Bird-Lore Part 8

=Edited by ALICE HALL WALTER=

Address all communications relative to the work of this department to the Editor, 67 Oriole Avenue, Providence, R. I.

"Nature has no human inhabitant who appreciates her. The birds with their plumage and their notes are in harmony with the flowers, but what youth or maiden conspires with the wild, luxuriant beauty of nature? She flourishes most alone, far from the towns where they reside. Talk of heaven! ye disgrace earth.

"Sometimes I rambled to pine groves, standing like temples, or like fleets at sea, full-rigged, with wavy boughs, and rippling with light, so soft and green and shady that the Druids would have forsaken their oaks to worship in them; or to the cedar wood beyond Flint's Pond, where the trees, covered with h.o.a.ry blue berries, spiring higher and higher, are fit to stand before Valhalla, and the creeping juniper covers the ground with wreaths full of fruit; or to swamps where the usnea lichen hangs in festoons from the white-spruce trees, and toadstools, round tables of the swamp G.o.ds, cover the ground, and more beautiful fungi adorn the stumps, like b.u.t.terflies or sh.e.l.ls, vegetable winkles; where the swamp-pink and dogwood grow, the red alder-berry glows like eyes of imps, the waxwork grooves and crushes the hardest woods in its folds, and the wild-holly berries make the beholder forget his home with their beauty, and he is dazzled and tempted by nameless other wild forbidden fruits, too fair for mortal taste.

"Instead of calling on some scholar, I paid many a visit to particular trees, of kinds which are rare in this neighborhood, standing far away in the middle of some pasture, or in the depths of a wood or swamp, or on a hill top: such as the black-birch of which we have some handsome specimens two feet in diameter; its cousin the yellow-birch, with its loose golden vest, perfumed like the first; the beech, which has so neat a bole and beautifully lichen-painted, perfect in all its details, of which, excepting scattered specimens, I know but one small grove of sizable trees left in the township, supposed by some to have been planted by the pigeons that were once baited with beech nuts near by; it is worth the while to see the silver grain sparkle when you split this wood; the ba.s.s; the hornbeam; the _celtis occidentalis_, or false elm, of which we have but one well-grown; some taller mast of a pine, a shingle tree, or a more perfect hemlock than usual, standing like a paG.o.da in the midst of the woods; and many others I could mention. These were the shrines I visited both summer and winter."--Excerpt from _Walden_, HENRY D. Th.o.r.eAU.

"He saw with a clear and kindred eye, he understood with his heart, the life of field and wood and water about him. The open sky, the solitudes of the windy hill-top, the sweep of the storm, the s.p.a.cious changes of dark and dawn, these, it seems to me, spoke to him more clearly than to others."--C. G. D. ROBERTS, in Introduction to _Walden_.

=BIRD AND ARBOR DAY=

=AN AWAKENING=

In most of the talks we listen to on Bird and Arbor Day, in most of the poems and prose selections we recite or read to celebrate this occasion, we hear about the awakening of spring, when birds return and trees and early plants blossom, and insects and hibernating animals emerge from a winter's sleep. All Nature is pictured as rousing from the lethargy of cold December and colder January and February, under the influence of the sun, now early with its morning greeting, and of soft breezes which begin to take the place of chilling gales. But what part has man in all of this glad festival of activity and growth! Does he awaken too, and take his part in the general re-creation of Nature?

No, man is glad when spring comes, he welcomes birds and flowers and budding trees, but he has learned to build shelters for himself against storms, to fight the uneven cold with steady fire, and to raise and store food to nourish his body throughout the season when the ground is frozen and vegetation dead. He does not come to life and activity again with the changing seasons, and, much as he may enjoy spring with its multiform beauties, he seldom rouses out of the routine of his ordinary life, except now and then, perhaps, for a fitful instant. Well-fed, well-clothed and well-housed, he still fears the elements and dreads exposure and hunger. He is not a part of nature, but the ambitious master of nature. Only now and then does a man partly awaken from his civilized life and turn to Nature as to a mother. But when he does, when his eyes are fairly open, when his hand can write or his lips speak the truth, what a revelation comes not only to him but to those who understand his message!

It is of man's awakening that I wish to tell you this lovely Bird and Arbor Day season, an awakening which you must try to feel if you are not so choked and stifled in towns and cities by ideas of things to wear and eat and amuse yourself with that you cannot understand the truth.

In all ages, a few men have awakened to the touch of Nature. It would be worth our while to know even their names, but, better yet, to know their message. Some have lived as you and I live, others have lived only in books, through the imagination of other men. There was once a lad who was afraid, afraid of the dark, afraid of horses, afraid of many things.

As he grew older, he began to feel that there was much he did not enjoy because of fear, and he resolved to conquer fear. He ran through a pasture where a bull was loose, and outwitted the charging creature, escaping to a place of safety. This was rash. He attempted to drive a horse of some spirit through crowded city streets, with no knowledge of driving or sympathy with horses. This was rash, too. He left his companions and guides asleep at night on the edge of the jungle, and wandered alone into the forest, unarmed and almost breathless with fear.

It was a rash thing to do, but as he wandered or stood rooted to the ground, while deer, monkeys, frogs, owls, flying squirrels, and at last a tiger, crossed his path, he began to feel a new sense of security and serenity. He found it very wonderful and beautiful. "A warm, faintly-scented breeze just stirred the dead gra.s.s and leaves. The trees and bushes stood in pools of darkness, and beyond were pale stretches of misty moonshine and big rocks shining with an unearthly l.u.s.ter. Ahead was darkness, but not so dense, when he came to it, that the track was invisible ... the moon was like a great shield of light spread out above him. All the world seemed swimming in its radiance.... He wished he could walk as a spirit walks--." ... "Of course, the day jungle is the jungle asleep. This was its waking hour. Now the deer were arising from their forms, the tigers and panthers and jungle cats stalking noiselessly from their lairs in the gra.s.s. Countless creatures that had hidden from the heat and pitiless exposure of the day stood now awake and alertly intent upon their purposes, grazed or sought water, flitting delicately through the moonlight and shadows. The jungle was awakening.

This was the real life of the jungle, this night life, into which man did not go. Here he was on the verge of a world that, for all the stuffed trophies of the sportsman and the specimens of the naturalist, is still almost as unknown as if it were upon another planet."

"He became less and less timorous as beast and bird evaded him or fled at his approach, and when the moon sank suddenly, and darkness settled down, 'a great stillness came over the world, a velvet silence that wrapped about him, as the velvet shadows wrapped about him. The corncrakes had ceased, all the sounds and stir of animal life had died away, the breeze had fallen,' and thus, calm and full of placid joy, he waited for the dawn, for he had conquered fear."

This is an imaginary picture, based no doubt on some actual experience.

It is worth reading because it puts one _into sympathy_ with Nature, even with one of its wildest and most uninhabitable parts. There are girls, and boys too, living in secure houses in village or town, _who are afraid_, afraid of the dark, afraid of the deep woods, afraid of wild, lonely places where snakes may be lurking, or some imagined beast.

There are many grown-up people who are more fearful than children, to whom a storm is terrifying, who see little beauty in rough places, who take no enjoyment in fog, rain or snow. It is natural to be afraid, but it is not wholesome, and it betrays ignorance. This kind of fear deprives most people of much that makes up the very best of life. One need not be rash or daring to conquer fear. It is only needful to _awaken_, to get into sympathy with Nature, to see the world as it really is, and not as our shrinking bodies lead us to imagine.

A man died not long ago who for many years had lived perhaps as close to Nature as anyone in this generation. His name was John Muir. He loved the mountains with their vast silences and wide outlooks; the storms and winds, searching every hidden corner and ruling all Nature in their pa.s.sing; the giant trees of his home country, majestic sentinels of tranquillity, and age-long growth; he loved the clouds and stars, birds, beasts and flowers; he loved mighty waters, whose power man's hand might never check. This man wrote at times modestly and reverently of what he saw and felt. You can learn truth from him. Many other men have seen deeply into Nature, and written with sincerity, pages which we do well to study. There comes to mind the poet Lanier, who, struck by the fatal hand of disease, sought to prolong his life by living with Nature in the open. How delicately and clearly he translated beauty into terms of music and rhythm! How intimately he _sensed_ the world about him! He wrote,

"I am not overbold.

I hold Full powers from Nature manifold.

I speak for each no-tongued tree That, spring by spring, doth n.o.bler be, And dumbly and most wistfully His mighty prayerful arms outspreads Above men's oft-unheeding heads, And his big blessing downward sheds.

I speak for all-shaped blooms and leaves, Lichens on stones and moss on eaves, Gra.s.ses and grains in ranks and sheaves; Broad-fronded ferns and keen-leaved canes, And briery mazes bounding lanes, And marsh-plants, thirsty-cupped for rains, And milky stems and sugary veins;

"All purities of shady springs, All shynesses of film-winged things That fly from tree-trunks and bark-rings; All modesties of mountain-fawns, That leap to covert from wild lawns, And tremble if the day but dawns; All sparklings of small beady eyes Of birds, and sidelong glances wise Wherewith the jay hints tragedies; All piquancies of p.r.i.c.kly burs, And smoothnesses of downs and furs Of eiders and of minevers; All limpid honeys that do lie At stamen-bases, nor deny The hummingbirds' fine roguery, Bee-thighs, nor any b.u.t.terfly; All gracious curves of slender wings, Bark-mottlings, fiber-spiralings, Fern-wavings and leaf-flickerings; Each dial-marked leaf and flower-bell, Wherewith in every lonesome dell Time to himself his hours doth tell; All tree-sounds, rustlings of pine-cones, Wind-sighings, doves' melodious moans, And night's unearthly under-tones; All placid lakes and waveless deeps, All cool reposing mountain-steeps, Vale-calms and tranquil lotos-sleeps;-- Yea, all fair forms, and sounds, and lights, And warmths, and mysteries, and nights, Of Nature's utmost depths and heights, --These doth my timid tongue present, Their mouthpiece and leal instrument And servant, all love-eloquent.

I heard, when 'All for love' the violins cried; So, Nature calls through all her system wide, '_Give me thy love, O man, so long denied_.'"

--From _The Symphony_, SIDNEY LANIER.

No message could be more beautiful or more welcome than this. Not poets and artists, but birds, streams, and the pure encircling air should call us into the open. We may not have the opportunity to wander in the jungle by night, or to climb lonely mountains or penetrate into the glooms of giant forests, but we can get outdoors by day into parks or country, and we can learn to sleep outdoors and feel the health-giving air with every breath we draw, and to awaken every morning with gladness that we are looking out upon the sky and rising sun, with no barriers of blinds and storm-windows between us and Nature. When we realize every day that to live, to simply be alive, is joy, then work will never mean drudgery or idleness and luxury seem things worth while.

If Bird and Arbor Day can make you understand and feel this message, it will be the happiest day of the year for you.--A. H. W.

=JUNIOR AUDUBON WORK=

=For Teachers and Pupils=

=Exercise XXVI. Correlated Studies: School Gardening and Reading=

In view of the fact that valuable suggestions are being received from time to time, as to practical methods of conducting and encouraging bird- and nature-study, it is perhaps a wise and timely interruption of the ordinary Junior Audubon exercise to submit the following five methods for the consideration of teachers and pupils. Each of these methods contains at least one idea which can be worked out along local lines by any teacher with the aid of willing pupils. Some of these methods are particularly applicable to Bird and Arbor Day, for we have now somewhat outgrown the necessity of simply having "exercises" to mark that day. When _all days_ are Bird and Arbor Days, we shall have gained a strong point in bird- and nature-study, and let it be hoped no school will omit some sincere recognition of the day, this spring.

=Ways of Keeping Up Interest in Bird-Study=

=I. A BIRD-GAME FOR THE SCHOOLROOM=

During the years of 1914 and 1915, I have learned a great deal about birds. We have an Audubon Society in our room which I think is very interesting. We have about sixteen members, and we watch and study the birds very carefully. Our teacher read us a story out of BIRD-LORE that one of her pupils wrote last year for the magazine. It certainly is interesting.

One day we went into Miss W----'s room, to have our society together.

After we finished the program, we played a game called 'Guessing Birds.'

Some one would go to the front of the room with a bird pinned on her back and one of the teachers would ask some one in the room a question about the bird. Then they would have to guess the name of the bird. We had lots of fun playing this game. Some of the children could not guess the bird that they had on their backs. Then the teacher would take if off and put her hand over the name of the bird and ask if they knew what it was.

There has not been much snow in Herndon, so the birds can find a good deal of food without anyone feeding them. With our fines we bought some wire and suet. One day we went to the woods not far from the schoolhouse to feed the birds. We tacked the wire on the trees and then put the suet under the wire. It will soon be time to go and put more suet under the wire for the birds.--GERALDINE SAGER (Aged 11), Herndon, Va.

[Very often the best way of fostering and keeping up interest in bird-study has to be considered, especially in Junior Audubon Societies or bird clubs. The idea suggested above seems to be an attractive one, for anything in the nature of a game usually appeals to young people.

Several bird-games similar to "Avelude" are for sale, but these are played with cards, and are not suitable for use in the schoolroom. They make agreeable recreations for the home, however, and their use may well be encouraged.--A. H. W.]

=II. A BIRD CONTEST FOR BIRD CLUBS=

Place............ Time........ Date............

1. A crowned head (answer) Kingbird 2. An unsteady light (answer) Flicker 3. An Eastern city visitor (answer) Baltimore Oriole 4. A yellow conversationalist (answer) Yellow-breasted Chat 5. The pride of the farm (answer) Quail 6. A peace mourner (answer) Mourning Dove

21. Ruler of the fisheries (answer) Kingfisher

Name of contestant........................

[s.p.a.ce is too limited to print this contest in full, but enough has been given to show how it was carried out. The Nature-Study Club of Indiana engaged in the contest, which was gotten up by one of its leaders, "to afford some amus.e.m.e.nt for the members while they were enjoying the beauties of nature. It was given under a large, spreading beech, and during the time the members were racking their brains to find the proper name of each feathered creature listed, the calls and notes of many of the birds could be heard all around, seemingly trying to a.s.sist the members to recall their names. The trip was a most successful one from a nature-study point of view, as the club traversed beautiful streams, lowlands and hills, and found a variety of trees and plants and many beautiful birds."

The approximate age of those taking part in the contest was about thirteen (ten to sixteen years). A prize was offered, and a little girl aged twelve who had thirteen correct answers out of the twenty-one puzzles given, won it.

This form of diversion in connection with bird-study has considerable to commend it as an occasional method to use to stimulate interest and start compet.i.tion.--A. H. W.]

=III. METHOD OF STUDY=

Miss Mc---- has read your interesting letter to her cla.s.s. And as I am one of the twenty-eight, or twenty-nine girls in her cla.s.s I have decided to write, and give you an idea of what we are doing. I think that we (that is the cla.s.s) are all interested in the Audubon Society for the protection of birds. On April 7 the cla.s.s had their picture taken to send to you. On Friday afternoon we always try to read at least one of the leaflets of the lives of the birds. Each girl reads a paragraph, and as we read the teacher explains it to us. This summer we are going to have some bird-houses in the playgrounds of the school.

I live out in the suburbs of the city, and generally there are a great many birds that come to our door in the morning. Hoping to hear from your Society quite often; I remain one of the interested pupils.--ISABEL ACORN.