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THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



hardened old scamp as he is. You have 

 failed, because you have omitted the hu- 

 man interest. If Mr. Frees had sent us 

 photographs of two of his kittens lying- 

 asleep in the sun or sitting on the door- 

 step, they would have been promptly re- 

 turned, but he has put art and thought 

 in them ; he has added the human touch. 

 It is nurse and patient. It is human ex- 

 perience in a picture. It is well done. 

 In some respects it has never been 

 equalled. The actors are no longer kit- 

 tens. They embody the ideals of human- 

 ity. We do not tire of studying that pho- 

 tograph ; we go to it again and again. 

 Not because it is a clear picture of two 

 cats, but because it stands for something 

 that is universal in the human mind. It 

 contains the human touch that vivifies it 

 for us all. We see the schoolmaster ana 

 the pupils, the gardener and his assistants, 

 the fisherman, and we feel the spring in 

 the air as the farmer's wife brings the 

 eggs from the chicken house. We do 

 not think of these as abnormal cats and 

 dogs but as normal human beings. What 

 is the secret charm of most paintings ? 

 It is not in the canvas nor the paint nor 

 the technique employed in placing the 

 paint on the canvas. It is the skill of the 

 artist, not because the beholder sees the 

 artist himself, his happiness, ambitions, 

 sorrows or joys; it would be of no avail 

 if the artist depicted merely himself ; then 

 the painting might be appropriate for his 

 private room ; but when he portrays all 

 humanity, then the picture merits a place 

 in a great gallery to be viewed by admir- 

 ing visitors who will return again and 

 again, because the artist has portrayed 

 not himself but every beholder. 



Camerists, put yourselves in the other 

 fellow's place and seriously ask, when 

 you contemplate the taking of a photo- 

 graph, and stop again and consider when 

 you are sending it to a magazine, "Is the 

 interest in this limited to myself or will 

 it inspire and benefit others?" If it is 

 for the interest only of yourself and your 

 family, hang it in a conspicuous place in 

 your home. If it portrays humanity, 

 send it where a large part of humanity 

 may see it, admire it and be benefited by 

 your service to them. 



For a time these cats and dogs were 

 Mr. Frees's. They are not so now. They 

 belong to all us "humans.'' What Mr. 

 Frees has done with his pets may, to a 

 certain extent, be done with everything, 

 provided the artist knows how to appeal 



to the majority. If he is general and 

 human, well. If he is individual and 

 local, it may be well with him ; it will not 

 be so with anybody else. 



Snake Choked to Death. 



Sidney, Ohio. 

 To the Editor : — 



The accompanying photograph is of 

 a large black snake choked to death by 

 a sunfish at Lake Ridge, a pleasure re- 

 sort on Indian Lake, Ohio, and a noted 

 fishing ground for sportsmen from the 

 middle west. 



A fisherman had hung his stringer 

 over the dock, while he went to dinner. 



THE SNAKE CHOKED TO DEATH. 



Meanwhile the snake seized the larg- 

 est fish on the string, and attempted to 

 swallow it tail first. The snake's throat 

 was so distended and so badly pierced 

 by the sharp fins, that the serpent was 

 unable to extricate itself and died. 



James W. Stuber. 



The newest computation for the 

 speed of migrating birds gives from 

 twenty miles an hour for wagtails up 

 to ninety fur swallows and martins. 



