i68 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE. 



Correspondence 



^•*~ and Information 



WILL ASSIST MICKOSCOPISTS.. 



University of Colorado, 

 Boulder, Colorado. 

 To the Editor: — 



I beg" to acknowledge the receipt of 

 the first four numbers of The Guide to 

 Nature. The article by Professor 

 Douglass in the July number gave me 

 much pleasure and much reason to hope 

 for a new era like that which Messrs. 

 Nelson and Carpenter enjoyed. 



It occurred to me that perhaps there 

 are some members of the AA, particu- 

 larly the younger ones, who would like 

 sections cut or work of a similar nature 

 done, but do not possess the required in- 

 struments. I am fortunate in possessing 

 a microtome, etc., and have tne use of 

 the instruments belonging to the Uni- 

 versity. If these of whom I spoke will 

 write me 1 will be pleased to help them 

 all I can. 



Very truly yours, 



Wm. D. Fleming. 



NOTE ON FOOD OF BLUE JAY. 



New Castle, Indiana. 

 To the Editor : — 



The occupants of a recently disturbed 

 ant hill were excitedly crawling about 

 the hill and the adjacent cement walk. 

 They were large, and to a blue jay in a 

 neighboring tree they must have looked 

 luscious, for flying down, the jay began 

 to pick them up with an eagerness that 

 seemed to say that this was an oppor- 

 tunity that might come his way but once. 

 As rapidly as he could do it he seized 

 the ants, with each capture lifting a 

 wing, sometimes one. sometimes the 

 other, and seemed to deposit his prey 

 amongst the feathers back of and under- 

 neath it. So quickly he worked and 

 with such evident eagerness to make 

 the most of this rare occasion that, as 

 he lifted the wing, putting his bill 

 amongst the feathers, it often seemed 



that he must loose his balance and topple 

 over backwards. But he kept his poise, 

 worked on with all speed and had laid in 

 quite a store when a passerby frightened 

 him from his task. 



Whether this jay had only just discov- 

 ered the most convenient of all store- 

 houses for his use or whether this food 

 was to be carried to the nest for the 

 young, for it was nesting time, he was 



most interesting. 



Grace Ellicott. 



LIBRARY OF NATURE STUDY. 



Brooklyn, N. Y. 

 To the Editor: 



The work of the Children's School 

 Farm in New York City, so attractively 

 presented in the June number of The 

 Guide to Nature, must appeal to all 

 persons interested in the education and 

 welfare of children. It forcibly shows 

 that the School garden offers an inviting 

 gateway to the Book of Nature, and 

 therefore the progress and development 

 of the "Children's School Farm League" 

 in extending such wholesome influences 

 will be watched with interest. 



In connection with the subject of 

 School Gardening, a selected, annotated 

 list upon Nature Study recently prepared 

 by the Children's Museum Library may 

 be of interest to your readers. This list 

 of seventy-five books was chosen from 

 the collections of its own library at the 

 request and with the co-operation- of the 

 Supervisor of Nature Study in the Va- 

 cation Schools of New York City. The 

 books are divided into several groups en- 

 titled general nature study, school gar- 

 dening, flowers and trees, animal life, 

 and commercial products, being chosen 

 especially as aids to teachers in inspiring 

 a love for Nature, and in awakening in- 

 terest and sympathy. While about one- 

 third of the titles relate to "Gardening," 

 a somewhat smaller number treats upon 



