370 Bird -Lore 



dear old lady, who, as she lay in bed in the morning, loved to hear the tap, 

 tap of the Chickadees, Nuthatches and Woodpeckers, having an early break- 

 fast. A little brush was kept for the purpose of dusting off the snow from the 

 campus, after every snowstorm. So the birds may give pleasure to the "shut- 

 ins," and we can all help in the great work, — great work when we consider 

 how valuable the birds are in their relation to agriculture and forest life. — 

 K. C. S., Secretary of the Cornfield Bird Club. 



[The suggestions contained in this communication embody the best and most enjoy- 

 able waj's of taking up cooperative bird-study in a community. When young and old 

 are alike interested in attracting and protecting birds, there will be small need of laws 

 and legislators to secure the rights of our feathered population. 



Are there not other clubs which can report equally successful results? — A. H. W.] 



FROM YOUNG OBSERVERS 



In the Orchard 



If you had gone past the orchard gate over at Richard's, one morning 

 about half-past sLx, you would have seen a girl of twelve scrambling under 

 the gate. What would this girl find to do in that lonely orchard, you ask ? 

 Well, she certainly found enough and saw enough to do when she got safely 

 under the gate. 



The first thing she saw was the skeleton of a dead cat, which made the 

 place seem rather ghostly and scar}^ It would have made cold chills run 

 down some people's backs, but they didn't run down hers. 



The next thing she spied was a beautifully woven Oriole's nest. Nearby 

 she heard the sounds, pete, petah, petah, petah. Then, looking aroimd, on 

 the next apple tree she saw the beautiful Oriole itself. 



Where did that sound, quay, quay, quay, come from? Why, it came 

 from a bird about a foot long, with a bluish black top-knot and a bluish gray 

 breast and back. Of course, this was a Blue Jay. The tones in which the Blue 

 Jay spoke to her were not in the least angr}'. And why should the Blue Jay's 

 tones be angry? Wait and see. 



But what was that Uttle bunch of gray fluff over in the grove in that low 

 bush? At first you would have thought it was a nest; but how could a nest 

 hop about as this was doing? When the fence that separated the orchard 

 from the grove was reached, this little bunch of gray fluff was discovered to 

 be a baby-bird that couldn't fly. Was the Blue Jay crazy? She no longer 

 spoke in a sweet, calm way, but in a gruff, angry way. She flew from the tree 

 she was in to the tree opposite, in a zig-zag line. As the Blue Jay flew down, 

 she acted as if she was going to peck the girl's head off. She did this several 

 times, all the time making a loud noise. The Blue Jay chased the girl clear 

 to the other side of the orchard, and then left her in peace. Did you know that 



