230 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



protection from the great bine heron and 

 the kingfisher on the plea that they de- 

 stroyed fish. Only prompt and energetic 

 action by the Audubon people killed the 

 pernicious measure and saved these fine 

 birds to the landscape of the state. 



Undoubtedly herons and kingfishers do 

 catch fish. But who has a better right? 

 Who was here first? To whom do the 

 lakes and streams belong? It is true that 

 these t)irds sometimes work havoc at fish- 

 hatcheries, but my friend, the Superin- 

 tendent of the United States Fish Hatch- 

 ery at Nashua, N. H., keeps a dog that 

 drives off all such poachers. He has no 

 trouble. 



Everybody knows or should know, that 

 the heron is a wading bird and subsists 

 ordinarily not upon game fishes, but upon 

 frogs, minnows, chubs, suckers and fishes 

 that frequent shallow water; but even if 

 these birds did feed upon game fishes, 

 would that warrant their destruction ? As 

 a matter of fact there are a dozen persons 

 who enjoy watching the heron at his frog- 

 ging and fishing and whose hearts leap un 

 when they behold him winging his wav 

 across the sky on great, strong. wiM 

 wings, to one person who pursues the pis- 

 catorial art. These people have rights in 

 the wild life of the land as well as fisher- 

 men in the fish of the waters. I have done 

 much fishing in my day. It is a healthful 

 and invigorating pastime, — ^but when I go 

 fishing I go for more than the mere catch- 

 ing of fisii. I go to get out into the great 

 wonder-world. I go to get into touch 

 with nature. I go to see the trees and the 

 wild flowers, and the ferns and the birds. 

 I go to see the herons and the kingfishers 

 at their fishing. I like to catch fish, but 

 even if I catch no fish, I go home en- 

 riched. I carry back something in my 

 mind and soul better than fish in a basket. 

 Old Mother Nature has placed her hand 

 upon my head with healing power. 



Herons and kingfishers destroy the fish, 

 do thev ? The boot is really on the other 

 foot ! Man has reduced our fish and game 

 almost to the vanishing point. Let justice 

 be done. Let the feathered bipeds alone 

 and let featherless bipeds remember that 

 "people who live in glass houses should 

 not throw stones." Our streams can be 

 re-stocked with fishes, but our feathered 

 friends once destroyed can never be re- 

 placed. 



^t * * * * 



Our friend is right. We should be 



broad enough to look upon these matters- 

 with an unbiased mind. Neither the blue 

 heron nor the kingfisher are destroyers of 

 edible fish in general. There may be in- 

 stances where they do damage and these 

 cases should be regulated accordingly. We 

 should see something besides fish when 

 we go a-fishing, and we should not make 

 laws to favor and satisfy a few, that will 

 restrict and deprive many of the legiti- 

 mate pleasure of enjoying our wild life. 

 — H. G. H. 



A Barn Owl's Remarkable Attitude. 



North Salem, Indiana. 

 To the Editor : 



Can you or any of your readers guess 

 at first' glance what is the thing shown 

 in the accompanying illustration? It 

 is a barn owl that had been frightened 



A liAKX OWl. I'RlGllTEXEl) KV A DOC. 



by a dog that passed near him just as 

 I was going to take his photograph. 

 In his terror the owl assumed this posi- 

 tion, with bill and tail on the ground, 

 body raised as high as possible, wings 

 spread like fans and hiding his body. 



It is amusing to hear the guesses as 

 to what the photograph represents. 

 Some call it a stump, some a stone. 



Frank B. Hopkins. 



Steamship St. Louis, of the American 

 Line, reports encountering a swallow 

 almost in mid-Atlantic, .s6o miles from 

 the nearest land. The bird, though evi- 

 dently tired, was by no means alto- 

 gether spent. 



