142 HIS RELATIONS WITH US 
You may be sure that every hour you hon- 
estly give to the study will make it more inter- 
esting; every bird you learn to know will be 
like a new and delightful companion. 
You will lose your desire to take life or even 
to steal eggs from them; the country will have 
new charms for you; in fact, a person blessed 
with a love of the study of birds or beasts or 
insects possesses a lifelong and inexhaustible 
source of interest and happiness. 
In regard to a manual, there are now so many 
to be had, one hardly knows how to select. I 
will mention only two or three, which have par- 
ticular points of value. 7 
A good book to begin with, for residents of 
New England, New York, and the Eastern 
Middle States, is Professor Willcox’s “ Land 
Birds of New England” (Lee & Shepard, Bos- 
ton. Price 60 cts., by mail). 
Although this little book treats of only 
ninety birds, they are the most common, and its 
value is its simplicity, and the ease with which 
its color key enables one to identify the birds it ~ 
treats. It introduces a beginner to the larger 
works in a most pleasing way. 
A good general work for Eastern North 
America, thoroughly trustworthy and not too 
technical in its use of terms, treating all the 
