THE EDUCATIONAL HUMANE SOCIETY. 



lie 



that was hurt, and not to the others. 

 After a time they learned to fly up the 

 chimney, until one morning' I found 

 them gone. You cannot know how 

 much I missed my little companions, 

 for I had spent so many hours by the 

 fireplace watching them. 



Japan Rats and Sparrows. 



Speaking of rats, it may be said that 

 there are two creatures at least, with a 

 decidedly better reputation in Japan 

 than in Europe or America — the rats 

 and the sparrows. Rats take rank as 

 the favorite messengers of the god of 

 wealth, Daikoku, one of the seven 

 deities of felicity. They often appear 

 in Japanese art with the likeness of the 

 god, and the people approve of them 

 under ordinary circumstances, for the 

 reason that in house or land where 

 there is not rice or barley for them to 

 eat, they will not condescend to budd 

 their habitations. The Japanese spar- 

 rows are lighter in color and a bit 

 friendlier perhaps than their Occidental 

 cousins. Probably because all the in- 

 sects needed for their food are supplied 

 by nature in a warm country, they do 

 practically no damage to the crops. 

 The Japanese are glad to have these 

 little feathered friends build their nests 



in the eaves of houses or temples, and 

 to hear them chirping gaily in the bam- 

 boo groves close by. The bamboo and 

 sparrow form a conventional group in 

 Japanese painting and poetry, as do 

 the moon and cuckoo, the pine and 

 crane, the willow and heron, and the 

 sun and crow. — The Oriental Economic 

 Review. 



Daylight Flights of the Nighthawk 



BY LOUIS S. KOHLER, BLOOMFIELD, 

 NEW JERSEY. 



During each May and June for sev- 

 eral years past, there have appeared 

 daily over the heart of Newark, N. J., 

 small flocks of nighthawks at times 

 ranging from 9 A. M. to 6 P. M. 



This is quite an unusual procedure 

 for these birds as they very seldom ap- 

 peared formerly before nightfall. It 

 is my opinion that they are attracted 

 here by the abundance of mosquitoes 

 which infest the air in great multitudes 

 throughout the day. 



At nightfall these insects descend 

 closer to the earth and the nighthawks 

 retire to their homes on the adjacent 

 hillsides and it is very seldom that one 

 is heard on the feeding grounds after 

 dark. 



A DELIGHTFUL STUDY IN THE CARE OF HOME PETS. 

 Ebenezer Hobbie, Banksville, N. Y. 



