WAYS OF THE OWL. 313 



channels of least resistance are used, and the greatest amount of 

 labor performed with a given amount of energy. 



As long, therefore, as physical exercise is grossly neglected, 

 and unpsychological methods of teaching remain in general use, 

 disease must continue in abundance, though ever so many im- 

 provements be made in sewerage, ventilation, and disinfection ; 

 for, as our argument has shown, attempts at prevention will in 

 great part remain ineffectual until good systems of physical and 

 natural methods of mental development have been introduced 



into the schools. 



** 



WAYS OF THE OWL. 



By FEANK BOLLES. 



SINCE June, 1888, I have had in my possession for longer or 

 shorter periods eleven live owls, including snowy, great- 

 horned, long-eared, barred, and screech owls. I have also had op- 

 portunities of watching Acadian and screech owls in a wild state. 

 In June, 1888, 1 secured two young barred owls from a hollow beech 

 tree in a White Mountain forest. I have them still after three 

 and a half years of happy companionship. During the first sum- 

 mer they were pets not easily petted. They used beak and claws 

 fiercely and resented familiarity. I kept them in a large slatted 

 cage in my barn, where they had plenty of air and light. They 

 bathed freely and frequently. They ate largely of animal food. 

 They were awake by day, restless at twilight, but prof oundly quiet 

 by night. They could see perfectly in bright sunlight, and better 

 at night than most creatures. In the autumn I took them to Cam- 

 bridge, where they were given a large cage in my cellar. During 

 the winter I handled them more and more freely, beginning by 

 using stout leather gloves, but soon stroking and rubbing their 

 heads with my bare hands. They became more and more gentle, 

 and I found that even when they nipped me with their beaks they 

 did not attempt to cause serious pain. One of them, whose name 

 is Puffy, injured his wing early in his captivity, and has never been 

 able to fly. The other I keep clipped in one wing. In the spring of 

 1889 I began taking Puffy with me on walks. I found at once 

 that he was wonderfully useful in attracting other birds. During 

 the summer of 1889, the following winter, and the summers of 1890 

 and 1891 he was my companion on walks, drives, and trips in my 

 Ruskton boat. To a smaller extent I have taken his mate Fluffy 

 with me, but he is of a less patient disposition than Puffy, and 

 during a long walk is sure to hop from the stick upon which 

 I carry him many more times than Puffy would in an equal period. 

 In May, 1891, 1 secured a third baby barred owl from the same beech 



