extremists to join in this holy war. The world need not fear for its beautiful 

 ideals then, and the gain would be immeasurable. Lilli Lehman is a true artist, 

 and it is the artist in her that protests against this barbarous fashion. 



It is not out purpose to coldly compute the unspeakable economic value of 

 the bird to our orchards and fields and gardens. It has been truly said, if women 

 are not moved by the sentiment in this question, no other appeal would avail. 

 Today, friends, let us exalt in their beauty and aesthetic charm these singing 

 orchids that flutter among our forest trees ! These winged jew'els of sapphire, 

 nothing in heaven above, or earth beneath, or the waters under the earth half 

 so beautiful as this rare thing we call a bird, and which the daughters of Eve 

 are using not to uplift but to debase ! 



Have you never said "thank you!" to a vesper-sparrow singing his pensive 

 little evensong on a fence, or to a hermit thrush in some forest cathedral, when 

 his heavenly note brought your soul to its knees, and the angel in you leaned out 

 to adore ? 



And could you wear a bird on your hat after that service? 



Dear friends, I thank you for your patience. It is for love of women that 

 I speak. I know full well what impetus you can give to this pure reform, this 

 womanly service, if you but will it so. Do not let the opportunity pass. Oh, you 

 women of good and compassionate hearts ! Let us yield to the better angel of 

 our nature and rise to the entertainment of the thought that "the evil which we 

 could prevent and do not, is in that degree our fault" ; and let us make John 

 Ruskin's declaration our own. 



Clarke's Nutcracker {Nucijroga coiumbiana) 



By Amos W. Butler 



Clarke's Nutcracker, or Clarke's Crow, is smaller than our true crows but 

 larger than the jays. It is a shy, cautious bird inhabiting the mountainous regions 

 of the United States and Canada. Comparatively little has been written about 

 the habits of this bird owing to its shyness and retiring disposition. Naturalists 

 find it difficult to visit the breeding grounds while the birds are laying their eggs 

 or rearing their young. 



Their food consists almost entirely of pine seeds, which they dexterously 

 extract from cones, hence the range of the birds from year to year varies, 

 according to the abundance of pine cones. The female guards her eggs so 

 closely that it is possible to remove the bird from her nest with the hand. Like 

 the Canada jay and magpie, the nutcracker is possessed of great cunning, and 

 is a restless, uneasy fellow. 



In March and April when the snow is still deep on the mountain slopes, the 

 nutcracker is constructing a warm nest in the densest part of some coniferous 

 tree. In appearance the nest might readily be mistaken for that of a squirrel, 

 being a substantial, warm structure in which the birds lay two to four eggs. 



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