28o WITH THE U. S. NATURALISTS 



around will have fresh water and their bath in 

 'Bull's Sanctuary.'" 



But Shan was not content with this alone. Real- 

 izing that almost any little hollow place with a 

 firm bottom — a shallow hole in the ground, with a 

 flooring of shells, for example, which would hold 

 rain water, would serve as a bird-bath, he built 

 them all over the place, remembering always to 

 put them in the open, far removed from bushes, 

 when they chanced to be made on the ground. 



With the approach of winter, Shan became so 

 busy that he had scarcely time to attend to his 

 duties at the pheasant pens. His hands were full. 



*'I wonder," the Feather Man had said to him, 

 when summer was over and the leaves were be- 

 ginning to color with the autumn tints, "I wonder, 

 Shan, if you've ever thought what a terribly dif- 

 ficult thing it is for a bird to find the right place 

 to put a nest?" 



The boy stared at his friend with surprise. 



**Why, Mr. Feather Man," he asked, "how's 

 that ? The woods are full of them ! ' ' 



''Are you so sure?" came the answering query. 

 "Have you never watched birds in the early days 

 of the nesting season? Have you never noticed 

 how they search here and there, almost desper- 



