanity 
in  a  mild  form  was  not  unknown,  but 
from  the  manner  in  which  he  spoke, 
and  from  facts  that  I  learned  from 
further  questioning,  it  appeared  that 
dragons  and  fairy  book  devils  had  be- 
come confused  in  his  mind.  Perhaps, 
too,  I  had  increased  his  misunderstand- 
ing as  I  had  explained  to  the  children 
what  the  dragon  fly  is,  and  that  many 
children  know  it  as  the  devil's  darning 
needle  and  give  it  a  reputation  for  sew- 
ing up  mouths  and  ears.  With  the  boy 
it  was  an  attempt  toward  a  serious 
description.  To  say  that  it  looked  like 
the  devil  was  to  him  as  harmless  a  de- 
scription as  to  sa}^  that  it  looked  like 
a  horse  or  a  dog.  I  hope  the  children 
enjoyed  the  study  of  natural  history 
as  much  as  I  enjoyed  the  study  of  child 
psychology. 


An  Appreciation  of  Mr,  Burroughs. 

West    Devonport,    Tasmania, 

Australia. 
To  the  Editor: — 

By  the  August  number  of  The  Guide 
TO  Nature  I  was  pleased  to  see  that  the 
veteran  naturalist,  Mr.  John  Bur- 
roughs, remains  in  good  health.  As 
you  are  one  of  his  correspondents, 
please  tell  him  that  I  have  spent  many 
pleasant  hours  with  his  charming  na- 
ture books,  which  I  have  for  years 
possessed  in  the  pocket  edition.  In 
"Birds  and  Poets"  I  have  favorite  pas- 
sages scored  all  through  the  book,  also 
in  "The  Return  of  the  Birds"  in"Wake- 
Robin,"  and  "Sharp  Eyes"  in  "Locusts 
and  Wild  Honey,"  with  many  others. 
Mr.  Burroughs  may  be  pleased  to 
know  that  his  writings  are  appreciated 
in  this  Ultima  Thule  of  the  South. 

I  can  endorse  the  statement  that 
eggs  are  poisonous  to  some  constitu- 
tions ;  they  have  a  deleterious 'effect  on 
me  if  taken  more  than  very  occasion- 
ally, apples  likewise  unless  of  a  soft, 
easily  digested  variety.  Many  people 
consider  raw  apples  a  soporific ;  with 
me  they  have  the  opposite  efifect,  in- 
ducing  wakefulness   and   unrest. 

H.  Stuart  Dove, 


Spots  Before  the  Eyes. 

The  prevalence  of  this  condition  has 
given  rise  to  a  great  many  curious 
ideas.  Almost  everyone  either  sees 
fixed  or  floating  spots  at  times,  or 
hears  some  friend  complain  of  these 
conditions,  so  that  it  is  not  strange 
that  many  popular  misconceptions 
have  arisen.  The  commonest  form  of 
floating  spots  are  those  which  are 
known  by  the  name  of  muscae  voli- 
tantes,  an  old  name  which  indicates 
how  long  the  condition  has  been  ob- 
served. These  are  tiny  transparent 
chains,  or  strings,  which  are  seen  es- 
pecially on  a  white  or  brightly  illumin- 
ated field.  They  persistently  float  in 
the  line  of  vision,  and  though  a  shake 
of  the  head  may  carry  them  out  of  the 
way,  they  at  once  float  back  again. 
These  spots  are  probably  caused  by 
the  remains  in  the  fluid  part  of  the  eye 
of  certain  cells  which  should  have  been 
completely  absorbed  in  the  development 
of  the  eye.  They  never  lead  to  impair- 
ment of  vision  and,  as  before  stated, 
are  perfectly  transparent.  Other  float- 
ing spots  are  due  to  cobweb-like  mass- 
es of  inflammatory  material  which  are 
thrown  out  into  the  fluid  of  the  eye 
by  some  low  grade  inflammation. 
These  spots  usually  obscure  the  vision, 
Vv'hich  is  their  great  point  of  difl:"erence 
from  the  former  ones.  It  is,  of  course, 
very  important  to  find  out  in  any  case 
whether  the  spots  are  due  to  inflam- 
mation, or  not,  and  this  can  only  be 
done  by  a  skilled  observer.  It  is  a 
prevalent  idea  that  the  wearing  of  a 
dotted  veil  may  leave  permanent  spots 
in  the  field  of  vision.  While  the  dotted 
veil  may  be  a  source  of  strain 
by  causing  the  wearer  to  pull 
on  the  eye  muscles  in  order  to  avoid 
the  obstruction  of  vision,  it  certainly 
is  not  the  case  that  the  dots,  or  any 
other  object  seen,  can  be  permanently 
photographed  on  the  nerve  tissues  of 
the  eye.  There  is  only  one  exception 
to  this  statement.  Many  people  who 
have  carelessly  looked  too  much  at  the 
sun,  generally  in  observing  the  eclipse, 
have  actually  produced  a  slight  in- 
flammatory change  in  the  retina,  so 
that  there  is  always  a  blurry  soot 
wherever  they  look.  But  it  is  doubt- 
ful if  any  light  less  brilliant  than  the 
sun  can  produce  a  permanent  spot,  and 
certainly  a  dark  object  can  not  do  so. 
— Jour.  Am.  Med.  Asso. 


THE  AGASSIZ  ASSOCIATIOxV 


307 


AQASSIZ  ASSOCIATION 


Established  1875  Incorporated,  Massachusetts,  1892  Incorporated,  Conuecticut,  1910 


Necrology. 

George  Lauder,  Jr.,  a  nephew  of 
Andrew  Carnegie's,  a  Member  of  The 
Agassiz  Association,  a  native  of  Pitts- 
burgh, died  in  his  thirty-eighth  year  at 
his   home  in   Rock   Ridere,   Greenwich, 


GEORGE  LAUDER,  JR. 
Cut  by  courtesy  of  "Our  Town,"  Greenwich,  Conn. 


Connecticut,  on  Tuesday  morning. 
January  fifth,  of  a  sudden  attack  of 
pneumonia. 

Mr.  Lauder  held  a  number  of  promi- 
nent positions  in  the  business  and  so- 
cial world.  His  principal  form  of  rec- 
reation was  yachting,  but  he  had  a 
general  interest  in  nature,  with  especial 
reference  to  photography  in  all  its 
branches. 

By  his  per.sonal  cordiality  and  nu- 
merous acquaintances  he  endeared  him- 


self to  many  people  and  to- many  insti- 
tutions. He  was  a  liberal  contributor 
to  The  Sound  Beach  Astronomical 
Observatory,  but  never  visited  it,  al- 
though as  he  stated  by  letter  he  intend- 
ed to  do  so  "in  the  very  near  future." 
One  of  Mr.  Lauder's  most  generous 
gifts  in  behalf  of  education  was  $400,- 
000  given  to  the  medical  school  of  Yale. 
In  his  death  The  Agassiz  Association 
loses  a  much  esteemed  member,  and 
the  town  of  Greenwich  a  much  beloved 
citizen.  He  leaves  a  wife  and  three 
children, 

A  Local  Bird  Sanctuary. 

It  is  a  delight  to  learn  that  in  our  own 
town  is  to  be  established  probably  the 
largest  and  most  effective  bird  sanc- 
tuary in  the  country.  This  is  to  be  on 
the  estate  of  Mr.  E.  C.  Converse  of 
Greenwich,  where  a  tract  of  almost 
two  thousand  acres  is  to  be  set  apart 
for  the  purpose,  with  houses  and  other 
means  of  protection  for  the  birds.  The 
work  will  be  in  charge  of  an  expert 
ornithologist  from  the  Massachusetts 
Agricultural  College,  and  will  be  done 
scientifically,  with  records  and  definite 
data,  so  that  the  progress  may  be  care- 
fully watched.  Every  bird  lover  will 
hail  with  delight  the  establishment  of 
this  sanctuary.  Doubtless  its  success 
will  lead  to  the  establishment  of  many 
such  sanctuaries.  The  birds  are  now^ 
coming  to  their  own.  It  is  good  to  be 
livinof  at  such  a  time. 


]\Iv  plea  then  is,  not  so  much  against 
nature  study  and  agriculture,  as  for 
the  sciences  first.  These  can  be  taught 
as  elementary  as  may  be  desired,  and 
in  properly  teaching  them  we  are  giv- 
ing instructions  not  onlv  in  agriculture, 
but  also  in  dozens  of  other  arts  or 
practical  fields  in  which  the  pupils  thus 
berome  ])repared  later  in  life,  if  they 
wish. 


3o8 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


rORRESPONDENCE 

^  AND  Information 


% 


"Bottle  Pigs." 

Flemington,  New  Jersey. 
To  the  Editor : 

One  of  our  Chester  White  sows  far- 
rowed a  Htter  of  seventeen  pigs  on  April 
Qth,  and  died  two  days  later,  leaving  a 
family  of  ten,  two  of  whom  soon  followed 
her.     A  post  mortem   revealed  the   fact 


warm  water  and  a  bit  of  lime  water  afford- 
ed just  as  good  a  dinner  as  "Another  used 
to  make."  The  following  day  they  were 
fully  reconciled  to  the  change  of  diet,  and 
all  the  members  of  the  family  delighted 
in  feeding  them.  The  quantity  was  grad- 
ually increased  from  twelve  ounces  every 
three  hours  on  the  first  day,  to  sixty- four 


ATRS.    DFATS   AND  THE   "BOTTLK   PTGS.' 


that  she  had  died  literally  of  a  broken 
heart,  but  whether  from  the  largeness  or 
smallness  of  her  family  was  not  deter- 
mined. 

The  babies  were  apparently  a  healthy 
lot,  so  it  was  decided  that  they  should 
be  raised  by  the  bottle  method.  The  small 
boy  was  dispatched  to  the  drug  store  in 
town  for  a  supply  of  rubber  nipples,  and 
as  it  was  "Sunday  off"  for  the  man  who 
takes  care  of  the  pigs,  "the  Boss"  spent 
most  of  that  rainy  day  trying  to  persuade 
those  pigs  that  a  mixture  of  Jersey  milk, 


ounces  (three-fourths  whole  milk)  four 
times  a  day,  divided  as  equally  as  possible 
between  rising  and  bedtime,  until  they 
were  four  weeks  old.  Then  skim  milk 
with  a  little  wheat  shorts  was  substituted, 
and  they  were  fed,  pig  style,  from  a  small 
trough,  and  allowed  the  run  of  the  barn 
yard. 

After  the  first  week,  instead  of  hand- 
ling each  one  separately,  as  shown  in  the 
photograph,  holes  were  bored  in  the  side 
of  packing  boxes,  a  sloping  floor  nailed 
inside,  and  the  pigs  gathered  around  the 


CORRESPONDENCE  AND  INFORMATION 


309 


festive  board.  This  device  was  a  great 
time  saver. 

Those  eight  pigs  differed  just  as  much 
as  any  family  of  that  size.  There  was 
the  lazy  fellow  who  took  his  time  and  that 
of  all  the  rest,  while  at  the  other  extreme 
was  his  larger  brother,  who  might  have 
been  trained  at  the  traditional  railwa\- 
lunch  counter.  Another  reminded  me  of 
a  man  who  worked  for  us  when  I  was  a 
small  boy,  who  "could  eat  a  canal  through 
mashed  potatoes  and  gravy."  And  then 
there  was  the  quiet  little  sister,  perfectly 
content  to  wait  until  all  the  rest  were  fed, 
before  she  came  to  the  table. 

I  have  been  told  that  each  pig  has  its 
own  place  at  its  mother's  dinner  table, 
and  the  actions  of  this  lot  when  it  was 
necessary  to  substitute  a  new  rubber  nip- 
ple indicates  that  this  opinion  may  be 
correct. 

We  found  that  getting  up  by  the  alarm 
clock  in  the  middle  of  the  night  was  just 
as  strenuous  as  conducting  a  cow  test  for 
advanced  registry,  but  now  that  it  is  over, 
and  our  pigs  are  growing,  we  are  glad 
we  tried  to  save  them.  "The  only  way 
to  learn  how  to  do  a  thing  is  to  do  it,"  and 
then  "tell  the  neighbors;"  hence  this 
letter.  '  H.  E.  Deats. 

The  foregoing  lines  were  penned  "in 
the  pleasant  month  of  May."  As  I  sit 
on  the  top  rail  of  the  orchard  fence  this 
chill  November  morning,  and  watch  that 
litter  of  pigs,  a  bit  of  current  slang  seems 
to  express  my  opinion.  "Never  again" 
will  we  take  the  trouble  to  bring  up  a 
family  of  orphan  pigs.  When  we  figure 
the  time  and  material  lavished  on  them, 
and  compare  them  with  another  litter  of 
eight  of  the  same  age,  there  is  no  doubt 
of  our  failure,  from  the  commercial  stand- 
point.—H.  E.  D. 


How  were  These  Trees  Planted? 

West  Devonport,  Tasmania, 

Australia. 
To  the  Editor: — 

It  is  fascinating  to  speculate  on  the 
various  methods  by  which  the  flora  of 
a  country  was  conveyed  thither  by 
purely  natural  agencies,  before  civil- 
ized man  came  upon  the  scene  and 
mixed  things  up  so  indiscriminately  as 
he  has  done.  Even  now,  if  we  keep 
our  eyes  open  in  our  wanderings,  we 
may  at  times  see  some  of  these  meth- 
ods, or  their  recent  results. 


Early  last  month,  while  pushing 
through  some  scrub  of  boobyalla  and 
beyera  on  this  coast,  I  came  upon  two 
small  trees  of  the  Victorian  hedge  lau- 
rel (Pittosporum  undulatum)  growing 
among  the  tall  bushes.  The  only  pre- 
vious record  of  the  tree's  spontaneous 
growth  in  our  island  was  made  by  Mr. 
Emmett,  years  ago,  while  he  was  su- 
perintending the  cutting  of  a  track 
through  the  forest  adjacent  to  the  Ar- 
thur River,  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
to  the  west.  Although  Mr.  Emmett 
searched  over  a  considerable  space,  he 
was  able  to  find  only  the  solitary  spec- 
imen. The  question  arises,  How  did 
these  widely  separated  trees  get  here? 
Wind  as  the  agent  is  out  of  the  ques- 
tion ;  so,  to  my  mind,  is  water.  We 
must  put  aside  the  improbable  supposi- 
tion that  the  small  seeds  might  have 
floated  across  two  hundred  miles  or  so 
of  sea  from  the  Victorian  (Australia) 
coast,  since  the  plants,  which  were 
growang  near  the  beach,  were  too  high 
above  the  tide  mark  to  have  been 
thrown  there  by  the  waves.  In  the 
case  of  the  Arthur  River  specimen,  it 
is  more  improbable  still,  as  the  river 
has  a  swift  current  always  flowing 
down  through  wild  bush  country. 
Naturally  I  thought  of  bird  agency,  but 
all  our  migrants  from  the  mainland 
are  insectivorous,  except  the  waders, 
and  they  live  on  worms,  small  crabs 
and  mollusks.  On  this  subject  I  con- 
sulted Professor  Ewart,  Government 
Botanist  to  the  State  of  Victoria,  and 
he  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that,  as  the 
seeds  of  the  Pittosporum  are  sticky, 
they  would  readily  adhere  to  the  feet 
of  our  migrants,  if  such  happened  to 
perch  on  trees  w^ith  ripe  seeds,  or  on 
the  ground  where  the  seeds  had  fallen. 
This,  I  think,  is  the  correct  solution, 
especially  as  one  of  the  small  trees  was 
growing  up  through  the  centre  of  a 
large  boobyalla  bush  (Myoporum)  in 
just  such  a  situation  as  it  would  find 
if  the  seed  had  been  rubbed  from  the 
foot  of  a  bird  perching  in  the  bush, 
after  its  flight  across  the  intervening 
sea. 

If  you  consider  this  note  sufficiently 
interesting,  you  are  welcome  to  print 
it ;  it  may  elicit  other  instances  from 
your  readers. 

H.   Stuart   Dove. 


xu 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE— ADVERTISEMENTS 


CLAIMED  AND   PROVEN 

The  quality  of  Satina, 
backed  solely  by  our 
own  statements,  even 
though  we  should  and 
do  know  its  superior- 
ity, would  carry  little 
weight — but  when 

An  official  com- 
mittee  after  thoroughly  testing  25 
leading  brands  of  interior  wall 
finishes  places  its  endorsement  on 
Satina 

then  our  claim  of  superiority  becomes  an 
actual  tact  backed  up  by  disinterested  ex- 
pert opinion.  Ordered  and  reordered  for 
use  on  U.  S.  Government  buildings,  dwell- 
ings, schools,  etc. 
Satina  is  a  most  satisfactory  wall 

coating 
It  is  sanitary,  durable  ;   can  be  repeatedly 
washed  and  is  most  economical. 

Send  for  full  information,  color  cards  and 
working  samples 

THE  CHARLES  H.  BROWN  PAIIVT  CO. 

"^^=^  188-190  Montague  Street 
Boston        Brooklyn,  N.  Y.      Atlanta 


Hunting  Without  a  Gun 

A  LECTURE 

Illustrated  with  trophies  of  the  hunt  in 
natural  colors.  The  wild  bird,  the 
wild  animal,  the  wild  flowers  and 
other  wild  life.  Showing  how  all 
may  be  had  without  doing  them  injury 
or  even  molesting  them,  and  givirg 
graphic  explanation  of  how  to  over- 
come the  pugnacity  of  the  EngHsh 
sparrow  in  attracting  the  native  birds 
to  our  homes. 

Engagements  Solicited 


THE    BIRD-MAN 

203  MONROE  AVEI\UE 
ROCHESTER 

NEW   YORK 


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Pictures  sharp  to 
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"°t   like 

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Balopticon 

gives  entertainment  as  novel,  as  inter- 
esting, as  varied  and  as  instructive  as 
the  talking  machine  gives  in  its  field. 
The  Home  Balopticon  projects  pictures, 
post  cards,  solid  objects,  etc.  Pictures  in  cor- 
rect position  from  left  to  right,  not  reversed. 
Now  fitted  with  special  400-tOall  gas-filled 
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Bausch  f/  Ipmb  Optical  (o. 

512  ST.  PAUL  STREET     ROCHESTER,  N.Y. 


19  16 

MARCH 

VOL  VIII.  No   10 


EDWARD  F.  BIGELOW 

MANAGING  EDITOR 


Published  MonihK   b\ 

The  Agassiz  Association 

arcadia,  sound  beach,  conn. 

Subscription.  SI. 00  a  Year;  Single  Copy,  10 


Uilil'Jllll|i'lll,]||||||||lr'iihi'ii.j.'Jr.Wi-iii'  i-iliii.:i|iiJi!iihi^^j'ii.>iiiii,M,i,nui,,i,,,,,iimiLii.,i.,i,un,!niiiiii:,HiilU)i,i,hllliiiiK,,„i;;i.i,,i,:,ninihiiilln,1^ 


GREENWICH 


THE    EDITION    DE  LUXE 
OF  CONNECTICUT  TOWNS 


Are  You  Protected? 

Savings  Mean  Success  and  the 
Man,  Woman  or  Child  who  In- 
dustriously saves  a  Small  Portion 
of  Their  Income  is  Building  a 
Bulwark  of  Pi'otection  Against 
Poverty  and  Unhappiness.  This 
Bank  Allows  a  Liberal  Rate  of 
Interest  on  Savings  Accounts. 
Give     It     Consideration 


The  Greenwich  Trust  Co. 

E3rABL!SH£D    1887 

GREENWICH,    CONN. 


GREENWICH,  CONNECTICUT 

has  good  transportation  facilities  to 
New  York.  You  can  buy  or  rent  to 
goc'd  advantage  and  enjoy  living  by 
the  water  or  among  the  hills  to  the 
utmost  satisfaction. 

I  have  for   Sale 

Elegant  Country  Estates,  Shore  and  Inland 
Residences,  Farms,  Acreage,  Cottages  and 
Building  Sites.  Also  a  number  of  selected 
Furnished  Residences  and  Cottages  to  Rent 
in    all   locations. 

Would  be  pleased  to  have  you  call  or  write. 

Laurence  Timmons 

Tel.  456        Opp.  Depot        Greenwich,  Conn 


rps^ 


BEST  NURSERY  STOCK  EVER  GROWN 

Evergreens  Fruit  and  Ornamental  Trees 
Flowering  Shrubs  Hedge  Plants  Vines 
Roses     Hardy  Perennials      ^      ^      j- 


Preparing  of  Plans       Laying  Out  of  Grounds     Grading 
-:-        -:-        Road  Building       Tree  Work        -:-        -:- 


GREENWICH    NURSERIES 

DEHN  &  BERTOLF,  Prop*. 
LANDSCAPE   GARDENERS  AND  :  NURSERYMEN    S 

GREENWICH,  CONN. 


n 

THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE.— ADVERTISEMENTS. 


Ill 


SOME   OFFICE   ASSISTANTS  -TRY   TO  FILL  IT 

But    LACK   IN    GENERAL   TRAINING,    and 
consequently  lose  their  positions. 

A  COMMERCIAL  TRAINING  AT 

MERRILL  BUSINESS   COLLEGE 

Will  fit  you  to  secure  and  hold  a  profitable  posi- 
tion. 

BOOKKEEPING,     SHORTHAND,     STENO- 

TYPY  AND  ALL  ENGLISH   BRANCHES 

South  Norwalk,      STAMFORD,      Port  Chester. 


A  Poor  Substitute. 

Robert,  the  four-year-old  son  of  a 
scientific  man,  had  lived  in  the  country 
most  of  his  short  life.  One  day  a  caller, 
wishing  to  make  friends  with  the  little 
fellow,  took  him  on  his  knee  and  asked : 
"Are  there  anv  fairies  in  vour  woods 
^- ere,  Robert?"' 

"No,"  responded  Robert  promptly ; 
"but  there  are  plenty  of  edible  fungi.'" 

— "Youth's  Companion." 


A  Pleasant  Surprise  for  ArcAdiA. 

The  Reverend  Dr.  Lewis  W.  Bar- 
ney called  at  ArcAdiA  at  the  beginning 
of  the  new  year  and  presented  a  magni- 
ficent punch  bowl  which  bore  the  fol- 
lowing inscription  : 

"For  the  Welcome  Reception  Room 
with  New  Year's  Greetings  from  the 
Ladies'  Aid  Society  of  the  First  Con- 
gregational Church." 


His  or  Her  Ownership  of  a  Part  of  a 
Cow! 

Below  is  given  a  copy  of  an  inscrip- 
tion that  adorned  a  board  fence  in 
Kent: 

"Notis — If  any  man's  or  woman's 
cows  get  into  these  here  oats,  his  or 
her  tail  will  be  cut  ofif  as  the  case  may 
be." — The   Countrv   Gentleman. 


Spratt's  trophy,  consisting  of  two  hand- 
some sterling  silver  porringers,  for  the 
best  brace  in  the  1915  shows,  was  won  by 
Ridgeway  Kennels'  wire-haired  fox  ter- 
riers. 


A  Study  in  Psychology. 

Teacher :  Who  can  tell  me  which  is  the 
index  finger  ? 

Bright  Boy :  It's  the  one  yon  lick  when 
you  turn  over  the  pages. 

— "The  Countrv  Gentleman." 


" 'mid  all  this  mighty  sum 

Of  things  forever  speaking." 

— Wordsworth. 


THOMAS  D.  MAGEE 

INTERIOR  DECORATOR 

Broad  and  Summer  Streets 
STAMFORD,  CONN. 


rv 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE.— ADVERTISEMENTS. 


TRADE    MARK     REGISTERED 

NO  CHANCE  FOR  AN  ARGUMENT. 

When  you  and  the  "man  next  door"  have  those 
Sunday  morning  discussions,  you  differ  on  many 
points. 

Makes  of  tires,  brands  of  oil,  body  design,  rela- 
tive merits  of  fours,  sixes  and  eights — all  of  these 
you  can  find  arguments  for  and  against. 

But  when  you  consider  storage  batteries  you 
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Everything  Electrical. 


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Rare  Antiquities,  Novelties,  Exclusive  Wedding 
Gifts,   Bridge   Prizes,  Cards,  for  All  Occasions 

Siamford  Cbeatre  Building,  Stamford,  eonn. 

Theatre  Grill  and  Tea  Room 

TRY  OUR  ICE  CREAM 

SPECIAL — By  Arrangement,  Matinee  Luncheons  1  2  to  2 
Afternoon  Teas  2  (o  6,  Dinner6(o8,  After  TheatreSupper. 

Entrance:  Stamford  Theatre  Lobby,  ^1"^^^ 


EVERYTHING      FOR     LADIES'     WEAR 

CALL    ON 

Moltasch,    Ladies'    Outfitter 

2IO  ATLANTIC  ST.,   STAMFORD,  CONN. 


OLYMPIA  CANDY  CO. 

107  ATLANTIC  ST.  STAMFORD,  CONN 

Manufacturers  of 

GOODS  OF  FIRST-CLASS  QUALITY 


Citizens    Savings 
Bank 


OF  STAMFORD.  CONN. 


Assets 


$4,300,000.00 


A  Savings  Account  is  the  best 
investment  for  your  Money 
To  foster  the  Habit  of  Saving 
We  make  Small  Deposits  a 
Speciahy.  A  Dollar  or  more 
will  Start  You  and  give  you  a 
small    bank    for    home    savings. 

WILLIAM   D.  SMITH.        -       President 

CHARLES  D.  LOCKWOOD, 

Vice  President 

WALTER  E.  HOUGHTON. 

Secy  and  Treas. 


BORG  BROTHERS 

Chemical   and   Analytical    Laboratories 
for  Special  Research  Work 

539  MAIN  ST. 
STAMFORD        :-:        CONNECTICUT 


Telephones,  270 

871 


Uptown  Office;  STARK  BROS 

40  PARK  ROW 


CHAS.  F.  WATERBURY 
David    Waterbury     &    Son 

CUAL  DRAIN  PIPE  WOOD 

Crushed  Stone  for  Walks  and  Drives 

YARDS:     Canal  Dock,  STAMFORD,  CONN. 

FRANK    M.  WEST 

HARDWARR 

Paint*.  Oils,  Varnishes.  Etc.     House  Furnishings 

79  ATLANTIC  STREET  Tel.  Con 

A.  L.  EMBREE,   ::  DRUGGIST 

Use  Velvet  Cold   Cream 
It  is  the   Best 

18  PARK  ROW         STAMFORD,  CONN 


THE  GUIDE  TO  XATURE.—ADJ'ERTISEMEXTS 


VII 


SHORELANDS 

Owned  and  Operated  by 

THE  SOUND  BEACH  SUMMER  HOMES 
CORPORATION 

SOUND  BEACH,  CONNECTICUT,   Box  84 

NEW  YORK  CITY,     1  Liberty  Street 

Summer  Bungalows  and  Cottages   for  Sale  and 
for  Rent— furnished  and  unfurnished 


Moderate  Prices. 


Moderate  Rentals. 


Telephone  Connections. 


Had  Lost  the  Key  to  the  Situation. 

A  colored  man  was  driving  an  old 
jog-trot  horse  toward  the  railroad  sta- 
tion half  a  mile  away.  A  man.  walking 
rapidlv  in  the  same  direction,  asked  for 
a  ride.'  The  colored  man  replied.  "Dnn 
know,  boss,  but  I'se  fraid  I'll  not  get 
you  dere  much  quicker  dan  you  could 
walk  it,  'cause  I'se  only  got  dis  ole  worn 
out  war  boss." 

The  traveler,  and  old  soldier,  aroused 
by  the  remark  about  the  war  horse, 
said,  "I  think  I  can  drive  him  better 
than  you  can.  I  am  an  old  cavalryman 
myself." 

"All  right,  Boss,  take  de  reins."  The 
soldier  peremptorily  shouted,  "Atten- 
tion!" Instantly  the  horse  became 
alert  with  new'  life  .  "Charge!"  he 
shouted,  and  down  the  street  went 
that  veteran  horse  at  a  speed  never  be- 
fore known  to  his  present  owner. 
"Halt!"  shouted  the  soldier  as  they 
arrived  at  the  station.  The  horse 
stopped  so  suddenly  that  both  occu- 
pants were  nearly  thrown  over  the 
dash-board. 

The   colored    man   was   delighted   to 


learn  that  the  horse  possessed  so  much 
speed.  The  next  day,  going  again  to- 
ward the  station  he  overtook  another 
traveler  in  great  haste,  who  asked 
whether  such  an  old  plug  of  a  horse 
would  mxake  worth  while  for  him  to  get 
aboard. 

"Now,  Boss,  dun  you  worry  'bout 
dat ;  I  can  get  you  dere  in  time.  Dis 
boss  is  more  speedy  dan  you  think." 
The  traveler  got  in.  "Attention!" 
"Charge !"  and  away  they  went  helter- 
skelter.  Within  a  few  yards  of  the  sta- 
tion, the  colored  man  showed  some  ex- 
citement. "Say,  Boss,  I  spects  you 
better  jump,  'cause  I'se  clean  forgot  de 
word  dat  stops  dis  boss  !" 


The  Birds  of  1916  Are  on  the  Way. 

It  is  now  1916.  In  a  few  weeks  the 
birds  will  be  here.  This  is  about  the  right 
time  to  start  your  bird  houses,  so  as  to 
have  them  thoroughly  in  harmony  upon 
the  arrival  of  their  prospective  inmates. 

Write  to  Air.  Joseph  H.  Dodson,  Har- 
rison Avenue,  Kankakee.  Illinois.  He  has 
an  ideal  outfit  of  everything  of  the  kind 
that  is  needed. 


VIII 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE.— ADVERTISEMENTS. 


THE  C.  0.  MILLER   CO. 

Atlantic  Square  Established  48  Years.  Stamford,  Conn. 

A  PLEASANT  REMINDER  OF  SPRING  is  the  Sight  of  New  Goods. 

We  are  offering  Pleasant  Reminders  now. 

REMINDERS 

We  have  just  placed  on  sale  our  new  Spring  Embroideries,  Laces  and  Dress 
Trimmings. 

New  Wool  Dress  Goods  and  Silks  have  begun  to  arrive. 

A  large  and  attractive  new  stock  of  Wash  Goods  is  now  on  sale. 

Extensive    showing   of   Ladies'    Muslin    Underwear,    also    Shirtwaists    in    at- 
tractive new  styles. 

Silk  Petticoats.  a 

Newest  Cretons,  Laces,  Scrims,  Swisses,  etc.,  by  the  yard,  also  Ready-Made 
Curtains.     The  best  drapery  display  in  our  history. 

To  those  about  to  furnish  the  home  we  would  be  glad  to  show  our  large  and 
reliable  stock  of  Rugs,  Carpets,  Mattings,  Linoleum,  etc. 

All  departments  are  vying  with  one  another  to  excel    in  their  ability  to  serve 
you  with  greatest  satisfaction. 
THE— TROLLEY— BRINGS— YOU— TO— OUR— DOOR. 


ESTABLISHED    i85i 

THEQETMAN&JUDD  CO. 

Lumber  and  Timber  of  all  Kinds 

SPECIALTY  :  High-Qrade  HARDWOOD  FLOORING 

tkoroughly  KilmDiied  amd  stored  ia  Steam  keated  kuiio 
tag  until  delivered  to  our  customers.  Our  steadily  in 
creasing  trade  in  this  specialty  prores  the  fact '  tka 
tke  country  home  is  not  complete  until  fitted  out  witi 
this  beautiful  and  sanitary  furnishing.  Old  residence; 
may  be  greatly  imp'-oved  hy  laying  thin  floors  orer  the 
old   ones. 

CANAL  DOCKS,  STAMFORD,  CONN. 

Telephone  2180. 


Homes  Near  to  Nature 

Skould  be  so  constructed  as  to  give  lasting  satisfaction. 
Jvi-  metkod  of  manufacturing  dependable  Interior  and 
Exterior  kouse  trim  from  thorcmghly  kiln  dried  materia) 
o»    skilled   mechanics   insures   such   satisfaction. 

THE  5T.  JOHN  WOODWORKING  CO. 

Canal  docks,  Stamford    conn. 

Telephone  781 

DIRECTORS 
WALTON   FERGUSON,  Pres.  W.   W.  HEROY. 

W.    D.   DAS K AM,   Vice  Pres.  F.  11.  HOYT. 

W.   H.  JUDD,  Sec.  and  Treas.  F.   VV.   BOGARDUS. 

J.   G.   WIGG,   General  Manager. 


;i: 


:i: 


'^ 


The  LOCKWOOD  &  PALMER  Co. 


Wholesale  and  Retail 
Dealers  in 

HARDWARE 

AGRICULTURAL 

IMPLEMENTS 

House  Furnishings,  Etc. 


TOOLS 
AA\  Kinds 


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(Cor.  Summer  Street) 

STAMFORD      -      CONN 

TELEPHONE   CONNECTIONS 


n 

:s9 


Published  monthly  by  The  Agassiz  Association,  ArcAdiA:  Sound  Beach,  Connecticut, 

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Entered  as  Second-Class  Matter  June  12,  1909,  at  Sound  Beach  Post  Office,  under  Act  of  March  3,  1897. 


Voii 


VIII 


MARCH,    1916 


Number  10 


A  Stamford,  Connecticut,  Museum. 

BY   R.    HERTZBERG,    M.  D.,    STAMFORD,    CON- 
NECTICUT. 

Stamford  as  a  good  place  to  live  in 
ranks  well  with  other  cities  of  equal  size. 
Many  institutions  that  bespeak  the  altru- 
ism of  her  citizens  are  maintained  and 
supported  by  private  subscriptions.  We 
have  to  mention  only  the  Stamford  Hos- 
pital, the  Young-  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation, the  Ferguson  Library,  the  Chil- 
dren's Home  and  the  Day  Nursery  to 
realize  that  large  sums  are  given  each 
year  for  charity.  These  institutions  are 
necessities,  each  one  filling  a  place  that 
no  decent,  self-respecting  community  can 
afford  to  leave  unoccupied.  We  now  pro- 
pose to  .give  Stamford  something  that 
will  appeal  to  the  aesthetic  side  of  life.  It 
is  not  a  charity,  yet  if  it  is  supported  by 
the  good  will  of  the  people,  it  will  return 
an  ample  recompense  alike  to  old  and 
young,  rich  and  poor. 

Stamford  is  to  have  a  ]\Iuseum,  if  the 
contemplated  plan  find  sufficient  support. 
It  is  not  purposed  to  place  in  some  build- 
ing a  collection  of  various  objects,  dust 
them  off  occasionally  for  exhibition 
spasms,  and  then  allow  the  grime  to  re- 
accumulate  until  the  next  excitement. 
That  sort  of  institution  is  sure  to  become 
the  charnal  house  of  hope  and  eflForts. 
What  is  needed  is  a  live  organization  of 
men,  women  and  children,  who  will  be 
willing  to  give  some  of  their  time  to  the 


work.  Every  one  who  is  at  all  interested 
in  making  this  life  fuller  and  richer  for 
others,  and  in  making  Stamford  a  still 
better  place  to  live  in,  should  become  a 
member. 

The  plan  is  to  organize  the  Stamford 
]\Iuseum  Society,  the  dues  to  range  from 
a  Life  ^Membership  at  five  hundred  dollars 
to  an  Annual  ]\Iembership  at  two  dol- 
lars, thus  enabling  all  to  join  and  to  regu- 
late their  own  expenses.  When  members 
enough  to  assure  an  income  of  twenty- 
five  hundred  dollars  a  year  have  been 
secured,  the  Museum  will  be  organized 
and  incorporated.  The  society  will  own 
all  collections  given  to  the  Museum. 
From  among  its  members  shall  be  formed 
the  faculties  to  govern  the  various  de- 
partments of  the  institution.  A  tentative 
division  of  the  Museum  under  the  follow- 
ing groups  is  proposed : 

Art :  Painting  and  Sculpture. 

Crafts :  Ceramics  and  Tapestries. 

Xatural  History :  Ornithology.  Ento- 
mology, Zoology,   Botany,   Conchol- 

ogy. 

Stamford  History. 

Stamford  Geology. 

Indian  Relics. 

The  Art  Department  will  be  in  charge 
of  a  member  of  recognized  ability.  Class- 
es in  printing,  drawing  and  modeling  will 
be  formed,  and,  while  at  first  not  many 
original  paintings  or  statues  may  be  avail- 
able, yet  excellent  copies  of  famous  paint- 


CopvriKht   1916  bv  The  Agassiz  .Association.   ArcAdiA:   Sound  Beach.  Conn, 


312 


THE  GL'IDE  TO  NATURE 


ings  and  plaster  casts  of  celebrated  statu- 
ary are  obtainable  at  a  reasonable  cost. 
These  will  serve  all  working  purposes. 
The  lack  of  such  a  collection  lias  more 
than  once  been  lamented  'by  art  lovers. 

The  Department  of  Natural  History 
must  of  necessity  play  an  important  role 
in  the  life  of  the  Museum.  The  study  of 
birds  is  a  never  ending  source  of  pleas- 
ure. Already  a  fairly  complete  collection 
of  mounted  specimens  of  resident  birds 
is  at  hand,  the  beauty  and  variety  of 
which  are  both  surprising  and  pleasing. 
A  well-organized  Bird  Club  with  the 
Museum  as  headquarters  could  work 
wonders  for  bird  protection  and  in  the 
dissemination  of  love  for  our  feathered 
beauties. 

In  entomology  we  have  a  powerful 
lever  for  good.  Butterflies,  moths,  bee- 
tles interest  almost  every  boy.  Let  us 
form  field  classes,  show  the  boys  where 
and  how  the  caterpillar  lives,  how  it 
metamorphoses  and  finally  emerges  from 
chrysalis  and  cocoon.  Show  the  boy  that 
any  old  log  may  be  a  perfect  mine  of  sur- 
prises, and  that  under  a  piece  of  bark  a 
treasure  is  often  found.  Show  him  how 
to  prepare,  preserve  and  mount  his  speci- 
men and  there  will  be  no  flagging  of  in- 
terest. Furthermore,  the  lessons  in  the 
propagation  of  life  may  thus  be  taught  in 
such  a  manner  that  the  subject  is  at  once 
removed  from  the  domain  of  the  morbid 
and  the  mysterious,  and  becomes  a  nat- 
ural phenomenon. 

Botany  will  appeal  especially  to  the 
girls.  Field  classes  will  again  be  the  in- 
strument of  study  and  pleasure.  Flowers 
and  ferns,  leaves  and  grasses  will  be  col- 
lected, dried  and  preserved.  Drawings 
made  of  the  different  stages  of  plant  de- 
velopment could  be  framed  and  kept  for 
future  comparison.  A  multitude  of  inter- 
esting things  will  be  found  afield  to  add 
a  continuous  zest  to  the  work. 

Zoology  will  find  its  devotees,  for  there 
are  many  creatures  whose  lairs  may  be 
visited,  and  whose  habits  and  actions  may 
be  watched  and  studied.  Many  beautiful 
shells  are  found  on  our  own  shores.  For 
the  student  of  conchologv  there  is  an 
abundance  of  material.  The  Aquarium 
Club  will  adequately  meet  the  needs  of 
those  interested  in  fishes. 

Boys  and  girls  not  interested  in  any  of 
these  subjects  may  find  their  pleasure  in 
geology  and  mineralogy.  Here  again 
field   and   laboratory  classes   will   supply 


the  incentive  to  get  in  touch  with  the 
"Great  Outdoors."  The  many  ways  in 
which  such  an  institution  can  make  an 
indelible  impression  on  the  lives  of  our 
rising  generation  will  readily  present 
themselves  to  all  who  read  these  lines. 

A  trained  curator  is  to  be  in  charge  of 
the  Museum.  Without  trained  supervi- 
sieTn  chaos  would  soon  reign.  The  plan 
is  endorsed  by  the  Stamford  ^ledical 
Association,  by  Dr.  William  J-  Long,  Dr. 
Robert  T.  ^Morris  and  Dr.  William  T. 
Hornaday,  Curator  of  the  Bronx  Zoologi- 
cal Park.  Already  a  goodly  membership 
has  been  secured.  But  much  remains  to 
l3e  done.  Every  one  is  earnestly  urged 
to  become  a  member  of  the  Stamford 
Museum  Society,  so  that  we  may  soon 
give  to  our  city  an  institution  to  which  we 
mav  point  with  pride  as  the  result  of  our 
own  efforts. 


The  Only  Known  Albino  Frog. 

The  "N.  Y.  Zoological  Society  Bulle- 
tin" reports  an  albino  frog  captured  by 
Henry  Snyder,  the  son  of  the  Head 
Keeper  of  Reptiles,  at  Scarsdale,  West- 
chester County,  New  York,  and  by  him 
presented  to  the  Zoological  Park.  The 
"Bulletin"  states :  "When  this  speci- 
men first  was  seen  with  some  normally 
colored  green  frogs,  it  was  thought  to 
be  a  diseased  specimen,  but  the  young 
collector  wisely  considered  it  worth 
while  to  take  home  the  specimen  and 
show  it  to  his  father.  Mr.  Snyder  im- 
mediately realized  the  rarity  and  im- 
portance of  the  find.  Out  of  the  thous- 
ands of  frogs  that  during  the  past  fif- 
teen years  have  been  caught  for  our 
reptile  collection,  no  one  who  has 
caught  and  otherwise  handled  many 
thousands  of  frogs  for  quite  a  number 
of  years,  ever  previously  has  secured 
an  albino  specimen.  The  writer  has 
recently  examined  all  available  records, 
and  has  failed  to  find  any  mention  of 
an  albino  frog  having  been  caught  in 
the  United  States.  Europe  can  show 
records  of  several  species  of  frogs  and 
toads  in  which  albinism  occurs  from 
time  to  time,  but  this  is  the  first  speci- 
men recorded  for  America. 

"The  specimen  referred  to  is  a  com- 
mon pond  frog,  {Rana  clamitans)  such 
as  may  be  found  in  almost  any  brook, 
ditch,  pool  or  freshwater  swamp.  Its 
color  is  a  waxy  yellowish  white  on  all 
upper  surface,  and  milkv-white  under- 


THE  OXLV  KNOWN  ALIUNO  FROG 


313 


neath  ;  the  eyes  are  brilliant  red,  with 
a  narrow  gold  rim  arotind  the  pupil. 
Our  specimen  is  a  female  about  two 
and  three  quarter  inches  in  length  of 
head  and  body,  and  therefore  not  quite 
adult.  At  first  it  was  very  timid,  dart- 
ing arotmd  its  cage  with  nervous  agil- 
ity, bruising  its  head  against  the  screen 


ALBINO    FROt;. 

Photographed   with    common    color    phase    to    show   the 

marked   difference. 

Cut    by    courtesy    of   the    '"Zoological    Society. 

top  and  glass  sides  whenever  anyone 
came  near  it.  After  nearly  three 
months  of  captivity,  however,  it  has 
lost  its  nervous  fear,  and  will  come 
from  its  hiding  place  tnider  the  moss 
provided  for  it  and  hunt  the  roaches, 
mealworms  and  earthworms  which 
form  its  food.  It  will  also  sit  for  hours 
on  a  large  flat  stone  in  the  center  of  its 
cage,  apparently  quite  content  \vith  its 
surroundings. 

"Of  course  this  frog  is  enjoying  spec- 
ial care,  and  we  look  forward  to  keep- 
ing it  for  a  reasonably  long  time." 

Will  our  members  and  other  friends 
keep  on  the  watch  for  albino  frogs? 
We  would  be  glad  this  coming  spring 
to  have  a  report  of  the  total  number 
and  the  different  varieties  seen  in  one 
place? 


The  Royal  Scottish  Arboricultural 
Society  began  some  thirty-tour  years 
ago  to  plant  with  Douglas  fir  certain 
barren  northern  slopes  between  sea- 
level  and  twelve  hundred  feet  eleva- 
tion. Some  of  the  earlier  plantations 
have  now  been  cut,  and  show  a  net 
profit  of  nearly  seventy  pounds  to  the 
acre,  on  land  that  had  been  considered 
virtually  worthless. 


An  Astonishing  Form  of  Snake. 

BY  CL.\RHXCE  A.  POPE^  ENGLISH,   INDIANA. 

Jiack  through  the  ages  of  time  and  the 
growth  of  man  legends  and  myths  have 
been  sung  and  told  by  the  bards,  poets 
and  prose  writers,  almost  all  of  which 
have  embodied  in  them,  it  seems,  some  de- 
gree of  superstition.  All  antiquity  seems 
to  have  been  darkened  by  overshadowing 
deeds  of  horror ;  the  people  cowered  in 
fear  ])y  the  threatening  approach  of  fero- 
cious animals  and  venomous  dragons, 
and,  in  fact,  if  the  legends  be  true,  man's 
existence  depended  upon  his  continuous 
struggle  ami  final  defeat  of  the  serpent 
family.  It  is  highly  probable  that  man's 
superstition  and  fear  for  the  hydra,  dra- 
gon, and  great  serpents  that  infested  the 
interminable  forests  and  swamps  was 
well  founded  upon  some  reality :  upon 
some  actual  experience  in  life.  We  can 
hardly  believe  that  the  myths,  as  we  know 
them,  would  have  pictured  man's  strug- 
gle with  these  multiheaded  dragons  and 
monsters  unless  at  some  time  there  was 
a  real  basic  foundation  of  similar  facts 
that  stimulated  the  mind  to  portray  such 
vived  pictures  of  life,  horror  and  death. 

This  idea  was  more  vividly  impressed 
upon  his  mind  when  the  following  truth 
came  imder  the  writer's  observation  : 

A  group  of  men  lounging  around  the 
little  country  store  of  Pilot  Knob,  Indiana 
were  talking  in  a  matter-of-fact  way 
about  a  two-headed  snake  that  had  recent- 
ly been  killed  and  invited  the  writer  to 
accompany  them  to  view  the  newly  dis- 
covered freak.  Back  of  an  old  black- 
smith shop,  where  the  weeds  had  been 
permitted  to  grow  to  an  unusual  height, 
was  the  object  sotight.  The  snake  was 
three  feet  eight  inches  long,  was  of  a 
black  and  white  splotched  eft'ect,  resem- 
bling a  cow-snake  in  many  respects.  The 
belly  was  of  two  colors — one  end  white, 
the  other  a  mottled  blue.  There  was  a 
full  sized,  perfectly  developed  head  on 
either  end  of  the  body.  However  the  two 
heads  were  not  of  the  same  type — one  was 
that  of  a  non-poisonous  snake  but  the 
other  lx)re  every  resemblance  of  the  rat- 
tlesnake family — shape,  fangs,  jaws  and 
eyes.  In  fact  nature  had  so  well  per- 
formed her  duty  in  the  creation  of  this 
freak  that  those  who  discovered  it  coiled 
thought  there  were  two  snakes,  and  not 
until  after  it  was  killed  did  they  learn  the 
real  truth.  This  snake  was  killed  Septem- 
ber 15,  1914.  and  was  the  second  of  its 
kind  to  be  killed  near  this  vicinitv. 


314 


THE  Gl'IDE  TO  NATURE 


All  communications  for  this  department 
should  be  sent  to  the  Department  Editor, 
Mr.  Harry  G.  Higbee,  13  Austin  Street, 
Hyde  Park,  Massachusetts.  Items,  articles 
and  photographs  in  this  department  not 
otherwise  credited  are  by  the  Department 
Editor 


The  Return  of  the  Birds. 

When  the  pussy-willows  are  bursting' 
from  their  winter  shells  and  creeping' 
softly  out  along-  the  streams ;  when  the 
growing-  alder  catkins  are  keeping"  pace 
with  the  leng-thening  days,  and  the  jNIarch 
sun  smiling"  upon  the  brown  meadows 
seems  t(i  draw  forth  the  tiny  shoots  of 
green  ;  when  the  spiral  leaves  of  the  un- 
folding skunks'  cabbage  dot  the  marsh, 
and  the  blossoming  swamp  maples  cast 
a  rosy  tint  over  the  hillsides  :  then  it  is 


that  we  eagerly  look  for  the  coming  of 
tlie  spring  birds. 

It  may  be  the  cbeery  call  of  a  phoebe 
along  the  river ;  a  song  sparrow  mount- 
ing a  low  shrub  in  the  meadow  and  pour- 
ing out  its  liquid  melody,  or  the  soft, 
plaintive  call  of  a  bluebird  as  it  drops 
down  from  the  sky  and  settles  upon  the 
old  apple  tree; — any  one  of  these  it  may 
be  which  first  brings  to  our  minds  the 
fact  that  spring  is  here ;  that  a  great  and 
wonderful  change  is  going  on  in  every 
tree  and  shrub  and  plant,  and  that  every 
living  thing-  is  awakening  to  the  touch  of 
that  power  which  stirs  its  'innermost 
being. 

The  great  mass  of  our  songsters  will 
not  arrive  before  late  April  or  May,  when 
the   weather  becomes   settled   and   insect 


■WHEN  THE  PUSSY-WH^LOWS   ARE  RURSTING   FROM   THEIR   WTNTER   SHELLS." 


ORNITHOLOGY 


315 


THE  DLUEBIRI)  CARRIES  THE  SKY  ABOVE 
AND  THE  EARTH  BENEATH. 


and  plant  life  furnish  adequate  food  and 
shelter :  and  while  these  will  be  eagerly 
sought  and  welcomed  back  to  their  favor- 
ite haunts,  it  is  somehow  the  first  call 
that  g-ives  us  the  thrill.  It  is  that  call 
for  which  we  have  waited  many  weeks, 
and  perhaps  in  search  of  which  we  have 
wandered  for  days  over  the  hills  or  along 
the  streams,  and  thrice  welcome  seems 
the  swift-winged  messenger  who  brings  it. 
In  any  great  movement  we  must  admire 
the  pioneers.  It  is  those  who  forge 
ahead,  establishing  themselves  under  un- 
certain conditions  and  maintaining  their 
living  against  adverse  circumstances,  who 
pave  the  way  and  smooth  the  road  for 
those  who  follow.  So  it  is  with  the  re- 
turning birds :  we  love  the  vanguard  of 
the  advancing  host.  The  phoebe  that 
calls  from  his  perch  over  the  ice-margined 
river ;  the  song  sparrow  that  sings 
through  the  blustering  March  wind,  and 
the  flicker  drumming  merrily  in  the  cold, 
gray  dawn  of  an  earlv  sirring  morning: — 
these  awake  our  enthusiasm  and  excite 
our  admiration. 


There  are  some  fifty  species  of  birds 
which  an  interested  observer  should  be 
able  to  record  from  ^Massachusetts  during 
the  month  of  March.  Nearly  half  of 
these  are  classed  as  winter  visitants  or 
])ermanent  residents,  the  remainder  con- 
stituting the  early  spring  migrants.  The 
wild  geese  are  honking  their  way  across 
the  sky  in  great  wedge-shaped  flocks  ;  the 
red-tailed  hawk  is  w'heeling  and  soaring- 
above  the  woods  and  meadows, — the  very 
spirit  of  exultation ;  robins  are  again  ap- 
pearing about  our  homes;  flickers  are 
drumming  their  loud  tattoo  on  the  dead 
stubs,  and  before  the  month  is  out  the 
meadows  will  be  ringing  with  the  lusty 
calls  of  the  red-winged  l:)lackbirds.  The 
bronze grackles  returning  to  the  neighbor- 


^bk^MS^^-^sa^r. 


"WE  M.\^■   I" 
T'F 


Xi) 


I  HEM  .  .  . 
THE    DK 


,  I- \ 
\l) 


A\  A  11  -\(  , 
STl'llS." 


3'^' 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


ing  pines  awaken  us  some  morning  with 
their  harsh,  squeaky  notes, — yet  even 
these  sound  now  like  music  to  our  ears. 

Many  of  the  birds  which  have  been  with 
as  througli  the  winter  are  showing  new 
activities.  The  j uncos  seem  to  be  gather- 
ing in  larger  flocks,  and,  in  company  with 
the  migrating  fox  sparrows  preparatory 
to  making  their  way  northward,  now 
make  the  thickets  and  hillsides  ring  with 
their  sweet  music.  Crows  are  becoming 
numerous  and  seem  to  caw  excitedly : 
though  many  of  these  hardy  birds  remain 
with  us  the  year  'round,  there  seems  to  be 
a  touch  of  the  migrating  instinct  still  in 
their  breasts,  as  evinced  by  the  large 
flocks  which  suddenly  appear  in  this  lati- 
tude in  late  February  and  early  March. 
The  blue  jays,  which  were  comparativelv 
silent  through  the  winter,  are  becoming 
restless  and  noisy;  the  plaintive  trill  of 
the  little  screech  owl  haunts  the  dusk, 
and  we  may  hear  the  mating  calls  of  the 
chickadee  and  downy  woodpecker,  which 
come  less  frequently  now  to  our  suet.  We 
may  find  them  instead  searching  out  holes 
or  excavating  cavities  in  the  dead  stubs, 
for  they  begin  this  work  far  in  advance 
of  the  time  when  they  will  occupy  these 
for  their  new  homes. 

i\Tarch.  then,  though  it  be  a  blustering 
month  in  Xew  England,  is,  never-the- 
less.  a  welcome  one  to  the  ornithologist, 
for  it  brings  us  the  return  of  the  birds. — 
at  least,  of  the  more  hardy  ones,  with  the 
assurance  of  others  soon  to  follow. 


My  Little  Owl. 

BY    J.    WILLIAM    I.LGYD,    WESTFIELD,    NKW 
JERSEY. 

There  is  a  little  screech  owl  of  the  gray 
phase  that  has  been  one  of  the  joys  of  my 
nights  for  years  and  is  now  a  joy  in  my 
days  also.  He  is  a  lovely,  fluffy  creature, 
of  unusual  beauty  of  plumage,  gray  and 
black  and  white,  and  when  I  am  sleeping 
on  my  porch,  I  love  to  wake  in  the  night, 
or  dusk  of  morning,  and  see  this  little 
ghost-like  shadow  flit,  or  hear  his  weird, 
flute-like  music  tremble  on  the  listening 
ear. 

I  heard  a  little  owl  at  eve 

With  trembling  voice  proclaim  his  joy; 
He  loved  the  weirdness  of  the  dusk — 

And  so,  O  little  owl,  do  I. 

I  love  to  watch  the  first  star  light, 
I  love  to  see  the  wan  moon  shine, 

And  there,  against  the  ivory  west. 
The   blackness  of  the   forest  line. 


I  love  the  silence  and  the  chill, 

The  sense  of  difference  from  the  day; 

A  spirit  in  another  world 

To  seem,  and  go  an  unknown  way. 

For  a  long  time  this  little  neighbor  had 
his  habitation  in  a  woodpecker's  hole  in 
the  top  of  a  dead  pignut  tree,  in  the  fence 
line,  back  of  my  barn.  I'.ut  in  a  storm 
the  tree  was  blown  down  and  mv  owl's 


MY  LITTLE  OWL  ON  THE  SHELF  UNDER  THE 

PE.'XK  OF  THE  R.\RN. 

Photographed  by  the  author. 

pellets  were  no  more  found  there.  Where 
he  went  for  a  while  I  do  not  know.  In 
19 1 4  I  made  an  oblong  box  for  a  gray 
squirrel  that  was  visiting  my  place,  and 
fastened  it  to  a  hickory  tree  in  front  of 
the  house.  The  length  of  the  box  was 
parallel  with  the  tree  trunk  and  at  the 
upper  end,  in  front,  was  a  round  hole. 
1  he  squirrel  and  his  mate  accepted  it  and 
all  was  well  for  a  while.  But  sometime 
in  February  I  became  aware  that  the  little 
owl  whose  morning  song  I  had  heard  all 
winter,  without  much  regard  to  weather, 
had  usurped  the  squirrel  box.  We  saw 
his  face  in  the  doorway  one  day,  and  one 
snowy  morning  we  saw  the  squirrels 
dancing  on  the  roof  and  scolding.  I  made 
another  and  hoped  more  attractive  box 
for  owls  and  fastened  it  to  the  next  tree, 
a  sweet  birch,  thinking  to  toll  Megascops 
to  it. 
Rut  he  seemed  contented  with  his  stolen 


ORNITHOLOGY 


317 


property,  and  willing  that  the  other  fel- 
low should  do  the  moving".  There  was 
considerable  argument  and  agitation  for 
some  time,  the  result  being  that  the  squir- 
rels rejected  both  boxes  and  became  only 
morning  visitors  for  nuts. 

The  owl  was  a  rather  irregular  occu- 
pant of  this  box  till  warm  weather  came, 
but  sometime  in  the  fall  he  moved  to  a 
hole  that  I  made  in  the  peak  of  the  barn. 
Behind  it  I  placed  a  deep,  narrow  box 
with  sawdust  and  shavings  at  the  bottom, 
and  an  opening  only  at  the  entrance  hole. 
Outside,  just  below  the  hole,  was  a  little 
shelf.  This  caught  the  morning  light  and 
held  the  sun  all  day  till  nearly  mid-after- 
noon and  could  be  clearly  seen  from  one 
of  our  windows.  The  owl  has  lived  there 
ever  since,  although  sometimes  absent  for 
a  day,  or  for  several  consecutive  days. 

I  have  learned  from  this  owl  some- 
thing that  I  did  not  know,  and  have 
never  seen  in  print — that  owls  do  not 
necessarily  dislike  daylight  nor  even  sun- 
shine, provided  their  eyes  are  not  much 
exposed  .  I  had  thought  that  an  owl 
always  hides  himself  in  darkness  or  in 
deep  shadow,  and  remains  silent  and  still 
in  the  daytime,  although  I  had  heard  a 
great  horned  owl  utter  his  hoarse  hoot, 
like  the  bark  of  a  big  dog,  in  mid-after- 
noon, in  the  cypress  swamps  of  Florida. 

In  my  journal  for  March  26,  1914,  I 
have  this  note  concerning  my  little  owl : 
"One  evening,  before  sunset,  his  head 
stuck  out  of  the  hole  of  a  squirrel  house 
on  my  hickory  tree,  facing  the  sun  which 
shone  brightly  on  his  face,  the  eyes  being 
apparently  closed.  Hearing  me,  he  drew 
his  head  slowly  in,  one  eye  opening  so  it 
shone  glassy  in  the  sun  which  was  right 
on  it.  Yesterday  he  sat  in  the  little 
pigeon  window  hole  of  the  pump  house 
for  hours,  nearly  all  the  afternoon  in  fact, 
facing  southeast,  and  did  not  go  away 
though  I  often  walked  near  or  just  below 
him.  He  would  shrink  a  little  sometimes, 
or  turn  his  head  to  follow  me,  but  often 
did  not  visibly  move.  He  looked  like  a 
bit  of  rotten  stump  set  up  there  in  the 
shadow.  Though  visible  for  hours,  full 
length,  none  of  the  birds  feasting  on  my 
suet,  about  thirty  yards  in  front  of  him, 
saw  him." 

On  April  27,  1914:  "The  little  owl  got 
into  the  west  window  of  the  barn  to-dav 
and  hooted  his  bubbling  note  at  2 130 
P.  M.  The  sky  was  dull  and  overcast, 
still  the  sun  was  almost  out.     He  shrank 


into  a  shapeless  stump  when  1  looked  at 
him,  but  did  not  attempt  to  fly.  I  had 
never  previously  heard  a  screech  owl  hoot 
in  the  daytime  at  this  season  of  the  year." 

The  last  sentence  refers  to  the  fact  that 
I  once  heard  a  screech  owl  give  a  little 
hoot  on  a  dull  day  in  January. 

On  January  22,  1915.  "The  little 
screech  owl  has  this  winter  taken  up  his 
abode  in  the  box  that  I  put  for  him  behind 
the  hole  in  the  peak  of  the  barn.  Some- 
times he  is  absent  for  a  day,  or  for  several 
days,  but  always  returns.  Once  or  twice 
the  blue  jays  mobbed  him.  At  first  this 
drove  him  in,  but  later  he  stood  his 
ground  in  grim  contempt  and  dangerous 
vigilance  and  they  did  not  quite  dare  to 
close  with  him.    He  likes  especially  to  sit 

outside  on  a  shelf all  day  long  in 

the  winter  sunshine,  his  eyes  apparently 
closed  or  opening  as  narrow  slits  when 
disturbed.  Through  the  glass  I  have  dis- 
tinctly seen  the  sun  glint  on  the  half 
open  eye."' 

I  do  not  share  in  the  usual  dislike  of 
the  screech  owl's  song.  On  the  contrary. 
I  love  it.  I  find  it  expressive.  At  times 
it  is  fierce  or  sad,  or  it  may  be  tender  and 
musical.     It  is  like  a  flower  of  the  night. 


The  Hovering  Instinct. 

BY  JOSEPH  W.LIPPIXCOTT,  BETHAYRES,  PA. 

I  once  saw  a  sparrow  hawk  hover  over 
a  grass  patch  and  then  dart  upon  a  small 
garter  snake  which,  instead  of  being 
directly  beneath  him.  was  fully  fifteen 
yards  further  up  the  field.  Alice  I  have 
seen  captured  nearly  as  far  ahead  and  in- 
sects at  various  distances,  but  sometimes 
almost  straight  below  the  hovering  point. 

It  would  seem  therefore  that  the  little 
hawk's  eyes  instead  of  concentrating  on 
one  spot,  thus  making  a  fixed  position  for 
hovering  more  easy,  are  searching  the 
ground  near  and  far  while  some  strange 
force  keeps  his  body  exactly  stationary 
regardless  of  ordinary  winds.  It  is  much 
the  same  with  the  humming  bird  and  the 
king  fisher ;  indeed  many  birds,  even  the 
English  sparrow,  the  crested  flycatcher 
and  the  tree  swallow,  at  times  do  strange 
hovering  antics  which  bear  out  the  theory 
that  a  wonderful  subconscious  force  must 
aid  in  maintaining  position.  It  would  be 
interesting  to  exoeriment  with  time  ex- 
posure photographs  of  hovering  sparrow 
hawks  facing  various  wind  velocities. 
The  wings,  head  and  tail  would  blur,  but 
how  about  the  bodv? 


3i8 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


The  Red-shouldered  Hawk. 

BY  UDWIN   L.   JACK,   PORTLAND,    ME. 

High  up  in  the  sea  of  bkie,  where  a  few 
fleecy  clouds  were  saiHng,  perhaps  you 
have  seen  a  large  hawk  wheeling  in 
spirals  and  frequently  sending  forth  its 
sharp     cry     "ker-ker-ker."       The     "red- 


usually  some  rough  material  such  as  fine 
twigs  and  sometimes  pieces  of  bark  are 
used.  On  this  rough  foundation  from 
three  to  four  dirty-white 
with  brown  are  laid. 

Young    hawks    are    very     interesting 
little  fellows.     Thev  remain  in  the  downy 


eggs  smooched 


A   VOUNC,    RKD-SHOULDEREU   IIAVVK   THREE   WEEKS    Ol.l). 
Photographed  by   the   author. 


shoulder,"  like  many  others  of  the  hawk 
family,  secures  a  large  amount  of  its  food 
by  flying  high  in  the  air  and  watching 
the  earth  far  below  with  its  sharp  eyes 
for  whatever  prey  happens  to  be  moving 
the  tall  grass  tops  in  the  meadows,  thus 
betraying  its  location  and  quite  frequently 
furnishing  the  bird  with  a  meal.  All 
hawks  are  generally  thought  of  as  chick- 
en thieves,  but  it  is  only  when  driven  by 
hunger  that  the  "red-shoulder"  ever  ap- 
proaches the  barnyard.  In  the  main  this 
bird's  food  consists  of  field  mice,  frogs 
and  snakes. 

The  red-shouldered  hawk  is  a  large 
bird,  measuring  twenty  to  twenty-four 
inches  in  length :  its  color  is  brown  and 
grayish,  the  shoulders  having  3,  pro- 
nounced reddish-brown  cast  from  which 
the  bird  derives  its  name. 

This  hawk  places  its  nest  in  the  top- 
most branches  of  tall  trees,  usually  in  the 
woods.  The  nest  is  a  rather  rough  struc- 
ture, of  small  branches  apparently  very 
loosely    woven    together,    the    lining    is 


stage  for  three  or  four  weeks  and  it  is 
not  until  they  are  at  least  two  weeks  old 
that  the  first  pin  feathers  appear, — soon 
bursting  forth  into  blackish  brown  feath- 
ers. They  remain  in  the  nest  about  six 
or  seven  weeks  and  when  ready  to  leave 
are  possessed  with  remarkably  strong 
wings.  This  no  doubt  accounts  for  the 
fact  that  young  hawks  are  rarely  found 
on  the  ground  unable  to  fly  as  are  so 
many  other  young  birds. 


Our  California  navel  orange  originated 
in  1822,  in  Brazil,  as  a  bud  sport  from  the 
ordinary  seeded  variety  introduced  from 
Portugal.  Trees  first  reached  this  country 
in  1868,  but  in  a  dying  condition  so  that 
only  some  of  the  buds  remained  alive. 
These  were  promptly  grafted  on  to  seed- 
lings at  the  Government  greenhouses  in 
Washington.  Two  of  these  grafted  trees 
were  sent  to  Riverside.  California,  in 
1873.  Now  there  are  a  hundred  thousand 
acres  of  them  in  the  region,  and  each  year 
their  fruit  fills  twentv-five  thousand  cars. 


ORNITHOLOGY 


319 


The   Commercial  Value  of  Birds. 

We  sometimes  think  that  the  whole 
argument  of  bird  protection  is  based 
on  sentiment,  although  demonstrations 
have  not  been  lacking  to  show  that  in- 
sect-eating birds  have  frequently  saved 
dollars  for  the  farmer  in  saving  crops 
that  have  been  attacked  by  destructive 
pests,  which,  but  for  the  birds'  help 
would  have  been  a  total  loss  or  partial 
loss. 

We  also  find  the  worth  of  our  bird 
friends  proven  in  their  relations  with 
otir  trees.  That  shade  trees  add  mater- 
ially to  the  value  of  residential  prop- 
erty is  now  generally  acknowledged  : — 
a  price  ranging  from  $100.00  to  $1,- 
000.00  having  been  definitely  set  upon 
individual  trees  in  several  recent  court 
cases; — and  it  cannot  be  denied  that 
birds  render  us  great  service  in  the 
preservation  of  such  trees. 

In  the  State  of  Maine,  the  actual  in- 
come from  its  migratory  water-fowl  is 
computed  to  be  $650,000.00  every  year, 
while  Oregon  places  its  water-fowl 
valuation  at  a  million  dollars  annually. 

The  Federal  Aligratory  Bird  Law, 
known  otherwise  as  "The  Weeks-Mc- 
Lean Bill,"  has  now  been  in  operation 
about  two  years,  during  which  period 
a  marked  increase  in  the  water-fowl 
throughout  the  United  States  has 
taken  place ;  which,  for  the  greater 
part,  seems  to  be  indisputably  a  result 
of  the  passage  of  this  bill.  Other  bene- 
ficial results  from  this  law  are  apparent 
among  the  shore  birds,  and  while  in 
the  main  it  has  been  well  received  and 
at  least  forty  states  have  passed  regu- 
lations supplementing  its  work,  there 
are  still  those  short-sighted  or  selfish 
enough  to  oppose  it,  and  several  at- 
tempts have  been  made  to  declare  the 
law  unconstitutional,  or  to  appeal  from 
its  justice.  This  law  required  a  trem- 
endous amotmt  of  hard  work  to  secure 
its  passage,  and  any  attempt  to  over- 
throw or  nullify  its  effects  by  counter 
legislation  should  be  vigorously  fought 
by  every  true  sportsman,  bird-lover 
and  conservationist  in  the  country. 

As  a  migratory  bird  cannot  properly 
belong  to  any  one  state  or  locality,  and 
as  these  usually  congregate  in  such 
numbers  and  tmder  such  conditions  at 
certain  seasons  that  their  ranks  are  of- 
ten largely  depleted  by  unthinking 
people  owing  to  lax  local  regulations. 


the  wisdom  of  federal  control  of  all 
migatory  birds  is  self-apparent.  In 
some  instances,  of  course,  this  will  nec- 
essitate the  changing  of  local  legisla- 
tion to  meet  new  requirements,  and 
may  at  first  seem  like  depriving  some 
of  their  individual  rights  in  shooting; 
but  it  appears  to  have  been  conclusive- 
ly shown  that  birds  have  an  actual 
commercial,  as  well  as  an  aesthetic, 
value ;  that  their  usefulness  and  owner- 
ship are  confined  to  no  one  season  or  lo- 
cality, and  therefor,  no  one  state  should 
have  the  right  to  enact  laws  governing 
them  which  would  in  any  way  infringe 
upon  the  rights  of  the  people  at  large 
— the  people  who  are  the  real  owners 
of  the  birds. 


Notes  from  Bartville,  Pa. 

Mrs.  D.  W.  Jackson,  of  Bartville,  Pa., 
writes  of  the  abundance  of  goldfinches, 
purple  finches,  tree  sparrows  and  juncoes 
about  her  home  during  the  past  winter ; 
also  the  wintering  of  a  pair  of  cardinals ; 
and,  on  the  24th  and  26th  of  January,  the 
visitation  of  a  pair  of  bluebirds,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  usual  chickadees  and  nut- 
hatches, to  partake  of  the  abundant  sup- 
pi}-  of  food  which  is  always  at  the  dis- 
posal of  her  bird  friends.  She  mentions 
also  an  instance  of  a  crow  being  frozen 
to  the  ice  as  it  was  taking  a  drink,  being 
reported  to  her  by  a  writer  from  Chester 
County. 

The  following  extract  from  a  letter  to 
her  while  away  shows  the  interest  of  a 
young  maid  at  home  in  the  feeding  of  the 
birds :  "It  is  about  nine-thirty  and  the 
little  birds  are  all  around  getting  their 
morning  meal.  I  see  the  little  juncoes 
and  tree  sparrows  eating  the  seeds  which 
I  put  out  uoon  the  point  and  hillside. 
Xuthatch  in  locust  tree :  also  saw  the  car- 
dinal early  this  morning.  The  English 
sparrows  come  up  here  in  flocks  after  the 
feed  wdiich  I  scatter  around  for  the  other 
birds.  The  little  dog  chases  them  away 
when  she  gets  a  chance. — There  was  a 
little  chickadee. — T  don't  know  what  was 
wrong  with  it.  It  settled  unon  the  little 
oeach  tree,  anrl  T  watched  it  to  see  what 
it  would  do,  and  it  just  hung  on  a  branch 
about  ten  minutes,  unside  down  just  like 
a  little  bat.  until  I  thought  it  was  dead, 
so  I  went  out  to  examine  it,  and  it  stuck 
to  the  branch  until  I  picked  it  into  my 
hands.  It  seemed  rather  surnrised  when 
it  saw  someone  had  it  fast.  I  took  him 
into  the  house  to  warm  him  and  give  him 


320 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


some  crumbs,  and  I  put  him  under  the 
rice  sieve,  and  he  ate  the  crumbs  and 
drank  some  water.  After  a  while  it  began 
to  want  to  get  out.  He  would  climb  up 
on  the  seieve  just  like  he  does  on  a  tree 
and  han,g  head  downward,  so  I  thought 
I  had  better  let  him  go.  I  took  him  out 
and  sure  enough  he  was  not  slow  about 
flying  away.  He  seemed  so  very  minia- 
ture that  I  could  hardly  think  he  was  a 
chickadee  when  I  had  him  in  my  hands. 

The  other  day  a  hawk  sat  on  the  wire 
and  I  thought  it  was  a  robin  at  first,  but 
when  it  flew  away  I  could  see  the  differ- 
ence. It  had  a  red  tail,  was  not  much 
larger  than  a  robin.  Now  and  then  I 
see  a  little  goldfinch  flying  over." 

We  are  glad  to  note  this  interest  in  the 
birds  'by  a  young  girl.  It  was  a  kindly 
deed  to  care  for  the  chickadee,  and  also 
shows  good  observation  to  note  the  differ- 
ence between  a  robin  and  the  similar- 
sized  bird,  which  was  doubtless  a  spar- 
rowhawk. — H.  G.  H. 


Peculiar  Nest  of  the  Tit-Warbler. 

H.   STUART  DOVE,   M.  R.  A.   O.    U.,  WEST  DE- 

VONPORT,  TASM.4NIA,  AUSTRALIA. 
(member    TASMANIA    FIELD    NAT.    CLUB.) 

To  complete  the  paper  on  the  yellow- 
tailed  tit-warbler  sent  last  month,  I 
should  like  to  describe  an  extraordi- 
nary nest  of  this  little  bird  which  I 
found  in  a  white  gum  on  the  bank  of 
the  Don  River,  North-west  Tasmania. 

This  nest  was  hung  amid  the  pendul- 
ous branchlets  of  the  tree  in  a  similar 
fashion  to  that  recently  described,  but 
whereas  the  nest  built  in  the  tree  close 
to  my  cottage  measured  6x4^  inches  ; 
that  found  at  the  Don  River  was 
a  long  purse-like  structure  no  less 
than  ten  inches  in  length — a  great 
size,  when  compared  with  the  dimi- 
nutive builder.  It  was  constructed 
of  greenish  grass,  part  of  which  was 
woven  around  the  twigs  to  hold  it  se- 
curely ;  the  lining  being  a  copius  one  of 
wool  and  feathers.  In  the  lower  part 
of  this  purse-like  structure  was  the 
entrance  to  the  incubation  chamber, 
the  aperture  being  just  about  large 
enough  to  admit  one's  forefinger. 
Above  this  was  the  opening  to  a  second 
chamber, — not  lined,  and  again,  above 
this,  a  third  compartment,  also  unlined  ; 
while  to  crown  all  was  the  open  cavity, 
or  so-called  "cock's  nest"  on  the  sum- 
mit. 

Onlv  the  lowest,  or  lined,  chamber 


had  been  used,  and  why  the  others 
were  formed  is  a  mystery.  It  is  not 
rare  for  the  nest  of  this  species  to  con- 
tain one  un-lined  compartment,  but 
this  is  the  only  example  I  have  dis- 
covered with  two  besides  the  "nesting- 
box." 

Dr.  Sharpe,  in  describing  the  nest  of 
the  South  African  Penduline  Tit,  says 
"towards  the  upper  end  of  the  nest  is 
a  funnel-shaped  opening,  and  below 
this  is  a  distinct  little  pocket,  the  use 
of  which  is  not  clearly  understood.  It 
is  supposed  to  be  the  roosting  place  of 
the  male,  for  whom,  as  the  nestlings 
grow,  there  would  be  little  room  in  the 
chamber  itself.  The  little  birds  are 
said  to  draw  in  the  tubular  entrance  of 
the  nest  before  they  finally  go  to  sleep, 
and  they  then  fasten  it  up  tightly,  so 
that  any  enemy,  snake  or  otherwise,  on 
attacking  the  nest,  fumbles  about  at 
the  pocket,  or  false  entrance  while  the 
little  birds  peck  a  hole  in  the  back  part 
and  escape." 

Some  naturalists  consider  that  the 
false  chamber  in  the  structure  of  our 
"Acanthiza"  is  meant  to  delude  the 
Bronze  Cuckoo,  which  often  victimizes 
this  species,  but  the  cuckoo's  egg  is  so 
seldom  found  in  the  "wrong  box"  that 
1  cannot  hold  to  this  theory.  It  seems 
far  more  likely  that  these  extra  com- 
partments are  intended  to  serve  as 
'over-flow^  rooms'  for  some  of  the 
brood  to  sleep  in  when  they  are  getting 
feathered,  and  the  incubation  room  is 
too  stuffy  for  the  whole  lot. 

It  would  be  interesting  if  any  of 
your  readers  who  have  observed  any- 
thing of  the  kind  would  send  notes  to 
The  Guide  to  Nature  upon  the  sub- 
ject, thus  possibly  shedding  light  upon 
this  curious  habit  of  our  bird. 


A  Delight  to  See  and  a  Joy  to  Use. 

The  C.  P.  Goerz  American  Optical 
Company  have  recently  issued  several 
attractive  booklets  containing  illustra- 
tions of  their  cameras  and  of  some  of 
the  remarkable  results  achieved  with 
them.  Those  that  love  the  outdoor 
world  desire  to  keep  a  record  of  its 
fleeting  scenes.  These  cameras  make 
that  record  and  do  it  to  perfection. 
When  asking  for  these  booklets  will 
our  readers  kindly  refer  to  The  Guide 
TO  Nature?  Especial  attention  will 
then  be  given  to  the  request. 


(  )K.\iTHOLOGV 


321 


An    Experience   with    Wilson's    Snipe. 

]'.\    i:i)\\  AKI)   I'.    IMCF.IJ  i\\  . 

A  Wilson's  snipe  seriously  injured, 
supposably  by  a  cat.  was  found  in  the 
marshes  not  far  from  ArcAdiA.  The 
bird's  life  was  saved  by  driving  away  the 
cat,  but  whether  or  not  tlie  l)ird  had  been 


lover  of  fresh-water  marslies,  where  it 
may  be  sometimes  surprised  along*  the 
bank  of  a  slugg'ish  stream,  with  its  long 
flexible  bill  buried  to  its  base  in  the  soft 
mud,  as  it  'bores'  for  insects. 

"The  Wilson's  snipe  has  always  been 
a   favorite  bird   with  the  sportsman,  not 


THIS   BIRD'S   IN7URY   WAS    SHOWN    IX    ITS   REM  ARKAliLl-:    TAMEXESS. 


previously  injured  is  not  known.  It 
seemed  to  be  in  full  possession  of  all  of 
its  physical  ability,  and  was  apparently 
not  lamed  either  in  wing-  or  leg.  It  was 
remarkably  tame.  It  was  easily  held  in 
the  hand,  and  showed  the  slightest  wild- 
ness.     It  died  soon  after  its  rescue. 

Mr.  Harry  G.  Higbee  writes  of  the 
bird  as  follow-s : 

■'This  bird,  belonging  to  the  family 
Scolopacidae,  which  includes  the  curlews, 
yellowlegs.  w^oodcock  and  sandpipers,  is 
not  an  uncommon  migrant  along  our 
eastern  coast  in  both  spring  and  fall, 
being  present  in  this  locality  usually  in 
April  and  early  ^lay,  in  the  fall  from 
September  to  November.  It  nests  prin- 
cipally north  of  the  United  States  and 
winters  southward  to  Brazil,  though  it 
casually  extends  its  breeding  range  south- 
ward to  our  middle  states  and  its  winter 
range  as  far  north  as  New  England. 
Being:  a   bird  of   solitarv  habits,   it   is  a 


only  on  account  of  its  esteemed  delicacy 
as  food,  but  also  for  the  exciting  sport 
which  it  gives  the  hunter.  These  birds, 
known  also  as  'Jack  Snipe,'  lie  close,  and 
with  their  excellent  protective  coloring 
often  entirely  escape  observation  on  the 
brown  meadows  of  the  early  fall.  When 
they  do  take  wing,  it  is  so  suddenly,  and 
followed  by  so  zigzag  and  erratic  a  flight 
that  a  good  marksman  is  needed  to  stop 
one.  This  sudden  spring  into  the  air  is 
usually  accompanied  by  a  series  of  hoarse 
and  somewhat  startling  cries  that  add  to 
the  excitement  and  exhiliration  of  the 
pursuit.  A  low-  drumming  or  bleating 
note  caused  by  the  rushing  of  the  air 
through  the  wings,  as  the  bird  descends 
rapidly  from  a  considerable  height,  is 
said  to  be  produced  principally  in  the 
mating  season.  A  peculiar  vocal  note  has 
also  been  credited  to  the  bird  at  this  time. 
I  have  never  personally  heard  either  of 
these  sounds. 


322 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


"Widespread  reports  in  a  recent  inves- 
tigation by  the  jMassachusetts  State  Or- 
nithologist indicate  that  the  snipe  in  the 
past  forty  years  has  decreased  by  more 
than  fifty  per  cent  throughout  most  of  its 
former  ranges.  Records  of  its  breeding 
in  Massachusetts  and  the  neighboring 
states  are  now  rare,  though  formerly  not 
uncommon  in  many  localities.  Its  four 
eggs,  pointed  and  mottled  gray,  are 
placed  in  a  depression  in  the  ground  near 
the  border  of  a  pond  or  a  stream." 


A  Nest  of  the  Wild  Dove. 

BY   DR.    R.    MENGER,    SAN    ANTONIO,   TEXAS. 

Prairie  birds  of  various  types  usually 
build  their  nests  on  a  definite  and  typical 
plan.     Occasionally,  however,  influenced 


A  SNUGLY  LOCATED  A'EST  OF 
WILD   DO\'E. 


THE  TEXAS 


by  environment  and  other  circumstances, 
they  alter  their  methods,  but  still  if  possi- 
ble use  the  ordiary  building  material. 

The  Texas  wild  dove  occasionally 
erects  its  fragile  nest  in  an  extraordinary 
way.  It  sometimes  uses  the  abandoned 
nest  of  another  bird,  occasionally  select- 
ing  in  the  West  Texas  prairie  plains,  in 
brushy  regions,  the  old  abandoned  nest  of 
a  mocking  bird  ;  or  it  builds  directly  on 
the  ground :  or,  as  seen  in  the  accom- 
panying photograph,  on  or  inside  of  the 
spinous  leaves  of  the  Opuntia  cactus. 


The  illustration,  taken  on  the  plains  by 
the  writer,  shows  a  wild  dove's  nest  with 
its  typical  two  white  eggs,  snugly  located, 
perfectly  secluded  and  protected  in  a 
quadrangular  space  of  the  blooming  cac- 
tus leaves.  The  season  was  the  end  of 
July,  the  main  breeding  time  of  our  wild 
(love.  The  surrounding  mesquite  trees 
harbored  scores  of  the  breeding  birds  and 
their  nests.  This  one  was  built  directly 
on  a  dry  cactus  leaf,  surrounded  by  num- 
bers of  others  in  full  bloom,  some  of 
golden  yellow,  and  others,  in  the  rear,  in- 
tensely red,  and  alive  with  insects  that 
were  feeding  on  them. 

As  a  rule  the  Texas  wild  dove  builds 
on  a  branch  of  the  mesquite  tree,  gen- 
erally using  a  few  dry  grass  helms.  The 
main  breeding  season  is  from  the  middle 
of  May  to  October.  Some  are  sparingly 
found  in  October  and  November.  In  the 
fields  and  pastures  at  sunset,  the  birds 
gather  in  large  numbers  to  fly  to  their 
favorite  roosting  places  among  the  mes- 
quites  and  the  oaks.  They  are  somewhat 
smaller  than  the  beautiful,  white-winged. 
Mexican,  migratory  pigeons,  which  are 
not  protected  by  the  game  laws,  as  they 
are  exceedingly  greedv  and  injure  the 
grain  fields  considerably  more  than  the 
common  wild  dove,  which  the  Texas 
game  law  protects  from  March  to  Sep- 
tember. 


Migration  Notes  of  1915. 

BY  ANNE  E.  PERKINS,  M.  D.,  COLLINS,  N.  Y. 

One  of  the  most  delightful  occur- 
rences in  the  bird  life  of  this  vicinity 
the  past  season  was  the  appearance,  on 
April  i8th,  of  a  pair  of  cardinal  gros- 
beaks in  a  swampy  tangle  on  the  Cat- 
taraugus Indian  Reservation.  These 
birds  were  repeatedly  seen  and  heard 
by  several  of  the  Audubon  Society 
members,  and  were  there  as  late  as  the 
middle  of  October.  It  is  believed  that 
they  nested,  as  they  were  always  in 
the  same  vicinity  and  acted  very  sus- 
picious of  observers.  I  had  seen  a 
female  not  far  from  this  place  two 
years  before,  and  others  have  reported 
the  male  cardinal  near  Gowanda,  two 
miles  away,  but  it  has  never  been 
proven  that  it  nested  in  this  vicinitv. 

On  April  4th  a  flock  of  two  hundred 
cedar  waxwings  were  seen  in  a  large 
tulip  tree,  and  all  faced  the  same  way. 
The}-  gathered  everv  afternoon  at  5:15 
and  remained  there  in  the  same  tree  for 
a  half-hour,  then  retired  to  the  swamp. 


OR. \"  IT  IK  )\J  nW 


323 


"A   LITTLE    PATIENCE   WILL   TAME   THE 

WINTER   BIRDS. 

Photographed  by  A.  E.  Collins,  Chapman,  Nt-w  York. 

I  was  able  to  show^  this  flock  to  several, 
as  they  were  prompt  to  a  minute  in 
coming. 

On  April  20th  a  female  ruffed 
grouse  was  found  on  the  porch  of  the 
hospital.  Part  of  her  tail  was  missing, 
— she  evidently  having  been  caught 
and  had  escaped  from  some  animal. 
Taken  to  the  woods,  she  proved  able 
to  fly  briskly. 

The  yellow-bellied  sapsuckers  were 
never  so  abundant.  Thirty  appeared 
in  one  grove  at  the  same  time  and  mer- 
cilessly attacked  the  trees,  so  that  the 
sap  was  running  freely  from  maples, 
hemlocks,  tulip  trees,  etc. 

A  Lincoln's  sparrow^  came  on  May 
13th  and  remained  until  May  31st. 
singing  freely,  always  within  a  few 
rods   of  the   same   place.      Its   song   is 


very  noticeable  and  somewhat  remark- 
able 

A  pair  of  rough-w'inged  swallows 
nested  by  the  creek,  in  the  bank.  Ten- 
nessee w^arblers  were  numerous  during 
migration.  The  solitary  vireo — rare 
here,  even  in  migration — was  observed 
in  a  remote  glen  building  a  nest.  A 
l^air  of  yellow-billed  cuckoos,  rarely 
seen  here,  were  noted  day  after  day  in 
the  same  spot.  This  fall  pippits  ap- 
peared on  two  successive  days,  in  a 
field.  Robins  and  bluebirds  were  re- 
markably numerous  all  through  the 
season,  and  on  May  30th  a  nest  of  slate- 
colored  juncos  containing  young  was 
found  six  miles  from  here. 

On  November  i8th  a  white-throated 
sparrow  was  still  here,  and  on  Nov. 
28th,  two  meadowlarks.  There  win- 
tered a  flicker,  song  sparrow,  marsh 
hawk,  red-shouldered  \hawk,  screech 
owl.  barred  owl,  kingfisher  and  cow- 
bird,  besides  the  usual  winter  birds. 

My  feeding  stations  were  patronized 
freely  from  October  first  to  the  middle 
of  June  by  downys,  chickadees,  nut- 
hatches and  jays,  and  during  the  win- 
ter by  a  brown  creeper  and  hairy  wood- 
pecker and  red-breasted  nuthatches. 
The  chickadees  ate  from  my  hand  free- 
ly. The  nuthatches  show  a  preference 
for  sun-flower  seeds ;  the  chickadees, 
for  suet  and  "Downy"  for  a  fat  marrow- 
bone.    The  red  squirrels  interfere  with 


A   WIDE-AWAKE   SCREECH   OWL. 
l'hiitogra])lud  by  .\.   E.  Chapman,  Collins,  New  York. 


324 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


seeds  in  feeding  boxes,  and  the  only 
way  I  can  keep  them  from  carrying  off 
suet  is  by  making  pockets  of  half-inch 
mesh  chicken  wire  on  the  trees.  The 
nuthatches  crack  the  seeds  of  the  sun- 
flower in  a  crevice  of  the  bark  and 
leave  the  empty  shells  there. 

A  little  patience  will  tame  the  winter 
birds,  and  afford  much  pleasure  and 
profit  in  feeding  and  studying  them, 
with  opportunities  for  photographing 
them.  Any  boy  can  make  feeding 
shelves  or  boxes  and  even  the  rudest 
device  answers.  Accustom  the  birds 
to  your  presence  while  eating  and  very 
soon  chickadees  will  come  to  your 
hands  or  head  for  food,  and  nuthatches 
can  be  persuaded  soon,  but  not  "Dow- 
ny." 


The  Redstart. 

BY    EDWIN    L.    JACK,    PORTLAND,    MAINE. 

The  favorite  haunt  of  the  redstart  is 
in  damp,  thickly  wooded  locations.  He 
is  a  valuable  insect  exterminator,  and 
I  do  not  know  of  any  bird  that  presents 
a  more  perfect  picture  of  happiness  and 
contentment  as  he  darts  in  and  out 
among  the  foliage  searching  for  food. 

As  a  fine  example  of  bird  architec- 
ture, the  redstart's  nest  is  indeed 
worthy  of  study.  It  is  not  only  neat 
and  attractive  in  appearance,  but  is  a 
fine  sample  of  protective  coloring. 

In  my  location  the  redstart  most  fre- 
quently places  its  nest  in  small  maple 
and  gray  birch  trees,  and  at  a  distance 
of  fifteen  to  forty  feet  from  the  ground. 
Regardless  of  this  fact,  the  nest  here 
illustrated  was  built  less  than  two  feet 
from  the  ground.  By  the  use  of  strong 
plant  fibres  and  great  skill  the  birds 
secured  the  nest  on  the  first  limb  of  a 
little  maple  tree.  It  was  lined  Avith  the 
finest  of  grasses  and  dry  pine  needles, 
while  the  edges  and  sides  were  com- 
pletely covered  with  silver  gray  plant 
fibres,  perfectly  resembling  the  color 
of  the  surrounding  branches. 

When  I  first  discovered  the  nest  it 
was  empty,  but  appeared  finished  and 
perfect  in  every  detail.  I  visited  it  for 
three  days  in  succession  and  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  birds  had  de- 
serted it  for  some  reason,  for  during 
the  time  I  was  about  the  nest,  not 
once  did  I  catch  a  glimpse  of  its  own- 
ers :  but  camera  work  on  other  nests 


in  that  locality  took  me  to  the  red- 
starts' location  daily  and  one  morning 
I  found  that  the  nest  contained  one 
tiny  egg,  profusely  speckled  with 
brown,  and  four  days  later  the  nest 
contained  the  full  set  of  five  eggs. 

For  eleven  days  I  made  visits  to  that 
nest  and  watched  its  contents  and  on 


NEST  OF  THE  REDSTART. 
"The  edges  and  sides  were  completely  covered   with 
silver  gray   plant   fibres,   perfectly   resembling  the  color 
of  the  svtrrounding  branches." 


the  twelfth  day  the  mother  bird 
brought  off  a  brood  of  five  very  tiny 
youngsters,  and  their  mouths  were 
ever  open  for  food. 

During  the  period  the  mother  bird 
was  brooding  the  eggs,  I  had  secured 
several  studies  of  her  on  the  nest,  with 
my  camera.  By  the  time  the  young 
were  out,  the  parent  birds  had  become 
so  accustomed  to  me  that  I  could  sit 
within  three  feet  of  the  nest  and  secure 
a  perfect  focus  without  their  paying 
the  slightest  attention  to  me.  I  have 
found  that  in  bird  photography,  if  one 
works  about  a  nest  with  care  and 
patience,  being  careful  as  to  making 
unnecessary  noise  and  quick  move- 
ments, birds  soon  come  to  know 
friends  from   enemies   and   the   results 


ORXITHOLOGY 


325 


that  may  be  obtained  in  such  cases  are, 
indeed,   remarkable. 

Being  able  to  observe  these  redstarts 
at  so  close  a  range,  I  discovered  that 
for  the  first  two  or  three  days  the 
youngsters'  diet  consisted  chiefly  of 
mosquitos.  and  as  the  location  was 
very  damp,  the  birds  had  no  trouble  in 
securing  them. 

I  watched  the  process  of  feeding  the 
young  by  the  hour.  The  male  bird 
seemed  to  do  the  greater  part  of  it  as 
is  not  generally  the  custom.  He  would 
dart  from  one  small  branch  to  another 
and  frequently  I  could  hear  his  bill 
snap  as  he  snatched  the  insects.  Hav- 
ing secured  a  number  the  bird  would 
fly  to  the  edge  of  the  nest,  when  in- 
stantly up  would  come  five  gaping 
mouths,  but  it  was  generally  not  more 
than  two  that  were  fed  at  a  time.  And 
so  on  the  birds  would  repeat  the  per- 
formance throughout  the  day. 

As  the  young  birds  grew  in  size  and 
strength,  larger  insects  were  substitut- 
ed, and  in  the  course  of  a  single  day 
this  one  pair  of  redstarts  proved  their 
great  value  as  insect  exterminators  by 
consuming  hundreds  of  noxious  in- 
sects. 


Derelict  Cats. 

Few  city  dwellers  realize  the  evils 
resulting  from  the  neglect  of  cats  that 
are  for  a  time  kept  as  pets,  then  allow- 
ed to  wander.  This  is  well  illustrated 
from  our  experience  with  stray  cats 
within  the  boundaries  of  the  Zoologi- 
cal Park.  It  has  been  necessary  to  de- 
tail one  of  our  men  to  trap  neglected 
felines  that  have  taken  to  a  life  in  the 
woods  and  subsist  largely  upon  birds, 
young  rabbits  and  squirrels.  It  is  as- 
tounding to  note  the  actual  number  of 
cats  trapped  within  the  area  of  the 
Park  in  the  past  three  years.  Up  to 
the  end  of  November,  191 5,  we  had 
trapped  and  otherwise  destroyed  six 
hundred  and  two  cats  that  were  living 
and  hunting  in  the  Park.  The  Botani- 
cal Garden  reports  similar  conditions. 

When  we  consider  the  other  large 
areas  of  the  northern  city  parks  where 
hordes  of  cats  prowl  unmolested,  the 
extent  of  the  depredations  of  these 
bird-killing  creatures  may  be  esti- 
mated. Many  of  the  captured  cats 
are  gaunt,  savage  creatures  that 
through  a  marauding,  half-starved  and 


desperate  condition  are  a  real  menace 
to  full-grown  rabbits  and  squirrels; 
and  bird-hunting  is  their  constant  de- 
light. Occasionally,  also,  one  of  these 
cats  will  fight  a  human  enemy.  The 
writer  can  attest  this  by  an  experience 
when  a  tramp  cat  emerging  from  some 
foliage  deliberately  leaped  upward  and 
savagely  bit  his  hand.  Keeper  Roman- 
off, who  so  persistently  hunts  these 
animals,  has  several  times  been  attack- 
ed by  them. 

During  our  cat-hunting  work  we 
have  come  upon  a  surprising  number 
of  other  predatory  animals  in  the  Park. 
Our  lists  for  three  years  show  twenty- 
five  wild  racoons,  twenty-one  opos- 
sums, and  about  a  dozen  weasels. 
Although  in  a  dififerent  class,  from  the 
damage  they  do,  we  have  also  checked 
off  fourteen  muskrats. — "N.  Y.  Zoolo- 
gical Societv  Bulletin." 


The  Virginia  Agricultural  Experi- 
ment Station,  which  makes  a  specialty 
of  apples,  is  now  engaged  with  the 
problem  of  the  inheritance  of  time  of 
blossomine. 


Not  All  That's  Best  Can  Be  Bought. 

Not  all  that's  best  can  e'er  be  bought. 

But  it  can   be   so  aptly  sought. 

If  we  would  only  take  the  pains. 

And   ours,   at   least,   would   be   the   gains. 


The  sunrise  is  a  pageant  rare 

To   most  of   us.   as   on   we   fare : 

ft  only  means  an  early  rise. 

And  thrills  us  with  the  glad  surprise. 

The   bird   choir    in    the   early   morn. 

Mo    one    who    hears    could    feel    forlorn : 

The   ecstasy    would    well    repay 

A   woodland    walk   at    dawn    of   day. 

The  roadside  is  a  treasure-trove 
To   tliose   who   nature   truly   love: 
And   things   that  would   our  knowledge   foil. 
Are   founrl   in   one   square   foot  of   soil. 

The    trees    and    flowers,    the   birds    and    bees. 
What    interests    can    rival    these? 
A  look,  a  hook  to  interpret  them. 
.-\nd  in  each  one  we  find  a  gem. 

The    stars   that   spangle   all  the   sky, 
We    feel   them   there,   yet   pass   them   by: 
The   only   need,   an   upward   look 
To  rarest  page  of  Nature's  book. 

The  simplest  pleasures  are  the  best ; 
To  them  is  brought  an  added  zest. 
Of  joys  undreamed  of  at  the  start. 
.As  knowledge  reveals  the  heart 

— Emma  Peirce. 


326 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


The  Heavens  in  March. 

BY  PROFESSOR  ERIC  DOOLlTTLE  OE  THE 
UNIVERSITY  OE  PENNSYLVANIA. 

It  is  with  the  coming  of  March,  our 
first  spring  month,  that  the  slow  with- 
drawal of  the  bright  train  of  winter  con- 
stellations begins.  Orion,  Taurus  and 
Gemini  are  found  on  each  succeeding 
night  a  little  lower  in  the  west ;  the  beau- 


its  great  reddish  star,  Arcturus,  is  now 
seen  low  in  the  northeast :  above  this  the 
Great  Bear  has  reached  almost  its  highest 
position  in  the  heavens,  while  between 
and  below  these  two  groups  there  is 
found  the  wonderfully  beautiful  and  deli- 
cate little  maze  of  faint  stars  known  as 
Coma  Berenices,  or  the  Maiden's  Hair. 
The  long  Water  snake,  or  Hydra,  though 
it  now   stretches   from  the  southeastern 


SQUTH 


Figure   1.     The  Constellations  at   9   P.M.   March    1.      (If  facing  south,   hold  the 
upright.     If  facing  east,  hold  East  below.      If  facing  west,  hold  West  below.     If 


man  up    „ 

facing  north,  hold  the  map  inverted.) 


tiful  Dog  Stars  have  been  carried  well 
past  the  meridian,  and  the  golden  arch 
of  the  Milky  Way,  which  for  so  many 
months  has  passed  through  the  very 
zenith  of  the  heavens,  is  now  perceptibly 
sinking  westward  in  our  evening  sky. 
The'  large   constellation,   Bootes,   with 


horizon  almost  to  the  very  meridian,  has 
as  yet  dragged  but  half  of  its  great  length 
from  below  the  ground,  and  similarly  but 
one-half  of  Virgo,  the  first  of  the  train 
of  summer  groups,  has  so  far  appeared. 
Yet  the  whole  eastern  heavens  are  far 
less  conspicuous  than   they  were  a   few 


TO  KNOW"  TIIF.  STARRY  HEA\'E.\S 


}.^y 


months  ago ;  the  gradual  transformation 
of  the  winter  into  the  summer  skies  is 
already  clearly  under  waw 

Meanwhile  no  less  than  three  of  the 
"Wandering  Stars,"  or  planets,  still  shine 
brightly  in  our  evening  heavens.  Jupiter 
has  indeed  drawn  too  near  the  sun  to  be 
observed,  but  in  the  west  we  see  the 
exceedingly  brilliant  \'enus  ;  the  beautiful 
and  always  interesting  Saturn  is  high  in 
the  south,  while  only  a  little  way  to  the 
east  of  the  meridian  our  attention  is  at 
once  attracted  by  the  lurid,  almost  omin- 
ous, light  of  the  red  planet  ]\lars. 


The  Planet  Mars. 

Next  to  \'enus,  this  beautiful  world  is 
now  the  most  conspicuous  object  in  the 
evening  skies.  It  will  be  found  almost 
exactly  due  south  in  the  early  evening, 
very  near  the  border  line  between  the 
groups  Cancer  and  Leo.  This  planet  is 
now  nearly  three  times  as  bright  as  the 
golden  Saturn  near-by  and  it  is  six  times 
as  bright  as  the  neighboring  bluish  star, 
Regulus  ;  the  silvery  Venus,  however,  far 
exceeds  it,  for  this,  our  Sister  World, 
now  shines  in  the  west  with  fifteen  times 
the  brightness  of  the  planet  j\Iars. 

The  reader  who  has  been  watching  the 
interesting  motions  of  our  evening  plan- 
ets will  remember  how  very  rapidly  Alars 
ran  eastward  across  the  constellations 
until  by  January  i  it  had  advanced  well 
into  Leo  and  how  since  that  time  it  has 
been  moving  slowly  westward  again. 
This  westward — or  retrograde — motion 
will  cease  and  the  planet  begin  again  to 
move  eastward  on  the  twenty-second  of 
the  present  month,  but  throughout  all  of 
March  Mars  will  change  its  position 
among  the  stars  but  very  little. 

Even  in  a  small  telescope  the  white 
Polar  Caps,  of  this  planet  are  very  dis- 
tinctly visible,  while  if  the  seeing  is  good 
one  may  detect  the  Hour  Glass  Sea.  the 
Lake  of  the  Sun,  the  Great  South  Sea 
and  a  few  other  of  the  larger  surface 
markings.  But,  nevertheless,  except  in 
the  largest  glasses,  this  interesting  little 
world  is  a  rather  disappointing  object. 
]\Tars  is  so  small  a  world,  being  only  4230 
miles  in  diameter,  that  even  at  the  best 
it  looks  far  smaller  than  the  very  much 
larger,  though  far  more  distant.  Jupiter. 
And  besides  this,  its  markings  appear 
rather  as  indistinct  and  difiicult  shadings 
in  contrast  to  the  conspicuous  and  sharplv 
cut  markings  of  the  larger  planet. 


Yet  there  is  a  special  pleasure  in  a  pro- 
longed examination  of  a  difificult  object 
of  this  kind.  If  the  observer  will  devote 
perhaps  an  hour  or  more  to  this  task,  try- 
ing different  powers  and  patiently  wait- 
ing for  moments  of  unusual  seeing,  he 
will  gradually  detect  many  more  details 
than  he  would  have  supposed  possible 
from  a  first  brief  view. 

A  very  little  watching  will  show  him 
that   this   world   is   turning  around — the 


Figure  2.  Showing-  the  positions  of  the  Earth,  the 
Sun  and  Mars  when  the  two  planets  were  this  year 
nearly  together.  If  the  Earth  passes  Mars  when  the 
planets  are  in  the  region  marked  R,  the  approach  is 
evidently  a  much  closer  one. 


day  on  Alars  being  but  thirty-seven  min- 
utes longer  than  our  own.  Spring,  sum- 
mer, autumn  and  winter  also  succeed  one 
another  on  the  Red  Planet,  just  as  they 
do  with  us.  In  the  northern  hemisphere 
of  the  planet  the  sun  is  now  as  high  in  the 
heavens  as  it  is  with  us  in  May.  Here 
the  summer  is  at  hand,  their  longest  day 
— or  Summer  Solstice — occurring  (ac- 
cording to  our  earth-calendar)  during 
the  first  week  of  next  May.  In  the  south- 
ern hemisphere  of  the  planet  winter  is 
now  advancing.  Accordingly  the  south 
polar  cap  is  now  large  and  is  growing 
larger,  while  the  cap  around  the  north 
pole  is  melting  away. 

Nearly  the  whole  northern  hemisphere 
of  the  planet  is  of  a  yellow  or  orange 
shade,  while  the  so-called  seas  are  of  a 
grayish  or  greenish  color.  It  is  now 
practically  certain  that  the  former  are 
great  desert  regions ;  the  latter  are  cer- 
tainly not  water — as  was  at  first  thought 
— for  in  the  largest  telescopes  they  show 
a  great  mass  of  intricate  and  permanent 
detail.  Many  astronomers  believe  that 
they  are — at  least  in  part — regions  of 
some  sort  of  vegetation,  but  this  is  as  vet 


328 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


by  no  means  certain.  As  to  the  intricate 
network  of  lines  or  bands  of  the  same 
color  as  the  "seas"  which  cover  the  plan- 
et, these  interesting  but  mysterious  fea- 
tures are  far  beyond  the  power  of  a 
smaller  telescope. 


Figure  3.  Drawings  of  the  planet  Mars.  The  Syrtis 
Major,  or  Hourglass  "Sea,"  at  A,  the  Lake  of  the 
Sun,  at  B,  and  the  South  Sea,  at  C,  as  well  as  the 
Polar  Caps,  at  P,  can  be  seen  under  good  conditions 
in  comparatively  small  telescopes. 


Though  ^Nlars  passed  nearest  to  the 
earth  on  February  9,  and  although  it  has 
moved  but  a  little  way  along  its  orbit 
since  then,  the  present  is  unfortunately 
not  a  very  favorable  opposition.  The 
reason  for  this  will  be  evident  from  an 
examination  of  Figure  2.  The  sun  is  no 
less  than  thirteen  millions  of  miles  out- 
side the  center  of  the  nearly  round  orbit, 
so  that  if  the  earth  passes  Mars  when  this 
planet  is  at  the  most  remote  part  of  its 
path  the  two  worlds  will  be  twenty-six 
millions  of  miles  farther  apart  than  when 
their  approach  is  the  most  favorable.  In 
this  year  Mars  passes  aphelion — or  is 
farthest  from  the  sun — on  March  13. 


The  Zodiacal  Light. 

As  a  new  moon  occurs  on  March  3, 
the  last  days  of  February  and  the  first 
week  of  March  will  afford  the  observer 
excellent  moonless  nights  on  which  to 
look  for  this  most  interesting  object.  He 
should  go  out  of  doors  as  soon  after  sun- 
set as  the  western  sky  has  become  dark, 
and  having  fovmd  a  station  away  from 
all  electric  and  other  artificial  lights,  he 
should  face  directly  toward  the  western 
point  of  the  horizon.  He  will  then  see 
this  great,  faint  pyramid  of  light,  its  base 
resting  on  the  western  horizon  and  its 
apex  probably  extending  almost  to  the 
Pleiades.  It  will  probably  be  consider- 
ably fainter  than  that  bright  part  of  the 
Milky  Way  which  is  above  it,  though  the 
brightness  of  the  Zodiacal  light  often 
varies  suddenly  and  capriciously. 

This  faint  light  at  which  w^e  look  is  a 
real,  material  object,  being  nothing  less 
than  a  great  flattened  cloud  of  very  small 
density,  which  surrounds  the  sun  and  ex- 
tends out  into  space  beyond  the  orbit  of 
the  earth.  It  is  probable  that  its  sudden 
changes  of  brightness  are  electrical  in 
character,  and  they  are  probably  due  to 
great  electrical  disturbances  on  the  sun. 
If  so  they  should  be  especially  marked 
during  the  present  year  when  sunspots 
are  most  numerous. 


The  Planets  in  March. 

Mercury  reaches  its  greatest  distance 
west  of  the  sun  on  March  i,  and  during 
the  first  part  of  the  month  may  be  seen 
in  the  dawn  for  about  an  hour  before 
sunrise.  It  will  not  pass  to  the  east  of 
the  sun  and  become  an  evening  star  until 
April  14. 

A^enus  is  the  most  beautiful  object  now 
in  the  evening  heavens.  The  observer  will 
notice  that  this  planet  is  now  moving  very 
rapidly  eastward  and  northward  among 
the  stars  so  that  by  the  end  of  the  month 
it  will  set  far  in  the  northwest  and  shine 
in  our  evening  skies  until  four  hours  after 
sunset.  It  will  attain  its  greatest  distance 
east  of  the  sun  on  April  24.  and  through- 
out the  entire  spring  it  will  grow  con- 
tinually more  brilliant,  not  attaining  its 
greatest  brightness  until  May  27.  In  the 
telescooe  Venus  now  resembles  the  moon 
when  this  is  a  little  more  than  half  full. 

Tupiter,  which  has  shone  in  our  evening 
skies   for  so  many  months,   is  now  lost 


TO  KNO^^^  THE  STARRY  HEAYEXS 


329 


in  the  sun's  rays  and  cannot  be  well  ob- 
served. It  will  pass  to  the  west  of  the 
sun  and  become  a  morning  star  on 
April  I. 

Saturn  remains  in  the  center  of  the 
constellation  Gemini  in  excellent  position 
for  observation. 

On  March  20,  at  5  hours  47  minutes 
P.M.  (Eastern  Standard  Time)  the 
center  of  the  sun  will  cross  the  equator 
and  at  this  instant  spring  will  begin.  This 
day  and  the  following  night  will  be  of 
equal  lengths. 

The  occurrence  of  Easter  during  the 
present  year  is  very  late  because  it  hap- 
pens that  a  full  moon  falls  on  INIarch  19. 
only  one  day  before  the  X'ernal  Equinox. 
The  date  of  Easter  is  fixed  as  that  of  the 
first  Sunday  after  the  first  full  moon 
which  follows  the  Vernal  Equinox.  The 
first  full  moon  after  ]\Iarch  20  occurs  this 
year  on  Tuesday,  April  18.  Accordingly 
it  is  the  following  Sunday,  April  23, 
which  is  celebrated  as  Easter  Sunday. 


A  Sun  Fades  Away. 

BY  EDWARD  F.   BIGELOW. 

Long  before  you  were  born,  unless  you 
are  more  than  sixty-three  years  old,  an 
event  took  place,  an  event  that  on  Thurs- 
day, March  i6th,  evening  at  ten  minutes 
past  nine  (Eastern  Standard  Time)  will 
have  its  effect  upon  the  earth.  Some 
sixty-three  years  ago,  although  nobody 
can  tell  exactly  when,  there  was  shining 
in  its  full  brightness  in  distant  space  a 
sun  fifty-one  times  brighter  than  our  sun 
and  almost  one  and  a  half  times  the 
diameter  of  ours ;  it  was  one  and  one- 
quarter  million  miles  in  diameter.  Trav- 
elling around  this  sun  was  another  not 
so  bright.  This  was  840,000  miles  in 
diameter  but  probably  about  six  times 
brighter  than  our  sun.  If  we  should  use 
a  little  human  fancy,  we  might  say  that 
this  darker  sun  was  envious  of  the  bright- 
er sun,  but  the  darker,  being  not  so  large 
as  the  brighter,  and  being  located  about 
three  and  one-half  million  miles  from  the 
brighter,  had  to  content  itself  with  merely 
dimming  the  light  until  there  was  not 
much  left  to  pass  into  space,  and  for  a 
time  it  intercepted  some  of  the  light  that 
was  streaming  into  infinity. 

If  vou  were  on  the  roof,  with  a  hose 
that  had  a  stoocock  at  the  nozzle,  and 
you  turned  off  the  water,  and  imme- 
diatelv  turned  it  on  again,  a  vacant  space 
would  appear  between  the  nozzle  and  the 
end  of  the  fallinsf  stream  of  water,  and 


an  appreciable  period  of  time  would 
elapse  before  the  cut  off  stream  could 
reach  the  ground,  and  that  empty  space 
would  remain  empty  until  you  again 
turned  on  the  water. 

Light  travels  faster  than  that  stream 
While  you  wink,  a  ray  of  light  might 
travel  seven  times  around  the  earth.  For 
ages  that  dimmed  light  stream  has  at 
regular  intervals  been  coming  toward  us 
at  the  rate  of  175,000  miles  a  second.  We 
are  not  able  to  realize  such  rapidity,  but 
day  and  night,  year  after  year,  from  the 
time  when  you  were  a  baby  in  arms, 
when  you  were  going  to  school,  when  you 
started  in  business,  while  you  were  ex- 
periencing the  vicissitudes  common  to  us 
all,  that  faint  light  has  been  streaming 
toward  us,  continuously,  persistently, 
regularly,  and  it  will  reach  us  at  ten 
minutes  past  nine  o'clock  on  Thursday 
evening',  March  i6th.  You  can  then  go 
put  and  see  what  happened  decades  ago 
in  that  inconceivably  distant  space.  No 
astronomer  can  tell  you  exactly  when  it 
happened.  He  can  only  say  probably 
about  sixty-two  and  one-half  years  ago. 
He  can  tell  you  to  the  minute  when  that 
dim  section  of  the  light  "stream"  will 
reach  this  earth.  It  will  be  at  ten  minutes 
past  nine  on  the  evening  of  March  i6th. 
From  that  time  on,  for  a  little  over  an 
hour,  the  light  will  steadily  increase  as 
the  result  of  that  darker  sun  going  by 
the  brighter  sun  decades  ago. 

Every  reader  will  recognize  in  this  an 
astonishing  event,  an  amazing  connection 
of  the  present  with  the  remote  past,  but 
there  is  still  another  fact  even  more 
astonishing:  only  a  comparatively  few 
will  see  this  marvelous  occurrence.  It  is 
is  none  the  less  wonderful  because  this 
dimming  of  the  light  stream  becomes  ap- 
parent on  the  earth  so  regularly  that 
those  who  are  fond  of  observing  it  have 
discovered  that  its  period  is  two  days, 
twenty  hours,  forty-eight  minutes  and 
fifty-five  and  four-tenths  seconds.  But 
a  difficulty  that  enters  is  the  fact  that  we 
cannot  observe  it  at  all  times,  because  the 
dimming  often  occurs  by  day  or  when 
our  side  of  the  earth  is  turned  away  from 
the  star.  But  do  not  miss  this  opportu- 
nitv  to  see  this  remargable  event-  If  you 
will  look  in  the  northwestern  skv  toward 
tb?it  beautiful  cluster  that  resembles  a  big 
fishhook,  that  the  old  observers  call  by 
the  more  dignified  title  of  "King  Per- 
seus," then  a  little  to  the  north  you  will 
see  this  huge  sun.  You  mav  fix  vour  eve 


330 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


upon  all  the  stars  in  that  immediate  vicin- 
ity, and  you  will  have  no  trouble  to  see 
the  one  that  winks  his  eye  at  you.  It  has 
been  thus  winkin,g-  regularly  through  the 
ages  and  will  continue  to  do  so.  That 
darker  sun  will  continue  to  revolve 
around  its  bright  companion  in  an  appar- 
ent effort  to  extinguish  its  rays.  It  suc- 
ceeds temporarily.  We  see  the  event  only 
when  the  darker  sun  passes  between  us 
and  the  bright  one.  If  you  care  to  know 
more  about  this,  look  up  Algol  in  any 
book  of  stars. 


A  Reminder  of  the  Southern  Cross. 

Washta,  Iowa. 
To  the  Editor: 

Just  after  Sirius  crosses  the  meridan 
in    the    latter    part    of    February    and 


lation  are  mucli  brighter,  three  being 
of  the  second  magnitude.  Neither  of 
these  crosses  has  a  central  star  as  in 
the  Northern  Cross  in  Cygnus. 

I  lived  for  twenty  years  thirteen  de- 
grees north  of  the  equator  (Barbados, 
British  West  Indies)  where  I  could 
see  the  Southern  Cross,  about  thirty 
degrees  above  the  horizon.  And  away 
up  here  in  the  frigid  northwest,  at  this 
time  of  the  year,  I  always  hail  the  cross 
that  I  have  described  as  it  brings  up 
strong  memories  of  my  island  home  in  the 
tropics. 

Fred  S.  Carrington. 

^;  H^  ^  ^:  ;|: 

This  statement  of  Mr.  Carrington  is 
entirely  correct  throughout.  As  the 
savs,  this  cross  is  somewhat  too  much 


SATURN,    THAT    BEAUTIFUL   RINGED    PLANET. 
A  remarkable  photograph  by  Mr.   Barnard  at  the  Mt.  Wilson   Observatory.      Sent  by   the  Yerkes  Observatory. 


March,  a  little  to  the  south  and  east  of 
that  star  is  a  cross  formed  by  three 
stars  of  Canis  Major :  Delta  at  the  top 
of  the  cross  is  a  third  magnitude  star ; 
Epsilon,  forming  the  right  hand  arm. 
a  second  magnitude ;  and  Eta  to  the 
left,  a  third  magnitude.  The  star  form- 
ing the  foot  of  the  cross  is  Pi  of  the 
constellation  Puppis,  a  third  magnitude 
star  and  a  naked  eye  double.  On  a 
clear  evening  these  four  stars,  about 
fifteen  and  twenty  degrees  above  the 
horizon,  form  a  very  conspicuous  cross. 
They  have  always  attracted  my 'atten- 
tion, reminding  me  very  much  of  the 
Southern  Cross,  the  four  stars  being 
almost  in  a  similar  position.  The 
Southern  Cross  is  not  quite  as  long, 
and  of  course  the  stars  in  that  constel- 


elongated,  and  it  also  wants  a  central 
star  midway  between  Epsilon  and  Eta. 
Our  Northern  Cross  has  such  a  star 
and  is  in  fact,  a  very  much  better  pro- 
portioned cross  than  the  Southern 
Cross.  This  region  of  Canis  Major  is 
rich  in  beautiful  star  clusters  and  star 
streams.  The  most  beautiful  and  strik- 
ing cluster  is  almost  in  a  straight  line 
between  Sirius  and  Epsilon,  one-third 
of  the  way  down  from  the  Dog  Star. 
It  has  a  red  star  near  its  center  and  its 
structure  is  most  complex  and  inter- 
esting, even  in  a  small  telescope. — Ed. 


Only  give  the  time  to  Nature, 
That  you  spend  on  lesser  things; 

Like  a  miracle  will  seem 

The  satisfaction  that  it  brings. 

— Emma  Peirce. 


TO  KNOW  THE  STARRY  HE  WEXS 


331 


The  Interest  in  Astronomy. 

1!Y  S.    C.    IlUXTliK^    NEW   ROCIIELLE, 
NEW    YORK. 

In  a  recent  issue  of  "The  Monthly 
Evening-  Sky  Map,"  'Sir.  Leon  Barritt 
asks,  "What  is  the  matter  with  astron- 
omy ?"  Astronomy  is  not  taught  in  gram- 
mar schools  nor  in  high  schools,  and  in 
colleges  and  universities  it  is  elective.  He 
thinks  that  the  general  indifference  is 
owing  to  the  manner  in  which  the  subject 
is  presented,  and  to  the  parents'  desire 
to  have  their  children  follow  courses  that 
have  a  more  commercial  value. 

Whatever  the  reason  may  be.  there  is 
no  doubt  about  the  general  absence  of 
the  most  elementary  knowdedge  on  this 
subject,  not  with  the  college  graduate 
only  but  with  the  man  on  the  street. 
When  we  consider  that  no  other  science 
combines  the  spectacular  and  the  infinite 
in  such  marvelous  varieties,  the  problem 
of  this  almost  universal  apathy  becomes 
difficult  to  understand.  There  is,  how- 
ever, a  fact  that  should  not  be  overlooked, 
one  that  I  feel  accounts  in  some  degree 
for  this  indifference.  This  is  our  modern 
manner  of  living.  It  should  not  be  for- 
gotten ,that  knowledge  of  the  heavenly 
bodies  came  originally  from  a  pastoral 
people.  It  is  of  the  Arabians,  whose  clear 
skies  and  desert  life  made  them  familiar 
with  the  stars,  that  it  is  written.  "He 
whose  roof  is  heaven,  who  has  no  other 
cover,  over  whom  the  stars  continually 
rise  and  set  in  one  and  the  same  course 
makes  the  beg"inning  of  his  affairs  and  his 
knowledge  of  time  depend  upon  them." 

We  are  an  urban  people.  The  glare  of 
the  street  lights  and  the  marvelous  elec- 
trical advertisements  that  flash  into  our 
faces  from  the  street  corners  and  the 
housetoDS  deprive  the  rank  and  file  of  the 
possibility  of  searching  the  heavens  for 
those  other  lights  that  are  either  entirely 
blotted  out  or  are  reduced  to  an  insigni- 
ficant blur. 

For  those  of  us  who  are  lucky  enough 
to  live  in  the  country  it  is  left  to  enter 
into  the  appreciation  of  star  gazing.  It 
is  a  privilege  to  be  in  a  location  that  may 
be  thus  utilized.  Even  a  little  knowdedge 
is  a  wonderful  thing,  even  only  a  bowing 
acouaintance  with  trees,  flowers,  rocks. 
What  a  zest  it  gives  to  the  act  of  living! 
We  observe  this  and  that  as  we  walk 
through  the  fields,  and  we  understand, 
possibly  not  in  whole,  but  at  least  in  part. 
So  it  is  with  the  stars.  A  complete  knowl- 
edge is  not  necessary.    Think  how  impos- 


sible that  would  be.  We  are  actually  in 
touch  visually  with  the  infinite.  New 
methods,  new  devices  are  daily  bringing 
new  discoveries  to  view  and  probing 
deeper  and  deeper  into  the  vast  recesses 
of  space.  The  more  we  know,  the  more 
appalling  is  our  ignorance,  yet  we  may 
quietly   enjoy   the   wonderful   panoramic 


MR.     HUNTER'S    OBSERVATORY    AT    NEW 
ROCHELLE,  NEW  YORK. 

display  that  rolls  above  our  heads  on  any 
clear  night,  and  now  and  then  nod  to  a 
friendly,  twinkling  eye  about  which  we 
do  know  something,  just  enough  to  make 
thrilling  this  acquaintanceship  in  the 
upper  vastness. 

Except  for  the  technical  knowledge, 
which  is  of  course  necessary,  books  should 
play  a  minor  part  in  our  star  work.  It 
is  with  a  small  telescqpe  that  the  beauties 
of  the  starry  heavens  ma}^  be  revealed. 
Reading  about  the  delights  of  travel  is 
an  excellent  thing  provided  .we  cannot 
travel.  To  use  a  telescope  is  really  to 
travel.  We  literally  see  the  wonderful 
sights  and  actually  experience  all  the 
thrills.  It  is  difficult  to  describe  the  pecu- 
liar sensation  of  sitting'  at  the  eyepiece 
of  a  telescope  in  the  quiet  of  a  cloudless 
night  to  watch  the  moving  shadow  of 
one  of  Jupiter's  satellites  slowdy  trailing 
across  the  colored  cloud  belts,  or  great 
Saturn's  shadow  edge  thrown  against  the 
white  surface  of  the  encircling  rings. 
Although  these  enormous  bodies  are 
swinging  in  their  orbits  with  iticredible 
speed,  and  an  hundred  million  miles 
away,  one  is  impressed  by  the  feeling  that 
one  is  suspended  in  space  from  some  in- 
visible vantage  point  to  watch  their  noise- 


332 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


less  passage.  The  use  of  a  telescope  pro- 
duces the  sensation  of  being  projected 
into  ispace  in  the  guise  of.  a  softly  flitting 
spirit.  It  is  the  nearest  approach  imagin- 
able to  what  we  might  expect  would  be 
the  sensation  of  the  spirit  after  its  release 
from  its  mortal  habitat. 

I  have   found  that  definite  work  is  a 
great    stimulus    to   one's    interest   in   the 


Canst  thou   liinil  tlie   sweet   influencrf 
Job   xxxviii,   31. 


of   Pleiades 


stars.  There  are  many  notable  objects  to 
'be  investigated.  These  are  all  classified 
and  many  different  fields  are  available  for 
study.  My  interest  at  present  is  among 
the  variable  stars.  I  have  a  little  stellar 
family  which  varies  in  magnitude  from 
month  to  month.  These  stars  I  must  ex- 
amine critically  each  month  to  determine 
by  certain  comparisons  whether  they  have 
become  less  or  more  brilliant,  and  to  re- 
port any  change  in  their  magnitude.  The 
work  becomes  a  sort  of  adventure.  The 
field  must  be  located  and  the  star  found. 
Sometimes  a  star  that  was  bright  when 
last  observed  is  not  visible,  having'appar- 
ently  totally  disappeared.  At  another 
time  where  no  star  was  visible  at  the  last 
observation,  will  appear  a  beautiful  speck 
of  red  or  orange  light. 

It  is  unfortunate  that  the  best  time  for 
observing  the  heavens  is  during  Decem- 
ber.   January    and    early    February — co- 


incident with  the  coldest  nights  of  the 
year.  At  nine  degrees  above  zero  I  have 
stood  in  my  observatory  for  two  hours  in 
the  course  of  my  regular  monthly  work, 
but  even  cold  feet  and  numb  fingers  can 
scarcely  abate  the  enthusiasm,  when  the 
stars  seem  almost  to  speak  in  their  scin- 
tillating brilliancy. 

I  have  mentioned  as  one  of  the  striking 
convictions  of  astronomy  the  element  of 
infinity.  The  Psalmist  has  said,  "A  thous- 
and years  in  thy  sight  are  but  as  yester- 
dan  when  it  is  past."  A  look  into  the 
heavens  conveys  a  similar  idea  in  regard 
to  the  Creator's  indifference  to  space.  We 
cannot  conceive  of  anything  that  is  not 
in  some  way  limited,  yet  just  above  our 
heads,  on  any  clear  night,  there  is  a  view 
that  is  absoKitely  free  from  any  limita- 
tions of  which  the  human  mind  has  ken. 
No  telescope,  in  combination  with  that 
other  marvelous  aid,  the  camera,  has  yet 
probed  this  evidence  of  the  infinite,  and 
as  we  contemplate  man's  constantly 
changing  theories  of  the  significance  of 
the  various  stellar  phenomena'  we  are 
forced  to  conclude  in  devout  admiration 
that  surely,  "The  heavens  declare  the 
glory  of  God  ;  and  the  firmament  showeth 
his  handvwork." 


(from  the  editor). 
This  question  of  the  lack  of  popular 
interest  in  the  subject  of  astronomy  has 
been  discussed  by  a  variety  of  publica- 
tions and  educators.  In  explaining  its 
banishment  from  the  schools,  it  is  not 
enough  to  say  that  it  is  a  mental  and  not 
a  utilitarian  science.  The  schools  include 
many  things  that  are  not  directly  related 
to  life.  If  one  were  to  venture  to  cross 
out  everything  that  is  not  utilitarian,  I 
fear  that  the  schedule  would  be  left  pretty 
nearly  Ijlank.  ]\Iuch  arithmetic  would  be 
eliminated,  with  considerable  grammar, 
and  such  studies  as  algebra,  geometry, 
foreign  history,  with  some  geography,  as 
well  as  a  number  of  others.  But  the 
schools  very  commendably  do  not  elimi- 
nate studies  that  pertain  to  strictly  mental 
training.  They  have,  let  it  be  to  their 
credit,  not  commercialized  the  whole 
thing.  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the 
trouble,  especially  in  the  low'er  grades,  is 
the  difficulty  of  having  the  child  grasp 
the  subject.  In  the  high  school,  it  has 
been  made,  as  it  has  been  made  in  college- 
nlmost  wholly  a  mathematical  pursuit. 
One   feels  like   deciding-  that  astronomv 


T( )  KX(  )\V  THE  STARRY  I IKWEXS 


333 


THE  NEBULA  IN  PLEIADES   SHOWN   BY  PHOTOGRAPHY. 

This  photograph  and  the  one  on  the  previous  page  are  from  the  Yerkes  Observatory. 


ranks  with  music  as  a  cultural  pleasure 
for  those  that  can  enjoy  it.  The  trouble 
enters  when  we  notice  that  comparatively 
few  have  the  proper  mentality  for  the  en- 
joyment of  "the  music  of  the  spheres." 

In  guiding-  visitors  at  the  new  Sound 
Beach  Astronomical  Observatory,  I  am 
more  and  more  impressed  by  the  fact  that 
the  telescope  is  a  disappointment  to  most 


persons.  They  think  that  a  star  will  be 
magnified  until  it  will  resemble  gorgeous 
fireworks,  and  when  they  are  told  that 
even  the  best  and  largest  glasses  show  a 
fixed  star  as  only  a  fine  point  of  light, 
they  ask.  "What  is  the  use  of  all  this 
equipment  then?  1  can  see  as  well  as 
that  without  a  telescope." 

The  amateur  astronomer  regards  Jupi- 


334 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


ter  and  Saturn  and  the  nebula  of  Orion 
as  among  the  most  spectacular  things  in 
the  heavens,  but  the  average  visitor  is 
prepared  to  compare  them  with  the 
Fourth  of  July  pyrotechnics.  Time  and 
again,  after  gazing  at  that  world  thirteen 
hundred  times  as  large  as  the  earth,  with 
its  four  conspicuous  satellites,  or  at  that 
wonderful  ringed  world,  the  spectator 
has  asked,  "Is  that  all  we  are  going  to 
see  ?" 

Recently,  in  showing  the  moon  in  favor- 
able circumstances,  at  first  quarter,  an 
intelligent  lady  said  in  a  disappointed 
tone,  "It  is  quite  pretty ;  looks  like  a  piece 
of  lace !'"  To  think  that  while  she  was 
looking  at  volcanoes  seventy  or  eighty 
miles  in  diameter-  and  at  mountain 
ranges  six  or  seven  hundred  miles  long, 
she  could  even  think  of  a  "piece  of  lace  !" 
A  clear  headed,  efficient  business  man 
visited  the  ohservatory,  and  thoroughly 
enjoyed  everything  that  was  shown.  He 
had  read  considerablv  in  astronomv  and 


could  appreciate  the  signification  of  whai 
he  saw.  I  told  him  that  most  persons  are 
disappointed,  that  the  majority  expect  to 
see  the  moon  as  big  as  an  elephant,  and 
Jupiter  and  its  satellites  at  least  as  big  as 
a  railroad  train. 

"You  are  disappointed,"  he  said,  "be- 
cause so  many  expect  so  much  more  than 
they  can  see,  and  so  few  seem  interested. 
You  say  that  curiosity  prompts  them  to 
come  once  or  twice,  and  that  a  casual 
glance  seems  to  satisfy  them.  I  can  ex- 
plain. This  is  a  place  for  mental  pleasure 
and  for  the  seeing  of  things  with  a  men- 
tal eye.  Many  who  have  good  mental 
eyes,  or  what  are  usually  called  brains, 
use  them  all  day,  and  when  the  evening 
comes  they  desire  a  change.  Another 
class  has  not  yet  learned  to  find  either 
their  work  or  their  pleasure  in  the  use 
of  their  brains.  The  success  of  this  ob- 
servatory will  depend  partly  upon  your 
ability  to  teach  the  people  to  see  things 
mentally,  and  largely  upon  their  ability 
to  find  pleasure  in  such  seeing." 


The  Sound  Beach  Astronomical  Observatory  is  Com- 
pleted and  All  Bills  are  Paid 

The   Total   Cost $1,239.63 

Total  of  Contributions 1,042.43 


Borrowed  from  the  AA  General $    197.20 

(Our  friends  will  kindly  aid  on  this  amount  that  is  needed  for  current  expenses 
of  the  general  work  of  The  Agassiz  Association.) 


Classified  Contributions. 

Sound  Beach $  101.85 

Greenwich    221.00 

Stamford    152.00 

Elsewhere  in  Connecticut  .  .  59-00 

California i.oo 

Maine    .20 

Massachusetts    176.00 

Missouri   10.00 

New    Jersey    20.00 

New  York   1 13-50 

Ohio    179.88 

Oklahoma    5.00 

Pennsylvania    ii.oo 

Texas    2.00 


Paid 
Telescope  and  Accessories   .  .$    778.00 
Clerical  Work,  Printing  and 

Postage    98-25 

Foundation,      Building     and 

Furnishings 363.38 


Total   Pledged    $1,052.43 

Unpaid    10.00 


Total  Cost .$1,239.63 

Continued  Contributions. 
Masters  Edwin  Warren  and 

Robert      Newton      Lewis, 

Greenwich    $        i.OO 

King's    Daughters'   Circle   of 

Sound  Beach 5.00 

Mr.  John  H.  Sage,  Portland, 

Conn 5.00 


Total 


11.00 


Collected .$1,042.43 

Borrowed     from     the     AA  ^^       -       ,  ,  ,    ,      ,         ^ 

General    197.20     Previously  acknowledged    ...$1,041.43 


Total  Cost   $1,239.63  Grand  Total $1,052.43 


PEDAGOGICAL 


335 


■^ 


EDAGOGICAL 


Snowflake    Paper    Cutting. 

Erie,    Pennsylvania. 
To  the  Editor : 

I  am  pleased  to  send  yon  my  ])lan 
for  a  snowflake  paper  cutting  lesson, 
trusting  it  may  give  some  one  a  little 
pleasure,  as  I  assure  you  we  have  had 
much  in  doing  it. 

I  gave  the  lesson  to  the  children  in 
the  Fresh  Air  school,  and  two  weeks 
after  that,  Miss  King,  the  teacher, 
asked  the  children  to  write  about  some- 
thing they  had  learned  recently.  The 
day  you  gave  your  lecture  here  and 
mentioned  snowflakes,  she  told  me  of 
one  boy's  composition.  At  my  request 
she  gave  it  to  me  and  I  am  sending  it 
to  you  herewith  that  you  may  see  the 
lesson  gave  a  good  impression. 

*!*         'K         -i*         'K         -i' 

Winter. 

Winter  is  the  season  that  all  boys 
and  girls  like.  December  is  the  best 
month  of  the  twelve,  because  it  brings 
the  ice  and  snow. 

Snow  is  like  the  milkweed  seed  sail- 
ing aroimd  in  the  air,  they  move  so 
quietly  without  a  sound.  Because  the 
snowflakes  help  each  other  and  work 
together  they  make  a  big  drift. 

If  boys  and  girls  would  follow  the 
example  of  tiny  snowflakes  they  would 
accomplish    many   things. 

Reed  Stinson. 

*        *        *         *        :)c 

Beside  the  interest  and  attention  in 
the  drawing  and  cutting.  T  am  sure  we 
can  lead  the  children  not  only  to  love 
the  beautiful  literature  of  Emerson. 
Bryant  and  Thoreau,  but  also  to  learn 
something  of  the  laws  of  nature  and  in 
so  doing  to  be  inspired  with  love  and 
reverence   for  the   Creator. 

My  plan  for  teaching  snowflake  pa- 
l)er  cutting  is  as  follows : 

T  give  each  pupil  several  pieces  of 
thin  white  paper  three  and  one-half 
inches  square,  pencil  and  scissors.  We 
fold  the  square  as  in  Fig.  IT,  fold  again 
as  in  Fig.  Ill  and  draw  a  curved  line 
as  in  Fig.  IV.     With  the  scissors  we 


cut  on  the  curved  line  without  unfold- 
ing the  paper.  We  then  fold  it  in  three 
equal  parts  as  shown  by  the  dotted 
lines  in  Fig.  V,  draw  as  in  Fig.  I  (a), 
and  cut  on  the  lines.  The  folded 
edges  are  held  firmly  together  while 
cutting  and  we  turn  the  paper,  not  the 
scissors.  The  paper  is  then  carefully 
opened. 

I  have  a  magazine  illustration  show- 
ing Mr.  Bentley  and  the  apparatus  that 
he  uses  to  photograph  snowflakes,  also 
ten  of  his  photographs  which  I  show  to 
the  children  and  lead  them  to  discover 
that  each  snowflake  has  six  points  and 
six  sides.  I  tell  them  that  Mr.  Bentley 
says  he  has  made  over  two  thousand 
photographs  with  no  two  alike,  and 
again  quoting  from  Mr.  Bentley  give 
them  the  following  facts : 

"Water  is  nature's  most  precious 
gift  to  earth,  next  to  life  itself.  Hence 
it  is  peculiarly  fitting  that  this  most 
iDeneficent  substance  should  assume 
such  beautiful  and  varied  forms. 

"Of  all  the  water  forms  snow  is  the 
most  remarkable.  Snow  crystals 
'snowflakes)  form  at  various  heights 
from  a  few  thousand  feet  to  several 
miles.  Their  size  is  ordinarily  between 
one-fourth  and  one-twentieth  of  an 
inch  in  diameter. 

"All  have  six  points  and  six  sides 
and  the  mysterious  laws  that  govern 
in  cloudland  seem  to  decree  that  the 
rate  \of  growth  shall  determine  the 
structure-  Those  that  grow  rapidly  as- 
sume open,  branching  forms,  while 
those  that  form  slowly  are  more  solid." 
Before  beginning  the  lesson,  the  fol- 
lowing quotations  are  placed  on  the 
blackboard : 
"Help  one  another."  the  snowflake  said. 

As  it  slowly  sank  to  its  fleecy  bed. 
"One  of  us  here  would  not  be  felt. 
One  of  us  here  would  quickly  melt, 
But  I'll  help  you.  and  you  help  me. 
And  see !  what  a  splendid  drift  there 
will  be." 


336 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


F/>:  r. 


F'g.'Z.  F's:lS  f'SW 

DIAGRAMS    FOR   FOLDING   AND    CUTTING    THE    PAPER    FOR    SNOWFLAKE    DESIGNS. 


There  is  nothing  handsomer  than  a      See  that  thou  bring  not  to  field  or  stone 


snowflake    and    a    dewdrop.— Thoreau. 
Delicate  snow  stars  out  of  the  cloud, 
Come  floating  downward  in  airy  play 
Like    spangles    dropping   from   the   glis- 
tening crowd. 
That  whitens  by  night  the  milky  way. 

— Brvant. 


The  fancies  found  in  books; 
Leave    author's    eyes    and    fetch    your 
own, 
To  brave  the  landscape's  looks. 

— Emerson. 

Sincerely, 

Emma  E.  Crook. 


PEDAGOGTCAT. 


337 


II  III 


.\XSN'I.\  AN  l.\. 


338 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


Nature  as  well  as  Revelation  Reveals 
God. 

BY  EDWARD  F.  BIGELOW,  ArcAdiA  :  SOUND 
BEACH^  CONNECTICUT. 

For  forty  years  the  motto  of  The 
Agassiz  Association  has  been  Per  Natu- 
ram  ad  Deum ;  that  is,  to  find  God,  one 
should  first  question  nature.  Finding  in 
that  respect  gives  a  firmer  foundation 
than  revelation  alone.  Let  nature  tell  her 
own  story  of  the  Deity  that  produced  her. 
We  have  always  laid  especial  stress  upon 
this.  Her  answer  is  more  influential  than 
human  arguments.  We  have  never  dis- 
played the  slightest  disposition  to  argue 
that  nature  is  a  revealer  of  God.  We  have 
deemed  it  sufficient  to  let  our  motto  an- 
nounce the  self-evident  proposition. 

Within  the  last  few  years  many  pleas- 
ing instances  have  come  to  the  editor  of 
this  magazine,  of  the  manner  in  which  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  is  emphasizing 
the  fact  that  to  read  nature  before  read- 
ing revelation  is  a  fruitful  method  of  be- 
coming acquainted  with  God. 

After  years  of  careful  seeking  for  any 
manifestations  in  the  Protestant  Church- 
es of  emphasis  placed  upon  the  observa- 
tion of  nature  as  a  revealer  of  God,  we 
must  confess  that  we  have  found  little. 
A  few  years  ago,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Priddv  of 
the  Methodist  Church,  Stamford,  held  a 
prayer  meeting  devoted  to  nature.  In  his 
report  of  this  unique  eft'ort  he  spoke  of  its 
remarkable  success,  but,  so  far  as  we 
know,  the  meeting  has  not  been  repeated, 

Two  churches  in  Stamford,  the  Pres- 
byterian and  the  First  Congregational, 
have  been  favored  by  their  pastors  with 
sermons  on  nature  as  a  revealer  of  God, 
and  others  are  promised,  or  the  subject 
has  been  referred  to  favorably. 

The  prominence  given  to  the  observa- 
tion of  nature  as  a  part  of  religious  in- 
struction in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
has  been  strongly  impressed  upon  the 
editor  by  the  numerous  requests  that  he 
has  received  for  lectures  to  be  delivered 
at  Sacred  Heart  Convents  and  similar 
Institutions.  Within  a  vear  he  has  twice 
visited  St.  ^Mary's  College,  Monroe, 
Michigan,  there  spending  several  days  in 
calling  the  attention  of  almost  three  hun- 


dred pupils  to  the  pursuit,  and  on  the 
second  visit  interesting  some  six  hundred 
nuns  by  similar  addresses.  Courses  of 
lectures  have  been  delivered  for  several 
successive  years  in  the  Sacred  Heart 
Convents  of  New  York  City,  and  invita- 
tions have  been  received  from  convents 
in  Detroit,  Rochester  and  Providence.  No 
one  that  loves  nature  and  believes  the 
motto  of  The  Agassiz  Association  can 
fail  to  appreciate,  nor  to  be  inspired  by 
the  prominence  that  these  Catholic  Insti- 
tutions are  giving  to  the  observation  of 
nature  and  to  the  study  of  natural  science. 

Recently  the  editor,  during  a  call  on 
Alessrs.  Williams,  Brown  &  Earle,  a 
prominent  firm  of  opticians  in  Philadel- 
phia, made  this  inquiry,  "Do  you  think 
that  microscopy  is  holding  its  own?" 

The  reply,  after  a  moment  of  careful 
thought,  was,  "I  think  that  the  use  of 
the  microscope  in  strict  biology  may  be 
increasing  in  some  of  our  educational  in- 
stitutions, but  it  is  decreasing  as  a  matter 
of  popular  interest.  I  am  glad  to  state, 
however,  that  astronomy  is  picking-  up, 
not  only  popularly  but  especially  in 
Catholic  Institutions." 

Other  inquiries  elsewhere  confirmed 
these  statements.  If  there  is  any  one 
Institution  that  has  the  right,'  or  even  the 
desire  to  put  revelation  before  nature,  it 
should  be  the  Catholic  Church  which  for 
so  many  years  was  the  sole  conservator 
of  Holy  Writ.  To  the  naturalist  the  en- 
couraging fact  is  that  this  church  states 
in  the  canon  adopted  at  the  general  coun- 
cil in  1870: 

'Tf  any  one  shall  say  that  the  true  God, 
Our  Creator  and  Lord,  cannot  be  cer- 
tainly known  by  the  natural  light  of 
human  reason  through  created  things ; 
let  him  be  anathema." 

The  prominence  thus  given  to  the  ob- 
servation of  nature  is  also  voiced  in  the 
January  number  of  "The  Catholic  Edu- 
cational Review,"  in  an  interesting-  article 
entitled,  "Physical  and  Social  Heredity." 
The  writer  says : 

"Mental  life  in  common  with  all  other 
forms  of  life  grows  by  what  it  feeds 
upon.  Now  the  food  required  for  the 
nourishment  and  development  of  man's 
conscious  life  is  to  be  found  in  the  fol- 
lowing four  sources  :  First,  in  the  truth 
and  beauty  and  goodness  of  the  Creator 
as  reflected  in  nature ;  secondly,  in  the 
direct  revelation  of  the  truth  and  beauty 
and  goodness  of  God  that  reaches  the  in- 
dividual through  revealed  religion  ;  third. 


PER  XATURAM  AD  DEUM 


339 


in  art  regarded  as  the  concrete  embodi- 
ment of  human  thoug'ht  and  action : 
fourth,  in  the  manifestations  of  the 
human  mind  and  heart  that  reach  the 
incHvidual  through  the  arbitrary  symbols 
of  speech. 

"The  relations  of  these  sources  to  each 
other  and  the  unity  which  underlies  them 
may  be  illustrated  by  the  following  dia- 
gram : 


God- 


Xature 
Revelation 


Man 


Art 
Lang-uage 


"God  is  here  represented  as  the  single 
source  of  the  four  mental  food  elements. 
He  is  at  once  the  author  of  man's  being 
and  the  ultimate  source  of  all  that  minis- 
ters to  his  life  and  to  his  development. 
He  reveals  Himself  to  man  directly 
through  nature  and  through  revelation, 
and  indirectly  He  also  reveals  Himself  to 
every  child  born  into  the  world  through 
man's  works  and  through  man's  thoughts 
as  expressed  in  human  speech. 

"Xature  precedes  revelation  even  as  the 
concrete  embodiment  of  human  thought 
precedes  human  language." 

With  denominational  matters  this 
magazine  has  nothing  to  do,  but  with  the 
motto  of  The  AA — Per  Naturam  ad 
Deum — it  has  a  great  deal  to  do.  It  is 
therefore  glad  to  mention,  as  an  inspiring 
example  to  others,  the  prominence  that 
this  old  church  is  giving  to  nature,  as  a 
means  of  divine  revelation,  and  as  a 
revelation  that  leads  ad  Deum. 


Earth's  crammed  with  heaven. 

And    every    common    bush    afire    with 

God. — Mrs.  Browning:. 


"But  this  I  do  say,  and  would  wish  all 
men  to  know  and  lay  to  heart,  that  he 
who  discerns  nothing  but  Mechanism  in 
the  Universe  has  in  the  fatalest  way  miss- 
ed the  secret  of  the  Universe  altogether. 
That  all  Godhood  should  vanish  out  of 
men's  conception  of  this  Universe  seems 
to  me  precisely  the  most  brutal  error, — I 
will  not  disparage  Heathenism  by  calling 
it  a  Heathen  error, — that  men  could  fall 
into.  It  is  not  true ;  it  is  false  at  the  very 
heart  of  it."— Carlvle. 


Nature   First  in   Religious   Education. 

The  National  Education  Association 
has  recently  published  a  pamphlet  con- 
taining a  prize  essay  entitled,  "The  Essen- 
tial Place  of  Religion  in  Education,"  the 
outcome  of  an  offer  of  one  thousand  dol- 
lars by  a  resident  of  California  for  the 
best  essay  on  the  subject.  The  prize  was 
awarded  to  Charles  E.  Rugh,  Professor 
of  Education,  University  of  California, 
Berkeley,  California.  Professor  Rugh 
says : 

"The  specific  means  for  developing  the 
child's  consciousness  of  kinship  with  all 
things,  all  persons,  and  ultimately  making 
him  conscious  that  he  is  a  child  of  the  'All 
Father,'  may  be  classified  under  three 
heads:  (a)  The  world  of  things  or  na- 
ture, sometimes  called  the  'works  of  God,' 
(b)  the  world  of  persons,  the  part  of 
God's  work  described  as  distinctly  made 
in  His  image,  and  (c)  His  express  and 
distinctive  revelations  worked  out  by 
seers  and  prophets  who  express  their,  ex- 
periences with  God  for  the  benefit  of 
humanity.  The  first  group  is  the  basis 
of  the  natural  sciences  and  of  man's  con- 
quest of  nature." 

It  will  be  observed  that  his  classifica- 
tion, accepted  by  the  judges,  places  nature 
first ;  person,  second,  and  revelation, 
third.  One  of  the  essays  that  received 
honorable  mention  likewise  places  nature 
first  as  introductory  to  religious  instruc- 
tion, and  amplifies  the  point  as  follows  : 

"For  the  young  child,  as  for  the  young 
races,  nature  study  is  a  source  of  thought 
concerning  God.  Let  the  teacher  connect 
every  new  wonder,  as  it  draws  uoon  the 
child's  consciousness,  with  the  idea  of 
God.  At  the  end  of  a  lesson  on  flowers,  it 
will  not  blunt  but  it  will  heighten  interest 
for  the  teacher  to  repeat,  and  lead  the  chil- 
dren to  memorize  the  biblical  passage  be- 
ginning,'Considerthe  lilies  how  they  grow.' 
In  connection  with  the  study  of  trees  the 
teacher  may  call  attention  to  the  kind  of 
man  who,  according  to  the  First  Psalm, 
is  like  a  healthy  tree — 'Blessed  is  the  man 
that  walketh  not  in  the  counsel  of  the  un- 
godly— and  he  shall  be  like  a  tree  planted 
bv  the  rivers  of  water.'  After  a  summary 
of  the  many  phases  of  nature,  the  One 
Hundred  and  Fourth  Psalm  may  be  read. 
This  psalm  is  a  great  song  praising  the 
God  who  shows  Himself  in  so  many 
ways ;  the  central  thought  is  expressed 
in.  'O  Lord,  how  manifold  are  thy  works ! 
Praise   ve  the  Lord.'     The   Psalms  are 


340 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


particularly  adapted  tor  study  in  connec- 
tion with  natural  science  because  they  are 
so  rich  in  figures  of  nature.  " 

These  statements  may  be  accepted  as 
authoritative  for  several  reasons :  First, 
the  author  of  the  essay  containing  them 
received  a  large  prize.  Second,  compe- 
tent authority  passed  judgment  on  the 
contestants.  Third,  the  prize  was  awarded 
by  the  National  Education  Association, 
one  oi  the  highest,  most  intluential  and 
trustworthy  institutions  in  the  country. 
All  of  which  illuminates  more  brilliantly, 
if  possible,  than  they  were  previously 
illuminated  The  Agassiz  Association,  its 
work,  and  the  motto  that  it  has  had  for 
forty-one  years :  Per  Naturam  ad  Deum. 


"But  though  God  conceal  himself  from 
the  eyes  of  the  sensual  and  lasy,  who  will 
not  be  at  the  least  expense  of  thought ; 
yet  to  an  unbiassed  and  attentive  mind, 
nothing  can  be  more  plainly  legible  than 
the  itimate  presence  of  an  allvvise  Spirit, 
who  fashions,  regulates  and  sustains  the 
whole  system  of  being.'' — Berkeley. 


The  Highest  Ideals. 

"The  Rural  Xew-Yorker"  in  a  recent 
issue  has  the  following"  brief,  but  impor- 
tant editorial : 

"  'Live  and  let  live"  You  practice  this 
and  preach  it.  Why  not  take  it  for  a 
motto?  It  is  about  equal  to  the  Golden 
Rule. 

"  Connecticut.  H.  B.  B. 

"We  would  like  to  amend  this  motto  a 
little  and  make  it,  'Live  and  help  live.'  It 
is  not  quite  enough  to  keep  hands  off  and 
let  a  brother  carry  his  own  burden.  Let 
us  all  try  to  help  him  carry  it." 

That  is  our  ideal  and  should  be  yours. 
That  is  the  reason  for  the  existence  of  an 
Association.  All  the  world  should  be  an 
Association.  When  that  idea  is  put  into 
practice,  there  will  be  no  more  war,  no 
more  bitter  sayings,  there  will  be  nothing 
but  "Peace  on  earth  and  good  will  to 
men." 


"Earth's     most     exquisite     disclosure, 
heaven's  own  God  in  evidence!" 

— Browniii"". 


The  object  of  informal  nature  study  is 
to  put  children  directly  in  touch  with  the 
beautiful  and  wonderful  things  which  are 
within  their  reach.  Its  lesson-book  is 
everywhere,  its  time  is  every  time,  its 
spirit  is  wonder  and  delight. — Janet 
Erskine  Stuart  in  "The  Education  of 
Catholic  Girls." 


FROM   FEBRUARY   NUMBER. 
This  drawing  was  made  and  contributed  to  The  Agassiz  Association  by  the  Reverend  Lewis  W.   Barney, 
Ph.  D.,  Sound  Beach,  Connecticut. 


THE  AGASSIZ  ASSOCIATION' 


34^ 


AGASSIZ  ASSOCIATION" 


Established  1875  Incorporated,  MaesacliUHetts,  ls»J  iucurpL.ra,tB(i,  LonuecLicuL,  l»lu 


Our    Maryland    Avenue    Chapter. 

During  the  past  year,  the  Maryland 
Avenue  Agassiz  Association  Chapter, 
Baltimore,  Maryland,  selected  an  inter- 
esting work — the  study  of  moths.  For 
our  textbook  we  used  Gene  Stratton 
Porter's  "Aloths  of  the  Limberlost."  The 
book  is  entertaining,  not  too  scientific — 
J\Irs.  Porter  calling  herself  "not  a  natur- 
alist but  a  nature  lover" — and  the  colored 
illustrations  are  beautiful.  These  photo- 
graphs were  taken  by  the  author  herself, 
in  the  natural  habitats  of  the  moths,  and 
carefully  colored  to  correspond  with  the 
living  insects.  The  shades  of  even  the 
tiniest  markings  are  faithfully  repro- 
duced, so  that  each  picture  is  not  only  a 
study  of  nature  but  a  work  of  art. 

Perhaps  our  practical  work  has  been 
the  best  of  all  our  work.  Some  of  the 
members  kept  the  caterpillars  under  a  wire 
screen,  feeding  and  studying  them  until 
they  spun  their  cocoons.  These  will  open 
in  the  spring. 

We  went  on  field  trips  in  search  of  the 
moths,  sometimes  returning  home  trium- 
phant with  a  particularly  lovely  specimen, 
and  later  for  the  cocoons,.  These  we 
keep,  as  Airs.  Porter  instructs  us  to  do. 
in  as  nearly  their  natural  environment  as 
possible,  giving  them  some  sun,  and  occa- 
sionally a  sprinkling  that  is  supposed  to 
be  rain.  Think  of  the  treat  awaiting  us 
in  the  spring ! 

All  our  specimens  are  brought  to  the 
meetings  to  be  admired  and  studied,  and 
we  have  found  some  beautiful  ones.  A 
field  trip  gave  us  a  perfect  "Pride  of  the 
Lilacs."  Attacus  promethea,  if  you  wish 
to  be  scientific.  A  giant  Polyphemus  we 
found  under  an  arc  light  in  a  busy  street, 
and  early  in  June,  a  Luna  moth,  the 
"Aloth  of  the  Moon."  perhaps  the  loveli- 
est of  all,  was  captured  on  a  neighbor's 
window  pane. 

Though  our  chief  interest  has  been  in 
the  studying  of  moths,  we  have  not 
neglected  other  things.  Our  field  trips 
bring  us  to  many  interesting  phases  of 


outdoor  life.  We  keep  a  sharp  lookout 
for  oddities  in  nature.  We  have  found 
a  slender,  corkscrew  shaped  tree  that 
grew  witli  a  thick  vine  twisted  around  it. 
the  vine  is  gone,  but  has  left  its  mark 
Loth  in  tne  bark  and  the  shape  of  tne  tree. 
In  the  early  part  of  last  year  we  were 
particularly  interested  in  mineralogy,  and 
collected  a  number  of  rocks  containing 
ore.  While  we  were  working  along  this 
line  we  came  upon  rocks  bearing  the 
fossil  imprints  of  ferns,  some  of  them 
delicate  and  beautiful. 

One  of  our  most  interesting,  incidental 
studies  was  that  of  mosses.  We  were 
astonished  to  find  so  many  varieties.  We 
showed  numerous  specimens  mounted, 
some  on  cardboard  and  some  on  bark, 
some  of  them  very  odd  in  appearance. 
The  branching,  satiny  kind  look  lovely 
against  the  brown  wood.  They  kept  their 
color  splendidly. 

Another  good  program  was  prepared 
with  glowworms  as  its  subject.  Our 
ideas  of  them  were  vague,  so  we  took  the 
opportunity  for  enlightenment.  We  even 
made  a  field  trip  at  night  to  look  for 
them ! 

We  have  added  some  new  members  to 
our  Chapter,  and  are  looking  forward  to 
a  busy  and  happy  year  of  study, 

Mamie  J.  ItzEL,  Secretary. 

"For  God  appears  the  greater  to  every 
man  in  proportion  as  he  has  grasped  a 
larger  survey  of  the  creatures :  and  when 
his  heart  is  uplifted  by  that  larger  survey, 
he  gains  withal  a  greater  conception  of 
God." — St.  Cyril  of  Jerusalem. 


It  is  a  joy  to  me  to  unfold  beautv 
hidden  away  in  its  own  modest  mask  of 
commonality.  We  are  "queer  mortals." 
We  tread  the  carpet  and  pluck  the  fruit 
in  the  Garden  of  the  Gods  all  uncon- 
sciously, at  times,  and  then  call  our- 
selves wits,  philosophers,  and  what 
not!— Will  Webb  Tuttle,  Muncie,  In- 
diana. 


34^ 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


Concerning  Bears  and  Deer. 

BY  JOSKPH  W.LIPPINCOTT,  BETHAYRES,  PA. 

By  far  the  strangest  thing  I  noticed 
about  the  wild  bears  in  the  Yellowstone 
National  Park  was  the  fact  that,  when 
they  came  to  the  hotel  garbage  piles  to 
feed,  they  paid  no  more  attention  to  the 
crowd  of  onlookers  than  if  it  did  not 
exist. 

Early  in  the  evening  a  black  bear  or 
two  would  drift  quietly  out  of  the  woods 
and  begin  to  pick  over  the  tin  cans  direct- 
ly in  front  of  the  visitors.  One  feels  a  bit 
queer  when  they  appear,  especially  as 
they  nervously  look  up  every  moment  or 
two  and  often  listen  and  perhaps  scent 
the  evening  breeze,  but  in  spite  of  fears 
you  quickly  see  that  they  look  only  in  the 
direction  of  the  woods,  where  they  and 
all  the  other  bears  must  come  from. 

I  saw  one  bear  dash  almost  into  the 
visitor's  gallery  just  because  he  heard  or 
saw  another  bear  coming  out  of  the 
woods  a  hundred  yards  away.  At  an- 
other time  two  silver  tips  appeared  in  the 
distance  and  three  of  the  five  black  bears 
already  on  the  scene  slunk  towards  the 
people  in  very  apparent  fear  and  then  left 
the  place  entirely,  \vith  their  attention 
ever  riveted  upon  the  w^oods.  This  kind 
of  thing  was  noticeable  every  evening  and 
soon  gave  one  the  idea  that  it  was  some 
member  of  their  family  and  not  man  that 
the  bears  felt  uneasy  about. 

Perhaps  I  would  not  have  thought 
about  this  after  leaving  the  Park  had  I 
not  this  spring  observed  the  same  habit 
in  wild  deer  that  came  to  feed  in  a  New 
Jersey  alfalfa  field.  The  deer,  particu- 
larly in  bright  daylight,  feared  something 
that  they  expected  to  come  from  the 
woods  behind  them.  The  several  people 
watching  from  the  next  field  scarcely  in- 
terested them. 

I  watched  on  a  number  of  afternoons 
in  April  and  found,  just  as  with  the  bears, 
that  it  was  others  of  their  kind  that  they 
were  so  intently  looking  for.  Once  a  doe 
came  far  into  the  short  alfalfa  growth 
and  fed  until  her  nervous  ears  caught  the 
sound  of  two  approaching  deer.  Instantly 
she  became  more  agitated,  trotted  about 
and  finally  ran  to  them,  although  they 
were  in  another  field  beside  the  woods. 
Then,  instead  of  greeting  them  like 
friends,  the  doe  rose  on  her  hind  legs  and 
put  them  both  to  rout  with  furious  jabs 
of  her  front  feet.  The  evening  seemed 
to  be  spoiled  for  her  for  she  made  no 
further  attempt  to  eat,  preferring  to  gaze 


into  the  shadows  of  the  woods.  One  or 
two  deer  always  were  nervous  until  more 
came  out,  but  a  herd  of  from  six  to  ten — 
the  most  seen  at  once — was  nearly  im- 
mune from  the  woods  gazing  habit. 


Interested    in    Nature    Study. 

Miss  Smith,  a  teacher  of  biology  in  a 
certain  high  school,  relates  this  incident 
in  connection  with  an  interest  in  nature 
manifested  by  a  teacher  in  the  public 
schools.  This  supposedly  new  convert  to 
the  value  of  nature  study  came  to  Miss 
Smith,  an  enthusiastic  and  thoroughly 
proficient  teacher  of  biology,  to  borrow 
a  book  on  nature  study. 

"What  do  you  wish  to  study?" 
"Oh,  never  mind  what.     I  just  want 
any  book  O'U  nature  study  that  you  may 
happen  to  have." 

Miss  Smith,  surprised  at  so  general  a 
request,  demanded  more  explicit  informa- 
tion. The  reply  was,  "Oh,  I  am  not  par- 
ticular as  to  what  book,  only  a  big,  nice 
looking  book  on  any  nature  subject.  I 
want  it  to  lie  on  my  desk  where  it  will 
look  well  when  the  superintendent  calls." 


Kansas  has  80  species  of  wald  mammals  ; 
N'ebraska  94:  Colorado  152;  Texas  182; 
and  California  369. 


A  prominent  American  bacteriologist 
has  lately  expressed  the  opinion  that 
fertilizers  applied  to  the  ground,  though 
they  aid  the  crops  directly,  have  at 
least  as  much  indirect  effect  by  nourish- 
ing the  beneficent  micro-organisms  of 
the  soil. 


The   Blizzard. 


BY     CAROLINE     CLARK     HINTON,     HARTFORD, 
CONNECTICUT. 

Blinding'    snow 
And  wind  and  cold; 
Swaying  branches  tossed  about 
Like  skeletons  upon  a  string 

By  childish  hands. 
Downy  balls  of  snow 

Like  nests 

•Deserted 
In  the  twilight  of  the  autumn's  evening. 

Upon   the  vines 

The   snow  is  spread, 
White  arms  that  curve  and  stretch, 

A  shining  octopus. 
While  through  the  mist 

A  golden  light 
That  glints  and  sways  and  lives; 

Snatched  from  the  darkness, 

Concentrated. 
God's  gift  to  man. 


THE  AGASSIZ  ASSOCIATION 


IX 


Ulbat  the  JIflassiz  Jlssociation  Offers. 

From  the  Charter  of  Incorporation : 

"The  purposes  for  which  said  corpo- 
ration is  formed  are  the  following,  to 
wit:  the  promotion  of  scientific  educa- 
tion; the  advancement  of  science;  the 
collection  in  museums  of  natural  and 
scientific  specimens ;  the  employment 
of  observers  and  teachers  in  the  differ- 
ent departments  of  science,  and  the 
general  diffusion  of  knowledge." 

The  Agassiz  Association  is  a  Clear- 
ing House  for  information  on  any 
phase  of  nature  or  of  natural  science. 
It  places  at  your  convenience  the  total 
of  all  human  knowledge  pertaining  to 
the  natural  world.  This  it  is  able  to  do 
by  having  a  Council  of  experts  in  every 
department  of  natural  science.  If  any- 
body knows  it,  you  may  know  it  by 
merely  inquiring. 

The  AA  publishes  observations,  an- 
swers questions,  identifies  specimens 
and  creates  and  increases  a  knowledge 
and  love  of  nature.  This  work  is  not 
limited  to  its  Chapters  and  Members. 
The  Guide;  to  Nature,  a  monthly  mag- 
azine, the  official  organ  of  the  Associa- 
tion, is  devoted  to  commonplace  nature 
with  uncommon  interest. 
LOCALLY. 

ArcAdiA  offers  to  Stamford,  Sound 
Beach  and  Greenwich,  and  to  visiting 
parties  from  other  places,  the  facilities 
of  a  general  natural  history  Institution  : 

The  beautiful  Agassiz  Grove. 

A   well-equipped   Reception   Room. 

Nymphalia.  This  is  a  nature  study 
park,  so  named  because  it  is  the  home 
of  Nymphs  of  nature  study :  Love, 
Study.  Interest,  Enthusiasm,  Beauty. 
Begin  with  Love  and  through  the  se- 
ries we  find  Beauty.  "We  love  things 
not  because  they  are  beautiful,  but  they 
are  beautiful  because  we  love  them." 

The  Forest  of  Arden — more  than  one 
hundred  acres  of  unexcelled  pictur- 
esque wild  forest  and  thickets,  explain- 
ed and  explored  by  personal  guidance. 

Demonstrations  in  an  apiary. 

Instructions  in  a  biological  labora- 
tory. 

Exhibitions  with  compound  and  pro- 
jection microscopes  unequalled  else- 
where in  the  United  States. 

An  astronomical  observatory  with  a 
six-inch  Clark  telescope.  This  tele- 
scope is  probably  the  only  one  dedicat- 
ed wholly  to  the  free  use  of  the  public. 


Ulbat  Our  expenses  liave  Been. 

In  the  year  ending  March  31,  1915, 
our  expenditures  were  $6,046.97.  De- 
ducting Sundays  and  holidays  this  is 
an  average  of  $19.95  per  day. 

The  President  of  The  Agassiz  Asso- 
ciation receives  no  salary  as  President 
nor  as  editor  of  The  Guide  to  Nature. 
For  some  of  the  mechanical  and  busi- 
ness work  on  the  magazine  he  has  re- 
ceived this  past  year  $708.44  or  $13.62 
per  week.  For  the  previous  seven 
years  he  received  not  a  cent  even  for 
this  kind  of  work.  Three  members  of 
the  family  that  assist  (some  giving 
their  entire  time)  have  received  no 
salary.  The  Bigelow  family  does  not 
receive  even  free  house  rent.  Birchen 
Bower  and  its  part  of  ArcAdiA  freely 
used  by  the  public  is  not  the  property 
of  The  Agassiz  Association.  The  fam- 
ily pays  for  the  use  of  the  garden  and 
the  pet  house.  It  will  be  seen  that  so 
far  as  the  Bigelows  are  concerned,  they 
give  their  time  to  the  Cause  to  which 
the  public  is  giving  and  is  requested  to 
give  financial  support. 

These  services  have  been  unpaid  be- 
cause there  has  not  been  sufficient  in- 
come with  which  to  pay  for  them.  Ad- 
ditional workers  will  be  secured  when 
the  income  is  sufficient.  The  equip- 
ment could  use  to  advantage  many 
times  the  present  number  of  workers. 
There  is  no  limit  to  the  general  work ; 
the  local  work,  too,  is  pressing  for  an 
increased  number  of  assistants. 


Our  Income. 

1.  Membership  Fees.  You  are  eligi- 
1)le  for  membership  if  you  approve  of 
the  work  as  here  outlined.  Full  par- 
ticulars upon  application. 

2.  Subscriptions  and  Advertisements. 
The  Guide  to  Nature  is  growing.  It 
now  has  a  circulation  of  three  thousand. 
Help  it  grow.  You  may  thus  aid  and 
extend  our  work. 

3.  Cash  Contributions.  These  have 
come  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  and 
have  been  an  important  factor  in  sus- 
taining the  work. 

4.  Rentals  of  Parts  of  ArcAdiA. 
From  the  Bigelow  family  for  garden 
and  pet  house.  From  Mrs.  Blakely  for 
the  site  of  her  Botany  Bungalow.  She 
owns  her  house,  pays  rental  for  land, 
her  membership  dues,  and  gives  her 
services  freelv  to  botanical  students. 


X 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


Inspection  and  Cooperation. 

The  cashbooks  may  be  inspected  by 
any  Member  or  Contributor.  Every 
detail  of  the  work  will  be  made  clear 
to  any  one.  We  need  more  money, 
and  have  full  confidence  that,  with  in- 
creased knowledge  by  our  Members 
and  friends,  and  by  the  public  in  gen- 
eral as  to  the  exact  situation,  it  will  be 
freely  given. 

Here  is  a  work  of  merit  in  the  inter- 
ests of  humanity  that  should  be  prop- 
erly financed  for  full  efficiency.  No- 
where else  in  all  the  world  has  so  much 
been  accomplished  in  forty  years  with 
so  little  money ;  nowhere  has  there 
been  greater  faithfulness,  or  more  de- 
voted service  for  the  uplift,  the  educa- 
tion, the  improvement  of  humanity. 


forty  Vears  Past:  Torcper  in  future. 

The  Agassiz  Association  was  organ- 
ized forty  years  ago  on  the  grandest 
principle  that  ever  associated  boys  and 
girls,  men  and  women.  It  regards 
every  individual  as  supreme,  and  has 
as  common  subject  the  Universe  and 
its  Maker.  "Per  naturam  ad  Deum"  is 
its  motto  today  as  it  has  been  for  four 
decades. 

The  university,  not  the  kindergarten, 
has  always  been  the  point  of  view.  No 
one  lines  up  a  class  and  says,  "Here  is 
the  game ;  I  will  show  you  how  to  play 
it;"  no  one  tells  you  what  clothes  you 
shall  wear,  nor  what  thoughts  you 
shall  think.  The  youngest  child  is  as 
free  to  see  and  to  tell  as  is  the  eldest 
member  of  the  Association,  or  the  vet- 
eran technical  scientist  in  his  learned 
monograph,  whose  joy  of  seeing  and 
telling  in  his  way  is  no  greater  for  him 
than  is  that  of  the  beginner.  In  fact 
the  veteran  realizes  better  than  the 
novice  that  he  is  only  a  beginner,  that 
there  is  yet  before  him  much  for  him  to 
learn. 

The  Agassiz  Association  expresses 
itself  in  terms  of  peace,  civilization, 
equality,  and  dignified  self-respect.  It 
regards  no  one  as  a  "tough"  and  treats 
no  one  as  needing  reformation.  It  as- 
sumes that  human  nature  is  not  bad 
but  good.  It  exalts  no  one  on  account 
of  his  wealth,  knowledge  or  station. 
The  greatest  thing  to  do  is  faithfully  to 
serve  others.     There  is  no  exaltation  of 


office.  No  chiefs  have  charge  of  inferiors. 
Ever}'  one  is  a  chief  when  he  unselfishly 
gives  of  the  greatest  thing  in  the  world, 
his  ability  "to  see  and  to  tell,"  for  the 
benefit  of  others,  not  to  confer  a  favor 
in  the  seeing  and  the  telling,  but  for  the 
privilege;  of  doing  it. 

The  Agassiz  Association  regards  every 
member  as  innately  kind  The  Agassiz 
Association  embodies  the  law  of  love,  not 
the  love  of  law.  Its  kindness  to  man  be- 
gins when  he  is  a  boy.  To  have  him  love 
a  horse,  is  better  than  to  punish  him  in 
court  for  having  pounded  a  horse. 

The  Agassiz  Association  requires  no 
course  of  study.  Every  member  is  a 
teacher.  Even  the  youngest  goes  directly 
to  Nature's  storehouse,  helps  himself,  and 
for  additional  joy,  points  the  way  to  some 
one  else.  A  child,  as  well  as  a  man,  may 
play  on  the  ocean's  edge,  and  each  may 
be  the  teacher  of  the  other,  and  the  joy 
of  each  will  inspire  the  other. 

No  one  outgrows  The  Agassiz  x^sso- 
ciation.     In  old  age  it  is  not  remembered 
as  a  thing  for  boys  or  girls,  but  the  en- 
thusiasm of  youth  grows  stronger  with 
age.  As  Dr.  Van  Dyke  has  truly  said: 
Let  me  but  live  my  life  from  year  to 
year. 
With  forward  face  and  unreluctant 
soul, 
Not    hastening    to    nor   turning    from 

the  goal; 
Not  mourning  for  the  things  that  dis- 
appear 
In  the  dim  past,  nor  holding  back  in 
fear 
From  what  the  future  veils,  but  with 

a   whole 
And  happy  heart,  that  pays  its  toll 
To    Youth   and   Age,   and   travels   on 
with  cheer. 

When  members  of  The  Agassiz  Asso- 
ciation go  to  walk,  they  are  not  sharp- 
eyed  with  one  eye  and  blind  in  the  other. 
"Everything  is  'fish'  that  comes  to  the 
net  of  a  naturalist."  A  bird  is  indeed  of 
interest  but  so  is  the  tree  through  which 
it  flies  or  where  it  sings  its  song. 

The  Agassiz  Association  seeks  to  de- 
velop mind  and  heart.  It  appeals  to  the 
thoughtful  rather  than  to  the  thoughtless. 

Individual  members  and  organized 
Chapters  of  members  are  free  to  do  things 
in  their  own  way.  It  has  never  been  in 
the  glare  of  great  public  popularity.  The 
Agassiz  Association  considers  it  more 
important  to  observe  than  to  be  observed. 


THE  AGASSIZ  ASSOCIATION 


XI 


Cbe  BQasm  JIssociationandTts  I)ome  Jfre  for  Vou. 

To  create  and  increase  a  knowledgf 
and  love  of  nature.  You  are  not  too  rich, 
nor  too  poor  :  not  too  wise  nor  too  igno- 
rant ;  not  too  young  nor  too  old,  to 
share  in   their  benefits.  * 

VISITING  DAYS. 

To  members  (and  their  accompanying 
Friends)  :  All  Days.  Special  personal 
attention,  if  an  appointment  is  made  by 
tele])hone  or  otherwise. 


To  Non-Members  (unaccompanied  by 
Alembers).  Wednesdays  and  Saturdays, 
from  3  :oo  to  5  :oo  P.  AI.,  and  at  other 
times  by  Special  Invitation  or  Appoint- 
ment. ArcAdlA  is  not  a  Museum,  nor  a 
Botanical  Garden,  nor  a  Zoo.  Yet  at 
times  it  has  a  few  special  interests  (under 
special  study)  along  some  or  all  of  these 
lines.  Our  chief  purpose  is  not  to  ex- 
hibit nor  to  entertain,  but  to  create  a 
desire  to  accept  and  to  follow  Agassiz's 
advice — -"Study  Nature." 


Board  of  trustees. 

Corporators:  Edward  F.  Bigelow,  Ph.  D., 
Sound  Beach,  Conn.,  President  and  Treas- 
urer; Hon.  Homer  S.  Cunimings,  Stamford, 
Conn.,  Secretary;  Waher  D.  Daskam,  Stam- 
ford, Conn.  Other  Trustees:  Harlan  H. 
Ballard,  Pittsfield,  A'lass.,  Honorary  Vice- 
President  ;  Hiram  E.  Deats,  Flemington,  New 


Jersey,  Business  Adviser  and  Auditor;  Dr. 
David  Starr  Jordan,  Chancellor  Leland 
Stanford  Junior  University,  Stanford  Uni- 
versity, California,  Dean  of  Council;  Dr. 
Leland  O.  Howard,  Washington,  D.  C, 
Naturalist  Adviser;  Reverend  Charles  Mor- 
ris Addison,  Stamford,  Conn.;  George  Sher- 
rill,   M.  D.,   Stamford,   Conn. 


.\G.\SSIZ    AS  A   TEACHER. 

HE  spoke  with  intense  earnestness  and  all  his  words 
were    filled    with    that    deep    religious    feeling    so 
characteristic   of  his  mind.      For  to   Agassiz  each 
natural  object  was  a  thought  of  God,  and  trifling  with 
God's    truth    as    expressed    in    Nature    was    the    basest 
of    sacrilege. 

The  old  barn  on  the  island  had  been  hastily  con- 
verted into  a  dining-hall  and  lecture-room.  A  new 
floor  had  been  put  in ;  but  the  doors  and  walls  re- 
mained unchanged,  and  the  swallows'  nests  were  un- 
disturbed under  the  eaves.  The  sheep  had  been 
turned  out,  the  horse-stalls  were  changed  to  a  kitchen, 
and  on  the  floor  of  the  barn,  instead  of  the  hay-wagon, 
were  placed  three  long  tables.  At  the  head  of  one 
of  these  sat  Agassiz.  At  his  right  hand  always  stood 
a  movable  blackboard,  for  he  seldom  spoke  without 
a  piece  of  chalk  in  his  hand.  He  would  often  give 
us  a  lecture  while  we  sat  at  the  table,  frequently 
about    some    fish    or    other    creature    the    remains    of 

which   still  lay  on  our  plates David   Starr  Jordan   in 

"Agassiz    at    Penikese.  ' 


Chapter  Organization  Expense. 

Entrance    Fee     $1.25 

Handbook,    "Three    Kingdoms"...     .75 
Engraved  Charter,  in  tube 1.00 

ANNUAL   DUES — PAYABLE   IN   ADVANCE 

The  Annual  Dues  for  Chapter  .  . 

Annual       Dues       Members       of 

Chapter     Members  @  5c 

each   , — 

Total  Necessary  Expense  to  Chap- 
ter upon  Joining  the  Associa- 
tion      


$3.00 
$2.00 


Corresponding  member's  expense. 

Entrance    Fee     $0.25 

Handbook,   "Three   Kingdoms"       .75 

Certificate    of    Membership    50 

$1.50 

Annual    Dues     1.50 

$3-00 

Student  Members  are  required  to  make  a 
report  at  least  once  a  year.  This  report 
should  contain  not  only  a  statement  of 
work  done,  but  of  "the  promotion,"  "the 
advancement,"  etc.  See  quotation  from 
Charter.  We  are  to  help  others  as  well  as 
ourselves.     Extend  the  influence  of  the  AA. 

The  Annual  Dues  include  payment  for 
subscription  to  The   Guide  to   Nature. 


Cooperating  memberships. 

Sustaining  Member   (annually)    $5 

Sustaining  and   Honorary    (annualljO    •  -$25 
Life    Member    (paid  at  one   time)    .  . .  .$100 

Patron    (paid    at    one    time)     $1,000 

Founder    $5,000 

Benefactor    $25,000 


XII 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE— ADVERTISEMENTS 


The  "WOODLIFE "  Idea  Has 
Come  to  Stay 

Architects,  Painters,  Decorators,  Paint 
Dealers,  and  the  general  public  are  all  en- 
thusiastic over  Woodlife  Shingle  Stane — 
the  kind  that  is  not  ready  mixed  but  has 
Liquid  and   Colors   separate. 

The  architect  can  match  any  desired 
shade.  There  are  i6  beautiful  and  distinct- 
ive colors. 

Painters  and  Decorators  find  it  easier  to 
handle  than  White  Lead  and  Colors  in  Oil. 

We  are  selling  large  quantities  of  Wood- 
life  because  it  costs  less  than  one-third  as 
much  as  ready-mixed  paint  and  lasts  longer. 

A  FIVE-YEAR  GUARANTEE. 

In  order  to  satisfy  our  customers  as  to 
the  reliability  of  Woodlife  Shingle  Stane, 
we  hereby  guarantee  that  it  will  wear  well 
for  at  least  five  years  on  buildings  to  which 
it  has  been  properly  applied.  Should  it  fail 
to  do  so,  we  will  furnish  new  stain  free. 
The  sterling  quality  of  our  product  enables 
us  to  give  you  this  protection. 

THE  WOODLIFE  COMPANY 

188-190  Montague  St.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 


The  Alvan    Clark 
&  Sons  Corporation 

Cambridge,  Mass. 

MAKERS  OF 

Astronomical 

and 

Terrestrial 

Telescopes 

Correspondence  Solicited 


&-  I'k- 


(ausch  |omb 

Balopticon 

gives  entertainment  as  novel,  as  inter- 
esting, as  varied  and  as  instructive  as 
the  talking  machine  gives  in  its  field. 
The  Home  Balopticon  projects  pictures, 
post  cards,  solid  objects,  etc.  Pictures  in  cor- 
rect position  from  left  to  right,  not  reversed. 
Now  fitted  with  special  400-wcll  gas-filled 
Mazda  Lamp,  giving  illumination  superior  to 
any  similar  instrument  on  the  market.  Abso- 
lutely safe  and  automatic  and  simple  enough 
for  child  to  operate.  Lenses,  mirrors  and  all 
mechanical  parts  of  high  quality— not  a  toy.  Ideal 
equipment  for  clubs  and  small  schoolroom  as  well  as 
the  home. 

Costs  but  $35 — with 
aluminum  ccatfd  wall- 
screen  included  Other 
models  for  various  re- 
quirements$20andup. 

"Fun— and  Better" 


is  an  interesting  booklet  tell- 
ing of  many  novel  ways  to 
entertain  with  the  Home 
Balopticon.  Sent  free  upon 
request. 


Bausch  ^  Ipmb  OP^iCoi  (o. 

512  ST.  PAUL  STREET     ROCHESTER,  N.Y. 


:lffll1lli!llll!lll!llllllilllll|li!!ll!!llllllllllllllllllllllllll^ 


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GREENWICH 


THE    EDITION    DE  LUXE 
OF  COiNNECTICUT   TOWNS 


Are  You  Protected? 

Savings  Mean  Success  and  the 
Man.  \\'oman  or  Child  who  In- 
dustriously saves  a  Small  Portion 
of  Their  Income  is  Building  a 
Bulwark  of  Protection  Against 
Poverty  and  Unhappiness.  This 
Bank  Allows  a  Liberal  Rate  of 
Interest  on  Savings  Accounts. 
Give     It     Consideration 


The  Greenwich  Trust  Co 

ESTABLISHED    1887 

GREENWICH,    CONN. 


GREENWICH,  CONNECTICUT 

has  good  transportation  facilities  to 
New  York.  You  can  buy  or  rent  to 
good  advantage  and  enjoy  living  by 
the  water  or  among  the  hills  to  the 
utmost  satisfaction. 

I  have  for   Sale 

Hlegant  Country  Estates,  Shore  and  Inland 
Residences,  Farms,  Acreage,  Cottages  and 
Building  Sites.  Also  a  number  of  selected 
Furnished  Residences  and  Cottages  to  Rent 
in    all   locations. 

v\nuld  be  pleased  to  have  you  call  or  write. 

Laurence  Timmons 

Tel.  456        Opp.  Depot        Greenwich,  Conn 


BEST  NURSERY  STOCK  EVER  GROWN 

Evergreens  Fruit  and  Ornamental  Trees 
Flowering  Shrubs  Hedge  Plants  Vines 
Roses     Hardy  Perennials      ^      ^      ^ 


Preparing  of  Plans       Laying  Out  of  Grounds     Grading 
-:-        -:-        Road  Building       Tree  Work        -:-        -:- 


GREENWICH    NURSERIES 

DEHN  &  BERTOLF,  Propi. 
LANDSCAPE    GARDENERS   AND  NURSERYMEN 

GREENWICH,  CONN. 

10  F*^^      "^^M  0< 


THE  GUIDE  TO  XATURE.— ADVERTISEMENTS 


VII 


SHORELANDS 

Owned  and  Operated  by 

THE  SOUND  BEACH  SUMMER  HOMES 
CORPORATION 

SOUND   BEACH,  CONNECTICUT,    Box  84 
NEW  YORK  CITY,     1  Liberty  Street 

Summer  Bungalows  and  Cottages   for  Sale  and 
for  Rent— furnished  and  unfurnished 


Moderate  Prices. 


Moderate  Rentals. 


Telephone  Connections. 


The  nerves  of  the  earthworm  transmit 
impulses  at  the  very  slow  rate  of  an  inch 
a  second.  Certain  large  nerves,  however, 
attain  to  the  more  respectable  speed  of  a 
vard  and  a  half  in  the  same  time.  One 
hundred  feet  a  second  is  the  rate  m  man. 

The  Pleasure  of  Expression. 
There  is  a  joy  in  expressing  one's 
self  in  words,  and  a  pleasure  in  the  use 
of  one's  skill  in  the  act  of  doing  thmgs. 
In  making  a  collection,  the  naturalist 
expresses  his  desire  to  collect,  and  it  is 
often  with  pride  that  he  shows  the  re- 
sults of  that  expression  to  his  friends. 
The  same  principle  applies  to  the 
photographer  that  desires  to  express 
his  ability  to  portray  nature  on  the  sen- 
sitive plate.  There'  is  the  same  desire 
for  expression  in  working  with  wood, 
whether  tinkering  at  repairs  about  the 
home,  or  in  making  something  new.  A 
music  rack,  a  shelf,  a  box  or  a  cabinet 
for  specimens,  a  chair,  ^r  other  article 
of  furniture,  is  a  method  of  expression, 
and  in  the  act  of  making  there  is  joy. 
As  one  likes  to  own  a  good  anastigmat 
lens   or   a    modern    collecting   case,    so 


there  is  a  happiness  in  having  perfect 
tools  and  a  convenient  place  in  which 
to  keep  them.  Both  of  these  requisites 
are  supplied  by  Hammacher,  Schlem- 
mer  &  Company  of  New  York  City. 
Their  tool  cabinets  are  a  delight  to  the 
lover  of  tools,  and  what  average  man 
or  boy  does  not  delight  in  handling  and 
especially  in  owning  and  caring  for 
reallv  8:ood  tools? 


To  save  the  fur  seals,  it  has  lately  been 
pointed  out,  one  thing  will  have  to  be 
done  at  once :  that  is.  to  put  the  matter 
in  the  control  of  the  Department  of  Agri- 
culture. The  Treasury  Department  tried 
it — and  made  a  mess.  The  Department 
of  Commerce  took  over  the  problem  and 
(lid  rather  worse  than  its  predecessor. 
iUit  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  with 
its  15iological  Survey  and  its  Division  of 
Animal  Industry  might  do  something. 
Seals  are,  after  all,  not  essentially  differ- 
ent from  sheep  or  cattle  or  swine.  The 
methods  and  the  men  who  handle  success- 
fully one  sort  of  creature  are  the  best 
fitted  to  deal  with  another. 


VIII 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE.— ADVERTISEMENTS. 


THE  C.  0.  MILLER   CO. 

Atlantic  Square  Established  48  Years.  Stamford  Conn. 

NEW  GOODS  AT  EVERY  TURN 
And  More  Arriving  Every  Day. 

Fashionable  blouses,  skirts  and  street  gowns  are  here  from  the  most  authenti'- 
sources.  The  little  frocks  for  girls  also  present  novelties  that  are  beautiful  to  behold 
Hosiery,  muslm  underwear  and  other  new  arrivals  all  hint  of  the  fast  approachino 
springtime.  We  can  truthfully  state  that  this  is  the  finest  gathering  of  new  merchaii- 
dise  that  tbis  store  has  ever  brought  before  the   people  of  Stamford. 

A  Visit  at  This  Time  will  be  Found  Very  Interesting. 

The — Trolley — Brings — You — to — Our — Door. 

THE     C.     C.     MILLER     CO. 


ESTABLISHED    185:- 


THEGETMAN&JUDDCO. 

Lumber  and  Timber  of  all  Kinds 


Homes  Near  to  Nature 

Skould  be  so  constructed  as  to  give  lasting  satisfaction. 
Dur  metkod  of  manufacturing  dependable  Imterior  amd 
Exterior  kouse  trim  from  thorcrugkly  kil«  dried  materi«i 
DT   skilled   meckanics   insures   such   satisiactiom. 

SPECIALTY:  High-Grade  HARDWOOD  FLOORING         THE  5T.   JOHN   WOODWORKING   CO. 

Canal  Docks.  Stamford    Conn. 

Telephone  781 

DIRECTORS 
WALTON   FERGUSON,  Pres.  W.   W.   HEROY. 

VV.    D.    DA5KAM,    Vice   Pres.  F.  H.  HOYT, 

V\".   H.   JUDD,  Sec.  and  Treas.  F.    W.    BOGARDUS. 

J.   G.   WIGG.   General   Manager. 


tkoroughly  KilnDiied  amd  stored  im  Steam  keatea  »uuo 
iag  until  deliverei*  to  our  customers.  Our  steadiiT  ir 
creasing  trade  in  tkis  specialty  proTes  tne  fact  cia 
tke  country  kome  is  not  complete  until  fitted  out  win 
tkii  beautiful  aad  sanitary  furnishing.  Old  resideiict! 
may  be  greatly  imp'-on-ed  ky  laying  tkia  floors  oTer  tit 
old   o«es. 

CANAL  DOCKS,  STAMFORD,  CON^. 

Telephone  2180. 


/?' 


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The  LOCKWOOD  &  PALMER  Co. 


Wholesale  and  Retail 
Dealers  in 

HARDWARE 

AGRICULTURAL 

IMPLEMENTS 

House  Furnishings,  Etc. 


TOOLS 
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Published  monthly  by  The  Agassiz  Association,  ArcAdiA:  Sound  Beach,  Connecticut, 

Subscription,  $1.00  a   year  Single  copy,  10  cents 

Entered  as  Second-Class  Matter  June  12,  1909,  at  Sound  Beach  Post  Office,  under  Act  of  March  3,  1897. 


Vol 


VIll 


APRIL,    1916 


Number   11 


How  We  Tamed  the  Flying  Squirrels. 

BV      K.      HKRTZBKRG,     STAMFORD,     CONNEC- 
TICUT. 

Three  years  ago  a  nimilier  of  l)iru 
houses  were  set  out  among  the  trees 
surrounding  "Knokik  Kamp"  in  High 
Ridge.  Connecticut.  For  many  weeks 
expectation  ran  high  and  much  good- 
natured  rivalry  was  indulged  in  to  get 
the  first  look  at  the  expected  tenants. 
For  a  long  time  nothing  happened,  but 
one  day  the  boy  noticed  a  leaf  sticking 
out  of  the  opening  of  the  house  in  the 
cedar,  and  he  asserted  that  the  house 
had  a  tenant — that  a  bird  was  making 
a  nest  in  it.  The  idea  was  ridiculed 
and  he  was  informed  that  a  leaf  had 
been  blown  into  ithe  opening.  Bui 
how  w^e  did  w^atch  that  opening ! 

The  next  morning  there  was  no  mis- 
taking it.  The  house  was  occu})ied ; 
the  opening  had  been  almost  closed  by 
a  mass  of  leaves.  What  had  done  it? 
We  guessed  from  condor  to  least  fly- 
catcher. Nothing  was  seen  to  enter  or 
leave  the  house,  yet  the  mass  of  leaves 
was  daily  getting  larger.  We  dared 
not  take  the  house  down  for  fear  of 
frightening  off  our  welcome  guest,  yet 
the  suspense  must  be  broken. 

One  evening  w^hen  we  were  indulg- 
ing in  our  usual  guesses  one  of  us  sav.' 
the  leaves  move  in  the  opening  and  a 
gray  head,  with  large  eyes  protrude 
from  the  doorway.    "A  squirrel."  "No. 


it's  too  small."  But  suddenly  our  vis- 
itor darted  out  of  the  box  and  up  the 
cedar  to  the  topmost  branch,  and  with- 
out an  instant's  hesitation  launched 
himself  into  space,  to  land  on  an  oak 
tree  a  hundred  yards  away.  The  secret 
was  out.     Our  house  harbored  a  flying 


^ 

■1^ 

V 

i 

1^ 

' / 

1 

1 

• 

"^^    ^^Sr* 

.     ->mi>^ 

Wk 

1 

Hr 

mgfi 

■ 

^^Hin ;   r»- 

..  A 

"SOOX     TOOK     Till-:     .\UTS     I'RO.M     BETWEK.X 

OUR    FINGERS." 

Fliotoyraph  by  .Mr.  Jolm  .1.  Schoonhoven 

squirrel.  The  next  morning  was  spent 
in  putting  up  ])rojecting  boards  from 
the  railing  ancl  in  a  trip  to  town  for 
hazelnuts.     Fverv  eveninsf  a  visfil  was 


CopvviRht  1916  bv  The  Agassiz  Association,   ArcAdt.-V:    Sound  Bearli.  Conn. 


344 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


kept  in  the  hope  of  getting  another 
glimpse  of  our  guest.  For  several 
weeks  we  did  not  see  him,  yet  every 
morning  the  boards  were  empty,  the 
nuts  were  gone.  Finally  the  little 
creatures — there  were  two,  finding  that 
no  harm   came  to  them,  ventured   out 


"Hello!  Did  you  bring  my  supper?" 
The  supper  was  there.  Before  long  he 
found  it  and  came  again  and  again 
and  his  parents  or  brothers  and  sisters 
were  with  him.  This  went  on  during 
all  the  long,  lazy,  happy  summer  and 
bv  fall  our  "Babies,"  as  we  now  called 


DR.  IIERTZBERG'S  HOMF  NEAR  To   XAHUI 


KNOKIK  KA^'iIP." 


of  the  house  a  little  before  dark,  and 
occasionally  would  show  us  a  flight. 
As  time  went  on  they  became  bolder 
and  one  evening  one  ventured  on  to 
the  board  while  we  were  sitting  near- 
by and  in  a  great  hurry  scampered  ofif 
with  a  nut.  This  was  repeated  a  num- 
ber of  times,  the  little  fellows  coming 
oftener  and  earlier.  It  was  now  get- 
ting late  in  the  fall  and  we  had  to 
leave  Kamp  Knokik.  A  large  stock  of 
nuts  was  left  and,  as  the  acorn  yield 
was  plentiful,  no  apprehension  was  felt 
for  our  guest's  winter  food  supply. 

You  may  imagine  our  pleasurable 
surprise  when,  the  following  year,  we 
found  both  houses  occupied.  Nuts 
were  that  evening  placed  on  the  boards. 
In  the  morning  they  were  gone.  The 
next  evening  a  little  furry  head  with 
sharp  ears  and  big  eyes  peeped  out 
just   before   dark   and   seemed   to   say, 


them,  came  every  evening  just  before 
dark  and  partook  of  the  feast  spread 
for  them.  To  our  intense  gratification 
they  kept  coming  a  little  earlier,  so  that 
just  before  "Kamp"  breaking  time  ar- 
rived, the  little  creatures  entertained 
us  with  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes'  flight 
each  evening.  So  the  second  summer 
came  to  an  end. 

Large  expectations  were  held  for  the 
next  year.  The  spring  of  191 5  came, 
and  to  Kamp  we  went,  armed  with  a 
big  basketful  of  hazelnuts.  The  first 
look  was  at  the  houses.  The  babies 
were  still  there.  A  Lucullian  feast 
was  spread  for  them,  and  to  our  amaze- 
ment Baby  poked  his  head  out  of  his 
doorway  about  a  half  hour  before  dark 
and  lost  little  time  in  examining  his 
supper.  This  he  did  by  rushing  to  the 
board,  picking  up  a  nut,  quickly  sitting 
on  his  haunches,  and  taking  two  bites 


HOW  WE  FOUND  THE  FLVIXC.  SOllRRELS 


345 


out  of  the  shell.  The  friendship  now- 
progressed  rapidly.  Our  Babies  came 
earlier  and  we  kept  getting  nearer  and 
nearer  the  boards,  when  they  were 
there.  One  evening  one  ran  across  my 
shoe  to  reach  his  supper.  Then  we 
tried  to  get  them  to  take  a  nut  from 
our  hand.  This  we  did  by  sitting  per- 
fectly still,  the  hand  resting  on  the 
board  with  nuts  in  the  palm.  In  a  few 
evenings  they  were  eating  out  of  our 
hands.  They  came  in  broad  daylight 
and  soon  took  the  nuts  from  between 
our  fingers.  From  this  on  it  was  easy, 
by  leaving  the  boards  empty  and  with 
the  nuts  on  the  open  hand,  to  coax 
them  to  run  over  our  person.  One 
evening  one  mistook  my  head  for  the 
trunk  of  a  tree  and  landed  full  and 
square  on  the  place  Avhere  "only  the 
hair  ought  to  grow."  Now.  after 
three  years  of  patient  effort,  our  Ba- 
bies were  fully  tamed.  There  are  four 
of  them. 

There  is  nothing  more  charming 
than  to  see  these  gentle  creatures  cast 
themselves  into  space  and  in  a  long 
curve  sail  hundreds  of  yards  through 
the  air.  When  desiring  to  land,  they 
suddenly  flip  up  the  head,  drop  the 
tail,  and  with  a  quick,  graceful,  upward 
movement  perch  head  upward  on  the 
trunk  of  a  tree.  They  are  full  of  tricks 
and  play  together  much  like  puppies 
or  kittens,  scratching  and  squealing 
and  chasing  one  another.  Often  one 
steals  the  nut  from  the  other's  mouth. 
One  evening  before  sunset  we  heard  a 
great  squealing  outside  the  Kamp. 
With  the  exclamation,  "Something  has 
got  the  Baby!"  we  rushed  out.  only  to 
find  his  highness  perched  on  his  board 
and  calling  for  his  supper.  Another 
evening,  when  all  but  the  last  nut  had 
been  taken  oft'  the  board,  I  saw  one  of 
our  Babies  come  down,  get  the  nut  and 
run  away.  Suddenly  he  reappeared 
and  tried  with  all  his  might  to  push  the 
nut  between  the  edge  of  the  board  and 
the  tree.  His  action  was  so  unusual 
that  I  examined  the  nut  and  found  it 
to  be  a  pignut.  The  rascal  evidently 
desired  to  express  his  disapproval  of 
such  food  by  promptly  returning  i^. 
The  accompanying  flash-light  photo- 
graphs will  show  how  tame  our  Babies 
are.  We  can  scarcely  await  the  time 
when  we  shall  once  more  see  them 
poke  their  little  heads  out  of  the  open- 
ing of  their  houses  at  the  shaking  of  a 
handful  of  nuts. 


TWO  AT  ONCE— GETTING  WE[.L  ACOUAINTHD. 

Some  Local  Geology. 

BY  W.  C.  BANKS,  STAMFORD,  CONNECTICUT. 

To  trace  the  origin  of  our  present  land 
surfaces,  and  the  causes  to  which  they  are 
due.  is  an  interesting  study.  The  expres- 
sion, "the  everlasting  hills,"  is  a  convinc- 
ing figure  of  speech,  only,  unfortunately, 
it  is  far  from  being  true.  All  our  present 
surface  features  are  the  result  of  a  long 
series  of  changes,  reaching  back  in  time 
to  an  original  molten  state  of  the  rocks. 
However,  we  need  not  go  quite  so  far 
back,  but  accepting  the  present  rock 
masses  as  an  origin,  we  will  try  to  deter- 
mine through  what  causes  and  processes 
of  sculpturing  our  landscape  has  attained 
its  present  aspect.  Its  most  noticeable 
feature  is  the  strongly  marked  north  and 
south  trend  of  our  hills  and  valleys.  This 
is  due  to  the  fact  that  during  the  Glacial 
Period  the  course  of  the  continental  ice 
sheet  was  northwest  and  southeast ;  the 
drainage  too  before  this  time  was  approx- 
imately in  the  same  direction,  toward  the 
ocean,  so  that  the  hills  and  valleys  have, 
in  general,  the  same  trend.  The  result 
was  that  the  ice  ploughed  out  the  preex- 
isting valleys,  and  filled  and  rounded  the 
irregularities  of  the  hills  in  the  same  gen- 


346 


THE  01'] DE  TO  NATURE 


eral  direction.  An  examination  of  the 
structure  of  our  local  hills  shows  that 
thejf  are  made  up  of  rock  masses  more  or 
less  rounded  and  modified  by  glacial 
action,  together  with  enormous  masses 
of  boulder  clay  or  till — the  ground 
moraine  of  the  ancient  ice  sheet.  Some 
of  our  hills  are  largely  formed  of  such 
derived  materials.  An  artesian  well  at 
Noroton  Heights,  not  far  from  the  Stam- 
ford boundary,  passed  through  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-seven  feet  of  boulder  clay 
and,  at  the  bottom,  through  gravel,  ap- 
parently river  gravel ,  before  entering 
rock.  This,  perhaps,  was  anciently  a  river 
valley,  filled  and  obliterated  by  the  glacial 
ice.  It  would  be  difficult  to  reconstruct 
in  fancy  a  picture  of  this  region  before 
its  burial  beneath  the  ice,  but  our  hills 
and  valleys  modified  and  changed,  as  they 
undoubtedly  have  been,  are  strongly 
marked,  and  for  the  most  part  are  ancient 
features. 

The  original  drainage  direction  was 
determined  by  the  general  slope  of  the 
land  toward  the  ocean,  and  while  it  was 
probably  always  approximately  as  it  is 
at  present,  we  should  remember  that  some 
thousands  of  feet  of  rock  have  been  re- 
moved from  the  svirface  since  first  the 
waters  began  to  flow  from  our  highlands 
toward  the  sea.  The  original  elevation 
probably  dates  from  the  Taconic  Revo- 
lution, at  the  close  of  the  Ordovician  Era, 
when  the  Atlantic  border  of  America  was 
first  elevated  above  the  waters  as  a  long 
range  of  hills.  This  region  also  probably 
shared  in  the  later  elevation  at  the  close 
of  Paleozoic  time,  when  the  Appalachian 
Mountains  were  upheaved  from  the  sea. 
It  may  since  have  been  more  than  once 
submerged,  but  the  absence  of  stratified 
drift  makes  this  doubtful.  The  modified 
drift  is  of  Champlain  age,  and  extends 
in  a  level  belt  along  the  shore  at  a  height 
of  twenty  feet  or  less  above  high  water 
mark.  The  level  plain  on  which  the  busi- 
ness part  of  Stamford  is  built,  and  ex- 
tending to  the  hills,  is  an  instance.  This  is 
an  offshore  deposit  of  reassorted  boulder 
clays  and  detritus,  borne  seaward  by  the 
flood  waters  of  the  retreating  ice  sheet. 
The  surface  features  of  a  region  are  deter- 
mined by  the  nature  of  the  underlying 
rock.  A  soft,  yielding  rock  gives  smooth 
contours,  in  striking  contrast  to  the  rug- 
ged character  of  the  scenery  in  a  country 
of  trap  rock  or  granite.  Our  native  rock 
about  southern  Stamford  and  the  con- 
tiguous territory  east  and  west  is  mostly 


a  dark  granite,  altered  by  regional  meta- 
morphism  into  a  banded  granite  gneiss. 
Out  side  of  this  particular  locality,  it  is 
found  widely  distributed  over  Fairfield 
County,  and  is  everywhere  porphyritic  in 
character,  the  feldspar  being  in  distinct 
crystals,  and  g'iving  the  rock  a  more  or 
less  spotted  appearance.  This  formation 
is  largely  penetrated  by  dykes  of  diorite 
trap  rock.  This  is,  or  was,  well  shown 
near  the  canal  on  Henry  Street,  Stam- 
ford. This  dike  was  originally  a  quartz 
diorite.  but.  sharing  in  the  regional  meta- 
morphism  that  altered  the  surrounding 
granite,  it  has  a  more  or  less  banded  ap- 
pearance, so  that  it  is  more  properly  a 
diorite  gneiss. 

Many  years  ago  this  locality  furnished 
some  good  specimens  of  epidote  that 
occurred  in  a  large  "pocket"  at  the  con- 
tact of  the  diorite  and  granite  gneiss. 
This  dark  granite  gneiss,  because  of  its 
jointed  structure,  produces  a  character- 
istic type  of  landscape,  with  rugged  hil- 
locks and  angular  masses  of  dark  rock. 
From  Westcott's  Cove  north  through  the 
basin  occupied  by  Holly's  Pond,  we  find 
another  granite  gneiss  formation.  This 
is  more  massive  in  structure  and  lighter 
in  color  than  the  other.  It  shows  many 
masses  of  the  coarse  grained  granite  of 
the  type  called  pegmatite.  Across  the 
northern  parts  of  the  townships  of  Stam- 
ford and  Greenwich  we  find  the  Berk- 
shire schist.  This  was  originally  sedi- 
mentary rock  of  Ordovician  age,  a 
sediment  deposited  when  the  greater  part 
of  the  continent  was  submerged  beneath 
the  ocean.  r)Ut  the  process  of  metamor- 
phism  attending  the  extensive  crumpling 
and  upheaval  of  the  Taconic  Revolution 
has  altered  it  to  a  highly  crystalline 
schist,  and  destroyed  all  trace  of  any  fos- 
sils that  it  may  have  contained.  Beside 
the  native  rock,  the  surface  is  everywhere 
strewn  with  rock  material  of  foreign, 
origin,  borne  along  by  the  ancient  ice 
sheet — granite,  quartzite,  amphibolite, 
and  what  not.  making  every  stone  w^all  a 
litholoffical  museum- 


The  familiar  fact  that  a  pine  forest 
killed  bv  fire  is  followed  by  hard  wood, 
has  had  many  attempted  explanations. 
The  latest  suggestion  is  that  the  ash 
from  the  burned  wood  makes  the  soil 
alkaline,  the  pine  preferring  a  more 
acid  condition.  But  after  a  few  years, 
the  potash  leaches  out,  and  the  pines 
start  asrain. 


RHODODRXDROX  FALLS  IX  THE  ^lol'XTALXS 


347 


Rhododendron  Falls  in  the  Mountains. 

BY  JAMES  D.  BURTON,  OAKDALE,  TENNES- 
SEE, FIELD  WORKER,  AMERICAN  HUMANE 
EDUCATION   SOCIETY- 

Rhododendron  Falls  are  located  in 
the  mountains  at  Oakdale,  Tennessee, 
and  belong  to  a  residence  known  as 
"Brookcroft." 

The  falls  are  named  after  the  beauti- 
ful flower  rhododendron  which  line  the 
banks  of  this  stream  in  summer.  About 
the    cliffs    and    hills    surrounding    this 


it  could  be  made  worth  very  nnich  in 
any  way. 

A  wonderful  transformation  has  tak- 
en place.  The  grounds  have  been 
cleared,  and  a  bimgalow  erected  which 
is  called  "Brookcroft."  The  rhodo- 
dendron, holly,  hemlock,  dogwood,  and 
many  other  varieties  of  trees  have  been 
trimmed*  and  improved.  The  winding 
mountain  stream  almost  encircles 
"Brookcroft"  as  it  makes  its  way 
around  rugged  and  high  cliffs,  and 
gives  a  beautiful   setting  to  the  ]ilace 


"BROOKCROFT"  AT  OAKDALE,  TENNESSLl 


place  may  also  be  found  in  early  spring, 
hidden  imder  fallen  leaves,  the  trailing 
arbutus,  sweet  and  fragrant. 

Until  about  a  year  ago  this  was  an 
isolated  and  neglected  mountain  ra- 
vine. It  was  almost  inaccessible  be- 
cause of  no  road.  But  ^Morgan  County, 
through  a  three  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lar bond  issue,  has  just  completed  a 
new  pike  road  through  this  mountain 
ravine,  and  connects  with  the  Dixie 
Highway  from  Chicago  to  Miami,  Flor- 
ida. About  the  time  the  engineer  lo- 
cated this  road  the  writer  acquired  this 
property,  consisting  of  about  twenty 
acres.     The  citizens  here  didn't  think 


Near  "Brookcroft"  are  a  trio  of 
springs  which  are  enclosed  in  a  rustic 
springhouse.  The  creek  runs  between 
the  bungalow  and  the  springs,  and  over 
this  stream  is  erected  a  rustic  foot- 
bridge. 

This  is  the  home  of  the  Field  Work- 
er of  the  American  Humane  Fducation 
Society.  Until  a  few  years  ago  he  was 
the  General  Secretary  of  the  Railroad 
Young  Allen's  Christian  Association  of 
Oakdale. 

Oakdale  is  a  railroad  terminal  on  the 
Cincinnati  Southern  Railroad,  extend- 
ing through  the  mountains  from  Cin- 
cinnati to  Chattanooga,  Tennessee.     It 


THE  GflDE  TO  XATL'RE 


RHODODENDRON  FALLS,  OAKDALE,  TENNESSEE. 


is  the  only  municipal  owned  railroad 
in  the  United  States.  Railroad  em- 
ployees, numbering  several  hundred, 
make  Oakdale  a  lay-over  point  on  this 
system.  The  town  has  about  3,000  in- 
habitants. 

Since  the  opening  of  the  grounds 
about  Rhododendron  Falls  it  is  a  very 
popular  place  for  the  railroad  men  and 
their  families,  and  for  the  mountain 
people  residing  nearby.  Several  pic- 
nics have  been  held  on  the  grounds. 

A  bathhouse  has  been  built  at  Rho- 
dodendron Falls,  and  a  number  go  in 
swimming  in  the  clear  pool  at  the  foot 
of  the  falls.  Provision  has  been  made 
for  the  public  to  get  drinking  water  at 
the  rustic  springs  belonging  to  "Brook- 
croft." 

The  owner  is  trying  to  make  the 
place  one  of  enjoyment  and  pleasure  to 
all  who  visit  it.  The  children  espec- 
ially enjoy  the  outings  about  this  place. 

Some  of  the  needs  at  present  are 
about  1,200  feet  of  two-inch  piping  to 
bring  water  from  the  falls  to  a  foun- 
tain near  the  roadside,  and  a  few^  bush- 
els of  grass  seed  to  sow  on  the  grounds 
about  Rhododendron  Falls  in  order  to 
make  a  pleasant  retreat  for  the  children 
on  their  outings. 

Public  subscriptions  will  probably 
be  started  to  make  this  possible  before 
any  great  while.  This  is  one  way  of 
helping  the  little  mountaineers  of  the 
South  to  enjoy  themselves,  and  to  de- 
velop strong.  Christian  characters. 


The  Aquarium  Society  of  Washington, 
D.  C. 

Nature  students  in  general  and  those 
of  the  District  of  Columbia  in  particular, 
will  be  glad  to  learn  that  the  Washington 
Aquarium  Society  has  recently  been 
formed  under  the  most  favorable  condi- 
tions possible,  thus  .giving  every  promise 
of  a  successful  future.  Dr-  R.  W.  Shu- 
feldt  of  the  Medical  Corps  of  the  Army 
has  been  elected  the  society's  active  presi- 
dent, and  we  are  sure  that  he  will  be  as 
active  and  enthusiastic  in  this  work 
as  he  has  been  for  many  years  in  a 
multiplicity  of  other  scentific  pursuits. 
Those  interested  in  the  aquarium  may 
correspond  with  him  at  3356  Eigh- 
teenth Street,  Washington,  D.  C,  for 
circulars  and  further  particulars  of  this 
new  orgranization. 


Studies  at  the  British  Museum  of 
Natural  History  made  on  great  num- 
bers of  flies  sent  in  from  all  parts  of 
the  country  prove  that,  there  at  least, 
what  most  persons  suppose  to  be  the 
adult  housefly  hibernating  through  the 
winter  is  really  nothing  of  the  kind. 
The  house  fly,  it  appears,  and  the  blue- 
bottle as  w^ell,  pass  the  cold  season  as 
pupae.  What  is  taken  for  the  adult 
house  fly  proves  to  be  another  animal, 
an  out-door  insect,  which  comes  into 
houses  only  to  hibernate.  Evidently 
our  "swat  the  fly"  campaign  needs 
more  basis  of  fact. 


LTMXG  IN  THE  COUNTRY 


349 


Living  in  the  Country. 

Each  year  finds  a  greater  number  of 
people  in  America  erecting  homes  in 
the  country.  They  are  beginning  to 
Hve  in  the  golden  today  rather  than 
in  the  past,  or  in  the  future.  They 
have  come  to  the  realization  that  iu 
the  country,  and  only  in  the  country  is 
found  the  simple  beauty  of  nature  with 
her  fragrance,  her  color,  her  atmos- 
phere of  peace,  her  silent  inspiration  in 
all  her  myriad  forms.  And  she  will 
gently  find  her  way  into  the  very  soul 
of  the  dweller  in  the  country,  and 
through  this  communion  he  will  be 
re-created,  re-inspired,  and  re-strength- 
ened.— "The   Hoggson   Magazine." 


thrifty  management  let  out  to  local 
sportsmen  the  right  to  hunt  them  and 
thus  turned  a  penny  toward  the  funds. 
The  Herbivora  have  fared  better;  but 
hay  is  so  scarce  that  they  have  to  live 
on  wild  chestnuts. 


With  few  institutions  is  the  war 
playing  sadder  havoc  than  with  the 
Zoological  Gardens.  At  Budapest 
they  have  ptit  the  lions  on  short  ra- 
tions, and  even  then  have  had  to  feed 
them  on  the  least  valuable  of  the  sheep 
and  goats.  The  seals  have  had  to  be 
killed  for  lack  of  fish.  The  polar  bears 
have  met  the  same  fate,  except  that  a 


Natural  Steam  Caves. 

BY     H.    li.    ZIMMER.MAX,    MT.     MORRIS,    ILL. 

In  southern  California  are  to  be 
fotnid  the  most  wonderful  steain  caves 
in  the  world.  They  are  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  well  known  arrow-head  on  the 
mountain  side,  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Waterman  Canyon.  They  are  artifi- 
cially formed  and  consist  of  tunnels  cut 
into  the  blufif  from  the  sides,  roofs  and 
floors,  from  which  the  arsenicated 
steam  issues.  The  temperature  of  tliis 
steam  is  202,  the  next  hottest  springs 
in  the  world  being  at  Carlsbad,  Ger- 
many, 164  degrees.  Some  idea  of  the 
heat  of  these  springs  may  be  gathered 
from  the  fact  that  eggs  can  be  nicely 
boiled  in  this  water  in  from,  three  to 
five  minutes. 


STEAM  COMING  FROM  CAVES. 


350 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


All  communications  for  this  department 
should  be  sent  to  the  Department  Editor, 
Mr.  Harry  G.  Higbee,  13  Austin  Street, 
Hyde  Park,  Massachusetts.  Items,  articles 
and  photographs  in  this  department  not 
otherwise  credited  are  by  the  Department 
Editor. 


A  Friend  of  the  Birds. 

OUR    VISIT    TO    THK    CLOL'CKSTKK    HIvKMlT. 

It  is  now  more  than  thirty-one  years 
since  Mason  A.  Walton  came  to  the 
rocky  shores  of  Cape  Aim  and  pitched 
his  tent  on  a  high  promontory  overlook- 
ing the  Gloucester  harbor.  This  site, 
which  he  called  "The  Eyrie."  was  on  the 
outskirts  of  the  settlement  and  near  the 
edge  of  the  twelve-thousand  acre  tract 
of  woodland  which  then  comprised  the 
western  part  of  the  city  of  Gloucester, 
Massachusetts.  Since  that  time  Mr. 
Walton  has  lived  the  life  of  a  hermit,  and 
has  become  widelv  known  throutih  maga- 


zine writings  and  his  book  entitled  "A 
Hermit's  Wild  Friends." 

His  present  cabin  is  not  far  removed 
from  "The  Eyrie,"  although  it  is  snugly 
sheltered  among  the  pines,  while  about 
the  (looryard  and  upon  the  trees  nearby 
are  numerous  boxes  and  feeding  devices 
for  the  shelter  and  accommodation  of  his 
"wild  friends,"  the  birds  and  squirrels. 

One  cold  winter's  day — the  third  of 
March,  1916 — while  the  ground  was 
deeply  covered  with  snow,  we  made  a 
visit  to  this  little  cabin  in  the  woods, 
finding  it  a  walk  of  about  three-quarters 
of  a  mile  from  Western  Avenue,  on  the 
old,  abandoned  Salem  Road.  As  we  ap- 
])roached  the  cabin  we  noticed  a  dozen  or 
more  chickadees,  a  tree  sparrow  and  a 
small  fiock  of  j uncos  feeding  about  in 
front  of  the  entrance- 

We  were  cordially  received  by  Mr. 
Walton,  who  talked   freely  of  his  expe- 


THE  HERMIT'S  CABIN  "SNUGLY  SHELTERED  AMONG  THE  PINES. 


(mNITHOLOGY 


351 


■'SHOWED    TIIKIR    CONFIDENCE FEEDING    FR()M    HIS    HAND." 


riences  among'  the  birds  of  the  vicinity, 
and  gave  some  interesting"  anecdotes  in 
connection  with  his  observations  of  their 
habits.    He  stated  that  "Wabbles,"  a  cer- 


CHICKADEES   IN   THE  HERMIT'S   CABIN. 

tain  song-  sparrow  mentioned  in  his  book, 
v^^hich  he  found  in  his  dooryard  more 
than  twenty-five  years  ago,  was  still  alive 
and  about  his  old  haunts  during  the  past 
season- 
While  we  ate  our  lunch  in  the  hermit's 


cabin,  he  opened  the  door ;  placed  a  table 
near  the  entrance,  within  the  room,  and 
sprinkling  upon  it  a  handful  of  hempseed, 
called  to  the  chickadees,  wdiich  almost 
immediately  responded.  They  alighted 
readily  upon  the  table  and  carried  ofif  the 
hemp,  taking  sometimes  one  and  some- 
times two  of  the  large  seeds  in  their  little 
l)ills.  There  was  usually  but  one  bird  on 
the   table    at    a    time,    while    the    others 


W.MTNC.    FOR    A.\    1  .\  \  IIWTM  )X. 


352 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


waited  just  outside  the  door,  although 
one  of  these  would  frequently  dart  in  and 
drive  away  the  feeding  hird,  usurping  its 
place  at  the  seed.  On  several  occasions 
we  noted  two,  and  in  one  instance  three, 
of  these  birds  within  the  cabin  at  the 
same  time,  and  they  seemed  not  at  all 
alarmed  or  disturbed  by  our  presence  a 
few  feet  away. 

Mr.  Walton  then  sat  upon  the  edge  of 
his  chair  near  the  open  door,  and  holding 
out  some  seed,  again  called  to  the  chick- 
adees, a  number  of  which  showed  their 
confidence  by  alighting  upon  and  feeding 
from  his  hand.  Several  others  and  a  tree 
sparrow  were  meanwhile  busy  at  a 
doughnut  and  other  food  just  outside 
upon  the  ground,  while  a  number  were 
also  feeding  upon  the  pieces  of  suet  sus- 
pended from  a  long  pole  between  two 
trees  in  the  dooryard. 

When  the  hermit  first  came  to  Glouces- 
ter he  was  in  exceedingly  poor  health, 
but  has  been  completely  restored  by  his 
life  in  the  woods,  and  is  now  hale  and 
hearty.  He  is  a  man  of  education  and 
considerable  experience,  and  a  firm  be- 
liever in  animal  intelligence.  While 
ornithologists  generally  do  not  agree 
with  Mr.  Walton  in  many  of  his  views, 
his  long  life  among  the  wild  creatures 
must  be  considered  and  he  may  have  seen 
many  unusual  incidents  pertaining  to 
their  lives  not  elsewhere  recorded.  ^^  e 
have  found  his  book  delightful  reading 
and  would  recommend  it  to  all  interested 
in  wild  life. 

These  bird  friends,  with  others  in  their 
season,  bring  a  great  deal  of  pleasure  to 
the  hermit  in  his  solitary  cabin,  and  our 
trip  was  a  happy  reminder  of  the  remark- 
able confidence  which  may  be  won  from 
our  feathered  guests,  with  kindly  treat- 
ment and  a  little  effort  to  attract  them  by 
offering  food  and  shelter. 


and  while  it  was  preserved  for  awhile  ,it 
was  unfortunately  destroyed  by  mistake 
before  it  could  be  sent  to  this  depart- 
ment to  be  inspected  and  photographed. 
A  short  piece  of  rusty,  twisted  wire, 
about  the  size  of  that  used  for  paper 
clips  was  sent  us  as  a  sample  of  the  nest- 
ing material.  The  nest  is  described  as 
rough  and  scraggly,  with  little  or  no 
attempt  at  weaving  the  material  together, 
but  concave  sufficiently  to  hold  the  eggs. 
This  is  indeed  a  curious  nest,  and  the 
reason  for  using  such  material  seems  one 
of  those  vagaries  of  bird  life  for  which 
we  cannot  account. 


Wren's  Nest  Built  of  Wire. 

Mr.  Henry  F.  Xorcross,  of  P.ridgeport 
Connecticut,  writes  of  a  nest  of  a  house 
wren,  which  was  built  in  a  tomato  can 
attached  to  a  tree  on  the  farm  of  Mr. 
Wells  W.  Lewis  of  Munroe.  and  com- 
posed entirely  of  wire.  Clarence  An- 
drews, the  lad  who  made  the  nesting  box, 
which  was  covered  with  birch  bark,  knew 
nothing  of  its  contents  until  the  matter 
was  called  to  his  attention.  For  some 
unknown  reason  the  nest  was  apparentlv 
deserted  when  it  contained  but  one  egg. 


Brush   Hill   Bird   Club   Report. 

The  first  report  of  the  Brush  Hill  Bird 
Club  of  Milton,  Massachusetts,  describes 
a  very  complete  exhibit  held  by  that  club 
in  the  public  library  and  should  be  found 
useful  to  other  organizations  contem- 
plating such  exhibits.  Much  valuable  in- 
formation is  also  given  regarding  state 
and  federal  laws  relating  to  the  birds,  a 
map  of  the  state  bird  reservations,  and 
numerous  lists  and  references  of  value. 

This  report  contains  one  hundred  and 
twenty-three  pages  and  several  half-tone 
illustrations  and  should  be  of  interest  to 
l:)ird-lovers  generally,  especially  those 
ha\'ing  to  do  with  the  organization  of 
Inrd  clubs. 

A  few  copies  may  still  be  obtained  by 
application  to  the  general  manager,  Dr. 
Harris  Kennedy,  Readville,  Massachu- 
setts, at  fifty  cents  per  copy. — H-  G.  H- 


"The  Bluebird,"  formerly  published  by 
Eugene  Swope,  is  now  issued  under  the 
auspices  of  The  Cleveland  Bird  Lovers 
association,  with  Mrs.  Elizabeth  C-  T- 
Miller  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  as  owner  and 
editor.  Interesting  articles  bv  Dr.  R.  W. 
Shufeldt  of  \\'ashmgton,  T.  Gilbert  Pier- 
son  and  Winthrop  Packard  of  the  Na- 
tional Association  of  Audobon  Societies 
and  others  make  up  an  attractive  number 
of  this  little  magazine  for  januarv. 


Twenty-eight  species  of  birds  are 
known  to  feed  upon  the  cotton  boll  wee- 
vil, which  destroys  such  an  immense 
amount  every  year  in  our  southern  agri- 
culture. This  is  only  one  instance  of  the 
great  value  of  birds  in  economics,  and 
the  more  thev  are  studied  the  more  use- 
ful th.ev  are  found  to  be. 


ORXlTliOLOGV 


353 


Is  It  Unwise  to  Feed  the  Birds? 

BY  THE  REVEREND  MANLEY  B.  TOWNSEND, 
SECRETARY  AUDUBON  SOCIETY  OE  NEW 
HAMPSHIRE,  NASHUA,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE 

Frequently  someone  with  more  zeal 
than  knowledge  denounces  the  winter 
feeding  of  the  birds  as  unnecessary  and 
economically  unwise.  Such  an  attitude 
is  a  good  illustration  of  the  old  saying, 


\  J 

[^'    > 

IB 

. 

.■y\ 

1 

k 

s'  ^W^ 

% 

^ 

^^^B  ~ 

.  ^ 

^ 

^^^c'^\ 

^ 

^lEiv '' 

'THERE  WAS  A  LITTLE  DOWNY  WOODPECKER 

AT   HIS    THANKSGIVING    DINNER." 

Photograph  by  Mr.  Harry  G.  Higbee. 

".V  little  knowledge  is  a  dangerous 
thing."  The  latest  manifesto  along  this 
line  is  by  a  Kansas  professor,  who  de- 
clares that  feeding  the  birds  has  a  ten- 
dency to  diminish  their  usefulness  as 
destroyers  of  insect  eggs,  pupae  and 
hibernating  adults,  as  it  removes  the 
necessity  that  is  supposed  to  keep  the 
birds  hustling.  It  would  seem  that 
there  might  be  something  in  this  reas- 
oning, but  what  are  the  facts?  Birds 
prefer  their  natural  food.  Where  they 
can  get  that  in  sufficient  quantities 
they  do  not  care  for  food  that  we  give 
them.  This  is  proved  conclusively  by 
the  fact  that  only  winter  feeding  proves 
successful.  When  spring  comes,  the 
birds  leave  our  food,  no  matter  how 
attractive  it  may  be.  Only  dire  neces- 
sity drives  them  to  our  feeding  sta- 
tions. 

During  the  winter  many  birds  have 
difficulty  in  finding  sufficient  food. 
Search  as  they  may,  the  natural  su])- 
ply  is  inadequate.  The  spark  of  life 
burns  low  and,  alas  !  too  often  flickers 
out.  With  a  full  stomach  a  bird  can 
bid  defiance  to  an}-  weather.  With  fuel 
under    the    boiler,    sufficient    steam    is 


generated  to  keep  the  machinery  run- 
ning. Food  placed  out  for  the  birds 
may  save  many  a  little  life  by  provid- 
ing just  the  necessary  additional  fuel 
needed  to  keep  up  the  steam.  The  first 
sharp  edge  of  hunger  blunted,  the  bird 
will  pay  for  his  dinner  by  searching  the 
trees  in  the  vicnity  and  destroying  all 
the  insects  that  he  can  find,  for  he  al- 
ways prefers  his  natural  food.  It  pays, 
in  dollars  and  cents,  to  feed  the  birds. 
Every  orchard  should  at  regular  inter- 
vals have  suet  fastened  to  the  trees,  as 
well  as  bird  boxes  for  nesting  pur- 
])Oses. 

There  is  pleasure  in  watching  the 
feeding  birds — their  beautiful  colors, 
their  graceful  movements,  their  engag- 
ing ways,  to  say  nothing  of  gaining 
their  confidence  and  perhaps  persuad- 
ing them  to  light  upon  us  and  take 
food  from  our  hands.  There  is  a  joy 
in  such  companionship,  a  deep  satis- 
faction in  ministering  to  a  dependent 
life. 

On  Thanksgiving  Day,  as  I  sat  down 
to  dinner,  I  glanced  out  of  the  window 
into  the  apple  tree.  There  was  a  little 
downy  woodpecker  at  his  Thanksgiv- 
ing dinner  of  suet  (we  both  had  suet 
pudding  that  day)  and  my  heart  was 
the  lighter  and  my  Thanksgiving  the 
brighter  becatise  I  had  a  tiny  feathered 
guest  to  enjoy  my  bounty.  Try  it  for 
vourself  and  see  if  this  is  not  so. 


The  Birds  of  Connecticut. 

Bulletin  20  of  the  State  Geological  and 
Xatural  Hi.story  Survey,  issued  by  the 
State  Library  at  Hartford,  and  entitled 
"The  Birds  of  Connecticut,"  is  a  three 
hundred  and  seventy  page  book  by  John 
H.  Sage,  Secretary  of  the  American 
Ornithologists  Union,  Dr.  Louis  B. 
Bishop,  and  Walter  P.  Bliss,  M.  A.  An 
annotated  list  of  the  appearance  of  the 
birds  makes  up  the  first  part  of  the  vol- 
ume, the  second  part  being  devoted  to 
economic  ornithology'  under  the  editor- 
ship of  Dr.  Bishop.  There  is  also  a  valu- 
able bibliographv  in  connection  with  the 
work— H.  O.  H.' 


A  new  study  by  the  Danish  natural- 
ist, H.  Blegvad.  shows  that  the  chief 
food  of  the  creatures  that  live  on  the 
sea  floor  is  the  fragments  of  dead  or 
dying  animals  and  plants  that  drop 
down  on  them  from  above.  Next  to 
this  in  imjiortance  come  the  growing 
plants  of  the  ocean. 


354 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


An  Unusual  Set  of  Eggs  of  the  Least 
Tern. 

BY  DR.  R.  W.  SliUFlvLDT,  WASHINGTON, D.  C. 

Not  long  ago  in  going  over  the  cele- 
brated collection  of  North  American  and 
Australian  birds'  eggs  belonging  to  Mr. 
E.  J.  Court,  of  Washington,  D.  C,  the 
owner  called  my  attention  to  a  remark- 


the  one  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner  is 
the  same  Qgg  as  the  one  in  the  lower  left 
hand  corner — and  so  on  for  the  middle 
and  the  last  one  in  the  row.  The  mark- 
ings on  one  side  of  any  one  of  these  eggs 
three  in  the  upper  row  are  repeated  in  the 
same  sequence  in  the  lower  row,  so  that 
as  they  are  shown  in  the  upper  row  are 
bv   no  means   abundant;   but   when    we 


AN  UNUSUAL  SET  OF  EGGS  OF  THE  LEAST  TERN. 


able  set  of  eggs  of  the  Least  Tern,  and 
very  generously  loaned  me  the  clutch  for 
the  purpose  of  photograph}-  and  descrip- 
tion. 

Mr.  Court  collected  this  set  himself  on 
the  sixth  of  June,  1914,  at  Deep  Point, 
St.  George's  Island,  Maryland.  There 
was  no  nest,  and  the  full  complement  of 
eggs  was  three,  as  shown  in  my  photo- 
graph illustrating  the  present  article.  At 
the  time  he  was  there,  a  colony  of  seven- 
tv-five  pairs  of  these  birds  was  breeding 
on  the  same  area,  which  is  a  part  of 
Maryland  I  have  never  personally  visited. 

These  eggs  are  of  a  pale  creamy  white, 
with  markings,  as  shown  in  the  cut,  of 
blackish  brown — almost  black  in  some 
places ;  there  are  also  scattered  spots  of 
pale  drab  or  gray.  My  photograph  shows 
each  of  these  eggs  on  two  views.     The 


come  to  turn  the  eggs  over  it  will  be 
observed  that  each  and  all  of  them  exhibit 
a  big  blotch  on  the  reverse  side,  and  of  a 
pattern  shown  in  the  illustration. 

Perhaps  the  most  extraordinary  appear- 
ing egg  of  this  set  is  the  one  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  two  rows.  On  one  side  it  ex- 
hibits but  a  few  and  small  scattered  spots 
as  markings,  while  on  its  other  side  these 
spots  are  still  smaller,  but  to  these  we 
find  added  a  great,  square,  central  patch 
of  a  deep  blackish  brown,  which  gives  the 
egg  a  very  extraordinary  appearance. 

I  will  be  interested  to  know  whether 
any  other  collector  of  birds'  eggs  in  this 
country  has  ever  come  across  a  set  of  the 
Least  Tern's  eggs  in  any  way  approach- 
ing this  one  in  the  matter  of  peculiar 
markings  ;  it  so,  I  should  very  much  like 
to  hear  of  it. 


ORXITHOLOGY 


355 


Bird  Movies. 
Mr.  Herbert  K.  Job,  of  New  Haven, 
Connecticut,  Ornithologist  of  the  Na- 
tional Association  of  Audobon  Societies, 
spoke  February  24  at  the  McKniley 
Manual  Training  School  at  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Audubon  Society  of  the  District  of  Co- 
lumbia, and  showed  four  reels  of  mo- 
tion pictures  taken  by  himself  portray- 
ing wonderful  scenes  of  wild  bird  life. 
United  States  Senator  George  P.  Mc- 
Lean, of  Connecticut  and  his  Secretary, 
W.  H.  Sault,  were  in  the  audience  and 
the  Senator  was  enabled  to  see  himself 
as  others  see  him.  In  other  words,  he 
was  in  the  pictures  as  a  "Movie  Star." 

One  reel  of  the  pictures  was  of  wild 
ducks  and  geese  on  the  great  wild  life 
reftige  of  Louisiana  taken  on  a  trip 
early  this  winter  in  which  Senator  Mc- 
Lean was  a  party.  Their  present  abun- 
dance is  largely  due  to  the  McLean 
Federal  Law  protecting  migratory 
birds,  of  Avhich  Senator  McLean  was 
the  author  and  father.  Mr.  Job  and 
Mr.  Pearson,  Secretary  of  the  National 
Audubon  Societies,  invited  him  to  go 
on  this  trip  to  see  for  himself  the  re- 
sults of  his  law. 

These  preserves  include  some  335.- 
000  acres  extending  over  75  miles  of 
coast  line  and  wild  ducks  and  geese  by 
scores  of  thousands  spend  the  winter 
in  security  here.  The  policy  oF  estab- 
lishing these  reservations  was  begun 
by  the  National  Audubon  Society,  and 
the  McLean  Law  comes  in  as  a  mighty 
ally  for  the  success  of  the  whole  move- 
ment. These  Audubon  films  are  to  be 
shown  all  over  the  country  by  arrange- 
ment with  the  various  film  companies 
to  promote  the  work  of  the  Atidubon 
Societies,  and  to  interest  the  public  in 
Avild  birds  and  game  and  their  proper 
conservation. 


suggestions   as    to   its    proper   control. 

As  a  summary  of  the  immense  amount 
of  material  gathered  from  wide  sources 
in  the  preparation  of  this  report  some 
very  significant  facts  are  brought  out  re- 
garding the  bird-catching  habits  of  cats, 
and  it  would  seem  high  time  that  some 
legal  preventive  measures  were  taken  in 
this  matter. 

This  bulletin,  which  contains  one  hun- 
dred and  twelve  pages  and  is  well  illus- 
trated, should  be  in  the  hands  of  not  only 
every  lover  of  birds  I)ut  every  owner  of 
cats.— H.  G.  H.  • 


The  Domestic  Cat. 

ECONOMIC  BIOLOGY BULLETIN  NO-  2. 

An  exhaustive  report  with  the  above 
title  has  just  been  issued  by  the  Massa- 
chusetts State  Board  of  Agriculture, 
under  the  direction  of  Edward  Howe 
Forbush.  State  Ornithologist-  It  con- 
tains a  history  of  the  cat  from  its  earliest 
known  records ;  its  usefulness  to  man 
and  place  in  the  home  ;  its  economic  value 
in  suppressing  noxious  rodents  and  its 
importance  as  a  destroyer  of  useful  birds 
in  this  and  other  countries,  with  some 


A  Snowbird  Enjoyed  a  Visit  within  a 
Home. 

Flemington.  New  Jersey. 
To  the  Editor : 

Monday  night,  a  bird  which  I  do  not 
identify,  but  which  we  call,  together 
with  several  others,  snowbirds  (j uncos) 
wanted  to  get  in  the  house.  He  tried 
for  an  hour  or  more  and  finally  I  let 
him  in.  He  seemed  to  be  perfectly  at 
home  in  the  house  and  next  morning 
I  let  him  out.  Is  not  this  unusual  ? 
Yours  truly, 

Hiram  E.  Beats. 

^     ^     ^     ^     ^ 

I  have  never  personally  known  of 
such  an  instance.  Perhaps  some  of  our 
readers  have  had  a  similar  experience. 
Birds  seek  all  sorts  of  places  for  shelter 
in  severe  weather  and  under  certain 
conditions,  but  not  knowing  either  in 
this  instance,  w'e  can  give  no  light  on 
the  subject. — H.  G.  H. 


One  should  sleep  alone.  Then  the 
body  is  equally  warmed  and  equally 
exposed  on  all  sides.  To  sleep  next  to 
another  person,  the  body  is  unduly 
w^armed  on  one  side,  while  it  is  exposed 
on  the  other  side,  which  slightly  de- 
ranges the  action  of  the  entire  nervous 
system. — "The  Columbus  Medical 
Journal,"  Columbus,  Ohio. 


We  are  apt  to  think  of  the  crinoids, 
or  sea  lilies,  only  as  fossil  creatures.  A 
recent  monograph  of  the  United  States 
National  Museum,  however,  shows  that 
they  are  by  no  means  imcommon  on  the 
floor  of  modern  oceans.  In  fact,  the 
world  over,  they  are  about  as  abundant, 
both  in  species  and  individuals,  as  are 
their  near  relatives  the  starfish  and  the 
sea  urchins. 


356 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


THE  HEAVENS  IN  APRIL. 


Two  New  Comets.  How  Comets  Are 
Captured.  The  April  Shooting  Stars. 
Mars  Still  In  Excellent  Position  for 
Observation. 

BY  PROFESSOR  ERIC  DOOLlTTLE  OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 

The  most  striking  of  our  evening 
constellations  is  now  the  beautiful 
group,  Leo,  which  shines  almost  ex- 
actly  on    the    meridian    in    the    south. 


stretches  two-thirds  of  the  way  across 
the  southern  heavens,  bearing  the  Cup 
and  the  Crow  on  its  back. 

The  observer  who  is  familiar  with 
the  brighter  constellations  will  find  it 
most  interesting  to  trace  out  the 
Lesser  Lion,  which  is  made  up  of  all 
the  faint  stars  lying  between  Leo  and 
the  paws  of  the  Bear,  at  E  and  F, 
Figure  i.  And  to  the  west  of  this  he 
will  find  the  equally  faint  Lynx,  a 
quite  extended  group  including  all 
stars  from  Leo  Elinor  to  the  region  H. 

)RTH 


SCSUTt 


Figure  I.  The  Constellations  at  9  P.  M.,  April  1.  (If  facing  south,  hold  the 
map  upright.  If  facing  east,  hold  East  below.  If  facing  west,  hold  West  below.  If 
facing  north,   hold  the  map  inverted). 


Above  this,  we  find  the  whole  region 
about  the  zenith  covered  by  the  Great 
Bear  which  has  now  attained  its  high- 
est position  in  the  heavens,  while 
below  Leo  the  verv  long  Water  Snake 


Figure  i.  This  constellation  is. quite  re- 
markable for  the  large  number  of 
double  stars  which  it  contains ;  there 
are  no  less  than  fifty  of  these  which 
are  visible  in  a  quite  small   telescope. 


TO  KXOW  THE  STARRY  HEAVEXS 


357 


The  star  at  K,  for  example,  is  made  up 
of  two  beautiful  suns,  three  seconds 
apart,  of  which  the  larger  is  greenish- 
white  and  the  fainter  one  blue.  A  some- 
what similar  beautiful  double  pair  is 
in  Leo  at  L,  while  the  brilliant  Regu- 
lus  has  a  deep  blue  companion,  one 
minute  away,  which  is  itself  a  double 

^  ?{:  ^  :^  ;}: 

The  April  Stars. 

To  the  east  of  Leo,  there  is  the  very 
large  summer  group  \^irgo,  which  for 
the  first  time  this  year  is  seen  to  have 
completely  entered  the  evening  sky. 
The  beautiful  Spica  is  the  most  strik- 
ing object  of  this  constellation.  This 
remarkable  star  is  now  known  to  be 
revolving  about  a  dark  and  unseen 
companion  with  a  speed  of  fifty-six 
miles  a  second.  It  thus  passes  com- 
pletely around  its  orbit,  which  is  six 
millions  of  miles  in  diameter,  in  the 
course  of  only  four  days.  The  system 
is  very  like  that  of  the  well-known 
Algol,  at  M,  Figure  i,  but  the  path  of 
Spica  lies  in  such  a  position  that  we 
never  see  the  dark  companion  pass 
between  the  bright  star  and  us,  and  so 
cut  ofif  its  light,  as  so  frequently  hap- 
pens with  Algol.  It  is  in  the  region, 
N,  of  this  constellation  that  there  are 
found  more  of  these  wonderful  shin- 
ing clouds  called  Nebulas  than  in  any 
other  equal  area  of  the  sky. 

North  of  Virgo  the  observer  will  at 
once  notice  the  great  golden  star, 
Arcturus.  This  is  at  the  foot  of 
Bootes,  the  Driver,  who  with  up- 
stretched  arms  is  forever  driving  the 
Bear  before  him  in  its  ceaseless  jour- 
ney around  the  Pole.  And  below 
Bootes  is  the  beautiful  Northern 
Crown,  while  still  nearer  the  ground 
there  has  now  fully  appeared  the 
group  Hercules,  with  its  wonderful 
cluster  of  sixty  thousand  stars,  at  R. 
In  short,  the  whole  southern  and  east- 
ern heavens  are  so  crowded  with  ob- 
jects of  interest,  that  we  need  not  regret 
the  withdrawal  of  the  brighter  winter 
stars,  which  is  now  proceeding  so  rap- 
idly in  the  west. 

;|5         jjs         ^         ;is         >}: 

A  New  Periodic  Comet. 

There  are  two  new  comets  in  our 
northern  heavens,  both  of  which  are 
extremely  faint  objects  and  only  visi- 
ble in  larger  telescopes.  Nevertheless 
the  first  of  these  is  of  great  interest  be- 
cause it  has  been  found  to  be  following 


so  very  small  an  orbit  around  the  sun 
that  it  is  destined  to  continually  re- 
appear in  our  heavens  in  the  years  to 
come.  Many  most  interesting  specu- 
lations arise  from  a  study  of  these 
periodic  comets,  especially  when  they 
move  in  paths  so  small  that  they  may 


Figure 


The  path   of  the  new  comet  about  the  sun. 


be  observed  from  the  earth  during  a 
great  part  of  their  motion. 

The  path  of  the  new  periodic  comet 
is  shown  in  Figure  i.  It  was  discov- 
ered at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  on  last 
December  2,  at  which  time  it  was  very 
near  the  western  end  of  the  Belt  of 
Orion.  Its  apparent  motion  carried  it, 
first  through  Taurus,  and  then  into 
Gemini ;  during  the  present  month  it 
will  move  from  the  latter  constellation 
into  the  faint  group  of  stars  known  as 
the  Lynx. 

When  a  new  comet  is  thus  found 
moving  among  the  stars,  it  is  only 
necessary  to  determine  accurately  its 
position  on  three  dififerent  nights  ;  know- 
ing these  three  positions  the  mathe- 
matician can  compute  its  exact  path 
in  space  and  tell  where  it  Avas  to  be 
found  in  the  heavens  at  any  desired 
date,  either  in  the  past  or  in  the 
future.  Nearly  all  comets  fall  toward 
our  sun  from  an  immense  distance 
away,  swing  around  that  body,  and 
recede  into  space  never  to  be  seen  by 
us  again.  The  paths  of  such  comets  is 
a  curve  called  a  parabola,  which  close- 
ly resembles  the  curve  MPN,  Figure  2. 

The  long  computation  necessary  to 
find  how  a  comet  is  moving  is  much 
shortened  if  we  assume  in  the  begin- 


358 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


ning  that  its  path  is  a  curve  of  this 
kind.  Continued  observations  on  the 
present  comet  soon  showed,  however, 
that  its  motion  could  by  no  means  be 
accounted  for  on  the  assumption  of 
such  an  infinite  path.  A  complete  com- 
putation soon  revealed  that  its  orbit 
is  a  very  small  and  narrow  ellipse,  AC, 
extending;     from    bevond     the    earth's 


later  planetary  disturbances  have  since 
altered  this  path  to  the  position  BC. 

Computation  shows  that  the  new 
comet  passed  close  to  Jupiter  in  1913. 
The  pull  upon  it  by  the  Giant  Planet 
at  this  time  must  have  very  greatly 
altered  its  path,  changing  it  into  the 
new,  small  orbit  along  which  it  is  mov- 
ing now.    Whether  before  this  disturb- 


Figiire    3.      Showirg   how    a   comet    may   be    "captured." 


orbit  to  a  very  slight  distance  beyond 
the  orbit  of  Jupiter.  The  comet  passes 
completely  around  this  path  every  six 
years ;  it  was  nearest  the  sun  on  last 
January  30;  and  is  now  rapidly  draw- 
ing away  from  the  earth. 


How  the  New  Comet  Was  Captured. 

A  comet  is  a  great  nebulous  cloud, 
composed  of  meteoric  matter,  gases, 
and  cosmic  dust,  which  falls  toward 
our  sun  from  the  depths  of  space.  It 
is  therefore  a  visitor,  and  it  can  visit 
us  only  once  unless  it  is  disturbed  in 
its  motion.  If,  however,  it  happens  to 
pass  sufificiently  near  one  of  the  plan- 
ets, the  gravitational  pull  of  this  body 
may  completely  alter  its  path,  and  may 
either  send  it  out  of  our  Solar  System 
faster  than  it  entered,  or  it  may  cause 
it  to  move  in  a  closed  orbit  and  thus 
prevent  its  ever  leaving  us  again. 
Thus,  when  Tuttle's  Comet  first  fell 
toward  the  sun,  along  the  path  MPN, 
Figure  3,  it  passed  so  near  to  Uranus 
that  the  disturbing  pull  of  this  planet 
caused  it  to  follow  the  path  AC,  and 


ance  its  path  was  a  parabola,  so  that 
it  entered  our  system  only  three  years 
ago,  or  whether  it  is  merely  one  of  the 
older  periodic  comets  whose  path  has 
thus  been  changed,  we  do  not  yet 
know.  Further  computations  will  un- 
doubtedly, however,  soon  settle  this 
point. 

The  continued  observation  of  these 
periodic  comets  at  their  successive  re- 
turns is  of  the  highest  interest  and 
value.  In  at  least  one  case,  that  of 
Encke's  Comet,  the  motion  was  found 
to  be  disturbed  along  part  of  its  orbit, 
a  disturbance  which  cannot  be  due  to 
the  pull  of  any  known  body  in  our 
Solar  System. 


The  April  Shooting  Stars. 

This  is  one  of  the  few  conspicuous 
showers  of  the  year,  and  though  not  so 
well  known  or  so  numerous  in  stars 
as  those  of  August  and  November,  it 
is  still  a  most  interesting  phenomenon 
for  the  naked  eye  observer.  It  should 
be  looked  for  on  the  nights  from  April 
20  to  22,  and  if  possible  at  a  late  hour 


TO  K.\(  )\\'  THE  STARRY  HEAVENS 


359 


of  the  evening;  it  cannot,  indeed,  be 
seen  to  the  best  advantag-e  until  after 
midnight. 

If  the  observer  will  face  the  north- 
east and  patiently  watch  the  region  of 
the  sky  near  the  constellation  Lyra, 
he  will  at  intervals  see  a  white,  swiftly 
moving  star  dart  outward  from  near 
the  point  D,  Figure  i,  and  move  in  any 
direction  across  the  sky.  The  later  the 
hour  of  the  night  the  higher  this  region 
will  have  risen  from  the  ground,  and 
the  more  satisfactory  the  observation 
will  be.  It  is  unfortunate  that  on  these 
dates  the  moon  will  be  shining  in  the 
eastern  heavens  and  that  it  is  but  little 
past  full.  This  will  make  the  observa- 
tion of  the  fainter  shooting  stars  of  the 
shower  difficult  or  even  impossible. 

This  shower  of  so-called  shooting 
"stars"  is  caused  by  the  passing  of  our 
earth  through  a  great  stream  of  me- 
teoric particles  which  are  moving 
around  the  sun  in  the  path  MPN, 
Figure  2.  This  is  the  path  followed 
by  the  comet  of  1861.  The  great  stream 
is  probably  only  the  remains  of  this 
comet,  which  has  been  stretched  out 
along  its  path  by  the  tidal  action  of 
the  sun. 

Very  probably  this  same  action  is 
gradually  destroying  all  periodic  com- 
ets, or  rather,  it  is  changing  them  from 
compact  clouds  into  long  streams  of 
material.  It  may  be  mentioned,  how- 
ever, that  when  the  new  comet  is  thus 
drawn  out  along  its  path  it  will  give 
rise  to  no  additional  shower,  for  our 
earth  does  not  pass  through  the  orbit 
of  this  comet.  The  orbit,  (AC,  Figure 
2)  is  inclined  to  the  plane  of  the  orbit 
of  the  earth  by  an  angle  of  more  than 
fifteen  degrees. 

The  Planets  in  April. 

Mercury  cannot  be  observed  during 
the  present  month.  At  the  beginning 
of  April  it  is  in  the  morning  sky.  and 
though  it  passes  to  the  east  of  the 
sun  on  April  14,  it  will  not  reach  its 
greatest  distance  and  so  emerge  from 
the  sun's  rays  until  May  12. 

Venus,  the  most  beautiful  and  con- 
spicuous object  now  in  the  heavens, 
cannot  fail  throughout  the  present 
month  to  attract  the  attention  of  every 
observer.  It  will  attain  its  greatest 
distance  east  of  the  sun  on  April  24, 
and  though  a  most  brilliant  object 
then,  it  will  continue  to  grow  brighter 
until    May   27.      In   the   telescope   the 


planet  is  now  seen  to  be  very  slightly 
more  than  half  full. 

The  path  of  Venus  among  the  stars 
during  the  coming  months  is  shown  in 
Figure  i.  While  on  the  whole  it  moves 
eastward  among  the  stars,  an  interest- 
ing fold  occurs  in  the  path  during  June. 
On  account  of  this,  Venus,  will  pass 
Saturn  three  times ;  namely,  on  May 
23,  June  22,  and  September  6.  The 
first  and  last  of  these  will  be  interest- 
ing conjunctions,  at  the  time  of  the 
second  one  the  planets  will  be  too 
nearly  lost  in  the  sun's  rays  to  be  ob- 
served with  advantage. 

Mars  is  still  in  excellent  position  for 
observation,  but  it  is  steadily  receding 
from  the  earth.  Its  distance  from  us 
will  increase  from  eighty-six  millions 
to  one  hundred  and  ten  millions  of 
miles  during  the  present  month,  and 
it  will  therefore  appear  to  grow  con- 
tinually smaller  and  fainter.  The  polar 
caps  and  larger  markings,  can,  how- 
ever, still  be  well  seen. 

Jupiter  enters  the  morning  sky  on 
April  I,  and  throughout  the  month  re- 
mains too  near  the  sun  to  be  well 
observed. 

Saturn  is  near  the  center  of  the  con- 
stellation Gemini,  in  excellent  posi- 
tion for  observation. 


That  our  weeds  and  wild  plants  are  so 
largely  foreign  species  is  said  to  be  the 
reason  that  this  part  of  the  American 
continent  was  formerly  forest-clad.  The 
old  plants,  therefore,  do  not  flourish 
in  the  present  day  conditions,  and  their 
place  is  taken  by  European  plants  from 
imforested  districts. 


They'll  come  again  to  the  apple  tree, 

Robin  and  all  the  rest. 
When  the  orchard  branches  are  fair  to  see 

In  the  snow  of  the  blossoms  dressed; 
And  the  prettiest  thing  in  the  world  will  be 

The   building   of  the   nest. 

— Margaret  E.  Sangster. 


Redbud. 

Pink   fairies   are    peopling   the    sweet   April 
woods. 
They  flit  in  and  out  'mong  the  trees; 
Or  so  it  wfould  seem  as  we'er  motoring  by, 
And  surprise  them  in  sunlight  and  breeze, 
breeze. 

They  are  holding  high   carnival   now  while 
they  may. 
Awaiting   their    fair    woodland    queen, 
Who  soon  will  be  reigning  in  billowy  white 
In  the  fresh  forest  fastnesses  green. 

— Emma   Peirce. 


36o 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


EDITORIAL 


Let  Us  Be  Thorough. 

Our  readers  will  recall  that  delightful 
story  ("Great  Expectations")  by  Dick- 
ens, in  which  Joe  and  Pip  engage  in  the 
delights  of  correspondence.  Pip,  sitting 
in  the  chimney  corner  with  his  slate,  ex- 
pended much  effort  on  a  letter  to  Joe  in 
the  opposite  corner.  He  had  an  alphabet 
on  the  hearth  at  his  feet  for  reference, 
and  after  laboring  for  an  hour  or  two  he 
printed  an  epistle  of  about  four  lines  in 
which  "caps"  and  "small  caps"  were  de- 
lightfully and  impartially  mingled.  Pip 
delivered  the  slate  to  Joe,  who  received  it, 
Dickens  tells  us,  "as  a  miracle  of  erudi- 
tion." Then  occurred  the  following 
dialogue : 

"  T  say,  Pip,  old  chap!'  cried  Joe,  open- 
ing his  blue  eyes  wide,  'what  a  scholar 
you  are  !  Ain't  you  ?' 

"  T  should  like  to  be,'  said  I.  glancing 
at  the  slate  as  he  held  it :  with  a  misgiving 
that  the  writing  was  rather  hilly. 

"  'Why,  here's  a  J,'  said  Joe,  'and  a  O 
equal  to  anythink !  Here's  a  J  and  a  O, 
Pip,  and  a  J-O,  Joe.' 

"I  had  never  heard  Joe  read  aloud  to 
any  greater  extent  than  this  monosyllable, 
and  I  had  observed  at  church  last  Sunday, 
when  I  accidentally  held  our  Prayer- 
book  upside  down,  that  it  seemed  to  suit 
his  convenience  quite  as  well  as  if  it  had 
been  all  right.  Wishing  to  embrace  the 
present  occasion  of  finding  out  whether 
in  teaching  Joe,  I  should  have  to  begin 
quite  at  the  beginning,  I  said,  'Ah !  But 
read  the  rest,  Joe.' 

"  'The  rest,  eh,  Pip?'  said  Joe,  looking 
at  it  with  a  slowly  searching  eye.  'One, 
two,  three.  Why,  here's  three  Js,  and 
three  Os,  and  three  J-O,  Joes,  in  it,  Pip !' 

"I  leaned  over  Joe,  and,  with  the  aid 
of  my  forefinger,  read  him  the  whole 
letter. 

"  'Astonishing !'  said  Joe,  when  I  had 
finished.     'You  ARE  a  scholar.' 

"'How  do  you  spell  Gargery,  Joe?'  I 
asked  him,  with  a  modest  oatronage. 

"  'I  don't  spell  it  at  all.'  said  Joe. 

"  'But  supposing  you  did?' 

"  'It  can't  be  supposed,'  said  Joe.  'Tho' 
I'm  oncommon  fond  of  reading,  too.' 


"  'Are  you,  Joe?' 

"  'On-common.  Give  me,'  said  Joe,  'a 
good  book,  or  a  good  newspaper,  and  sit 
me  down  afore  a  good  fire,  and  I  ask  no 
better.  Lord !'  he  continued,  after  rub- 
bing his  knees  a  little,  'when  you  do  come 
to  a  J  and  a  O,  and  says  you,  "Here,  at 
last,  is  a  J-O,  Joe,"  how  interesting  read- 
ing is !'  " 

***** 

What  would  one  say  if  literature  were 
taught  in  our  schools  only  to  that  extent  ? 
What  kind  of  appreciation  would  there 
be  in  the  present  deluge  of  books  and 
magazines,  if  we  were  to  go  no  further 
in  our  reading  than  to  say,  "J-O,  Joe, 
how  interesting  reading  is!"  Yet  the 
painful  part  is,  that  Joe's  method  of  read- 
ing is  not  altogether  a  paraphrase ;  it  is 
too  often  a  sad  reality. 

Some  modern  methods  of  reading 
nature,  are  on  a  parity  with  Joe's  method 
of  reading  Pip's  letter.  We  have  trouble 
in  interesting  people  generally  in  nature, 
l)ecause  the  subject  in  general,  notwith- 
standing the  earnest  efforts  of  some  mem- 
bers of  our  Association,  is  not  properly 
understood.  We  find,  from  remarks 
made  by  visitors  at  ArcAdiA,  that  the 
true  method  of  studying  nature  is  not  un- 
derstood in  the  slightest  degree  nor  even 
dreamed  of.  We  do  not  believe,  and  do 
not  teach,  that  everyone  must  spend,  as 
I  have  known  a  student  to  spend  years 
in  studying  earthworms,  and  half  a  dozen 
years  in  studying  a  bumblebee  cut  into 
thin  slices.  It  is  necessary  to  progress 
beyond  Joe's  stage  in  the  art  of  reading 
to  become  a  technical  student  of  compara- 
tive literature;  but  to  take  an  enjoyable 
interest  in  nature,  it  is  not  necessary  for 
everyone  to  become  a  technical  scientist. 
Yet  nature  should  be  read  by  everybody, 
extendedly,  thoroughly  and  as  enthusias- 
tically as  one  may  take  delight  in  reading 
general  literature,  or  current  books  and 
magazines. 

A  short  time  ago  a  cultured  person 
asked  two  or  three  simple  questions  that 
had  nothing  to  do  with  nature  study,  but 
with  the  method  of  caring  for  an  aqua- 
rium.    These  were  answered,  when  the 


EDITORIAL 


361 


inquirer  drew  a  long  breath  of  relief  and 
said,  "Oh,  my,  you  must  have  to  know  a 
big  lot  to  run  an  Institution  of  this  kind. 
It  almost  makes  my  head  ache  to  think 
what  a  lot  of  study  must  be  needed !" 

I  have  several  times  visited  schools, 
where  I  have  been  told  in  advance  that  I 
would  go  into  ecstacies  over  the  delight- 
ful teaching  of  nature  study  there  pur- 
sued by  a  thoroughly  skilled  instructor. 
I  have  found  many  teachers  that  met  my 
expectations,  though  even  heightened  by 
the  advance  eulogy,  but  in  some  I  have 
been,  alas,  sadly  disappointed.  What  do 
I  usually  find?  A  fruit  jar,  with  about 
an  inch  and  a  half  of  water  in  it,  a  little 
sand,  a  spray  of  a  green  plant,  and  two 
sickly  tadpoles.  On  the  wall,  near  the 
teacher's  desk,  may  be  pinned  one  cocoon, 
probably  of  the  Cecropia,  and  one  butter- 
fly, usually  the  monarch. 

Not  a  long  time  ago  I  found  in  a  school- 
room a  "Collection" — I  am  spelling  this 
with  a  capital  to  do  justice  to  the  pride 
wath  which  the  word  was  spoken — that 
consisted,  by  actual  inventory,  of  one 
hornet's  nest,  seven  pieces  of  minerals, 
and  one  piece  of  wood  with  a  fungous 
growth  upon  it.  When  I  was  told  that 
this  was  the  result  of  the  children's  work 
during  one  season,  I  thought  of  Pip  and 
poor  Toe  Gargery : 

"When  one  spells  J-O,  Joe,  how  inter- 
esting reading  is !" 

We  are  told  in  the  recent  lamented  dis- 
sension between  Mr.  Seton  and  the  Boy 
Scouts,  that  that  organization  manifests 
not  enough  outdoor  interest  but  too  much 
militarism.  We  need  not  enter  into  the 
controversy  further  than  to  say  that  the 
Scouts  certainly  do  not  have  enough  of 
reading  in  the  book  of  nature.  It  is 
claimed  that  there  is  an  astronomical  re- 
quirement, and  a  few  others  connected 
with  outdoor  life,  but  they  bring  to  mind 
Joe's  assertion.  A  similar  criticism  may 
be  made  of  the  Camp  Fire  Girls,  an  asso- 
ciation that  bv  its  very  name  connotes 
an  outdoor  organization.  The  re-organ- 
ized order  of  the  Woodcraft  Indians  I 
sincerely  hope  will  demand  more  in  their 
astronomical  requirements  than  the  mere 
ability  to  recognize  the  Great  Dinper  and 
T^nipris.  Ye  T^ds !  Think  of  that!  An 
organization  for  the  living  of  an  outdoor 
life  required  to  know  what  even  a  child 
is  suooosed  to  know — the  Great  Dipper, 
and  the  nivotal  point  of  the  celestial 
sphere !  We  feel  sure  that  that  require- 
ment will  be  changed  for  the  better  in  the 


near  future.  As  it  is,  the  requirement 
should  be  recorded  in  two  paragraphs 
and  so  worded  that  J  will  begin  the  first, 
and  O  the  second. 

Recently  two  girls  called  at  our  office 
and  requested  permission  to  go  into  the 
Agassiz  Grove.  I  found  that  the  call  was 
to  meet  a  school  requirement  to  observe 
four,  or  possibly  six,  birds.  I  said,  'Come 
out  here.  We  can  get  those  birds  'right 
off  the  bat' — chickens,  ducks,  English 
sparrows  and  starlings.  You  may  see 
plenty  of  them  out  of  the  back  door.  If 
you  want  to  take  a  postgraduate  course  in 
order  to  become  thoroughly  erudite  in 
this  interesting  ornithological  reading, 
look  yonder ;  spend  a  moment  in  the 
brain-racking  process  of  watching  that 
crow  above  the  golf  grounds,  and  that 
downy  woodpecker  eating  suet.  There 
you  have  it — the  wdiole  requirement." 

Every  member  realizes  that  there  is 
nothing  superficial  in  The  Agassiz  Asso- 
ciation. We  believe  that  the  book  of  na- 
ture is  interesting  reading,  and  that  it  is 
worth  while  to  go  beyond  the  rudiments. 
J-O,  Joe,  may  be  interesting  reading,  but 
do  not  forget  that  Joe  must  be  followed 
and  completed  by  a  family  name. 

Recently  our  Glenbrook  Chapter  spent 
an  evening  in  The  Welcome  Reception 
Room.  I  walked  with  them  from  the 
room  to  the  trolley  car.  and  while  en 
route  we  learned  to  recognize  the  follow- 
ing, so  that  every  boy  can  now  point  them 
out,  and  I  am  sure,  will  remember  them : 
Orion,  Taurus,  Gemini,  Ursa  Major, 
Ursa  Minor,  and  Perseus.  At  the  time, 
three  planets  were  conspicuous  in  the 
heavens;  it  took  us  about  half  a  minute 
to  memorize  Jupiter,  nearly  west ;  Saturn, 
nearly  south  ;  and  Mars,  nearly  east.  We 
also  learned  in  that  short  walk  to  the  trol- 
ley car  the  position  and  appearance  of 
several  stars :  Sirius,  Procyon,  Aldebaran, 
Castor,  Pollux  and  that  great  require- 
ment. Polaris. 

This  lesson  was  really  learned  by  those 
enthusiastic  boys ;  the  time  taken  for  the 
whole  course  was  not  more  than  ten  min- 
utes as  we  sauntered  along  the  road,  stop- 
ping now  and  then  to  look  upward. 
E\'eryone  enjoyed  that  walk :  not  one  said, 
"You  must  know  a  big  lot.  It  makes  my 
head  ache  to  hear  all  those  different 
things."  To  learn  such  things  is  not  more 
difificult  than  to  learn  that  the  names  of 
the  vivacious  girls  whom  you  meet  are 
Jane.  Sue,  Sally  and  Phoebe,  or  boys 
whose  names  are  John.  James,  Phillip 


362 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


and  Sam.  "Whew  !  Tell  nie  eight  names 
all  at  once.  Aly,  but  you  must  know  a  big 
lot  to  know  so  many  people.  It  makes  my 
head  ache  just  to  think  of  it." 

If  you  believe  this  statement  is  over- 
drawn, come  in  the  Sound  Beach  Obser- 
vatory and  listen  to  the  difficulty  in  teach- 
ing a  lesson  on  the  four  very  conspicuous 
satellites  of  Jupiter:  lo,  Europa,  Ganny- 
mede  and  Callisto.  I  wish  they  had  been 
named  Jane,  Sue,  Sally  and  Phoebe ! 

It  is  astonishin,g  how  many  people  are 
prevented  from  having  a  "speaking  ac- 
quaintance" with  all  the  constellations  and 
most  of  the  principal  stars,  because  the 
mental  effort  is  regarded  as  a  great  bur- 
den instead  of  a  simple  little  pleasure. 

You  meet  two  red-headed  girls  and  are 
told  that  one  is  Dolly,  the  other,  Dorothy. 
Do  you  then  look  frightened  and  say : 
"They  both  have  red  hair,  and  their 
names  are  so  much  alike.  How  can  I 
distinguish  the  one  from  the  other?" 

Shining  almost  due  south  are  the  two 
dog  stars,  one  the  big*  dog,  Sirius,  and  the 
other,  the  little  dog,  Procyon,  and  yet  you 
say,  "You  must  know  a  big  lot  if  you 
know  those  stars  apart.  They  are  both 
dogs  aren't  they?  How  can  you  remem- 
ber which  is  which?" 

Suppose  you  meet  two  boys.  One  is 
John,  the  other  is  James ;  both  have 
freckled  faces  and  are  of  about  the  same 
size  and  height.  Would  any  person  of 
common  sense  say,  "You  must  know  a  big 
lot  to  be  able  to  distinguish  one  boy  from 
the  other?"  Then  why  do  you  say, 
"There  is  Cepheus,  and  there  is  Perseus, 
both  kings,  are  they  not?  How  do  you 
know  which  is  which — no,  I  mean  they 
are  not  very  far  apart  in  the  sky." 

It  is  a  common  impression  that  a  study 
of  nature  is  uncanny,  and  deals  with  the 
supernatural,  with  things  not  in  touch 
with  our  everyday  life.  Recently  our 
stenographer,  sitting-  near  an  open  win- 
dow in  the  office,  overheard  this  conver- 
sation :  "That  is  ArcAdiA.  I  want  to  go 
in  there  sometime." 

The  reply  in  awe-stricken  tones  was, 
"Don't  you  dare  do  it.  I  wouldn't  go  in 
for  anything  in  all  the  world.  They  have 
a  lot  of  dead  things  in  there." 

After  all,  what  is  natural  science  ?  Is  it 
not,  as  Huxley  said,  merely  organized 
common  sense?  What  we  want  among 
the  students  of  nature  everywhere  is  not 
only  a  few  friends  but  many;  not  only  a 
few  speaking  acquaintances  with  whom 
these  friends  are  on  friendly  terms,  but 


"lots"  of  them.  So  read  widely  and  atten- 
tively. Cultivate  an  acquaintance,  in  a 
common  sense  manner,  with  the  friendly 
constellations,  the  single  stars, the  planets, 
the  trees,  the  birds,  the  butterflies ;  with 
moths,  minerals,  frogs  and  grasshoppers, 
but  do  not,  Oh,  I  beg  of  you,  spend  a 
whole  evening  and  laboriously  work  over 
evolving  four  lines  of  hieroglyphics  and 
then  pass  that  on  to  an  admiring  friend 
who  will  say,  "Oh,  my,  what  a  lot  of  na- 
ture study  you  have !  Why  you  really 
have  a  tadpole  and  a  butterfly,  one  con- 
stellation, and  Polaris,  also." 

"J-O,  Joe ;  how  interesting  reading  is." 


A  Plea  for  the  Scientific  Study  of  the 
Sciences. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Pennsylvania 
State  Science  Teachers'  Association,  at 
Harrisburg,  Prof.  H.  A.  Surface,  State 
Zoologist,  made  a  strong  and  logical 
plea  for  scientific  study  of  the  sciences. 
He  spoke  extemporaneously  and  prac- 
tically as  follows : 

I  have  in  mind  to  call  the  attention  of 
the  science  teachers  of  this  State  to  the 
real  status  and  importance  of  the 
sciences  versus  nature  study,  agricul- 
ture, or  any  of  the  arts  based  upon  the 
sciences.  A  decided  movement  is  now 
on  foot  to  introduce  agriculture  into 
the  schools.  This  leads  us  to  analyze 
the  situation  and  ask  "What  is  agricul- 
ture?" It  is  not  "a  science,"  but  is  the 
practical  application  of  the  teachings  of 
several  sciences.  Therefore,  it  is  an 
art.  The  study  of  the  sciences  upon 
which  agriculture  is  based  should  be 
preliminary  to  the  study  of  agriculture, 
and  while  we  hope  to  see  the  time  when 
agriculture  will  be  taught  in  the 
schools,  3^et  we  trust  that  will  not  be 
until  arrangements  are  made  to  have 
the  pupils  first  study  the  fundamental 
sciences  of  physics,  chemistry,  geology 
and  biology. 

There  is  not  one  fact  in  the  entire 
realm  of  agriculture  that  is  not  founded 
upon  the  principles  of  some  of  the 
sciences,  and  the  rational  teaching  of 
the  sciences  would  not  only  fit  the 
learner  for  an  agricultural  pursuit,  but 
also  for  other  professions  in  which  a 
knowledge  of  the  sciences  is  needed. 
To  study  agriculture  means  to  study 
the  application  of  those  fragments  of 
sciences  which  converge  in  the  art  of 
agriculture,  or  the  application  of  those 
principals  of  the  sciences  which  per- 


EDITORIAL 


363 


tain  to  soil  productivity  and  plant  and 
animal  propogation,  and  the  student  is 
thus  limited. 

Agriculture  is  a  grand  and  complex 
subject,  involving  the  applied  knowl- 
edge of  some  features  of  physics,  chem- 
istry, astronomy,  meteorology,  mineral- 
ogy, general  geology,  physiography, 
physical  geography,  botany,  zoology 
(including,  of  course,  entomology), 
evolution,  anatomy,  physiology  and 
hygiene.  If  the  chief  of  these  subjects 
were  taught  rationally  based  upon  their 
relationship  to  human  needs,  and  the 
practical  application  of  their  teaching 
emphasized,  the  student  would  be  able 
to  make  use  of  his  knowledge,  not  only 
in  agriculture,  but  in  any  field  toward 
which  he  might  wish  to  turn.  Thus  a 
student  of  the  sciences  is  broadened : 
he  is  equipped  with  a  means  at  once  of 
reaching  farther  than  is  permitted  with- 
in the  narrow  scope  of  the  practical  ap- 
plications that  comprise  only  one  line 
of  human  activity. 

The  chief  value  of  the  sciences  lies  in 
the  development  of  a  great  plan  of  clas- 
sification in  relationship,  as  shown  in 
Nature  and  called  Taxonomy.  When 
systematic  botany  is  taught  as  such 
the  pupil  at  once  sees  the  relationship 
of  plants,  as  expressed  in  orders,  fami- 
lies, genera,  species,  and  subspecies. 
The  same  is  true  in  the  study  of  other 
natural  sciences,  and  even  in  the  in- 
organic sciences.  In  astronomy  the  re- 
lationship of  planets  is  so  definite  that 
some  were  discovered  in  searching  for 
them  in  the  place  where  exact  mathe- 
matical calculation  showed  they  should 
be  found.  In  chemistry  certain  rare  ele- 
ments have  been  discovered  only  long 
after  it  was  well  knoAvn,by  their  respec- 
tive places  in  natural  classification, 
that  such  should  exist,  and  there  are 
places  now  known  for  others  yet  to  be 
discovered.  It  means  a  great  deal  for 
the  learner  to  take  up  a  systematic 
science  and  be  made  properly  aware  of 
such  facts.  In  not  other  study  than  in 
systematic  science  can  the  beauties  of 
these   subjects  be   thus   emphasized. 

In  teaching  the  sciences  we  teach  the 
entire  structural  plan  of  the  subject  as 
a  unit,  and  thus  in  studying  the  funda- 
mental classification  exnressed  within 
a  subject,  one  obtains  a  bird's-eye  view 
of  it  as  a  whole.  In  studying  more 
minutely  the  difi'erent  branches  of  a 
science  he  sees  the  relationship  of  its 


dili'erent  parts  to  one  another,  and  of 
this  particular  science  to  others,  i  his 
view  IS  not  to  be  obtained  in  any  other 
way  than  through  a  rational  scientific 
study  of  the  sciences,  i  his  does  not 
mean  that  the  economic  features  of  the 
subject  should  be  lost,  but  rather,  that 
by  rational  teaching  those  principles 
which  are  of  economic  value  can  be 
emphasized ;  but  other  principles, 
which  are  today  not  considered  of  great 
value,  may  also  be  taught,  and  their 
value  may  be  discovered  and  used  at 
some  time  in  the  future. 

A  person  who  has  studied  the  sciences 
properly  and  rationally  is  equipped  to 
go  into  practical  agriculture  and  under- 
stand for  himself  the  relationship  of 
the  new  complexities  which  he  may 
meet.  He  is  not  only  equipped  for  this, 
but  also  prepared  to  take  up  the  sev- 
eral other  arts  which  are  based  more 
or  less  upon  the  sciences  which  he  has 
studied ;  while  the  one  who  has  studied 
agriculture  only,  is  equipped  to  take 
up  but  this  one  art,  or  closely  related 
subjects,  and  he  is  trained  to  follow 
only  in  the  routine  in  which  he  has 
been  taught.  He  has  not  learned  the 
broad  relationship  of  the  sciences  com- 
prising the  art,  and  naturally  he  is  un- 
qualified to  make  use  of  their  applica- 
tion to  other  subjects. 

If  the  admission  of  nature  study  and 
agriculture  in  the  schools  is  to  mean 
the  crowding  out  of  the  fundamental 
sciences,  such  as  physics,  chemistry, 
botany,  zoology  and  geology,  we  as 
science  teachers  are  justified  in  looking 
upon  it  with  alarm.  It  is  our  duty,  as 
persons  particularly  trained  in  these 
subjects,  to  see  that  they  have  proper 
inspiration  and  reception  in  our  schools. 
If  we  teach  them  fairly  and  emphasize 
at  proper  places  their  practical  teach- 
ings, there  would  be  no  need  of  the  in- 
troduction of  those  subjects  that  are 
fragmentarily  based  upon  such  sciences 
until  after  the  pupils  are  qualified  to 
take  them  up  as  advanced  subjects, 
rather  than  to  reverse  the  natural  se- 
quence, and  attempt  to  make  them  the 
means  of  entering  into  a  study  of  the 
practical  fields  of  human  activity. 

Xature  study  has  its  place  as  a  means 
of  interesting  verv  young  puoils  in  the 
world  of  Nature  about  them,  and  it  also 
has  it  proper  educational  value  as  the 
l);isis  (if  much  other  work,  such  as  draw- 
ing- and  language.     Pupils  certainly  pre- 


364 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


fer  to  draw  the  things  they  see  com- 
monly about  them,  and  they  can  talk  or 
write  best  of  the  things  of  which  they 
know  most-  But  the  purposes  and 
methods  of  nature  study  must  not  be  con- 
fused with  those  of  science.  Neither  is 
nature  study  agricultural  even  in  its 
elementary  form.  When  the  pupil  reaches 
an  age  that  he  is  to  study  agriculture,  he 
can  better  understand  it  by  having  been 
taught  rationally  and  plainly  some  of  the 
fundamental  principles  of  the  sciences 
which  are  recognized  as  its  foundations. 
My  plea  then  is,  not  so  much  against 
nature  study  and  agriculture,  as  for  the 
sciences  first.  These  can  be  taught  as 
elementary  as  may  be  desired,  and  in 
properly  teaching  them  we  are  giving 
instructions  not  only  in  agriculture,  but 
also  in  dozens  of  other  arts  or  practical 
fields  in  which  the  pupils  thus  become 
prepared  later  in  life,  if  they  wish- 


Summer  Sessions  for  Delight. 

Two  superior  courses  are  ofifered  stu- 
dents of  marine  biology — one  by  the  old 
and  extensive  laboratory  at  Woods  Hole, 
Massachusetts ;  the  other  by  a  younger 
but  as  efllicient  laboratory  at  Cold  Spring 
Harbor,  Long  Island-  The  laboratory  at 
Woods  Hole  will  soon  hold  its  twenty- 
ninth  session,  while  the  one  at  Cold 
Spring  Harbor  will  soon  hold  its  twenty- 
seventh.  For  particulars  and  circulars, 
address  the  laboratories  at  the  addresses 
given.  Full  particulars  will  be  sent  in 
an  attractive  pamphlet- 

These  laboratories  are  .great  American 
factors  in  promoting  an  interest,  in  biol- 
ogy. The  editor  has  enjoyed  a  session 
at  each  laboratory,  and  knows  that  the 
facilities  are  unexcelled,  the  instruction 
pleasing  and  efficient,  and  the  surround- 
ings ideal  for  a  vacation  at  the  seashore- 

We  have  among  our  readers  a  number 
of  cultured  and  educated  people  who  do 
not  realize  that  either  of  these  labora- 
tories is  especially  adapted  to  them.  Per- 
haps they  think  of  them  as  something  for 
the  college  professor  or  special  student, 
something  to  supply  credits  toward  a 
learned  degree.  They  are  that,  but  they 
are  more.  They  are  thoroughly,  enjoy- 
able places  for  using  one's  brains  at  the 
seashore,  as  well  as  in  having  good  food. 
good  bathing  and  the  sight  of  pictur- 
esque seaside  surroundings. 

We  number  among  our  readers  many 
who  are  accustomed  to  spend  their  sum- 
mer at  fashionable  hotels  at  vjirious  re- 


sorts. Many  of  these  are  genuine  nature 
lovers.  It  has  perhaps  not  occurred  to 
them  that  here  is  an  opportunity  to  have 
nature  study  that  is  worth  while  and 
under  competent  supervision.  If  you  are 
tired  of  the  trite  round  of  ordinary  activi- 
ties at  the  fashionable  seaside  hotel,  try 
at  least  one  session  at  one  of  these  labora- 
tories- You  will  find  it  a  delight  of  your 
life. 

To  teachers  and  students  of  biology, 
the  editor  need  say  nothing.  These  labo- 
ratories are  known  to  all  of  them  as  the 
lie  plus  ultra  of  a  summer  vacation. 


What  is  Beauty? 

Beauty  and  goodness  are  to  be  found 
everywhere  when  we  forget  and  over- 
look the  ugly  and  the  bad.  There  is 
nothing  in  all  the  world  that  has  not 
some  beauty  and  goodness.  This 
would  be  a  suburb  of  heaven  if  people 
would  stop  making  it  the  opposite. 

These  thoughts  came  to  mind  as  the 
result  of  a  little  experience  that  I  had 
a  few  evenings  ago  with  four  cultured 
ladies  from  Greenwich.  They  had 
telephoned  for  special  appointment  at 
the  Astronomical  Observatory.  I 
therefore  had  planned  to  show  them 
the  best  at  my  disposal. 

I  first  turned  the  telescope  upon 
Saturn.  Their  enthusiastic  words 
were  gratifying.  Then  we  tried  the 
Orion  Nebula.  They  did  not  know 
that  there  was  such  a  beautiful  thing 
in  all  the  heavens.  That  too  gratified 
me.  After  seeing  the  "Jewel  Boxes" 
of  Perseus,  they  seemed  eager  to  use 
all  the  commendatory  words  in  the  dic- 
tionary. Their  enthusiasm  knew  no 
bounds.  As  the  climax  and  the  closing 
event  of  the  astronomical  exhibit,  I 
tried  Castor.  It  seemed  to  be  a  new 
idea  that  a  star  can  be  two  in  one,  and 
I  do  not  know  when  visitors  have  been 
so  pleasingly  and  appreciatively  ex- 
pressive. 

They  then  visited  the  Laboratory 
where  I  showed  them  a  few  microscop- 
ical marvels.  Arranged  diatoms  seemed 
to  be  a  vision  of  a  new  world- 
This  was  succeeded  by  the  tritest  of 
"Oh,  my !"  slides,  and  my  callers  lived 
up  to  their  reputation.  In  the  last  few 
minutes,  as  they  were  about  to  leave 
me  to  overtake  a  train,  I  told  them  I 
would  show  the  acme  of  the  evening's 
exhibition.  T  placed  under  the  lens, 
and  carefully  adjusted  the  light,  one 
of  my  best  slides.     It  was  a  jov  to  hear 


EDITORIAL 


365 


their  words  of  delight.  "I  had  no  idea 
that  there  is  anything  in  all  the  world 
so  beautiful  as  this.  Come  here  and 
see  it." 

The  second  lady  said,  "What  mar- 
velous structure  !  What  beauty  !  How 
you  must  revel  in  this  study  of  nature !" 

The  third  came.  "What  is  that?  I 
have  never  seen  anything  quite  so 
beautiful.  You  have  indeed  kept  the 
best  for  the  last." 

Sphinx-like  I  remained  silent  and 
still.  Then  there  came  an  almost  unan- 
imous cry,  "What  marvelous  beautry ! 
I  have  never  seen  anything  so  interest- 
ing as  that  last  view.  It  will  live  in 
our  minds  for  days.  Please  tell  us 
what  it  is." 

As  they  passed  through  the  door, 
and  for  a  moment  stood  on  the  walk,  I 
said.  "It  is  a  bedbug." 


Is  He  a  Philosopher  or  a  Fool? 

A  man  as  bald  as  a  billiard  ball  went 
into  the  barber  shop  at  the  Hotel  Statler. 
Detroit,  and  found  there  a  skilled  but 
Sphinx-like  barber  that  uttered  not  a 
word,  not  even  of  greeting  as  the  cus- 
tomer took  the  chair.  After  the  shaving. 
the  bald-headed  man  said,  "In  lieu  of 
comb  and  brush  as  applied  to  other  peo- 
ple, you  may  just  wipe  ofif  my  head  with 
a  towel."  These  words  unsealed  the 
barber's  lips.  He  said,  "No,  sir :  all  that 
get  shaved  in  this  shop  receive  the  same 
treatment,  and  you  will  have  brush  and 
comb  like  all  the  others.  We  believe  in 
treating  everybody  alike.  If  I  even 
touched  your  head  with  a  towel  I  should 
charge  you  for  a  shampoo ;  that  is  the 
rule  of  the  shop." 

"Rut,"  astonishedly  exclaimed  the  bald- 
headed  man.  "There  is  not  the  slightest 
occasion  to  use  brush  and  comb  on  me. 
Your  rule  does  not  apply  in  this  case." 
But  the  barber  said,  "Suppose  you  had 
gone  to  the  manicure,  and  had  lost  one  of 
your  fingers,  would  you  expect  her  to 
make  a  reduction  for  that?" 

"Like  many  another  logician,"  the  bald 
man  said,  "your  argument  is  faulty :  the 
cases  are  not  parallel.  You  should  put  it 
this  way:  Tf  you,  Mr.  Customer,  had  lost 
all  }our  fingers  and  had  gone  to  be  mani- 
cured, would  you  expect  a  reduction?' 
Your  philosophy  is  rank  foolishness." 
But  still  the  barber  insisted,  "W^th  even 
the  slightest  use  of  the  towel  it  would  be 
a    shampoo,    according    to    the    accepted 


rules  of  the  shop.  A  little  shampoo,  or  a 
big  shampoo,  or  a  long  shampoo,  or  a 
short  shampoo,  all  amount  to  the  same 
thing.  It  is  merely  the  customer's  prefer- 
ence as  to  whether  he  should  have  any 
kind  of  a  shampoo.  Even  a  single  sweep 
of  the  towel  over  your  head  would  be 
rated  as  a  little  shampoo,  at  full  price." 

Then  said  the  customer,  "This,  I  see, 
is  a  technical  shop.  You  are  a  stickler 
for  the  rules.  I  insist  upon  having  all  to 
which  my  payment  for  a  shave  entitles 
me."  The  barber  accepted  the  situation, 
although  he  repudiated  his  own  logical 
conclusion  in  doing  so.  He  dashed  on 
the  bay  rum  and  rubbed  the  head  with  the 
ends  of  his  fingers  as  vigorously  as  he 
doubtlessly  had  done  for  forty  years  on 
heads  like  Paderewski's  and  the  football 
players'.  Then  as  gravely  as  if  he  were 
manipulating  magnificent  tresses,  he 
combed  the  imaginary  hair,  and  brushed 
it  back  in  gracefully  flowing  but  imagin- 
ary curves.    He  had  done  his  duty. 

Thanks,  Mr.  Barber,  for  your  philoso- 
phy or  foolishness.  Your  bald  customer  is 
a  lecturer  on  the  philosophy  of  the  school- 
room and  you  are  not  the  only  one  who 
applies  general  rules  irrespective  of  indi- 
vidual cases.  "Master  Pupil,  you  have 
come  to  my  schoolroom.  It  is  an  impartial 
olace.  Though  you  lack  brains,  though  you 
lack  physique,  though  you  are  precocious, 
though  you  are  advanced  far  beyond  the 
class,  it  is  my  duty  to  apply  to  you  the 
regulation  comb  and  brush,  our  hirsute 
equipment  in  intellectual  pursuits.  This 
schoolroom  knows  nothing  but  brush  and 
comb.  It  has  applied  them  for  forty 
years." 

Though  the  times  have  changed  and 
the  authorities  are  considering  a  new 
treatment  for  certain  educational  prob- 
lems, though  new  features  are  inserted 
into  the  curriculum,  still,  the  Sphinx-like 
teacher,  mute  to  modern  suggestions, 
ignorant  of  modern  innovations,  will  still 
apply  the  brush  and  comb.  He  will  not 
adapt  himself  to  new  studies,  and  he  will 
not  leave  much  doubt  as  to  whether  or 
not  he  is.  like  that  barber,  a  philosopher 
or  a  fool.  The  barber's  philosophy  is 
folly.  We  are  sure  the  reader  will  in- 
stinctively apply  to  many  occupations  and 
especially  to  many  a  retired  business  man 
who  has  used  the  brush-and-comb  method 
of  money  getting  assiduously  for  forty 
years  or  more,  until  he  can  recognize  and 


366 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


accept  no  other  treatment  nor  adaptation 
to  a  changed  situation.  The  brush  and 
the  comb  shall  be  applied  in  his  retirement 
as  it  was  in  active  days,  and  the  bald  man 
may  well  inquire,  in  many  occupations. 
"Is  it  philosophy  or  folly?' 


Good  Things  Out  of  Nazareth! 

Every  naturalist,  and  especially  every 
meteoroloigist  is  familiar  with  the  photo- 
graphic work  with  snow  crystals  and 
frost  forms  done  by  Wilson  A.  Bentley 
of  Jericho,  Vermont.  He  began  his 
career  along'  that  line  when  he  was  only 
a  boy  and  has  devoted  his  attention  to  it 
with  a  persistence  and  a  skill  equal  in 
some  respects  to  those  of  Edison.  He 
too  is  self-educated ;  no  college  can  claim 
him. 

Recently  the  editor,  while  visiting  the 
schools  of  a  western  city  heard  from  the 
drawing  teacher  of  her  interest  in  Mr. 
Bentley's  photographs  and  of  her  use 
of  them  in  her  teaching.  She  regards 
them  as  works  of  art,  exquisite,  and 
beautiful  beyond  description.  Imagine 
her  astonishment  when  another  teacher 
expressed  surprise,  saying,  "Is  it  possible 
that  you  use  those  photographs  in  the 
school  work  of  a  city  like  this?  Don't 
vou  know  that  Mr.  Bentley  is  not  a  col- 
lege educated  man !!!!!!!" 


The  Best  Magazine  in  the  United 
States. 

Can  anybody  decide  which  is  the  best 
magazine  in  the  United  States?  Maga- 
zines cover  so  many  and  so  various  fields 
of  activity  that  among  many  of  them 
there  cannot  be  much  comparison.  For 
example,  there  can  be  no  comparing  of 
a  magazine  devoted  to  horses  with  one 
devoted  to  postage  stamps,  or  another 
to  school-teaching.  But  there  can  be. 
and  there  is,  such  a  thing  as  the  best 
magazine,  for  the  reason  that  it  takes 
the  best  from  every  other  magazine-  I 
fancy  that  if  a  really  good  article  should 
appear  in  any  magazine  on  horses,  post- 
age stamps  or  pedagogy,  you  would  find 
that  article  reproduced  in  "The  Literary 
Digest,"  a  periodical  that  stands  head  and 
shoulders  above  any  other  magazine  that 
is  attempting,  or  has  attempted,  to  give 
a  summary  of  the  thought  and  teaching 
as  expressed  in  all  classes  and  types  of 
journals. 

It  has  been  truly  said  that  every  per- 


son should  know  everything  of  some- 
thing and  something  of  everything.  This 
magazine  gives  the  readers  the  cream  of 
everything  worth  thinking  about.  You 
will  here  find  discussed  not  only  what  the 
newspapers  are  saying,  how  the  politi- 
cians are  whacking  each  other,  how  the 
war  is  progressing,  who  has  made  a  new 
scientific  discovery,  but  also  what  writers 
are  achieving  fame  in  the  world  of  fiction 
and  of  poetry,  and  what  is  the  current 
need  of  religious  and  social  service.  In- 
deed, it  often  ofifers  thoroughly  practical 
advice  as  how  to  spend  money  or  how  to 
get  along  without  it. 

But  what  is  the  use  of  trying  to  praise 
"The  Literary  Digest?"  We  might  as 
well  talk  of  the  sun's  beneficial  rays. 
Everybody  is  familiar  with  the  good 
qualities  of  both,  or  should  be. 


Professor  Robert  M.  Yerkes  of  Har- 
vard University,  probably  the  foremost 
animal  psychologist  in  the  country,  makes 
a  plea  for  more  attention  to  the  apes, 
baboons  and  monkeys.  We  know,  he 
points  out,  something  about  their  bodily 
structure,  but  almost  nothing  about 
their  mental  operations.  Yet  these 
creatures  are  nearest  of  all  brutes  to  our- 
selves, and  the  study  of  them  would  prob- 
ably teach  us  more  about  ourselves  than 
would  that  of  any  other  of  the  lower 
animals.  The  Germans  have  a  special  sta- 
tion for  the  studv  of  apes,  located  in  the 
Canary  islands.  Professor  Yerkes  argues 
for  establishing  a  similar  laboratory  some- 
where in  Southern  California. 


The  newest  earthquake  recorders  are 
so  sensitive  that  if  a  person  sit  quietly 
in  a  chair  near  one,  and  then  change 
to  the  side  opposite,  the  earth's  crust 
will  spring  sufficiently  under  the  chang- 
ing load  to  show  on  the  record.  No 
wonder,  then,  that  an  approaching 
storm  is  indicated  by  a  rising  of  the 
crust  under  the  diminished  pressure 
of  the  "low." 


A  recent  study  at  Cornell  University 
shows  that  in  the  hibernating  woodchuck 
the  body  temperature  falls  from  the  nor- 
mal ninet3^-eight  of  the  warm-blooded 
animals  to  a  little  above  forty.  At  the 
same  time,  the  carbon  dioxide  in  the 
blood  nearly  doubles.  Four  to  six 
months  is  the  natural  diu'ation  of  the 
winter  sleep. 


LITERARY  NOTICES 


367 


LITERAK 


NOTICES 


The  Embryology  of  the  Honey  Bee.  By 
James  Allen  Nelson,  Ph.  D.  Prince- 
ton, New  Jersey:  Princeton  Univer- 
sity Press. 
This  book  was  needed;  Dr.  Nelson  has 
well  supplied  that  need.  We  owe  a  debt  of 
gratitude  to  him  and  to  the  Princeton  Uni- 
versity- Press  for  giving-  us  this  permanent 
record  of  an  intensely  interesting  scientific 
investigation.  The  apiarian  magazines  have 
had  much  to  say  about  it,  the  embr3'ologist 
will  find  it  valuable,  but  we  especially  de- 
sire to  call  attention  to  it  on  account  of  its 
interest  to  the  microscopist.  The  book  gives 
him  something  to  do  along  a  fascinating 
line  of  investigation.  The  drawings  ma}-  be 
easily  understood  and  followed  by  even  the 
novice  in  microscop3^  as  they  are  beauti- 
fully plain  and  clear.  The  book  is  one  of 
the  most  delightful  guides  that  have  come 
to  the   reviewer's  desk. 


The  Charl.\t.\x's   Prophecy.       By     George 
Klingle.         Boston.       Massachusetts: 
Richard    G.    Badger,    Toronto,    Can- 
ada: The  Copp  Clark  Company,  Limi- 
ted. 
While    this    book   does    not    come    within 
the  immediate  scope  of  The  Guide  to  Na- 
ture we  are  glad  to  give  it  notice  because 
of    the    well-known    work    that    the    author 
did    in    the    department    that    she    formerly 
conducted  in  this  magazine,  under  the  title 
of    "The    La    Rue    Holmes    Nature    Lovers 
League."     She  is  a  nature  lover,  and  a  stu- 
dent  of   considerable   ability   and    much    en- 
thusiasm. 

"The  Charlatan's  Prophecy"  is  a  roman- 
tic love  story,  well  worth  reading,  not  only 
for  entertainment,  but  for  its  educational 
value.  The  scene  is  laid  in  the  Thirteenth 
Century,  during  one  of  the  most  exciting 
periods  in   the  history  of  Venice. 


The  American  Boys'  Book  of  Bugs^  Butter- 
flies   AND    Beetles.      By       Dan       Beard. 
Philadelphia.    Pennsylvania,    and    London, 
England :      J.   B.    Lippincott    Company. 
"Is  there  a  boy  with  soul  so  dead 
Who  never  to  himself   has   said 
*I  like  the  woods  and   swampy  places 
More  than  stiff  shirts  and  whitewashed  faces? 
I  love  all  bugs,  fish,  worms  and  mice 
Live   outdoor   things    I   think   are   nice ; 
To   follow  Dan   on   walks  and  hunts 
Will   make  a   man   out  of  a  dunce. 
And  'tis  for  this  I  say  to  you 
Go  buy  his  book    and  read  it  through.'  " 

Dan  Beard  stimulates  boys  to  go  out  into 
the  woods  and  fields  to  develop  a  love  of  the 
beauties  and  a  curiosity  concerning  the  mystery 


of  nature,  to  observe  and  understand  the 
ways  of  living  things.  The  man  who  does 
this  is  the  man  of  whom  parents  are  glad  to 
hear  as  they  realize  that  his  books  must  be 
of  more  real  value  to  their  boys  than  are  the 
common  and  multitudinous  stories  of  athletics 
and  crude   adventure. 

Dan  tells  the  boys  in  his  own  inimitable 
way  of  the  fun  and  value  that  is  derived  in 
making  a  collection  of  insects.  If  the  boy 
has  this  book,  whether  he  is  in  the  suburbs, 
the  far  country,  the  mountain  or  the  seashore 
he  will  be  happy ;  he  will  have  plenty  to  do. 
It  is  not  only  in  the  summer  that  fun  may  be 
had  with  the  little  winged  and  armoured 
creatures,  for  in  the  winter  some  of  the  most 
fascinating  discoveries  of  cocoons  and  insect 
life  may  be  made. 

The  especial  aim  is  to  tell  the  boy  the  value 
of  a  collection  of  bugs,  butterflies,  and  beetles, 
the  habits  of  the  most  important  members  of 
the  different  tribes,  and  the  best  methods  of 
capturing  and  preserving  the  specimens. 
}^Iaking  this  collection  will  be  the  most  useful 
one  a  boy  can  make.  The  birds  are  the  friends 
of  men — collecting  their  eggs  and  shooting 
them  may  well  be  considered  a  crime — but 
the  bugs  are  usually  enemies,  they  ravage  our 
gardens,  poison  our  orchards,  and  kill  the 
proudest  monarchs  of  our  forests.  Let  all 
boys  read  this  book,  become  impregnated  with 
the  divine  fire,  and  take  sides  with  the  birds 
in  a  relentless  war  upon  the  army  worms,  the 
gypsy  moths,  the  potato  bugs,  and  all  the  rest 
of  the  host  of  pillagers  that  prey  upon  our 
food,  our  lumber  and  our  flowers. 


A  curious  variety  of  the  common 
fresh  water  clam,  Unio  complanatus,  is 
reported  from  western  Maine.  The  re- 
gion is  one  in  which  there  is  no  lime- 
stone, and  where  even  the  fieldspars 
are  virtually  all  soda.  The  result  is 
that  the  creatures  find  almost  no  lime 
in  the  water  from  which  to  build  their 
shells.  Therefore  they  thicken  the  epi- 
dermis of  the  normal  shell  to  about 
twice  the  common  amount,  and  often 
embed  grains  of  sand  in  it.  The  shape 
of  the  shell,  also,  is  somewhat  dififer- 
ent  from  the  commoner  form,  being 
almost  identical  with  that  of  Anodon- 
ta  iiwrgiiiata.  The  variety  is  especially 
abundant  in  Oxford  Coimty,  Maine ;  it 
occurs,  however,  sparingly,  at  other 
points  in  the  granite  area  of  New 
England    where   lime   is   wanting. 


368 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


p; 


). 


(ORRESPONDENCE 

^  ^'S^  AND  Information 


Dan  Beard's  First  Interest  in  Nature, 

[In  "Literary  Notices"  of  this  number 
mention  is  made  of  Dan  Beard's  recent 
book,  "The  American  Boys'  Book  of  Bugs, 
Butterflies  and  Beetles."  Reading  that  book 
suggested  writing  to  the  author  and  in- 
quiring how  he  first  became  interested  in 
insects.  He  tells  us  in  this  letter  that  he 
began  as  a  baby  watching  flies  on  the  win- 
dowpane. — Ed.] 


Flushing,  Long  Island. 
To  the  Editor : 

The  little  things  of  the  world  play 
an  important  part  back  in  the  dawn  of 
life,  that  part  of  one's  life  of  which  we 
are  only  conscious  because  of  certain 
well  remembered  experience  The  ris- 
ing sun  of  life  seems  to  strike  and  illu- 
minate the  minute  things  in  place  of 
the  big  things  and  these  illuminated  in- 
cidents are  the  ones  we  remember  in 
after  years.  My  memory  tells  me  of 
spending  much  time  watching  the  flies 
on  the  windowpane ;  I  thought  they 
were  pigeons,  because  to  my  baby 
mind  and  sight  imtrained  to  perspec- 
tive, the  pigeons  outside,  flying  among 
the  housetops,  appeared  to  be  the  same 
size  as  the  flies  on  the  windowpane — 
both  were  alive  and  both  excited  my 
baby  interest  to  that  degree  that  I  can 
still  recollect  them,  although  the  time 
previous  and  considerable  space  fol- 
lowing are  blank  pages. 

Then  again  I  can  remember  sitting 
on  the  front  steps  of  a  house  on  Long- 
worth  Street,  Cincinnati ;  it  was  the 
fourth  of  July  and  I  was  experimenting 
with  lightning  bugs  and  wondering 
why  I  could  not  set  oflf  a  firecracker  by 
the  light  in  their  tails.  I  must  have 
been  three  years  old  or  probably  less. 
Both  these  incidents  excited  my  inter- 
est in  the  study  of  insect  life. 

The  next  occasion  which  has  left  its 
impress  upon  my  memory  was  in 
Painesville.  Ohio,  where  I  attended  the 
little  red  brick  schoolhouse  in  the  grove 
and  where  I  was  flogged  for  breaking 
my  slate  over  a  colored  boy's  head. 
The  Western  Reserve,  it  must  be  borne 


in  mind,  was  a  section  of  the  country 
settled  by  Abolitionists  and  the  colored 
children  went  to  school  with  the  white 
children,  a  thing  to  which  I  was  un- 
accustomed, so  when  they  seated  a  col- 
ored boy  at  the  desk  with  me,  I  thought 
it  was  an  intentional  and  gratuitous 
insult  and  smashed  my  slate  over  the 


DAN   P.EARD. 

poor  lad's  head  to  the  great  delight  of 
the  scholars  and  the  horror  of  the 
teacher.  A  lath  was  taken  from  the 
wall  where  the  plaster  was  broken  off 
and  with  that  the  teacher  flogged  me. 
I  went  home  and  told  my  mother  all 
about  it ;  to  my  amazement  she 
laughed.  She  understood  the  situation, 
I  did  not ;  she  patted  me  on  the  head, 
gave  me  some  cookies  and  said  noth- 
ing more.  The  next  day  I  played 
hookey  from  school  and  spent  the  time 
in  the  cornfield  watching  the  ants.  In- 
deed I  became  so  absorbed  in  my  ant 
study  that  I  neglected  to  watch  the 
time  and  come  home  when  school  was 
out ;  in  fact  if  I  remember  aright  I  was 
late  for  dinner,  as  the  luidday  meal  was 
then  called. 


CORRESPONDEXCE  AND  INFORMATION 


369 


But  inv  good  mother  understood 
this  situation  also,,  and  putting  her 
arm  around  me,  she  gently  said  :  "You 
must  hurry  through  your  dinner  and 
go  to  school  this  afternoon."  That  is 
the  only  reference  she  made  to  my 
truancy  and  that  was  the  only  time  in 
my  life  I  played  hookey  from  school. 
But  I  really  learned  more  in  the  corn- 
field than  I  did  at  the  little  brick  school- 
house,  and  thereafter  all  insects  pos- 
sessed a  permanent  charm  and  interest. 

It  was  after  this  my  mother  taught 
me  where  to  look  for  the  chrysalides 
of  the  Monarch  butterfly  or,  as  we 
called  them,  the  milkweed  butterfly, 
on  the  underside  of  the  top  rail  of  the 
white,  paling  fence  in  front  of  our  lit- 
tle cottage.  These  green  and  bejewel- 
ed  chrysalides  were  to  me  fairy  cre- 
ations ;  I  thought  them  even  prettier 
than  the  butterflies  themselves.  After 
that,  I  became  interested  in  the  beetles 
on  the  grapevines  and  the  study  of  the 
grubworms  and  their  transformation 
into  the  beetle.  Later,  as  a  young  man 
in  the  city  engineer's  office  in  Cincin- 
nati, I  made  a  habit  of  collecting  all 
the  caterpillars  and  putting  them  in 
the  drawer  of  my  drafting  table.  All 
the  other  surveyors  used  to  add  to  that 
collection ;  it  was  then  that  I  spent 
some  of  the  first  money  I  ever  earned 
in  buying  a  "Packard's  Introduction 
to  the  Study  of  Insects." 

I  had  no  desire  to  be  a  scientific  en- 
tomologist, I  only  wanted  to  know  the 
habits  of  these  creatures  and  to  be  able 
to  identify  them  at  sight.  I  looked  up- 
on them  as  one  of  the  branches  of  nat- 
ural history  and  an  important  branch. 
The  birds,  the  beasts,  the  reptiles  and 
the  plants  were  all  equally  attractive, 
but  there  was  no  Packard's  Introduc- 
tion to  the  study  of  birds,  beasts  or 
reptiles.  However  I  did  secure  Dana's 
geology  which  was  of  great  aid  to  me 
with  the  fossils  with  which  the  hills 
of  Cincinnati  abounded. 

Ever  since  those  days,  I  have  looked 
upon  the  insect  world  as  the  kindergar- 
ten and  grammar  school  for  nature 
study ;  little  things  always  attract 
little  folks  ;  a  little  horse  or  pony,  a  lit- 
tle man,  like  Tom  Thumb  or  Commo- 
dore Nut,  a  tiny  woman  like  Mrs.  Tom 
Thumb  or  Minnie  Warren,  a  wee  little 
coach  like  that  in  which  these  dwarfs 
used  to  drive  through  the  city  streets, 


all  possess  a  greater  charm  for  the  chil- 
dren than  do  any  giants  or  the  big  ani- 
mals like  the  moose,  the  elk  or  the  buf- 
falo. As  for  the  elephant,  that  has  al- 
ways been  a  source  of  terror  to  little 
people. 

A  little  playhouse  will  attract  the 
attention  of  all  the  children  who  may 
pass  by,  while  a  magnificent  palace,  up- 
on the  groimds  of  which  the  playhouse 
may  be  situated,  will  be  unnoticed  by 
them.  Fairies  have  more  charm  for 
children  than  giants;  hence.it  is  that  I 
am  satisfied  that  in  the  study  of  nature, 
the  natural  way  and  the  proper  way  is 
to  begin  with  the  insects  while  the  stu- 
dents are  very  young.  As  they  grow 
older,  the  larger  animals  will  be  of  in- 
terest to  them.  But  wild  flowers,  ane- 
mones, bloodroot,  jack-in-the-pulpit 
and  violets  are  more  charming  and 
more  attractive  to  children  than  the 
most  magnificent  forests  or  even  the 
big  trees  found  in  the  mountains  of 
California. 

Insects  interested  me  when  bears,, 
deer  and  buflfalo  would  have  frightened 
me.  Even  Santa  Claus'  rig,  in  order 
to  please  the  children,  is  described  as- 
consisting  of  "a  miniature  sleigh  and 
eight  tiny  reindeer,  with  a  little  old 
driver." 

This  is  a  psychological  phase  of  the 
childish  mind  which  has  not  been  taken 
advantage  of  heretofore  in  nature 
study,  but  which  induced  me  to  write 
my  books  on  "Bugs,  Butterflies  and 
Beetles,"  for  the  boys. 

Dan  Beard. 


A  new  disease  of  the  orange  and 
other  citrus  fruits  is  reported  from 
Florida,  introduced  apparently  from 
Japan. 


The  Roval  Ontario  Museum  has 
lately  acquired  a  set  of  minerals  from' 
Baffin  Land,  which  lies  west  of  Baffin 
Bay  in  about  the  latitude  of  the  North 
Magnetic  Pole.  The  specimens  include 
scapolite,  rose  quartz,  serpentine,  spi- 
nel, actinolite,  graphite,  cordierite  and 
garnet.  The  deposits  of  the  last  three 
mav  be  commercially  valuable.  The 
rocks  are  in  general  about  like  those  of 
Canada  and  northern  New  England — 
largelv  gneisses  and  limestones  of  Ar- 
chean  age. 


370 


THE  GVIDU  TO  NATURE 


Meditation  Couch. 

Warren,  Ohio. 
To  the  Editor : 

This  picture  suggests  a  resting  place 
in  a  forest  of  spruce  trees,  but  there 
are  only  two  rows  of  trees,  each  row 
fifteen  hundred  feet  long  and  the  trees 
six  feet  apart.  They  were  set  out  years 
ago  as  a  windbreak  for  a  pear  orchard. 
Approaching  to  within  a  few  feet  of  the 


the  head,  one  in  the  middle,  one  at  the 
foot,  and  two  pieces  of  burlay  spread 
over  them,  my  couch  is  complete,  and 
you  may  look  at  its  picture  and  be  en- 
vious. 

The  mosquitoes  have  not  troubled 
me.  If  they  do,  I  will  put  on  my  bee 
veil  and  gloves. 

Yours  very  sincerely, 

W.  W.  Eathrop. 


MEDITATION   COUCH. 


trees,  on  the  left  in  the  picture,  is  a 
large  field  of  tomatoes.  On  the  right, 
six  or  seven  feet  from  the  foot  of  the 
couch,  is  a  row  of  beehives  of  which 
the  writer  is  manager.  On  Sunday  he 
leaves  the  city  and  with  his  dinner  in 
a  basket  and  such  reading  matter  as 
he  likes  he  comes  to  this  restful  place 
on  the  "Whiting  Farm"  a  mile  and  a 
half  from  Warren,  Ohio.  There  he  can 
listen  to  the  hum  of  the  bees,  the  song 
of  the  birds,  and  see  the  blue  sky  and 
the  tumultuous  clouds  through  the  tops 
of  the  evergreen  trees  and  read  and 
sleep  to  his  heart's  content. 

The  couch  was  made  in  this  way. 
When  in  the  spring  I  cut  the  grass 
around  the  beehive,  I  allowed  it  to  dry. 
With  it  I  stufifed  three  old  burlap  bags, 
and  put  them  in  the  little  honey  house 
where  I  store  my  bee  tools  and  extra 
hives  and  everything  that  I  want  to 
keep  dry. 

On  Sundays,  when  I  go  to  see  the 
bees,  and  am  ready  for  my  recreation. 
I  take  two  hive  covers  and  place  them 
against  the  tree  to  form  the  slanting 
head  of  the  cotich.     With  one  bag  at 


A    Letter   from   the   Tropics. 

La  Ceiba,  Honduras. 
To  the  Editor : 

1  realize  that  1  have  parth'  promised 
to  write  something  about  the  natural  his- 
tory of  this  summer  land,  but  I  have  been 
here  for  only  a  short  time,  and  the  sub- 
ject is  too  extensive  to  warrant  more  than 
a  vignette — a  bird's-eye  view — in  one 
letter. 

There  is  a  wealth  of  material  here  for 
the  naturalist,  as  well  as  for  the  mere 
lover  of  nature  who  professes  no  scien- 
tific attainments.  The  writer  can  claim 
to  be  only  an  appreciative  seeker  after 
knowledge,  but  he  is  keenly  alive  to  the 
"spell  of  the  tropics." 

A  scientific  friend  envies  my  opportu- 
nity to  roam  among  the  interesting  things 
that  I  find  here,  and  I  envy  the  scientific 
training  that  would  enable  me  to  profit 
from  this  opportunity.  Yet  to  the  earnest 
seeker  after  knowledge  there  is  always 
opportunity  to  pursue  independent  inves- 
tigations which  may  possibly  enlarge  the 
sum  of  human  knowledge.  It  may  be  trite 
to  say,  but  it  is  eminently  true  that  the 
world  is  full  of  wonders.    This  is  empha- 


CORRESroXDEXCE  AXl)  INFORM  \TI(  )\ 


371 


sized  nowhere  mcjre  emphatically  than 
among"  the  insects,  in  which  the  writer 
feels  an  especial  interest.  Here,  for  one 
from  the  temperate  zone,  there  is  an  un- 
bounded field  for  study  and  research.  A 
lifetime  would  not  begin  to  be  sufficient 
to  exhaust  its  possibilities. 

At  one's  first  visit  in  the  tropics,  the 
very  weeds  that  one  tramples  underfoot 
possess  a  strange  interest.  The  whole 
environment  is  new,  different,  full  of  the 
charm  that  envelops  mystically  the  un- 
known— the  unexplored. 

hrom  the  day  when,  at  early  dawn,  the 
steamship's  hoarse  whistle  signaled  its 
approach  to  the  land  and  brought  me  to 
my  feet  to  peer  through  the  fading 
shadows  of  the  dying  night  at  the  indis- 
tinct, cloud  screened  mountains,  I  have 
been  busy,  when  time  from  business  per- 
mitted, with  the  keenness  of  the  novice 
in  the  study  of  nature's  mysteries,  and 
in  becoming  acquainted  with  my  new  en- 
vironment. That  first  day  I  learned  to 
realize  wdiat  all  dwellers  in  the  tropics 
know — the  rapidity  with  w^hich  day 
comes  on,  and  the  equal  haste  with  which 
the  curtain  of  night  falls.  Expecting 
nothing  but  rain  at  that  time  of  the  year 
— it  w-as  early  in  November — we  found, 
as  the  distance  between  the  ship  and  the 
land  melted  away,  that  over  there  beyond 
the  cocoanut  palms  fringing  the  beach 
the  day  was  fair,  whatever  the  night  may 
have  been.  The  introduction  to  our  new 
home  was  promising.  It  did  not  matter 
that  for  three  weeks  there  had  been  an 
almost  continuous  downpour  of  rain. 
Now  the  sun  was  shining,  though  clouds 
still  shrouded  the  mountains  that  were 
alluring  in  their  verdant  loveliness. 

Honduras  is  a  fair  land.  To  the  natur- 
alist it  is  full  of  wonders,  many  wonders 
still  to  be  uncovered.  Whether  this  be 
the  best  or  the  least  favorable  season — I 
am  writing  just  before  Christmas — I  can- 
not say  from  my  own  experience,  but  the 
array  is  so  wonderful  that  I  am  content 
to  take  things  as  they  come.  Flow-ers 
bloom,  fruits  ripen,  birds  flit  among  the 
trees  and  gay  butterflies  dally  among  the 
flowers  now,  as  they  do  the  whole  year 
through,  and  if,  when  the  rains  are  over, 
more  life  should  manifest  itself,  then  this 
must  be  a  busy  world  indeed. 

Most  persons  picture  a  burning  sun, 
blistering  sands,  parched  throats,  swelter- 
ing days  and  stuffy  nights,  when  thinking 
of  "the  tropics."  The  tropics  have  all 
such;  but  here   it   is   not   so   bad.     The 


nights  are  cool  and  one  sleeps  under  a 
blanket,  or  maybe  two,  with  the  thermo- 
meter at  seventy  or  seventy-two  degrees, 
and  to-niglit,  at  eight  o'clock  and  with  a 
cold  wind  and  drizzly  rain,  it  is  sixty- 
seven  degrees.  The  noonday  tempera- 
ture in  the  shade  is  eighty  degrees,  occa- 
sionally a  little  warmer,  and  if  it  be  rain- 
ing perhaps  not  more  than  seventy  de- 
grees.    l)Ut  the  sun  is  hot. 

I  had  always  supposed  that  a  seabeach 
in  a  land  like  this  would  be  strewn  with 
marine  treasures,  the  argosies  of  the 
waves  bringing  tribute  from  the  deeps, 
strange  shells  of  colors  rare,  seaweeds 
with  which  the  queen  of  the  mermaids 
might  deck  herself,  unheard-of  wonders 
and  endless  surprises.  But  it  is  nothing 
like  that.  The  beach  here  is  clean  and 
bare ;  only  a  few  wave  worn  pebbles, 
sand  crabs  and  a  shell  now  and  then 
rubbed  perhaps  into  a  faint  memory  of  its 
original  glories  by  the  friction  of  the 
sands.  On  the  islands  off  the  coast,  faint- 
ly discernible  in  clear  weather,  there  are 
shells  and  mosses,  corals  and  sponges, 
but  here  the  north  winds  seem  to  whip 
all  life  'into  nothingness.  It  is  on  the  land 
that  one  finds  his  treasure-trove.  And 
some  day  perhaps  I  may  be  able  to  tell 
you  something  about  it,  although  it  is, 
in  truth,  difficult  to  know  where  to  dip 
into  the  abundance  of  material  that  pre- 
sents itself  on  every  side. 

Francis  J.  Dyer. 


Curious  Behavior  of  a  Plant. 

Our  common  "water  net."  Hydro- 
dictyon  reticnlatnm,  is  rare  in  England. 
Reports,  however,  come  of  its  very  sud- 
den multiplication,  so  that  workmen 
have  to  be  set  to  raking  out  the  masses 
and  piling  them  in  heaps  on  the  shore. 
Then,  in  less  than  a  month,  the  entire 
grow^th  disappears,  so  that  careful 
search  fails  to  reveal  so  much  as  a 
single  plant. 

One  wonders  whether  ]\Ir.  G.  G. 
Wells,  in  his  story  of  "The  War  of  the 
Worlds,"  did  not  get  from  this  his  idea 
bf  the  "red  Aveed"  introduced  from 
Mars,  increasing  till  it  choked  the 
streams  and  then  perishing  almost  in 
a  nisfht. 


Is  not  January  the  hardest  month  to 
get  through  ?  When  you  have  weathered 
that,  you  get  into  the  gulf  stream  of  win- 
ter, nearer  the  shores  of  spring. — 
Thoreau. 


Z1^ 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


•-••••••••••"   : 


^'•••••. ••«•••••***  ; 


AGASSIZ  ASSOCIATION 


KCCCCCCCCSKC<:C<C<KC<C^CCC^^^ 


Established  1875 


Incorporated,  Massachusetts.  1892 


Incorporated,  Connecticut,  1910 


For  Progressive  Work. 

Chapter  1063  of  The  Agassiz  Associa- 
tion was  organized  in  the  Durham,  North 
CaroHna.  City  High  School  early  in 
December,  with  a  membership  of  thirty- 
seven.  The  following  officers  were 
elected:  Chapter  President,  Bert  Cun- 
ningham, Teacher  of  Biology ;  Secretary, 


pleasure  and  information.  To  accomplish 
this  we  are  individually  studying  various 
plants  and  animals  and  reporting  on  them 
to  the  Chapter.  We  are  taking  and  read- 
ing The;  Guide:  to  Nature;  as  well  as 
"Bird-Lore."  We  have  also  been  inter- 
ested in  reviewing  the  lives  of  great  men 
in  science.  Agassiz  has  called  forth  our 
admiration.  We  all  love  the  things  for 
which  he  stood.     The  second  of  our  two 


j%^^ 


OUR    PROGRESSIVE    CHAPTER    O  1-    DURHAM,    NORTH    CAROLINA. 
Holding  their   Charter. 


Margie  Rogers ;  Treasurer,  Samuel 
Murry;  Assistant  Treasurer,  Mozelle 
Wilkerson.  Committees  were  appointed 
to  look  after  the  executive,  programme 
and  social  features.  Wallace  Bunn  was 
selected  as  the  operator  of  the  projection 
lantern. 

Since  our  organization  we  have  held 
weekly  meetings,  and  have  had  reports 
on  vaccination,  flies,  typhoid  fever,  ants, 
molds  and  tuberculosis.  Some  of  these 
were  illustrated  with  lantern  slides. 

We  are  this  year  working  for  two 
special    objects.      The    first    is    personal 


objects  is  to  lay  the  foundation  for  pro- 
gressive work  that  shall  make  the  high 
school  a  center  of  civic  biology.  To  accom- 
plish this  we  are  collecting  and  classifying 
as  far  as  possible  the  plants  and  animals 
that  we  can  obtain,  thus  starting  what  we 
hope  will  be  a  permanent  museum. 

We  expect  to  take  an  active  part  in  any 
civic  biological  problem,  and  we  believe 
that  prevention  is  better  than  cure.  We 
hope  to  be  able  to  report  some  interesting 
developments  in  the  near  future. 

We  are  enclosing  flash  light  photograph 
of  the  Chapter. 

Bert  Cunningham. 


THE  AG  ASS  I Z    ASSOCIATION 


With   Our  Local   Chapters. 

In  the  January  number  of  Tiiii  Glidi, 
TO  Nature  extended  reference  was 
made  to  our  Five  Fires  Chapter  of 
Greenwich.  The  recently  elected  of- 
ficers of  this  Chapter  are:  President, 
Mrs.  C.  D.  Lanier;  Vice-President,  Ed- 
win W.  Lewis ;  Recording  Secretar}-, 
Becky  Lanier ;  Corresponding  Secre- 
tary, Robert  Lewis ;  Treasurer,  Roger 
Cameron  Edson ;  Curator  of  Collec- 
tions, George  L.  Storm,  Jr. 

The  Putnam  Chapter  of  the  Green- 
wich Academy  has  recently  reorgan- 
ized with  the  following  officers :  Pres- 
ident, Bethiah  F.  Waterman ;  Vice- 
President,  Louise  Brush ;  Recording 
Secretary,  Constance  Taylor;  Corres- 
ponding Secretary,  Amolie  Scholer- 
mann ;  Treasurer,  Elizabeth  Richard- 
son. 

A  second  Chapter,  known  as  the 
Putnam  Junior  Chapter,  has  also  been 
organized  in  the  Greenwich  Academy. 
Of  this  Chapter  the  President  is  Con- 
stant MacRae ;  Vice-President,  Elea- 
nor Pier ;  Secretary,  Elizabeth  Ander- 
son ;  Treasurer,  Margaret  Houston. 

A  Chapter  organized  in  the  Rogers 
School  of  Stamford  has  elected  as  its 
President,  Frank  Hickey ;  Vice-Presi- 
dent, Vincent  Smith  ;  Recording  Secre- 
tary, Thomas  Butler;  Corresponding- 
Secretary,  Hattie  Coblentz ;  Treasurer, 
John  Greaney. 


Recent  Additions  to  Our  Membership. 

Corresponding : 

Winifred    Sackville    Stoner,   Jr.,    Wil- 
mington, North  Carolina. 
Mr.  Isaac  O-  Frederick,  Harleysville, 

Pennsylvania. 
W^illiam     Pratt    McLaren,     Stamford, 

Connecticut. 
Mr.  William  R-  Lodge,  Cuyahoga  Falls, 

New  York. 
Miss     Barbara     Schmidt,     Harrison, 
Sustaining: 

New  York. 
Mr.    Ludwig   Schwiers,    Lower   Lake, 
California. 
Mr.    Herbert    H.    Miller,    Norwood, 

Massachusetts. 
Mr.  Louis  Agassiz   Shaw,   Peterboro, 

New  Hampshire. 


Item  from  a  Local  Newspaper 

Dr.  Edward  F.  Bigelow,  of  .\rcAdiA, 
entertained  the  Holy  Name  Society  of 
St.  Catherine's  church,  of  Riverside,  on 
Monday  evening  at  Welcome  Reception 
Room.  Dr.  Bigelow's  lecture  was  one  of 
the  most  interesting  and  instructive  he  has 
thus  far  given  at  ArcAdiA.  Father  Cole- 
man made  some  remarks  pertaining  to  the 
Agassiz  motto  Per  Naturam  .\d  Deum 
which  is  a  sermon  in  itself-  .\bout  fifty 
were  present.  A  fine  musical  program 
was  rendered.  Scherzo  by  Mendelssohn, 
Marche  ]\lignonne  by  Poldini  were  the 
selections  pla}ed  by  Miss  Viola  Worrell 
at  the  piano  Miss  Demarest  delighted 
the  guests  with  the  following  songs  : 

Winter  Song Fay  Foster 

Shepherd  Cradle  Song Somervell 

I  Hear  You  Calhng  Me Marshall 

The  Moon  Drops  Low Cadman 

The  Naughty  Chrysanthemum ....  Saltes 
— Grecni^'ich  Xcws  and  Graphic. 


The  Bureau  of  Fisheries  is  experi- 
menting with  raising  shad  in  ponds  as 
a  fresh-water  fish.  Results  thus  far 
are  encouraging,  the  young  fry  mak- 
ing about  twice  the  growth  as  in  the 
ocean. 


Snakes  and  the  Mexican  War. 

Troubles  along  the  Mexican  boun- 
dary have  resulted  in  a  peculiar  snake 
condition.  W'e  find  it  difficult  to  ob- 
tain large  specimens  of  the  western 
diamond-back  rattlesnake,  owing  to 
the  fear  of  collectors  to  venture  within 
that  bullet-infested  region.  A  collector 
in  Texas  who  zig-zags  back  and  forth 
across  the  boundary  line  wrote  us  re- 
cently as  follows :  "I  can't  catch  any 
big  rattlesnakes  now.  On  my  last  trip 
the  only  thing  I  got  was  a  collection  of 
bullet  holes  through  my  new  Ford  car. 
They  said  they  didn't  shoot  at  me,  but 
this  didn't  make  me  feel  any  better." 
The  collector  mentioned  brings  in  as 
many  as  two  hundred  rattlers  in  a 
week's  trip !  He  does  not  bother  to 
pick  up  specimens  under  four  and  a 
half  feet  in  length  ;  and  many  of  them 
are  over  six  feet  long  and  twelve  inches 
in  circumference.  These  big  rattlers 
seem  imbued  with  the  fighting  spirit  of 
the  region.  When  first  placed  on  ex- 
hibition they  rattle  continuously  for 
hours.  The  Texas  collectors  sell  their 
rattlesnakes  in  novel  fashion,  charging 
not  according  to  the  length  of  the  indi- 
vidual. After  selecting  specimens  of 
the  required  size  they  weigh  them,  and 
sell  them  at  thirty  cents  per  pound! 
— "N.  Y.  Zoological  Bulletin." 


374                                    THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 

FOR  GROWTH  AND  EFFICIENCY  Miscellaneous    Contributions    to 

ArcAdiA. 

Members  and  Other  Friends  Who  have  Mr.    S.    C.    Hunter,    New    Rochelle, 

Aided  in  the   Expenses   of  The  New  York  :  sun  diagonal  for  telescope. 

Agassiz  Association.  The  Greenwich  Library,  Greenwich, 

Mr.  Ellis  B.  Noyes,  Virginia — -  Connecticut:  five  scientific  books, 

balance   of  $i.oo   per   month  Mr.  R.  M.  Allen,  East  Orange,  New 

for  one   year    $     5.00  Jersey:    microscopical    mount    of   wolf 

Reverend    Charles    Morris   Ad-  spider. 

dison,   Stamford    5.00  Mr.  H.  E.  Beats,  Flemington,  New 

Miss     Dorothy     A.      Baldwin,  Jersey :  three  waste  baskets  similar  to 

Massachusetts    5.00  several  previously  supplied. 

"Neighbor,"  Sound  Beach   ....      10.00  Mrs.     George     Peirce,     New     York 

"Land  Aid,"  Massachusetts 50.00  City :  interesting  botanical   specimens. 

Miss   Frances   H.   Errett,   Ohio     50.00  ■ 

Mr.  Samuel  P.  Avery,  Connec-  "To    Change   this    Weakness    into 

ticut— $25.00   and    $50.00....      75.00  Strength." 

"Interested   Visitor,"   Stamford       2.00  [extract  from  a  member's  letter] 

Mrs.    O.    H.    Stevens,    Massa-  I  confess  that  the  connection  of  theo- 

chusetts    2.00  retical   studies  with   the   real   life  that 

Mr.    H.    E.    Valentine,    Massa-  is    throbbing   around    us    in   our    imme- 

chusetts    1. 00  diate  neighborhood, is  not  alive  enough 

Miss  Helen  Zipfel,  Connecticut       i.oo  at   least  in   my  case,   and   that   it  is   a 

"A  Lover  of  Astronomy,"  Mas-  strong    desire    in    me    to    change    this 

sachusetts — at      $25.00      per  weakness   into   strength.     Therefore   I 

month    225.00  have  gladly  become  a  Member  of  The 

Mr.  Walter  Neumuller,  Sound  Agassiz  xA.ssociation. 

Beach    2.00  I  am  strongly  interested  in  opening 

Mr.  Frank  J.   Myers,  Pennsyl-  my  children's  and  my  pupils'  eyes  to 

vania    8.50  tbe  wonderful  Book  of  Nature  around 

Honorable  Zenas   Crane,   Mas-  them,    of   which   they   are   an   integral 

sachusetts   50.00  part  themselves,  and  to  protect  them 

"Wishes    for    Success,"    Stam-  from  becoming  mere  theoretical  book- 
ford    25.00  worms,  as  I  had  been  one  during  a  cer- 

Mr.    Ed.    Sandreuter,    Stamford     10.00  tain  period  of  my  life. 

"The    Right    Spirit,"    Stamford     20.00  But  of  course  a  one-eyed  man  is  a 

Chapter   No.    1015,    Glenbrook,  poor    guide    for    the    blind    ones,    and 

Connecticut    3.00  therefore  I  am  longing  to  get  the  old 

"Timely    Assistance,"    Massa-  bookworm   dust  off  my  mind  and  es- 

chusetts    100.00  tablish    more    immediate    connections 

The   Fairhope    League,    Green-  with     Mother    Nature. — L.     Schwiers, 

wich    5.00  Teacher,    Lower    Lake,    Lake    County, 

Mr.  B.  M.  Ayres,  Stamford  ....        5.00  California. 

Mr.  Henry  Miller,  North  Stam-  

ford    . 25.00  He  Sets  a  Good  Example. 

Kansas  City,  Missouri. 

$684.50  Dear  Dr.  BigeloAv: 

Aid  on  the   Loan   ($197.20)   from  the  The  March  issue  of  The  Guide  to 

AA  General  to  the  Fund  for  the  Nature  at  hand.     Turning  its  pages, 

Astronomical  Observatory.  I  find,  on  page  334,  that  you  owe  the 

Mrs.    Charles    Tarbell    Dudley  AA  general  fund  nearly  $200,  borrow- 

Greenwich    $10.00  ed  for  the  observatory.  I  enclose  check 

Mr.  Charles  A.  Brunn,  Kansas  for  $10. 

City,    Missouri    10.00  You  have  done  splendid  work  in  se- 

curing  the  observatory.     AA  members 

$20.00  and  friends  should  permit  you  to  bal- 

ance  your  books  without  a  deficit. 

Just  as  we  go  to  press  the  remainder  Wishing  you  abundant  success,  I  re- 

of  this  loan,  with  a  surplus  to  the  AA,  main, 

has  been  paid  by  an  amateur  astrono-  Very  truly, 

^.|gj.  Chas.  a.  Bruun. 


ARCADIA   PAGl" 


IX 


What  is  in  the  Name  "ArcAdiA"? 

'A\  hy  .lo  you  spell  Akc  \i)iA  with  three 
capital  A's?" 

Answer:  "JJecause  that  is  its  name.  " 
'A\hy  did  you  give  it  a  name  that  re- 
quires that  unusual  spelling?     W  hy  did 
you  not  call   it  merely  Arcadia  without 
the  three  capitals?" 

These  questions  in  various  forms  have 
>come  from  many  readers  and  from  local 
friends. 

We  selected  ArcAdiA,  with  the  special 
spelling',  much  against  our  will,  because 
we  recognized  that  it  might  be  regarded 
as  freakish  and  as  breaking  the  rules  of 
orthograph}-,  but,  after  careful  considera- 
tion, we  were  unable  to  find  another  word 
that  would  exactly  express  our  idea. 

If  w^e  were  to  take  the  word  as  it  was 
originally  used,  and  as  it  is  now  used  in 
many  places,  it  would  be  far  from  ex- 
pressing the  complete  idea  and  the  funda- 
mental principle  for  which  this  ArcAdiA 
stands.  The  old  Greek  Arcadia  is  de- 
fined as  "a  picturesque  district  of  Greece, 
inhabited  by  a  simple,  pastoral  people, 
distinguished  for  contentment  and  rural 
happiness.  Hence,  any  region  or  scene 
of  simple  pleasure,  rustic  innocence  and 
tuitroubled  quiet."  The  inhabitants 
were  "fond  of  music  and  dancing,"  and 
the  god  of  Arcadia  was  Pan. 

We  like  the  picturesque  beauty,  the 
simplicity,  the  contentment  and  the  rural 
happiness  ;  we  like  the  simple  pleasures 
and  the  untroubled  quiet,  but  that  is  far 
from  all  we  wanted  to  exi:)ress.  There 
are  thousands  of  households  in  rural  dis- 
tricts that  live  in  simplicity  and  content- 
ment. 

We  had  no  thought  of  transferring  that 
Greek  name  to  our  Institution,  for  the 
word  expresses  only  a  part  of  what  we 
would  have  it  imply.  We  see  no  way  to 
use  the  word  in  its  original  form  and  to 
add  the  qualities  that  we  wish  these  head- 
quarters of  The  Agassiz  .\ssociation  to 
represent.       Most    persons     forget    that 


Arcadia  was  presided  over  by  the  mytho- 
logical Pan.  The  Arcadia  of  Greece 
w^as  coarsely  atheistic.  It  was  presided 
over  by  an  imaginary  god  of  pasture, 
flock  and  field.  He  was  represented  with 
the  body  and  head  of  an  elderly  man, 
the  hind  quarters,  the  horns  and  the  ears 
of  a  goat.  Terror  was  ascribed  to  him, 
and  from  his  qualifications  we  get  our 
modern  word,  panic. 

The  essential  element  of  this  Institu- 
tion is  to  take  fear  out  of  the  heart  and  to 
show  young  and  old  that  there  is  nothing 
to  fear  from  that  old  mythological  panic 
point  of  view.  The  aim  of  this  Sound 
Beach  .A.rcAdiA  is  to  inspire  love  for 
nature  through  investig'ation  and  thor- 
ough study.  We  have  no  cognizance  of 
an  imaginary  god  that  may,  for  his  own 
amusement,  throw  us  into  a  panic  when 
the  thunder  growls  in  the  distance  or  the 
wind  lashes  the  trees ;  we  accept  God  as 
our  guide  and  leader.  Our  nymphs  are 
Love.  Study,  Interest,  Enthusiasm  and 
Reautv.  \\'e  therefore  do  not  want  to 
take  the  term  .Vrcadia  with  what  it  con- 
tai'.is.  We  should  like  to  lead  the  simple 
life  and  enjoy  a  nearness  to  nature  with- 
out the  atheism  and  the  periodical  panic. 
We  cannot  use  the  word  to  signify  what 
the  Greek  Arcadia  signified.  So  we  will 
incorporate  into  it  the  scholarly,  religious 
spirit  of  that  grand  man,  Louis  Agassiz, 
for  whom  our  Association  is  named.  In 
his  memory  it  stands,  not  only  for  sim- 
plicitv  and  innocence,  not  only  for  pas- 
toral beauty,  but  for  a  sincere  behef  in 
a  living  Deity,  and  for  an  intellectual  and 
heartfelt  interest  in  nature  that  shall 
combine  that  interest  in  nature  with  an 
interest  in  religion.  Agassiz  said.  "A 
phvsical  fact  is  as  sacred  as  a  moral  prin- 
ciple." We  wanted  a  name  to  represent 
all  this,  and  we  must  therefore  have  it 
somewdiat  like  a  monogram.  We  have 
selected  ArcAdtA.  It  embodies  the  old 
idea  and  the  new.  If  anvhody  can  suggest 
another  word  that  will  embrace  these 
aualifications  and  express  the  idea  of  sim- 
Ttlicitv   and   of  innocent  happiness,   com- 


X 


THE  GUIDE     To  NATURE 


bined  with  Louis  -Vgassiz's  scholarly 
ideas,  and  transforniiug-  the  old  panic 
idea  into  thoughts  of  love,  then  we  shall 
be  glad  to  receive  it. 

ArcAdiA,  therefore,  with  its  own  par- 
ticular spelling,  means  this  particular 
Institution  at  Sound  IJeach.  The  insti- 
tution stands  for  all  the  beauty  and  the 
happiness  of  the  original  Grecian  Arca- 
dia, and,  as  indicated  by  the  capital  A's 
in  its  name,  has  as  the  beginning,  the 
principal  aim  and  the  central  point  of 
view — the  first  and  the  last,  the  first  and 
the  middle,  and  the  middle  and  the  last — 
The  A  A  (The  Agassiz  Association) 
permeated  and  threaded  into  all  nature. 

Any  correspondent  or  any  publication 
that  uses  the  name  of  the  Greek  Arcadia 
is  using  a  name  that  does  not  apply  to  us. 
The  old  Arcadia  has  been  transformed 
as  the  old  Saul  was  transformed  into  the 
loving  and  devoted  Paul. 

There  is  no  law,  Mr.  Editor,  applicable 
to  us,  or  to  any  of  our  correspondents,  to 
stop  our  use  of  the  term  ArcAdiA,  the 
headquarters  of  the  world-wide  Agassiz 
Association,  situated  here  at  Sound 
Beach,  Connecticut.  It  is  ArcAdiA  ;  it 
is  not  anything  else.  We  spell  it  with  the 
three  capital  letters,  not  to  be  freakish, 
but  for  the  reasons  that  we  have  given. 
It  has  been  used  for  nearly  six  years. 
Most  newspapers  and  correspondents 
have  accepted  our  spelling,  but  there  are 
some  that  still  say  that  he  should  be  called 
Zacharias  when  we  know  that  his  real 
name  is  John. 

We  often  see  the  necessity  of  coining 
a  new  word  to  meet  a  new  situation.  A 
man  may  take  two  family  names,  put  a 
hyphen  between  and  a  capital  letter  after 
the  hyphen.  In  reality  it  is  only  one 
name. 

Two  newspapers  merge  into  one  and 
invent  a  ne\v  word,  as,  for  example, 
"Globe-Telegram" — one  word  with  a 
capital  in  the  middle  of  it. 

Coining  new  words  is  a  well-known 
pursuit.  Take,  for  example.  The  Uneeda 
Biscuit  Company.  Who  gave  the  Com- 
pany authority  for  the  nhonetic  spelling 
of  you  by  the  letter  U?  It  is  generally 
recognized  that  they  have  a  right  to  do 
that,  and  the  public  acknowledges  it  by 
buving  their  wares. 

Originally  a  certain  bird  found  in  the 
lowlands  was  called  a  meadow  lark,  but 
all  the  ornithological  books  combine  the 
two  into  one,  and  the  bird  is  now  the 


meadow  lark,,  with  not  even  a  hyphen  in 
its  name. 

Previously  to  the  establishing  of  this 
institution  at  Arc/\diA  we  do  not  believe 
that  there  ever  was  a  similar  representa- 
tive of  ideas  similar  to  ours.  We  do  not 
know  of  such.  A  new  thought  became  a 
practical  application,  and  necessitated  a 
new  word.  ArcAdiA  is  such  a  word ;  it 
it  not  the  transference  of  an  old  name 
used  hundreds  of  years  ago,  and  repre- 
senting something  radically  different. 
From  the  old.  heathen  idea  of  xArcadia, 
we  have  taken  the  good,  discarded  the 
objectionable;  have  added  the  recogni- 
tion of  the  true  God.  ArcAdiAn,  but 
not  pagan. 


An    Astonishing    Fact    Regarding 
Clover. 

Professor  Nobbe  of  Tharandt,  Ger- 
many, finds  that  when  clover  seed  is 
put  in  water,  only  about  half  the  seeds 
germinate.  These,  he  discovers  are 
those  which  have  the  thinnest  coats. 
The  rest  remain  dormant  indefinitely. 
But  even  after  a  quarter  century  soak- 
ing, scratching  the  surface  with  a  pin 
point  ruptures  the  resistant  skin,  and 
the  seed  sprouts  within  a  few  days. 
This,  apparently,  explains  why  clover, 
and  various  well-known  weeds,  once 
they  get  started  in  a  soil,  keep  on  com- 
ing up  year  after  year,  although  none 
are  permitted  to  blossom. 

It  is  said  that  lawns,  once  planted  to 
clover,  no  matter  how  closely  clipped, 
will  keep  on  throwing  an  occasional 
clover  plant  for  more  than  a  hundred 
years. 


The  so-called  "flying  spiders"  do 
most  of  their  flying  in  autumn  during 
the  Indian  summer.  What  they  really 
do  is  to  take  advantage  of  the  fact  that 
whenever  cold  nights  are  followed  by 
sunny  days,  with  the  sun  low  in  the 
sky,  every  vertical  surface  of  fence, 
wall,  or  building  exposed  to  the  sun- 
shine becomes  much  warmer  than  the 
general  mass  of  the  air.  There  forms, 
therefore,  late  in  the  forenoon,  against 
the  warm  surface,  a  little  ascending 
current  of  warm  air.  The  spiders  take 
advantage  of  this  fact,  throw  out  a  yard 
or  two  of  web  and  are  wafted  oiY,  some- 
times for  miles,  till  the  air  cools  and 
drops  them  in  a  new  place. 


A  QUEER  TRAIT  OE  TH 


l.'.MAX  MIX!) 


XI 


A  Queer  Trait  of  the  Human  Mind. 

Modern  scientists  have  tried  to  tell  us 
wliv  we  are  afraid  in  the  dark,  saying  that 
this  defect  comes  to  ns  from  the  cave 
man.  Still  others  ask  why  a  dot;-  turns 
and  why  he  howls  in  pain  or  in  delight 
around  several  times  before  he  lies  down, 
when  certain  musical  notes  are  repeatedly 
sounded.  It  may  be  that  these  traits  are 
inherited  from  the  primitive  wolf-dog 
that  made  its  bed  in  the  forest  for  the 
night,  and  that  the  notes  arouse  inherited 
recollections  that  extend  over  innumer- 
able generations  to  the  primitive  note  of 
the  barking  wolf-like  dogs. 

It  is  interesting  to  select  some  such 
characteristic  and  to  discover  or  at  least 
to  try  to  ascertain  the  plausible  explana- 
tion. For  twenty-five  years  I  have  been 
trying  to  find  the  cause  of  an  etymologi- 
cal idiosyncrasy  of  the  human  mind.  I 
have  made  my  observations  among  the 
illiterate  and  the  cultured,  the  young  and 
the  old,  and  find  that  the  misspelling  of 
the  terminal  syllable  of  the  word  stereop- 
ticon  is  almost  universal. 

Everybody  pronounces  it  "con,"  but 
most  people  spell  it  "can."  I  wish  some 
of  our  scientists  wdio  are  fond  of  investi- 
gating the  causes,  w-ould  tell  me  whether 
the  original  cave  man  had  a  "can"  that  he 
later  developed  into  a  stereopticon.  I 
should  like  to  know  whether  the  first 
stages  of  the  man  that  succeeded  the 
"missing  link"  had  what  is  called  a  "can- 
can dance."  Something  must  have  hap- 
pened somewhere  along  the  line  to  ex- 
plain that  "can"  in  relation  to  the  seeing 
of  objects  projected  on  the  screen. 

Recently,  at  least  six  correspondents, 
all  familiar  with  the  stereopticon  and 
some  of  them  extensive  users  of  the  in- 
strument, or  at  least  of  stereopticon 
slides,  have  overflowed  with  this  "can" 
idea.  We  have  kindly  pointed  out,  in 
somewhat  emphatic  terms,  that  there  is 
no  authority  for  such  spelling  of  this 
word. 

So  I  have  concluded,  that  like  the  ro- 
tating action  of  the  dog.  it  must  revert  to 
some  previous  event  in  human  experience. 
I  therefore  make  especial  request  in  be- 
half of  compositors,  printers,  proof  read- 
ers, stenographers,  and  others  interested, 
that  our  archaeologists  and  our  paleon- 
tologists think  deeply  and  carefully  and 
seek  a  specimen  of  the  j^rimitive  "can" 

man    of   "the    growler"    ages. 


SPRATTS  PATENi 
"TERRIER" 


TRADE  X  MARK 

MEAT  FIBRINE 

DOC  CAKES 

f  OR 

MEDIUM  SIZED  BREEDS 

Send  2c  Stamq  for  "DOG  CULTURE" 

SPRATTS  PATENT,  Ltd.    Newark.  N.  J. 

among  prehistoric  bones  he  will  find  cir- 
cumstantial evidence  of  the  "can-can 
dance"  that  still  .TOes  merrilv  on. 


The  familiar  "ripple  marks"  formed 
by  the  wind  blowing  across  an  area  of 
dry  sand  have  been  found  to  travel  for- 
ward, under  a  strong  breeze,  as  fast  as 
seven  feet  an  hour. 

Sand  dunes  do  most  of  their  shifting 
during  the  winter.  A  ridge  which  ad- 
vances only  one  or  two  inches  a  day 
during  the  summer  may  speed  up  to 
five  feet  a  day  in  the  cold  months. 

In  each  special  region  of  blown 
sands,  the  front  faces  of  the  advancing 
dunes  seems  to  stand  at  a  character- 
istic angle,  according  to  the  size  and 
character  of  the  sand  grains  and 
amount  of  moisture  in  the  soil  and  air. 
Those  at  Ipswich,  Massachusetts,  make 
always  an  angle  of  thirty-two  degrees 
with  the  horizon. 


The  characteristic  aroma  of  hops 
grown  in  different  parts  of  the  world 
proves  not  to  be  due  to  soil  or  climate, 
but  to  be  a  fixed  quality  of  the  several 
strains.  Bohemian  and  .\merican  hops 
grown  side  by  side  in  Denmark  each 
manifested  its  distinctive  and  peculiar 
Possibly  odor. 


KU 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE— ADVERTISEMENTS 


THERE  IS  ONLY  ONE 

NO  other  interior 
wall  finish  pro- 
duces the  re- 
suhs  obtained  with 
Satina.  It  surpasses 
in  the  requirements 
of  beauty,  durabihty, 
adaptabihty,  sanita- 
tion, economy,  spread- 
ing and  covering  quaHties. 

was  declared     best" 

by  an   official   test  of 

28  leading  brands  of 

wall  finishes. 

It  is  used   by  the   U. 

S.    Government    and 

on     prominent    office 

and  public  buildings, 

schools,       churches, 

hospitals,  theatres  and   dwellings.      Color 

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THERE  is  nothing  that  impresses  one  so  completely 
with  his  own  insignificance  as  the  contemplation  of 
the  wonders  of  the  sidereal  universe.  The  egotism 
of  even  the  most  famous  of  mankind  must  surely 
vanish  when  he  views  those  vast  worlds  hurtling  their  way 
through  the  limitless  voids  of  space.  It  is  noteworthy  that 
all  men  who  come  closely  in  touch  with  nature  are  modest 
and  unpretentious,  so  long  as  their  researches  are  conducted 
in  the  simple  spirit  of  learning  the  truth  for  its  own  sake. 
It  is  only  when  actuated  by  worldly  motives  of  greed  and 
desire  for  fame  that  they  lose  that  splendid  humility  which 
characterizes  the  sincere  scientist  when  in  the  presence  of 
the  sublime  wonders  of  the  infinite  cosmos. — Henry  Handy 
McHenry  in  "Popular  Astronomy." 


Volume  VIII     MAY     1916     Number  12 

PUBLISHED    BY 

THE  AGASSIZ  ASSOCIATION 

ArcAdiA:  sound  beach,   CONNECTICUT 

EDWARD    F.    BIGELOW,   Managing   Editor 
Subscription,  $1.00  a  Year.  Single  Copy,  10  Cents 


^s%  ^S^  ^S^  ^^  ^S^  ^S%  ^w  ^S%  ^S^ 


GREENWICH 


THE    EDITION    DE  LUXE 
OF  CONNECTICUT  TOWNS 


Are  You  Protected? 

Savings  Mean  Success  and  the 
Man,  Woman  or  Child  who  In- 
dustriously saves  a  Small  Portion 
of  Their  Income  is  Building  a 
Bulwark  of  Protection  Against 
Poverty  and  Unhappiness.  This 
Bank  Allows  a  Liberal  Rate  of 
Interest  on  Savings  Accounts. 
Give     It     Consideration 


The  Greenwich  Trust  Co. 

ESTABLISHED    1887 

GREENWICH,    CONN. 


GREENWICH,  CONNECTICUT 

has  good  transportation  facilities  to 
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good  advantage  and  enjoy  living  by 
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I  have  for  Sale 

Elegant  Country  Estates,  Shore  and  Inland 
Residences,  Farms,  Acreage,  Cottages  and 
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in    all   locations. 

Would  be  pleased  to  have  you  call  or  write. 

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Tel.  456        Opp.  Depot        Greenwich,  Conn 


IF 


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BEST  NURSERY  STOCK  EVER  GROWN 


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Flowering  Shrubs  Hedge  Plants  Vines 
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Preparing  of  Plans       Laying  Out  of  Grounds     Grading 
-:-        -:-        Road  Building       Tree  Work        -:-        -:- 


GREENWICH    NURSERIES 

DEHN  &  BERTOLF,  Props,  5 

LANDSCAPE   GARDENERS  AND  NURSERYMEN  1 

GREENWICH,  CONN.  § 


p 

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THE  GUIDE  TO  S ATU RE.— ADVERTISEMENTS. 


THE  STAMFORD   LUMBER  CO. 

LUMBER 

Sash    Doors    Blinds  and  Window-Frames 

WHOLESALE    AND    RETAIL^ 

OFFICESAND    YARD.    297    PACIFIC    STREET; 
STAMFORD.  CONN. 


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and  Cap,  Small  34  or  36,  Medium 

38  or  40,  Large  42  or  44  bust. 


Negligees  are  among  the  fascinating  garments  of  .vhich 
no  woman  ever  had  too  big  a  supply.  Each  new  one  and 
each  pretty  one  is  sure  to  find  its  place.  This  charming 
little  model  represents  so  little  labor  that  it  easily  can  be 
added  to  the  list.  It  consists  of  just  the  front  and  back 
portions  that  are  tucked  prettily  at  the  shoulders  but  is 
rendered  entirely  distinctive  and  novel  by  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  wide  frill.  The  little  cap  which  accompanies 
it,  is  dainty  and  becoming.  In  the  picture,  both  the 
jacket  and  the  cap  are  made  of  fine  white  batiste  with 
trimming  of  embroidery,  but  you  could  copy  this  model  in 
crepe  de  chine  or  in  georgette  crepe,  in  a  flowered  batiste 
O!  in  a  fine  cotton  voile,  in  a  soft  tub  silk  or  an  any 
similar    material. 

For  the  medium  size  will  be  needed  2  1-4  yards  of 
material  27  inches  wide,  1  1-4  yards  36  or  44  with  4  1-2 
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and  1-2  vard  of  lace  2  inches  wide  for  the  neck  frill. 

The  pattern  8944  is  cut  in  three  sizes,  34  or  36,  38  or 
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From  a  Stamford  Poet. 
Mr.  Marvin  R.  Doty,  the  well-known 
humorist  and  reciter  of  Stamford,  has 
caught  the  spirit  of  "poetry."  He  looks 
toward  Arcadian  territory  and  locates 
his  scene  in  Sound  Beach.  This  is  the 
way  in  which  the  muse  appeals  to  him : 

A  HORNET,  one  day  at  Sound  Beach. 

Was  sunning  himself  on  a  peach, 
When  along  came  a  picker 
Who  dropped  the  fruit  quicker 

Than  scat,  and  then  uttered  a  screech. 


VI 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE.— ADVERTISEMENTS 


PERCY  D.  ADAMS 

Attorney    and 
Gounsellor-at-Law 


New  York 


Connecticut 


REAL    ESTATE 
NOTARY  PUBLIC 

Sound  Beach,  Connecticut. 
1  Liberty  Street,  New  York  City. 


Telephone  Connection. 


Sound  Beach  for  Residence. 

The  entry  of  this  magazine  at  the 
Sound  Beach  post  office  was  June  12, 
1909.  Since  then  the  home  of  the  maga- 
zine as  well  as  of  the  editor  and  his 
family  has  been  in  this  charming  bit  of 
earth,  in  some  respects  tlie  finest  to  be 
found.  It  would  be  difficult  to  discover 
anywhere  so  attractive  a  combination  of 
seashore,  picturesque  residential  sections, 
and,  a  little  farther  northward,  a  country 
and  scenery  as  wild  as  they  were  in  the 
days  when  the  Indians  fought  their  bat- 
tles or  chased  Laddin  ofT  the  precipice. 
It  would  be  a  praiseworthy  accomplish- 
ment if  everyone  seeking  nature  at  her 
best  and  a  convenient  commutation  re- 
sort should  put  into  practice  the  Sound 
Beach  slogan : 

Sound  Beach  on  Long  Island  Sound 

My  summer  home  shall  be; 
Or,  better  far,  all  the  year  around, 

And  that  sounds   good  to   me. 

Sound  Beach  has  two  helpful  institu- 
tions in  outdoor  life,  its  ArcAdiA  and 
its  Golf  and  Country  Club,  side  by  side 
in  a  convenient  and  attractive  part  of  the 


Save  Your 
Eyes 

now  and  you  may  save  your  life 
later.  Many  accidents  are  due  to 
poor  eyesight. 

Eyes  examined, 

Glasses  designed, 

made,  Fitted  and 

Adjusted. 

EVERYTHING     RIGHT 

OUR     GUARANTEE 

(Our  Ti^ade-Mark.) 

W.  A.  MTLELLAND 

INC. 

Optometrist  Opticians 

345  ATLANTIC  STREET 

Stamford    -    -    -    -      Connecticut 


community.  Anything  desired  for  resi- 
dence may  be  obtained  by  addressing  the 
Sound  Beach  Summer  Homes  Corpora- 
tion at  Sound  Beach,  Connecticut  (Box 
84),  or  at  No  i  Liberty  Street,  New 
York  City.  The  editor  is  personally 
acquainted  w^ith  the  management  of 
Shorelands  and  also  with  its  attractive 
houses  and  he  is  convinced  that  in  Shore- 
lands  are  to  be  found  some  of  the  most 
pleasing  and  convenient  situations  along 
this  part  of  the  coast..  If  you  have  not 
yet  arranged  for  a  summer  home,  ad- 
dress that  corporation  for  further  par- 
ticulars. 


A  Puzzler. 


"Now,  sir,"  demanded  the  cross-exam- 
ining lawyer,  "did  you  or  did  you  not, 
on  the  date  in  question  or  at  any  other 
time,  say  to  the  defendant  or  anyone  else 
that  the  statement  imputed  to  you  and 
denied  by  the  plaintiff  was  a  matter  of 
no  moment  or  otherwise?  Answer  me, 
yes  or  no." 

The  witness  looked  bewildered,  "Yes 
or  no  what  ?"  he  finally  managed  to  gasp 
out. — The  Youth's  Companion. 


Published  monthly  by  The  Agassiz  Association,  ArcAdiA;  Sound  Beach,  Connecticut, 

Subscription,  $1.00  a  year  Single  copy,  10  cents 

Entered  as  Second-Class  Matter  June  12,  1909,  at  Sound  Beach  Post  Office,  under  Act  of  March  3,  1897. 


Vol 


VIII 


MAY,    1916 


Number  12 


War  on  the  Wolves  of  the  Sea. 

BY  AMANDA   SMITH   GRAIN,   SOUND  BE;ACH, 
CONNECTICUT. 

A  new  war — a  war  on  "The  Wolves 
of  the  Sea,"  namely,  the  shark  and  all 
its  family,  who  are  the  living  subma- 
rines waging  an  old  and  ceaseless  war 
on  the  food  fish,  which  at  this  particu- 
lar time  have  become  a  vital  asset  to 
the  table  of  the  land  and  our  economic 
conditions.  From  Maine  comes  the  be- 
lief that  the  rapid  depletion  of  our  food 
fish  is  due  to  the  shark  and  dog  fish, 
and  not  to  the  loss  of  the  frye  by  their 
unaccustomed  deep  of  the  sea. 

James  J.  Condon  of  the  United  Ang- 
lers League,  along  with  C.  A  Davis, 
Chairman  of  the  Maine  State  Fish 
Commission  are  among  the  leading 
spirits  in  the  movement  to  fight  these 
destroyers  of  our  food  fish,  which  in- 
clude almost  all  of  the  shark  family, 
particularly  the  variety  commonly 
called  the  "dog"  fish,  which  variety 
must  not,  however,  be  confounded  with 
the  fresh-water  dog  fish  found  in  in- 
land waters.  The  dog  fish  is  known  to 
every  salt-water  angler  and  net-fisher- 
man. A  great  deal  has  been  written, 
also  considerable  legislation  enacted, 
to  control  the  netting  of  menhaden  or 
what  are  best  known  as  bony  fish,  by 
the  use  of  large  and  finely  equipped 
steamers,  with  the  idea  that  these  steam- 
ers using  the  immense  purse  nets,  also 


take  large  quantities  of  eatable  fish, 
which  of  course,  went  in  with  the  catch 
of  menhaden  to  the  fertilizer  works. 
These  wasted  food  fish  are,  how^ever, 
adult  fish  and  small  in  numbers,  while 
the  dog  fish  is  capable  of  destroying 
the  small  fish  by  the  thousands,  and  it 
is  safe  to  assume  that  a  three  foot  dog 
fish  will  consume  in  the  season  more 
small  fish  than  all  the  eatable  fish  net- 
ted by  the  largest  fishing  steamer  in 
the  same  time. 

The  entire  shark  family  have  borne 
the  reputation  of  being  what  is  com- 
monly called  "man  eaters"  and  in  most 
minds  the  food  of  the  w^olves  of  the 
sea  is  hardly  associated  with  our  num- 
erous small  food  fish,  such  as  mackerel, 
herring,  blue  fish,  etc.,  nevertheless  it 
is  just  these  that  provide  the  greater 
part  of  the  shark  family  with  their  sub- 
stance. 

The  white  shark  or  man  eater  is  the 
best  known  and  with  the  blue  shark 
attain  a  length  of  twenty  feet  and 
strange  as  it  may  seem,  these  two  are 
exceedingly  destructive  to  food  fish, 
following  the  schools  of  food  fish,  even 
into  the  nets  of  the  fisherman,  where 
they  do,  at  times,  a  great  deal  of  dam- 
age. The  dusky  shark  closely  related 
to  the  former  is  the  most  common  of 
the  larger  sharks  on  our  coast. 

Apart  from  the  small  and  most  com- 
mon variety,  the  dog  fish  is  the  small 


Copvn'Kht  1916  bv  The  Agassiz  Association,  ArcAdiA:   Sound  Beach,  Conn. 


376 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


LANDED    AFTER    A    LONG    FIC.ITT. 

sand  shark,  also  a  voracious  fish  feed- 
er. While  all  the  larger  varieties  are 
destroyers  of  food  fish,  by  far  the  most 
common  and  numerous  are  the  "dog" 
fish,  which  swim  in  schools  or  packs 
in  pursuit  of  their  food 

These  destroyers  are  of  two  varieties, 
the  "smooth"  dog  and  the  "picked" 
dog,  the  former  being  very  abundant 
south  of  Cape  Cod  and  ranges  in  size 
from  two  to  three  feet.  The  picked 
dog  ranges  chiefly  on  the  upper  New 
England  coast  and  is  somewhat  small- 
er than  the  smooth  dog,  but  what  it 
lacks  in  size  is  made  up  for  by  num- 
bers. No  doubt  the  reason  why  we 
should  feel  the  effects  of  the  depreda- 
tions of  these  submarine  destroyers  of 
our  eatable  fish  to  the  extent  that  is  at- 
tributed to  them  is  that,  with  exception 
of  very  limited  organized  fishins:  for 
them  chiefly  by  the  State  of  Maine, 
there  is  no  effort  made  to  use  or  de- 
stroy them. 

In  England  there  is  a  well  organized 
fishery  for  these  varieties.     The  livers 


furnishing  oil,  the  skin  being  used  in 
place  of  sand  paper  for  certain  uses, 
while  parts  of  the  flesh  are  dried  and 
sold  on  the  markets  and  known  as 
"Falkstone"  beef. 

On  the  coast  of  Russia,  Lapland, 
Norway  and  parts  of  Greenland,  the 
shark  fisheries  are  of  importance. 
Particularly  in  Norway  is  the  indus- 
try carried  on  extensively  by  a  large 
fleet  of  vessels  of  from  twenty  to  thirty 
tons  burden.  These  boats  go  as  far  as 
I  GO  to  150  miles  oft"  shore  and  fish  in 
water  to  the  depth  of  250  to  300  fath- 
oms, the  hooks  being  baited  with  salt 
seal  flesh,  and  when  the  fish  is  hooked, 
it  requires  the  efforts  of  three  men  to 
drag  in  the  quarry  by  main  strength 
until  its  head  is  above  water,  when 
another  man  proceeds  to  knock  the  fish 
on  the  head  with  a  large  wooden  mal- 
let. 

Generally  speaking,  the  method  on 
our  coast  for  taking  the  larger  varie- 
ties is  to  still  fish  using  a  large  hook 
baited  with  salt  pork  attached  to  a  line 
about  the  size  of  a  common  clothes  line, 
generally  made  fast  to  a  convenient 
post  or  spile,  then  when  the  bait  is 
taken,  the  fun  begins.  Attaching  a 
baited  line  to  a  small  floating  keg  is 
another  method,  but  in  this  case  a 
launch  in  attendance  is  necessary  in 
order  to.  chase  up  the  keg  when  the 
fish  hooks  himself.  A  great  many 
large  sharks  are  now  taken  for  sport 
by  the  use  of  the  ordinary  tarpon  rig, 
consisting  of  a  heavy  rod  and  reel, 
holding  as  much  as  600  yards  of  line. 

As  shark  fishing  and  in  particular, 
for  the  "dog"  fish  variety  has  never 
been  followed  up  as  a  business,  except 
off  the  coast  of  Maine  and  Nova  Scotia, 
there  will  be  a  lot  to  learn  as  to  their 
habits  and  the  best  and  surest  way  of 
getting  after  them  with  the  sole  object 
of  their  extermination  as  far  as  such  is 
possible.  It  is  one  thing  for  a  com- 
missioner to  make  plans  to  rid  the  seas 
of  these  pests  who  are  devouring  one 
of  our  most  important  table  supplies, 
■ — but  it  is  altogether  another  proposi- 
tion to  accomplish  this, — first  it  is  no 
small  matter  to  catch  and  destroy  the 
vast  numbers,  considering  that  the 
"original  crop"  so  to  speak,  has  never 
been  depleted  to  any  extent  by  man. 

Along  the  New  England  coast  the 
sharks  and  dog  fish  have  become  so 
numerous  during  the  past  season  that 
all  kinds  of  fishing  has  been  very  poor. 


WAR  ON  THE  WOLVES  OF  THE  SEA 


377 


and  the  waters  of  the  western  end  of 
Long  Island  Sound  have  been  infested 
with  the  larger  varieties  as  well  as  the 
small.  A  young  woman  who  was  div- 
ing in  deep  water  at  a  resort  near  New 
York  disappeared,  and  when  the  body 
was  recovered  it  was  clearly  shown 
that  she  had  been  seized  by  a  large 
shark. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  globe,  the 
shark  fisheries  are  carried  on  exten- 
sively in  India,  Africa  and  in  China, 
the  catch  running  as  high  as  100,000 
fish  in  a  season,  which  are  used  to  sup- 
ply the  demand  for  sharks'  fins. 

Aside  from  the  oil  extracted  from 
the  livers  which  by  the  bye,  is  used  to 


A  WOLF  OF  THE  SEA  WKKIHING  275  POUNDS. 
Caught   off   the    Island   of    Nassau    and   photographed 
from    a    rear-hy    boat    by    Mr.    George    H.    Thamer    of 
Stamford,   Connecticut. 


adulterate  cod  liver  oils,  the  flesh  of 
the  larger  fish  is  ground  up  and  used 
as  poultry  food. 

The  Canadian  government  recog- 
nized the  depredations  of  the  shark 
family  and  have  for  sometime  waged 
war  on  these  depredators,  especially 
along  the  coast  of  Nova  Scotia,  where 
a  bounty  of  40  cents  per  hundred 
weight  is  paid  for  all  fish  delivered  to 
the  rendering  plants,  where  these 
scourges  of  the  sea  are  converted  into 
oil  and  fertilizer. 

That  we  have  spent  large  sums  and 
established  the  most  up-to-date  hatch- 
eries for  the  purpose  of  the  propaga- 
tion of  food  fish,  the  truth  remains, 
that  we  have  done  but  little  or  nothing 
towards  the  protection  of  the  fruits  of 
these  hatcheries,  dumping  the  small 
frye  overboard  and  trusting  to  luck 
and  quantities  for  returns. 

If  our  agricultural  stations  should 
expend  their  efforts  in  distributing 
seed  that  was  raised  at  great  expense 
to  be  sown  and  then  abandoned  to 
rear  itself  without  cultivation,  care  or 
protection  of  any  kind,  it  would  be 
analogus  to  the  results  of  our  system 
of  fish  culture — and  that  the  efforts  of 
the  United  Anglers  League  and  the 
Maine  Commission  in  their  endeavors 
to  interest  the  authorities  of  all  the 
Atlantic  States  and  the  National  Gov- 
ernment to  assist  in  ridding  the  ocean 
of  these  "Wolves  of  the  Sea"  should 
receive  the  support  of  every  one  in  in- 
fluencing their  legislative  bodies  to 
take  substantial  and  prompt  action  for 
the  protection  of  the  food  fish  on  which 
we  so  much  depend  and  which  is  grow- 
ing in  importance  every  day  in  our  eco- 
nomic life. 

Legislation  along  these  lines  has 
been  almost  entirely  devoted  to  the 
protection  of  fish  against  the  depreda- 
tion of  man  who  is  in  reality  its  least 
enemy. 

After  two  hours  of  fishing,  the  shark 
in  the  accompanying  picture  was 
caught.  It  was  six  and  one-half  feet 
long  and  weighed  close  to  275  pounds. 
The  line  and  hook  were  too  light  to 
land  the  shark,  so  a  heavy  line  was 
noosed  over  its  body,  so  it  could  be 
landed  with  safety.  This  is  a  fair 
sample  of  the  sharks  that  have  been 
so  common  on  the  New  England  coast 
the  past  season. 


378 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


An  Astonishing  Hailstorm. 

Spring  Hill,  Tennessee. 
To  the  Editor : 

An  eighty-five  acre  cornfield  near  my 
home  was  ruined  by  a  hailstorm  on 
July  ist.  I  send  a  snapshot  of  the  de- 
vastated field.     Some  of  the  hailstones 


usefully  directed.  In  Kissimmee, 
Florida,  a  four  foot  'gator  recently 
cleaned  an  obstructed  sewer  pipe.  The 
municipal  water  works  manager,  after 
racking  his  brain  to  devise  a  way  in 
which  to  open  the  pipe,  decided  to  use 
the  'gator  for  the  purpose.     The  pipe 


WHAT   A   HAILSTORM   DID  TO  A   CORNFIELD. 


were  ten  inches  in  circumference ;  five 
weighed  four  pounds.  Several  people 
had  their  arms  broken  by  blows  from 
the  stones.  One  negro  had  his  skull 
fractured.  When  you  take  into  con- 
sideration the  thickness  of  a  negro's 
skull  this  was  truly  remarkable. 
Yours  truly. 

Ben  G.  Davis. 


An  Alligator  Cleans  a  Sewer  Pipe. 

BY    THOMAS    R.    B./^KER,    PH.    D.,    WINTER 
PARK,   FLORIDA. 

The  usefulness  of  the  alligator  in 
supplying  us  with  his  blotched  and 
wrinkled  hide  for  commercial  purposes  ; 
his  proverbial  posing  on  logs  on  Flor- 
ida lakes  and  river  shores,  thus  giving 
interested  tourists  an  opportunity  to 
see  him  at  full  length,  and  the  sportive 
ones  to  shoot  at  him  ;  and  the  infant 
'gator's  meek  submission  to  captivity 
in  northern  aquariums  or  yard  pools, 
where  he  lives  miserably  for  a  short 
time,  are  well-known  facts. 

But  the  alligator  as  a  business  as- 
sistant is  unusual.  For  probablv  the 
first  time  his  sluggish  energy  has  been 


was  eight  inches  in  diameter  and  as 
long  as  the  city  block.  With  a  little 
urging  the  reptile  wriggled  into  it  and, 
after  a  four  hours'  tussle  in  the  un- 
savory environment,  reached  the  dis^ 
tant  manhole  in  a  lively  condition,  and 
received  considerable  deference  on 
account  of  his  valuable  service,  for  he 
had  done  what  skilled  workmen  had 
been  trying  to  do  for  several  days,  and 
had  failed. 


Although  frogs  commonly  come  up 
every  few  minutes  to  breath,  recent 
experiments  prove  that  they  are  able 
to  remain  under  water  for  an  entire 
week,  while  occasional  individuals 
can  remain  submerged  for  nearly  a 
month.  Breathing  in  these  circum- 
stances, is  done  through  the  skin, 
which  acts  as  a  gill.  Curiously,  even 
after  weeks  of  fishy  life,  the  frog  seems 
not  to  suffer  from  lack  of  breath  so 
much  as  from  general  ill  health.  In 
some  unknown  way,  nearly  pure  nit- 
rogen forms  in  the  tissues  and  swells 
up  the  body  till  the  creature  can  no 
longer  dive. 


THE  OUTDOOR  WORLD 


379 


A  May   Day   Out-of-Doors. 

BY  SARA  V.  PRUESKR,  DEFIANCE,  OHIO. 
AUTHOR  OF  ''our  DOORYARD  FRIENDS." 

"If  today  a  pagan  wreath  I  wear," 
don't  blame  me  too  much  for  a  vaga- 
bond am  I,  following  the  call  of  bird 
through  wood  and  field  over  hill  and 
river.  And  who  would  not  on  a  May 
day  like  this  shun  the  narrow  confines 
of  a  room  that  seems  but  a  prison  cell 
and  slip  out  of  the  open  door  that  pro- 
vides an  easy  way  of  escape.  So  today, 
I  leave  the  world  behind — the  city's 
clash  and  clatter,  its  roar  and  rumble, 
and  into  the  out-of-doors  I  go  where 
I  find  a  place  among  the  living  things 
of  the  universe. 

Everywhere  in  the  great  horizon, 
the  tender  green  touches  the  blue  of 
heaven  and  only  where  the  habitation 
of  man  has  introduced  his  domicil  does 
one  see  any  break  in  the  blue-green  col- 
or line  that  forms  the  eye-boundary  of 
the  landscape. 

Almost,  I  had  lost  the  call  in  the 
whirr  of  passing  machines,  when  a  field 
lark  sings  his  clear,  whistled  song — 
three  plaintive  notes  float  from  the 
meadow  beyond.  Again,  the  world  is 
left  behind  and  I  push  on  to  the  cher- 
ished goal — the  country. 

A  Baltimore  oriole  crosses  my  path, 
then  sings  to  the  nice  ear  of  his  mate 
from  the  maples  that  border  the  road- 
side. And  from  the  same  trees  float 
the  soft,  liquid  notes  of  a  warbling  vir- 
eo.  Wrens  trill  madly  from  post  and 
tree. 

TVie  air  is  full  of  music.  A  bluebird 
halts  on  an  old  stump,  and  warbles  a 
sweet  "trua,  la,  la,  la."  In  its  blue 
black,  an  exquisite  bit  of  harmony  is 
seen  with  the  blending  of  the  violets 
below  and  the  blue  sky  overhead.  The 
male  cowbirds  utter  their  hoarse  twit- 
ters in  the  tall  trees  along  the  way. 
They  and  the  crows  are  blackest  crea- 
tures seen.  Yet  black  stumps  and  char- 
red tree  trunks  are  seldom  their  rest- 
ing places,  but  oftener  do  they  sit  in 
the  upper  tree  tops,  where  their  creak- 


ing notes  send  a  shudder  through  the 
woodfolk.  A  pair  of  towhee  buntings 
is  busily  engaged  in  the  thicket, 
scratching  away  the  last  year's  leaves 
and  probing  about  for  insects.  Song 
sparrows  trill  their  various  roundelays 
to  every  passer-by,  and  the  field  spar- 
row sings  its  ditty  over  and  over  again. 
Sweeter  than  all,  is  the  vesper's  simple 
chant ;  not  too  loud  or  too  low,  he  sings 
tenderly  a  few  strains ;  then  drops 
down  among  the  sedges.  The  little 
chipping  sparrows  flit  about  the  low 
bushes,  and  in  one  of  them  I  find  the 
beginning  of  a  hair-lined  nest,  hidden 
away  among  the  green  leaves.  Blue- 
jays  screech  and  scold  in  the  trees  and 
the  robins  carol  their  love  songs  to 
their  responsive  mates.  Clear  as  a 
flute,  comes  the  call  of  the  gray-crested 
tit  from  the  wood  beyond.  A  cardinal 
whistles  a  tune  to  his  true  love  not 
far  away.  Suddenly,  a  phoebe  lights 
on  a  bare,  gray  branch,  singing  its  short 
sweeping  notes  with  a  dash  and  vigor 
that  startles  one  with  its  action.  A 
red-headed  woodpecker  gives  a  loud 
shriek  as  he  flaps  against  a  tree  trunk 
where  he  plants  his  colors,  like  those 
of  the  German  flag  inverted — red, 
white,  and  black  In  pleasing  contrast, 
to  his  shrieking  calls  are  the  contralto 
notes  of  the  white-breasted  nuthatch, 
as  he  climbs  methodically  up  a  tree ; 
then  uttering  a  low  squeal  he's  ofT  to 
another  one.  The  squall  and  mew  of 
the  catbird  takes  me  to  the  tangled 
wayside  growth,  where  I  listen  to  bis 
song — a  spontaneous  outburst  of  rich, 
rolicking  music. 

Above  the  andante  and  allegretto  of 
weaker  notes,  rises  the  strong  passion- 
ate medley  of  the  brown  thrasher.  He 
is  a  choir  to  himself,  singing  each  part 
with  the  skill  of  an  artist.  In  the  thick- 
et of  thorn  bushes,  is  his  brooding 
mate.  Not  a  sound  escapes  her  as  she 
sits  cautiously  watching  the  intruder. 

The  gate  to  the  Avoods  swings  open, 
and  I  enter.  A  cow-path  leads  to  the 
thicker  growth  and  T  follow  it.    Warb- 


38o 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


lers  only  a  few  I  see,  but  I  hear  the 
thin,  high-pitched  notes  of  the  yellow 
warblers  as  they  flit  about  in  the  top 
of  a  thorny  locust.  A  Maryland  yellow 
throat  sings  from  the  thicket  of  under- 
brush. The  common  myrtle  warbler 
is  on  duty  cleaning  up  the  leaves  of  a 
white  oak.  The  yellow  patches  of  his 
coat  showing  plainly;  one  on  the 
crown,  another  on  the  rump,  and  one 
on  either  side  of  his  breast.  From  a 
clump  of  isolated  trees  on  the  edge  of 
the  wood,  I  hear  the  Black-burnian's 
song.  Like  a  miniature  Baltimore  ori- 
ole, his  black  and  rich  orange  uniform 
attracts  one's  attention.  His  song,  like 
others  of  his  kind,  is  fine  and  rather 
shrill.  "Tsee,  tsee,  tsee"  he  sings, — 
not  sweet,  but  rather  inspiring.  A  red- 
start flies  across  the  trail.  The  rich 
salmon  illuminating  the  shadows  like 
a  lightning  bug  that  starts  his  fire  in 
the  darkness  after  sundown. 

The  calls  of  the  woodfolk  would  lead 
me  on  and  on  into  the  very  heart  of  the 
big  woods,  but  duty  calls  and  I  must 
retrace  mv  steps  homeward.  A  vaga- 
bond am  I,  but  one  more  secret  of  the 
wild  is  mine.  When  the  call  comes 
again,  I  shall  heed  it,  for  joy.  peace  and 
rest  come  from  following  it. 


Trees  and  Friends. 

BY  GERTRUDE  O.  PALMER,  LAWRENCE, 
KANSAS. 

"If  thou  art  worn  and  hard  beset 
With  sorrows  that  thou  wouldst  forget, 
If  thou  wouldst  read  a  lesson  that  will  keep 
Thy  soul  from  fainting  and  thy  soul  from 

sleep, 
Go  to  the  woods  and  hills! — No  tears 
Dim  the  sweet  look  that  Nature  wears." 

Longfellow — "Sunrise  on  the  Hills." 

However  lonely  and  far  from  home 
and  friends  we  may  be,  we  are  never 
really  friendless  if  we  can  have  the 
companionship  of  a  tree, — a  full  grown 
tree  that  has  had  a  chance  to  express 
itself  completely.  As  one  approaches 
the  shelter  of  the  wide-spreading  bran- 
ches, he  is  conscious  of  a  comforting 
presence,  of  a  cordial  welcome,  which 
casts  from  him  his  care  and  worry  and 
makes  his  spirit  glad.  The  branches 
which  beckoned  at  his  approach,  nov.- 
in  their  swaying  and  rustling,  murmur 
words  of  comfort  and  sympathy  to 
him  ;  they  move  about  as  if  to  make 
him  comfortable  and  whisper  in  his  ears 
words  which  he  feels  he  alone  can  un- 
derstand.    There  he  can  rest  and  gain 


back  strength  and  courage  for  the  con- 
test of  life. 

From  his  comfortable  seat  at  the 
foot  of  the  tree  he  looks  out  at  the 
other  trees  of  the  woods  and  pastures, 
the  hillside  and  the  river-bank,  seeing 
in  their  varying  sizes  and  forms  the 
characteristics  of  his  many  friends. 

That  small,  rounded  box-elder  tree 
and  its  neighbor,  the  compact  little 
quince,  make  him  think  of  one  or  two 
comfortable,  self-satisfied,  materialistic 
friends  of  his  whose  thoughts  and 
needs  never  transcend  their  circum- 
scribed, limited  range. 

But  out  in  the  middle  of  the  pasture 
stands  a  tall,  wide-spreading  oak,  which 
speaks  to  him  of  another  friend, — 
deep-natured,  broad-sympathied,  and 
high-minded,  strong,  symmetrical  and 
noble. 

Near-by,  on  the  river-bank  gracefully 
bending  and  swaying,  is  a  weeping- 
willow,  or  rather  in  his  mind's  eye,  that 
languid,  artistic,  dependent  friend  of 
his,  no  less  dear  to  him  than  the  tall 
great  oak.  Under  its  silvery  tresses  is 
offered  a  shelter  more  secluded  and 
charming  than  under  any  other ;  a  view 
of  the  world  more  softened  and  beau- 
tiful. 

But  far  away  on  the  hill-side,  towers 
another  tree,  another  friend,  whose 
gift  of  comfort  and  shelter  is  not  by 
protection  but  by  a  message  of  inspira- 
tion,— the  tall  and  slender  pine,  like 
his  mystic,  aspiring,  poetic  frend.  In- 
deed his  willow  speaks  to  him  in  poetic 
music,  but  in  soft  and  gentle  music  of 
the  heart,  not  like  this  one  whose  songs 
are  sung  from  the  cool,  strong  heights 
of  the  spirit.  The  true  pine  when  given 
room  to  grow,  offers  no  broad  recep- 
tion hall  at  its  feet,  but  spreads  low, 
wide  branches  to  the  ground,  forbid- 
ding the  intimac}'  of  the  willow  and  the 
oak.  When  seeking  its  company,  one 
pauses  near  it  at  a  proper  distance 
from  its'  prickly-leaved  branches,  o'" 
lies  in  the  shade  behind  it,  listening  in 
rapt  meditation  to  the  harp  high  up  in 
its  top, — to  the  lyric  or  ode  of  his  friend 
who  lives  constantly  in  the  higher  life 
of  things,  or  who  if  looking  down  sees 
the  lower  only  from  above.  In  the 
spicy  scent  of  the  cool,  soft  breezes 
that  blow  through  the  branches,  one 
breathes  of  his  atmosphere  of  inspira- 
tion of  keen  spiritual  life ;  he  indeed 
offers  his  gift  of  love,  the  highest  of  all 


THE  OUTDOOR  WORLD 


381 


the  others,  the  gift  of  aspiration  for  that 
which  is  purer  and  higher. 

Thus  do  all  the  trees  speak  to  one 
who  can  hear  them,  thus  do  they  repre- 
sent the  spirits  and  company  of  his 
own  far-away  friends,  thus  do  they 
each  bestow  upon  him  their  tokens  of 
friendship,  and  he  returns  to  his  labors 
with  a  shining  face,  radiating  the  peace 
and  power  of  one  who  has  not  been 
friendless  or  alone. 


How  Flowers  Work,  and  What  They 
Do. 

BY  HERBE;RT  W.  FAULKNER,  WASHINGTON, 

CONNECTICUT. 

As  the  spring  has  really  come  at  last. 

we  will  begin  our  excursions  in  search 

of  our  old  friends,  the  wild  flowers,  and 


STAMEN  P.ISTIL    of  WilD    IRiS 

I    3/\R PERRY 


PlSTlL  A  STAMtNS 

o-^'  ■Rose.  Po<*oni/s 


Pistil  of  ptTCHtR- plant 


STA  MEN   c] 


see  what  new  accjuaintances  we  can  make 
this  season. 

But  in  order  to  make  oiu-  studies  truly 
profitable  we  must  not  be  satisfied  merely 
to  know  what  the  flowers  are,  but  must 
also  at  the  same  time  try  to  find  out  what 
they  do.  Flowers  are  not  merely  beauti- 
ful living  creatures ;  they  are  also  exquis- 
ite and  wonderful  mechanisms  whose 
workings  are  most  interesting.  Their 
mechanisms  are  for  the  making  of  seeds 
or  for  their  distribution.  Now  in  the 
making  of  seeds  two  substances  must 
combine.  Just  as  in  chemistry  two  chemi- 
cal substances  must  combine  to  form  a 
crystal,  so  in  botany  two  vegetable  sub- 
stances, the  pollen  and  the  ovule,  must 
combine  to  form  a  seed  wihich  shall  live 
and  grow.  The  pollen,  as  we  all  know, 
is  a  yellow  powder,  and  the  ovule  is  like  a 
little  green  bead.  The  pollen  is  produced 
by  little  bags  or  anthers  on  a  long,  slen- 
der filament ;  the  two  being  the  "stamen." 
The  ovule  is  formed  and  concealed  in  a 
green  vase,  the  "pistil,"  with  a  long"  neck, 
the  "style,"  opening  at  the  top  in  the 
"stigma  " 

The  pollen  is  carried  from  the  anthers 
to  the  stigma  by  various  agencies,  such 
as  the  wind,  the  bees  and  the  birds,  but 
it  has  been  found  that  it  is  better  for  the 
race  of  plants  to  have  the  pollen  carried 
from  the  anthers  of  one  flower  to  the 
stigma  of  another,  for  this  makes  the 
young  seedlings  more  robust  and  better 
able  to  fight  the  struggle  for  existence 
This  shifting  of  the  pollen  from  flower  to 
flower  is  known  as  cross-fertilization,  or 
cross-pollination,  and  Dame  Nature  takes 
the  greatest  pains  to  make  sure  that  the 
pollen  is  crossed.  She  invents  the  most 
ingenious  mechanisms  for  the  purpose, 
employs  insects  of  every  variety,  lures 
them  with  every  charm  of  color,  odor  and 
nectar,  and  takes  advantage  of  each  one 
of  their  peculiar  habits  and  tricks  to  make 
them  work  for  the  good  of  the  flowers. 
But  there  are  very  few  books  which  tell 
us  anything  about  the  strange  mechanisms 
of  flowers  and  the  habits  of  the  insects 
which  visit  them. 

The  botanies  seem  to  confine  them- 
selves to  the  mere  recoignizing  and  classi- 
fving  of  our  flowers,  treating  them  as 
soecimens.  not  as  living  creatures,  with 
schemes  and  ambitions.  Yet  the  subject 
is  so  full  of  interest  that  I  hope  my  read- 
ers will  accomnnay  me  in  manv  excur- 
sions this  summer  and  will  question  a 
host   of  our   native   flowers  as   to  those 


0°^ 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


schemes  and  ambitions  and   try   to  find 
out  the  secrets  of  their  Hves. 

It  is  always  fun  to  collect  something, 
such  as  stamps,  coins,  postcards  or  dried 
flowers.  But  let  us  begin  a  new  kind  of 
collection^ — one  composed  of  the  mechan- 


ORCH15    SPECTABILIS 


ism  of  the  tlowers.  This  will  consist  of 
sketches  of  the  various  parts,  showing- 
how  they  work,  and  before  the  season  is 
over  we  shall  have  a  line  of  inventions 
and  discoveries  to  rival  the  Patent  Office. 
We  shall  find  the  stamens  and  pistils  of 
our  plants  exhibiting  extraordinary  vari- 
ety and  modifications,  and  will  discover 
that  each  grotesque  twist  and  distortion 
of  these  organs  is  to  help  along  the  main 
purpose  of  the  cross-fertilization  of  the 
flower 

In  the  sketches  here  given  will  be  seen 
several  stamens  and  pistils  of  quaint  and 
odd  forms.  In  May  you  will  find  several 
flowers  which  bear  their  pollen  on  one 


plant  and  form  their  seeds  on  the  other. 
Gather  and  examine  some  jack-in-the- 
pulpits  and  you  will  find  minute  pistillate 
flowers  on  the  "clapper''  of  one  bell  and 
staminate  flowers  upon  another.  The  jack 
which  makes  the  pollen  fades  before  the 
season  is  far  advanced,  while  the  pistil- 
late flowers  develop  into  gorgeous  bunch- 
es of  red  berries. 

Examine  the  barberry  flower  with  a 
strong  magnifying  glass  and  you  will 
find  it  to  be  arranged  like  a  minute  sea 
anemone.  Gently  introduce  the  point  of 
a  pin  into  the  cup  of  the  flower  and  you 
will  observe  the  spreading  stamens  curl 
toward  the  center  as  if  alive  and  they  will 
shed  their  pollen  on  your  pin  as  they 
would  do  upon  a  bee's  head.  This  bar- 
berry flower  is  a  veritable  sensitive  plant 
and  thus  senids  its  charge  of  pollen  away 
to  another  flower  upon  the  furry  coat  of  a 
faithful  messenger. 

In  May,  too,  we  have  the  showy  orchis 
whose  lovely  blossoms  with  purple  hoods 
and  white  bibs  suggest  the  head  of  a 
monk  with  his  cowl.  Here  the  pollen  is 
in  the  form  of  two  clubs,  and  these  are 
found  in  two  small  pockets  where  they 
can  attach  themselves  to  the  head  of  an 
insect  visitor  You  can  "play  the  bee" 
by  using  the  point  of  a  match  or  a  pencil 
and  can  withdraw  the  pollen  masses  from 
their  pockets  just  as  the  insect  does. 

Next  month  we  will  take  up  in  greater 
detail  the  ways  and  means  of  cross-fertil- 
ization of  the  flowers,  and  study  their 
msect  friends  as  well. 


The  roots  of  forest  trees  begin  to  grow 
in  April  and  continue  up  to  winter  until 
the  soil  becomes  too  cold.  During  dry 
summers,  there  may  be  as  much  as  five 
weeks  of  resting  period  when  no  growth 
occurs. 


A  single  bullfrog,  Raaa  catcshiana,  is 
reported  by  a  correspondent  of  "Science" 
to  have  been  seen  to  stalk  and  devour 
five  black  swallowtail  butterflies  within 
a  half-hour.  As  the  insects  hovered 
about  the  bank,  the  frog  left  the  water, 
crawled  toward  its  prey,  covered  the  last 
foot  of  distance  with  a  single  jump  and 
caught  the  butterfly  in  its  mouth.  The 
observation  is  claimed  to  be  unique. 


In   coronation  robes 

The  sunset  clothes  our  heights, 
And  the  moon  with  them  doth  share 

The  splendor  of  her  nights. 

— Emma  Peirce. 


ORNITHOLOGY 


383 


ORNITHOLOGY 


iSll 


m 


All  communications  for  this  department 
should  be  sent  to  the  Department  Editor, 
Mr.  Harry  G.  Higbee,  13  Austin  Street, 
Hyde  Park,  Massachusetts.  Items,  articles 
and  photographs  in  this  department  not 
otherwise  credited  are  by  the  Department 
Editor 


Our   Distinguished    Visitors    from   the 
Northwest. 

From  the  western  part  of  the  great 
province  of  Alberta, — the  home  of  the 
evening  grosbeak  in  the  Canadian 
Northwest, — lo  the  little  group  of  our 


being  set  ofif  by  the  conspicuous  wings 
of  black  with  a  large  patch  of  white, 
and  a  black  tail.  On  the  top  of  the 
head  is  a  black  patch  nearly  surround- 
ed by  a  broad  yellow  band  which  runs 
just  over  the  dark  hazel  eye  and  across 
the  forehead ;  while  the  large,  thick 
bill  is  pinkish-white.  The  general  col- 
ors of  the  female  are  soft  grayish- 
brown,  with  greenish-yellow  about  the 
neck  and  shoulders,  and  faint  dark- 
er streaks  on  the  back  and  top 
of  the      head.        Their     black     wings 


FEEDING  ON  THE  DRIED  FRUIT  OF  THE  JAPANESE  CRAB. 


New  England  states  on  the  Atlantic 
coast  is  about  three  thousand  miles, 
yet  now^  and  then  these  beautiful  birds, 
which  but  rarely  visit  the  United  States 
except  in  winter,  wander  in  small 
flocks  to  our  shores,  to  the  delight  of 
bird-lovers  wherever  they  may  appear. 
The  evening  grosbeak, — about  the 
size  and  build  of  our  well-known  rose- 
breasted  grosbeak," — is  a  strikingly 
handsome  species  ; — the  general  mark- 
ings of  the  male  being  a  bright  yellow 
on  the  shoulders,  sides,  rump  and  bel- 
ly ;  shading  to  yellowish-brown  on  the 
lireast.   throat   and   back :   these   colors 


and  tail  are  conspicuously  marked  with 
white  spots  and  blotches,  and  the  bill 
shows  a  decided  tint  of  greenish-yel- 
low. 

During  the  past  winter  an  exception- 
al number  of  these  birds  have  been 
reported  in  the  eastern  states,  although 
with  the  exception  of  the  notable 
flights  of  1890  and  191 1,  but  few  spec- 
imens have  been  previously  reported 
from  this  part  of  the  country. 

Lexington,  Beverly,  Brookline,  Mil- 
ton, West  Roxbury,  Boston,  Leomin- 
ster and  Lancaster  are  some  of  the 
places    where    small    flocks   have   been 


384 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


EVENING   GROSBEAKS   AT   REST   AMONG    THE    llTRCHES. 


seen  this  winter  in  Massachusetts. 
Meriden,  N.  H.,  had  a  flock  of  thirty  ; 
Lebanon,  thirty-six,  while  Concord, 
Nashua,  Woodsville  and  Hanover  were 
also  visited.  We  have  received  reports 
of  these  birds  from  Port  Chester.  N. 
Y.,  Bennington,  Vermont  and  West- 
brook,  Maine,  and  it  will  doubtless  be 
found  that  the  invasion  has  covered  a 
much  more  extended  area  than  here 
mentioned. 

The  beauty  of  these  birds ;  their  ap- 
parent fearlessness  of  man,  and  their 
regular  visitations  to  certain  feeding 
grounds,  have  made  them  objects  of 
special  attraction  wherever  they  have 
become  known. 


'SECURELY  CAUGHT  IN  THE  STRONG  MESH. 


The  accompanying  photographs  were 
taken  by  the  writer  at  Lexington, 
Massachusetts,  where  pilgrimages 
were  made  to  study  the  small  flock 
visiting  that  town. 

Here  a  flock  of  six  birds  came  regu- 
larly about  eight  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing to  feed  upon  the  dried  apples  of  a 
Japanese  crab ;  this  tree  being  abun- 
dantly laden  with  the  small  cherry- 
like fruit  which  remains  in  clusters  at- 
tached to  the  twigs  throughout  the 
winter.  They  were  reported  as  feeding 
])reviously  upon  the  clinging  seeds  of 
an  ash-leaved  maple  nearby,  and  after 
having  practically  stripped  this  tree  of 
its  seeds,  they  resorted  to  the  crab. 
I  also  observed  them  later  feeding  on 
berries  of  the  poison  ivy ;  upon  birch 
seeds,  and  upon  the  pits,  or  stones  of 
wild  cherry.  These  pits,  they  would 
turn  in  their  powerful  bills  until  they 
were  placed  just  right,  when  they 
would  easily  crack  them  open,  reject- 
ing the  hard  outer  shells  and  eating 
the  soft  inner  pulp. 

Their  manners  in  feeding  and  mov- 
ing about  were  leisurely,  and  they 
seemed  to  pay  no  attention  to  obser- 
vers a  few  yards  away.  No  notes  were 
heard  from  these  birds  while  feeding, 
but  in  each  instance,  just  before  taking 
flight,  a  low,  chirping  call  was  given 
In'  one  of  the  males  ;  then  answered  by 
the  others,  when  they  would  suddenly 
all  take  wing  at  once,  flying  in  a  com- 
]iact  flock,  with  a  strong,  slightly  undu- 
latins:  flisfht. 


ORNITHOLOGY 


385 


While  at  rest  in  the  birches,  these 
birds  would  occasionally  utter  a  soft 
warble,  similar  to  that  of  the  pur])le 
finch. 

As  the  birds  flew  from  this  grove, 
an  unusual  incident  occurred  which 
nearly  resulted  in  the  death  of  one 
of  the  fine  males.  A  high,  chicken-wire 
fence  nearby  was  evidently  not  seen, 
and  this  bird,  flying  violently  against 
the  wire  about  eight  feet  from  the 
ground,  became  so  securely  caught  in 
the  strong  mesh,  with  its  head  and  part 
of  one  wing  through  the  wire,  that  it 
it  could  not  move  either  way.  Releas- 
ing the  unfortunate  bird,  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  holding  this  beautiful  spec- 
imen in  my  hand  and  closely  examin- 
ing it,  and  also  of  finding  that  it  was 
able  to  fly;  learning  later  that  it  had 
joined  its  fellows  and  was  observed 
with  them  daily,  suffering  only  the  loss 
of  a  good  many  of  its  fine  feathers. 

Several  evening  grosbeaks  have  been 
reported  to  have  been  caught  by  cats. 
and  a  number  of  the  flocks  have  some- 
what diminished  in  number  since  first 
observed.  It  is  probable  that  their 
natural  environment  in  the  great  north 
west  has  caused  them  to  be  fearless  of 
man  and  his  civilized  surroundings, 
and  that  they  have  yet  to  learn  that 
"eternal  vigilance  is  the  price  of  life," — 
especially  for  beautiful,  forest-bred 
creatures  when  they  visit  our  city 
vards  and  suburban   waysides. 


Bird-Fishers. 

BY  H.  STUART  DOVE.  M.R.  A.  O.  U.  MEM- 
BER TAS.  FlEED  NAT.  CLUB,  WEST  DEVON- 
PORT,   TASMANIA. 

The  other  afternoon  I  was  watching 
some  crested  terns  (Sterna  bergii.  Lichf.) 
taking  fish  from  the  waters  of  Bass 
Strait,  which  divide  Tasmania  from  Aus- 
tralia. The  birds  were  evidently  follow- 
ing up  small  fry,  for  they  dived  only  a 
short  distance  out  from  the  'beach,  in  the 
shallow  water  just  behind  a  breaking 
wave.  One  of  them  seemed  much  more 
exoert  than  his  fellows,  for  he  would  go 
in  half  a  dozen  times  in  five  minutes,  and 
aDparently  secure  his  Drey  each  time :  the 
others,  perhaps  only  once  in  three  or  four 
minutes. 

Nothing  could  be  more  graceful  than 
the  evolutions  of  these  "sea-swallows" 
with  lonsr  wings  and  forked  tails,  twist- 
ing- and  tnrnino-  ?s  they  made  their  de- 
scent as  if  follo'^'ing  every  movement  of 
the  fish  which  was  marked  for  their  own 


One  would  frequently  take  up  his  station 
just  opposite  where  1  was  sitting,  and 
hover,  kestrel-like,  with  rapidly  vibrat- 
ing wings,  at  a  height  of  about  twenty 
to  twenty-five  feet  above  the  water ;  the 
black-capped  head  bent  down,  the  eyes 
searching  for  prey  beneath.  When  head- 
on  in  this  way  he  reminded  me  of  nothing 
so  much  as  a  gigantic  hummingbird 
hawk-moth  hovering  in  front  of  a  Innicli 
of  blossoms. 

Several  seasons  ago  I  was  privileged 
to  witness  a  wonderful  spectacle  in  the 
invasion  of  these  waters  by  thousands  of 
large  gannets  {Siila  australia,  Gould). 
Although  I  have  repeatedly  watched  these 
fine  birds  diving  oft"  the  coast  of  New 
South  Wales  and  elsewhere,  yet  I  never 
remember  seeing  them  in  such  great  num- 
bers as  on  this  occasion. 

There  is  a  quiet  stretch  of  sea  water 
resembling  a  large  lake  just  to  the  east 
of  Devonport  breakwater,  by  which  it  is 
sheltered  from  the  prevailing  "wester- 
lies." Into  this,  on  a  fine  afternoon,  the 
gannets  would  tumble  by  dozens  and 
scores  from  a  good  height  in  the  air, 
reminding  the  observer  of  a  huge  shower 
of  snowflakes  as  the  beautiful  white 
plumage  glistened  in  the  sun's  rays.  It 
was  marvellous  how  they  avoided  strik- 
ing each  other  when  they  descended  in 
such  numbers  and  with  such  velocity, — 
each  apparently  oblivious  of  everything 
except  that  one  small  object  which  it  had 
sighted  beneath  the  surface.  The  greater 
the  depth,  the  higher  does  the  bird  ascend 
in  order  to  gain  sufficient  impetus  to  reach 
his  prey.  The  descent  is  a  literal  "head- 
er," the  gannet  usually  entering  the  waves 
nearly  vertically,  and  with  a  distinct 
splash  :  a  perceptible  interval  elapsing  be- 
fore he  reappears  some  little  distance 
away,  giving  his  yellowish  beak  a  twist 
backwards  and  forwards  after  swallow- 
ing his  prey. 

The  gannet  usually  sits  for  a  few 
seconds  upon  the  water  before  taking  an- 
other turn  aloft,  thus  differing  from  the 
tern,  which  takes  to  its  wings  the  moment 
it  reaches  the  surface.  When  diving  in 
shallow  water  close  to  the  rocks,  the  gan- 
net begins  its  descent  from  a  height  of 
ten  or  twelve  feet  only.  In  making  the 
dive  the  wings  are  not  closed,  as  is  usual- 
ly supposed,  at  the  beginning  of  the  de- 
scent, but  remain  exiianded  until  the  l^ird 
is  close  to  the  surface,  and  apDarently 
assist  in  guiding  it  to  the  exact  spot.  It 
then  claps  them  suddenly  to  the  side  of 


386 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


the  body,  and  the  admirable  adaptability 
of  its  shape  to  the  aquatic  life  may  be 
well  seen  just  as  it  enters  the  water— the 
long  beak,  head,  neck  and  body  stretched 
out  rigidly  in  one  straight  line;  the  legs 
and  wings  tucked  closely  in — everything 
arranged  so  as  to  offer  as  little  resistance 
to  the  water  as  possible.  Few  prettier 
sights  can  be  imagined  than  a  company 
thus  engaged  in  diving  on  a  fine  spring 
afternoon, — the  bright  sunshine  above 
and  the  blue  waters  of  the  Strait  beneath. 
In  the  case  of  the  terns,  the  dive  is  a 
much  smaller  affair,  the  birds  not  enter- 
ing the  water  to  any  depth,  and  in  some 
cases  only  half  submerging  itself.  It 
rises  immediately  on  the  wing  again,  and 
the  prey  must  be  swallowed  directly  it  is 
seized,  for  I  have  not  been  able  to  see 
anything  held  in  the  beak.  Thus  it  differs 
from  another  "bird-fisher,"  the  cormo- 
rant, which  usually  comes  to  the  surface 
and  adjusts  its  captive  to  a  comfortable 
position  for  swallowing.  On  a  river  near 
Table  Cape,  on  this  coast,  I  saw  a  cor- 
morant rise  to  the  surface  with  a  small 
flounder  held  in  its  beak,  which  it  made 
vigorous  attempts  to  gulp  down,  but  in 
vain :  it  then  flew  to  a  tree  some  distance 
away,  where  doubtless  the  unfortunate 
captive  was  soon  battered  into  a  more 
convenient  shape. 


Bird-Lore's  Christmas  Census. 

The  sixteenth  annual  bird-census 
conducted  by  "Bird-Lore"  was  taken 
as  usual  at  the  Christmas  season,  and 
its  results  published  in  the  January- 
February  number  of  that  magazine. 
A  summary  of  the  one  hundred  and 
sixty-four  reports  there  given  shows 
the  general  scarcity  of  winter  residents 
or  irregular  visitants  coming  from  the 
north,  while  many  birds  expected  to  be 
farther  south  have  spent  the  winter  in 
localities  that  would  seem  to  indicate 
that  the  climatic  conditions  had  little 
to  do  with  their  movements. 

New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania  seem 
to  be  about  the  northern  winter  range 
of  the  bluebird.  Flickers,  song  spar- 
rows, myrtle  warblers,  robins  and 
meadowlarks  appear  to  be  wintering 
throughout  our  north-eastern  states  in 
greater  numbers  than  formerly.  Star- 
lings seem  to  be  extending  their  range, 
though  most  abundantly  reported  from 
New  York  and  New  Jersey.  Cardinals 
were  reported  from  many  places  ;  two 
as  far  north  as  London,  Ontario.  Wolf- 
ville,  N.  S.,  reported  a  vesper  sparrow. 


A  catbird,  a  kingfisher  and  a  Carolina 
wren  were  reported  from  Long  Island, 
N.  Y. 

A  single  flock  of  two  thousand  cow- 
birds  were  seen  in  Nashville,  Tenn. 
Crows,  though  comparatively  scarce 
in  the  northern  states,  were  reported 
in  large  numbers  in  the  middle  south- 
ern states, — showing  a  slight  migra- 
tory movement.  Five  thousand  were 
reported  by  one  observer  from  Cul- 
peper,  Va.  Very  few  bobwhites  were 
reported  in  any  of  the  lists.  Millbrook 
Ontario,  reported  thirty  red-polls,  and 
a  few  others  were  reported  from  Con- 
necticut. 

A  party  from  Los  Angeles,  Califor- 
nia, reports  the  largest  number  of  birds 
seen  in  a  single  day, — numbering  9,131 
individuals,  representing  121  species. 
The  observing  party  was  divided  into 
eight  sections.  One  hundred  and  six- 
teen species  were  reported  from  Santa 
Barbara,  California. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  lists  was 
that  of  Dr.  Winsor  M.  Tyler,  of  Lex- 
ington, Mass.,  who,  with  two  others, 
observed  thirty-two  species,  number- 
ing 1,188  individuals  at  Wareham, 
Mass.  This  list  includes  eleven  blue- 
birds, tw^enty  song  sparrows,  two  pine 
warblers,  tw^enty-four  meadowlarks, 
three  vesper  sparrows,  two  savanna 
sparrows  and  a  kingfisher. 


Migrations  of  the  Bobolink. 

The  bobolink,  being  a  lover  of  damp 
meadows,  has  for  many  thousand  years 
been  shut  off  from  our  Pacific  States 
by  the  barrier  of  the  arid  lands.  At  the 
present  time,  however,  the  progress  of 
irrigation  has  established  fertile  spots 
throughout  the  region  by  way  of  which 
the  birds  can  cross.  Small  colonies, 
therefore,  are  beginning  to  nest  each 
summer  on  the  western  side  of  the  dry 
rountrv  almost  to  the  coast  of  the 
Pacific. 

Apparently,  however,  the  birds  con- 
tinue to  migrate  by  their  old  route,  go- 
ing first  north  on  their  former  track 
and  then  turning  west,  instead  of  cut- 
ting straight  across  by  the  nearest 
wav. 


Oh  mountains  vast  and  high, 

That  touch  the  blue  of  sky, 

Thy  battlements,   so  stern  and  cold. 
The  setting  sun  has  turned  to  gold, 

Xow  with  his  glory  vie. 

— Emma  Peirce. 


ORNITHOLOGY 


387 


A  Study  of  the  Louisiana  Water 
Thrush. 

BY  IDA  E.  EICHIIORX,  liARNESVILLE,  OHIO. 
(Photograph  by  C.  C.  Steele.) 
Last  summer  we  had  a  splendid  oppor- 
tunity for  studying  among  picturesque 
surroundings,  the  home  life  of  this  wild, 
thrush-like  bird,  where  a  cool  stream 
helps  to  make  an  ideal  location.    It  wades 


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Ki^y 

i.:^-^^iS 

A  YOUNG  LOUISIANA  WATER  THRUSH  SOON 
AFTER   LEAVING  THE   NEST. 


about  in  the  shallow  water  in  search  of 
food  and  seems  to  have  some  of  the  traits 
of  sandpipers,  especially  the  habit  of 
"tipping  up,"  and  making  serious  bows, 
very  much  emphasized  by  pert,  little  calls 
of  "chink!"  The  male  birds  flies  up  and 
down  the  glen  every  ten  or  fifteen  min- 
utes, giving  his  familiar  call  as  he  dashes 
back  and  forth. 

One  beautiful  morning  in  May,  we 
were  watching  and  waiting  for  birds, 
when  suddenly  a  bird  flew  up  on  a  fence 
post  and  sang  a  song,  wild  and  clear,  but 
sweet.  Going  closer  we  saw  four  or  five 
more  birds  of  the  same  kind  wading 
about  getting  an  early  breakfast.  One 
pair  of  them  decided  to  locate  their  home 
on  the  bank  of  this  pretty  stream,  giving 
us  an  unusual  opportunity  to  study  them. 

Wandering  down  the  stream  one  day, 
we  suspected  from  the  actions  of  this  pair. 


that  we  were  in  the  vicinity  pf  their  nest. 
We  searched,  but  in  vain.  If  we  went  up 
stream  they  went  down :  when  we  went 
down,  they  darted  through  the  bushes 
and  we  would  hear  their  "chink  !  chink  X' 
behind  us,  and  see  them  standing  in  the 
water,  bowing  us  a  polite  but  most  em- 
phatic  good-bye.  The  next  day  we  re- 
turned and  hid  in  a  clump  of  high  weeds, 
but  neither  of  the  birds  seemed  to  be  at 
home.  Suddenly  we  heard  the  now  fainil- 
iar  call  of  "chink  !  chink  !"  We  remained 
very  quiet  and  motionless,  and  were  re- 
warded by  hearing  a  chorus  of  little 
fellows  calling  lustily  for  their  lunCh, 
After  the  parent  birds  had  flown  down 
the  glen  again  we  started  to  search  where 
we  thought  the  nest  must  be,  but  what  a 
hunt  it  was,  for  by  this  time  the  young 
birds  had  heard  us  and  were  as  still  as 
mice.  Finally  we  found  the  nest  under 
an  overhanging  bank  of  the  stream.  It 
was  a  rounded-out  place,  lined  with 
grasses  and  leaves,  and  contained  five 
almost  grown  birds.  The  day  before  we 
had  passed  it  a  dozen  times  and  had 
stood  on  the  path  not  a  yard  above  it. 

We  could  not  return  for  several  days  be 
cause  of  the  heav}-  rains.  On  Decoration 
Day  the  rain  ceased  and  we  went  back, 
but  the  birds  had  flown.  However,  we 
pulled  away  the  over-hanging  grasses  and 
photographed  the  nest.  Mr.  Dawson  in 
his  "Birds  of  Ohio,"  makes  the  statement, 
"There  be  those  who  claim  to  know  the 
nest  of  the  Louisiana  water  thrush,  but 
the  author  is  not  one  of  them."  So  we 
wanted  some  proof  of  actually  having 
found  the  nest. 

By  the  time  the  photograph  of  the  nest 
was  secured  the  parents  had  returned  and 
by  their  comduct  we  decided  that  the 
little  birds  were  very  near.  After  search- 
ing we  found  only  two  of  them  and  by 
this  time  the  old  birds  were  frantic  with 
fear.  They  tried  to  draw  us  away  by 
feigning  broken  wings,  flying  down  the 
stream  dragging  their  tail  and  wings  in 
the  water,  and  making  pitful  calls  and 
pleadings. 

One  young  bird  we  found  perched  on 
a  branch,  on  a  very  steep  bank.  After 
the  camera  had  been  placed  near  this 
bird,  as  the  other  one  was  not  in  a  desir- 
able location,  the  mother  bird  changed  her 
tactics,  and  darted  up  the  bank,  endeavor- 
ing to  brush  the  little  bird  off  the  branch 
with  her  wing;  then  she  flew  up  into  the 
woods   dragging  her  apparently  broken 


.^.88 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


wing,  and  returned  in  a  few  minutes  to 
start  all  over  again. 

After  cutting  dowiii  some  saplings  we 
finally  succeeded  in  taking  the  little  fel- 
low's first  photograph,  and  how  nicely 
and  patiently  he  posed,  for  we  about  an 
hour  obtaining  it. 

We  are  looking  forward  to  the  return 
of  the  water  thrushes  this  spring,  when 
we  shall  surely  observe  and  study  their  in- 
teresting habits  even  more  closely  than  we 
did  last  year.  We  wonder  if  this  bird  will 
be  among  them,  or  if  he  will  make  his 
home  near  some  other  little  stream. 


The  Whippoorwill. 

BY  KDWIX  L.  JACK,  PORTLAND,  M.MXK. 

That  the  whippoorwill  is  of  nocturnal 
habits  and  is  provided  with  a  wonderful 
plumage  of  protective  coloring  and  has 
a  love  for  the  more  solitary  woodlands, 
are  the  three  main  reasons  whv  so  few 


brooding,  so  closely  does  the  whij^poor- 
will  clin.g-  to  her  eggs,  and  so  much  does 
she  resemble  a  dead  snag  on  the  ground, 
that  a  person  may  frequently  approach 
within  four  or  five  feet  before  discover- 
ing her.  When  the  bird  does  leave  her 
eggs  it  is  done  so  quickly  and  quietly  as 
to  be  almost  uncanny.  Like  a  shadow 
and  without  a  sound  she  rises  into  the 
air  on  a  pair  of  swallow-like  wings  and 
vanishes  among  the  foliage. 

The  whippoorwill  makes  no  attempt  at 
nest  building,  a  slight  depression  on  the 
ground,  on  an  old  log  or  rock,  serving 
as  a  receptacle  for  the  two  creamy  eggs 
which  are  thickly  speckled  with  brown, 
relying  on  her  own  protective  col  ring- 
to  shield  them  from  danger. 

A  peculiarity  of  the  whippoorwill  in 
rearing  her  young  is  that  if  the  nest  is 
discovered  the  parent  birds  will  move  the 
young  to  another  location  even  when  only 
a  few  davs  old.     The  vouuig  birds  here 


NEST   AND   EGGS   OF   WHIPPOORWILL 


people  are  acquainted  with  the  birds. 

Throughout  the  day  they  remain  hid- 
den in  the  seclusion  of  the  deep  woods, 
but  as  the  sun  sinks  toward  the  horizon, 
when  the  hermit  thrush,  that  incompar- 
able songster  of  the  woodlands,  mounts 
his  choir  loft  and  chants  his  vesper  song, 
when  the  day  is  slowly  fading  into  the 
mystery  and  tranquillity  of  an  evening 
late  in  June,  then  the  whippoorwill  begins 
his  activities.  Flying  on  swift  wings,  he 
goes  sailing  over  the  lowlands  in  his 
search  for  insects  which  he  catches  in 
his  gaping  mouth,  and  as  he  rests  sends 
forth  his  weird  cry,  "whip-poor-will, 
whip-poor-will,  whip-poor-will" 

If   confronted     in    the   daytime    while 


illustrated,  when  only  five  davs  old,  were 
found  at  least  eight  feet  from  the  original 
location  of  their  nest. 

Young  whippoorwills  are  a  light  tan 
color  and  remain  in  the  downy  stage  for 
some  time  before  the  pin  feathers  develop. 
They  have  queer  little  feet  which  appear 
to  be  w^eak,  for  these  birds  never  light 
on  a  small  limb  to  which  they  would  be 
oblig'ed  to  cling.  A  wide  limb  or  rock, 
or  frequently  the  ground  itself,  serves 
as  a  resting  place. 

The  whippoorwill  is  often  mistaken 
for  the  nighthawk  which  it  resembles  in 
many  ways,  but  may  be  distinguished  by 
the  three  outside  tail  feathers  which  are 
white- 


()Rxitji()L(;gv 


38'; 


YOUXG   WHIPPOORWILLS   SIX    DAYS   OI.I). 

•  Set   previous  pagel. 


A  Humming  Bird's  Nest. 

BY   KATE   M.   ROADS,   HILLSBORO,  OHIO. 

The  brilliant  plumage  combined  with 
the  diminutive  size  and  agility  makes 
the  "ruby-throat,"  one  of  our  most 
charming  and  interesting"  summer  vis- 
itors. 

Motior.  is  always  associated  with  them, 
but  close  observation  shows  that  they 
frequently  rest,  and  especially  is  this 
true  at  the  nesting^  season. 

\  single  individual  before  a  bright 
blossom   holds   our  undivided   attention ; 


but  one  sunsliiny  afternoon  it  was  kept 
at  its  highest  pitch  by  watching  several 
pairs  of  these  bewitching  fairies  as  they 
dipped  tlieir  slender  bills  into  the  spurred 
petals  of  the  hixuriant  Aquilegia  which 
jutted  out  from  every  crevice  and  crariny 
of  the  "Xiagaran"  limestone  which  forms 
the  steep  hillside. 

As  the  males  flitted  from  flower  to 
flower  the  metallic  ruby-red  throat 
sparkled  like  a  gem  in  the  dazzling  sun- 
light. 

The  discovery  of  a  nest  on  June  24, 


I  TiiiiialiiiBMiBi 


NIGMTMAWK 


WE    niMi-:x    HEAR     Till-:    W  HI  l-J'UORW  U  1 ,    I'.l' I     SEE   THE    MGHTHAWK 


390 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


1912,  was  due  perhaps  as  much  to  the 
nest  itself  as  to  the  excited  and  irritable 
movements  of  the  birds,  not  more  than 
fifteen  feet  away. 

Frequent  visits  had  been  made  and 
their  actions  observed  by  several  per- 
sons, but  all  had  failed  to  discern  their 
purpose  until  after  the  nest  had  been  com- 
pleted and  the  eggs  deposited.  About 
ten  feet  from  the  ground,  a  lichen  adorn- 
ed nest  was  "saddled"  on'  top  of  a  small 
"lichen-less"  maple  limb  where  two  small 
twigs  projected, — one  on  either  side.  This 
wonderful  bit  of  bird  architecture  was 
made  of  plant  down  "delicately  woven 
with  very  small  fibers"  into  a  down};, 
flexible  cup-shaped  nest.  Notwithstand- 
ing its  flexibility,  it  retained  its  shape 
until  after  the  young  had  flown.  It  was 
ornamented  externally  by  bits  of  over- 
lapping lichens.  Its  outside  diameter  was 
one  and  one-half  inches  and  the  inside 
diameter  one  inch  at  the  top ;  the  outside 
height  being  one  and  three-eighth  inches 
and  the  inside  height,  three-fourths  of 
an  indh. 

The  other  birds  were  determined  to 
destroy  this  home,  but  the  mother's  agility 
and  formidable  weapon,  her  bill,  served 
her  well,  putting  to  flight  in  one  day  a 
robin,  flicker  and  blue  jay.  The  quick 
fiery  temper  of  the  parents  was  shown 
best  after  the  advent  of  the  youmg  when 
they  would  attack  anything. 

When  the  nest  was  approached  the 
mother  bird  would  fly  off  ;  perch  upon  a 
near-b}'  lim'b,  and  when  she  thought  she 
was  unobserved  would  slide  on  with  a 
swift  gliding  movement. 

At  their  first  flight  they  left  us  to  return 
no  more. 


A  Village  Bird  Warden. 

The  New  England  town  of  Dover, 
Mass.,  has  the  first  bird  warden  ever 
appointed  by  a  municipality  in  the 
United  States.  During  the  two  years 
he  has  been  in  office  there  has  been  a 
very  noticeable  increase  in  the  num- 
ber of  birds  in  that  section.  At  the 
time  when  the  warden  was  appointed 
the  townspeople  were  asked,  to  co- 
operate with  him  by  allowing  their 
land  to  be  posted  against  gunners, 
trappers,  and  snarers ;  by  reporting 
the  presence  of  red  squirrels ;  also  re- 
porting stray,  wild  or  unowned  cats. 
The  people  were  urged  to  erect  bird 
houses  and  feeding  boxes. 

The  bird  warden   erected     a     largfe 


number  of  bird  houses  at  the  edge  of 
the  woods  and  swamps  and  around 
fields  and  orchards  and  placed  them 
through  the  village  near  dwelling 
houses.  During  the  winter  feed  boxes 
with  grain  and  suet  were  provided. 
Several  hundred  "No  Hunting"  signs 
were  erected  with  most  satisfactory 
results.  A  tract  of  1,000  acres  of  land, 
located  near  Dover  and  owned  by  Mr. 
Richard  W.  Hale,  of  Boston,  has  been 
set  aside  as  a  State  bird  sanctuary. — 
National  Humane  Review. 


Attention ! 


Meriden,   Conn. 
To  the  Editor : 

In  these  days  of  general  distribution  of 
useful  knowledge  and  advice  through 
publications,  nothing  else  than  the  indif- 
ference of  the  people  is  responsible  for 
great  changes  in  the  wild  life  and  vege- 
tation, which  we  now  have  great  reason 
to  regret.  The  change  may  be  first  made 
by  accident,  for  personal  gain  regardless 
of  results  to  others,  or  as  an  experiment, 
but  it  is  the  indifference  of  the  people 
that  is  responsible  for  not  correcting  by 
personal  effort  and  legislative  action  any 
disastrous  change  while  there  is  yet  time. 

Foreign  insects  and  weeds  are  robbing 
our  vegetation  of  its  foliage  and  food- 
Corporations  have  built  dams,  and  cities 
are  emptyin.g  sewerage  into  public  rivers, 
which  has  resulted  in  a  public  loss  of  the 
Atlantic  salmon,  sturgeon,  alewives  and 
a  large  part  of  the  shad-  The  English 
sparrow  has  spread  over  the  continent, 
and  the  starling  is  about  to  do  the  same, 
all  because  of  the  indifference  of  the 
people — many  members  of  The  Agassiz 
Association  included.  This  is  an  un- 
pleasant announcement,  but  who  can 
deny  its  truth? 

In  the  February  issue  of  The  Guide  to 
Nature  I  asked  for  witnesses  who  would 
testify  either  for  or  against  the  English 
starling  in  America  by  writing  to  me  an 
account  of  their  losses  or  benefits  by 
reason  of  these  birds.  This  would  mean 
an  expense  of  about  three  cents  for  post- 
age and  paper,  and  not  over  fifteen  min- 
utes' time.  I  do  not  know  the  circulation 
of  your  magazine,  or  the  number  of  Aas- 
siz  students  who  study  it  thoroughly,  but 
of  the  hundreds  who  probably  read  my 
article  I  have  received  but  two  answers. 
Both  are  pathetic  appeals,  from  different 
states,  to  save  our  native  birds  from  these 
invaders,  and  indorse  mv  own  observa- 


ORNITHOLOGY 


391 


tions  that  the  bluebird  and  woodpeckers 
are  doomed  unless  action  is  taken  against 
the  starlin:g. 

I  believe  that  the  cause  of  the  great 
indifference  of  the  people  in  these  sub- 
jects of  national  importance  is  that 
nature  study  is  not  playing  a  sufihciently 
important  part  in  our  educational  sys- 
tems, even  including  the  high  schools. 
The  great  bulk  of  our  eastern  population 
is  interested  in  the  pursuit  of  the 
almighty  dollar  through  mechanical  in- 
dustries, but  a  greater  proportion  of  the 
rising  generation  must  be  interested 
mainly  in  a  happy  and  healthful  life,  in 
the  production,  from  natural  resources, 
of  their  daily  bread,  or  there  will  always 
be  war. 

My  appeal  is  for  your  assistance  to 
save  ovir  native  birds  from  the  invading 
starling. 

Lester  W.  Smith. 

Unfortunately  many  who  claim  an  in- 
terest in  nature  have  no  vital  interest 
which  stirs  them  to  action-  They  are 
only  superficially  interested  and  do  not 
care  to  make  any  effort  in  this  great 
w^ork-  They  want  the  w^ork  done  and  are 
often  loud  in  their  praises,  but  they  will 
not  exert  themselves  to  share  in  it,  much 
as  it  may  affect  them  or  their  future 
living.  An  amount  equal  to  more  than 
ten  dollars  for  every  man,  woman  and 
child  in  the  United  States  and  its  posses- 
sions is  the  annual  loss  by  destructive 
insects  to  our  agriculture,  yet  how  many 
bestir  themselves  to  any  serious  consider- 
ation of  this  fact  and  that  bird  conserva- 
tion and  proper  laws  would  eliminate  a 
large  part  of  such  loss? 

Our  magazine  has  a  present  circulation 
of  about  three  thousand  copies,  spread 
over  the  United  States  and  some  to 
foreign  countries. 

During  the  past  six  months  an  effort 
has  been  made  to  secure  the  help  of  or- 
nithologists in  making  this  department  of 
lively  interest  and  a  practical  help  to  our 
magazine.  Considerable  expenditure  has 
been  put  upon  it  and  Dr.  Bigelow  has 
been  generous  in  allowing  us  space.  We 
greatly  appreciate  the  response  from  our 
contributors.  We  can  increase  our  use- 
fulness by  having  more  items  from  a 
wider  source-  Original  observation  is 
what  we  want.     Let  us  all  help. 

The  "starling  question"  is  by  no  means 
settled,  and  it  is  not  yet  too  late  to  settle 
it.  Notes  covering  a  wide  range  by  many 
observers    are    necessarv    to    determine 


practical  results.  Never  mind  what  you 
think  about  the  starling,  but  write  Mr. 
Smith  what  you  have  seen  and  what  you 
kiun,'   about   it.— And   DO    IT   NOW. 

— H.  G.  H. 


Swifts  and  Weather. 

West    Devonport,    Tasmania, 

Australia. 
To  the  Editor: — 

Some  notes  under  this  heading  ap- 
peared in  The  Guide  to  Nature  for 
August.  1915.  On  the  evening  of  the 
twenty-fourth  of  February,  1916,  a 
considerable  flight  of  the  spine-tailed 
swift  was  noticed  from  half  past  six 
until  seven  o'clock,  the  birds  passing, 
not  in  a  compact  mass,  but  in  a  strag- 
gling way,  as  is  their  wont.  I  could 
detect  them  in  the  west,  rising  as  it 
were  from  the  horizon,  coming  gradu- 
ally overhead,  then  passing  away  to  east 
and  southeast,  feeding  as  they  went, 
as  could  be  observed  by  their  move- 
ments. They  flew  at  various  heights, 
from  thirty  feet  up  to  three  or  four 
hundred,  and  must  have  devoured 
large  quantities  of  insects  during  their 
passage.  Their  appearance  was  coinci- 
dent, as  before,  with  atmospheric  dis- 
turbance, a  heavy  thunderstorm  having 
occurred  on  the  previous  day.  On  the 
afternoon  of  the  dav  on  which  they 
were  seen,  heavy  black  clouds  were 
visible  to  the  westward,  from  which 
direction  they  came.  By  the  papers 
next  day  we  learned  that  a  tremendous 
dampness  had  been  experienced  in 
that  quarter. 

H-  Stuart  Dove. 


More  Wrens'  Nests  of  Wire. 

Benton  Harbor,  Michigan. 
To  the  Editor : 

One  of  the  first  things  that  I  noticed 
in  your  April  number  was  the  article  on 
wrens'  house  furnishings  of  wire.  For 
tw^o  years  wrens  have  built  in  .some  bo'ttle 
or  dipper  gourds  of  mine,  also  in  a  small 
box  house,  and  in  all  cases  the  nest  was 
mostly  constructed  of  wire.  I  never  read 
of  a  similar  instance  until  your  magazine 
came  to  hand.  In  the  gourds  a  big  hand- 
ful of  wire^staples  much  twisted  wire 
(as  from  chicken  fence  netting),  hair- 
pins, nails  tw^o  inches  long  and  appar- 
ently as  heavy  as  the  birds  themselves — 
also  a  little  yarn  that  I  had  put  out  for 
them  and  a  few  twigs  were  used.  It 
was  suggested  that  the  gourds  were  so 


392 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


deep  they  needed  a  hig^i  foundation,  but 
the  bird  box  had  the  opening  near  the 
floor  and  yet  nearly  the  same  amount 
of  wire  was  used.  So  I  have  ahiiost 
decided  that  the  birds  use  the  wire  for 
ventilation.  The  fact,  however,  is  inter- 
esting and  it  is  one  house  cleaning  time 
in  which  1  am  much  interested,  to  see 
what  is  inside  of  each  wire  nest. 

Grace  H.  Poole. 


Another  Unusual  Wren's  Nest. 

^Meriden,  Connecticut. 
To  the  Editor : 

In  the  April  number  of  The  GrjiDE  To 
Nature  the  item  entitled,  "Wren's  Nest 
Built  of  Wiie,""  especially  interested  me 
as  I  had  a  somewhat  similar  builder  ui)o:i 
my  premises  last  summer. 

Late  in  May  a  solitary  house  wren 
visited  a  small  bird  house  that  1  had 
placed  in  a  wild  cherry  tree,  ?nd  after 
a  careful  examination  began  to  carry  in 
building  material.  Wrens  had  used  this 
house  the  year  before,  and  I  had  carefully 
cleaned  it,  hoping  that  they  would  lease 
it  for  another  season.  Consequently  I 
v/atched  with  great  satisfaction  as  the 
male  sang  his  glad  song  and  busied  him- 
self in  constructing  the  nest.  But  his 
mate  appeared  to  be  missing. 

Eor  several  days  he  worked  about  the 
place,  but  if  he  brought  a  prospective 
bride  the  home  or  the  prospects  could 
not  have  been  satisfactory  for  the  nest 
remained  unoccupied. 

In  November  the  bird  house  was  taken 
down  and  the  nest  building  material  was 
found  to  contain  twenty-six  pieces  of 
rusty  wire  from  poultry  netting,  three 
nails  and  two  safety  pins  besides  the 
usual  supply  of  twigs. 

If  wrens  continue  to  search  for  metallic 
building  material,  they  will  become  the 
favorite  birds  of  the  junk  dealers  this 
summer. 

Lester  W.  Smith. 


Fearless  Prairie  Horned  Larks. 

Uniontown,  Penna. 
To  the  Editor : 

About  the  middle  of  March,  after 
most  of  the  birds  had  returned  from 
the  South,  we  had  a  sudden  cold  snap 
accompanied  by  a  heavy  fall  of  snow 
and  many  of  the  birds  Avere  driven 
into  the  outskirts  of  the  city  in  search 
of  food.  While  returning  home  on  the 
evening  of  the   15th,  I  noticed  feeding 


with  the  English  sparrows  in  the  street 
a  pair  of  unusual  birds,  which  I  sur- 
mised to  be  a  species  of  the  horned 
lark.  The  male  was  light  grayish  in 
color,  with  black  bands  on  the  head 
and  throat  and  a  small  tuft  of  black 
feathers  on  each  side  of  the  head,  re- 
sembling horns  His  mate  was  darker 
in  color  and  lacked  the  horns. 

Both  birds  were  very  tame  and,  when 
I  stood  motionless  for  a  few  minutes, 
they  hopped  up  within  three  feet  of  me 
and'  seemed  absolutely  fearless.  When 
a  wagon  or  street-car  passed,  they 
would  fly  up  with  a  little  "tsee"  and 
soon  settle  to  feeding  again.  I  do  not 
know  whether  these  birds  are  consider- 
ed rare  or  not,  but  I  have  never  before 
seen  them  in  this  vicinity. 

Robert  C.  Miller. 

^  ^  ■^  ^,:  ^,: 

These  birds  were  probably  prairie 
horned  larks,  and  while  usually  inhc.b- 
iting  old  pastures  and  barrens,  should 
not  be  uncommon  in  this  general  local- 
ity.—H.  G.  H. 


Since  the  burning  of  the  Dominion 
Parliament  building,  both  branches  of 
the  Canadian  legislature  have  had  to 
be  housed  in  the  nearby  Museum  of 
the  Geological  Survey. 


The  Italian  government  has  at  length 
waked  up  to  the  long-standing  crime 
of  slaughtering  song  birds  for  food.  '^^ 
law  went  into  el^ect  on  January  first 
prohibiting  the  shooting  of  all  song 
and  insectivorous  birds  through  the 
kingdom.  Since  Italy  is  in  the  path  of 
the  annual  migrations,  the  results  of 
this  new  legislation  may  prove  far- 
reachins:. 


The  remarkably  warm  January  of  this 
year  in  eastern  United  States  had  its 
counterpart  in  England.  The  records  of 
the  Greenwich  Observatory,  which  are 
virtually  complete  for  a  century,  show 
that  the  past  January  outdid  the  famous 
January  of  1834  by  a  whole  degree  in 
average  temperature,  equalled  the  still 
more  remarkable  January  of  1841,  and 
has  not  been  matched  within  two  degrees 
in  any  year  since.  Five  times,  in  Eng- 
land, in  the  last  thirty  years,  Aprils  have 
been  colder  than  this  January.  In  seven- 
tv-five  vears  only  two  Decembers  and  one 
Februarv  have  been  as  waruL 


a^  Sw  ■s5?i 


THE  IXTEREST  IN  INSECTS 


393 


Animal  Intelligence  Again. 

BY  HEXRY  O-  FALK  oF  SCKIPI'S  IXSTITU- 
TION  FOR  BIOLOGICAI,  RESEARCH  OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

[illustrations  by  STUART  s.  taber]. 
I  was  mildly  puzzled.  I  had  seen 
flies,  spiders,  and  moths  in  the  house  ; 
occasionally  also  a  flea,  a  so\v-bug,  or 
a  centipede ;  but  that  cra\vling  thing 
on  the  wall  of  our  dining  room  looked 
like  some  shapeless  parazoan.  Closer 
attention  showed  that  the  focus  of  mv 


T^s-'^^e 


"THIS   'LANGI'AGE-   IS   SPOKEN   WITHOUT 
EDLXATION." 


interest  was  only  a  harmless  piece  of 
cake.  Incredulity  challenged  sense  ex- 
perience. The  walls  of  the  room  are 
dark  brown,  and  what  I  am  relating  oc- 
ciuTed  in  the  evening ;  so  conditions  of 
place  and  time  greatly  assisted  in  the 
illusion,  if  they  did  not  entirely  pro- 
duce it.  A  piece  of  cake,  three-quarters 
of  an  inch  by  one-half  an  inch,  was 
making  steady  progress  up  the  wall. 

I  rose  from  the  dinner  table  resolved 
to  get  more  light  on  this  singular  event. 
Has  the  reader  guessed  or  must  I  tell 
him  that  the  motive  power  behind  the 
cake  was  a  dozen  or  so  ants?  The 
burden  was  many  times  larger  and 
heavier  than  the  combined  size  and 
weight  of  this  self-constituted  gang. 
Any  working  at  cross-purposes  would 
have  been  fatal  to  this  social  under- 
taking.     But    co-o])eration    was    seem- 


:^^'=*l^ '^  ^^  8^  ^^  ^  §^  ^  ^ 


ingh'  perfect.  The  course  they  took  is 
sketched  m  the  accompanying  dia- 
gram. I  followed  the  progress  of  the 
work  in  mute  wonder.  Yes,  I  thought 
I  discerned  an  underlying  purpose.  The 
ants  did  not  choose  the  easiest  way, 
nor  did  they  wander  about  aimlessly. 
Quite  the  contrary.  They  heaved  and 
tugged  with  a  will,  steering  straight 
ahead  for  their  destination  despite  ob- 
stacles and  depressions.  As  the  dia- 
gram shows,  the  trail  followed  was  the 
shortest  and  most  direct,  although  not 
the  easiest. 

Other  ants  scurried  up  and  down  the 
wall.  Most,  of  them  paid  little  or  no 
heed  to  the  extraordinary  labors  of 
their  neighbors.  But  now  and  then 
one  of  the  wayfarers  approached,  and 
upon  finding  a  vacant  place  somewhere 
on  the  edge  of  the  cake,  took  hold  and 
thereby  incorporated  itself  into  the 
gang.  Thus  the  numbers  swelled,  each 
addition  resulting  in  augmented  eft'ec- 
tiveness. 

The  aft'air  sailed  along  smoothlv 
enough  until  a  corner  of  the  ceiling 
was  reached.  Here  is  an  aperture  due 
to  imperfect  joining  of  the  ceiling  with 
the  wall.  Through  this  the  ants  came 
into  the  house,  indicating  the  presence 
of  a  nest  somewhere  beyond,  and  here 
they  dragged  their  precious  burden. 
The  diameter  of  the  cake  was  easilv 
twice  or  perhaps  three  times  the  width 
of  the  crack.  My  ants  addressed  them- 
selves to  the  impossible  task  of  pulling 
the  cake  through  it.  Retracing  their 
steps  a  little,  they  crossed  the  mouth 
of  the  aperture,  crept  along  one  of  its 
lips,  then  along  the  other,  entered  the 
crevice  pulling  the  cake  after  them,  or 
remained  outside  pushing  the  cake  be- 
fore them — all  to  no  avail.  For  three 
hours  the  ants  strove  to  deposit  the 
cake  in  the  aj)erture.  I  made  observa- 
tions at  frequent  intervals  but  the  sit- 
uation remained  unchanged.    The  jiiece 


394 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


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wen 

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THE  IXTEREST  IX  IX SECTS 


395 


of  cake  remained  as  large  as  ever,  and 
the  ants  seemed  as  helpless  as  ever, 
though  their  labors  were  not  a  whit  re- 
laxed. 

A  child  asked,  "Whv  don't  they 
break  it  and  take  it  in  piecemeal?"  Ah, 
that  question  touches  the  crux  of  the 
problem.  It  marks  the  fork  in  the  road, 
one  prong  leading  to  human  behavior, 
the  other  to  ant  behavior.  To  carr} 
the  cake  from  the  floor  to  the  aperture 
was  a  great  achievement  requiring  pro- 
longed co-operative  effort.  But  to  get 
it  beyond  this  called  for  a  big  dose  of 
adaptive  intelligence.  Here  was  a 
brand  new  situation  which  had  to  1-e 
luet  in  a  brand  new  way.  It  was  evi- 
dentally  necessary  to  reduce  the  cake 
to  smaller  units,  small  enough  to  per- 
mit their  going  through  the  narrow 
opening.  A  group  of  men  would  have 
gone  right  after  this.  But  ant  intel- 
ligence could  not  rise  to  the  emer- 
gency. They  knew  only  to  be  busy  as 
ants,  to  imitate  their  more  alert  com- 
rades, to  work  together,  to  drag  and 
push,  to  try  again,  and  over  and  over 
again. 

I  made  my  last  observation  at  about 
ten  o'clock.  I  had  been  out  of  the 
room  for  half  an  hour.  Returning  I 
turned  on  a  light  and  mounted  my  ob- 
servatory, a  wooden  box  on  a  chair.  I 
was  not  at  attention  more  than  two  or 
three  seconds  when  the  ants  loosened 
their  hold  and  the  cake  toppled  to  the 
floor.  Poor  little  creatures,  to  lose  all 
after  so  much  toil !  Was  it  the  sudden 
change  of  light,  my  breath,  or  both 
that  induced  them  to  drop  their  load? 
Did  fatigue  have  anything  to  do  with 
it?  My  impression  is  that  I  came  too 
near  and  that  they  were  suddenly 
alarmed  on  becoming  aware  of  my 
breath.  I  permitted  the  cake  to  re- 
main where  it  had  fallen  on  the  floor. 
The  following  morning  it  had  disap- 
peared. 

At  one  time  or  another  who  has  not 
watched  the  ceaseless,  tireless  labors 
of  ants?  And  as  he  watched  who  has 
not  marvelled  at  their  feverish  tasks 
performed  almost  always  in  comrade- 
ship ?  And  as  he  marvelled  who  has 
not  been  tempted  to  explore  the  crypts 
of  the  animal  mind?  And  as  he  ex- 
plored, who  has  not  asked  questions 
which  no  biologist,  no  psychologist,  no 
philosopher  could  answer  certainly? 
The  community  life  of  ants,  their  end- 
less    toiling,     the     division     of     labor 


among  their  fixed  castes,  and  their  cos- 
mopolitan distribution,  are  all  so  sug- 
gestive of  human  society  that  their  ap- 
peal to  men's  imagination  is  well  nigh 
universal.  Zoologist  and  layman, 
adult  and  child,  are  struck  by  many 
analogies  with  human  life ;  all  are 
charmed  and  interested  though  the 
a\enuc  of  approach  is  different  in  each 
case. 

While  we  should  avoid  sinning  with 
earlier  observers  in  "humanizing  the 
brute,"  (as  Wasmann,  eniinent  ento- 
mologist and  Jesuit  priest,  happily 
phrases  it)  we  must  also  avoid  the 
opposite  temptation  to  regard  animals, 
even  the  most  primitive  ones,  as  mere 
chemicophysical  automatons,  capable 
of  making  only  stereotyped  "reactions" 
to  outside  contacts- — much  as  a  self- 
vending  machine  drops  you  a  packet 
of  gum,  chocolate,  or  peanuts,  depend- 
ing on  the  slot  chosen  to  insert  the 
coin.  This  assumption  is  the  outcome 
of  a  highly  perfected  laboratory  tech- 
nique, admirable  in  itself  and  in  its  re- 
sults, but  at  best  capable  of  getting 
only  half  the  story.  Abundant  field 
study,  that  is,  an  examination  of  nature 
under  natural  conditions,  should  go 
hand  in  hand  with  experimentation,  if 
we  are  to  get  anything  like  a  fairlv 
representative  likeness  of  the  animal 
mind.  And  still  another  instrument, 
often  scorned  by  professional  "behav- 
iorists,"  and  yet  as  fruitful  and  legitimate 
(if  not  as  mathematically  perfect)  a 
means  of  canvassing  the  truth,  is  the 
use  in  scientific  interpretation,  of  the 
humanly  human  qualities  of  sympathy 
and  imagination. 

By  way  of  definition,  it  is  enough  for 
the  needs  of  this  article,  to  say  that  in- 
telligence is  ability  to  profit  by  person- 
al experience  and  is  brought  into  play 
for  purely  personal  ends  ;  while  instinct 
is  rooted  in  racial  experience  and  is 
brought  into  play  for  racial  ends. 
The  daily  life  of  ants  is  largely 
a  chain  of  instinctive  releases.  Now 
and  then,  however,  we  run  into 
something  in  their  behavior  which 
even  the  most  skeptical  must  regard 
as  intelligence.  Indeed,  this  is  a  good 
place  to  review  some  of  the  evidence 
which  supports  this  view. 

Forel  tells  us  that  an  ant  may  go  far 
afield  from  its  ruined  nest.  Chancing 
on  a  suitable  spot  for  a  new  home,  it 
will  return  and  deport  a  fellow  worker 
to  the  favored  place.     These  two  may 


396 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


return   for  a   second   couplet,   and   ere  its  fellow  worker,  it  must  have  retain 

f3i  ^   Tf^'T   ^'^^'^^^   ^^"^^^'-  ^^  «°"^^  ^«rt  of  mental  image  of  the" 

Forel  concludes  that  when     the     first  place  to  which  it  was  going^   Likewise 

scoutmg  ant  undertook  the  carriage  of  slave-making  ants  wiUmfke  a  second 


•S:  AVE-MAKING    ANTS    WILL    MAKE    A    SECOND    ATTACK    ON    A    PILLAGED    NEST    IF    IT 
CONTAINS   MORE   OF  THE   COVETED  YOUNG." 


THE  INTEREST  IX  IX SECTS 


397 


attack  on  a  pillaged  nest  if  it  contains 
more  of  the  coveted  younti'.  but  if  all 
the  doomed  slaves  had  been  scooped 
up  at  the  first  onslaught,  they  will  not 
go  on  the  warpath  again.  That  author 
demonstrated  that  sight  and  smell  had 
nothing  to  do  wMth  attracting  the  war- 
riors over  the  long  distance  separating 
them  from  the  subjugated  nest ;  so  it 
must  be  due  to  memory  of  the  remain- 
ing pupae.  Wasmann  discovered  that 
when  the  pilfered  pupae  matured  and 
became  accustomed  to  their  masters, 
they  showed  a  pronounced  hostility  to 
their  real  brothers  and  sisters,  if  per- 
chance these  blood  relations  were  en- 
countered in  the  field.  Friend  ?nd  foe 
are  attracted  by  odors  which  are 
learned  by  experience.  It  is  not  a  here- 
ditary or  instinctive  matter. 

Further,  such  leading  specialists  as 
Forel.  Wasmann,  AMieeler,  and  AIc- 
Cook,  recognizes  a  system  of  communi- 
cation among  ants.  This  "language"  is 
spoken  without  education  in  any  sense 
of  the  word.  \'ariotis  signs  and  sig- 
nals are  employed,  such  as  postures, 
movements,  and  stridulation.  Does 
anyone  doubt  that  communication  fa- 
cilitates co-operation  ?  Every  mass-ac- 
tivity is  started  by  a  wide-awake  in- 
dividual. Nearby  ants  catch  the  bustle 
and  imitate.  Thus  the  job  becomes 
contageous  spreading  like  a  conflagra- 
tion in  all  directions,  and  ere  long  the 
entire  community  is  at  it.  Apparent 
conflicts  are  due  to  simultaneous  exer- 
tion of  leadership  in  several  directions. 
But  these  differences  are  trivial  and 
ephemeral,  being  rapidly  smoothed 
out.  The  work  proceeds  as  "in  a  state 
of  anarchistic  socialism,  each  individ- 
ual fulfilling  the  demands  of  social  life 
without  guide,  overseer,  or  ruler." 

Writings  on  animal  behavior  fall  un- 
der tw^o  heads :  professional  and  ama- 
teur. As  a  class  the  former  are  inclined 
to  be  conservative,  attributing  no  men- 
tal power  to  an  animal  unless  it  can 
be  certainly  demonstrated.  Amateur 
observations  swing  to  the  opposite  ex- 
treme, the  ultra-anthropomorphic  view. 
They  fancy  the  inter-play  of  human- 
like emotions,  passions,  ideas,  wills 
among  animals.  More  than  that,  lack- 
ing the  instrument  of  intelligent  in- 
terpretation which  comes  from  Ion"- 
continued  study,  thev  deduce  from 
isolated  observations  un  warranter! 
proofs   of   sagacity,   even   of   prophetir 


insight.  Perhaps  here  as  in  most  dif- 
ferences of  opinion,  a  conciliatory 
course  which  nevertheless  skirts  the 
camp  of  expert  judgment  comes  near- 
est the  truth. 


The    Moth    Market    Exaggerated. 

The  responsibility  of  authors  to  their 
readers  is  illustrated  in  many  ways. 
One  illustration  is  afforded  by  the  ex- 
perience of  the  director  of  the  Ameri- 
can Museum  of  Natural  History,  which 
in  the  last  few  months  has  received 
many  pathetic  letters  coming  from  all 
parts  of  the  country,  asking  how  the 
writers  can  sell  moths  and  so  get 
money  to  accomplish  some  desired 
object.  One  girl  in  a  backwoods  ham- 
let of  Arkansas  writes :  "Please  rite  me 
how  much  you  pay  for  moths.  I  want 
to  make  money  to  go  to  school."  How 
did  the  idea  of  selling  moths  to  the 
Museum  occur  to  her?  Professor  Lutz 
explains :  "In  'The  Girl  of  the  Limber- 
lost,'  written  by  Gene  Stratton-Porter, 
we  are  told  how  a  young  girl  with  a 
strongly  developed  love  of  nature  is 
able  to  make  money  enough  to  pay  for 
her  education  and  provide  herself  with 
the  necessaries  of  life  by  hunting  rare 
specimens  of  moths,  which  she  sells  to 
a  dealer  who  supplies  museums  and 
collectors.  Soon  after  the  book  made 
its  appearance  letters  like  this  began  to 
come  in, — only  a  few  at  first,  but  the 
number  increased  steadily.  One  pa- 
thetic letter  was  received  from  a  wom- 
an who  hoped  she  could  sell  enough 
rare  moths  to  go  to  Denver  to  be  cured 
of  tuberculosis.  So  you  see  there  is  a 
tragic  as  well  as  an  amusing  side  to  all 
this  correspondence.  The  author  of 
'The  Girl  of  the  Limberlost'  sold  El- 
nora's  moths  for  four  times  what  a 
wholesale  dealer  would  pay  even  for 
perfect  specimens.  But  hundreds  of 
readers  of  the  novel  evidently  have  re- 
garded her  story  in  the  sense  of  a  re- 
port on  the  market  for  moths,  and  the 
letters  still  keep  coming  in." — The 
Writer. 


The  blue  crab  of  our  .\tlantic  coast  be- 
comes mature  at  three  years  and  after 
that  nsuall}-  ceases  to  grow  or  moult. 
Hefore  that  time,  the  rate  of  growth  and 
the  interval  between  moults  depend  on 
the  food  supply. 


398 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


The  Heavens  in  May. 

BY  PROFESSOR  ERIC  DOOLlTTLE  OE  THE 
UNIVERSITY  OE  PENNSYLVANIA. 

The  most  conspicuous  of  our  south- 
ern constellations  now  in  the  heavens 
is  the  beautiful  Leo,  now  only  a  little 
way  past  the  meridian  and  very  high 
up  in  the  south.  The  reader  will  have 
no  difficulty  in  tracing  out  this  beauti- 
ful star  group,  especially  as  no  other 


stars  form  an  outline  even  faintly  sug- 
gesting the  object  for  which  they  are 
named. 

***** 

The  May  Stars. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  month  the 
planet  Mars  is  just  without  the  blade 
of  the  Sickle,  but  as  the  days  go  by  this 
deeply  reddish  planet  may  easily  be 
seen  to  be  quite  rapidly  moving  east- 


^OUTH 

FiRure  1.     The  Constellations  at  9  P.  M..  May   1.      (H  facing  south   hold  the  map 
upright.     If  facing  east,  hold  East  below.     If  facing  west  hold  West  below.     If  facing 
north  hold  the  map  inverted). 


conspicuous  stars  are  near  it.  Its  first 
six  stars  form  a  very  perfect  outline 
of  a  Sickle ;  this  portion  forms  the  head 
and  forepart  of  the  Lion,  the  end  of 
the  tail  being  at  A,  Figure  i.  This  is 
one    of   the    few    constellations    whose 


ward,  so  that  by  May  20  it  apparently 
forms  an  additional  star  to  even  more 
clearly  mark  out  the  handle,  and  on 
May  24  it  will  pass  north  of  the  bright 
star  Regulus,  at  B.  The  two  bright 
objects  will   then   form   an   interesting 


TO  KNOW  THE  STARRY  HEWENS 


399 


figure  as  they  are  seen  shining  together 
in  the  field  of  a  small  telescope. 

Having  become  familiar  with  the  im- 
portant Leo,  the  observer  should  next 
turn  farther  eastward  and  trace  the 
outlines  of  the  very  interesting  sum- 
mer group,  Virgo,  w^hich  extends  from 
Leo  almost  all  the  way  to  the  Scorpion, 
this  last  group  is  the  brightest  and  most 
striking  of  all  the  summer  constella- 
tions. 

■  The  groups,  Leo  and  Virgo,  are  both 
if  immense  antiquity.  Some  astrono- 
mers believe  that  they  were  thus  named 
at  least  fifteen  thousand  years  ago 
when  the  Vernal  Equinox  was  at  V, 
Figure  t,  and  when  as  the  sun  passed 
through  this  region  the  Egyptian  har- 
vest occurred.  Possibly  the  well- 
known  Sphinx,  which  represents  the 
Virgin's  head  on  the  Lion's  body,  com- 
memorates the  life-giving,  annual  in- 
undation of  the  Nile,  which  occirs 
while  the  sun  is  passing  through,  first, 
the  Lion,  afterward,  Virgo. 

Virgo  has  been  represented  from  the 
earliest  times  as  a  maiden  bearing  in 
her  left  hand  a  Spike  of  wheat  (marked 
by  the  blue  Spica  at  C,  Eigure  i)  while 
on  some  of  the  very  earliest  zodiacs 
which  have  been  preserved  she  holds 
in  her  right  hand  a  distaff,  formed  of 
the  beautiful  filmy  cloud  of  stars  at  D. 
known  to  us  as  the  separate  constella- 
tion of  the  Maiden's  Hair. 

The  sun  passes  through  Leo  during 
August  and  early  September  and  thus 
both  groups,  the  Sickle  and  the  Wheat- 
bearing  Maiden,  are  very  intimately 
associated  with  our  harvest  days.  But 
Virgo  alone  is  the  reigning  group  of 
the  late  summer  days : 

"Virgin,  august!  come  in  thy  regal  state 
With  soft  majestic  grace  and  brow  serene: 
Though  the  fierce  Lion's  reign  is  overpast. 
The  summer's  heat  is  all  thine  own  as  yet, 
And  all  untouched  thy  robe  of  living  green 
By  the  rude  fingers  of  the  northern  blast." 

The  legends  connected  with  our 
star  figures  are  usually  interesting  and 
often  very  beautiful.  They  also  help 
us  to  realize  how,  for  so  very  many 
centuries,  men  have  looked  upon  and 
thought  about  the  same  beautiful  con- 
stellations which  shine  in  our  heavens 
today  Thus  in  early  Greek  mythology 
Virgo  was  also  a  maiden  who  hanged 
herself  in  grief  at  the  death  of  her 
father  and  who  was  placed  in  the  sky 
with  Bootes  and  Procyon  as  attendants. 


The  figure  is  the  oldest  purely  allegori- 
cal representation  of  innocence  and 
virtue. 

And  when  the  observer  has  traced 
out  the  very  long  and  winding  Water 
Snake  (now  in  its  best  position  for 
observation  of  the  entire  year)  and  the 
two  little  constellations  of  the  Cup  and 
the  Crow  above  it,  he  is  reminded  of 
the  legend  of  how  the  blackbird  was 
sent  for  a  cup  of  water    by     Phoebus 


Figure  2.  The  region  about  Virgo.  Each  star 
mnrked  T)  is  a  double  star,  wliile  earh  star  marked  V 
is  a  variable.  N  indicates  a  nebuln  and  S  a  star 
cluster.  Many  of  these  are  beautiful  objects  in  the 
telescope. 


Apollo  and  returned  after  a  long  time 
with  only  a  water  snake  in  his  mouth 
and  attempted  to  deceive  the  god  by 
false  excuses.  He  was  therefore  con- 
demned to  remain  always  in  the  sky 
with  a  snake  and  an  empty  cup  near-by 
as  evidence  of  his  guilt.  Hydra,  how- 
ever, in  far  earlier  times  symbolized 
the  winding  courses  of  the  moon,  and 
on  the  Euphrates,  three  thousand  years 
ago,  it  was  identified  with  the  source 
of  the  Eountains  of  the  Great  Deep. 

^  ^  ^  ^  ^ 

Learning  the  Constellations. 

Above  Leo  and  Virgo,  the  reader 
will  have  but  very  little  difificulty  in 
tracing  out  the  Great  Bear,  which  now 
rides  in  the  highest  point  of  the  heav- 
ens. The  head  and  shoulders  are  at  F, 
three  of  the  paws  are  at  E,  and  the 
long  tail  extends  to  D.  Below  this  are 
the  well-marked  groups  of  Corona, 
Bootes  and  Herculis. 

To  trace  out  and  become  entirely 
familiar  with  these  few  constellations 
will  take  the  observer  but  a  short  while 
on  any  pleasant,  moonless.  May  even- 
ing. And  having  done  this,  he  will 
have  learned  nearly  half  the  area  of 
the  visible  spring  sky.  To  become 
familiar  with  all  of  the  brighter  stars 
is,  in   fact,   far  less  difficult     than      is 


4-00 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


thought  by  most  people,  two  or  three 
evenings'  observation  is  all  that  is  re- 
quired, and  this  pleasurable  study 
(aside  from  being  most  interesting  and 
profitable  in  itself)  is  a  most  wise  and 


Figure  3.  AppearRiice  of  the  planet  Venus  when 
nearly  between  tVie  F.arth  and  Sun.  The  great  pro- 
longation of  the  horns  and  the  very  irregular  ter- 
mination show  clearly  that  Venus  has  a  danse  atmos- 
phere. The  dim  lig'ht  on  the  ball  of  the  planet  is 
probably   of  an   auroral   nature. 

preliminary  preparation  for  a  more  de- 
tailed exploration  of  the  heavens  with 
a  small  telescope. 

The  Planets  in  May. 

Mercury  enters  the  evening  sky  on 
May  3,  and  on  May  12  it  reaches  its 
greatest  distance  east  of  the  sun.  For 
a  few  days  before  and  after  this  date 
it  may  easily  be  detected  shining  in 
the  twilight  glow  for  nearly  two  hours 
after  sunset.  It  should  be  looked  for 
in  the  northwest  only  a  short  distance 
above  a  point  of  the  horizon  which  is  a 
little  farther  toward  the  north  than  the 
point  at  which  the  sun  was  seen  to  set. 

In  the  telescope  it  will  be  seen  to  be 
a  beautiful  little  brightly  shining  world, 
its  shape  the  same  as  that  of  the  moon 
when  half  full.  Having  found  it  while 
it  is  in  this  most  favorable  position, 
the  observer  can  follow  it  for  several 
days  and  see  it  rapidly  changing  into 
a  narrow  crescent  as  it  draws  nearer 
the  sun's  rays.  It  will  finally  withdraw 
from  the  evening  sky  on  June  3.    . 

Venus  is  by  far  the  brightest  and 
most  striking  object  now  in  the 
heavens.  No  one  who  turns  toward 
the  western  sky  in  the  early  evening 
can  fail  to  have  his  attention  arrested 
by  this  exceedingly  brilliant  evening 
star.  On  May  i,  it  will  be  seen  to  oc- 
cupy the  position  H,  Figure  i,  a  little 


to  the  east  of  the  horns  on  the  Bull,  but 
as  the  weeks  go  by  it  will  move  rapidly 
eastward,  almost  crossing  Gemini,  un- 
til by  May  31  it  will  attain  the  position 
K.  This  eastward  motion,  in  which 
the  planet  has  continued  for  so  many 
months,  will,  however,  soon  cease.  On 
June  II  the  planet  will  reach  the  posi- 
tion M,  and  will  then  begin  to  run 
rapidly  toward  the  west.  It  will  finally 
pass  to  the  right  of  the  sun  and  leave 
the  evening  sky  on  July  3. 

At  present  the  planet  is  wonderfully 
brilliant  and  so  high  in  the  heavens 
that  it  sets  far  in  the  northwest  so  late 
as  seven  hours  after  sunset.  It  attains 
its  greatest  brilliance  on  May  27,  at 
which  time  it  will  shine  with  no  less 
than  one  hundred  and  twenty  times 
the  brightness  of  a  first  magnitude  star. 

No  observer  who  possesses  a  small 
telescope  should  fail  to  study  Venus 
from  time  to  time  during  the  present 
month.  He  will  see  its  shape  change 
rapidly  to  that  of  a  narrow  crescent, 
as  more  and  more  of  the  right  side  of 
the  planet  is  turned  toward  us,  and  he 
may  even  at  times  detect  the  faint  il- 
luminations sometimes  seen  on  this 
darkened  hemisphere  and  which  are 
probably  caused  by  auroras  in  the  night 
skies  of  our  Sister  World.  He  will  al- 
so see  that  the  line  of  division  between 
the  dark  and  the  sunlit  part  of  the 
planet  is  by  no  means  a  sharp  line,  but 
that  it  fades  gradually  in  some  places 
and  is  irregular  in  others.  This  is  the 
twilight  on  Venus,  and  tells  us  clearly 
that  this  world  is  surrounded  by  a 
heavy  atmosphere. 

Venus  in  its  eastward  motion  will 
pass  Saturn  on  the  forenoon  of  May 
24 ;  it  will  again  pass  Saturn — this  time 
during  its  westward  motion — on  June 
22.  The  approach  of  the  two  planets 
will  be  much  closer  at  the  latter  con- 
junction than  at  the  former  one. 

Mars  is  moving  eastward  into  Leo 
and  is  still  a  conspicuous  object  in 
the  heavens,  though  its  distance  away 
is  now  so  great  that  it  is  not  a  very 
satisfactory  object  in  the  telescope. 

Jupiter  is  in  the  morning  sky,  rising 
I  hr.  10  min.  before  the  sun  on  May  i, 
and  2  hrs.  30  min.  before  sunrise  on 
May  31.  It  has  not  yet,  however,  suf- 
ficiently emerged  from  the  sun's  rays 
to  be  in  very  favorable  position  for  ob- 
servation. 

Saturn  is  near  the  middle  of  the  con- 
stellation    Gemini,      sufficiently     high 


TO  KNOW  THE  STARRY  HEAVENS 


401 


above  the  ground  to  be  very  well  view- 
ed in  the  early  evening.  The  rings  are 
well  opened  out,  and  these  with  its 
brighter  moons  make  it  one  of  the 
most  interesting  of  all  objects  in  the 
telescope.  This  is  the  last  month  of 
the  present  year,  however,  during 
which  Saturn  can  be  satisfactorily  ob- 
served in  the  early  evening. 


An   Open   Letter  to  Mr.  Andrew 
Carnegie. 

I  have  noted  with  much  pleasure  your 
interesting  article  in  the  March  number 
■of  the  "Woman's  Home  Companion"  in 
which  you  say : 

"What  are  among  the  best  practical 
uses  to  which  wealth  may  be  put?  Per- 
haps the  most  important  of  all  is  the 
founding  of  great  universities.  In  con- 
nection with  them  should  be  observatories 
completely  equipped  for  the  study  of 
astronomy,  in  order  to  carry  further  our 
knowledge  of  the  universe  and  of  our 
relation  to  it  here  upon  earth-  But  as 
the  need  for  establishing  new  institutions 
of  universal  learning  perhaps  no  longer 
exists  in  this  country,  great  good  can  be 
accomplished  by  adding  to  and  extending 
"the  facilities  of  those  already  in  exist- 
ence." 

More  universities  are  undoubtedlv 
needed  to  extend  a  knowledge  of  the 
things  that  are  already  known,  but  great 
observatories  in  connection  with  great 
universities  will  not  accomplish  that  ob- 
ject- The  university  may  increase  and 
make  knowledge  popular,  but  the  work 
of  great  observatories  is  to  increase  the 
sum  of  human  knowledge  of  the  heavens. 
A  greater  number  of  astronomical  obser- 
vatories in  connection  with  a  greater 
number  of  universities  would  be  a  jux- 
taposition of  incongruous  concepts,  be- 
cause the  university  teaches  while  the 
great  observatory  accumulates-  You 
presumably  have  in  mind  a  desire,  per- 
haps the  intention,  to  disseminate  a 
knowledge  of  astronomical  realms.  There 
may  be  need  of  one  great  observatory  in 
the  East  for  the  accumulating  of  more 
astronomical  knowledge,  but  it  is  doubt- 
ful. What  are  really  needed  are  less 
rigid  financial  facilities  for  the  observa- 
tories that  are  already  established ;  if 
that  were  accomplished  the  accumulation 
of  a  knowledge  of  facts  astronomical 
would  take  care  of  itself- 

But  to  disseminate  knowledge  an  en- 
tirely  different   type   of   observatory    is 


r.eeded,  a  large  number  of  moderate 
sized  observatories,  so  that  one  might  be 
in  every  town  and  city  of  the  United 
States.  Here  at  Sound  Beach,  a  small 
community  but  with  easy  access  from  the 
city  of  Stamford  and  the  Borough  of 
Greenwich,  we  have  recently  completed 
an  observatory  costing  about  $1,300.  This 
will  do  fairly  well  for  this  community, 
but  the  ideal  observatory  would  be  one 
that  should  cost  some  $6,000  or  $7,000, 
])0ssibly,  in  larger  communities,  $10,000- 
i  should  not  advise  the  town  to  go  much 
beyond  that,  but  I  would  put  an  enthusi- 
astic man  in  charge  and  have  him  devote 
all  his  time  to  the  task  of  showing  the 
public  what  has  already  been  discovered. 
He  should  have  a  lecture  hall,  and  at 
least  one  assistant,  so  that  when  he  is 
talking  to  visitors,  and  using  lantern 
slides,  he  should  have  some  one  to  mani- 
pulate the  telescope.  In  smaller  places 
the  astronomer  would  probably  not  need 
an  assistant.  Let  me  suggest  that  the 
grandest  and  greatest  thing  that  you 
could  do  in  the  most  uplifting  of  sciences 
in  the  disseminating  of  knowledge  among 
humanity  would  be  to  establish  a  series  of 
such  observatories,  and  to  provide  for 
their  maintenance  for,  say,  five  years. 
Erect  an  observatory  in  each  of  ten 
places.  This  would  cost  as  a  total  about 
$50,000  for  establishing,  and  perhaps 
$12,000  a  year  for  maintenance,  or  for  five 
years  $50,000  to  establish  and  $60,000  to 
maintain.  Could  you  invest  $110,000  to 
better  advantage  ?  The  plan  would  prove 
practical,  and,  I  am  sure,  you  would  con- 
sider it  worth  while  to  establish  a  series 
of  such  observatories  near  to  leading  cen- 
ters, and  to  maintain  them  in  perpetuity, 
or  as  you  do  with  your  famous  libraries, 
arrange  for  the  local  community  to  pro- 
vide a  part  or  even  all  of  the  maintenance. 
There  are,  I  believe,  many  places  in  which 
the  observatory  would  be  carried  on  local- 
Iv  if  once  established,  but  I  am  sure  that 
it  would  be  dangerous  to  establish  such 
in  connection  with  any  college  or  any 
high  school-  The  tendency  would  then 
be  to  use  it  merely  for  class  work.  .\s  the 
teaching  is  now  conducted  in  many  of 
these  places,  that  would  take  the  heart 
out  of  the  whole  thing,  and  the  pupils 
would  soon  detest  the  tiresome  array  of 
facts  and  figures- 
Yon  have  accomplished  great  and  won- 
derful results  in  establishing  public  libra- 
ries, but  you  never  could  have  secured 
those  results  if  you  had  established  the 
libraries  in  connection  with  universities. 


4-02 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


Ml^.  AND  MRS.  ANDREW  CARNEGIE 

fPhotograph  bv  Paul  Thompson"). 
Here    is    a    thoroughly    efficient    and    successful   business    man    who    places    an    astronomical    observatory 
only  second  in  the  list  of  "the  best  practical  uses  to  which  wealth  may  be  put.'' 


oolle.g'es,  or  even  with  high  schools.  Your 
hbraries  stand  alone  as  the  great  educa- 
tional factors  in  great  communities.  Es- 
tablish observatories  on  exactly  the  same 
principles  and  you  will  achieve  a  similar 
success- 

I  note  with  much  pleasure  your  asser- 
tion that  your  interest  in  libraries  was 
awakened  in  you,  because,  as  a  boy  in 


Pittsburgh,   you   found   it   so   difficult   to 
gain  access  to  books. 

Although  you  consider  the  establishing 
of  popular  observatories  as  more  impor- 
tant than  that  of  libraries,  you  tell  us  that 
you  have  devoted  your  efforts  to  the 
libraries  because  of  your  own  personal 
experience  of  the  need.  Please  make  a 
few  inquiries  to  ascertain  the  astronomical 


TO  KNOW  THE  STARRY  HEAVENS 


403 


need.  You  will  learn  that  in  any  commu- 
nity perhaps  only  one  person  in  a  thousand 
has  ever  looked  through  a  telescope,  that 
many  people  are  craving  a  glimpse  of  the 
worlds  in  distant  space.  In  no  city  in  the 
country,  except  perhaps  in  Pittsburgh, 
can  you  find  half  a  dozen  boys  or  girls 
who  have  ever  seen  the  inspiring  planet, 
Saturn,  or  the  wonderful  Nebula  of 
Orion. 

Astronomy  has  suffered  much  at  the 
hands  of  its  friends,  but  judging  from  the 
rapidly  increasing  circulation  of  such 
publications  as  "The  Monthly  Evening 
Sky  Map"  and  The  Guide  to  Nature^ 
the  science  in  popular  estimation  is  com- 
ing into  her  own.  As  you  put  astronomy 
second  in  your  list  of  educational  philan- 
thropy, I  should  feel  almost  sure  that  you 
hail  from  Pittsburgh,  although  I  might 
not  know  the  fact.  Out  there  astronomy 
seems  to  be  in  the  air-  Recently  the 
Allegheny  Obesrvatory  was  established 
by  popular  subscription  at  a  cost  of  more 
than  $300,000,  and  that  too  within  a  very 
few  weeks  after  Mr.  John  A.  Brashear 
started  the  subscription  paper.  The 
largest  gift,  as  I  recall  it  was  $62,500- 
with  others  smaller,  but  including  a  large 
number  of  what  may  be  called  really  pop- 
ular contributions  at  $5.00  each-  A 
curious  anomaly,  isn't  it,  my  dear  Mr. 
Carnegie,  that  in  a  city  with  an  atmos- 
phere proverbially  smoky,  there  should  be 
so  emphatic  a  manifestation  of  popular 
desire  to  study  the  heavens?  No  other 
place  in  the  United  States  equals  Pitts- 
burgh in  this  particular ;  in  no  other 
place,  I  believe,  has  there  been  so  great 
a  manifestation'  of  popular  interest.  We 
in  the  East  seem  to  be  so  commercialized 
that  such  questions  as  have  come  to  me 
during  the  establishing  of  our  Sound 
Beach  Observatory  seem  quite  in  accord 
with  what  is  in  the  popular  thought- 

"How  will  it  help  young  folks  to  earn 
a  living?" 

"There  is  nothing  practical  in  it." 
"You  will  develop  only  idle  stargazers." 

I  am  glad,  Mr-  Carnegie,  to  know  that 
you  are  coming  to  Connecticut  to  live. 
We  need  you  here.  I  think  you  will  be 
the  only  wealthy  man  in  the  state  or,  in- 
deed, in  all  New  England,  for  that 
matter,  who  would  put  second  in  a  list 
of  public  philanthropy  the  establishing  of 
a  public  astronomical  observatory.  Some 
of  our  wealthy  men.  judging  from  my 
year's  experience  while  soliciting  con- 
tributions for  the  Sound  Beach  Astron- 


omical Observatory,  would  not  fail  to 
leave  astronomy  out  of  the  list-  Alle- 
gheny and  Pittsburgh  raised  $300,000 
within  a  few  weeks-  1  have  raised  $1,300 
at  an  expense  of  an  enormous  amount  of 
time,  advertising.  letter  writing  and  per- 
sistent begging,  working  almost  continu- 
ously for  one  year,  and  at  the  summing 
up  I  find  that  the  gifts  came  all  the  way 
from  Maine  to  California,  but  with  less 
than  half,  or  about  $533.85,  from  the 
State  of  Connecticut. 

The  question  is  often  asked,  "Why  has 
no  great  observatory  ever  been  estab- 
lished in  the  eastern  United  States?" 
Let  such  seekers  after  knowledge  make 
the  attempt  to  establish  even  a  small  ob- 
servatory, and  they  will  understand  why- 
We  need  more  astronomical  interest  here 
in  the  East. 

Come  over  into  Macedonia,  Mr.  Car- 
negie, and  help  us. 


Beauty  for  the  Star  Gazers. 
But  let  us  turn  from  the  sublime  to 
dwell  awhile  on  the  aesthetic  nature  of 
the  celestial  vault.  We  fee!  a  certain 
intrinsic  loneliness  while  beholding 
these  peerless  jewels,  of  a  distinctly  in- 
dividual character.  I  doubt  if  the  sen- 
timents of  the  lover  of  lake,  mountain, 
or  floral  beauty  are  equal  to  those  of 
the  ardent  star  gazer.  To  one  acquain- 
ted w^ith  the  geography  of  the  heavens, 
the  first  magnitude  stars  and  the  more 
impressive  constellations  assume  the 
role  of  old  friends  What  a  sense  of 
security  and  comradeship  it  must  give 
the  sturdy  arctic  explorer  when  his 
way  across  the  frozen  wastes  is  bright- 
ened by  the  familiar  rays  of  Vega  or 
Capella  !  It  is  akin  to  the  light  that 
guided  Leander  when  he  swam  the 
Hellespont. — Henry  Handy  McHenry 
in  "Popular  Astronomy." 


Arcturus — Rising. 
Again  Arcturus  beams! — his  gleaming  light 
Burns  brilliantly  amidst  the  star-lit  night, 
Like  harbinger  in  yonder  eastern  sky 

He  rises  to  proclaim  that  spring  is  nigh: 
When   winter's   snow   still    lies   on    hill    and 
vale, 
And   winds   of   March   first   wander   down 
the  dale, 
Ere  crocus  blooms  or  falls  mild  April's  rain, 
Like  beacon  bright  Arcturus  beams  again. 
— Charles  Nevers  Holmes. 
Newton,  Mass. 

41   Arlington   St. 

— Popular  Astronomy 


404 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


New  Weather  System  Fallacious. 

CHIEF  OF  U.  S.  WEATHER  BUREAU  WARNS 
PUBLIC  AGAINST  LONG-RANGE  WEATHER 
FORECASTS. 

Washington,  D.  C— The  chief  of  the 
U  S.  Weather  Bureau  states  that  in  the 
opinion  of  the  bureau  a  new  system  of 
long-range  weather  forecasting,  which 
has  been  widely  discussed  recently,  was 
quite  fallacious.  The  new  system  is 
said  to  be  based  on  the  spottedness  of 
the  sun  and  rifts  and  shafts  of  solar 
radiation.  In  the  opinion  of  the 
Weather  Bureau  it  belongs  in  the  same 
class  with  other  methods  of  long-range 
weather  forecasting  based  on  lunar, 
planetary,  magnetic,  and  astrological 
considerations.  None  of  these  systems 
it  is  said,  has  any  scientific  value. 

During  the  past  few  years  the 
Weather  Bureau  has  received  full  spec- 
ifications concerning  all  the  essential 
details  of  this  particular  system.  The 
alleged  discovery  is,  therefore,  fully 
known  to  the  Weather  Bureau  and  has 
been  carefully  studied  and  examined 
by  its  scientific  staff.  Moreover,  other 
scientists  of  international  reputation 
now  connected  with  the  strongest  in- 
stitutions of  the  world  engaged  in  as- 
tronomical research,  and  conducting 
investigations  into  solar  and  terrestrial 
physics,  have  also  passed  upon  these 
new  theories.  These  authorities  are  in 
accord  that  the  deductions  and  conclu- 
sions drawn  from  the  solar  conditions 
on  which  the  new  system  is  based  are 
unwarranted. 

When  the  disc  of  the  sun  is  minutely 
examined  with  powerful  telescopes,  or 
when  it  is  photographed  with  the  aid 
of  the  modern  spectroheliograph,  the 
surface  presents  a  characteristic  spot- 
ted appearance  which  undergoes  slight 
changes  from  day  to  day,  and  greater 
changes  with  longer  intervals  of  time, 
depending  upon  the  well-known  rota- 
tion of  the  sun  upon  its  axis  and  the 
periodic  recurrence  of  the  sunspot  max- 
ima and  minima.  These  and  certain 
well-known  related  phenomena  are 
now  put  forward  as  the  basis  of  a  new 
science  which  will  make  possible  fore- 
casts of  the  weather  far  in  advance. 
That  these  features  of  solar  activity, 
however,  actually  should  control  and 
determine  the  daily  changes  and  se- 
quence of  weather  conditions  in  any 
definite  or  direct  and  consequential 
manner,   is   regarded    by   the    Govern- 


ment scientists  as  quite  impossible. 
Solar  phenomena  of  the  kind  described 
do  not  have  any  direct  influence  upon 
the  weather  at  any  particular  time  and 
place,  and  can  not  be  made  the  basis 
of  any  forecasts  whatsoever. 

The  alleged  discovery  is  regarded  as 
only  one  of  a  number  of  similar 
schemes  which  are  continually  being 
put  forward.  In  some  cases  the  advo- 
cates of  these  schemes  assert  that  they 
can  forecast  the  w^eather  for  weeks  or 
months  in  advance,  and  in  others  they 
state  that  they  have  found  means  of 
producing  rain  artificially,  or  prevent- 
ing hail,  and  in  other  ways  inter- 
fering with  and  controlling  at- 
mospheric phenomena.  These  pre- 
tentions meet  with  a  certain  cred- 
ence because  there  are  a  number 
of  people  who  still  cling  to  the  ancient 
belief  in  the  influence  of  the  moon  on 
the  growth  and  development  of  crops, 
and  to  the  idea  that  the  weather  con- 
ditions depend  upon  planetary  and 
astrological  combinations.  In  conse- 
quence the  Weather  Bureau  has  been 
called  upon  from  time  to  time  to  cau- 
tion the  general  public  against  faith 
in  these  so-called  discoveries. 

The  U.  S.  Weather  Bureau  itself  is 
the  authorized  agency  of  the  Govern- 
ment to  collect  meteorological  observa- 
tions and  make  and  issue  weather  fore- 
casts and  warnings.  Every  important 
nation  of  the  world  has  a  similar  or- 
ganization and  all  use  essentially  the 
same  methods.  All  of  these  organiza- 
tions condemn  and  disprove  the  meth- 
ods and  theories  of  those  who  assert 
that  they  are  able  to  predict  the  wea- 
ther for  any  considerable  period  in  ad- 
vance. 


Fair  Nature's  cup  is  full  and  running  o'er, 
A  wealth  of  bursting  bloom  where'er  we 


go; 


When   treasures   such   as   these   are   heaped 
galore. 
Let  us  be  near  to  get  the  overflow. 

— Emma  Peirce. 


The  mountain  streams  of  India  have 
heretofore  had  for  fish  only  the  hardly 
edible  barbel.  Now,  however,  they  are 
being  stocked  with  the  brown  trout. 
These  are  sent  to  the  Punjab  from 
Kashmir  where  they  have  already  been 
introduced.  Rainbow  trout  are,  in  ad- 
dition, being  tried  in  the  warmer  riv- 
ers. 


THE  AGASSIZ  ASSOCIATIOX 


405 


(£ :  *--^... — ••' :  inn:  i  '^ ^^. — •• 

AGASSIZ  ASSOCIATION" 


^ii<ii^<<^^':^<ss.^^^^^ 


^ 


EstabliBhed  1875  incorporated,  Maesacliusetts,  1S9J 


lucorporalKd,  (.ouuectlcut,  1J»1« 


The  Woodcraft  Movement. 

We  extend  hearty  congratulations 
and  best  wishes  to  the  managers  of 
The  Woodcraft  League  Movement  foun- 
ded in  April,  1902,  and  recently  taking 
on  new  life  in  their  new  headquarters 
at  13  West  Twenty-ninth  Street,  New 
York  City.  The  movement  is  prima- 
rily educational  with  outdoor  activities. 
For  its  motto  it  has,  "The  Woods  for 
the  Children — the  Children  for  the 
Woods." 

The  Council  consists  of  many  natur- 
alists aiid  educators,  but  we  surmise 
that  the  chief  work  in  behalf  of  the 
movement  will  be  done  by  Ernest 
Thompson  Seton,  the  well-known  nat- 
uralist, artist  and  writer,  assisted  by 
Philip  D.  Pagans,  his  executive  in 
charge  of  the  New  York  headquarters, 
who  has  had  extended  experience  in 
camps,  especially  in  connection  with 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  work. 

In  one  aspect  of  this  movement.  The 
Agassiz  Association  especially  is  hear- 
tily interested  and  of  it  thoroughly  ap- 
proves :  "It  recognizes  the  beauty  of 
Common  Things." 

The  purpose  of  this  organization  is 
to  show  the  thousand  daily  little  things 
in  the  woods  or  in  the  town  or  in  our- 
selves that  focus  the  interest  of  all  and 
add  to  the  poAver  of  seeing,  living,  mas- 
tering and  enjoying;  ever  remember- 
ing that  manhood  or  womanhood  in  the 
fullest  highest  sense  is  the  first  aim  to 
true  education. 

"To  learn  the  ways  of  the  Woodwise 
for  their  own  sake,  and  the  worth  of 
what  they  oflfer  those  who  hear — the 
understanding  eye,  "the  thinking 
hand,"  the  mind  controlled,  the  body 
trained  and  fortified,  so  that  one's  lot 
wherever  cast,  in  town  or  farm  in  high 
or  low  estate  shall  never  lack  the  chief- 
est  joy  of  life,  the  pleasant  sense  of 
some  small  triumph  every  day." 


The  Four  Lacks. 

1.  Lack  of  simple  pleasures. 

2.  Lack  of  reverence — respect,   man- 

3.  Wastefulness — lack  of  thrift. 

4.  Lack  of  public  responsibility — on 
part  of  individual.  Granting  that 
the  most  important  thing  in  our 
country  is  the  character  of  our 
young. 

How    The    Woodcraft    League    Helps 
Meet  Needs. 

1.  We   aim    to    show   boys    and   girls 

how  to  enjoy  life  without  the  mere 
spending  of  money — joy  of  beauti- 
ful things  in  everyday  life.  To  of- 
fer a  new  kingdom  in  which  every 
one  may  be  a  king  of  some  small 
realm. 

2.  To  help  construct  such  an  attitude 

of  mind  as  to  result  in  respect  and 
reverence  To  inculcate  such  an 
attitude  as  shall  result  in  respect 
and  reverence  for  others.  People 
living  up  to  small  extent  of  capa- 
city— our  job  to  help  realize  pos- 
sibilities— use  of  lung  power. 

3.  To   give   every  young   person   the 

opportunity  to  develop  the  love  of 
outdoor  life,  the  woods,  and  the 
wild  things.  In  developing  this 
love  we  work  for  their  preserva- 
tion— conservation — develop  the 
habit  of  conservation  broadly. 

Remember  that  sentimental  for- 
rester  has  done  as  much  for  con- 
servation as  the  commercial. 

Young  to  be  led  rather  than 
taught — show  the  thing  that  is 
there — for  which  they  are  already 
more  than  hungry. 

4.  By  the  Council  Ring  to  develop  the 

spirit  of  public  responsibility  and 
service. 

Our  Emphasis. 

1.  On  the  summer  camp — the  heart 
is  the  Council  Ring. 

2.  We    keep    families    together — dan- 


4oG 


THE^GUIDE  TO  NATURE 


ger  of  institutionalism — breaking 
up  of  family! — our  work  for  all 
ages — family  interests  and  activi- 
ties. 

3.  In  the  Woodcraft  Work  we  em- 
phasize the  heart  and  mind  as  well 
as  the  body  in  daily  life.  Romance 
— picturesqueness  —  the  poetic 
beauty — histrionic, — the    arts. 

4.  We  insist  on  boys  and  girls  shar- 

ing in  the  discipline  and  govern- 
ment— under  adult  guidance  which 
results  in  everyone  taking  part  as 
subordinate  and  leader  alternately. 
Not  fewer  than  3,000  in  definitely 
Woodcraft  Camps  last  summer. 

The    rubbing    stick    fire    now    used 
country  wide 


For  Universal  Association. 

Lower  Lake,  Lake  County,  California. 
To  the  Editor : 

I  heartily  endorse  the  motto  expressed 
on  page  340  of  the  March  issue  of  The 
Guide  to  Nature  under  the  headline, 
"The  Highest  Ideals,"  in  the  words,  "Live 
and  'help  live  ....  All  the  world  should 
be  an  Association." 

Is  not  this  huge  ball  under  our  feet  one 
great  home  of  Man?  Is  not  our  life  on 
this  cosmical  body  our  true  "state"  (de- 
rived from  the  Latin  "stare,"  which 
means  "to  stand  on")  ? 

Is  there  a  stronger  organization  than 
the  physical  union  of  all  nations  and  races 
of  men  by  the  gravitational  pull  of  one 
and  the  same  planet,  by  the  chemical 
action  of  the  irihaled  oxygen  of  one  and 
the  same  atmosphere,  by  the  dependence 
upon  one  and  the  same  sun  as  the  only 
source  of  human  energy. 

How  artificial  and  superficial  are  all 
those  petty  boundary  lines  and  fences 
that  an  exaggerated  nationalism,  with  a 
one  day's  life,  has  created  in  the  realm  of 
human  feeling,  if  seen  against  the  back- 
ground of  those  powerful  cosmical  con- 
ditions that  have  evolved  in  countless 
millions  of  years  and  will  last  through 
other  millions  of  years. 

Dear  Old  Mother  Earth  seems  to  me 
to  be  our  natural,  God  given  Empirfe  ;  and 
harmony,  justice  and  freedom  for  all  men. 
not  hegemony  or  undue  privileges  for  any 
special  groups  of  men,  appear  as  the  de- 
sirable political  ideals. 

I  can  imagine  no  greater  tragedy  that 
tbe  present  European  War  at  a  time  when 
our  technical  achievements  showed  an 
irresistible  tendencv  to  organize  the  whole 


human  population  of  our  planet  into  one 
great  unit.  Whilst  railroads,  steamships, 
telegraphs,  wireless  communication,  air- 
ships, etc.,  have  practically  changed  our 
earth  into  one  village  with  common  inter- 
ests, the  peoples  living  in  the  dififerent 
houses  of  this  village  have  cherished  in- 
cendiary and  hostile  feelings  for  one 
another,  missing  the  proper  mental 
change  adapted  to  the  changed  technical 
"milieu"  and  thus  becoming  more  and 
more  unfit  for  further  coexistence. 

The  principles  of  the  "survival  of  the 
fittest"  seems  categorically  to  demand  an 
essential  correction  in  modern  nation- 
alism. 

Differentiation  and  harmony  must  wed 
each  other  to  secure  a  happy  life. 

Yours  very  truly, 

L.SciiwiERS. 


Death  of  an  Esteemed  Member. 

Word  reaches  us  of  the  death  of  our 
Member,  Mr.  A.  Ramsay,  15  Lawn 
Crescent,  Kew  Gardens,  Surrey,  Eng- 
land, on  March  3rd.  Mr.  Ramsay  was 
a  Sustaining  Member  of  The  Agassiz 
Association  and  took  active  interest  in 
all  phases  of  nature.  He  was  one  of 
the  many  real  nature  lovers  who  have 
ideally  cooperated  in  the  development 
of  this  Association,  helping  it  to  help 
others  and  being  helped  by  it. 

The  Association  extends  heartfelt 
sympathy  to  the  bereaved  members  of 
the  family. 


A  Candy  Sale  for  The  Agassiz  Asso- 
ciation. 

The  Rogers  School  Chapter  (Stam- 
ford, Connecticut)  of  The  Agassiz  As- 
sociation recently  held  a  candy  sale  to 
obtain  money  with  which  to  buy  a 
frame  for  their  Charter.  This  sale  was 
so  successful  that  two  dollars  and  a 
half  more  than  was  required  for  the 
direct  purposes  of  the  sale  were  obtain- 
ed. That  amount  was  contributed  to 
the  general  work  at  ArcAoiA  in  fur- 
thering the  purposes  of  The  Agassiz 
xA^ssociation. 


Parts  of  China  which  in  the  past  have 
suffered  severely  from  forest  fires  are 
adopting  an  effective  scheme  for  the 
government  reservations.  The  cleared 
fire  lines,  thirty  to  one  hundred  feet  in 
width,  are  let  to  farmers  and  cultivated. 
Thus  the  fire  lines  are  kept  always  bare 
ground  or  green  crops  too  wet  to  burn. 


Full  Plans  and  Specifications  May  be  Obtained  from 
THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE. 
A  Modern  Home 
Attractive  and  Convenient. 


An  Ideal  Home. 

This  suburban  cottage  embodies  all  the 
features  that  make  a  thoroughly  satisfac- 
tory and  pleasing  dwelling.  The  large 
porch  is  especially  enjoyable  during  the 
summer  months. 

The  first  floor  consists  of  a  large  living 
room,  dining  room,  den,  breakfast  room 
and  kitchen.  The  broad  fireplace,  and 
wide  open  staircase  make  the  living  room 
a  charming  room.  Three  bedrooms  and 
bathroom  are  on  the  second  floor. 

An  itemized  list  of  the  cost  is  here 
sriven : 


Excavation 

$IOO 

Stonework 

150 

Brickwork 

100 

Carpenter  work 

400 

Plastering 

200 

Lumber 

425 

Millwork 

350 

Painting  and  Glazing 

200 

Plumbing,  etc. 

225 

Hardware 

85 

Heating 

125 

Range 

40 

Total 


$2,400 


fl   "/J     'r: 


y^^^^ 

^^^^^^/^/A 


X 


THE  GUIDE    TO  NATURE 


Secc'mo  Fuooa 


First    FLOon 


Not  the  Fault  of  the  Bird. 

"You're  a  swindler,"  exclaimed  A'lrs. 
Gobb,  as  she  entered  the  bird  store. 
"You're  worse  than  a  highway  robber. 
You  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  yourself  to 
•cheat  a  poor,  innocent  woman  the  way 
you  did.  That  parrot  I  bought  of  you 
last  week  is  a  fraud.  You  said  it  was  a 
fluent  talker  and  you  charged  me  a  big 
price  for  him  too,  and  that  bird  hasn't 
said  a  single  word  since  I  got  him.  Xot 
•one  word.  Do  you  hear  me  ?  not — one — 
single — word !" 

"Perhaps,"  suggested  the  bird  fancier, 
"you  didn't  give  him  a  chance." — Xeiv 
York  Globe. 


An  Extensive  Planter  of  Peas! 

A  congressman  received  almost  daily 
letters  from  a  constituent  asking  for 
garden  seed,  with  emphasis  on  peas.  The 
demand  for  peas  got  so  heavy  that  the 
congressman  was  moved  to  write  this 
letter : 

"I  am  sending  you  a  half  dozen  more 
packages  of  peas  as  requested.  Say, 
what  are  you  trying  to  do  down  there, 
plant  the  whole  state  in  peas?" 

The  reply  came  a  few  days  later.  It 
read: 

"No,  I'm  not  planting  them,  but  they 
make  bully  soup.  Send  along  some  iuore. 
— New  York  Globe. 


Hepaticas. 

On  the  sunny  hillside  are  they  found, 
Close   above  the   warm  protecting  ground; 
Delicate  and  fragile  baby  blooms, 
Fresh   from   the   Springtime's   busy  looms. 

— Emma   Peirce. 


Sunday  School  Teacher:  "Did  you 
ever  forgive  an  enemy?"  "Tommy  Tuff- 
nut:  "Oncest."  Sunday  School  Teacher : 
"And  what  noble  sentiment  prompted 
you  to  do  it?"  Tommy  Tuff  nut :  "He 
was  bigger  dan  me." — Life. 


Old  Gentleman  :  "Well,  my  boy,  and 
when  does  your  birthday  come?"  Boy 
(who  has  been  cautioned  not  to  fish  for 
presents)  :  "Oh,  it  passed  by  a  long  time 
ago — a  year  next  Saturday." — Melbourne 
Leader. 


Fashion  has  a  stern  decree 

That  jewels  should  at  night  be  worn; 
Nature   laughs   decrees   to   scorn. 

And  wears  her  jewels  in  the  morn! 

— Emma  Peirce. 


An  elderly  church  warden,  in  shaving" 
himself  one  Sunday  before  church  time, 
made  a  slight  cut  with  the  razor  on  the 
extreme  end  of  his  nose.  Quickly  calling 
his  wife,  he  asked  her  if  she  had  any 
court-plaster  in  the  house.  "You  will  find 
some  in  my  sewing  basket,"  she  said.  The 
warden  soon  had  the  cut  covered.  At  the 
church,  in  assisting  with  the  collection, 
he  noticed  every  one  smile  as  he  passed 
the  plate,  and  some  of  the  younger  people 
laughed  outright.  Very  much  annoyed, 
he  asked  a  friend  if  there  was  anything 
wrong  with  his  appearance.  "Well,  I 
should  think  there  is,"  was  the  answer. 
"What  is  that  on  your  nose?"  "Court- 
plaster."  "No,"  said  his  friend,  "It  is  the 
label  of  a  spool  of  cotton.  It  says  'war- 
ranted 200  yards  long.'  " — Pittsburgh 
Chronicle-Telegraph. 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE.— A         DVERTISEMENTS. 


XI 


A  Remedy  Against  Bores. 

The  mayor  of  a  Western  town  hit  upon 
a  novel  scheme  to  rid  himself  of  a  bore 
who  had  pestered  him  for  some  time. 

The  mayor's  doorkeeper  was  a  good- 
natured,  obliging  chap,  and  he  could 
never  find  it  in  his  heart  to  turn  the  bore 
awa}-.  Just  as  sure  as  the  mayor  w^as  in, 
the  bore  was  certain  to  be  admitted.  One 
day  the  mayor  determined  to  end  the 
persecution.  So  he  said  to  his  door- 
keeper : 

"Henry,  do  you  know  why  Smith  con- 
tinues to  come  here  so  regularly?" 

"No,  sir,  I  can't  say  that  I  do." 

"Well,  Henry,  I  don't  mind  telling  you 
in  confidence  that  'he's  after  your  job." 

"From  that  day,"  says  the  mayor,  "I 
saw  no  more  of  the  bore." — The  Youth's 
Companion. 


For  a  five-year-old,  Margie  had  traveled 
a  great  deal.  One  day  her  aunt  remarked. 
"Through  all  her  travels  Margie  seems 
quite  happy  and  contented."  "Yes'm" 
answered  Margie.  "No  matter  where  I 
go  I  always  find  some  dirt  to  play  in." — 
Christian  Register. 


CAMP  CHEQIESSET 

The  Real  Camp  for  Real  Girls 

Near  the  tip  of  Cape  Cod. 

Wood  Lore,  Camp  Craft, 
Photography,  Athletics, 
Swimming,  SaiUng,  Arts 
and  Crafts,  and  Elocution 
Taught  by  Experts. 

Mention  the  Guide  to  Nature 
When  Writing 

Send  for  illustrated  book- 
let. 

WM.  G.  VINAL,  A.  M. 

Rhode  Island  Normal  School 

Providence,  Rhode  Island. 


SPRATT'S  DOG  CAKES 

If 


a  a 


RTHLEiS 


Send  2c  Stamp  for  ''Dog  Culture." 

SPRATTS    PATENT    LIMITED 

Newark,  N.  J.;     San  Francisco;    St.  Louis;    Cleveland;    Montreal 


XII 


THE  GUIDE  TO  NATURE— ADVERTISEMENTS 


CLAIMED  AND   PROVEN 

The  quality  of  Satina, 
backed  solely  by  our 
own  statements,  even 
though  we  should  and 
do  know  its  superior- 
ity, would  carry  little 
weight—  \)ui  when 
An  official  com- 
mittee after  thorough' y  testing  26 
leading  brands  of  interior  wall 
finishes  places  its  endorsement  on 
Satina 

then  our  claim  of  supeiority  becomes  an 
actual  fact  backed  up  by  disinterested  ex- 
pert opinion.  Ordered  and  reordered  for 
use  on  U.  S.  Government  buildings,  dwell- 
ings, schools,  etc. 
Satina  is  a  most  satisfactory  wall 

coating 
It  is  sanitary,  durable  ;   can  be  repeatedly 
washed  and  is  most  economical. 

Send  for  full  information,  color  cards  and 
working  samples 

THE  CHARLESIH.  BROWN  PAINT  CO. 

188-190  Montague  Siree 
Boston        Brooklyn,  N.  Y.       Atlanta 


The  Alvan    Clark 
&  Sons  Corporation 

Cambridj^e,  Mass. 

MAKERS  OF 

Astronomical 

and 

Terrestrial 

Telescopes 

Correspondence  Solicited 


For  "Bird 


Lovers 


BAUSCH  &  LOME  BINOCU- 
LARS give  a  field  of  view  nine  times 
as  great  as  that  of  the  ordinary  glass, 
with  even  illumination  and  clear 
definition  to  the  edges.  The  stereo- 
scopic efifect  enables  one  to  judge  the 
relative  position  of  objects  in  the 
landscape. 

THE  "6-21"  is  the  ideal  bird  glass. 
Its  superior  optical  qualities  give  it 
great  light-gathering  power — just 
what  you  need  in  the  woods  and  on 
cloudy  days.  The  magnification 
(6x)  is  ample,  and  by  reason  of  the 
prism  construction,  the  glass  is 
about  one-third  the  length  of  a  cor- 
responding Galilean  glass.  Because 
of  its  compactness  and  light  weight 
it  can  easily  be  carried  in  the  pocket. 

lyrite   for    Our   In- 


teresting 


Booklet 


Givino-  Full  Details 


and  Prices. 


Bausch  jy  Ipmb  Optical  (5. 

512  ST.  PAUL  STREET      ROCHESTER,  N.\: 


MBI,  WHOI    I  lltHARY 


liiH    nsc    X