9 8 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



the difficulties and annoyances; for to 

 be honest I must own that the pastime 

 is not all smooth sailing. ( )ften just as 

 you have suceeded in locating a bird 

 so that its markings can be seen clearly 

 off he will flv before you remembered 



A TREE WITH A CIRCULAR WALL BASE. 



to notice the shape of the bill or tail 

 and you find your temper sorely tried 

 But if you are fortunate enough to live 

 where there are big old trees and shrub- 

 bery, and (best of all) an orchard or 

 (better yet) a running brook; and you 

 are not too close to incessant traffic 

 or many noisy neighbors, you need 

 not follow the advice of many of the 

 bird books that tell you to go out into 

 the highways and by-ways and to the 

 woods, where you would no doubt meet 

 with certain birds ; you can remain on 

 your own piazza or at your own win- 

 dow, and if you have a keen ear and 

 a quick eye, you stand just as much 

 chance of having the birds come to 



you : in fact you stand a better chance 

 for if you invade their haunts many of 

 them see you hist and are certain to 

 remain hidden while you are in the 

 vicinity if they don't fly away alto- 

 gether. I have a friend who found my 

 enthusiasm about the birds very con- 

 tageous and soon caught up to me in 

 acquiring knowledge. Often after a 

 drive in the country she would tell me 

 of some new discovery : but although 

 I had stayed at home it was seldom 

 I could not report equal if not better 

 luck. My life has been very full : I 

 have travelled a great deal, have been 

 a rapacious reader and have been in- 

 terested in almost everything: and I 

 can conscientiously declare that my in- 

 terest in the study of the birds has 

 provided continuous entertainment for 

 me ; has been the best antidote for 

 boredom I ever heard of, and really has 

 given a new zest to life. I do not be- 

 lieve it possible to take up the study (it 

 isn't study, it is play) and not find it 

 fascinating and absorbing; a certain 

 remedy for blase people, and a wonder- 

 ful resource for those who have tried 

 everything else. 



A Tree with Stone Wall Base. 



Nirvana, Stamford, Conn., July 8, 191 1. 



In answer to your request for a let- 

 ter that would explain your picture of 

 my old Carolina poplar tree, I must 

 go back six or seven years and first tell 

 you of a most extraordinary storm that, 

 late in one September, swept through 

 part of my place and uprooted four of 

 as beautiful old trees as ever grew. 

 The path of the storm was very nar- 

 row, but its force was terrific while 

 it lasted, which was scarcely more than 

 twenty minutes and without a drop of 

 rain. 



The tree in the picture grows on a 

 bank that slopes steeply down to the 

 sea-wall behind it. A twin sister tree 

 grew on the same bank about twenty 

 feet from it ; and this was the first of 

 the four that fell. Both were such 

 hugh old monarchs that my heart 

 ached from the loss of just that one ; 

 but it was to ache harder as in the 

 next moment two fully mature, perfect 



