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THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



I have regretted the fact that it is no 

 longer a journal that can be recommended 

 to the teachers as a help unless they are 

 already specialists. 



Now I am writing these words to urge 

 you to hold your magazine to just what 

 you have developed it into now. Keep it 

 there, and do not swerve it off into the 

 "practical" on the one hand, nor to the 

 "technical" on the other. You observe 

 that I do not object to its being scientific ; 

 it must be, but it can be scientific and yet 

 at the same time non-technical. I con- 

 gratulate you upon having attained what 

 I consider to be practically the ideal in 

 the making of a magazine for the ordin- 

 ary teacher. Very truly yours, 

 Charles E. Bessey. 

 [from a later letter.] 



February 21, 1911. 



I am glad to have yours of recent date 

 and glad to be able to assure you that 

 since I wrote the letter which you en- 

 closed, I feel that The Guide to Nature 

 has improved very considerably. I have 

 taken much pleasure in recommending it 

 to teachers, especially those who are en- 

 gaged in what they term "Nature 

 Study," but what I call a very simple 

 presentation of science. You are doing 

 a great service to the cause of science in 

 this country by making it possible for 

 young people to get a good foundation. 

 If I ever get time I want to write an 

 article in which I will elaborate my ideas 

 as to the oneness of Nature Study so 

 called, and science. Some scientific men 

 denounce Nature Study, and some 

 Nature Study advocates deny that Nature 

 Study is science. Both are wrong, for 

 Nature Study of the right kind helps 

 science proper, and Nature Study of the 

 right kind is good elementary science. 



Wishing you great success, I am 

 Very truly yours, 



Charles E. Bessey. 



eat the fleshy fungi, but after a severe 

 snowstorm during the winter of 1909- 

 1910, I found one of them eating a 

 tough, leathery fungus, belonging to 

 the genus Stereum, which was growing 

 on a rustic fence rail. 



In regard to the eating of the fleshy 

 forms there is a note in the February, 

 1910, number of "Alycologia" (also in 

 the "Journal of the New York Botani- 

 cal Garden" for the same month) that 

 may be of interest. It makes the fol- 

 lowing statement : "During the sum- 

 mer, squirrels are very fond of species 

 of Russula, and other fleshy forms ap- 

 pearing on the forest floor, and red 

 squirrels in Alaska have been known to 

 cairy fleshy forms into the trees to pre- 

 serve them for future use. . ." 

 Sincerely yours, 

 Edwin W. Humphreys. 



Squirrel Eat Fungi. 



New York City. 

 To the Editor: 



The letter in the March issue of 

 The Guide; to Nature entitled "Chip- 

 munks and Mushrooms" is very in- 

 teresting, particularly that part of it 

 which deals with the eating of toadstools 

 by squirrels. Not only do the squirrels 



Railroad Cars Sank. 



Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. 

 To the Editor: 



In April, 1908, I took some pictures 

 of a difficult piece of railroad construc- 

 tion work in the northern part of 

 Pennsylvania. The Bessemer Railroad 

 undertook to build a "cut-off" through 

 the center of Pymatuning Swamp. All 

 went well until a certain point was 

 reached about halfway through the 

 swamp. Here, on account of the yield- 

 ing nature of the ground, it was found 

 necessary to drive sixty-foot piles, and 

 build a corduroy foundation. Upon 

 this the ties and rails were laid, and the 

 work of filling was started. After 

 several train loads of earth had been 

 dumped on each side, trouble began. 

 One evening several loaded cars were 

 run out upon the tracks and left there 

 for the night. Next morning, when 

 the workmen returned they found only 

 a pool of brackish water. Everything 

 had disappeared, and several tall pines 

 that grew beside the roadbed had 

 tipped inward until their tops nearly 

 touched. The railroad officials found 

 it necessary to set to work again to 

 fill the sink hole, a task that took 

 nearly a year to complete. Thousands 

 of carloads of rock and gravel were 

 dumped into the hole before a firm 

 foundation was established. 



