xii PREFACE 



of the week between, we children spent in this grove. Best 

 of all, father and mother were as anxious to go to "the 

 grove'* as any of ns; and when they did go, we children 

 were always delighted, for there was sure to be a story, a 

 bit of information, or a reminiscence connected with a 

 tree or a flower. 



With a stream of living water running through it, and 

 the orchard, corn pens, barn, and cattle sheds on its border, 

 it is small wonder that this grove became the haven for 

 birds of every description, and many of them became so 

 tame that they did not resent my assisting in their house- 

 hold affairs by furnishing prepared nesting material and 

 by giving the babies an occasional treat of worms and bugs. 

 It was here I learned to know and love the birds; and it 

 is the story of some of these birds with a few others I have 

 met elsewhere that I mean to tell in this book. I have 

 traveled far and wide, but never have I seen any other 

 place of nearly the same size that was inhabited by so 

 many kinds of birds, or where they were so unconcerned 

 when we were around. This grove was a haven for over 

 thirty years, and doubtless several generations of birds 

 taught their young that there they could find safety. 



Hawks and crows were the only birds not allowed to 

 nest there, and when they attempted to do so they were 

 caught by setting a steel trap in their nest, as that would 

 not disturb their neighbors. Like other children, we 

 hunted birds' nests, and were always alert to see what 

 our feathered friends were doing, but we did not take the 

 eggs. Even to this day I have never made a collection of 

 birds' eggs. To mother, a bird's nest was a sort of sanctu- 

 ary, and I have never been able to get far enough from 

 her training to regard it in any other light. 



