412 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



leave that, as well as the fitting", to 

 your shoe dealer in whom you have 

 confidence. 



The less you know about cats the 

 more you must depend upon youi 

 dealer. Do not presume to be critical 

 or learned. Take your modicum of 

 knowledge and all your money, lay 

 them both at the feet of the learned 

 dealer, and accept his decision. I will 

 guarantee that by this method you will 

 get a better cat than if you pretend to 

 know and try to drive a sharp bargain. 



The secret of the whole matter is 

 this. If you do not love the girl, do 

 not marry her, or you will both be un- 

 happy. If you do not love cats, do 

 not buy a cat, or you both will be un- 

 happy. If you do love cats, almost 

 any kind of a cat will please you. It is 

 all a matter of taste, fancy and idiosyn- 

 crasy. 



The Mystery of Hibernation. 



To hold in one's hand an animal 

 curled up and apparently asleep, yet 

 not really in sleep ; apparently dead, 



a woonciirc'K that hibernated two win- 

 ters IN A BOX OF HAY IN ARCADIA'S 

 OFFICE. 



yet alive; apparently living, yet with 

 many of the aspects of death, is indeed 

 to hold a wonderful thing. The phe- 

 nomenon of hibernation seems to me 

 even more wonderful, if possible, than 

 the transformation of the pupa from 

 the chrysalis. A pet woodchuck, 

 caught by a little girl near Arcadia, 

 was kept in our office during the entire 



winter in a small box with a little hay. 

 At any time during the winter this 

 mystery of mysteries could be taken 

 out and held in the hand, to the as- 

 tonishment of the visitor. I know of 

 nothing more impressive than this 

 curious method of stagnation in the 

 life activities of an animal. If any of 

 our naturalists have the opportunity to 

 secure a woodchuck, I earnestly advise 

 them to keep it in a box with hay, and 

 in a place where the temperature is 

 low but not freezing cold. 



What Do You Vote For The Crow? 



Herbert K. Job State Ornithologist, 

 West Haven, Connecticut, says, "That 

 black rascal, the crow, is under fire 

 again." That the crow is a "black ras- 

 cal" is in many respects true, but the 

 question is, Has he enough good quali- 

 ties to offset his propensity to kill 

 young birds and to pull up corn? The 

 authorities at Washington also want 

 this information. Let us give the crow 

 a fair trial, even if we hang him after- 

 wards — in the cornfields. Who has a 

 good word for him? 



Well, here goes for one : 



He can sing a song that touches the 

 heart of the old man and makes it 

 young again, for it renews the remem- 

 brance of his youth ; it puts into vibra- 

 tion the chords of memory, and the old 

 man turns his face toward himself as 

 he was when he was a boy, and he 

 again sees the boy's shining visions, 

 and has again the boy's long, long 

 thoughts. The crow's spring song is 

 sweeter far than the quirps and the 

 trills of the song sparrow, delicious to 

 the ear as they are. 



One vote for the crow. 



My Opinion of Crows. 



BY K. S. CROMWELL, L. II. NATURE LEAGUE, 

 SUMMIT, NEW JERSEY. 



"Crows nest at about fifty yards from 

 my house, every year. In the autumn 

 an unthrashed sheaf of wheat or rye, 

 is tied into a tree for food and shelter, 

 and a shelf, for cooked cereals, bird 

 seed, and grains is kept supplied for the 

 smaller birds. My crows are fed all 

 winter, the flock varying from four to 

 a dozen. 



