STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 21 



Later our old friend the scarecrow was brought up from the 

 grain field as a sort of under-study for me. It was put up out 

 doors near a kitchen window with some beef scraps or suet on 

 its hand. My little girl said, "Now you don't really believe 

 those birds are going to mistake that scarecrow for a man?" 

 "No," I said, "but when I get out there made up the same way, I 

 expect they will mistake me for the scarecrow." And when I 

 had got them coming to the side and to the hand of that scare- 

 crow and on his shoulder, I went out and put on that coat and 

 hat and put out my hand and the little chickadees came and fed 

 from my hand. If you ever have a little bird come and alight 

 in the middle of your hand, I am sure you will want to protect 

 those birds, and children, when they find a bird will come to 

 the hand, will never think of injuring one. It is a good thing 

 for the bird and a good thing for the children, and much better 

 for the children than for the birds. 



My youngest boy, who likes to draw birds, thought he would 

 like to have the birds right at the w^indow so that he could sit in 

 the warm room and draw them. So he put little bits of suet 

 and meat on a bush, which he fastened up outside on the win- 

 dow sill, and the chickadees, jays, nuthatches and woodpeckers 

 came, and by and by he could sit there and draw all the birds 

 at the window without any trouble at all. He could put his face 

 right up to the window and they were not afraid of him. They 

 had got accustomed to him and knew him perfectly well. My 

 book, "Useful Birds and Their Protection," tells the story, and 

 if any of you would like to pursue the subject further you can 

 get the book from the State Board of Agriculture at Boston, in 

 the State House ; and I want to say that I feel at liberty to 

 advertise it because I make no money on it. It is sold by the 

 state at cost. It is a book of 500 pages with many illustrations, 

 and is sold for Si.cx). 



A little more about this bush. Early in the morning one might 

 see the downy woodpecker climbing the bush. His climbing 

 tools work only one way. He has to go up forward and down 

 backward, like the bear. But the nuthatch the children used to 

 call the little upside down bird. It was just as happy wrong 

 side up as right side up. A pair of these birds got so used to 

 our house and so much pleased with it that they undertook to 

 find a nesting place on it or in it, and the little female bird got 



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