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THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



ture for their winter home 



Adjoining this beautiful 

 spoken of above I have my apiary of 



grove 



on the wing. It is too bad we cannot for filling the crevices to their dams, 

 bid our friends of the feathered tribe a As long ago as I was a small boy I 



good-bye when they take their depar- can distinctly remember of seeing 



woodchucks climb trees. I have often 

 seen them up in the first limbs of low 

 trees near their holes sunning them- 

 selves and if you will find a hole near 

 a tree that is not too large and the 

 limbs are from eight to twelve feet 

 from the ground you will see them up 

 there watching for intruders. Espe- 

 cially if they dig holes in the woods 

 they will climb quite high up. 



Yours for business. 



A. D. D. Wood. 



THE REMARKABLE OAK "IKtt. 



one hundred and fifty hives composed 

 of the finest bees I can import from 

 Italy and the Caucasus. I also have 

 one of the best cellars for the success- 

 ful wintering of my pets I have seen. 



I had rather miss a meal than to 

 miss one small piece of the rich goods 

 to be found in The Guide to Nature 

 I even read the advertisements in the 

 fore part which is nearly all local, and 

 in them I may find something that will 

 be of benefit to me. 



I did enjoy the reading of the Lock- 

 woods, then the beautiful story of the 

 beaver. I have heard many speak of 

 this rare animal and I fail to have any 

 one answer how they carry their mud 



Protective Coloration of Toads. 



New York City. 

 To the Editor: 



Common things or phenomena do 

 not excite much thought, but the un- 

 usual object or the strange act arrests 

 our attention. It is known that many 

 birds and animals have markings that, 

 to a certain extent, give them a lesem- 

 blance to their surroundings and so 

 protect them from their enemies, but 

 as a rule we do not consider the com- 

 mon toad as within this category, nor 

 as worthy of ob r ervation in this con- 

 nection 



At my city home we have only a 

 small yard but we try to beautify it 

 with shrubs, flowers and even an 

 aquarium. Many insects regard my 

 garden as their proper home and the 

 plants as a gratuitous feast. I have 

 long intended to introduce a toad or 

 two to fatten at the expense of these 

 foragers as they flourish at the expense 

 of mv foliage 



The opportunity came a few nights 

 ago when we were in the country, 

 where, on our friend's lawn, we picked 

 up two full-grown toads, and carried 

 them home with us, a little soil and 

 grass being put in the box for their 

 comfort. Next morning the pair were 

 as bright and lively as prisoners could 

 be. Their eyes shone and their noses 

 and long toes were actively trying to 

 push their way out through the narrow 

 slit in the lid. But instead of brown 

 creatures, we had two lively, rough- 

 skinned prisoners with the color of a 

 ripe muskmelon. We admired them 



