178 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE. 



orized and discussed the pros and cons 

 of nature study. Finally its merits 

 became generally accepted. Then 

 came Arcadia with its ways and 

 means of personal aid to all who need 

 such aid. Do not be idle; do not talk; 

 do not theorize ; but come and dig. 

 You shall have full credit for all you 

 do, now in our early days. 'Tis your 

 treasure ; it is ours. Will you be "one 

 of us ?" 



A Swallow Observation. 



Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. 

 To The; Editor: — 



I was looking across the city from 

 the sixteenth story of the Ford Build- 

 ing here. There is a fine view there. 

 One can see the Detroit River with 

 Bell Isle lying in it, and the city, 

 appears a bewildering mass of roofs 

 of every conceivable shape and size. 



Some one on a floor above me tore 

 up a sheet of paper into pieces of about 

 one square inch each and threw these 



pieces out of a window. Like little 

 white butterflies the pieces sailed 

 about, going some up and some down, 

 and didn't a swallow swoop down on 

 one of these pieces and catch it in his 

 mouth ! I cannot be sure but I believe 

 he swallowed it. At any rate he re- 

 turned and caught another and yet 

 another of those flying bits of paper. 

 After tasting one it would seem he 

 could hardly have been deceived, think- 

 ing them insects. As for me, I think 

 he enjoyed sailing through that bound- 

 less sea of air and snapping up those 

 fluttering bits. The probabilities are 

 that the same thing often happens 

 there and perhaps this is an idiosyn- 

 crasy of this particular bird. 



Very truly yours, 

 Frederick Schwankovsky. 



Please experiment and see whether 

 the swallow actually takes several 

 pieces, how many, etc. Try colored 

 papers. 



AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION 



Personal Explanatory Note: — Only the adult interests in nature and the business details of organizing Chap 

 ters are represented by this department. Original observations and inquiries from young folks (under eighteen years 

 of age) are referred to my department ("Nature and Science") in the "St. Nicholas" magazine, published by The Cen- 

 tury Company, New York City. — Edward F. Bigelow. 



Furnished a Room. 



One of our oldest and most loyal 

 chapters, No. 91 of Buffalo, New York, 

 has supplied all the furniture for the 

 mailing and accounting room of the new 

 AA Home. The outfit consists of a 

 large, flat top desk in beautiful oak, 

 pull slides and filing drawers at each 

 end, a five-foot center table, a wrap- 

 ping table and several chairs. A 

 framed inscription on the wall gives to 

 all visitors information of the liberal 

 gift. 



If other Chapters desire to make, 

 memorial gifts, we shall be glad to give 

 information on the things most needed. 

 We are also starting a museum and 

 will welcome single specimens or cab- 

 inets. 



Society for the Protection of Native 

 Plants. 



There is danger of extermination of 

 many interesting and beautiful wild 

 flowers through thoughtless and in- 

 discriminate picking. Those flowers 

 which are gathered for sale are in 

 especial danger, as, when they become 

 commercially valuable, they are gath- 

 ered in great quantities. The only way 

 of checking this is to refrain from buy- 



ing. 



It is hoped that the love of natural 

 beauty which is encouraged in us by 

 the nature books will lead us one step 

 further, and induce us to pick few 

 flowers instead of many, and to use 

 moderation in breaking large branches 

 of flowering shrubs, which will live in 



