published by the National Geographic Society

“ Let me suggest, also, that every one who creates or cultivates a garden helps, and helps greatly, to solve the problem of the feeding of the nations; and that every housewife who practices strict economy puts herself in the ranks of those who serve the nation. This is the time for America to correct her unpardonable fault of wastefulness and extravagance.
Let every man and every woman assume the duty of careful, provident use and expenditure as a public duty, as a dictate of patriotism which no one can now expect ever to be excused or forgiven for ignoring. ”

“ Interpreting French patriotism It is no easy task to try to interpret French patriotism to our home-staying Americans. Only sympathetic hands can inscribe the long, sad stories of sacrifice which mark the stations of the war in France. When one has lived in the sacred atmosphere of a people daily immolated on the altar of patriotism, one feels a certain unworthiness in sounding the depths of this feeling, of analyzing its springs, of calculating its results. ”

“ I beg you to address the homage of your hearts and souls to all the heroes, born to live in happiness, in the tranquil pursuit of their labors, in the enjoyment of all human affections, who went into battle with virile cheerfulness and gave themselves up, not to death alone, but to the eternal silence that closes over those whose sacrifice remains unnamed, in the full knowledge that, save for those who loved them, their names would disappear with their bodies.
Their monument is in our hearts. Not the living alone greet us here ”

“ There is not a single selfish element, so far as I can see, in the cause we are fighting for. We are fighting for what we believe and wish to be the rights of mankind and for the future peace and security of the world.
To do this great thing worthily and successfully we must devote ourselves to the service without regard to profit or material advantage and with an energy and intelligence that will rise to the level of the enterprise itself. We must realize to the full how great the task is and how many things, how many kinds and elements of capacity and service and self-sacrifice it involves. ”

“ Now that America has entered the world war and, in spirit if not by treaty, has become one of the Allies who are engaged in this incomparable conflict for the idea of world democracy, it becomes of fundamental importance that we, as a people, realize, and at once, the factors in this war with which and through which we must work in order that by our united effort we may consummate the sacrifice of blood and treasure by the achievement of an enduring peace in Europe and throughout the world. ”

“ Never does he give way to the lust of battle for battle's sake. He sees in this war an evil, a scourge laying waste his beloved country, and he conceives it to be his duty to his forefathers, himself, and his children to rid the earth of this plague. The cultivated Frenchman will take pains to explain to you how illogical, unintelligent, uncivilized is war; yet you will see this same cultivated Frenchman wearing the uniform of his motherland racing like a fighting fury to the muzzles of the machine-guns. ”

“ To my mind there is no warbler to which that much misused word ‘lovely’ may be so aptly applied as to the present species. Its beauty of plumage, charm of voice, and gentleness of demeanor make it indeed not only a lovely, but a truly lovable bird. ”

“ What was it that our kinsmen in America realized as the issue in this unexampled conflict? The very things which, if we are worthy of our best traditions, we are bound to vindicate—essential conditions of free and honorable development of the nations of the world, humanity, respect for law, consideration for the weak and unprotected, chivalry toward mankind, observance of good faith—these things, which we used to regard as commonplaces of international decency, one after another have been flouted, menaced, trodden under foot, as though they were effete superstitions of a bygone creed. ”

“ It is quite true that the people and the representatives of the people may be betrayed by some momentary gust of passion into a policy which they ultimately deplore; but it is only a military despotism of the German type which can, through generations if need be, pursue steadily, remorselessly, unscrupulously, the appalling object of dominating the civilization of mankind. ”

“ While most warblers are prodigal enough with their music and sing early and often, especially prior to and during the nesting season, their music is frequently so faint as to be audible only to the trained ear of the bird lover.
As if aware of their musical inferiority, few display much enthusiasm in their vocal efforts, but sing while they work, or while pausing for a brief moment as they move among the foliage hunting for food. With them, singing appears to be an audible expression of general content and well being, and, no doubt, an effort to please and attract their mates. ”

“ Unremitting toil for a free France As farmers, as vintners, as laborers, as munition workers, French women toil without ceasing to save France and take some of the burden of war from the shoulders of the men. ”

“ The song of either water-thrush is of a high order of excellence. I cannot but think, however, that the song of the Louisiana water-thrush gains over that of its tuneful rival by partaking somewhat of the nature of its wild surroundings, and that its song is enhanced by its accompaniments—the murmur of the woodland brook and the whisper of the foliage—among which it is heard. Quite a number of our birds habitually teeter or wag their tails, but few as persistently as the water-thrushes. ”

“ Though not a lover of open country, it frequently visits the orchard, where it performs its part in the task of keeping insect life within due bounds. It nests on the ground and hides its domicile so skillfully that it is not often found. None of the warblers are noted as songsters, but the black and white creeper, as I like best to call it, emits a series of thin wiry notes which we may call a song by courtesy only. ”

“ We must now consider what is our duty toward ourselves and toward our Allies. The minute a nation by declaration of war engages in hostilities with an enemy nation it becomes the duty of the government and the people of that government to commence striking at that enemy with every means which is at its disposal—moral, financial, economic, and military. ”

“ Catholics, struck to the heart by curses against their religion, by outrages against their cathedrals and statues, reaching a climax in the destruction of Louvain and Rheims; university professors, trustworthy guardians of law and learning; industrialists of the East and Middle West, farmers and agriculturists of the West; workmen and artisans, threatened by the torpedoing of vessels, by the interruption of commerce, revolted by the insults to their national colors—all are arrayed against the mad arrogance which would enslave the earth, the sea, the heavens, and the souls of men. ”

“ Hence, with them, migration is not a matter of choice, but is imperative. They come to us on a particular errand for a few short months, and when family cares are at an end, back they hie to the tropics, the lands of warmth and sunshine, which lend them to us for a brief season. Thus the true home of our warblers is not where they nest, but where they spend three-fourths of their lives—not the north, but the south—not in the temperate, but in the tropical zones. ”

“ The ideals which inspired the Athenians, honor gained in serving the country, is today the ideal inspiring the soldiers of France.
In analyzing the spirit of the French soldier, bear in mind this vital fact—fighting is an emotional act; and it is admitted that an emotion springing from an ideal is necessarily finer than one founded on a person. The German goes to battle with the Kaiser's sparkling figure in the back of his mind, while the Frenchman fights for all that is connoted in the one word—France. ”

“ In the struggle that endures France is the true champion of democracy, and no better expression of this democratic spirit exists than the French army.
When the French army is mentioned today, the French people is implied, for the whole nation is bound by the most sacred ties to the trials and triumphs of the fighting section of the populace.
The ideals of France Contrasting the French with the German army, we discover, though both are grounded on conscription, they are radically different in their inspiration of service. The French and the German armies are completely separate in soul. ”

“ The Louisiana water-thrush, though not unlike its northern relative in general appearance, is very different in disposition and habits, and I know of no bird more shy and difficult to watch. It frequents the banks and neighborhood of clear streams that run through woodlands and tangles of laurel. One hears the sharp note of challenge or the wild ringing song, but any attempt to see the singer, unless made with the utmost caution, will end in disappointment or in a casual glimpse of a small, brown bird flitting like a shadow through the brush. ”

“ America sees in this clear issue something of wider import than the vicissitudes of the battlefields, or even of a rearrangement of the map of Europe on the basis of nationality.
The whole future of civilized government and intercourse, in particular the fortunes and faith of democracy, has been brought into peril. In such a situation aloofness is seen to be not only a blunder, but a crime. To stand aside with stopped ears, with folded arms, with averted gaze, when you have the power to intervene, is to become not a mere spectator, but an accomplice. ”

“ The entrance of our own beloved country into the grim and terrible war for democracy and human rights which has shaken the world creates so many problems of national life and action which call for immediate consideration and settlement that I hope you will permit me to address to you a few words of earnest counsel and appeal with regard to them. ”

“ Moreover, while locally common it is never so abundant that it does not excite a thrill of interest in the breast of even the most blasé of bird observers. It loves the deep, dark forest and shaded ravine, where the foliage overhead casts heavy shadows on the plentiful undergrowth beneath and where even in midsummer it is moist and cool. ”

“ Doubtless you were resolved to avenge the insults offered your flag, which the whole world respected; doubtless through the thickness of these massive walls the mournful cry of all the victims that criminal hands hurled into the depths of the sea has reached and stirred your souls; but it will be your honor in history that you also heard the cry of humanity and invoked against autocracy the right of democracies. ”

“ Thousands—nay, hundreds of thousands—of men otherwise liable to military service will of right and of necessity be excused from that service and assigned to the fundamental, sustaining work of the fields and factories and mines, and they will be as much part of the great patriotic forces of the nation as the men under fire.
I take the liberty, therefore, of addressing this word to the farmers of the country and to all who work on the farms: The supreme need of our own nation and of the nations with which we are coöperating is an abundance of supplies, and especially of foodstuffs. ”

“ What true bird lover is there who does not cherish fond memories of certain birds? The very name of black-throated green warbler carries me back to boyhood days and to a certain pine-crested hill in Massachusetts, from which was wafted on an early spring morning the song of this warbler, heard by me then for the first time. ”

“ The bird thus rediscovered rapidly came into the limelight, and there are few eastern observers of the present day who are not tolerably familiar with the appearance and habits of this warbler. In fall it is common throughout eastern United States in low, swampy thickets. It habitually feeds on the ground, and is so silent and shy as easily to escape the notice even of one on the lookout for it, especially as its single chirp of alarm is infrequently uttered. ”

“ They have no belief in brute force in war; if they had, they long ago would have surrendered to the Germans. Their faith is pinned to their own finesse—a finesse which exasperates and thwarts the enemy.
As instructors, French officers have been of inestimable value to the English. In the beginning of the war the British army was deficient in artillery—a deficiency which was rapidly remedied in material, for England turned out guns for the army from the naval-gun foundries. But gunners, who are soldier specialists, were not available for the batteries. ”

“ The black-cap is a nervous, energetic, little fellow, now essaying the rôle of flycatcher, now hunting for insects among the foliage, while ever and anon it jerks its tail up and down as though constant motion were the chief end of existence. It has a short, bubbling, warbling song which has been likened to the songs of several other species, but which possesses a tone and quality all the bird's own. Its nest is built on the ground, is composed chiefly of grasses, and the eggs do not differ in essential respects from those of other warblers. ”

“ The magnolia, or black and yellow warbler, as I like best to call it, is one of our most beautiful warblers, and fortunately, being one of the commonest of the tribe, is easily met with by any one willing to take a little pains. When busy at its self-imposed task of hunting insects—and when is it not busy—it is by no means shy, and may be watched at close range with or without the aid of a field glass. ”

“ I shall never cease to see the proud and stalwart men who saluted our passage; your women, whose grace adds fresh beauty to your city, their arms outstretched, full of flowers; and your children hurrying to meet us as if our coming were looked upon as a lesson for them—all with one accord acclaiming in our perishable persons immortal France. ”

“ After having done everything to affirm its attachment to peace, the great American nation declares solemnly that it cannot remain neutral in this immense conflict between right and violence, between civilization and barbarism. ”