comstock] FEBRUARY NATURE-STUDY 73 



another, and 12 another with many comments by the teacher. 

 Obs. 14 suggest several stories, all of which should have a bearing 

 upon the habits of pussy. See three Jittle volumes containing 

 stories from St. Nicholas magazine; Cat Stories, Lion and 

 Tiger Stories and Panther Stories. 



The Crow. — The winter is a good time for beginning the study 

 of the crow for that is the time this big clever bird is a hero. 

 It endures the cold, flies long distances to find food to ward off 

 starvation, and has been known to divide up his meager rations 

 with his comrades who have been crippled through being frozen. 

 Although I cannot say that I welcome crows to my bird feeding 

 stations, yet I never see one sitting on a tree at a safe distance 

 wistfully contemplating the food on the tree too near the house for 

 his daring, without feeling sorry that I cannot feed him too. 

 The crow is too wary to permit of close observation ; but in most 

 localities one or more of Obs. i, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 14, p. 132 may 

 be made. Thomson Seton's story of ''Silver Spot" may well be 

 made the basis for information about crow ways. "Crow Ways — ■ 

 Ways of Woodf oik" by Long; "Jim's Babies in Nestlings of Forest 

 and Marsh" by Wheelock; "How the Crow Baby was Punished" 

 in True Bird Stories by Olive Thorne Miller; and the story on p. 

 117 in the Second Book of Birds by the same author; and "Not 

 So Black as He is Painted' ' in Outdoor Studies by Needham ; and 

 "Jack Crow" in American Birds by Finley should all be read to 

 make the study of the bird complete. 



The Yellow Jacket's Nest. — February is a far safer period for 

 the study of a wasp's habitation than is July. The wasps deserve 

 our respect for inventing wood pulp paper of a water proof quality 

 and a study of one of these empty nests will be a revelation of the 

 home habits of the little socialists who built it. A nest shotild be 

 brought in and Obs. i, 2 p. 435 be made, then the side of the nest 

 shoiMd be removed (see p. 457) and Obs. 3 and 4 will outline a 

 lesson. The questions in Obs. 5-10 may be answered from the 

 Teacher's Story p. 43 2 . The description of the colors of the yellow 

 jacket as suggested in Obs. 11 may be made from a museum 

 specimen or from one of dead specimens which is likely to be found 

 in the deserted nest. 



FOURTH GRADE 



The Cedars. — In a recent number of the Literary Digest was given 

 a deHghtful song to the cedars, quoted from "After Hours" by 



