Various

“ Grandmother and I built our nest in a grapevine angle, and often in the warm summer evenings the wind would rock our babies to sleep. There was a place not far away, which I know you would find a pleasant home for next summer. It is up on a hill, not far from the lake. There is a house there with one chimney from which the smoke never comes all summer long. In the big yard there are beautiful trees and fragrant flowering shrubs and beds filled with flowers. A lady lives there who is loved by all the birds, for she never frightens them, and every day she feeds them and talks to them. ”

“ We must be more active ourselves. In a large majority of cases we shall have no need to cause arrests, but need only to inform the transgressor of the existence of the law, giving him some useful information of the great good which the birds do, and of the pleasure which may be gained from a study of the living bird, and the purposes of the law will be accomplished. For many times the transgressor is of foreign birth, knowing nothing of the esteem in which we hold the birds. Or else the person is simply thoughtless, or ignorant of the law and its purposes. ”

“ The intelligence and courage exhibited by these dogs among the avalanches and frozen wastes of their mountain homes have given them a place in history and earned for them the title of "The worthiest of them all." ”

“ A law fails to be prohibitive when it receives only indifferent attention from the public for whom it was passed. It is our privilege to so bring to the attention of the people at large their own great interests, which are dependent upon the birds, that their eyes shall be opened to see the great necessity of prompt and united action. The great growth of popular interest in the birds during the past three years is the clearest proof that the time is now ripe for such a campaign of education. ”

“ The Cecropia is our largest and to many persons the best-known moth. Its gigantic size, varying from about 4 to 7 inches in expanse of wings, together with its bright colors, makes it an easily remembered insect. The scientific name of this moth (Samia cecropia) is the first scientific name of an insect that many of us can recall learning. The time of active flight is at night, and thus it is that they are so frequently found in numbers about electric lights to which they have been attracted by the intense light. ”

“ But even this community of interest will not accomplish the purpose for which we set out, even as a law, saying nothing of enforcement. All this is directed against the killing of birds. The law must prohibit the sale of the bird or any part of its plumage for any purpose. Carefully guarded exceptions or privileges might be favorable to those who need material [Pg 222] for strictly scientific study. But it is necessary to go even further than this. We shall not accomplish our purpose until a law is enacted prohibiting the importation of feathers, whether on the skin or separated from it. ”

“ All of these glands secrete a clear sticky fluid which hangs to them in drops like dewdrops, and since these dewdrops are not dispelled by the sun the plants have been called the sun-dews. If a small insect, in flying or creeping across the plant, happens to touch one of the sticky drops it becomes entangled, and then there follows a curious scene. If the insect is small, the single bristle-like hair, in whose sticky drop it has become entangled, will begin to bend inwards and will finally press the captured insect down upon the body of the leaf where the short glandular hairs receive it. ”

“ The Owls in most countries of both the New World as well as the Old are regarded as birds of ill omen and messengers of woe, and are protected from harm by some uncivilized and superstitious peoples, some believing that spirits of the wicked reside in their bodies. By others they have been called "Devil's Birds." The belief of some unlearned people in the close relationship of the Owl with death and the grave dates back at least to the time of Shakespeare, who speaks of the Owl's hoot as "A song of death." ”

“ The other cases of flagrant breaking of the law need and deserve prompt and severe treatment. Here it is often not a matter of education but of discipline. It is not pleasant to be an informer, but such cases should be put upon a par with any other sort of law-breaking, for there is a great public interest involved beside which our own personal interest, however great that may be, sinks into insignificance. ”

“ When the unearthly character of their cries and their quiet, spirit-like motion, as they fly through the night hours, are taken into consideration, it is not surprising that they have been and are held in awe and dread by many people. The characteristics of the two sexes are practically the same, except that the female is somewhat the larger. The young resemble the adults, but are usually darker in color. Excepting those species that are whitish in color, the Owls are usually a mixture of black, brown, rufous gray, yellow and white, and barring is common on the wings and tail. ”

“ It was not long before several Swifts and Humming Birds had joined him. They all sang and flew from branch to branch. A bird concert is not like one given by children. The children all sing the same song and sing it together, but in a bird concert everyone sings to please himself. He begins just when he feels like it, and sings his own song. But for all that, a bird concert is very pretty music. ”

“ I saw yesterday there were boys at the other side of the field, tearing down the shocks and pulling off the ears of corn, and I greatly fear they will continue until our home will be destroyed and our darling children eaten by the cruel dog that sits by them, watching intently. I am sure he can be looking for nothing but baby mice," and she looked tenderly at Fluffy, who was listening interestedly.
But Mr. Field Mouse only continued to comb, as if her remarks were not worthy of consideration. ”

“ The female moth lays her cream-colored eggs, which are a little smaller than those of Cecropia, upon shrubs and trees in clusters of five or six. The small larva usually hatches in about ten days, and feeds upon the leaves of ash, sassafras, lilac, tulip tree, maple, cherry, and a number of other trees and shrubs, but it is much more select in the choice of its food than Cecropia. The larvae have voracious appetites, devour many leaves and grow at a correspondingly rapid rate. The differences between the very young and the adult larva, aside from that of size, are very great. ”

“ While most of the dog family are gregarious, certain forms lead lives that are solitary or nearly so. Other species are nocturnal in their habits, while yet others burrow in the earth for shelter or protection. All bend the joints of the legs in walking, all possess great speed and endurance, and without exception are good swimmers. ”

“ Often, when she was writing or reading in her room she could hear the birds in the chimney. She knew the papa and mamma bird had to work very hard, for they came many, many times a day with food for the baby Swifts. But there came a day when the nest in the chimney was empty, for the little birds had gone away with their parents and were learning to fly through the trees and to catch insects to eat. It made Aunt Dorothy lonesome to sit in her room after that, and instead she used to go out of doors where she could watch the birds. ”

“ These parasites develop beneath the skin of the larva as footless grubs, which, at first, do not attack the vital organs, but later these organs are preyed upon, and the larva dies. A wasp-like insect which preys upon this larva well illustrates in its habits the crudeness of many instincts. The female will lay eight or ten eggs upon one caterpillar, but as the young parasitic grubs require a large amount of food, only one is able to mature and the others perish. ”

“ The Western Horned Owl breeds nearly throughout its range. It is of interest that this Owl is not an inhabitant of high altitudes but rather of the foothills and more open country of its range. The Dusky Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus saturatus) , the darkest colored of all the owls, taking its place in the higher regions.
In its habits it is closely related to its eastern relative. It has a similar call note and is as destructive. It feeds on grouse and ducks as well as other species of valuable food water-birds. It also kills many forest birds that are useful to man as insect destroyers. ”

“ Around the mouth of the urn are glands which secrete a sweet liquid, and drops of this nectar form a trail down the outside of the urn. Inside, just below the rim of the urn, is a glazed zone so smooth that insects cannot walk upon it. Below the glazed zone is another zone thickly set with stiff downward-pointing hairs, and below this is the liquid in the bottom of the urn. If a fly is attracted by the nectar drops on this curious leaf, it naturally follows the trail up to the rim of the urn where the nectar is abundant. ”

“ In spite of these characteristics they are very quiet during the nesting season and the female is very devoted to her nest and will almost allow herself to be touched before flying from her eggs. Their nests are bulky and usually placed in out-of-the-way places, in low, bushy, cone-bearing trees. They seemingly will eat anything of a nutritious nature. Flying insects, larvae, beetles, flies, spiders, eggs, and even small birds, seem to be palatable to their tastes. ”

“ It will be noticed that each leaf when fully formed consists of three distinct regions, namely, the leaf-like blade, which is continued into a tendril which coils around a support, and the tendril in turn ends in a curiously-formed pitcher, which has a more or less complete lid. These pitchers are often mottled with bright colors, and as they swing at the ends of the tendrils they seem to attract the attention of roving insects. Around the rim of the pitcher a very definite row of glands may be observed, which secrete the nectar to which the insects are attracted. ”

“ From an extensive series of experiments, it has been learned that the male finds his mate by means of scent and that this is doubtless the explanation for the very large antennae of the male, since it is in these organs that the sense of smell is located.
Although it may be very interesting to read about the activities of insects, a much more fascinating side of the subject is to handle and study the insects themselves, and there are but few better insects with which to begin a personal acquaintance than these which we have been considering. ”

“ The plant is also quite generally known as mandrake or American mandrake, but the mandrake proper, so frequently referred to in the books of Moses and in the works of Shakespeare, is not the may-apple but Mandragora officinalis L. of the night-shade family (Solanaceae) , a native of southern Europe. Earlier collectors supposed the two plants to be similar if not identical. There is only one other species of Podophyllum which is a native of Europe.
Apart from its beauty the may-apple is highly valued for its fruit, which is considered a delicacy by the American Indians. ”

“ When ready to spin its cocoon, the adult larva is about two inches long; these cocoons are very different from those of Cecropia. As a rule, they are found suspended from a branch by a silken cord, the length of which depends upon the length of the petiole of the leaf in which the cocoon was spun. Thus if the leaf has only a short petiole, this cord is also short, but if the petiole is two or three inches long, the suspensory cord is correspondingly long. The larva in constructing its cocoon, first spins a strong band around a twig, and binds the petiole of the leaf to the stem ”

“ But in very many, if not in most cases, the laws enacted have not furnished protection enough. Those who have put a price upon a bird's plumage, who furnish the temptation for others to break the law against killing birds, have not had a check put upon them. ”

“ From the standpoint of the teacher, insects as a rule, stand very high with regard to the interest which they arouse in scholars for nature-study. This is quite natural, since the great abundance and interesting habits of these animals make them comparatively easy to study. ”

“ Their eyes are so fixed that they have little power of turning the eye-balls and thus are obliged to turn the head when they wish to change their range of vision. This they do with great rapidity, in fact, the motion is so rapid that without close observation the bird seems to turn its head in one direction for several revolutions if the object looked at passes around the perch upon which the Owl rests. A remarkable characteristic is the reversible fourth toe or digit, enabling the Owl to perch with either one or two toes behind. ”

“ Prominent among several distinctive and familiar breeds of dogs is the Greyhound, which while graceful and universally popular as a pet, and a sporting dog, is unfaithful and unsympathetic. The great lung capacity gives the animal unusual endurance, but while possessed of keen sight and hearing, the sense of smell is very deficient. ”